Next: Supernatural S 07 E 22 There Will Be Blood
Recap of Supernatural
Season 7, Episode 21
Reading is Fundamental
Written by Ben Edlund.
Directed by Ben Edlund.
Air Date: May 4, 2012.
An honor student named Kevin Tran practices his cello before talking on the phone to his girlfriend about college applications, studying, and retaking his college entrance exams. Meanwhile, the Winchesters prepare to work cracking open the slab of rock they stole from Dick Roman. When they hit it, thunder and lightning happen. When they succeed in removing a tablet from the slab, Kevin is hit by lightning, and his eyes glow yellow. Meanwhile, as Meg reads a magazine, Cas emerges from his catatonia.
Kevin gets a supportive message from his mom, but he realizes that he’s been sleeping through the exam. As he scrambles, his eyes glow yellow. The Winchesters listen to a radio report about weird weather events and Sam reads that every woman within a few hundred miles went into labor. They discuss going to Rufus’s cabin, but Meg calls, however, so they decide to go to see Cas.
Kevin drives wildly, and his girlfriend calls frantically wondering why he missed everything that day. In a daze, he says he’s claiming his birthright and has to keep going. She panics.
The Winchesters discuss what shape they think Cas will be in and speculate it won’t be pretty. Meg meets them and shows them Cas. Cas is wearing his overcoat over his inmate pajamas and asks Dean to pull his finger. Dean does, and the lights go out. Cas giggles. Later, the Winchesters try and question him but he babbles about bees. Meg says he’s been like the “naked guy at the rave” ever since he woke up, totally useless. Cas remarks her thorny pain is beautiful, and he also says he heard a ping that awakened him. They show him the tablet and Cas recognizes it as God’s Word. Cas explains the tablet was written by Metatron, who is an angel and The Scribe of God. Meg argues with the brothers, upsetting Cas. He disappears and the tablet shatters into three pieces on the floor. Meg says he’s probably just gone to the day room because he doesn’t like conflict.
Dean goes to the dayroom. Meg is so annoyed that Sam won’t give her information, she says she’s going to get Cas and leaves the room, saying that Cas will leave with his caretaker. While they are in the hall, Kevin takes the tablet and runs. Sam and Meg catch him, and she demands to know who or what he is. He replies that he’s Kevin Tran, he’s in advanced placement and begs them not to kill him. Sam tries to take the tablet from him, but he can’t let go.
Dean has an intense conversation with Cas in the dayroom, in which Dean is grateful that Cas took on Sam’s mental burden but furious about Cas’s actions. Cas sets up the board game Sorry! and invites Dean to play. Cas babbles on about evolution and conflict and insists they play the game. A frustrated Dean wants Cas to help them find Metatron and knocks the game off the table.
Sam and Meg question Kevin, who doesn’t know what the tablet is but when he picks it up, it repairs itself. Kevin can read the tablet, though it is difficult for him. He reads about the leviathans and realizes they are real. He’s also terrified by Meg’s black eyes just as angels appear. The angels announce they are taking the prophet and killing Meg and Sam. Cas arrives and babbles to a furious and confused Hester before Dean banishes the angels with a sigil, and Kevin freaks out.
Later, Kevin tries to come to terms with his situation as Dean tries to get information from him about the Leviathan. They decide to go to Rufus’s cabin so Kevin can translate the tablet, and on the way, they realize there is a search for Kevin. Meg spies a couple of demons.
In the car, Kevin wakes up and is still freaked out. Cas calls from a dog track in Perth, and soon teleports into the car, further freaking out Kevin. Cas explains that the angels are required to take the keeper of god’s word to the desert.
At Rufus’s cabin, Kevin begins to read. Sam talks to Cas, wondering if he sees Lucifer. Cas says he did at first but now he sees everything. Cas says the weight of all his mistakes was going to kill him until he took on Sam’s burden. Sam tells Cas he realizes Cas was only trying to help. Sam promises they’ll help him get better, which confuses Cas. Kevin has a panic attack and Dean helps him. Dean tells him it sucks to be a chosen one.
Meg offers the Winchesters and Castiel to the two demons she saw earlier, but she double-crosses them and kills them. She returns to the Winchesters and says she’s loyal to a cause and her cause is to kill Crowley. When the angels arrive, Cas’s attempts to make peace infuriate Hester, and she tries to kill Cas but Meg kills her first. Inias, Hester's second, agrees to take Kevin to his house and watch over him there as Kevin gives a translation to Sam and Dean which gives instructions for killing the leviathans.
Kevin arrives home, only to have leviathans kill his angel guards.
Body Count:
For this episode = 3 angels, 2 demons, and 5 humans.
