In Thursday’s episode of Supernatural, “A Most Holy Man,” Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) whack some heads to acquire one of the ingredients that opens the chasm to the alternate rift.
The episode opened in Malta, where someone stole the skull of St. Peter from a monastery. At the bunker, Sam and Dean were on the hunt for the blood of a most holy man, one of the four ingredients. Sam interpreted the ingredient as the blood of a saint and, after some research, found a dealer of holy relics, Margaret Astor (Leanne Lapp).
The brothers headed to San Francisco, where Astor informed them she knew a man named Richard Greenstreet (Dominic Burgess), who might have the blood. Greenstreet said he would give the boys the blood if they tracked down the stolen skull, which he believed mob boss Santino Scarpati (Al Sapienza) stole.
After a coffee break, Sam found a lead on the skull's location, but when the brothers arrived, the thief was dead. An obviously fake cop looted the room and left in a hurry. When the boys left the scene, they were greeted by Scaparti’s men, who took Sam and Dean directly to the boss himself.
Scarpati wanted to strike a deal with the boys in which Sam and Dean would find the skull and deliver it to the boss. In exchange, Scarpati would give the boys enough money to pay Greenstreet for the original blood.
The brothers rolled with the punches and made their way back to the crime scene for any clues they missed. Sam found a piece of paper with numbers written on it when he was suddenly knocked out. Dean found Sam, and together they hunted down Sam’s attacker — which wasn’t difficult, because he was knocked out by someone else.
When the brothers sat down with the mugger, they learned that he was Father Lucca Camilleri (Massi Furlan). The father was a priest from Malta and was sent to buy back the skull because of its significance to his congregation. Father Lucca reminded the boys of the family business.
“If good men do good things, it can be better,” he said. “Every day can get better.”
Sam and Dean decided they would give the skull to the father and fight the good fight.
Father Lucca remembered what was on the piece of paper: a tracking number, which leads back to Astor. Margaret gave the skull away to the highest bidder, which included Scarpati, Greenstreet and now Sam, who is “working for himself.” Greenstreet offered $1 million to Astor’s partner if he killed her — and he did.
A shootout began among the different mobs, and the bodies stacked up. The brothers cornered Greenstreet about the blood, but he was bluffing the entire time.
In the shootout, Father Lucca was grazed by a bullet. He mentioned he was named the most holy name by the Pope, meaning the brothers had needed his blood the whole time.
The episode pays tribute to film noir. The swanky jazz music between scenes and the continued stereotype of the main boss petting a cat adds to the vibe of the episode. Dean even channels this with “whack — it’s mob talk.”
The episode also provides comedic relief. “The internet: You're not just for porn anymore,” Dean says in disbelief when Sam finds Margaret Astor online. Dean swears that if someone steals the Impala he would “murder them all. ... If I can't have it, nobody can.”
Supernatural airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on The CW.
