In the episode, Sam and Dean have to deal with the consequence of having freed The Darkness into the world while Crowley recovers after Castiel's attack.
With this episode, Supernatural became the longest-running science fiction TV show in North America, surpassing Smallville.
They are attacked by a medical officer, who's gunned down by a sheriff's deputy named Jenna Nickerson (Laci J. Mailey).
Crowley later retains his true vessel and is notified by his employees that The Darkness has been unleashed and that everyone on Hell heard a warning coming from Lucifer's Cage.
Amy Ratcliffe of IGN gave the episode a "great" 8.4 out of 10 and wrote in her verdict, "The stakes seem to get bigger with every season of Supernatural, and they've effectively raised them with The Darkness.
The episode didn't pack quite the punch it could have, but it did a fine job of setting the stage and showing us that the Winchesters might be going back to their roots.
Yes, I'm welcoming you back to a world that's covered in literal darkness and where Sam has once again found a way to put his life in danger — but still, feels kind of good, right?
Overall, this hour reminded me a lot of the apocalypse days, or even the Croatoan virus — the deserted town, the infected individuals, the general sense of death and destruction.
"[7] Sean McKenna from TV Fanatic, gave a 4.4 star rating out of 5, stating: "Overall, this was an engaging episode that did a good job of focusing on the brothers and setting up what feels like a compelling new direction with the Darkness.
The Js and the writers and Jeremy Carver himself have been saying all summer long that Season 11 will herald a return to basics for Dean and Sam.
After all, the Winchesters have evolved too far to simply go back to the good old days of prank wars and credit card fraud.