Sometimes I hate Supernatural. Not because it’s bad, but because the show makes me fall in love with characters only to kill them off. John Winchester, Ash, Jo and Ellen Harvelle, Rufus, Bobby, Kevin Tran and plenty of others. This week Supernatural does it again in a move that makes me angrier and sadder than when Grey’s Anatomy killed off McDreamy.

In addition to the tragic death, we learn who the Stynes really are, a girl has her eyeballs scooped out, Dean learns what his brother’s been doing and Crowley talks to a hamster.

Meet the Other Stynes

The Stynes are back, the evil family who want the Book of the Damned. Sam killed Jacob, but now we meet his brother Eldon as he scoops out a woman’s eyeballs in Omaha. It’s one of the most disgusting things the show has ever done.

Eldon goes home to Louisiana where the Stnes call home (they’re like the Robertsons from Duck Dynasty, only more sophisticated). The patriarch, Munroe, orders his son Eldon to hunt down the Winchesters and avenge his brother while Eldon’s cousin Eli is in charge of finding Charlie.

Winchesters vs. Stynes

Sam and Dean investigates the girl with the missing eyeballs and they quickly discover that the Stynes are behind it. Unfortunately for them, Eldon is right on their heels and follows them. Eldon attacks Dean on a pizza run, but Dean gets the upper hand and takes the Styne prisoner.

Back at the Bunker, Eldon provides some crazy exposition. Not only are the Stynes responsible for everything bad in the world in order to profit from it, but they genetically enhance their bodies with extras hearts and muscles harvested from innocent people (hence the eyeballs). Oh, and their family name was originally Frankenstein, as in the ACTUAL Frankenstein.

Eldon also tells Dean that the Book of the Damned cannot be destroyed, which along with Sam running off and getting secret calls from Cas, makes him very suspicious. Before they can learn more, Eldon escapes by literally ripping off his own arm and leaving it behind in the chains.

What’s Crowley Up To?

There’s also a minor storyline where Crowley is looking for his mom. He talks to Olivette, the Witch Hamster, and learns that his mom had a demon lover, so he sends a minion to find him. These scenes didn’t make much sense in this episode, but I assume it will pay off in the last two episodes of the season.

Sam Assembles the B-Team

Rowena is having a hard time cracking the code in the Book of the Damned and since Sam is busy with a case, he brings in reinforcements. Charlie is brought in to help use her computer skills while Cas shows up to use his angelic powers to keep Rowena in line. It’s the B-Team! Neither Cas nor Charlie are really on board with keeping this mission a secret from Dean, but they go along with it anyway.

It’s hilarious to see Rowena, Charlie and Cas working together since those are three important characters who have never really shared any quality screentime. Rowena quickly tries to get into Charlie’s mind, believing that her unconditional devotion to the Winchesters (Charlie loves them like they’re her own brothers) will be her undoing. If you’re a fan of this show, you probably could’ve guessed what was coming based on this one scene. Charlie can’t stand Rowena, so while Cas talks to the witch (and learns she’s Crowley’s mom), Charlie leaves to concentrate on her own.

Goodbye, Charlie

Charlie goes to a hotel for some alone time where she is finally able to crack the code. However, at the same time, Eli finds her and calls in one-armed Eldon while Dean finds out what Sam has been doing and is furious with him. Eldon tries to get into the hotel room, so Charlie calls up Sam and Dean. Dean wants her to hand over her notes, but she refuses. Instead, she uploads the code she solved before taking out a dagger to have a stand-off with Eldon. It’s an extremely intense sequence as everything comes to a head at once, all during a storm.

When Sam and Dean arrive at the hotel they see bloody footprints leading to the bathroom. They walk over and find…Charlie, dead in the bathtub. NO!

Sam is mortified and both Winchesters are sad. It’s another tragedy in a long list that, most recently, includes Kevin Tran. Anyone who loves Sam and Dean like family will die. I’m especially sad because Felicia Day was a great burst of energy for the show and I was starting to hope that she might stick around on a more permanent basis as the brothers’ go-to tech guru in the Bunker.

But no, like so many others before her, Charlie Bradbury is dead. RIP, you adorkable lesbian hacker.

Next week on Supernatural: Charlie is dead and Dean is out for revenge. I wouldn’t want to be the Stynes, because they’re all gonna die.

 
(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.