This is what the Supernatural premiere should have been.

I was glad that last episode, Dean chose to stay with Lisa instead of run off with Sam. Too often a storyline like that is created and then dropped instantly. Yet even though I liked it, I was eager for Dean to get back to his hunter ways and team up with his brother.

From the beginning of this episode, “Two and a Half Men,” Dean continues his internal struggle between living the life he wants and the life he was born to live.

Dean so desperately wants to protect Ben and Lisa that he becomes overprotective. He even gets furious when Ben admits to Dean that he wants to learn to be a hunter.

Whoa Dean, relax.

I’d like to point out on a side note that I’m glad they used the same actor seen in season 3 to continue playing Ben. It’s a small detail in the series, but I think it adds much more to the authenticity of the continuity.

Sam is investigating the disappearances of babies whose parents are being murdered. It was weird to see Sam by himself and made me want the brothers to reunite that much more.

Sam runs into a Shifter, a creature that changes its appearance, looking for one family’s baby. It’s when Sam saves the baby from being taken that he decides he needs to call Dean for help.

Finally!

With the brothers teamed up, the episode takes a turn into what makes this show great. A hilarious scene involving Sam and Dean searching for baby items at the grocery store brings back that brotherly banter. I laughed when Dean was holding the baby outstretched and making noises to match the crying, as if that would stop it. Did anyone notice the “Three Men and a Baby” reference too?

The Shifter returns trying to take the baby from the boys and the two work together to get away. It’s like watching the early seasons again, and that’s a good thing. Yet, when the baby shapeshifts from White to African American, Sam and Dean realize that the father must be a Shifter. Sam decides that the safest bet is to take the baby to Samuel Campbell for protection.

Dean remains hostile and suspicious of the Campbells, but he goes with Sam anyway. Just when everyone thinks they are safe though, a Shifter looking like Samuel Campbell bursts into their compound. Unfortunately bullets, knives, and tranquilizer darts are ineffective on this creature. It easily defeats the Campbells and the brothers, before taking the baby. This is one badass creature. They believe that it’s an “Alpha” or the first Shifter that spawned all other Shifters. To add to the problem, they don’t think that they can kill it. Why is something that powerful making baby Shifters? Why is it appearing now?

The Campbells remain shrouded in mystery. Dean is aggressively wary and he should be. I want to see this group of hunters as the good guys but for some reason I can’t help but not trust them either. I was surprised that Sam is adamant to take sides with them before Dean. He confronts Sam about using the baby as bait and holding out information from him. He doesn’t trust something. It’s because of the fact that Samuel Campbell and Sam came back and no one knows why. I didn’t think of it until tonight, but we don’t know if Sam ever actually got rid of Lucifer?

And who was on the other end of that phone during the Samuel Campbell conversation? For someone who acts so authoritative, there seems to be someone higher up pulling the strings. Who is it?

Dean returns to Ben and Lisa and she sets him straight by confronting his inner struggle. She tells him to go hunt, but they will be waiting for him whenever he wants to return. With monsters and creatures acting more unusual than normal, Dean needs to team up with his brother and find out what is going on.

Finally it's time for what we’ve been waiting for. Turn up “Smoke On the Water,” pull off the tarp, and reveal that shiny Impala. Dean is back and ready to go.

Some Supernatural quotes from last night ...

Dean: We can't actually drop it off at an orphanage. They might get upset when it turns Asian. | permalink

Dean: [putting finger with alcohol in baby's mouth] It's good, isn't it? | permalink

Sam: You've got a whole Dr. Huxtable vibe coming off you. You're like... father material. | permalink

Dean: I'll pay you money if you sit still. This is like diffusing an IED with poop. | permalink

Dean: Who designed this thing, NASA! | permalink

Sam: Welcome to the party, Guttenberg. | permalink

Lisa: Dean, no offense, but if you don't walk out that door, I'm gonna shoot you. | permalink

Sam: Huh.
Dean: Shut it.
Sam: I just said huh.
Dean: I just said shut it. | permalink

Sean McKenna was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. He retired in May of 2017. Follow him on Twitter.