Supernatural recap: 'A Most Holy Man'

Here’s the thing about this episode: I’m pretty sure it’s one that I’m going to like a lot more the second time I see it. That’s not to say that I didn’t like it. There was a lot I liked about it, including the fact that the show had fun with creating an old-school gangster film. But I think because I wasn’t expecting that, it took me a moment to get into it. And I do think this episode was missing a little Sam and Dean. The other characters were fun and were obviously crucial for the world of the week, if you will, but there were far too many new faces and names for me to attempt to keep track of them all.

With that, let’s get into it: We start in Malta, where someone steals a skull from the Holy Sisters of Malta monastery. That skull will become a big part of the episode when the Winchesters begin their journey to find one of the four ingredients they need to do the spell that will get them to the Apocalypse World. With Castiel off trying to find fruit from the Tree of Life in Syria, Sam and Dean are on the hunt for the blood of a most holy man, which Sam believes translates to “the blood of a saint.” After doing a bit of research — Sam’s favorite hobby — he locates a dealer of ancient religious relics. Her name is Margaret Astor, and she’s straight out of another time (thus kicking off the episode’s old-timey film noir vibes).

The brothers head to San Francisco — I admit it felt weird not to have them in or around Middle America — where they sit down with Margaret. And let’s just say that she likes her some Sam. And for once, Sam flirts back! But only because he’s being strategic. Margaret tells them that she knows someone who might have the blood they need, and she’s willing to make the introduction if it means Sam will be in her bed debt. They agree, and that leads them to Seattle to meet Richard Greenstreet, a British man with a love of donuts.

Greenstreet claims that he has the blood of a saint, but he will only give it to the boys if they track down the skull that was stolen in Malta. (I told you it would tie in.) Greenstreet believes that some mob boss named Scarpati — spelling? — stole the skull, and if the boys get it for him, they can trade it for the blood. Trading a dead guy’s skull for another dead guy’s blood…welcome to Supernatural.

The boys make a quick coffee stop after their meeting for a brief interaction that remains one of my favorite moments of the episode…

Dean: “What you reading?”
Attractive woman: “A book on the supernatural.”
Dean: “So you’re into the supernatural?”
Attractive woman: “I am.”
Dean: “I should sit down.”

But sadly, Dean doesn’t get the chance: Sam has found a lead.

The boys head to a nearby hotel where they believe the skull thief is staying. Only, by the time they arrive, the thief is dead and his room has been ransacked. And while the boys are still standing over the thief’s dead body, a guy who’s clearly only posing as a cop enters to look around. He finds nothing and eventually leaves, leaving Sam and Dean to head back to the car, where a few of Scarpati’s men are waiting to take them to meet their boss. (And they want to drive Baby.)

After Dean reluctantly hands over the keys to the Impala, the boys are taken to Scarpati’s house, where the evil mob boss sits behind a desk listening to opera music and petting his cat. (I do love how the show leans into these stereotypes.) Scarpati wants to make a deal: Considering that it was his thief who was killed, he wants Sam and Dean to find the skull and deliver it to him. In exchange, he will give them enough money to buy the blood of the saint from Greenstreet. Oh, and also he won’t kill Dean for mouthing off. That seems fair, right?

So suddenly, Sam and Dean have gone from working for a scoundrel to working for a mob boss. Either way, they head back to the hotel to to see what they can find at the crime scene. What do they find, you ask? Well, Sam gets his hands on a piece of paper with some numbers on it…and then he gets knocked out from behind. That’s twice in two weeks, dude. Watch your back! (Next: A mobster showdown)

Sam and Dean chase after the guy who knocked Sam out, and it doesn’t take long for them to find him, mostly because he’s been knocked out by someone else. Confused? Yeah, it’s a lot of people to deal with.

Sam and Dean sit down with Sam’s attacker and learn that he’s a priest from Malta. The sisters from the nunnery sent him (and all the money they have) to try to buy the skull back. That relic means everything to his congregation, and after he gives the brothers a speech about how the world will never be perfect but how “if good men do good things it can get better,” Sam decides he wants to start working for the priest now. So for those of you keeping track, it goes: working for scoundrel to working for mob boss to working for priest.

To convince Dean, Sam asks what his brother would do if someone stole the Impala, thereby losing Dean completely as he shuts down and can only seem to talk about murdering anyone who tries to take his precious Baby. “If I can’t have it, nobody can,” Dean says as Sam walks away, realizing that he never should’ve asked.

Speaking of the Impala, the brothers and the priest hit the road, where the priest proves his value: He remembers the numbers on the piece of paper. It’s a tracking number, and they use it to follow the fake cop from earlier when he picks it up. And who’s he working for? Margaret! It all comes full circle.

It seems Margaret is giving the skull to the highest bidder, and Scarpati and Greenstreet are both in the game. So, Sam joins as well. With the priest’s money — and more importantly, his own charm — in tow, he gets a place around the table. Margaret then allows each bidder to write down their price on a piece of paper. But when Greenstreet offers $1 million to Margaret’s accomplice if he kills her, the fake cop shoots Margaret, and from there, things unravel.

Outside, Dean and the priest are having a conversation about God — Dean lets him know that God’s not exactly watching over them — but once Sam gets inside, they go in after him. As gunfire erupts, the episode has a lot of fun with the gangster movie music selection in one of the hour’s best scenes. In the end, the boys are able to hand the skull back over to the priest, but it seems Greenstreet never had the blood of a saint to begin with. Luckily, the priest ends up being a most holy man, as anointed by the Pope himself.

Back at the bunker, Sam’s sick of playing defense. He feels like all they’ve done is bounce from one apocalypse to another. He asks Dean if he thinks they’ll ever really change things, stop all the monsters. Dean’s only response? “That would be nice.” But as for the one ingredient they have toward a way to save mom…Dean has faith in that.

All in all, I liked the episode, but I think they either should’ve leaned into the theme a bit more or pulled back some. It also felt strange that Sam and Dean didn’t seem too self-aware that they were essentially living in an old mob murder mystery. I always love how creative this show is, but this felt like a great idea that could’ve been executed just a little better.