Supernatural S05E20 - The Devil You Know (2010)

Review

The Winchester are heading east in the Impala looking to check out a swine flu outbreak when out of the blue Crowley, the former head demon of hell, pops up on a rear seat. Naturally the Bros are not best pleased with the demonic one due to the whole defeating Satan thing going pear shape earlier and naturally Crowley has a plan, he knows where Pestilence is hanging, or at least he knows the demon who knows where Pestilence is at. Naturally Crowley doesn't want Sam along, he simply doesn't like Sam, and naturally Dean takes a bit of a beating in the whole capture of a demon named Brady thing. But hey job done and dusted, break out the party favours.

Meanwhile Sam confides in Bobby that he is thinking of allowing Lucifer in, the end game being to trap the Satanic One, naturally Bobby is not best pleased by this given they have just talked Dean down from the Michael ledge. And if that isn't bad enough it would appear the croatoan virus is back in play, in fact it's in mass production. Finally Crowley has a proposition for Bobby, that involves the location of Death and oh Bobby's soul.

Actually this episode surprised me, thought it would be Winchester Bros running down Pestilence, fights and shenanigans ensue, Bros grab ring. But no, this one was about Dean and Crowley finding the guy who knows where Pestilence is, so uhmm running pretty low on episodes to round out the season. Surely they aren't going to run the whole Lucifer thing into season six, that would be pressing the friendship for mine, time to move towards wrapping things up in order to have a whole new big bad next season.

Sam get's his revenge, Crowley comes in off the bench, and Bobby has a decision

Now this might just be my memory, soaked as it is in a toxic blend of medicinal drugs and booze - don't try this at home kids I'm a professional, but last time we fell into the whole croatoan thing was way back in season two episode nine. So guess this was just to keep the idea floating around the Supernatural universe and could perhaps be an idea that comes into play next season, nasty idea of mass production, but then horror is all about big business being used to industrialise various nasty ideas. Hey that is probably a good basis for an article right there. Actually come to think of it the croatoan virus floated through episode four, The End, this season, but since that one was set five years in the future in a world that might or might not exist I don't think it counts towards the virus timeline.

What is interesting, for those of us who are Supernatural shotgun seat riders, is the assembly of allies the Winchesters are massing this season. Firstly we have an Angel who has gone rogue, well God has left the building what is a poor boy to do; now we have a former Prince of Hell who for his own reasons is lending a helping hand. If by helping hand you mean allowing the Winchesters to take the licks, bargaining for souls, and having the bigger hell hound. What could possibly go wrong with that assembly of Xmen, Lucifer must be fleeing to the coast already, and shockingly Bobby is probably the nearest dude to the straight and narrow in team Winchester.

The final act of the movie, and I mean act as in scene rather than three act structure, is strange to say the least. Crowley has always been about keeping the soul intake up for hell but is currently on an enforced sabbatical so I am not quite sure why he makes the offer to Bobby? That would be sort of trying to purchase stock as the stock market goes into meltdown; beside the point right. No doubt we'll discover the reasoning next episode, or at least by the end of season, but just goes to show that even though Crowley is working to save his own hide he is also looking to see how he can turn the situation to his advantage.

The demon Brady was an interesting minor character, or maybe not as he is now tied to Crowley, due to Crowley feeding the demonic rumour. Brady is the epitome of a middle level corporate suit, is Supernatural having a go at U.S big pharm? - and is subservient to Pestilence. He quickly changes allegiance which indicates Crowley isn't the only one who knows which side his bread is buttered on. Which pretty much segues into the single obvious plot hole in the episode, more on that later, but am not overlooking the bad folks.

With things spinning down, two episodes left for the session, there's quite a bit to finish off so I'm imagining that we'll have a fairly full dance card to look forward to. Overall, and going there this episode as can imagine we'll have a lot to cover in the next couple, the season hasn't been the strongest in my opinion that has filtered onto our play list. Not saying it's been a bad season, far from it friends and neighbours, but there has been the feeling that a tad of padding was involved to push out to a season's worth of shows. Overall I've had a fun time with Supernatural mark five, and it's been a while since I started reviewing the season - are we on the third year? - the show never really lets you down, a few bad episodes here and there but a striving to keep things rocking and the fans happy with life. I'm pleased with the overall plot arc, fingers crossed that completes this season, and the monster of the week episodes. Anyways back to the grind and shuffle.

Bollock no mullet rock folks, we have been under sold again with an episode that features no music. Seriously what are the Producers doing, the show needs those old time tunes to at least keep me grooving to the beat. Don't worry about our song of the week, yes read the few emails protesting about my non-inclusion last week - serious lack of vids kids, will hit out with Kansas's Wayward Son. Disappointed, very disappointed, with no songs going down.

The other major aspect I haven't touched upon yet is Sam and his little interlude with Brady, the demon is pretty much signing his own death warrant here, the plot hole mentioned earlier, given his ability to roll with the punches. We learn Brady was the demon who pinned Sam's girlfriend Jessica Moore to the celling and set her on fire. Naturally this doesn't go down well with Sam, and Dean I believe is resigned to Sam taking some revenge. Not quite sure if this is closure for the younger Winchester brother.

Another good episode that moves the season plot arc along without missing a step though I think they are leaving a lot to the final couple of episodes. If you are a regular viewer of Supernatural you will be high fiving the resident poltergeist over this episode, simply excellent stuff. However if you haven't dialled into the show yet then this isn't the episode to sign on board with, every single minute drips with stuff referencing previous happenings. I would urge anyone who hasn't joined the Supernatural army to go get the previous seasons and play some catch up, give yourself a lot of time though as there are over a hundred episodes to catch up with. Lock on in folks things are coming at us hard and fast now. This is one Devil you'll really want to know.