Posted:
9.16 'Blade Runners' recap via Hey,
Don't Judge Me
http://heydontjudgeme.com/2014/03/20/supernatural-9-16-blade-runners/
So, in all honesty, I had low
expectations for this episode, so
color me delightfully surprised to be
completely sucked right back in.
This episode opens with Sam "we're
not brothers, we'll never be brothers,
we'll fight and we'll... um... um... and
we'll hate each other til it makes us
quiver, but we'll never be brothers"
Winchester is research the story of
Cain and Abel, the first and
apparently second most famous
brother duo in the Supernatural lore.
Dean, meanwhile, is trying to
obsessing get a hold of Crowley, who
hasn't touched base with Dean
except for a drunk dial that Dean
missed. Thankfully, Dean saved the
voicemail. Not entirely sure why
though...
Crowley is ignoring his call from Not
Moose in favor of sack romping with
a seeming loyal and lovely lackey
named Lola. Lola tastes like Coca-
Cola and maybe Crowley ain't the
most physical guy, but Lola is
satisfied. She rises from the bed to
get Crowley a treat: a shot of blood
from the hapless schmuck hanging in
the closet. Given that the guy is
conscious until Lola siphons a few
CCs out of him we can only assume
that the well is nearly dry. Good think
this last hit is enough to give
Crowley the munchies and send Lola
out for sustenance. While she
supposedly gone, she spies on
Crowley drowning himself in
tearjerker classics and smirks evilly.
Demons. So untrustworthy.
She meets up with Abaddon's gofer,
Aldo. Lola may look like a woman,
but she talks like man, and while she
gives Aldo the intel she makes it
known she expects to speak directly
to Abaddon next time.
Over at the nearest crossroads, Sam
and Dean decide that researching or
summoning spells are so 2012 and
reckon that conjuring up a demon is
the best way to get info on Crowley.
Okay, I'm going to just come out and
say this. I loved Jersey Shore. I don't
even care, having shame is pass.
Sometimes when I get home and
change into t-shirt and shorts I say,
"it's t-shirt time" in my head. On the
rare occasion I take a taxi I want to
yell, "CABS ARE HERE". What I'm
saying is I restrain myself, but I
loved that stupid show, so seeing
Snooki play demon!Snooki is like the
holy grail of TV for me. She tells that
all she knows is that Crowley is out
sifting through marine snow in the
western pacific while his well crafted,
politically sound Hell template
descends into anarchy.
Hers the most news, the most best
news, they've gotten in forever. So
naturally, like real, trustworthy
gentlemen, they exorcise her.
Crowley sits in his hotel room,
quietly reading about a Meg and Jo
that are vastly different from ours,
when Lola returns. He lets her know
that he knows that she sold him out
and that underestimating him was
her first mistake. Lola laughs and
pretty much calls him a pathetic
junkie. So he angelblades her.
Underestimating Crowley was also
your last mistake, Lola.
Crowley looks around at his rockstar
utopia and... y'know what? I'm not
gonna say anything about this scene
because the writing, acting, and
musical choice stand on their own.
Back at the lab, Dean grabs a beer
for himself and his not-your-brother-
anymore-GOD-DEAN bunkmate Sam,
who has researched and found that
the Marina Trench is not only in the
pacific, but is also the deepest part
of the ocean. Naturally, Sam thinks
Crowley has the blade and is holding
out on him. Dean doesn't think so,
Crowley definitely wants Dean to grab
onto that feather and fly. Besides,
Dean knows that Crowley wants him
to level up and gingersnap Abaddon.
Wait, did Dean the daywalker just call
a bottle job demon a "ginger"? Might
want to check you angsty facial hair
before you start throwing around
descriptors, Dean. Sam and Dean's
paralell-heavy and slightly jealous/
defensive discussion is interrupted
by an outreach phone call from
Crowley.
Sam and Dean race to Crowley to
stage his intervention. They are full-
on disappointed parents at this point.
Crowley argues that they don't get it,
humanity is part of them, they've
suffered from that disease since
birth, but him? He was past it, clean,
until now. Now he's choking on
feelings: happiness, sadness,
empathy, sympathy, all of it. And
need. Especially the need . So they
take Crowley back to the bunker to
kick his jones. Sam thinks that drug
detox is the perfect time to
interrogate the King of Hell about the
First Blade. Crowley yellow
submarine'd to the bottom of the sea
sea sea to see what he could see see
see, but he saw nothing. Turns out
the First Blade had already been
discovered and fenced all over the
place. If only Bela were still alive,
she'd be the one to obviously have it
and taunt the boys with it.
