Supernatural 8.07 – “A Little Slice of Kevin” Review

Episode: Supernatural 8.07 – “A Little Slice of Kevin”
Original Air Date: November 14, 2012

Screencaps by spn-caps

There was so much happening in this episode that it was hard to keep up, but when it was all over we had new potential story leads and many questions. The Trans have returned, and with them all the demonic issues that they are running from. We also got the return of Castiel, Dean’s guilt issues, and Crowley’s beloved evilness. And if that wasn’t enough, we found out that Cas is being controlled by a higher-up in Heaven without his knowledge. There are so many places we could go with all these threads and I’m looking forward to it.

I’m sure I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again. Mrs. Tran is hardcore awesome and so is her son. When they named the episode, I didn’t realize they meant it literally. Kevin is down a finger, yet still standing strong. It’s a hard life for a prophet. Here’s a young man who, a year ago, had a normal life ahead of him. He was on the fast track for college success and his mother was looking forward to cheering on her son as he garnered accolades at his high school graduation. Today, they’re on the run from demons, have no permanent home, and are constantly in danger of losing their lives. I’ve got to say that they’ve adapted well. Plus, Mrs. Tran has emerged as a strong female character in a show that doesn’t keep them around very long. So far, it’s a win-win for the viewers.

What the Trans need at the moment is to get Crowley and his demon minions off their backs. Kevin managed to achieve that last time by setting off a demon bomb, but it took quite a while to gather the exotic ingredients from the far reaches of the world. To replicate it this time, they’re going to need help. Mrs. Tran’s solution for this is to hire a witch off Craigslist. Yeah, not the best place to find a reputable witch, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Too bad for them that the witch would rather sell out to the King of Hell than be loyal to her employer.

When he was just King of the Crossroads, Crowley was out for himself, but he was also not one to get his hands dirty. Now, he’s much darker and much more willing to kill. That’s not good for anyone against him. First he kidnapped the potential prophets in hopes that they could translate his tablet, yet that plan didn’t work out so well. I’m wondering why he didn’t know the “one prophet at a time” rule, though. Or maybe he was keeping them in preparation for when he killed Kevin, so that he could already have the next prophet up. Whatever the reason, he also got his hands on Kevin as well and tortured him until the young man started translating the text. I’m interested to see where they’re going with the Metatron reference. There’s such rich potential in that, especially because there are multiple other tablets out there which could lead to many different storylines.

The other big events of the episode centered around the return of Cas from Purgatory. I liked that, at the beginning, Dean kept thinking he saw Cas and that could be linked to his continued feeling of guilt. Dean thinks he left Cas behind, let him down, and that’s just one more guilt that Dean’s carrying. His entire life, Dean feels like he’s let down the important people in his life. In Dean’s mind, Dad, Sam, and now Cas have suffered because Dean didn’t live up to their expectations. However, it’s not always that straightforward. What Dean thinks he’s responsible for and what really happened aren’t the same thing. Dean didn’t leave Cas behind, the angel chose to stay.

Cas thought he deserved to do penance after all the wrong he did on Earth and in Heaven. While I appreciate the idea, it also makes me sad that he’s carrying around that much guilt. The heavy weight of guilt has eaten away at Dean his entire life. To carry that for eternity, as Cas is doing, is even more distressing. He was set to spend the rest of his days in Purgatory, always on the run and waiting for the day when the monsters would catch and kill him. He was in no shape to get out on his own, after Dean left, but Heaven had other ideas. Cas has a higher purpose topside and no memory of the fact he’s actually becoming an angelic spy. Naomi’s going to be an interesting character, but what betrayal will she have Cas do involving the Winchesters? And what will happen when this situation is found out? Will Cas be caught in the middle yet again, between duty and loyalty? And will the Winchesters be able to forgive him for his involvement? The future is wide open and I’m excited to see where we go!

Rating: 5 / 5 Stars