The Scar
Written by: Robert Berens
Directed by: Robert Singer
Air date: October 25th, 2018
Still trying to solve the mystery of what happened to Dean, Sam enlists the help of Sheriff Jody Mills who may unknowingly already be on the case. Castiel continues to be a father figure to Jack, who surprises even himself when a life is on the line.
Tropes
- Admiring the Abomination: Sam continues to be fascinated by serial killers, displaying an encyclopedic knowledge that has come up several times over the course of the series. Everyone else still finds it odd that Sam, a professional monster hunter, is so intrigued by human monsters.
- Badass in Distress: Sam, Dean, and Jody get overwhelmed by the super powered werewolves and Dark Kaia has to save them.
- Bait-and-Switch: In the opening scene, Dean appears to be pouring out his heart, describing how traumatized he is by his time as Michael's vessel. Turns out, he's just giving Sam a hard time about his facial hair.Dean: "It's just every time I think about it. You know it's... It's like a nightmare. I can't eat. I can't sleep. It's always just there. Watching me."Sam: "Dean, it's just a beard."
- Brick Joke: Sam defensively claims that people like his beard, with Dean claiming that no one has ever said that. When they meet up with Jody later, she says she likes the beard, and Sam gives Dean a smug look.
- Cavalry Betrayal: Subverted. After the way Dean treated her, it would be understandable if Dark Kaia focused on her own safety, but she instead seemingly runs away only to return with a weapon powerful enough to kill the augmented werewolves.
- Dark Action Girl: Dark Kaia dresses in all black, fights monsters and archangels, and even gets the jump on Jody and the Winchesters.
- Decapitation Presentation: The heads of the vampires Dark Kaia decapitated are on spikes surrounding her camp site.
- Dress-Coded for Your Convenience: Like most angels, Michael prefers dress clothes, with his style trending towards Peaky Blinders. Dean, on the other hand, prefers the hunter's uniform of jeans, a t-shirt, a flannel overshirt, and a jacket. Within minutes of returning to the bunker, Dean is back in his usual gear, making it easier for everyone to visually see that they're dealing with Dean, not Michael.
- Every Scar Has a Story: The brothers are surprisingly scar resistant, so any injury that manages to leave a mark signals importance to the plot. Much like Castiel's hand print scar from Season 4, the scar on Dean's arm sends Team Free Will in search of what could have been powerful enough to wound an archangel.
- Eye of Newt: The ingredients for the reversal spell.Jules: "Sage, pyrite, sheep's eye. We got that here?"Castiel: "Yes. Storage room, bread cabinet, bottom drawer. It's marked 'Gross Stuff.'"
- Faking Amnesia: Dean initially pretends he has no memory of what happened while he was possessed by Michael, saying it was like a blink of the eye that left his memory of the time completely blank. Later, he admits to lying, comparing the experience to continually being drowned and feeling like he was fighting for air the entire time.
- Flashback Cut: When Castiel uses his powers to try to see Dean's memories of what Michael did while possessing him, both he and Cas experience flickering flashbacks of all the monsters and people Michael killed.
- Heroic Safe Mode: Dean admits he's been running in this mode to keep from having to think about how terrified he was while being possessed by Michael. He's focusing on finding the weapon that will kill Michael to keep from having to address how traumatized he is by the whole experience.
- Hufflepuff House: The bunker is full of Apocalypse World hunters, but almost none of them have been given names and it's difficult to even tell if they're recurring.
- Immortal Breaker: Dark Kaia's spear is one of the few weapons in existence that even Michael has to worry about.
- Improbable Aiming Skills: Even in the middle of an all out fight with a suped up werewolf who has him pinned to the floor, Dean is able to aim his gun well enough to shatter Dark Kaia's restraints without injuring her.
- Incurable Cough of Death: Jack has a cough and it's revealed that he's coughing up blood but keeping it a secret.
- Internal Reveal: The audience has known Dark Kaia is on the the main universe since episode 13x13, but Sam, Dean, and Jodi finally find out thirteen episodes later.
- Jerkass Realization: Dean apologizes after his unreasonably driven behavior and refusal to listen to anyone else's suggestions placed them all in danger.
- Lady of War: While being a complete badass, Dark Kaia still manages to be surprisingly graceful.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Jody's statement that "I feel like I've lost before I even began" feels like a commentary on how Wayward Sisters was scrapped before it could ever get off the drawing board.
- Lock-and-Load Montage: Sam, Dean, and Castiel pack bags full of weapons for their trip to Sioux Falls.
- The Lost Lenore: Kaia is implied to be this for Claire. A lost significant other is a common origin story for hunters, but it's worth noting that despite being described as being in a period of The Mourning After following the murder of her first love, Claire and Kaia only met once, less than twenty-four hours before Kaia was killed.
- Open the Door and See All the People: Played with. Dean mentions that he's really happy to be home and comes to a dead stop when he realizes the bunker is now full of strangers, rather than having a skeleton crew of him, Sam, Castiel, and Jack. However, Dean doesn't freak out and uses the situation to poke fun at his younger brother.
- Revenge Before Reason: Dean admits that he was so frightened by his experience with Michael that all he could focus on was finding the one weapon that proved capable of hurting Michael. He didn't take time to think about the danger he was putting his family and friends in by insisting they charge forward without taking time to create a plan of attack or figure out who the other players on the field would be.
- The Runaway: Averted. Feeling useless and unappreciated, Jack is clearly planning to runaway, having packed a bag and left a note behind for Sam, Dean, and Cas, but his empathetic nature causes him to be drawn into helping Cas and Jules solve a witch hex case instead. After he's able to solve the case when no one else can and save Lora's life, he feels better about his place on the team and no longer wants to leave.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: Dean consistently wears casual clothes that look very similar at a glance. Michael, however, seems to delight in dressing as sharply as possible, alternating between a three-piece suit complete with a long coat and a page boy cap, a tuxedo, and a shirt-vest combo.
- Still the Leader: This is hinted at when Dean returns to the bunker. Dean is used to being in charge, but the hunters have been following Sam's lead since they crossed over from Apocalypse World. They even call Sam "Chief" and are wary of Dean whom they've only really known as Michael's vessel.
- So Proud of You: Castiel tells Jack how proud he is of Jack for figuring out how to save Lora's life even without his powers. This clearly makes Jack feel much better.
- Technicolor Magic: Cas and Jules, an Apocalypse World hunter, perform Ominous Latin Chanting and then there is a large, bright purple flash which triggers the spell that is hexing Lora.
- Two Lines, No Waiting: Sam, Dean, and Jody pursue the shadow figure and the archangel-injuring weapon as the A-plot. Cas, Jack, and Jules, the Apocalypse World hunter, work to solve a witch hexing case in the B-plot.
- Unreveal Angle: Dark Kaia is always obscured, shadowed, or out of focus in Dean's flashback memories.
- Working the Same Case: After a quick call to Jody, they realize Sam, Dean, Cas, Jody, and Michael are all looking for the same person. Jody, Sam, and Dean join forces to find Dark Kaia first.
- You Are Not Ready: Sam, Dean, and Cas all agree that Jack shouldn't go with them, although Sam and Cas are far more tactful about trying to convince him to stay home.
