Gadreel

Name	Gadreel
Actor	Tahmoh Penikett (9.01, 9.10, 9.18, 9.21) Jared Padalecki (9.01, 9.02, 9.03, 9.04, 9.05, 9.08, 9.09 & 9.10)
Dates
Location	Earth
Occupation	Angel
Episode(s)	9.01 I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here 9.02 Devil May Care (as Sam) 9.03 I'm No Angel (as Sam) 9.04 Slumber Party (as Sam) 9.05 Dog Dean Afternoon (as Sam) 9.08 Rock and a Hard Place (as Sam) 9.09 Holy Terror (as Sam) 9.10 Road Trip 9.18 Meta Fiction 9.21 King of the Damned

It broke His heart to lock you away, you know. You were God's most trusted, that's why he chose you to protect the Garden. Your one task was to keep evil from entering, from befouling his cherished creation mankind, and you failed it. – Metatron, 9.09 Holy Terror

History

Gadreel is an angel who according to Metatron was God's most trusted, which lead to him being chosen to protect the Garden, and keep evil from entering it. Gadreel somehow failed in his task, and allowed the Earth to be cursed with evil, for which he was blamed and locked-up for thousands of years in Heaven's darkest dungeon. He was freed from his imprisonment by Metatron when he expelled all the angels from Heaven in an act of revenge.

Once on Earth, Gadreel responds to Dean's call for help, under the guise of the angel Ezekiel, to help Sam who is dying after the trials. He tells Dean the only way for him, in his weakened state, to heal Sam is to take him as a vessel, allowing himself to heal in the process. With Dean's help, he obtains Sam's consent to this, although Dean knows Sam would strongly oppose this course of action. To avoid Sam rejecting Ezekiel, and possibly dying, Dean agrees to keep the possession from Sam.

Gadreel can at times take over Sam, act through him and converse with Dean, all without Sam's knowledge. When he manifests, Sam's eyes glow white. When Gadreel uses his powers, an image of his broken wings can be seen behind him. While his angelic powers are reputedly damaged, he has resurrected Castiel and Charlie, although he tells Dean this has weakened him and will prolong the time he needs to remain in Sam in order to heal him. He demands that Dean keep Castiel away, claiming it will draw other angels to them who may disrupt his healing of Sam.

After meeting with Metatron, Gadreel agreed to become his lieutenant in restoring Heaven in order to make up for his past mistakes and murdered Kevin Tran as proof of his allegiance, taking full control of Sam's body. He is eventually captured by Dean, Castiel and Crowley and is expelled by Sam after he learns the truth. Undeterred, Gadreel returns to his original vessel to continue working with Metatron.

Episodes

9.01 I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here

When Dean prays for any angels in the area for help in saving Sam, Gadreel who has taken a vessel and is traveling by bus, comes to help and confronts another angel who is trying to get the location of Castiel out of Dean. Gadreel has been injured falling to Earth and is no match for the other angel, but Dean kills the angel with his own sword and saves Gadreel who passes out.

While he's unconscious, Dean traps Gadreel in a ring of holy fire and demands answers about why he has come. Gadreel claims his name is "Ezekiel" reveals that he has come to help Dean in response to his prayer, but other, less friendly angels are also coming.

Dean releases "Ezekiel" who goes with him to Sam's hospital room to try to heal him. However, both "Ezekiel" and Sam are weak and he is unable to heal Sam right away. As he tries, the building shakes and Ezekiel is able to identify it as an angel coming without a vessel. As Sam is unable to leave without dying, Dean puts up angel-warding that keeps other angels out but lets "Ezekiel" stay and then leaves to confront the two angels that arrive while "Ezekiel" continues his efforts to heal Sam. Dean manages to banish the other two angels just before they breach the room, but Sam is too weak for "Ezekiel" to heal even when Dean takes down the warding. "Ezekiel" offers a solution: if he possesses Sam, his ability to heal his vessel will fix the damage Sam endured from the Trials while also allowing him to heal himself of his own injuries. After "Ezekiel" shows Dean how close Sam is to giving up, he agrees and Ezekiel enters Sam's mind in Dean's form and gets him to say yes to "Dean's" plan to save him, allowing "Ezekiel" to take Sam as a vessel.

After "Ezekiel" possesses Sam, he and Dean leave the hospital, leaving Ezekiel's confused vessel behind. Ezekiel and Dean decide to have "Ezekiel" let Sam remain in control with no knowledge of "Ezekiel's" presence as if Sam rejects him, in his weakened state "Ezekiel" could be ejected from his body which would be fatal to Sam. "Ezekiel" also erases all memory of his near-death experience from Sam before relinquishing control.

