Supernatural is back from its hiatus with the second half of season 10.When we last saw Dean Winchester, he was surrounded by a massive pile of human bodies he had recently eviscerated. The Mark of Cain is causing problems, so it’s finally time to try and get rid of it for good. Unfortunately, all we get is a very cryptic clue, but at least Dean seems to be able to control his homicidal urges thanks to the begging of Castiel’s super-annoying daughter.

This episode also features the return of Metatron, Rowena sinking her claws into her son’s power and the aforementioned annoying Claire.

Can Dean Be Cured?

Following the massacre, Dean is desperate to remove the Mark of Cain and get the evil out of him once and for all. However, Castiel’s only idea for getting info on the Mark is to bring Metatron, aka the angel who killed Dean, to the bunker. Sam and Dean interrogate Metatron, learning that they need the First Blade to cure Dean. So they call up Crowley to retrieve it, but he’s not too excited.

Once that’s done, Metatron tries to extort Dean into owing him a bunch of favors for the rest of the cure, but he vastly overestimates his bargaining position and underestimates Dean’s eagerness not to torture him.

The River Ends at the Source

Dean proceeds to beat the crap out of Metatron and torture him for information. Metatron just aunts him, though he does say one interesting thing: “The river ends at the source.” With that mysterious comment, Sam and Cas bust in to stop Dean so Cas can take Metatron back to Angel Jail.

What does this mean? Well, that’s what fans can speculate about. Is “the source” the origin of all evil, whatever that is? Is it the Garden of Eden? Or is it more specifically about Dean, meaning his mother and father or his childhood home in Lawrence, Kansas? Whatever it is, it’s safe to assume that “the river ends at the source” will be the key to the endgame of season 10.

The Mother of the King

Crowley’s mom Rowena is hard at work trying to manipulate her son. She uses hex bags and other witchcraft to trick him into believing that his minions are turning against him, hoping to ingratiate herself into his power base. She uses magic to spy on Crowley during his meeting with Sam and Dean, learning the location of the First Blade.

Rowena tricks Crowley’s #2, Guthrie, into getting the Blade, then she kills him and tells Crowley a lie about how Guthrie betrayed him and attacked her. Crowley might be the evil King of Hell, but he has a huge blind spot when it comes to dear old mom, because he falls for her deception hook, line and sinker.

Castiel’s Daughter

Claire wants nothing to do with Cas and the Winchesters following the massacre. She runs off with two lowlifes who convince her to lure Dean to a meeting so they can kill the guy who killed Randy. The dirtbags attack Dean with a bat and an axe, but Claire has a last-minute change of heart and warns Dean. Dean gets the upper hand and almost kills them, but Claire begs him not to and Dean is able to choose the path of goodness (except for the innocent park bench he destroyed for no real reason).

The losers leave and Claire walks away. Cas shows up and she tells him that she’ll try to make better choices in the future. Honestly, this is one character I wouldn’t mind never seeing again. Claire just annoys me and always causes problems.

Next week on Supernatural: Lesbian hacker Charlie Bradbury is back, and this time she’s kicking Dean’s ass. Though I imagine having her leather-clad legs wrapped around his neck causes some mixed emotions for him.

(Image courtesy of the CW)

John Kubicek

Senior Writer, BuddyTV

John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire DiariesSupernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.