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Supernatural (opens in new tab) Season Nine Episode Three “I’m No Angel” TV REVIEW
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Episode 9.03
Writers: Brad Bucker, Eugenie Ross-Leming
Director: Kevin Hooks
THE ONE WHERE The brothers search for their wayward angel.
VERDICT Castiel is the star of the show this week, and as you’d expect it’s a charming, at times poignant, tale.
After the angels torture two priests (seriously, angels are such dicks) Castiel hides among the homeless and manages to fit a bit of soul-searching in-between deadly encounters. He blunders his way through a crash course in life-lessons with all the naiveté of a newborn, which is sweet to watch and feels like a significant step forward for the character. The angels have always had an air of lofty detachment about them, and Castiel is no different (minus the lofty bit), but his newly-bestowed mortality has already rendered him more recognisably human. Kudos to Misha Collins for a performance that straddles this particular tightrope perfectly – he’s still essentially the angel we know and love, but with hints of humanity creeping in at the edges.
Sam and Dean feel sidelined for much of the episode, not in terms of screentime, but because they don’t have a great deal to do – constantly one step behind the real action. There’s more Samskiel drama as Dean calls on Sam’s host to do his bidding while Zeke gives Dean an ultimatum – Castiel leaves or I do. It’s a juicy, albeit frustrating about face after an entire episode waiting for the trio to be reunited.
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We’re also introduced to a potential new big bad, Bartholomew, who’s using the web and an online holy man to find new vessels for his angelic underlings. It’s quintessential Supernatural – the angels co-opting the most contemporary method of preaching for their own nefarious purposes. There’s not much to differentiate Bartholomew from every other smirking celestial suit at present, though. And I’m still not a fan of rogue reapers, here even more than when they were introduced in “Taxi Driver” (8.19). They’re just hired thugs, robbing the once untouchable undead shepards of their otherworldly weirdness.
A great episode for Cas then, but it’s lacking when anyone else is onscreen.
KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES? Hang on, Dean knows The Hunger Games and Breaking Bad , but doesn’t know It’s A Wonderful Life ? MADNESS.
DEAN WISECRACKING
Sam: “Look at these chemicals. Do you even read the label?”
Dean: “No. I read “pie.” The rest is just “blah, blah, blah.”
EXPRESSION OF THE WEEK
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TWEETS OF THE WEEK The latest batch of behind the scenes tweets can be found here (opens in new tab) , courtesy of the Supernatural Wiki.
ANGEL GANK COUNT 3. Cas adds another angel kill on the bus to our running tally.
BEST LINE
Castiel: “Food. Sleep. Passing gas. It’s all new to me. And it’s occurred to me that one day I’m going to die.”
Jordan Farley (@ JordanFarley (opens in new tab) )
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