'Supernatural' Season 6, Episode 3 Recap

['Supernatural' - 'The Third Man']

'The Third Man' found major pieces of 'Supernatural's' Season 6's mythology falling into place, and while it had its share of moments that worked, the overall structure was a little wobbly.

It was nice to see Castiel back and there were some interesting and humorous brotherly moments. But it was hard to escape the feeling that the episode needed a little more depth and heft in order to fully succeed.

Despite what follows, I didn't necessarily dislike 'The Third Man.' The crux of my problems, such as they are, hinge on some structural issues and on some aspects of the angel story line. It was an adequate episode that didn't fully realize its potential, but there were some things to like about it and it introduced some intriguing new ideas.

Much of what transpired touched on the idea of disappointment -- Castiel's disappointment in his brothers, Dean feeling let down when Sam implied that Dean had been unduly affected by his time in Hell. So perhaps it's only appropriate that I thought the episode was a bit of a letdown. It wasn't bad, it simply could have been better.

Structurally speaking, there was a bit too much setup of the crime of the week, and a disjointed quality to the second half of the episode. We spent a limited amount of time with Balthazar, then switched over to Raphael, who was fairly quickly dispatched, and then we briefly saw Balthazar again. It almost felt like what transpired could have taken place over two episodes, but the events and developments were sort of stitched together in an episode that felt a little underwhelming as far as character development goes.

Part of the issue is that Sebastien Roche (who's also doing a fine job in a recurring role on 'Fringe') is a strong actor with a great presence. He and Misha Collins had a real vibe in their scenes, which the show should have taken advantage of, given that the episode's resolution hinged on their status as war buddies. But Balthazar had barely sketched out the reasons for his rebellion before he was gone. We didn't even meet this major character until Minute 29 of a 41 minute episode; there was barely any time to hear about the characters' shared history, let alone explore it. I hope Roche returns, though it looks as though we've seen the last of Demore Barnes' Raphael.

You can call the next section my Angelic Musings, if you will. Much of the season's mythology is likely to involve angels, and this could be a good thing or a not-good thing. Let me state this very loudly and firmly: It's far, far too early to tell whether the angel-related themes I'm about to discuss will be problematic or positive this season. These are simply thoughts and reactions I had while watching 'The Third Man':

• The "loose nukes" story line has potential, as long as it's not too episodic and amounts to more than a season-long scavenger hunt. The Winchesters going from town to town and finding various bits of lost heavenly weaponry would not, in and of itself, be all that interesting. But if those stories end up dovetailing with the harvesting of souls, the angelic civil war, the sinister Campbells and whatever is up with Sam, it could well prove to be a fruitful plot element for the season. Again, as long as it's part of a bigger tapestry.

• If the angels and their civil war develops into a major ongoing theme, I hope they're better used than they were here. Generally speaking, I've liked how they've used angels in the show, in no small part because they cast very strong actors such as Misha Collins, Kurt Fuller, Mark Pellegrino, Richard Speight Jr and Robert Wisdom in key heavenly roles (Barnes and Roche are excellent actors as well, but Barnes in particular got almost nothing to do in this episode, which was disappointing). But it must be said, there has been an element of petulance to their personal issues. Last year, we had angels who were in a snit because Dad left them alone as the Apocalypse bore down on them. This year, if we have angels partying and causing mayhem simply because dad's away for the weekend -- well, quite frankly, it'd be nice if there were more to it than that. Sure, this may all fit into Season 6's developing theme about maturity, perspective, tolerance and coexistence. Now that the angels are liberated from the old regime and outdated worldviews, losing their way could be part of their ongoing journey toward true maturity. But honestly, if they end up being whiny and bratty, I'll just start tuning them out (Balthazar wasn't necessarily whiny, but again, he seems to be a mildly rebellious party-boy type so far). All in all, if the civil war is to be of interest, the key factions and personalities involved have to have agendas and they have to be interesting characters, or else I could see myself potentially losing interest in them. Zachariah was a guy you loved to hate, but if Season 6 features a bunch of disaffected frat boys partying and spending their inheritance, that could be... not awesome. But again, it's too early to tell. We'll see.

• The show's prior mythological arcs had some angels (led by Zachariah) hoping for and planning for an Apocalypse. Now we have Raphael trying to bring about the Apocalypse once again. Again, it's too early to tell if we're in for 'The End of the World As We Know It, Part 2: The Squeakquel,' but I certainly hope we don't hit that theme too hard again this season, especially given how last season's Apocalypse wasn't, as a whole, 'Supernatural's' finest hour. And as much as I loved season 4, if that arc is paralleled too neatly it might be a problem. Again, might. I'm just thinking out loud here.

