What’s Up, Tiger Mommy? Recap

Chicago, Illinois.

An elderly man, Mr. Villi, is being helped by a bank teller. He's trying to get access to his safe deposit box. The teller is amazed when she asks his safe deposit box number and he tells her it's number 1. As in, the very first safe deposit box. She retrieves the box and Mr. Villi pulls out an antiquated-looking container that holds a bone. He tells her it's an extremely valuable bone. She asks if there's anything else she can help him with. He says yes, he'd like to make a withdrawal and the teller's blood spatters against the wall.

Sam & Dean & Kevin are eating lunch. Kevin is really worried about his mom. He wants to go check on her before they go after the Word of God "demon" tablet that contains the spell to close the gates of hell forever. Dean thinks Ms. Tran is safe; probably surrounded by demons protecting her. If Kevin goes there he'll be walking right into Crowley's trap. Dean seems pretty stoked about the prospect of getting the tablet and closing the gates of hell forever. He really doesn't want to take a side trip to check on Kevin's mom. But Kevin was so upset by the death of his girlfriend in the last episode, he's very insistent.

Dean gives in. They head to Michigan to check on Kevin's mom.

They find Kevin's mom at home and safe, but looking sad. The mailman and the gardener look suspicious to Dean. They are demons. Sam and Dean work together to distract the demons and, using Ruby's knife, they kill both the mailman and the gardener.

Inside, Kevin's mom is talking to one of her friends, Eunice, who is trying to console her over Kevin's disappearance. Her friend, Eunice, tells her she needs to stay put in case Kevin comes home.

There's a knock at the door and Ms. Tran is overjoyed to find Kevin, though Sam & Dean douse her with holy water just to be sure she's not a demon. Kevin's mom, surprisingly, takes the holy water in stride and embraces Kevin. Sam and Dean smell sulfur in the house and head to the kitchen where the demon inhabiting Eunice tries to smoke out. Sam recites what sounds like an exorcism, but the smoke goes back into Eunice instead of leaving her. When the demon is inhabiting her again, Sam kills her and the demon with Ruby's knife.

Dean & Sam lay it all out for Kevin's mom. She is surprisingly accepting. She learns that Crowley is the one who kidnapped Kevin and they tell her their plan for getting the tablet and closing the gates of hell forever. Kevin's mom sounds impressed by his new title "prophet of the Lord". She says she'll get packed and come with them.

Dean starts talking about taking Kevin's mom to a safe house but she insists on going with them to get the tablet. Sam tries to tell her that Crowley would love to get his hands on her soul, but she won't budge. She doesn't want Kevin to fall into Crowley's hands again. Dean tries to dissuade her from coming with them; saying she'll have to carry a hex bag and get inked up with and anti-demon-possession tattoo. She is unfazed, saying, "What...like it's my first tattoo?" Kevin is incredulous. Sam tells Kevin that he will also have to get a tattoo.

Later, in the tattoo parlor, Kevin is crying in pain, but his mom endures getting her tattoo without a single whimper.

As they wait for the tattoos to be finished, Dean asks Sam how he did that reverse exorcism. Sam says he just said the exorcism backwards. Dean is impressed.

The four of them head to a bus station where Kevin gives Dean a locker key for the locker where he stashed the Word of God tablet. They open the locker. There's an empty diaper bag inside. The tablet is missing. A security guard at the station tells them there's been a rash of locker break-ins but the suspect was caught and is being held at the police station.

Sam and Dean go to question him.

The suspect wants to lawyer up. Sam tries to negotiate with him. As Dean watches Sam, his mind wanders back to his time in purgatory...

In purgatory, Dean is questioning a werewolf (?) about where Cas is. He holds a knife to the monster's throat. Back in the present, he's reenacting his purgatory scene on the suspect in the interrogation room as he grabs him out of his chair and holds a knife to his throat. Sam tries to get through to him, but Dean is deep in his own thoughts of purgatory and doesn't seem to hear Sam.

In purgatory, the frightened monster tells Dean where to find Cas....it's a 3-day walk, then he'll find him by a stream. Dean says he believes the monster, then stabs him through the throat anyway. "Purgatory Dean" is pretty heartless.

