TVSquad

(S03E06) "How do you sleep at night?"

"On silk sheets, rolling naked in money."

Week six picks up right where we left off, with Sam having dispatched the crossroads demon in his attempt to get Dean out of the deal, and Dean figuring the whole thing out. It also marked the return of the feisty new hunter/artifact dealer Bela. Together the three of them set out on another adventure that once again got the balance of the mystery, the creepy, and the comedy just right.

The job of the week actually worked out really well. I had my reservations when seeing the ghost ship in the previews, but that can probably be chalked up to calling up memories of that Ghost Ship movie. Once the Supernatural version of the story got underway though, things came around. It had a good bit of the creepy, some really funny moments, and a nice little twist at the end.

Gert, Ms. Case if your Sammy, cracked me up, while creeping me out just a little. It was a fun bit of casting, as Ellen Geer has been in a ton of different shows over the last 35 years. Sam's nervous and uncomfortable reaction to her advances came across very well, and Dean's delight in it was great fun. Sam referencing Gert as Mrs. Havisham was perfect. It was funny, but also perfectly illustrated the differences in Sam and Dean so well.

The Bela end of the job ultimately worked out for the boys, but it was surprising that they weren't more suspicious of her from the get go. Knowing what we know about her, and what they do, they should have never bought that she was there running some sort of minor con. Clearly, there had to be some bigger prize, as we eventually found with the hand of glory. Her little ploy playing off the occult value of the right hand of a hanged man wasn't very convincing. It's a lesson that they hopefully learned this time.

Speaking of the hand, I really liked everything about the heist. It kicked off nicely with Dean and his 007 introduction coming down the stairs. Jensen Ackles does clean up well. Give him another ten years and I would totally buy him as a 007. I think he and Bela have a fun chemistry. Her brashness knocks Dean off of his game just a little so you never know how he is going to react. His little protest, "Don't objectify me." was very funny.

Once the actual heist was underway, I was convinced that there was no way Sam and Dean were getting out of there with the hand, but I was curious to see how she would go about it. Maybe it was the suit that gave Dean a new level of smooth, but his grab of the hand was completely opposite of what I expected. I thought he would take a long look at the alarm system, consider defeating it, and then smash the glass and make a run for it.

Now, my only negative for the episode was how things played out for Bela after pulling the switch and selling the hand. Her seeing the ghost ship and having to return to the boys for help was a little too reminiscent of how things worked out with the rabbit's foot in "Bad Day At Black Rock." That is a minor complaint though, because it ended up being part of a bigger story when we found out just what the one handed sailor was up to. Sam's discovery that he was targeting people who had spilled the blood of family members added another level of mystery to Bela. Her evasive explanation that "You wouldn't understand. Nobody did." was very curious, and I'm guessing something that we will be revisiting soon.

Of course, just as we knew that Bela would turn on the guys, we also knew that they would go out of their way to save her when the time came, despite Dean's threats otherwise. The summoning of the brother to put an end to the ghost ship was a great way to wrap it all up, and the water effect as the two spirits collided was very cool. The aftermath, when Bela payed the boys off, as opposed to saying thank you, further added to the mystery that is Bela.

At this point, I'm on board with the character and looking forward to getting more of her story. I really like how the relationship with Dean is progressing. The two of them have good chemistry and are very funny together. However, I would guess that just how much of that story we ultimately get is dependent on what the overall fan reaction is to her. As we saw with the disappearance of Jo, nothing is set in stone.

As far as our overall story goes, we got a little more of the boys working out just where they are with each other in the whole deal saga. The two scenes in the car that bookended the episode were once again well done. Dean's reaction after having figured out what Sam had done was exactly as expected. And Sam's defiance that he's not going to apologize for trying to save his brother was very good. Their relationship continues to grow and turn in new directions.

This is much different than the Sam & Dean dynamic when they first set off on their adventure, with their roles becoming somewhat reversed. It all came together at the end when Sam spelled it all out. "Quit worrying about me. That's the whole problem in the first place. I want you to give a crap that you're dying." I thought we were in for a touchy feely Alan Alda moment right there, but then Dean got all quiet and put an end to the conversation. I guess we'll all have to stay tuned.

Speaking of that, without giving away anything for those that purposely skip previews for the next episode, I'll just say that next week looks amazing. It's something we've been waiting a very long time to see, and I can't wait.