TVSquad

(S03E04) This week, Kripke and his pals brought us more of the same. Considering how season three is going, that is a very good thing. Once again we were treated to an interesting story that balanced very nicely with hints and reveals about the bigger picture season three plot. A little more Ruby, some welcome artillery, more questions about just who Sam is now, and the first cracks in Dean's manly outer shell.

We'll start off with a curious observation. It's not a really a knock on this episode, because I actually liked Casey and her centuries old padre partner, Gil. That being said, the thing that the story of Elizabethville first called to mind was the season premiere, "The Magnificent Seven." One of the complaints here, and around the internet, was that the episode didn't have enough time to really showcase all seven of the baddies. The "Sin City" set up would have been the perfect way to expand that story and give some screen time to a couple more of them. Not a huge deal though, because what we got instead was also very good.

A big part of that was the lovely and demonic Casey (Sasha Barrese). The fact that she was evil wasn't much of a surprise, although the way she dispatched Richie came as quite the shock. Clearly, once they showed up at the bachelorette crypt, Richie wasn't long for this world. Still, the whole head turned around backwards bit was pretty disturbing.

That did set the mood rather nicely for her next date, with Dean. I really liked how that played out because it set up very much like the situation that we have seen before. Crafty Dean was one step ahead of the demon, setting the trap and luring her into it. The twist of having the two of them stuck together in the basement, so they had to converse, was very interesting.

Once again, the big plan for Sam to be the leader of the demon army resurfaces. With this many references to that there has to be a big payoff coming our way at some point. Casey also managed to plant just a little doubt in Dean's mind with all of her talk about how she was ready to follow Sam. Of course, we do have to keep in mind what Bobby says, "Demons lie." Even keeping that in mind though, her revelation about not really having to do any real work to destroy the town, and her badgering Dean about how humans are evil too, was very well done. It all plays into fueling Dean's doubts about what they are doing.

There was another little gem in their conversation, and it was something that almost slipped by, it was such a short little moment. It was that look that Dean gave Casey after they were talking about what Hell is like, when he said that he isn't scared. It's the first crack in the boisterous and confident Dean, and could be a signal of another change in his behavior.

Of course, we can't talk Casey without getting into her sweetheart, Father Gil (Robert Curtis Brown). I have to say, the writers fooled me on that one. The fact that he was sitting at the bar drinking, despite his clever line about going to where the flock is, was a giant red flag. I had already settled on the hooker at the bar as the accomplice though. Because of that, the scene where Gil turns his back to Sam and flashed the demon eyes right before going to commercial worked very well for me.

Once we knew that, his conversation with Sam on the drive over to the love-crypt was very telling. His little hints about Sam maybe wanting to do something else, other than insurance investigation, being a good leader, etc. gave away that he knew exactly who he was dealing with. Sam's famous among the escaped demons after all. I actually could have gone for a little more Father Gil. That's a fun character.

But if the trade-off is a little Bobby/Ruby showdown... I'll make that trade all day. I thought it had to be Ruby (Katie Cassidy) as soon as we got the creepy camera spying at Bobby (Jim Beaver) through the trees. And the meeting didn't disappoint. Bobby just shooting her was perfect, and her reaction was also very good. "...world peace... and a new shirt." The fact that she is responsible for fixing the Colt also works really well. If Bobby were to just figure it out, it would leave open the question of why they were packing it around for so long without making any headway in that regard. They wouldn't have had to save that last bullet for so long.

We also got a little more Sam and Ruby. This is the one part of the story that shows the potential for a bit of the runaround. While Sam pulling the Colt on her was a new twist, they were having the same conversation again. We are only four episodes in though, so they have time. However, there is a limit out there somewhere of how many times she can say she's going to help with the deal without making with the details.

One new twist that this episode brought to light was a glimpse at the motivations behind Ruby's offer to help. If we go with Casey's theory that there is a power struggle between the demons now that they don't have Sam as their leader, it makes perfect sense for Ruby to team up with the boys. First, why not get the most famous pair of hunters out there to do your legwork. And as a bonus, if you are working with them, they are much less likely to send you back to hell.

Anyway, at the end of the day, another excellent episode. I just can't say enough good things about how they have started this season. And based only on the preview we saw for the next episode, it looks like another outstanding hour. The pessimist in me that has logged far too many hours watching TV and seen the best of shows have a stumble still expects that there is a clunker coming at some point. Just going off of these four episodes though, there are also plenty of reasons to be optimistic that it isn't going to happen.