Golden Time Recap

In Rowena's apartment, someone is trying to break in. A woman named Jesse knocks at the door, then chants a spell into the lock. The door opens. Jesse starts ransacking Rowena's apartment, obviously looking for something. She smashes jars and tears open drawers (LOTS of glass smashing). She looks behind a large portrait of Rowena but find nothing. She goes through her desk. She asks out loud where the good stuff is. She slams her fist on the desk and notices she's bleeding onto the open book there. She's bleeding from her nose and starts to cough. She falls to the floor and tries to crawl towards the door, but
she collapses, dead, before she can get out.

In the bunker...
Sam's online. He looks around like he thinks someone else is in the room, but sees no one. The air behind him takes on a wavy look as something transparent passes through the room. He shrugs it off as Dean enters, wearing pajama bottoms with hot dogs on them, his dead guy robe, and carrying a box of cereal. He wants to read the bad joke off the back to Sam. Sam wants to know if Dean ate the whole box. He did. Sam is a bit indignant that he's been in the kitchen trying to find signs of God or Lilith while Dean's been in his bedroom eating cereal. Dean corrects him; he's also been watching a Scooby Doo marathon.
Dean asks if Sam's found anything. He hasn't. Dean's not surprised.

Sam asks Dean if he felt anything weird when he walked into the kitchen. Dean says no and wants to know if Sam's had anymore visions. Sam says he hasn't had any since Colorado; maybe they've stopped. Dean doesn't think so; not until Chuck gets his endgame "The Winchester Bowl". Dean's pretty sure God will find them before they find him.

In Idaho, Cas tries to enter a bait and tackle shop, but it's closed. The owner calls him "Clarance" as he unlocks the door to open. Cas asks the guy for fishing advice. He says he had a "friend" who told him that fishing was relaxing, but he's not finding it that way. Cas asks the store owner if everything's okay. The owner tells him he also works the volunteer fire department and they took the body of a boy out of the lake that morning. He says he was probably a drowning victim, but also looked as if he'd been drained of his blood.

Back in Kansas, Sam is out running. He realizes he can see his breath when it's too warm for that. He turns around in time to see a ghost materialize. It's Eileen.

Back at the bunker, Sam and Dean talk to the ghost of Eileen. They are surprised she was in hell (and released when God opened hell). She didn't make any kind of demon deal; she was innocent; why was she in hell? She says the hellhound that killed her dragged her there. She says that when the doors to hell opened, she hauled ass out of there as fast as she could. Dean realizes she escaped before they put the barrier in place to contain the souls. Eileen says she's been trying to get Sam and Dean to see her for awhile now, but she's not used to being a ghost. She says she doesn't know how it all works, but she
knows that if she stays a ghost, she'll go crazy and hurt people. She doesn't want to be a ghost and she doesn't want to go back to hell. She knows that Sam and Dean know angels and hopes that they can put in a good word for her so she can end up in heaven instead.

Dean says that even if they could do that, it wouldn't work. Souls from hell can't get into heaven. Sam looks irritated that Dean's telling her this. Dean says he's sorry. She says she's sorry too.

In the hallway, Sam chastises Dean for being insensitive. Dean wants to know if Sam wanted him to sugar-coat it. Sam says no. Dean turns to Sam and asks what about the soul-catching crystal? If they could make one only for Eileen. Sam points out that the spell is difficult.

Dean agrees, but figures Sam could figure it out. He thinks Sam is pretty much Rowena's protege. Dean doesn't like the situation and it's not ideal. Sam agrees to try if it's what Eileen wants. Sam figures they can go to Rowena's place to get ingredients. Dean says that's great; Sam can go alone. Sam's surprised that Dean won't go along. Dean says it's so easy, there's no reason for him to go.

Sam says that ever since God came back into the picture, Dean's been acting like there's nothing they can do and that nothing matters. But this, helping Eileen, matters. They can do this. Dean confirms that that's why he knows Sam will do a great job. He's still not going along.

In Idaho, Cas is asking when the Sheriff will be back. Apparently the Sheriff is busy getting his hair cut. Cas sits down in the office to wait. The woman next to him is surprised he's FBI; she thought he was just a guy rending a cabin. Cas says he's on vacation. She asks if he's looking into the missing boy found in the lake. She didn't know him, but now her son is missing too after an overnight camping trip. The receptionist tells her not to worry, but after the death of the first boy, she's worried. She asks Cas to please help her. He says he will.

At a gas station on the way to Rowena's, Sam's filling that Impala's tank. He talks to the ghost of Eileen. He says that he hates the solution of trapping Eileen's ghost in a crystal. He hates that for her and wishes they had a better answer. She says that whatever the crystal is, she'll take it. At least she won't be in hell. Sam tells her he was there too and that you try to forget, but it gets inside you. He tells her that talking helps. She say she can't talk about it. Not yet. He signs "I understand" to her. She's impressed with his signing. Sam says he started practicing again after they met.

