Recap / Supernatural S 08 E 22 Clip Show

Previous: Supernatural S 08 E 21 The Great Escapist
Next: Supernatural S 08 E 23 The Sacrifice

Recap of Supernatural
Season 8, Episode 22

Clip Show

Well, that was weird...with three exclamation points.

I'm killing everyone you've ever saved.

—Crowley to Sam and Dean

Written by Andrew Dabb.

Directed by Thomas J. Wright.

Air Date: May 8, 2013.

Tommy Collins (Graham Wardle), who was last seen in "Wendigo" (S01, E02), is in a cabin in Lost Creek, Colorado, with his girlfriend. He starts to hear a growling noise, and assumes they are being hunted by a wendigo. He lights up a blow torch, but then is overcome by pain. He is thrown around by an invisible growling attacker. Blood then starts to pour from his ears and eyes, and then his head explodes.

At the Men of Letters' bunker in Lebanon, Kansas, Sam and Dean are going through the files collected by the Men of Letters on any demonic possessions for the last 300 years. Castiel is staying in the bunker as he heals from his wound, but Dean has not forgiven him for taking off with the angel tablet. Sam comes across a notation for a Class 5 Infernal event with the comment "Weird!!!" They find the file in room 7B of the bunker, and also discover a hidden dungeon which appears to have been made to hold demons.

Sam finds a reel of film from 1957 in the file, which Sam, Dean, and Castiel watch. Josie Sands (Alaina Huffman) is shown filming two priests, a young Father Simon and older Father Max Thompson, who are trying a new type of exorcism which will actually cure the twisted soul of the demon. The attempt in the film fails, leaving the possessed woman dead. Sam's research reveals Father Thompson died in 1958, but Father Simon is still alive. Sam and Dean drive to St. Benedict's Church in St. Louis, Missouri, leaving Castiel behind because Dean does not want his help. Father Simon explains that Father Thompson continued his experiments after the failed exorcism, but was killed and torn apart by something in 1958. Father Simon gives Father Thompson's records to Sam and Dean.

Metatron, who goes by Marv in public, finds Castiel while Castiel is in a store trying to buy items that Dean likes in order to makeup with him. Castiel sees that the pie holder is empty and grabs the clerk behind the counter demanding he gets pie. Metatron tells Castiel to let go of the clerk and explains to Castiel that Heaven's Civil War continues, with numerous factions fighting each other, and while Naomi is a player, she is not in charge. Metatron wants Castiel's help in closing the gates of Heaven, as he thinks if the angels were all stuck in Heaven together they would work things out. Metatron transports them to a restaurant which serves caramel apple crepes in Ojai, California.

Back at the Men of Letters' bunker in Lebanon, Kansas, Sam and Dean listen to a tape recording of Father Thompson's 19th trial at attempting to cure a demon, which was made 2 days before the priest's death. Father Thompson repeatedly injects his own blood, which was purified by confession, into a demon, who possessed a man named Peter Kent and ate his 2 young sons. After 8 hours and repeated injections, the demon seems remorseful and confused by the past horrors he committed.

Castiel follows Metatron to Eugenie's Restaurant, where Jane (Linda Tomassone), the waitress, serves them and flirts with Castiel. Metatron reveals that the first trial for closing the gates of Heaven is cutting out the heart of their waitress. She happens to be the only Nephilim, offspring of an angel and a human, on earth. Castiel argues that she is innocent, but Metatron convinces Castiel that he must do this to help Heaven.

Sam and Dean recover the pieces of Abaddon's body and sew her back together in an empty dairy barn. Although she is unable to move because of the devil's trap-etched bullet in her head, they do not reattach her hands, to be on the safe side. Abaddon recognizes the ritual for trying to cure a demon, and tells them she tore Father Thompson apart to make an example of him after word about what he was trying to do got back to the home office. Before they can start the exorcism, Sam receives a call from Crowley, and Sam and Dean step outside to take the call. Crowley directs them to look at the Denver Times, where they read about Tommy Collins' death. Meanwhile, Abaddon's hand escapes the box and jumps on to her shoulder. Her hand reaches inside her mouth and pulls out the bullet, releasing Abaddon from the effects of the devil's trap. When Sam and Dean enter the barn, Abaddon is gone, leaving the bullet on the floor.

Sam then receives a text from Crowley, which says, "545 Greenleaf St. Apt. 306, Prosperity, Indiana." Dean recalls they worked a case there. When they get to the address, they find Jenny Klein (Cindy Busby) dead in her oven. They receive another call from Crowley, who is sitting in his office with a copy of the books about the Winchesters that were written by Chuck, under the name Carver Edlund. Crowley tells the brothers that he is killing off the people they saved, and will continue to kill a new person every 12 hours until they give him the demon tablet. Because he knows they will try to stop him, Crowley explains he has an object lesson for them in 57 minutes at the Ivy Motel, room 116, in Indianapolis.