During this time, Crowley tries to
have a moment of dewy-eyed
connection with Sam. He can't smile
with you, Sam, he can't laugh without
you. Good luck with that Crowley;
Sam hasn't had a well-executed
emotional response for like, seasons
back. Nevertheless, Crowley insists
that he and Sam bonded back in that
church. Yeah, Crowley, Dean thought
so too...
Crowley knows who the last hands
the blade past through, so Sam and
Dean suit up and take Crowley out on
a field trip. It's a clandestine,
midnight meeting with a dubious
dude who's tight lipped about the
First Blade, but that's no problem
when you have a pet demon who can
possess a human to maraud their
mind. He finds out the blade is
housed in a vault at the Kansas City,
Missouri, National Institute of
Antiquities (which, much like
Oklahoma Gas & Power in "Bugs", is
not real).
Turns out Abaddon has the same
info; two of her followers possess
the night watchmen, search the vault,
kill a research assistant, and then kill
their meatsuits. Which is how Sam
and Dean find the scene. Luckily,
they find out that nothing was stolen
because the vault had been housing
nothing but air for the past few
weeks. They question the curator, Dr.
McElroy about the blade. She's
apparently Miss Dr. McElroy, given
the up/down she's giving Dean. She
tells them that she hadn't had the
blade authenticated and worried that
she never would, so she sold it to a
man that went by the name
"Magnus".
Sound familiar? Well it does to Sam.
Dean's paying more attention to
McElroy, really. The name "Albert
Magnus" leads the boys back where
they came from, their batcave. They
ask Crowley about what he knows
about the MOL massacre of '58,
because as far as they know all the
good ol stuffy shirts are dead and
buried. Crowley is a little ticked off
that not only did the Winchesters go
all Mexican cartel on him and force
feed him humanity smack, they also
have yet to repay, or even thank him,
for his continued assistance. In trade
for a comfy chair, a tumbler of
scotch, and a peek at Dean's vintage
skinmags, Crowley leads them down
the road of critical thinking.
The records show that all the active
members were killed in 1958,
however there were rumors of an
inactive, shunned, former member
who was booted in '56 and as a
result missed the massacre by the
skin of his teeth. And oh, hey,
would'ja look at that, right there,
conveniently at Dean's feet is the
shunned member's dishonor on your
cow file.
Cuthbert Sinclair, master of magic,
warder of wards, was
excommunicated for having some
creepily progressive ideas that the
MOL leadership felt were not just box
adjacent but hanging way below the
crazyface equator.
Crowley leads Sam and Dean to the
dead end he hit decades back when
searching for Sinclair. So, okay,
Crowley knew about the MOL, other
demons knew, I assume the angels
knew, yet JOHN WINCHESTER and
BOBBY SINGER never found out
about them? Yeah, alright.
Anyway, the clearing Crowley leads
them to is empty, but they suspect
it's just a cloaking spell, so they plea
their case and their lineage to
Sinclair and a just like that a
shimmery portal opens up. They find
themselves in the middle of a Cornell
Club replica and immediately have to
fight two vampires, but easily take
them out.
Test passed, boys. You may now sit
and have a drink, you are, after all,
both family and faculty.
Sinclair's face and style have been
time capsule'd, if only anti-aging
skincare worked as well as dark
magic. His home is not just a home,
but a museum, a zoo of sorts. He's a
collector, because well, what else
would a man with all the time, but
not a friend, in the world do but
collect rare, mint condition toys? The
brothers try to strike up a deal with
Sinclair: he loans them the First
Blade and they give it back after
Abaddon is permanently sliced and
diced. Sinclair is very intrigued by
Dean bearing the Mark of Cain, what
a lovely addition to his collection. He
magics Sam away and keeps Dean
for himself.
On the plus side, Sinclair didn't hurt
Sam, he just pulled the welcome mat
out from under him. He's right back
outside with Ruby. Ruby, who
reminds Sam that he's the one that
helped Dean find Cain and take on
the Mark, the one that helped Sam
gather up the testosterone needed to
boot Gadreel out of his head.
Wait, did I say Ruby? I meant
Crowley, of course. Sam finds a spell
to get past the wards and sends
Crowley off with a grocery list.
Crowley is very proud of himself for
finding all the ingredients, but does
Sam give him a treat? A hug?
Anyway, Sam sifts through the file
trying to find a way back in, while
Dean is incapacitated by Sinclair.
