Stop? I won't stop... until I wash the planet clean of all suffering.
Recap of Supernatural
Season 9, Episode 6
Heaven Can't Wait
Written by Robert Berens.
Directed by Rob Spera.
Airdate: November 12, 2013.
Body Count:
For this episode = 3 humans and 1 angel.
For the series so far = At least 1066 angels, 930 humans (of which 8 were witches), 135 demons, 51 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, 4 reapers, 3 dogs, 2 Amazons, 2 arachnes, 2 kitsunes, 2 rugarus, 2 Thule, 2 vetalas, 1 cat, 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, 1 wicked witch, and 1 wraith.
Tropes:
- Babysitting Episode
- Badass Boast: The call between Crowley and Abaddon pretty much amounts to trading these. Abaddon wins.Abaddon: That's right: I'm taking it all down. Brick by brick. The days of Crowley, King of Bureaucrats, are done.
- Blatant Lies: Castiel's claims that he's perfectly normal and has a home and a bed.
- Broken Angel: Ephraim's role as an angel (a Rit Zien) was to heal those who were injured and Mercy Kill those who couldn't be saved. Despite having lost his wings, he still tries to fulfill his duties and goes about it the wrong way (see Disproportionate Retribution).
- Chekhov's Gun: Castiel grabs a rose for his "date", then uses it to cut his hand and draw a blood sigil, though he doesn't get to finish.
- Call-Back: Crowley really doesn't like it when souls are collected early.
- Dean gives Cas dating tips, ending with a "Go get 'em, tiger." He did a slightly sleazier version back in "Free to Be You and Me" (S05, E03) in the brothel before sending Cas off with the prostitute.
- Comedic Sociopathy: You know how demons need human blood to communicate over distances? Crowley's creepy browbeating of Kevin to donate some of his doesn't look so bad when you see that Abaddon just slashed some guy's throat in an alley.
- Continuity Nod:
- Castiel being a "hunter-in-training" and Dean saying he sucked at it.
- Crowley possibly killing Kevin's mother.
- Abaddon stands outside Castle Storage as she's talking to Crowley. Castle Storage showed up before in "Bad Day At Black Rock" (S03, E03) and "Sympathy For The Devil" (S05, E01). John Winchester once rented one of their storage spaces.
- Death by Despair: Ephraim goes after people who are in pain.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Ephraim puts people in severe pain out of their misery. Unfortunately, he doesn't quite understand the difference between the pain of a suicidal man and the pain of a teenage girl who just got dumped in front of the whole school.
- Driven to Suicide: The victim in the teaser was about about to commit suicide.
- The Faceless: The villain's face is not shown until he gets to the second victim.
- Genre Blind: Cas thought Ephraim was there to kill the baby, not him.
- I Can't Believe a Guy Like You Would Notice Me: Non-romantic variant. Ephraim is surprised that Castiel knows his name, since he was a lower-level angel when they met and Cas was, according to him, a "legend".Ephraim: You remember my name? I was just a nobody when we met, but you—you were a legend.
- Idiot Ball: Castiel calls Dean right when he, Sam, and Kevin start researching the ancient cuneiform script, yet neither Sam nor Kevin think to ask the millennia-old "nerd angel" if he can translate it (Dean can be excused because he's purposely keeping Castiel away from the bunker). This leads them begging to Crowley, who's not really in a helping mood.
- Just in Time: Subverted. Dean rushes in to save Cas, but is quickly tossed aside and Castiel kills Ephraim himself, using the angel blade he got from Dean.
- Ludicrous Gibs: Ephraim reduces his victims to a fine Pink Mist.
- Mercy Kill: How Ephraim sees his actions. Also part of his division's job in Heaven.
- One Dialogue, Two Conversations: Castiel thinks he is being asked out on a date by his boss, but she's actually asking him to babysit her child so she can go out with another nice guy.
- Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: At the end of Crowley's conversation with Abaddon, we get two:Crowley: You. Will. Burn.Abaddon: I. Can't. Wait.
- Shout-Out:
- According to
writer Robert Berens, baby Tanya is a reference to Alexander Payne's comedy Citizen Ruth. - Castiel sings the theme song to The Greatest American Hero as a lullaby.
- Dean refers to Ephraim as "a Dr. Kevorkian wannabe."
- Crowley nicknames Kevin "Short Round".
- According to
- Suddenly Shouting: Crowley, once he finds out Abaddon has been invalidating his deals.
- Sympathy for the Devil: Both Sam and Kevin seem to see Crowley in a new light when they hear his conversation with utter psychopath Abaddon.
- Suspiciously Specific Denial: Inverted into Suspiciously Specific Affirmation. Castiel/"Steve" assures his boss that he has a home and a bed to return to after his shift is over.
- There Is No Cure: Sam and Kevin approach Crowley for help translating Kevin's findings from the Angel Tablet in the hopes it describes a way to reverse Metatron's spell which has expunged the other angels from Heaven and broken their wings. Crowley finds that the Angel Tablet does indeed describe the spell, and reveals its effects are irreversible.
- Villain Team-Up: Kevin asks Sam if he's sure letting Crowley communicate with Abaddon is such a good idea because he thinks this will happen. Sam says he doubts it will since they hate each other so much. Sam's right.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Ephraim really just wants to help.
- Wham Line: Metatron's spell cannot be undone.
- Wham Shot: At the end, Crowley is shown injecting himself with Kevin's blood.
