Bring ‘Em Back Alive Recap

The scene opens with Dean and Mr. Ketch arriving in the alternate universe (AU). They land on the other side and Dean instantly notices that the place doesn’t look like it did the last time he was there. Instead of sand dunes and desolation, they appear to have landed in the middle of a snow-covered forest.

Dean and Ketch exchange a few verbal barbs, and Dean tells Ketch to take off. He believes Ketch only wanted to come to the AU to hide from Asmodeus, so now that they have arrived, Dean doesn’t expect Ketch to stay with him. Ketch insists that he can be helpful – especially since Dean has no backup – and says that he feels that he “owes” it to Mary to look for her if she’s in danger, so he wants to help Dean find her and Jack. After a brief, hostile exchange, the two set off to begin their search.

After walking for an undetermined amount of time, they come to a stream that runs underneath a bridge. They see three soldiers walking on the bridge, leading 4 people wearing hoods over their heads. Dean and Ketch soon realize that the hooded people are hostages/prisoners and the soldiers are angels. The group stops on the bridge and one angel, who seems to be in charge of the others, announces that the prisoners will be executed for working against the archangel Michael. One by one, the soldiers smite the humans. Dean tries to stop the massacre, but Ketch stops him, telling him they can’t do anything.

When the solders get to the last human in the group, the angel removes the person’s hood and Dean recognizes Charlie Bradbury.

EPISODE:

DEAN AND KETCH:
On the bridge, the soldier angel prepares to smite Charlie as he did the others, but the commander stops him. The commander recognizes Charlie as one of the leaders in the resistance against Michael. He also says she has met with “the nephilim and the other-worlder, Mary”, so he decides that Charlie may have information they need, so they should interrogate her. They decide to take her to their “northern” prison camp for interrogation instead of killing her, and we hear the flutter of angel wings as the group disappears with Charlie. Dean and Ketch hear the exchange, and Dean now realizes that AU Charlie is in trouble and will need help.

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Later, Dean and Ketch are walking briskly through the woods. Ketch accuses Dean of making too much noise instead of trying to be stealthy so they remain undetected. Ketch also questions Dean’s haste to find Charlie, but Dean refuses to give Ketch any real details about how he knew the real Charlie. Instead, Dean reminds Ketch that AU Charlie has seen Mary and Jack and may know where they are, so he wants to get to her before the angels kill her. They walk a little further, and when Dean turns around, Ketch isn’t there. Dean calls to him and looks for him, but another man emerges from the woods with a gun pointed at Dean. The man shoots Dean in the shoulder and Dean falls to the ground. Once Dean is on the ground, he tries to get away, but the man zip-ties his hands behind his back. Apparently, the man is a bounty hunter and plans to capture Dean as a slave. Before he can get any further, Ketch tackles the man and orders him to reveal where he was going to take Dean. The man initially refuses, but when Dean frees himself and shoots the man in the knee, he tells them that he was heading to a POW Camp that is about 5 hours away. He tells Dean and Ketch how to get there before Dean knocks the man unconscious.

As Dean and Ketch make their way toward the prison camp, it becomes obvious that something is clearly wrong with Dean. He seems to be in pain and begins lagging behind. When Dean collapses, Ketch rushes to him. He discovers that Dean has a fever, so he checks the wound, which he discovers is not a normal bullet wound. The wound is a black hole with black tendrils trailing away from it. Ketch recognizes the wound and realizes that Dean has been poisoned by a tainted bullet the British Men of Letters sometimes use to disable and kill monsters.

Ketch uses holy water and some other ingredients to mix an antidote for the poison. Against Dean’s objections, Ketch applies the concoction to the wound and it seems to work.

Later, we see Dean and Ketch walking. Night has fallen. It was daytime when they arrived in the AU, so they are clearly running out of time before the rift closes. As they’re walking, Ketch continues trying to get Dean to talk about Charlie, who she was, and why he’s so fixated on helping her. Dean is able to keep walking, but is clearly struggling and not recovered from being poisoned. They rest for a moment and talk. Ketch thinks they should return to the rift, come back with reinforcements, and try again to find Mary and Jack. But Dean insists that Charlie is not going to tell the angels anything, so they’ll torture her to death, and he can’t let that happen. After further urging from Ketch to know more about Charlie and Dean’s connection to her, Dean reluctantly offers a truncated explanation of who Charlie was and how she died in the real world. Ketch surmises that Dean blames himself for her death, and doesn’t want to feel like he’s failing her again.

As they’re talking, Ketch reveals some of his guilt about his own failures, and some friends and colleagues who have died because of his failures. He tells Dean that saving Charlie might help wash some of the guilt from his own hands, so he resolves to help Dean save her. He helps Dean to his feet, and they keep moving.

