caranfindel

The “Then” reminds us that, a lot of the time, Sam doesn’t know. And there’s an angry little psycho named Cole who has a family, and his father was a monster, and Dean didn’t know what kind of monster he was. I’m sure all of this will be relevant.

We open with a woman hanging from the ceiling and this is kind of disturbing so let’s move on.

In the bunker, Sam’s researching the Mark of Cain on the internet and probably not having any luck because he keeps finding fanfics rather than useful information. Sorry about that, Sam. And he doesn’t want Dean to know what he’s researching, and you’ve got to admit, slamming the laptop shut when Dean walks up does kind of scream “I’m looking at porn.”

Dean’s found a hunt and he’s going to dig out his pencilneck suit. Sam doesn’t want to go, but he doesn’t want to admit he wants to stay in the bunker and research the MOC. Hey, you’ve got internet anywhere you go, Sammy. You can research in the car. And he does, and gets caught by Dean, who has well and truly given up on ridding himself of the Mark, and says “Truth is, there’s no way around this. We saw what happened to Cain, okay? I’m not happy about it. But I’ve gotta move on. So I’m gonna keep doing what we do while I still can, and I’d like you to be there with me.”

Sam does what I’d do in his shoes – doesn’t argue, but doesn’t accept it either.

In Fayetteville they find the local law enforcement are enjoying birthday cake and have identified the killer, Rick, a recently-returned soldier. Partly because he left his dogtags at the murder scene (rookie move there, Rick) and partly because he drank gasoline and set himself on fire. I’m sure this will be relevant later. Dean scoops a big chunk of icing off the cake \o/ and says “that’s like demon possession bonkers.” Is that more or less crazy than dingo-ate-my-baby crazy?

Rick’s wife thinks it’s PTSD, cause the guy doesn’t even kill spiders, and he kind of picked the wrong career then, didn’t he? “Rick was a kind soul. He never took more life than he had to.” Oh, who does that sound like? (Hint: He’s tall.) She points them in the direction of Rick’s brother-in-arms Kit, whose wife thinks he’s going through the same thing. The brothers chat with Kit’s wife, and when they leave his house, look who’s outside waiting for them – angry little Cole, who’s a friend of Kit’s and wants to make sure the Winchesters don’t kill him. And he decides he’s going with them. At this point, I’d kind of like Dean to say “No offense, but you kidnapped and tortured my brother, so I’d rather not.” But he doesn’t. And you know Sam’s not going to object to working with someone who did something awful to him if it will help solve a case (see: Gadreel), so off they go together. But not before having this conversation:

Hey man, we’re right there with you; Kit’s a hero.
But you gotta prepare yourself. Kit might not be Kit any more.

Hmmm. Whose situation does that sound like? (Hint: He’s tall, but not as tall.)

Kit walks into a Gas N Sip, and is Mickey going to be there? Please, Chuck, let Mickey be there. No, it’s a nice young man named Dax, who tries to stop Kit from drinking all their water without paying for it, and gets killed for his trouble. If only he’d followed Mickey’s example. Don’t attempt a field interview, Dax. Hide and stay alive. Oh, and also, Kit licks Dax’s blood off the floor. Gross.

Meanwhile, the guys stop at Sammy’s Highway Café, home of the best gourmet burger on the highway in the USA. The sign is blue (TFW) and yellow (danger?), so watch out, Sammy.

Angry little Cole gets an email from his friend in military intelligence, with convenient footage of something really bad happening to Rick and Kit on a mission. And smart Sammy set his phone to get local alerts, so he hears about the attack at the Gas N Sip. Kit’s wife calls angry little Cole with an idea about where he's hiding, and Cole figures Kit’s going to be killed if the Winchesters find him first. So the boys – after changing into civvies (Where? In the car? Did they take Cole to their hotel?) take him back to Kit's house, where he's supposedly going to hang out with Mrs. Kit, but instead he takes off in his Jeep. The Winchesters are waiting for this, and they follow him to the cabin.

Angry little Cole finds Kit, and luckily Sam and Dean are there to save him, but not before Kit infects him with something like the Khan worm (here’s an idea, Cole – shut your mouth when you see that thing heading for you). Kit expels two worms, but he must have more left in him, and he escapes. Sam leaves to find Kit while Dean stays with angry infected Cole and electrocutes him, in an attempt to kill the Khanish worm. By this time, Cole is calling them Sammy and Deano, so I’m all in favor of electrocuting his angry little ass. And Dean starts out just flippant enough to make me hope we’re going to see Grand Inquisitor Dean enjoying himself and getting revenge for angry little Cole torturing Sam. But no, so I’ll have to write that myself. Instead, they figure out that the Khanish worm wants water, so they heat the cabin up to dehydrate Cole. (And you’d expect, with all this heat, that Dean would take off at least one of his two shirts, but you’d be disappointed. I know I was.) Dean also drinks a lot of water in front of angry infected Cole, which is kind of a dick move, but the little psycho deserves it, so I’m going to let it slide.

They have this conversation:

My dad wasn’t my dad any more. If I go down that same road, I want you to do that to me too.
That road, that means giving up. If you think that’s where you’re headed then you’ve got it ass backwards. You’re going to fight harder than you ever have, you understand?

Oh, Dean. Will you ever take your own advice?

Cole sarcastically thanks Dean for the pep talk and says "Honestly all I can think about is slicing your wrist and drinking you like a fountain. I guess that makes me a monster, don’t it?" Oh, hey, that sounds kind of familiar, doesn't it? Is Dean thinking the same thing? Is he remembering when he told his brother it was all he could do not to rip his throat out? With his teeth?

Sam, meanwhile, finds Kit at his house, just about to infect his wife, and manages to subdue him. And yes, it sucks for her, but it also means she gets to have a fireside chat with Sam Winchester. So, you know. Silver lining.

But while they have the “monsters are real” conversation, Kit escapes. They cut away as Kit attacks Sam, back to the cabin where angry dehydrated Cole attacks Dean and releases a Khanish worm, which Dean manages to avoid. After Dean kills the worm, he calls Sam, who sadly tells him it's too late. For a second I thought Sam had the worm, which would have been interesting, but he just meant Kit was dead.

Back at the cabin, angry little Cole goes on his angry little way. He says he hopes he never sees them again, "no offense," and Sam should say "No offense? Why on earth would I be offended that you don't want to see me again, considering that the first time you saw me, you kidnapped and tortured me? You really think my feelings are hurt? You really don't understand that we're not the least bit interested in seeing you again?" Instead, he says "none taken." Oh, Sammy. Come here and let me hug you, you sweet little cupcake.

Sam is depressed about not being able to save Kit, and this happens:

Don’t blame yourself for Kit, man.
I can’t help it, Dean, it feels crappy. I tried, I did, I tried, I just, I couldn’t save this one.
You know, you can do everything right, and even still sometimes the guy still dies.

And here's Dean's "sometimes the guy still dies" face. Guess which guy he's thinking about. Go on, guess. (Hint: Oh, hell. You don't need a hint.)

Sam, of course, is thinking the same thing. Sadness ensues.

So, the questions:

If the Khanish worm wanted moisture, why did it drive Rick to kill himself with fire? Wouldn't it make more sense if he threw himself off a bridge into a river?

What was the point of having angry little Cole in this episode? Couldn't it have been anyone, maybe Kit's wife or another person from his squadron, who wanted to keep him alive?

Is there a way I can have a fireside chat with Sam Winchester without having my husband infected by a monster?

As always, I'm unspoiled for future episodes, including the previews. Please help me stay that way!