8.10 Torn and Frayed
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| Title | Torn and Frayed |
| Episode # | Season 8, Episode 10 |
| First aired | January 16, 2013 |
| Directed by | Robert Singer |
| Written by | Jenny Klein |
| On IMDB | Torn and Frayed |
| Outline | Castiel needs the brothers' help to rescue Samandriel from Crowley before he gets too much information about Heaven out of the angel. |
| Monster | Demons Crowley |
| Timeline | Immediately following 8.09 Citizen Fang |
| Location(s) | Kermit, Texas Whitefish, Montana Geneva, Nebraska Warsaw, Missouri Catskill, New York |
| « Previous Episode | Next Episode » | |
Contents
Synopsis
Samandriel is still being held captive and tortured by demons. He has a large pick protruding from his forehead and, in a moment alone, he uses telekinesis to push it out. Apparently, the pick makes it impossible for him to contact other angels. Once it's out of his brain, he contacts Naomi to tell her that Crowley has him. Before he says anything else, though, his torturer Viggo returns and puts the pick back in his brain, making him scream in agony.
Meanwhile, Dean has traveled to Kermit, Texas, to find Sam, who hung up on him earlier. Sam is still mad at Dean for trusting Benny and insisting that the vampire killed the hunter Martin Creaser in self-defense. What makes him the most upset, however, is that Dean let him think Amelia, the woman he loved, was in danger so that he could save a vampire. Dean insists that Sam should have trusted him, but Sam points out that he wanted him to trust Benny, and he can't. When Dean asks him what they can do now, Sam tells him it depends on whether or not Dean is done with Benny.
Somewhere else, Castiel is busy healing people, like an infant with a hernia, when he is called to Heaven by Naomi. She tells him that Samandriel isn't dead like they thought. He needs to be rescued from Crowley, but she doesn't know exactly where he's being held. Castiel tells her that he'll need help because the demons will be warded against angels, and Naomi tells him to take what he needs.
Castiel immediately finds Dean at Rufus's cabin and tells him that they need to rescue Samandriel from Crowley. When Dean asks him how he heard the angel's distress call, Castiel tells him that he turned his "angel radio" back on because he's been helping people as part of his penance. Samandriel is somewhere near Hastings, Nebraska, and Castiel tells Dean that an angel's screams of pain can cause a ripple effect of strange incidences. Dean finds news stories about tornados across Nebraska, so they head to Hastings together.
Viggo is trying to discover how angels possess their vessels. As he drills into a part of Samandriel's brain, the angel goes into a trance and starts chanting Enochian. Though the demon is unaware of it, the chanting causes a bush to burst into flames, injuring a man who was walking past it. Viggo continues drilling and eventually calls Crowley to the room and asks him to translate what Samandriel is saying in Enochian. Crowley is interested to hear what sounds like the angel's "factory settings."
Dean and Castiel hear about the burning bush and head to Geneva, Nebraska, to question the man who saw it. He tells them that he heard a voice coming from the bush before it was on fire, but it was nonsensical. According to Castiel, the sounds he remembers were actually Enochian for "obey." They decide to search for demons in the area around the bush so they can find where Samandriel is being held.
Meanwhile, Amelia has found Sam at his motel in Kermit, Texas. She asks him why he was outside her house, and he says that he thought she was in trouble. He still cares about her, and even though Amelia is content with her husband, Don, she still cares about Sam. They kiss and then share a night together, but the next morning Sam knows it was a mistake. Amelia agrees, but says that she can't let go of Sam if he keeps showing up in her life. She wants him to make a decision: to stay in Kermit or to leave for good. She also has a difficult decision to make, to be with him or to stay with her husband, so in two days they'll meet in the motel room if they both want to commit to each other.
Dean and Castiel locate a group of demons outside an abandoned factory covered in angel warding, and Castiel wants to get Sam to help Dean infiltrate it. Dean rejects the idea and instead has Castiel teleport them to Kevin's side. He's still on Garth's boat and having no success translating the demon tablet. Dean asks him to make more "demon bombs," and Kevin tells him that most of the ingredients are impossible to find. Castiel says that he just needs a list and he can get everything they need. While he's gone, Dean learns that Kevin sent his mom, Linda Tran away because she was distracting him. He also gets a phone call from Benny, who thanks Dean for standing up for him. He admits that he's going through a rough patch, though, and asks if Dean is nearby and can get a cup of coffee with him. He's on the other side of the country, and Dean tells him that he'll be there as soon as he's done with the case he's on.
After a while, Castiel finally returns with the ingredients they need... and Sam. Dean is annoyed, but Castiel tells them to get over their problems so they can work together. They return to the factory and Castiel says that they need to destroy the sigils at the four main points of warding before he can get inside and extract Samandriel. The brothers kill the demons on the perimeter and then head inside, where they start destroying sigils. They encounter more demons and can hear Samandriel's screams echoing through the building. Eventually they have to use their demon bomb, which alerts Crowley and Viggo to their presence. The demons are behind a heavy locked door, though, and Crowley is too eager to learn more from Samandriel to stop or flee. He keeps torturing the angel, who is now talking about protecting the word of God and the demon tablet.