For the series so far = At least 807 humans (of which 6 were witches), 99 demons, 58 angels, 47 ghosts, 36 Jefferson Starships, 26 vampires, 19 zombies, 15 gods, 9 hellhounds, 7 skinwalkers, 6 changelings, 5 shapeshifters, 4 ghouls, 3 djinn, 3 dogs, 3 Leviathan, 2 Amazons, 2 arachnes, 2 kitsunes, 2 vetalas, 2 werewolves, 1 crocotta, 1 dragon, 1 fairy, 1 Khan worm, 1 lamia, the Mother of All, 1 okami, 1 phoenix, 1 Purgatory creature, 1 rakshasa, 1 rawhead, 1 reaper, 1 rugaru, 1 shojo, 1 shtriga, 1 siren, 1 wendigo, 1 whore of Babylon, and 1 wraith.
Tropes
- Asian and Nerdy: Kevin Tran. Channing as well, though not quite to the same level.
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: Dean wonders if Angels can really understand guilt.
- Borrowed Catchphrase: Meg drops Crowley's "Hello, boys."
- Broken Angel: Name-dropped in reference to Castiel, who's currently not all there in the sanity department:Sam: What are you gonna do with a broken angel?
- Call-Back: Hester brings up the events of "Meet the New Boss" and "Lazarus Rising".
- Chekhov's Gunman: Our first mention of Metatron.
- The Chosen One: Kevin, and he is not happy about it. Dean sympathizes.Dean: You've been chosen. And it sucks.
- Cliffhanger
- Cloudcuckoolander: Castiel. He's almost like his Bad Future self, only without the nihilism and sex (so far).Castiel: Did you know that a cat's penis is sharply barbed along its shaft? I know for a fact the females were not consulted about that.
Castiel: I'm surrounded by large, unhappy dogs. [...] You know, those racing dogs were absolutely miserable. They can only think in ovals. - Creepy Basement: Kevin is terrified of the basement of Rufus's cabin, with all the hunters weapons.
- Curiosity Is a Crapshoot: Thunder rumbles ominously as Dean tries to break through the block of clay they stole from Dick Roman in order to see what's inside.Dean: That sound like somebody saying "No, wait—stop!" to you?
Sam: Uh, yeah... yeah.
Dean: Yeah. [shrugs] Oh, well. [strikes clay again] - Dramatic Thunder: Lampshaded.Dean: That sound like someone saying "no, wait, stop" to you?
- Double EntendreDean: Alright, so Big-Daddy chomper gets here, and lands himself some Dick...
- Easily Forgiven: Averted
- A member of his former garrison is glad to see Castiel, and tries to stop Hester from killing him, pointing out there's so few Angels left now. Hester however is driven to fury and tries to stab Cas with an Angelblade.
- Even Dean gets annoyed with Cas during the game of Sorry, sweeping the board game off the table. It's clear he's grateful to Cas for taking on Sam's burden but still furious for his earlier betrayal.
Castiel: I'm sorry, Dean.Dean: No. You're playing "Sorry!"- Played With with Sam, who has forgiven Cas. Sam is, after all, the one who truly understands the burden Cas took on from his mind. Sam also knows what it is like to be certain you are doing wrong for the right reasons and have it backfire spectacularly, so he's more empathetic. So, it's hardly easy, but he does forgive.
- Dean still isn't willing to trust Meg.
- Education Mama: Kevin's mom.
- Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors: LampshadedEdgar: Rock beats scissor. Leviathan beats angel.
- Empathic Environment / Portent of Doom: When the tablet is broken open, a storm breaks out across the country, all pregnant women within a 100 mile radius give birth, Kevin is struck by a lightning bolt and realises he's The Chosen One, and Castiel wakes up from his Convenient Coma.
- Enemy Mine: Meg, again.
- Establishing Character Moment: Kevin stars in the teaser, which establishes him as a high-achieving high school student with his eyes on Princeton, a girlfriend, and a caring mother. His life is upended when his eyes turn yellow, which later is explained by him being a prophet.
- Flat "What": Meg, after everyone stares at her after killing an angel. "Somebody had to."
- Flipping the Table: Dean knocks aside the board game in anger over Castiel's Dissonant Serenity.
- Foreshadowing:
- Channing's line to Kevin about how "no matter what, one day, college isn't going to matter anymore."
- Meg tries to warn the Winchesters that Crowley is still a threat.
- Florence Nightingale Effect: When Dean refuses to cooperate with Meg, she threatens to use her relationship with Castiel to her advantage, saying he's more bonded to her now.
- Freak Out: Kevin — what with visions, mystic tablets, angels teleporting, Meg's Black Eyes of Evil and Dean's serial killer basement.
- From Bad to Worse:
- The boys not only have a squad of angels on their tail, but Kevin Tran's face is all over the news as a suspected kidnapping. Then Meg spots two demons eyeing them.
- Kevin has finally accepted the angels protection, only for a Leviathan to kill them and abduct Kevin and his mother.
