15.15 Gimme Shelter

Title	Gimme Shelter
Episode #	Season 15, Episode 15
First aired	October 15, 2020
Directed by	Matt Cohen
Written by	Davy Perez
On IMDB	Gimme Shelter
Outline	Sam and Dean get a lead on Amara's location and hit the road. Meanwhile, Jack and Castiel are put on a case involving murders based on the seven deadly sins.
Monster	Sylvia
Timeline
Location(s)	Columbia, Missouri Lebanon, Kansas Pennsylvania
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Synopsis

Food is being served at a community group known as Patchwork. Two young volunteers are complaining about a homeless lady who seems dirty and unsavory, and they ask another volunteer, Connor, to throw the elderly lady out. As he reluctantly approaches the lady, he is intercepted by Pastor Joe who advises him to be compassionate, leading Connor to take the lady some soup. Later, as he is walking home, Connor hears voices in an alley calling for help. Visibly spooked, he stumbles and trips on a stuffed teddy bear and as he is looking at it he is lassoed by the neck and killed.

Dean, tablet in hand, joins Sam in the Bunker library, where Sam is looking for a case. Sam mentions missing people in Missouri but doubts that it is supernatural. Dean on the other hand thinks he may have found Amara in Atlantic City and manages to convince Sam to check it out with him. Castiel arrives and is asked by Sam and Dean to stay and look after Jack. He is very hesitant, seeing as they are going to take on Amara. All three of them join Jack, who is interested in the Missouri case. After some persuasion Dean convinces Cas and Jack that they should go and solve the case in Missouri. Jack is very excited and asks Cas if he can wear a blue tie like him.

In the alley where Connor was killed, Cas and Jack present as FBI agents "Swift" and "Lovato" to the sheriff. She tells them that the boy had "liar" carved into his body, and his fingers stuffed down his throat. She shows Jack and Cas security video footage of the murderer in a costume mask leaning over the body. Jack and Cas go to a crossroads and summon a crossroads demon. Zack the demon arrives and explains he knows nothing about the killings. He reveals that due to Rowena's new management, no one is making deals. Out of boredom, he offers to help Cas and Jack in their investigation as a driver, but is rebuffed. As they leave, Cas and Jack think about giving up but in the end decide to continue the investigation.

At the Patchwork Community Center one of the volunteers, Valerie, is closing up for the night when she decides to steal money from the collection box. She leaves the building but hears a voice which is calling her name. As she is calling for help she is confronted by someone in a mask and screams.

Later, in their truck in the parking lot, Cas is talking to Sam and Dean on the phone. They advise him to send Jack undercover at the community center while he investigates as FBI, but when Cas asks Dean about their search for Amara, he ends the conversation abruptly. In the Impala, Sam and Dean talk about trapping Amara so that Jack can kill her along with Chuck. Sam is apprehensive of their plan, but tries to assure them that at least it isn't one of them dying for once.

Back at the Patchwork community center Pastor Joe is holding a memorial service for Connor. Jack enters and applies to be a member, while Cas speaks to the pastor about Valerie having gone missing.

Valerie is in a dark room tied to a chair and gagged. As she comes to she sees the word "greed" written in blood on the wall and realizes that her fingers are strapped into separate guillotine devices. As she begins to focus she sees a mask, then the money she stole. Suddenly a TV comes to life and the word "thief" scrolls continuously on the screen. She screams as the guillotine severs one of her fingers. A three-minute countdown appears on the screen as she gives a muffled scream.

At the community center, Jack finishes filling out the form to volunteer. Sylvia confides in him about Connor, whom she once dated, and her dad, Pastor Joe. They each share that their mothers have died. In the meantime, Cas interviews Pastor Joe, who explains how the community has becoming encompassing of many faiths but that when his wife was alive, it was part of a more rigid Christian church. He tells Cas that another member, Rudy – who handled their AV – had left the community recently.

Sam and Dean are at a Gas-N-Sip a few hours from Atlantic City when Amara suddenly appears. She suggests they go and eat Pennsylvania pierogies and talk.

In the storage room behind the community center, Valerie is semi-conscious and bleeding. She loses another finger as a message appears on the screen... "time is running out!"

