Synopsis of 12×14: As predicted Dean and Sam do not react well to the news of Mary’s alliance with the British Men of Letters (BML for short), and really, they should be concerned. “The Raid” focuses on Mary and the BML attempting to win over Dean and Sam and bring them into the fold.
As far as guilt trips go, that was a pretty good one for Dean to use, and he finally acknowledges that his childhood wasn’t as great as he tried to justify it being. Dean tells Mary to leave, emphasizing her first name and Sam quietly agrees that she should go. Sam doesn’t add much to the conversation, though he doesn’t seem thrilled about the turn of events.
Dean brings a case to Sam, and they vaguely talk about how Dean is feeling about Mary. Sam attempts to be the peacekeeper of the situation, which frustrates Dean. Sam reminds Dean, she’s family, and that they don’t leave family behind. Dean’s stuck on Mary lying to them and called Sam out for always being in the middle and not choosing a side. Dean leaves Sam with a parting, “You need to choose a side,” before leaving to poorly cope with his emotions because he needs to hit something or drink.
Mary texts Sam, and he meets her at the BML base, where he gets roped into a debriefing about vampires while Mr. Ketchum approaches Dean at the bunker. Mr. Ketchum tells Dean that they are similar to how they cope with things and that they are killers, and as such, they need something to hunt and kill. Dean doesn’t respond to Mr. Ketchum and instead raises an eyebrow and drinks the rest of his whiskey.
The BML explain about how they are wiping all the vampires out with their cool technology and that their plan is to eradicate all the vampires. The remaining vampires are then shown hiding out in an abandoned hotel when the alpha vampire shows up at the nest with a plan.
Dean and Ketchum go to the nest to hunt the vampires. Ketchum finds one of the vamps and beats her for information. Though Dean doesn’t say anything, he’s obviously uncomfortable with the interrogation and stops Ketchum and tells the vampire he would kill her quickly if she answered their questions. She tells them that the other vamps are hunting the hunters. Dean and Ketchum rush back to their car and head to the base.
The vampires stalk the base, where the only real hunters are Mary and Sam. They are completely badass as they fight and take the vamps out. Sam discovers the alpha is the one behind the attack and tells the BML their intel was wrong about the alpha. Upon finding out that there was no contingency plan, they regroup and try to fight their way out after realizing that the BML they are with have never actually fought anything before.
The BML reveal that they have The Colt, which Sam is not happy about and is even unhappier after Mary tells them that she stole it from Ramiel, but gives the BML the recipe for the bullets so Mary and Sam can make their way to the armory with the one random American Hunter. Mary and Sam fight off more vampires, and Mary and the other hunter leave Sam behind to get to the armory.
The American hunter comes back to where the BML are hiding and working on making the special bullet, and Alpha Vampire is behind him. There is a standoff between them as Mary and Sam rush in to help. Sam tells the alpha that he is picking a side and he is choosing family, and the BML goes to punch Sam and slips him the bullet. The episode then does this whole flashback scene as to how Sam got the bullet, what the distraction was and so forth, which I found insulting to the audience and though I understand what the intention was, felt like it was unnecessary to include.
Mr. Ketchum and Dean show up and survey the aftermath, and Dean explains that he came to help at the base for Mary, because despite his feelings toward her, they were still family. There is another big heart to heart and Sam takes Dean’s advice and chooses a side, which happens to be the Men of Letters. Sam promises to get Dean on their side as well.
Overall this episode was well done, and I loved the divide and conquered mentality the show had. Though Mr. Ketchum pointed out the similarities that he and Dean shared, Dean is going to be more aware of them, especially since the central theme of this season has been about family and referencing getting out the hunting life.
As far as character developments go, this season has been relatively Dean-centric, as he has been more open as far as communicating goes and has been emphasizing honesty throughout the season. Sam finally stepping out of the role as the peacekeeper is interesting as well, and obviously going to be the center of conflict as the season goes on, but Sam has also been taking on a more passive role this season as far as relationships go. He too has been emphasizing honesty and communication and has also been doing fairly well at keeping it up, so it will be interesting to see of that is something that continues the rest of the season.
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