The Vessel Recap

TEASER: (Nazi-Occupied France, 1943; Gestapo Headquarters)

*

A Nazi military officer (Peter) is on the phone talking to Hitler. He is assuring his commander that"the artifact"has arrived and will be sent to him under military escort. In the background, a woman (Delphine)wearing a white, silk night gown walks over to Peter. She has overheard his conversation and invites him to bed, but is distracted by a box on his desk.Peter tells her that the contents of the box are the reason he came to France, and what his country has been waiting for. Delphine flirts with him and convinces him to let her see what's in the box.As she opens the box, he kisses her neck and shoulder, but she is preoccupied by the contents of the box. She mutters under her breath "It's true."

Without warning, Delphine turns around and stabs Peter in the neck with her hair pin. As he sinks to his knees, gurgling, she says she's lived a hard life, but pretending to love a Nazi pig "couchon" like him was the worst thing she's ever had to do; watching him die has been the best. Then, she removes his knife from his waistband and stabs him in the heart. He falls over, dead.

Delphine takes the box and says "The Men of Letters send their regards".

EPISODE:

At the Men of Letters (MOL) bunker, Sam is in the kitchen doing research. He has books scattered all over the table. Dean walks in and heads for the coffee pot. He pours, but the pot is empty. Over his shoulder, Sam says "we're out". Dean says there was half of a bag yesterday, but Sam says he killed it.

Dean opens the refrigerator, opens a carton of milk, smells it,reacts negatively, then puts the milk back.

As this is happening,Sam tells Dean about his research. It seems that the Nazis had a special branch devoted to archaeology.There were sites all over Germany, and as the Nazis increased their territory, they started popping up in other places.When Dean asks why this is important, Sam says he found information on a possible weapon they can use against Amara. Sam says he found references to the Vichy Memorandums (Nazi communications), which speak of a super-weapon referred to as the "hand of God" (a name given to several objects that God supposedly touched on Earth during biblical times, and now those objects contain traces of his power). The Nazis obtained one of these weapons and believed it would be strong enough to win the war, but it was stolen while being transported to Berlin.Their prime suspect in the theft was Delphine Seydoux, but the Nazis never found her after she killed her lover and escaped with the weapon. Delphine was French, and mistress to a high-ranking Nazi. She was thought to be a French traitor, but the Nazis later came to believe that she was a "Woman of Letters".*

Dean and Sam continue researching. They aren't sure if the MOL had entire European chapters, or simply assets there.They also seem surprised that the order allowed women to join back in the 1940s.

As they research further,Sam finds a report written by Clifford Henshaw, a MOL from the 1940s.They translate the report (written in French) and find several transatlantic communications between Henshaw and Delphine. Apparently, they'd made arrangements to use a US submarine to transport Delphine and the artifact to the US (and to the MOL bunker) to keep it away from the Nazis.Unfortunately, the submarine they chose, the USS Bluefin, never arrived. It was attacked and sank. There were no survivors, and the cargo was never recovered.

Meanwhile, in the throne room that used to be Crowley's, Lucifer-Castiel (Lustiel) is sitting on the throne, playing with an electronic game. Several nervous demons have assembled in front of him, but he is largely ignoring them. They have no news on finding Amara, so he doesn't seem to care what they have to say about anything else. One of the demons asks for "direction", since(she says)they have been ruled by a coward and a fool for too long. At these words, we hear loud mumbling. We then see that Crowley is gagged and chained inside a small cage inside the wall. He's wearing a Hawaiian shirt and a spiked dog collar. Lucifer belittles him as if he is a dog. Crowley berates the demon who just insulted him.

Later, Lustiel is alone in the throne room – except for Crowley,who is chained and sitting on the floor, and a demon who is guarding him.Two demons bring in a rolling cart that holds several Medieval-looking weapons. We learn that these are the weapons from all of Lucifer's crypts. He has been trying to determine if any of them are powerful enough to help him defeat Amara. Lustiel seems annoyed, and sends everyone away except for Crowley.

