5.22 Swan Song
Title | Swan Song |
Episode # | Season 5, Episode 22 |
First aired | May 13, 2010 |
Directed by | Steve Boyum |
Written by | Teleplay: Eric Kripke Story: Eric "Giz" Gerwirtz |
On IMDB | Swan Song |
Outline | Sam and Dean decide to try and trap Lucifer. |
Monster | Lucifer |
Timeline | Within six months after the events of 5.10 Abandon All Hope.... |
Location(s) | Detroit, Michigan; Lawrence, Kansas |
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Contents
Synopsis
Chuck is writing about the history of the Impala, for a manuscript entitled "Swan Song." He writes that it is the most important object in the history of the universe.
The boys share a beer in the junkyard at Bobby's. Dean tells Sam that, if it is what Sam really wants, then he will support his plan to let himself become Lucifer's vessel in order to trap him in Lucifer's Cage. Dean asks if this is really what Sam wants and Sam tells him that since he released Lucifer, it’s his responsibility to lock him back up again. They prepare by killing demons and harvesting a huge amount of demon blood, which Castiel has said Sam will need to drink to contain Lucifer.
Omens lead Sam, Dean, Bobby and Castiel to Detroit, where Lucifer has always predicted Sam will say “Yes” to him there. As they drive, Castiel sleeps, alerting Sam and Dean that his angelic energy is already gone and he is now almost completely human. Sam tells Dean that if the plan actually works, Sam won’t be returning from Hell and he tells Dean not to find a way to bring him back. Sam makes Dean promise that when everything is over, Dean will go find Lisa Braeden and live a normal life.
They arrive in Detroit and Bobby scouts the parameter, informing them that Lucifer really is in Detroit. Sam shares emotional goodbyes with both Castiel and Bobby. Bobby tells him to not give an inch and to fight with all his strength against Lucifer whilst Castiel tells him that he will look after Dean and Bobby and that everything will be fine, although he admits he is lying. Sam drinks the demon blood, and he and Dean go to confront Lucifer.
Chuck continues telling the story of the Impala. He says the Impala has the same things most other cars have and a lot of things other cars don’t have (e.g. the weapons cache) but none of that is important. Chuck says the important things are the things that the Winchesters put into the car along the years; the army man Sam stuffed into the ashtray in the back, the Lego Dean stuffed into the heating vents and the carvings of their initials. Chuck says that Lucifer doesn’t care about the car, but he should.
Sam tells Lucifer that he wants to say “Yes” to him in return for his family’s safety, but Lucifer reveals that he knows that they have the Horsemen's Rings and plan to trap him. Sam says this doesn’t change anything and says “Yes” anyway. As Lucifer takes over Sam's body, Dean uses the rings and with an incantation opens Lucifer's Cage. Lucifer, however, is in full control of Sam, and closes the cage, taking the rings and disappearing.
Lucifer and Sam have a talk in which Lucifer tells Sam that he should embrace their union as it was always meant to be this way. He tells Sam that they’re two halves of the same whole, that they were literally made for each other and that the Winchesters were at best a surrogate family as Lucifer is Sam’s real family. Lucifer gathers all the remaining minions of Azazel, who have been keeping watch over Sam his entire life (including a grade school teacher and Sam's prom date, Rachel Nave) and tells Sam that it’s time the two of them "blow off a little steam". He proceeds to slaughter these demons and asks if Sam is "having fun yet".
Later, Dean, Castiel and Bobby watch the news, as unprecedented disasters occur across the world - the Apocalypse is beginning. Both Castiel and Bobby seem without hope. Dean calls Chuck, who tells Dean the confrontation between Michael and Lucifer will take place at Stull Cemetery near Lawrence in Kansas, where the boys first lived. Castiel tells Dean that there’s nothing he can do and that all that Dean will see is his brother being killed by Michael to which Dean responds that he won't let Sam die alone.
In Stull Cemetery, Lucifer faces Michael, who appears using Adam as a vessel. Lucifer tries to dissuade Michael from the fight, blaming their conflict on God, and suggesting they walk away. Michael counters that Lucifer is still blaming everyone but himself and that he hasn’t grown at all. Michael says he must carry out God's orders and that it's his destiny to kill Lucifer. Just then, Dean arrives in the Impala, Def Leppard's “Rock of Ages” blaring.
