Supernatural: Hello Cruel World

Filed under: Recaps & Reviews

After the leviathans consumed Castiel at the end of last week's episode, an ancient evil has returned and it is hungry.

When Castiel lost control of the leviathans within him last week, his wings were as good as clipped. Just as Castiel was having difficulty containing them in his vessel the same thing was happening after they took control which leads to them flushing themselves out in the Sioux Falls water reservoir. This gives the Winchesters and Bobby and short break to catch their breath and come up with a plan and just enough time for Sam's hallucinations to take a turn for the worse. Since Lucifer told him that his freedom from the cage is just an illusion Sam can't tell the difference between the real world and the one fabricated by the devil himself. While all of this is taking place the leviathans are flourishing in Sioux Falls, taking new vessels and using the hospital to consume whoever they please. It's only after Sheriff Jody Mills tips off Bobby do they realize how much of a problem they have. But with Sam coming apart at the seams and a new enemy more powerful than angels, do the Winchesters have what it takes to stop the leviathans?

After a strong season opener, Supernatural has hit a speed bump early in the season. Hello Cruel World supposedly killed off Castiel in the opening moments but we all know that obviously won't take; Castiel is simply too good of a character to kill off. The episode also felt quite disparate at times when going between segments with Sheriff Jody Mills, the leviathans and then to Sam and Lucifer. Thus far, the leviathans have been disappointing as their motives thus far have been to consume flesh, smile and laugh like villainous idiots whenever possible (see Castiel's comedic laugh at the end of Meet the New Boss if don't believe me).

Mark Pellegrino continues to steal every scene as Lucifer. Though it was confirmed that Lucifer is a figment of Sam's time in the cage, it's the moment when he says he isn't going anywhere that raises my hopes for the rest of the season. Each of his scenes with Jared Padalecki are as emotionally convoluted as they are intended to be and although we know Sam is confused, the execution is incredible. Hopefully there will be more scenes like this before Sam regains control of himself.

While the scenes between Sam and Lucifer were excellent they only further served to show how weak the ones with the leviathans were and to make matters worse, the scenes with Sheriff Jody Mills only distracted from the Winchesters and Bobby. Although Dean did some investigating earlier on in the show, the group was spoon fed the location of the leviathans from the Sheriff. If Dean had broken his leg at the beginning of the episode during their initial run in with Castiel, it would have made more sense to have him investigate what was happening in the hospital while recovering from a broken leg. I know what you're all thinking, the leviathans would have recognized him but that would just raise the stakes of the story.

Overall, Hello Cruel World could have been a much better episode than what made it to the screen and I can't say I'm excited to see how that story concludes after the surprising cliff hanger ending. Hopefully next week's The Girl Next Door will get past this set back and back on track.

Tags: Supernatural, Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Jenson Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Lucifer, Mark Pellegrino

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