14.17 Game Night

Title	Game Night
Episode #	Season 14, Episode 17
First aired	April 4, 2019
Directed by	John F. Showalter
Written by	Meredith Glynn
On IMDB	Game Night
Outline	Sam and Dean race to save Donatello after he is taken by Nick, who seeks to be reunited with Lucifer. Meanwhile, Castiel seeks the help of Sister Jo in trying to send a message to God.
Monster	Nick Demons
Timeline
Location(s)	Lewis, Oklahoma Lebanon, Kansas Longton, Kansas
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Synopsis

Donatello is cooking in his kitchen, making cookies and boiling pasta. While he is juggling cookie dough, the door bell rings. As he answers the door and asks the visitor what he wants, Donatello is accosted as the man pushes his way into his home. The man then ties Donatello to his dining room table with ropes. Donatello begs the man, but it soon injected in the neck with a syringe, causing him to scream in pain.

At the Bunker, Dean is setting up a game of Mouse Trap, while Jack is in the kitchen making Jiffy Pop. Mary questions if they have enough food when they are interrupted by Dean's frustration at the game. Mary shifts focus to Jack, asking how he is doing. He says that every one keeps asking him that and that it's getting annoying. She offers to listen if he wants to talk before they leave to join Dean.

Entering the library, Mary hands Dean his cellphone, as he had a missed call. On the voicemail, they hear a distressed Donatello asking for help and speaking in another language. Unable to get a hold of Sam, Mary and Dean decide to go to Donatello's house, telling Jack to wait for Sam, and have him call Dean on his spare.

At a diner, Castiel is sitting at a table waiting for Sister Jo. As she sits down at the table, he hands her a box with a pair of earrings. He tells her they are lightly cursed, but nothing an angel couldn't handle. They're not a gift, though -- he needs her help to contact God, a prospect that elicits a laugh from Jo. Castiel reminds her that she was Joshua's right hand and saw how God and Joshua communicated, and that he needs God's help to restore Jack's soul. Jo refuses to help. Castiel moves to take back the earrings, which causes Jo to reveal that Joshua did have contact with God after the Fall, and that she can take Castiel to someone that may be able to help.

Back at the Bunker, Sam is talking to Dean on his cell. He thinks that Donatello was speaking in ancient Hebrew and he and Jack are working on interpreting the message. In the Impala, Mary and Dean are talking about how everyone is stressed. She admits she wishes was around more and is grateful for every day she spends with Sam and Dean. Meanwhile, as Sam is listening over and over to the message, he recognizes it from the Bible -- Peter 5:8.

As Mary and Dean enter Donatello's house, they hear Donatello calling for help. They rush into his dining room, only to find a cell phone replaying his message. Nick walks out of the kitchen in Donatello's apron and cheerfully greets Mary and Dean. Dean handcuffs him and demands to know where Donatello is while Mary goes into the kitchen and returns with a hypodermic needle she found in the trash. Nick reveals he shot Donatello up with thallium and he has a day before his organs begin to shut down. He gestures to the phone, telling Dean to open the livestream app. They look and see Donatello tied up on the floor of a dirty room. Dean points his gun at Nick and once again demands to know where Donatello is, but Nick is nonplussed by Dean's threats. Mary asks him what he wants and he tells her he wants to talk.

Cas and Sister Jo arrive at Orlando's Emporium and find a man, Methuselah, seated at a desk. They tell him they were friends of Joshua and that they know he saw Joshua try to contact God. Methuselah refuses to help them, leading Castiel to threaten to burn him and his place to the ground. Initially Methuselah dares him to do so, but relents and tells them whatever Joshua used to try and make contact with God is in his store, and they should know it when they see it.

Dean and Mary walk into the Bunker with Nick. Sam quickly grabs him and slams him against the wall, but Dean stops him from going any further. Nick is tied to a chair and left in the Bunker's dungeon while Sam, Dean, and Mary discuss what to do next. Sam suggests hacking the live feed to locate Donatello, but says it would take a while. With limited time remaining, they decided to talk with Nick. As Dean goes to talk with Nick, Sam tells Mary he feels responsible for the deaths Nick caused, as he wanted to give Nick a chance. Mary assures him that Nick made his choices on his own and tells Sam he is a good man, and that is why she is so proud of him.

Cas and Jo continue to look for the object, turning the conversation to her demotion. Jo reveals she believed in Heaven's mission, but when she visited Earth she saw how it was no paradise and filled with so much despair. She asked Joshua why God does not help people, only for Joshua to tell her God does not meddle. Castiel tells her that God does meddle, as He resurrected him. But Jo quickly points out Castiel is one angel God chose to help while millions suffer.

