Supernatural S13E12 Review: Various and Sundry Villains

This week’s Supernatural saw the return of a character fans were anticipating. We also checked back in with characters we hadn’t seen in a long time.

Welcome back, Rowena. You were missed. This week on Supernatural we dealt with some young witches who got what they wanted by using love spells. The show also brought us back to Hell so we could check in on Cas and Lucifer. We haven’t seen them since episode 7, and Cas’ absence, at least, has been felt. Let’s take some time and deep dive into the episode.

“I’m in love.”

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The cold open introduces us to Jenny and Jamie, two sisters who happen to be witches. Their M.O. seems to be to place a hex bag in an unsuspecting man’s pocket and cast a love spell. After they get the man to do their bidding, they then kill him, using non-magical means so as to not attract the attention of hunters.

Sam and Dean are in the bunker reading all the books they can find other realities. Dean doesn’t think they should give up on getting Jack and their mom back. Sam feels like it’s pretty hopeless. It’s strange to see the switch in the boys. The season started out with Dean being the negative one, and Sam being eternally optimistic. Sam sends Dean out to pick up some beer where he runs into Jamie and Jennie. They slip a hex bag into his pocket and curse him. He returns to the bunker to retrieve the Black Grimoire. When Sam questions him, Dean decks him. Dean gives the witches the book, and they’re about to finish him with their giant hammer when Sam comes screeching in in Baby to save the day. As the boys tussle, the witches escape, and the hex bag, now on the ground, inexplicably explodes.

“Hello boys.”

Rowena! Rowena is back. Fans knew she was returning to the show even though Lucifer killed her last season, but seeing her just makes me so happy. The brothers take her back to the bunker where they catch up. Rowena tells Sam and Dean that she always takes precautions, but after Lucifer killed her it took her a while to come back. She tells them that she felt the Black Grimoire moving, and that’s how she wound up in Lebanon. Rowena proposes a team up. She needs a  spell from the book to get rid of the spell binding her power, and the boys want to keep the book safe.  After some back and forth, they agree to work with Rowena. I wonder if their decision was swayed because they felt bad about Crowley dying to save them, leaving Rowena without her only child?

“Gonna be really mean?”

The Winchesters and Rowena track the witches to Oklahoma, where they have been wreaking havoc. They have already kidnapped and killed another man in order to try and resurrect their dead mother. Since they don’t trust Rowena to not cause problems while they question people, Sam and Rowena stay behind while Dean goes and questions the women of the town. Dean’s work pays off when he finds a store clerk who really dislikes the two witches, gives him their address.

Meanwhile, in the car, Sam and Rowena are bonding over the fact that they have both seen Lucifer’s true form. Lucifer’s true face keeps them both up at night, and Rowena is truly terrified.  She asks Sam how he dealt with it, and he tells her that he didn’t. He just pushed it down and kept himself busy. This moment of them bonding is really touching. It also makes the next scene when she double crosses them all the more surprising.

“Not my first zombie.”

In a twist that is not all that surprising, Rowena and the witch sisters have been working together this whole time. However, now that the witches have created zombie mom, they decide they don’t want Rowena’s help anymore. They sic their magic proof zombie mom on Rowena. Sam and Dean, freed from the freezing spell that Rowena cast, burst in, and it’s an all out fight. Rowena gets the upper hand on zombie mom, shooting her in the head. She then uses magic to have the sisters kill each other.

Sam and Dean demand the book back. In a quiet moment, Rowena looks tearfully up at Sam as he takes the book from her. When the boys return to the bunker, Dean opens the book to a spot where there are pages missing. Sam has given Rowena the pages she needs to get back to her full power. In a beautifully filmed scene with amazing close ups of the boys faces, Sam finally  opens up to Dean.

As the show ends, we watch Rowena break the spell put on her, and she returns to her full power.

“Learning from my mistakes”

While Sam and Dean are battling witches, we finally catch back up with Lucifer and Cas. The two of them are still imprisoned in hell. Not only are they imprisoned, their cells are warded against them getting out. Lucifer definitely hasn’t lost his snark while imprisoned, and he loves to torment his guard. He keeps talking about how if he were stronger, up to full strength, he would be able to get out. Cas takes that opportunity to torment him. Telling him about how amazing and not evil Jack is. He provokes Lucifer enough that he’s able to channel his anger and break the warding on the cell.

When the guard comes back Lucifer is able to use his powers to attack him, and break out of his cell. Cas also emerges from his cell. The two of them team up and are able to fight their way out of hell. Once Earth-side, Lucifer again begs Cas to share some of his grace with him. He talks about teaming up. In a move that is shocking, Cas actually stabs Lucifer with an angel blade. He tells him that he’s trusted him before and that has backfired. He’s learned from his past mistakes.

Performer of the week

Ruth. Connell. I mean, is there any other choice? Not only is she amazing in the lighthearted, comical scenes, she really showed her range this week. The scene in the Impala with Sam is acting gold. Connell easily portrays Rowena’s fear with just her eyes. Just. Her. Eyes. It’s amazing. Connell is able to hold her own against Padalecki, and you can really see how well the two can feed off of each other. If Supernatural were ever even seriously considered for awards, Connell would be nominated for best guest actor for that Impala scene alone. It’s so nice to see her back on the show, and I’m looking forward to seeing her more.

Next: Supernatural recap: Millennials and witchcraft don’t mix

So what did you think of the episode? Are you just as excited to have Rowena back as I am? What do you think Cas stabbing Lucifer means to Lucifer’s character? Let us know in the comments.

Supernatural airs Thursdays at 8/7 central on The C.W.