Sam and Dean captured! Sam and Dean freed!

It may have felt like forever for the Winchesters in that super secret prison, but it was a pretty quick stay considering they only had to endure their new residence for part of Supernatural Season 12 Episode 9.

But being stuck alone in a cell was so bad, so much worse than a stint in hell, that the brothers were willing to make a terrible death-related deal? Really?

I guess it would be tough to do multiple episodes of them sitting alone in their cells doing nothing but waiting for chow time, but why take the time for the brothers to even go there in the first place?

The concept that Sam and Dean were going to have to endure this crazy secret prison was an intriguing one. It felt like something different despite their run-ins with the law before.

It was a neat nod to hear of their connections to the law from the past, too.

Though, there was something that just felt off about Sam and Dean’s stay at this black site from the guys in charge to the music that accompanied the scenes.

And while I suspected that one secret service guy might be some demon connected to Lucifer or even a mole for the British Men of Letters, it turned out he was neither.

Nothing really came of the whole prison experience, especially because Mr. Ketch wound up killing all the connections to it.

So was it really all just a setup for the story to have the brothers be forced to call Billie so she could be dispatched and then there would be consequences the story could deal with going forward?

A major problem though has to be that I just didn’t buy that Sam and Dean would crack so easily. They’ve been in such dire circumstances before that it was shocking that they would make such a deal, and without coming up with some sneaky loophole or way out.

Plus, if they were able to call Billie, could they not call Castiel? Crowley? Only reapers had a direct call line into the cell?

It also still bothers me that Castiel was unable to find them but the British Men of Letters could. Or maybe I just need a refresher on Castiel’s powers again.

I'm certainly glad that Mary didn't actually kill herself at the end. It would have been an easy out for the writers.

But Castiel killing Billie?

Does that mean the deal is broken and done? And how did Billie not see it coming?

I hope that's not the end of Billie either. Otherwise, she was a character that could've been interesting but never got the opportunity to be anything more than just a reaper that pined after Winchester souls.

She had such a mystery about her when she first arrived on Supernatural Season 11 Episode 2, and I kept waiting for some reveal to show how she had a bigger part to play.

So, clearly there have to be consequences for Castiel’s actions, but what?

What we have here is a failure to communicate. We’re not trapped out here with you. You’re trapped out here with us.

Dean

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Look, I'm glad the brothers are free, and it was great to see them take on the agents. There was never any real doubt who would be the victor in that battle, but still, it was good to see that their prison time hadn’t lessened their fighting skills.

And it was good to see that Sam and Dean didn't kill anyone in trying to get out.

I'm a bit curious as to what it means if Mary is willing to take on Mr. Ketch’s offer. Or maybe she will be a mole to really get to the bottom of the group’s plan.

At the same time, Mr. Ketch seems so capable on his own -- he tied up all the loose ends involved in the Winchester imprisonment -- it makes me wonder why he really needs American hunters.

I was expecting a lot more from this episode, especially for a midseason premiere. I'm interested to see how things play out going forward with respect to killing Billie, but it felt like such a roundabout and unnecessary way to get there with the whole prison and then escape.

If anything, at least Sam and Dean are back and ready to get into the next case. After all, they're the guys who saved the world.

We're the guys who saved the world.

Sam

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What did you think of the episode? Were you surprised Billie was killed? Sound off below and be sure to watch Supernatural online now.

NOTE: Supernatural Season 12 Episode 10 airs Feb. 2 at 8 p.m.

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