This review may contain spoilers

An underwhelming standard monster episode with no Leviathan arc elements, this episode foregrounds Dean's (Jensen Ackles) promiscuity and drinking problem then adds to the disappearing beer mystery.

Of course, Sam (Jared Padalecki) has noticed Dean's prolific alcohol abuse. We are given several opportunities to see Sam observing Dean. It turns out that Sam doesn't particularly mind if it's helping Dean cope with Bobby's death so soon following Castiel. Perhaps he has guessed that Dean's alternative plan was to take Sam with him on a "Thelma & Louise" trip off a cliff.

The boys miss Bobby and are forced to make do with an anthropology professor (Harry Groener) from the local university when their research ability falters.

Later in the episode, we hear the same "breath of wind" sound effect that accompanied a mysterious disappearing beer in "Adventures in Babysitting." This time, their disorganized piles of research are tidied and an important document highlighted. Dean thinks it's Bobby's ghost but Sam disagrees.

First, they gave Bobby a traditional hunter's funeral, which includes burning his earthly remains, ensuring that he can never become a ghost. Second, they both want it to be Bobby too much, and they are never that fortunate.

This week's monsters are mutated amazons that are incredibly strong and grow from conception to adulthood in two days, after which they age normally. The girls are required to kill their fathers in ritual fashion by cutting off his hands and feet and leaving the sigil of their goddess Harmonia carved into his chest.

These amazons have a two year mating cycle and have visited Chicago and Miami, previously. In their little eugenics program, they pick attractive youngish professionals. Shallow. A better scheme would be to choose college boys, smart and reasonably athletic, over business acumen.

When Dean goes drinking instead of helping Sam hunt and lies to the wrong woman, Lydia (Sara Canning), about being a wealthy investment banker, she brings him home and takes his seed.

Soon Emma -- played by Alexia Fast, Alexis Faust (tween) and Lilah Fitzgerald (age 5) -- is all grown up and waving a bronze dirk at Dean. The two discuss her unusual upbringing and the possibility of doing non-amazon things like not killing Dean. When the mysterious important document is translated, telling Sam that Dean is in danger, he rushes back to save Dean only to have a brief view of the standoff before he bursts in and kills Emma.

Points Of Interest

1. Amazon DNA doesn't read as human.

2. Amazons are so strong they can throw a grown man through a wall.

3. Head coroner, Charlene Penn (Kendall Cross), was also an amazon. Did she corrupt the DNA evidence? Was she sent ahead as an advance scout to prep the region for the breeding cycle?

4. Charlene realized their FBI credentials were fake and tracked the boys back to their leviathan doppelganger antics. Frank can't provide better alias verification mechanisms than Bobby? Also, Frank can't wipe or corrupt their online history?

5. It is explicitly stated that Bobby was given a traditional hunter's salting and burning. Contemplating this makes one wonder if burning the bones will kill a demon, as seen in "Weekend at Bobby's." So if a hellbound soul might eventually become a demon, then can a proper hunter's funeral preempt a crossroads demon deal?

6. This breeding cycle generated five new girls for the amazon tribe, four if you don't count Emma because she died. Thinking on it though, those other girls were the exact same age as Emma; so the previous four victim's girls were days ago and should be much older. Therefore, the total should be nine (or eight).

7. After dealing with Emma, the boys go back to check the amazon lair to find it cleared out. The rest of the tribe has moved on.

8. Sam now considers his inability to kill Amy, the kitsune, to be a failure to perform due to loss of focus. He feels Dean's hesitation with Emma to be a similar thing and is angry that he cannot depend on Dean to at least defend himself. When he pleads with Dean, "Just don't get killed," Dean can only say, "I'll do what I can."

9. Dean initially denies the possibility that Emma is his daughter; although, he was very vague in his explanation to Sam about whether he used appropriate protection. At the end, however, more grist for the angst mill -- he claims her as his own.

What Worked

The "Is that Ghost Bobby?" question is addressed and analyzed rather completely. That a mystery remains is a good thing. Heck, Bobby's mom could still be out there with a lock of little Bobby's hair in her photo album.

Sam's headlong rush back to rescue Dean was a nice emotional note even if there were certainly other phones in the university, maybe even on Charlene, to use despite the fact that his cellphone was destroyed.

What Didn't Work

Dean's extended "this isn't really a hunter problem" flippancy at the beginning and Sam's "you're imagining the weirdness with Emma" in the middle are both artificially manufactured conflicts for a show where both are usually much more credulous and pro-active in the face of supernatural spoor.

When Sam goes to the professor for translation, he leaves Dean in the hotel room with instructions to safeguard himself. All the other victims were killed at home. Dean would have been much safer out and about with Sam in public places. Then, when the knock at the door comes, Dean opens it without even looking through the peephole.

As Emma grows up, each time we see her with her peers she is shown to be slightly different. A bit reluctant to eat human flesh or endure being branded without flinching. One supposes this is meant to give us the idea that had Sam not killed her when he did, that she might have decided to not kill Dean. Emma doesn't quite give the pang of lost potential for good that Amy did. "Supernatural" never allows their non-human cast to (1.) live if they can help it unless they're kids or angels or (2.) be friendly and help ... except for Ruby and she was completely evil.

This season's pattern of explicitly labeling each week's problem a Monster and then harping on their monstrosity for good measure, continues.

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

"Supernatural" stars Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Harry Groener, Kendall Cross, Sara Canning, Alexia Fast, Alexis Faust, Lilah Fitzgerald, Kevin Kazakoff, Jill Teed. "The Slice Girls" was written by Eugenie Ross-Leming and Brad Buckner, and it was directed by Jerry Wanek.

"Supernatural" airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on The CW.