Sam arrives at Rowena's apartment with Eileen's ghost in tow. He opens the door easily and finds the dead body of the intruder on the floor. A mirror in the background wavers like there's another ghost in the room. Eileen asks who the woman is. Sam doesn't know.

Elsewhere; another mirror ripples and we see two women looking into it; able to see Sam in the apartment through their mirror in the remote location. They're witches.

In the apartment, Sam sees a tattoo on the neck of the dead woman. It's tells him what order she's from; that she's a witch. Sam wonders if maybe the woman got into something in the apartment that killed her. Sam closes the doors and starts searching.

In Idaho, the Sheriff complains that the woman who is claiming her son is missing is a chronic complainer. He thinks it's no big deal. Cas is trying to talk him into helping. The Sheriff says sometimes people die. But the most recent child that was pulled out of the lake, he says that's different. He thinks the kid OD's in the lake. He says they don't have a medical examiner and the body is already elsewhere so Cas can't examine the body. Cas keeps pressing him. The Sheriff questions Cas' credentials and asks what FBI office he works out of. Cas replies with conviction, but the Sheriff still asks for the number of Cas' supervisor to check him out.

The phone rings in the bunker, surprising Dean. He has the same setup Bobby used to have, only now it's all cell phones instead of land lines. He rummages through the pile of charging phones and finds the one that's ringing. Dean asks the Sheriff to talk to Cas. Dean tells Cas that Sam's been trying to call him and Cas says he hasn't checked messages. Dean informs Cas that God is back in the picture, tells him to check his damn messages, and hangs up. The Sheriff agrees to give Cas the case files.

In Rowena's apartment, they're only finding junk. Sam wonders where the real stash is. Eileen's ghost walks over to a bookcase, then walks straight through it. She calls out to Sam from behind the bookcase, inside a secret room. Sam opens the bookcase and turns on the light to reveal many shelves of spell ingredients and manuscripts. Sam is surprised that Rowena kept journals full of her spell work. He's obviously still affected by her death (at his
hands). Eileen observes that Sam misses Rowena. He tells her that he killed her and explains what happened; that Rowena sacrificed herself to save the world. Sam wonders if Eileen ever feels like she's the punchline to some cosmic joke. Eileen understands. Sam says Rowena understood that the game was rigged and this magic was how she kept control. A page falls out of one of the books. Sam can't believe what he sees.

Sam explains to Eileen that it's a spell; that Rowena was working on a spell to bring Mary back for them; a way to make her into soul into actual flesh again, but she didn't pursue it because they found out that Mary was in heaven and happy already. So Rowena never finished it, but Sam thinks he can finish it. He tells Eileen that he thinks they can bring her back to life. Sam looks hopeful. Eileen looks unsure.

In Idaho, Cas is looking through the police files on the case of the boy who died in the lake. It looks like he finds a pattern of deaths in the area.

Elsewhere; Sam is almost giddy as he closes the trunk of the Impala, but he suddenly starts spitting blood and falls to the ground. He crawls around the car, and digs around the wheel well until he finds a hex bag.

Two women (the ones who had been spying on them using a mirror) walk towards them. Sam signs to Eileen to call Dean. Just then, one of the women, both witches, waves her hand at Eileen's ghost and she disappears. One of the witches leans down and says, "Hello, Sam."

Back inside Rowena's apartment building, Sam asks the woman who she is. They came for what the first woman (now dead) was looking for, but now that Sam's there, they can get what they wanted. He doesn't understand. She explains that the apartment is hexed. Anyone who steps inside dies. Only Rowena apparently made an exception in the spell for Sam. He's the only one who can enter. The woman can't believe that Rowena left everything to Sam.

The witches plan to bring back their family member who died while ransacking the apartment. Sam promises to give them all of Rowena's things, but he needs that spell for bringing someone back. She says no. She's using it on the dead woman; her oldest daughter. Sam says okay, they'll both use it. She says no, it's a one-time-only spell.

The witch tells Sam that he can do as he's told and die quickly, or it will be slow and painful.

In Idaho;
Cas is searching around the lake but the mother of the missing boy shows up and says she followed him. Cas tells her that he's found that a number of people have gone missing in the area. She mentions there's an abandoned mine in the area. She says she'll show him.

At Rowena's apartment, Emily, the youngest daughter of the witch, carries a voodoo doll and stabs it, thereby stabbing Sam, whenever he talks. They're walking to Rowena's apartment door where she expects Sam to go inside and fill a box with Rowena's possessions. She tells him to make it quick and get just the good stuff. He sees her staring at the dead woman; her older sister. Sam offers to cover the body for her. Emily asks Sam if he thinks the dead sister is pretty. Sam is kind of shocked at the question. He asks if they were close as sisters. Emily says she made her life hell. Sam tries to talk to her about things Dean did to him when they were young; things like pranks; trying to connect with her. Emily says her sister made her invisible for a week and tried to sell her soul to a demon. She killed her first crush. Then it got bad. She tells Sam to start collecting items from the apartment.