Castiel and Metatron are waiting for Jane to close up the restaurant. When the angels start following her, she confronts them and says she knows what they are and can see their halos. She tells them she is just trying to live her life when Metatron refers to her as an abomination. Castiel approaches her with his angel blade out apologizing for what he intends to do, when Jane attacks him. Her eyes glow silver, and Castiel is thrown against a fence and a dumpster, dropping his angel sword. Metatron hits Jane, but she easily lifts him by the neck and starts choking him. Castiel grabs his angel blade and stabs Jane through the neck, killing her.

When Sam and Dean arrive at the motel room in Indianapolis, they find Sarah Blake (Taylor Cole), who is scouting an estate sale for her father. They explain the danger she is in and ward the room with sigils and devil's traps. As midnight approaches, a cordless phone in the room rings, and all three of them pull out their guns. Dean answers the phone to hear Crowley counting down from five. As Crowley finishes the countdown, Sarah collapses, gasping for air. Crowley reveals he is using witchcraft he learned from his mother. As Sam and Dean tear the room apart looking for the hex bag, Sarah dies. Crowley tells Sam and Dean he will continue to unravel their life's work by killing everyone they ever saved until they surrender to him. Dean throws the phone in frustration and it smashes apart to reveal the hex bag.

Sam and Dean return to the Men of Letters' bunker. Sam is shaken by Sarah's death, and he speculates that this may be one they can't win. But Dean is not ready to give up and says they will "kick it in the ass" like they always do.

Body Count:

For this episode = 4 humans and 1 Nephilim angel.

For the series so far = At least 906 humans (of which 7 were witches), 132 demons, 62 angels, 50 vampires, 48 ghosts, 36 Jefferson Starships, 20 gods, 19 zombies, 10 hellhounds, 7 skinwalkers, 6 changelings, 5 djinn, 5 shapeshifters, 5 werewolves, 4 ghouls, 4 Leviathan, 3 dogs, 2 Amazons, 2 arachnes, 2 kitsunes, 2 reapers, 2 rugarus, 2 Thule, 2 vetalas, 1 crocotta, 1 dragon, 1 fairy, 1 familiar, 1 Khan worm, 1 lamia, the Mother of All, 1 okami, 1 phoenix, 1 Purgatory creature, 1 rakshasa, 1 rawhead, 1 shojo, 1 shtriga, 1 siren, 1 Titan, 1 wendigo, 1 whore of Babylon, and 1 wraith.

