9.23 Do You Believe in Miracles?

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SPN923.jpg
Title Do You Believe in Miracles?
Episode # Season 9, Episode 23
First aired May 20, 2014
Directed by Thomas J. Wright
Written by Jeremy Carver
On IMDB Do You Believe in Miracles?
Outline Sam and Dean take the fight to Metatron on Earth, while Castiel and Gadreel infiltrate Heaven.
Monster Metatron
Timeline Immediately after 9.22 Stairway to Heaven
Location(s) Lebanon, Kansas
Muncie, Indiana
Arkansas
Heaven
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Synopsis

Sam and Castiel are trying to restrain Dean after he has attacked and slashed Gadreel. They lock him in the dungeon, Dean argues he is the only one who can kill Metatron, but Sam warns that the Mark of Cain is affecting him. Sam and Castiel leave, locking Dean inside.

Sam and Cas go back upstairs to discover that Gadreel has disappeared. They find him outside and Gadreel begs them to kill him. Castiel heals him, even though it further depletes his stolen grace.

Metatron is in Heaven, with all the angels who had been following Castiel. Metatron uses a device to communicate with all angels, telling them he has one small task to undertake before they are all restored to Heaven.

In the bunker, Dean is throwing up blood. He manages to find the ingredients for a spell, and summons Crowley. Crowley informs Dean that the Mark of Cain will drive him to kill more and more—and that if he doesn't, he will die. Dean protests that Cain was still alive, but Crowley points out that Cain was a demon, not a human and that human bodies aren't meant to contain that power. Dean asks Crowley to help him get the First Blade and escape.

Sam, Cas, and Gadreel get back to the bunker to discover that Dean has disappeared. Gadreel learns about how Dean got the Mark, and he tells Sam and Castiel that Dean will be their best chance for defeating Metatron. He also tells them that Metatron is drawing power from the angel tablet, meaning that they will need to destroy the tablet, which is in Metatron's office in Heaven.

Meanwhile, Metatron is on Earth, and performing miracles. When amongst a group of homeless people, another angel challenges him but the people come to Metatron's defense and kill him.

Crowley and Dean stop at a diner so that Dean can use the wifi and try to track down Metatron. Crowley gives him a hard time about tipping the waitress, and then reiterates that he kicked the blood habit, but it's obvious when Crowley ponders on the futility of existence that some of his humanity remains. Two of his minions arrive, with information on Metatron. Crowley and Dean watch a viral video of Metatron resurrecting a woman, and then whispering something to her. Dean is in a hurry to track her down and leaves—without even touching his cheeseburger.

Dean makes it to the woman's trailer home to interview her, and Sam is already there and has already spoken to her. Dean prepares himself for a fight, but Sam says that he knows that they need Dean to fight Metatron.

Gadreel and Castiel approach the location of the door to Heaven, which is guarded by two angels — Asariel & Purah — in a playground. They pretend that Castiel is Gadreel's prisoner and convince the angels to open the door. In Heaven, Hannah takes Gadreel and Castiel into Metatron's office — which transforms into Heaven's prison. Gadreel is distraught, that after all his attempts at redemption, he has ended up back in a prison cell.

Dean and Sam arrive at the homeless camp. Dean tries to talk to Sam about what has been happening between them over the last few months, but Sam says it's okay. Unexpectedly, Dean knocks Sam out. He takes the First Blade, and tells Sam's inert form that he needs to do this alone.

In Heaven, Castiel is trying to convince Hannah that Metatron is not to be trusted. Gadreel has secretly managed to carve into himself the Enochian sigil the suicide bombers were using and, after shouting a warning, he declares he is sacrificing himself so Metatron can be stopped. He stabs himself and the resulting blast knocks out the prison wall, freeing Castiel. Hannah is now convinced they are right.

Dean has found Metatron who is cocky because he knows Castiel and Gadreel have been captured. Metatron admits to wanting to be the new God, charging that even the real God had to work on his image to get people to follow him. He tells Dean that he, in fact, wants to save humanity, and cares for it more than God ever did. Dean takes out the First Blade, saying that that he blames Metatron for Kevin's death, and Castiel losing his grace, and everything else bad that has happened. Metatron challenges Dean — what will happen if Metatron dies?

Dean attacks Metatron with the Blade, and Metatron fights back. He beats Dean and then, just as Sam arrives, he stabs Dean with his angel blade. Just then, the building begins to shake. In Heaven, Castiel has found the angel tablet and smashes it. Before Sam is able to attack Metatron, he disappears back to Heaven.

Metatron confronts Castiel, accusing him of being purely motivated to save Dean and informs Cas that Dean is dead. He reveals that he thinks the angels are all just sheep who will do anything he wants. Castiel then reveals that he has been broadcasting Metatron's words to all the angels. They enter and, on Castiel's instructions, imprison Metatron. Hannah commends Castiel for not killing Metatron, saying it is a sign of a true leader. But Castiel once again reiterates that he is no leader, saying he just wants to be an angel again. Hannah asks what Castiel will do about his diminishing grace, but he doesn't answer.

