Photo Credit: Michael Courtney/The CW
Human Cas now has a human job. He’s living in Rexford, Idaho and is an employee at the Gas-n-Sip. He takes pride in his work and he’s doing real well, impressing his female boss and everything. The one thing he can’t quite master is the slushie machine. But there’s time for that later. He and Dean have to deal with one of the fallen angels who is, unfortunately, continuing his heavenly job on earth.
Meanwhile, back at the bunker, there’s some quid pro quo action going on. Sam and Kevin want Crowley to translate some Elamite doodles Kevin garnered from the angel tablet. And Crowley, in turn, wants to make a phone call…to Abaddon.
“Heaven Can’t Wait” is a really nice episode from new Supernatural writer Robert Berens. Even though this is a case Sam and Dean aren’t working together, I liked both sides of the equation. At the bunker are Kevin and Sam having to deal with Crowley. On the road, Dean and a Cas that’s having to adapt to all that humanity entails, work a case. Of course, Cas tries to let Dean investigate alone, but he’s eventually pulled into it. Good thing that it happens after his shift at work and before he’s set to go on a date with Nora. Well, he thinks it’s a date. Poor Cas. She just wants him to babysit.
What goes down:
Ephraim, aka the Rit Zien, wants to purge all the pain that he’s sensing from the humans. So he touches their foreheads and they explode. He doesn’t realize humans go through a zillion emotions everyday. They may be feeling despair and exhibit suicidal tendencies one minute, but the next, something can happen to make them feel better. He preys on the humans at those times they are feeling their worst and he kills them. And he thinks he’s just doing his duty and is making the world a better place.
Take the teenager who gets dumped in front of the whole school. Sure she’s in pain and feeling all kinds of humiliation. And sure she says she wants to die. She doesn’t mean it. Ephraim doesn’t know that. He doesn’t know enough about humans to make that distinction. It’s such an interesting case when you think about it. I don’t know if I want to say his intentions are good because he’s not even willing to stop and try to delineate the true pain from those that are just going through something bad. But I think he thinks he’s well intentioned. To me, he just comes off looking like a brutal killer with no real empathy for his victims. Love when Dean flings the angel knife to Cas and Cas gets the honors of offing the angel who was there to take away his pain and terror.
Photo Credit: Diyah Pera/The CW
And on the Crowley front, I love his scenes with Sam and Kevin. Mark Sheppard continues to bring me joy even though he’s been stuck in that bunker WAY too long. He’s been out of the game for a while now, so a quick call to Abaddon will let him know what he’ll be dealing with if/when he makes it out of Winchester headquarters. I also like how he seems to have targeted Kevin. He likes to mess with the kid. In order to make that phone call, he wants Kevin’s blood to make it so. He’s tired of Sam’s blood. Hilarious.
Favorite Moments
-Cas babysitting. OMG. The baby is beyond adorable. I love the way Cas holds her. The “lullaby” he sings the little one is the theme song to the early ’80s series The Greatest American Hero. “Believe it or not, I’m walking on air. I never thought I would feel so free. Flyin’ away on a wing and a prayer. Who could it be? Believe it or not it’s just me.” Perfection. That song went to number two on the Billboard Top 100 chart back in 1981.
-Dean gearing Cas up for his “date.” You know, at first Dean can’t understand why Cas is living the life he’s living. Working at a gas station is above him, the Winchester says. But he, of course, comes around. And it makes a scene like this one that much sweeter. Dean takes on the brotherly role, once again. He wants Cas’ date to succeed. So he tells him to take off his vest, unbutton his shirt (but not too much) and gives him dating tips.
-Later, Dean admires the life Cas has made for himself. He’s proud of him and he’s sorry he had to throw him out of the bunker. The Jensen/Misha scenes are so good in this episode.
-The Crowley/Abaddon phone call is excellent as well. For some reason, I did not look at the credits at the beginning of the episode. So I had no idea Alaina Huffman was going to be in it. And it was good to see her. These two power players are formidable. Love how Abaddon called Crowley the “Winchesters’ bitch.” And Crowley, in turn, has a code he lives by. He thinks his more refined way works and that Abaddon’s brutal approach will backfire. I can’t wait to find out who’s right.
Random Thoughts
-I don’t know why but it makes my heart happy every time Crowley calls Sam, “Moose.” I just wish Dean had been around so he could call him “Squirrel.”
-Ephraim acknowledges that Cas is a legend to him. That he didn’t always succeed but he played big. That’s a new spin on Cas but it makes sense.
-Dean, unfortunately, doesn’t tell Cas why he really had to tell him to leave the bunker. On top of that, he also doesn’t tell Cas that the fallen angels spell that Metatron enacted, can’t be reversed. At least that’s what Crowley told Kevin and Sam. We’re assuming he’s not lying. Dean just wants Cas to be able to live a normal, safe existence. I’m seeing shades of season six when Cas didn’t turn to Dean because he didn’t want to encroach on his life with Ben and Lisa.
-I love the way Sam deals with Crowley. There have been some quality Sam/Crowley scenes the last couple of seasons.
-How did Cas settle on the name Steve? Inquiring minds want to know. And is he sleeping at the gas station? Hopefully, he’ll be able to find a home soon.
-Every time Abaddon’s around, I want to see her in a scene with Dean. Yes, I’m hooked on Abaddean. Don’t judge me.
