Supernatural 'Alex Annie Alexis Ann' Review: I'm friends with the monsters

After last week's mythology-heavy installment, Supernatural returned with its latest Season 9 episode entitled "Alex Annie Alexis Ann." What started as a routine Monster of the Week case turned into an exploration of a subject that the show would be well served to come back to in the future.

In nine seasons of this show, Sam and Dean Winchester have killed countless monsters. It's one thing when they take out vampires, ghosts and other creatures of the night because, quite frankly, they're not human. And that sits just fine with us as a viewing audience because the unofficial tagline of the show is "Saving people, hunting things."

But then we cross into more of a gray area when the brothers kill demons or angels, because those are creatures that possess human bodies. When they knife a demon or smite an angel, they're also killing the poor guy or girl that the supernatural entity was controlling. Then there are the rare cases when the Monster of the Week turns out to be just a regular ol' human, which raises more ethical questions.

That moral conundrum is what saved "Alex Annie Alexis Ann" from being a disappointing standalone installment. Alex/Annie seemed like an unfortunate victim at first, but we quickly learned that she was willingly acting as bait for her family of vampires, who would swoop in and snack on whatever unfortunate target she acquired. In return, she got a family that took care of her.

Sheriff Jodie Mills (welcome back) wanted to wake the poor girl out of her wrongheaded ways, but Sam and Dean were more of the "let's ice this chick" mentality. Jodie turned out to be right, as Alex/Annie helped kill her "mama" when push came to shove.

To make these standalone episodes interesting, the show needs to delve into these types of ethical quandaries. The stakes are very low in these types of episodes. We know Sam and Dean are not going to die, so the physical danger is really there just for the sake of the plot. Instead, these Monster of the Week episodes are at their best when they make the characters and the viewers ask difficult questions. In that area, this episode succeeded.

The installment also loosely tied back to the main plot of the season, as Dean took an unusual amount of pleasure in decapitating one of the vampires. It was clear he was enjoying himself when he killed the first, chained-up vampire earlier in the episode, but the one he outmuscled with the knife brought him an uncomfortable level of satisfaction. It's clear Dean is continuing to feel the effects of the Mark of Cain, and it seems like the effects are getting stronger. Sam now realizes something is wrong and with just four episodes left this season, it's only a matter of time before this whole mess unravels.

Notes from Dad's Journal

-       "Look at me, bitch!" - Dean Winchester channeling his best combination of Gustavo Fring and Jesse Pinkman

-       Also, I know Dean is strong, but how was he able to outmuscle a vampire? Aren't vamps supposed to be super strong? Maybe it's an effect of the Mark of Cain.

-       Will we see Alex/Annie, Jodie's adopted daughter, again? My money's on no, but she could make for an interesting returning character.

-       That one lady who sold Alex/Annie a bus ticket broke all three rules of the "Supernatural Guest Stars' Guide to Getting Killed." She was on the phone, she was alone on a side street/alley and she was getting into a car.

-       Next week's episode, "Bloodlines," serves as the backdoor pilot for the spinoff series of the same name. Any early thoughts based on the promo?

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