Slumber Party Recap

The scene opens with two men (a young man and an older man) using the secret key to access the Men of Letters (MOL) bunker. They’re both wearing suits and are clearly MOLs. Once inside, they each open sealed briefcases that contain cylinders that look like large light bulbs. They insert the bulbs into a console and the bulbs light up. Then, having apparently completed a required protocol, they introduce themselves and shake hands. The older man is James Haggerty and the younger man is Peter Jenkins. As they’re talking, the lights in the bunker begin to come on and we realize that the bulbs each man brought somehow initiate a sequence that powers the bunker.

Haggerty and Jenkins look around the place. Haggerty comments that he’s surprised it took so many years to build such a “dump”, but Jenkins insists that the bunker is a special place – perhaps the last beacon of light in a world turned upside down.

Later, and undetermined amount of time has passed. Jenkins and Haggerty are talking and playing chess. Jenkins complains about being bored, noting that he’d initially thought his current assignment would be exciting, but it has been boring. Haggerty reminds him that there’s nothing worse than adventure. As they’re talking, the phone rings. Haggerty answers it and has a brief discussion with someone – apparently a young woman – who says she’s on her way to the bunker. Haggerty replies that they’ll be waiting for her.

After hanging up the phone Haggerty tells Jenkins that they’re expecting a “guest” – Frank’s daughter, who is apparently a hunter.

Soon, the door opens and a young woman enters, dragging a large heavy sack behind her. There’s something moving inside the sack. The woman introduces herself as Dorothy, and Jenkins is clearly impressed to meet her. Dorothy treats Jenkins and Haggerty dismissively and asks which one of them is going to help her kill the wicked witch.

EPISODE:
THE BUNKER – PRESENT DAY:

Crowley is sitting alone in his dark cell when Sam enters. When Sam gives Crowley a piece of paper and a crayon, Crowley balls the paper up and tells Sam that if he wants more demon names, Crowley wants something in return. Sam turns around and walks out.

Later, Dean and Sam are talking in the war room. Apparently, Dean has taken Kevin to a motel in Branson, Missouri for a few days of rest and television watching to help him relax. Dean also believes he and Sam need to relax, so he shows Sam some DVDs (Game of Thrones) that he bought for them to watch.

As the brothers are talking, Sam asks Dean why Castiel left. To Sam, it seems odd that with angels looking for Castiel, he’d leave the safety of the bunker. Dean replies that Cas was worried about bringing trouble to the Winchesters, so it was his idea to leave. Sam suggests to Dean that he might have a way to help Castiel. Sam recalls that when the angels fell, the table in the war room lit up in every location where an angel landed. Sam surmises that the table/map can be rewired to track angels, and they might use that to help Castiel steer clear of angels. When Dean asks how Sam plans to pursue his plan, Sam reveals that he found cables under the map table, and they lead to what looks like a large computer room elsewhere in the bunker.

The room Sam finds is mostly occupied by a large, mainframe computer, but the brothers can’t figure out how the computer is being powered. Dean notices that the console behind the computer is warm, so he removes the cover. He inadvertently stumbles backward and knocks over a sealed bottle on a shelf behind him. As the brothers are talking, a grey-colored fluid inside the bottle begins to bubble and move around. Inside the console, several of the lightbulb-looking tubes we saw earlier are plugged in and somehow powering the machine, but the brothers can’t figure out how. They decide to call Charlie Bradbury to help them figure it out.

Dean and Sam leave the room and the grey material seems to push the lid off the bottle. The bottle and lid fall to the floor, and the grey fluid creeps out and starts sending tendrils up the walls like tentacles.

BUNKER: 1935
In the bunker, Jenkins tries to question the wicked witch Dorothy has captured, but Dorothy tells him that she cut out the witches’ tongue, so she can’t talk. Dorothy also bound the witch’s power, but warns Jenkins and Haggerty that it won’t last.

Jenkins seems very impressed that Dorothy captured the witch by herself and exclaims that Frank (Dorothy’s father) would be very proud of her. Dorothy retorts that her father wasted his life with words and she isn’t planning to do the same. Dorothy says she’s tried every method she can think of to kill the witch, but nothing has worked, so she’s come to the MOLs for help killing someone from Oz. Jenkins and Haggerty leave Dorothy alone with the witch to search the bunker's library for answers.

