15.14 Last Holiday
| |
| Title | Last Holiday |
| Episode # | Season 15, Episode 14 |
| First aired | October 8, 2020 |
| Directed by | Eduardo Sanchez |
| Written by | Jeremy Adams |
| On IMDB | Last Holiday |
| Outline | Sam and Dean free a wood nymph that had been trapped in the Men of Letters Bunker since 1958, and she makes life in the Bunker much easier for them. But the boys must soon contend with Mrs. Butters's overprotective nature when she becomes determined to protect them at any cost. |
| Monster | Vampires Mrs. Butters |
| Timeline | |
| Location(s) | Lebanon, Kansas |
| « Previous Episode | Next Episode » | |
Contents
Synopsis
Sam hears a clanking noise as he researches in the library when Dean comes in. He tells Sam he was making burgers when the pilot light went out noting that the Bunker has been having various issues. Dean asks about Jack, who Sam says is still in his room processing everything now that he has his soul back, and mentions to Dean that Castiel is looking for Amara because Jack has to kill her too, in order keep balance in the universe if they kill Chuck. When the air system stops working, Dean decides they need to fix the Bunker themselves, so he and Sam go down to the control room. While Sam looks through a manual, Dean just hits the reset button. It seems to restore things so Dean goes to finish cooking. As he takes his burger to his room, he finds a strange lady folding his underwear and calls for Sam.
In the library, the woman laments over the state of the Bunker. She reveals that she is a wood nymph that worked for the Men of Letters in the 1950s. Do to her name being unpronounceable in the human tongue, they called her Mrs. Butters. Unaware of the year, Mrs. Butters is dismayed when Sam and Dean tell her the Men of Letters were killed by Abaddon and it is 2020. She tells Sam and Dean that in 1958 she was asked to guard the Bunker as the Men of Letters went to the initiation ceremony, and when no one returned, she put herself and the Bunker on standby. Mrs. Butters explains that the Bunker was also powered by her magic, and this means the Bunker has been at half power since Sam and Dean have been there. She snaps fingers powering it. It turns out that the map table is actually a monster radar, and its indicating a nest of vampires nearby. Sam worries they can’t trust her, but Dean says this will be her test. If they find vampires where she they are located, then she was telling the truth. If not they will deal with her. They decide to let Jack know what’s going on and leave.
On the way to the vampire nest, they discuss Jack’s trauma, wondering if he can kill Chuck. Sam is unsure, but Dean believes Jack can go through it given he's been through worse trauma. They arrive at the nest and quickly kill the vampires inside. When they get back to the Bunker, Mrs. Butters has decorated for Christmas. Dean is giddy. Sam is uncertain.
The next morning Mrs. Butters tells Sam to enjoy the world they’re saving as she serves him breakfast when Jack walks in. Mrs. Butters is instantly on guard, aware he’s powerful and dangerous. Dean walks in showing off his sleeping rob and flashing Sam in the process. Mrs. Butters makes Jack a smoothie but gives Dean tomato juice instead. The alarm blares signifying a monster, and Sam and Dean run off to get ready. As they leave Mrs. Butters hands them sack lunches. With Sam and Dean gone, Mrs. Butters puts Jack to work helping her with the dishes. During their talk, Jack regretfully admits he killed Mary. Mrs. Butters responds by assuring him that their are second chances in life.
Over the coming days Sam and Dean go on many hunts identified by the monster radar. Without having to locate, research and identify cases, their hunting becomes much more efficient. On each hunt, Mrs. Butters makes them food, and on return she helps them celebrate the many holidays they have missed over the years -- Thanksgiving, Halloween, and the Fourth of July. One day Jack walks into the library to find Mrs. Butters quickly hiding something. He asks for another smoothie, and when she leaves, he looks and finds a movie reel. In the film, we see Cuthbert Sinclair explain that she was retrieved from a Thule laboratory, and killed upwards of 200 Nazis before being restrained. He goes on to explain that he has convinced Mrs. Butters to work for the Men of Letters and has her demonstrate her loyalty by removing the head of a Thule operative that was no longer needed.
Shocked at what he had seen, Jack goes to find Sam, but Sam is being prepared by Mrs. Butters to go off on a date with Eileen, who is in town. Jack goes to talk to Dean, but Mrs. Butters interrupts saying she has fixed the broken TV in the Dean Cave, causing Dean to rush off to check it out. Jack confronts Mrs. Butters, but she informs him that there was something in the smoothies she has been feeding him which has weakened him, unable to use his powers, Mrs. Butters easy restrains him in angel cuffs. She tells him that she knows Sam and Dean are afraid of him, and declares she wont let him hurt them, before locking the door to the dungeon.
Dean comes hungry to the kitchen and as Mrs. Butters hands him a sandwich, she informs him they have to kill Jack. Dean realizes that these good times are through. He tries to reason with her, but she decides he's been corrupted by Jack and locks him up as well. Sam returns late from his date and Mrs. Butters tells him that they have to kill Dean and Jack. Sam plays along, saying he’ll go get his gun. There, he calls Dean berating him for not calling him. They decide that if they put the Bunker back on standby, this should also put her back into stasis.
