FINALLY Season 12 is here! Is it just me or was this the longest hellatus EVER? Let’s jump right in, shall we?
Season 12 kicks off right where we left off: the middle of the night reunion by our very own Mary Winchester and Dean (I dare you not to get a little weepy-eyed), watching Dean try to explain and Mary realize she’s been gone from her boys for 33 years. Her last memory was being burned when Sam was just a baby. (If you need a quick flashback, go and watch Season 1, Episode 1, Scene 1.) After catching up Mary on the abridged version of the last 11 seasons, including John’s death, they decide to head home where Dean promises to tell her the rest.
Meanwhile, in the middle of nowhere, Kansas, a young man driving down the road gets in the way of a big blast, that turns out to be Cas (Yay, Cas!). Cas asks how far he is from Lebanon, Kansas. He puts the guy to sleep and takes his truck, presumably headed to the bunker.
We catch up with British Women of Letters, the one in charge, we now know as Toni, and Sam, who has been shot in the leg. She has brought Sam to the home of a vet who she forces to treat Sam’s gunshot wound.
When we catch up with Crowley, he is investigating an angel death but is interrupted by two low level demons who arrive to clean the mess up. Crowley hides.
In a hideout somewhere, we overhear Toni talking to her daughter on the phone and tells her she misses her — I don’t think this will be of importance in this episode but probably will come into play at a later date. Go ahead and put that in your “FYI” file. Sam is chained up and is being tortured by the other woman in the basement.
Toni explains to Sam that they (the British Men of Letters) have been watching Sam and Dean since the first time they almost ended the world. She tells that, while some wanted to intervene at that point, “the old man” wouldn’t let them. She tries to convince Sam that she’s only there to help and all he needs to do is answer a few questions. Sam reminds her that he’s been tortured by the devil, so there’s nothing she can do to him — to which she responds by turning a shower on over his head. Except mess up his hair, I guess. Well played, Toni.
Back at the bunker, Mary and Dean discover blood and that Sam is missing. Cas finally arrives (almost getting shot by Mary). Cas and Dean hug. I’d almost forgotten that no one knows Deans survived the end of the last season. Dean introduces him to Mary, who is surprised to meet an Angel. “No, I don’t have a harp,” Cas declares. She is almost more shocked to see Dean open up a laptop to check the local traffic cams and get a lead.
In the garage, Mary is reunited with Baby and shares a smile that all but details Dean’s probable conception in the back seat…
Meanwhile, back in the torture basement, the British Women of Letters are still working on Sam. Toni explains that, in Britain, they are much more efficient in their jobs and have not a monster-related death since the 60s. She claims she wants Sam to give her the names of fellow American hunters, you know, to help “make America safe.” Sam won’t talk, so they take a blowtorch to his foot. Seriously. A. Blowtorch. To. His. Foot.
Back out in the regular world, those same mid-level demons show up at another house to handle another batch of angel deaths. They take a call from Lucifer who says they’re being followed; before they can finish explaining how they’re not being followed, in walks Crowley. Crowley points out Lucifer is the right guy to follow, since his jumping from vessel to vessel shows he’s weak. They exchange some words, and Crowley kills them and then figures out which vessel Lucifer is in based on a picture in the house.
Back at the basement, Sam still hasn’t talked, despite the blowtorch to the foot. Instead of calling in the “psychopath,” Toni decides, instead, to inject Sam with a serum. “If we can’t break his body, we’ll break his mind.” Sure, how long have these folks been watching the Winchesters?
So, while following their lead on Sam’s whereabouts (thanks to hacking into traffic cams), Mary starts to realize just how different the world now is. Cas can relate and remembers his first days on earth. The trio end up stumbling upon the vet who worked on Sam and getting Toni’s number. They give her a call and exchange threatening words. Dean not being dead is a bit of a surprise to Toni, who continues to watch Sam, who has been injected with the serum, via security cams.
At this point, Sam begins seeing hallucinations of his greatest hits: killing Kevin, beating Dean almost to death when he was Lucifer, Mary being burned on the ceiling, etc., etc.
As Dean, Cas, and Mary head back to the bunker to try and narrow down Sam’s location, they’re hit by another car, Toni’s partner. Mary is knocked out but not seriously injured. Dean and Cas take on Toni’s partner and are surprised to find she disarms them and kicks their asses pretty quickly. As she’s about to take them both out, Mary comes to the rescue and stabs her. “Thanks Mom” is the best Dean can muster.
Sam’s hallucinations push him to break the mirror as Toni watches. She watches him take a piece of the broken glass and appear to slit his throat. She rushes down to check on him. Pffft. Like a little serum would drive him to suicide at this point. Again, I ask, how closely has Toni been watching? It doesn’t seem like much. But I digress. Once Sam reveals his trick, they struggle and, thanks to her handy taser, she is able to fight him off and get back upstairs and lock the door.
Back at the scene of the accident and fight, Mary is shaken up. She reminds Dean that she had spent her life running from hunting and that she had never wanted it for Dean and Sam. Dean explains, “Saving people and hunting things: this is our life. I think we make the world a better place. I know that we do.”
I’ll give you a moment to dry your tears.
Somewhere else, Lucifer has given Crowley the slip. Again. But he’s not giving up. The episode ends with Dean, Cas, and Mary headed to Missouri, where they’ve narrowed down Sam’s location. Sam, meanwhile, is trapped in the basement with a mighty painful foot, thinking Cas is gone, Dean is dead, and no one is coming for him.
The scene where they rescue Sam is going to be AWESOME.
How is it even possible that, going into Season 12, this show can still come out swinging? The chemistry between Mary and Dean and Mary and Cas is undeniable, and I’m sure it will be equally fabulous when reunited with Sam. I’m looking forward to seeing Crowley’s showdown with Lucifer (Rick Springfield!!!).
Season 12 is off to a rocking start, and I am ALL IN for the rest of it.
