The Werther Project

• Will the codex give Rowena the information she needs to read the Book of the Damned? And if so, will she keep her word and help Sam cure Dean of the Mark?
• Will Sam really try to kill Crowley?
• How long will Sam be able to keep his plans from Dean? And what will Dean do when he finds out Sam has been lying to him?
• Was Susie right about Sam when she accused him of being reckless?
• Did Dean really "love" purgatory, or did he simply appreciate the fact that the rules about killing were so clear when he was there?
• Did Magnus build the Werther box and it's enchantment specifically to kill fellow Men of Letters? Or did he think they would be able to figure out the secret (that you can survive opening the box if you have at least two people)? If the former is true, it means Magnus meant to kill his associates even before they expelled him from the order.
• Why didn't Werther's shock wave knock Sam out when he opened it (like it knocked Susie out in 1973)?
• Sam didn't leave Dean any sort of note when he left the bunker. Wouldn't he expect Dean to come looking for him?
• Susie accused Sam of being reckless for trying to save Dean, who is "doomed". But since Susie was Sam's hallucination, does that mean Sam truly believes that his mission is foolish, Dean can't be saved, and it's wrong to keep risking other people to save Dean?

• The Men of Letters killed Nadia the witch in 1956 and took the codex from her.
• Rowena wants Sam to kill Crowley in exchange for decoding the Book of the Damned.
• Dean went into the vampire nest because killing helps "take the edge off" so he can keep the Mark under control.
• Since Benny was Dean's hallucination, it suggests that Dean has considered suicide. We already know that in "The Things We Left Behind" he asked Castiel to kill him if he becomes a demon again (and to not let Sam stop him), but according to what Benny said in this episode, Dean is planning to ask Sam the same thing.

• Susie describes Sam as a "tall white fella with pretty hair". Jared is relatively.famous for being tall and having nice hair.
• The house where Susie's family lived is in St. Louis, Missouri. St. Louis is approximately an 8-hour drive from the bunker in Lebanon, Kansas. The night before, Sam and Dean both had to drive the 6 1/2 hours from Tulsa, Oklahoma to the bunker in Lebanon.
• The address of the "St. Louis Suicide House" was 2111 Defay Street. This is a fictional address.
• Dean says that killing six vampires all alone was a "personal best", but in season 6 (Live Free or Twihard") he killed many more than that single-handedly.
• Dean's room in the bunker is room #11.
• Cuthbert Sinclair's Men of Letters expulsion hearing was on May 16, 1956. Less than two years later, on August 12, 1958, Abaddon killed most of the American members. The St. Louis house would have been vacant from 1958 until Susie's family moved in in 1973 and died a week later.

• The episode title "The Werther Project" likely alludes to the medical term "Werther effect", which describes an increase in suicides among people after hearing publicity about a suicide, experiencing suicide within a family, or reading about someone else's suicide.
• Susie's mother tells her not to try any "Betty Friedan stuff". Betty Friedan was a well-known author, feminist, and political activist. She co-founded the National Organization for Women, and would have been active during the 1960s and 70s, when Susie may have learned about her writings and political beliefs.
• After killing vampires, Dean wanted to go home and watch "Speed 2: Cruise Control". This 1997 action movie was the sequel to the popular 1994 film "Speed".
• Rowena suggests that Sam use the "Cabirian invocation" to open the Werther box. The Cabiri were deities.from Greek mythology.
• Dean's neighborhood watch alias was Dwight Twilley, referring to the American rock singer and songwriter.
• Benny's comment that "What happens in purgatory stays in purgatory" is a pun on the popular statement "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas".
• Susie accuses Sam of opening "Pandora's Box". This alludes to a box from Greek mythology that supposedly contained all the world's evil, so opening the box is what released evil into the world -- including the seven deadly sins. In current jargon, opening a Pandora's box refers to performing an act that seems minor or innocent, but had adverse consequences; or getting in to a situation that one has very little control over.

• "I Saw The Light" -- by Todd Rundgren (plays when Susie is going downstairs to do the laundry)
• "Honey Got a Gun" -- by Gareth Young (plays when Sam and Rowena are in the restaurant)

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EPISODE 1020: Angel Heart