13.18 Bring 'em Back Alive
Title | Bring 'em Back Alive |
Episode # | Season 13, Episode 18 |
First aired | April 12, 2018 |
Directed by | Amyn Kaderali |
Written by | Brad Buckner Eugenie Ross-Leming |
On IMDB | Bring 'em Back Alive |
Outline | As Dean and Ketch traverse Apocalypse World in search of Mary and Jack, Dean comes across a familiar face in need of help. Meanwhile, Sam and Castiel try to understand how Gabriel is still alive. |
Monster | Asmodeus |
Timeline | Immediately after 13.17 The Thing |
Location(s) | Apocalypse World Lebanon, Kansas Heaven Fall River, Massachusetts |
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Contents
Synopsis
13.18 Bring ‘em Back Alive
In the Apocalypse World, Dean and Ketch land in a snowy forest. Dean expects Ketch to go his separate way but Ketch offers to help Dean find Jack and Mary.
A group of angels and hooded prisoners walk across a bridge. The commanding angel says the humans have fomented rebellion and committed crimes against the Archangel Michael. The hoods are removed and each prisoner is smited, as Dean and Ketch watch on. The last prisoner is revealed to be Charlie Bradbury. Dean is stunned. The commanding angel stops the execution when he realizes Charlie is in the resistance inner circle and has met with Jack and Mary. The commanding angel thinks that Michael will want to interrogate her at the Northern Camp and the angels vanish with Charlie.
At the Bunker, Sam brings Cas up to speed. They enter a dark room where Gabriel is crouched in a corner. Sam and Cas talk to Gabriel but he doesn’t respond. They attempt to give Gabriel some of his grace but he refuses and whimpers away.
In Heaven, Lucifer sits on the floor playing solitaire. Sister Jo walks in. Lucifer and Jo argue. Jo reminds Lucifer that they came to change things and help the angels. Duma enters the room to report that the few angels that they could spare have scoured the planet but have found nothing on Jack so far. Lucifer reminds her that this is a priority, but Duma objects that they don’t have the manpower. Lucifer complains that God would get better treatment from the angels. Jo tells Lucifer to start acting like God.
In Hell, Asmodeus rants about Ketch and Gabriel being off the radar. He says that he should be able to detect Gabriel because they are “blood brothers.”
Ketch questions Dean about Charlie. Dean says they need her because she’s seen Jack and Mary. An AW hunter comes out of nowhere and shoots Dean in the shoulder. Ketch and Dean subdue the hunter. The hunter tells them the Northern Camp is the silo, down the road four to five hours walk.
Cas enters Gabriel’s room and discovers Enochian writing now covering the walls. Cas says it’s Gabriel’s story, starting with Lucifer stabbing a fake Gabriel. This left Gabriel was free with no obligations and he moved to Monte Carlo and lived with porn stars. Asmodeus captured and tortured him and then he, the weakest of Hell’s princes, grew strong by feeding on Gabriel’s grace.
Lucifer is dressed in a snazzy black suit and begins to hear prayers. He quickly loses interest. An exorcism catches his attention and he appears in a room with a woman in chains and two priests. Lucifer talks to the woman who is being possessed by a demon named Anthony. Lucifer dismisses the demon. The priests call Lucifer a beast and a scourge of mankind. Lucifer complains that God made Lucifer a villain. Lucifer kills the priests.
As Dean and Ketch are walking, Ketch does not recognize the type of bullets the hunter was using, but Dean knows they are angel killing bullets. Suddenly, Dean collapses. Dean is running a fever and his shoulder wound is black and bubbly. Ketch makes an antidote for Dean’s wound. Ketch believes the hunter’s bullets were laced with a poison similar to one the Men of Letters use to disable and kill prey.
Cas uses his healing powers on Gabriel to jolt his mind into thinking straight, although his powers are not sufficient to heal an archangel. Sam talks to Gabriel about what he’s going through. Sam says he understands what it’s like to be nothing like your family and to leave them. Sam explains how he came back to his family because they needed him. Sam now believes this is what he was meant to do and this is how he makes the world a better place. Sam tells Gabriel that he is needed. Gabriel reacts to Sam’s words and his eyes glow blue. As gabriel's power returns, Asmodeus is able to sense and locate Gabriel.
Although somewhat recovered, Dean is exhausted. Ketch proposes they return home to regroup but Dean refuses to give up on Charlie. Dean reluctantly tells Ketch that Charlie was like family to him and Sam, she died, and Dean thinks he failed her. Ketch admits to many failures but says that perhaps recusing Charlie will help redeem him. They continue on. Meanwhile Charlie is being tortued and interrogated by an angel, but she refuses to tell them anything about the resistance.
As Gabriel takes back all of his grace that had been harvested from his, Sam gets a call from Asmodeus. Asmodeus demands Gabriel back or threatens to take Gabriel by force and reduce the Bunker to ashes.
