Interestingly, I wasn't spoiled for the Nick reveal but I actually thought they telegraphed it anyway within the episode so I knew it was going to be him the minute we saw his back view. My initial thought was - oh blimey, i know a bunch of fangirls who are going to be so pissed about this! And my second reaction was an eye roll at what I thought was a blatant plot device to show us, the audience, how they were going to get Dean back without liquifying his brain, Raphael-style. Then Jared played Sam's fear and trepidation and gentleness so damned well, I ceased to care about the writers' reasons - and then I read Kalliel's review and loved her interpretation so much I'm now reconciled. Though I'd be very happy if they do now forget Nick exists and leave it at that - as I really think there are so many LOL-canon issues with having him there at all, it's going to niggle at me.

I think Jensen is doing a pretty good job with Michael, because I've never been less interested in having him on my screen in my life. Michael is no Dean. There's not much charisma there - though the menace is simmering. I was thrown somewhat by his stock question being essentially the same as Lucifer's in the Tom Ellis series, but done less well and for a purpose too mysterious for my little brain. Maybe we'll get more on this strangely understated action of Michael next week. Because he'd managed to devastate that other world quite thoroughly and so far in however many weeks that have passed he's done very little to disturb this world at all.