Supernatural season 9, episode 21, “King of the Damned,” aired tonight. Read our recap and discuss the episode with fellow fans.
Commander
Two angels loyal to Castiel capture a third who went around a bar talking about being a member of Metatron’s inner circle.
The next day, the Winchesters arrive at Castiel’s surprisingly large operation. Cas greets the brothers with hugs then asks for help interrogating the captive angel. Dean agrees, and Sam gives him a Worried Look ™.
In a hotel penthouse, Crowley meets with a group of advisers only to be betrayed when Abaddon arrives. She points out that once the Winchesters kill her with the First Blade — that he helped them find — he’ll be next. She proposes they work together to kill the brothers.
Crowley, though, refuses. He’s got a soft spot for Moose and Squirrel. Foreseeing this, Abaddon summons Crowley’s son, Gavin, from Scotland in 1723. (Remember when Crowley and Naomi had a thing in ancient Mesopotamia?) Abaddon exploits the lingering humanity from Crowley’s human blood addiction by torturing Gavin. Crowley acts unaffected but finally gives in.
Interrogation
In a hilarious scene, Dean plans to torture the captive, but Sam stops him, saying he doesn’t buy that the angel actually knows anything. He’s a wannabe. The Winchesters goad the angel into revealing that there is a private portal to Heaven that moves from place to place.
Further goading reveals that Metatron also has a highly secret inner circle, though the angel was passed over for membership so really doesn’t know anything. The Winchesters leave, but the prisoner is later found dead.
Cas realizes an angel killed the prisoner, and Dean suggests there is a traitor among his followers. After Dean heads off to poke around, Cas asks Sam about his time being possessed by Gadreel.
Sam’s not particularly happy to talk about it, but he tells Cas that it wasn’t a complete possession, since he was still himself. He adds that he never felt threatened. It felt more like Gadreel wasn’t at rest — that he had unfinished business. Still, Sam hasn’t forgiven Gadreel for killing Kevin.
Back alley dealings
Crowley catches Gavin up on the nearly 300 years he missed in his time travel. Gavin asks whether Crowley being the king of Hell makes him the prince and suggests that if he accepts Crowley as his father, Crowley could keep him from burning in Hell. Still, Gavin wants to go back to his own time and board a ship bound for America.
Elsewhere, Cas meets Gadreel alone. Cas tells Gadreel that he’s placed his faith in the wrong master; he should instead reclaim his original loyalty to Heaven. Gadreel believes he’s done that, but their conversation is cut short by assassins. Cas kills both, but not before they get one of his followers.
Back at angel HQ, Dean’s shaky cam flashbacks to touching the First Blade are interrupted by Crowley calling. He shares the location of the First Blade as Abaddon looks on.
Poughkeepsie
Sam and Dean head to a cemetery. But before they can dig the Blade out of the corpse Crowley hid it in, they’re attacked by a hellhound. They lock themselves in a crypt and Dean calls Crowley, who calls the hellhound off over speaker phone. The brothers then cut the body open, and Sam pulls the Blade out. Ew.
Dean calls Crowley again, and Crowley gives him their current location, using the “Poughkeepsie” safe word. Abaddon then shoots Crowley with a bullet engraved with a devil’s trap so he won’t be able to help the Winchesters.
Meanwhile, Gadreel tells Cas he had nothing to do with the assassins, and Cas points out that they support his argument against Metatron. Gadreel wants to honor his word to Metatron. Cas asks Gadreel to report to him on Metatron’s plans. Cas has a traitor in his midst, so he wants to fight fire with fire.
Long Short live the queen
The Winchesters arrive at the hotel. Dean suggests they give it a once over before going in, so while an unsuspecting Sam looks around the empty basement, Dean and the First Blade head up to the penthouse. There, Dean takes out one of Abaddon’s demons, but she throws him into a wall.
Abaddon then makes the classic villain mistake of monologueing, and Dean uses the power of the Mark of Cain to fight Abaddon’s hold. In the process, he loses his grip on the Blade but somehow summons it back into his hand, and he frees himself.
Sam arrives just in time to see Dean stab Abaddon. She dies in a spectacular light show, then Dean starts beating on the body while Sam yells for him to stop. Sam’s words finally reach him, and covered in blood, Dean drops the Blade.
Unstoppable
In the aftermath, the brothers let Crowley dig the bullet out. Crowley points out that he warned them; Sam is surprised and angry Dean didn’t say anything.
Meanwhile, Dean says that Gavin has to return to his time. Crowley reveals that Gavin’s ship to America sinks. The Winchesters give Crowley a moment to bid his son farewell, but that’s a mistake, as the pair disappears. Calling this goodbye forever, Crowley tells Gavin to make a new life. He says not to mention the whole prince of Hell thing, and vanishes.
In the Impala, Dean says he didn’t tell Sam about Crowley’s warning because he didn’t want Sam coming into the room with him. The first time he touched the Blade, Dean knew he wouldn’t be stopped, and he had to go it alone. He also didn’t want Abaddon to use Sam against him.
Sam, who finally gets to speak his mind, says he thinks the Blade is doing something to Dean and that they should store it somewhere distant. Dean, though, refuses.
