When last we saw Supernatural in the Season 6 Finale, Castiel had just cast his ritual to free the souls from Purgatory so that he could smight Raphael and his followers. Afterwhich, he commanded that Sam, Dean, and Bobby profess their love to him and bow before him, or else he would destroy them.
THIS NEXT SECTION CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS!!
Season 7 picks up right where Season 6 left off. Bobby suggests to the boys to bow before the "New God". When they start to, Castiel prevents them, saying that they are doing it merely out of fear, not love. It is clearly shown that Castiel has changed profoundly, and not for the better. Castiel then tells Dean that he had better hope this is the last time they meet.
With little hope for a way to diffuse/reach out to Castiel, Dean begins to repair the Impala (for the second time in the series), claiming it is the only thing that he can do. Sam, on the other hand, has gone back into a coma state for a little while, then awakens to find that he is having spuratic hallucinations. It is only after Sam wakes up that Sam, Dean, and Bobby consort with Crowley, who is not pleased with having Cas as his new boss, to conjure the spell Lucifer used to bind Death.
After completing the ritual to bind Death, Dean asks Death to kill Castiel. It is when Castiel suddenly appears that we learn what ancient evil Castiel has swallowed into himself: The Leviathans! Castiel has swallowed such powerful, ancient evils that his vessel cannot contain them all. Castiel then says that is impossible, unbinds Death from Dean's control, and then goes into the world to "right the wrongs" of his Father. It is after a massacre that Cas could not stop himself from, that he realizes he needs Sam and Dean's help in returning all the souls to Purgatory.
While attempting to return the souls, Sam suffers what appears to be another hallucination of Lucifer. However, Lucifer tricks (or doesn't trick) Sam into believing that he never actually came back from the Pit, and that he's actually still in Hell being tortured by him. Meanwhile, Dean and Bobby conduct the ritual and return the souls Purgatory, seemingly killing Castiel in the process. However, it is at the very end of the episode that we learn that The Leviathan had actually clutched on to Castiel and remains within him. Castiel then loses control, and the Leviathan takes over, claiming Castiel is now dead.
HERE'S THE REVIEW SECTION
Supernatural has always been, in my opinion, one of the most superior shows in terms of its writing. The season premieres are always fun to watch, but I must say that this has been the best premiere since "Pilot" in season 1 or since "Lazarus Rising" in Season 4. While the relationship between Sam and Dean is clearly re-established after the summer hiatus, this episode is primarily focused on Castiel and how he is using/managing his new powers and his new self-proclaimed role as our New God. Castiel is written as a completely different character than we have ever seen him before, which makes the story so enticing. Cas is a righteous dictator, taking out anyone he sees as blasphemous or abusive of power. And, in the end, we can't help but feel bad and forgive Castiel when he realizes the errors of his choices and wants nothing more than to apologize to Dean and earn his forgiveness.
Perhaps the strongest part of this episode that made it as good as it is was the masterful acting by Mischa Collins (Castiel). We have seen Mischa play Cas, his vessel Jimmy, and last year we saw him play himself. But it is in this episode that we see his true acting range. He never portrays Castiel as an inherently evil character. He portrays him as a soldier and a son of God who simply thinks he can do better, but makes a lot of bad decisions in proving so. While this new portrayal of Cas is fantastic and new, it was Mischa's performance at the end, portraying a regretful and guilt-ridden Cas that made his performance top notch. We are made to truly feel sorry for Castiel and forgive him, regardless of the evil that he has unleashed.
One of the best aspects of "Meet The New Boss" was the setup for the rest of the season's storyline. In most television series, getting good, compelling season-long arcs can be difficult to create. Especially if your main characters have stopped a demon army, fought Satan's strongest Demons, staved off the Apocalypse, and stopped Lucifer himself. But, the writers and producers of Supernatural have proven that they have not yet dried out the well of ideas for this epic series! Just when you thought you couldn't go any bigger than the freaks in Purgatory or Lucifer himself, they introduce The Leviathan. In Demonology, the Leviathan is one of the seven princes of Hell and is its gatekeeper. In this episode, Death claims that before Angels, Demons, or humans, God created the Leviathans as his first creatures. They were insane, powerful, rabid creatures that would only destroy the planet. The Leviathan will prove to be a most worthy advasary to the boys this season.
Add to that, we now have a very psychological and philosophical threat posed throughout this season: Is Sam really back from the Pit OR is he still in Hell and everything he's experiencing is a torture tactic of Lucifer's? Sam will have to struggle with concepts of reality and question everything that he sees and hears, making him a HUGE liability to Dean and Bobby.
All in all, this was a VERY strong episode. The writing was top notch, maintaining a strong, character-driven story that ends extremely well and sets up an even bigger plot for the rest of this season. The acting, as always, was fantastic and shows that these characters don't get old or dried up, still maintaining their appeal. I cannot wait to see episode 2 next week. I hope you all enjoyed this episode as much as I did. Post your comments in the usual place!!