BUNKER: PRESENT DAY
Charlie arrives at the bunker and during a brief conversation she tells the brothers that she’s been doing some minor hunting. Dean and Sam seem alarmed, but Charlie says although it was intense, she wishes hunting was more magical. To change the subject, Charlie asks to see the mainframe computer.

Charlie is very impressed after a brief study of the computer. She tells the Winchesters that the computer has its own encryption codes and appears to be powered by something magical. She also tells them that the computer is an alarm system – global catastrophe caused the alarms to sound and led the computer to lock down the bunker. When Sam asks if the computer can be repurposed to track angels, Charlie begins working on a way to do it.

Later, time has passed. Charlie shows the brothers how she rigged the computer to link to a laptop and she has downloaded all the MOLs files. As they’re talking, the brothers try to dissuade Charlie from hunting alone. She knows it’s not a good idea, but insists that she read Carver Edlund’s books. Once again, to change the subject, she tells Dean and Sam that it will take the computer some time to download all the files. The group decides to pass the time by watching Game of Thrones DVDs in Sam’s room.

Dean, Sam, and Charlie are watching television in Sam's room. As the group is talking, Charlie notices that Sam has still not unpacked, so his room doesn’t look like he lives there. When Dean comments about it, Sam retorts that the bunker is where they work, not where they live. Dean clearly feels differently. Dean leaves to get more beers, and Charlie and Sam are left alone to talk. Sam asks Charlie about her hunting again, and why she said it isn’t magical. Charlie replies that she was raised on “Tolkien” (referring to the author of the Lord of the Ringsbooks), and is yearning for her quest. Sam tells her that magic and quests are dead ends.

BUNKER: 1935
Haggerty and Jenkins have been searching the library for a way to kill the witch, but keep hitting dead ends. Suddenly, he witch breaks free of her bonds. Jenkins draws a knife to attack her, but she grabs him by the forehead and suddenly his eyes glow green. The witch has put a spell on him. Jenkins turns threateningly toward Haggerty and says “There’s something here that belongs to me. Take me to it.” Haggerty and Dorothy have no idea what Jenkins is talking about.

Dorothy whispers to Haggerty, asking if the bunker has a laboratory. When Haggerty tells her where it is, she runs to it, and Jenkins tries to chase her. When Haggerty tries to stop him, Jenkins tries to stab him. The two men fight over the knife, and Haggerty stabs Jenkins instead, killing him. During the fight, the witch gets away.

Haggerty hastily searches the bunker for Dorothy. Suddenly, he sees light coming from the laboratory. He bursts into the room and finds it empty…

BUNKER: PRESENT DAY
When Dean, Sam, and Charlie return to the computer room, they see a large, grey structure that looks like a cocoon attached to the wall. When Dean uses his knife to cut the cocoon open, Dorothy falls out, unconscious. When she wakes up, she explains her situation to the group.

Apparently, Dorothy’s case in 1935 was the very first case the MOLs handled at the Lebanon, Kansas bunker. According to notes from Haggerty, in 1935 Dorothy entered what is now the computer room and never came out. Dorothy is anxious to find the witch, but Dean and Sam demand answers first. When the Winchesters tell Dorothy that she’s been gone for over 75 years, she explains that back in 1935, they couldn’t find a way to kill the witch; so, Dorothy worked a binding spell that trapped her and the witch together inside the bottle. The spell held until the bottle was knocked over and now the witch is free. Dorothy also tells the group that she is protected from the witch (by a spell from the Witch of the North), so she can’t be killed; but nobody else in the bunker is protected. She also says that the witch was looking for something at the bunker back in 1935, and she’s likely still looking for it now that she’s awake and free. Dean and Sam agree to search the bunker for the witch, while Charlie and Dorothy search the computer for a weapon to use against her.

Once Charlie and Dorothy are alone, they speak briefly. Dorothy is dismissive about Charlie’s fascination with Oz and the book L. Frank Baum wrote about it. Dorothy tells Charlie that Baum was her father and also a Man of Letters. Dorothy speaks harshly about the MOLs, but Charlie tells her that Haggerty never stopped looking for her and kept her file open until he died. Haggerty also apparently came up with a weapon that could be used against the witch. According to Haggerty’s notes, he made a deal with a fairy and got some poppy extract from the poppy fields in Oz. The extract can be used to make bullets that will be effective against the witch. Charlie and Dorothy leave the computer room to locate the ingredients and make the poisoned bullets.

