Devil May Care Recap

The scene changes to Dean, who’s stretched out on the top of a picnic table. Sam comes over to Dean to ask him questions about what happened while he was unconscious. He asks about Cas. Dean tells Sam that he is more or less human now – he has “no grace, no wings, no harp” - and when Sam asks where he crash-landed he says that Cas called him from Longmont, Colorado. He explains he told Cas to go to the Bunker. Sam expresses doubt that Cas will be able to do it alone but Dean says he is a big boy now and they have bigger problems. Sam asks if he means the fallen angels and Dean says yes, that thanks to Metatron they have a couple of thousand “confused loose nukes” walking round and he doesn’t know what they’ll do. Sam then asks Dean whether he killed Crowley. He says he wanted nothing more than to “ice the limey b*tch” but he thought what would Sam Winchester do and there’s a funny moment when Sam replies and says, “I’d have stabbed him in the brain”. Dean’s surprised but says he figured the King of Hell might know a few things so why not “zero dark-30 his ass?” Sam is surprised. He asks Dean if Crowley is alive and Dean says, “oh yeah” as he opens up the trunk of the Impala, “he’s the junk in my trunk!” They both look down on Crowley, who’s awake but handcuffed and his mouth is taped over…

…The scene changes back to the wrecked house. The man is in the bathroom and there are many lit candles standing on the washbasin. Demon smoke is swirling above him, around his head. His eyes are black! He pulls a knife out and cuts his forearm slowly and deliberately and holds his arm over the bath, clenching his fist so the blood drips fast into it. A bright yellow glow shines out of the bath and the demon above flows down into it. The possessed man falls down and there’s silence. He is looking at the bath and then we see red fingernails appear on its edge. Someone stands up, naked and we see it’s Abaddon – she’s back in her old meat suit!

The scene switches to Dean, who’s just entered the Bunker and a crossbow bolt is fired at him – it lands close but not too close – it’s Kevin! He explains he’s feeling bad. He says after they last spoke all the machines went crazy and the Bunker went on lockdown and his cell phone stopped working – he says he thought it was the end of the world! Dean says, “close… The angels fell.” Kevin asks him what that means and Dean replies, “nuthin’ good.” He takes his phone out and tells Kevin he’s got service and Kevin goes to the equipment and turns it on and it’s all working again. He tells Dean that maybe him opening the door from the outside reset everything. Dean agrees and then Sam appears with Crowley, who’s hooded. Kevin can’t see him but he’s shocked - he guesses it’s Crowley they’ve brought back.

…Dean takes the hood off Crowley and pulls off the tape over his mouth. As soon as Crowley starts to say, “hello”, he punches him in the mouth and says, “I never get tired of doing that!”
Sam is holding a notebook and pen and tells Crowley to give them the name of every demon on Earth and who they’re possessing. Crowley says that doesn’t sound like him and Sam says he saw Crowley break down when he was trying to cure him, that part of him was human and maybe still is. Crowley says he won’t give them anything, that they have no leverage. He says they didn’t close the Gates of Hell so they won’t and they’re not going to kill him because they haven’t and so what’s left? Dean says they have a few ideas. Crowley scoffs at the idea of torture and says they’re not going to do anything to him that he hasn’t already done to himself. The Boys walk out, locking Crowley into the room, in the dark, and he just sits there…

Kevin is upset, shouting about Crowley still being alive and why haven’t they killed him. Sam explains that they want to get the names of all the demons on Earth from him so they can hunt them down. Dean tells him once they’ve done that, he, Kevin, can kill him. Sam tells Kevin to stay away from Crowley and Dean asks Kevin to see if he can find anything on the angel tablet to reverse Metatron’s spell, while Sam goes off to search the Net for anything demon-y, or angel-y or monster-y, or ghost-y and Dean goes to make some calls…

Meanwhile Abaddon is talking to four demons. She wants to know why they are in the meatsuits they have and one of them, dressed as ‘grandma’, says she made seventy-two deals last year. Abaddon is incensed about the deals. She says they should be taking, not paying. She asks why they’re taking orders from Crowley and when grandma says he’s the king, Abaddon says he’s a salesman. She says a king should fight… conquer, not just read contracts. She tells them Crowley is dead and she’s the new queen. She says she can train them, get them new bodies and then they can liberate Hell and demonkind will rise up and sweep over the world. She becomes strident, saying all the humans and the angels with their clipped wings will bow down before her, or they will burn. Grandma asks her about Crowley again and Abaddon says he’s dead but Grandma says they all thought she, Abaddon, was dead until last week and what if Crowley did come back? She asks Abaddon to prove he’s dead and then her scheme might work… or not. She tells Abaddon she thinks the knights were overrated. Abaddon grabs her by the throat and forces the demon out. She tells it to go to Hell and tell them she is coming…

The scene changes back to Dean, in the Bunker. He’s talking to a hunter called Irv and he tells him about the angels falling and how to kill them with holy oil, and to keep hold of angel blades if he sees one. He asks Irv to pass the message onto other hunters. Meanwhile Sam is checking the Internet for signs and Kevin is looking at the angel tablet.