Sinclair is curious to see what
happens when he hands Link the
Master Sword, so he forces the blade
on Dean. Once its in his grasp,
Dean's Mark begins to ember up and
Dean is overwhelmed by the feelings
it creates and drops it. Sinclair
assures him it'll get easier, but Dean
doesn't want to play. The quarterback
wants out and there's no second
string. Too bad, Dean. Sinclair
doesn't need you to offer up, he can
take. Mind control is easy magic.
Sam and Crowley chant their way in
and right away Sam sticks it to
Sinclair. Except, it's not Sinclair, it's
a shapeshifter. Now both brothers
are tied up. I it better when Meg had
them tied to poles. It was sexier. And
her leather jacket was the stuff of
fashion dreams.
I digress.
Sinclair begin torturing Sam and
suddenly the will-less Dean has
found the presence of mind and body
to spring into action, grab the First
Blade, and lop Sinclair's head cleanly
off his body. Only problem is now
that he's holding the blade again, the
feelings of "kill all the things" are
coursing through him. You can tell
because his lip is curling
dramatically and he looks like an 8-
week-old puppy learning to growl at
a butterfly. Thankfully, the power of
Sam's dulcet tones pulls Dean out of
his Mark-induced stupor.
First Crowley, now Dean; it's tons of
fun dealing with drug addicts, isn't it
Sam? At least you have your years of
sobriety; maybe you should be
Dean's sponsor? Or is that too
brotherly or friendly of a task?
They make their way back out and
toward the Impala, which has been
vandalized. Worst. Dean. Day. EVER.
Since she's still warded up they
weren't able to ransack the trunk, no
news on whether Dean's tapes
remained untouched. They did do a
doozy of a scratch job on the doors.
A warning for Crowley in Enochian.
Which Sam suddenly has not only
forgotten how to read, but also even
recognize. He's also forgotten that
stage whispering about killing
Crowley when Crowley is 3ft away
isn't exactly smooth.
Crowley now has found clarity in
sobriety and uses his powers to pin
the brothers to the car and float the
First Blade to himself. Yes, Sam,
Crowley has powers. Did you forget?
Crowley decides that he'll hold the
key and Sam can take care of the
lock until the time comes to fit them
back together and take on Abaddon.
Again I say: demons, so
untrustworthy.
Winchesters, as well.
But y'know what's really interesting?
Both Sam and Dean being distressed
about "his brother" on two separate
occasions in this episode
Don't Judge Me
http://heydontjudgeme.com/2014/03/20/supernatural-9-16-blade-runners/
So, in all honesty, I had low
expectations for this episode, so
color me delightfully surprised to be
completely sucked right back in.
This episode opens with Sam "we're
not brothers, we'll never be brothers,
we'll fight and we'll... um... um... and
we'll hate each other til it makes us
quiver, but we'll never be brothers"
Winchester is research the story of
Cain and Abel, the first and
apparently second most famous
brother duo in the Supernatural lore.
Dean, meanwhile, is trying to
obsessing get a hold of Crowley, who
hasn't touched base with Dean
except for a drunk dial that Dean
missed. Thankfully, Dean saved the
voicemail. Not entirely sure why
though...
Crowley is ignoring his call from Not
Moose in favor of sack romping with
a seeming loyal and lovely lackey
named Lola. Lola tastes like Coca-
Cola and maybe Crowley ain't the
most physical guy, but Lola is
satisfied. She rises from the bed to
get Crowley a treat: a shot of blood
from the hapless schmuck hanging in
the closet. Given that the guy is
conscious until Lola siphons a few
CCs out of him we can only assume
that the well is nearly dry. Good think
this last hit is enough to give
Crowley the munchies and send Lola
out for sustenance. While she
supposedly gone, she spies on
Crowley drowning himself in
tearjerker classics and smirks evilly.
Demons. So untrustworthy.
She meets up with Abaddon's gofer,
Aldo. Lola may look like a woman,
but she talks like man, and while she
gives Aldo the intel she makes it
known she expects to speak directly
to Abaddon next time.
Over at the nearest crossroads, Sam
and Dean decide that researching or
summoning spells are so 2012 and
reckon that conjuring up a demon is
the best way to get info on Crowley.
Okay, I'm going to just come out and
say this. I loved Jersey Shore. I don't
even care, having shame is pass.
Sometimes when I get home and
change into t-shirt and shorts I say,
"it's t-shirt time" in my head. On the
rare occasion I take a taxi I want to
yell, "CABS ARE HERE". What I'm
saying is I restrain myself, but I
loved that stupid show, so seeing
Snooki play demon!Snooki is like the
holy grail of TV for me. She tells that
all she knows is that Crowley is out
sifting through marine snow in the
western pacific while his well crafted,
politically sound Hell template
descends into anarchy.