Elsewhere in the bunker, the witch is clearly searching the bunker for something. She enters Crowley’s cell and they have a conversation (of sorts, since the witch can’t talk). Crowley gives the witch the paper and crayon Sam left with him, and the witch uses the note to tell him she’s looking for a key. Of course, Crowley has no idea what she’s referring to.

Later, Dean and Sam enter Crowley’s cell while looking for the witch. During a hostile exchange, Crowley tells them that the witch is looking for a key, but he doesn’t know anything more. He adds that he told the witch the bunker’s keys are kept in the kitchen, so he suspects she’ll look there for it. In exchange for the information, Crowley forces the Winchesters to remove his shackles temporarily.

The Winchesters rush to the kitchen and find it in disarray, so they know the witch has been there. Dorothy and Charlie meet up with the brothers in the kitchen, and Charlie distributes the witch-killing bullets she made. Unfortunately, there was only enough poppy extract to make one bullet for each of them; and the bullets won’t kill the witch – they’ll only stun her. During further discussion, the brothers share what they learned from Crowley. Dorothy tells the group that the “key” the witch is looking for is a key to Oz. It’s magical and can turn any locked door into a portal to Oz. If the witch finds the key, she can open a portal, return to Oz, and destroy it. When Dean asks Dorothy what the key looks like, she shows Dean a picture and he recognizes the key as an object he found when was cataloguing the bunker’s artifacts. He tells the group that the key is in a box in his room. The group distributes the bullets among themselves and break into teams: Charlie and Dean go to Dean’s room to find the key, and Sam and Dorothy search for the witch.

SAM and DOROTHY
Sam and Dorothy talk while searching for the witch. Dorothy asks how long Sam and Dean have called the bunker “home”, to which Sam replies that Dean considers the bunker home, but he doesn’t. Dorothy and Sam commiserate about how “home” doesn’t mean much to either of them. As they’re talking, the witch appears. Dorothy fires a shot but misses. Before Sam can fire, the witch turns into green mist and escapes into a ventilation duct. Because the ducts go throughout the entire bunker, Dorothy and Sam split up to cover more ground.

DEAN and CHARLIE
Meanwhile, Dean and Charlie find the Oz key in Dean’s room. Before they can do anything, the witch appears, takes the key, knocks Dean into a wall, and zaps Charlie with a green beam of light, killing her. Dean shoots the witch in the heart, which makes her scream, turn into green smoke, and escape again into a ventilation duct.
Dean rushes to Charlie and tries unsuccessfully to revive her. As this is happening, Sam approaches. Dean instantly calls for “Zeke” (Ezekiel), who assumes control of Sam’s vessel. Dean asks Ezekiel to resurrect Charlie like he did for Castiel. Ezekiel tells Dean that every time he resurrects someone, it weakens him, which means it will take him that much longer to heal Sam and leave his vessel. Ezekiel also warns Dean that the wicked witch is very powerful, and he can help fight her OR bring Charlie back, but he can’t do both. Dean persists, and Ezekiel relents, resurrecting Charlie. The effort causes Sam to faint momentarily, and Charlie abruptly wakes up, confused.

When Sam and Charlie are both awake, Dean lies to them. He says that the witch attacked him but Charlie got in the way and got knocked out; and that the witch also knocked Sam out. Sam and Charlie both seem confused, but they accept Dean’s explanation. Dean also tells them that the witch has the key. As the group is talking, Dorothy arrives. She tells everyone that the witch is now injured, but she isn’t gone and they still need to find her. Charlie is still groggy from her incident, so Dorothy stays with her while Dean and Sam take the remaining bullet and go searching for the witch.

CHARLIE and DOROTHY
Back in Dean’s room, Charlie and Dorothy are talking. Charlie explains that while she was “out” she had a dream about Christmas dinner with her parents. Dorothy tells her that the green blast from the witch is fatal and she died and went to heaven. Neither of them can explain why Charlie is now alive.

When Charlie persists, Dorothy tells her that she herself has been dead before – the witch has killed her before. Dorothy says she died in Oz. She explains that her father was obsessed with his work as a Man of Letters, and after she was born, that didn’t change. Her father tried to keep his work secret from her, but she found out and stowed away during one of his trips to Oz. She ended up in the Emerald City and accidentally got left behind. Three freedom fighters found her and told her she was a child of destiny who was “chosen” to kill the wicked witch. They protected her until the witch turned them into a scarecrow, a lion, and a tin man. Then, the witch hunted Dorothy down and killed her.

DEAN and SAM
While Dean and Sam are searching the bunker’s corridors, Sam asks Dean who “Zeke” is; apparently Sam heard Dean call for Zeke as he was approaching the room. Dean dismisses the question and suggests they keep moving.

Later, Dean asks Sam why he never really moved into the bunker. Sam replies that he never had any memories of home or of their happy parents like Dean did. He adds that whenever he tried to make a home of his own, it didn’t end well. Dean says that the bunker is as close to home as they’re ever going to get, but Sam seems to remain unconvinced.

CHARLIE and DOROTHY
Back in Dean’s room, Charlie continues asking questions about Dorothy’s father and his books about Oz. Dorothy maintains that the books are “revisionist history” and her father’s way of trying to erase what happened to her. Dorothy and Charlie leave Dean’s room and continue talking. Dorothy says that when the witch came to this world, Dorothy became a hunter and her father continued writing his books. Charlie tries to convince Dorothy that her father’s books aren’t silly – they’re guide books filled with clues he left for his daughter. Charlie adds that Haggerty’s theory about the poppy extract bullets came from the Oz books, so perhaps if they search, they’ll find something else helpful.

As they’re talking, Dorothy excitedly remembers something that might be useful as a weapon. She tells Charlie they have to go to the bunker's garage…

DEAN and SAM
As the brothers continue searching, the witch appears and attacks them. In the melee, the witch puts the same hex on the Winchesters that she put on Jenkins in 1935. The brothers’ eyes glow green and, clearly under the witch's control, they say they will find Charlie and Dorothy and kill them.

Dorothy and Charlie make it to the garage, where Dorothy’s old motorcycle is parked. In the saddlebag, Dorothy finds her Ruby slippers. She tells Charlie that the shoes contain Oz magic and can be used as weapons. As the girls are talking, Dean and Sam appear and attack them. During the fight, the Winchesters (possessed by the witch) announce that the witch won’t be returning to Oz – she’s going to bring her armies here.

Dorothy and Charlie temporarily overpower the Winchesters. Dorothy tosses the Ruby slippers to Charlie and tells her to stop the witch, while she keeps battling the Winchesters.

Meanwhile, the witch is now loose in the bunker with the Oz key. She finds a doorway and uses the key to open it. We see an orange-colored, turbulent sky and realize she has opened a portal to Oz. She begins assembling ingredients and working a spell. Suddenly, Charlie sneaks up behind the witch and stabs her with the Ruby slipper. As the witch falls dead, Charlie quickly slams the portal shut before the flying monkeys burst through.

Back in the garage, the Winchesters’ eyes flash green again and suddenly they stop fighting Dorothy. Apparently, the witch’s spell was broken when Charlie stabbed her. The Winchesters rush to help Charlie, who shows them the key safely back in her possession.

EPILOGUE:
In Crowley’s cell, Sam replaces the shackles against Crowley’s protests. Sam slams a new crayon and a clean sheet of paper on the table before he leaves Crowley alone again.

Back in the bunker’s garage, the Winchesters say goodbye to Dorothy. Sam gives her a copy of her father’s book, which she now understands has more significance than she ever knew.

As Sam and Dorothy are talking, Charlie pulls Dean aside and asks him about what happened to her and why she isn’t dead. Dean initially tries to deny what happened, but eventually just tells Charlie to keep what happened to herself. Charlie reluctantly agrees.

Dorothy thanks the Winchesters for their help and announces that she’s returning to Oz to continue fighting in the rebellion. She invites Charlie to go with her, and Charlie accepts, noting that going to Oz will be the quest and the adventure she’s been missing in her life.

The Winchesters watch as Dorothy uses the Oz key to open a portal to Oz, and she and Charlie walk through.