Another scene change, this time to three soldiers leaving a naval base. They are on weekend leave and they get on a bus but three of Abaddon’s demons are there! The demons exit their hosts and possess the soldiers. The driver turns around and it’s Abaddon, and she smiles…

Another swift change to a young woman who’s standing beside the road. She’s got the trunk open and is looking at the engine. A van stops next to her and the driver offers her a lift into town. She agrees and goes around to get in but the driver looks in his mirror and we see his vampire teeth descend! …The van is rocking on its chassis and then blood spatters the windshield! The van door opens and the headless corpse of the vampire falls out. The girl steps out, holding a long bladed knife, but as she turns around one of the soldier demons confronts her and another one pulls a bag over her head…

…Dean and Sam drive up to the bus where the soldiers were possessed. It’s now a crime scene and the military are there. A funny scene follows… Dean introduces them both to a sergeant as Agents Stark and Banner, FBI (a Marvel reference) but she tells them it’s nothing to do with them, it’s a military case. She wants to speak to their supervisor and Dean calls Kevin! He tries to explain to Kevin what the situation is and what he needs him to say but Kevin doesn’t really get it! Dean hands the phone over to the sergeant, looking uncomfortable and she talks to Kevin. He introduces himself as Kevin Solo (a Star Wars reference this time) but the sergeant is very suspicious and asks him how old he is. He says “old enough” and that she has to do what he says but she says she doesn’t take orders from “the Feeb” and unless he can give her a good reason why “two pretty-boy agents” are poking around her crime scene she’ll “put them in cuffs and spank his ass raw!” Dean’s face is a picture as he looks away. Kevin’s busy on the laptop and he says one word to her – “Kabo”. She’s stunned and he goes on to describe a compromising photo of her from last year. She asks him how he found that and he holds the phone close and says, “’cause I’m Kevin freakin’ Solo!” He tells her that unless she wants it forwarded to her commanding officer, she’d better give his guys her full cooperation. She says, “yes” and then Kevin says, “yes, sir” and she reluctantly repeats it back to him. She hands the phone back to Dean and walks away. Dean asks Kevin what did he do and Kevin explains he hacked the military computer. Dean’s impressed and says, “good job, buddy.”

On the bus, Sam’s examining one of the bodies. Dean gets on and Sam tells him that all of the bodies have fatal wounds but they’re old, fifteen to twenty years old. Dean says that they were meat suits and Sam says he think they were possessed and now the soldiers are. The sergeant shows them some security footage and they see the soldiers leaving the bus, followed by Abaddon. As they’re leaving, Dean says to Sam he thought he had “Kentucky-fried that meat suit?” and Sam says he did, so Dean asks how she’s got her body back and why is she playing GI Joe’s? Sam tells him he doesn’t know but Dean can ask her when they find her and he says he will, and he’ll cut her head off – again. They leave in the Impala.

The scene switches to a dark alley. Abaddon is there, watching while one of her demons is beating up a guy called Pete, a hunter. He’s asking Pete where the Winchesters are but Pete won’t say. Abaddon takes over and puts a rope around Pete’s neck. She pulls him up by the rope, choking him and asks again about The Boys… One of Dean’s phones rings and Kevin picks it up. It’s Abaddon calling and we can see Pete is still strung up – dead – behind her. She says this is Dean’s phone but he’s not a Winchester. Kevin won’t say who he is but she tells him to give The Boys a message as she walks into a building: she has something they might want and we see the hunter girl and Irv tied up together in a room…

…Kevin’s talking to Sam in the car while Dean’s driving. Kevin gives Sam some coordinates that Abaddon gave him and her message, that she has two hunters, Tracy Bell and Irv Franklin, and will kill them unless the Winchesters show up to save them. Dean says Irv is a friend but he doesn’t know Tracy. He asks Kevin to dig up anything the Men of Letters have on “Knights of Hell”, specifically anything on how to kill them. Sam tells Dean the coordinates point to somewhere just outside Eugene, Oregon and asks Dean if he knows it’s a trap. Dean says he knows that and Sam asks if they’re just going to go in and Dean replies, “guns blazing”. He asks Sam, “are you with me?” and Sam says, “you know it!”

