The Rising Son Recap

In Crowley’s former throne room, Drexel is standing faithfully next to the throne while several other demons lounge around. One is even getting drunk. Drexel is convinced that Lucifer is coming back, because he said he would. But the other demons don’t believe it.

Suddenly, with a burst of bright light, the doors to the throne room open and a tall man with a scarred face, wearing a white suit enters. He authoritatively orders the demons to their feet, and they obey, unsure of who he is. He introduces himself as Asmodeus and tells the demons that he will rule hell until Lucifer returns with his son. He says there will be some changes in hell, that underperforming demons will be purged, and he is bringing back fire and brimstone. He then orders Drexel and two other demons to step forward. They comply nervously, and are shocked when, with a simple hand motion, Asmodeus kills all the other demons by burning their eyes out – angel smiting style.

EPISODE:

Dean and Sam are on the road in the Impala, with Jack asleep in the back seat. It is dark outside, Dean has been driving for a long time, and they have over 12 hours left before they get back to the bunker. Sam tries to talk about what is happening to them and the Winchesters’ discussion about Jack comes up again. Dean reminds Sam that when they bend the rules and pretend that the bad guys aren’t so bad, people close to them die. He doesn’t want to take a chance on Jack and thinks they should kill him as soon as he can figure out how to do that. Sam insists that Jack might be their only chance of saving Mary, but Dean says that Mary is gone and there’s no fixing that.In the alternate universe (AU):
Mary and Lucifer have been walking, but Mary is lagging behind because she is tired. Lucifer tells her to pick up the pace, but Mary reminds him that he’s planning to kill her, so asks what’s the point. Lucifer tells Mary that he doesn’t want her dead because he needs her alive. He plans to get out of the AU, find the Winchesters, and trade Mary for his son. Mary doubts that Lucifer cares about his son, but Lucifer retorts that Mary has no idea what he cares about.

As they are talking, a giant fireball streaks across the sky and lands in an explosion near them. Lucifer ducks for cover, and when he stands up and looks around, he realizes that Mary has run off.

Later, we see that Mary is walking alone, but doesn’t seem to know where she is. Suddenly, a man with an automatic weapon jumps out from behind a rock and raises his weapon towards Mary. She raises her hands. He demands to know who she is, but when Mary gives her name and tells him she’s a hunter, he doesn’t believe her. He throws holy water on her and realizes she’s not a demon, and he says she doesn’t move like an angel. He says he hasn’t seen any women hunters since the wars began. When Mary asks about the wars, and the man realizes that she doesn’t know that the fireballs are from the angels, he realizes that she’s not from his world. His demeanor changes, and he offers to help her, but his tone is menacing. Mary realizes that he has evil intentions and declines his help, but he grabs her. They fight and Mary is thrown to the ground. The man raises his weapon, but before he can do anything, Lucifer punches a hole through his chest, killing him instantly.

Lucifer chides Mary for taking off, reminding her that they need each other to escape the AU and get back to their sons. When Mary tells him that she doesn’t want to help him win, he snaps his fingers and she collapses to the ground in pain. After a few seconds, he snaps his fingers again and she’s okay, but she has received his message and realizes that her only choice is to do what he says.

Later, we see that Mary and Lucifer are still walking. But they seem to arrive at the same place where Mary met the other hunter, so perhaps they’re walking in circles. Lucifer berates Mary for being tired and lagging behind. He also blames her for their being stuck in the AU in the first place.

As they’re talking, a group of angels arrives and confronts them. Lucifer identifies himself, but they don’t believe he’s Lucifer because Lucifer in their world is dead. They prepare to smite him, but he snaps his fingers and kills them all. Within seconds, another fireball lands near them. But this time, the archangel Michael comes out of the crater.

Michael recognizes Lucifer and confronts him. Michael doesn’t understand how Lucifer is alive, since he knows he killed him, but he squares off and prepares to fight Lucifer again. The two of them fight briefly, but Michael gets the upper hand, getting Lucifer’s arm in a tight hold. When Lucifer asks if Michael will kill him, Michael says maybe not, because maybe he needs him.