Tropes

• Abandoned Area: Sam and Dean sew Abaddon back together in an empty red dairy barn decorated with Pennsylvania Dutch hex signs.
• Abstract Scale: The rating system used for demonic possession by the Men of Letters.
  Dean: Class 5 Infernal Event?
  Sam: Yeah, the letters have this whole rating system. The Exorcist would have been a class 2.
• Actor Allusion: Young Father Simon is shown smoking. Donnelly Rhodes, who plays Older Father Simon, also played Dr. Sherman Cottle, who was constantly smoking, in Battlestar Galactica.
• Advertised Extra: Cindy Busby, who plays Jenny Klein, was listed in the press release promoting this episode, but when we see Jenny Klein it is as a burnt dead body lying face down who could have been played by anyone.
• Aesop Amnesia: It really was too easy for Metatron to convince Castiel to try and fix Heaven by engaging in morally-questionable behavior.
• And Your Little Dog, Too!: Crowley starts killing the people Sam and Dean have saved.
• Apocalyptic Log: Sam and Dean play Father Max Thompson's recording, made two days before his death, on a reel-to-reel magnetic tape recorder.
• Ascended Demon/Find the Cure!: Father Max Thompson's quest, and the third trial to close the gates of Hell.
• The Atoner: Castiel tries to make amends to Dean by grocery shopping and loses his cool when the clerk says they are out of pie, Dean's Trademark Favorite Food. Later, Castiel agrees to help Metatron as he believes it may help fix some of the problems Castiel caused in Heaven.
• Aura Vision: Jane the Nephilim is able to see the angels' halos, but Castiel does not recognize her angelic heritage and must be told what she is.
• Back for the Dead: Tommy Collins, Jenny Klein, and Sarah Blake.
• Badass Preacher: Father Max Thompson.
• Big, Screwed-Up Family/Dysfunctional Family: Metatron compares the celestial host to "a big, dysfunctional family".
• Black Eyes of Evil: The demon in the film, the possessed Peter Kent, and Abaddon.
• Blood from the Mouth: Sam's trialberculosis strikes again.
• Blood Magic: Father Thomspson cuts his palm and then slaps his bleeding wound against the mouth of the demon in his modified exorcism. Later, he injects his blood, which has been purified through confession, into demons.
• Bookcase Passage: Dean notes the edge of a devil's trap extending behind a wall covered with files. He pulls the files out and the shelves separate to reveal a hidden dungeon.
• Bound and Gagged: The demon in the film is placed in a collar, cuffs, and chains with spell work. Peter Kent is in chains with an iron mask.
  Dean: Demon on a leash. Cool.
• Brains and Brawn: Metatron and Castiel, at least according to Metatron.
  Metatron: I am a pencil pusher, always have been. I'm not strong enough. But you, you are a warrior. I've got the plan. You've got the muscle. We can do this. Heaven needs your help, Castiel.
• Broken Pedestal: Castiel to Dean after he wouldn't let Dean have the angel tablet...and then lost it.
• Buffy Speak: Dean describes Josie as "not killy enough" to be Abaddon.
• Can Only Move the Eyes: The bullet with a devil's trap etched in it makes it very difficult for Abaddon to move her body, but she can talk and move her eyes.
• Cartwright Curse: Even ex-girlfriends of Sam can't catch a break.
• Catchphrase:
  • Crowley answers the phone, "Hello, boy." A variation of his typical catch phrase.
  • When they realize Abaddon escaped, Dean says, "Son of a bitch". When Sarah is dying, Dean says to Crowley, "You son of a bitch!"
• Chest Burster: The demon escapes from the possessed woman's chest as a result of Father Thompson's failed exorcism in the film, which is lampshaded by Dean. Steam is shown rising off the exposed ribs of the dead woman.
• Chekhov's Gun: Among all the old demon-binding chains in the dungeon, there's a shiny pair of handcuffs hanging at the back. The Winchesters will put them to good use in the next episode.
• Chronic Hero Syndrome: Both Crowley and Metatron take advantage of this.
• Civil War: Metatron explains to Castiel that Heaven's civil war has not yet ended, and there are factions upon factions.
  Metatron: Right. I've been looking around, crawling through a few divine nooks and crannies, and from what I can see, without the archangels, it's a mess up there. Open warfare.
• Clip Show: Played with. The plot of the episode is not simply a framing device for an entire flashblack episode, but we do get flashbacks to previous episodes so we understand why our heroes feel the loss so keenly.
• Clueless Chick-Magnet: Castiel does not pick up on the fact that Jane is flirting with him. When Metatron witnesses this he is jealous and says he "should have picked a better-looking vessel".
• Continuity Nod:
  • Tommy Collins, the first person Sam and Dean rescued in Supernatural, returns, along with flashbacks from "Wendigo" (S01, E02).
  • Castiel seems to still be in pain, and says the abdominal wound he received in "The Great Escapist" (S08, E21) is not healing as quickly as he hoped.
  • Dean has not forgiven Castiel for taking off with the angel tablet in "Goodbye Stranger" (S08, E17), and references Castiel's previous Well-Intentioned Extremist behavior, where he was not honest with Dean, in Seasons 6 and 7.
  • Castiel picks up a copy of Busty Asian Beauties for Dean. We previously saw Busty Asian Beauties in "Tall Tales" (S02, E15), "Long-Distance Call" (S03, E14), "Lazarus Rising" (S04, E01), "Wishful Thinking" (S04, E08), "Swap Meat" (S05, E12), and "Torn And Frayed" (S08, E10).
