15.08 Our Father, Who Aren't in Heaven

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SPN-1508.jpg
Title Our Father, Who Aren't in Heaven
Episode # Season 15, Episode 8
First aired December 12, 2019
Directed by Richard Speight, Jr.
Written by Eugenie Ross-Leming
Brad Buckner
On IMDB Our Father, Who Aren't in Heaven
Outline A journey to Hell brings the Winchesters and Castiel face to face with the new leadership, and learn that Michael has escaped the Cage.
Monster God
Werewolf
Demons
Timeline
Location(s) Milford, Nebraska
Lebanon, Kansas
Lewis, Oklahoma
Hell
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Synopsis

In a casino in Milford, Nebraska, a waitress prepares a drink. She steps over the bodies of her co-workers and patrons to deliver it to Chuck, who is sitting at a slot machine, perpetually winning. When the terrified waitress hands Chuck His drink, He questions if she went easy on the rum, telling her she wouldn't like Him when He's "cranky."

Eileen has gone off hunting by herself, and in the midst of a fight with a werewolf, her gun gets knocked out of her hand; after a brief struggle, she is able to escape and regroup. Drawing her knife, she is about to strike, but she holds back when she sees it is Sam in front of her. At first surprised to see him, she quickly pushes him away before the werewolf can get the jump on him, and kills it. Sam then asks Eileen if he is being overprotective, to which she replies "a little bit."

Back at the Bunker, Sam and Eileen are having a meal when Dean enters the library with a new revelation. He tells Sam and Eileen that he has determined that the demon tablet could defeat Chuck. His theory is that Chuck made the tablets to protect humans in case He was "out of commission," which to Dean shows that Chuck is indeed vulnerable. Dean sends Castiel to enlist the prophet Donatello to decipher the tablet. Initially refusing Castiel, Donatello eventually acquiesces and is brought to the Bunker, where Sam and Dean explain their plan to lock God away like He did the Darkness. Initially skeptical, Donatello agrees to decipher the tablet, telling the Winchesters that if he goes crazy again, they should just shoot him. After some time (and a few buckets of fried chicken), Donatello is able to decipher some of Metatron's annotations and personal observations, which reveal that God has a secret fear, and only told this to His "favorite," who would have been Michael at the time since the tablet was transcribed after Lucifer's imprisonment. After learning that Michael is in Hell with Sam and Dean's half-brother Adam, Donatello vents his frustration that nothing the Winchesters do is easy, before suddenly dropping to his seat. Chuck reveals Himself talking through Donatello, revealing He's capable of using prophets as conduits to communicate, and warns the Winchesters to drop whatever plans they have or He will go after everyone on their "speed dial," including Jody, Donna, and Eileen.

After sending Donatello away, Sam and Dean move forward with their plan, knowing that the only way to keep their loved ones safe is to travel to Hell and get Michael to help them defeat Chuck. They perform a transportation spell that sends the trio to Hell, where they are immediately set upon by a group of female demons who overpower the three of them repeatedly. They suddenly hear a voice command the demons to stop and are shocked to discover that Rowena is now Queen of Hell, having seized the throne for herself upon her death. She advises the Winchesters that Michael won’t be in the Cage since all the doors were sprung open when Chuck opened the fissure, but nonetheless, she loudly orders the demons to find Michael.

Eileen, who remained at the Bunker to keep the spell's flame burning so Sam, Dean, and Castiel can return, gets a call from another hunter, Sue Barrish, who needs help with a vampire nest. Eileen says she’s busy, but offers help Sue later if she’s available later, in case the vamps get closer.

In the throne room, Sam tried to apologize for killing her, but she quickly absolves him for her choice to sacrifice herself to seal up Hell and save the world, declaring it was the best thing that ever happened to her, despite missing a few things about being alive, she revels at being queen where all her subjects fear and revere her. When Sam goes to refill her drink, she senses the tension between Castiel and Dean and pushes them to fix their broken relationship, stating she still carries a few regrets, including how she treated Crowley in life. The demon leading the search party stated that Michael's nowhere to be found in Hell.