The high-pitched noise produced by Samandriel causes Castiel to cower against the wall, and he begins to have momentary flashbacks of Naomi coming at him with some kind of device. Sam and Dean notice that Castiel is out of commission for the time being so they go to ‘plan b’ which is throwing themselves at the door to try and open it. All the while Samandriel is unwittingly revealing to Crowley that there is an angel tablet.
Finally Sam and Dean break through the door, only to find that Crowley has disappeared, leaving Viggo and Samandriel alone in the room. Castiel, slightly recovered from his visions, stumbles into the room after the brothers and saves Samandriel. Another demon comes rushing in and fights with Sam while Dean fights with Viggo. Sam kills the demon and Viggo pleads with Dean, assuring him that he needs him, that there are things he doesn't know, but Dean doesn't want to hear it and stabs him with the demon-killing blade.
Outside, Castiel appears with a very beaten Samandriel. He rest him up against a nearby car and assures him that it’s okay, that he is safe now and that Cas will take him home. But Samandriel protests, informing Castiel that he cannot take him home because Crowley got through their coding and knows secrets that Samandriel didn't even know they had, secrets about Heaven and Naomi. To which Castiel asks who Naomi is? Samandriel is trying to tell Castiel how they are controlling him when Castiel is suddenly transported to Naomi office. Naomi tells Castiel to kill Samandriel but Castiel protests and asks Naomi what Samandriel meant by controlling. Naomi ignores the question and gives Castiel a direct order to kill Samandriel.
Castiel stabs Samandriel through the heart with an angel blade, killing him. He looks confused and asks what he just did, then he is transported back to Naomi’s office. He states that he was trying to atone, but Naomi insists that Samandriel was broken and that he had told Crowley about the angel tablet. She asks Castiel “If the demon tablet can trap the demons in Hell then what do you think the angel tablet can do to us?”
Naomi informs Castiel that he has done Heaven a great service. Castiel asks what he is to tell Sam and Dean. Naomi tells him to say that he acted in self-defense and that he must return Samandriel’s body to Heaven.
Castiel does as Naomi asks, Dean is concerned about the fact that Castiel’s eye is bleeding, but Castiel brushes it off, saying that his vessel must have gotten damaged in the fight. Castiel disappears with Samandriel’s body leaving both brothers looking very concerned.
Back at Rufus's cabin, Sam and Dean are angel-proofing so that they can talk about Castiel killing Samandriel without him hearing. Halfway through the conversation, Sam looks like he needs to be somewhere else. Dean suggests that Sam has a girl to get back to. Sam agrees but questions Dean’s change towards Amelia. Dean states that he is tired of the fighting, a little jealous, that he cannot separate himself from the job like Sam could and he just wants one of them to be happy. Sam agrees that he would be lucky to be with Amelia that she would make him happy, but that he just isn't sure anymore. They both come to the realization that they need to decide once and for all. Sam will either be with Amelia or be a hunter and Dean will have to give up Benny once and for all.
Dean calls Benny, who is very relieved to hear from him. Dean thanks him and tells him that it is ‘end of the line’, giving him up for good.
A short while later Sam has apparently made his choice as well, because he is back in the cabin with Dean while Amelia is walking into the empty hotel room where they had arranged to meet. The brothers have chosen hunting and each other over Benny and Amelia.
Characters
- Sam Winchester
- Dean Winchester
- Castiel
- Crowley
- Kevin Tran
- Benny Lafitte
- Amelia Richardson
- Naomi
- Samandriel
- Viggo
Definitions
- Alcohol
- Angel Blade
- Angel Lore
- Angel Radio
- Bollocks
- Busty Asian Beauties
- Demon Bomb
- Demon-Killing Knife
- Demonology
- Devil's Trident
- Enochian
- Fizzles' Folly
- Green Cooler
- Healing
- Heaven
- Impala
- Mind Hacking
- Porn
- Rufus's Cabin
- Sexual Encounters
- Son of a Bitch
- Spells
- Star Trek
- Tablets
- Tattoos
- Telekinesis
- Warding Sigils
- Wiener Hut
Music
- "Katmandu" by Bob Seger
- (plays during "The Road So Far" recap of events)
Quotes
Castiel: Well... I thought so, too, but... It seems I – I lack a certain –
Castiel: Yes, that is his serious face.
Sam: What, you being such a big hugger and all? She does make me happy, and she could be waiting for me if I went back. I'd be a very lucky man if she was. But now... with everything staring down at us, with all that's left to be done... I don't know.
Trivia & References
- In the TV series True Blood, "fang-bangers" are humans who are sexually attracted to vampires.
- Klingon is a language spoken by the race of the same name in Star Trek.
- Writer Jenny Klein confirmed that the "shrubbery" reference was a shout-out to Monty Python, and the famous Monty Python "Knights of Ni" scene from the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Watch the scene here.
- This is likely a reference to the John Mellencamp song, "Pink Houses," which contains the phrase "Ain't that America" in the chorus.
- Neil Diamond is an American singer-song writer in the adult contemporary genre of music.
- A reference to the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz where the Wicked Witch of the West has a group of flying monkeys which she sends to capture Dorothy.
