TV Verdict

The first episode, post-brotherly-rift, and it’s a doozy of revelations and CGI lightning. Following their split, the brothers have embarked on separate life paths: Dean continues to do the hunting-things-and-stabbing-them-in-the-face bit and Sam has taken on an alias and started working as a busboy in a jerkwater town.

Meanwhile, Castiel is still determined to track down the Big Man Himself, God, and enlists Dean to help. His plan: to trap the archangel that snuffed him last season and squeeze him for info. Dean is reluctant at first, but can’t say no to Castiel’s puppy dog eyes, so they go off on a crrrrrrrazy misadventure that includes strippers and ancient plot device oil from Jerusalem.

They end up trapping the angel, who tells the duo that God is dead and Heaven is bored and a Paradise o’ suffering is primed and ready to be unrolled. Castiel doesn’t take the news well, though Dean, of all people, bucks up his spirits by telling him to look into his heart and if he thinks God is out there, then go get Him.

Sam, on the other hand, is doing all he can to ignore what lies within. As he’s busy suppressing his identity, a group of hunters show up to clean out some demons. They return post-slaughter, pissed and down one, and confront Sam about his demon-blood addiction, forcing him to drink some of the red stuff in hopes he goes berserk and kills bad guys.

Following the mandatory barroom brawl, Sam starts hallucinating, seeing his dead girlfriend, until Lucifer reveals himself as the source of the visions. Then he drops the megaton: Sam is Lucifer’s true vessel, and whether he likes it or not, Satan’s coming home.

Another great installment. Yes, there are plot devices galore, but the season arc is starting to shake out into something truly memorable. The Sam and Dean split might irritate some fans, but the structure is paying dividends: a) the actors are able to pace themselves and b) Jensen Ackles and Misha Collins are awesome together.

Can not wait for more, especially more Lucifer, whose interaction with Sam at the end of the show was dynamite TV.