Back in the present, the suspect confesses that he fenced the tablet at a pawn shop. Soon after, the Impala pulls up behind a 2010 Ferrari parked outside the shop. They go in and try to question the owner, but he's evasive. Ms. Tran asks if that's his Ferrari outside and she asks him if he's paid the taxes on it yet which would come to around $10,000. If the pawn shop owner doesn't want to tell them who he sold the tablet to, perhaps she'll have her brother who works in the "Wyoming tax assessor's office" look into it.

She refers to the Ferrari as "that piece of Eurotrash crap you call a car" and asks the guy, "What'll it be?; the tablet or the car?" Next we see the Impala roaring away from the curb (an obvious statement about the superiority of American muscle cars!), and we can infer that the pawn shop owner gave them the information they were looking for thanks to Ms. Tran.

Sam & Dean knock on the door of the motel room where the pawn slip says the buyer of the tablet is staying. Kevin and his mom stand in the parking lot. The four of them are approached by a man in a top hat named Beau who says he's come to give Kevin an invitation to a very exclusive auction. Dean guesses they'll be selling the tablet at this auction or, as Dean puts it, at "your little Ebay party".

Beau says he's an assistant to a God; Plutus. God of greed (or wealth). He says his God has protected the premises of the auction from any sort of supernatural misdoings. Kevin will be safe there, but the 3 of them can come with him.

Beau disappears into thin air and Sam & Dean are left to figure out how much money they can raise to bid in the auction. All they have are a few stolen Gold cards. Sam starts to suggest that maybe they should sell the Impala, but Dean tells him to not even say it or he'll kill Sam's children and then his grandchildren. Sam backs down. Dean apologizes to the Impala.

Sam suggests they get Kevin in to the auction preview so he can memorize the spell on the tablet which will be on display for potential buyers. They head for the auction. Plan "A".

Dean sets off the metal detector when entering the auction site. Beau scolds him, saying it only "works" when everyone follows the rules. Dean unloads an arsenal of weapons from his jacket including Ruby's knife which he's reluctant to give up.

Dean wonders who all the people at the auction are. Sam says it's simple; they're all monsters.

The tablet is on display, but covered. Kevin can't read it. Sam says it's time for plan "B". Just then, Crowley appears, saying "hello, boys" as only Crowley can.

Crowley greets Kevin and his mom, trying to flatter her. Ms. Tran, realizing he's the one who abducted her son, punches him. Crowley is offended and declares that "defiling her corpse" has just moved up on his list of things to do. Dean looks as if he wants to attack Crowley for that comment, but Sam tries to calm him down, telling Dean it's not worth getting thrown out of the auction. To which Crowley says, "Listen to Moose, squirrel".

Before the auction starts, Dean is approached by a young man in a fast food restaurant uniform. He says he's an angel, Samandriel, but Dean prefers to call him Alfie; the name on his uniform. "Alfie" explains that this was the only vessel he could get on short notice. Alfie wants to ask what happened to Cas. He asks if Dean escaped purgatory, did Cas escape too? Dean doesn't answer. Alfie takes Dean's lack of response as a "no" and tells Dean that there are some in heaven who still believe that despite his mistakes, Cas' heart was always in the right place. Dean asks if that's what Alfie believes. Alfie tells him that he thinks too much heart was always Castiel's problem.

Dean thinks back to purgatory...

In purgatory, Dean and Benny find Cas kneeling near a stream washing his hands and face. He looks disheveled (as does everyone in purgatory). Dean is overjoyed to see him and hugs Cas enthusiastically. Dean introduces Cas to Benny. Cas asks how they found him. Dean replies, "The bloody way," and asks Cas if he is okay; is he sane? Cas says yes, he's sane, but then, 94% of psychotics think they're sane, so maybe they should ask themselves what "sane" is.

Benny asks Cas why he bailed on Dean. Dean defends Cas saying that some monster must have jumped Cas and he disappeared from Dean's side fighting something off. Cas says no. He ran away. Dean is stunned. Cas says he had to run away. Dean can't believe that Cas just abandoned him in purgatory by choice and tells Cas that he prayed to him every night. Cas says he knows, and Dean is hurt that Cas heard his prayers, but did nothing. Cas tries to explain that he is an angel in a land of abominations and there are things that have been hunting him since he and Dean arrived. Dean basically says "yeah, tell me about it!". Cas says he's not just being hunted by monsters, but by leviathan (who can kill angels) and he has a price on his head. He said he ran to try to draw the leviathans away from Dean.

