After all the drama of the last two weeks, we’re in for a heavy exposition episode where we begin getting ready for the finale.  Be warned, this wasn’t my favorite episode.  It moved slowly and went over some stuff we already knew and the emotional pay off just wasn’t there, but I have a feeling the last two episodes are going to leave us all breathless.

This week we meet Kevin Tran, a high achieving, extremely scheduled high school student from Michigan.   It’s been awhile since I worried about SATs and college entrance essays, but the kid is spun pretty tightly about it.

Over in Chi-Town, Sam and Dean are about to make Kevin’s life suck (they just don’t know it yet).   They start banging on the brick they rescued from the Leviathans last episode and there’s a lot of thunder and general doom.  In what’s the best exchange of the night, Dean and Sam acknowledge this is the “Don’t! Stop!” moment but continue on.  Lighting, thunder, dark skies (then Thor appears – kidding Avengers geek in me) and then poor Kevin Tran pays the prices and is hit with lightening.

While all of this is going on, Cas gets a handle on things and wakes up to find Meg hovering over him reading a trashy celebrity magazine.  You know, I think Meg would be a lot of fun to hang out with, minus the demon wants to kill you aspect.

Kevin’s alive, late for his last chance at a perfect SAT math score and his eyes are all flashy with amber.  Oh that’s a good sign.  Poor Kevin.  Well, Sam should definitely write this kid’s college entrance essay for him after all this.

The boys are in full research mode (well, Sam was.  Dean just woke up.).  Bobby’s MIA this episode, which is sad, but with everything going on, probably for the best.  Only one messed up relationship problem at a time.   Anyway, in addition to hitting poor Kevin Tran with lightening, the breaking of the stone pushed every woman in the last month of her pregnancy into labor.  Well, that’s probably a good thing.  Every woman I know bitches the entire last month about wanting the baby out, so way to go team!

Basically, we go into some exposition. The writing on the stone has never been seen by Sam before, Dick was scouring the earth to find it, and so we know it’s important even if we don’t know why or what it is.  Sam wants to hole up somewhere safe and study it because Dick’s gonna be on a rampage until he gets it back.  Good plan, but it goes off track when Meg calls and let’s them know Cas is awake and knows who he is.   The guys realize that Cas came to consciousness the same time they busted open their treasure and we’re not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

The boys meet up with Cas and despite Dean’s worries; he’s not in bad shape.   Of course, if you pull his finger the lights go out, but all in all, not a bad deal.  Cas remembers everything but seems slightly stoned.   He does some flirting with Meg and she definitely lays out her interest and Sam quickly decides they need to put this back on track.  Way to spoil our fun, Sam.

Cas looks at the rock and we learn the language stone is really The Word of the Lord from Metatron (scribe of God, not to be confused with Megatron, the Transformer).  Cas is thrilled it’s the two of them that freed The Word of the Lord and showers them with uncomfortable hugs.  I guess Cas is a hugger now.  As the stone isn’t meant to be read by Angels, we still are unclear about what The Word is.   This sparks a bit of a fight between Meg, who wants to see if she can read it, and Dean, who doesn’t think Demons should have The Word, and our poor little stoner Cas bails because he hates conflict.  For some reason it’s decided that Dean should deal with Cas (really? Cas fears conflict and we’re sending Dean?).  Sam’s put in charge of The Word but agrees with Dean about Meg, so she bounces, but admits she’s taking Cas with her because he’s got a crush and even broken angel power is better than no angel power.   This causes Sam to lose his head completely and run after her.

Now I watched this episode with my roomie, who has never seen the show, and even she literally yelled ‘DON’T LEAVE THE WORD OF GOD ALONE!”  so I’m a bit annoyed that Sam, who has been dealing with heaven and hell for several seasons now, didn’t pick up The Word before he left.   However, it does give us one of the most hysterical chase scenes on TV as Sam fumbles to get it back from Kevin Tran and so I’ll call it a wash.  (Yeah, Kevin bailed on all his well planned life choices and was drawn to The Word via amber flashing eyes).  Sam catches him with some assistance from Meg, but unfortunately, Kevin can’t let go of The Word.  Sam, Meg and Kevin are confused.

Downstairs, Dean and Cas try to play nice while playing Sorry.  I’m sure you’ve assumed it doesn’t go well and you’d be right.   Dean’s trying to be patient, but he’s angry.  Cas is trying to be helpful, but he’s stoned.  Anyway, Cas explains that our universe is sad, engineered to create conflict, and he’s sorry about that but those are the rules, rules he didn’t make.  Except you know when he was playing God and let the Levithan out, Dean reminds him.  Dean wants an apology and that he gets, but he won’t accept it.   Dean wants answers that Cas can’t give him.  Thankfully he does give Dean the heads up that there are other angels amongst them, talking to Sam right now.

