In Supernatural season 11, episode 15, “Beyond the Mat,” the brothers tried to get away for a bit of nostalgic fun. Things, of course, didn’t go as planned.
This episode has two pretty disparate storylines, with the A-plot being about Sam and Dean reliving their childhood love of wrestling and the B-plot taking place between Crowley and Lucifer. And there weren’t any particularly amazing developments.
In the A-plot, Dean discovers that a wrestler they’d liked as kids has died. John used to take the boys to wrestling matches when they were young — which was a nice bit of backstory — so Sam and Dean decide to take the world off their shoulders for a bit and pay their respects to their fallen hero. However, at the wake they discover there is something funky going on with the wrestling troupe. At every stop they make, someone seems to die.
That night, the brothers attend a memorial match in honor of the fallen wrestler and are having a great time (which is an adorable scene of Sam and Dean being happy for once). However, a man is brutally killed in the parking lot, and the Winchesters realize they have a case.
They eventually figure out they’re dealing with a demon among the wrestlers. When one of the young stud wrestlers (played by The Miz) is kidnapped, Sam and Dean give chase and find that one of the veteran wrestlers, Gunnar Lawless, made a demon deal 10 years ago. He’s keeping the hellhounds at bay by working for a demon. The brothers are immobilized, but Dean manages to talk Gunnar into killing the demon. In killing the demon, Gunnar does one final good deed on top of a lifetime of what he sees of not-so-good deeds; he then lets the hellhounds come, believing he deserves it.
There’s something poignant about this storyline, as it’s a reminder not to put our idols on pedestals. The men and women we admired as kids and even now are still human and have their flaws. This was something Dean struggled with when they were younger when it came to John. It’s also a reminder that we always have a choice; it’s always possible to do the right thing. The cost may be high, but the choice is still there.
And, of course, it’s hard to ignore the memories of Dean being dragged to hell by hellhounds in “No Rest for the Wicked” when we get another look through the hellhound camera lens. Both brothers know what is in store for Gunnar when he’s taken to hell, having spent some quality time down south, but they don’t try to save Gunnar. Instead, they acknowledge and accept his wish to meet his fate.
Meanwhile, in the B-plot, Lucifer has his demons looking for another Hand of God to defeat Amara since the one Dean brought back from the past was used up. Simmons, Lucifer’s current right-hand demon, breaks Crowley out of his cage, claiming that she and many other demons hate Lucifer and want Crowley back on the throne. She lets him lead her to his supply of artifacts and his own Hand of God.
However, Lucifer arrives then and reveals Simmons double-crossed Crowley; she was working alongside Lucifer all along. She pays the ultimate price for her loyalty when she jumps in front of Lucifer when Crowley tries to attack him with the Hand of God. This saves Lucifer, as Crowley only had the one shot with his weapon.
There doesn’t seem to be a lot to say about this storyline; it was nice to see Crowley on the attack again. And the demons remain loyal to Lucifer, who is their god (as we learned in season 3’s “Sin City”). Crowley will have to be both clever and creative to take on Lucifer — and joining with the Winchesters (again) will probably be his best bet since they are also invested in locking Lucifer away again.
Watch a promo for the next episode
