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The Trap
Written by: Robert Berens
Directed by: Robert Singer
Air date: January 16, 2020
Dean and Castiel search Purgatory for the means to imprison Chuck, who holds Sam and Eileen prisoner.
Tropes
- And Then John Was a Zombie: In the visions of a future that Chuck shows Sam, Sam and Dean are eventually turned into vampires.
- Arc Words: Sam and Dean going down swinging like Butch and Sundance.
- Bad Future: To break Sam's will, Chuck shows him visions of a future where him being sealed away causes the monsters to proliferate and slowly pick off the hunters, until Sam and Dean themselves are turned into vampires that are hunted down by Bobby and Jody.
- The Bus Came Back: In The Stinger, Jack and Billie reappear in the Empty.
- Bus Crash: Benny was apparently Killed Off for Real by the other vampires in Purgatory at some point since his last appearance.
- Came Back Strong: Apparently, Eve got a promotion upon returning to Purgatory, as she is referred by the Leviathans (who previously despised her as a lesser relative) as their mother. That, combined with the fact that she is also the mother of all other monsters, implicitly makes her the ruler of Purgatory.
- Despair Event Horizon: Chuck pushes Sam to it by showing what will happen if he's defeated, causing Sam to lose all hope. This allows him to heal their wounds from the Equalizer, as Sam's hope was blocking him.
- Hope Crusher: As Chuck realizes that Sam holding on to hope is preventing him from healing their shared wound, he works to drive Sam over the Despair Event Horizon, finally succeeding by the end.
- Hourglass Plot: In the first half of the season, Dean was pessimistic in defeating Chuck, while Sam still had hope of searching for a way to defeat him. Now, Sam becomes a pessimist after seeing the vision of a possible Bad Future if Chuck is imprisoned, while Dean is unmoved and still intent on carrying out the plan to imprison Chuck.
- Ironic Echo: In Sam's vision of the future, Sam and Dean have retreated into a hotel room and have barricaded the door, getting ready to finally go down swinging like Butch and Sundance. Except, they're vampires, and the hunters are hunting them down.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Chuck claims that the Winchesters defeating him is what causes the Bad Future — without him, the world shifts to darkness, and the monsters overrun the hunters.
- No-Sell: Dean punches Chuck in the face. Chuck's head barely turns, and he gives Dean a deadpan look.
- People Puppets: Chuck turns Eileen into his marionette, forcing her first to torture Sam for him, and then to fight Dean and Cas.
- Play-Along Prisoner: The Leviathan that Dean and Cas capture in Purgatory offers to lead them to a field of Leviathan blossoms, when he's actually leading them to an angel trap that can immobilize Cas.
- Punched Across the Room: After he no-sells Dean's right hook, Chuck responds in kind, flooring Dean with with a punch so strong a clap of thunder peals out.
- Put on a Bus: Eileen leaves at the end of the episode, scared that Chuck might use her against Sam again.
- Retcon:
- The Leviathans had previously dismissed Eve as a lesser relative. Now, they refer to her as their mother.
- Previously it was shown that angelic powers are "unplugged" when around a leviathan (like when around Eve). Here, Castiel telekinetically tosses the one that charges him and Dean in Purgatory.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Eve, now back in Purgatory, is seeking revenge at the Winchesters for killing her on Earth, killing the Alphas, and releasing the Leviathans.
- The Reveal:
- Chuck arranged for Eileen's ghost to find Sam and Sam to find Rowena's resurrection spell, all so Chuck could use Eileen to spy on Team Free Will.
- Those visions Sam was having of him and Dean killing each other in various ways weren't ideas Chuck was considering for their ending, they're how the Sams and Deans of previous Alternate Universes died.
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: Dean and Castiel spend most of the episode searching for the Leviathan Blossom, which can trap Chuck. At the end, Sam refuses to complete the spell, rendering it useless against Chuck.
- Trojan Horse: It is revealed that Chuck deliberately let Sam resurrect Eileen so he could use her to spy on and get close to him.
