Nihilism Recap

We open in a bar. The sign says "Rocky's Bar". There's a drunk passed out on the bar and a carved wooden monkey as part of the decor (a monkey that used to reside in Harvelle's Roadhouse). It's pouring rain outside and someone enters. It's Pamela Barnes. Long-dead Pamela Barnes. She says everyone is clearing out the stores like it's the end of days (because of the storm) but she battled through it all to bring a bag of limes back to the bar. She drops the bag on top of a carving in the bar that reads "Fred loves Daphne" and we see that Dean's behind the bar serving as the bartender. He says he's not making the house special without limes. Pamela smiles. Dean hands her a tequila shot with lime and a beer on the side; the house special.

Pamela asks if Dean's heard from Sam. Dean says Sam and Cas are out on some ghoul thing in Wichita but should be back at any moment.

The door opened and a well-dressed lawyer comes in. She tells Dean she brought papers for him to sign. She wants to buy the bar, but he won't sell. This isn't the first time she's tried to buy it. Dean says he's never had anything this nice. It's not for sale. She thinks he's crazy as she doesn't think the bar qualifies as "nice".

The lawyer leaves and Dean shrugs at Pamela.

Later, Pamela walks into the office where Dean's doing paperwork. Dean doesn't want her to leave the passed-out drunk guy out there alone with all the liquor. She's not worried. She asks Dean to do a shot with her before she heads out on a hot date. Dean asks how come she always has a boyfriend? She asks Dean how come he always wants what he can't have? She tells Dean he just likes to flirt, he doesn't really want her. She's psychic so she knows.

She asks if he's sure he doesn't want to sell; it's a lot of money they're offering. He says this bar is his dream.

Dean goes to the walk-in to grab a case of Lone Star beer. He hears Pamela calling from the bar. Nothing's happening, but Pamela must sense something is about to happen (her psychic abilities). She says there's trouble. Suddenly the door flies open. It's a monster: a vampire who claims Dean and Sam killed his entire nest. Suddenly the passed-out guy on the bar leaps at Dean. Dean fights him off then tosses a sawed-off shotgun to Pamela, grabs a machete, and gracefully leaps over the bar to fight the vampires.

Pamela shoots one. Dean decapitates the other one, then decapitates the one Pamela shot. Both vampires dead and Dean back behind the bar, they take a bar rag to clean blood spatter off each other. Pamela says the worst part of working there is cleaning up the blood after some pissed-off monster busts in trying to kill Dean. Dean shrugs it off with a smile, saying, what can he say? He's famous.

Back in Michael's high rise "office" in Kansas City...
he has Sam and Cas and Jack in front of him. He waves a hand and they fall to the floor
in pain. He says they had no chance of winning. There was no chance at a surprise attack because he saw everything they were planning. Now he has his perfect vessel, he just destroyed the spear; the only thing that could hurt him, things are looking good for Michael. He thanks them for bringing Kaia's spear right to him. Can tries to get up and attack Michael. Michael easliy grabs him and tells him not to interrupt.

Sam is fumbling on the floor while Cas distracts Michael. Sam lights some holy oil, flinging it at Michael. Michael is temporarily surprised/disabled as the oil flames up around him and Cas steps in and snaps the warded archangel cuffs on him. Michael doesn't believe the cuffs will hold him. His eye blaze blue but nothing happens. The cuffs stay in place. Cas says they trust they'll hold.

Sam tries to appeal to Dean trapped inside his own body. Michael tells Sam he'll have to leave a message; Dean's not home now.

They hear distant screaming. Michael asks if they forgot that his monsters are out there building an army.

Jack picks up Cas' angel blade.

Sam gets a call from AU hunter Maggie. He asks her what's going on out there. She says she's rounded up every hunter she can find, as Sam asked, and they're trying to track down monsters, but there are so many; they can't keep up. The monsters aren't killing people; just turning them. Sam tells her where they are and that they have Michael, to which Michael sarcastically asks, "Do you?" Sam shoots Michael a look and tells Maggie not to come to them, just try to save as many people as they can.

When Sam hangs up, Cas asks what the plan is now. Sam tells them to get Michael downstairs and put him in the trunk of the Impala to take him back to the bunker. Jack points out that Garth's still in the trunk. Sam says, "It's a big trunk."

Michael smirks.

