15.10 The Heroes' Journey
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| Title | The Heroes' Journey |
| Episode # | Season 15, Episode 10 |
| First aired | January 23, 2020 |
| Directed by | John F. Showalter |
| Written by | Andrew Dabb |
| On IMDB | The Heroes' Journey |
| Outline | While trying to help Garth, Sam and Dean realize that Chuck has "downgraded" them, making the normal mundane things in their lives more difficult. |
| Monster | Shapeshifter Vampire |
| Timeline | |
| Location(s) | Lebanon, Kansas Grantsburg, Wisconsin Belgrade, Minnesota |
| « Previous Episode | Next Episode » | |
Contents
Synopsis
A man is being hit in the jaw by a woman. They are in a fighting cage, people are cheering. She shows her victory with her arms raised and jumping. He gets back up and throws a punch and misses. She hits him again, he falls to the floor. The crowd goes wild. He rises and his werewolf teeth emerge. Growling, he cuts her abdomen with his claws. This angers her and her wraith appendage comes out of her wrist. She begins to stab him repeatedly. He falls face down on the floor. We see him through a drainage grate with blood flowing. The crowd goes wild.
The impala is parked in front of Beren's Kwik Trip Store. Dean is shopping. He grabs two six packs. Grabs some more supplies. Meanwhile, at the bunker. Sam is cooking. An alarm goes off, dinner is burning. He is in a panic. Dean puts his groceries on the counter. Says hello to Teddy. He checks out his merchandise as he is eating a candy bar. Back at the bunker. Sam puts dinner on the counter, it slides and the dishes slide off breaking on the floor. Back to Dean. He is eating and he grimaces from a tooth ache. Teddy tells him he owes $40.32. He is given a card and it is refused repeatedly, to Deans surprise. Sam is in the kitchen, a large pot is boiling out of control. He takes it off the stove, with no gloves. Pasta is all over the floor. Dean tells the clerk, the card is good. I've been using it for five years. Dean leaves the store and is almost hit by a skate boarder. He sees a parking ticket on the windshield. He grabs it and says, seriously.
Dean is home yelling for Sam. Sam enters the room tripping up the stairs. He tells Sam about his ticket. Sam says, because you parked in front of the fire hydrant like always. I always do, says Dean. He pulls out the credit card and tells Sam this doesn't work anymore. That is the one Charlie got us it, was our golden ticket, so we didn't have to hustle for money anymore. Sam begins to sneeze. Deans phone ring. It's Garth, he needs help.
They are in the impala headed to Grantsburg, Wisconsin, where Garth lives. They are discussing if they are cursed or is it a bad day. Dean thinks it is God or Rowena's curses coming back. Sam sneezes. Then Sam says, Cas is in heaven trying to find out where Chuck is. The impala stalls. Dean asks Baby not to do this. She will not start. They get out and walk.
A baby is in its high chair being fed. He tells the child, here comes the airplane. It's mouth opens. The baby spits on his apron. He tells him, I am prepared this time. The door bell rings. Garth tells his daughter Gertie to watch the twins. Bess is coming down the stairs and asks it that is them. It is, he lets them in. He wants to hug Sam, he shy's away, he is sick he says. He gives Dean a hug and tells him he smells good. Then he asks what took them so long. They tell him their story. Dean tells him they are having a super normal day. Gertie says to Garth, that the twins are still hungry. He asks them to meet his kids. Dean says, you have more kids? Yes, I have a couple of pups.
He introduces his daughter Gertie and then tells them the name of the twin boys. Sam, he named him after Sam. Dean thinks the other is Dean. Garth tells them his name is Castiel. Awkward. Then Sam mentions that his cousin is in trouble. No Garth says it is Bess's cousin. You should see for yourselves. They enter the room the cousin is in. He is in and out of consciousness. He is beaten up quite a bit. They tell them both that he is a werewolf like Bess, a pure blood.
The police found him around St. Cloud, Minnesota. Dean mentions that his wounds look like knife wounds. No, they are from a Wraith. He was dumped in a swamp, assumed dead. He crawled out himself. Garth asks, why would a wraith attack a werewolf? Dean tries to eat again, and again gets tooth pain. Bess and Sam leave the room together. Sam sneezes. She has something for him. On the way down the stairs, Dean mentions what a nice house Garth has. As a hunter he thought he'd go out at forty. Now he has a great wife and kids.
