12.22 Who We Are

Title	Who We Are
Episode #	Season 12, Episode 22
First aired	May 18, 2017
Directed by	John F. Showalter
Written by	Robert Berens
On IMDB	Who We Are
Outline	With the British Men of Letters continuing their attack on American hunters, Sam leads a group in a last stand against the Brits. Meanwhile, Dean attempts to reach Mary and break her brainwashing with the aid of Lady Bevell.
Monster	British Men of Letters
Timeline	Immediately following and two days after 12.21 There's Something About Mary.
Location(s)	Lebanon, Kansas Sioux Falls, South Dakota
[[{{{prevep}}}|« Previous Episode]] | [[{{{nextep}}}|Next Episode »]]

Characters

• Sam Winchester
• Dean Winchester
• Mary Winchester
• Sheriff Jody Mills
• Alex Jones
• Mr. Ketch
• Lady Antonia Bevell
• Dr. Hess
• Walt and Roy

Definitions

• Alcohol
• Bitch/Jerk
• British Men of Letters
• Grenade Launcher
• Hugs
• Hunters
• Impala
• Kick it in the ass!
• Men of Letters Bunker
• Sammy
• Single Perfect Tear
• Spells
• Table of Death
• Unconscious

Music

None

Quotes

Dean: You know, it wasn't long ago, I thought we had it made. We saved the world. We got Cas back. We had Mom back. I mean, it wasn't perfect, but still, we had 'em. And now...

Sam: Now they're all gone. And Mom, what they did to her... I just fell for their company line. Man, I... I saw what they were doing and I-and I thought, hunters on that scale, working together... how much good we can do. And once I was in, I... I just followed. 'Cause it was easy. Easier.
Dean: Easier than what?

Sam: Easier than leading.

Dean: Yep. Big, beautiful, and dumb. I've had this thing for so long. Been waiting for the perfect moment to use it.

Lady Bevell: You're lunatics. Action movie-loving, cheeseburger-eating, moronic American lunatics.

Sam: Of course. Yeah. Um, so my -- my brother and I we -- we um... No, you know what? I called you here because people... um, our people are being slaughtered. And we're next. The British Men of Letters, they came here because they thought they could do our job better than we could. And they hooked us with their flashy gear and their tech. Most of you had the good sense to turn 'em down. I didn't. They said they wanted the same thing we wanted, you know? A world free of monsters. That's not what they really wanted. They want control. They want to live in a world where they can sit in some office and decide who gets to live and who gets to die. And they've killed people. They've killed innocent people just because they got in the way. They think the ends justify the means. But we know better. We know hunting isn't just about killing. It's about doing what's right, even when it's hard. So we go by our gut, right? We play by our own rules, and that scares them. That's why they want us dead, 'cause we're the one thing they can't control.

Roy: So what do you want from us?

Sam: I want you to follow me. Take the fight to them. To hit them before they hit us. We go in fast and hard and we fight and we beat them down until they give up or until they're dead. Look, they're well-trained and well-armed. Some of us might not make it back. But we will win. We will take down the bad guys because that's what we do. They're scared of us. Yeah. Good. They should be.

Dean: Oh, no. I'm not goin'.

Sam: What?
Dean: No, my leg busted up the way it is, I'm no good in a fight.
Sam: I-I'll take a jacked up Dean Winchester over any ten other hunters any day.
Dean: Yeah. I saw you. You're ready for this. You show those sons of bitches who's boss.
Sam: What about you? What are you gonna do?

Dean: I'm gonna save Mom. Look, if she's in there, if our real Mom is in there somewhere, then I'm gonna try and find her, bring her back.

Dean: You come back.

Sam: Promise.
Dean: Bitch.

Sam: Jerk.

