Tonight's episode hinged on one of the more interesting issues in the Reaper universe: Does the Devil really care about Sam? On the surface it's kind of a dumb question–this is the freakin' devil after all–but the big guy sure does seem to take a lot of interest in our little demon catcher. But after "Rebellion" it seems that, well, he really is the freakin' devil after all, and he continues to play with Sam's emotions like Eddie Van Halen works the fretboard on "Eruption."
Coming off last month's "The Acid Queen," I was really loving "Rebellion" until the final five minutes. The underground society of reformed demons plugging parking meters and fighting the urge to eat children was genius. One of my favorite secondary characters, Ted, was linked with my least favorite, Josie, for a date. (Ted also got possibly the best line of the series so far: "Hooking up any sort of appliance is classic gay porn terminology for getting it on.") And the increasingly weird, father/son dynamic between The Devil and Sam was explored in a really interesting, dramatically enticing way. While "Rebellion" was lighter than "The Acid Queen," it was still darker than most of what's come before, and another positive sign that Reaper is finding its footing even as it faces possible cancellation. (Getting better might be the only thing that saves it, unless ratings rebound really quick.)