…Back in the Bunker, Crowley is reliving some of the scenes from when Sam was trying to cure him, make him human again. He hears snatches of conversations with Sam and Dean and hears himself saying ‘he just wants to be loved’. He comes back to reality and then the lights go on and he hears someone’s footsteps outside. He calls out, “Kevin?” and says he knows it’s him. Kevin has come to look through the files stored in the cellar and he tries to ignore Crowley but he taunts him and calls him ‘weak’ and it’s too much for Kevin. He opens the door to the room where Crowley is imprisoned. “hiya, Kev” he says…

…Dean and Sam have arrived at the coordinates. The place is deserted. Dean asks what happened here and Sam says there was a chemical spill years ago and three square blocks were evacuated. He says it’s probably still contaminated. Dean looks worried and asks if Sam means poisoned and he agrees. Dean covers his groin with his hand and Sam says that isn’t going to help! They walk on and hear noises from a building and they go in, Sam with his gun at the ready. Irv and Tracy are tied up. Dean loosens Irv’s gag and asks him where Abaddon is. He tells Dean she’s been torturing them for information on the Winchesters but he doesn’t know why. Dean and Sam give Irv and Tracy some holy water to drink before they untie them. They are OK after drinking it so they’re not possessed and Dean cuts them free. Sam introduces himself to Tracy but she’s openly hostile towards him. Irv explains she’s a new hunter, smart but with “a mouth on her”. Dean says, “let’s gear up!”…

Back in the Bunker, Kevin asks Crowley how to kill a Knight of Hell. Crowley asks if Abaddon is giving him trouble and says if Kevin lets him go he’ll spit-roast her for him. Kevin says he’s bluffing, he doesn’t know. Crowley taunts him but says that isn’t why he came in. He asks Kevin what’s on his mind, that he’s his friend, and Kevin shouts that he tortured him! Crowley says he tortures all his friends, that’s how he shows love as he grew up in a dysfunctional home environment… Kevin bursts out that Crowley killed his mom and Crowley says “did I?” He asks Kevin if he ever saw a body, can he be really sure she’s dead? Kevin hits him, hard. Crowley says he can do better than that and Kevin looks at the instruments of torture on the wall. Crowley says, “let it all out!” and Kevin hits him again…

Back with Dean and Sam, Dean is getting weapons together and telling Irv and Tracy about their use. They hear a noise outside and Sam sees two soldier demons coming. He tells Dean who says, “good” but then Sam tells him they have assault rifles and Dean says, “OK, less good”. Irv asks what the play is…

We hear Dean shouting, “come and get it, you dicks!” from the building and the two soldiers burst in to find a phone repeating that message inside. The hunters have escaped! Around the corner outside Dean tells them they need to split up in pairs to flank ‘Team Douchey’ in the building – he and Irv and Sam and Tracy. Sam says, “let’s move” and touches Tracy’s shoulder but she shouts at him not to touch her. Dean asks what the problem is and she says that Sam’s responsible for the death of her family. She says a demon killed her parents because it was celebrating that some dumb kid had let Lucifer out of his cage. Sam looks like he’s been gut-punched. Dean says they have to move so he’ll go with the girl and Irv can go with Sam. They head off and Sam looks after her, disturbed.

Back with Kevin and Crowley, Kevin puts a hammer down. Crowley’s bloody – Kevin’s been beating him up. He says to Kevin they can talk now he’s vented his feelings and he tells him if Kevin lets him go he’ll give him his mother back. Kevin says she’s dead and Crowley says she wishes she was after what his heavies have done to her but he hasn’t let her off. He asks Kevin if he thinks Dean and Sam care about her or about him? He tells Kevin he’s just there to serve their needs, that they’ll toss him aside when he’s served his purpose and there’s always another prophet waiting in the wings… He tells Kevin he’s the one in chains but Kevin’s just as much a prisoner as him. He asks Kevin if they can walk out, together, if they can both win. Kevin thinks about it…

…Dean is with Tracy. They creep around a corner. He says he thinks the demons are still inside and they’ll pick them off when they come out. He tells her that Sam isn’t the only guy who’s done what he thought was right only to find it all went to crap; that’s just part of being human. He says he understands why she’s pissed at Sam but she needs to know who the real monsters are and go after them, the ones with black eyes...

