10.09 The Things We Left Behind
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| Title | The Things We Left Behind |
| Episode # | Season 10, Episode 9 |
| First aired | December 9, 2014 |
| Directed by | Guy Norman Bee |
| Written by | Andrew Dabb |
| On IMDB | The Things We Left Behind |
| Outline | Castiel tracks Jimmy Novak's daughter, Claire, to a group home, and breaks her out. When Claire runs away from him, Cas seeks out Sam and Dean's help in finding her. Crowley finally confronts his mother, Rowena. |
| Monster | None |
| Timeline | |
| Location(s) | Lebanon, Kansas Pontiac, Illinois |
| « Previous Episode | Next Episode » | |
Contents
Synopsis
Dean dreams he is covered in blood, has a knife in his hand, and is surrounded by brutally slaughtered bodies. He wakes up distressed in his bedroom in the bunker.
A teenage girl, Claire Novak, is being put into solitary confinement at a juvenile center after running away—again. Later, the guard tells Claire that her father has come to visit, and steps aside to let Castiel enter.
Claire remembers Castiel as the angel who possessed her father Jimmy Novak. Castiel tells her Jimmy is now in Heaven, and that he has come to see how she is faring. Claire tells him her mother left her with her grandmother and disappeared. After her grandmother died, Claire was shunted between foster families and group homes. Claire says the only thing she wants from Castiel is for him to get her out of the center.
Castiel and Claire speak to the home superintendent, who is suspicious of the sudden return of Claire's father. Castiel fails to convince her to release Claire with him. That night, Castiel breaks in and helps Claire escape. They go for a meal, and Claire remarks how Castiel has changed. Castiel wants to make amends with her, but Claire has no intention of staying with him: she steals his wallet and absconds.
At the bunker, Dean is enjoying watching a Three Stooges movie on his laptop. He's laughing—maybe a little too much—and Sam looks concerned as he brings him a grilled cheese sandwich.
After a call from Castiel, the boys join him in Pontiac to help him find Claire. While Sam goes to investigate the group home, Cas and Dean have lunch. Cas tells Dean how he's been reflecting on the hurt he has caused people. Dean advises him not to dwell on it—the opposite of what he does. Dean says he's no role model, but Cas protests. Cas asks how Dean's doing, and he protests that he's okay, though acknowledges that he still has to deal with the Mark of Cain. Dean has a flash of his nightmare, and of his time as a demon. He asks Cas to kill him should he become demonic again.
Rowena is still in shackles, and has a new cellmate, a demon called Trish who is being interrogated after she was smuggled up from the depths of Hell to Earth. Crowley orders Rowena to his presence. He is angry that she once tried to sell him for three pigs, and then left him when he was eight. She is unapologetic, but notes that whatever she did, she did it to motivate him to be something better. After she leaves, the demon Gerald questions why Crowley doesn't kill her, and offers to do the deed himself. Crowley doesn't give him an answer.
Claire arrives at the home of Randy and a friend of hers from the group home, Dustin Tate. Randy has gambling debts, and was expecting her to bring him money. He suggests she can help out by robbing the local Gas-n-Sip.
Sam has found out that Claire was friends with Dustin. He, Dean, and Cas confront him as he arrives for his job at Wiener Hut and find out Claire's plan. They intercept her at the Gas-n-Sip before she can execute the robbery. She confronts them—angry at Cas for killing her father, and at Sam and Dean for letting it happen. She tells them Randy and Dustin are the only family that she has before leaving.
The Winchesters and Cas retire to a Tiki Bar. Sam tells Cas not to stew on what Claire said, but that he can't make it better—for some people, their father is everything. Cas reflects that he didn't know his "father" and asks Sam and Dean whether they loved their dad. Sam encourages Dean to tell a story about a time they were in New York with John and Dean snuck out to a club. As Dean tells it, several much older adults made a pretence at befriending him, only to get him dangerously intoxicated, and/or possibly drugging his drinks. John showed up at just the right time. Sam and Dean both acknowledge that John "wouldn't win any parenting awards" but that he was there for them when they needed him, despite the fact that John blamed him for the incident. They all agree that Claire is not in a good situation.
Crowley and Gerald escort Rowena back to the dungeon. Rowena accuses Gerald of smuggling demons out of Hell, which Trish confirms. Gerald denies the accusations, and begins to strangle Rowena. When he doesn't listen to Crowley's repeated orders to stop, Crowley stabs Gerald through the neck with an angel blade, killing him. As Crowley leaves the cell, he asks Rowena if she is coming. She smiles and follows him out the door.
