About: Supernatural "The Man Who Would Be King"

"You know the difference between you and me? I know what I am. What are you Castiel? What are you willing to do?"

Crowley really said it all right there. And it's a good question, one that I'm not sure Castiel is ready to answer. He leads us through his side of the story beautifully though; starting with some of his "childhood" memories, leading us to the moment he took possession of his vessel and recalling the time "two boys, an old drunk and a fallen angel" stopped Armageddon. All of these moments describe the Cas we know. The angel who sees the difference between right and wrong and chose free will when he saw wrong being done in the name of God. This is the Cas we've known and loved. It's when this new-found confidence turned to arrogance that Castiel began to lose his way. 

It's not that I disagree with his decision to stop Raphael from re-starting the Apocalypse. In fact, it's right in line with the Cas we know. Raphael was calling the shots and planned to play it off as God's will knowing that the other angels would just follow his lead. It's clear that Cas couldn't stand idly by knowing what he knew. And this is where I begin to feel bad for him. Clearly he's wasn't strong enough to fight Raphael on his own, and the other angels didn't seem to grasp the concept of choice. I felt worse when he realized  he couldn't ask Dean to sacrifice any more than he already had. And he clearly couldn't go to Sam for help. He was on his own.

Speaking of Sam, I have a few questions. How is it that Castiel raised Sam from perdition without his soul? I had been wondering before this episode whether Castiel purposely left Sam's soul behind. I don't think that is the case but then how did he overlook something like that? Probably that pesky arrogance again. But  why would Castiel not go to Dean and let him know that Sam was alive? He had to know how heavily it was weighing on Dean's heart to think that his brother was still suffering in Hell. Sure, Cas knew that something was off about Sam but it didn't bother him enough to really investigate. He was more preoccupied with Raphael and the Apocalypse: Part 2. And maybe he had every right to be? That's the thing about this episode. It's easy to point out all the bad choices that Castiel made but it's hard to deny the seemingly good intentions behind those choices.

These good intentions are what paved the road to Crowley. Crowley obviously knew that Castiel was in a tight spot with no one to turn to. In other words, he was desperate. And a desperate man, or angel in this case, can be easily swayed with a bit of logic and heavy dose of swagger. And Crowley laid it on thick. Castiel really didn't stand a chance against Crowley's persuasion. Heck, I found myself thinking that he made a pretty good argument. I mean, who would you rather have running Hell? Lucifer? Or Crowley "the devil you know"? And offering Castiel a little advance on the souls was just the cherry on top. How could he refuse? Well, as it turns out making deals with devils is not a good idea. Imagine that...

But what's worse than the deal itself is the secrecy. Sam and Dean have already lost so much and secrecy has tested their relationship more than once. Castiel was there, he should know what it looks like. So how is he still so convinced that what he's doing is right? As usual, Dean said it best when he confronted Castiel:

Castiel: "You don't understand, it's complicated."

Dean: "No, actually it's not. And you know that. Why else would you keep this whole thing a secret unless you knew it was wrong? When crap like this comes around, we deal with it like we always do. What we don't do, is we don't go out an make another deal with the devil!"

Castiel: "It sounds so simple when you say it like that. Where were you when I needed to hear it?"

Dean: "I was there. Where were you?"

This whole conversation was hauntingly reminiscent of season four conversations between Sam and Dean. And the two of them are only now getting back to a good place. And now Dean is confronted with this same betrayal and secrecy from a man he defended against his better judgment. Sure, Sam and Bobby feel hurt and betrayed as well, but not on the same level that Dean felt it. Castiel even admitted that he and Dean "share a profound bond". It may have been a punchline at the time but that doesn't make it any less true. Castiel literally raised Dean from the dead and has saved him more times than I can count. But more than that, he was there when Dean thought he had lost Sam forever. And when Sam came back from Hell incomplete Castiel's presence was a comfort and a firm foundation for Dean. (Granted, he was also the cause of the problem in the first place.) 

