'Supernatural' | 'Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell' S12E15 Overview
‘Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell’ sees the Winchester boys on another monster-of-the-week hunt. This time, it’s an invisible hellhound attacking campers in a forest.
Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) arrive home at the bunker after a ghoul and siren hunt. In memory Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s character as the Winchester boys’ father, the show featured a clever homage to the actor’s character on AMC’s ‘The Walking Dead’. Dean - covered in gore and carrying a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire announces ‘Dad would love this!' – a reference to the actor's evil Negan on the hit apocalypse series.
In this episode, Sam’s been taking jobs from the British Men of Letters, but keeping it from Dean. The two are called to the case of the missing camper, and soon find that a hellhound is responsible. Crowley (Mark A. Sheppard) is busy trying to deal with the bureaucracy of Hell and two annoying under-demons when Dean calls him for an explanation. As soon as Crowley has headed out to help them with the hellhound, the under-demons waste no time in releasing Lucifer (Mark Pellegrino) from his chains. Naturally, Luci ignores their demands and disintegrates both of them as soon as he’s free. Can’t be too careful, after all.
So, the hunt for hellhound ‘Ramsay’ is on (a possible reference to ‘Game of Thrones’?). The Winchester boys dig out their treated (and very fetching) glasses that allow them to see the beasts, and Dean and Crowley hunt through the dark forest, sharing a companionable moment. Sam takes Gwen (Angelique Rivera) back to town, but they are soon found and attacked by Ramsay. Sam’s glasses are knocked to the ground, which gives viewers an interesting camera angle for seeing the hound’s demise.
Dean, Sam and Gwen all thank Crowley at various points during the episode. It’s nice to see the King of Hell finally getting recognition for his loyalty and help. There’s so much not yet revealed about Crowley’s game plan, especially after his display of dominance over Lucifer at the end of this episode.
Meanwhile, Castiel (Misha Collins) has a completely separate storyline. While hot on the heels of Kelly Kline, Cas finds a conspiracy theorist that has footage of Dagon saving Kelly from the angels. Before he can continue further, he’s confronted by the angel Kelvin (Nathan Mitchell) - a messenger from Joshua. Kelvin tells Cas that Heaven is willing to give him another chance - that he should come back to his real home. Cas considers, and eventually decides to return to Heaven with Kelvin, without telling Sam and Dean.
While writer Davy Perez’ other episodes (‘American Nightmare’, ‘Stuck in the Middle (With You)’) have been some of the most enjoyable this season, this one didn’t quite hit the mark.
There were several moments where the boys weren’t quite true to character, such as when Dean was fine to head back out without a shower when covered in ghoul and siren (he’s usually very clean), or when he’s reluctant to lie to Gwen to make her feel better (that’s basically been their M.O. the entire series).
By the end of the episode, Sam reveals that the jobs they have been working were assigned by the Men of Letters. Sam should know better than to keep something like that a secret from Dean, but surprisingly, Dean is willing to give the BMoL a chance, if Sam thinks it a good idea.
Perhaps Dean has just had enough of trying to convince Sam and Mary that they should stay away from the Brits? Eventually, he decides to give up and play along.
Historically, viewers know that Sam’s judgement hasn’t been the greatest. Will this lead to conflict down the track? Certainly, but we hope not between the two brothers.
With the two-week break, we won’t find out what has happened to Castiel, or how the boys are dealing with the BMoL until 30th March. We’ll be waiting on the edge of our seats!
