Supernatural season premiere recap: Battle in the 'Burbs

Fellow Supe fans, I’m hungry for more.

After last season’s game-changing finale that had Sam jumping into Hell and Dean seeking comfort with former flame Lisa and her son Ben — followed by a long summer of wondering what exactly would become of the Winchesters — the season 6 opener answered our questions. But dare I say something’s missing? Let’s examine.

Time jump: Welcome to one year after Sam jumped into hell. Location: Casa del Dean, where salt is used as a seasoning (not a demon deterrent), where you sleep in a bed next to a woman (and not across from your brother in a grody motel room), and where your toolbox consists of hammers and wrenches and such (not an apocalypse-stopping arsenal). Oh, and you wear workout pants. (WTF!?…and yet…yum!) Sound normal? Good. It is. Sound like a life for Dean I-kick-ass-and-ask-questions-later Winchester? Nope. But is that bad? Well, that’s what we need to explore.

Dean didn’t seem too discontent with the idea. Since we last saw him, he scored a job in construction, made a beer buddy named Sid, took up golf, and started going to barbecues like a normal guy. The apple-pie life that Sam wished for him was all that and a la mode, for that matter. New Dean even showed the willpower to turn down a flirty bar waitress who hit on him. New Dean was “unavailable,” a family man and former pest-control specialist. “It’s kinda scary, actually,” said the man who had literally faced the devil of his new, respectable lifestyle. But like Sam’s once human-sized pectorals, Dean’s new life wouldn’t remain normal for long.

A hunter will always find a hunt — even if he or she has to imagine one. Actually, Dean didn’t know he was imagining and neither did we. The scream he heard coming out of the bar and the claw marks he saw seemed like the real deal. We should have known something was off about it all; Demons are the stalking type, while clawed monsters tend to attack right away. I blame my temporary confusion on Dean’s new camel-colored jacket, which totally looked like something a girl would buy for a guy thinking it looked tough. It doesn’t hold a candle to the cargo or the leather, though. Just sayin’.

Back at his house after an attempted Yorkie assassination, Dean prepared to bring out the big guns (literally) before getting busted by Lisa. He lied and claimed that that his Spidey sense might be off, dismissing his behavior as an overreaction so as not to worry her. Still, he said, he wanted to secure the area, and sent Lisa and Ben away for the afternoon so he could do so. Alone, Dean was cornered by a familiar face: the Yellow-Eyed Demon. Cue the collective, confused exclamation of the viewing audience: “What?!”

Next: Sam Winchester’s bag of secrets

Shortly after the blast from the demon past’s appearance, Sam popped in and saved Dean from his hallucination. Turns out Dean had been poisoned by a Djinn, those tattooed freaks that sent Dean into an alternate reality in season 2.

When Dean came to, Sam was watching him — not the first time they’ve done that to each other, but it always strikes me as kinda creepy, personally — and he was in a new location: Sam’s hunter’s lair. There, Sam told Dean that he returned from Hell almost immediately, but with no clue as to what brought him back. Dean reacted as expected:

“You finally had what you wanted, Dean,” said Sam.

“I wanted my brother alive,” Dean retorted earnestly.

And that wasn’t all Sammy Winchester had stored in his bag of secrets: He’d also been hunting without Dean and with a group of other hunters: their relatives. Enter three newbies and one familiar face –a pair of third cousins, one “something, something twice removed,” and formerly-dead grandpa Samuel Campbell (Mitch Pileggi). Yup, all related to the boys’ deceased and hunter-raised mother.

We could pause here to argue that the sudden emergence of the “relatives we never knew we had!” twist was a little too convenient. But why go there? Does anyone really know about the existence of all their distant relations? Isn’t it possible you’ve got some “something, something twice removed” who could pop up out of nowhere, much to your surprise? I fall into that category, anyway, so I’ll take the ride. Plus, I like the new additions; they seem seedy, which could take us down some interesting avenues.

The resurrection of Gramps Camp opened up season 6 mystery No. 1: What brought the duo of Sams back? “Whatever this is, we’re both a part of it,” Sam said. No further clues were provided in this episode as to what this may be, but color me intrigued. (I’m also intrigued by the new promo flashed during the episode’s commercial breaks, but there’s no mystery surrounding that at all. Just ogling.)

