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Time Is On My Side is the episode we should have seen last week.

The episode starts out with two snarky plastic surgeons walking out of the hospital, discussing their cases before separating. One gets into his car, and is suddenly snatched from behind. Hours later, he stumbles into the hospital clutching his stomach. A veteran nurse tries to help him, gently prying away his hands from his torso, only to scream as the contents of his stomach spill out before her.

The Winchesters are hot on Bela’s trail after exorcising a demon when they find out about the case. The unfortunate victim had muddy fingerprints all over him dating back hundreds of year, so more than the usual foul play is suspected. Sam suggests a zombie is at work, but this theory is put to rest when a grumpy doctor shows the two the victim’s wounds weren’t bite marks – they were from a surgeon. All of this traces back to Doc Benton (Billy Drago), an 19th century alchemical surgeon who survived for decades by switching out body parts – like the still-beating heart he just lifted from a runner. One of Benton’s hearts was removed by none other than John Winchester – but the doc just keeps on ticking.

Dean is infuriated when he realizes Sam knew it was Benton all along and didn’t tell him. He soon realizes Sam’s strategy, hoping Doc Benton’s twisted research can provide immortality to save Dean from perdition. But the two brothers are even further at odds when Bobby calls with a lead on Bela from a retired hunter named Rufus Turner. Sam wants to finish the case to find out what Benton knows, while Dean wants to find Bela and the Colt. The two brothers begrudgingly split up.

Sam finds Benton’s lair, managing to save not only a survivor but also Benton’s research. He is attacked by Benton on his way to the car, but manages to escape and even run over Benton on the way – not that it does much good. Dean, meanwhile, is off to a tough start with the generally unhelpful Rufus until he adds some scotch to the equation. Rufus tells Dean where Bela is as well as what her angle is, but also tells Dean not to get his hopes up, saying all of their kind have it coming and he is what has to look forward to if he lives past his deal – which he highly doubts he will. Dean confronts Bela, but the Colt is already gone. He then faces Bela with the death of her parents ten years ago, accusing her of killing them. (A brief flashback implies Bela’s father sexually abused her.) But Dean isn’t able to kill Bela, especially after seeing something above her door. He leaves – but not before Bela snatches his hotel receipt out of his pocket. Sam calls Dean, and is hopeful he can reproduce Benton’s formula – but not before he is captured by Benton.

The charismatic Benton fondly remembers John Winchester, and plans to operate on his son. He is just about to scoop out Sam’s eyeball when Dean enters the room, gun pointed right at Benton. All of his shots fail to affect the more-or-less undead Benton, who slams Dean against the wall and prepares go in for the kill. It’s at this time when Dean stabs him in the heart with the knife. The knife doesn’t kill Benton, but it wasn’t supposed to – but the poison coating the knife does bring him down. When Benton comes to, he offers to help the Winchesters find immortality, but Dean, having seen what immortality has made Benton as well as what survival has made Rufus, refuses. They give the still-living Benton a proper burial, while the screaming doctor pleads as the dirt falls on his metallic makeshift casket, yelling he can still save Dean.

That night, Bela enters their hotel room and shoots both beds several times – only to find blow-up dolls beneath each bed. Then she gets a call from Dean, who is already leaving town. He realizes what he saw above her door – herbal hellhound repellant – marking Bela as a fellow Faustian. Another flashback reveals Lilith was the one who made the deal to kill her parents – and Bela tells Dean she is the one who holds his contract as well as every other. Dean is frustrated, knowing Bela could have helped them, but instead, chose to work against them – and inadvertently seals her own fate. Dean says he’ll see her in Hell and hangs up. The clock strikes midnight and Bela faces the window as she hears howls in the distance getting closer and closer. The credits roll as we hear roars and growls fall on Bela.

Overall, this was a great episode, and as you can see, a lot happened. The episode shows the lengths Sam is willing to go for Dean as well as the lines Dean isn’t willing to cross for even his sake. The scene with Rufus has dingy, Hellblazer-like feel, and I can’t help but compare Doctor Benton to I Am Legend’s Robert Neville, begging to cure humanity when really he is the monster. The episodes thrusts Sam and Dean right into next week’s season finale, which the previews indicate will be a must-see confrontation for Supernatural fans!

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