“The One You’ve Been Waiting For” isn’t exactly the Supernatural episode we’ve been waiting for, but it will do. Sam and Dean revisit an old enemy when the Thule Society resurfaces. Naturally, the boys have to save the world again, but they do so in their own quiet way, making the world safe for democracy. Wrong war, but you get the idea.

Buyer Beware

A woman arrives at an antique store to buy a pocket watch with a Nazi insignia on it. Much to the buyer’s indignation, the antiques dealer wants to renegotiate the previously agreed-upon price. Starting to put the watch away, he suddenly catches fire and drops the box containing the watch. Apparently, the flaming pile formerly known as the antiques dealer doesn’t serve as an adequate warning. The woman grabs the watch off the ground and promptly meets the same fate. A mystery man stands in the back, watching. It feels like some kind of morality play, but we suspect it’s a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Wait, does that make us the idiot?

At the bunker, Sam thinks Dean is sublimating his feelings about their mom leaving. Dean admits that’s kind of his thing, but insists he understands that his mom just needed some space. Look at Dean, acting like a grown-up. Despite Dean’s explanation and lack of angst, Sam continues to pathologize his brother. No wonder Dean likes to refer to him as “Dr. Phil.”

After learning about the spontaneous combustion incident, Sam and Dean check out the shop. Dean clumsily knocks things over while Sam checks the computer. A secret room filled with Nazi paraphernalia, in combination with the signs of immolation, indicate that this case is probably connected to the Thule Society. The Thule Society is a group of Nazi necromancers first introduced on Supernatural in “Everybody Hates Hitler” (S08E13). That episode was just “meh” for us, so we’re keeping our expectations low for the return of the Thule. To be honest, the one that we’ve been waiting for would have Adam in it, not Aaron.

Date Night

These folks aren’t the only ones catching on fire. A young man and his well-dressed German father are lighting things up all over. They burn up a dude who was about to score on his Tinder date, while the date manages to escape out the bathroom window. Worst. Date. Ever. And, if the writers are trying to make a tinder/fire joke, it’s too subtle.

Sam and Dean contact Aaron Bass, the man the Winchesters met when investigating the Thule. Aaron’s been following in the footsteps of his forbears in the Judah initiative, cracking Nazi skulls with the help of his golem. His work has led Aaron to a techno club in Germany. The Thule Society has been closing ranks in preparation for Das Blut (the blood), and a gathering of Thule bigwigs is expected soon. We never get to see Aaron’s golem companion because, you know, budget stuff.

When Sam and Dean investigate the Tinder date immolation, they see the witness, Ellie, being kidnapped by the young man in the suit. They Winchesters “follow that car” to a parking garage where they rescue the girl, Ellie, and question the young man, Christoph. For some reason the Winchesters tell young Ellie all about their whole monster-hunting gig, but she’s a skeptic.

Confession

After a death threat and no beatings, the boy quickly admits that his father is Commandant Nauhaus, ranking officer of the Thule High Command. That was easy. Commandant Nauhaus saved Adolf Hitler’s soul in the pocket watch (it’s like a horcrux, he tells them) so he could bring him back. That’s right, the Winchesters have to save the world from Hitler now.

Young Christoph was born in Buffalo in ’94, and isn’t that invested in the Hitler plan. “Listen, this whole ‘Let’s bring Hitler back’ is more of an O.G. Thule plan. All they do is yap about it.” Ellie thinks this must be a joke. Why is she still even there? Ohhhh! It’s because she’s related to Hitler. She’s of the blood. So they killed her date to get her. Lucky the Winchesters kept her there.

Sam tries to show his understanding by swapping stories, telling Ellie that once there were those who wanted to use him to bring Lucifer back. Ellie doesn’t believe him, and she really doesn’t care ’cause she’s got her own problems. Dean has no time for the soft Sam approach, but it’s too late—the Thule thugs have arrived.

Nazis vs. Millennials

It turns out that Ellie is really good at escaping out windows. But Christoph’s dad, Commandant Nauhaus, is equally as good at sniffing her out. It’s her blood, you see, that gives her away. In the car, Ellie watches, tied up and gagged, as Nauhaus lectures his disappointing heir. They have a whole Dr. Evil vs. Scott Evil thing going on, though it’s not nearly as funny.

Christoph: “You, know, I used to look up to you. You conquered death. You did so many things. But now, now all you want to do is relive your glory days, with Hitler.”
Nauhaus: “Your generation, you millennials, are too weak to steward the future; it needs a stronger hand. The world is divided and inflamed. This falling of empires, the fleeing of economies, is precisely why there’s never been a better time for the Führer’s return.”

Sure, the millennials are an easy scapegoat, but are they really to be blamed for the resurgence of fascism? Well … they do work well in groups.

When they get to the Thule secret base, Nauhaus tells his associate, “Fritz, my son has had a very trying day. He should rest.” Apparently, this is Thule code for “Kill my son.” And you thought it was bad when you disappointed your parents. Well, Fritz flubs the mission, and Christoph manages to find the Winchesters in like three seconds. Tracking must run in his family. He wants their protection in exchange for information. This boy loves to spill Thule Society secrets.

“Do you know what it was like to have a Nazi necromancer for a father? It sucked. Christmas was a joke. Career day at school was a nightmare. All I did was try to make him proud. I’ll never be good enough. He asked a guy named Fritz to kill me.”

This seems to strike a chord with the Winchesters.

The Rise and Fall of Hitler

The Thule Society is keeping Ellie in an airplane hangar that holds a vintage WWII plane. Commandant Nauhaus plays Wagner to set the mood. Outside, the Winchesters have arrived. Dean wants to bring the grenade-launcher, but Sam says they need to go in quietly. Dean tells his brother, “Let’s go kill some Nazis.”

Inside, Nauhaus is having Ellie’s blood transfused. “Did you really think I would resurrect the greatest man who ever lived in the body of a weak, unworthy American female?” We hate this sexist fascist. In fact, we hate all bigoted and chauvinistic fascists.

The watch is placed on Nauhaus, and it carves a Swastika on his chest. He wakes as a wide-eyed Hitler, shouting, “It’s been so long.” Ellie weakly asks, “Hitler?” It’s weirdly funny to hear him addressed by name in this manner. He speaks in German initially, but then goes into the outrageously accented English spoken by Nauhuas. Apparently, he got all kinds of gifts from this vessel, including the ability to speak English.

It turns out that Hitler is a real jokester. He’s kind of over the top, in a psyhopathic Jerry Lewis sort of way. It’s all kinds of wrong. The Winchesters get captured far too easily and are brought before the resurrected Hitler. Sam, hesitating, asks, “Hitler?” and it comes out weird and funny. This oppressive dictator is someone you talk about, not call out to.

Ellie manages to kill one of the Nazi henchmen, but Supernatural can’t let the weak American female get vengeance against her own tormenter and ancestor. Instead, the ultimate kill goes to Dean. He says, “Heil this,” and shoots Hitler. Really? That’s the line they give us? Seems like a missed opportunity. Sam exclaims with wonder, “Dude, you killed Hitler!” which really captures the cartoony nature of this episodes. Sure, he says “Dude,” not “Zoinks,” but you get the idea.

To celebrate, Dean wants some pie, signaling that all is right with the world. “The One You’ve Been Waiting For” gave us a Monster-of-the-Week Supernatural episode that never went beyond our somewhat low expectations. The narrative was well-paced and the story met all the requirements of the genre, and overall it was enjoyable to watch. Despite this, “The One You’ve Been Waiting For” felt like an interesting story about Supernatural, rather than a well told Supernatural story.

See our review of “The One You’ve Been Waiting For” here.