  • Castiel tells Metatron that he broke Heaven and we see a flashback to him standing among a field of dead angels from "Meet The New Boss" (S07, E01) and then trying to atone in Purgatory from "What's Up, Tiger Mommy?" (S08, E02).
  • After Abaddon is revived, we see flashbacks from "As Time Goes By" (S08, E12).
  • Once Sam receives a text with an address in Prosperity, Indiana, Dean recalls they worked a case there, "The one with the witches and the baked goods". When they go to the apartment at the address they find the dead, burnt body of Jenny Klein, and there are flashbacks from "Shut Up, Dr. Phil" (S07, E05).
  • Carver Edlund's books make a reappearance as Crowley's hit list. Wendigo, Scarecrow, Faith, and The Benders are seen on Crowley's desk. Crowley holds up a copy of A Very Supernatural Christmas.
  • Sarah Blake also returns with flashbacks from "Provenance" (S01, E19)
  • Crowley uses a quote Dean says to Sam in "Wendigo" (S01, E02), which has often been repeated in The Road So Far before episodes and can be seen as the Winchester motto.
  Crowley: What's the line? "Saving people, hunting things. The family business."
• Convenience Store Gift Shopping: Dean gives Cas the silent treatment and refuses to accept his apology. Later, along with toilet paper, Cas gets beer, beef jerky, and Dean's preferred porn. Then, he physically assaults a teenager cashier for being out of pie.
  Cas: You don't understand. I need pie.
• Coincidental Broadcast: Averted; Crowley has to ring up the Winchesters to inform them of the people he's killing.
• Cowardly Sidekick: Father Simon to the more confident Father Thompson. Father Simon seems worried and inexperienced when Josie interviews him. During the exorcism, Father Simon's hand is shaking as he holds the rosary.
• Damsel in Distress: Crowley's victims, as he describes them.
  Crowley: I'm killing everyone you've ever saved, the damsels in distress, the innocent whippersnappers, the would-be vampire chow—all of them.
• Darkest Hour: The last scene of the episode is a 2-or-so minute scene of Sam and Dean in the Men of Letters base shaken up by Crowley's ultimatum and Sarah's death...with the added bonus of Sam considering just giving up.
• Death by Irony:
  • Jenny Klein, who likes baking, is burnt to a crisp in her own oven.
  • Sarah Blake dies gasping for air because as Crowley said, "I just thought it seemed fitting. From what I understand, Sammy took that bird's breath away."
• Demonic Possession: The woman in the film, Peter Kent for 3 weeks, and Josie Sands since she time-traveled from 1958.
• Determinator: Father Thompson, who finally managed to cure a demon on his 19th trial after an exorcism lasting 8 hours.
• Dies Wide Open: The demon in the film and Sarah Blake.
• Don't Go in the Woods: Tommy Collins reluctantly agreed to visit a cabin in the woods of Lost Creek, Colorado with his girlfriend, despite the events of "Wendigo" (S01, E02).
• The Dragon: Abaddon says she tore Father Thompson apart under orders from home office.
• Eats Babies: The demon who possesses Peter Kent ate his two young sons.
  Father Thompson: When you ate his children, how did it feel?
  Peter Kent: Stringy.
• Emoticon: Crowley's text includes a smiling devil emoticon.
• Empty Fridge, Empty Life: Dean wants to get something for Sam to eat and returns with half a beer, which Dean takes a swig out of to make sure it is still good, jerky, and three chocolate-peanut butter cups.
• Everybody's Dead, Dave: The demon in the film is screaming, "Dead, they're all dead. Everyone you ever loved."
• Everybody Smokes: Father Simon is seen smoking in the film made in 1957, prior to the attempted exorcism.
• Evil Feels Good: The demon who possesses Peter Kent says eating his two young sons made him feel "orgasmic", which is even more disturbing when you consider how sexual terms like this were less often used casually in 1957.
• Evil Matriarch: Crowley's mother was a witch, and he learned a trick or two from her.
  Dean: You son of a bitch!
  Crowley: Son of a witch, actually. My mommy taught me a few tricks.
• Eye Lights Out: Jane the Nephilim has her silver, glowing eyes fade and return to human eyes when she is killed, instead of the typical angel Throat Light.
• Eye of Newt: Crowley leaves a phone containing a hex bag in Sarah Blake's motel room to cast a deadly spell.
• Face Your Fears: Despite biting into a beating heart in a cupcake she baked, Jenny Klein seems to still be baking cupcakes with pink icing.
• Fantastic Slurs: Dean uses "black-eyed bitch" to refer to a demon. Metatron calls Jane an "abomination".
• Fish out of Water: Castiel shopping in the convenience store. He leaves the refrigerator door open after getting beer, breaks an egg and leaves the yolk on the floor, and knocks over a stand of chips. After each of these events, the clerk says "Dude!"
• Flaming Devil: When Crowley calls Sam, he asks, "What are you wearing?"
• Foreshadowing: Crowley's mother being a witch; we meet her in Season 10.
• Found Footage Films: The odd documentary Josie Sands made, which opened with her asking Father Simon questions and ended with the failed exorcism.
• Freeze-Frame Bonus: Crowley's phone number shows up as 666, and his text uses the devil emoticon.
• Fun T-Shirt: Abaddon is still wearing the shirt which says "The devil made me do it", which she stole from the body of the comic store clerk in "As Time Goes By" (S08, E12).
• Geometric Magic: The large devil's trap on the floor of the dungeon.