Meanwhile, at a diner, Adam is enjoying a cheeseburger while he and Michael discuss their future plans now that that are out of the Cage. Michael decides that Adam will be his guide, navigating Earth to see how much has changed over the past decade. While Adam prepares his pizza, they discuss their families, Michael knowing his fellow archangels are dead while believing his father never returned and facing the reality of being alone in many ways. When he asks about the Winchesters, Adam is quick to write them off as they ended up letting him rot in Hell on the sole time they met. They both agree: "Family sucks."

At the Bunker, Dean places a call to Donatello asking if he has felt any surge in God-like power to let them know. He also starts talking with Sam about his relationship with Eileen, reminding him about how their attempts at a normal life never worked out in the past. But in Sam's case, Dean states that if it were to work with someone, Eileen's a hunter like them who understands how lonely the hunter life can be.

At the diner, Adam suggests to Michael they find a job, due to having spent whatever money Adam had on him on food, as well as the fact that he can't go back to college with an archangel possessing him. When Lilith appears at the diner, Michael takes over his vessel before they discuss how their original plans for starting the apocalypse and bring God back failed. Lilith attempts to bring Michael with her to see his father but he refuses, telling Lilith if his father wants to talk, He can come to him directly. When Lilith insists, she tells him she's under orders not to go back without his son, making the archangel repeat himself. When she grabs onto Michael's arm, the archangel smites her, leaving only a pile of black ash where she sat and alerting Donatello of his location. Awkwardly noticing that the entire diner witnessed what he did, Michael snaps his fingers and tells everyone to forget what they saw, and they go about their lives before he leaves.

Michael's smiting causes a surge in power, which Donatello is senses and relates to Dean as the prophet loudly detects the archangel teleporting from place to place until he settles in Cairo, Egypt. Realizing they can't get to him before he moves again, Castiel prays to Michael, telling him how Heaven is not what it was, how Chuck is not the father he knew, and asks Michael for help in the coming battle against Him. Michael meets with Castiel, who is able to trap him in a ring of holy fire, which allows for Sam and Dean to emerge from hiding and restrain him with angel cuffs.

At the Bunker, the Winchesters and Castiel try and explain everything, but Michael quickly berates them for letting Lucifer walk free while he and Adam sat in Hell. Sam tells him that they got too used to losing people they know that they said goodbye to Adam without knowing he would then be revived, but Michael hands over control to him to allow Adam to talk with his brothers for the first time in a decade. Sam and Dean show remorse for abandoning Adam in Hell, but Michael cuts the reunion short and demands to know what they want with him. They explain that God was the one who opened the Cage, seeking to end the world just to be entertained rather than bring paradise as Michael assumed. Upon hearing that they are all just God's puppets, Michael refuses to believe the Winchesters, passing their warnings off as an "agenda" before retreating, handing control back to Adam, who tells Sam and Dean to give it a rest as the archangel isn't listening.

Adam tries to convince Michael himself, and even though he hasn't forgiven them for letting him rot in Hell, he admits that Sam and Dean try to be on the right side of things, remembering how they tried to stop him from being Michael's vessel in the first place. He reminds Michael that despite everything they know, parents keep secrets, asking if it would it hurt to consider what Sam and Dean have told them. Michael tries to explain that it would, because it would be disloyal of him, of how God's favorite son questions his father. In response, Adam questions why he still cares after God left him in the Cage.

In the kitchen, the hunter Sue calls Eileen again for help, where Eileen witnesses Sue get attacked on the video call, and Eileen quickly goes to Sam for backup. Castiel goes to speak with Michael, who once again refuses to help in their cause, but Castiel starts talking about how he saw the archangel back when he was just another angel. After Castiel provokes Michael into attacking him, he grabs Michael's head and shows him all the things that God has done and how He lied to Michael. Afterwards, Dean and Castiel talk about how he might've forced him to confront the truth too suddenly when the Bunker starts rumbling. When they go to check on Michael, he admits he was lied to and questions why God would do this to him, particularly getting disturbed by the fact that he wasn't the only version of Michael.

