Supernatural S04E16 - On The Head Of A Pin (2009)

Review

Castiel and Uriel visit the Winchester Bros in a motel just outside Cheyenne with a demand for Dean. Having captured Alastair the Angels need information from him, seems something has killed seven Angels from Castiel's garrison and the Angels want to know who's responsible. They have been unable to break Alastair but figure Dean, due to his time in the pit, might just be the man for the job. Naturally Dean doesn't want to be involved and naturally the Angels are not taking no for an answer. With Dean gone Sam enlists the aid of Ruby in discovering where the Angels are hanging out, he also hits the demon blood to build up his paranormal mojo.

Dean sets to on Alastair, but the demonic one is not going to be an easy nut to crack and appears capable of taking everything the older Winchester Bro can throw at him. Time for Dean to get creative with his tools of trade, while Uriel leaves to seek "revelation". Surprisingly Anna, the rogue Angel element, shows up and warns Castiel that getting Dean to torture Alastair isn't what God would have wanted. Castiel isn't listening but is starting to question his orders. Naturally Alastair breaks loose from the demon trap that had immobilised him, and it's throw down time. Castiel is in for more revelations however, there's a fifth column in Heaven!

Uriel isn't the only one gaining revelation during this episode with both Dean and Castiel being forced to face truths they may not have wanted to face in the normal course of events. Adding to the general feeling of things coming to crisis point Sam is back on demon blood, supplied by Ruby, and the situation appears to be spiralling out of control as the demons continue to achieve their goals while the forces of light are left floundering without a real game plan. Oh and it was also great to see Anna back, she represents the third angelic element involved in the conflict. We have the Heavenly host that simply follow orders regardless of how far from God's plans those orders are starting to become, the forces of Hell that are thriving on chaos and overthrowing God's plan, and now Anna's faction who believe Heaven is no longer enacting God's will and even more importantly demands that Angels think for themselves rather than being simply blind followers. Dropped into this maelstrom is an unknown element that is killing Angels.

Dean does not want to torture Alastair but eventually succumbs to the pressure being put on him by both Uriel and Castiel. Alastair reminds Dean that after 100 years in the pit John Winchester had not picked up a knife, yet after 30 years Dean himself caved in. Even worse, by picking up the knife and carving into his first victim Dean broke the first seal and started what appears to be a relentless march toward Armageddon. Castiel does tell him however that Dean is the only one who can now avert the apocalypse, so no pressure there then. By the end of the episode Dean is left not only physically shattered but one would imagine both mentally and emotionally shattered.

A dramatic episode that calls into question a number of assumptions different characters had

Castiel has been a soldier for the Lord, and like all good soldiers has been following orders with only slight concerns. Following the discovery that the demons were not involved in murdering the seven angels, and that only an angel can kill an angel, Castiel seeks help from Anna as he contemplates disobeying orders for the first time. Unfortunately for Cass, Anna has no simple solutions and can only offer advice which is diametrically opposed to Castiel's training and belief system. Questioning orders passed down from Heaven is going to be tough for the Angel, but the idea is now firmly planted in his thought patterns.

With the chips down and Dean in the hands of the angels Sam decides it's time for him to take some drastic action, enter Ruby with the allure of paranormal strength through the consumption of demon blood. Sam rocks into it, and the alert will note the little smile that Ruby gives, she clearly has been planning to have Sam back on demon blood for quite some time. Later in the episode Sam displays his powers have gone far beyond exorcising demons, he can now kill with them. Mission accomplished Ruby, no doubt by season end we'll know why this has been her game plan all along.

A bit more Supernatural mythology divulged during the episode that should have the franchise geeks amongst us happy with developments. Angels cannot be killed by anything but Angels, yet they can be exorcised in much the same way as demons from their hosts. We now also know you need one of those big silver dagger things to deal with the angelic, once again in much the same way as the Winchesters need the knife to handle demons.

What was surprising this episode is the depiction of Alastair's torture, the Director and Producers aren't holding back, there's some real pain being delivered. I was quite surprised as generally this sort of show will be slightly gun shy when it comes to gore or blood being splashed around. Okay it wasn't on the level of a modern gorenography flick but it was still going down with scant regard for audience sensibilities. I was quite happy with that development, Supernatural does need to flex its muscles from time to time, but some viewers may be slightly distraught viewing the content.

Oh come on you have to be kidding me, zero mullet rock classic or otherwise tunes! What are the Producers thinking, clearly nothing to do with their audience.

As episodes go On The Head Of A Pin was kicking a few goals and taking a few names. There's drama galore in the episode and the harder side of horror is being presented. We are definitely heading into the final phase of the season so are likely to see darker and darker episodes being thrown our way. I'm happy with this episode, dug the concepts, and for sure was pleased to see some changes coming down the line for various characters. Recommended episode that should have fans of the show rocking out in the aisles and anticipating the next episode, Lucifer is on the rise and there's only one person who can stop him apparently.