• Glowing Eyes of Doom: Jane the Nephilim has silver glowing eyes when she reveals her powers.
• Gory Discretion Shot: The blood splatter over the door, the walls, and his girlfriend, when Tommy's head explodes.
• Gratuitous Foreign Language:
  • Crowley says they better find Kevin "tout-bloody-suite".
  • Crowley starts his countdown in English, switches to French, then German, then Spanish.
  Crowley: Five, four, trois, zwei, uno.
• Half-Breed Discrimination: Jane the Nephilim is considered an abomination by the angels, as producing offspring with humans is forbidden.
• Half-Human Hybrid: The first trial to lock up Heaven involves killing a Nephilim, an angel/human hybrid (something Castiel thought was forbidden and Metatron considers an "abomination"). How she came to be isn't explained and she's apparently the only one on Earth. Castiel argues that she didn't choose to be what she is and hasn't actually hurt anyone, but goes along with Metatron's plan anyway.
• Hangover Sensitivity: Sam's trialberculosis has developed this feature.
  Sam: My whole body hurts. I feel nauseous and like I'm starving at the same time, and everything smells like rotting meat.
  Dean: I've had that hangover. Jäger, man.
• Hannibal Lecture: Crowley delivers a lengthy one to Sam and Dean over the phone while killing Sarah.
• Helping Hands: Abaddon's hand slides the lid off the box, crawls across a table, and then leaps and lands on her jacket. The hand then manages to pull the bullet with the devil's trap etched in it out of Abaddon's mouth.
• Heroic Wannabe: Metatron seems intent on being a hero out of the stories he has been reading.
  Metatron: We ride to the rescue, save the day. Make a great story.
• Hero Insurance: The Ivy Motel manager must have been disturbed to find Sarah's body in the ransacked motel room, with sigils and devil's traps painted on the door, window, and floor in red. However, the Winchesters seem to have escaped any repercussion from the law or the motel.
• Hidden in Plain Sight: Sam and Dean tear the motel room apart looking for the hex bag, but it was in the phone Dean held in his hand.
• Historical In-Joke: Dean says Lizzie Borden is one of the demon possessions the Men of Letters have a file on.
• Hollywood Exorcism: The film depicts a shrieking, writhing, possessed woman, holy water splashing, and Latin chanting.
• Holy Burns Evil: Father Thompson tosses holy water on the demon during the failed exorcism in the film and on Peter Kent.
• Holy Halo: Jane the Nephilim mentions that she can see Castiel and Metatron's halos, which are invisible to the viewer.
• Hybrid Power: Jane the Nephilim is able to toss Metatron and Castiel around in the fight.
• Hysterical Woman: The snarling, screaming demon with wild hair, face caked in dirt, and floral dress in the film.
• I Did What I Had to Do:
  • Castiel's excuse for taking off with the tablet.
  Castiel: Dean, I thought I was doing the right thing.
  Dean: Yeah, you always do.
  • Metatron convinces Castiel that killing Jane, even though she is innocent, is necessary to help Heaven and keep the angels' fighting from spilling over to Earth.
    Metatron: But if you want to do this, Castiel, if you really want to do this, you got to ask yourself what's more important—her life or your family?
• Idiosyncratic Wipes: The white flash before and after the flashbacks from "Wendigo" (S01, E02), "Meet The New Boss" (S07, E01), "What's Up, Tiger Mommy?" (S08, E02), "As Time Goes By" (S08, E12), "Shut Up, Dr. Phil" (S07, E05), and "Provenance" (S01, E19).
• Idiot Ball:
  • Father Max Thompson did not place the possessed woman in a devil's trap. So when the exorcism failed, the demon escaped from the woman's chest and into the world.
  • Rather than using a regular low-level demon (which the Winchesters have shown they can take on and capture with no trouble), they decide to revive Abaddon, possibly the most powerful demon still alive and who is immune to regular exorcism. This is somewhat justified by Crowley's comments that he had been keeping all his demons away from the Winchesters, on the assumption that the third trial would be something demon-related. Abaddon was simply the only demon to hand, but at that point the Winchesters didn't know that.
  • It clearly wasn't a good idea for Sam and Dean to leave Abaddon—one of Lucifer's most elite demons, who is resistant to standard exorcisms and Ruby's knife—alone while they took the call from Crowley. If they had taken the proper precautions, one of them should have stayed in the room. It also would have made more sense to consecrate the ground and be ready to start the ritual before they reanimated her, and it wouldn't have hurt to draw a devil's trap around her chair and/or use the chains with spell work etched in them. True, they couldn't have expected that Abaddon can move her hands even when they're unattached to her body, but they should have certainly prepared better to prevent any escape, and to start the ritual right away.
• Impromptu Tracheotomy: Castiel stabs the Nephilim through the neck with his angel blade.
• In-Joke: The Catchphrase of Kim Manners, the late producer and director of Supernatural, was "Kick it in the ass!"
  Dean: We'll figure this out. We will. And we'll get it done. We'll kick it in the ass like we always do.
• In-Series Nickname: Sam refers to the Men of Letters as "Letters". Crowley calls Sam "Moosie" instead of the usual "Moose".
• Instant Waking Skills: Once Sam finishes his last suture, Abaddon opens her eyes, cracks her neck, and says, "Morning, sunshines."