Cas tells Dean to leave him alone. Benny is ready to go, but Dean tells Cas that he & Benny have a plan to get out of purgatory. Benny tells Cas there's an escape hatch, but he doesn't know if it will let angels through. Dean tells Cas he needs him. If the leviathan want to take a shot at them, bring it on. They ganked those b i t c h e s once before, they can do it again. Cas says it's too dangerous. Dean says the bottom line is that he's not leaving purgatory without Cas. He asks if Cas understands him and Cas says "yes" with tears in his eyes.

Back in the present, the auction begins. Crowley greets Samandriel/Alfie the angel and asks if he's slumming it. Crowley can't figure out why Sam & Dean want the tablet since it just gives instructions on how to blast back a few demons...Crowley says he can always make more demons and that, "you can't get rid of all of my black-eyed boys, Samantha (which is how he addresses Sam)". Sam replies, "Yeah, we'll see."

Sam and Dean and Ms. Tran try to pool their resources. Plan "B" is to try to buy the tablet. They have $2,000 in cash, some stolen credit cards, and a Costco membership, courtesy of Ms Tran. When the first item comes up for bid and the bidding starts in the currency of "dwarfin gold", they realize plan "B" won't work.

Dean excuses himself to use the restroom. He steals the key to the vault where the items are stored before they go up on the block and tries to break in to get the tablet (plan "C"), but the pieces are all heavily guarded and his attempt fails. He tries to play it off as if he is looking for the rest room and heads back to the auction.

Seeing Dean return, Crowley comments that maybe it's time for "plan 'D' for 'dumbass'."

The Hammer of Thor comes up for auction and we see "Mr. Villi" from the bank trying to buy it with the bone from a giant (what he removed from the safe deposit box). His bid is not accepted, so he increases it, holding up a bloody bag that he claims contains "5/8 of a virgin". He wins the hammer.

The tablet comes up for bid with an asking price of 3 billion dollars. Crowley and Alfie get into a bidding war, bidding things like the state of Alaska and the Mona Lisa (and the "real" Mona Lisa where she's naked). Beau says the reserve has not been met, so they are going to add Kevin Tran to the lot since he's the only one who can read the tablet. Ms. Tran panics. She says she'll give whatever they want; her money, her house....they turn her down. She says she'll bid her soul. Crowley says he could provide a million souls if it's souls they're looking for. Plutus tells Crowley it's not about the number, it's about the sacrifice. Ms. Tran's soul is everything she has. Plutus asks Crowley if he's ready to offer everything he has for the tablet. Crowley looks uncertain.

Crowley counter-offers with his soul. Plutus laughs, pointing out that Crowley has no soul. He awards the tablet and Kevin to Ms. Tran.

After the auction, Ms. Tran is asking Sam & Dean if losing her soul will hurt. Dean says it probably will. She asks if she'll die. Sam says no, you'll just wish you were dead. Beau enters telling them it's time. Ms. Tran asks if they can just give her a minute.

Sam and Dean leave. Sam is upset that Ms. Tran is going to lose her soul, telling Dean "this sucks". Dean asks if Sam's kidding, saying that if they get the chance to close the gates of hell forever, trading Ms. Tran's soul is "getting off cheap". Pretty cold!

Back in the room Sam & Dean just left, angel Alfie approaches Ms. Tran telling her that what she did; trading her soul, was exceptional and that he and the angels can protect Kevin. He says that though Sam & Dean are exceptional men, they are just men. Ms. Tran says that the last time the angels had Kevin, she watched the angels die and then Kevin disappeared for a year. She thanks Alfie for the offer, but says she'll take her chances with Sam & Dean instead. Alfie accepts her decision.

In another room Mr. Villi is picking up his hard-won Hammer of Thor. Sam & Dean have come to collect the tablet and Kevin, paying with Mr. Tran's soul. Plutus says he might just keep her soul with his other precious objects and holds out his hands to her. As she reaches for Plutus' hand, Dean sees that her anti-possession tattoo on her wrist has been burned off. Her eyes glow red and she says "hello, boys" revealing she is being possessed by Crowley. Sam and Dean are thrown against the wall.

