We Need To Talk About Kevin

We Need To Talk About Kevin is the first episode and season premiere of Season 8.

Synopsis
Dean re-emerges from Purgatory, but he isn’t alone. He heads straight for Sam, but the reunion isn’t exactly what he thought it would be. Sam drops everything to join his brother, but leaving the life he had grown to enjoy turns out to be harder than he imagined. Dean and Sam look for Kevin who has managed to escape Crowley’s grasp, but things come to a head quickly when Kevin tells them what it is that Crowley wants.

Plot
A couple are seen camping in the forest, when they hear the trees rustle. the man steps out of his tent, to find Dean, covered in filth, wandering out toward them, asking where he is, and where the road is. He then takes a bag from the floor and heads out.

Dean then travels on the road, hitching rides, until he arrives at a cemetery. It is there he digs up the remains of a vampire, Benny, who helped Dean escape Purgatory. Dean brings out his knife, to his forearm which is boiling red, and cuts it, dripping Benny's essence onto his skeleton, resurrecting him. Benny appears behind Dean, they share a few words and then depart ways.

Sam is packing up his belonging in a bedroom, petting a dog, then exiting the home, as a woman awakes on the bed due to the noise. Sam drives the now repaired Impala, heading towards Rufus' cabin, unaware that he is being watched by a shadowy figure. He enters, and is immediately tackled by Dean, who sprays holy water on him, rock salt, and cuts his arm, all to ensure it is indeed the real Sam. Dean then commands Sam to do the same to him, which he refuses, saying he can already tell it is indeed Dean. Dean does so anyway, then hugs Sam.

They then talk about the past year; Sam retired from hunting after Dean and Castiel disappeared, and settled down for some time. Dean reveals that he also hunted while in Purgatory. Sam and Dean argue over the fact that Sam retired, and didn't bother to look for his brother, as they said they should never do, but do so anyway because they care for each other.

Dean checks through their box of cell phones, and finds messages left by Kevin, saying he escaped from Crowley's warehouse, and has been running since. Roughly 6 months prior to the present day. Dean is angry gain at Sam for not searching for Kevin, as he was their responsibility. They begin their search for Kevin when Sam runs the recording on his laptop, clearing the audio so they can hear the background. They deduce Kevin was in Michigan, at a bus stop at the time, and they assume he was there to find his girlfriend, Channing. As they head out, Sam throws the car keys at Dean, and they get in, but Dean notices an odor of a dog, but Sam just shrugs his shoulders.

They head towards Michigan. On the way they stop at a motel.A flashback is shown, revealing a vampire was running away from Dean, though he corners it, then kills it. Another monster attacks Dean, only to be killed by Benny. Dean throws the monsters body off, then retrieves the weapon it attacked him with. Benny and Dean begin talking, as Dean asks why he shouldn't just kill Benny right there. Back in the present, in the motel room, Dean already wants to move out, but Sam says Kevin has been on his own for a year, he can last another night. Sam asks when Dean last slept and Dean ignores his question, then considers how Sam could justify quitting hunting, concerned about people that are dying because monsters aren't being hunted.

Dean asks if there was a girl, and Sam says, "there was and then there wasn't." He found something he never had before in his life, and explains he met Amelia, the girl in bed at the house earlier, when he hit a dog with the car. Dean knew he smelled the stench of a dog. Sam then asks about Dean's more about his year in purgatory. Purgatory was a bloodbath. In a flashback, after Dean meets Benny, Benny reveals there is a portal only humans can go through, as God created it in case a human was trapped there. He tells Dean where he could find it, only if he takes his soul with him.

They go to the college Channing attends, impersonating authority figures, and question Channing about Kevin's whereabouts. She denies seeing him, and Sam prompts her to tell them where he is, as they are the only ones that can protect him. She still says she hasn't seen him, and they leave. Channing's eyes then turn black, revealing she is possessed by a demon, and slits her roommate's throat, to inform others Dean Winchester is back. Sam sees a dog on the campus, he recalls hitting a dog with the Impala. He was upset about it, once he lays the dog down on an operating table at the vets. The nurse escorts Sam out. Sam and Dean eat at a diner, where they find out Kevin is in a church in Iowa.

