Inside Man

• Does Dean truly not remember his nightmare, or is he just pretending so he doesn't have to talk about it?
• Can Rowena find a way to remove the Mark of Cain? If so, what will be her price? And what will be the consequences for Dean?
• When (and how) will Dean learn that Sam and Castiel have been keeping their plans secret from him? How far will this go?
• Is Metatron telling the truth about Castiel's grace? Is there really some left? And if so, does Metatron really know where it is? Will he keep his word and take Castiel to it?
• Now that Metatron is free, how long will it take him to betray Castiel and the Winchesters? If he breaks away from them, what will he do this time? Not having his grace will likely slow him down, but he can probably still do a lot of damage.
• Metatron says he still has Castiel's grace, but what about the demon tablet?
• Will Rowena keep her promise to destroy Crowley and his reign? Without Crowley, who will rule hell? Does she perhaps want to rule in his place?
• How will the angels punish Bobby for helping Metatron escape?

• Bobby's heavenly paradise is sitting in his living room, drinking (probably whiskey), listening to the radio, and reading Tori Spelling's book.
• Considering Sam's warning to Dean to stay out of his room while he's away, Dean has probably vandalized Sam's room in the past.
• Back in the 1950s, when Oliver Price was still a child, the Men of Letters (MOLs) tried to help him develop his psychic abilities. The MOLs were wiped out by Abaddon in 1958 before they got a chance to finish. Because being around people (and constantly being able to hear their thoughts) was an emotional burden to Price, he became a recluse in his adult life.
• Oliver Price is a psychic, but he apparently can't read angels' thoughts.
• Dean seems to temporarily be able to control the Mark of Cain (he was able to stop himself from killing people in this episode, and didn't hurt Rowena when he had a chance), but his nightmares and hallucinations suggest that he is still getting worse.
• If Rowena is telling the truth, the Mark of Cain is the first curse, but it is still only a curse and it can be removed.

• Sam mentions a French film about a cockroach who is secretly a mime. This is apparently fictional. There is a 2013 animated French film called "Oggy and the Cockroaches", and a 2013 film (not French) called "Josephine and the Roach" about a woman who falls in love with a roach, but neither film deals with mimes.
• Under the influence of a truth-telling spell in season 6 (You Can't Handle The Truth) Bobby revealed to Dean that he secretly likes Tori Spelling and considers her very talented.
• When Bobby was in his private heaven, he was listening to Kenny Rogers' "The Gambler" on the radio. The same song was used as music in a Bobby Singer montage in season 6 "Weekend at Bobby's".
• Bobby Singer was born Robert Steven Singer in 1950 and died in 2012 at the age of 62.
• When Bobby breaks all the other Robert Singers out of their heavens, we hear one of the angels call on angel radio for help controlling the mob. The voice we hear during that call belongs to Executive Producer Robert Singer.
• In Bobby's letter to Sam, he tells Sam to "kick it the ass", a nod to the late Supernatural director Kim Manners, who used the phrase frequently to help motivate the show's cast and crew. Bobby's letter also tells Sam to "Keep fighting". This episode originally aired in April of 2015, very close to the time when Jared Padalecki launched his "Always Keep Fighting" campaign to raise awareness about depression, and encourage those who battle mental illness. Bobby's encouraging Sam to "keep fighting" may have been a nod to support Jared's campaign.

• When Bobby is in his heaven, he's reading sTORI Telling, Tori Spelling's 2009 autobiography. Bobby originally mentioned how much he likes the actress in "You Can't Handle the Truth" (season 6).
• When Dean sees the rowdy college students, he jokingly calls them "Abercrombie rejects", referring to the trendy, high-end clothing store chain Abercrombie and Fitch.
• When at the bar, Dean orders a nacho dish called an "Herve Villechaize", named for the dwarf actor best known as "Tattoo" from the 1980s-1990s era television series "Fantasy Island".
• Oliver Price's description of Metatron is a "creepy Hobbit-looking fellow", refers to fictional characters (Hobbits) from the popular J.R.R. Tolkien series of novels The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings.
• Oliver calls Sam a "hippie" due to his long hair and unkempt appearance. He may have meant it as a derogatory term (to describe someone who doesn't cut his hair or maintain personal cleanliness), but the 1960s hippie movement dealt with social and cultural reforms, as well as redefining acceptable standards for dress and appearance.
• Bobby comments that he is going to be playing "Steve McQueen" when he breaks out of his cell in heaven. This alludes to the 1963 film "The Great Escape", starring Steve McQueen; the film is about a group of soldiers who break out of a German prison camp during World War II.
• Dean jokingly asks Rowena "What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?". This may allude to the 1963 Martin Scorsese film of the same title about a writer's obsession with a painting. However, the phrase has turned into a pickup line, suggesting that the woman/girl is too attractive or sophisticated to be where she is.
• When Bobby prepares to break out of his heaven he utters "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in." This line is from 1990 film "The Godfather, Part III" and was exclaimed by an aging mafia kingpin (Michael Corleone, played by Al Pacino) who tries to leave his criminal life behind him, but gets pulled back in by circumstances.
• Crowley tells Rowena that he has the Winchesters where he wants them, and that he keeps his "friends close, but his enemies closer". This popular line has been attributed to Sun Tzu or Niccolo Machiavelli, but the actual origin is unknown. It was mentioned in the 1974 film "The Godfather, Part II" (perhaps another reference to actor Al Pacino and his portrayal of the mafia kingpin Michael Corleone), but the origin of the phrase is only speculative.
• Rowena refers to the Winchesters as "tumshies", a Scottish colloquialism for stupid person.
• When Dean meets Crowley at the bar, Crowley calls him "Squirrel" and Dean calls Crowley "Boris" and asks where "Natasha" is. This is a reference to the 1960's-era cartoon series "The Bullwinkle Show" about a talking moose (Bullwinkle) and his friend, a flying, talking squirrel (Rocky). Crowley has referred to Sam and Dean as "Moose and Squirrel" many times in the past. In the cartoon series, the villainswere a pair of Russian spies named Boris and Natasha, who often called Rocky and Bullwinkle by those names.
• In this episode, the door in heaven that opens the portal to earth is door #42. This alludes to the 1980's-era series of science fiction novels The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy written by Douglas Adams. In the books, the number 42 represented answers to the universe's important mysteries.
• Dean jokes about playing "Dr. Phil" to the king of hell. Dr. Phil is a popular television therapist.
• Dean asks Crowley why he lets "Mommy Dearest" tie him in knots emotionally. This refers to the 1978 book Mommy Dearest by Christina Crawford (and later 1981 movie adaptation) about how Crawford suffering emotional and physical abuse growing up as Joan Crawford's daughter.
• Bobby jokes that Metatron looks like a "Fraggle" referring to one of the muppets from the 1980s-era educational, children's television series "Fraggle Rock".

• "The Gambler" -- by Kenny Rogers (plays when Bobby is in his heaven)
• "Lydia" - by Peter Nathanson and Rudolphe Perroquin (plays when Dean enters the bar and talks to Donny)
• "Ain't Going Back" -- by Simon Stewart (plays when Dean is hustling pool)
• "Shakin' the Blues" - by Paul Lenart (plays when Dean wins the pool game and Rowena enters the bar)

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EPISODE 1018: Book of the Damned