Sam and Eileen follow Sue’s directions to an empty parking garage, where they find her abandoned truck and no vamps to be seen. Sue then walks out from the shadows, causing Eileen to say “Thank God.” Sue morphs into Chuck and replies "Anytime" before greeting Sam. Meanwhile, convinced of the truth, Michael recuperates and agrees to help. He gives them a spell, which will allow them to lock God away in his weakened state just like they did the Darkness, but he reveals that the final ingredient they need is the nectar of a Leviathan Blossom to bind the spell together, and that this flower only grows in Purgatory. With a snap of his fingers, Michael opens a doorway for them, telling Dean and Castiel that it will stay open for 12 hours. With the rift to Purgatory open, Michael prepares to leave after the cuffs are removed. Dean asks to speak with Adam once more and apologizes directly, seeing his half-brother is a good man and he didn't deserve what happened to him. Adam simply tells him, "Since when do we get what we deserve?" before wishing Dean and Castiel good luck as he walks out of the Bunker.

Characters

Definitions

Music

  • "Take Me for What I Am (1971)" by Henry Ford
(playing in the casino that Chuck has taken over)
  • "Goin' Straight" by Dick Jr. & the Volunteers
(playing in the diner where Adam and Michael are conversing)

Quotes

Chuck: You went easy on the rum this time, right?

Waitress: Uh-huh.

Chuck: Okay, cool. 'Cause, you know, you don't want me cranky. Keep 'em coming.
Dean: But if Chuck was so freaking invincible, then why wasn't He able to protect us from the dick demons or even the dickier angels? 'Cause, remember, these babies were dictated before He took a powder.
Eileen: So, He was worried about humans, if He couldn't protect them?
Dean: Look, we know that Chuck overpowered His sister, the Darkness, and locked her up. So...
Castiel: We may be able to lock Him up, too.
Rowena: Hello, boys.
Dean: Rowena, we thought you were dead.

Rowena: Oh, I am, dear. Pretty much everyone here is. When I closed the fissure, it did cost me my life, and my soul went to hell. Big surprise.
Castiel: And the demons just... handed you the throne?

Rowena: No one hands you anything, darlin'. I took it.
Dean: Look, man, I didn't want to say anything, okay, cuz I was kind of in a -- in a bad place, and, uh, yeah, I didn't want to jinx it or whatever, but, you know, I tried the family thing, right?

Sam: Yeah, me too. And that's not for us.
Dean: No, not really. But I'm just saying if it was to work, Eileen, you know, she gets it. She gets us. She gets the life. She's hot.
Sam: Dean, I mean, I'm not even --

Dean: Look, all I am saying is you -- you could do worse, okay? And she could certainly do better. Like, so much better. I'm happy for you Sammy.
Castiel: Michael. Michael. This is Castiel. We didn't know each other very well, and our last meeting was... unpleasant. But I know you have been through a terrible ordeal for many years. You've been beyond the reach of Heaven. Been beyond the reach of Earth. Much has changed with both. Heaven is not what it was. And your father -- your father is certainly not who you knew. Michael, there's a battle raging, and you are a warrior, but you must know the nature of this fight. I'm not your enemy anymore. Now we all have the same enemy. God Himself.
Castiel: Michael? Thank you. Thank you for coming. Do you remember me?
Michael: You called me "ass-butt" and set me on fire. And then you helped send me to Hell.
Michael: You're asking me to trust you -- you, who doomed me, you, who let Lucifer walk free while your own brother sat in Hell.

Sam: Doing what we do, we've had to get used to losing people. Probably too used to it. With Adam, we said goodbye because we thought we had to. We were wrong.
Michael: Well, don't tell me. Tell him.
Adam: Hey, Sam. Dean.
Sam: Adam?
Dean: Wait, Mic-- Michael lets you... talk? I mean, he lets you be?