They enter the church, and Kevin sprays them to ensure they're not Leviathan. Once they settle down, Kevin explains his escape; Crowley presented a tablet to him, entitled "Demons", and enlightens them that the Word of God on the tablet explains everything about them. He also explains that there was a recipe on there that explains how to destroy demons, permanently. He says he only told Crowley about the hellgate in Wisconsin, and how to open them. As Crowley headed to Wisconsin, Kevin had brewed the recipe, killed both demons guarding him in the warehouse, as Crowley tries to contact them, to no avail. He then grabbed the tablet and ran. It also explained how to close the gates of Hell, forever.

Sam later goes and apologizes to Kevin, explaining he needed to clear his head when Dean disappeared. Once he realized he's a prophet, Kevin's had a hard time believing his situation. Kevin asks for a few minutes, as Dean watches from behind Sam, Sam recalls Amelia, the vet/doctor, telling him the dog had two broken legs,but will pull through, and making him take responsibility for taking care of him, though Sam counter argues, saying he travels often.

The ground shakes in the church and the devil's trap cracks. As they gather weapons, Sam notices the weapon Dean acquired from the monster Benny killed in Purgatory. The brothers fight and kill two demons that enter, with Sam stabbing one in the chest, before tossing his blade Dean, who was being choked by the other demon, as he lost hold of his weapon. Crowley then appears with the possessed Channing.

Crowley then bargains for Kevin; he'll let Channing go, if he comes with him. He allows the real Channing to have a word, Kevin explains the situation, and then she reverts back to her possessed self. Kevin agrees, though the Winchesters disagree, though Kevin says the can't stop him. He goes for his things, but when Crowley beckons for him, he gets no response, so he goes towards Kevin's room, after disarming Dean, and he, along with possessed Channing are soaked in holy water upon entering his room.

He tells the brothers to run as the demons are distracted. They escape in the Impala, and as they drive off, Crowley tells the demon in Channing to find another "meatsuit", and then dramatically snaps her neck as the trio drive by.

Dean's phone rings as they arrive at a gas station, he claims it's a automated number, prior to telling Kevin he truly is sorry about his girlfriend Channing, but says it will happen, and he's "in it now". He says he's heading in to the head (Military for bathroom), but calls back the "wrong number". Dean talks to Benny, and says their actions in Purgatory were necessary, and suggests they not contact each other until they adjust to the way of life. Benny says Dean was right about Purgatory being pure. He wishes he appreciated it more like Dean. Dean tells him to call if he has an emergency.

Major Characters

 * Dean Winchester
 * Sam Winchester

Minor Characters

 * Benny
 * Crowley
 * Kevin Tran
 * Channing
 * Channing's Demon
 * Amelia (flashbacks)
 * Castiel (Mentioned only)
 * God (Mentioned only)
 * Rufus (Mentioned only)

Featured Supernatural Beings

 * Demons
 * Vampires
 * Leviathan (Mentioned only)

Featured Music
"Locomotive Breath" by Jethro Tull

"Man In the Wilderness" by Styx

Continuity

 * This episode takes one year after the events of Survival of the Fittest.
 * Dean and Castiel were sent to Purgatory after killing Dick Roman.
 * Crowley kidnapped Kevin Tran after the death of Dick Roman.
 * Another Word of God has been revealed.

Quotes
Dean (to Sam): "I guess standing too close to exploding Dick sends your ass straight to Purgatory."

Dean (to Sam): "We always told each other NOT to look for each other. That’s smart. Good for you. Of course we always ignored that because of our deep, abiding love for each other, but not this time."

Dean (to Kevin): "Cliff Notes? I went to Purgatory, Sam hit a dog."

Kevin Tran (to Channing): "There’s a demon in you and you’re going to your safety school."

Trivia

 * Antagonist: Crowley
 * This is the 150th episode of the series.
 * This is the second season premiere to be directed by Robert Singer, the first being Sympathy for the Devil.
 * This marks the second season premiere that takes place a year after the previous season finale. The other being Exile on Main Street.
 * The premises of "We Need to Talk About Kevin" and "Exile on Main St." are superficially similar but swapped: one Winchester returns from being trapped in another realm, much to the suprise of his brother, who has settled into a normal life.
 * When inspecting the Impala upon his return from Purgatory, Dean remarks that there are no signs of "douchery", referencing a moment from "Lazarus Rising" when he returned from Hell and was angry at Sam for "douching up" the Impala in his absence.
 * The episode is titled after the movie of the same name.
 * This is the first time after one of the brothers disappeared that the other did not look for him or try to bring him back.