But this shattered trust didn't stop Dean from offering Castiel a second chance. This was probably the most heartbreaking moment of the episode. Dean finally sees the web of lies that Castiel has weaved throughout the past months and he's still willing to put it behind them. "Damn it Cas, we can fix this!" But Castiel can't see beyond his clouded judgment; "Dean it's not broken". How did Castiel convince himself that he was making these choices to protect Sam and Dean? If anything, leaving them in the dark is leaving them vulnerable. He has to know that Crowley isn't planning to hold up his end of the deal. At least, that's what I'd guess. And he also happens to hate the Winchesters so when the time comes for Crowley to turn the tables, who's going to die first?

When Castiel came to confront Dean there was a mix of emotions. It's obvious that Castiel has made poor choices but I found myself hoping that he could explain them to Dean the way he explained them to us. Maybe then Dean would understand Castiel's intentions. Maybe then he would understand that Castiel never set out to hurt him, but to protect him.  And maybe then Dean would be able to reason with him and show him the way like he's done so many times before. But that is not what happened. Dean did open up to Cas in a very real way. He called him family; he called him a brother which is saying a lot because we know just how much he loves Sam. And then, Cas shut down. I'm not sure why it happened. He could have easily returned the sentiment. We know he feels the same way about Dean but for whatever reason he chose to challenge him instead.

"You're just a man. I'm an angel."

Talk about heat breaking. Just a man? As the words left his mouth I thought I saw a little regret in his eyes. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking. Either way Dean is anything but just a man to Castiel. He has taught Castiel about freedom and choice. He has taught him what it means to really believe in your decisions and to live with purpose. Castiel has sacrificed everything for these new found values and has sacrificed everything for Dean and Sam. They were harsh words and I hope Castiel finds a way to take them back.

I am very curious, as I'm sure you all are, about the season finale. For the first time Sam and Dean will be hunting a monster I don't want them to kill. And I sincerely hope they don't have to. I have been wondering for a while now if we might see God this season. I still think it's entirely possible. The entire episode was a prayer for guidance to a God that Castiel still very much believes in. So it doesn's seem out of the question that his prayer would be answered. I also wonder what will happen if Crowley is killed. I suppose a new king of Hell will be appointed. Is it strange to say that I would miss him if he was killed? If we have to have a king of Hell, I'd like it to be Crowley. There is something so charming about him. So what do you guys think about Cas going darkside? Any thought about the finale? I'd love to hear them!

I had a few other random observations and quotes that I wanted to mention...

*First of all, I wanted to send some serious kudos to Ben Edlund for this script. He is just amazing. It really goes without saying.

*I loved the decision for Castiel to break the fourth wall as if he wanted the chance to explain himself to us. I thought it was very effective and it was a much needed explanation.

*I really liked the still frames that were used throughout the episode. Castiel exploding was especially interesting. Not typical Supernatural fashion, but I think it worked.

*I was shocked to see that Castiel had the ability to spy on Sam, Dean and Bobby undetected. I wonder how often he's done that. Clearly he's not good at keeping his spying a secret. It took no time at all for Dean to realize where Castiel picked up the Superman reference.

*So Crowley was the one that decided to raise Samuel when Castiel refused to involve Dean. So does that mean that Samuel was in Hell when all this time we thought he was in Heaven?

*Ellsworth, Bobby's demon counterpart, was a much needed laugh. He had the hat, the flannel and even two Sam and Dean-esque partners. It's kind of a shame Castiel killed him. It would have been interesting to learn more about him.

There were a few other funny moments worth mentioning.

*Cas: You're joking.
Raphael: Do I look like I'm joking?
Castiel: You never look like you're joking.

*Castiel: "Freedom is a length of rope. God wants you to hang yourself with it." (This is more dark humor than ha ha funny, but still worth mentioning)

*Crowley: "I wanted to help you, help me, help ourselves."
Castiel: "Speak plain."

*Castiel: "I'm an angel, you ass."

*Crowley: "You've got what they call sex appeal."
Castiel: "Thank you. Get to the point."

Supernatural Season 6 Speculation

We're winding down to the end of season 6 and my mind is reeling. There are still so many things I'm confused about and some loose ends that need tightening. So I thought I'd take a minute to lay it all out there. Here is what I know, what I think I know (may be one in the same) and what I have no freaking clue about! Feel free to speculate right along with me. But please keep the comment section spoiler-free. I have been avoiding spoilers like the plague and I really want these last few episodes to remain a mystery!

