Mother’s Little Helper

• How far has Abaddon got with raising her demon army?
• What is the Mark of Cain doing to Dean? Why is he afraid of using the First Blade to kill Abaddon?
• Is Sam beginning to realize Dean is in danger?
• Where is Malachi and his angel faction?

• Abaddon is ripping souls out of bodies to turn them into demons loyal only to her.
• Abaddon started building her demon army over fifty years ago and has demons in different locations capturing souls.
• Josie asked Abaddon to possess her instead of Henry as she was in love with him
• In this episode, we learn that Henry's wife (i.e. John's mother and the Boys' grandmother) was named Millie

• Misha Collins made his TV directorial debut with this episode
• This episode's title likely references the song of the same name by The Rolling Stones. In colloquial language, "Mother's little helper" refers to drugs or alcohol that some women may use to help them cope with the stresses of motherhood and domestic life
• Apparently, soullessness doesn't affect everybody the same way. When Sam was soulless, he was intellectually cold and amoral, but he didn't instantly lose is reason and start killing people
• Marilyn Norry, who played Mother Superior in this episode, also played a nurse in Time is On My Side (season 3)
• Henry and Josie/Abaddon were driving a Chrysler Imperial

• Crowley - "You're sulking like you lost your Knuffle Bunny." This alludes to the stuffed animal found in the children's book, Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale (2004).
• Crowley (to Dean) - "You just want to touch that precious again, don't you?" This refers to the fictional character Gollum in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien. Originally Gollum was a hobbit-like creature called Sméagol, but he was corrupted by the One Ring, which he called "his precious."
• Crowley refers to Abaddon as "Carrot Top", alluding to her red hair, but also referring to the comedian of the same name, who also has unkempt red hair
• Dean asks Sam “How’s Mrs. Manson doing”, referring to Charles Manson, whose cult of followers committed several brutal murders in 1969
• When the brothers are discussing the aggressive behavior of the soulless people, Dean jokes that it might be like the violence steroid abuse causes, but Sam says the actions are “less steroid-induced and more “Basic Instinct”, referring to the 1992 drama about a calculating murderer.

• "You're No Good" - by Linda Ronstadt (plays when Crowley and Dean are talking at the bar about the Mark of Cain)
• "Plastic Princess" - by David Alan Tomlinson and Gary Alan Jones [Extreme Music] (plays when Dean is playing pool)
• "Grey Skies" - by Electric Banana (plays when Dean convinces the hunter to leave Crowley alone)
• "Love, Dance, and Sing" - by Electric Banana (plays when Dean receives Sam's phone call at the bar)
• "It's Not Too Late" - by The Bughouse 5 (plays when Sam encounters Billy at the diner)

See below for the discussion thread for this episode.

EPISODE 918: META FICTION