They hear monsters right outside the door; lots of them. Michael says they're his cavalry. He called them. Cas concentrates his powers on keeping the door closed, but he doesn't know how long he can hold it. There's no way to get out. Jack points out it's not as if any of them can fly. Michael snarkily replies, "Well, one of us can". Sam tells him to shut up.

Jack asks if they're going to die here. Michael smiles. Then Sam has an idea. He calls for Jessica; the Reaper. The one Billie assigned to keep an eye on Sam and Dean and she's always supposed to be near them.

A woman appears. But it's not Jessica. She says her name is Violet and it's her shifts. They have shifts now because Sam and Dean mess up "so many things".

Sam tells her they have to get out there. She says they have her full emotional support. Sam shoots back they don't need emotional support, they need her help. Cas and Jack can't see who Sam is talking to, but Michael can. He says in his world, they locked Death away and enslaved the Reapers. Violet gives a sarcastic reply. Sam says she owes them one because they "fixed that whole Rowena thing". She reminds them THEY started the Rowena thing. Sam begs her; they'll die there otherwise. She says Reapers can't intervene. She couldn't even if she wanted to. She motions for Sam to be quiet, as if she's trying to hear something. Cas wants to know what she's saying. Violet nods, says, "okay", and suddenly all five of them are in the bunker.

The monsters break down the door at the office building and find the room empty.

Back in the bunker, Sam asks Violet how she did that. She says she didn't do it. Sam's confused. Violet tells them to have fun and disappears. Jack asks what now?

They have Michael chained to a column in the main room. Cas doesn't know how long the cuffs will hold him, even with the way Bobby "improved" them. Cas and Jack think they should put Michael in the dungeon. Sam says if the cuffs don't hold him, the dungeon won't either. Michael points out that he can hear them. They move away a few feet and keep talking.

Sam tells them that when he was possessed by Gadreel, Gadreel created a fake world inside his own head to keep him calm. But Crowley was able to force his way in, show Sam how to take control, and force the angel out. Cas points out they no longer have Crowley to help.

Sam's phone rings. It's Maggie. The hunters were on their way to the office building, but now Sam tells them they're not at the office building, they're in the bunker. He doesn't have time to explain how they got home so quickly. He asks Maggie to make sure Garth is okay in the trunk of the Impala back at the office building. She agrees. She says the monsters have stopped attacking people. They're leaving the city and heading west. Michael asks Cas to remind him...the bunker's west of Kansas City, right? The army of monsters is heading to the bunker to free Michael. Cas tells Jack to lock it down. Michael sarcastically tells them to put a chair against the door, 'cause that'll help.

Alone together in the main the room of the bunker, Michael tells Sam that nothing's changed. Either his monsters get there or he breaks the chains and either way, everybody dies tonight.

Michael tells Sam that the last thing he'll see as he's being ripped apart is Dean's pretty smile.

Next we see Sam rolling out a piece of equipment. Cas asks what it is. Sam says it's the "messed up British Men of Letters thing they used to get inside people's heads"...the device used by Lady Bevell to brainwash Mary, and later the same device used to save Mary.

Sam figures that if he can get inside Dean's head, maybe he can wake Dean up enough to convince him to force Michael out. This is the only idea Sam has.

Back at Rocky's bar...
Pamela's wiping down the bar and asking if there is any word from Sam. We've seen this before. The same scene is playing like a constant loop in Dean's mind, but he doesn't realize it's on repeat. Everything we just saw repeats itself. The shots in the office, the lawyer, everything. The loop speeds up as everything repeats over and over. Suddenly, on one of
the loops, Dean says he feels like has some serious deja-vu.

Back in the bunker, Michael is taunting Jack who's been left to keep an eye on him. Michael says it's a little insulting that they left Jack to watch him. He asks what Jack is and answers his own question saying he's nothing. Jack reminds him that's not what Michael said to him before. Michael chalks that up to a moment of "familial weakness", but it won't happen again. Jack says it doesn't matter. Sam and Dean are going to beat him. Michael says, "Oh, please." He tells Jack that Sam's in so far over his head he's drowning and Michael has Dean under control.

Jack protests that Dean's strong. Michael says Dean's a gnat, but he, Michael, is a God. He asks Jack which one he'd bet on.

Jack tells him he (Michael) knows nothing about Dean. Michael says he's in Dean's head. He literally knows EVERYTHING about him. He knows how sad Dean was when Jack died; but only on the outside. On the inside, he wasn't happy, but he just didn't care. He didn't care because Jack isn't Sam or Cas...he's a new burden, a weak and helpless thing that Dean's been handed. He says they really don't care about or love Jack; he's just a job that none of them wanted.

