13.18 Bring 'em Back Alive
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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 Angels |
Timeline | Immediately after 13.17 The Thing |
Location(s) | Apocalypse World Lebanon, Kansas Heaven Fall River, Massachusetts |
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Contents
Synopsis
In Apocalypse World, Dean and Ketch land in a snowy forest. Dean expects Ketch to go his own way but Ketch offers to help Dean find Jack and Mary, which Dean begrudgingly accepts. As they begin traversing the landscape they come across a group of angels and hooded prisoners above them on 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 in turn as Dean and Ketch watch on. The last prisoner is revealed to be Charlie Bradbury, stunning Dean. The commanding angel stops the execution when he realizes Charlie is in the resistance's 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 Castiel 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 cowers away.
In Heaven, Lucifer sits on the floor playing solitaire. Sister Jo walks in, and begins questioning Lucifer's rule, reminding him that they came to change things and help the angels. Dumah enters 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 Dumah objects that they don’t have the manpower, causing Lucifer to flash his eyes red and reiterate finding Jack being a priority. After Dumah leaves, Lucifer complains that God would get better treatment from the angels. Jo tells Lucifer that if he wants to be treated like God, he should start acting like God.
At Needham Asylum, Asmodeus rants to a demon minion about Ketch and Gabriel being off the radar. He says that he should be able to detect Gabriel because they are “blood brothers.”
As Dean and Ketch begin their search for Charlie, Ketch questions Dean about his relationship to her. Dean says they need her because she’s seen Jack and Mary. Ketch soon disappears behind a nearby tree, telling Dean they need to practice remaining undetected. Dean, impatient to find Charlie and rescue his family before the rift closes, ignores Ketch and continues straightforwardly on. Dean is then attacked by a bounty hunter, who comes out of nowhere and shoots Dean in the shoulder. As the bounty hunter and Dean struggle, Ketch subdues the hunter, who reveals to Dean that he was going to take them the Northern Camp, which he calls “the silo,” down the road four to five hours' walk.
Castiel enters Gabriel’s room and discovers Enochian writing covering the walls. He calls Sam into the room and explains that it’s Gabriel’s story, starting with his supposed death. The writings reveal that Lucifer had stabbed a fake Gabriel, which left Gabriel, as he explained, free with no obligations to God, Heaven, or mankind. Gabriel then moved to Monte Carlo where he lived with porn stars. Castiel continues reading, telling Sam that at some point he was captured and delivered to Asmodeus, who tortured him and then he, the weakest of Hell’s princes, grew strong by feeding on Gabriel’s grace.
In Heaven's Throne Room Lucifer, dressed in a snazzy black suit, takes his seat on the throne and begins to listen to prayers. He quickly loses interest, due to what he perceives as humanity's whining. Then his interest is piqued when he overhears as exorcism. On Earth two priests begin the process of removing a demon from a young women. Lucifer pops into the room, correcting the priests that it is not Satan possessing the young woman, but rather a low-level demon named Anthony, whom Lucifer dismisses and sends back to Hell. When asked who he is, Lucifer reveals himself, telling the priests he is running Heaven. The priests cry blasphemy and call Lucifer the beast and a scourge of mankind. Lucifer complains that God made Lucifer a villain, but when the priests refuses to listen to him, Lucifer kills the priests by disintegrating them.
As Dean and Ketch make their way to the Northern Camp, Ketch does not recognize the type of bullets the hunter was using, but Dean knows they are angel-killing bullets. Suddenly, Dean collapses. Ketch checks on Dean -- he is running a fever and his shoulder wound is black and infected. Ketch believes the hunter’s bullets were laced with a poison similar to one the British Men of Letters use to disable and kill prey, and he begins the process of making an antidote.
Back at the Bunker, Castiel uses his healing powers on Gabriel; although his powers are not sufficient to heal an archangel, he believes he may be able to help jolt Gabriel's mind back to normal. After he leaves the room, 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 and how he 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, by his family, by the world, and by Sam himself. Before leaving, 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 after the antidote, Dean is exhausted and collapses. 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, and when she died, Dean thinks he failed her. Ketch admits to many failures but says that unlike Dean, he never tried to save any of the people that he lost. He hopes that perhaps rescuing Charlie will help wash some of the stain from his hands and the two continue on. Meanwhile, Charlie is being tortured and interrogated by an angel, but her continued refusal to give any information on the resistance prompts the commanding angel to order her execution.
As Gabriel swallows the grace that had been harvested from him, Sam gets a call from Asmodeus. He demands Gabriel be given back or threatens to take the archangel by force and reduce the Bunker to ashes.
Back in Heaven, 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 more 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 berates Lucifer that he is a failure and should just go back to the Cage. Angered by Jo's insubordination, Lucifer begins to choke Jo, but lets her go. She declares she no longer supports him and leaves.
At the POW camp, Charlie is chained to a pole for beheading. As the executioner prepares to swing his blade, Dean throws a grenade into the camp, causing a distraction. Dean and Ketch enter the camp and begin shooting the angels, however the commanding angel escapes. Dean frees Charlie from the pole, and the three make their escape. Outside the camp, Dean explains where he and Ketch are from and that there was a version of Charlie in his world. He asks about Jack and Mary. Charlie tells him that the last she heard, Jack and Mary were fighting in what remains of Dayton, Ohio.
At the Bunker, the lights suddenly go out as the warding begins to shut down. Demons enter the Bunker and attack Sam and Castiel, who are able to kill the intruders before Asmodeus enters and incapacitates them. Gabriel is recaptured and as he is being dragged away, Asmodeus starts to kill Castiel and Sam. Gabriel frees himself from the demons, and deflects an energy ball from Asmodeus, who mocks Gabriel as being broken and too weak to fight him. Gabriel heals himself and spreads his wings before telling Asmodeus he has always hated his "dumbass" suit and killing him through incineration. In the aftermath Castiel and Sam tell Gabriel about Apocalypse World and the other Michael in the assumption he will join them in the fight. Gabriel thanks them for the rescue but refuses to help, telling Sam he had faith in him and Dean the last time the world was ending, and he has faith this time, before he vanishes.
As Dean, Ketch, and Charlie approach the rift, it's clear that the passage is closing. Ketch declares he is going to stay behind to get intel on the angels, and find Mary and Jack. Charlie is also staying, much to Dean's confusion. She tells Dean that this is her home and that her friends need her help, but that if Dean has a way to stop Michael he should get back and do it. A group of angels appear; Dean goes through the rift as Ketch and Charlie shoot at them.
Dean arrives back in the Bunker just as the rift closes. Sam asks where Mary and Jack are. Dean explains that they are not with Michael anymore and that Ketch and Charlie stayed back to find them. Castiel tells him 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 that they used up the last of Gabriel's grace to return his power. Dean is furious and frustrated, shouting that he should never have come back since they can’t open the door again. He lashes out in anger and frustration that every time they get close, it falls apart. Castiel 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)
- Anthony
Definitions
- Alternate Universe
- Apocalypse World
- Angel Blade
- Angel-Killing Bullets
- Angel Wings
- Archangel
- Demonology
- Demon Smoke
- Enochian
- Exorcism
- Grace
- Healing
- Heaven
- Heaven's Throne Room
- Holy Water
- Holy Water in the Face
- Men of Letters Bunker
- Needham Asylum
- Possession
- Porn
- Portal
- Princes of Hell
- Queer and Gender Diverse Characters
- Redemption
- Sabriel
- Smiting
- Son of a Bitch
- Table of Death
- Telekinesis
- Warding Sigils
Music
- "Easy Street" by Cosmopolitan Orchestra
- (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.
Gabriel: Not anymore. Oh, by the way, I always hated that dumbass suit.
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 for 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 -- 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.
Dean: So if it's gone, then that means that we can't open that door again. If we can't open the door, then I should've never come back! Son of a bitch! Every time! Every time we get close, it always falls apart. Every freakin' time.
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."
Minutiae
Sides, Scripts & Transcripts
- 13.18 Bring 'em Back Alive (transcript)
- Bring 'em Back Alive script (Production Draft)