Plutus can't believe Crowley did this since his warding spells were supposed to stop all such activity. Crowley tells him that Beau showed him a few loopholes and we flashback to see Beau burning her tattoo off with a lighter right after Alfie left. Crowley says he traded an island in the South Pacific to Beau for his help.

Behind Plutus, Beau rises up and stabs Plutus through the back with a stake (or bone) and Crowley, in the form of Ms. Tran, standing in front of Plutus pulls the stake clear through him then throws it some of his bodyguards, killing them.

Crowley/Ms. Tran walks over and picks up the tablet. Dean grabs his demon-killing knife from the box of weapons he had to leave at the door when he came in. Crowley/Ms. Tran turns to walk out but Sam tackles her, keeping her from leaving. They block Crowley's path to Kevin, but Crowley/Ms. Tran says "one out of two ain't bad" and runs off with the tablet, leaving Kevin.

Dean runs after Crowley/Ms. Tran, telling Sam to watch Kevin.

Kevin tries to run after his mom, but Sam stops him. Then Kevin shouts for Sam to duck as Beau gets up off the ground and starts shooting at Sam. Sam falls down and Beau trains the gun on Kevin who is about to run out of the room saying that perhaps he'll trade Kevin for a second private island.

Sam sneaks up behind Beau and knocks him in the head with the Hammer of Thor. Beau's head disintegrates in a flash of lightening. Kevin runs out of the room. Mr. Villi gets up off the ground and asks for his hammer back. Sam thinks a minute and then asks where he got the 5/8 of a virgin from. Mr. Villi shrugs and Sam swings the hammer at him. Mr. Villi disappears in a flash of lightening and there is nothing left but a pile of clothes.

Dean has caught up to Kevin's mom and has Ruby's knife at her throat. The tablet slides across the floor away from them as they struggle. Kevin runs in and yells to his mom, distracting Dean of a second and in that second, Crowley pushes Dean away and smokes out of Ms. Tran in a rush of red smoke.

Crowley walks back into the room through another door; back in his normal body, brushing off his clothes. He reaches down and picks up the tablet saying, "good luck closing the gates of Hell, without this." Crowley says it's surprising what Kevin's mom has rattling around in her head, and would Kevin like to know who his real father is? Dean shouts at Crowley to shut him up in order to keep him from either taunting Kevin further or revealing the identity of Kevin's father.

Crowley tells Kevin that he knows they're not "mates", but he has a word of advice for him...that Kevin should run away from the Winchesters as fast as possible because they have a habit of "using people up and watching them die bloody". Kevin looks suspiciously at Dean as Crowley walks out with the tablet.

Last scene:

Sam, Dean, Kevin, and his mom are sitting in the auction building. Ms. Tran is staring straight ahead, seemingly catatonic. Dean tries to sympathize, telling Kevin that he understands that what Ms. Tran went through is hell, but she seems tough and she'll "pull it together". Kevin is distraught and accuses Dean of trying to kill his mom (when Dean held Ruby's knife to her throat). Dean starts to tell Kevin about "the life" and how once he's in it, he's in it and it's a difficult way to live, but Kevin cuts him off saying he doesn't want to hear any more of his crappy speeches. He says he just wants to talk to his mom alone.

Sam and Dean leave the room.

Outside the room, Sam asks Dean if he was really planning to kill Ms. Tran with Ruby's knife. Dean says yes, he was and he wishes he had because it was a chance to kill Crowley. Dean said it would have sucked (killing Ms. Tran along with Crowley) and he would have hated himself for doing it, but hey, "what's one more nightmare?". Sam seems disturbed by how nonchalant Dean is about it.

They realize it's very quiet in the room where they left Kevin with his mom. They go back in and find it empty. Kevin left them a note though. The note says that Kevin and his mom bolted and Sam and Dean shouldn't bother looking for them, but Kevin figures that since they lost the tablet, they no longer need him to translate it. Sam points out that Crowley still needs him to translate the tablet and now Kevin is on his own and in danger.

Dean reads further...Kevin wrote that he thinks that people that Dean doesn't need anymore end up dead. Dean looks like this comment stings a little. Sam tries to tell Dean that's not true, but Dean's mind goes back to purgatory...

We see Cas' face full of panic (or fear) and it looks like he's trying to hold onto something (or someone's hand). He calls Dean's name and then loses his grip and falls back. Perhaps this was the last Dean saw of Cas when he got out of purgatory without him, but we don't know for sure.