11.10 The Devil in the Details

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SPN-1110.jpg
Title The Devil in the Details
Episode # Season 11, Episode 10
First aired January 20, 2016
Directed by Thomas J. Wright
Written by Andrew Dabb
On IMDB The Devil in the Details
Outline With Sam at the mercy of Lucifer, Dean ventures down to Hell to save him. Meanwhile, Castiel looks into the fallout of the massive angel smiting that hit Amara.
Monster Lucifer
Amara
Timeline Immediately after 11.09 O Brother Where Art Thou?
Location(s) Hell
Lebanon, Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas
Kermit, Texas
Kenesaw, Nebraska
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Synopsis

Rowena is having a dream in which Crowley is an overgrown kid dressed in footie pajamas searching under a Christmas tree for his presents. He opens one and exclaims "Mum! Mum! I got a Sam!" while showing her a Funko POP! Vinyl Sam action figure. Lucifer, dressed as Santa Claus, walks in the door and proceeds to stab Crowley with a giant sharpened candy cane. Rowena, wearing reindeer antlers and a blinking red nose, says to Lucifer/Santa, "I’ve been having this dream for months but you, you’re new."

Sam is in the holding cell telling Lucifer that he understands his plan to torture him until he says yes to being Lucifer’s vessel. Lucifer indicates that Rowena was in on the plan to free him from the Cage. He also tells Sam that he has no intention of harming him. He tells Sam the he needs him. Pressing a hand to Sam’s head, he brings them through various memories in Sam’s life, starting with Sam kissing a girl over homework in high school. Lucifer tells Sam how strong and decisive he was in that moment. The next memory is Sam jumping into the Cage with Michael. Lucifer commends Sam for how he was willing to sacrifice himself then, but now he has gone soft. Next, they are watching Sam sitting outside on deck steps with Amelia. Lucifer says that this is the moment where everything changed for Sam. He says that Sam is so overcome with guilt for not looking for Dean when he was in Purgatory that he will do anything to make up for it and save Dean, at any cost, even sacrificing the world. He tells Sam that, to defeat the Darkness, he has to be prepared to die and to watch the people around him die and that Sam is not strong enough to win this.

As Sam and Lucifer are "reminiscing," Crowley confronts Rowena about her part in Lucifer’s return. She says that Lucifer came to her in a dream and that, when he defeats the Darkness, he will retake his throne with Rowena by his side.

Dean is driving down the road towards the site where the angel smiting took place to see if Amara is dead. On the way, he calls Sam and Crowley but only gets their voicemails. As he gets closer to the site, he gets dizzy, pulls over and throws up. Cas shows up and tells Dean he has Smiting Sickness and cannot go to the site as the symptoms will become worse and will lead to death. Castiel goes in alone, as angels are not affected, while Dean goes to check on Sam. As he walks through the Bunker calling out for Sam, Crowley calls Dean and tells him that Sam is in Hell.

While Castiel is in the forest looking for Amara, he runs into Ambriel, a female, accountant-type angel who was sent from Heaven to confirm that the Darkness has been defeated. It is the middle of the day and yet it is as dark as night in the forest. As they’re walking, Ambriel says that she and Castiel are alike, that they are both expendable. "You help," she says, "but Sam and Dean Winchester are the real heroes." Castiel and Ambriel separate in the forest. Ambriel comes across Amara’s body lying on the ground. When Castiel catches up, Amara is sucking the grace from Ambriel into herself. Ambriel falls to the ground and Amara absorbs all the dark from the forest, making it light again. Castiel tries to kill her with his angel blade, but is easily overwhelmed. Meanwhile, Amara is insulting him, telling him she can smell "fear and self-loathing" on him and that she has no idea why God took an interest in him. She says she has a job for him and puts her hand to his chest, and he disappears in a flash of bright light. Amara then appears to become weak, and stumble.

Dean is going to Hell to find Sam. To get in, he has to pass Billie the reaper, who hands him a box to bring to Crowley. When Dean meets up with him in Hell, Crowley tells Dean that Lucifer needs Sam, so he won’t kill him and that he and Dean need Rowena to put Lucifer back in the cage. At this point, they open the box and it is revealed to contain a witchcatcher that will make Rowena do whatever she is asked to while she wears it. They put it on her and make her prepare a spell to send Lucifer back to the cage. She tells them that if Sam says yes, if Lucifer finds a vessel before the spell is finished, he can’t be put back in the cage; he will be tied to Earth. Castiel stumbles into the room and tells them that Amara is alive and sends a message: the words "I AM COMING" burned into his chest.

