Rowena

Name	Rowena
Actor	Ruth Connell
Dates
Location
Occupation	Witch
Episode(s)	10.03 Soul Survivor 10.07 Girls, Girls, Girls 10.09 The Things We Left Behind

Hardly the most appetizing process in the world, but killing demons always makes me hungry. – Rowena, 10.07 Girls, Girls, Girls

History

Rowena is a natural born witch who has been around since the 17th century (or possibly longer), and is the mother of Fergus Roderick MacLeod aka Crowley. She was thrown out of the Grand Coven many years ago, as her magic was considered too extreme; one such spell she created was the "Defigere et Depurgare," which was used to vanquish demons. Rowena's use of magic would ultimately lead to her being banned from performing magic, taking students and forming her own coven by the Grand Coven -- putting her on the run for years. In 2014 Rowena resurfaces seeking to reclaim her lost power base.

Episodes

10.03 Soul Survivor

In a hotel suite in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Rowena is reading a book in front of a fireplace, when suddenly a drop of blood falls on her arm from the ceiling. She looks up, revealing two hotel staff members nailed to the ceiling, smiles and continues reading her book.

10.07 Girls, Girls, Girls

Crowley's demons Raul and Gerald are running a brothel, using women to make demon deals for them. Rowena visits the brothel and kills Raul using a spell called Defigere Et Depurgare, or 'To Bind and Purge', which she created herself in the 18th century. She throws a hex bag to Raul, who immediately begins vomiting black goo - liquified demon smoke - and collapses, dead. She leaves with two prostitutes, Elle and Catlin, and takes them to eat at an upscale restaurant. The waiter tells them that Elle and Catlin do not meet the dress code, so Rowena bewitches him with a servitude spell. They are served the finest food and wine. Rowena explains that there are three types of witch: Borrowers, which harness the power of a demon, the Naturals, those who are born with the gift of magic, and the Students, who learn from a Grand Coven Approved Mentor. Rowena tells them that she was thrown out of the Grand Coven a long time ago for her extreme methods, and was thus forbidden from forming a coven or even using magic. She has been on the run ever since, but offers to take Elle and Catlin under her wing anyway. Just then, the waiter's face turns red and he collapses, dead- Sam and Dean refer to it as "boiled brains". Rowena, Elle, and Catlin make a quick exit. Sam and Dean are on Rowena's trail, and they find out that she has been responsible for a number of murders at high-end hotels, with the bodies impaled on the ceiling and brains boiled. Later, the women are staying at a hotel when there is a knock on the door. Rowena tells Elle and Catlin that it is probably the hotel manager, coming to find out why she hasn't paid the bill, and that he would be practice for them. When she opens the door though, it is the bellboy, whose throat is slit, and demons capture them. Sam and Dean arrive and kill the demons, and say they are only there for Rowena. She puts an attack dog spell on Elle, and uses this distraction to escape with Catlin. Elle fights Sam, but when the spell runs its course she dies like the waiter. Outside, Rowena tells Catlin that most people cannot withstand the power of the spells, but that Catlin is strong. Catlin punches Rowena and runs away. Rowena begins to recite a spell but is stopped when Dean puts a gun to her head. Before he can act, Cole puts a gun to Dean and Dean is forced to let Rowena go. In Hell, Gerald tells Crowley that although the Winchesters took down the alpha team, the beta team had a perimeter around the hotel and captured Rowena. She is bloodied and bruised and strung up in chains in a cell. Crowley enters, and she mocks him. In utter surprise, all Crowley can say is "...Mother?"

10.09 The Things We Left Behind

Gerald places Trish in Crowley's dungeon next to Rowena. As Trish attempts to break free from her bindings, Rowena initiates small talk with her, wanting to find out what brought her there. Trish tells her she was smuggled topside as Crowley only allows certain demons out of Hell. When Trish asks why she is a prisoner, Rowena replies that she was a "horrible mother."

When Crowley finally decides to see Rowena, he berates her for being a horrible mother to him, but Rowena deflects that by saying she was motivating him for bigger things. When he brings up she abandoned him when he was eight, she tells it was because she ran afoul of the locals and had to flee. Rowena tells Crowley she wishes to be a family again, and that he can trust her unlike the demons who turn on him at the first chance.

After their chat, Crowley and Gerald escort Rowena to the dungeon. It's there that Rowena accuses Gerald of smuggling demons out of Hell, to which Trish confirms. Gerald denies the accusations, and begins to strangle Rowena. When he doesn't listen to Crowley's repeated orders to stop, Crowley stabs Gerald through the neck with an angel sword, killing him. As Crowley leaves the cell, he asks Rowena if she is coming. She smiles and follows him out the door. As Trish tells Rowena that she said she would get her out if she lied about Gerald, Rowena responds that she'll be back for her "in a flash" and locks the cell.