Supernatural - S10E14 - The Executioner’s Song
Previously on Supernatural, “Halt & Catch Fire”
The cold open starts at a death row penitentiary where we have one of the inmates talking shit to one of the guards, when the guard reminds him, two weeks from Tuesday, he won’t be talking anymore. The guard drops the mic and walks away. A shadowed man walks through the caged doors and down the corridor of the jail cell, as the lights flicker off in his wake. The man enters the convict’s cell and, when the lights flicker on, we see it’s Cain. He spouts some shit about being the father of death, and he then gets the convict to admit he killed the six people he’s accused of killing, before foolishly attacking him. He then promptly stabs the convict in the gut before disappearing with him.
While Dean and Sam are driving to the penitentiary, Dean learns Sam collects serial killer death counts as a hobby. According to Dean, what is one man’s hobby is another man’s illness.The warden shows the boys videos of Cain entering the jail cell, and Dean recognizes Cain as they zoom in on the picture. Castiel is torturing some demon about the whereabouts of Cain. The demon tells him Cain has been seen making passes through a town but tells him all demons have been staying away from him because Cain tends to kill demons. Castiel then promptly stabs him in the gut.
In hell, one of the crossroads demons is complaining about his pay, while Crowley is playing with a Mattel video game. Crowley decides to give the demon credit for his work when Rowena (ugh) opens her annoying mouth. She starts spewing about the demon being a whiner and advises he cut the demon in half to show everyone not to waste the king’s time in court (she also somehow throws in that Crowley was a chunky child).
Crowley, who’s somehow become a mama’s boy, agrees and orders his lieutenants to do what she says.
Castiel calls the boys from Illinois where Cain has been burying bodies. Cain shows up and tells Castiel he’s got the taste for killing again. He says he’s out to kill all his descendants (which I guess means all people prone to violence). Castiel tries to tell him Dean is not doing well and is losing himself, but Cain says he will get to Dean eventually. Castiel tries to attack Cain, but Cain tells Castile he’s not on the list and disappears. Rowena asks Crowley to help her get rid of the leader of the Coven that’s hunting her. Crowley calls her on her shit, but Rowena admits she’s been manipulating Crowley because he’s her Son, and who cares if they’re having fun in the process? Crowley walks away, but I’m betting he’s going to help her.
Castiel tells the boys about Cain. Sam finds out the Convict has a son who lives in Ohio and deduces that Cain is going to go after him next. Dean says he will go kill Cain; says Cain foresaw this event. Sam tries talking Dean out of it, but Castiel backs Dean up. Sam says wielding the First Blade against Cain may cause Dean to lose himself forever, whether he wins or loses.
Dean calls Crowley and tells him of Cain’s back, and he’s gone dark and needs the First Blade to fight him. Crowley asks why he should help, and Dean tells him Cain has a kill list with Crowley’s name on it. Crowley agrees, but then Rowena’s annoying ass butts in and tells Crowley he’s stupid for giving the weapon to the one person who can harness the power and use it against him. Crowley is not here for her annoying voice anymore and walks away to join the boys.
At the meet up spot, Sam is bitching about using a twelve-year-old boy as bait. Crowley walks in and tells them he’s not giving the blade to Dean until they have Cain. While waiting for Cain, Dean admits to Sam that he’s scared. Aww. Cain shows up to kill the boy, but Castiel intervenes. Castiel tries to use his angel powers, but it’s flicked aside like a child. Sam locks the boy in a barn, but Cain teleports into the barn.
He stabs the boy, but it turns out to be an illusion from Crowley (something he picked up from his moms) Cain mentions he knows Crowley fears him, so the fact he’s not cowering means they must’ve trapped him. He says the trap won’t hold him long, but Crowley says it doesn’t have to. Castiel wants to go in with Dean, but Dean tells him he needs to go alone because he doesn’t know if he will be able to control himself wants the fight starts.
Dean tells them, if he comes out and he’s not himself, they need to take him out. Crowley gives the First Blade to Dean, but when he asks him what assurances he has to get it back, Dean says, if he comes back with the Blade and he doesn’t give it to them, they will have bigger problems. Dean confronts Cain and calls him mental. Cain tells Dean, when he made his bargain with Lucifer to kill Abel, a stain was released on the earth that tainted his bloodline. Cain says the least he could do for this world is to extinguish his tainted bloodline.
Cain asks Dean how the Blade feels, and Dean says he feels like a means to an end; enter the trap, and the battle ensues. Dean is not having much luck, as Cain recognizes Dean is holding back because he doesn’t want to give in to the blade.
As he grabs the First Blade, Cain says he only let Castiel live because he knew he would run to Dean who would bring him the one thing that could kill him. Cain tells Dean he’s living Cain’s life in reverse: where Cain’s life began when he killed his brother, that’s where Dean’s will end.
Dean tries to protest, but Cain says that’s why it’s call the “Mark of Cain”. Cain prophesizes Dean will first kill Crowley; he explains Dean will feel strange about it but will eventually find a reason to get it done with no remorse
Cain says Dean will next kill Castiel. Cain suspects this will hurt Dean something awful but, eventually, will lead to the one murder Dean will never be able to come back from and turn him into the savage Cain currently is. Dean will kill his brother Sam. Cain says the only thing standing between him and that destiny is the blade.
Cain goes to stab Dean, but Dean quickly grabs the angel sword Cain got from Castile and cuts the hand holding the First Blade. Dean grabs the First Blade and pleads with Cain to not make him do this. He pleads for Cain to promise to stop, but Cain says he will never stop.
Dean regretfully stabs a kneeling Cain. Dean goes to Sam, Crowley, and Castiel. Crowley asks for the blade, and Dean gives it to Castiel instead. Crowley accuses Dean of lying to him, but Dean says it’s not the first time, as Crowley was never on Cain’s list. Crowley goes crying to mommy and tells her he doesn’t want to hear any “I told you so.”
Rowena sprouts about how disappointed and proud she is of Crowley because he became King of Hell all by himself, but it’s killing her how she lets the Winchester boys jerk him around. Sam tells Dean what he did is incredible and says, if he could do that without losing himself, there is hope even without a cure. Dean agrees and says he’s going to go sleep for 4 days.
Castiel asks Sam how Dean is, and Sam responds by saying Dean is in trouble.
Overall good episode as, for the first time in about a month, we have an episode that moves the main story along. One thing which confused me was how I thought killing Cain would get rid of the Mark of Cain, but apparently, Dean still has it. This is one of the few episodes I remember with no humor whatsoever. This show does better when it doesn’t take itself so seriously. I don’t know if she’s written like this on purpose, but Rowena is entering Lori Grimes level of annoyance, and her voice literally sounds like someone is scratching nails on a chalkboard.
Hopefully, with Cain dead, the show can rectify the character assassination that is Sam Winchester, and they can get back to the show being about BOTH brothers.
