Supernatural’s latest episode “Various & Sundry Villains” featured the brothers teaming up with Rowena to take down sister witches that were after a book of spells, the Black Grimoire.
This week’s episode opened with Jamie (Jordan Claire Robbins) and Jennie (Elise Gatien) Plum, sister witches who put a love spell on various men to trick them to rob a gas station for easy money.
The scene cut with Dean (Jensen Ackles) out on a beer run. Dean walked to his car, when Jamie was laying on the ground, supposedly unconscious and Jennie was screaming for help. Dean rushed over and tried to wake her up, when Jennie slipped a hex bag into his pocket and whispered an enchantment spell that made Dean fall head over heels in love with Jamie. Dean came and began looking for the Black Grimoire to give to the sisters as a gift. The Black Grimoire was a book of spells that the sisters wanted to bring back their mom from the dead. When Sam realized what happened, he tried to stop Dean, but Dean effortlessly knocked him out.
Dean gifted the sisters the book and closed his eyes to lean in for a kiss. Just in time, Sam sped in with Baby and pointed a gun at the sisters, knowing what they were doing. Dean, still under the spell, tackled Sam and almost choked him out. During the fight scene, the sisters left in a hurry. Still in a headlock, Sam found the hex bag, broke the spell and Dean snapped out of it. Out of nowhere, Rowena (Ruth Connell) walked over to the boys, back from the dead.
Back at the bunker, Rowena told the boys that Lucifer did in fact kill her last season, but she had made precautions to bring herself back from the dead. Rowena also shared that she put a tracking spell on the book and showed up when she sensed the book on the move. Meanwhile, Dean figured out the location of the sisters, but wouldn’t tell Rowna because she is a witch after all. Rowena sensed this and put a little spell on the brothers that made their feet freeze to the floor.
Rowna found the sisters at a house, sacrificing their mom’s soul for the spell. Rowna scolded the sisters for not sticking to the plan, which was that she would ultimately have the book by helping the sisters locate it. Rowena betrayed the brothers. The sisters sacrificed the soul wrong and their mom was in a zombie state and acted violently. The sisters told their mom to kill Rowena, which she obeyed and attacked Rowena.
Sam and Dean busted in into the house and were quickly briefed by Rowna about what happened. Rowna grabbed a dropped gun and shot the mom in the head, effectively killing her. Rowena then said an incantation that made the sisters bleed from their eyes. Rowena bluntly stated “end it” and the sisters stabbed and bludgeoned each other to death.
Sam took the book away from her and Rowena tried to bargain with him, asking for protection from Lucifer with the one spell she needed from the book. The audience learns later that Sam let up and ripped the page out for her.
Throughout the episode, the audience was clued into what happened with Cas (Misha Collins) and Lucifer (Mark Pellegrino). The two sat in separate cells next to each other with Dipper guarding them. Both Lucifer and Cas were weak and didn’t have enough grace to be at full-power. After trying to escape the cell, Lucifer realized that he could summon enough grace to break out through rage. Dipper came around again and Lucifer stabbed him in the neck with a stick. Lucifer and Cas broke out of the cage and fought off the other guards. Outside, Cas stabbed Lucifer with his angel blade.
“This is me learning from my mistakes,” she said.
Lucifer’s red eyes died out, which will hopefully be expounded on in the future episodes.
The episode, in its entirety, had comedic relief. For example, when Dean was under the spell, he came back from the beer run and was telling Sam some complete nonsense.
“I’m in love. I am, like, full-on twitterpated here,” Dean said. “Seriously, I can't wait for you to meet her, either. She – I mean, she's. She's sweet and she's beautiful and she's just kinda sorta perfect. Anyway, I'm thinking of asking her to move in with me here if that's cool, 'cause this is big-time.”
When Dean grabbed the Black Grimoire, he told Sam it was for Jamie his “soul-mate.” Sam asked him if she asked for it by name and he responded with “Yeah! I mean, isn’t that kind of cosmic fate, that we actually have it? Like...” as he imitated a mind explosion.
Ackles’ character development of a looser Dean, albeit under a love potion No. 9 spell, let the audience breathe easy.
Dean, after the witches were killed and Rowena was gone, confronted Sam about his depression. Sam revealed that he related to Rowena’s fear of Lucifer. This will hopefully be expanded on with Jack’s disappearance and Mary’s absence. It is obvious that Sam holds himself accountable.
Supernatural airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on The CW.