Garth asks what's up with his teeth, do they hurt. A little Dean says. Since yesterday, a lot. He tells Dean to follow him. They go down a flight of stairs to a basement. He opens the door and it is a dental office, with chair, the whole nine yards. Dean looks at Garth and says, you know I'm good, and tries to leave. Garth grabs him to get in the chair.
Sam is with Bess in the kitchen. She has made a remedy for him. Her dads secret recipe. She hands him a glass. It'll cure anything. Sam wants to know what is in it. It's a secret she says. He drinks it.
Dean tells Garth he's not a dentist. He explains he was getting his degree when he became a hunter. It was the tooth fairy. After he met Bess, he went back to school to get his degree and started a practice. Dean now has his bib on. Garth tells him that he mostly works on werewolves. They need to floss a lot.
Sam drinks the remedy. Bess tells him that the drink is mostly cayenne pepper. He is reacting badly to it. It is very hot to his mouth. Gertie says, the giant is crying.
Garth puts Dean's chair in recline and tells him he is the airplane and to open his mouth. He asks Dean when was the last time he saw a dentist. He said, never. Sam is on the floor in agony. The twins are crying in their playpen, Gertie laughs at him.
Garth is done with his exam and tells Dean he has a few cavities. He asks how many. Seventeen. Garth brings out a tank of sweet air and puts the mask on Dean. He slowly falls to sleep.
There is a bright spotlight, a red curtain is drawn. Dean appears in a white suit with a white straw hat and black bow tie and black trousers. He is dressed from the 1920's. Music begins. Garth is is front of him. The begin to tap dance to Lets Misbehave. They are thrown a cane and they dance in sync. They both throw their canes and they land perfectly against the wall. Dean dances alone and with a floor lamp as if it were a lady. He taps up stairs to the table in the bunker, where he dances some more. Dean awakes with a mouth full of gauze. Garth smiling down at him. He says, Hey slugger, you're all done.
Sam is seated in the living room. Bess enters and asks if he is okay. He is doing okay. Garth and Dean enter the room. He tells Sam he had to have his teeth fixed. He is spitting gauze into a cup little by little.
Garth wants to know, what is going on. He speaks of Deans cavities and Sam being sick, as well as the car breaking down. Who did you guys piss off? Sam answers God. He is trying to kill us or get us to kill each other. Garth knows God was the writer of their story. He asks if he is a special guest star. I want to be a guest star. Being a hero sucks. He speaks of how the heroes fate is terrible. Then he describes 50 Shades of Gray plot. He and his wife are fans of the books. He adds that the hero never sweats the small stuff. No their not cursed according to Garth. For the first time they are having normal problems like everyone else.
Bess's cousin yells for her. They are all in the room with him. He asks who they are. Friends. What hunter friends. They are cool, Bess says. They say to him, we don't care if your a werewolf. You were attacked by a wraith, which is really weird. He is reluctant to talk. Bess grabs him hard at a open wound. He screams in pain. She says, answer them. It's a place where monsters got to fight each other for money. They live stream on the dark web. He admits he did for the money, he has three kids and bills. He tells them the location. Belgrade, Minnesota old warehouse off Peach St., there is a lot of fang there. They will rip them to pieces. He laughs. Bess grabs at his wound again. He screams in pain.
Out on the porch. Garth thinks they shouldn't go. Dean says, they have no choice. Even though things are hard for them right now, it's their job. Garth wants to come with them. Dean tells him, he has a family now, you have a life. He agrees and says at least let me get you spark plugs.
They pull into the lot of the monster fight club. Dean is eating a grilled cheese that Bess made. He loves them. Sam says he ate seven of them. Dean takes his duffel from the trunk. Sam reminds him to think ahead with extra rounds, dead mans blood. He also reminds him that if we're normal now, we can't barge in guns blazing. They need to be ready for anything. Deans says, I guess we need the grenade launcher. He takes it out of the trunk and imitates using it. They enter the place, it is empty. Sam trips over a bucket. Then Deans stomach begins to gurgle, he feels sick and runs for a bathroom. He finds one and only one stall will open. He goes in an vomits. Sam yells, maybe your lactose intolerant now. Behind Dean appears a bald man with glasses. He caught him on his property.