Lucifer is angry and he tells Jo he is going to refocus and find his “bliss” in fatherhood. He and Jack will combine their powers and remake the world in Lucifer’s image. People will worship Lucifer. Jo questions his motivation and tells him to make good on his promises to fix Heaven by making angels and giving the existing angels their wings back. Lucifer admits that he can’t do either of those things. Jo has had enough and tells Lucifer he is a failure and should just go back to the cage. Lucifer chokes Sister Jo but lets her go. She declares she no longer supports him.
Charlie is chained to a pole for beheading. As the executioner swings his blade, Dean throws a grenade into the compound. Dean and Ketch begin shooting the angels, however the commanding angel escapes. Dean frees Charlie from the pole. After they escape,Dean explains where he and Ketch are from, and that there was a version of Charlie in his world. Charlie says the last she heard, Jack and Mary were fighting in what remains of Dayton, Ohio.
Asmodeus and his demons attack the Bunker. Asmodeus recaptures Gabriel. As Asmodeus starts to kill Cas and Sam, Gabriel gets loose and spreads his wings. He deflects an energy ball from Asmodeus and kills him.Cas and Sam tell Gabriel about the AW and the other Michael. They ask for his help. Gabriel thanks them for the rescue but refuses to help. Gabriel vanishes.
Dean, Ketch and Charlie approach the rift. The rift appears to be closing. Ketch declares he is going to stay in the AW, get intel on the angels, and find Mary and Jack. Charlie is also staying. Charlie and Ketch tell Dean to bring back whatever he can to bring down Michael. Angels appear. Dean goes through the rift as Ketch and Charlie shoot at them.
Dean arrives back in the Bunker. Sam wants to know where Mary and Jack are. Dean explains that they are not with Michael anymore and that Ketch and Charlie have stayed back to find them. Cas explains about the demon incursion led by Asmodeus and that Gabriel killed Asmodeus. Sam and Cas admit that when they asked Gabriel for help, he left. And they no longer have Gabriel’s grace. Dean is furious and frustrated. Dean shouts that he should never have come back since they can’t open the door again. He shouts that every time they get close, it falls apart. Cas assures him that they will find Gabriel.
Characters
- Sam Winchester
- Dean Winchester
- Castiel
- Lucifer
- Gabriel
- Arthur Ketch
- Asmodeus
- Sister Jo
- Dumah
- Charlie Bradbury (Apocalypse World)
Definitions
- Alternate Universe
- Apocalypse World
- Angel Blade
- Angel-Killing Bullets
- Angel Wings
- Archangel
- Demonology
- Demon Smoke
- Enochian
- Exorcism
- Grace
- Heaven
- Heaven's Throne Room
- Holy Water
- Holy Water in the Face
- Men of Letters Bunker
- Needham Asylum
- Possession
- Portal
- Princes of Hell
- Sabriel
- Smiting
- Son of a Bitch
- Table of Death
- Telekinesis
- Warding Sigils
Music
- "Easy Street" by Cosmopolitan Orchestera
- (playing as Lucifer prepares to listen to humanity's prayers in Heaven)
Quotes
Sam: Cas. Please.
Dean: You guys are such dicks.
Gabriel: Porn stars. They were porn stars, Sam.
Ketch: You feel you failed her.
Dean: I know I did.
Ketch: That, I understand.
Dean: Uh, hello. What about your story you're not telling me?
Ketch: Oh, I've had many failures... friends and colleagues who have died on my watch. Only difference is, I didn't... try to save them. 'Duty' and all that rubbish.
Dean: Well, you do suck.
Ketch: What the hell? Perhaps rescuing this Charlie will wash some of the stain off my hands.
Lucifer: No. No, I'm gonna refocus. I've come to realize the key to finding my bliss is fatherhood.
Jo: You?
Dean: Well, had.
Charlie: And you were friends with her? Me? Her?
Dean: Yes. Very.
Charlie: How very?
Dean: Well, she was into chicks.
Gabriel: Uh... yeah. Not so much. I mean, thank you for the rescue and the redemption arc. But, uh, I'm not really a team guy, so... I'm gonna bounce, okay? Um, but, you know, it's been, um... what's the opposite of fun? That.
Sam: No, Gabriel, don't -- you -- can't just walk away. If Michael comes here he will end this world.
Gabriel: And the last time the world was ending, I put my money on you. I think you can pull it off again.
Castiel: No. You cannot turn your back on your Father's creation.
Castiel: Dean... we will find Gabriel. We will.
Trivia & References
Dean: Yeah. If you had your heart set on Mai Tais, well... sorry.
- A Mai Tai is a rum-based cocktail associated with resorts in exotic climes.
- S.O.S. and Brillo are the brand names of two steel wool scouring pad products.
- “And the angel said unto him, ‘I am Gabriel, that stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak unto thee and to bring you this good news.”
Another segment was taken from Luke 1:15:
- “For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.”
- "Dear God, make me a bird, so I can fly far, far away from here."