Difference between revisions of "8.23 Sacrifice"

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Revision as of 16:24, 13 May 2014


SN823PromoWikieppage300.jpg
Title Sacrifice
Episode # Season 8, Episode 23
First aired May 15, 2013
Directed by Philip Sgriccia
Written by Jeremy Carver
On IMDB Sacrifice
Outline The Winchesters kidnap Crowley and Sam begins the final trial. Castiel tries to also complete his trials and succeeds, mistakenly causing the angels to fall from Heaven
Monster Metatron
Abaddon
Timeline Late May 2013
Location(s) Houston, Texas
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
[[{{{prevep}}}|« Previous Episode]] | [[{{{nextep}}}|Next Episode »]]

Synopsis

Sheriff Jody Mills is on a date with a man that she thinks is named Roderick but is actually Crowley. The two get along great and Crowley claims to have lost someone special too, reminding Jody of the deaths of her son and husband and to start crying. Jody goes to the bathroom to calm down, but falls under a spell Crowley casts that causes her to choke on her own blood - there is a Hexbag in her handbag. Sam and Dean call Crowley and demand he stop and he offers them a deal, using the little time Jody has left to force the issue. The deal is that they stop the undertaking the Trials to close the gates of Hell and give him the demon tablet, and he will stop killing Jody and everyone else they've ever saved. Dean agrees on the condition they trade the angel tablet for the demon tablet and Crowley agrees if they say "I surrender."

In order to make the deal happen, Kevin digs up the first half of the tablet where he hid it, ironically under a sign depicting the Devil. Kevin puts the tablet halves back together and gives it to Sam and Dean. In return they give him the key to the Bunker, telling him to wait there.

At the ruins of Singer Salvage Yard, Sam shows Crowley the demon tablet to prove he has it while Crowley shows them the angel tablet. Crowley produces a contract many yards long, and Dean insists on reading the fine detail. As he does, he gets close to Crowley and snaps the handcuffs on him that they found in the Bunker - ones covered in spell work that trap Crowley.

An angel named Nathaniel approaches Naomi with the news that one of their freelance operatives has spotted Castiel in Houston, Texas. To Naomi's shock, Nathaniel reveals that Metatron has been spotted with him.

Metatron tells Castiel that the second trial is to obtain the bow of a Cupid. Metatron has ascertained that Dwight Charles - a bar tender - will be shot by a Cupid's arrow. He and Metatron start watching Dwight, but Naomi arrives. She orders an angel to kill Castiel, but after the bartender shoots the angel and Metatron tells Castiel to stand down, she just leaves with her henchmen and Metatron.

In her office in Heaven, Naomi straps Metatron to a chair. Despite having never met in person, Metatron recognizes her as the angel that was supposed to "debrief" him after God left Heaven. Naomi tells him that the Archangels wanted to know the secrets in his mind and she now wants to know why he came out of hiding and what his plans are. Naomi tortures Metatron and is shocked by what she finds, asking him why he is going with the plan that he is. Metatron tells her that he was elevated to God's Scribe and it was incredible, but he knew once God left the Archangels would try and get God's secrets from him. He was forced to flee. Now, Metatron says, he wants revenge.

Sam and Dean take Crowley to a small church to undergo the third of the Trials - to cure him. They secure Crowley in the middle of a Devil's Trap. Sam needs to confess his sins in order to purify his blood to use on Crowley. Dean lists a number of things Sam has done working with Ruby, killing Lilith, letting Lucifer out, losing his soul, and not looking for Dean when he went to Purgatory.

Castiel arrives, telling Dean he needs his help in undertaking the trials. Dean is reluctant to go, but Sam insists he will be fine. At the Bunker they give the Angel Tablet to Kevin, and ask that he translate it, to find out what the remaining trials may be.

Cas and Dean return to watch Dwight Charles at his bar. They see a delivery woman Gail arrive at the bar, they think she will be the one that Dwight falls in love with. However she is the Cupid, and she causes Dwight and his regular customer Rod to fall in love. Outside the bar, Dean and Castiel tell the Cupid they need her bow, which appears as a mark on her hand. She tells them how chaotic Heaven is, and willingly helps them.