Both Sam and Dean are locked inside the fight cage. Sam couldn't believe the guy got the drop on him. Dean got it in the crapper. A man comes down a flight of stairs, he is the man from in the bathroom. He asks it he can get them anything. They want to know who he is. My name is Cutty, now that we know each other now we're friend. Sam asks if he puts all of his friend in the cage. Only the ones he really likes. Dean asks if he is a monster. Shapeshifter. And you chose that face Dean says. Cutty says, he's a sportsman, where men or monsters are at their best most pure in the heat of competition. I could had killed you, but I want to see what you Winchesters are made of. You and Maul here. A large man emerges, he is a werewolf. Dean says, Maul what's your real name, Marion, Marvin. Murder Maul says. He shows his werewolf teeth. Cutty wants them to fight Maul. Dean brags they have taken on worse, he lists the monsters they have killed. You should let us go before we burn this place down to the ground. Cutty says, no. Maul will take you to your rooms.
A commercial on the black web is shown. The wraith Vs the Djinn. It advertises that Maul will fight the Winchesters. There is a picture of their mug shots. The battle royale. Monday monster madness streaming 8/9 CT time.
The parking lot is full of people coming to the event. Inside the wraith enters the arena. Dean and Sam are seen looking through cage windows at the event. Dean finds a piece of metal to pick the locks of their cage. He nor Sam have any success. Dean says, freak-in normal. Sam throws the pick out the cage. Their up set they can't do anything. He says, there is no way Chuck would let them down like this. Sam adds, or to teach us a lesson or maybe we'll turn out paralyzed. Dean tells Sam, we have to win. Not everything we did was because of Chuck. It was us. The blood the sweat the tears. We're the best in the world. I say we go out and kick some ass. Outside the Djinn has won, they are dragging out the wraith.
An announcer speaks into his microphone. He says, it's time, he introduces the mighty Maul. Dean and Sam look concerned. Maul enters the fight cage. Raising his arms of his recognition. Then the announcer speaks of his opponents, you know them, you don't like them, the Winchesters. Cutty is seen coming to retrieve the boys. He finds the cages open and empty.
The scene goes back to before Cutty found the empty cage. A man is seen entering the arena with a camouflage hat. It covers most of his head and face. As he turns his head, you can see it is Garth. He opens a gate and walks back to where Dean and Sam are. Dean is coughing when he comes into their view. They both see him. He nears the cage. They ask how he got there. He had tried to call them and got no answer. They ask him to get them out. He then turns into his werewolf self and yanks the locks off. They leave.
Cutty comes again to the cages and finds them empty. The three of them are seen running in the parking lot. Garth hesitates. Dean yells, we have to get out of here. Garth has a plan. We are the monster squad. An image come up of something he did prior to this. He is seen putting charges in parts of the building. He then pulls out a detonator pushes the button and the place explodes. Dean and Sam laughs. Now Garth wants a hug.
A growl is heard from the building. It's Maul. Dean says, no way. Garth tells them to go he has this. As he turns he turns into a werewolf again. Maul hits him and he goes flying across the lot. Now they have to face him Maul. Dean says, bring it on Marion. He kicks Maul in the groin, Maul kicks Dean in the groin and then hits him in the jaw. He falls to the ground. Then Sam swings to hit Maul and misses. He hits him and gets no reaction. Maul hits Sam and he falls to the ground. Dean punches him in the abdomen several times, it does nothing. Maul hits Dean in the head with his head. He falls. Maul grabs Dean up from the ground and puts him in a head lock. He is chocking, Dean taps Maul's arm and he releases him. They both come at him with their fists in the air. A machete slices through Maul's head and he falls to the ground. Garth says, he was Garthed. Dean laughs grabs his groin in pain saying in a higher voice, his voice should be higher.
Dean is in Garth's kitchen holding one of the twins, Sam is holding the other. Bess made more grilled cheeses for Dean, she had put them in a paper bag for him. The baby Dean is holding eyes turn bright green. He hands the baby to Bess and says, this guy has something for you. Sam says, we have to go and hands the other one to Bess. Garth offers to walk them out to their car. They say good bye to Bess and the kids.
Outside they tell Garth what he did was heroic. Garth asks if they will be okay. Dean replies, because we're normal now. He mentions that the almighty is after them. He also tells them their might be something they can do to help their situation. A place you can go in Alaska, it's between two towns, you'll know it when you see it, whatever that means. Maybe you'll get used to being normal. They say goodbye to Garth hug each other. Dean comments on how good Garth smells. Garth tells him it's High Karate. He tells them both to be safe. Werewolves of London begins to play. They walk to their car and look back and see Bess and Garth dancing in the house to the song.