In the holding cell, Lucifer is trying to get Sam to say "yes" to being his vessel. Sam continually says no. He tells Lucifer that whether Lucifer or Amara wins, everyone else loses. He says he has faith in his friends and his family to figure out what to do, but he will not be Lucifer’s "bitch." Lucifer has had enough talking and punches Sam. Hearing Sam yell out, Dean and Cas run into the room with the cell. Lucifer snaps his fingers and they are all in the cell. Castiel attacks Lucifer with his angel blade while Dean tends to Sam. Lucifer grabs onto Castiel and tells him that he is the only one that can defeat the Darkness and that Castiel knows it. Meanwhile, Sam tells Dean that they can’t win and Dean says "We don’t have to, we only have to last a few minutes," giving Rowena time to finish the spell. The fight in the cell continues with Sam and Dean taking a beating from Lucifer. Lucifer grabs Dean around the throat and pushes him up against the bars of the cell. He tells Sam to say "yes", or Dean will die. Castiel attacks Lucifer and pulls him off Dean. Lucifer punches Castiel several times and prepares to deliver a crushing blow, saying to Castiel "any last words?" Meanwhile, Rowena goes through the last part of the spell. She claps her hands together and a bright, white light envelops the cell. When it clears, Lucifer is gone from the cell and Castiel’s eyes appear strange.

Sam, Dean and Castiel leave Hell. They offer Castiel a ride, but he declines. Dean asks Sam if he is ok and he replies "not even a little bit". Sam worries that Lucifer might be right, about being the only way to defeat the Darkness, but Dean shrugs him off, saying that having both Lucifer and the Darkness on earth would be "a nightmare".

Back in Hell, Crowley asks Rowena why she hates him. As she is telling him that loving him would make her weak, Castiel comes back. When Crowley calls him by name, Castiel, with an odd smirk on his face, says "Guess again" and there is a flashback to when Lucifer was beating him in the cell. When Lucifer asks him for last words, Castiel asks "Can you really beat her?" Lucifer answers "yes" and Castiel says "then yes" and the bright light appears. Crowley and Rowena now realize that Castiel is Lucifer’s vessel. Crowley tries to escape and Lucifer throws him against a wall. Lucifer then tells Rowena that she deserves a reward for freeing him. As he takes off the collar and leans in to kiss her, he asks if anyone else can open the cage. Rowena says "only me", and Lucifer snaps her neck. He then walks over to Crowley and says "Let’s talk."

Characters

Definitions

Music

  • "Changing Tracks" by Wishbone Ash
(plays during "The Road So Far" recap of events)
  • "Has Anybody Seen Kris Kringle" by Hal David & John Cacavas
(playing during Rowena's Christmas nightmare)
  • "Gwine to Run All Night, or De Camptown Races"
(the password Dean has to sing to meet with the reaper Billie; also featured in 9.15 #thinman)
  • "Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel" by Tavares
(playing during Lucifer's fight with Dean and Castiel, for "ambiance")

Quotes

Sam: You'll taunt me, and you'll torture me, and I'll say 'no.' And eventually, sooner than you think, my brother is gonna walk through that door and kick your ass.

Lucifer: Hahaha, Dean? You're betting on Dean?

Sam: I always have.
Crowley: How long have you been working for him?

Rowena: Not long, Lucifer came to me in a dream... not that kind of dream.

Crowley: So you're just gonna let the big strong man boss you around? Whatever happened to the super-duper awesome coven #girlpower?
Dean: (Sam's voicemail) Hey, Sam can't talk right now 'cause he's waxing, like everything. But leave a message and-

Sam: (Sam's voicemail) Dude, what are you doing with my phone? Dean. Come on.
Dean: Call me, now.

Crowley: Thank you for phoning Crowley, King of Hell. For demon deals, press one. To report a sighting of that ginger whore, Rowena, press two.
Castiel: Hey, assbutt!
Lucifer: 'Assbutt,' I-I-I still don't get that.
Lucifer: Sam have I ever told you how much I appreciate you?

Sam: What?

Lucifer: Oh, don't get me wrong, I don't like you. I never liked you. You're-you're sort of prissy
Castiel: I never wanted this, you know. To be hated by my own kind, I never-

Ambriel: Oh no, I don't hate you, Castiel.
Castiel: Thank you.
Ambriel: I mean, we have a lot in common. Our names rhyme, that's a big one. I look good in a trench coat too, and we're both expendable.
Castiel: Excuse me?