Dean: I hate you. You lied to me. I was a kid. You promised you'd keep me safe. And then you make a deal with Azazel. Yeah, it saved Dad's life, but I'll tell you something else that happened. Because on November 2, 1983, old Yellow Eyes came waltzing in to Sammy's room because of your deal. You left us. Alone. 'Cause Dad was just a shell. His perfect wife? Gone. Our perfect Mom, the perfect family... was gone. And I... I had to be... more than just a brother. I had to be a father and I had to be a mother, to keep him safe. And that wasn't fair. And I couldn't do it. And you wanna know what that was like? They killed the girl that he loved. He got possessed by Lucifer. They tortured him in Hell. And he lost his soul. His soul. All because of you. All of it was because of you. I hate you. I hate you. And I love you. 'Cause I can't-- I can't help it. You're my Mom. And I understand... 'Ccause I have made deals to save the ones I love, more than once. I forgive you. I forgive you. For all of it. Everything. On the other side of this, we can start over, okay? You, me, Sam. We can get it right this time. But I need you to fight. Right now, I need you to fight. I need you-I need you to look at me, Mom. I need you to really look at me and see me. Mom, I need you to see me. Please.

Mr. Ketch: Mary. Ah. I... I knew you were a killer. You both are.
Dean: You're right.

Dr. Hess: Lucifer is back. Yes, Sam. All thanks to your good friend Crowley. Not that it did him much good. Crowley's dead. And the Devil is out looking for his son, following in its mother's footsteps, tracking her and your friend the angel. If Lucifer gets his hands on that child, they'll be unstoppable. You can't face that alone. You need us.

BMOL Elder: Listen to her, boy.

Sam: Pass.

Mary: It's not okay. Since I've been back, I know... I've been distant. Cold, even. Leaving you, working with them.. I was trying to make things right. Just from a distance, because.. being here with you was too hard. Seeing what I'd done to you and to Sam, I...

Dean: Mom, what you did, the deal... everything that's happened since has made us who we are. And who we are? We kick ass. We save the world.
Mary: And Sam? I'm scared. What... What if he can't forgive me.

Sam: Mom. You don't have to be scared of me.

Trivia & References

Sam: So wait a second. We're just gonna...

Dean: Straight Shawshank this bitch.

Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption is a Stephen King novella (and later movie) in which prisoner Andy Dufresne slowly chips a hole in his prison cell in the Shawshank prison over many years.

Sam: Is this how you pictured it? The end?

Dean: Oh, you know it's not. I always thought we'd go out like... Butch and Sundance style.
Sam: Yeah. Blaze of glory.
Dean: Blaze of glory.

Referencing Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, where in the film, Butch and Sundance charged headlong, guns blazing towards the Bolivian army. Jensen and Jared have also spoken about their desire to possibly end the series with Sam and Dean dying in a "blaze of glory" at conventions.

"Blaze of Glory" is also a song by Bon Jovi that was referenced before in 11.11 Into the Mystic.

Dean: Okay, beautiful. Yippee ki-yay mother-

Yippee ki-yay motherfucker is the catch phrase of John McClane (played by Bruce Willis) in the Die Hard movies. Dean also uses this line in 6.18 Frontierland after killing Elias Finch with the Colt.

Alex: And Jody--

Jody: I'll be careful. I promise.
Alex: Not what I was gonna ask. Kick it in the ass!

Kick it in the ass! was the catch phrase of Supernatural producer and director Kim Manners, who died in January 2009. Kim Rhodes said it was suggested to insert the phrase by her driver Ted.

In the episode, Dr. Hess calls Sam "Dean" by mistake, and Sam corrects her. This could have been a nod to Gilmore Girls (2000), where Jared Padalecki plays a character named Dean.

Minutiae

Nels Lennarson, who played Walt, also played the Bartender in 10.12 About a Boy.

This is the first Supernatural episode where a Winchester directly says he loves a family member, with Dean telling Mary he loves her.

Sides, Scripts & Transcripts

• 12.22 Who We Are (transcript)

Promotion

• Synopsis
• Promo