This season is all about souls, so let's start with that motherload-of-a-topic first.  

Here's what we know about souls:

• Souls = Power = Fuel for the war machine
• Everybody wants them; Heaven, Hell and Purgatory.
• Sam lost his soul and Death was able to get it back inside him. 
• At the beginning of season 6, at least one Angel (Balthazar) began exchanging Heaven's weapons for ownership of their soul. We were told that this is unusual angel behavior.

Here's what I think we know:

• Castiel is doing very bad things to collect these souls; putting innocent people in danger. Perhaps he learned a little something from Balthazar?
• It doesn't seem to matter what "team" the soul's owner is on. Even monster's souls can be collected by Angels and used as fuel.

Here's what we don't know:

• How is this power/fuel extracted from the soul's owner? Can it be done without their knowledge?
• Does the person/monster/whoever generally die when their soul is collected? We saw Cas touch Bobby's soul for strength and he warned Bobby just how dangerous even that would be.
• Can soul's be taken if the person/monster/whatever is dead already? Or does their soul automatically go to whatever "team" they were on? i.e. When good, human, non-demon, non-monster's die, does their soul automatically go to Heaven?

Who pulled Sam up from Hell and Samuel down from Heaven?

Here's what we know:

• Angels have the power to retrieve someone from Hell so I would assume the same goes for Heaven. 
• Castiel and Crowley are working together (more on that later) and Crowley is King of Hell so there's some obvious power that goes along with that. 

Here's what I think I know:

• Samuel was in Heaven, right? What kind of a world is it where someone like Sam goes to Hell while someone like Samuel is living it up in Heaven?!
• Samuel was willing to work for Crowley because he promised to bring Mary back to life. 
• Whoever brought Sam back from Hell left a piece behind.
• Sam also came back without a hand print like the one Dean had which leads me to believe it was Crowley who released him.

Here's what we don't know:

• Did Samuel know who brought him back from Heaven? If so, was he given a choice or just yanked back down to Earth?
• Whoever saved Sam from Hell brought him back without a crucial piece, perhaps on purpose? Did Crowley intend to keep Sam's soul for his own war machine? Was Cas in on that decision?

 

Castiel and Crowley are working together.

Here's what we know:

• That they are, in fact, working together. 
• That it's been going on for a while. "How many times am I going to have to clean up your messes?"
• Sam and Dean are not going to be happy about this, especially Dean. 
• Crowley wants Castiel to kill Sam and Dean. 

Here's what I think I know:

• Castiel is not the angel we once knew. Something has changed him. Maybe the war? Maybe this partnership?
• Crowley is still a bad guy; There has been no change of heart. He is clearly getting something out of this partnership. 
• Castiel can't kill Sam and Dean and he won't let Crowley do it either. No matter how lost Castiel seems to be, Sam and Dean are his favorite "hairless apes".  Wishful thinking? Maybe.

Here's what we don't know:

• What is the arrangement between these two. They certainly aren't fighting for the same team and I doubt that they can share the souls they collect, so there must be some way that this arrangement is benefiting them both equally.
• How long has this been going on? Thinking back through the season I can't find a difinitive moment where I think Castiel began to lie. Did he know he wasn't killing Crowley when he burned what we thought was Crowley's bones? Did their partnership start even before that?
• Why would Castiel and Crowley poke the beast (Eve) by harvesting the souls of her "children"? Don't they have enough enemies as it is?
• What would killing Sam and Dean accomplish? They would be up against and angel and the King of Hell. I would think they'd be a little outnumbered. 
• If all goes well and Cas finds his way out of this, will the Winchesters ever be able to put this betrayal behind them?

