Supernatural Fodder

Supernatural: Two Minutes to Midnight

Yeah, I'm gonna give my thoughts on the cliffhanger. But first, a condensed recap.\n\nThe Winchesters know where to find Pestilence. But as they're preparing to leave, they get a call from Castiel. He's in a hospital, found beaten and bloody on a shrimping boat. The docs thought he was brain damaged, but it's worse. Apparently, carving an angel-banishing sigil on your chest has lasting side effects, in that it removes your angelic powers.\n\nCas tells Dean he owes him an apology. Dean is not the burned-out, broken shell of a man Cas thought he was.\n\nCas can't transport himself any more, or do much of anything - he feels hunger, and thirst and pain like the rest of us. And he needs money for airfare to get there. And pain meds.\n\nDean, disturbed, and slightly put off by Cas' backhanded compliments, tells him Bobby will wire the money, to Bobby's surprise.\n\nEunice Kennedy\n\nSam and Dean find Pestilence at a retirement home. But what does he look like? Dean gets an idea. He approaches the guard in the vidcam observation room, claiming to be looking for his \"nana,\" Eunice Kennedy. As the guard tries to direct him to the nurse, Dean knocks him out. Sam enters, and asks, \"Eunice Kennedy?\"\n\n\"That's the beauty of improv, Sammy. You never know what's going to come out of your mouth.\" I wonder if that line is adlibbed?\n\nThey watch the cameras. And watch, and watch. Finally, they see something suspicious. One of the doctors causes the cameras to blur as he walks by.\n\nThey track him down, but he's waiting for them. Lucifer's orders be damned, the Winchesters sent his brothers back to Hell. The Winchesters get sicker as they get closer. Pestilence passes on Scarlet Fever, meningitis, oh, and syphilis.\n\nBut Cas arrives just in time. A surprised Pestilence asks, \"How did you get here?\"\n\n\"I took a bus,\" Cas says. Cas also begins to get sick, as Pestilence laughs. \n\n\"You don't have a speck of angel left in you,\" he says.\n\nCas grabs Sam's knife, and says, \"Maybe a speck\" as he removes the Horseman's ring bloodily. A demonic nurse attacks Cas, but he kills her. Before Pestilence disappears, he tells them it's too late.\n\nSealed with a kiss\n\nBack at Bobby's, Dean is furious at Sam's plan to become Lucifer's vessel to trap him. Bobby has to admit he knew, but he tells Dean he told Sam it was a bad idea. Sam agrees, it is a bad idea.\n\nBobby tells them he's found Death. The Winchesters press Bobby to tell them his sources. Bobby hedges, until Crowley appears and tells him to confess. Bobby does, he's sold his soul to Crowley in exchange for Death's location. Crowley corrects him - Bobby pawned his soul. He'll get it back, when Crowley is sure the Winchesters won't kill him after they've tracked down Lucifer.\n\nSam wants to know if Bobby kissed Crowley. Bobby denies it. Crowley shows the picture.\n\n\"Why'd you take a picture of it?\" Bobby asks irritably.\n\n\"Why'd you use tongue?\" Crowley replies.\n\nSo Death is in Chicago, where he is preparing a chain reaction natural disaster. Three million will die when it's all over. Crowley tells them what Pestilence meant when he told them it was too late. Croatoan virus is going to be shipped in swine flu vaccines.\n\nThe Winchesters decide to split up. Sam, Bobby and Cas will go to stop the virus from being shipped. Dean and Crowley will go to Chicago to meet Death.\n\nBefore they leave, Cas tells Bobby how useless and powerless he feels. Bobby has no sympathy, and hands him a shotgun. Cas doesn't know what to do with it.\n\n\"Just point it and shoot,\" Bobby says. Crowley asks Bobby if he's going to just sit there. \n\n\"No, I'm going to Riverdance,\" he growls.\n\n\"If that's what it takes to impress the ladies,\" Crowley says. Then he explains. Bobby could have asked for more in exchange for his soul. So Crowley gave it to him anyway. Bobby can walk now. Bobby is shocked.\n\n\"Thank you,\" he says to Crowley.\n\nCrowley takes Sam's knife from Dean. Dean won't need it. Crowley hands Dean a scythe that belonged to Death himself. Legend is it will kill anything, even Death.\n\nRoad trip\n\nOn the way to the shipping facility, Sam tells Cas of his plan. But Cas doesn't think it's so crazy. He says he's underestimated the Winchesters. But he does tell Sam things he must consider. Michael has chosen a different vessel, Adam. If Sam fails, the fight between Michael and Lucifer will take place, with horrendous collateral damage. Plus, he has to consider the side effects. Lucifer has been drinking demon blood by the gallons to keep his current vessel from disintegrating. Sam will have to do the same.