A demon is tied to a chair and admits that she's never been caught by a human. Nick tells her that he's not a Hunter and takes out a dagger, and the demon suggests that they make a deal. He tells her that he wants Abraxas, and the demon worked with Abraxas but left him when he was caught. The demon offers to tell Nick where to find the Hunter who captured him if he lets her free. He refuses and the demon says the Hunter is in Hibbing... and Nick kills her.
Dean takes out a book, power tools, and gloves and bundles them up, and then leaves the bunker store room. He goes to the main room and Sam admits that he hasn't found a way to stop Michael yet. Dean thanks him for trying and says that he's going for a drive and is going to see Mary at Donna's cabin. Sam offers to go along, but Dean says that he was hoping for one-on-one time with their mother. His brother agrees and Dean hugs him and tells him to take care before leaving.
The next day at the cabin, Sam calls Mary and she says that Dean is on a supply run. Bobby left for a few days so they could have some space after what happened with Bobby' son. Sam notes that Dan has been acting strange since they locked Michael up, and points out that they don't normally hug. Walking through the bunker, Sam looks into the storage room and notices that a book is missing.
Sam and Donna eat burgers at a joint and Donna says that she helps Jody and the girls hunting. She says that the split between her and Doug was tough and he's working private security now, and figures that he keeps asking her how she's doing to avoid her asking him the same thing. Donna knows that Michael is trapped in Dean's mind and figures that it isn't easy. Dean says that he'll make it through, and thanks Donna for meeting him. He hugs her and says that he'll see her, and drives to the cabin. There are gunshots from the back, and Dean draws his gun and goes to investigate. Mary is target-practicing using pumpkins, and the two of them hugs. Mary says that it's fine if he stays, and suggests that he calls Sam over. Dean finally says that he doesn't want Sam there, but refuses to discuss it.
Dean has Mary go into town to get supplies to make "Winchester Surprise" and once she leaves, Dean gets his bag out of the Impala. He goes to the workshop and hears Michael pounding on the door inside his mind. After a moment, Dean recovers and plays some music on Donna's eight-track, and then measures the workshop and makes a cage out of scrap metal.
As Mary goes to her truck, the local boy Joy offers her some help. He's surprised to see her buying food for once. She says that she has family in town and Joe goes back inside. Nick pulls up later and asks Joe if he knows where Mary lives. Joe claims that he doesn't know Mary and Nick drives off. Once he's alone, Joe calls Mary.
As night falls, Nick drives up the road and Donna pulls him over. Nick contemplates the knife on the seat next to him and then picks up a paper clip, and Donna comes over, gets him out of the van, and shoves him up against the side. She says that she ran the plates and discovered the van was stolen two weeks ago, and Nick claims that he's fishing. Donna asks for his name, and Nick tells her to eat him. She scans his fingerprints with a portable scanner and while she waits for a report back, Nick picks the handcuffs with the paperclip. When Donna turns, he grabs her and they fight. She pins him to the side of the van, but Nick tasers her unconscious.
Dean leaves the workshop as Mary returns home. He helps her with the groceries and says that he has a surprise for her inside. The table is set for two and Dean says that he wanted to make sure everything was ready for her. Mary smiles at him and while Dean makes supper, Mary calls Sam and says that something is going on but she'll handle it on her own. Sam hangs up and keeps driving to Impala.
Over supper, Dean tells Mary about how he tried to cook Winchester Surprise for Sam with bologna when John was out hunting, Mary talks about how much she missed while she was gone, and Dean tells her that just knowing that she's alive has meant everything to him and Sam. She finally tells her son that he can talk to her about what she's going through. Dean tells her that he doesn’t want to talk about it and asks her to drop it.
Later after Dean dozes off on the couch, Mary goes out to the workshop and discovers that he's been making a metal cage.
Donna wakes up in her car.
Mary checks the books that Dean brought with him, realizes what the cage is for, and mutters in negation.
Dean wakes up when his phone rings.
Mary leaves the workshop and finds Nick waiting for her.
Dean answers his phone and Donna tells him that Nick got the drop on her and is going after Mary. Dean goes out and finds Sam there, and says that Mary is gone.
