Captives Recap

EPISODE:
In the kitchen, the brothers discuss the possibilities while Dean makes coffee. They can’t figure out how a ghost got into the bunker with it being so heavily warded, so Dean surmises that it might be a ghost that died in the bunker and never left. Neither brother wants to admit that it could be Kevin Tran, but each time they mention his name, the coffee machine flickers and beeps. When the brothers notice this and Sam calls Kevin by name, a coffee cup shatters on its own.

CASTIEL
Elsewhere, Castiel comes across an angel (Eliah) attending someone’s funeral. He confronts Eliah and demands to know why he is there. During their discussion, we learn that the dead woman was an angel’s vessel and Eliah was friends with the angel, who was named Rebecca. Castiel says that Rebecca was friends with Metatron and demands to know where Metatron is. Eliah tells Castiel that he’s looking in the wrong place because Metatron and Rebecca haven’t had contact since the angels fell and they are no longer friends.

It seems that before Rebecca died, she gave up heaven and all its politics/intrigue and started a small group of angels called “Penitents”, who want to reconnect with the angels’ original mission. Eliah insists that the Penitents are not another faction in the angel war, but that they choose to live humbly among humanity. He tells Castiel that Bartholomew killed Rebecca and many of the other Penitents.

DEAN and SAM
Back at the bunker, Sam has been sitting alone with the coffee machine trying (unsuccessfully) to communicate with Kevin. The brothers surmise that Kevin is trapped in the veil, trying to break through. Sam leaves the room and Dean continues trying to contact Kevin. Once Dean is alone, he starts talking to Kevin. He apologizes for what happened, saying that he knows Kevin never asked for the life that happened to him, and he acknowledges that Kevin ended up losing everyone he ever loved before being murdered himself. Dean admits that he blames himself for Kevin’s death, and wishes he could make things right.

As Dean is talking, the lights flicker again and Sam rushes back into the room. As the brothers watch in amazement, Kevin suddenly appears.

Kevin tells the Winchesters that heaven is locked and that all the people who have died since the angels fell are stuck in the veil. Many of them are lost and confused, and their numbers are growing rapidly. Kevin also tells the brothers that he believes his mother is still alive, and he begs them to find her. He says that since he’s been in the veil, he’s made indirect contact with a woman who died recently and is also trapped. The woman, whose name is Kandi, says she just saw Kevin’s mother – alive -- within the past week. Since all the souls are trapped near where they died, Kandi is in a forest near Wichita, Kansas. Kevin believes his mother is somewhere near there. Kevin asks the brothers to go to Wichita, summon Kandi, and try to find out what else she knows. Before Kevin flickers out, he says to Dean that if he wants to “make things right”, this is what he needs to do.

CASTIEL
Before Castiel can leave the cemetery, he is taken prisoner by two of Bartholomew’s followers. They take Castiel to see Bartholomew.

When Castiel and Bartholomew finally see each other, Bartholomew takes Cas’ angel blade, explaining that it’s precautionary. Then, they smile and embrace each other, and we see that they are actually friends.

They sit down to talk, and begin reminiscing about their past battles together, like when they fought together against the archangel Raphael and his forces. Bartholomew admits that he thought Castiel was insane at the time, but because Castiel was his commander, he followed his orders. After that victory, Castiel became a great leader among the angels. Castiel reminds Bartholomew, however, that the captives Cas left in Bartholomew’s care were tortured and killed under Bartholomew’s orders. Bartholomew insists that he was ordered to kill those captives, and he berates Castiel for not following orders like angels are expected to do.

Bartholomew boasts that now he’s the one giving the orders that other angels must follow. As he and Castiel talk, he walks Cas through his headquarters. Bartholomew goes on to explain that his “human” assets became more trouble than they were worth, so he killed them, used Bobby Boyle and many of his followers as vessels, and commandeered Boyle’s operation for himself.

Bartholomew tries to convince Castiel to join his forces. He adds that he knows Castiel is looking for Metatron and says he and Castiel want the same thing – to find Metatron and return the angels to heaven. When Castiel asks why Bartholomew is tracking down Rebecca’s followers and killing them, Bartholomew replies that nipping the new faction in the bud will save lives in the long run. Castiel disagrees, but Bartholomew doesn’t care.

In Bartholomew’s private offices, he shows Castiel a world map and several monitors. There have apparently been several Metatron “sightings” on earth, and Bartholomew boasts that his operation is sophisticated enough to find him. He again encourages Castiel to join him. He tells Cas that if he’ll help him, it will unite the angel factions and save lives.

As the two are talking, two of Bartholomew’s goons bring in a prisoner. It’s Eliah! Bartholomew plans to torture the angel for information, then kill him. He invites Castiel to help him. Of course, Castiel refuses.

Some times passes and we see Bartholomew torturing Eliah. The angel screams and insists that everyone else in Rebecca’s group is dead and he’s the last survivor, but Bartholomew doesn’t believe him. Castiel tries to intervene, insisting that Eliah is telling the truth, but Bartholomew is not swayed. Bartholomew orders Castiel to kill the prisoner. When Castiel refuses, he and Bartholomew argue, and Bartholomew ends up killing Eliah.

Bartholomew attacks Castiel, trying to get him to fight; but Castiel says that angels killing other angels must stop, and it may as well begin with him. Bartholomew punches Cas in the face, but Cas refuses to fight back. When Bartholomew attacks Castiel with an angel blade, Cas easily disarms the other angel, but refuses to kill him. He pushes Bartholomew away and tries to walk away, but Bartholomew attacks him again with the angel blade and Cas is forced to kill him.

Bartholomew’s followers witnessed the fight and try to stop Castiel from leaving, but he orders them to stand aside and they obey.

