Since Metatron duped Castiel into triggering The Fall, it has all been building to this moment, this hour. The final confrontation between the Winchesters and an angel that fancies himself the new God. There can only be one winner but, as we know, winning such a high-stakes game always comes at a price on ‘Supernatural.’

Sam and Cas are ready to work beside Gadreel

It takes both the combined efforts of Sam and Castiel to hold back Mr. Hack & Slash before he can finish off the grievously injured Gadreel. They stick the amped up Dean in the holding cell, away from the First Blade, until they can figure out what to do with him. They return to check on Gadreel but he’s gone bye-bye, obviously not wanting to risk Dean finishing the job. His injuries don’t allow him to make it that far, and they catch up to him just as Metatron throws out the announcement on Angel P.A. system that he’s taking a little hiatus from Heaven and, until he returns, the doors will be closed. After Gadreel’s healed by the weakened Cas, he tells the hunter and angel just what Mets is up to; he’s going to take a little trip and immerse himself into humanity. There’s not much time to act and they head to the Bunker and get quite the surprise when they find both Dean and the First Blade in absentia.

Locked up as he was, Dean decided to do the one thing to bust himself out; dial up Crowley. The King of Hell arrives and Dean admits to him that he “can’t turn it off…I get this high and I need to kill.” All in all, the Blade’s acting like Dean’s personal brand of heroin. The more Dean kills, Crowley tells him, the better he’ll feel. Unlike Cain—who was a demon—Dean’s body can’t handle the Mark’s power. He wants to know if there’s a way to get rid of it but, first thing’s first, he needs to get out and hit the streets so he can find Metatron and shove the Blade down his throat—figuratively speaking.

“So this is what you and Moose do,” Crowley muses as he and Dean set up shop in a diner, searching for any clues as to Metatron’s whereabouts. They get it when some demon henchmen bring forward a social media video of Metatron aka ‘Marv’ resurrecting an unlucky Indiana lass who had the misfortune of losing a one-on-one with a moving car in front of two dozen eyewitnesses. The video shows the wannabe Heavenly High Roller whispering something to the woman and Dean needs to find out what—of course, he’s not the only one. Sam—after splitting with Cas and Gadreel—has the same idea. The brothers talk…well, Sam talks, blasting Dean for his selfishness and bad decisions but, as both angels have made known, he finally admits that Dean’s the best chance they have to take out Metatron. But they’re going to do it together. And with the promise of unification, they send the King of Hell packing without a by-your-leave.

As the Winchesters track down Metatron, Gadreel and Cas take on the most important aspect of things. Earlier Gadreel surmised that Metatron’s tapping into the angel tablet and, for all intents, is God-like in his abilities. In order for Dean to take him out, they’ll need to break into Heaven, locate the tablet and severe its connection with Metatron. So how do they go about doing it? Cas drops another pop culture reference and they channel the ‘Wookie is my prisoner’ “Star Wars” Plan. It seems to be working until, when they step for into Metatron’s office, they’re slammed into angel jail. The thought of being imprisoned once more nearly cripples Gadreel but, as Castiel fails at convincing Hannah of Metatron’s misdeeds, the angel that once disgraced himself by allowing the serpent into the Garden, Gadreel atones. It’s all about the mission, he preaches, and humanity. Using the sharpened stone pieces, he’s carved the suicide bombing recipe on his chest and fires it up, killing himself and breaking Castiel free. But the angel doesn’t run for the office; he stares directly into Hannah’s eyes and asks her “Do you believe him now?”

After the Miracle in Muncie, Marv has moved on to other pastures. He worms his way into a homeless community, healing a vagrant of diabetes. The homeless love him but another angel calls him out, castigating Metatron as a fraud. But those around him are so caught up in Marv/Metatron’s slick words, they attack and, thanks to him sliding an angel blade to the man he healed, kill the angel.

Metatron versus Dean-it doesn’t turn out to well for our hero

Not too far away, Dean’s starting to get the shakes bad but is hiding it from Sam. When they get a 20 on Metatron’s position, Dean KO’s his brother and makes for Metatron without backup. He arrives and the two start up on a war of the words. “The problem with you, Dean, is the cynicism,” he says, reminding the hunter about how people “just want something to believe in.” He then goes on a ‘God is bad and reckless’ rant and believes he can do one better than the Creator; save them. But Dean’s not buying it; in fact he’s got a bone to pick with Metatron for Kevin, for a lot more. “Whatever it is,” he admits, “I’m blaming you.” And then they throw down. Well, it’s not so much a throw down as a one-sided beat down. Even with the Blade in hand, Dean’s no match for Metatron’s Godlike powers. By the time Castiel shatters the tablet up in Heaven, Metatron’s already shoved an angel blade through Dean’s chest right before Sam’s eyes. But he feels the moment he becomes just a regular angel again and so does Sam. He tries to move in for the kill but Metatron retreats back to his office and finds Castiel waiting for him.

If there was ever a weakness in fighting the powerful, it’s exploiting their hubris. And Castiel does this masterfully, allowing Metatron to rant about the angels and their need to follow him. “They will do nothing because they are frightened little sheep following my crick wherever I lead.” Too bad he didn’t realize the Angel P.A. system was broadcasting all around. By the time he does, it’s too late and, at Castiel’s behest, they let him live, locking him in heaven’s prison.

During the angelic confrontation, Sam’s trying to will Dean to live but his older brother knows what’s coming. Maybe it’s better this way. “The Mark,” he confides in Sam, “is making me something I don’t wanna be.” He uses his final breaths to make sure that his brother, his best friend knows “I’m proud of us.” And just like that, Dean Winchester is gone.

After taking a drink to help mute the burning pain of losing his brother, Sam goes about summoning Crowley, ready to make a deal to bring his brother back. But Crowley’s already on the move. He comes to Dean’s still body and apologizes for how things turned out. Though he had withheld some information he “never lied”, a confession that is both powerful and true, considering the source. Though the biggest nugget of information he kept from them was that, tired of the pull of the Mark, Cain took his own life but, as we know, death didn’t take to him. It seems as if the Mark wants its just do, and this time around, that just do is Dean Winchester. Crowley stands over Dean’s body and slides the Blade into his hand. It’s time for Dean to wake up…and he does. But his eyes, they aren’t those of Dean. They’re those of a demon.

An Uncertain Future

  • So that happened…out of all the times Sam and Dean have cheated death or come back just a bit off, never have they been infested with such darkness as we saw in Dean’s eyes. He’s a demon now, ladies and gentlemen, and with that, ‘Supernatural’ has chosen a road they’ve yet to travel. It should be a very fun ride next year because, despite what we think we know, we have no idea how the Mark and First Blade, coupled with the new demon-y status, will affect him.
  • When Sam found out Dean lied to him in order for Gadreel to heal Sam’s dying body, Sam was almost eager to let Dean know that, if things were reversed, he would have let Dean die. Well, the time’s here Sammy, and what do you do? Do you let your brother rest? No, you reach out to the only one you know that can possibly bring Dean back…Crowley. Sam’s actions are a good reminder to us all; we may think we know how we’ll react when something comes our way but, until it actually does happen, we truly won’t know.
  • So where does this leave Castiel and Heaven? He’s slowly losing his grace and, now that Metatron’s behind bars, is Heaven back open for business? Will the angels be able to ascend back to their truest forms? And who will take the reigns as Heaven’s knew leader? Cas doesn’t want it but, ultimately, he may have to suck it up because, as we know, those who don’t want the power are generally the best ones to entrust with the power.