• In the Back: Castiel stabs Jane the Nephilim through the neck from behind.
• Ironic Echo: Crowley sounds disgusted when he quotes Dean, "Saving people, hunting things. The family business."
• It's Probably Nothing: Subverted; Tommy isn't about to be attacked by a Monster of the Week, he's been hexed.
• It's What I Do: Crowley sarcastically notes the Winchesters Chronic Hero Syndrome. "It's what you do, isn't it?" Dean also notes that it's what they do to Sarah.
• Kick the Dog: Castiel was hesitant to kill Jane the Nephilim until she administered a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown.
• Kill It with Fire: Tommy takes out a blow torch planning to light the wendigo's "ugly ass on fire".
• Last of His Kind: Jane is the only Nephilim on Earth.
• Libation for the Dead: Dean says they'll "pour one out for Tommy later".
• Literal-Minded: Castiel.
  Jane: Cool coat.
  Castiel: No, it's actually quite warm.
  Jane: Cute and funny—okay.
• Locked in a Room: Metatron proposes that closing the gates of Heaven will force the angels to get along with each other.
  Metatron: We need to lock them all in a room until we work these problems out, all the factions, you, me—
  Castiel: What, like a big family meeting?
• Locked in the Dungeon: The bunker has a dungeon with a large devil's trap on the floor and chains and cuffs attached to the walls with spell-work etched into them.
  Sam: So, we have a dungeon.
  Dean: Finally.
• Lonely Together: Metatron suggests he and Castiel should socialize since they are both on Heaven's Most Wanted List.
• Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Sarah prefers Sam's shorter hair from Season 1.
  Sarah: I do miss the old haircut, though.
• Magical Incantation: Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus. Hanc animam redintegra. Lustra. This roughly translates to: We exorcise you, every impure spirit. Fix this soul. Cleanse.
• Make an Example of Them: Abaddon tore Father Thompson apart because he was "messing with things".
• Meat Puppet: The fate of the possessed person after the demon is cured is never explained.
  Dean: So, what, they just stay in whatever schmuck they're possessing and—and get a ticket upstairs?
• Monochrome Past:
  • The black-and-white flashbacks from "Wendigo" (S01, E02).
  • The black-and-white 16-mm film watched by Sam, Dean, and Castiel, which was recorded by Josie Sands on March 8, 1957, showing an exorcism ritual attempting to cure a demon.
  • The faded flashback of Castiel's crimes in Heaven and his attempt at atoning.
  • The black-and-white flashback portraying the events described on Father Thompson's recording from August 3, 1958.
• My God, What Have I Done?: The demon possessing Peter Kent is overcome by remorse.
  Peter Kent: They were screaming, and I laughed. Why did I laugh? I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. God, I was a monster.
• Neck Lift: Jane the Nephilim lifts Metatron against a wooden fence and chokes him.
• Nephilim: Jane's the only one.
• Never Hurt an Innocent: Castiel is reluctant to do so. But as Naomi pointed out in the previous episode, it's not the first time he has.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Sam and Dean, release Abaddon, a Knight of Hell, into the world. Larry Ganem, the last Man of Letters, was so afraid of Abaddon, he recommended Sam toss the key to the bunker into the bunker so that its contents would be safe from Abaddon. Henry Winchester, Sam and Dean's grandfather, sacrificed his life to stop Abaddon in "As Time Goes By" (S08, E12).
• The Nicknamer: Abaddon refers to Sam and Dean as "sunshines" and to Father Max Thompson as "Maxie".
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Jane tosses the two angels around and chokes Metatron.
• Noisy Nature/Stock Sound Effects: The insects chirping with owls trilling in the teaser.
• Number of the Beast: When Crowley calls, the number displayed on Sam's phone is 666.
• Office Golf: Crowley is still using the office of the Chinese attorney from "The Great Escapist" (S08, E21) which has a set of golf clubs in the corner and golf statues for decoration.
• The One That Got Away: Seeing Sarah Happily Married with a daughter makes Sam realize what he lost.
• Organ Theft: Castiel cuts out Jane's heart as Metatron tells him cutting out the heart of a Nephilim is the first trial to close the Gates of Heaven.
• Pass the Popcorn: Castiel is eating Jiffy Pop popcorn during the film of the failed exorcism. However, this does raise the question of why, if Jiffy Pop was in the bunker, Dean didn't offer popcorn to Sam with the jerky and peanut butter cups.
• Ping Pong Naïveté: Despite spending the last few years with the Winchesters, Castiel continues to misunderstand references. In this episode, he does not even seem certain what ping-pong is, which serves the Rule of Funny.
  Sam: Oh, give us a few months. Dean wants to get a ping-pong table.
  Castiel: I've heard of that. It's a game, right?
• Playing with Syringes: Father Thompson's experiments, which finally lead him to inject samples of his own blood repeatedly into the neck of a demon.
• Plot-Mandated Friendship Failure: Dean and Castiel need to be separated, to set up each of their story lines for the season finale. Therefore, Dean remains angry with Castiel about not trusting him with the angel tablet.
• Power of Trust: Dean believes Sam is going to come through and complete the trials, but seems to have lost his trust in Castiel.