DEAN and SAM
Dean and Sam arrive at the wooded area in Wichita, Kansas, set up camp, and try to use the coffee maker and a radio to contact Kandi.

While they’re waiting, Dean tries to call Crowley, but doesn’t reach him. Sam berates Dean for chasing Crowley so persistently, but Dean reminds Sam that Crowley is their last known link to Mrs. Tran, so it’s worth trying to reach him for information.

After a little more time passes, Dean and Sam hear Kandi trying to reach them through the static on the radio. Kandi tells them that she was locked in a box side-by-side with other captives in boxes, and she mentions two other people named Jerome and Linda (i.e. Mrs. Tran) who were also being held captive. She adds that she was held captive by two men, and one of them had a British accent. The brothers therefore surmise that Crowley was involved. Kandi says that the man (Crowley) told her she was more valuable alive than dead, so that’s why she was being held. Kandi says that after a while, the British man stopped coming. When there was only one guard, Kandi tried to escape, but the other guard chased her down and killed her. Kandi doesn’t know what happened to Mrs. Tran after she left.

Kandi’s description of the box where she was being held makes the brothers think she was being confined in a storage facility. They search the nearby area and find the place. Sam also discovers that Kandi was the mistress of a powerful politician, and that’s why Crowley decided she was important leverage.

Meanwhile, we see Linda Tran being held captive, and she screams as someone enters the chamber.

Later, Dean and Sam arrive at the storage facility dressed as feds. They question the clerk, (Del) and demand to see the facility’s rental records. The brothers compare the rental records to a schematic of the facility, and determine the most likely place where the hostages were being held. The clerk overhears the Winchesters mention the name of the client renting the units – D Webster – and tells them that the same client is also renting additional units on the other side of the facility. He offers to show them the units. Dean goes with Del, while Sam secretly searches for the other containers.

Once Del gets Dean alone inside a storage unit, he attacks him and knocks him out. Meanwhile, Sam finds Mrs. Tran shackled to a wall in another unit, but the door slams shut before he can release her and get out. We see that Deal has a mobile phone application that lets him close the doors remotely. He can also see a surveillance camera in the unit, so he can see that Sam and Mrs. Tran are both locked up.

SAM
Sam frees Mrs. Tran from her shackles and once she is freed, she helps Sam figure out how to disable the door lock. While they’re working, Mrs. Tran asks about Kevin. Sam is initially evasive, but eventually his expression and demeanor lead Mrs. Tran to believe that something happened to Kevin. She refuses to discuss it at the time, telling Sam that once they are free, she expects him to take her to her son.

DEAN
When Dean wakes up, he is forced to listen to Del’s ravings. Del reveals that Crowley left him in charge of the prisoners, but then Crowley never came back. Del resents having to feed the prisoners and dump their toilet buckets all by himself. Del is angry that Crowley hasn’t returned any of his calls, and even angrier that he wasn’t allowed to kill any of the prisoners. In fact, as the discussion is happening, we see that Del has killed the other storage unit clerk and tried to use his blood to call Crowley (to inform him that he has captured the Winchesters), but it didn’t work.

Dean plays to Del’s emotions, telling him that he and Crowley are buddies now, and that Crowley will be angry if he knows what is happening. Del is furious to learn that Crowley has been hanging out with a Winchester while he’s been slaving away at his job. Del decides that he will quit working for Crowley, and do whatever he wants. He starts torturing Dean, cutting him on the neck with the demon-killing knife he took from Dean while he was unconscious. Dean kicks Del away, but his hands are still restrained, so he can’t fight or get up. Before Del can recover, Sam rushes in and disarms him.

Next, we see Del tied up and Sam holding the demon-killing knife. Del taunts Sam, daring him to kill him. To Del’s surprise, Sam gives the knife to Mrs. Tran, who stabs Del in the heart, killing him. As soon as Del is dead, Mrs. Tran asks the Winchesters to take her to her son.

EPILOGUE:
Castiel returns to the cemetery where Rebecca’s funeral was held, and spends some time talking to her. He apologizes for being unable to fix the chaos that he feels responsible for creating, and commends her for trying to find a better way. As Castiel is talking, one of Bartholomew’s followers approaches him. At first, Castiel thinks the angel is there to fight; but he isn’t. The angel tells Castiel that after the fall, he didn’t think he had any choices; but after what he witnessed between Castiel and Bartholomew, the angel wants to follow Castiel. At first, Castiel insists the he is no leader, but when he looks into the distance, he sees other angels also ready to follow him.

Dean and Sam arrive back at the bunker with Mrs. Tran. Kevin appears and they see each other and cry.

Later, Dean shows Mrs. Tran Kevin’s belongings from the bunker. He shows her a small jewelry box, and she removes a ring from it. She tells Dean that the ring belonged to Kevin’s father, and that if there was anything that could keep Kevin tied to this world, it would be that ring. Apparently, Mr. Tran died when Kevin was a baby, so the ring is the only thing Kevin has left of his father.

It seems that Mrs. Tran plans to keep Kevin tied to her, but Dean tries to warn her that sometimes spirits kept in the veil become corrupted, so it might not be a good idea. Mrs. Tran replies that Kevin is her son and it’s her job to keep him safe for as long as she can.

Before Kevin leaves with his mother, he tells Sam that his mother is his responsibility, so he will stay with her. He also tells Sam that his death wasn’t his fault. He thanks the brothers for finding his mother and tells them to “get over it”. He asks them to stop fighting, and they both promise to. But as soon as Kevin leaves with his mother, Sam turns his back on Dean and stalks off to his room, refusing – again -- to talk to his brother.