Supernatural Review: The Collector

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Never trust Crowley.

It doesn’t matter if he’s high as a kite, mouthing off sarcastic quips or making light work of his enemies, the King of Hell will always be the King of Hell. Sooner or later, Sam and Dean will have to take Crowley out.

Except Mark Sheppard is so good at playing the demon king that it’s not like you want him to be defeated either. He brings a malevolent playfulness every time he appears on screen.

And with Supernatural Season 9 Episode 16, we got to see a variety of sides to Crowley as he “helped” Sam and Dean locate the First Blade.

I couldn’t help but recall Sam’s addiction to demon blood when watching Crowley crave his fix of human blood. It’s a very cool reversal to see, especially with Crowley acting like a human when it comes to sex, food and emotion.

Guess he just really likes Casablanca and pizza. And Lola.

The actual intervention seemed much less intense than Sam going cold turkey on demon blood, but there was still obviously an effect on Crowley. There were also a lot of subtle looks and Supernatural quotes that skirted between a human version and demon version of Crowley, which Sam was more privy to seeing.

It was also another time we got to see Sam have lengthy one-on-one time with Crowley, even though he obviously didn’t want it. There’s far less back and forth banter between the two, but it was humorous when Crowley tried to help, even looking for a “good job” after getting materials Sam needed.

Finding the First Blade was a difficult enough task, made even more of a problem by the lone ex-Men of Letters survivor (he was the last one, right?) using the name Magnus. This collector of rare supernatural artifacts was even less of a help than Crowley. Never trust the guy in a bow tie.

It was great to see a bit of the mythology of the show expand even more, even if it was ultimately contained to this one episode. Plus, having Sam and Dean getting involved in the research that unveils more of the history makes it more entertaining.

But that First Blade is obviously not a good thing for Dean to have for too long.

Dean almost seemed overwhelmed when holding the blade and Sam’s voice snapped him out of it. It was kind of a scary moment seeing the first effects of what could be even worse down the line, and also watching Crowley appear amused at what was going on.

I was glad to see Sam concerned for his brother, as Dean stared transfixed at the blade. Sure, he could have been concerned for his own safety, but this is Sam we’re talking about.

No matter how much drama there is (and he still could possibly not get over the big current drama), he still has some level of care for Dean. I hope he realizes that he will need to be there for his brother when everything goes sideways.

That Mark of Cain is certainly not going to make things easy for the brothers.

It is funny in a way that Crowley essentially betrayed the brothers (even though Sam and Dean were ready to use the First Blade on him). To think, the brothers needed Crowley to be his demon self to help them, but that inadvertently made him back to his demon self, the manipulating, scheming King of Hell.

I just wonder how Sam and Dean are going to get Abaddon in a position where Crowley will give them back the First Blade to finish her off. Not to mention she seems to be getting more powerful and brazen (she scratched up the Impala!) on her quest to take over Hell.

It was a bit surprising that Abaddon didn't make an appearance despite having a presence during the hour, but I can only assume that it would have felt too crowded with everything else going on. But it has been awhile since we've last seen her...

I actually liked Snooki’s cameo as a demon. It poked fun of her persona without being overdone, and the scene was so short that it didn’t feel jarring to the case at hand. It was an entertaining little aside.

“Blade Runners” was an entertaining episode furthering the main storyline, expanding the mythology a bit, increasing the problems associated with the Mark of Cain, and of course, plenty of Crowley.

I'm curious how the First Blade storyline with play out, especially with respect to Sam and Dean's relationship, but I've got a feeling things are ramping up for a good last batch of Supernatural Season 9 episodes.

Who do you want to see in charge of Hell?

Blade Runners Review

Editor Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 4.1 / 5.0 (41 Votes)

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

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Supernatural Season 9 Episode 16 Quotes

Okay, uh, look Snooki. Can I call you Snooki?

Sam

You know, at least when Cas was human, he was an OK guy. Should've known Crowley would be a douche version.

Dean