Sam is with Irv and they are close to the building. He tells Sam to give him the magic knife and he’ll go in the building, alone and buy him as much time as he can. He tells Sam to go with Dean and Tracy and get out of there. Sam tells him that’s death but Irv says he’s got it coming. Sam looks at him and Irv tells Sam that he was sloppy and Abaddon trapped him. She tortured him and he gave Pete and Tracy up to her and he cries. He moves out from the corner’s protection and tells Sam to give him the blade but then he’s shot and he goes down. Sam draws his gun and fires back. He runs across the street and bursts into a diner, falling to the floor. One of the demons is there – he puts his foot on Sam’s arm and says, “boo!”

…Dean goes forward cautiously but Abaddon appears and knocks him down. Tracy fires her gun with devil’s trap bullets at her, hitting her in the chest but Abaddon is wearing Kevlar! Meanwhile Dean gets his flask of holy water out and throws it at Abaddon. She falls back, her face smoking, and Dean presses his keys into Tracy’s hands and tells her to go to his car three blocks away and bring bullets, holy water, everything, back. She runs off and Dean turns around to face Abaddon. She says, “alone at last”…

…Dean draws his angel blade and thrusts it at her but she avoids it and gets behind him, pulling his arm up behind his back, making him drop it. She forces him down onto the ground, twisting his shoulder and arm… Meanwhile Sam is fighting two demons but they make him drop the magic knife and he’s getting the worst of it when another one comes in. Sam fights again but the third soldier demon raps his head on the counter and dazes him. Meanwhile, Abaddon is twisting Dean’s arm and wrist around, keeping him on his knees, but she’s almost caressing his hair with her other hand. She says she so appreciates the Winchesters coming when she calls and that they’re so obedient… and suicidally stupid. Dean asks if they’re going to fight or make out ‘cause he’s getting some real mixed signals here. She tells him she wants Crowley and when Dean asks her what’s in it for him she says she’ll let him die. If he gives her Crowley’s head she’ll snap his neck, quick and clean and he won’ t feel a thing. Dean says, “and what if I tell ya to get bent?” She tells him she’s loved this body since the moment she first saw it and he’s the perfect vessel – he gives a girl all sorts of nasty ideas… She opens his shirt to reveal his anti-possession tattoo and says he can go ahead and play hard to get, that she’ll peel off this “no demons allowed tattoo and blow smoke up his ass”…She threatens to make him watch when she possesses him, to let him feel an infant’s blood running down his chin and to hear a girl scream as he rips out her guts…

Sam is still being beaten up – he’s slammed into a wall and knocked unconscious. One of the demons lifts his head up and says he thought the Winchesters were supposed to be tough and just then, Sam’s eyes open and they’re shining blue – Ezekiel’s back in control! He pushes the demon away with a movement of his hand and stands up. He starts to glow and his wings appear – they are damaged and burned but that doesn’t seem to affect him – and the demons look on helplessly as the glow fills the room. Abaddon looks around as the glow hits the windows and she sees / hears the glass erupt from the frames. She asks Dean if it’s an angel and he replies, did she think they’d roll into this mousetrap without some backup? She throws him through a shop window in a rage. Dean gets out of the window and sees Abaddon has disappeared so he heads towards the diner…

…Back there, all the demons are dead on the floor. Sam removes the magic knife from the neck of one of the demons just before Dean walks in. He gets up and says, “they were going to kill him, Dean”. Dean says “Ezekiel? What the Hell did you do?” He tells Dean he was protecting his brother and he thought that was what Dean wanted. Dean says sorry, he’s still getting used to this and Ezekiel says he is too. Dean asks if Sam is OK and Ezekiel says he was knocked unconscious and in a way he still is. He tells Dean Sam won’t remember any of this and Dean asks what he’s supposed to say to Sam when he wakes up. Ezekiel says that’s why he used the knife and he hands the bloody magic knife to Dean. He says, “right, smart” and turns away but Ezekiel sees Dean is still troubled and says so. Dean replies that this is on him. He persuaded Sam not to board up Hell and every demon deal, everyone they kill, well he’s the person who let it happen… Ezekiel says he was protecting his brother. He says he knows everything Sam knows and that what Dean did was out of love for his brother. Dean says he’s going to call him ‘Zeke’ and he’s not really into talking about love but Zeke says it’s why Sam said yes, to which Dean replies that if that goes sideways it’ll be on him too. Zeke says that isn’t going to happen. Dean says, “this is nuts” – Zeke is Sam but he’s not Sam and Sam is the one he normally talks to about this stuff.
Zeke just looks at Dean, who says, “I’m trusting you, Zeke! I just gotta hope you’re one of the good guys.”
Zeke replies, “I am.” Then after a pause, “I suppose that is what a bad guy would say.” Dean sort of shrugs and Zeke says, “Dean Winchester, you are doing the right thing.”