They discuss what to do next. Sam says, things like what he told us about can have a down side. Dean says, normal is fine for normal people with normal problems. But zero is normal about our life. If we don't fix this we may kill each other by accident. When Chuck comes back, we can't go up against him this way. They drive down to driveway the car stalls again. Dean is heard saying, Son of a bitch.
Characters
- Sam Winchester
- Dean Winchester
- Garth Fitzgerald IV
- Bess Fitzgerald
- Gertie Fitzgerald
- Sam and Castiel Fitzgerald
- Cutty
- Maul
Definitions
- Djinn
- Drugs
- Garthed
- Grenade Launcher
- Hugs
- Hunters
- Impala
- Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey
- Lebanon, Kansas
- Monsters
- Puppy Dog Eyes
- Sammy
- Season 15 Callbacks
- Shapeshifters
- Son of a Bitch
- Table of Death
- Tooth Fairy
- Werewolves
- Wraith
- Vampires
Music
- "Clair de Lune" by Claude Debussy
- (plays over the end of the werewolf / wraith cage fight; also played in 8.14 Trial and Error)
- "Let's Misbehave" by Irving Aaronson
- (playing in Dean's nitrous oxide-induced dream)
- "Chopperhead" by Thomas Bergersen (Two Steps from Hell)
- (plays over the Monday Monster Mayhem! promo)
- "Werewolves of London" by Warren Zevon
- (playing as Sam and Dean are leaving Garth's; also played in 10.04 Paper Moon)
Quotes
Garth: You know it. You smell so good.
Who did you guys piss off?
Sam: What he said.
Dean: So, then, what happened? Chuck downgraded us?
Garth: Maybe yeah. And now you're --
Dean: Cursed. C-Cursed. Cursed.
Dean: Well, I guess we need a grenade launcher. Hey, sweetheart.
Sam: So kind of like the real Cas.
Garth: Ah. It was nothing.
Sam: I don't know. Garth's right stuff like that, there's always a downside. And being normal --
Dean: For normal people with normal problems. But you and me? There's zero about our lives that's normal. And the way things are going, if we don't fix this, we might kill each other by accident. And if -- when Chuck comes back, we can't go up against him like this. And if when Chuck comes back, we can't go up against him like this.
Sam: So, uh Alaska?
Trivia & References
- Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day is a classic children's book by Judith Viorst about a little boy having a day where everything goes wrong.
Bess: We love "Fifty Shades".
- Bruce Wayne's parents were murdered in an alleyway, which lead to Bruce becoming Batman to fight crime. Clark Kent was sent from his home planet, Krypton, before it blew up to Earth where he became known as Superman. "Fifty Shades" is a reference to the popular BDSM-themed romance "Fifty Shades of Grey" by E.L. James. The novel was originally written as a fanfic about the characters in the "Twilight" novels.
Bess: Or the power goes out in the Red Room?
- The Red Room is the room in "Fifty Shades of Grey" where the titular Mr. Grey holds his BDSM sessions.
- Bloodsport is a 1988 martial arts film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme.
Garth: I've already got a plan.
Sam: What?
Garth: The Monster Squad were the good guys. We're the Monster Squad.
- The Monster Squad is a 1988 comedy horror about a group of kids who call themselves the Monster Squad who try to save their hometown from Dracula, the Gill-man, the Mummy, Frankenstein's monster, and the Wolfman.
Garth: Thanks. It's Hai Karate.
- Hai Karate was a budget aftershave sold from the 1960s through to the 1980s.
- There are no roads between Barrow (now known as the City of Utqiagvik) and Kotzebue. The only way to travel between the two is via airplane. Barrow was also the setting for the horror comic 30 Days of Night, about vampires who descend on the town during the month-long darkness.
Sam: Well, you were awesome at the Macarena.
- The Macarena was a dance craze from the mid-1990s.
Minutiae
- DJ Qualls was in fact a "Special Guest Star" for this episode. This is presumably supposed to be a meta reference to Garth's role as both a supporting character and a special guest star.
- A reference to Sam's famous Puppy Dog Eyes. Without God's influence, they apparently no longer work.