• There's once again a parallel between heaven's brass and the Winchester brothers. The angels have been torn asunder and in some cases are trying to forge new alliances, and the Winchesters are trying to co-exist and work together, despite being in very different places. Of course, the Winchesters are not engaged in a civil war at the moment; their conflicts, such as they are, exist slightly below the surface, though Dean brought their issues out into the open at the end of 'The Third Man.'

• So why does Raphael have to come back in a different vessel? Do they have to switch actors for some reason? I don't know, that development just seemed odd and abrupt and it seemed like half the point of the scene was just to (temporarily) kill off a character we'd barely even seen in the episode. (Speaking of killing, I'm no fan of gore. The episode could have spent far less on the cops' gruesome deaths and far more on Balthazar and Raphael, and that would have been fine by me.)

• We've seen Cas go from a sometimes hapless minion who was manipulated by his superiors to a political operative who is clearly trying to build a power base while battling powerful rivals. Angels were trained to be obedient, but Cas will have to become a whole new kind of politically savvy and battle-hardened angel in order to survive the chaos of heaven. The interesting question for him is, can he defeat Raphael without becoming Zachariah?

All in all, I felt that 'The Third Man' was good at the small, brotherly moments (the race between Sam and Dean, the dialogue, etc.), and it effectively established or elaborated on some possible themes for the seasons (the purchase of souls, the loose nukes, the civil war, etc). And we revisited, in the effective final scene, the distance between Sam and Dean, and that last moment invoked the season-long theme with the most potential.

The more I think about it, the more clever I think it is to have the brothers separate but together, if you know what I mean. Last season, they physically parted temporarily, but then they came back together before that separation had really taken hold and been developed in a meaningful way.

This season, they're in the same car (after the demise of Sam's shiny new badass-mobile), but they're further apart than they've ever been. That, to me, is a very intriguing idea. How do you live with someone you don't recognize anymore? How do you make peace with the idea that they're not the person you want them to be? How does each individual live with the idea that they did not turn out to be the person they thought they'd be?

They've both been changed by their year apart. Having spent a year as Ben's quasi-dad, Dean has deep compassion for the kid that Cas tortures. Sam, for his part, has little use for emotions like compassion if they get in the way of the job. And he seems far too cavalier about his time in Hell. All things considered, Sam seems like the overly businesslike, somewhat cynical senior partner in the relationship, and Dean seems like the not-quite-on-board, questioning junior partner. They've almost changed places from where they were back in Season 1.

How they're able to navigate those changes while working together as hunters is an interesting prospect, and I'm with Dean -- we don't know all we should know about what Sam has been through (perhaps Sam doesn't recall it all either). Scarier than any creature or critter is the idea that Sam truly believes he wasn't affected by his time in Hell (or his deadened year topside), all evidence to the contrary.

A few more thoughts:

• Return to the Stay Tuned column on Monday for an exclusive behind-the-scenes clip of Jensen Ackles directing the Oct. 15 episode of the show, 'Weekend at Bobby's.'

• With the prostitute scene in the episode's opening minutes, we got perhaps the most chilling indication that Sam is in a very different place. Dean just spent a year establishing true intimacy with a strong, caring woman, and Sam has clearly viewed intimacy as a mere bodily need, one taken care of with an impersonal cash transaction. From the man who was devastated by Jessica's death to this ... It's been quite a journey for Sam, and I grow more intrigued by New!Sam each week. What turned the impulsive, caring, thoughtful Sam into this cold, calculating man? Kudos to Jared Padalecki for playing Sam as Sam -- but a very different Sam, if you know what I mean.

• As I mentioned, I seriously have no stomach for gore, and when I had an idea of what might going on with the third cop, I actually closed my eyes and made my husband describe what was on the screen. I knew that would be too disturbing for me. 'The Third Man' actually recalled one of last season's Edlund episodes -- 'My Bloody Valentine,' which was a little gory for my taste.

• As far as the CasComedy goes, "I think we can eliminate Moses as a suspect" worked for me, while the "air quotes" did not.

• My favorite line of the episode: Dean, after the angels landed on Sam's car: "OK! Silver lining!"

• What are souls good for? What can they be used for? I hope this tantalizing question gets answered this season.

• Do the Campbells have a loose nuke? Are they hunting for them via some minion of Raphael? I'd bet there's a link between those two story lines.

• Sorry for the delay in posting this review; my recaps usually go up before noon on Saturdays. But a sports event pre-empted 'Supernatural' in Chicago on Friday, and the episode didn't air until Saturday night.

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'Supernatural' airs 9PM ET Fridays on the CW.


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