Supernatural Episode 810
“Torn and Frayed”
Written By: Jenny Klein
Directed By: Robert Singer
Original Airdate: 16 January 2013
In This Episode...
Sam is still in Texas. Dean shows up at his motel room with apologies that Sam doesn’t want to hear. He is less mad about the Benny thing, and more mad that Dean used his feelings for Amelia against him. So Dean leaves and things are strained. Later that night, another knock at the door surprises Sam. But this isn’t Dean - it is Amelia. She needed to be sure it was really him she saw at the bar - and peeking in her window. They end up in bed together, and Amelia admits that, while Don loves her and is good to her, she cannot stop thinking about Sam. They decide to take some time, to really think about what they want, and if they are in, they will meet back at the motel in two days.
Castiel is hovering over Dean, scaring the crap out of him when he wakes from a nap in the cabin. Cas is there to find Samandrial (aka Alfie, the hot dog angel. I’m going to call him Alfie because it is easier to spell) unknowingly at Naomi’s directive. He has turned his angel radio back on, and hears Alfie’s screams as Crowley’s men are torturing him. An angel’s scream tends to cause a ripple of weird. Somehow, a man being blasted by an exploding, burning bush signaled demon activity, and the pair head to Nebraska. After visits to nine abandoned factories, they finally find one that is guarded by demons disguised as bums. Cas wants to get Sam, but Dean has a “better” idea. They find Kevin sealed up in an ancient docked cargo boat , working diligently to decode the demon tablet - and not having a good time of it. Dean wants Kevin to build some more demon TNT, but the supplies are hard to come by. Cas volunteers to go retrieve the supplies, but instead he returns with Sam - who clearly doesn’t want to be there, but his sense of duty overrules.
Meanwhile, at the factory, Viggo has been torturing Alfie. Alfie manages to push the ice pick out of his brain, which had been blocking his angel radio. When Viggo discovers this, he comes up with a contraption that allows him to screw bolts into various places on Alfie’s head, ensuring that the angel radio is totally decommissioned. As he screws it in, Alfie starts to chant. Viggo calls in a translator, and Crowley shows up (I guess no matter how evil you are, there are some tasks you just can’t delegate.) He starts twisting screws and discovers Viggo has essentially tapped into Alfie’s operating system. So he starts rooting around to see what else he can find. The only thing he translates aloud is that there is an angel tablet in addition to the demon tablet.
Sam, Dean, and Castiel head to the factory. The boys will go in and paint over four sigils that had been painted on the walls in order to block and weaken angels. They do so, killing a few demons as they go. The last sigil has been painted over, and Cas zaps in. Unfortunately he is still weak, so the boys have to break down the door to get to Alfie. Cas is of no help anyway, because Alfie’s screams are unlocking buried memories within Castiel, and he is a quivering mess huddled in a corner. He seems to be flashing back in terror at Naomi installing something in his eye. While the Winchesters fight random demons (Crowley is long gone by now), Castiel gets Alfie outside. Viggo offers his services to Dean, telling him that he knows things that they will need. Dean kills him anyway.
Outside, Castiel is with Alfie, and cuts between him there, with Alfie telling Cas that “they are controlling us” and Cas being spoken to / yelled at by Naomi, who urges Castiel to kill Alfie. He does, and is shaken by what he has done. Naomi tries to explain that Alfie was a traitor; that Crowley got too much info out of him; and tell the Winchesters that he was compromised and Castiel had to kill him in self defense. He tells them, with an oddly flat expression, then blinks away.
Dean is prepared to let Sam go back to Texas to live a happy, peaceful life with Amelia, but Sam decides he needs to stay with Dean. Maybe he was worried that if he went back, Amelia wouldn’t be there. Joke’s on him - Amelia came back to the hotel, and was devastated to find Dean not there. Similarly, Dean called Benny and “broke up” with him. It seems pretty clear that Benny is going to return to killing in the next few episodes.
Dig It or Bury It?
Meh. It was fairly engaging while it was on, but forgettable once it was over. The story didn’t feel well formed; it was like there were all these little loose ends that needed to be knit together before the story could really continue.
Prophecies?
LARPing. Renaissance faire. Felicia Day. Best episode of the season? Probably.