Dean asks Sam to let him die because he doesn't like what the Mark is turning him into. Sam refuses and tries to carry Dean and get him help. On the way, Dean stops him and tells Sam that he is proud of them, just before he dies. Sam takes Dean back to the bunker and lays him on his bed. After having a drink, he proceeds to the dungeon where Dean had done the spell to summon Crowley. Believing it all to be Crowley's fault, Sam plans to summon Crowley and have him fix what has happened.

Crowley, however, is already in the bunker and enters Dean's room. He says that he didn't know the full extent of the Mark of Cain. It's important, he says, that Dean knows he never lies. He does say that he omitted to tell Dean that Cain also did not want to become the killer the Mark was making him — so he stabbed himself with the First Blade. It didn't kill him, because the Mark wouldn't let him die.

Crowley puts the Blade into Dean's hand. He tells Dean that he's feeling a new kind of life and tells him to open his eyes. He tells Dean he will now see what he sees, and feel what he feels.

After a moment, Dean opens his eyes: he has become a demon.

Characters

Definitions

Music

(plays during "The Road So Far" recap of events; also played in 1.21 Salvation, 2.22 All Hell Breaks Loose: Part Two, 3.16 No Rest for the Wicked, 4.22 Lucifer Rising, 5.22 Swan Song, 6.22 The Man Who Knew Too Much, 7.23 Survival of the Fittest and 8.23 Sacrifice)
  • "Since You Fell in Love" by Joe Montgomery
(playing at the bar Dean and Crowley go to to track down Metatron)
  • "Can't Find My Way Home" by Blind Faith
(plays over Sam drinking and preparing to summon Crowley; also played in 1.13 Route 666)

Quotes

Dean: What the hell is happening to me, you son of a bitch?
Crowley: Liquor before beer, bad taco? How should I know?
Crowley: So this is what you and Moose do, eh? Crisscross the country searching for evil, order your nitrates, partake of the local attraction.

Dean: Yup.

Crowley: And you never get tired of the rat race? Never get the urge to just bugger off and howl at the moon? Never ask yourself, 'Is this it?' 'Is this all there is?' I kicked human blood, you know.
Sam: I guess one of us doesn't need a demon to help follow a clue trail. You're looking for miracle lady right? Yeah, she's gone. I had a nice chat with her though.

Dean: Sam whatever type of intervention you think this is, trust me it ain't. I'm not going to explain myself to you.
Sam: Yeah, I sorta got that. I just thought you might like to know while you two have been playing, uh Odd Couple. Your real friends, like Cas, like the angel you stabbed - Gadreel. They're out there right now risking their asses to help you win this fight.
Dean: The hell you talking about?
Sam: A fight I might add you made that much more complicated when you decided to stab the one angel who could actually get us to Metatron!
Dean: You mean the angel that took you for a joy ride? The angel that slaughtered Kevin, that angel?
Sam: Who you let in the front door in the first place. You tricked me Dean, and now I'm the who wakes up in the middle of the night with my hands killing Kevin, not you. So please when you say you don't want to explain anything to me, don't! I get it. And I also get that Metatron has to go. And I know you're our best shot to do that.
Dean: I'm gonna take my shot, for better or worse.
Sam: I know.
Dean: No matter the consequences

Sam: I know. But if this is it, were gonna do it together.
Crowley: Guess I've been Winchester'd. I'd wish you boys good luck, if I thought it would help.
Gadreel: I sat in this hole for thousands of years thinking of nothing but redemption, of reclaiming my good name. I thought of nobody, no cause other than my own.

Castiel: You've been redeemed my friend.
Gadreel: The only thing that matters in the end is the mission: protecting those who would not and cannot protect themselves. The humans. None of us is bigger than that, we will not let our fears, our self absorption prevent us from seeing it through. Not anymore.
Castiel: No, no of course not.

Gadreel: Move to the other side of your cell Castiel, and keep your head down. When they say my name, perhaps I won't just be the one who let the Serpent in, perhaps I will be known as one of the many that gave Heaven a second chance. Run sister.
Metatron: So I'm a fake. Do you have any idea how much pancake makeup and soft lighting it took to get God to work a rope line? He hated it. And, you know, humans sense that. So they prayed harder and longer and fought more wars in His name. And for what? So they could die of malaria? Leukemia? And all the while, blaming themselves. 'Oh, if only I'd been more prayerful, God would have loved me! God would have saved me!' You know what? God didn't even know their name. But I do. Because I've walked among them. And I can save them.
Metatron: So, you took Abaddon's scalp then you figured you'd take on little old nebbishy me? What could go wrong? You're powered by the bone of a jackass and it is just awesome, right? Here's a tip, next time try to be powered by the Word of God.
Dean: What happened to you being okay with this?

Sam: I lied.

