Oh, Crowley.

The King of Hell (Mark Sheppard) is back in the spotlight following the release of a new promo pic for Supernatural season 9. As the CW sci-fi series gears up for the premiere, "I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here," Crowley appears to still be in the hot seat following last season's "Sacrifice."

Sam and Crowley Undergo Changes in Season 9 of Supernatural

While Dean (Jensen Ackles) managed to talk his younger brother (Jensen Ackels) out of ending his life for the sake of closing the gates of Hell, Crowley was left in a compromising half-cured state. With Hell's ruler in chains and the angels ousted from their heavenly perch, Sheppard's character's predicament will play a large role in season 9.

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"The best explanation is this: while Sam tried to humanize Crowley with the supposed cure, while they didn't complete that cure there are certainly residual effects from taking that path," Sheppard said, according to Zap2It. "There is definitely a residual effect. Whether Crowley likes it or not, there is a residual effect. So I don't know if I'm going to be quoting more HBO series as we go along."

Although Crowley did quote Girls while professing his need to be loved during "Sacrifice," the character is in real danger. As Abaddon (Alaina Huffman) seeks to dethrone the king, Crowley may need to get a little help form his hunter nemesis in the season's second episode, "Devil May Care."

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"The boys get word of a few of their hunter contemporaries that have been taken hostage by a familiar face from Season 8. He/She leads them to a spot outside Eugene, Oregon so He/She can get info about where Crowley is," Bee told the Examiner. "How He/She is able to take hunters as hostages is a big part of the episode; by the recruiting of demons and getting them to "Be All That They Can Be!"

See how Crowley fares when Supernatural returns to the CW on Oct. 8. Check out a short teaser below.

Tags: supernatural