Adam: Uh, yeah. In the Cage, we came to an agreement. We only had each other.
Michael: If my Father is back, He will usher in Paradise.
Dean: No, He won't. Because Paradise is boring and your dad -- He's just looking to be entertained.
Adam: So, I've been thinking. Maybe they're not lying. Hear me out. Sam and Dean try to be on the right side of things. They actually do. They tried to talk me out of taking you on, for example, out of all of this.

Michael: So, you forgive them?
Adam: Oh, hell, no. No. But that's not what this is about. It's -- Look, if they tell you something's off with God, it's because they believe it's true. And if they believe it, it probably is true.
Michael: You and I have been together for years. My Father and I have been together for eternity. I exist because He willed it.
Adam: So He's having a mid-eternity crisis. Or -- Or, maybe you don't know your dad as well as you think you do. The point is, parents keep secrets, right? Does it hurt to ask the question?
Michael: Yes! It would. It would mean that I doubt Him. The Good Son, the Favorite, doubts his Father.

Adam: You still care about that? After He left you in the Cage?
Castiel: You know, Michael, I never really liked you. Even when I was just another angel, I thought you were too haughty, too... to paraphrase a friend, you had an entire oak tree shoved up your ass. But now? I'm looking at you and I... I just pity you. Because you were never God's Favorite. You were just a little part of His story, a tiny part of His story. You weren't even a star. At least Lucifer knew that God can't be trusted. But I guess he was always the smart one. See the truth for yourself.
Michael: God lied to me. I gave everything for Him. I loved Him. Why? I'm not even the only Michael.
Sam: It looks empty.

Sue: Look again.
Eileen: Sue. You're okay. Thank God.

God: Any time. Hi, Sam.
Dean: Before you go... can I talk to him?

Adam: Yeah?
Dean: Adam, I want you to know... we are sorry. What happened to you... You're a good man. You didn't deserve that.

Adam: Since when do we get what we deserve? Good luck.

Trivia & References

The episode title is a play on the first line of the Lord's Prayer which in the traditional Catholic version reads "Our Father, who art in Heaven."
Chuck / Donatello: Oh, Donatello's not here any longer. Hey, guys.

Castiel: It's Chuck.
Chuck / Donatello: Prophets speak the word of God, sometimes indirectly. Sometimes they're My Bluetooth. So, here's the thing. Usually, I really love our little... process. I toss something at you guys, and you slam it right back. It's fun, like tennis. With monsters. But this -- Let this one go.

Bluetooth is a wireless technology, allowing for hands-free communication on mobile phones. Nick had previously compared prophets to old CB radios in 14.17 Game Night.
Rowena: Yes, there are things I miss about being alive. Flesh-on-flesh sex. Amazon doesn't deliver here... yet.
Amazon is a tech company which is primarily an online marketplace. In 2018, its 2-day delivery service had 100 million subscribers globally. Its distribution centers have a reputation for being hellish places to work. In 15.02 Raising Hell, Rowena stated that she had Amazon Prime when talking with Dean about getting the ingredients for her soul catcher.
Rowena: I don't have many regrets, but the few I do still haunt me. Making Napoleon so short was just bitchy. Telling Mick Jagger he had no future when I dumped him. And, well, everything with dear Fergus. Then one day, you die, you go to hell, they make you queen, and... you can't make it right. So fix it!
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military leader at the turn of the 18th century. He is generally portrayed as short at 5 feet 2 inches (1.57 m), although this was the average height of French men at the time. Mick Jagger is an English singer/songwriter who, despite Rowena's assessment, went on to have a rather successful career as the lead singer of "The Rolling Stones". Fergus refers of course to Rowena's son, generally known by his demon name of Crowley, and their extremely turbulent relationship, for which Rowena has previously expressed remorse in 13.12 Various & Sundry Villains and 13.19 Funeralia.
Michael: Myrrh, cassia, rock rose.

