Stuck in the Middle With You

• How long will Mary keep lying to her sons, and how long will it take them to figure out she's lying to them?
• If Mary knew Ramiel's schedule, why wouldn't she simply sneak into his house, steal the Colt, and leave? Why risk trying to kill him? Especially if that meant bringing in other hunters and possibly having to reveal her theft?
• How could the British Men of Letters know exactlywhere the Colt was hidden, but their intelligence was too poor for them to know that Ramiel was a prince of hell? That sounds more like a setup than a mistake to me.
• Now that Ramiel is dead, will his sister and his brother come out of hiding to kill the Winchesters in revenge?
• Will we meet the other two surviving princes of hell -- Dagon and Asmodeus, before the season is over? Before the series is over?
• How did Crowley get his hands on Lucifer? How is he keeping Lucifer in that cage? And how long will it be before his plan backfires and Lucifer gets free?-

• The Archangel Michael made a lance (that is invisible until wielded) that will kill a demon immediately, but makes an angel slowly rot to death when stabbed. He apparently created the weapon to use on his brother, Lucifer.
• During a flashback in this episode, we learn that after the battle at Stull Cemetery (and with Michael and Lucifer both being in the cage), Crowley (who was then King of the Crossroads) went to Ramiel to try to convince him to become king of hell. When Ramiel refused and offered Crowley the job (in exchange for Crowley's agreeing to make sure Ramiel was left alone), he accepted. That's how Crowley became King of Hell.
• When Crowley went to see Ramiel (who had been living in seclusion) he took the Michael lance as a gift from all demons, and the Colt as a gift from himself. He'd presumably picked up the Colt from the ground when Dean dropped it after unsuccessfully trying to kill Lucifer in "Abandon All Hope" (season 5).
• Apparently, Azazel was a Prince of Hell. The other surviving princes (princesses) are Asmodeus and Dagon. As far as we know, the princes of hell are the only demons with yellow eyes.
• Princes of hell were the first generation of demons created after Lilith. They were thought to all be dead, but have been living in seclusion. They were initially trained to be generals in the war against heaven.
• Apparently, the demon knife, devil's trap bullets, and angel blades will not kill a prince of hell. But since Azazel died when shot in the heart, apparently the Colt will kill a prince of hell.
• Since Mary knew she had the Colt, and that it had killed Azazel, she could have used it to try to kill Ramiel (or at least threaten him) to help save Castiel. But she chose instead to keep her secret.
• Crowley is holding Lucifer prisoner! Many of us suspected that Lucifer didn't really go back into the cage at the end of LOTUS, but learning that he's Crowley's prisoner is quite a revelation. How did Crowley swing that?

• This is Richard Speight Jr.'s second time in the director's chair for Supernatural. He also directed "Just My Imagination" (season 11).
• Ramiel leaves his house every night at 8:00 pm to go night fishing and returns 45 minutes later. That's pretty quick. He must be a very successful fisherman.

• Many aspects of this episode are part of a thematic homage to director Quentin Tarantino and some of his most popular films. To name a few, the slow-motion heroes walk during the credits, the diner scene, and the injured/dying team member are allusions to "Reservoir Dogs". The glowing Colt inside a box is a reference to "Pulp Fiction". And the methodical approach of the whistling villain is a reference to "Kill Bill". The frequent use of flashbacks is also common in Tarantino films.
• The episode title "Stuck in the Middle With You" alludes to the 1972 song by the same title, performed by Stealers Wheel. That song was also featured in "ReservoirDogs".
• The film "Reservoir Dogs" is about a group of bank robbers that has to figure out what to do when one of them is seriously injured during an attempted bank robbery. As in this episode of Supernatural, one member of the team is not who he/she appears to be. In Reservoir Dogs, one team member was an undercover police officer; in this episode, Mary never reveals her true intentions (and the fact that she's working for the British Men of Letters) to her sons.
• Crowley says that the princes of hell were created before "the oceans drank Atlantis". Atlantis is a fictional island that existed thousands of years ago and was supposedly occupied by an advanced civilization until a natural disaster (presumably a volcanic eruption or earthquake) destroyed the island and caused it to sink into the ocean and become lost in history.
• Lucifer refers to the Winchesters as the "Dukes of Haphazard". This is a reference to the 1980's era sitcom "The Dukes of Hazzard" about two brothers who drive a souped up car and create mischief in a small town.

• "Lover Boy" -- by Toodlum Barker and Emil Lomax (plays in the diner as the team is talking)
• "Walk With A Winner" -- by Gene McDaniels (plays while Sam, Wally and Dean are fighting the demons)
• "La donna e nobile" - Guiseppe Verdi (whistled by Ramiel as he approaches his house)
• "Not for Me" - by Bobby Darin (plays during the stakeout)
• "Crop Won't Ever Come" -- by Robin Loxley and Jay Hawke (plays as Crowley and Ramiel are talking outside the barn)
• "Colt 45 Opening Theme" - performed by Mark Pellegrino (Lucifer sings the song to taunt Crowley while in his cage)

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EPISODE # 13: Family Feud