9.06 Heaven Can't Wait

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Title Heaven Can't Wait
Episode # Season 9, Episode 6
First aired November 12, 2013
Directed by Rob Spera
Written by Robert Berens
On IMDB Heaven Can't Wait
Outline
Monster Angel: Rit Zien
Timeline
Location(s) Lebanon, Kansas
Rexford, Idaho
[[{{{prevep}}}|« Previous Episode]] | [[{{{nextep}}}|Next Episode »]]

Synopsis

Rexford, Ohio

A distraught man talks to a suicide hotline, but hangs up. Then he puts a gun to his head. A young man - Ephraim - appears, promising to end the man’s pain. When he puts his hand on the distraught man’s forehead, the man explodes in a burst of pink goo.

Castiel, under the alias of “Steve”, works as a sale assistant at the Gas n’ Sip, His boss, Nora, is late because she is a single mom. She says she’s free the next evening, and asks Castiel if he is too. Castiel interprets this as an invitation to go on date.

At the Men of Letters bunker, Kevin tells Dean and Sam that he has translated some of the Angel Tablet by using an ancient codex. Sam suggests they do more research to see if they can translate this language. Dean gets a terse phone call from Castiel about the disappearances in Rexford. Dean heads out for Rexford alone, telling Sam he is too weak for the trials.

Dean arrives and meets with the local sheriff. The distraught man’s cabin is completely covered by a pink substance. The sheriff tells Dean that it’s made of hair, bone, organs, everything. Three other people have died in a similar way a shut-in and an unhappy couple. Dean calls Sam, who insists he should be there. Dean says no, all the while gazing at Castiel working at the Gas n ‘ Sip.

Back at the bunker, Kevin tells Sam there is some smudging on the tablet, as if the scribe does not want anyone to read it. He and Sam cannot translate it. Sam suggests they get Crowley to translate Crowley can read the tablet, but refuses. When Sam tries to reason with him, Crowley crumples the paper up and throws it in Sam’s face. Sam threatens to give Crowley up to Abbadon. Crowley asks for one phone call.

Dean visits Castiel at the Gas n’ Sip, making fun of Castiel's work. Castiel responds that there is a human dignity to his job.

A teenage girl is upset that her boyfriend broke up with her in real time, instead of Facebook. When she says she wants to die, she turns and sees Ephraim. “I can help you with that,” he says, and smites her. Dean brings Castiel to the crime scene. Castiel is scared - he recognises it as the work of a Rit Zein. In battle, the Rit Zein were angels who tended to wounded angels. If the angels were too far gone, the Rit Zein put them out of their misery. Now, new to earth, the angel cannot tell the difference between the ebb and flow of human pain.

At the bunker, Crowley proves that he can read the translation. Sam decides to let Crowley have one phone call. Kevin says letting the King of Hell and Abbadon communicate with each other is a terrible idea. The phone call involves drawing blood. When Sam starts to do it, Crowley demands Kevin’s blood. He says he has had enough of Sam’s blood, he wants something fresh. After some coaxing, Kevin agrees. He fills a syringe with his blood. With the blood bubbling in a bowl, Crowley contacts Hell. When he says he is their King, he is put on hold.

Dean drives Castiel to Nora’s house for his date. He convinces his friend to leave his blue work vest in the car, and unbutton his shirt. At Nora’s door, Castiel clips a rose and hides it behind his back for a romantic gesture. Castiel enters to find that Nora is going on a date with someone else; she wants Castiel to babysit her infant daughter, Tanya, assuring him that Tanya never cries. As soon as the door closes, Tanya starts wailing.

Crowley reaches Abbadon. Abbadon gleefully tells Crowley that she has doubled his projections by voiding his contracts and bringing more souls to Hell. She insults Crowley and tells him she will soon replace him. Crowley yells that you cannot rule Hell with chaos, and she will burn. “I can’t wait,” she snarls. Crowley passes the bowl back to Sam. Crowley asks for the transcripts, saying that he keeps his promises. Crowley reads the transcripts, and gives them the bad news: the angel spell is irreversible.

Castiel calms Tanya by singing the theme song to “The Greatest American Hero.” She quiets down, but as soon as he puts her to bed, she starts howling again. As he holds her, Castiel reflects on how she was pushed out into the world with nothing to guide her. He says he used to be able to stop her crying by one touch. When he puts his fingers on her forehead, Castiel feels that Tanya is running a fever.