Meanwhile, at the POW camp, the angels interrogate Charlie, but she refuses to talk. They decide that it’s worthless to keep trying, so they decide to execute her publicly to set an example for the other prisoners.

ASMODEUS:

In Crowley’s former throne room, Asmodeus is furious that Gabriel is missing. He is also surprised that he can’t sense the archangel’s presence, despite his psychic connection to him through their blood. He angrily orders his demon lackey to keep searching, and dismisses him.

SAM, CASTIEL, AND GABRIEL:
Back at the bunker, Castiel has arrived and is not happy to learn that Sam let Dean go through rift into the AU with Ketch. Sam tries to explain that Dean didn’t give him much choice. He also explains that while Dean is gone, they need to try to help Gabriel recover. As they’re talking, Sam is carrying a covered dish to Gabriel, who is huddled in a corner of one of the bunker’s bedrooms.

Sam and Cas open the bedroom door and Gabriel doesn’t seem to know they’re there. They approach him and try to get him off the floor and onto the bed, but he’s terrified of them. He won’t talk or look at them. Sam tries to remind Gabriel who he is and how they knew each other, but Gabriel doesn’t seem to hear Sam. Then, Sam removes the covered dish and we see that it contains the vial of angel grace that Ketch stole from Asmodeus. Sam and Castiel try to get Gabriel to take his grace, but he won’t. When they try to force him, he only gets more frightened, jumps off the bed, and runs into another corner to huddle there.

Later, we see that Cas and Sam have left Gabriel alone for a while to calm down. When Cas returns to the room, he sees that Gabriel has covered all the walls with Enochian writing, but the archangel is again huddled in the corner. Castiel calls Sam, who rushes to the room and seems amazed when he sees the walls. Castiel explains that the writing is Gabriel telling the story of what happened to him.

As Castiel reads the walls, we learn that when Gabriel and Lucifer fought in season 5 (Hammer of the Gods) and we thought Lucifer had killed him, it was all a trick. Gabriel had created a fake version of himself, and that’s what Lucifer actually killed. With everyone thinking he was dead, Gabriel went into hiding. Eventually, Gabriel was captured and delivered to Asmodeus, who tortured him for years and repeatedly stole portions of his grace. Asmodeus, who was initially the weakest Prince of Hell, grew stronger by feeding on Gabriel’s grace.

Sam and Cas try to understand why Gabriel isn’t talking to them, and Sam surmises that maybe Gabriel feels safer that way, so he’s choosing not to talk.

Later, we see Castiel laying hands on Gabriel, trying to heal him. It doesn’t work, and we learn that Castiel had tried to tell Sam that an angel can’t heal an archangel, but Sam wanted him to try anyway. Castiel keeps trying, hoping he can have some positive effect, but nothing seems to happen.

Sometime later, Sam is alone with Gabriel and continues trying to talk to him. He tries to convince Gabriel to “dig himself out” of the psychological hole he’s in and help them fight. He tells Gabriel that he, Jack, his family, and the world need him. At first, nothing seems to register, but then Gabriel begins talking and his eyes flash blue. As soon as that happens, the scene switches to Asmodeus sitting on the throne of hell. He senses Gabriel’s power and now knows exactly where he is.

Later, we see Castiel and Sam standing next to Gabriel, who is sitting on his bed. He ingests his grace, but nothing seems to happen. As Sam and Cas look on, Sam’s cell phone rings. It’s Asmodeus, telling Sam that he knows they have Gabriel and he knows exactly where and how to find the bunker. He orders Sam and Cas to return Gabriel to him, or risk their own death.

LUCIFER:
In heaven, Lucifer and Sister Jo are having a disagreement. Jo accuses Lucifer of not doing anything valuable since having made his deal with the angels to rule heaven. He apparently hasn’t made anything better or helped the angels in any way. Lucifer retorts that his presence on the throne and making himself available for worship should be enough. As they’re talking, the angel Duma walks in and Lucifer asks her if she thinks Jo should show more respect and gratitude for being “first lady”. Duma doesn’t answer the question, and also reports that the angels haven’t been able to find Jack, and because their numbers are so depleted, they don’t have the manpower to search properly for him. Lucifer gets angry and tells Duma that the search for Jack is a priority. Duma leaves, and Lucifer complains to Jo that he isn’t getting the respect he feels that he deserves. Jo reminds Lucifer that he is not god, but Lucifer retorts that as long as he’s on the throne he should be treated like god. Jo replies that if Lucifer wants to be treated like god, he should start acting like one. Then she walks out.

Later, Lucifer has apparently decided to try Jo’s advice. He puts on a suit and tie and decides to try behaving like god. He initially sits on heaven's throne and tries to listen to the prayers of humanity, but he becomes bored and annoyed very quickly. As he’s listening to prayers, he hears someone performing a Catholic-style exorcism and decides to pay the exorcists a personal visit.

