Four Weeks Ago
A demon, Dar, screams in agony as she's tortured. She admits that she's surprised that Dean has become a demon, and her interrogator demands to know where Crowley. Dar is surprised at how vicious her captor is... and Sam stabs her in the stomach and repeats his question. She says that she doesn't know and Sam drains the blood from her neck wound and tells her to make the call and find someone who can find Dean.
The Present
Sam gets his wounded shoulder into a sling and checks in with a hunter, Mike. Mike admits that there are no unusual signs of demonic activity, and Sam thanks him for his time. After checking the Internet for sightings, Sam goes to Dean's room and looks at the note his brother apparently left telling Sam to let him go. Continuing his search, Sam finds an Internet news piece about a man in Ohio, Drew Nelly, who went missing three years ago after he killed his family, and has turned up dead. He calls Castiel and tells the angel what he's found. Castiel is living in a cheap apartment and is clearly ill. Hearing him cough over the phone, Sam says that it must be nothing and assures Castiel that he doesn't blame him for what the demon did to his shoulder. He tells Castiel that he's tired and agrees with Castiel when the angel says that he misses Dean. Castiel wonders why Dean left and if he is still himself.
Dean is drinking and singing karaoke at the Black Spur bar in North Dakota, while Crowley negotiates with a couple of men. After he finishes his song, Dean hits on a waitress, Anne Marie, and they end up in bed in Crowley's motel room. The next morning, Anne Marie prepares for work and admits that the sex was good. Dean tells her not to get too attached because he's just passing through, and Anne Marie is irritated with his blunt approach. Crowley comes in and complains that Dean is having sex in his bed.
Once Anne Marie leaves, Crowley tells Dean to get dressed. They play foosball against the two local men Crowley was talking to earlier and lose. Dean tells Crowley that Anne Marie means nothing to him, but sees Anne Marie's boyfriend Matt drag her outside. Crowley and Dean go outside and Dean starts beating Matt and then tells him to stay away from Anne Marie. As they go back inside, a demon watches Dean.
Hannah comes to see Castiel and explains that she and the angels still have no leader. She assures Castiel that Metatron is still locked up, and wonders why Castiel hasn't come back to them. Hannah insists that Heaven needs his help because although most of the angels have returned to their home, a few have insisted on staying on Earth. Two of them, Daniel and Adina, killed the angel that was sent to bring them back. Castiel reluctantly agrees to help find them.
Sam visits the police station in Ohio, posing as a FBI agent, and the detective says that nobody knows for sure if Drew was murdered. When Sam wonders what he means, the detective says that it may have been self-defense and brings up the surveillance footage from the gas station where Drew's death took place.
That night, Dean goes outside to take a leak and senses the demon who was watching him earlier. He invites the demon to attack him, hoping that he'll be a challenge.
Sam and the detective watch the footage, which shows Drew attacking a man reading a porn magazine.
The demon admits that he's one of Abaddon's soldiers, and Dean figures that he wants revenge for killing his queen. He draws the First Blade and easily kills the demon.
On the video, Drew's victim draws the First Blade and kills his attacker, and realizes that it's Dean. The detective assures him that the victim's photo is being sent out on the wire. Once Sam is alone, he rewinds the footage and confirms that Dean's eyes are solid black.
A man, Cole, is at home exercising while his wife makes breakfast for their son. A fax comes in and Cole's son brings it in. The wife asks if it's him and Cole says that it is, and she bursts into tears. Cole then loads up on guns and checks the photo again to make sure that it's Dean from the gas station.
Castiel and Hannah pull over to take a break from Castiel's driving. She realizes that he's dying because of his lack of grace and says that he needs to obtain more. Castiel refuses, saying that their mission takes precedent, and reminds her that he would need to kill another angel to save himself. He refuses to do so and Hannah wisely doesn't push the issue.
Sam talks to the clerk at the gas station, who admits that he was too busy hiding to see much. However, he did find Drew's phone where he dropped it underneath a shelf. Sam checks the phone log and discovers that the demon that possessed Drew three years ago was talking with... Crowley. When Crowley gets Sam's call, he warns Sam that Dean is now a demon, created by the Mark of Cain. Sam figures that Crowley is up to something and using a demon to impersonate Dean, but Crowley suggests that Sam is jealous that Crowley has Dean rather than Sam. Sam promises to kill him but Crowley notes that Sam has no way to find him and hangs up. Sam checks the phones and realizes that he can track Crowley's phone to North Dakota.
Castiel and Hannah track Daniel to a creek where he's fishing. They confront him and Castiel asks him if the fish fight. Daniel says that they want to be free to put up a fight, but that they only fight in self-defense. When Hannah insists that they all have to obey Heaven, Daniel explains that since the Fall, he's come to enjoy the freedom that life on Earth offers him. Hannah prepares to kill him, but Castiel says that there is still time to convince Daniel to do the right thing... and they don't know where Adina is hiding. Daniel invites them to stay and have dinner with him, and enjoy the sunset.
Crowley finally has enough of Dean's carousing and tells him that he contacted Abaddon's remaining demons so that they would go after Dean and keep him sharp... and to feed the Mark, which needs blood from time to time. He's had enough and wants to go to Hell so that together they can make plans to reshape the place in their image. Dean isn't interested, and Crowley warns him that Sam will trace the call and find them. The King of Hell tells Dean that he's been helping him all along and gives him until the next morning to make the right decision.
As Sam drives, his engine gives out. He pulls over and examines the engine, and Cole pulls up and offers his help. He points out the kill switch that he rigged to the car earlier and easily knocks Sam out, taking advantage of his wounded shoulder.
Dean spends another night singing and getting drunk, and Anne Marie finally takes him back to Crowley's motel room. The next morning, she treats his hangover and refuses to leave town with Dean. Dean points out that he fought to protect her honor, but Anne Marie figures that it had nothing to do with her. She tells Dean that at first she thought he was a good guy pretending to be bad, but now she figures that he's just a bad guy. Dean tells the waitress that he's just a guy who sleeps with every skank he meets on the road. Crying, Anne Marie says that she almost believes she deserves that and walks out.
That night, Daniel tells Castiel and Hannah about the wisdom that they can gain from humans. Hannah doesn't understand what he means, although Castiel does. When it's clear that Hannah is going to attack Daniel anyway, Adina steps out of the shadows, ready to attack them. Castiel and Daniel try to calm the two female angels down, but they attack and wound each other. Daniel tries to intervene and prepares to kill Hannah, and Castiel is forced to kill him. Adina slashes Castiel and runs off, and he tells Hannah that it's over.
Cole takes Sam to a silo and ties him to a chair. When Sam wonders who he is, Cole says that he goes way back with Dean but says that he's neither a demon nor a hunter. Sam warns him that Dean is now a monster, and Cole says that he already knows that from when he met Dean months ago... but now he's the monster hunting Dean.
As they drive back, Hannah tells Castiel that they have to report what happened. She believes that without rules there is nothing but chaos, and chaos gave them Metatron and his mad schemes. Castiel points out that he's seen chaos create things like love and hope. Hannah notes that those are human things, and Castiel agrees that they are.
Dean is driving when Cole calls him on Sam's phone. Cole threatens to kill Sam unless Dean comes to him, and punches Sam to force him to cry out and confirm that he's alive. Dean tells the ex-Marine that he's not coming. If Sam dies then it's his own fault for following him when he said not to. With that, Dean hangs up and continues driving.
Written by Gadfly on May 22, 2016