When Sam is washing out the bowl of blood, he notices something amiss with the set of syringes. Opening it, he finds one gone. Crowley palmed one of the syringes. Heading to Crowley, he sees Crowley injecting himself with Kevin’s blood and leaning back, sighing with relief.

From the sheriff, Dean learns that the husband of the couple was “filled with divine glory.” and recognises the truck he saw outside Nora's house.

Ephraim turns up at Nora’s because he he could feel Castiel’s pain. The angel says that Castiel has given up his responsibility to his own kind, that choosing a human life means choosing death. Castiel tries to draw a blood sigil but the angel stops him. Dean bursts in, but the angel flicks him across the room. Before the angel can smite Castiel, Dean slides him the angel blade and Castiel stabs him.

Dean leaves Castiel at the Gas n’ Sip. At the Gas n’ Sip, Castiel sees on TV that no one can figure out the “meteor shower” - what the event that occurred when the angels fell is being called.

Characters

Definitions

Music

  • "Believe It or Not" by Joey Scarbury
(the "lullaby" sung by Castiel)

Quotes

Sam: Crowley?
Dean: I'm just saying, we're not keeping him chained up for the one-liners.
Castiel: My Grace is gone. What did you expect? Do you have any idea how hard it was? When I fell to earth, I didn't just lose my powers. I-- I had nothing. Now I'm a sales associate.
Dean: Wow. So you went from fighting heavenly battles to nuking taquitos.
Castiel: Nachos, too.
Castiel: I guess you can't see it, but there's a real dignity to what I do. A human dignity.
Nora: I hate to interrupt you guys, but a customer just had an accident in the men's room.
Dean: That's what this is about!

Castiel: What?
Dean: The girl.
Castiel: No, Dean, it's not. Nora, she's a very nice woman. I'm pretty sure she's not a reaper intent on killing me, and she's asked me out. Going on dates, that's something humans do, right?

Dean: Yeah. I mean, my dates usually end when I run out of singles, but, uh, yeah. Yeah, that's something that humans do.

Trivia & References

The title of the episode is a play on Heaven Can Wait, a 1978 film starring and co-directed by Warren Beatty, about a man who gets a second chance on Earth after dying prematurely. There was also a 1943 film of the same name, about a man who must tell his life story before be admitted into Hell (Spoiler: He ends up in Heaven). Writer Bob berenes said it referred to the film of the same name and also that "Cas and Crowley have been sidelined, Cas in his human life, Crow in the bunker. But the call of heroism/villainy beckons" source.
The lullaby that Castiel sings to the baby "Believe It or Not," was the theme song to the 1981 series The Greatest American Hero.
According to writer Robert Berens, the name of the baby Castiel babysits, Tanya, is a reference to baby Tanya from the 1996 comedy Citizen Ruth (Source).
Live tweets from writer Robert Berens, executive producer Adam Glass, Osric Chau and others during broadcast.
Dean: Have you tried Professor Morrison?
Professor Morrison is an Anthropology professor in Seattle that Sam and Dean consulted about the Amazons (7.13 The Slice Girls}, and later to translate ancient Mayan {8.03 Heartache}. Sam informs Dean that the professor has moved to Papua New Guinea to study the Trobriand Islanders.
Dean: Just be careful, don't fall for any of his "quid pro quo" crap.
This is a reference to a line from Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs when he says "Mmh. If I help you, Clarice, it will be "turns" with us too. Quid pro quo. I tell you things, you tell me things. Not about this case, though. About yourself. Quid pro ..."
Castiel: In the battlefields of Heaven, there was a special class of angel - the Rit Zien. It's Encochian for "hands of mercy."
In Enochian "Rit Zien" translates literally as "mercy of my hands" (Source).
Dean: (to Castiel) Undo your buttons... That's far enough, Tony Manero.
Tony Manero is the suave ladies man lead character in the 1977 movie about disco, Saturday Night Fever.
Dean's FBI alias for the episode was Lee Emrey, a reference to character actor R. Lee Errmey who is best known for his role as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Full Metal Jacket.

Minutiae

This episode was shot 7th but will air sixth in the season.
Pepto Bismol was used for the pink exploding body spray effect.
Abaddon, who answers the 'call' from Crowley outside a Castle Storage building - which may or may not be the same one that John's Lock-up is in.
Originally Castiel was scripted to sing AC/DC's "Highway to Hell" to baby Tanya (Source).

Sides, Scripts & Transcripts

Promotion

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