By: Robert Berens
**Spoilers**
If you have not yet seen this episode, please go and do so before proceeding.
This is the episode that I didn't really know I needed until I saw it. It basically took most of the things that I have complained about in the past (vessels consent and souls, lack of likable female villains, no grit, sissy witches) and compiled it into one complex, seamless episode that dealt with all the issues and introduced us to some interesting new character relationships. I was nervous about how the whole 'sex worker' thing would be handled, especially after last season's offensive Rock And A Hard Place, but actually that all took a back burner to the more complex and much-needed plot that dealt with questions of emotion, humanity, and personal free will choice.
We haven't really had an episode dealing with the fate of vessels and meatsuits since Season 4's The Rapture. Oh sure a lot of Season 5 was Sam and Dean objecting to becoming vessels themselves, but for a long time demons and angels alike have been in vessels/meatsuits in name only. It is good to see us getting back to the basics. There were a lot of plot threads woven together in this episode, but it never felt confusing or overstuffed. I am also excited to see what Rowena will bring to the table. Aside from the fact that she is Fergus McLeod's (a.k.a. Crowley, the King of Hell) mother, she is also a powerful, old-school witch who seems to toe the line between cartoon villain and empathetic bad guy just as neatly as her son does. This could get interesting. Remember the last time we had a McLeod family reunion on this show?The story line of Sam and Dean was also forwarded, with Dean having to face up to Cole again and Sam worrying about how the Mark is affecting his brother. This episode ended on a dark, ambiguous note for them that, while not exactly foreboding, definitely wasn't puppies and lollies. Typical Supernatural...
Favorite Moments & Random Thoughts:
- The opening to this episode reminded me of Shadow way back in Season 1.
- Dean is on a dating app and Sam is being a bratty little brother...HAHAHA! (On a side note, though, I want to know how Sam came up with the idea of Dean's hook-up potentially being some dude named Bruce.)
- Dean is also now officially 35 years old. Guess that makes Sam 31.
- Why did they have Hannah undress like that? Just...why? We didn't need that. It was about as pointless as the Carol Marcus Underwear scene from Star Trek Into Darkness.
- It cracks me up that Dean's hot date starts trying to broker for his soul. Not only does she had ZERO idea just who she is talking to (as if he didn't know what that meant...) but would his soul even be worth much by this point, considering all it had gone through? If Sam's was 'skinned alive' after the Cage...what does Dean's look like, given his years downstairs and most recent 'howl at the moon' period with Crowley?
- Love how the demon running the brothel realizes that he is in some DEEP trouble whenever the Winchesters show up...serves him right!
- Crowley's mum is officially my new favorite SPN side character of all time! The way she just waltzes into that (strip club?) and ices that demon by turning it into goo was amazing and, with that accent, she reminds me very much of an older Amy Pond...if Amy ever went darkside, that is.
- Actually, no. She reminds me of The Master.
- And we finally got an explanation for the Hannah/Castiel kiss that had the fandom all a-flutter for so long. It was just Hannah breaking the heart of her vessel's husband. I'm not sure how to feel about that, to be honest. I mean, it didn't exactly leave a sour taste in my mouth, but I feel like I should be more upset than I am. It was interesting, though, that this gave us a stark reminder of the fact that vessels had lives and had families. Is this setting up the return of Claire Novak, perhaps?
- "So you and your half-wit pal threw me into the sex trade? I'm evil...but that's just tacky!" I should have known that this soul-dealing brothel was just to get Crowley's numbers back into the black.
- I really hope that this episode is retconning the Man's Best Friend With Benefits witches right out of the canon, because they didn't belong here. In this universe, witches get their powers from making deals with Hell. No ifs, ans, or buts. That's how they get them...even the 'natural born' witches. So why on EARTH would there be a speakeasie-style club for good witches with familiars and no ties to demons? Bring back the old bodily-fluid-spewing witches that skeeved Dean out so much!- Rowena (Ravenclaw? Haha...) is recruiting witches. Like son, like mother I suppose...
- Hannah...oh my gosh, Hannah! I love her SO much! And I really hope that they bring her back, even if it's in another vessel or just in Heaven. She left her vessel for the good of mankind, for the good of a woman named Carolyn who wanted her life back. Hannah saw that the angels had forgotten their charge to protect their Father's creation. It was beautiful.
- I laughed whenever Cole showed up again and sprayed Dean with holy water. I had been waiting for this scene to happen (it just seemed like too good of an opportunity to miss) and it did not disappoint. Dean just looked sooo done whenever the water hit his face.
- "...the people who love me pulled me back." Excuse me while I go wipe rainwater off my face...
- Really want to know what happened with Cole's father, though. Was he a monster? Did Dean chase the monster that DID kill him into another room? What happened? And, if Dean's story was true and not just a mistake, then what kind of monster WAS Cole's father? And does Cole have any of that DNA...like a rugaru?- The fight between Cole and Dean was very energized. I am a little bit disappointed by the resolution, though. Dean tells Cole to go back to his family and now they're best buds? What? Noooo! That's not how it works in character development! Now maybe if Cole goes home to find his family killed and becomes a hunter a la Victor Henriksen it'll be okay, but this just felt like an anti-climax to the great story line that he and Dean had going.
- The emotion in the scene was very well done, though. Jared and Jensen always carry the show. ALWAYS.
I'm not entirely certain why this episode was given the title Girls, Girls, Girls as, really, the demonic brothel didn't feature outside of introducing us properly to Rowena. It was more of a side-plot to the main story which was really Hannah's tale. I'm sad that Hannah is gone. She really was an awesome character this season and we've needed some great recurring female leads, but I think that the way she has 'left' the show was very well handled. We've needed some care given to vessels for a long time now, and the way that she prompted Castiel to start looking up Jimmy...wow. It's about time! The story ended on a bit of a downer, but it fit the tone of the episode well and set up what looks to be some key plot threads for the rest of the season. I'm excited to see where this goes, ESPECIALLY now that Crowley's dear old witchy mum is back. Girls, Girls, Girls is a 4/5.
What did you think? Do you agree with my rating? If not - what would you say differently?
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