Advanced Thanatology

Advanced Thanatology is the 5th episode of Season 13. It aired on November 9, 2017.

Summary
While working on a case involving the ghost of a demented doctor, Sam and Dean get assistance from an unexpected source – Billie (guest star Lisa Berry). Castiel finds his way back to the Winchesters.

Plot
Two boys go to an abandoned building where they are recording things with a camera. Shawn Raider is scared at being the there while Evan tells him to stop being scared.

The two eventually found a room which had Meadows' old plague masks and Evan had a reluctant Shawn steal one. Hearing strange noises, the two attempted to flee the house, only to encounter the ghost of Doctor Avery Meadows. Meadows wounded Shawn in the head with his drill before attacking and killing Evan. As Meadows killed Evan, the terrified Shawn fled the house.

At the bunker, Sam treats Dean to a beer as he questions this to which Sam remarks that he just thought of him. Sam soon offers to take him out on an assignment just between them without Jack as Dean wonders what brought this about.

The two go out and meet with Penny Raider who explained her son Shawn was left traumatized and only stated that they had been attacked by a monster before he stopped speaking from the trauma. The attack on Shawn and Evan and Shawn's claim drew the attention of hunters Sam and Dean Winchester who visited under the guise of FBI agents investigating what happened. Dean found Shawn drawing pictures of figures in plague masks and tried to get Shawn to open up to him, using his own experiences with monsters. However, Shawn refused to talk and the Winchesters left empty-handed.

That night, Sam offers to take Dean to a strip club as he continues wondering about the change in his brother. Meanwhile Shawn had a nightmare and was soothed by his mother, Penny. After Penny left, Meadows came after Shawn, who was scared to see him.

The next day, Sam wakes up before Dean who enjoyed himself at the club and goes to meet with Penny who explains her son went missing that night. Sam promises to find him and goes back to his brother who has awoke hung over and is mad at his brother for leaving but gets over it after a drink.

The Winchesters then go to check the building and deal with repeated attacks from ghosts before Dean comes up with a plan to figure out what's happening.

Dean then kills himself and encountered Jessica who promises to take him to a better place but he shrugs her off as she realizes who he is and notifies her superiors of him being dead. Dean continues on and encounters the ghost of Shawn who explained that Meadows before him and possessed him. Meadows forced Shawn to put on the stolen plague mask and return it to the Meadows' house. The possessed Shawn was then forced to kill himself with a drill through the head. Meadows hid Shawn's body somewhere in his house while Shawn himself became a ghost trapped in the house.

With the three minutes done, Sam tries to resurrect Dean but nothing works as Dean wonders what is halting him as Billie appears before Dean who is surprised at her being alive, knowing Castiel killed her. She freezes time after being annoyed by Sam's pleas for Dean to awaken and explains that Castiel indeed killed her but she was resurrected by a cycle of reapers after the death of the Death which allowed her to take his place. Billie brings Dean to her domain where she questions him over the recent rift between dimensions as she knows of his involvement.

Dean promises to tell her if she will allow the ghosts of the abandoned building to finally pass on as she is shocked at his request since it is not for himself. She complies and has Jessica gather all the souls of the building and tells them they are going to a better place.

Billie then tells Dean that she has lived up to her end of the bargain as she has him tell her about the rift and he explains it is due to Lucifer's son Jack who opened it. Billie then explains the importance of the cosmic and quantic fabric of order.

Billie soon notes on his change in demeanor as she brings up his previous attitude and actions. Dean explains that he lost and failed so much that he's just tired and done with everything telling her, she can reap his soul if she wants.

Amused by this, she refuses and explains that while she would be satisfied at the thought, she explains that her eyes have been opened by her new position and sees the importance of the Winchester Family. She goes over every one of his possible death and tells him that if he wants to die, she tells him to keep living as he has work to do before she sends him back as he tries to ask about his mother.

After that, Dean awakens as Sam is relieved at his being alive as he processes what happened to him.

Morning comes, as the police gather the bodies as Sam questions what happened to Dean as he tries to shrug it off for later. Sam sees that won't happen as Dean tells him about Billie being the new Death as Sam is surprised to hear this. Dean then bitterly lists all the things they went through and how he needs a win to get over his pain of losing loved ones.

The brothers leave while Penny identifies the dead body of her son and breaks down at seeing him gone.

While Sam sleeps during the drive, Dean gets a call from someone and is shocked to hear who it is from as Sam asks him about it. The Winchesters travel to a small town and are surprised to see Castiel alive again as he greets them with a nod.

Main Cast

 * Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester
 * Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester
 * Misha Collins as Castiel

Guest Stars

 * Lisa Berry as Billie

Co-Stars

 * Sacha M. Romalo as Dr. Avery Meadows
 * Seth Isaac Johnson as Shawn Raider
 * Alisen Down as Penny Raider
 * Kayla Stanton as Jessica
 * Josh Hudniuk as Evan
 * Micah Solis as Mike Raimos
 * Dan Vaider as Ghost

Featured Supernatural Beings

 * Archangel (Lucifer; mentioned only)
 * Ghost (Avery Meadows, Evan, Shawn Raider)
 * Ghouls  (mentioned only)
 * Horsemen  (Death; mentioned only)
 * Nephilim (Jack; mentioned only)
 * Reaper (Jessica, Billie)
 * Seraph  (Castiel)
 * Witches  (mentioned only)

Continuity

 * A ghost was previously featured in the Season 12 episode, Family Feud.
 * A reaper was previously featured in the Season 12 episode, First Blood.
 * Souls were previously featured in the Season 11 episode, All in the Family.
 * Billie previously appeared in the Season 12 episode, First Blood.
 * Dean Winchester previously died briefly in the Season 12 episode First Blood. In both cases, he returned because of Billie.
 * Team Free Will has been reunited once again since the Season 12 episode, All Along the Watchtower.

Trivia

 * The episode was watched by 1.74 million viewers and got a 0.6 rating. This is the show's most viewed fifth episode since Fan Fiction in Season 10.
 * This is the first episode of the season not to feature Jack.
 * It was revealed that after Castiel killed Billie with an angel blade in the Season 12 episode, First Blood, she got "a promotion" and took Death's place.
 * This is the first episode in which the Winchesters deal with a haunted house full of ghosts and have the authorities recover the bodies in the end. With Jessica having taken their souls to Heaven, the Winchesters no longer needed to salt and burn their remains to put the ghosts to rest thus allowing the recovery of their bodies.
 * A foreshadowing of potential future dangers to Dean was made by Billie when she listed the many potential versions of his actual death. Some of those causes of deaths include: "Heart attack", "Being burned to death by a red headed witch", and ""Being stabbed by a ghoul in a grave yard".
 * Alisen Down previously played Alice Cassity in the Season 8 episode "Trial and Error".

Quotes
"So, you wanna die. I say, keep living."

- Billie to Dean Winchester

"I just need a win. I just need a damn win."

- Dean Winchester