CW's "Supernatural" Gets Bloody with "A Little Slice of Kevin:" A Television Review

*spoiler alert!

Director: Charlie Carner.

Writers: Eugenie Ross-Leming & Brad Buckner.

Cast: Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Misha Collins, Mark Sheppard, Osric Chau, Ty Olsson, Lauren Tom, Amanda Tapping and Cyrina Fiallo.

Sacrifice is the main theme in "Supernatural's" episode, "A Little Slice of Kevin." Castiel (Misha Collins), who emerged out of Purgatory (thanks to the help of some angels), makes a startling revelation and Dean learns he can not save everyone.

After a handful of episodes, the season's main story arc returns. Viewers will soon learn that Kevin Tran (Osric Chau), the prophet, can do more than make demon bombs, now. He found some annotations on the stone tablet from the celestial scribe Metatron that will drive future episodes. Just like how Harry Potter found the crib notes on his book of advanced potion-making in The Half Blood Prince, Tran may well have found ways to help the king of Hell, Crowley (Mark Sheppard), shift the balance of galactic power to his favour.

Metatron, the archangel, may have recorded all the alchemical secrets from the Almighty. He did pen the fact that more tablets exist. From Leviathans to mankind, this particular watcher recorded God's plan in the petri dish known as the Milky Way. He may have let some of his angels in on his secrets. By the episode's end, they are even more interested about the Winchesters. In this different order, Naomi (Amanda Tapping) will be the intermediary.

The reason why the angels are not protecting Kevin is cold. Should he die, there will be another prophet to take his place. That makes for one huge roundtable discussion about the purposes of these saviors: what purpose do they serve? Are they supposed to be seers or visionaries of the future? When considering the people the demons have kidnapped, they are everyday joes who seldom worry about their fellow man.

Until the very first tablet was unearthed, mankind had no prophet to speak of. What are their roles in society? Unlike the prophets of old who were consulted for agricultural and political advice, the prophets here have no interest in leading mankind to the next evolutionary step.

Kevin is hardly a guide for either the Winchesters or that humanity can learn from. Right now, he's far too young to be Confucious. He has the knowledge to put some demons in their place, but as for the next Messiah, not yet. Both he and Castiel are on uneven footing. Both are unsure in what their destinies entail. And with this episode, Cas' revealed that he still feels that he has to atone for his sins committed in the last two seasons. He sacrificed himself so that Dean could escape Purgatory. Cas' wanted to stay and Dean should not be anguishing over the fact that cannot save everyone. The angel pushed Dean into the gate.

This episode does a good job of balancing between two essential plotlines and making them relate. The only real problem is in how the brother's relationship instantly repaired itself in between episodes. When one episode suggests a rift, life goes on as normal with the next show. The Amelia subplot is still left dangling.

When considering what the past episodes have been building up to, Dean will one day go Chernobyl. Instead, a different Battle Royale takes place with Castiel going toe-to-toe with Crowley. The demon tablet gets broken into two pieces, and as for whether this Word of God will get reassembled, that is no longer a concern. More tablets exist, and they may be more powerful than the Ten Commandments. Metatron might even appear in the later season to repair or take them all away like in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Mankind is not supposed to weld that much power. Prophets may not be allowed to reap their benefits either.

Poor Kevin. Although he lost a finger, he may have to give up more to get recognized in Heaven.

Overall: 7.5 out of 10.

"Supernatural" on the CW:

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