-Dean’s alias is Agent Lee Ermey. I looked him up and he’s an actor who was a former Marine. The guy’s known for playing a lot of military roles and also cops/judges/authority-types. I’m wondering why Robert Berens chose him as an alias?
-That teen with a ‘tude Dean questioned — she was annoying.
-It’s tough to see Cas admit that he’s scared and in emotional pain.
-Love when Cas shoos Dean away from the house so he can start his “date.”
-Nora’s daughter’s name is Tanya. That’s the first name of the actress that plays Nora.
-What’s up with Crowley stealing the syringe and injecting himself? He wants to be even more human? Is there another reason? Is there a significance that it’s Kevin’s blood?
-Of course Dean gives Cas a tip on dealing with a baby who has a fever. We already know that Dean’s good with babies.
-After Cas’ encounter with Ephraim the Rit Zien, I wonder if he’s going to be wondering whether he wants to find a way to get his grace back or live as a human forever. But, for now, Cas is back at the Gas-n-Sip doing his job.
-I can’t believe it. An episode where Sam doesn’t get knocked out. There’s not even one peep from Zeke. Amazing.
-I know what episode airs next week and I know roughly what it’s about. And you couldn’t really get the sense of it from the promo that aired at the end of “Heaven Can’t Wait.” Oh well. I can’t wait to see “Bad Boys.”
Guest Star Goodness
Dark Angel Reunion: I about freaked out when I saw who was playing the sheriff/cop Dean worked with at the crime scenes. Michael Kopsa is his name and he played Robert Berrisford in Jensen’s best DA episode ever, “The Berrisford Agenda.” Can you believe it? If you’re a Jensen fan and you haven’t seen this particular Dark Angel episode, do it right now. I’ll wait. This comes after the small “TBA” reunion Jensen had with Meghan Ory a couple of seasons ago in the episode “Adventures in Babysitting.” I am surprised Kopsa didn’t get a credit at the beginning of “Heaven Can’t Wait.” To me, he’s big time. He also played the main evil Observer, Captain Windmark, on Fringe. Love this guy. So glad he was able to reunite with Jensen on Supernatural. I liked their easy chemistry. It was good to see them playing guys that got along rather than the enemies their characters were on DA.
Ashton Holmes played Ephraim. The guy is good at playing bad. On ABC’s Revenge he was Tyler Barrol, a sycophant stalker psychopath who made life hell for everyone in the Hamptons. He was pretty amazing on that show. He was also Thom in the first season of the CW’s Nikita. I was kind of crushed when his character was killed off.
What They Said: Favorite Quotes from “Heaven Can’t Wait”
Delivery Guy: “Morning, Steve.” Cas: “High…five.”
Nora: “There’s something different about you…something different.” Cas: “I can assure you there’s not.” Nora: “I know these things. You’re…you’re special.”
Sam: “That’s your big news…is that you translated the tablet into…doodles?” Kevin: “It’s cuneiform.”
Kevin: “I was able to translate the tablet and the footnotes into Elamite which is…” Dean: “Doodles.” Kevin: “It’s extinct.”
Sam: “Maybe if we can decipher the footnotes then we can reverse the spell and…” Dean: “Punt those winged dicks back to heaven. Where do we start?” Sam: “Research.”
Dean: “Zimmerman’s Encyclopedia of Extinct Languages, Volume 1 — Adai to Atakapa. How many volumes are there?” Kevin: “24 — don’t worry we’ve got them all.” Dean: “Awesome. (Dean’s phone rings) There is a God.”
Sam: “It’s barely even a case.” Dean: “That’s why I’m just gonna go have a little look-see and we’re not gonna waste a lot of manpower on a big pile of nada.” Kevin: “In other words, a perfect excuse to bail out on research.” Dean: “You got me.”
Sam: “Who? Crowley?” Dean: “I’m just saying, we’re not keeping him chained up for the one-liners.”
Dean: “So you went from fighting heavenly battles to nuking Taquitos?” Cas: “Nachos too.”
Sam: “Like it or not, there’s still a part of you that’s not a douche.” Crowley: “Sorry, Moose. To the last drop.”
Cas (to Dean): “Nora…is a very nice woman. I’m pretty sure she’s not a reaper intent on killing me.”
Dean: “Kind of bummed?” Teen: “Like more bummed than when she got a “C” on her quiz. And less bummed than when her parents split up. Kind of…bummed.”
Crowley (to Sam and Kevin): “Now, who’s gonna be a dear and open up a vein?”
Dean: “And now your buttons — why don’t you unbutton it?” Cas: “Okay.” Dean: “That’s far enough, Tony Manero.”
Dean (to Cas): “Listen to me. Always open the door for her, okay? Ask a lot of questions. They like that. And…uh…oh. If she says she’s happy to go Dutch, she’s lying. All right? Go get ‘em tiger.”
Sam: “What? What happened?” Crowley: “I’ve been placed on hold.”
Crowley (to Abaddon): “You ganky, putrescent, skanger!”
Abaddon: “No one’s seen you in weeks and last I saw you, Howdy and Doody had you tied up nice and tight. Seems to reason, they’ve turned you into a kennel dog. How does it feel, Crowley? To be the Winchesters’ bitch?”
Crowley: “You. Will. Burn.” Abaddon: “I. Can’t. Wait.”
Dean: “I’m proud of you.” Cas: “Thank you, Dean.”
Supernatural airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on the CW.