Dean tries to talk to Sam inside Lucifer, but Michael tells him it's not his fight anymore. Castiel and Bobby arrive and Castiel throws a Molotov Cocktail of holy oil on Michael, causing him to burn up and vanish temporarily. Lucifer, furious that Castiel dared to attack Michael, turns and disintegrates Castiel. Bobby shoots him, but Lucifer snaps Bobby’s neck.
Lucifer starts to beat Dean, taunting him, saying that he will kill him slowly and make Sam feel every blow. Dean doesn't resist, just telling Sam he won't leave him. As Sam goes to land another blow, he glances at the Impala and sees the toy soldier still in the ashtray in the backseat, and suddenly all his memories of life with Dean rush at him, allowing Sam to take control over Lucifer.
Sam tells Dean everything’s going to be alright and that he has Lucifer contained for now. Sam tosses the Horsemen's Rings to the ground and recites the incantation to open Lucifer's Cage. He and Dean look at each other one last time, but as Sam goes to throw himself in, Michael reappears. Michael tries to persuade Sam to step back so he and Lucifer can have their battle, but Sam moves to jump in anyway and when Michael tries to stop him, Sam drags him into the cage too.
A bloody and broken Dean grieves for Sam. Castiel reappears and heals him before reviving Bobby. Castiel tells Dean that God revived him and made him better than before.
Castiel tells Dean he will return to Heaven, where he expects that without Michael, there will be chaos. Dean angrily informs him that if God returns, Dean will be coming for him next for not being there to save Sam from Hell. Castiel says that God helped them in the end and informs Dean that he got what he wanted in the end: no everlasting peace like the angels wanted nor Hell on Earth like the demons wanted; just more of the same.
Dean leaves Bobby. Chuck tells us in voice over that Dean won't see him again for a very long time. Chuck says that all Dean wants to do is either find a way to rescue Sam or die, but he won’t do either as he made a promise to Sam that he wouldn’t.
Dean arrives at Lisa Braeden's house, distraught, but trying to hold it together. She comforts him and he mourns in her arms for what he’s lost.
Chuck says that he believes this was a test for Sam and Dean from God and he believes they passed that test because in the end, in the fight between good and evil, angels and devils, destiny and God himself, they chose family. Chuck, now dressed all in white, says that endings are hard, and never perfect, and that nothing really ends anyway. He types "The End" and vanishes for reasons unknown, leaving many to wonder whether he was really a prophet at all the entire time, or if he was the physical manifestation of God Himself.
Sometime later, Dean is having dinner with Lisa and Ben. Lisa asks if Dean is okay, to which he quietly responds that he is before settling himself into the dinner and, in turn, a normal life without hunting and without his brother.
Outside Lisa’s house, a street light goes out. Underneath it, watching them through the window, stands Sam...
Characters
- Sam Winchester
- Dean Winchester
- Bobby
- Castiel
- Lucifer
- Michael
- Chuck
- Adam Milligan
- Lisa Braeden
- Ben Braeden
- God
Definitions
- Alcohol
- Impala
- Horsemen's Rings
- Lucifer's Cage
- Vessel
- Stull Cemetery
- Lawrence, Kansas
- Samifer
- Holy Oil
- Dead...or are they?
- Demon Blood
- Archangel
- Angel Lore
- Devil's Trident
Music
- "Carry On Wayward Son" by Kansas
- (plays during "The Road So Far" recap of events; also played in 1.21 Salvation, 2.22 All Hell Breaks Loose: Part Two, 3.16 No Rest for the Wicked, and 4.22 Lucifer Rising)
- "Rock of Ages" by Def Leppard
- (plays when Dean enters Stull Cemetery; also played in 1.05 Bloody Mary and 1.08 Bugs)
Quotes
Sam: You go find Lisa. You pray to God she’s dumb enough to take you in. You have barbecues, and go to football games. You go live some normal apple pie life, Dean. Promise me!
Castiel: It’s not possible.
Sam: Humor me.
Sam: What?
Dean: You think, genius?
Castiel: You don't have to be mean.
Dean: So what do we do now?
Dean: Then I ain't going to let him die alone.
Dean: I'm not talking to you, I'm talking to Sam.
Michael: You're no longer the vessel, Dean. You got no right to be here.
Dean: Adam, if you're in there somewhere, I am so sorry.
Michael: Adam isn't home right now.