Meanwhile Sam has continued injecting Crowley with his blood. At one point Crowley bites Sam, and when he leaves to get a bandage, Crowley casts a spell and uses the blood to send a call for help. Abaddon arrives, and throws Sam through a window, but she tells Crowley she is not there to help him, but to take over ruling Hell. But Sam douses her meatsuit with Holy Oil, setting her on fire, adn she vacates the body and leaves. Crowley, who is obviously regaining his humanity, and tries to bond with Sam, tearfully declaring that he deserves to loved.

Naomi appears on Earth near where Castiel and Dean are talking on the phone to Kevin who has been examining the Angel Tablet, cannot find any mention of the trials Castiel has undertaken. Castiel angrily confronts her with his Angel Sword, but Naomi insists that she is just there to talk, not fight and Dean gets Castiel to hear her out. Naomi reveals what she has learned from Metatron: as revenge for his expulsion from Heaven, he is using Castiel to expel all angels permanently, not close the gates of Heaven. Castiel doesn't believe her, but Naomi insists that its true. She expresses regret for all of her actions, crying and tells Castiel and Dean that angels were meant to protect humanity and somewhere along the line they lost sight of that. Naomi, reminding Dean that she told him he could trust her, tells him that while she wants him to close the gates of Hell, she has learned that doing so will kill Sam, that God intended for the person closing the gates to have to make the ultimate sacrifice. Naomi tells Castiel that if he wishes to return to Heaven she is now willing to hear him out and disappears. Castiel doesn't believe her claims and Kevin Tran is unable to back them up with the angel tablet, but Dean does and has Castiel take him to Sam.

When Castiel finds Metatron, he extracts Castiel's Grace from him, telling him its the final part of a spell that will achieve what Naomi described. He sends Cas back to Earth, and completes the spell.

Dean arrives just as Sam is about to complete the ritual, and begs him to stop warning it will kill him. Sam is non-plussed and tells Dean the sin he confessed earlier, was of all the times he had let Dean down. He fears if he does it again Dean will turn to someone else - an angel like Cas or a vampire like Benny - for support. Dean is passionate in disavowing this - "Don't you dare think that there is anything, past or present, that I would put in front of you!" he says. Sam says he feels consumed by the trial, and Dean holds him, telling him to let it go. The feeling seems to abate, but suddenly Sam is struck by pain.

Dean carries him outside, and they collapse on the ground near the Impala. Above in the sky are what look like thousands of falling stars. "What are they?" asks Sam. "Angels" replies Dean, "They're falling."

Characters

Definitions

Music

(plays during "The Road So Far" recap of events; also played in 1.21 Salvation, 2.22 All Hell Breaks Loose: Part Two, 3.16 No Rest for the Wicked, 4.22 Lucifer Rising, 5.22 Swan Song, 6.22 The Man Who Knew Too Much and 7.23 Survival of the Fittest)
  • "Baby Got Back" Sir Mix-A-Lot
(Crowley's ringtone)
  • "Your Other Man" by Josey James & Waylon Jefferson James (Extreme Music)
(plays in the bar while Cas and Metatron wait for a cupid to show up)
  • "I'm So Blue" by Katie Thompson & Martyn Laight (CPM - Carlin Production Music)
(plays in the bar while Dean and Cas wait for a cupid to show up; also played in 4.01 Lazarus Rising)
  • "Nice to Be with You" by Gallery
(plays in the bar when the two guys fall in love)
  • "Changes" by David Bowie
(sung by Crowley as Sam tries to cure him)

Quotes

Dean: This is a secret lair, OK? No keggers.
Dean: You show us yours, and we'll show you ours.
Crowley: Really, Dean? I'm trying to conduct a professional negotiation here, and you want to talk dangly bits?
Castiel: There was one female but I don't think she was female.
Castiel: Do you really think its wise to be drinking on the job?
Dean: What show you been watching?
Dean: Whoa - talk first, stab later.
Castiel: What was he like?
Metatron: Who, God? Pretty much like you'd expect. Larger than life, gruff, a bit of a sexist. But fair. Eminently fair.
Castiel: Yes. Would you say that you're looking for a 'partner in crime' or someone who's into nurse role play and light domination?"
Dwight Charles: (long pause) Brother, it's ten a.m. on a Tuesday.
Abaddon: Hello boys.
Crowley: That's my line.
Dean: Metatron lied. If you finish this trial, you're dead Sam.
Sam: So?
Sam: You want to know what I confessed in there? What my greatest sin was? It was how many times I let you down. I can't do that again.

Dean: Sam --
Sam: What happens when you've decided I can't be trusted again? I mean, who are you gonna turn to next time instead of me? Another angel, another -- another vampire? Do you have any idea what it feels like to watch your brother just --

Dean: Hold on, hold on! You seriously think that? Because none of it -- none of it -- is true. Listen, man, I know we've had our disagreements, okay? Hell, I know I've said some junk that set you back on your heels. But, Sammy...come on. I killed Benny to save you. I'm willing to let this bastard and all the sons of bitches that killed mom walk because of you. Don't you dare think that there is anything, past or present, that I would put in front of you! It has never been like that, ever! I need you to see that. I'm begging you.

Trivia & References

The ringtone on Crowley's phone is Sir Mix-A-Lot's "Baby Got Back".
Sam and Dean travel to Bobby's Place to make the deal with Crowley. They both pause for a moment at Bobby's Car - a 1971 Chevelle which has been abandoned and left to rust since Bobby's death.
Crowley: What's that old expression? "Success has many fathers, failure is a Winchester."
The actual quote is "Success has many fathers, failure is an orphan."
Sam: Love the suit.
This might be a reference to one of Hannibal Lecter's lines in Silence of the Lambs.
Crowley bites Sam to get his blood in order to make a makeshift communications device similar to the Goblet of blood used by demons.
Dean: So this is it? E.T. goes home.
: Dean is referring to the eponymous hero in the movie E.T. the Extraterrestial who, at the end of the movie, gets to return to his home planet.
Kevin: Okay, a-and I should have mentioned this six months ago, but the sports metaphors... You want to motivate me - "Magic" cards, "Skyrim," Aziz Ansari.
Magic: The Gathering is a trading card game, Skyrim, its full name is "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" is a role-playing video game, and Aziz Ansari is a comedian who also appears in the TV show "Parks and Recreation".
Crowley: Seriously? Me, seriously? We just shared a foxhole, you and I. We beat back the Tet Offensive, outrun the --the Rape of Nanking, together! And still you're gonna do me like this?! Band of Brothers? The Pacific? None of this means anything to you? All those motels, you never once watched HBO, not once? Girls? You're my Marnie, Moose. A-and Hannah -- she just -- she needs to be loved. She deserves it. Don't we all -- you, me -- we deserve to be loved. I deserve to be loved! I just want to be loved.
The Tet Offensive was a military campaign in 1968 during the American-Vietnamese War. The Rape of Nanking was an instance of mass rape and murder by the Japanese forces in the Chinese city of Nanking of China in 1937 during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Band of Brothers and The Pacific were HBO mini-series that documented the Allied forces in World War II in Europe and the Pacific theater respectively. Supernatural alumus Richard Speight starred in Band of Brothers. Girls is a comedy, also on HBO. The main character is Hannah Horvath played by creator Lena Durham, her best friend is named Marnie.
Metatron: "Of the blessings set before you, make your choice and be content." Not a big reader, are we?
Metatron is quoting English writer Samuel Johnson.
Castiel: Do you really think its wise to be drinking on the job?

Dean: What show you been watching?

This is obviously a case of breaking the fourth wall with Dean referring to his drinking all the time on the show. See also Meta Episodes

Minutiae

The book Metatron is reading at the bustop with Cas is "Rumblefish" by S.E. Hinton.

  • The bar was decorated as an homage to Schuba's Tavern in Chicago.

  • Church built by the Supernatural construction crew.

  • Interior of church on sound stage.

Sides, Scripts & Transcripts

Promotion

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