And, wow, seeing Samantha Smith play Eve really showcased how bland and awful Julia Maxwell is.

Amen to that. It was nice to see the character played for at least part of an episode by someone with the acting chops to make her menacing. (Note to producers: ALWAYS select for charisma and talent over demographic appeal when casting your major villains. If the network has given you a quota for CW style ingenues there's always the monster chow in the teasers who just have to be able to scream convincingly.)

Mother of All's death scene was kind of anticimactic for such a supposedly major player. Which bothered me until the final scene, which wouldn't have worked so well if she'd left a smoking crater where the diner used to be. But I wish she'd at least merited a lightshow in the sky like in "Sympathy for the Devil."

Wait: does this also cast Cas' stance toward ensouling Soulless!Sam in a different light? Either because the boys were hunting down Crowley, or because Sam's soul being in Hell meant it was safe from him [Cas]???

New thought on the nature of souls wrt the reveal about Cas' demonic alliance: they are like an angel's grace, an angel can lose the grace, be transformed into a new being, but still essentially the same being. Just how they interact with the cosmos is different. Except for Sam becoming an American Psycho in his soul's absence, that is. And how a soul being sold dictates where a human goes when they die. Eh, no, it's a mess of poo.

I'm a little hand wavey about the whole thing. I'm in too much pain to think straight and I really have to get to bed, but I enjoyed it. Not just the blatant hysterical fanservice, but the great Dean moments, as he goes balls to the wall for the family dynamic (even though he was wrong), and is completely insane in drinking the ashes and tempting Eve into biting him (jesus, martyr much).

The bitching with Cas was magical. Bobby's authority was amazing. Sam didn't have so much to do, but I liked watching him do it too.

I think angels torturing is interesting, given where Dean learnt what he did, and makes me wonder about the Croatverse a bit.

Crowley! I love that Dean was not going there, but, dude, Cas told you regrettable. He just...neglected to be clear about scope of actually LYING TO YOUR FACES.

I can't wait for the Cas-centric episode next week. And it looks like we get Raphael flashbacks.

Okay, done for now.

Who do people think is going to be the Big Bad of the season--Crowley or Castiel?

Noooo! Raphael is the Big Bad!

I think it's going to be a deep shade of gray all around. Part of the season's theme seems to be that nothing is exactly what it looks like, so I'm guessing Crowley is probably a little more good than we expected (or helpful), and Cas is leaning towards a little more regrettable, if not precisely bad.

A whole "ends justifying the means" and "road to hell" thing, where it's not as simple as black and white.

I think it's going to be a deep shade of gray all around.

yesh.

A whole "ends justifying the means" and "road to hell" thing, where it's not as simple as black and white.

It's weird to see him back there, back to him on a park bench denying that he's a hammer and Dean fighting for the individual's, screw the big picture. Except now Cas isn't someone else's hammer, he's forged himself into one out of necessity.

I love that Cas spent the whole ep covered in blood. Out out, damned spot!

Has Dean bonded enough with Castiel that he will be able to forgive him the shades of gray?

He did forgive Sam, but that's Sam, so it's a whole different story.

I don't think that Cas will be the big bad in a sense that he will need to be fought and vanquished.

In the end, he's fighting to save lives, so I think it's a matter of him doing it the wrong way, rather than having the wrong motivation.

I don't expect (and kinda don't want) Crowley to be better that he seems. I like liking charismatic evil characters. Fic whitewashes him enough.

Has Dean bonded enough with Castiel that he will be able to forgive him the shades of gray?

I think the writers will probably have him forgiven, unless Misha is being written out. It's not just about the bond, it's also about the motivation, IMO.

As for forgiving Sam, one of Sam's transgressions was choosing Ruby over him. I think that was a large part of what he needed to be forgiven for, so it makes the comparisons moot.

Has Dean bonded enough with Castiel that he will be able to forgive him the shades of gray?

Are you kidding? CAS LIVES IN HIS ASS.