Slightly after discovering Kevin can read The Word (which contains information on the Leviathans that may or may not be useful in killing them), Angels show up and try to take charge.  They call out Sammy’s past with demon whores (oh Ruby, we miss you!) and poor Sam hasn’t even been with Meg so that was just mean.  Turns out, Kevin is the prophet and they’re gonna kill Meg and Sam, but Cas shows up.  The angels are confused and they want answers too, but Cas is too broken to give them.  Just before they’re about to smite everyone, Dean uses an angel symbol to send them all away.

Poor Kevin, who just this morning had only to worry about his SATS and college admission, is at the end of his rope and he freaks.   Dean wants to know what the deal is and Sam explains that Kevin’s in advanced placement.  Ha! Poor Prophet Kevin.   After reminding the audience angels don’t have wings or junk and the Leviathan are real monsters, they head off to Rufus’ cabin so Kevin can read.

Stopping for food and a trashy tabloid for Meg (seriously, Meg would be fun at a slumber party), Meg runs into some demons who she promptly ignores and we discover that Kevin’s been kidnapped and reported missing.  Cas calls Meg for a location and beams himself back to the group, nearly giving poor Kevin a heart attack.  Cas babbles about everything and we learn that racing dogs are miserable and that the Angels pissed at them are part of Cas’ old guard, assigned to watch the earth.  Dean finds his dad voice and threatens to pull the car over if Cas doesn’t get serious and tell them what they need to know.  Turns out when The Word is found, a Keeper (that’s Kevin) will awaken.  Kevin is to be taken to the desert so that he can learn the word away from man, which pisses Dean off because they need to know how to kill the Levithans.  Seriously.  Cas agrees but those are the rules and if he wants it different, he’ll have to duck the Angels.  Oh, and Cas wont fight anymore, he’s simply a bee watcher.  Heaven help us now really won’t apply, I guess.

Needing a break from Cas (I assume), Dean takes Kevin downstairs to get his read on.   Kevin’s the first normal person who has ever entered a hunter’s abode and immediately thinks he’s been taken to a sex torture dungeon.  Dean is annoyed.  Poor Dean.

Upstairs, Sam and Cas talk.  Unlike Dean, Sam’s able to forgive Cas for his part in Sam’s breakage.  He knows that Cas meant well, he’s grateful not to be stuck in hell forever and vows they’ll get Cas better.  Cas doesn’t understand because he thinks he is better.   Oh Cas, don’t you remember how you were? Meg spies and then meets up with the demons she met at the gas station.   She offers Cas so that they won’t take her to Crowley, but wants to know how many demons know about her.  Turns out it’s just the two of them, so she offs them both and then goes back.  Only to be devil’s trapped by Team Winchester.   I get not trusting a demon, but I think the boys jumped the gun here.  Meg’s consistently been on their side.

Meg agrees with me.  Her cause is bringing down Crowley, not annoying Sam and Dean or messing with Castiel.  Dean points out that Crowley aint the big bad this year and pretty much guarantees that he will be in the next few episodes of next season.  Meg points out that Crowley’s always a problem, he’s just good at bidding his time.  I swear, sometime Sam and Dean have tunnel vision.  They need to listen to Meg.

Sam buys what she’s selling and lets her out.  Cas is thrilled with the communication but points that killing the demon sent a pretty big “we are here” signal to the Angels.  And of course, Hester and Co. show up.  She’s pissed they took Kevin and plans to take him to the desert to learn The Word.  Dean, being Dean, thinks he can rationalize with her.  Hester is bitter and gets personal with Dean and truthfully, let’s just smite the bitch and be done with her here.  Dean’s had a rough day.  No one needs to call him names.  Cas steps in and bad goes to worst when Hester completely loses her shit and tries to kill him.  Meg saves the day again by killing Hester.  Really she showed remarkable patience for waiting so long because honestly, after being called a demon whore, a lot of lesser women would have offed Hester way earlier.

The more rational Angel allows Kevin to stay and finish the translation, which tells us that the Leviathans can’t be slain.  But they can be sent back to where they came from via a righteous mortal (oh boy, one of those?) and the blood of the fallen.  Cas gives it up easily – the blood people, get your minds out of the gutter and then he’s off to do whatever it is he wants to do. Probably hook up with Meg, who has also gone to ground.

Sam and Dean get to work.

And Kevin, poor Kevin, gets to go home with his Angel guards to find his mom and the FBI waiting for him.  Unfortunately, the FBI is one of the head Leviathans and he easily kills the Angels.  No clue why the one Angel just sat around and waited for his death, but he did.  So now the bad guys have Kevin, Sam and Dean have the possibility of sending them back to Hell (or where ever they were) and well I’m assuming Cas and Meg are off having some fun.

Like I said, it wasn’t my favorite episode but we do need these moments to tell the story.  I wish Castiel and Dean had had some sort of closure, but I was glad to see Sammy offer forgiveness.  It pretty much ensures Dean will cave sometime.  I wonder what it will take for Cas to get back into fighting form.  But mainly, I just kinda wanna party with Meg.  The girl likes her celebrity gossip and gets things done.

Next week we have Bobby and Crowley back and a double cross.  Should be good times, but until then how did you feel about ‘Reading is Fundamental’?