Supernatural - S11E1 - Out of the Darkness, Into the Fire

Previously on Supernatural

Castiel and Crowley 

Castiel is hiding in a barn like Old Yeller, remembering how Rowena cast her mad dog spell on him and sic’d him on a paralyzed Crowley. He remembers stabbing Crowley in the back, but as he replays the image he realizes he didn’t actually kill Crowley as Crowley escapes his meat-suit and possesses a woman who’s just getting home from work. Meanwhile, unlike Old Yeller, Castiel is able to escape the farmers that are trying to put him down. Castiel prays to his angel brothers to help him from causing any harm. Later, he calls Dean to get an update on the Mark of Cain (also finding out Darkness has escaped) and when he hears his angel prayers have been answered as two angels appear behind him, he tells the boys they may not see him for a while. Unfortunately, the Angels do not take him to heaven but shackle him up and put a bag over his head.

She-Crowley comes home to find that her husband and neighbors have accepted her offer of having an orgy for her birthday. She-Crowley is amused, but eventually kills her husband and neighbors. Crowley summons her minions who tell her that they have the other meat-suit and have removed the paralyzing spell that Rowena placed.

Crowley switches back to his old body and finds out from his minions that darkness has escaped. Crowley doesn’t believe it saying darkness is just a myth, but the minions tell him that half of hell is freaking out because they heard primal screaming from the cage that is holding Lucifer and Michael.

Darkness giveth Darkness Taketh away

As the cloud of darkness engulfs the Impala with Sam and Dean inside, Dean disappears and wakes up in the midst of the clouds, face-to-face with darkness herself (Emily Swallow). She tells him that it feels good to be out and that she likes it there with him. Later, she tells him that they are bound to each other (she shows him her Mark on her chest) and that no matter who or where she is they will always help each other.

Sam wakes up in the car and finds Dean about a mile away. Dean tells Sam he doesn’t know why Darkness saved him but he knows that she’s evil and they have to kill her. As they drive on they come across a road crew who’s been slaughtered. One of them is still alive, but he seems to be infected with a disease (reminds me of the infected in Last of Us) - as he attacks them he’s shot from behind by a cute cop named Jenna (Lacy J. Mailey).

After she verifies that they’re not infected, she tells them that she was responding to a 911-call about a family in distress and found the road crew killing the family forcing her to kill them in self-defense. She was hurt in the process and the boys take her to the nearest hospital where they find it’s already been under attack.

While Dean goes to patch up Jenna, Sam looks around the hospital and finds one of the infected banging on a door. The infected hears him take cover behind the wall and slowly walks toward Sam but as he gets closer a baby starts crying behind the door and the infected renews his efforts to break down the door. And in one of the most incredulous moments Sam cowers behind the wall and DOES NOTHING while the infected continues to bang on a door that’s a hiding a baby. (WTF is happening here?). Eventually, Sam hears a thud and sees that the infected is dead. He tells the people hiding that he’s FBI and the infected are dead and when they open the door there’s a man carrying a newborn baby.

While the father, Mike (Aaron Hill), recounts everything that’s happened to Sam, Dean, and Jenna,  Sam notices that Mike is infected and quickly alerts Dean. Sam asks Mike if he came across any of the infected and he admits that he did. The boys deduce that the disease must be transmittable and debate what to do with Mike. Dean, of course, wants to kill him while Sam and Jenna want to try to save him. Mike tells them that he will go away to die if Jenna promises to look after his baby. Jenna agrees but before they can leave a mob of infected show up at the hospital. Again Sam and Dean start arguing about what to do. Dean wants to go guns blazing but Sam wants to try to find a cure first. Sam then gives an impassioned speech about not repeating their same mistakes and getting back to saving humans. Sam tells Dean saving people should mean “All” people and not just themselves.

Dean relents and Sam comes up with plan to draw the infected away while Dean and Jenna and the baby escape in a car, but while the infected chase Sam, Dean and Jenna are attacked by Mike who’s able to fight the effects of the infection long enough to tell them that the baby’s name is Amara before he drops dead. This scene’s sole purpose was to get the baby’s name, but that could’ve been done earlier.

Anyway, Sam locks himself into a small room but as the infected try to break in, Sam’s attacked by an infected orderly who was inside the room. He’s able to fight her off and kill her, but not before some of her blood gets into his mouth. As the infected break in and grip Sam up they let him go when they smell the infected stank on him.

Dean drops Jenna off and tells her that even though she’s seen a lot of dark shit, she should use the baby as her way back from the darkness.  As Jenna is cleaning Amara, we see the baby has the Mark on her chest which means Amara is the new incarnation of darkness. Meanwhile, Dean calls Sam to see if he’s all right but of course Sam lies and doesn’t tell him he’s infected. Ugh.

Thoughts

• So after Sam gives such a good speech about not repeating their past mistakes he goes and repeats past mistakes by not telling Dean that he’s infected. C’mon, son!
• And what’s up with Sam almost letting a baby get killed due to inactivity? They’ve been slowly turning Sam into such a weak character and it sucks.
• A lot of Supernatural fans have been clamoring for the return of Lucifer and Michael, and it looks like those fans might be getting their wish.
• It will be interesting to see how the baby being Darkness plays out. I wonder if they go Omen on us or if they just have the baby grow up fast like when Moloch possessed that baby on Sleepy Hollow.
• Great performance by Jared Padalecki when he convinces Dean that they have to get back to the business of saving humans. Also good job by the actress who temporarily played Crowley. I would have liked to see more of her, but not at the expense of Mark Sheppard)