Pendleton, Oregon
A bartender catches J.P. stealing tips and throws him out. As J.P. gets back to his feet, he sees a homeless man staring at him and tells him to leave, and then goes to his cars, fumbling with his keys. A large man with a scarred face comes up behind him and grabs a hex bag hanging around his neck.
The homeless man is standing nearby and sees a flash of white light. When he comes over to J.P.'s car, all he finds is a pile of men's clothing.
At the bunker, Sam finds Dean in his room studying the lore on the Mark. He tells his brother that he caught a case of people disappearing, leaving their clothes behind. Dean tells Sam to check it out on his own, but Sam tells him that he needs to get back into the game. He's confident that Dean can handle it and, after a moment, Dean agrees.
In Pendleton, the Winchesters question the homeless man, who says that he smelled flowers when he saw the flash of light. He insists that aliens abducted J.P., and the brothers quickly leave. They've checked for the usual signs and found no indication of ghosts or demons. Sam suggests that they split up and Dean can check the bar. Dean hesitates and Sam suggests that they stick together instead, but Dean says that he can handle it.
Inside, Dean questions the bartender about J.P., and the man explains what happened. As he leaves, Dean drinks his shot glass of bourbon and a woman, Tina, overhears him and says that J.P. wasn't so bad. Dean comes over and introduces himself, while the scar-faced man watches them both from a table.
Dean and Tina drink and talk about how they grew up in the same cheap motels, getting by mostly on their own. Sam calls Dean and Tina says that she has to go and wishes Dean good luck. Sam says that J.P. was about three days from getting evicted and a lousy renter. As they talk, Dean sees the scar-faced man go after Tina, tells Sam that he has something, and hangs up. As Dean goes outside, he hears Tina scream and runs to investigate. Her clothing is lying on the floor, and as he turns the scar-faced man comes up behind him and grabs his hex bag, and there's a flash of light.
Later, Dean wakes up and discovers that he's locked up in a basement room. He soon realizes that something is wrong with his body and finds a mirror, and discovers that he's 14 years old. Tina calls to him through a hole in the wall and Dean realizes that the same thing happened to her. He promises that he won't let anything happen to her, and another boy in Tina's room speaks up. It's J.P., also 14, and the scar-faced man comes in and drags J.P. away, easily shoving Tina aside when she tries to stop him.
Sam goes to the bar and tries to call Dean.
The scar-faced man sticks a piece of cake into Dean's room.
Sam hears Dean's phone ring and realizes that it's coming from the bartender. The bartender is examining Dean's jacket, and tells Sam that it's his. Sam slams the man's head down on the bar and the bartender admits that he found it behind the dumpster outside.
Dean eats the cake until Tina suggests that their captor poisoned it. He examines the window and uses a bar from the bed to pry a bar out. Tina, watching him through the hole, is surprised at how competent he is. When he wonders who he is, Dean says that it's a long story.
Sam checks behind the bar and finds Dean's gun and shoe. The shoe is covered in yellow pollen and Sam realizes that it's responsible for the smell the homeless man told them about.
The scar-faced man comes down the stairs and Tina yells at Dean to get out while she distracts their captor. She yells for a doctor and the man asks why she's screaming as Dean slips out the window.
Back at his motel room, Sam checks the Internet for the pollen and discovers that it comes from yarrow. Dean arrives at the door and explains who he is despite his appearances. Sam lets him in and as Dean checks his backup gun, he tells Sam that they have to get moving. As they go to the Impala, a woman at the adjacent door drops her keys and Dean stops to pick them up for her. The woman tells Sam that his son is very polite, while Dean gets into the Impala and adjusts the driver's seat. Sam points out that Dean can't legally drive and cranks the seat back.
As they head for the house where Dean was held captive, Dean describes what happens. He also admits that he's starting to have strange feelings, including a liking for Taylor Swift songs. Sam explains that witches use yarrow for many of their spells and figures that's who they're dealing with. When he promises that they'll get Dean back to his proper age, Dean tells him that he lost the Mark when he was changed. If they undo the spell then it might come back again, and Dean suggests it would be better if he stayed at his current age. Sam considers the idea while Dean suggests that they get a drink once they've solved the case. He's less than thrilled when Sam points out that he's no longer legal drinking age.
When they get to the house, Dean leads Sam around to the window he escaped through.
The scar-faced man comes for Tina.
The Winchesters arrive at the window a minute a later but Tina doesn't respond when Dean calls to her. He goes through the teen- hole while Sam goes around to find another way in. Dean searches the rooms and finds a dusty skull, but no sign of Tina. The scar-faced man attacks and easily overwhelms him, but Sam comes up behind him and stuns him. The man says that Tina is alive and that he's not a witch... but he works for one. The witch, Katja, made him and his sister kill people and held them prisoner. When the man tried and failed to escape, the witch tortured him and then made him eat his sister Gretel's heart. The brothers realize that the man is Hansel, from the Brothers Grimm story, and Hansel explains that the story was based on a true story. However, the Grimms gave it a happy ending. When Sam says that they're hunters, Hansel eagerly offers to help them. He tells them that the hex bag will reverse the spell once Dean squeezes it, and he'll give them the bag once they kill Katja.
In the kitchen, Katja is preparing a meal while Tina, tied to a chair, watches. The witch heats up the oven just as Hansel comes in with the Winchesters. Katja tells him to take care of the Winchesters. When Sam points out that the witch made Hansel eat Gretel's heart, she says that she didn't make him do it. Hansel attacks and knocks Sam down, while the witch magically subdues Dean.
Once the brothers are secure, Katja tells Dean that they're going to have to fatten him up before she eats him. She explains that in the modern era, people notice when children go missing so she abducts adults that no one will miss. Dean speaks up, asking if she's touring the U.S., and Katja explains that she's on business for the Grand Coven. They sent her to take care of her old friend, Rowena. Dean realizes that Katja is after the witch that they encountered and describes her, distracting Katja while Sam manages to cut himself free. He stabs Hansel and goes after Katja, but she easily blasts him back while Hansel beats up Dean.
Irritated with the interruption in her dinner plans, Katja tells Hansel to change Sam into a 14-year-old. However, when Hansel reaches for the hex bag, he discovers that Dean grabbed it from him during the fight. Realizing that he's not strong enough as a 14 year old, Dean squeezes the hex bag and becomes his proper age. He stabs Hansel dead and then shoves the hex bag down Katja's throat and throws her into her own oven where she burns to death.
The Winchesters free Tina and take her outside. Without the hex bag, they have no way to undo the spell on her. Tina admits that she was a crappy adult and hopes that she can do better with a second chance, and tells Dean that she'll be okay.
The next morning, Sam and Dean take Tina to the Pendleton bus station and give her all the money they have. Once she leaves, Dean confirms that the Mark is back. Sam thanks him for sacrificing his chance to get rid of the mark to save him and Tina, and then says that while he wanted the Mark gone, he also wanted Dean back. He figures that it's a win, and they both agree that they'll figure out a way to get rid of the Mark for good. As Dean drives off in the Impala, he turns the radio to Taylor Swift, surprising Sam.
Written by Gadfly on May 22, 2016