Pastor Joe welcomes Jack to the group and invites him to speak about himself. He hesitates, but Castiel appears and decides to speak instead. He shares how becoming a father helped him to find himself. Jack is visibly moved. While Jack is serving food to the people, the television switches on and they see Valerie bound and semi-conscious. Jack rushes to turn it off and finds a USB device broadcasting the video, leading Castiel to believe that Rudy is the culprit.

Sam and Dean sit across the table from Amara. They try to convince her to betray Chuck so that they can trap him. She tells them that she and Chuck are twins and when their bond was broken, when Chuck caged her, that caused the Big Bang. She knows caging him would hurt Chuck but refuses to help.

Back in Missouri, Jack crashes through a dirty apartment door where Rudy lives, with Cas following behind. They find his rotten bloated fly-infested corpse handcuffed to his bed. On the wall above are the words "lust".

Dean and Sam get in the Impala but as Dean starts the engine, he has second thoughts and decides to go back to talk to Amara again. He surprises her, sitting back down opposite her. They have a very deep and emotional conversation about why Amara brought back Mary. Amara says she wanted Dean to get to know Mary as a person, not the myth he had built up about her, and to recognize that there was no alternative utopian life if Mary had lived. She also says she hoped it would dissipate the anger inside him. Dean explains that the knowledge that their lives have been manipulated by Chuck makes him furious. He points out to Amara that Chuck doesn't care about anyone, including her. Amara asks if she can trust Dean. He says that he would never hurt her, and she says she will reconsider helping them.

Sylvia and her friend are sitting on the steps of the community center when she realizes that her friend posted something about Valerie's torture on social media. She is horrified, and stabs her friend in the stomach, telling her she believed but "she never did" and runs away. As Pastor Joe attends to her, Cas and Jack arrive and she reveals that it was Sylvia. Joe goes after Sylvia and Cas tells Jack to follow them as he heals the injured girl. Pastor Joe finds Valerie but is attacked by his daughter. She holds a knife to his throat as Jack arrives. She throws her father to the ground as Jack tries to reason with her. She stabs him in the heart, which doesn't injure Jack. Cas arrives and overpowers her and sends her to sleep. He destroys the restraints trapping Valerie and heals her, much to the shock of Joe.

In the morning, the police take Sylvia away in a police car driven by Zack, the crossroads demon disguised as a police officer, as Cas and Joe discuss what will happen with Sylvia. Joe assures them that he will be there for his daughter. In the truck going home Jack confesses to Cas the horrifying truth about Billie's plan – that her spell is turning him into a bomb, and he won't survive killing Chuck and Amara. Cas is close to tears as he refuses to accept this news, but Jack asks him not to tell Sam or Dean.

Back in the Bunker Dean can't sleep and wanders to the library where he takes a swig from a whisky bottle. Cas walks in and tells him they solved the case, while Dean tells him that they have convinced Amara to help. When Dean asks where he's going, Cas tells him he needs to find another way, but before he leaves he needs him and Sam to know something.

Characters

• Sam Winchester
• Dean Winchester
• Castiel
• Jack Kline
• Amara
• Pastor Joe
• Sylvia
• Zack

Definitions

• Alcohol
• Aliases
• Cameras
• Castiel's Cars
• Costumes & Disguises
• Crossroads
• Crossroads Demon
• The Darkness
• Dead Guy Robe
• Deities
• Demonology
• Gas-N-Sip
• Healing
• Impala
• Men of Letters Bunker
• Prayer
• Queer and Gender Diverse Characters
• Season 15 Callbacks
• Sedation
• Table of Death

Music

• "Lover's Prayer" by The Clickettes

(playing in the diner where Sam and Dean speak with Amara about stopping Chuck)

Quotes

Dean: Chuck said Amara loves keno.

Sam: I thought he was kidding.

Dean: He's not that funny.

Jack: Sam was right. It's not a monster.

Castiel: Well, he was half right. Sometimes humans can be the worst kind of monsters.
Jack: Yeah, but it's kind of not our thing. Guess we should just go back to the Bunker and do nothing while we wait for Sam and Dean.

Castiel: No. No, we're gonna stay. We can help.

Dean: Hey, man, Billie called us "Messengers of God's Destruction," okay? Did you think that was, what, gonna be easy? Bloodless? Mnh-mnh. We knew there was gonna be a catch. Least this time it's not you or me.

Amara: Hello, Dean. Miss me? You headed somewhere fun?

Dean: Well, we were headed to you, actually.
Sam: How'd you find us?

Amara: I smelled you from two states over. You have a very distinctive musk.

Castiel: My name is, um -- well, my name is not important. I do know what blind faith is. I used to just follow orders without question, and I did some pretty terrible things. I would never look beyond the plan. And then, of course, when it all came crashing down, I found myself lost. I didn't know what my purpose was anymore. And then one day, something changed, something amazing. I... I guess I found a family and I became a father. And in that, I rediscovered my faith. I rediscovered who I am.

Amara: Apologies, Dean, but you don't get anything. You see me sitting across from you. You see a woman. You see Chuck as a squirrely weirdo. But you can't imagine what we really are. We came into existence together. We are the same.

Sam: The former Death, he told us you were the firstborn.
Amara: Or he told you what you needed to hear. Chuck and I, we're twins. Creation and destruction, light and dark, balance. And when we split apart, all this was created.
Sam: The Big Bang?
Dean: When you split? So, when... when he threw you in a cage. When he betrayed you, when he trapped you for an eternity.

Amara: You can't play on that, not with me. Maybe I'm a fool, but I believe caging me hurt him deeply. And I know for me to do that to him would be an agony. I'm sorry. I can't help you.

Dean: Why?

Amara: I told you Dean, he's my--
Dean: No, no. No. Why did you bring her back? You said that you wanted to show me something, that you wanted to, uh, to teach me something. I don't know if you were following along, but your little experiment, it came to a not-so happy ending. My mom is dead. So what exactly did you want to show me? What was the point?

Amara: I wanted two things for you, Dean. I wanted you to see that your mother was just a person, that the myth you'd held onto for so long of a better life, a life where she'd lived was just that, a myth. I wanted you to see that the real complicated Mary was better than your childhood dream because she was real. That now is always better than then. That you could finally start to accept your life.

Dean: I'm not angry, Amara. I'm furious to know that all my life, I've been nothing but a hamster in a wheel stuck in a story. And you know whose fault that is? Chuck's. And it ain't just me. We're all trapped. Sam and Cas and Jack and even you. And you want to talk about the people that he's killing right now--

Amara: Stop.
Dean: Why? He's not stopping. And you're doing nothing to stop it. Think he gives a rat's ass about you? Well, now who's living in a dreamworld?
Amara: Can I... trust you?
Dean: I would never hurt you.

Amara: Then... I-I'll think about it.

Jack: I'm gonna die. When we -- when I kill Chuck and Amara, I'll die too.

Castiel: What?
Jack: Billie's spells have been turning me into some kind of bomb and when I go off, God and Amara will cease to exist. And... I won't survive. Don't tell Sam and Dean.
Castiel: Oh, yeah? Why not?
Jack: They won't understand. But I know... this is the only way they'll ever forgive me.
Castiel: No. I watched you die once and I will not do it again.

Jack: It's not your choice.

Dean: Wait. What's happening? Where are you going?

Castiel: Going to look for another way. I have to.
Dean: What the hell are you talking about?

Castiel: Dean, in case something goes wrong and I don't make it back, there's something you and Sam need to know.

Trivia & References

"Gimme Shelter" is the opening track to the Rolling Stones album, Let It Bleed, as well as the title to the documentary film that chronicled the infamous Altamont Free Concert.

Sylvia's murders are an homage to those in the movie Se7en, where people who are deemed to have committed one of the seven deadly sins are killed in a manner related to that sin. The messages on the TV and the finger trap the third victim is in is reminiscent of the SAW franchise.

Dean: Well you go "Highway to Heaven" that bitch!

and
Zack: Wait, are angels solving people crimes now? Like "Highway to Heaven" but with murder or something?

Highway to Heaven was an '80s TV series starring Michael Landon as an angel who works with a cop to help people in need. Dean previously mentioned Michael Landon and the show in 4.02 Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean Winchester.

Castiel and Jack use the aliases "Agent Swift" and "Agent Lovato," respectively. This continues Castiel's tradition of using the surnames of female pop stars as his cover -- in this case Taylor Swift and Demi Lovato. Jack holds his badge upside down, as Cas used to do when he first went undercover.

Sheriff Adams: In the field long, Lovato? You look greener than Baby Yoda!

To be "green" is to be inexperienced at something. Baby Yoda is a (green) character in the series The Mandalorian. Emily Swallow who plays Amara, played the Armorer in the first season of the show.

Jack: I just graduated from CSI.

CSI stands for Crime Scene Investigation. Jack possibly picked up the term from one of the many TV shows in the CSI franchise.

Dean: Thank you.

Amara: And I got wind of your friend Castiel's angelic APB. I knew you were looking for me.

APB is an abbreviation for "All Points Bulletin" which is a police form of general alert.

Amara: First, lunch.

Dean: Pierogis?
Amara: You're hungry. I'm hungry. I like new earthly experiences and I have never had a Pennsylvania pierogi.

A pierogi is a boiled filled dumpling-like pastry which originated in Eastern Europe. In the US they are most popular in Pennsylvania due to the large immigration there from Poland and the Ukraine.

Minutiae

Filming Locations: Map of known filming locations

This was the first episode of television show that Matt Cohen directed.

Steve Bacic, who played Pastor Joe, previously played Dr. Sexy in 5.08 Changing Channels.

Nicole Muñoz, who played Sylvia, previously played Nora -- the little girl whose parents get killed in 2.02 Everybody Loves a Clown.

Castiel: Dean, Amara's dangerous. You can't just charge in.

Dean: We're not, okay? Plus, you know, she and I used to have a thing, so...

Dean is referencing the connection he and Amara share.

Jack: Did anyone find any small bags with chicken bones inside?

Castiel: Anyone smell any sulfur?
Jack: Or feel cold?

A bag with chicken bones may be a witch's hex bag. Sulfur can indicate the presence of demons, and cold spots the presence of ghosts.

The picture of himself that Castiel uses to summon a crossroads demon is an image from 13.06 Tombstone.

Zack uses a faux English accent and slips into an American one when he learns that Castiel and Jack are investigating a serial killing. This is a nod to when Crowley, who generally spoke in a British accent, slipped into an American accent on two occasions, in 8.23 Sacrifice when Crowley gives an impassioned speech to Sam after disposing of Abaddon and 12.12 Stuck in the Middle (With You) when Ramiel offered him the previously empty position of King of Hell.

We learn from the crossroads demon Zack that Rowena has instituted a "no deals rule', due to her belief that people will end up where they belong.

Amara reveals that the Big Bang was created when she and Chuck split apart and that they are in fact twins.

The crossroads demon Zack appears as the police deputy driving Sylvia away after her arrest. He had earlier suggested he could help Castiel and Jack in their investigation by being their driver.

It's revealed that Billie's spells are turning Jack into some kind of bomb that will cause Chuck and Amara to cease to exist. However, Jack won't survive it.

Jack's volunteer registration form.

Alex Calvert posted a photo of the volunteer registration form Jack filled out at the Community Center. When he writes his name, he purposefully draws the "K" backwards, he misspells Lovato, his FBI alias in the episode, as "Lavato", and he put down his birthyear as 2017 rather than use an earlier year to hide his true nature like in previous episodes. It lists his home as "the Bunker", his gender as M which is crossed out and replaced with N, his email address is nougatlover2017@winchestermail.com, his home phone number is listed as "Call Sam or Dean!" and the cell number he provides is (316)-555-0001 (316 is the area code for Wichita while the real life area code for Lebanon is 785), while under Driver's License he wrote "Drove the Impala once!", his education status as "Bobby taught me to box", and the program he wishes to volunteer for is "Helping people."

Sides, Scripts & Transcripts

• 15.15 Gimme Shelter (transcript)

Promotion

• Synopsis
• Photos
• Promo
• Inside: Gimme Shelter
• Director Matt Cohen on Setting Up Castiel’s Big News and Bringing ‘a Little Soap Opera to Sci-Fi’ by Variety