Supernatural 'Captives' Review: Kevin Tran returns and tells the Winchesters to knock it off

Supernatural returned with another new Season 9 episode after its short Olympics-fueled break with "Captives," an episode that featured the return of Kevin Tran and Mrs. Tran to the Winchesters' world.

It seemed likely that Kevin would return at some point (this is Supernatural, after all) and his presence here served two purposes. First, his ghost status informed Sam and Dean (and the viewers) that Heaven is closed off thanks to what Metatron did. No souls are heading up north as the gates are shut. Instead, everyone is stuck in the veil and living as ghosts where they died.

After Sam and Dean rescued Mrs. Tran from the clutches of some of Crowley's henchmen, they reunited the Trans, although mama now knows that her baby boy is no longer breathing. The good news is that Kevin and his mom can enjoy some time together, which is a refreshing change of pace from the usual gloom and doom in these types of situations.

Kevin's other purpose was to give the Winchesters a good, swift kick in the pants. It turns out that the former prophet has been listening in on Sam and Dean's domestic drama as he's been haunting the Men of Letters' bunker, so he knows all about the bitterness an hurt feelings between the two. And his words of advice? "It's stupid."

Kevin pretty much encapsulated what some viewers have been thinking since this fight started between the brothers. Some agree with Dean, some agree with Sam and others think they both should just hug it out and move on with their lives. But Kevin's attitude was, "Get over it."

Unfortunately, it's not as easy as just telling the Winchesters to do something, as the stubborn men stormed off to their rooms like children and Dean threw his headphones back on to listen to music again. It's clear that this fight is not going to end anytime soon, but one wonders what it will take for the two to reunite for real.

Elsewhere, Bartholomew captured Castiel and tried to get him to join his faction, but Cas was a little put off by the whole "torturing of angels" portion of Bart's presentation. So instead, Castiel was forced to kill his fellow angel when he tried to attack our trench coat-wearing friend.

Bartholomew was shaping up to be the Big Bad of the season, but now that he's out of the way, Metatron and Gadreel will likely take that role. Abaddon is still out there, too, but Metatron feels like more of a threat at this point. On top of that, this side plot led to Bart's followers' siding with Castiel, which could make for an interesting dynamic as the season progresses.

Notes from Dad's Journal

-       Seriously, Winchesters. Let's move on. We know you're gonna get back together, so this childishness needs to end. If you're gonna fight, at least have something come out of it!

-       Kevin's gotta come back before the end of the season, right?

-       Dean seems to maybe/kinda/sorta not hate Crowley so much? Or does he just think he needs the King of Hell for certain tasks?

-       Mrs. Tran still rocks.

What did you think of tonight's episode? Let us know in the comments below.