The Mother of All

Here's what we know:

• Eve is the mother of all monsters and until recently resided in Purgatory.
• She is burned by the ashes of a Phoenix. 
• She is concerned with natural order and only began her "beta testing" after her children were threatened by Crowley and possibly probably Castiel.
• She's really not all that scary or intimidating. (I guess that's more of a personal fact)

Here's what I think I know:

• She's not dead. The lore said the ashes would burn the mother, they said nothing about killing her. That was entirely too easy of a kill and leads me to believe it was a quick way to change her vessel. (The actress playing Eve was just not very good. )
• I have a feeling she'll be back in the mix. I'm not sure how I feel about that yet. I think it depends on the new actress they choose to play her. Samantha Smith was awesome in this last episode and took the overall under-developed character to a new level.

Here's what we don't know:

• We don't know for sure that Eve will be back, but if she does make another appearance, what will her role be? Will it be this season or will she be next season's big bad?

Great Wall of Sam

Here's what we know:

• Sam's wall has already begun to crack and he seems to be remembering more and more from his soulless year. 
• Sam could die if the wall crumbles completely.

Here's what I think I know:

• Something is going to happen to the Great Wall of Sam before the season is over. I don't know if it will fall down for good, or if he'll experience another crack like he had in "Unforgiven". Again, this storyline could very well extend into season 7.
• I've been thinking that maybe Sam will recall something about Cas and Crowley's partnership? Of course this is pure speculation. Castiel was so opposed to the idea of Sam getting his soul back. At the time, I thought it was out of pure concern for his health and safety, but now I'm not so sure that was his only motivation. Sam also seemed to recall something about Castiel at the end of "Mommy Dearest" but he never really voiced it. I'll be interested to see what that was.

Here's what we don't know:

• If Sam's wall does crumble, will he able to withstand whatever flood of memories he has? 
• Did Sam have a role in the Castiel and Crowley partnership while he was soulless? If so, will that memory come back to him before the end of the season?
• Will we see Death again? He seems so closely tied to this storyline, I'd think if something happened to Sam, Dean would summon Death immediately.

Thanks for letting me organize my thoughts! There really is a LOT going on this season and sometimes it's nice to take a step back and look at the big picture. Now I want to hear what you think. Did I miss any plot points of importance? Are there any holes in my theories? Feel free to point them out in a spoiler-free fashion! Can you tell that I really like the element of surprise? 

About: Supernatural "Mommy Dearest"

Everything is starting to come together. All the side plots are intermingling and stacking up against the Winchesters. It's all about the souls. I think we had that figured out by now, but it was nice to have it confirmed once and for all. Angels want souls for power, especially in their civil war. Demons want souls for power over angels and Purgatory. Big mama wanted souls for power over angels and to put Hell and Crowley back in their places. So we've got ourselves quite the circle of power hungry destruction. What doesn't quite add up for me is how this equation resulted in Crowley and Cas working together. What kind of an arrangement could they possibly have that would benefit both of them? Or does Cas have some power over Crowley that we don't know about? He did call Crowley in to "clean up his mess" for him, and it wasn't the first time.

I should mention that I was ecstatic to see Crowley again. He is of course, an all around terrible person. Still I can't help but enjoy his character. Mark Sheppard has amazing chemistry with the cast and I was so upset to see him killed off when his character still had so much potential as an enemy. But he's back and more interesting than ever. The obvious question arises though, how is he not dead? We saw Cas burn his bones, right? I wonder if it works like salting and burning a ghost's bones; if you miss a hand or a lock of hair it doesn't work. Perhaps Cas kept back a small bone or two to use as leverage and now he has Crowley working for him? That just seems so un-Cas-like. But he has definitely not been himself lately. He's so cold and calculated, talking about things like the "greater good". I shudder to think what he did in that interrogation room that left him with blood soaked hands. And for how quickly he got the information he needed I'd say he's been practicing. It wasn't too long ago that he came to Dean for his interrogation expertise against Alistair. But it looks like he's learned a thing or two since then.