Crowley seems to cower as Lustiel pats his head and calls him a "good doggie", but Lustiel is not fooled. He believes Crowley is just pretending to be afraid of him, and is just waiting for his chance to re-take the throne.Crowley reluctantly admits that Lustiel is right.Crowley also says Lucifer doesn't believe he's strong enough to defeat Amara. If he did, he'd be taking the fight to her already. Lucifer admits that defeating Amara will be more of a "team effort" than he led certain people to believe. As they are talking, Lustiel gets a phone call from Dean. Lustiel answers, pretending to be Castiel.

Back at the bunker, Lustiel is talking to Dean and Sam. He confirms that there are several God-touched objects, but he was unaware that any of them had survived the flood or the 20th century. Dean has suggested that they travel back in time to board the submarine, get the weapon, and get off the submarine before it sinks. Lustiel says he can get them back to the right time and place. As they are talking, Dean makes it clear that he thinks he should take the trip without Sam. Dean says that he can't kill Amara, anyway; so if he dies, it's less of a loss than if something happens to Sam. After a brief discussion/argument, Sam agrees to let Dean go alone as long as Cas promises to never leave his side. Lustiel agrees.

Lustiel touches Dean's shoulder, and Dean is suddenly in the torpedo room/sleeping quarters aboard the submarine. Several submariners are sleeping in their bunks, and Dean realizes Cas is not with him. He hears voices approaching and hides under a bunk.As the men are talking, Dean overhears that the ship has been ordered to take a detour to run a mystery mission "for some broad".While Dean is hiding, he sees an unusual warding sigil painted on the wall under the bunk. He waits until one of the crew members is alone, then sneak-attacks the man and demands to know where Delphine is. The man says he doesn't know. Later, we learn that Dean knocks the man out and steals his clothes and shoes.

Back at the bunker, Lustiel comes down the stairs dripping wet. It seems that Dean could get aboard the Bluefin, but warding prevented Lustiel from entering. Sam surmises that Delphine must have warded the ship to protect the weapon. He recommends that Lustiel go back and leave a message at the port the ship departed from, but Lustiel says there's no way to leave a message for Dean that other crew members won't find. Sam suggests that Lustiel send him (Sam) to help Dean, but Lustiel says that's just doubling down and doesn't solve the problem. He seems frustrated that their plan didn't work.

Sam says there must besome way to help Dean, perhaps by clearing the sigils from outside the ship. He finds a spell for doing that, called the "Spell of Gathering", but the spell requires the power of an archangel. Lustiel tells Sam they should try anyway, but Sam says that even at full power, "Cas" isn't strong enough.When Sam walks away,Lustiel looks at the spell.

Aboard the submarine, Dean finds Delphine in the mess deck. He tries to talk to her, but as soon as she realizes that the knows her name, she attacks him. With Delphine's knife at his throat, Deanexplains that he's a friend of Clifford Henshaw and a MOL. Just then, the crewman that Dean attacked earlier shows up and points him out to the captain. The captain takes Dean into custody, accusing him of being a spy or a soldier gone AWOL.They search Dean and find his cell phone, but – of course -- they have no idea what it is. He tells them it's a telephone and that he's from the future. He tells the Captain (James Dearborne) that he is on a mission that he can't discuss. He also tells them that the submarine will be attacked by the Germans within the hour and the ship will sink. The captain doesn't believe him, but Delphine says she needs to talk to Dean alone. As they are talking, the 1st officer tells the captain that sonar has picked up a surface vessel closing in on their position. The captain leaves seaman Giraldi to guard Dean.