Ezekiel revealing his damaged wings.

9.02 Devil May Care

When Sam is in trouble from three demons and is knocked out, "Ezekiel" takes control of his body and distracts the demons by displaying his wings before preceding to kill them with Ruby's knife. His presence causes Abaddon to flee, saving Dean. When Dean comes to see what happened, "Ezekiel" reveals he took control to save Sam who will remember none of what happened and that he used the knife so Dean could explain away the demon deaths. Dean reveals to "Ezekiel" (who he gives the nickname Zeke) that he feels guilty for all of the deaths that have been caused as he stopped Sam from sealing Hell, but "Ezekiel" understands that Dean did it out of love for Sam after being in Sam's mind. "Ezekiel" returns to the place Sam was in when he was knocked out and then returns control to Sam who as "Ezekiel" promised, has no memory of what happened.

9.03 I'm No Angel

Ezekiel takes control of Sam, assuring Dean that Sam is in fact feeling better and telling him that while its happening slowly, he is healing Sam. "Ezekiel" warns that a new faction of angels led by Bartholomew is actively taking vessels and searching for Castiel. While Dean appreciates "Ezekiel's" heads-up, he has him give back control to Sam.

Desperate to find Castiel after learning that rogue reapers are now after him, Dean calls on Ezekiel for help. "Ezekiel" admonishes him, telling him he can't be in control like that and that he can't sense Castiel as he has warded himself from angels. Dean asks him to use his powers to search for the reapers searching for Castiel and Ezekiel is able to find him that way.

After Castiel is killed by the reaper possessing April Kelly, "Ezekiel" resurrects him and Dean covers it up by claiming Sam was knocked out and he tricked the reaper into bringing Castiel back before killing her.

At the Bunker, Ezekiel takes control once again to tell Dean that Castiel must leave as he is too dangerous to have around with the angels searching for him. Even with the Bunker's protections, Ezekiel warns that they will not be able to survive a full incursion of angels and that if Castiel doesn't leave, he must leave Sam and flee. As Sam will die if this happens, Dean is forced to tell Castiel to leave.

9.04 Slumber Party

When Charlie Bradbury is killed by the Wicked Witch of the West, Dean asks "Ezekiel" to resurrect her. "Ezekiel" tells Dean that he is only barely back to half-strength and using his powers like that weakens him and will force him to stay in Sam longer than either wants. However, "Ezekiel"relents, telling Dean he can either help with the Witch or bring back Charlie and Dean chooses Charlie. "Ezekiel" resurrects Charlie and Dean passes it off as both Sam and Charlie getting knocked out by the Witch while he drove her off. Charlie later learns the truth about her resurrection, but agrees to keep it a secret from Sam, preventing him from learning about Ezekiel though he is now suspicious as he heard Dean call out to "Zeke" before "Ezekiel" took control.

9.05 Dog Dean Afternoon

After Sam receives a severe neck wound from Chef Leo, "Ezekiel" briefly takes over to heal the wound, and erases Sam's memory of it.

9.08 Rock and a Hard Place

Dean nearly tells Sam the truth, but "Ezekiel" takes control and insists he is not ready to know and that he Sam is still too badly damaged to survive if "Ezekiel" is ejected. "Ezekiel" promises it won't be much longer and returns control to Sam.

9.09 Holy Terror

Metatron speaks to the angel in Sam's body, revealing that he knows the angel possessing Sam is not Ezekiel, but Gadreel. Metatron tells Gadreel he plans to rebuild Heaven and restore it to its former glory. He invites Gadreel to be his second in command, and restore his besmirched name. Gadreel agrees, but Metatron demands a demonstration of his loyalty. He wants those who could oppose him killed, and gives Gadreel a piece of paper with the first target. Gadreel takes on the challenge - and kills Kevin Tran.

While Castiel is being tortured by Malachi, he learns that Ezekiel was one of the angels who was killed during the angel's expulsion from Heaven. After he escapes, Cas passes this information onto Dean. While not knowing who is possessing Sam, Dean decides he must be expelled. He asks Kevin for a spell that will help him speak to a person, while repressing the angel possessing them, although without revealing the real reason why. Kevin finds a spell using the angel tablet and a Men of Letters book, and helps Dean set up the sigil that activates the spell in the store-room. Dean gets Sam into the room, and casts the spell. He tells Sam about the possession and that he must eject the angel. However Gadreel was aware of Dean's plan and altered the sigil. Knowing that Dean plans to get rid of him, he punches Dean, briefly knocking him out. He then finds Kevin in the main bunker room and despite Dean's intervention, he kills Kevin and leaves with the angel and demon tablets.