Cas comes in and Jack brushes past him, obviously upset by Michael's words. Cas tells Jack not to believe anything Michael says to him. He's lying. Michael calls out he's not lying, and he can still hear them talking about him. Jack leaves the room, still upset.

Out in the field, near Lebanon, Maggie's taking calls from another group of hunters saying more monsters are on the way. Maggie and her group train their weapons on an approaching van.

Back at the bunker, Michael's still chained up and talking to Cas. He's teasing Cas about where he is in life; watching over Jack; no longer a fierce warrior. He tells Cas he's weak now.

Michael says he wants to destroy this world because he can. Because when he and his brother were fighting in the AU, he thought God would come back and tell them why he left. But he didn't. Now that he's in this world, he understands why. God is a writer. Like all writers, he churns out draft after draft. Each world is nothing but a failed draft. When God realizes they're flawed, he moves on and tries again. Cas asks why he'd do that. Michael says it's because God doesn't care about anything. Michael says that at first he thought he'd try to be a better God than God; make a world better, but now he wants to destroy every one of God's worlds until he catches up to him. Michael says that even God can die. It seems Michael wants to catch up to God and kill him.

Out in the field, the hunters approach the now-parked van, but it's empty. One hunter heads off into the woods but re-emerges with nothing. Maggie figures Michael's monsters are headed for the bunker.

In the bunker, Jack asks Sam if his plan is going to work; hooking up electrodes to himself and Dean. Jack offers to help; even if it burns off more of his soul. Jack points out that Sam doesn't know what he's walking into. Sam basically agrees.

Cas hooks electrodes to Michael and Sam. Michael taunts Sam. Cas tells Jack to pray and make sure no one kills them while they're under. Michael says they're still all his, even if he's chained up. He seems to welcome Sam's attempt to reach Dean. Michael seems supremely confident.

Sam and Cas walk into a black space. Cas tells Sam they're in Dean's mind. Sam asks where Dean is. Cas holds up his hand, his palm glows and he can hear Dean's voice...all of Dean's memories; the bad ones. All the trauma in Dean's head. We hear clips from past episodes; all the bad ones. Sam says Dean's strong. Cas says he's more than strong. Cas wonders
what he's looking for; if he knew; he could just take them there, but he has to wade through the bad memories first.

Sam questions why Michael would bury Dean in trauma. Sam points out that Dean thrives on trauma; it keeps him alert. Sam figures Michael tried to distract Dean with contentment instead of trauma. They hear some of Dean's good memories. Sam listens too. He hears Dean say something about a bar. Sam realizes that is not a memory; owning a bar never happened. That's where they have to go. Cas zaps them to Rocky's bar.

Dean turns around from the bar and greets them, saying "Kill a ghoul, get a beer."

Dean talks about the great beer he has from Austin. Pamela walks in and Sam can't believe it. Sam tries to tell Dean that nothing here is real. He says Pamela's not real. She begs to differ. She says she's the most real person they know. Cas says she's just there to distract him. Sam tries to make Dean remember what's going on in the real world. Dean and Pamela disappear and the previous loop plays on with them drinking in the back....then they're back to ask Sam about the hunt and the loop starts again. Dean and Pamela kill the vampires like before. Blood splatters on Cas and Sam. Pamela and Dean say they got bloody on the ghoul hunt. They don't realize they got bloody from the vampires they just killed because the loop has started again.

Sam tries to remind Dean about Michael. Pamela starts to tease Dean...asking him to get her a shot with his brain if he's so powerful. Sam reminds Dean that they were there when Pamela was blinded. Suddenly, Pamela in the bar is blind. Sam tells Dean Pamela died saving them. Suddenly, Pamela's not in the bar anymore. Dean tries to deny it. He says this bar is his dream. Cas tells him it's just "a" dream, not "the" dream. Cas tells him the people in his real life need him to remember and come back.

Suddenly Sam says "Poughkeepsie". Sam and Dean's panic word. When he hears that word, Dean remembers everything; becoming possessed, turning the monsters as Michael, creating a monster army. Sam sighs with relief.

Michael walks in clapping slowly.