…Dean is packing his stuff away when he hears Sam groan - he’s waking up. Dean goes over to him. Sam is confused. He asks Dean what happened and he tells Sam he took a shot to the head and he saved Sam’s ass like usual. Sam asks if Dean killed three demons alone and Dean says he took them by surprise – it was a little messy and he got lucky, oh and he’s awesome! He helps Sam up and Sam looks around and says, “you are pretty damn awesome!”

Tracy turns up in the Impala. Sam asks if she is OK and she says yes and she asks Sam if he’s OK – her attitude towards him has thawed. They all leave in the car…

Back at the Bunker, the Boys call out to Kevin but there’s no answer. They look at each other and run downstairs. The door to Crowley’s prison in open but Crowley is still sitting there, tied up. Dean asks who worked him over and Crowley replies, “Martin Heywood and Brandon Favers”.
Sam asks if they did this to him and Crowley tells him no, they are demons. He says they asked for demons’ names and he’s giving them some. He says they’re under-performers and they’ll be doing him a favor if they spike them.
Dean is surprised – he says Crowley breaks easy but he says their little plan to break him is pathetic but they want intel and he wants things too so maybe they can come to an arrangement? Sam asks if these names are freebies but Crowley says to consider them as fair trade for the enjoyment Kevin gave him. Dean asks him what that means and he says Kevin is his “new favorite toy – wind him up, watch him go.” Dean goes to find Kevin and Sam locks Crowley in again and goes to check on the demons Crowley gave them.

Dean sees Kevin about to leave. He asks where he’s going but Kevin ignores him. Dean grabs hold of his backpack and asks Kevin to talk to him. He says Dean can’t keep him locked up in here and he’s leaving. Dean says, “like Hell!” and says he told him not to talk to Crowley, that he messes with your head. Kevin tells him what Crowley said, that his mom’s alive and if he freed Crowley he’d give her back to him. Dean says Crowley is lying and Kevin asks what if she’s not. Dean says if she is alive, then she’s dead, in every way that matters, and he tells Kevin he’s sorry. He says he knows Kevin is dying to bolt and understands, but that demons and angels are out there and they’d love to get hold of a prophet so even with Crowley here, the Bunker is still the safest place for him. He says to Kevin, “and we need you, Man!”
Kevin’s likely thinking of what Crowley said to him as he says, “because I’m useful.”
But Dean replies, “because you’re family! After all the crap we’ve been through; after all the good you’ve done… And if you don’t think that we’d die for you, I don’t know what to tell you.” Kevin is crying now. “…Because you, me, Sam and Cas, we’re all we’ve got…But hey, if none of that matters to you, I won’t stop you.” Kevin doesn’t reply, he’s processing the truth Dean’s given him…

…Dean is upstairs with Sam. He tells him Kevin’s passed out in one of the back rooms but he’s a tough kid and he’ll bounce back. He pours himself and Sam a drink. Sam’s quiet and Dean asks him what’s up. He says nothing but then he mentions Tracy. He tells Dean that what she said about him wasn’t wrong. Dean sits down opposite him and tells Sam he’s helped a hell of a lot more people than he’s hurt… He says all that was then and “here’s to now” and he raises his glass to Sam, who clinks his glass against Dean’s. Sam asks if Dean’s ready for it – fallen angels, Abaddon, Cas losing his halo, Crowley in the basement…Dean says it’s worse than a friggin’ sitcom. He asks Sam how his engine’s running and Sam says he feels better than he’s felt in a long time. He says he knows it’s crazy out there and trouble’s coming for them but he looks around and sees friends and family and he’s happy with his life for the first time in… forever. He’s good. Dean mutters, “never better” and has a drink. He looks off into the distance, troubled…

Editor’s note:
An excellent episode! I liked it more the second time I watched it and I liked it an awful lot the first time!
Dean’s ‘big brother’ speech to Kevin was done wonderfully well – JA handles the caring, sympathetic older brother role especially well and his talk with Sam at the end was also perfect: Dean wondering if Sam’s happiness is down to Ezekiel and therefore not real and thinking about his deception, although well-meant, showed clearly in him looking off into the distance at the end, when Sam resumes his work. I also thought Crowley was on good form and Abaddon could turn out to be a very good villain – she seems to be a blunt force, not clever like Crowley but ruthless, strong and dangerous and her threats to Dean were very chilling.