Review: Supernatural 7.17 The Born Again Identity

Three words -- Misha Friggin Collins!

I know right?! I love Misha. I love Castiel. He was gone but now he is back. He was lost but now he's found. Amazing Grace!! He is an angel after all, only an angel blade and fangirls can kill him, right? This highly anticipated episode of Supernatural delivered in style.

My mind is a bit all over the place and I don't even know where to start. But here is the low down -- Cas isn't dead. Cas sacrifices himself and has gone cuckoo. Cas is in a fixed location. Meg is watching him. Sam's ok now. Dean's BFF is back. The Impala is still under lockdown.

Here is 7.17 The Born Again Identity in 71.7 seconds…

Sam had a complete mental breakdown thanks to the very animated Lucifer. Dean was concerned. Dean went looking for help. Some dude told him there was another dude with a good pair of healing hands that healed people..like Jesus. Dean went to see him. Turned out, this dude was Cas who went by the name of Emmanuel, which he picked from random baby names dot com. He was married to a woman who found him naked by the river on the day the Leviathan was released to earth. Dean saw Cas, he almost had a "part of me always knew you'd come back" moment (but they edited this bit out). Dean and Cas almost hugged but didn't. But a trench-coat said a thousand words. We also found out Meg wanted to get to Cas before Crowley did (and we all expect the King of Hell will return soon-ish.. nothing spoilery about that.) Cas couldn't remember anything at first but when he used his power on stunt demon A,B and C, he remembered everything. Cas scarified himself and saved the mentally damaged Sam by shifting his pain and suffering to himself. Cas went cuckoo and got locked up in the hospital. Hopefully he won't be treated by Dr Ellicott. Nurse Meg was the hospital's new recruit.

One step at a time.. I think it was a very good intro of Cas' return. He will no doubt play a role in coming days against Dick. I couldn't get enough of the Dean and Cas dynamic. I rewatched it and rewatched it and rewatched it! The chemistry is still very much alive! To me, I think it's been too long since they shared a scene. I was expecting a lot more dialogue exchange between the two, and I was expecting a hug. I know right?! I want a lot of things! I wish this episode was a movie. It was certainly a very ambitious episode with three story lines for each character -- Dean, Sam and Cas.

Sam's breakdown was almost like a prophecy, you knew it was going to happen sooner or later. It was unavoidable. It was painful to watch because I felt for the guy! That storyline was actually very well written, the emotional pain was very 3D to me. It wasn't anything random or unplanned, it was well planned and executed. It was obvious that his situation was getting worst and worst. Sam wasn't hiding anything, I love how this season is back to the basic bromance and Dean and Sam working as a team.

I always love how much Dean cared for Sam, he just never gave up no matter what Sam did. This time, there was no exception. Dean couldn't give up on his brother, couldn't just watch his brother suffer the mental and physical pain. I wasn't sure what Dean was expecting to get out of from the phone calls he was making but he was looking for a miracle. Hope is good, after all, Sam was the only one that kept him going. I particular love the reverse of things such as Sam in hospital gown and Dean with Sam's signature puppy-eyes.

Once again, I love seeing Mark Pellegrino as Lucifer on the show this season. His lines were so witty, it's almost like i said it when I watch the show! He is one word -- AWESOME!

"Oh you guys are having a moment!" Lucifer

The return of Cas was smooth and pretty epic! The montage was my favourite scene of the entire episode. Cas' first appearance in Supernatural was a rock star reception in my book, that entrance was mind-blowing. But this time is different, it wasn't the rock-n-roll entrance with fireworks, but it was rather spiritual, which I thought was fitting. The music, the montage, the fight scenes had awesomeness written all over it. I love the idea of Cas sacrificed himself by taking all Sam's pain and suffering at the end of the episode.

The only thing that I would have loved to see more was the interaction and dialogue exchange between Dean and Cas. I am not saying their scenes were under delivered, I just wished this was a 2-hour episode if you know what I mean? I just want more because I miss their on-screen dynamic so much! The dialogue in the car was a classic Dean and Cas show (I wish it was the Impala though.) Cas had no memory of the past, he was acting so much like the fourth season's Cas. There were also a few classic Cas funny moments, which I am sure Dean missed too -- yeah his nerdy angel friend is back!

I think one of the key themes of this episode is forgiveness and this is a theme that associates with Dean. Dean has a big heart -- while he may not be able to forget, he can forgive. It's not easy but give it time, he can do it. He is always stuck in the middle -- John was a tough father and Dean disliked the weight John put on his shoulders; after the whole Ruby/demon blood thing, it took a long time for Dean to trust Sam again and to forgive him; and the whole Cas situation was somewhat bitter. I think Dean forgave Cas already in the season six finale, when Cas was attempting to sacrifice himself. Keeping Cas' trenchcoat was the evidence to his forgiveness.

Can you name everything on the floor? I see instant noodles..

I really like the character stuff in this episode. I like how certain story lines are wrapped up as the series approaches the finale and now we are focusing on the prize -- Dick!

Note from Tiny: Real life was preventing me from finishing off the above review. It's way long overdue. But everything should be back on track. Party on, Tiny! (Oh wait.. what??) It's probably the first time I welcome a hiatus, because this will give me more time to catch up!