(S03E07) Well now, guess who's back? This was an episode that many Supernatural fans had been waiting a good ten months for. Technically, Gordon Walker returned a few weeks ago in "Bad Day At Black Rock". But that was just a little taste, a hint at what was to come. This was the payoff, and it was well worth the wait. On the off chance that Gordon's obsessed return wasn't enough, they also brought along Buffy vet Mercedes McNab, and the boys made a little more progress in their ongoing, car based, relationship therapy.
She had what ended up being a smaller part than I expected when I heard that she had been cast, but it was still nice seeing Mercedes McNab on the show. Coming on the heels of her guest spot on Reaper last week, it's been a fun month for Mercedes fans. Lucy wasn't what I was expecting. When she started in with the fear and confusion I thought she was trying to play Sam and Dean. The revelation that she really was an innocent girl that had been taken advantage of by Dixon (Matthew Humphreys) was a nice twist.

For a moment there I started to wonder if we weren't going to see some kind of rescue mission for her. It's a path we've been down before with season two's "Bloodlust." Alas, it was not to be. Sam agreed with Dean that they had to kill the vampire formerly known as Lucy, with much less protest than I expected. Really, had this not been the big Gordon episode, there was enough story with Lucy, Dixon, and the other victims to make a pretty solid episode out of just that.

Ah, but why make a pretty solid episode when you can go whole hog and make a great one? That's what we got, largely thanks to Sterling K. Brown. He really is outstanding as Gordon Walker. He is so intense and committed. It helps that Gordon really is a fascinating character. From our perspective he's a little bit crazy, and just doesn't get it. But from his point of view, he's fighting for what's right, and willing to give up everything to save the world. That bit of him is admirable.

After seeing the promo with Gordon's declaration to Kubrick, "I'm stronger. I'm faster. I can finish him." I thought there would be some kind of dark mojo in play. Gordon finally reaching out to the dark side in a last ditch effort to finally get to Sam, something that could have played well with the mojo bag he had on him. Taking that change out of Gordon's hands and having Dixon turn him against his will was a great choice. It gave Gordon all of the powers he sought, but without him having to compromise his values, however warped they are.

My only disappointment with the episode comes from the fact that this really did put an end to Gordon, and I could really go for more from that character. It's hard to bounce back from being decapitated with razor wire, even on this show. Perhaps we'll get a chance to see him again in the form of a shape-shifter messing with Sam somewhere down the road. If not, it was a great run for the character.

Speaking of Sam and the razor wire... was I the only one that thought we were headed for vampire Sammy for a moment there? After Gordon made such a big deal at the hospital about blood and open wounds, here is Sam, holding the razor wire with bare hands as Gordon bleeds all over him. Given that there really is no cure for being a vampire, I guess they really couldn't go there.

Sam vs. Gordon brings up another interesting bit. He was quite quick to agree with Dean that they should kill him. Following his earlier decision that they had to kill Lucy, it is a different Sam. The question then becomes, is this some part of the dark Sam coming out? Or, is it just a case of Sam accepting the reality of his surroundings. I'm leaning to the latter. Especially with Gordon, it just became clear that there was no other way.

Now then, Bela. It's not that I minded her small role in the episode, I'm just not sure it was even necessary. Unless they needed us to see that she has that mojo bag from Gordon for a future plot, I just don't see why she was there. Sure, Dean and Bela don't like each other. That didn't really need to be explained to us again. As to Gordon tracking down the boys, what has Kubrick been doing all this time? And why is it so much easier for the two of them to track down Bela than it is to just track down the boys? It wasn't bad, just oddly out of place.

Finally, we had the weekly Sam and Dean relationship stuff. It's slow going, but it is progressing nicely. I thought Sam's explanation that he knows Dean better than anybody, and this is exactly how Dean acts when he is terrified, was very good. And judging by the little pow-wow over the engine of the Impala, it seems to have sunk in.

Overall, a great episode. From the reports I've been seeing, it looks like we have at least another eight episodes ready to go before the strike puts the show on hiatus. That probably won't get us to a resolution of the deal, but it should lay a lot of the groundwork.