Dean tells Michael to get out of his head. Michael says Dean doesn't mean that. He can lie to Sam and Cas, but not him. Michael says Dean only tolerates Cas because he saved him from hell, but he's been a disappointment ever since. Michael tells Sam that Dean was happiest when Sam left for college and left Dean and John to hunt together without him. Sam always abandons Dean. Michael says Sam and Cas are Dean's responsibilities, not his family. He says Dean said yes to him to get away from Sam and Cas. Cas says something's wrong; he feels Michael is stalling.

Back in the bunker, Jack watches over a passed out Sam, Dean, and Cas. Maggie comes in with the other hunters saying they're barely ahead of the monsters.

Back in the bar inside Dean's head...
Sam figures that Michael is stalling because he's waiting for the monsters to arrive at the bunker in the real world and save him. Michael denies it. Dean asks him to go ahead and snap his fingers and kill them all if he's so tough. But he won't. Cas realizes that in Dean's head, they're all mental projections; no one is more powerful than anyone else. Sam realizes Michael is all talk in Dean's head. Michael says he doesn't need his powers; he can still crush them with his bare hands. He fights Dean first and knocks him down, then Sam, then Cas. Sam gets up an comes at him again. They continue to fight, but Michael keeps coming out on top.

In the bunker, the monsters are banging away on the door from the outside. Jack says they won't be able to get through the door. The hunter that went off into the woods by himself and returned, Tiger, says they won't have to break their way in, he'll let them in. He was turned while he was in the woods for the purpose of infiltrating the bunker. He shoves Maggie to
the ground and lets the monsters in. The hunters fire at them, but they keep coming. Bullets don't work. Jack watches the hunters losing ground and stands between them and Sam, Dean, and Cas.

When it seems to be a losing proposition, Jack yells, "No" and blasts the monsters to dust with an energy blast and his eyes glow yellow. This seems to leave Jack tired.

Back in Rocky's bar, Dean, Sam, and Cas stand, but Michel tells them they didn't think this out. Even if he did leave Dean, what is left would be nothing but blood and bone. Dean reasons that if that's true, they won't kick Michael out, they'll keep him in. Dean opens the walk-in and tries to hit Michael, but Michael tosses him aside. Temporarily distracted, Sam is able to push Michael inside the walk-in cooler. Michael hits the floor. Dean closes the door and sticks a screwdriver in the handle to lock him in.

Dean says it's his mind, his rules. HE'S the cage.

Michael rages and yells inside the cooler; throwing anything against the door he can find.

Back in the bunker, there's no sign of the mind-reading machine. Apparently we jumped ahead in time an it's all packed away. Maggie walks in and says they'll clean up. She says that as far as more of Michael's monster army goes, when Sam, Dean, and Cas "woke up", they all went their separate ways. Seems that now that Michael's locked inside the walk-in cooler in Dean's mind, he can't control the monsters anymore or call them for help. Sam thanks Maggie. Maggie says it wasn't her; it was Jack. She didn't know he could still do that "angel stuff". Sam says he didn't know either.

In the kitchen, Cas is talking to Jack, saying that using his "magic" burns off part of his soul and he can't do that; he needs his soul to stay alive. Jack points out that the monsters would have killed everyone if he hadn't done what he did. Cas says he's seen what the absence of a soul does. It's not just about Jack staying alive; it's about him staying himself. Jack says it won't happen again. Cas seems to be satisfied.

In Dean's room, he's looking the mirror, hearing Michael banging away in his head and repeating to himself, "It's just you." Michael won't stop trying to break down the door. It's relentless.

Dean looks up and Billie is standing behind him. She knows Michael's banging away in Dean's head. Dean says he's all locked up. She says it seems that way, but the way she says it
sounds like she's saying "it only SEEMS that he's locked up". Dean guesses that Billie was the one who transported Sam and Cas and Jack and Michael back to the bunker from the Kansas City office building. Billie says it was a calculated risk. Yes, she was the one that did it. She
warned him about jumping between worlds. Dean says he had to save his mom and Jack. He didn't have a choice about going to the Apocalypse world or not. Billie asks him if he remembers her reading room; how there were shelves and shelves of books about how Dean would die. She says they've all be rewritten to the same ending; Michael escapes and uses Dean as his vessel to destroy the world.

They've all been changed to the same ending, except one. She hands Dean the one book with a different ending. He reads it and says, "What am I supposed to do with this?". Billie says that's up to him and disappears.

Dean looks rather hopeless at what he's read in the book; his one alternate death if he doesn't want to act as Michael's vessel as he destroys the world.