\n\nAt the shipping facility, they are forced into action when a truck begins to leave ahead of schedule. They stop it, but it alerts the demons, who infect some of the workers with Croatoan. Sam and Bobby stand tight and kill them, in addition to some demons. Sam repeatedly goes deeper into the warehouse to rescue uninfected workers, while Bobby watches his back, with a strange look in his eyes.\n\nAs they finish the rescue mission, and start to leave to blow up the facility, Sam is attacked by an infected worker. Bobby's gun is out of ammo, but Cas arrives in time to shoot the attacker.\n\n\"You're right, it is useful,\" he says.\n\n\"Let's complete our act of domestic terrorism and get out of here,\" Bobby says. \n\nDean and Death have a chat\n\nCrowley and Dean get to Chicago, but he doesn't know exactly where Death is. He knows he's in the city, though, because there are so many Reapers there.\n\nCrowley checks out a likely location, but Death isn't there. The weather is starting to turn for the worse, which seems to make Crowley nervous. Dean is angry that Crowley told him they'd find Death, and now Bobby's soul was sold for nothing. Crowley tells him that wishes unfulfilled means Bobby gets his soul back. Before they leave, though, Crowley checks out another place, and finds Death in a pizza place. Nervously, Dean enters.\n\nDead bodies are strewn about the place, but Death sits, back to Dean, calmly eating.\n\nThe scythe suddenly begins to shake, and turns red hot. Dean drops it, and it disappears.\n\n\"Thank you for returning that to me,\" Death says, without turning. He invites Dean to have a seat, and insists he eat some pizza.\n\nDean is puzzled. He wants to know why he isn't dead yet. Death says, \"Imagine a bacterium sitting at the table with you, and getting snarky. That's how you are to me.\" This world is nothing to him, just one in an infinity of other worlds. He tells Dean that he is old, as old as God, maybe older. Neither of them can remember. He tells Dean that he will even be the one to reap God.\n\n\"God will die?\" Dean asks.\n\n\"Oh, yes,\" Death replies.\n\nDeath tells Dean that he is angry with Lucifer. Lucifer has bound him with a spell attached to the ring. He wants free of the spell, and so he is willing to give Dean the ring, on one condition. He must do everything possible to trap Lucifer, including allowing Sam to say \"yes\". Dean agrees, and Death gives him the ring.\n\nDean asks Death about Chicago. Death says he guesses it can stay - he likes the food.\n\n\"Remember, Dean,\" Death says. \"You can't cheat Death. Now, you'll want the operating instructions.\"\n\nFour rings\n\nDean plays with the rings. Place them apart, and they fly together, forming a triangle. He shows Bobby. Bobby is giddy that his legs work again. Dean, distracted, asks Bobby what he thinks happens if you bald-faced lie to Death.\n\nBobby says it can't be anything good. Dean tells Bobby about his agreement with Death. Bobby is less concerned than Dean. Dean wonders if they can trust Death, since Death was working for Lucifer. Bobby counters by telling Dean that Death was forced to work for Lucifer. Death may be an impartial observer.\n\nBobby tells Dean that they both keep underestimating Sam, and that he realized it as he watched Sam save the uninfected workers at the shipping facility. Sam has been saving people since he was twelve.\n\nBobby tells Dean that Sam has a dark streak, and anger problems, but that he's strong. He'll beat Lucifer, or die trying.\n\nBobby asks, \"Are you worried about losing, or losing your brother?\"\n\nDean doesn't answer.\n\nThe finale?\n\nSo they're going ahead with their plan. Sam will meet Lucifer, say yes, and jump into the Pit.\n\nBut what happens when Sam is in the Pit? Will Sam be able to leave the Pit, leaving Lucifer trapped inside? Or will Lucifer be able to leave if Sam does?\n\nWe may be headed for a cliffhanger ending like that, with Sam finding out minutes before the trap is to be sprung that if he goes through with it, he will be trapped with Lucifer, forever. Sam will have to decide if saving the world is worth dying, or worse, eternal torment. Then the premiere next season will have to deal with Dean trying to get Sam out.\n\nAnd what about Bobby? Crowley is a demon, and this is a classic demonic dilemma. Bobby can get his soul back, but will he have to give up walking again? Surely Crowley thought about this before giving Bobby his legs back.\n\nAnd Cas? Can he survive being human? Will Jimmy start to emerge in Castiel's place? What about Adam? Will he be part of the Winchester's hunts next season?\n\nI expect we'll have all these answers this time next week.