As quickly as she came into our lives, she's gone. Mommy dearest certainly didn't make it very long. I can't say I'm all that disappointed to see her go. As far as Big Bad's go she wasn't all that interesting. But she also wasn't all that developed. I think there was potential there, but I don't think the writers ever intended for her to stick around very long. She acted as a more of a catalyst to the story than anything else. But for how powerful she was, it was a little too simple to take her down. Sure, the boys had to travel back to Frontierland to get the ashes of a phoenix but they weren't even sure that would work. In my opinion, they marched in there half-cocked and got lucky. In the past, when they have gone up against something as powerful as Mommy Dearest they have tried and failed and narrowly escaped at least once before succeeding. There is always an unforeseen trick up the enemy's sleeve, but not in this case. Even if they weren't planning to keep the Mother of All around for long, it would have been nice to have one of those narrow escape encounters before the big kill. Am I the only one who felt that way?

Even though Eve's dead, we've potentially got a bunch of Jefferson Starship's running around undetectable to other hunters. I wonder if there are other creature hybrids out there from her earlier "beta testing"? I guess we'll find out soon enough. Her plan wasn't a bad one, though. It's not like there's a hunter's newsletter to spread the word about a new undetectable monster. It would eventually spread through word of mouth, but not before many more people had been turned. Hopefully, killing her has nipped that plan in the bud. But again, we'll have to wait and see.

If you haven't seen the promo for next week feel free to skip this paragraph but I just have to ask a question. From the looks of it, Cas doesn't like what he's become and we see him calling out to God for help. Do you think God will answer him? For a while now we've been hearing that God is gone or that he just doesn't care but he saved Cas once before, didn't he? So I think he's still there somewhere and he still cares. I just wonder if he'll show himself to stop Castiel from doing what he's doing? Any thoughts on that?

There are of course a few other things I'd like to mention.

*When did Sam get an iPad?

*I loved that moment in the car with Joe and Ryan in the back seat and Dean and Sam in the front seat. There was something unspoken and touching about all that brotherly love. (Granted Ryan turned out to be a Jefferson Starship) It made me happy that Sam and Dean are in such a stable place in their relationship.

*I found it interesting that Sam and Bobby were quick to doubt Cas while Dean defended him. Maybe it's the "special bond" that they share? Either way, it's going to be hard to see that trust broken.

And now on to the funny stuff.

*Dean: "Why do I always gotta make the call, huh? It's not like Cas lives in my ass, the dude's busy.
Castiel appears
Dean: "Cas, get out my ass!"
Cas: "I was never in your..."

*Dean "Now it just looks like you're pooping"

*Dean: "Well that's great, because without your power you're basically just a baby in a trench coat"

*Cas: "I have a, uh, painful burning sensation"

*Cas: "Pardon me for highlighting their crippling and dangerous empathetic response with 'sarcasm'" Love those quotey fingers.

*Eve: "And you, wondering why so flacid?"

About: Supernatural "Frontierland"

Every season Supernatural has a handful of episodes so outside the box that the promos have me worrying that they're jumping the proverbial shark. This season alone we've had Clap Your Hands if You Believe , The French Mistake and now Frontierland. But when Supernatural decides to go outside the box, it's rarely a swing and a miss. Needless to say I was very happy with Frontierland. In fact, I've decided that cowboy hats need to come back in fashion. It really is a good look.


But as great as the hats were, they were just one of the many highlights of Frontierland. We got to meet Samuel Colt in the flesh only to find that he, like most hunters, feels burdened by the job. I couldn't help but notice what a disappointment this was for Sam. At the time I was actually a little surprised that he didn't give Colt a grander speech about his responsibility as a hunter. But in thinking more about it I realized that Sam has seen and felt the burden of this responsibility first hand. Even though he tried to tell Colt that there is no getting out I doubt he really blamed him for trying. I wonder if Sam will ever tell Dean about Colt's attempt to "retire"? Somewhere inside I still think Dean holds on to the dream that hunting and happiness can go hand in hand even if it hasn't worked for him yet. And since Colt is something of a superhero to Dean, his unhappiness has the potential to crush that dream.

 It's been a while since we've heard anything about the Mother of All. I was starting to wonder why they even bothered with her storyline. We already have so much going on this season, what with Sam getting de-souled and re-souled, Grandpa Samuel rising from the dead and dying again and all that purgatory business not to mention whatever Cas has going on in Heaven.  There really hasn't been much time devoted to the MOA story line. And I can't say we learned much more about her in Frontierland other than the fact that the ashes of a phoenix are her equivalent of kryptonite. I wonder how much damage the bottle of ashes Colt sent will do? i find it hard to believe that that bottle of ashes will be all they'll need to fight her but the way the episode ended left us with the impression that they're planning to go after her.I'll be curious to hear they're plan.

