Confession: When Supernatural’s Cas (Misha Collins) first made the deliberate choice to be the vessel for Lucifer in “The Devil in the Details,” I wasn’t on board.
It didn't seem like a decision he'd make. Not anymore. He did the dark side ride way back in the Leviathan days. He's seen the destruction and devastation firsthand when both Jared Padalecki’s Sam (demon blood/Lucifer) and Jensen Ackles’ Dean (the Mark of Cain) took the path more menacing. It always ends up biting everyone involved on the proverbial butt. This is a lesson these characters have learned over and over again, yet their penchant for sacrificing themselves for the greater good or to save each other reigns supreme.
So, while I don't know if I've changed my mind about Cas' motivations for allowing himself to become the meat suit for Lucifer, it is easier to accept when you get moments like what happened in "The Vessel."
I wondered how long it was going to take for Sam and Dean to discover that Cas is no longer Cas. Thankfully, we didn't have to wait too long. It always sucks when characters are dumbed down in order to prolong a plot device. Instead, the big reveal played out just right.
Dean is stuck in 1943, securing the Hand of God weapon from Delphine, the French Femme de Lettres, who I completely adored (True Detective’s Weronika Rosati was positively dazzling). That leaves Casifer and Sam alone in the bunker. Sam, of course, thinks he's still dealing with Cas, his angel friend who can't get past the wards on the submarine in order to bring Dean back to the future. Robert Berens did a fantastic job with the script, and the same was true of returning director John Badham, who had to bring it all to life. No easy feat dealing with time travel, Nazi Germany, a submarine under attack, hell (or wherever "Cas" is keeping Crowley as a pet), and extensive time in the bunker.
Speaking of the bunker, geek Sam does some major Men of Letters research and comes up with a way angels can slide past those pesky runes. There's a catch. The magic requires the power of an archangel. And who has that kind of mojo? Certainly not Cas.
This is when things get fun. Sam knows Cas needs more juice to get the spell to work so he offers up a solution: the angel can touch his soul to amp up his power. If you've been watching this show for a long time, you know how painful a process this is -- for the human. So Sam's grand gesture is met with ... laughter. And, man, from this point on, it's so enjoyable to watch Misha Collins break loose with his bad self.
Casifer: "I don't need you anymore. Dean's the one with the link to Amara. Why am I trying to spare you? I mean, maybe it's because you're like the girl who kept turning me down at prom."
Collins has a lot to play in this scene. He's Lucifer wearing a "Cas mask." So when he's in front of Sam, he has to pretend to be Cas. He has to have that deeper, gravelly voice that's laced with sympathy and empathy. Plus, he has to cock his head occasionally, since that's a signature Cas move.
But when he outs himself as Lucifer, his voice is different. It lives in a higher octave. It's dripping with sarcasm and a sinister kind of joie de vivre. Then when he threatens to decorate the bunker with Sam's guts, he says he'll tell Dean the truth and he has to temporarily take on Cas' lower register again in order to imitate the lowly angel.
Casifer: "Dean, he knew the risks. He wouldn't take no for an answer."
Poor Sam. Casifer didn't need to touch his soul but he did anyway. Unfortunately for Lucifer, this act allows the real Cas to take control of his body, long enough to tell Sam why he did what he did, and to let him know he doesn't have the power to bring Dean back. Only Lucifer can. This should make my head hurt, though it's all pretty glorious. But it’s also clear Cas can't stick around for long.
When Dean re-enters the equation after Casifer brings him back, Sam clues his brother in on this huge secret. Cas is gone for now. Long live Lucifer.
Casifer: "I feel a burden lifted. You know, this whole deep cover thing just wasn't ... it wasn't terribly well thought out. Donning this Cas mask, this grim face of angelic constipation. Just ugh. And then teaming up with you two ... I mean, I thought you two were insufferable as mortal enemies. But working with you, ugh, that's the soul crusher."
The scenes where Casifer outs himself were extremely fun to watch, and I had a smile on my face the entire time. I’m not sure how much fun the brothers Winchester are going to have in the future, though. Dean and Sam have a lot on their plates, although their connection has never been stronger. They have to deal with the Darkness, save Cas from Lucifer, and figure out what to do with this Hand of God weapon that conked out after a single use. (So, it stopped working after Delphine used it on the sub. With the announcement that Rob Benedict is set to appear in an episode, does that mean: A. We’ll get God vs. Amara scenes; and B. the Hand of God needs the actual hand of God to jumpstart it?) Plus, there’s the matter of their own psychological issues, which includes their guilt over unleashing the Darkness as well as Dean's connection (or attraction) to Amara. But now that the Winchesters have been brought up to speed, it's time to really dig in.
Supernatural airs Wednesday nights on the CW.