Well, that escalated quickly.

Supernatural Season 10 Episode 22 moved at such a riveting and quick pace that by the time I was able to really catch my breath or even check the time, the hour was over.

It’s been a while since I’ve felt this wholly engrossed, but wow, did this episode turn things up to a whole different level.

I still think that Charlie’s death in Supernatural Season 10 Episode 21 was unnecessary, and you still could have had this exact same episode follow it up say if she was just beat up or badly injured, etc. I really think it still would have worked.

That said, her death propelled Sam and Dean on their specific reactionary paths.

Sam was ready to shut his task force down, blaming himself for the loss, but that small glimmer of hope from Charlie’s email, that cracking of the code, gave him the renewed hope he needed to see it all through and save his brother.

And I can see it hard not to turn around when he’s so close and considering the loss along the way to get there.

But I was a bit shocked that he just straight up and shot Crowley and placed the magic hex bag to kill him. Good on Sam for just trying to end the King of Hell without some longwinded conversation or getting tripped up at the last second.

Granted, I was sort of bummed that after everything Crowley has been up to in Supernatural Season 10 (not much, really), that I thought this would be his end.

It made Crowley’s return to form that much more exciting though. Seeing those red eyes flare up, watching him fling Sam across the room and then put his fingers together in preparation for obliteration, I was reminded of the old Crowley. This was the scary and menacing Crowley we’ve known all along.

It was such a great moment to see him let Sam know that it was he who chose not to kill Sam and then send the younger Winchester off with a message for his mother. Sorry, Rowena, but your time has come.

Sam is really not getting the luck, and I can only hope the guy can save Dean, but wow, was that scene between Sam and Crowley intense.

At the same time, Dean was on a rampage that really showed off the dangerous side effects of the Mark of Cain. This version of Dean was out for blood, and he was leaving a trail of bodies in his wake.

This was a badass Dean for sure with all his quick and slick moves to take out his foes, but it was also super scary to see.

When he walked back into the bunker, covered in blood (what a great low angle shot) ready to face off against the Styne that killed Charlie, I was ready for an all out fight. It was rather a shock that he just used one bullet to take him out.

It was nerve-wracking when he walked up to the young Styne boy (the one that the episode had made us viewers aware that he wasn’t anything like his creepy family, someone I actually was able to worry about in such a short amount of time) ready to shoot. I was hoping Dean wouldn’t, but he did.

As if things couldn’t get more out of control, Castiel showed up to try and stop Dean. Now, I still don’t get why it took him so long to catch up with Dean (seriously, that was his one job for the episode), but it didn’t take away from that emotional beatdown to close out the moments.

Dean went to town on his friend, and Castiel still tried to stop him. I was glad that he said why he wanted to help try and get rid of the Mark.

I thought that this was the episode that Castiel would die after Dean pulled out that angel blade and slammed it down. I seriously thought I lost my breath trying to urge the camera to turn to see where he had hit.

It was a sigh of relief that Dean didn’t follow through, but he has gone off the reservation. This was a Dean being fueled by the Mark. I just don’t know how he’s going to be stopped.

And really, I think with everything going on, there were definitely some standout performances from the cast that made those intense moments have more of an impact.

I do think it was a bit ridiculous that the Stynes were able to easily bust into the bunker or that the family was well known in the town they lived in. For such a powerful family, they seemed to be dispatched of rather quickly. I certainly liked the introduction of the Stynes on Supernatural, but I sort of hope that was the last we’ve seen of them.

Still, I would have been OK if Cyrus Styne had survived...

This was a heart-stopping episode, and one I was invested in from the action to the emotional moments to that chilling ending. I hope we get some major wrap-up with the Mark of Cain next week, but I’m revved up and excited for the finale after this lead-in hour.

What did you think of Dean's rampage? What about Sam's decision to try and take out Crowley? Are you excited for the finale? Sound off below, and be sure to see this thrilling episode again when you watch Supernatural online now!

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