After the captain leaves, Delphine says that the approaching ship is a German vessel coming for the artifact. Dean asks Delphine about the warding sigil on the hull, which he doesn't recognize. She says her MOL mentor showed her how to draw the sigil before he died, to protect the artifact from supernatural interference. She was not aware that the sigil protected against angels, and says she didn't even know angels existed. Dean tells her that angels are real and he needs one to help him get off the ship. Dean says he cleared the one sigil he found, but if there are others, those must be cleared, too. He tells her that he is from a MOL bunker and that he learned of her from her communications with Henshaw. He tells her that if she will clear the way, he can get the artifact safely to the bunker, where it was headed in the first place. He tells her that the Allies do win the current war, but he is fighting a war in the future, that it is much larger, and he needs her weapon to win. When Giraldi asks if everyone on board will die, Dean says "yes". Delphine agrees to help him.

As Dean and Delphine are talking, Giraldi wants to know details from the future, like which baseball team won the 1944 World Series, and who the next president will be. Dean answers his questions as honestly as he can (based on his knowledge).

Delphine shows Dean the artifact inside its box. It looks like a piece of old wood (perhaps good plated) and Dean is not impressed. Delphine tells him that it's a piece from the Arc of the Covenant. She tells him that if a human touches it with his bare hands, he'll die, because the power is potent and unstable.

Delphine slides the box over to Dean and leaves to go remove the warding. After Delphine leaves, Giraldi asks Dean when the war will end. He has friends and family on other ships and in other branches of the military and he wants to know what their chances are. Dean tells him that the war will end in 1945. Dean is surprised that the seaman believes he's from the future. Giraldi admits to reading a lot of Flash Gordon.

On the bridge, the radar operator identifies the approaching vessel as a German destroyer. The submarine dives and alters course, but can't escape from the German vessel. The captain orders the entire crew to battle stations. As the crew rushes around to man their stations, we see that Delphine is underneath a bunk, removing a sigil.

The captain orders torpedoes loaded and lines up the vessel for a bow shot. But, before the Bluefin can fire, they lose the other ship on radar. After a few tense seconds, they learn that the enemy vessel is right on top of them. The captain orders the ship to maximum depth and silent running.

In the mess deck, Dean asks what's happening, but Giraldi hushes him. Delphine returns and opens the collar of her shirt, showing Dean a sigil carved onto her chest. She offers him her knife and tells him to kill her. Giraldi says "You can't do that.", but Delphine gives him a threatening look and he steps back. Delphine hands Dean the knife. Dean tells Delphine that he doesn't have to kill her. If he just cuts the sigil, it will stop the warding. Delphine says this sigil is different; it's bound to her blood and her heart, and its power lives and dies with her. As this is happening, we see that the German ship has dropped a depth charge into the water. It sinks slowly toward the submarine's position. Back in the mess deck, Dean reluctantly prepares to kill Delphine, but the depth charge explodes, rocking the ship violently.

Back at the bunker, Lustiel is preparing the ingredients for the "Spell of Gathering". Sam reminds "Cas" that he's not strong enough for the spell. After a brief discussion, Sam remembers that when Cas needed to boost his strength to get Dean and Sam back from the past, he touched Bobby's soul and used some of its power. Cas tells Sam that the procedure can be fatal. Sam tells Cas to touch his soul and use that power to save Dean. Sam tells Cas that he "trusts"him. As Sam looks on in confusion, Lustiel starts laughing. He says that Dean is the one with the link to Amara, so he doesn't need Sam and questions why he's been trying to spare Sam's life until now. Lustiels ays that he will touch Sam's soul, and use the spell to retrieve Dean and the weapon. And when Dean returns and finds the bunker "decorated" with Sam's guts, Lustiel will simply tell him that Sam knew the risks and wouldn't take "no" for an answer. At that moment, Sam realizes that Cas has been possessed by Lucifer all along. Sam screams as Lustiel touches his soul. Suddenly, Lustiel's facial expression changes and we realize that Cas has temporarily taken control of his vessel. He releases Sam and Sam sinks to the floor, momentarily unconscious. When he wakes up, Cas rushes to him. Cas is clearly struggling to keep Lucifer subdued. Sam asks Cas why he did it, and Cas says he wanted to be of service in their fight against the Darkness. He believes that only Lucifer can beat Amara. Sam tells Cas he has to expel Lucifer, but Cas says it is taking all his strength to stop Lucifer from killing Sam right now. Cas also says that they need Lucifer to save Dean, because only Lucifer is powerful enough to time travel.