In the Bunker's dungeon, Dean is punching Nick and asking where Donatello is. Nick finally relents and asks to talk with Jack. Dean reports the request to Sam, Mary, and Jack. Mary says no, but Jack agrees, saying he isn't afraid of Nick, and that he wants to help his friend Donatello. Jack enters the room and asks where his friend is. Nick tells Jack that Lucifer did love him, but Jack broke his heart when he betrayed him. Jacks tells him his father was a monster and repeats his question. Nick says he knows Jack has no soul. Jack denies this and becomes upset, letting himself get closer to Nick. Nick then headbutts Jack, making Jack bleed from his nose, getting blood on Nick's shirt. As Jack heals himself, Nick begins to apologize as Jack's eyes begin to glow.

Cas and Sister Jo continue to search fruitlessly for the object. At last Jo loses her patience and tells Castiel they should give up. She says that she knows he is doing this so he doesn't have to tell Sam and Dean the truth -- that Jack's soul is gone. Wishing to leave, Jo grabs her handbag, which draws Castiel's attention to an amulet similar to Dean's amulet that glows in the presence of God. Methuselah tells them that Joshua forged it after his fall. Cas holds it in his hand and calls on God for help, but receives no answer. Methuselah tells him it didn't work for Joshua either.

The Impala arrives at the building where Donatello is being held. Nick is riding in the back, handcuffed. Meanwhile, Cas and Jo leave the store. He gives the earrings to her and offers her a ride, but she decides to take a cab. At the Bunker, Mary is going through a box of Nick's things, when Jack sees the syringe and holds it in his hand, telling Mary it held angel grace.

As Dean enters the facility, Nick begins to antagonize Sam. Sam gets a call from Mary, prompting him to leave the car, allowing Nick to remove a lock pick from the flesh of his arm and begin to pick the handcuff lock. Dean quickly finds Donatello and unties him. After getting off the phone with Mary, Sam pulls Nick out of the car and points his gun at him, asking him why he injected Donatello with grace. Nick tells him that prophets are like CB radios -- you can boost the signal and change the frequency. Sam realizes he is trying to make contact with someone and is shocked to learn that Lucifer is awake in the Empty and, after using Donatello as a means of communication, Nick knows how to bring him back.

As Nick frees himself from the cuffs, he and Sam fight. When Sam stops himself from strangling Nick, Nick strikes him in the head with a rock. Sam scrambles into the Impala and begins honking the horn to warn Dean. Dean hears it, but is soon attacked by two demons, whom he dispatches. Donatello and Dean leave the building to find Sam lying by the Impala, bloody and badly hurt. Dean calls Mary and tells her that Nick played them and how bad Sam is hurt.

Nick stumbles to a nearby road, where he flags down a passing man in a pickup truck. Nick grabs him out of the truck, throws him to the ground, and speeds away. He arrives at a cabin in the woods. He breaks in and looks for objects to use, finding a knife, a cast iron pot, and salt. He kneels down in a circle of salt, puts his shirt, still speckled with Jack's blood, in the pot, and cuts his hand over the shirt before he lights it on fire and recites a Latin incantation. At the Bunker, Jack suddenly doubles over in pain, telling Mary his blood feels like it's on fire. Jack tells Mary he tracked Nick down, but needs to use his powers to stop him. She agrees and gives Jack permission.

At the cabin, a black viscous portal opens up as Lucifer, encased in the Empty, walks out. As he reaches with his hand to Nick and almost touches him, Jack appears with Mary, using his powers to push Lucifer back through the portal and close it. Nick screams at Jack in frustration, but soon begins to beg as Jack breaks and twists Nick's hand before burning him alive, only stopping after Mary pleads with him. Jack tells Mary Nick was a monster and he had to kill him. A shocked Mary simply tells him to go help Sam.

At the Impala, Dean is kneeling in front of Sam, who is gasping for breath and losing consciousness. Jack appears at the scene with Sam and heals him. Recovered, Sam asks about Nick and Mary. Jack tells them he dealt with Nick and Mary is fine, and everything will be fine.

Exiting the cabin, Mary is met by Jack. He tells her that he healed Sam and wants to explain why he did what he did. Nick was a bad person, he says, and he had to be stopped, but Mary tells him to take her home. He asks her to tell him it was okay, what he did. She replies that the Jack she knew wouldn't have done that. He says Sam and Dean were grateful. She replies that they didn't know what he had done. He wants to know if she will tell them. She responds that he needs help and they can help and that they are family. A visibly distressed Jack tells Mary to leave him alone. As she follows him into the woods, Jack continues to scream to be left alone. The screen goes black and Jack begins worriedly saying Mary's name.