- Have You Told Anyone Else?: It helps when you know demons suffer from Chronic Backstabbing Disorder.
- Homoerotic Subtext: Hester's line to Dean can be read literally or metaphoricallyHester: The very touch of you corrupts. When Castiel first laid a hand on you in hell, he was lost!.
- Hope Spot: Things are apparently going to end well, when the Leviathans kill the angels and kidnap Kevin.
- Hyperventilation Bag: Kevin is taking everything relatively well.
- I'm Not a Doctor, but I Play One on TV: Meg name-drops the trope:Meg: Hey, Seacrest, guess what — not a nurse. Just playin' one on TV.
- Industrialized Evil: Edgar is pouring over plans for the Leviathans killing factory, specifically
where to situate the blade-assembly so the victims won't panic on seeing it. - In the Back: How Meg takes down Hester.Meg: What? Someone had to.
- Ironic Echo: Castiel's "pull my finger" joke.
- I Surrender, Suckers: Meg pulls this on a pair of Crowley's demons.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall:
- "Crowley isn't the problem this year."
- Dean asks what was wrong with Cas when Meg calls...Meg: Hey, Seacrest! Guess what? Not a nurse! Just playin' one on TV
- Lightning Can Do Anything: To be fair, it was of Heavenly origin.
- Man Hug: Castiel insists on a Group Hug with the boys. They awkwardly return it.
- Mundane Utility: Castiel uses his powers to track honey bees and instantly set up his boardgame.
- Nature Lover: Cas watches the bees, much to Team Free Will's annoyance.
- Never Live It Down: Ruby for Sam, In-Universe. "A demon whore, and a Winchester. Again."
- No-Sell: An angel's power doesn't work on a Leviathan.
- Oh, Crap!: Meg's exact words when she sees two demons have zeroed in on them.
- Punctuated Pounding: Hester beating up Castiel. "No more madness! No more promises! No more new Gods!"
- Political Overcorrectness:Meg: Enough of this "demons are second-class citizens" crap!
- Priceless Ming Vase: Castiel drops the Word of God, breaking it into three pieces. Fortunately, Kevin's touch restores it.
- Rebel Relaxation: Nurse Meg sits with her feet up on Castiel's bed.
- Remonstrating with a Gun: Kevin freaks out over the Creepy Basement with Wall of Weapons. Dean assures him he's not in a serial killer's sexual torture dungeon while brandishing a Sinister Scythe.
- She Is Not My Girlfriend: Following on from the above:Hester: Kill the demon, and her lover.
Meg: [dazed from getting thrown into a wall] That's not how it — we're not— - Ship Tease: Meg and Castiel, almost veering into Will They or Won't They? territory.Castiel: Will you look at her? My caretaker. All of that thorny pain. So beautiful.
Meg: We've been over this. I don't like poetry. Put up or shut up. - Shout-Out:
- A long one to the Transformers:Castiel: This is the handwriting of Metatron.
Sam: Metatron? You saying a Transformer wrote that?
Dean: No. That's Megatron.
Sam: What?
Dean: The Transformer — it's Megatron. - Meg references Ryan Seacrest and calls Sam "Bullwinkle".
- A long one to the Transformers:
- Tsundere:Castiel: Meg, are you hurt?
Meg: Shut up. - Suicidal Pacifism: Castiel refuses to get involved in the conflict on the side of the Angels or the Winchesters but the two sides are basically fighting to the death over problems that stem directly from Castiel's actions earlier in the season. While the Winchesters are merely upset at Castiel, the angels (and the demons) actively want to kill Castiel who prefers to settle their differences with rambling speeches.
- Supernatural Gold Eyes: Kevin whenever he's possessed by the will of God.
- Token Evil Teammate: Meg is fully on Team Free Will.
- Token Good Teammate: Inais is genuinely glad to see Castiel is alive and tries to mediate with Hester.
- Unusually Uninteresting Sight: The detective is remarkably impassive when angels teleport into their midst with the missing Kevin Tran. Then we discover why...
- Weaponized Teleportation: Dean zaps away the angels with a banishing sigil. Castiel ends up in Perth, Australia. In the middle of a dog-racing track.
- Weirdness Magnet: Discussed: "If anyone was to recover the Word from the Vault of the Earth... it would be you two."
- We Used to Be Friends: The angels are former members of Castiel's garrison.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Hester brings up how Castiel killed a bunch of angels, gave a threatening speech, then disappeared. "What was all that about?" When Dean tries to argue that they're all on the same side, Hester rounds on Dean, accusing him of having corrupted Castiel from the moment he pulled Dean out of Hell.
- Written-In Absence: Ghost Bobby has drained his powers from last episode's fight against Dick Roman, so sits this one out.
- You're Insane!: Hester's response to Castiel's rambling.