Dean: Ain't that a bitch.
Dean: I’m proud of us.
Crowley: Your brother, bless his soul, is summoning me as I speak. Make a deal. Bring you back. It's exactly what I was talking about wasn't it? It's all become so... expected. You have to believe me, when I suggested you take on the Mark of Cain I didn't know this was going to happen. Not really. I mean I might not have told you the entire truth. But I never lied, I never lied Dean. That's important. It's fundamental. But, there is one story about Cain that I might have forgotten to tell you. Apparently he too was willing to accept death rather than becoming the killer the Mark wanted him to be. So he took his own life with the Blade. He died. Except as rumor has it, the Mark never quite let go. You can understand why I never spoke of this. Why set hearts aflutter with mere speculation? It wasn't until you summoned me, no it wasn't truly 'til you left the cheeseburger uneaten... and I began to let myself believe, maybe miracles do come true. Listen to me Dean Winchester, what you're feeling right now is not death, it's life. A new kind of life. Open your eyes Dean, see what I see, feel what I feel. Let's go take a howl at that moon.

Trivia & References

"Do You Believe in Miracles?" is a reference to the song of the same name by the 1960s English rock band Slade.
Metatron: This is a story, Neil, a marvelous story. Full of love, and heartbreak, and love.

Neil: Sort of like The Notebook. I love The Notebook.

The Notebook is a 2004 romance movie which was based on a popular Nicholas Sparks book of the same name.
Neil: Why do you want to look pathetic? You just reunited all the angels under the banner of Heaven, that's like...

Metatron: Winning a People's Choice Award. Not quite the real deal, now is it?

The People's Choice Awards is a TV, movie and music awards show that is based on a popular vote. Supernatural has won a number of a PCA awards over the years, with fans voting many thousands of times.
Neil: More reverb?

Metatron: Because I'm Lou Gehrig?

Lou Gehrig was a famous early-20th-Century baseball player. When he was forced to retire at 36 due to ALS, he made a speech known as "The Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth" at the original Yankees stadium. It had a lot of reverb. Listen here.
Crowley: Luv, if I wanted to soapy massage from Dr. Phil I would've hit three on the speed dial.
Dr. Phil is a television self-help guru.
Crowley: I kicked human blood, you know.

Dean: Oh, so you're full-metal douche again?

A reference to the 1987 film Full Metal Jacket.
Dean: Game of Thrones is complicated. Shower sex, that's complicated. Hell ain't complicated. Your problem ain't Hell, it's you.
Game of Thrones is a TV series based on the the epic fantasy book series titled A Song of Ice and Fire by author George R.R. Martin. It has a cast of many dozens of characters, even though many of them die on a regular basis.
Gadreel: So you said you had a plan, how we might convince them to let us pass.

Castiel: Wookie. [holds up handcuffs]
Gadreel: Brother, I have no idea what that means.
Castiel: It's a reference to a very popular film that... Never mind.

In Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Chewbacca the Wookie pretends to be Han Solo's prisoner so they can get into the prison block on the Death Star where Princess Leia is being held.
Sam: I just thought you might like to know while you two have been playing, uh, Odd Couple. Your real friends, like Cas, like the angel you stabbed - Gadreel. They're out there right now risking their asses to help you win this fight.
The Odd Couple was a popular '70s TV series based on the Neil Simon play of the same name. It featured two divorced men who are very different in character who share an apartment.
Metatron: They love me. They really, really love me.
A possible reference to Sally Field's 1985 Oscar acceptance speech whose line "You like me. Right now, you like me." has been widely parodied. Watch the acceptance speech here.
Metatron: But most people -- even the real belly crawlers living in filth... or Brentwood. They don't want to be cynical. They just want something to believe in.
Brentwood in LA is a wealthy neighborhood which is home to many celebrities. Jensen lived in Brentwood at the time the episode was filmed.
Dean: You are nothing but Bernie Madoff with wings.
Bernie Madoff was a former American stockbroker, famously convicted for his fraudulent practices involving stealing other people's money through Ponzi schemes.
Dean: I'm blaming you for Kevin. I'm blaming you for taking Cas' grace. Hell, I'm blaming you for the Cubs not winning the world series in the last hundred freakin' years. Whatever it is, I'm blaming you.
The Cubs are a baseball team based in Chicago. At the time this episode aired, the Cubs had not won the World Series in 105 years, the longest championship drought of any major North American professional sports team.
Metatron: Well here's a newsflash, Humpty and Dumpty are starring in their very own version of Locked Up Abroad: Heaven, right now.
Humpty Dumpty is a well-known nursery rhyme.
Locked Up Abroad, also known as Banged Up Abroad, is a British docudrama series that features stories of people who have been arrested while travelling abroad.
Metatron: They will do nothing, because they are frightened little sheep, following my crook wherever it leads.
A crook is large staff typically carried by shepherds that is used for balance, defense, and recovering fallen animals. It has also become a religious symbol used by Bishops in various sects of Christianity.

Minutiae

The pub Crowley and Dean eat in is called Brownsville Pub.
The newspaper Asariel is reading whilst guarding the Playground is called the Arkansas Observer. This suggests the Playground portal to Heaven is located somewhere in Arkansas.
At Jus In Bello Italy 2014, Jared allegedly confirmed that Sam was lying in 9.13 The Purge when he said he wouldn't save Dean from dying. So, he changed a line in this episode from "I didn't know this was going to happen" to "I lied".source

The original line in the production draft script was:

"I was okay with it. Before I knew you were actually gonna die."

Sides, Scripts & Transcripts

Promotion

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