From MadCap's Couch - Supernatural: "Jus in Bello"

"Man, those demons are going to break in here and kill everyone! Too bad we're in jail."

Finally time to pick up the myth arc once again, though not in a direct or straightforward way as we've seen from Supernatural (and will be seeing more of it in the future). Before we get into that, let's look into Supernatural taking on Assault on Precinct 13.

Yep. It's a siege story! I love these things!

Jus in Bello begins with - say it with me, kids! - a recap! We're reminded of Henriksen existing, the release of the demons in All Hell Breaks Loose, Part 2, Ruby's offer to help Sam get Dean out of his demon deal, and the mentions from Pride and Casey in The Magnificent Seven and Sin City about Sam's destiny to lead Azazel's demon army. Also, we get Tammy's mention of a new leader rising in Malleus Maleficarum.

Oh, and a reminder that Bela stole the Colt. Something that becomes more important after the recap, where Sam and Dean have broken into and are searching through a hotel room, having tracked down Bela... or so they think. Finding the room empty but for some of Bela's wigs, the phone begins to ring and they answer it. Dean reaffirms that he's going to stop her from selling the only weapon they have against the demons to the highest bidder, and we get a strange split-second moment where Bela tells Dean that she doesn't really know him at all. 

When Dean shoots off his mouth about having nothing better to do than track her down, Bela tells him that he's going to be quite occupied... and cue law enforcement kicking down the door to arrest Sam and Dean. Who should be there to greet the boys by Agent Henriksen, who greets the boys with his traditional dry snark.

Needless to say, they aren't about to all sing Kumbaya.

The boys are brought to a local jail, where Henriksen throws out a vagrant from a cell so that Sam and Dean have somewhere to be locked up. The sheriff puts up a fuzz, but Henriksen reaffirms that they're dealing with the most hardened criminals that their little police department has ever seen. As he mentions the boys are "Satan worshipers", the clearly very religious secretary - Nancy - with the Virgin Mary and other paraphernalia on her desk holds a cross necklace. Dean attempts to crack jokes, but the boys are indeed taken to a cell and we get a moment of levity where the boys have been handcuffed together at the feet and so have to navigate moving and sitting down.

Funny that Henriksen mentions devil worshippers.
...oh, sorry. Can't imagine why that came to mind.

Henriksen calls his superior - Director Groves, who insists on sending a chopper after he lost the boys twice before, the other time being Folsom Prison Blues. Henriksen and Dean trade barbs, neither side backing down... until Henriksen promises Dean that he will never see Sam again, which sours both the boys considerably, more so when Henriksen insults John. The chopper soon arrives... and here's where things take a hard, hard turn. Henriksen is given a mountain of paperwork, while his superior goes in to speak to Sam and Dean. Groves uses a silenced pistol to try and shoot Sam and Dean both... and in the struggle, the man's demonic black eyes show.  Sam begins to perform an exorcism, but the demon leaves after promising them a long night.

Henriksen pops in, doesn't believe the story about demonic possession despite Groves clearly not having been shot by the boys, and orders them brought to the chopper. Outside, the FBI Agent working with Henriksen finds a mass slaughter around said chopper. Everyone's dead... and then the chopper explodes in a way that the budget is far too low to show onscreen, though we at least see it afterward, so points there.

Oh, and a demon kills the agent.

The phones are dead, the sheriff is gearing up for some trouble, and Nancy is freaking out. Then the power goes out to compound the issue. Henriksen orders everyone to stay put, lock the doors, and get ready for a siege. In an interesting humanizing moment, Henriksen's roughness with the sheriff and his remaining officer is contrasted by how he comforts Nancy and promises to get her out of this alive.

Henriksen comes back to the cells to use the vinegar rather than the honey on Sam and Dean, still not believing the demon story. After he leaves, the brothers spy Nancy peaking around the corner at the pair of them. Sam makes an impassioned speech, asking for a towel to help with Dean's bullet wound from Graves' attack... and Nancy does, with some clear trepidation, bring them one... and Sam takes the opportunity to grab her arm. The deputy pops in and threatens them, Sam letting Nancy go... and, when it's just him and Dean, he realizes he sleight of handed Nancy's rosary beads off of her.

The boys mull things over in the cell, wondering why the demons have changed tactics. They don't have long to think about this before the Sheriff shows up, unlocking the cell and planning to make a run for it. Henriksen protests... with a bullet to the man's brain. Sam and Dean overpower the clear demon and Sam forces his head into the jail toilet... with the rosary having been used to make the water into holy water. Before the exorcism is complete, the demon informs the brothers that it's too late - "they" are already coming.

"Holy smokes! John Carpenter? What are you doing here?!"

Henriksen actually does survive possession, his worldview changed forever as he realizes that Sam and Dean were completely right. About everything. As Dean puts it, he owes the man the biggest "I told you so" ever. However, as a show of good faith, Dean hands the man back his gun. Henriksen returns this by freeing Sam and Dean, asking them how to survive. Demonology 101 is in session with the Professors Winchester leading the class. Devil's Traps are spray painted, road salt trucked in to be used on the windows and doors.

We get a neat moment where Nancy is patching up Dean's gunshot wound, mentioning how her parents had told her not to take religion so literally... which now means she showed them.

Dean braves the impound lot to get some of the weapons from the trunk. He makes a rush to head back just ahead of a massive cloud of demonic black smoke, the likes of which we haven't seen since the Season 2 finale. He does get back in in time and alerts the others, the demon cloud slamming against the walls, but being unable to break in. It's honestly a pretty fantastically tense moment, but as soon as it starts, it's over... the cloud is gone. For now.