Characters

• Sam Winchester
• Dean Winchester
• Mary Winchester
• Castiel
• Jack Kline
• Lucifer
• Nick
• Donatello Redfield
• Sister Jo
• Methuselah

Definitions

• Alcohol
• Angel Blade
• Angel Lore
• Angel Wings
• The Bible
• Castiel's Cars
• Cursed Object
• Dean's Amulet
• Demonology
• Devil's Trap
• The Empty
• Food
• Grace
• Healing
• Impala
• Joshua's Amulet
• Men of Letters Bunker
• Nephilim
• Pizza
• Portal
• Prayer
• Prophet
• Resurrection
• Salt
• Sammy
• Son of a Bitch
• Soul
• Soullessness
• Spells
• Table of Death
• Telekinesis
• Teleportation
• Unconscious
• Vessel

Music

• "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" by B.J. Thomas

(sung by Donatello as he is cooking and plays when he is attacked)

• "Maybe Tomorrow" by Jackie Stewart

(playing in the diner where Castiel meets Sister Jo)

Quotes

Mary: How about you? Feeling better?

Jack: Everybody keeps asking me that.
Mary: We're family. It's our job.

Jack: Well, it's annoying.

Sister Jo: The Winchesters -- they don't know you're here, do they?

Castiel: Why do you say that?

Sister Jo: Oh, I don't know, just a general reek of ill-conceived lone-wolf desperation.

Mary: But I should've been here more. But I know how I am. I can be... closed off and hard.

Dean: Yeah, well, that's where I get it from.

Mary: Listen. I just need you to know... I'm grateful. For every day I get to spend with you and Sam.

Mary: No one's making excuses, but -- you gave him a chance because you felt for him... because you're a good man. You are. It's one of the reasons I'm so proud of you.

Sister Jo: We're all lonely, because we're all alone. From ant to lion to human to angel. Every last one of us.

Castiel: You know, He does meddle. God reached down, and He brought me back to life.

Sister Jo: So He saves one angel... and watches millions of people die screaming, every day. What does that say about Him?

Nick: I get you, Dean. You and me, we're almost like brothers, you know. Michael, you, Lucifer, me -- we both know what it's like to be hog-tied to a nuclear warhead, man.

Dean: Look, you try anything funny, Sammy's gonna shoot you. Anything happens to me --

Nick: Wait. Let me guess. Sammy's gonna shoot me.

Sam: Yeah, to start.

Sam: You -- you always put -- You always put me first. Your whole life...

Jack: Mary. Nick... he was a bad person, a killer. I had to stop him.

Mary: Not like that.

Jack: He deserved it.

Mary: If Sam and Dean saw what you did, they would be as worried as I am.

Jack: Are you gonna tell them?
Mary: You need help, we'll help you. We're your family.
Jack: You can't.

Mary: We care about you, Jack.

Trivia & References

Dean is seen setting up a game of Mouse Trap, a kid's game that was invented in the 1960s. In the game, players must construct a complicated Rube-Goldberg-like machine in order to capture their opponents' tokens (which are mice). The game parallels the complex scheme Nick puts in place in order to be able to summon Lucifer.

Castiel: Jack killed Michael.

Sister Jo: Good night, sweet prince.

"Good night, sweet prince" is one of the lines spoken by Horatio in Act V of Shakespeare's Hamlet.

"Now cracks a noble heart. Goodnight, sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!"

Castiel: No. You'll tell me, or I'll burn this place to the ground and you with it.

Methuselah: Kiddo, how old am I? Go for it. Put me out of my misery.

It is implied that Methuselah may be the Biblical Methuselah, the grandfather of Noah and according to the Bible the longest-lived person in history, having died at the age of 969 in the year of the great flood.

Sister Jo: Are you insane? This is Mulberry silk.

Mulberry silk is the highest quality silk available for purchase.

Sister Jo: Even if we found Joshua's Batphone, God's not gonna care.

Batphone has become a term for a priority phone number. It originated in the 1960s Batman TV series. In that series, Batman had a propensity for adding "Bat" to every object he owned.

Nick: He loved you. You know that? He did. I felt it. He loved you so much... and you broke his heart. Of course, I'm talking about the old you. You with a soul. Yeah. Kermit the Prophet told me all about your sitch. What's that like, not having a soul? Must be relaxing.

"Kermit the Prophet" refers to Donatello, and in this context comparing him to a muppet implies he is not very bright.

Sam: You trying to communicate with someone? Who?

Nick: Search your feelings, Sam.

A reference to Star Wars, where the Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi gives this advice to Luke when he asks who his sister is in Return of the Jedi

Minutiae

Original score by Jay Gruska.

Nick communicating with Lucifer through Donatello mirrors Azazel contacting Lucifer in the Cage through a dead nun in 4.22 Lucifer Rising.

Nick: Come on, Sam. Nobody stays dead anymore. You know that.

A meta reference to the fact that many long-thought-dead characters have made reappearances on Supernatural in recent seasons. Also, it references the fact that characters in general tend not to stay dead.

In 14.11 Damaged Goods, Sam tells Nick he can "burn" for all the death and pain he's caused. In this episode, Jack kills Nick by burning him alive, from the inside out.

In the abandoned factory where Donatello is held captive there is a door with "R.Hayter Industrial Millworker" on it; this is a reference to Stunt Coordinator Rob Hayter.

Sides, Scripts & Transcripts

• 14.17 Game Night (transcript)

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