Back to the case, Sam revealed that the Djinn have changed their pattern. They’re no longer corner-lurking creatures of the shadows. We’d later learn that they weren’t the only creatures changing their well-documented habits. (“Nocturnals attacking at night; werewolves out on a half-moon,” Samuel said, to paint the picture, although I could have done without the visual of “exsanguinated 10-year-olds”). Sam also told Dean that he had fallen victim to their hallucinogenic poison only days before Dean did, but he was cured by Samuel. “I know a few things. Stick around, I’ll show ya tricks your daddy never dreamed of,” the older man said when Dean asked how he knew a cure.

Pause for pondering: Anyone else have mad love for grandpa at this point? He’s turning out to be everything I always wanted John Winchester to be: the perfect balance of wisdom, support, straight-talk, and sarcasm. That said, the current scenario seems a little too perfect, right? Discuss.

Upon realizing that he had been the natural next step in the Djinns’ plan for revenge, Dean insisted on going home to Lisa and Ben, fearing they were next. Naturally, he packed them up and headed for Bobby’s, the safe zone, the Sweden, if you will. There, Dean learned that he was apparently one of the few people on the planet who didn’t know Sam was back from hell. Everyone wanted Dean to have a chance at normal, and as much as Dean expressed regret for turning to Lisa and Ben, we’d later learn that he wanted it too.

Next: So that explains those season 6 promos!

Back at Hunters’ HQ, Dean butted heads with Christian about how to handle the Djinn. “You’ve been out of the game for a while; why don’t you leave it to the professionals?” the smug little turd said. But I loved the glimmer of pride in Gramp Camp’s eye when Dean fired with a suggestion that they return to Dean’s house and lure the Djinn out, adding “See? It’s almost like a professional.”

But as it turns out professional Dean was a little rusty. After convincing the team to leave him and Sam alone in the house to act as bait for the waiting Djinn, Dean saw the creatures attacking his neighbors and rushed over to help, despite Sam’s warnings. Double-teamed (!), Dean was taken down by the Djinns and fell into a terrifying vision of Lisa being killed by the YED — just like his mother. This is the clip we saw in the misleading promos. (CW, you tricky little…) Samuel came in and rescued Dean and Sam, but not before capturing one of the Djinn’s behind the brothers’ back.

After the ordeal, Dean decided to return to Lisa and Ben instead of following Sam for more hunts. For the record, Sam wanted Dean to come with him, but after lying to him for a year, did anyone else think he was out of line to lay it on so thick? Still, Dean resisted the temptation to stop his life in the ‘burbs and start hunting again. “I did this to them,” Dean said of his new family, “I made them vulnerable the moment I knocked on their door and I can’t undo that. What I can do is go with the best option.” …meaning him. Dean, you’re the only option. (Grrr.) Ok! I’ll stop. Enough. This move to Friday — I can’t say it’s healthy.

So the bros went their separate ways, obviously not for long if you saw the promos, which I won’t get into here for spoilerphobes’ sake. But all that said, I’m curious how you’re feeling about a few things, readers.

Answer me this: What did you think of the season premiere? Yay or nay for new showrunner Sera Gamble? Did you enjoy the addition of Grandpa Campbell as much as I did? Did you, too, feel like we got all many answers but no long-awaited progress between the brothers? Do you hope something really bad happens to Sam’s douchey Charger? Did the pictures around Dean’s house melt your heart? When did Ben turn from a moonjumping kid into a pre-teen? And did you notice Dean was barefoot when locking up his house? Have we ever seen him barefoot when he wasn’t in sleepwear? (File those last two questions under: You’re watching too closely. Take two steps BACK away from your TV NOW. P.S. – It’s good to be back!)

QUOTEABLES:

“I thought that was a possum. Remember when I said I was in pest control? Well, possums carry rabies, so [makes gun shot noise].” — Dean

A gun looks so much better in his hand than that damn spatula.

“You’ve been back practically this whole time? What, did you lose the ability to send a freakin’ text message?” — Dean

I love how Dean skipped right over phone call and went to text message. How would one exactly explain their resurrection via text? “Dean, back from hell. OK? Ttyl – Sam”?

“My God, you have delicate features for a hunter.” — Newbie Gwen, third cousin to Dean and Sam

Gigglesnort. I like her already.

“Just don’t touch the décor, okay? Assume it’s all loaded.” — Bobby

So are we to assume Supernatural‘s season 6 plot is hanging on Bobby’s walls?

“You got out Dean. And I was so damn grateful you got no idea.” — Bobby

Take back what I said before. Bobby is everything I always wanted John Winchester to be.

For lots more Supernatural chatter, head to Twitter: @EWSandraG

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