12.06 Celebrating the Life of Asa Fox
Title | Celebrating the Life of Asa Fox |
Episode # | Season 12, Episode 6 |
First aired | November 17, 2016 |
Directed by | John Badham |
Written by | Steve Yockey |
On IMDB | Celebrating the Life of Asa Fox |
Outline | Sam, Dean, Mary and Jody must take action when a demon begins picking off mourners at the wake of recently fallen hunter, Asa Fox. |
Monster | Jael |
Timeline | |
Location(s) | Emerson, Manitoba, Canada Sioux Falls, South Dakota |
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Contents
Synopsis
Emerson, Manitoba, 1980. A young man runs through the woods, he knows his life is in dangers but there is no way to stop. Trapped up against a tree by a werewolf, he is sliced across the cheek and just when he thinks he’s dead, a shot rings out. Mary Winchester drives the boy home, who finally reveals his name is Asa Fox after the silent car ride, Mary tells he’s going to be fine, but Asa just wants to know what was that thing was. She explains that it was a werewolf, something she had been tracking for a long time. But she tries to explain that she’s retired but Asa wants to know if she does, who is going to save people like him. She straightens out the boy’s hair and as she turns away, Asa snaps a picture.
Hunting things becomes his obsession. As he grows, he learns the ropes, becoming adapt as everything supernatural, but with each hunt, Asa makes sure that Mary knows just what he’s doing, even if it’s just on a postcard. Running through the woods, chasing after something, Asa falls into a trap, one that leaves him hanging from a tree, dead.
In Sioux Falls, Jody, on her day off is about to enjoy some Netflix and pizza, when Sam and Dean drop in, telling Jody they just finished a hunt and figured they would stop by to see her, Claire and Alex. Jody notes how smelly they are while they make themselves at home and Dean gladly announces his last triumph of killing Hitler. While eating pizza, Dean questions Jody why should would be watching a chick flick, and asks if she is a romcom chick, Jody quickly shoots back if he is one. Sam interjects and tells Jody of Dean's predilection for "animated Japanese erotica" much to Dean's embarrassment and Jody's delight. Before the conversation could go deeper, Jody gets a phone call. Jody returns to the living room in tears.
Following her to the room, they find that a friend, Asa Fox, has passed and Jody tells them the history of her relationship with Asa. The boys acknowledge that they have heard stories of him from Ellen at the Roadhouse, about how he supposedly killed five wendigos in one night. Sam and Dean offer to take the trip with her to make sure she’s good, telling her they never go to hunter's gatherings due to John believing they are trouble. Jody agrees, but tells them they need to shower first if they are going to be spending five hours in the Impala together.
They enter Canada, pulling up to a house that is filled with multiple cars and "Man in the Box" by Alice in Chains blaring from the house. As they enter, Jody is greeted by Asa’s mother Lorraine Fox, who hugs her tightly. Dean makes his way to the kitchen and grabs a beer, finding out from the hunters there that the Winchesters are now the “celebrities” of the day.
Sam finds himself with a set of twins, who were raised by a witch before being “fan-girled” by a man named Elvis Katz, who questions him about a Lucifer, bringing the twins to Sam’s defense. Sam, a little taken aback by the questions, leaves to grab a beer, hoping to get away from the twenty questions. Finding Dean in Asa’s room, they are surprised to see a real angel blade, and Sam is still a little shocked that people tells stories about them. Dean reminds him that they’re not in the long life business. With that, people begin to leave and Bucky Sims begins to tell stories. The boys find out that Jody and Asa knew each other more intimately than they thought. As Randy Bull goes to get more beer, his throat is suddenly slit in the hall on his way back.
Mary, having heard of Asa's death, arrives late to the wake and is introduced to Jody by Sam and Dean for the first time and is overwhelmed but she steps out of the room to let Mary and the boys have a small chat. Mary lets them know she’s been all over and using John’s journal to help navigate around. Dean seems a little snippy about the fact that she could have just asked. Mary lets the boys know that she knew Asa, and had hoped that he was alive, which sets Dean on edge and he decides he needs air, but Jody gives Dean a little bit of advice.
Lorraine and Mary exchange some words in the kitchen over the fact that Mary was the reason that Asa began hunting in the first place. Sam finds Mary and she hands him the stack of postcards before she takes on the burden that she is the reason he lived this life, and why he died. Sam reassures her that he gets it, and that Dean needs space, but they will be fine but hunting is in their blood. Saying good-bye to Asa, Sam and Mary find Randy's body roped to the ceiling, they tell the others who decide they all need to leave, as they are dealing with a crossraods demon names Jael that Asa had made an enemy of. As they try to exit the front door, they find that it has been warded and are trapped in the house.
Outside, Billie approaches Dean and tells him that she was inside reaping a soul. Dean pleads with Billie to get him inside the house, as Bucky explains exactly what went on between Jael and Asa. They soon find that Alicia was possessed, but now it is free, breaking off into teams, they try to find the demon. Dean makes a deal with Billie to get in, but once inside he finds that Elvis is now possessed. Battling Elvis, Dean learns that Hell is in turmoil. As Dean prepared to exorcise Jael, the demon kills Elvis, snapping his neck 180 degrees around before leaving his body. As the remaining hunters try to set a trap for Jael, Mary grabs the angel blade from Asa's room. Jody tries to convince Sam and Dean that Mary is the demon, but Sam and Dean realize that Jody is not acting like herself and is the one that is possessed.
