First Impressions: 8x17 "Goodbye Stranger"

[raloria]

Was able to watch the East Coast feed this week along with live on the TV on West Coast time. These notes are from the 2nd West Coast viewing only.

I'm trying to give myself a break and not kill myself doing these reviews. We'll see how it goes this season.
What's here are basic reactions I typed out during the show, with a few bits and pieces put in afterwards. Hopefully it'll be brief, but still interesting.


Ooooh, I love it when we start right off with the boys...but where's Sam?
Yikes, Cas nooooooo!!!!!
Naomi and her little test simulation...getting Cas ready to actually kill Dean. o.O
Naomi: "No hesitation. Quick. Brutal. Everything's back in order. Finally. You're ready."
Holy crap! That's a lot of dead Deans. *gulp*

Dean's checking out a bunch of relics in the MOL bunker...and complaining about it as only he can. *g*
Sam starts coughing...
Dean: "Hey, Doc Holliday, you all right over there?"
Sam says he's fine of course, but he just coughed up some blood into a napkin. Not good.
Oh...Dean found some vintage Busty Asian Beauties. :P
Awwww....I love that cute smile between the brothers.
Uh oh, Dean sees the discarded bloody napkin.

The boys talk to the husband of one of the victims (Ann)....seems she'd been acting strange, building a replica of the town, digging deep holes and bringing the dirt back.
Sounds like she was possessed by a demon.
Dean: “So somebody is killing demons. Wow, that is awesome. I feel like we should send a card or flowers. What kind of flower says ‘Thanks for killing demons’?”

They next visit the house of the last person to see Ann.
This gal's been doing a whole history of the town.
Demons!!!! Time for some demon-killing action, boys. :D
The one got away with the map she showed them...damn. Another smokes out before Dean can kill it...and goes into the woman.
Castiel! He saves Sam.

Dean tosses an icepack to Sam for his shoulder, but he refuses it, saying he's fine. Yeah, right.
The boys want to know what's up with Cas, where he's been. Naomi directs him to tell them the truth....some of it anyway.
He tells them about Lucifer's crypts that Crowley is trying to find, but lies to them as well, saying he's also after a parchment that will help decipher his half of the demon tablet.
The boys then agree he's acting sketchy. "Well, he puts the 'ass' in 'Cass', huh?" And Sam wants to know then why Dean prayed to him.
Castiel (from the other room): "You know, I can hear you both. I am a celestial being." LOL

Demon interrogation time. Cas is all bad-cop...doesn't want the demon spilling any info. that Naomi doesn't want the boys to know. There's a demon that knows where all the crypts are...Crowley's been torturing her at the Murray Hotel.
Cas kills the demon before she can spill the beans...and then disappears.
The boys have to race to the motel where...dun, dun, dun....Meg is!
Meg: "Aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper?" Hee! Star Wars reference FTW!
Love that Dean brings up about her blonde hair change. Yes! Thank you Dean! Sure, enough, it was Crowley's doing. Turns out she's been giving him false info. so she could buy time to hopefully escape.
Cas manages to convince Naomi that Meg should be spared, that she can help them.
She tells the boys that Crowley is after the Angel tablet. Cas, of course, feigns any prior knowledge of this. From the looks Dean's giving the angel, he knows something's hinky.

They take Meg to the town replica...she points out where the tablet is.
Dean points out Cas's lie, but Sam can't really blame him, considering that the demon tablet will shut the gates of hell, one can imagine what the angel tablet does.

Cute scene with Cas taking care of Meg's wounds (can't he just heal her?) and them reminiscing about old times (pizza man).
Meg: “You really do know how to make a girl’s nethers quiver, don’t you?"
Cas: “I am aware of how to do that. Although it doesn’t usually involve cleaning wounds."
Meg: "Why are you so sweet on me, Clarence?"
Cas: "I don't know. And I still don't know who Clarence is."
Meg: “Would it kill you to watch a movie, read a book?"
Cas: “A movie, no. But a book, with the proper spells, yeah, it could theoretically kill me."
Heehee! They're adorable, in that awkward sort of way.
Meg: “So which Cas are you now, original make and model or crazy town?”
Cas: "I'm just me."
Meg: "So, your noodle's back in order?"
Cas: "Yeah, my...noodle remembers everything. I think it's a pretty good noodle."
Meg: "Really? You remember everything?"
Cas: “If you’re referring to the Pizza Man, yes, I remember the Pizza Man. And it’s a good memory.”
Sam finds out the crypt is in an old warehouse...of course it is. Hee! Dean said "Meg-stiel".
Meg laments that things used to be easier.
Meg: "You ever miss the Apocalypse?"
Cas: "No. Why would I miss the end of times?"
Meg: "I miss the simplicity. I was bad, you were good, life was easier. Now it’s all so messy. I’m kinda good, which sucks, and you’re kinda bad, which is actually all manner of hot. We survive this? I'm gonna order some pizza and we're gonna move some furniture around.”
It's cute how at first, Cas doesn't understand and then he gets it and is agreeing when the boys interrupt.
Ooop, time to hit the road.

The escaped demon calls in to Crowley about losing Meg (you gotta love how he says "we may have lost her" - um, she's gone, there's no may here. LOL)...and the boss shows up.
I totally knew he was going to kill this guy..."...you've lost my favorite chew toy."

Dean decides he and Cas will go inside while Sam & Meg hang outside.
When Sam complains, Dean points out he saw the bloody rag in the trash. He's done will all the deception.
Then Cas speaks up...
"Sam. You're damaged in ways even I can't heal."
Dean leaves Sam the demon-killing knife.