Aboard the Bluefin, the hull has been damaged by the depth charge, the submarine is dead in the water, and the enemy vessel is still in position directly above them. At that moment, the Germans send a message – for Delphine – to the Bluefin. Delphine and Dean are brought to the bridge to hear the message. Delphine is surprised to hear Peter's voice, because she thought she'd killed him. Peter tells her that if she wants a friend of the furher to stay dead,she must burn the body. Peter tells the captain that if he surrenders and turns over Delphine and the weapon, the lives of his crew will be spared and they will receive the highest of POW treatment. If he refuses, the Germans will depth charge the boat and sink it, and recover the cargo themselves. Delphine says the Germans can not have the cargo, and the captain agrees that he will not consider surrender. Delphine tells Dean hat killing her is his only way off the ship. Dean suggests that Delphine show Dean how to use the weapon so they can save her and the ship. But Delphine says that if he does that, the submarine will surface, but the power of god will have consumed Dean and brought the weapon that much closer to being in the Nazi's hands. She tells Dean that they (her and the ship's crew) are supposed to die, so she wants it to be with a purpose. She tells Dean she is going to send him home, and she tells the captain she is going to get him and his crew their first German ship.

As Delphine takes the artifact in her hand, the German ship drops another depth charge.The submarine rocks violently, but we see that Delphine is holding the artifact. The object begins to glow. The glow engulfs her hands and eventually the glow overtakes her eyes and her entire body. She falls forward onto her hands and knees, and tosses the artifact to Dean, who wraps it in the cloth it was originally wrapped in inside the box. Within seconds, Delphine's body is glowing and appears to be disintegrating. Meanwhile, depth charges are exploding all around the ship. Bright light, coming from Delphine, bathes the entire bridge. As it intensifies, Cas appears behind Dean and touches him on the shoulder.

Lustiel and Dean appear back inside the bunker's library. Sam is still on the floor, but shouts to warn Dean that Cas isn't Cas. As Dean turns to look at Cas, Lustiel says "cat's out" and throws Dean across a table. As Dean falls to the floor, he drops the artifact on the table. Lustiel taunts the Winchesters, saying that pretending to be Castiel was not well thought out, and that working with the Winchesters has been soul-crushing and worse than having them as enemies. Dean tries to stand up, but Lustiel uses telepathy to pin him to the wall. Meanwhile, Sam has used a hidden knife in his pocket to cut his hand. He is drawing a sigil on the pillar next to him to expel the angel. Lustiel says he plans to kill both of them and kill Amara. He takes the artifact from its wrapping and holds it in his hand, but nothing happens. It appears the weapon can only be used once. Lustiel is clearly annoyed, and when Dean makes a retort, Lustiel walks toward him as if to hurt him. As he does so, Sam touches the sigil and Lustiel is blasted away.

Later, Dean and Sam are sitting at what looks like an abandoned dock that is in disrepair. There seems to be a lake behind them. Dean is holding the defunct weapon. Sam asks what they should do, and Dean replies that they should hunt Lucifer, trap him, and save Cas. Sam says that Cas may not come back willingly, but Dean says that's not possible. Sam asks how Dean got through what happened on the ship, and Dean replies that he did "nothing". He says that he was just a "witness". Dean says he doesn't want to talk about what happened, but he asks what happened to the German ship that sank the Bluefin. Sam tells him it went down. It's wreckage was found, and the ship had a giant hole in it. It appears that something had hit the fuel tanks and the ship burned and sank. Sam walks away. As the camera pans out, we see that Dean is smiling faintly and looking down at the artifact, which he still holds in his hands.

 

kate38	Latest page update: made by kate38 , Apr 24 2016, 9:04 PM EDT
	Keyword tags: More Info: