14.07 Unhuman Nature

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SPN-1407.jpg
Title Unhuman Nature
Episode # Season 14, Episode 7
First aired November 29, 2018
Directed by John F. Showalter
Written by Eugenie Ross-Leming
Brad Buckner
On IMDB Unhuman Nature
Outline Dean, Sam, and Castiel call on Rowena to help with Jack's worsening health. Meanwhile, Nick continues his murderous hunt to find his family's killer.
Monster Nick
Timeline A few weeks after 14.02 Gods and Monsters
Location(s) Pike Creek, Delaware
Lebanon, Kansas
Wilmington, Delaware
Montauk, New York
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Synopsis

Nick sits in an office talking of hating the feelings he has after doing violent things. He says he accepts that the priest he is speaking with cannot divulge what his neighbor, Arty Nielson, told him in confession. But he tells the priest, who has been crucified and had his throat slit, that he should have helped him find who killed his family, and only brought it on himself. He acknowledges that the priest's suggestion of prayer might be what he needs, before leaving.

At the Bunker, Castiel tries to heal Jack; however, he doesn’t succeed. As he tells Sam and Dean about Jack’s condition, Dean experiences a dizzy spell, but he doesn't let on to the others. Jack has another seizure and Sam, Dean, and Castiel take him to the hospital. While they are trying to get him admitted, Jack collapses once again and is finally taken for treatment.

At a diner, Nick meets with the reporter, Diane Fargo, who worked the story about his family's murder in Pike Creek. When Nick asks her for any information, Diane can only provide him with the name of the beat cop who worked his street -- Frank Kellogg, who works security in Montauk now.

At the hospital, Sam, Dean, and Cas meet with a doctor who reveals that all of Jack's tests came back negative. She says they are unsure what is wrong with him outside of his body going through a complete systemic failure. Realizing they won't get answers at the hospital, they decide to check Jack out to get a "second opinion."

Back at the Bunker, Rowena arrives under the pretense that it is Dean who is sick. Upon finding out it is Lucifer's son who needs help, she is furious and doesn't want anything to do with the situation, but Sam convinces her to have a look at him. Once she meets Jack, his behavior towards her changes her mind. Rowena uses her magic to examine Jack and determines that as a Nephilim, he needs his grace to maintain the balance between his angel and human sides. Without it his system is consuming itself.

Nick seems to be struggling with an internal rage. He sees a woman enter an alley from a club, and struggles whether to leave. Exiting the car, he approaches the women with the intent to kill her, but is able to fight the impulse off and yells at the woman to leave after she invites him to come party with her and her friends in the club.

At the Bunker, Jack packs his bag, having decided that, if he is going to die, he wants to experience more of life first. To his surprise, Dean is supportive and offers to accompany him. On their road trip, Jack and Dean stop to get burgers, and on a whim Dean decides to teach Jack how to drive the Impala. When Dean suggests that they go to a bar that has a high hook-up potential, Jack demurs and suggests they go fishing, something Dean had previously told him was a happy memory he had with his father.

While researching for a cure, Sam speaks to Ketch, who tells him about a shaman named Sergei who was consulted by the British Men of Letters to “solve the unsolvable” in the past. Castiel decides to go to Sergei rather than sit around and do nothing. Castiel meets with the shaman, who reveals to Castiel that he cannot reverse what is happening to Jack, but may be able to stop its progress. He tells him that in exchange for a vial of his grace, he gave Gabriel the powerful cloaking spell which allowed him to hide out in Monte Carlo with porn stars. Sergei gives the grace to Castiel along with a spell to fix Jack. In return he asks for a favor from the Winchesters that he will call in at a later date.

Having traveled to Montauk, Nick locates Frank Kellogg, and when he reminds him of his family, a panicked Frank attempts to close the door on him only for Nick to rush in and restrain him. Nick proceeds to torture Frank for information. Frank finally tells Nick that on the night of his family's murder, Nick’s wife called the police because she thought she heard a prowler outside their home. Frank says that on his way up the path to the front door, he encountered a man named Abraxas, after which he blacked out and woke up in his car, covered in blood. Nick realizes that Abraxas is a demon that Lucifer knew and that Frank was possessed when he committed the murders. Still, unable to ignore that Frank's hands were the ones that murdered his family, Nick bludgeons Frank to death with a hammer.

Following their trip, Dean and Jack return to the Bunker, where they meet Castiel who has a vial Gabriel's grace and the spell. Rowena recites the incantation as Jack consumes Gabriel's grace, but to their dismay, Jack’s condition worsens. Castiel calls Sergei and demands to know what went wrong. Sergei tells him that the spell was an experiment, and that science is trial and error. Angry, Castiel declares his intention of tracking Sergei down if Jack dies because of what he did.

After brutally murdering Frank, Nick realizes that he enjoyed being Lucifer’s vessel, and doesn't want to feel pain or sorrow or consequences any more. He prays to the archangel, which awakens something in the Empty.

Having run out of options, Rowena proclaims that nothing can be done to cure Jack. She tells the boys to stay by his side and watch over him as he dies.

Characters

Definitions

Music

  • "I'm Blue This Mo'ning" by Keith Nichols (APM Music)
(playing in the diner where Nick meets with Diane Fargo)
  • "Let It Ride" by Bachman-Turner Overdrive
(playing as Dean lets Jack drive Baby)

Quotes

Nurse: Uh-huh. Family medical history? Let's start with the father.

Dean: He's dead.
Nurse: Cause of death?
Castiel: He was stabbed through the heart, and he exploded.

Dean: Okay, you know what? We don't have time for this. All right, he's sick. His name is Jack Kline. His father exploded. There, you've got all the basics. Now what does he need to do to see a doctor?
Jack: I'm Jack. And I know people have a lot of strong feelings about my father, but I'm trying hard not to be like him.
Rowena: It's as I suspected. A Nephilim, for all its power, is an unnatural presence. Part human, part angel. It doesn't quite fit. It's delicate. Its grace is what holds it in balance, and when Jack's grace was taken from him, his being fell into chaos. The -- the cells are gobbling each other up.

Castiel: Well, if it's grace he needs, he can have mine.
Rowena: No, dear, it won't do. Jack is part archangel. He needs a much stronger force and probably some kind of magic, and he needs it quick.
Sam: How quick?

Rowena: I don't... I don't exactly know, but he's enterin' a critical phase. Sometimes he'll look just fine, but then his body will give way and... it'll be the end of him.
Jack: Since I've been alive, everyone assumed that I would be this special 'person' who goes on forever. Only now it looks like forever might be a couple of weeks, so--

Dean: We don't know that.

Jack: What I do know is I'm done being special. Before my life is over, I want to live it. I just want a chance to get a tan or see a hockey game... get a parking ticket... get bored... and when it's all over -- die.
Castiel: I, uh... I feel the need to do something. And I think Dean's right. We can't afford to overlook any possibility. He seems to be taking this particularly hard.

Sam: Yeah, yeah. Yeah, he was pretty rough on Jack at the beginning, and... I don't think he's forgotten. And I know he hasn't forgiven himself. You know, he's lost people, we've all lost people, but ...

Castiel: This feels different. Losing a son feels different.
Dean: Well, bait and beer. You are a cheap date. This certainly isn't Tahiti.

Jack: You once told me you and your father did the exact same thing. It was your happiest memory of him.
Dean: I didn't say that.
Jack: It was how you said it. I could tell. I guess my point is that if I don't make it... The stuff I'd miss -- it wouldn't be things like Tahiti. Or the Taj Mahal. I'd miss more time with you. I'm getting that life isn't all these big, amazing moments. It's time together that matters. Like this.

Dean: Well, who'd have thought hanging out with me would make you sentimental?
Castiel: Of course we followed the instructions, and Rowena performed the spell exactly as written, but he is worse. He's much worse. You need to come at once.

Sergei: I am a shaman. I realign the harmonics of the universe. I don't make house calls.
Castiel: Jack isn't just another sick kid. This is the son of an archangel of the Lord, who is much more ill now because of your 'harmonics.'
Sergei: And? Science is sometimes trial and error. Victory through experimentation.
Castiel: This was an experiment? You never said that. If Jack dies, I will find you.

Sergei: You can try.
Nick: All right.I'm not very good at this, but the priest said it would help, so I'm gonna try. I say that I do the terrible things I do because I couldn't find who killed Sarah and Teddy. And that once I did, I'd be free of this darkness and this rage... but I lied. Truth is, I like doing these things, and I don't want to stop. I'm bonded to you and what you are. I mean it's how you first found me. I don't know who I am if I'm not you. No consequences. No pain. No sorrow. I want that back. I want it back. I don't want to feel now what I didn't feel then. Where are you? Where are you? Help me. Help me.
Dean: I shouldn't have done it. I shouldn't have taken him out.

Sam: It was what he wanted. I mean, we knew he was going to get worse, regardless.
Dean: Yeah, but it was too risky.
Sam: Yeah, but, Dean, life, all of it, is a risk. Jack knew that.

Castiel: And you made him happy. You did more for him than any of us.
Dean: So?

Sam: What can we do?

Rowena: Watch over him. Stay by his side... as he dies.

Trivia & References

Frank: I'm walking up the front path, no back-up, and suddenly from outta nowhere, there's this guy.

Nick: There's this "guy."
Frank: He said his name was "Abraxas."

Abraxas was considered a pagan god by the Catholic church before being branded as a demon in the Dictionnaire Infernal in 1818. Second-century heretics known as Basilidians believed Abraxas to be the supreme deity who created the angels, of which the God of Abraham was one.

Minutiae

Original score by Jay Gruska.
Craig March, who played Frank Kellogg, previously played Man in 5.15 Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid.
Morgan Brayton, who played Admitting Nurse, previously played Elise Drummond in 2.18 Hollywood Babylon.
Supernatural fight Coordinator Kirk Jacques played the part of the crucified priest. He posted behind the scenes photos on Instagram -- here, here and here.
This is the first episode where Jack uses his mother's surname "Kline." Dean also gives his date of birth as May 18, 2000. While May 18th is actually Jack's birthday, Dean adjusted the year to make it seem more plausible, though he briefly fluctuated between 1999 and 2000 when choosing the year. This makes Jack's claimed age as currently being eighteen.
In this episode Sam asks Rowena if she remembers who Jack is; she replies by giving a shrug, then appears somewhat shocked to learn he is Lucifer's son. However, in 13.21 Beat the Devil Rowena says to Lucifer as she is using his grace to open the rift:
"Do you know what your grace is making possible right now? The heartfelt family reunion of Sam, Dean, Cas, Mary, and your very own son Jack. That's right. Your wee boy's over there, and he'll be so glad to see his three fathers. Of course, as far as he's concerned, they are his father. And you? You're nothing to him."
Rowena was most likely hoping Sam was talking about someone else named Jack, as despite knowing of Jack, she had not actually interacted with him until this episode. The stage directions in the script states, "Rowena looks vague, trying to place who Sam's talking about."
Sergei tells Castiel he was given a vial of Gabriel's grace in exchange for a potent cloaking spell, that Gabriel used to mask his presence in Monte Carlo. Castiel comments that he knows this, a reference to 13.18 Bring 'em Back Alive when he had read Gabriel's story about shacking up with porn stars that was written on the walls in the Bunker. The cloaking spell also explained how Chuck believed Gabriel to be deceased and said He was unable to resurrect him in 11.22 We Happy Few. His diminished grace further explained how he was easily captured by the children of Loki.
The moon lamp from Amara's room in 11.06 Our Little World and Dede's psychic shop in 13.03 Patience can be seen behind Castiel when he sits across from Sergei in his trailer.
Nick's family is revealed to have been murdered by a demon named Abraxas.
Castiel is seen driving again for the first time since 12.23 All Along the Watchtower. He is driving a different vehicle than the truck or car that he had used previously.
While it is never revealed how exactly Nick was able to wake Lucifer in the Empty. A possible reasoning could be gleaned from 5.03 Free to Be You and Me, where Castiel tells Dean of the relationship between a vessel and it's angel before summoning Raphael:
"There's, well, almost an open phone line between a vessel and his angel. One just has to know how to dial."

Sides, Scripts & Transcripts

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