He then asks Cas what he meant about Sam, but Cas says something about his sub-atomic level and electromagnetic field. Nice and cryptic.
Meg questions why the boys never came and looked for her after she helped them out before. Talk to Dean, Meg. Join the club. :P
Trying to get Sam to talk about the trials Dean alluded to earlier, Meg remembers Sam from from when she possessed him...
Meg: “I spent time in that walking corpse of yours. I know your sad little thoughts and feelings. Here’s what I remember: deep down, in parts you never let see the light of day, you want to live a long normal life away from creepy old things like me.”
Sam confesses he had that last year...

Dean & Cas are in the crypt...Cas points out the box with the tablet. "It's the only thing in here warded against angels."
Dean opens it and grabs the tablet...now Cas wants it to take to heaven. Dean says they'll take it to Kevin so he can translate it....
Naomi's still pulling the strings...Cas says he can reason with Dean.
Dean asks how Castiel got out of Purgatory....knows he's been acting wrong since then. If Cas is honest with him, Dean will hand over the tablet.
Oh, no! Angel sword! No Cas!!!!!
Meanwhile, Sam's told Meg the whole Amelia story...“You fell in love with a unicorn. It was beautiful, then sad, then sadder. I laughed, I cried, I puked in my mouth a little.” Heh, yeah didn't we all? :P

Cas attacks Dean...and argues with Naomi. "I won't hurt Dean!"
Dean finally hears Naomi's name....knows somebody is controlling Cas.
Naomi claims to have fixed Castiel. Seems like she's trying to make him atone for the blood he spilled on earth and in heaven.
Cas starts beating on poor Dean. :( Totally reminiscent of Lucifer/Sam beating Dean in Swan Song.
Crowley shows up outside with Meg & Sam.
The beating continues, with Naomi egging Cas on and Dean begging for his life.
Dean: "We're family. We need you. I need you." Oh, Dean....*wibbles*
He reaches Cas finally...he drops the angel sword and lets Dean go.
Cas picks up the tablet and a bright light eminates from it. He disappears from Naomi's office.

OMG Dean whimpering and begging Cas not to kill him...when he actually healed him. Wow.
Cas apologizes to Dean.
Crowley says the sigils they've put on the building won't keep him out forever. Sam says it only needs to work long enough for Cas and Dean to get out.
Crowley: “Castiel, so that’s who’s been poking my boys, and not in the sexy way. Got a bone to pick with you Moose...after what you did to my poor dog."
Meg wants him to get on with it, but Crowley's there for the tablet, of course. Sam says that's not going to happen...
Crowley: “I love it when you get all tough. It touches me right where my bathing suit goes.”
Meg sends Sam in to save Dean and Cas then Crowley tells her what the boys didn't...that the demon tablet can kill them all. She's not too upset about it...

Dean wonders what broke the connection between Naomi and Cas. Hello? It was you, Dean.
Cas says he has to protect the tablet from Naomi...and from Dean. He then disappears. Great.
Sam runs in, worried about Dean, calling his brother's name. Awwww! Dean only tells him Cas is gone...they've gotta go.
Crowley's been beating up on Meg. They see the boys get into the car...without Cas, which means the tablet's gone.
Why didn't the boys even try to help Meg? Geez, guys... Granted, they've never been able to defeat Crowley, but they've always succeeded in at least scaring him away.
Meg makes her move and stabs Crowley, but he returns the favor, fatally stabbing her. :(
The boys take off in the Impala into the night...

Crowley meets up with Naomi in the crypt...turns out they're old friends. Sounds like they were a couple back in Mesopotamia.
Cas is out in the wind with the tablet, but Naomi puts up the front that he's doing exactly what he's supposed to, protecting the tablet....right.
Crowley's about to broker a deal when the angel disappears..."Tart stole my move." LOL

Boys in the car! Dean still doesn't trust Cas...
He's done with the lies from Sam, too. Sam apologizes..."I just wanted to believe I was okay."
He promises to be honest with Dean from here on out.
Dean: "Listen, I may not be able to carry the burden that comes along with these trials, but I can carry you."
Sam: “You realize you kinda just quoted Lord of the Rings, right?"
Dean: “Come on, man, but it’s the Rudy Hobbit, alright. Rudy Hobbit always gets a pass!"
Dean turns on the radio to "Goodbye Stranger" playing...and we then see Cas on a bus with the tablet heading to who knows where.


Awesome, awesome episode!!!! It moved quickly and efficiently and the dialog was great. Kudos to Robbie Thompson for a job well done. That's a lot of characters to deal with in only 42 min., but it never felt rushed or that we were missing anything.

Highlights:
// It's great that we continue to see the treasure trove that is the MOL Bunker. They could keep discovering things for years from the looks of the place.
// Lots of truths came out in this episode: Dean found out that Sam's hurt from the first trial, the boys learn of the Angel tablet, and that Naomi's been controlling Cas since she got him out of Purgatory.
// It's sad that we had to lose Meg after all these years. I've always appreciated her as a true survivor. She managed to scrap and claw her way through everything, from hell and back. While we probably won't see her again (tho you never say never on this show), if anyone could come back from....Purgatory? She'd be sent there, right? I bet Meg could do it.
// Poor Dean took a beating for the team yet again. Ouch! And like in Swan Song, he was able to break through to the person he cared about, to who he had a connection to. That's quite a gift. Again, show proves that it's all about family. Ironic that in both instances it was Castiel who healed Dean after the beating. And didn't Jensen just act his little heart out? OMG The groaning, the whimpering, the broken voice as he pleaded for Cas to stop. So beautiful how he makes you feel all that pain.
// So happy Sam promised to be honest with Dean about what's happening to him. I fear it's only going to get worse and rightfully, he wouldn't be able to keep it from big brother for much longer. And Dean re-affirming that he's going to carry Sam, yet again, well...more like always. Beautiful brotherly stuff. ♥

Bring on next week!!!! :D