Back at Lucifer’s throne room:
Drexel reports to Asmodeus that the demons are looking everywhere for Lucifer, but can’t find him OR his son. Drexel doubts that the child is still alive, but Asmodeus asserts that not only is the child alive, but he is a source of knowledge and unschooled power. He orders Drexel and the other demons to find the Nephilim. His plan is that with Lucifer gone, he will train the child to rule, with him by his side as an advisor. Drexel writes down his orders and agrees that Lucifer will be upset if his son is not found. In the ensuing conversation, we learn that Lucifer once became angry with Asmodeus and scarred his face. The action was a punishment for disobedience. Asmodeus says that, long ago, he was eager to please Lucifer, so he freed the shedim. They are apparently hell’s most savage creatures, and so dark and terrible that god himself would not allow them to be free. Asmodeus, in his pride, believed that he could train them. But Lucifer forbade that, locked them back up, and punished Asmodeus for disappointing him. Asmodeus now professes total loyalty to Lucifer.

The Winchesters:
Elsewhere, it’s later the same night, and the Winchesters and Jack check into a seedy hotel. Dean says it’s a bad idea and they should keep driving, but Sam insists that Dean was getting too tired to drive, and didn’t want Sam to drive, so this was necessary.

Things are tense between Dean and Jack. Dean tells Jack to sleep on the sofa, and turns off the television when Jack starts watching cartoons. He tells Jack to “read a book” instead, and tosses him a bible.

Sam clearly feels bad for Jack and offers to sleep on the sofa, but Jack say it’s ok and starts looking through the bible.

Later, Sam has warded the room, and the three of them are eating burgers. Jack talks about what he’s been reading in the bible, and asks the Winchesters questions about god and Lucifer. Dean and Sam give slanted answers to his questions, but make the point that god is mostly good and created the universe, and Lucifer is mostly bad. As they’re talking, Sam and Dean start asking Jack about his powers. They describe teleporting and ask if he can do it, but he says he doesn’t know. They also ask if Lucifer ever reached out to Jack telepathically before he was born. Jack has a flashback in which he can see Lucifer’s eyes and face, and clearly remembers something, but he doesn’t admit any of this to the Winchesters.

As they are eating, they hear someone approach the door. With guns drawn, they open the door and surprise Donatello by pulling him forcibly into the room and taking him to the floor. After brief, awkward introductions and explanations, we learn that Donatello survived Amara’s attack, although he no longer has a soul. He came to them because a few days earlier, he felt a sudden burst of energy and has been drawn to it. He now realizes that the energy was – and still is – coming from Jack. The Winchesters decide that if Jack is sending out such powerful energies, that the angels and others may be attracted to it, so they need to protect him. They take Jack to a tattoo parlor to have an anti-possession tattoo and a warding sigil tattooed on Jack’s chest. At first, Jack inadvertently blasts the tattoo artist across the room because he wasn’t expecting the procedure to be painful. But once he understands, he allows the procedure to continue. It ends up not making a difference, because as soon as the tattoos are completed, they vanish.

Next, we see the Winchesters hustle Jack into the Impala to return to the hotel. But as they are doing this, a bag lady sees them. Her eyes flash black and we realize that she is a demon spy.

Back at the hotel room, Dean, Sam and Donatello have a heated disagreement about what is going on with Jack.

Dean and Donatello think he’s dangerous, but Sam seems not to. Sam thinks Jack can be taught the right things and not end up evil. Dean and Donatello disagree. They also can’t agree on whether the tattoos disappeared because Jack simply healed himself, or if he did it purposely because he didn’t want to be warded. Jack is upset by their arguing and suddenly disappears.

Sometime later, Sam finds Jack in the alley next to the hotel. Jack apparently didn’t know he could teleport, until he realized their angry debate upset him, and suddenly he was no longer there. Jack is sad and is remembering his mother telling him how much she loved him. He is also upset because he thinks Dean hates him, and he doubts that he’s worth all the trouble he’s causing. Sam insists that Dean doesn’t hate him, but that Dean is afraid (which translates to angry and frustrated) because he needs to protect Jack while protecting everybody else fromJack at the same time.

In the hotel’s bar, we find Dean drinking and talking to the bartender. As they’re talking, Dean says that his “friend” has problems with his father and is messed up about it. The bartender seems understanding and admits to Dean that she also hated her father and ran away from him. After their talk, Dean pays for his drinks and leaves the bar. After he leaves, we see that the real bartender is dead behind the bar, and as the camera pans back up, we see that the fake bartender was actually Asmodeus, who seems able to imitate other people like a shapeshifter would.

The next morning, Sam is alone is his room. When Donatello comes in to talk to him, Sam apologizes for sticking Donatello with Jack, but says he was concerned because things were getting too tense between Dean and Jack. Donatello says he didn’t mind, and that Jack is an interesting kid. As they’re talking, Donatello asks questions about how powerful Jack might become. All Sam can really say is what he found in the lore, which says that a nephilim is more powerful that the angel that sired him, meaning Jack is more powerful than an archangel. Donatello learns that Jack knows about his father, but is more bonded to his mother. Sam says he hopes that Jack can be molded the right way. Donatello seems to agree, and leaves.

Dean comes in a few minutes later carrying coffee and food, and suggests that they leave and get back on the road. But Sam says that before they get any further, and if they have a hope of steering Jack in the right direction, they need to be on the same page. Dean says that they are clearly NOT on the same page, but Sam won’t relent. Sam says that he understands where Dean’s feelings are coming from. He says that Dean’s belief that Cas and Mary are both gone and that Jack can’t be saved are all coming from the same place. But Sam reminds Dean that the two of them have been at “rock bottom” before, and have always found a way to make things right. He insists it’s what they do and who they are. He insists that Jack wants to do the right thing, but he’s afraid of himself and he’s afraid of Dean.

Before they can talk further, Donatello knocks and enters the room carrying a bag of food for breakfast. Donatello says to Sam that he needs to talk to him about Jack, but Sam tells Donatello that he was just there and they already talked about Jack. Confused, Donatello denies this, saying he was out getting burritos for breakfast. The Winchesters quickly realize they’ve been tricked, and the three of them rush to the other room to find Jack, but the room is empty.

The Winchesters quickly try to figure out how to find Jack and who may have taken him, but Donatello tells them that he can still feel Jack’s energy, and he shows them which way the boy went. Dean hurries back to his room to get his gear bag. But while he’s there, he’s attacked by a demon, which Sam sneaks in and kills. The two of them realize that angels AND demons are now after them, and that Donatello may be in danger. They rush to Donatello’s room, but a demon already has Donatello in the hallway and is getting ready to kill him. Dean throws an angel blade down the hallway, killing the demon.

Elsewhere, Asmodeus (pretending to be Donatello) is in a large field with Jack. The demon tells Jack a story about a group of soldiers (the shedim) fighting for god who were unfairly imprisoned in a place in hell. He convinces Jack that he can be a hero for god if he will use his powers to free the soldiers. Jack is easily convinced and begins using his power to open a large sinkhole in the ground. We can see fire and glowing light coming out of the hole, and before long we can also see the clawed hands of a monster clawing its way out of the edge of the hole.

As this is happening, Dean, Sam, and the real Donatello speed toward the location, which is in Jasper, Wyoming. Donatello says that he can sense a very dark, powerful presence with Jack. And Sam notes that John’s journal says that Jasper, Wyoming is the location of a hell gate. He also says that this particular gate leads to a place of unimaginable evil and creatures that are too wicked for the pit to hold.

Dean, Sam, and Donatello arrive and try to tell Jack that he’s being tricked. Asmodeus shouts to Jack that he is the real Donatello. Jack is confused, but before anything else can happen, Dean shoots Asmodeus in the head. It doesn’t kill him (obviously), but the demon does show his true face. Sam sees the yellow eyes and tells Jack that it’s a demon. By that time, Jack has lost his concentration and the hole/hell gate closes again. However, Asmodeus makes a hand motion and Dean, Sam, and Donatello all fall to their knees, clutching their throats. The demon tries to tell Jack that the others want to contain him, but he wants to give him the world. Jack sees Dean, Sam and Donatello suffering and becomes angry, turning his wrath to Asmodeus for hurting his friends. As jack’s eyes glow yellow, the demon disappears, and the other men are released from his psychic grip.

EPILOGUE:

Back at the bunker, Sam and Dean are in the kitchen talking. They still disagree about Jack, but now they know who Asmodeus is and what they’re up against. Dean says good night and leaves to go to his room.

As Dean is walking out of the kitchen, he hears strange noises coming from Jack's room. When Dean arrives, he finds Jack repeatedly stabbing himself in the chest with a large knife. There are several holes in Jack’s tee shirt, but each stab wound heals as quickly as it is made.

Dean bursts in and takes the knife away from Jack, telling him that he can’t hurt himself that way. When Dean asks “What the hell…?” Jack replies “Exactly. What the hell am I?” Jack says that he knows that he can’t control his powers and will eventually hurt someone. Dean tells Jack that Sam thinks he can be saved. But when Jack asks if Dean agrees, Dean says no. Dean also says that if the time comes to kill Jack, he will be the one to do it. Dean walks out with the knife, leaving Jack to his thoughts.