When he arrives, we see a young girl (clearly possessed) strapped to a bed while two priests try to exorcise the demon. When the priests see Lucifer, they are shocked because he has suddenly appeared inside a closed room. After a brief verbal exchange with the low-level demon possessing the girl, Lucifer snaps his fingers and sends the demon back to hell in an eruption of black demon smoke from the young girl, who slumps back onto the bed unconscious.

The priests are amazed and ask Lucifer who he is. He tells them the truth, which unfortunately evokes a very negative reaction from the priests. The exorcists begin praying at Lucifer and spraying him with holy water. Over their shouts, he tries for a few seconds to explain how they’re wrong about him and he’s misunderstood, but he quickly gets annoyed with them and snaps his fingers, killing both priests instantly in a puff of smoke.

Later, Lucifer has returned to heaven and is throwing a tantrum as Sister Jo looks on. Lucifer is convinced that humanity and the angels are all flawed beyond redemption and not worth his effort or time. He’s also angry that humans don’t like him. He decides to give up on everything else and try to find his son, so that together he and Jack can rule the world and let humanity worship him.

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When Sister Jo berates Lucifer for being bothered by the fact that humans don’t like him, and reminds him that he has yet to make good on his promises to create more angels to replenish their ranks and give the angels their wings back, Lucifer admits that he was lying about his ability to do those things. 

Sister Jo is disgusted by Lucifer’s lies and berates him further for being a failure. She suggests that if he ever does find Jack, his son will feel contempt for him. She continues, telling Lucifer that he has nothing, will never be god, and may as well go back to the cage. Enraged, Lucifer grabs her by the throat and threatens to kill her. But then he lets her go and she storms out.

SAM, CASTIEL, AND GABRIEL:
Back at the bunker, Cas is standing watch over Gabriel, who seems very distressed. Sam returns to the room and tells Cas that he has enhanced the bunker’s warding as much as he can, but he doesn’t know if it will be enough to stop Asmodeus.

As they’re talking, the bunker’s power goes out and the red, emergency lights come on. Sam and Cas search the bunker, and are attacked by Asmodeus’ demons. They kill the demons, but then Asmodeus appears and telepathically hurls Cas and Sam into the wall. He chides them, telling them that their warding wasn’t designed for something as powerful as he is. As Sam and Cas look on in shock, two other demons lead Gabriel out and Asmodeus once again has the archangel.

Later, Sam, Cas and Gabriel are in the war room and Sam and Cas are trying to explain everything to Gabriel. Cas tells Gabriel that Michael wants to come to this world and destroy it, so they need his help to fight him. After an uncomfortable discussion, Gabriel refuses to help them and leaves. DEAN AND KETCH:
As the sun is rising, Dean and Ketch arrive at the POW camp. They see Charlie about to be executed and attack the camp, killing several angels and freeing Charlie. The lead angel gets away, and although Charlie doesn’t know who Dean is or why he’s helping her, she agrees to leave the camp with him and Ketch.

Later, Dean, Ketch and Charlie are walking back toward the rift and Dean explains to Charlie who he is and how he knows her in another world. When Dean asks Charlie if she knows where Mary and Jack are, Charlie remembers seeing them, but doesn’t know where they are anymore. Charlie also has difficulty believing Dean’s story until they actually arrive at the rift and she sees it for herself. Unfortunately, they are almost out of time, because the rift is beginning to close.

EPILOGUE:
Hastily, Dean tries to convince the group to leave together before the rift closes. Ketch urges Dean to go back and return with as many reinforcements as possible, with the understanding that they will be fighting the archangel Michael and they’ll need all the help they can get. He tells Dean that he will stay behind to gather intelligence on Michael’s operation and find out where Mary and Jack are. Charlie doesn’t want to go through the rift because the AU is her home, her friends are fighting in the resistance and she doesn’t want to abandon them.

Reluctantly, Dean returns without them. When he arrives back at the bunker, Sam and Cas ask where Mary and Jack are. Dean tells them Mary and Jack aren’t with Michael anymore, and Ketch and Charlie stayed behind to find them. Sam is shocked to hear that there is a Charlie Bradbury in the AU, but then Dean notices signs of a struggle in the bunker and asks what happened. Sam and Cas tell him that Asmodeus attacked with his demons, and Gabriel killed Asmodeus, but he has refused to help them further and now he’s gone. When Dean asks about Gabriel’s grace, Sam tells him that they gave it to Gabriel to heal him, and now there’s none left.
Dean realizes that they can’t open the rift now and is angry that he came back without a way to return. Dean is furious that every time they get close, the plan falls apart, but Castiel assures him that they will find Gabriel.