Supernatural - S10E21 - Dark Dynasty

Previously on Supernatural, ‘Angel Heart’

The Stein’s (the evil family in charge of the Book of the Damned) are back as we’re introduced to Eldon (brother of Jacob who Sam killed in Episode 18) scooping a woman’s eyes out and jumping out of a 3rd floor window (it’s later explained why).

Sam’s frustrated with Rowena because it’s been weeks and she has not made any progress with cracking the book. Rowena explains that the codex to crack the code has a code of its own.

Knowing he can’t babysit Rowena until she figures it out, Sam recruits Charlie to help with cracking the code and Castiel to use his angelic powers to keep Rowena in check. (He uses their Love for Dean to guilt trip them into helping him behind Dean’s back).

The plan goes as one might assume as Rowena and Charlie argue over Rowena trying to recruit Charlie into her cause. In a bit of foreshadowing (which for this show should not have been surprising) Rowena tells Charlie her love for the Winchesters is going to be her undoing. Eventually Charlie can’t take anymore of Rowena bullshit so she sneaks out to crack the code on her own while Castiel talks to Rowena.

Meanwhile, as Dean goes on a pizza run in a mysterious dark alley he gets accosted by Eldon and his cousin Eli. Dean eventually overcomes their apparent superhuman strength and takes Eldon prisoner. Back at the bunker, Eldon is surprisingly chatty as he smugly answers all of Dean’s questions. We get some exposition on the Stein family, and we learn they are responsible for everything bad that’s happened to the world so they can profit from it.

They’ve cornered the market on bioengineering and have been enhancing themselves over the centuries. Also, they are descendants from Frankenstein as they were forced to change their name when Mary Shelley found out about them and wrote the novel Frankenstein. Lastly, Eldon tells Dean that the Book of the Damned has a spell which prevents it from being destroyed. Dean is immediately suspicious and confronts Sam, but before he can get anything out of him Eldon escapes by ripping off his own arm.

Eldon and Eli eventually track Charlie to a motel where she finally decrypts the code to the Book of the Damned. She’s able to upload the code and break her PC before she calls Sam and Dean, who tell her to give the Steins whatever they want. Of course she tells them she can’t and pulls out a knife and gets ready to confront Eldon.

The Winchesters finally arrive at the motel, but unfortunately they’re too late and they find Charlie splayed on the bathtub floor, covered in blood and apparently dead.

Thoughts

• This is some bullshit. Why does Supernatural insist on introducing characters we like (Ash, Jo, Ellen, Rufus, Bobby, Kevin), who bring something new to the monotony of the show only to have them killed for stupid reasons other than to move the plot? Felicia Day brought a breath of fresh air to Supernatural and I’ve always felt she should’ve been a regular as she kept the show grounded from its constant bullshit. And now she’s dead and for what? This better be a game changer. There better be show-altering consequences between the brothers as this is not something Dean should be able to forgive Sam for, and I don’t want Charlie’s death to be diminished by another bro-moment at the end of the next episode where everything is forgotten and thrown under the rug. I guess one way they can go is to have this be the impetus to the rebirth of Demon Dean, but unless the showrunners know that next season will be the last, to what end? Besides, that would diminish Charlie’s death. In order for her sacrifice to be meaningful it has to lead to Dean’s cure, but where then does that leave the brother’s relationship? We have two episodes to find out.

R.I.P Charlie Bradbury, you shall be missed.