Sam and Dean give anti-possession necklaces to the others, and showcase their tattoos which Sam notes they've had not long enough.

A bit later, a mass of people have gathered outside the station. When the deputy wipes some condensation off of a window, accidentally breaking a salt line...

Supernatural: Giving the fangirls what they want since 2005.

Dean gets his moment of "I told you so", telling Henriksen that not only are demons real, but also ghosts, werewolves, vampires, changelings, and evil clowns that eat people. But hey, at least Bigfoot's a hoax! Dean and Henriksen do have a conversation where Henriksen relates that he feels like he's wasted a great deal of his life barely able to save anybody when all the time there was a whole other world, but now he knows. He asks Dean if they can beat it, if they can win, and Dean's nihilistic philosophy is put front and center. It's all gonna end bloody, but he doesn't think that means they shouldn't go down swinging. After a few moments where the two realize that they aren't so different in spite of it all, there's some glass shattering in another room.

Ruby has arrived, apparently having fought through the demons to get in. She reports that there are at least thirty demons out there, all gunning for them. When Dean asks who sent them, Ruby gets to reveal what Sam didn't - a new leader who has cropped up. It is here that we get the first mention of Lilith. Lilith, who apparently really wants Sam dead. Ruby asks for the Colt, and it seems we're having an awkward admission theater as the boys have to admit it was stolen. Ruby comes up with a Plan B - a demon vaporizing spell that will kill every demon in a one mile radius, herself included. The only problem is she needs the heart of a virgin... and the only person there who qualifies for that is Nancy.

Dean Winchester is baffled by a woman who has not yet made the beast with two backs. However, Dean and Henriksen say no... Nancy, when Ruby tells her that her sacrifice would mean that the people who are possessed will be fine, agrees. Sam, notably, is being quiet through the whole thing. After shouting at them to not kill Nancy, Dean pulls Sam into the hallway. They have an argument, Sam making a pragmatic argument for Ruby's spell. Dean refuses to hear any of it and has a plan... open the doors and fight them all.

After they've made some prep, Ruby decides to bail, saying that she was willing to die to help them win, but isn't going to stick around to watch them lose. Ruby gets released and gets past the gathered army, who are only too willing to part for her like the Red Sea. Inside, salt lines are broken, Devil's Traps are damaged, and the fight begins. Rock salt goes flying with reckless abandon, holy water is sprayed, and Nancy and the deputy are outside on the roof, dropping down to reset the salt lines from the outside, trapping the demons in the station. The coup de grace comes when they're all surrounded and all hope seems lost... Henriksen plays Sam's American Idol audition tape over the station's loudspeaker.

One demon manages to bust out, getting past Nancy and the deputy before they can get the door sealed... but it runs off without killing either of them.

Inside the demons are all exorcised despite their almost rabid attempts to get out, all of them sent back to Hell in a brilliant flash of smoke and fire. The boys have won the battle... or so it would appear. Henriksen tells Sam and Dean that he's going to kill them... Sam and Dean were in the chopper when it exploded, no remains left to identify them. The agent and the hunters share a handshake before Sam and Dean depart.

"Talk to the hand!"

Some time later, a little girl and her mother enter the station, being greeted by Nancy. The girl, very well-spoken, asks about two boys, brothers: one's really tall and one's really cute. Not making the connection, Nancy chuckles and ask the girl her name. She introduces herself as Lilith, and her eyes go not demonic black - but demonic white. As they move into action, Lilith raises her hand and a bright white light erupts from it. We hear Henriksen, Nancy, and the deputy all scream.

Ruby appears at Sam and Dean's motel room, telling them to turn on the news. They learn the station has been blown apart and everyone there is dead. Ruby gives the boys a pair of hex bags to protect them from Lilith (for now, anyway). She then lays into them about how their whole sanctity of human life plan ultimately failed, storming out after declaring that next time they'll go with her plan.

Spoiler alert: they won't.

That is Jus in Bello. The phrase refers to the laws by which warfare is waged, laws that - as Ruby points out in the final scene - Sam and Dean ignored and everyone in that police station paid the price for it.

Apart from that, we have the first appearance of Lilith and the first instance we've seen of a child being possessed by a demon on the show. The actress, Rachel Pattee, has all of two lines but still manages to give a pretty decent performance as Lilith. She'll later be replaced by Sierra McCormick for No Rest for the Wicked and another episode in Season 4 that we'll be getting to, but I think she's notable here for being the first person to portray Lilith.

It is quite an entrance, coming in and with only a raised hand subduing Henriksen, Nancy, and the deputy. Really establishes Lilith as a big time threat. I mentioned back in the All Hell Breaks Loose, Part 2 review that Lilith never really reaches the same level of menace within the show that Azazel had, but that's honestly just a high bar to clear for anyone. As I mentioned there, even Lucifer himself doesn't manage to reach that level for me. It's not that they're bad villains, and Lilith definitely is not a bad villain by any means, just that they have some big shoes to fill.

It's also, for obvious reasons, the end of the FBI chasing Sam and Dean plot... which is honestly for the best. It's also the swan song for Henriksen (barring a bit in Season 4, but we'll get to that). It was nice for him to get some genuine humanizing moments and for him to have his notion of reality shattered and shattered hard by the events. It would have been nice to see him pop up as a recurring ally from time to time, but I can understand why they went the route that they did given needing to showcase Lilith being a Big Bad.

Speaking of big shoes to fill, we have... an episode that I don't outright hate, but am personally not a big fan of. We'll see the return of two characters from Season 1 that really should have just stayed there, we'll have yet another ghost story, and we'll have some jokes about homosexuality that really haven't aged well.

Let's get ready for let dooooooooooooooooooooooooooown! Next time, it's Ghostfacers!