In Idaho, Cas and the mother of the missing boy walk towards the mine. She thanks him for doing this when he's off-duty. Cas says he needed to step away; he had a falling out with management. The mom explains that she moved herself and her son to Idaho to start a new life, but her son didn't like it in the new town. Cas decides to tell the mom that monsters are real and he believes that the boy who died in the lake was taken by a Djinn. The mine might be a lair. They round a corner and find Caleb, safe and sitting in the woods.

At the apartment, Emily keeps going on about all the horrible things her dead sister did to her. Sam tells Emily that the sister doesn't have to be brought back. If she gives Sam the spell, he'll give her all of Rowena's books and Emily can run from the family and start on her own. Emily looks like she's thinking about it. Suddenly, her face goes cold, she calls Sam a liar, and stabs the voodoo doll; thereby stabbing Sam.

In Idaho, Cas and the mom ask Caleb what happened. He says he saw a guy dragging a dead body to the lake. He thought it was a monster. He tried to call for help, but ran and fell and hurt himself.

Cas asks if he got a good look at the monster. The Sheriff comes walking down the path in reply, saying the kid did get a good look at him. The Sheriff shoots Cas, but of course the bullet doesn't hurt him. The mother and son are stunned that Cas can take a bullet. Cas says it's always the selfish little men in positions of authority that turn out to be the monsters. Cas tells him that his Djinn power won't protect him from an angel. Cas stabs the Sheriff to death with his angel blade as the mom and son look on, horrified.

At Rowena's:
Sam has a box of Rowena's things. Emily threatens him. Dean walks out into the hallway with the mother witch at gunpoint. "Witch killing bullets," he explains to Sam.

Emily stabs the doll and Sam falls to his knees. She tells Dean to drop the gun or Sam dies. Dean says they have a bit of a standoff; two on two. The mother witch replies, "Two on three" as the ghost of her dead daughter appears and throws Dean across the hallway.

Sam grabs the voodoo doll away from Emily. The mother witch starts reciting a spell, causing Sam extreme pain.

Dean looks towards his gun, laying just out of reach. The ghost witch steps in front of him. Just then, Eileen's ghost appears. She throws the other ghost away from Dean, then continues to fight her.

Dean grabs his gun and shoots Emily. The mom turns her wrath on Dean for killing her younger daughter. She starts killing Dean with a spell. Sam attacks her from behind and wrestles her to the ground. He produces a spell bundle that, in a flashback, we see he assembled as he collected Rowena's thing for Emily.

He tells the witch mom he learned from the best as he shoves the bundle in her mouth, puts his hand over it, and starts reciting a spell.

Across the room, Eileen's ghost is being choked by the ghost of the witch daughter. Eileen motions for Dean to burn the body. He grabs some alcohol, then struggles with his lighter, but is finally successful as the body and the ghost of the witch goes up in smoke. Meanwhile, Sam has succeeded in killing the witch mom.

In Idaho, Cas has disposed of the Djinn's body. He asks permission to heal Caleb's ankle and in spite of what they just saw him do, they let him. He does it, but it seems to exhaust him. Caleb's thrilled that he's better. Molly the mom asks if Cas was sent by God. He says he can't explain it, but she's better off not knowing. Cas says he's happy they met and found Caleb. He says he has to get back in the game. If he stays in Idaho, nothing changes.

Back at the bunker, Sam sprinkles herbs in a filled bathtub. He says Eileen just has to get in, then he'll say the spell. Eileen's ghost looks nervous, but she gets in, fully clothed. The water doesn't move when she gets in, because she's a ghost. She sinks below the surface.

Sam turns his back and recites the spell.

Underwater, a human Eileen opens her eyes, then sits up and looks at her hands. She stands, now naked, and grabs a towel. Sam cautiously calls her name, but doesn't turn around. She steps out of the bath and says his name. He turns around to see her, alive. She holds her hand out to him. He takes it. Sam has tears in his eyes. She thanks him and he hugs her. She holds onto him.

Out in the main room, Dean asks how Eileen is. Sam says she's asleep; she had a big day. Dean says Sam had a big day too and asks if he's some kind of witch now. Dean's thinking about the spell and wishing it could have been used for Mary. Dean says Sam did good that day while he did nothing. Sam points out that Dean saved him when he killed a witch.

Sam's been thinking about something Dean said, about how they don't make the rules. Sam says that doesn't mean they can give up; they can still do good. Sam doesn't think Chuck wanted Sam to shoot him; Dean's not sure; what's God's manipulation and what's their choice? It's driving him crazy.

Sam tells him they'll get Chuck. They're the guys that break the rules. Sam says he can't do it without Dean, just like that day with the witches and Eileen, he couldn't do it alone.

He needs his brother.