My fears were confirmed. It seems that Cas has a dirty little secret. We don't yet know what it is, but whatever he's hiding is bad enough that he was almost killed for it. It has to be something to do with how he's acquiring souls, right? I mean, this whole season has revolved around souls; their power, their worth, their influence. And it has been made fairly clear that souls are what Castiel requires to win this war. He un-sunk the Titanic to acquire a few more. Maybe he's been sneaking around, un-doing other disasters and acquiring souls? Is it possible that that's it? That's the reason Rachel tried to kill him? I think that's a little bit of wishful thinking on my part. Cas is obviously hiding something much bigger and I wonder how inadvertently involved the Winchesters have been. They are in no position to lose another ally and it would be heartbreaking if Cas betrayed them in any way.

I mentioned last week that I was wondering what kind of power was gained from the acquisition of souls. I think we know for sure now that souls equal physical power. Just touching Bobby's gave Castiel the juice to drag Sam and Dean back to the present. Physical power is a good thing to have, especially when you're fighting a war and it would explain why Castiel is so desperately seeking more souls as the war drags on. But we also learned just how dangerous it is to touch the human soul. This makes me worry more about what Castiel seems to be hiding. Is he putting innocent lives in danger for what he sees as the greater good?

There were so many things that Frontierland did right. It would be easy to take these seemingly light-hearted episodes and create what is nothing more than a fun hour of TV, but that would do nothing to propel the story forward. Instead, Supernatural took a quirky concept and used it as a means to advance the plot and set up the groundwork for the remainder of the season. And in true Supernatural fashion, they achieved this feat with no lack of humor. So I would be remiss to talk about this episode without mentioning as many funny moments and I can remember. I'm sure I'll miss some, but I know you guys will help me remember them!

*First of all, the title card. Genius. I think I've seen every episode of Bonanza there is and I loved the shout out to that classic.

*Dean: "We'll Star Trek IV this bitch." Is it sad that I knew that reference before Dean explained it?

* Cas: "Is it customary to wear a blanket?"

*Marshall Clint Eastwood and Walker Texas Ranger. Hilarious.

*Sam riding a horse was almost painful to watch.

*Dean: "I'm a posse magnet. I mean, I love posse. I'm gonna make that a t-shirt."

*I loved that Colt referred to Sam as "a giant from the future with some magic brick".

*Finch: "So you're a hunter?"
 Dean: "Slash Sheriff"

*Bobby's shout out to Deadwood was great. I was actually wondering if that was going to come up.

*Dean: "Yippe ki-yay mother f..." That's a little Die Hard shout out for those of you who didn't catch it. I'm not much of a fan, but I definitely laughed at Dean saying it.

About: Modern Family "Someone to Watch over Lily"

Parenting is hard. Not that I have any personal experience on the matter, but from what I've seen it's no picnic. Perhaps the only thing harder than parenting is finding someone capable of taking over for you if need be. That sounds like one big, messy, awkward situation waiting to happen. And the perfect formula for a comedy. 

For Cam and Mitchell, the options aren't exactly endless. They could choose Claire and Phil, but the scene they walked in on looked like something out of a WWII movie. I loved watching them replace Luke's juggling knives with juggling fruit. Or they could choose Jay and Gloria. Jay is cranky and pushy and Gloria just might kill both of them for the chance to be Lily's mom. "Lily, when something horrible happens you're going to be all mine!" And with a track record like Gloria's I wouldn't put it past her. I believe we all remember the rat shovel.

Oh Claire, why do you think you can control every single thing? I'll be the first to admit that Phil and Luke share a certain quality that some people everyone may find annoying. But there are so many great things that come as a direct result of that one "flaw". That's something that I think Claire came to realize in the end. I loved Claire and Phil's fight in the parking garage. "Ok, ok. The adults are the big ones, right?". But in true Phil fashion, his speech saved the day. "You know why else he's [Luke] going to be ok? Because somewhere out there is a worried little girl making lists and labeling bins and he's gonna find her." I've said this before, but I love the way emotional scenes are handled in Modern Family. It's never over the top. I never find myself  thinking "No one would EVER say that" like I do in so many other shows.