Hers the most news, the most best
news, they've gotten in forever. So
naturally, like real, trustworthy
gentlemen, they exorcise her.
Crowley sits in his hotel room,
quietly reading about a Meg and Jo
that are vastly different from ours,
when Lola returns. He lets her know
that he knows that she sold him out
and that underestimating him was
her first mistake. Lola laughs and
pretty much calls him a pathetic
junkie. So he angelblades her.
Underestimating Crowley was also
your last mistake, Lola.
Crowley looks around at his rockstar
utopia and... y'know what? I'm not
gonna say anything about this scene
because the writing, acting, and
musical choice stand on their own.
Back at the lab, Dean grabs a beer
for himself and his not-your-brother-
anymore-GOD-DEAN bunkmate Sam,
who has researched and found that
the Marina Trench is not only in the
pacific, but is also the deepest part
of the ocean. Naturally, Sam thinks
Crowley has the blade and is holding
out on him. Dean doesn't think so,
Crowley definitely wants Dean to grab
onto that feather and fly. Besides,
Dean knows that Crowley wants him
to level up and gingersnap Abaddon.
Wait, did Dean the daywalker just call
a bottle job demon a "ginger"? Might
want to check you angsty facial hair
before you start throwing around
descriptors, Dean. Sam and Dean's
paralell-heavy and slightly jealous/
defensive discussion is interrupted
by an outreach phone call from
Crowley.
Sam and Dean race to Crowley to
stage his intervention. They are full-
on disappointed parents at this point.
Crowley argues that they don't get it,
humanity is part of them, they've
suffered from that disease since
birth, but him? He was past it, clean,
until now. Now he's choking on
feelings: happiness, sadness,
empathy, sympathy, all of it. And
need. Especially the need . So they
take Crowley back to the bunker to
kick his jones. Sam thinks that drug
detox is the perfect time to
interrogate the King of Hell about the
First Blade. Crowley yellow
submarine'd to the bottom of the sea
sea sea to see what he could see see
see, but he saw nothing. Turns out
the First Blade had already been
discovered and fenced all over the
place. If only Bela were still alive,
she'd be the one to obviously have it
and taunt the boys with it.
During this time, Crowley tries to
have a moment of dewy-eyed
connection with Sam. He can't smile
with you, Sam, he can't laugh without
you. Good luck with that Crowley;
Sam hasn't had a well-executed
emotional response for like, seasons
back. Nevertheless, Crowley insists
that he and Sam bonded back in that
church. Yeah, Crowley, Dean thought
so too...
Crowley knows who the last hands
the blade past through, so Sam and
Dean suit up and take Crowley out on
a field trip. It's a clandestine,
midnight meeting with a dubious
dude who's tight lipped about the
First Blade, but that's no problem
when you have a pet demon who can
possess a human to maraud their
mind. He finds out the blade is
housed in a vault at the Kansas City,
Missouri, National Institute of
Antiquities (which, much like
Oklahoma Gas & Power in "Bugs", is
not real).
Turns out Abaddon has the same
info; two of her followers possess
the night watchmen, search the vault,
kill a research assistant, and then kill
their meatsuits. Which is how Sam
and Dean find the scene. Luckily,
they find out that nothing was stolen
because the vault had been housing
nothing but air for the past few
weeks. They question the curator, Dr.
McElroy about the blade. She's
apparently Miss Dr. McElroy, given
the up/down she's giving Dean. She
tells them that she hadn't had the
blade authenticated and worried that
she never would, so she sold it to a
man that went by the name
"Magnus".
Sound familiar? Well it does to Sam.
Dean's paying more attention to
McElroy, really. The name "Albert
Magnus" leads the boys back where
they came from, their batcave. They
ask Crowley about what he knows
about the MOL massacre of '58,
because as far as they know all the
good ol stuffy shirts are dead and
buried. Crowley is a little ticked off
that not only did the Winchesters go
all Mexican cartel on him and force
feed him humanity smack, they also
have yet to repay, or even thank him,
for his continued assistance. In trade
for a comfy chair, a tumbler of
scotch, and a peek at Dean's vintage
skinmags, Crowley leads them down
the road of critical thinking.
The records show that all the active
members were killed in 1958,
however there were rumors of an
inactive, shunned, former member
who was booted in '56 and as a
result missed the massacre by the
skin of his teeth. And oh, hey,
would'ja look at that, right there,
conveniently at Dean's feet is the
shunned member's dishonor on your
cow file.