• Properly Paranoid: Crowley is keeping his demons away from the Winchester, guessing after the first two trials that the last one will also involve something Hell-related.
• Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: "You great, big, bloody heroes!"
• Purity Personified: Father Max Thompson, a priest who is likely a virgin, purifies his blood through confession before injecting it into the demons.
• Race Against the Clock: They have 57 minutes to save Sarah and 12 hours until Crowley kills the next victim.
  Crowley: You have 57 minutes.
• Ragnarök Proofing: John Winchester likely served in the military in the early 1970s. It seems unlikely sutures from his old army field surgeon's kit would still be usable. Then again, considering Abaddon's Healing Factor, they didn't really need working ones.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Crowley gives one to the Winchesters as Sarah is dying.
  Crowley: What's the line? "Saving people, hunting things, the family business." Well, I think the people you save, they’re how you justify your pathetic little lives. The alcoholism, the collateral damage, the pain you've caused. The one thing that allows you to sleep at night, the one thing, is knowing that these folks are out there, still out there, happy and healthy because of you. You great, big, bloody heroes! They're your life's work, and I'm going to rip it apart.
• Retcon:
  • In "As Time Goes By" (S08, E12), Dean says they are going to cut Abaddon's body into "little steaks and bury each strip under cement". However in this episode, Abaddon's body parts seem to have been preserved in fairly large sections which are easily retrieved. Her head and neck are kept in a box. Her torso with arms and legs still attached is sewn back on to the neck, but the hands are kept in a separate box. The Winchesters may have decided to keep her body parts in storage instead of burying them after they disposed of her, but they never say anything about it.
  • The last book known to be written in the Carver Edlund series is Swan Song at the end of season 5. So, if Crowley is using these books for his hit list, how did he know about Jenny Klein from "Shut Up, Dr. Phil" (S07, E05)?
    • Presumably Crowley is using other sources besides the books to find targets.
    • Charlie explains that Becky published the rest of Chuck's works online. Presumably, these include the Winchester's adventures after season five.
• Retraux: The reel of film found in File 1138 is played on a clicking Keystone Belmont K161, 16mm Movie Industrial Projector, which was manufactured in Boston, Massachusetts in 1947. The film starts with a countdown leader and appears damaged, with scratches, flickers, and dirt. Josie is seem in the mirror filming with a Keystone 16mm camera.
• Rewarding Vandalism: Once Dean throws the phone and it smashes apart, he finds the hex bag.
• Roar Before Beating: In the teaser, Tommy hears a snarling growl before the attack.
• Running Gag: Once again, Dean does not get his pie.
• Scary Black Man: Peter Kent, the possessed man, who ate his children.
• Screaming Woman: Tommy's girlfriend.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: When Castiel realizes that the convenience store clerk is annoyed, he says, "I—I have money." He then produces a pile of wadded up bills.
• Sealed Evil in a Can/Sealed Good in a Can: God's emergency plan detailed on the tablets.
  Metatron: Oh, you know, the trials, God's little "pull in case of emergency". The Leviathans get out of control, you put them in Purgatory. Demons get a little too demonic, toss 'em into Hell. Angels get uppity, slam the Pearly Gates.
• Separate Scene Storytelling: The events from August 3, 1958, on Father Thompson's recording are portrayed in black-and-white scenes between cuts showing Sam and Dean listening to the recording.
• Sexy Priest: Young Father Simon.
• Shoot the Dog: Castiel kills the Nephilim.
• Shout-Out:
  • Lizzie Borden, Ichabod Crane, and The Exorcist, are all used as examples of demonic possession.
  • The film of the failed exorcism is in file 1138, which may be meant as a homage to George Lucas.
  • Dean compares stitching Abaddon's body together to putting Humpty Dumpty back together.
  • Dean says they have seen Young Frankenstein about a thousand times.
  • Josie's hand scuttling around on its own recalls The Thing.
  • Crowley refers to his mooks as "droogs" which is a Nadsat term for "friends" in A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess.
• Show Within a Show: The failed exorcism recorded by Josie Sands is shown as a film with cuts showing Sam, Dean, and Castiel watching the film.
• Side Bet: Dean and Sam bet on whether sewing Abaddon back together would work.
  Dean: It worked. You owe me a beer.
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Sarah was interested in Sam. She ended up marrying Ian, who works in search and rescue.
  Sarah: Guess I have a type.
• Source Sound: While Sam and Dean are listening to the tape recording, Father Thompson's voice is a crackling version resembling an old tape recording. When the scene switches to the portrayal of these events, Father Thompson's voice continues as a louder, clearer narration, as he is talking in the scene.
• Spock Speak: Castiel.
  Sam: I have to cure a demon.
  Castiel: Of what?
• Stock British Phrases: Before Crowley hangs up, he says, "Cheerio".
• Subverted Catchphrase: Crowley greets Sam with "Hello, boy."
• Tears of Blood: Tommy in the teaser.