At Randy's house, the loan shark Salinger and his goons are threatening Randy when Claire returns. They lock her in her bedroom, and Salinger makes Randy an offer—give Claire to him and he'll clear Randy's debt. Randy agrees, and Salinger goes into the room where Claire is held, and attempts to sexually assault her. Just then, the Winchesters and Castiel arrive. Cas assists Claire, who was fighting back against Salinger, while the Winchesters cover the henchmen. As they leave, Dean is attacked by Salinger.
By the time Sam returns, Dean has killed everyone, including Randy. As in his dream, he is bloody on the floor surrounded by bodies. Claire witnesses the aftermath, and is horrified. Castiel takes her to safety. Sam kneels in front of him and, taking Dean's face in his hands, begs Dean to say that he had to kill them all in self-defense. Dean's response is, "I didn't mean to do it."
Characters
- Sam Winchester
- Dean Winchester
- John Winchester
- Castiel
- Jimmy Novak
- Crowley
- Claire Novak
- Rowena
- Gerald
- Trish
- Dustin Tate
- Randy
- Sandra Phelan
- Salinger
Definitions
Music
- "Quiet Village" by Martin Denny
- (playing in the bar Dean, Sam and Cas go to talk about Claire and fathers)
- "Quiet Surf" by The Blue Hawaiians
- (playing in the bar as Dean is telling the CBGB story)
Quotes
Claire: Right. I'm not your father. Those are first words you said to me, remember?
Castiel: No, the human soul it can only occupy a body while it retains a certain structural integrity, and this vessel it was, it was ripped apart on a sub-atomic level by an archangel.
Claire: Then how are you-
Castiel: I was reassembled; your father is in Heaven.
Claire: Wow, deep.
Castiel: Yes.
Gerald: My ma used to burn me with cigarettes.
Castiel: No I didn't.
Sam: Hold on a second.
Claire: Why, like you don't have it coming? You just stood there while this monster took my dad. I used to pray to you, Castiel, every night. I would beg you to bring him home safe.
Castiel: I know.
Rowena: Oh now, you're being dramatic.
Crowley: I didn't even have a father!
Sam: Hey, uh, tell him about that time in New York.
Dean: Oh Yeah... Yeah, okay so, ah. We were working this haunting in Long Island, and me and Sam begged the old man to let us go to the city, for once.
Sam: He had this thing about New York; too big, too loud, too dirty.
Dean: And he hated the Yankees.
Sam: Yeah and they get him drunk. First time.
Dean: But not fun drunk, I'm not quite sure what was in that stuff, but the room starts to spin, and I feel like I'm going to puke forever. Right about that time, I hear him. 'Dean Winchester!' My old man, I don't know how but he found me. And now I'm really freaking out, because he's just standing there not saying anything, and I look around everyone else is freaking out too in fact no one is looking him in the eye, then finally this one guy with like a safety pin in his nose and a 'kill everything' tattoo looks up and he says 'sorry sir.' Yeah, 'sorry sir' heh. To John frickin' Winchester.
Castiel: He saved you.
Dean: Yeah and you know what he got for that? Me whining about how much he embarrassed me. Me telling him that I hated him. But then he stopped and turned around looked at me and said, 'Son, you don't like me? That's fine. It's not my job to be liked.'
Sam: 'It's my job to raise you right.'
Salinger: Please! I know the con, alright? You find some kid with Major League daddy issues and then get her to steal for you. Cut the proud papa act. I’ll make you a good deal.
Dean: I did-I didn't mean to.
Trivia & References
Trish: I didn't ask you, Braveheart.
Rowena: Freedoooom!
- Braveheart and "Freedom!" are a reference to the character of William Wallace, a Scottish warrior who featured in the 1995 movie Braveheart.
- Harry Houdini was a famous escapologist and illusionist in the early 20th century.
- Betty is slang for an attractive woman.
Claire: Eat me, Hasselhoff.
- Miley Cyrus is an actor and pop singer.
- David Hasselhoff is an actor. Dean signed a receipt with the signature D. Hasselhoff in 2.21 All Hell Breaks Loose: Part One.
Sam: CBGB is...
Castiel: I know. It's where the Ramones and Blondie got their start.
- CBGB was a famous New York concert club, known for giving many famous musicians their start. The clubs initials stood for "Country, BlueGrass, and Blues," even though it is better known as a punk club.