On his way to hit the button, Mrs. Butters catches Sam, ties him up, and tortures him to see that Jack is a monster. Sam, even while his fingernails are being ripped off, says he’s not. Telling her Jack is just a kid with a tragic life. Meanwhile, in the dungeon, Jack wants to use his powers, but Dean thinks that will bring Chuck. Jack asks if Dean thinks he’s a monster. Dean tells him he’s trying, but he’s still angry at Jack although he won’t let Mrs. Butters hurt him. They wonder where Sam is and Dean decides to try to break the cuffs with the archangel blade. It doesn’t break the cuffs, but throws Jack with force. Dean helps Jack up and decides to use the power of the blast to knock down the door. Free, he and Jack go and press the reset button, then to the library, finding Sam alone and untying him. Mrs. Butters, however, comes charging back and magically throws them. Telling them she won’t let her boys die again. She’ll protect them. Sam argues they care about Jack. When she retorts that he’s a monster, like the ones that meant she couldn’t go home. Sam responds she was manipulated. Dean breaks through to her by declaring Jack can save the world. Mrs. Butters finally relents and tearfully tells them how she misses her boys so much.
Mrs. Butters heals Sam’s hand and decides to return to her forest. This means the Bunker goes back down to standby, with no monster radar or trans dimensional geoscope (the telescope). Dean says he did look through the geoscope but didn't see anything. Mrs. Butters says that is a bad sign. They gift her a picture of the Men of Letters she worked with and she departs.
Later, with coaxing, Jack expresses his doubt to Sam that he can kill Chuck. Sam says he’s the only one who can. Dean comes in with a birthday cake for Jack, made with more love than skill, saying they should take time to celebrate. Dean lights a candle, Sam tells Jack to make a wish. Jack blows out the candle.
Characters
Definitions
- Alcohol
- Angel Cuffs
- Archangel Blade
- Dean Cave
- Food
- Grenade Launcher
- Healing
- Impala
- Lamia
- Men of Letters
- Men of Letters Bunker
- Mjölnir
- Monsters
- Nephilim
- Pie
- Sammy
- Sam's Hair
- Sexual Encounters
- Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!
- Son of a Bitch
- Table of Death
- Telekinesis
- Teleportation
- Thule Society
- Vampires
- Warding Sigils
- Wood Nymph
Music
- "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" by The Toreador Brass
- (playing as Sam and Dean return to the Bunker to find it decorated for Christmas)
- "Cleanin' Up the Town" by The BusBoys
- (plays over the montage of Sam and Dean going on hunts and celebrating various holidays)
Quotes
Sam: Yeah, we don't totally know everything about this place yet.
Sam: Yeah, we're not really holiday people.
Sam: Ignoring your trauma doesn't make you healthy.
Dean: Well. I mean, I, you know, figured you were... "practicing your sign language."
Sam: And that's more important than coming to save you? Dean?
Trivia & References
- The Mario Brothers - Mario and Luigi - are two Italian-American bothers who are plumbers and the stars of the video game franchise named after them.
Dean: Magic Roomba?
- A Roomba is an automated, self-propelling vacuum cleaner.
Dean: He's a millennial. Don't let that throw you.
- A millennial is someone born between 1981 and 1996. Given he was born in 2017, strictly speaking Jack belongs to Generation Alpha.
- Abercrombie & Fitch is a clothing designer often associated with the "preppy" look.
- Nurse Ratched is the main antagonist in Ken Kesey's 1962 novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest which was later made into a play and then a 1975 Academy-Award-winning movie. She is a nurse in a psychiatric institution who enjoys tormenting and humiliating the patients. In 2020, Sarah Paulson starred as Nurse Ratched in a series by Ryan Murphy called "Ratched".
- Mary Poppins is the protagonist of P.L. Travers' book series of the same name about a magical British nanny.
- "Pain is just weakness leaving the body" is a mantra used by the United States Marine Corps.
Minutiae
- Dean is referencing when he shot the newly-resurrected Adolf Hitler in the head in 12.05 The One You've Been Waiting For.
- Dean previously referred to himself as a "meat man" in 15.04 Atomic Monsters. It is still uncertain if he knows what the term actually means.
- Dean had previously noted his enjoyment of wearing a sleeping robe (and nightcap) in 13.16 Scoobynatural, where he also told Sam it felt like he was "wrapped in hugs."
- In 6.04 Weekend at Bobby's, the Winchesters also faced a lamia which they at first tried to kill with a knife which they tried to have blessed by a priest. However, they had to improvise after the priest was killed before they could get the blessing.
- Henshaw is a reference to Clifford Henshaw, who was the mentor of Delphine Seydoux.
In 12.18 The Memory Remains, Ketch looked through the geoscope and remarked that he couldn't see a "damn thing." Though, as we learned in this episode, the Bunker was only running on half-power, which would explain why he did not see anything when he looked through it. The geoscope is only shown to be powered up when the Bunker is at full power.