Speaking of great speeches, I have to give some props to Jay. (Do people still say "give props"?) He knew exactly what NOT to say to Manny and it made all the difference. Manny's fear is one that most people can relate to. Who hasn't at one point or another been uncomfortable in a shower or locker room situation? And who hasn't heard the same tired speech about facing your insecurities with confidence? It's a regular sit-com staple. But in this case, Jay took the ever-effective reversed psychology route. In the end though, if Manny had decided against going, I have every confidence that Jay would have kept his word without a fuss. It's easy to forget what a good father Jay is until he surprises you with these moments of compassion. Good stuff.

And if this episode wasn't already heart-warming enough we've also got Alex and Haley bonding over some good old fashion breaking and entering with a side of vandalism. Now how is it that kids are always able to break into their high schools in these shows? I seem to remember the doors to my high school being chained up at night. Yes, with actual chains. There was no getting in there after hours, and certainly no getting out since all the hallways were gated. So forgive me if I find that part a little unbelievable. Luckily, it didn't take anything away from the bonding. I still found that believable.

As usual, there are some great lines I have to mention

* Cam: "Wait, wait. I think I hear future Lily sending us a message from her stripper pole. Thanks gay dead dads, this dance is for you"

*Luke: "She's like the best doctor ever. A couple of puzzles, no shots and I didn't even have to take my pants off. I found that one out a little late."

*Luke: "One time she gave me a woody. She remembered he's my favorite character from Toy Story."

*Cam: "You know I love Jay, and they're still in the mix but I just don't know about him raising a child.
Mitchell: "Well Cam, he raised me."
Cam: "Well, now you've put me in an awkward position."

About: Traffic Light "Bonebag"

Bonebag. Elegant wordplay indeed. You see it's a combination of two words. Bonehead + douchebag = Bonebag. Get it? As simple as it is, I think it's a keeper. So if you took anything from this week's Traffic Light, take that little nugget right there. Bonebag.

But there were a lot of other great aspects from this week's episode as well. Overall I was very happy with the way the storylines intertwined. These ensemble shows seem to work best when they find a way to include everyone in a larger plot. Take Modern Family for example, the best episodes happen when the whole family gets together for dinner or a birthday party. At the beginning of  "Bonebag", we had what looked like three separate storylines. 1. Mike and Lisa are in need of alone time so Mike books a hotel room. 2. Adam and Callie babysit Tommy and 3. Ethan decides he's ready for a real commitment (What happened to the girl with the drawer last week?). But these plots intertwined themselves pretty quickly. They owe it all to Callie's genius creation, bonebag. It was the overarching theme that brought the whole episode together. Well, that and the whole boner thing.

Now there were a couple things I wasn't crazy about. They weren't deal breakers, just unnecessary and kind of cliche.  Why do shows feel the need to do that whole flash forward thing? It works well occasionally, but most of the time it's just an excuse for lazy writing. And in the case of "Bonebag" it just really didn't work. What would have happened if we didn't see the three of them with broken noses? Would it have changed anything about the way we viewed the episode? Personally, I don't think it added anything to the plot besides giving away the punch line. I also really didn't care for Ethan's date in the park with his "soulmate". There was just way more cheese than I could handle and it just wasn't funny. Needless to say, I was happy to see her go at the end of the episode. Granted, the way she left was a comedy cliche in itself.

I really liked what we saw of Mike and Lisa's relationship this week. We've known them as the couple with the kid for the majority of the series and it was really great to see them on their own. Their couples massage was very entertaining, especially the awkward phrases coming out of the male masseuse's mouth. And there was some serious tension between the two masseuses that made the scenes even more entertaining.

I think that's all I've got for this episode. Feel free to comment with any insight or aspects you thought were overlooked. There's nothing I love more than talking about a good show! But I cannot leave without mentioning a few funny things.