Ambriel: Well, that's why we're here, right? I'm a number cruncher and you-you like I said, I've heard the stories. You help. But Sam and Dean Winchester are the real heroes. So if the Darkness is still alive and she's pissed and she kills us, no big loss. So sure, maybe we're not super important, but we do the job. I think there's nobility in that.
Castiel: You think I'm afraid to die?
Amara: I know you are, you reek of fear and self loathing. Oh, scary. She's right you know, you are expendable and weak. And why God took a special interest in you, I'll never understand. My brother always did have horrible taste in men.
Lucifer: Okay, you don't like me. I get it, sometimes I don't like me either, but Gabriel and Raphael are dead, God went out for a pack of smokes and never came back and Michael... Well, let's just say prison life hasn't really agreed with Michael. These days he's usually sitting in a corner singing show tunes and touching himself.

Sam: So you're it.
Lucifer: Heh-heh, I'm it! And hey, I'm not the good guy, we both know I'm not, but the Darkness, she's the end of everything. But I can beat her, we can beat her. You and me, together. So come on, Sam. Make the right choice, the big sacrifice one more time, man. Sam, it's time to save the world, man.

Sam: No. No.
Sam: Wrong. Then you go about starting the Apocalypse again, because you're an old dog and that's your trick.

Lucifer: Okay, first off you don't know that. Second, even if I did, that's better than what she has planned.

Sam: Is it? Really? 'Cause this is what I think, I think that whoever wins -- you or the Darkness -- everyone else loses. So no. My answer is no. This isn't because of Dean, or the past, this is about me having faith in my friends, having faith in my family. We will find a way. I'm ready to die and I'm ready to watch people I love die, but I'm not ready to be your bitch.
Crowley: Mother, why do you hate me?
Rowena: I hate you, because when I look into your eyes I see the woman I used to be, before magic, before the coven. When I was nothing but Rowena, the tanner's daughter. A pale, scared little girl, who smelled of filth and death. I hate you, because when you were born, your father said he loved me. Then he went back to his grand wife and his grand house, whilst I lay pathetic and half dead on a straw mat, my thighs slick with blood. I hate you, because if I didn't, I'd love you. But love, love is weakness. And I'll never be weak again.

Trivia & References

"The Devil in the Details" refers to the idiom the devil is in the detail.
The gift Crowley opens on Christmas morning is a Funko POP! vinyl figure of Sam Winchester.
Rowena: Why do you think I let your droogs find me?
Refers to the Nadsat word "droog" which means "friend", from Anthony Burgess's novel A Clockwork Orange.
Castiel: The last time there was a smiting of this magnitude, Lot’s wife turned to salt.
A reference to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah when Lot's wife was turned into a pillar of salt. It also hints that Lot's Crystal, which was used by Balthazar against Raphael in 6.03 The Third Man, was made as a result of an angel smiting.
Dean: You son of a bitch.

Crowley: Miss you too, puddin'.

In the DC Comics Universe, puddin' is Harley Quinn's pet name for the Joker.
Billie: Nice work, Bieber.
A reference to pop star Justin Bieber.
Billie: For the limey.
Limey is slang - usually derogatory - for a British person.
Lucifer: Hey, snappin' necks and cashin' checks is what I do.
"Snappin' necks and cashin' checks" is a quote from the movie Step Brothers said by Brennan Huff, who is played by actor Will Ferrell.
The comic Billie is seen reading before Castiel pops into the room is Death: The Time of Your Life by Neil Gaiman.
Crowley: Hop on one foot.

Rowena: Please, Fergus. I don't know what kind of Oedipal Fifty Shades you think you're playing at but if you think for a second...

Reference to the Oedipus complex, a Freudian hypothesis that suggests young males have a subconscious attraction to their mothers.
Also a reference to the romance novel Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James, about the relationship between protagonists Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey, who practice BDSM, which involves dominance and submission.
Sam: Let's say you gank her, then what?

Lucifer: I move to LA. Solve crimes.

Lucifer moving to Los Angeles and solving crimes is a reference to the premise of the show Lucifer—based on the comic Lucifer by Mike Carey, which was spun off from Lucifer's appearance in Neil Gaiman's Sandman comic. Lucifer filmed on the same studio lot as Supernatural and also starred Aimee Garcia, who portrayed Nancy Fitzgerald in 3.12 Jus in Bello. Richard Speight would also go on to direct two epsiodes of the series.

Minutiae

Sam's voicemail message has been recorded by Dean:
Dean: "Sam can't come to the phone right now because he's waxing...like everything."
Sam: "What are you doing with my phone? Dean! Come on!"

On his voicemail, Crowley says,

"Thank you for phoning Crowley, King of Hell. For demon deals, press 1. To report a sighting of that ginger whore Rowena, press 2."

Sides, Scripts & Transcripts

Promotion

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