Supernatural Season 10 Premiere 'Black' Review: Demon Dean Arrives

Ever since Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) opened that pair of black eyes in the Season 9 finale of Supernatural, fans have wondered what would happen when Demon Dean finally arrived on screen. The Season 10 premiere, "Black," aired Tuesday night, and our first look at the new Dean was both fascinating and horrifying.

Dean Winchester was always a broken, troubled man. He was heroic, brave, righteous and burdened by destiny, but he was also frequently drunk, slept around and buried his emotional issues so deeply that you'd need industrial equipment to be able to reach it.

Demon Dean takes this personality and amplifies it exponentially. Dean always counteracted his problems with his morals and his sense of purpose. Demon Dean has no such attachments or pesky scruples weighing him down. He spends much of the Season 10 premiere in a bar singing horribly off key karaoke (seriously, Dean Winchester CANNOT sing), beating the life out of his fellow patrons, drinking heavily and bedding the local females.

He gets so out of control that Crowley of all people has to try to get him focused on the mission. The King of Hell wants Dean as his prince, if you will, to rule at his side over his new, perfect vision of Hell. But Dean is more interested in living in sin than he is in creating some.

Demon Dean's behavior in this episode introduced us to his new personality, but it also paid off seasons' worth of character development. The emotionally crippled Dean Winchester is now blowing off steam in the unhealthiest ways possible, and it's a scary sight to behold.

Sam, meanwhile, is looking for his brother and eventually finds him on security footage at a gas station beating the tar out of another man. He sees from the video that Dean has black eyes and assumes his dead brother is the vessel for a new demon. Instead, Crowley informs him that the demon in there is all Dean.

We also learn that the Mark of Cain has to be "sated" or else Dean will turn into a full-on demon. At least, that's how the conversation between he and Crowley made it sound. Crowley sent some demons after Dean to feed the Mark, and Dean happily slaughtered them. We'll have to wait and see if the Mark continues to affect Dean throughout the season.

Sam eventually runs afoul of another man who is after Dean. He doesn't seem to be a hunter in the traditional sense, as he refers to Dean as a monster from long ago. It's unclear what Dean did to this guy to make him seek revenge, but Sam is now caught in the crossfire.

It's here that we get the darkest look into Demon Dean in the premiere. He couldn't care less if Sam lives or dies and tells his captor to go ahead and kill him. But he still gets to have his Liam Neeson from Taken moment when he promises he will find and kill whoever is on the phone.

Finally, Castiel is dealing with the effects of his stolen grace, which is slowly burning him out from the inside. His fellow angel Hannah recruits him to help bring two other angels back to Heaven, but all the angels want is to be left alone in freedom. Castiel understood that (he would be the one angel who would sympathize, after all), but the situation explodes and he is forced to kill one of his brothers.

It seems Castiel will again be cleaning up angel messes for at least the early part of Season 10, which is wearing a bit thin at this point. He's already dealt with so many angel problems that it's starting to feel a bit repetitive. How is there even a power structure in Heaven anymore? But as always, we'll wait to see where the storyline goes before we pass judgment.

As usual, Supernatural started off its newest season on the right foot and gave fans plenty of reasons to be excited for Season 10. We've got multiple plot threads going, now let's see where they lead.

Notes from Dad's Journal:

-       Seriously, Dean Winchester CANNOT sing!

-       Castiel continues to be the king of awkwardness when he doesn't realize his robe is open.

-       Also, Castiel can't drive. He wants to go faster on the curves!

-       Crowley and Dean apparently did things to triplets. At first I thought I'd want to see that, but then I realized that I most definitely do NOT want to see that.

What did you think of the Season 10 premiere? Let us know in the comments section.