Sam and Dean need technical help in last night’s episode,
and who do they call? The only one they can Charlie Bradbury (Felicia Day). But
when these three get together nothing is ever as it seems. Charlie dies, gets resurrected and then goes
off to fight the rebellion in Oz, yes I did say Oz. It’s not the Wizard of Oz
we know, but it is is true Charlie form to want to ditch reality and fight for
a cause.
Flashback to 1935: "Wonderful Wizard
of Oz" author L. Frank Baum's daughter Dorothy (Yes,that Dorothy) brings the Wicked Witch to
the Men of Letters bunker because she can't figure out a way to kill her (Turns
out, Baum was a Man of Letters, and Oz is in the fairy realm. Dorothy's whole
adventure in Oz was actually a war story that he adapted into a children's
book). The witch breaks her bonds, and Dorothy does the only thing she can
think of: she binds herself and the Witch in some weird gray goo that stays in
the bunker for 75 years until ...
Present day: Dean accidentally knocks over the vial of goo while
trying to fix one of the ancient computers, setting both Dorothy and the Witch
free in the bunker. Oops! What was Dean trying to do with an old computer? He
and Sam figure that since it tracked the angels during The Fall, they can
reconfigure it to track wayward angels on earth now. To do that, they call up
the only computer expert they know: Charlie!
In her time off, Charlie's been
hunting, but it hasn't been all she was hoping for. She wants
big quests and magical adventures; despite Sam and Dean telling her it's not as
fun as it sounds (they sure would know). She's been using Edlund's
"Supernatural" books -- which are now available online, much to Sam's
chagrin -- as a guide. Turns out, Sam's "ex-wife" Becky uploaded all
the unpublished works, too! Sam pretends like he's never heard of her, but this
was such a hilarious moment for longtime fans. Those "Supernatural" showrunners
sure do know how to treat us well, don't they?
Charlie gets her wish when Dorothy and the Wicked Witch are
freed during her stay in the bunker. She's so excited to find out one of her
favorite stories is actually true -- she is the ultimate fangirl, after all.
She even figures out a way to hurt the Witch: poppies. She finds enough poppy
dust in the bunker to make four bullets, which won't kill the Witch, but will
hurt her ... and that certainly comes in handy when they find out the Witch is
looking for a key that would turn any doorway into a portal to Oz, and intends
on bringing her armies to the real world.
Crowley -- starting to really feel the effects of his isolation,
and hopes to score points with Sam and Dean -- is surprisingly helpful against
the Witch. He sent her on a wild goose chase to the kitchen instead of helping
her, when it turns out the key is actually in Dean's room. And don't worry, the
brothers don't take any pity on their prisoner. They're still waiting on those
demon names.
Side note: how awesome was it that we actually got to see how
much Dean has moved in to his room? He clearly loves having a place to call his
own besides his car after all these years, and his "nesting" shows
it. Unfortunately, Sam doesn't feel the same way. After binge-watching
"Game of Thrones" (Yes, even the Winchesters love a good binge-watch
session every now and then!) with Charlie in Sam's empty, undecorated room, he
made a comment about how the bunker isn't "home." Since Sam doesn't
have any memories of having a home with his mom and dad like Dean does (Sam was
just a baby when the yellow-eyed demon ruined their lives), he doesn't really
know what he's missing, unlike Dean.
While Dean and Charlie are getting the key from Dean's room, the
Witch steals it and tries to kill Dean, but Charlie jumps in front of the zap.
Dean immediately calls for Zeke as Sam walks into the room, and Zeke says he
only has enough strength for one act of angelic power: bring Charlie back or
kill the Witch. Dean has him save Charlie's life, and he once again covers his
back by lying about it to both Sam and Charlie, but Sam definitely heard Dean
say Zeke.
When Sam asked Dean who "Zeke" was, Dean gave him a
really flimsy lie -- and pair that with his other really flimsy lie about Cas leaving the bunker of his own
volition, and Sam is officially suspicious. How could he not be
at this point? Even Charlie put two and two together (after Dorothy told her a
zap from the Witch means instant death, and she was in heaven for a few
minutes), and confronted Dean about it later. He didn't tell her how she came
back, but she agreed to keep her temporary death a secret from Sam.
Another interesting thing of note: looks like the Winchesters'
anti-possession tattoos don't work against fairy magic, because the Witch
managed to possess both of them. Sam and Dean then proceed to attack Dorothy
and Charlie, but Charlie kicks Dean in the nards and goes to stop the Witch
while Dorothy fends off the brothers.
Charlie got to the Witch just as she was about to bring her army
of flying monkeys through her portal, and kills the Witch with the ruby
slippers Dorothy had given her. Turns out, heels can deadly. As Charlie
oh-so-proudly announces to the un-possessed Sam and Dean, "Ding dong,
b*****es!"
After getting a taste of what Oz is like by defeating the Witch,
Charlie decides to go with Dorothy back to Oz. Helping Dorothy in the rebellion
sounds exactly like what Charlie wants: an adventure, a quest of magical
proportions. The tearful goodbyes she exchanges with Sam and Dean are so
heartbreaking, because at this point, Charlie truly is a part of the Family
Business ... and family. Seeing her go -- possibly forever -- when we just got
her back seems so unfair. Dean wonders if she'll ever come back, to which Sam
replies, "There's no place like home."
Sam called the bunker home! Let's hope he means it and starts
putting up some posters on his bedroom walls. It's so sad that it took losing
Charlie to make him realize how much he valued having the safety and comfort of
a home, but he finally did. It's also extremely sad that Dean almost gained a
confidant in Charlie for all his Zeke problems, but she left before he could
really open up about his choice to put an angelic pacemaker in his brother.
These lies are really starting to add up, and they are getting worse and worse.
How long until Sam realizes that something's up? Will he start to dig around,
looking for answers on this mysterious "Zeke" that Dean called out
for?
All in all, "Slumber Party" was a fun episode that put
a "Supernatural" twist on a classic story. It was cool seeing the
independent, butt-kicking Dorothy taking charge -- although seeing the Tin
Man's decapitated head was like a punch to the gut. There are casualties in the
war in Oz, and let's hope Charlie doesn't become one of them. However, besides
the throwaway line about Cas, and Zeke's brief appearance, this week's episode
was a bit of a departure from the season-long arc. As fun as the hour was,
we're eager to get back into the meat of the season. Plus, we still haven't
seen Cas' reaction to Dean kicking him out
of the bunker!
"Supernatural" airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on The CW.