9.10 Road Trip

In order to get around, Gadreel stole the Impala while trapping Sam in a fantasy world in his mind so that he would be unaware of what was going on and couldn't expel him, but would be unharmed. Following Metatron's orders, Gadreel tracks down the angel Thaddeus who had tortured Gadreel and a friend of his, Abner, while they were imprisoned in Heaven. Gadreel refuses Thaddeus' apologies and kills him with his own angel sword.

Gadreel meets with Metatron in a bar where he is surprised to find his original vessel working as a bartender. Gadreel turns over the angel and demon tablets and confirms Kevin and Thaddeus' deaths, but not Dean's, saying that Metatron didn't order him to kill Dean. Metatron orders him to kill another man named Alexander Sarver to prove his loyalty and Gadreel is angry that he must kill again, but Metatron yells at him to stop questioning his orders.

Sam expels Gadreel from his body.

Traveling to Sommerset, Pennsylvania, Gadreel is surprised to find that Sarver is actually the vessel of his friend Abner and hesitates in killing him. Meeting with Abner when his family is gone, Gadreel learns that he has taken on the role of his vessel, taking care of Sarver's family and taking up his job, happier with his life as a human than of an angel. Abner is horrified to learn that Gadreel killed Thaddeus and tells him that its worth whatever price you have to pay to find happiness. Gadreel then slits Abner's throat, killing him. While cleaning up, Gadreel is approached by Dean who he warns away then knocks out when he tries to kill him. However, while Gadreel is distracted, Castiel knocks him out.

Gadreel is taken to an abandoned warehouse where he is chained up and interrogated by Dean who demands to know who he is and why he betrayed him when he had trusted the angel and fought with him. Gadreel tries to comfort him by telling him that Sam is safely locked away in his mind with no idea of what is happening, but threatens to tear his body apart if they try to expel him and insists that he is doing what he has to do. After Castiel confirms that Gadreel healed most of Sam's injuries and he should be able to finish the job once Gadreel is gone, Dean sets Crowley on him to use his spikes to break into Gadreel's base coding to try to draw out Sam's mind. After hours, Crowley succeeds in activating Gadreel's "factory settings" and they learn who he is leaving Castiel furious because of all the trouble he caused.

Gadreel returns to his original vessel.

However, Gadreel retakes control saying he has withstood much worse torture and can wait forever. Desperate, Dean asks Castiel to possess Sam too to wake him up and let him know what is happening, but Gadreel is just amused as Castiel would need Sam's permission also. Crowley offers to do it instead in exchange for his freedom and with no choice, Dean agrees and has Castiel remove Sam's anti-possession tattoo despite Gadreel's warnings.

In Sam's mind, Gadreel, in the form of his original vessel, confronts Sam and Crowley after Sam learns the truth. Gadreel is angered when Crowley calls him the "original chump," saying he isn't anymore and tells Crowley to run. Instead, Crowley fights him to no avail and Sam attacks. Gadreel initially has the upper hand, but Sam manages to overpower him and demands Gadreel "get the hell out," finally expelling him.

Expelled from Sam, Gadreel returns to the bar where Metatron is waiting in his natural form and gains permission from his original vessel once more. Gadreel possesses the man again and Metatron realizes the Winchesters once again interfered in their plans.

Gadreel in Lore

Gadreel (also known as Gadriel and Gael) was one of the chief fallen watcher angels. It is believed that Gadreel not Satan was the one to seduce Eve with knowledge. Some other theories include that he fathered Cain with Eve, taught mankind the art of warfare, and introduced witchcraft to humanity.

Trivia

• Because the second episode of season nine was shot first, Jared had to develop the character of Ezekiel/Gadreel before Tahmoh Penikett (who plays Ezekiel/Gadreel in 9.01 I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here) was cast.
• The fandom portmanteau to describe Ezekiel when he is possessing Sam is Sazekiel. When it was revealed Ezekiel was actually Gadreel, the fandom took using the name Sadreel.

Gadreel in Fandom

• @TheAngelEzekiel Ezekiel role play on Twitter