Supernatural: "On the Head of a Pin" Review

March 20, 2009 - Just when you thought Supernatural's Dean Winchester couldn't get anything more thrown at him, along comes "On the Head of a Pin." With Alastair captive, the angels ask Dean to interrogate him, using some of the "special" tactics he picked up in hell. Alastair tells Dean an appalling truth in the process, and Castiel learns some shocking things of his own.

I wondered of the title was meant to refer to angels in general, or if it would carry the added meaning of something being a futile exercise, like the phrase from which it is taken. The complete failure of Dean's interrogation of Alastair answered that question neatly enough, even before Sam used the word pointless to describe it. It was especially worthless considering that at no point did Alastair ever seem close to cracking.

While Dean was taking a page from Jack Bauer, Sam had a moment that recalled Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Riley. The revelation that he is getting strength from drinking Ruby's demon blood was surprising, but not shocking. From the beginning of the season Sam has been changing, becoming more tough and steadfast in what he believes needs to be done. He is not afraid to use his power if he thinks it is necessary. And he definitely knows his brother, that torturing Alastair is not a task Dean will be able to handle. Even when the brothers are not working as closely together as they have in the past, they still get each other better than anyone else.

The storyline has delved further into darkness this season, not only bringing Dean lower than ever and placing Sam in more danger from his abilities, but this week there is the added element that not all angels are trustworthy. Previously "Heaven and Hell" introduced the idea that in the Supernatural universe the angels do not have direct communication with God, and this has led to doubt in angels like Anna and now Castiel, as well as outright rebellion from Uriel. Uriel's aims to overthrow what God has set up on earth, namely humanity, leads him to launch his own plan to bring about the apocalypse. The fact that Uriel wants to free Lucifer makes perfect sense, since he sympathizes with Lucifer's objective of destroying the humans that Uriel despises. It was a surprise only because Robert Wisdom did such a good job portraying Uriel as the ultimate soldier; it didn't occur to me that he would go against God's commands.