Crowley dozes off on his throne and has a nightmare of his demon minions tracking him down in Hell and killing him. He wakes up and his mother Rowena asks if he's okay. Angry, Crowley calls her an evil bitch and walks off. Once he leaves, Rowena takes out a hex bag from beneath her son's throne and kisses it.
At the bunker, Dean is trying to sleep and remembers slaughtering Randy and the others at the house.
In the main room, Castiel tells Sam that Jimmy's daughter Claire refuses to speak to him after Dean killed the man she considered her second father. As they discuss Dean going over the line, Dean comes in and agrees with them. He insists that they have to find a way to remove the Mark of Cain, and Castiel warns that only a powerful force can remove it. When Sam points out that there's nothing in the lore, the angel admits that there may be a way.
In Hell, Guthrie enters the throne room and finds Rowena going through the closets. She claims that she was looking for food and offers to put in a good word for Guthrie with his son. Crowley comes in with paperwork and dismisses Guthrie, and Rowena immediately accuses the major domo of plotting against her son. He reminds her that she said the same thing about Gerard and Rowena notes that she was right. Crowley figures that she's trying to convince him to free her so she can continue messing up his operations, but Rowena assures him that she wants to stay with her son. After 300 years, they can finally be a family.
Castiel goes to the Heaven's gate in the playground and Ingrid arrives with the hooded prisoner that Castiel requested. She warns him that what she's doing has great risk, and that the prisoner must be returned intact. Once she leaves, Castiel removes the hood from Metatron, who assumes that Castiel wants information on how to restore his stolen grace. Castiel says that it isn't about him and takes Metatron to the bunker, and Sam chains him up in a cell and asks him how they can remove the Mark. He explains that Dean came back to life and is no longer a demon, and Metatron figures that Dean has gone berserk and killed. He agrees to help as long as Sam keeps Dean restrained, and Dean steps out of the shadows.
Castiel visits Claire at the hotel where she's staying, and finds her packing. She tells the angel that things are going to work out between them since he's wearing her father's body, and that she's happy with the life she has. Claire points out that Castiel killed her father Jimmy, and then Dean killed Randy. When Claire defends Dean, saying there's a little bit of monster in all of them, Claire walks out.
Metatron warns Dean that the Mark will own him sooner rather than later, and then says that they need the First Blade to remove the Mark. The brothers step outside and Sam insists that getting the Blade back from Crowley is a bad idea. Dean points out that Metatron has no reason to lie and asks Sam if he has a better idea. He doesn't, and they agree to contact Crowley.
In Hell, Crowley and Rowena are having tea when Dean calls and tells Crowley that they need to meet immediately. Once Crowley teleports away, Rowena removes a piece of cloth from one of her son's ties.
Claire goes to a bar and two drifters, Brit and Tony, befriend her. As they play pool. Claire describes what she's been through while avoiding the supernatural specifics. Brit suggest that they join her on the road, but Claire warns them that the people who get close to her end up unlucky. Castiel calls and Claire tells her new friends that he's a "turn the other cheek" kind of guy. Brit tells Claire that she seems sweet, but sweet doesn't clean up messes.
The Winchesters meet Crowley in an alley and tell him that they need the Blade. He refuses, figuring that they're insane. Meanwhile, Rowena uses the piece of his tie to cast a spell to project her astral self to Crowley, and listens in as he talks about the Blade. Crowley finally mentions that the Blade is hidden in a crypt with his bones, and Rowena calls Guthrie in and says that she's speaking on Crowley's behalf. Guthrie figures that she's up to something, and Rowena reminds him that she convinced Crowley that Gerard is a traitor... and hints she can do the same to Guthrie. The witch says that she knows Guthrie used to be a crossroads demon, and wants him to get something.
When Castiel returns to the bunker, the brothers tell him about their plan and he's worried about involving Crowley. He finally tells them that Claire is gone, and asks Dean to reach out to her, figuring that he knows all about being messed up. Dean reluctantly agrees and goes to get a sandwich, and Sam and Castiel figure that Dean is too calm given what's happening.
When Crowley goes to his crypt, he discovers that the Blade is gone from its case.
In Hell, Guthrie brings the blade to Rowena but refuses to hand it over to her. She kills him with a demon blade, just as Crowley arrives. Rowena claims that Guthrie was fomenting a rebellion and uses what she heard Crowley and the Winchesters say, claiming that Guthrie knew about it. Crowley admits that he had a vision of Guthrie attacking him--unaware that Rowena planted the vision--and Rowena claims that it was a prophetic warning. She then suggests that the Winchesters could be a danger to him.
Claire goes with Brit and Tony, who have a camper in the nearby woods. She discovers that Dean called her, and explains that he was the one who killed Randy. Tony offers to beat up Dean--or something more permanent--so he'll never bother Claire again.
Crowley calls to tell Dean that he has the Blade. Dean then goes to Metatron's cell and asks what the next step is. Metatron warns him that the first step was free, but he's going to demand payments for all of the other steps necessary. Dean takes out an angel-killing blade and locks the door, and reminds Metatron that he has a score to settle with him for killing him. Metatron taunts him, reminding him of all the evil that Dean has done for good ends, and Dean beats him. The angel encourages him to go deeper, and says that if Dean kills the Scribe of God then it will drive him fully over the edge.
In the main room, Castiel is preparing to leave when Sam realizes that Dean has gone to Metatron's cell.
Metatron continues to taunt Dean into beating him, refusing to talk. Sam pounds on the door, yelling at Dean to let them in, but Dean ignores him and cuts Metatron with the blade. The only thing the angel will say is, "The river shall end at the source." Meanwhile, Castiel focuses all of his energy and blasts through the warded door, and Sam drags Dean away. Sam tells the angel that it won't happen again, but Castiel says that he has to return Metatron to Heaven and has a lot to explain. As he takes Metatron away, Metatron tells the Winchesters that he'll choose death rather than help them... and that Dean is only going to get worse.
The brothers go back to the main room and Dean tries to work out what Metatron let slip. He tells Sam that he was going to kill the angel, and Sam suggests that there must be a way to overcome the Mark since Cain lived with it for centuries. He tells Dean that the powerful force necessary might b3e Dean controlling himself. As Dean considers his brother's advice, Claire calls him and asks to meet.
The next day, Dean arrives outside the camper, unaware that Claire is inside watching. Tony and Brit attack him, armed with a bat and an axe, and Claire reconsiders and yells a warning. Dean manages to disarm his attackers and picks up the axe, and prepares to kill them. Claire runs out and yells at him to stop... and Dean manages to control himself and only smash a nearby bench. They run off and Dean stares at Claire, who leaves.
Later, Castiel finds Claire hitchhiking on the road. He explains that he could sense her longing, and Claire admits that she's going to try and do things a little differently from now on. Castiel offers to help her, but Claire says that she has to do it on her own. However, she asks if she can call on him sometime and Castiel agrees.
Written by Gadfly on May 22, 2016