*Adam: "I'm 6'5". I'm not afraid to mix it up." (I seem to remember Chandler Bing using that exact phrase to describe something veeeeery different.)

*I love how they referred to Tommy's "cake stand".

*Callie: "Should we put him in the bath?"
Adam: "No, I don't want to take him to the next level."

About: Supernatural "My Heart Will Go On"

What would have happened if the Titanic never sank? Ellen and Jo would still be alive, Bobby would be happily married to Ellen and the boys would be driving a Mustang. The last part, I could do without but the rest of it sounds pretty great, doesn't it? If there's one thing we've learned from Supernatural, it's that if you mess with fate there are serious consequences. Dean learned in his day as Death that one twist of fate is all it takes to set off a chain reaction. So you can only imagine what saving thousands of people from a sinking boat would do.

At the beginning of the episode, I found myself wondering what the difference was between Death and Fate. Both act on higher orders to end the lives of those whose time is up. Maybe Fate doesn't actually kill anyone but she does change their course of action resulting in death. The two seem pretty similar to me. But there was one striking difference and that was that Fate seemed to enjoy her job. She seemed to thrive on the power of it. Right before she tried to fry Sam and Dean, she even cracked a smile. Death, on the other hand didn't seem so enthused by his task. His job seemed to burden him which is why he was so willing to let Dean take over for the day. Of the two, who would have thought that Death would come off looking like the good guy? the similarities between Death and Fate had me wondering if they ever cross paths. It seems like they'd have to. I'm guessing we'll see Fate again soon and I wouldn't be surprised if Death isn't lurking around somewhere close by.

We now know a little bit more about what Cas has been up to this year. He's collecting souls for his army. We've learned about the value of souls this season but I still don't feel like I know what what that value means. Ok, they're worth a lot. A lot of what? It's not money, unless there's some divine currency I'm not aware of. It's got to be power, but what kind? Is it just the sheer number of people fighting or is there more to it than that? I hope there's more, and I hope we get to that soon because the end of the season is rapidly approaching and there are still a lot of pieces that need shifting if we're going to get that great season finale domino effect.

Castiel's ultimate decision to re-sink the Titanic said a lot about his relationship with the Winchesters. His army must have taken a big hit losing those souls but he made it clear that Sam and Dean were more important. I'd be lying if I said that didn't warm my heart. I was more than a little curious why Castiel decided to send Balthazar back for the Titanic in the first place. He knows better than most people what happens when you alter history. So I was happy to hear him explain what he's learned from the boys about making your own destiny and choosing freedom. It's a far cry from the Cas we used to know.

So Fate has it out for Sam and Dean, who doesn't these days? The boys have gotten themselves on the bad side of  just about everyone. Angels and demons are after them not to mention the Mother of All. Now Fate and possibly her sisters would like to add themselves to the Winchester's growing list of enemies, as if they need more. I am very curious to meet these sisters of Fate. I'm purposely avoiding googling just who these sisters might be. I like the element of surprise too much to ruin it for myself and I'm not familiar enough with the mythology to know offhand. But I'll be interested to see who they are and what they think of Sam and Dean. It is understandable that Fate would dislike the Winchesters. They altered pretty much everything by skipping over the Apocalypse and now she has no real significance so she wields her power just for kicks. At least that's how it looks to me.

I'm so glad this hellatus is over. It seems to me that a lot is going to happen in these next few episodes before the season finale. There are crucial pieces missing in this Season 6 puzzle and I can't wait to figure out what they are. This season has felt a bit segmented with multiple pieces rather than one over-arching storyline. Still I can't help but think that these segments are all connected by a common thread.

There were some really funny parts that I have to mention.

* I.P. Freely - I felt like a 12 year old boy laughing at that.

*I love that Balthazar claimed he saved the Titanic to avoid the movie and song. I have to admit that I liked both.

* Dean: "Rule one, no Kutcher references."

*Balthazar: "You've got me confused with another angel. The one in the dirty trench coat who's in love with you."

* Watching Sam and Dean tempt fate was hilarious. Especially Sam's face right before he walked through the fire jugglers.