Supernatural 9.3, "I'm No Angel" Recap And Review

Review It's hard to know exactly where to start with "I'm No Angel." Parts of this episode were actually very good; other parts were pretty bad. The Winchester portion of the plot was solid, and the boys' relationship was as healthy as it has ever been...mostly. It's great to see Sam and Dean getting along rather than trying to get away from one another, and while that is undoubtedly going to fall apart once Dean's secret about Ezekiel comes out, the stasis provided a comfortable background to the rest of the story. In my recap of "Devil May Care" last week, I criticized Jared Padalecki's performance as Samzekiel for coming across as robotic. This week, he was much more believable in the role, and I was really able to enjoy his spontaneous switches from Sam to Ezekiel whilst conspiring with Dean, whose comfort with the deception seems to be growing rather than gnawing at him. Jensen Ackles was great, as always. His desperate concern for Castiel--and his horrified reaction to seeing Cas dead--added a needed sense of urgency for viewers who knew perfectly well that Castiel was not going to die--and stay dead--in the third episode of the season. Despite the solid showing by the Winchesters, the best moments of the episode belong to Castiel and his adjustment to life as a human. His attempts to reconcile his previous way of life with the limitations of the human body were simultaneously hopeful and exhausting. Misha Collins acted his little heart out, and his journey of self-discovery managed to come across as compelling rather than preachy. He was best when he was allowed to be competent but inexperienced at mortal life, and awkward rather than unaware. Unfortunately, Castiel's story also featured some of the very worst moments. As I mentioned in the recap, I was physically uncomfortable while watching Castiel's sex scene, and it was not the good sort of uncomfortable. I understand the effort to show that Castiel must adjust to the sexual aspect of being human as much as he does the eating and drinking, but everything from his first meeting with April on was just so obviously designed with the sole purpose of de-hymenizing Cas (and points to anybody who gets that reference) that I was embarrassed for everybody involved. Castiel's struggles with obtaining food and brushing his teeth and falling asleep were interesting because they were a natural progression of his situation. His tryst with April was so obviously contrived by the writers and utterly unnecessary for the creation a sensible plot. My argument has nothing to do with shipping. I'm not saying that it shouldn't have happened because it was with her or that it should have happened with somebody else. I'm saying that it shouldn't have happened at all if it didn't serve a decent storytelling point. I'm sure, however, that mileage varies widely on this topic. The angels as earthbound villains provide an interesting change in opposition, but I am curious to find whether or not they suffered any real losses of power with the fall aside from refusal to Heaven. These fallen angels seem to be an entirely different breed from Castiel without his Grace, and even from fallen Castiel in Season 5. We'll just have to wait and see what the rest of the season brings us on the angelic front. It was nice to see some continuity in angel lore from earlier seasons, when it was made clear that angels required the permission of the vessel in order to take possession. While the issue of Sam's permission to Ezekiel remains cloudy, Bartholomew was very clear in obtaining consent from the willing participant. Although he probably could have been a bit clearer about the possible exploding part. Next time: Felicia Day returns as Charlie. That's all that I'm going to say on the matter.