Supernatural season 9, episode 14, “Captives,” aired tonight, featuring a very personal haunting.
A haunting in the bunker
The episode opens with all the classic signs of a haunting in the bunker. Dean calls for Sam, who turns on the overhead lights, only for them to flicker. Dean’s not in his room, so Sam grabs a handy sword. And when a spirit tries to manifest behind him, Dean shoots it with rock salt.
That’s right, the bunker is haunted.
As the Winchesters try to narrow down what could be haunting the supposedly supernaturally impervious bunker, they realize Kevin could be the ghost. A shattered cup confirms that our dearly beloved prophet is the spirit.
On ghost watch duty, Dean apologizes for getting Kevin killed. The lights flicker in response, and Sam comes running — just in time for Kevin to materialize, though he flickers in and out. Kevin tells the brothers Heaven is closed off; all those who have died since the angels fell are stuck in the veil. But Kevin’s concern is his mother, who he believes is alive.
The search for Tiger Mommy
Kevin heard from a recently deceased spirit that his mother was alive, so the Winchesters head out to the woods where said spirit died. Dean tries to get in touch with Crowley since he is their last living link to Mama Tran, but the King of Hell isn’t picking up.
They eventually make contact with Candy, the spirit Kevin spoke with. She saw Mama Tran when she was being held captive by two men — Crowley and someone else — in a storage locker. After Crowley disappeared, Candy tried to escape but the mysterious second man killed her. But Mama Tran is still alive.
The Winchesters use their FBI guises to get a look at a local storage facility’s rental records. The desk worker, Del, seems nervous while the Winchesters look around. Sam finds a map and points out three separate, adjacent units — perfect for three hostages. All three were rented by the same guy, who turns out to be leasing another unit across the property. Dean goes to check that out with Del while Sam checks out the block of units.
Demon hunt
Sam unlocks one storage locker and finds Mama Tran. She’s shackled and has no idea Kevin’s dead. Sam frees her, but the door locks behind him. Del watches on from a video feed while Dean realizes that he’s been led into a trap and is knocked out.
Meanwhile, Sam and Mama Tran join forces to rewire an electrical outlet to unlock the door. Sam’s forced to tell Linda her son is dead, and that loud sound is our hearts shattering all over again.
Dean wakes up tied to a post, and Del complains about Crowley being AWOL. Dean tells Del that he and Crowley are BFFs now, which is why he hasn’t been taking Del’s calls. Angry, Del starts cutting Dean, but Sam arrives just in time and knocks Del out.
The Winchesters have saved Del for Mama Tran. She kills him with the demon knife then demands to be taken to Kevin. Remember when the Winchesters tried to save demon hosts? Good times.
Tran family reunion
The Winchesters return to the bunker and tell Kevin they saved his mother. She comes in and has a heart-wrenching reunion with her son.
Linda finds the object binding Kevin’s spirit to this world: his father’s ring. Dean warns her about taking her son’s ghost home, clearly remembering what happened with Bobby, but Linda wants to keep him safe. Kevin, likewise, wants to stay with his mother.
Before he leaves, Kevin tells Sam he knows it wasn’t him who killed him. (Sob.) He also tells the Winchesters to get over their crap; he could see their fighting and it’s stupid. “My mom’s taking home a ghost,” he tells them. “You two, you’re both still here.”
Sam and Dean agree and the Trans leave. But as soon as the door shuts behind them, Sam leaves. He briefly pauses at his door, but eventually goes in. Dean also heads back to his room, and the brothers are as isolated as ever.
Meanwhile, Castiel…
At a funeral, Castiel confronts another angel who was part of a fledgling third faction that wanted to live on Earth in peace. However, Bartholomew killed most of them.
Cas, as he leaves the cemetery, is captured by Bartholomew’s followers. It seems the two angels have history; Bartholomew used to be one of Cas’ followers in the fight against Raphael. Ol’ Barty got himself a reputation for torturing and killing captives — though he says he was just following orders, as angels are programmed to do.
But Barty is the one giving orders now. And he wants to join forces with Cas to catch Metatron and go back to Heaven. Barty’s been tracking Metatron on his rare appearances on Earth. He believes the angel Cas was talking to earlier might know something and tortures him for information.
The angel doesn’t know anything, though, so Bartholomew wants Cas to kill him. He accuses Cas of once not being able to do what needed to be done, but says that he’s changed. Cas refuses, though, so Bartholomew kills the angel anyway.
He then punches Cas repeatedly, but Cas wants to stop the angel-on-angel violence. When Bartholomew tries to stab him, Cas fights back but refuses to kill Bartholomew. But when Bartholomew pushes, Cas kills him and leaves.
Cas might not be happy about the deed, but he’s earned the respect of a number of other angels, who later confront him and ask to follow him.