• Technically a Smile: The possessed Peter Kent bares his teeth in an animalistic snarl.
• Terms of Endangerment: Crowley calls Sam and Dean "my darlings".
• Then Let Me Be Evil: Jane was trying to be nice and live her life, but when Castiel approaches her with his angel blade out and Metatron calls her an abomination, she attacks.
• The Triple: The Winchester have everything they need to sew Abaddon back together — needle, threat, and they've seen Young Frankenstein a thousand times.
• They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!: Metatron asks Castiel to call him Marv.
  Castiel: You're Metatron? The Metatron?
  Metatron: Yes. In public, it's Marv.
• The Three Trials:
  • Sam and Dean get information on how to complete the third trial (cure a demon) for closing the Gates of Hell.
  • Castiel completes what Metatron says is the first trial for closing the Gates of Heaven, cutting out the heart of a Nephilim. However, Castiel undergoes no physical transformation such as Sam has had after each trial.
• Throat Light: When the demon dies at the end of the exorcism on the film, and when the Peter Kent demon is cured.
• Time Out: Dean says they have everything they need to put Crowley "in a permanent time-out".
• To Absent Friends: Dean says, "You were a great gal, Jenny Klein."
• Torture Always Works: While Abaddon was tearing Father Thompson apart, he "screamed the basics" of his new exorcisms for curing demons and also told Abaddon about Josie Sands.
• Trap Is the Only Option: Sam and Dean go to the address Crowley texts them.
  Dean: Well, you know it's a trap.
  Sam: Of course it's a trap. But a trap means demons, and we could use one right now.
• A True Story in My Universe: Evidently Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is considered to be Based on a True Story in Supernatural. One of the files detailing demon possessions collected by the Men of Letters was on "Crane, Ichabod".
• Vanilla Edition: After Josie's documentary of the exorcism just ends, Dean asks if there is anything else on the film, like a director's commentary or sequel.
• Villainous BSoD: The demon inside Peter Kent realizes that he was a monster after Father Thompson cures him.
• Virgin Vision: Apparently Metatron has this power, when he stops Castiel throttling the convenience store clerk.
  Metatron: Put the virgin down, Castiel.
• Was Once a Man: As Father Simon reminds us, "A demon is a human soul, twisted and corrupted by its time in Hell."
• We Have to Get the Bullet Out!: Justified Trope, as removing the bullet from Abaddon's mouth released her from the devil's trap.
• Weirder Than Usual: The film in the file is described as "weird, with three exclamation points", and Sam and Dean decide it's "worth the drive" to St. Louis.
• Welcome Back, Traitor: Subverted Trope, with Dean refusing to accept Castiel's apology, which upsets Sam.
  Sam: Dude, go easy on Cas, okay. He's one of the good guys.
  Dean: Dude, if anybody else, I mean anybody, pulled that kind of crap, I would stab them in their neck on principle. Why should I give him a free pass?
  Sam: Because it's Cas.
• We Used to Be Friends: Dean ignores Castiel and does not accept his apology.
  Castiel: Dean, I'm sorry.
  Dean: For what?
  Castiel: For everything.
  Dean: Everything? Like, uhh, like ignoring us?
  Castiel: Yes.
  Dean: Or like bolting off with the angel tablet, then losing it cause you didn't trust me? You didn't trust me.
  Castiel: Yes.
  Dean: Nah, that's not gonna cut it. Not this time. So you can take your little apology, and you can cram it up your ass.
• When All You Have Is a Hammer…: Subverted Trope. Sam and Dean assume Crowley will attack his victims with a demon and prepare for this. They do not expect his use of witchcraft.
• When the Clock Strikes Twelve: Crowley will attack Sarah.
• Who Needs Their Whole Body?: Once Abaddon's head is reattached to the torso, her eyes open and she starts threatening the Winchester brothers.
  Abaddon: And I owe you both so, so much. I can't wait to tear out those pretty green eyes.
  Sam: Good luck with that.
  Dean: We figured kitty didn't need her claws.
  Abaddon: Then I'll stump you to death. It'll be swell.
• Words Can Break My Bones: Sam and Castiel focus on the change in the language of the exorcism, while Dean focuses on the other changes in Spell Construction.
  Sam: That wasn't a normal exorcism. They changed the words.
  Castiel: I believe "lustra" is Latin for "wash" or "cleanse".
  Dean: Oh, yeah, 'cause that was the most freaky thing was the vocabulary. What about the bloody high five or the chestburster?
• Worst Aid: Though Dean finds the hex bag within a minute of Sarah ceasing to breathe, no attempt is made to revive her. No CPR or call to 911.
• Would Hit a Girl: Or at least a Nephilim who looks like a girl. Metatron punches Jane in the face.
• Wrong Genre Savvy: Tommy Collins plans to torch a wendigo, as they did in the last Monster of the Week episode he was in. Unfortunately, this time he is part of a Story Arc that involves the King of Hell.
• You Are Too Late: Dean only finds the hex bag after Sarah Blake is dead.
• You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Abaddon's reaction upon learning that Crowley, who she last knew as a "salesman", is now the King of Hell.
• Your Head Asplode / Tears of Blood: Poor Tommy.
• Your Makeup Is Running: Abaddon seems to be wearing the same heavy makeup she was in "As Time Goes By" (S08, E12), but when Sam opens up the box containing her head, her lipstick is smudged.