Cuthbert Sinclair, master of magic,
warder of wards, was
excommunicated for having some
creepily progressive ideas that the
MOL leadership felt were not just box
adjacent but hanging way below the
crazyface equator.
Crowley leads Sam and Dean to the
dead end he hit decades back when
searching for Sinclair. So, okay,
Crowley knew about the MOL, other
demons knew, I assume the angels
knew, yet JOHN WINCHESTER and
BOBBY SINGER never found out
about them? Yeah, alright.
Anyway, the clearing Crowley leads
them to is empty, but they suspect
it's just a cloaking spell, so they plea
their case and their lineage to
Sinclair and a just like that a
shimmery portal opens up. They find
themselves in the middle of a Cornell
Club replica and immediately have to
fight two vampires, but easily take
them out.
Test passed, boys. You may now sit
and have a drink, you are, after all,
both family and faculty.
Sinclair's face and style have been
time capsule'd, if only anti-aging
skincare worked as well as dark
magic. His home is not just a home,
but a museum, a zoo of sorts. He's a
collector, because well, what else
would a man with all the time, but
not a friend, in the world do but
collect rare, mint condition toys? The
brothers try to strike up a deal with
Sinclair: he loans them the First
Blade and they give it back after
Abaddon is permanently sliced and
diced. Sinclair is very intrigued by
Dean bearing the Mark of Cain, what
a lovely addition to his collection. He
magics Sam away and keeps Dean
for himself.
On the plus side, Sinclair didn't hurt
Sam, he just pulled the welcome mat
out from under him. He's right back
outside with Ruby. Ruby, who
reminds Sam that he's the one that
helped Dean find Cain and take on
the Mark, the one that helped Sam
gather up the testosterone needed to
boot Gadreel out of his head.
Wait, did I say Ruby? I meant
Crowley, of course. Sam finds a spell
to get past the wards and sends
Crowley off with a grocery list.
Crowley is very proud of himself for
finding all the ingredients, but does
Sam give him a treat? A hug?
Anyway, Sam sifts through the file
trying to find a way back in, while
Dean is incapacitated by Sinclair.
Sinclair is curious to see what
happens when he hands Link the
Master Sword, so he forces the blade
on Dean. Once its in his grasp,
Dean's Mark begins to ember up and
Dean is overwhelmed by the feelings
it creates and drops it. Sinclair
assures him it'll get easier, but Dean
doesn't want to play. The quarterback
wants out and there's no second
string. Too bad, Dean. Sinclair
doesn't need you to offer up, he can
take. Mind control is easy magic.
Sam and Crowley chant their way in
and right away Sam sticks it to
Sinclair. Except, it's not Sinclair, it's
a shapeshifter. Now both brothers
are tied up. I it better when Meg had
them tied to poles. It was sexier. And
her leather jacket was the stuff of
fashion dreams.
I digress.
Sinclair begin torturing Sam and
suddenly the will-less Dean has
found the presence of mind and body
to spring into action, grab the First
Blade, and lop Sinclair's head cleanly
off his body. Only problem is now
that he's holding the blade again, the
feelings of "kill all the things" are
coursing through him. You can tell
because his lip is curling
dramatically and he looks like an 8-
week-old puppy learning to growl at
a butterfly. Thankfully, the power of
Sam's dulcet tones pulls Dean out of
his Mark-induced stupor.
First Crowley, now Dean; it's tons of
fun dealing with drug addicts, isn't it
Sam? At least you have your years of
sobriety; maybe you should be
Dean's sponsor? Or is that too
brotherly or friendly of a task?
They make their way back out and
toward the Impala, which has been
vandalized. Worst. Dean. Day. EVER.
Since she's still warded up they
weren't able to ransack the trunk, no
news on whether Dean's tapes
remained untouched. They did do a
doozy of a scratch job on the doors.
A warning for Crowley in Enochian.
Which Sam suddenly has not only
forgotten how to read, but also even
recognize. He's also forgotten that
stage whispering about killing
Crowley when Crowley is 3ft away
isn't exactly smooth.
Crowley now has found clarity in
sobriety and uses his powers to pin
the brothers to the car and float the
First Blade to himself. Yes, Sam,
Crowley has powers. Did you forget?
Crowley decides that he'll hold the
key and Sam can take care of the
lock until the time comes to fit them
back together and take on Abaddon.
Again I say: demons, so
untrustworthy.
Winchesters, as well.
But y'know what's really interesting?
Both Sam and Dean being distressed
about "his brother" on two separate
occasions in this episode
comment:
p_commentcount