The show begins with dean bloody and on his knees, but it isn't his blood. Dead bodies surround him. Dean has a giant look of regret on his face and wakes up gasping for air. Is this a premonition or a flashback?
We now see a police officer bringing in a young girl back into a group home after being caught shoplifting. The young girl is Claire Novak. Claire is the daughter of the guy that Castiel is possessing. After what seems like a full night, Castiel is brought in by one of the staff members. Claire is happy to see her dad and he says "Hello, Claire, I'm back.", but after security leaves, he says "I am not your father". Clair asks if her dad is still in Castiel and Castiel tells her that after his body was destroyed at a subatomic level, which no human can come back from that but that her father was in Heaven. Claire takes no solace in this. She explains that after he left, their mother ran off and left her with her grandmother and after she died she had nowhere else to go and ended up there.
Castiel asks if there is anything that he can do to help her and she says she wants him to get her out of there. First, he needed a tie to make him look more like a dad. The two meet with the woman who runs the group home and Castiel is less than convincing. She asks Claire to leave and explains that whatever reason he has to want his daughter back that it isn't enough and that she is safer at the home. The next night, Claire is in her room and hears commotion leading to her room. The door opens and it's Castiel who is there to get her out of there.
We now see Dean doing something we haven't seen much of all season. Dean is laughing and happy. He's laughing hysterically looking "The Three Stooges" on a laptop. Sam walks in with a grilled cheese sandwich and hands Dean a piece. Dean takes a bite and he's acting like it is the best thing that has ever been created. He tells Sam to join him and look and the two lookes. Dean is still laughing, but Sam is hesitant and isn't sure if his brother is ok.
Meanwhile, Castiel and Claire are at a restaurant and Claire says that Castiel is different. Not so stuck up and now he's kind of a "doof". Castiel explains that then he believed that he was on some righteous path and now he realized that there is no righteous path just "People trying to do good in a world where it is too easy to do bad". Castiel asks where they go now but Claire insists that she doesn't need to bee looked over. Castiel reminds her that they just committed a crime and that she might need him.
She says ok and says that Castiel should get some stuff for the road. She gets up to go to the bathroom and bumps into Castiel as she walks away. Castiel gets up to pay the bill and as he is about to pay, he realizes that his wallet is gone. He runs out looking for Claire who has his wallet and is looking to hitchhike away from Castiel. Just as Castiel catches up to her, Claire gets in a car and drives away. Clastiel calls Sam and Dean and they make their way to Castiel.
When Sam and Dean get there, they are less than thrilled that they have been called for something that doesn't need to be hunted. But Castiel explains the situation and the brothers decide to help. Sam goes to the group home and Dean and Castiel wait at the restaurant in hopes that maybe she will come back. While there, Castiel looks at Dean (it looks like he's looking into his soul) and asks him is he is ok. Dean tries to act like he is ok, but Dean can't keep up the façade for too long. Dean tells Castiel that if he ever goes complete dark side and crazy that he has to promise to take him down and make sure Sam isn't around to stop him, because he will try.
Sam gets information on where Claire goes when she leaves the home. We now see her in that home with an adult father figure named Randy and his son Justin Tate. Claire says she got him some money, but Randy is disappointed that she didn't come back with enough to stop the lone sharks from getting them. Randy has an idea and it's all up to Claire to do it because she is 16.
Castiel with Sam and Dean eventually catch up with Justin and grabs him by the throat and makes him tell them where Claire is. Sam is worried about what Castiel is doing, but Dean is eating and thumbs upping the food he got.
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The plan is for Claire and Justin to hit a convenience store and rob it. After Randy tells them the plan, he gets sentimental and tell them to be careful because they are the only family he has. Claire is at a convenience store with a gun and as she is checking the bullets in the chamber, Castiel stops her. They leave the store and head to an alley and after a quick talk about what she is doing is wrong, Claire goes on to mention that possessing her dad and ruining her family was wrong.
