11.01 Out of the Darkness, Into the Fire
Title | Out of the Darkness, Into the Fire |
Episode # | Season 11, Episode 1 |
First aired | October 7, 2015 |
Directed by | Robert Singer |
Written by | Jeremy Carver |
On IMDB | Out of the Darkness, Into the Fire |
Outline | In the aftermath of the Darkness being released, Sam and Dean meet a young sheriff's deputy who claims people have been going rabid and killing each other. Castiel struggles to control himself from inflicting more violence due to Rowena's attack dog spell, while Crowley regroups after narrowly escaping Castiel's attempt on his life. |
Monster | The Darkness Rabids |
Timeline | Immediately after 10.23 Brother's Keeper |
Location(s) | Superior, Nebraska Lebanon, Kansas |
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Contents
Synopsis
The Darkness has been unleashed as dark clouds unto Earth. Sam and Dean quickly take refuge in their Impala. When the Darkness engulfs the car, Dean suddenly finds himself standing in a field inside the turbulent black clouds, unaffected by them. Suddenly, a beautiful woman appears, her back to him. He calls out to her, and she slowly turns her head to gaze at him over her shoulder.
At the same time, Sam wakes up, surprised when his brother is not next to him. His memory brought back to how the Impala got its tire stuck in a pothole when they tried to escape the smoke. When it reached the car, Dean instantly disappeared, and Sam was knocked out.
Sam finds Dean, unconscious and face down in a field of flowers about a mile away from the Impala. When he comes to, Dean has no recollection of how he disappeared from the car or landed in the field. The only thing he remembers is seeing the mysterious woman. Dean tells Sam, "She saved me." Sam asks, "Who?" Dean: "The Darkness." Dean tells Sam that she thanked Dean for setting her free, and they discuss for a while who she is, which one of them actually set her free, and how she got there. Dean states that, regardless, they have to put her back, whatever it takes, because she is evil.
Somewhere at a farm, Castiel takes refuge inside a chicken coop, still under the attack-dog spell placed on him by Rowena. All he remembers after he was bewitched was attacking Crowley, striking him down, and stabbing him in the back. However, Cas realizes that Crowley is still alive, as Crowley slipped out of his meatsuit before Cas stabbed him. One of the farm owner’s sons finds Castiel and confronts him. Castiel tries to warn the boy, but as he aims at the angel, Castiel wrestles with him, and the gun goes off, alerting his family and forcing Castiel to flee.
The boys arrive at a nearby town and find that the road is quiet with dead bodies strewn everywhere. While they are investigating, a road worker shows up and attacks them. He is shot down by Deputy Jenna Nickerson, who demands that Sam and Dean "show some skin", because one of the signs of the infected people (rabids) is black, bulging veins on their throats and bodies. Jenna relates to Sam and Dean that she was helping a family that was under attack and had to kill many of the infected people, causing her to get injured when she sought cover. Dean decides to take her to nearby hospital so she can get her wound treated.
At the hospital, they find more bloodied dead bodies everywhere. When Sam checks one of the hospital wings, he finds one of the rabids attacking a door. Before he can act, the rabid suddenly dies and Sam finds a man, Mike Schneider, inside with a baby.
Dean is stitching Jenna's wound when he remembers another part of his conversation inside the black cloud with the Darkness. The woman told Dean that she hadn't felt this peaceful in a very long time, and that she liked being there with him. Dean told her that he knew all about her from Death. Surprisingly, the Darkness said she didn’t know who Death was and that Death didn't know her, either. Suspicious, Dean asks, "Are you saying I shouldn't kill you right now?" The Darkness replies, "Am I saying that? Or are you?"
Somewhere in the suburbs, Crowley possesses a woman named Marnie, but doesn't appear to have the ability to call his minions to him, so decides to do things the old fashioned way and uses blood to communicate with his minions, taking a tire iron out of Marnie's car trunk. When Crowley enters the house, he finds that Marnie's husband and their best friends were discussing something for Marnie’s birthday, an orgy. Crowley is game for this and puts down his tire iron.
Back in the hospital, Mike tells the story of his baby’s birth during which the child's mother died just before a truckload of infected people arrived at the hospital, attacking everyone. Sam notices black lines on Mike’s neck. While Dean wants to kill Mike before he fully turns, Sam and Jenna are against it. As they are arguing, Mike decides to make a deal, he will leave the hospital and find somewhere to hide while he waits for the infection to run its course and kill him, but only if Jenna saves and cares for his daughter. Jenna agrees. Mike leaves and a truck full of rabids arrives at the hospital.
While Sam and Dean argue about whether they have to kill the infected or wait until they die, Castiel calls after praying to his angel brothers and sisters to help save him from the spell. He asks if Dean is okay and tells the boys that Rowena fled with the Book of the Damned and Nadya's Codex. Sam asks about the Darkness but Cas doesn't know anything. At that point, two angels appear, and Cas tells the Winchesters he may not see them for a while.
As Sam, Dean, and Jenna try to leave the hospital with the baby, Dean reiterates that he wants to shoot their way through, but Sam says they need to stop doing things in the same manner they have historically used. He argues they need to try to focus again on saving people—all the people. He believes they can find a cure for the infected. Dean is initially reluctant, but eventually agrees to follow Sam's plan. While Dean gets Jenna and the baby out, Sam acts as a decoy to draw the infected away. When Dean and Jenna are almost at the exit, they are confronted by Mike who, just before he dies, tells them the name of the child: Amara.
Meanwhile in the suburb, Crowley has summoned two of his minions to pick him up at Marnie's house in the aftermath of the orgy. He resumes possession of his old body at the abandoned distillery in Lebanon, and the minions inform him that the Darkness has been released. Believing that it was only a myth, Crowley shrugs it off, but one of his minions persists, nervously saying that all of Hell heard screaming animal sounds from within Lucifer's Cage, as if Michael or Lucifer himself was trying to warn Hell about this incident.
As Sam hides in a supply closet from the rabids, he gets attacked by a nurse who was already in the closet. He kills her but infected blood gets in his mouth as he does so. Within moments, the other rabids break down the door. As they approach him, however, they sense he is already infected and leave.
While stopping at a gas station so that Jenna can change Amara, Dean calls Sam to ask how his part of the plan is going. Sam only tells him that he is still looking for the cure, and Dean responds by saying that he will take Jenna to her grandmother’s, and then he will return to help Sam clean up the town.
Dean has another flashback to the woman he spoke to inside the Darkness. He asks why she hasn't hurt him, and she replies, "For the same reason you'll never hurt me." She reveals the Mark of Cain on her neck and tells him that they will always be bound to each other. She explains that they each have already helped the other, and that, no matter what, they always will.
As Jenna changes baby Amara, she finds a tiny birthmark on Amara's chest—the Mark of Cain.
Characters
- Sam Winchester
- Dean Winchester
- Castiel
- Crowley
- Amara
- Deputy Jenna Nickerson
- Jervis
- Demon Minion
- Efram
- Jonah
- Mike Schneider
- Marnie
Definitions
Music
- "Run Through the Jungle" by Creedence Clearwater Revival
- (plays over "The Road So Far" recap of events; also played in 3.04 Sin City)
- "It's Not Unusual" by Tom Jones
- (plays during the orgy/massacre aftermath)
Quotes
Sam: What? Who?
Dean: Well we know what she looks like, we know that she's evil. Question is what does she know? She's been locked away since the beginning of time, does she even know what a cheeseburger is? All I know is we set her free and we're gonna put her back in no matter what it takes.
Dean: Let's get something straight I'm not here to bring you peace, I know what you are.
Amara: Really? I've been gone so long, I didn't think anyone remembered.
Dean: Well, Death painted a hell of a picture.
Crowley: And uh?
Demon Minion: You didn't call for help until after the orgy?
Dean: What!?
Sam: Dean if you don't change right now, all of our crap is gonna keep repeating itself.
Dean: Okay, I don't even-what?
Demon Minion #2: Sir, there are rumors from Hell.
Crowley: Rumors?
Demon Minion #2: The Darkness has been released.
Crowley: The Darkness? Please. Myth. It's a bedtime story, something daddy demons threaten toddler demons with to get them to eat their vegetables. Even if it was true, what's the concern? Darkness, King of Hell -- natural allies.
Demon Minion #1: It's just something happened sir, in the Cage.
Crowley: What?
Demon Minion #1: They said it sounded like a frightened animal, all of Hell heard like someone was going crazy. The rumor is that Michael or Lucifer, one of them is trying to warn us...
Crowley: About the Darkness. Ridiculous.
Amara: For the same reason that you'll never hurt me. We're bound, Dean. We'll always be bound. You helped me, I helped you. No matter where I am, who I am, we will always help each other.
Trivia & References
Dean: Huh?
Sam: What?
Jenna: Both of you!
Dean: Is this like a Magic Mike moment?
- Magic Mike is a 2012 comedy-drama film about a male stripper who teaches a younger performer how to party, pick up women, and make easy money.
Dean: So what? She shows up and everyone goes 28 Days Later? We didn't.
- 28 Days Later is a 2002 post-apocalyptic movie, where England has been overtaken by a virus that turns people violent rage-filled zombies.
Dean: No, that is madness. This . . . this is horse sense.
- Horse sense is another term for common sense.
- From Psalms 30:5:
- "For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning."
Minutiae
Sides, Scripts & Transcripts
Promotion
- Synopsis and Promo Pics by ksitetv
- Season 11 Promo
- Season 11 Extended Promo
- Shaving People Punting Things Season 11 Promo
- Sneak Peek
- Producer's Preview
- Get to know ‘Supernatural’ season 11 premiere guest actor Lane Edwards by Examiner.com (October 4, 2015)
- Winchester Radio's podcast discussion on this episode