Nick takes Mary to his van and tells her that the demons keep tracking her and that's how she got to Mary. He got Mary's address from the emails on her cell phone. Mary asks him what he's doing, and Nick describes a girl that Mary saved when the rest of her Girl Scout troop was killed. Abraxas was one of the demons that killed the troop, and Nick explains that Abraxas killed his family the same way that he killed the Girl Scouts. Mary says that have just asked her, and tells Nick that Abraxas is dead. Nick figures that she's lying to him since the demon he killed said that Mary trapped him in a box. When Nick puts a knife to her neck, Mary says that she put Abraxas in an Enochian puzzle box and can take Nick to him. Following Mary's directions, Nick drives to a storage unit past the guard on duty at the gate.
Donna goes to the cabin and tells the Winchesters that her people are running Nick's plates. Sam blames himself for letting Nick go off, and a deputy calls to say that a traffic cam picked up the van. It's 30 minutes away and they head there.
Nick pulls up to the storage unit and takes the tied Mary to the door. She manages to get the lock open and they go inside. Nick assures her that he'll release her once they're done. Mary directs him to a locker cage and she steps over a trip wire. Nick sees it and realizes that the wire is attached to a hidden shotgun. He steps over the wire and Mary claims that she doesn't have the keys to the cage door. Nick breaks the lock and starts going through the lockers one at a time. He finds it and tells Mary to open her, and Mary refuses. She points out that a demon needs a host and reveals that she has a tattoo preventing demon possession. Nick grabs her and says that he'll improvise.
As they drive through the night, Sam tells Dean to say it. Dean says that Nick isn't a project, and Sam insists that what happened to Nick could have happened to him. Angry, Dean says that Sam needs to learn when people can't be saved so he walks away.
Nick grabs the guard, brings him in, ties him to a chair, and draws a containment circle around it. He starts to open the box and Mary attacks him. She shoves the box away and Nick kicks her and insists that he can handle it. Nick drills the box open to release Abraxas, and the demon enters the guard's body. Abraxas sees the circle and Mary, and smiles. Nick asks him why he killed his family, and Abraxas wonders how Nick is free from Lucifer. When Nick repeats his question, Abraxas says that he'll answer after Nick kills Mary slow and bloody. Nick takes out his knife and prepares to kill Mary, and Sam, Dean, and Donna arrive and Sam shoots the knife out of his hand.
Nick says that he's doing what he has to and cuts the containment circle. Abraxas levitates everyone into the air and drops them on the floor, including Nick. The demon tells Nick that he killed his family on orders from Lucifer. He says that Nick was chosen but he's not special. Dean tries to exorcise the demon, and Abraxas knocks him down and asks who dies first. Nick stabs Abraxas in the chest with his demon-killing knife, and Sam tells him to take it easy. Donna shoots him in the leg and Mary punches him unconscious.
As Donna takes Nick out to the van, Mary tells Dean that she's okay. Sam asks Nick why, and Nick says that he needed revenge for his family and Sam would have done the same thing. When Sam says that he's sorry he couldn't help him and didn't know how, Nick insists that he was never broken. Sam tells him that he is and he feels sorry for the people he hurt and murdered, and Nick can burn. Donna puts Nick in the squad car and Mary tells Dean that she knows what he's been building and planning. She informs that all three of them are going to talk about it, and if Dean doesn't tell Sam then she will.
Later, Dean tells Sm that he made a Ma'lak box. Once it's secured, nothing inside can get out. Dean says that he'll lock himself up in it and pay someone to drop him in the Pacific. Sam warns that it's insane, and Dean says that it's the only sane plan that he has. He insists that he can feel the door in his head giving and there's no other way, and explains that Billy told him that there's only one way that it ends without the world's destruction. She gave Dean the formula for the box and he made it. Sam figures that Dean made a "farewell tour" and wasn't going to tell Sam. Dean insists that he didn't have a choice to keep it from Sam because Sam is the only one who could have talked him out of it. He refuses to be talked out of it, and tells Sam that he can either let him do it alone or help him. After a moment, Sam agrees.
Written by Gadfly on Jan 25, 2019