Dean: We've got that.
Michael: And, to bind the spell together, the nectar from a Leviathan blossom.

Each of the ingredients for the spell to trap God are tied to death in some fashion. Myrrh can be seen as a symbol of death when used as embalming oil, cassia can be used to induce abortions in pregnant women, and rock rose can symbolize imminent death. Leviathan blossom gets its name from the Leviathan, the first beasts God created, who nearly devoured the "Petri dish" according to Death, and the flowers grow from the dead bodies of Leviathans.

Minutiae

Ruth Connell's name appears in the end credits in order to keep her return in the episode a surprise to the viewers. This also marks Ruth Connell's 31st and final appearance as Rowena MacLeod, including her brief cameos in 10.03 Soul Survivor and 10.18 Book of the Damned.
In addition to directing the episode, Richard Speight, Jr.'s band Dick Jr. & the Volunteers provide the track "Goin' Straight" from their debut album The Dance and How to Do It for the episode.
When Sam uses the phrase "Achilles heel", Dean responds as if he is unaware of its meaning (it refers to a person's point of vulnerability). However, Dean has used the term himself at least once himself, most notably in 5.04 The End:
Dean: Long story. The point is... maybe we are each other's Achilles heel. Maybe they'll find a way to use us against each other, I don't know. I just know we're all we've got. More than that. We keep each other human.
Dean also knew what it meant when Sam used the phrase in relation to Veritas in 6.06 You Can't Handle the Truth. Dean uses the phrase himself when arguing with Samuel Campbell about demon deals in 6.10 Caged Heat.
Donatello: Oh. And, guys, when I go crazy again, just shoot me.
Donatello is referencing the last time he read the demon tablet and was corrupted by the dark energies due to being soulless, in 13.14 Good Intentions.
Castiel: Well, I think we're done. It's exactly the spell Rowena used. Just without Rowena.
Castiel is presumably speaking of the spell Rowena used to travel from Hell after Lucifer killed her in 11.10 The Devil in the Details.
Director Richard Speight planned the fight scene in Hell along with stunt coordinator Rob Hayter and fight coordinator Kirk Jacques to showcase the work of the female stunt performers. During the fight, Jensen ad-libbed the line "Are any of us winning?!"
Sam declared that there would be no new King of Hell in 14.01 Stranger in a Strange Land. His declaration technically held, as there was no new king. Instead Rowena became the Queen of Hell.
Rowena's admonishing of Dean and Castiel to fix their friendship is similar to Ellen Harvelle's spirit threatening to kick Dean's ass from beyond the grave if he didn't talk to Sam in 7.07 The Mentalists.
The diner where Adam and Michael meet Lilith is called "Jaci's Red Wagon" after Richard Speight's wife Jaci Hays.
Michael killing Lilith in a flash of white light is reminiscent of Lilith's love for attacking her enemies with blasts of white light, as seen in 3.12 Jus in Bello and 3.16 No Rest for the Wicked. In the former case, she was believed to have killed Nancy Fitzgerald and Victor Henriksen in this manner until Henriksen revealed otherwise during the Rise of the Witnesses in 4.02 Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean Winchester.
At the diner, Adam orders a slice of cake that, like often happens to Dean with pie, he never gets to actually finish, due to Lilith's interruption. Michael shoves the cake away after killing the demon, likely because she took a finger of icing.
Michael acting like a petulant child mirrors Lucifer's own petulant reaction in 11.22 We Happy Few after being reunited with God. In Michael's case, he retreated behind Adam so that he didn't have to listen anymore. In Lucifer's case, he hid out in Sam's room to avoid God.
Director Richard Speight, Jr. and Rob Benedict as Chuck on the set of "Our Father, Who Aren't in Heaven" -- the first time these friends who have hosted conventions together for a decade have ever worked together on Supernatural.

Sides, Scripts & Transcripts

Promotion

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