Spoilers ahead for Episode 5 of Supernatural Season 14, called "Nightmare Logic."
Supernatural has spent more than a decade putting the brothers Winchester through the wringer time and time again, and Dean's latest trauma came in the form of possession by the Michael. The archangel betrayed Dean at the end of Season 13 and stayed inside of him despite their deal that should have seen Michael vacate Dean as soon as he did away with Lucifer. Dean spent three weeks as Michael's unwilling vessel, and Michael did some unspeakable things while wearing his Dean suit.
Dean doesn't remember those three weeks, which is really for the best. He'd undoubtedly be a wreck if he had recalled everything as soon as Michael vacated his body. While I'm guessing at least some of those memories will come back, at least this situation seems to be different from when Dean was concealing his memories of Hell way back in Season 4. For now, Dean's time as Michael's vessel may actually be beneficial to the Winchesters and the other hunters. "Nightmare Logic" revealed why.
The episode kicked off with a young hunter by the name of Maggie going missing on her first solo hunt. Fortunately, Sam reorganized and updated how hunters work during Dean's absence, meaning that Sam had access to body cam footage to give some clues about what happened to her. The boys tracked Maggie to a house and cemetery, and they pretended to be representatives of the Historical Preservation Society, interested in the house.
They weren't the only hunters drawn to try and find Maggie, as they discovered Mary and Bobby already there, chatting with the nurse who took care of the owner of the house, Mr. Rawlings, who was bedridden and unresponsive despite what appeared to be a drip of medication going into his arm. The hunters split into teams to try and investigate what happened.
Dean and Bobby found a cabin in the woods, and since this is Supernatural, nothing good happens in cabins in the woods. Dean was attacked by a man, but stabbed him before any damage could be done. The man -- or creature -- evaporated into dust as soon as he was stabbed. Elsewhere, Sam and Mary found the remains of a man they identified as a hunter by his wallet full of fake IDs.
Sam was the next to be attacked. A vampire lunged at him, but it was no normal vampire. When Sam stabbed him, he turned into dust. Bobby was set upon in the woods, and he too took out the attacker by stabbing and turning him to dust. The pieces were falling into place, and Dean entered the house to have a little chat with the nurse.
Dean realized that instead of using the IV drip to give Mr. Rawlings medication or transfuse blood into him, the nurse was actually taking blood out of him. As it turned out, the nurse was actually a djinn, and longtime Supernatural fans will remember that Dean has had some very bad experiences with djinn over the years.
When Dean confronted him, the djinn just laughed the encounter off and tried to ask what kind of game he was playing. Dean had no idea what the djinn was playing at and presumably wondered why the djinn wasn't immediately either trying to run or attack. Then, it clicked. The djinn believed that Dean was still Michael, and so he didn't bother concealing that he'd been helping Michael lay traps for hunters.
Dean just went ahead and killed the djinn, and the good guys were able to save Maggie, so they technically won the day. Still, the djinn did indicate that Michael had laid many traps all over the place designed to attract and then kill hunters. The corpse in the woods was proof that they were lucky to rescue Maggie and all escape with their lives, and not all hunters might be so lucky in the future.
Basically, the episode was a couple of minor wins with some potential huge losses for the Winchesters and other hunters, and it ended with Sam and Dean spreading the word to other hunters about the new kind of monsters and what they're facing. The hour didn't end on a triumphant note.
That said, the interaction between Dean and the djinn before the djinn realized that Dean wasn't Michael may be a sign that Michael's possession of Dean will give the Winchesters an edge. If monsters don't realize that Michael vacated Dean, they may give away pieces of Michael's plan and drop valuable information before the truth comes out. As long as Michael is in the wind, other monsters may have no reason to expect that he's no longer in his Dean suit.
Given that the Winchesters are at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to taking on an archangel, every little advantage can be key. If Dean is even a little bit convincing as Michael, the game could be changed. Not all monsters are going to have the presence of mind to realize the truth before it's too late.
At this point, we can only speculate. Supernatural actually revealed how the Winchesters can defeat Michael a couple of episodes ago, but getting their hands on the weapon isn't going to be easy, if possible at all. They may need a different avenue than the one involving Kaia. As somebody who was disappointed when Michael left Dean as early in the season as he did, I would be on board with the hunters using their former connection to their advantage.
My money is still on Michael occupying Dean again at some point before Season 14 comes to an end, but we'll have to wait and see what happens. For now, tune in to The CW on Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET for new episodes of Supernatural. Michael won't be gone forever, and he may be back sooner rather than later to drop some of his bizarrely entertaining humor.
The Winchesters may not be able to rely on Castiel and Jack as much as they'd like. Cas isn't as powerful as he once was, and Jack is completely lacking the powers he was born with. In fact, he was seen coughing up blood, and his preoccupation with Nick could come back to bite him. Even the Wayward Sisters can only do so much good. Only time will tell.
