Supernatural was mired in mourning last Friday, returning to The CW with a new episode that focused heavily on Bobby's passing.

In this edition of the TV Fanatic Round Table, staff writers Carissa Pavlica, Kate Moon and Sean McKenna pick apart "Adventures in Babysitting," debating topics that range from Frank to the brothers splitting up... again.

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What do you think of Frank?
Carissa: Who's Frank? The guy who put Dean in the cherry picker? I think he's fun! Love how Dean just fell under his orders like a good boy and was doing whatever he needed. Almost as if he needed an older man in his life to take the place of Bobby. Like it felt good to have someone thinking he was an ijit.

Kate: In a way he reminded me of Bobby... that is, if Bobby went a bit more loony and lost more of his marbles. It looks like we'll be seeing more of him and I think he'll be a formidable ally against the Leviathans.

Sean: There were hints of Bobby there, no? I really loved the rapport he had with Dean and his bluntness when it came to the obvious situation of death. Plus, he was hilarious in making Dean get up in that cherry picker.

Any ideas what the Leviathan might be building?
Carissa: It reminded me of something out of an alien type movie. A big underground development of some sort where they all just squirm around in their black inky form.

Kate: Honestly, no idea. Considering how crazy and off-the-wall their turducken plan was, I wouldn't be surprised if it was completely insane. Leave it to them to take over the world starting in Middle of Nowhere, Wisconsin.

Sean: I totally agree with Carissa. I know that the Leviathan are creatures from Purgatory, but I was thinking of aliens. I like that there is a mystery, but we aren’t completely unaware of their plans now.

Do you think Sam and Dean are coping with Bobby’s death well?
Carissa: They seem to be in denial. Only once was it mentioned as him having passed on, and I wonder if they will find out shortly he is there as a ghostly presence. Who the Hell else drank Dean's beer?

Kate: As well as they possibly can be. It's like the hunter's phases of mourning. The first couple of weeks they were in shock, but they buckled down to do the job. At this point I think they're so consumed by revenge that it's what's holding them up; but it's definitely not healthy.

Sean: Coping with death is hard and I love how they showed weeks went by before they could really do anything. They are going to have to truly move forward at some point, but for now, working hard at hunting monsters and Dick Roman is the substitute that makes it work for them.

Don’t they realize that splitting up always turns out badly?
Carissa: No. And they better not because many a goofy and eye-rolling plot would be left out in the cold if they did what we normal people would do!

Kate: Ha! It's true, for their own sake they shouldn't split up. But I kind of enjoyed the split episode this week. Sam and Dean are dealing with their issues separately, and it's kind of refreshing to see them tackle similar situations in such vastly different ways.

Sean: Probably, but both Sam and Dean needed to figure out a way to get out of it. Plus, especially with dealing with Bobby’s death, the two needed time to work out their issues in their own ways: Sam doing his hunting job and saving others and Dean planning his revenge on Dick Roman.

Was this the right kind of episode to air to start the New Year and especially after Bobby’s death?
Carissa: I liked the very beginning, when they showed how many weeks they just sat and stared at the walls before they finally realized it wasn't going to help. They don't know how to fix this. A REAL death. A bullet wound to the head is much different than dying at the hands of a demon or even death himself. They have nobody to bargain with. I think it worked.

Kate: I think Carissa nailed it. Dean and Sam aren't used to dealing with something so... real. It's poignant and more sad that after years of being a dedicated hunter, Bobby died in such a normal, mundane way. No one is immune to human issues, not even the brothers who deal with supernatural forces. I was surprised that the episode was lighter than I expected, but I really liked Chrissy's character, and I think it fit into the theme of dealing with death as hunters really well.

Sean: I think it was a great follow up episode because it didn’t skip over Bobby’s death which was extremely important. It also discussed living the hunters life and the repercussions, showed Sam and Dean attempting to deal with that death, and even progressed the Leviathan plot a little. It wasn’t a big bang type of episode, but it worked in transitioning from such an impactful one.

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