Castiel: Uh... no.
Castiel: That's a nice compliment, but no.
Castiel: Return to heaven I suppose. With Michael in the cage, I'm sure it's total anarchy up there.
Dean: So what - you're the new Sheriff in town?
Trivia & References
In The End, Future Dean tells Dean that Sam gave "the big yes" to Lucifer in Detroit. In 5.10 Abandon All Hope..., Lucifer predicts this future to Sam, telling him "I don't know Sam, I think it will. I think it'll happen soon, within six months. And I think it'll happen in Detroit." The episode first aired on November 19, 2009. If you look at a calendar for 2010, six months from this date is the third week of May (the week of May 17th). 5.22 Swan Song aired on May 13, one week shy of Lucifer's six-month projection.
- MFEO= Made For Each Other.
- The Triple Lindy was a ridiculous high dive done by Rodney Dangerfield in the movie Back to School.
- This line is said many times, by several characters, in the Star Wars movies.
- Graceland was Elvis Presley's estate in Memphis, Tennessee and is now a museum.
Castiel: I suggest we imbibe copious amounts of alcohol. Just wait for the inevitable blast wave.
Dean: Yes, well, thank you, Bukowski.
- Charles Bukowski was famous for writing novels and stories featuring alcoholic protagonists.
- A Molotov cocktail is an incendiary weapon in which a flammable liquid is placed in a glass bottle and sealed with a cloth or rag. The cloth is set on fire, and when it is thrown and the bottle breaks, the liquid inside spreads and catches fire. Castiel made his Molotov cocktail using holy oil.
Chuck: Well, there's only one explanation. Obviously I'm a god.
Sam: You're not a god.
Chuck: How else do you explain it? I write things and then they come to life. Yeah, no, I'm definitely a god. A cruel, cruel, capricious god. The things I put you through -- The physical beatings alone.
- Dean accuses Chuck of having a "thing" for virgins and prostitutes (hookers), possibly a hint towards Chuck's true identity as God. Specifically, a reference to the Virgin Mary, who supposedly gave birth to God's son, Jesus.
- When Dean calls Chuck, Chuck answers the phone "Mistress Magda," and we briefly see a newspaper/magazine ad for a blonde bombshell in a bikini named "Miss Magda" on Chuck's desk before he puts his glass on it. Jesus also loved a a woman named Mary Magdalene described as a prostitute. There are many who believe Jesus actually married Mary Magdalene, though this idea, as well as Mary's status as a prostitute, are both matters widely disputed by historians the world over.
In the fourteenth century, Italian poet Dante Alighieri wrote the epic poem Divine Comedy, which chronicles the poet's fictional tour of the various levels of Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. In the first part, Inferno (sometimes known as "Dante's Inferno"), Dante descends into the center of Hell, which is in the middle of the 9th Circle, the eternal punishment for betrayal, the most heinous of sins. There, Dante finds Satan trapped in a lake of ice with many other betrayers for all eternity. This is in stark contrast to the popular view of Hell as the "lake of fire".
Also, according to the Christian Bible, at the end of time, Satan will be sent from Hell to the Lake of Fire for his eternal punishment. Hell and the Lake of Fire being two separate places.- Ovaltine is a powder flavoring mixed with milk, but in this context, Lucifer is referring to the demon blood Sam drank before coming up. In 4.03 In the Beginning, Azazel says "Demon blood is better than Ovaltine, vitamins, minerals. It makes you big and strong."
- Telenovelas are (usually) Latin American TV soap operas.
Minutiae
- Cyclone in Tampa.
- Temperature drops in Detroit (20 degrees in a five-block radius in downtown Motown).
- Wildfires in Los Angeles.
- A magnitude 7.6 earthquake in Portland
- A magnitude 8.1 earthquake in Boston
- More in Hong Kong, Berlin and Iran
Sides, Scripts & Transcripts
Promotion
- Twitter exchange with a guest star
- Interview with a guest star (and a former guest star)
- Episode Title Name Spoiler TV
- Synopsis SpoilerTV
- Spoiler about the Finale with Sera Gamble Ask Ausiello
- Synopsis
- Finale promo
- Promo pics for the finale
- Promo for finale
- Clip #1 from finale - extended version
- Clip #2
- Space TV promo
- Interview with Mark Pellegrino on finale
- Sera Gamble on the finale and who is God