Mary tries to stab Jody with the blade, but Jael proves stronger, and sends everyone to the ground with a simple gesture. Jael then goes about taunting the group. First Sam with Lucifer, then revealing the twins are actually Asa’s children, and how Lorraine would try to sabotage Asa jeep and supplies in hopes of keeping him from hunting, finally telling everyone that Jody really cared for him. When Bucky tries to attack Jael, the demon forces him to admit that he was the one that killed Asa. Dean begins the exorcism rite, and when Jael knocks him down, Sam continues it, until as a group, they finally banish Jael.
With Jael gone, Bucky confesses that he wanted Asa to go back to retrieve his angel blade, but Asa was stubborn and wouldn’t listen to him, when Asa shoved him, Bucky shoved back, knocking Asa to the ground where he hit his head on a rock and died instantly. Out of fear, Bucky hung him up to cover up what had really happened, hoping people would believe Jael killed Asa. When Bucky asks what they are going to do to him, the group decides that his punishment will be that they are going to tell every hunter what he had done, shun him from the life.
As morning breaks, everyone gathers the around the fire, to pay tribute to Asa, Randy and Elvis. Lorraine smiles, telling Mary that Asa actually did have a family, and that she has grandchildren. Jody lets Mary know that Sam and Dean were the best men she knew but Mary lets her know that the boys weren’t the problem, she was. Sam and Dean approach Mary when Billie steps in, offering to take Mary’s soul back to Heaven, but Mary turns it down, telling Billie she’s just going to have to wait. Billie appears annoyed, but understands and tells Mary that if she ever changes her mind, if any of the Winchesters change their mind; then they can call out to her to accept her offer before she departs. Mary explains that she needs a little more time before coming home and Sam and Dean offer breakfast at least before they part ways.
Characters
- Sam Winchester
- Dean Winchester
- Mary Winchester
- Sheriff Jody Mills
- Billie
- Bucky Sims
- Elvis Katz
- Alicia Banes
- Max Banes
- Jael
- Lorraine Fox
- Asa Fox
Definitions
- Alcohol
- Angel Blade
- Crossroads Demon
- Demon Smoke
- Devil's Trap
- Exorcism
- Good Talk
- Hunters
- Hunter's Funeral Pyre
- John's Journal
- Monsters
- Porn
- Reapers
- Ruby's Knife
- Salt
- Sammy
- Silver
- Sulfur
- Table of Death
- Vengeful Spirits
- Warding Sigils
- Werewolves
Music
- "Roll on Down the Highway" by Bachman-Turner Overdrive
- (plays over the montage of Asa Fox becoming a hunter)
- "Man in the Box" by Alice in Chains
- (plays from Asa Fox's family home during his wake)
Quotes
Jody: ...Thank you?
Sam: Did you know people tell stories about us?
Dean: Yeah. Yeah, apparently we're a little bit legendary.Mary: All over. I went back to Lawrence for a few days, and used John's journal to retrace a few things.
Dean: Swell.
Jael: Please. It's a trainwreck down there. No Lucifer, no Crowley. It's messy.
Mary: I know. They're not the problem.
Dean: Well, she's not alone.
Billie: Tell me I'm wrong. I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to offer you mercy. A one-way ticket upstairs, away from all of this.
Mary: How would it work?
Sam: Mom?
Mary: You just kill me again?
Billie: Reapers don't kill people. Rules.
Mary: Well... then... Then I guess you're just gonna have to wait.
Trivia & References
Jody: Aw, that's fun. Unfortunately, the girls are in Omaha for the weekend, being angsty at a Radiohead concert. But I can feed you.
Jody: Well, Dean, I'm a chick.
Dean: No. No, no, you're -- you're a badass sheriff chick. You're not a-a romcom chick. Wait, are you a romcom chick?
Jody: Are you?
Sam: He's more of a, uh... animated Japanese erotica chick.
- FBI Agent Fox Mulder was one of the main characters on the TV show The X-Files. He and his partner Dana Scully hunted aliens among other supernatural and paranormal cases.
Max: Yup. She was, like, a good witch. Very Enya. It was the '90s.
- Enya is an Irish musician who was hugely popular in the '90s with her Celtic/new age music.
- To "huff and puff" is a reference to the tale of the Three Little Pigs, and the effort the wolf puts in to destroy their house.
- A take on the phrase "Elvis has left the building" originally used to disperse the audience at an Elvis concert that hoped for an encore.
Sam: Standard pentagram. Nothing fancy.
Max: I like a Fifth Pentacle of Mars. It's got more character.
- The "Fifth Pentacle of Mars" is one of the magic pentacles in the Greater Key of Solomon, used for protection against demons. Specifically it is used to force a demon to submit to the possessor of the pentacle.
Minutiae
Dean: Yeah. It, uh, didn't take.
- Dean has in fact been dead or assumed dead four times in the series. First when he was killed by a hellhound in 3.16 No Rest for the Wicked, second was being shot by Walt and Roy alongside Sam in 5.16 Dark Side of the Moon, he was assumed dead by Sam after being sucked into Purgatory at the end of 7.23 Survival of the Fittest and being stabbed and killed by Metatron in 9.23 Do You Believe in Miracles?.
Sides, Scripts & Transcripts
Promotion
- Synopsis and Promo Pics via KSiteTV
- Promo
- Sneak Peek