Claire pulls a gun out on Castiel. Castiel tells her that the gun won't hurt her, so she turns around and points it at Sam and Dean. She tells them that they had it coming for standing there while Castiel possessed her dad. Castiel says he is sorry, but Claire said he's not sorry and that he is guilty. She says that Randy was there for her when she needed her and that Castiel wasn't. She leaves and the guys let her.
At a local bar, Sam and Dean are telling Castiel a story of when Dean was young and got drunk in New York and at a concert after his father told him not to. Dean was so messed and didn't know what to do. Before things could get too bad, his dad showed up and saved the day. And there was a huge bouncer there that looked their dad right in the face and apologized for what happened. Dean said that even though he saved him that night, Dean complained and said he hated him. His dad said "It's not my job to be liked, it's my job to raise you right". This story made Castiel want to go and get Claire. So they make there way there.
Back at Randy's house, the lone sharks are there for the money they are owed and one of them has Claire. She spits in his face and one of the goons and is taken away. The leader of their crew offers her for his debt. Randy surprisingly says no. He then says to Randy that he can drop the act. Randy says "She's family, so this better be one Hell of a deal". Randy sold her. Claire is in a room alone and the head honcho walks in and locks the door. It gets real creepy and it unfortunately looks like it is about to get bad for Claire. Before anything could go down, the cavalry arrives. Castiel makes short work of all of the goons and Sam and Dean keep them at gunpoint making sure they don't try and save their boss.
Castiel grabs Claire and with Sam they get to the car. Dean is attacked before he could leave and he warns them that they don't want to start this. They don't heed his warning and he is hit again. Castiel, Sam, and Claire are in the car when they hear a commotion in the house, they run in to see everyone in the house brutally murdered and Dean on his knees bloody with a knife in his hand. Sam yells saying, "TELL ME YOU HAD TO DO THIS! TELL ME THERE WAS NO OTHER OPTION". Unfortunately, Dean couldn't tell him that.
Crowley's story
While Castiel, Sam, and Dean are having their issues on Earth, Crowley is having issues of his own in Hell. When we last left, Crowley found out that his mother Rowena had been captured and tortured in Hell. But Crowely and his mom did not have a good relationship on Earth.
Gerald (a demon) captured a demon that escaped Hell and was brought in and put into the same cell as Rowena. Rowena goes on to tell the guard that brought the demon in that it had been weeks and she was sorry and wanted to see her son. Gerald just laughs and leaves. Rowena asks why the demon is being held. The demon tried to escape to go topside when she wasn't supposed to be there and got caught. She asks Rowena and she says because she was a horrible mother. While this is going on Crowley says, "She was a horrible mother. Did I ever tell you she almost trade me for three pigs. THREE!!! I was an attractive child, I could juggle, I was worth at least four pigs" to which Gerald responded "My mother used to burn me with cigarettes." and Crowley looks at Gerald and says "Nobody Cares, Gerald". He also hated the name she gave him. He was called Fergus. Gerald says he should just kill her. Crowley says he has his reason why he doesn't. Gerald says he killed his mom for the cigarettes and he has no problem killing his.
Gerald brings Rowena to Crowley and she says how she knew he was destined for great things. Crowley says he recalls her saying he would die in his own filth. Rowena is trying her damnedest to butter up Crowley, but all he does is remind her of all the messed up things she did to him (left him alone at a young age and never returned). Crowley had her sent back into her cell. When they get there, the Rowena tells Crowley that she knows who’s been smuggling souls from Hell and it was Gerald. The other demon says that it was true and that he helped her escape. Gerald goes right after Rowena and starts to strangle her. After Crowley telling Gerald to stop, Crowley stabs him in the mouth with an angel blade killing him. Crowley walks to the door and asks his mother if she was coming. After Crowley leaves, the other demon asks what about her. Rowena promised that if she lied she would help her get out. Rowena said she will be back in a flash and closes the door. She won't be back
Episode Grade: 9:
Really good episode despite no supernatural villain. Castiel showed a lot of heart and change. Crowley's story wasn't drawn out and distracting from the A story. Dean's slaughter at the end was perfectly done, as was Sam's reaction.