The Fall

The angels being expelled from Heaven.

The Fall is the name of the incident in which all the angels in the Host of Heaven were cast out by Metatron in an act of revenge.

Prologue

Yeah. Just – just picture it. We ride to the rescue, save the day – make a great story. Look, the angels are like a big, dysfunctional family. We need to lock them all in a room until we work these problems out – all the factions, you, me– – Metatron, 8.22 Clip Show

After learning of Castiel from Kevin Tran, Metatron approaches his brother in an attempt to get caught up with what is going on in Heaven since he was away. Metatron reveals to Castiel that from what he was able to piece together on his own, that without the archangels running things in Heaven, it is open warfare with factions upon factions fighting and betraying each other to gain a foothold. Castiel tells Metatron he is aware of what is going on, and blames himself for all the blood spilled. Metatron tells Castiel that Heaven still needs them, and proposing locking all the angels in a room to work their problems out, effectively shutting down Heaven.

Teleporting himself to a little restaurant in Ojai, California, Castiel quickly follows Metatron and questions what he means by "shutting down" Heaven. Metatron goes on to reveal to Castiel that much like the trials to close the Gates of Hell, there are trials to shut the Gates of Heaven, but is not strong enough to go through the trials himself, and needs a warrior like Castiel to do them. Castiel agrees, feeling that he was the cause of the problems in Heaven, and that he should be the one to fix it.

"Trials"

Oh, you know, the trials -- God's little 'pull in case of emergency.' The Leviathans get out of control, you put them in Purgatory. Demons get a little too demonic, toss 'em into Hell. Angels get uppity, slam the pearly gates. – Metatron, 8.22 Clip Show

With Castiel on board, Metatron tells him he needs to understand that the tasks will be difficult, pointing to their waitress, Jane, telling Castiel that for the first trial he will have to cut out her heart, as she is a Nephilim. This information brings on apprehension to Castiel, as he tells Metatron that the girl is innocent and didn't choose to be a Nephilim. Metatron agreed, but asked Castiel which was more important, her life or his family?

Castiel and Metatron follow Jane on her way home, when she stops and tells them she knows what they are, noting she could see their halos. She pleads with them, saying she only wants to live her life. But as Castiel advances, he regretfully apologizes, only to incite Jane's wrath, who easily overpowers both Metatron and Castiel. As she is about to show Castiel what an "abomination" is, Metatron is able to stab her in the neck from behind, killing her and completing the first of the trials.

Finding Castiel sitting on a bench, Metatron tries to assure Castiel they did the right thing, telling him the Nephilim was a monster. When Castiel asks him of the next trial, Metatron reveals a man across the street in a bar named Dwight Charles is to be struck by Cupid's arrow within 24 hours, telling him that the next trial requires they retrieves "Cupid's bow." As they wait in the bar, Castiel attempts to expediate the process by finding a woman for Dwight Charles to fall in love with. But the sudden arrival of Naomi and her angels for Metatron throw a spanner in the works, as he willing goes with them, leaving Castiel to finish the second trial without him. Seeking help, Castiel approaches Dean for aide, telling him he plans to shut it all down, Heaven, Hell, everything. Dean agrees to help and joins Castiel at the bar, but have had no luck in finding a women, until a beer delivery woman, Gail, enters the bar. Believing "Cupid" to be close by, they are surprised to learn that Gail is the cherub, and approach her behind the bar. Castiel attempts to use force to get the bow, until Dean intervenes, speaking with Gail they learn of that the chaos in Heaven has extended to Earth, as the cherubs no longer get daily orders. Trusting that Castiel can fix things, she freely offers up her bow, which Castiel removes from her body.

While in Heaven, getting information extracted from his mind by Naomi, she learns of Metatron's true intent, and questions his motives. Metatron tells her it is simply payback for having been run from his home after God abandoned them. Naomi teleports back to Earth in an attempt to appeal to Castiel to stop the trials, telling him of Metatron's motive of revenge. Not believing Namoi, Castiel continues on his path, going to Naomi's office in Heaven to find her with a drill in her head, and is ambushed by Metatron, who straps Castiel to the chair. He reveals to Castiel that there were never trials, and that they have been gathering the ingredients for a spell, with the final piece being grace as he steals it from Castiel. Having rendered him human, Metatron tells Castiel to go live a full life on Earth and when he dies, to come find him in Heaven and tell him his story, before sending him back to Earth.

The Fall

An angel's wings burning off it's vessel.

Angels. They're falling. – Dean Winchester, 8.23 Sacrifice

In the Bunker, as Kevin is about to leave, the various machines begin to turn on by themselves, as a warning alarm goes off, and the world map begins to light up. As Castiel regains consciousness on a hill, he looks up to see the angels being ejected from Heaven. After preventing Sam from completing the demon tablet trials, Dean and a dying Sam exit the church to find the angel's falling, witnessing one angel's wings burn off it's vessel as it crash landed near them. The next day, as Sam is being treated in a hospital, Dean notices the news reporting the angel's falling as a “Global Meteor Shower.”

In the aftermath of the Fall, a host of angels were killed when they were ejected from Heaven, their bodies becoming shredded by the Fall. Wings were destroyed, leaving only vestigial limbs incapable of flight, while other angels had their wings completely burned away. Castiel would become a fugitive, blamed for his unwitting part in the expulsion of the angels, and would be pursued by various factions of angels, as well as rogue reapers under the employee of Bartholomew.

Aftermath

Castiel, the angels... Our numbers were greatly diminished after the Fall. No one's made new angels since the dawn of creation. We're going extinct. You would need a powerful force to make more of us. – Dumah, 13.07 War of the Worlds

After finding vessels, angels on Earth began forming factions once again, leading to another civil war, where even more angels would perish. Not long after taking over Heaven, Metatron would begin to find his solitude tedious and approach Gadreel with an offer to help him rebuild Heaven. Sending Gadreel out with the Horn of Gabriel, angels would be drawn to his location and given an offer to join with Metatron, and those that refused would be slaughtered. Eventually Castiel's hand would be forced and he would take on a leadership role among the angels, by consolidating various factions under him as they would hunt for Metatron.

Trivia

• While Metatron was not truthful with his intent, he did not exactly lie to Castiel as he told him in 8.22 Clip Show:

"Angels get uppity, slam the pearly gates."

Only leaving out which side of the gates the angels would be on.

• As the angels fell, the map in the Men of Letters Bunker began to light up revealing a majority of the angels appeared to have fallen in and around Europe and the Middle East.