99 Problems

99 Problems is the 17th episode of Season 5. It aired on April 8, 2010.



Synopsis
Sam and Dean are outnumbered by demons, but are saved at the last minute by Rob and his townspeople, who are aware of the Apocalypse, and have been training to fight and kill demons. The small town is very religious and Sam and Dean meet Pastor Gideon, who introduces them to his daughter Leah, whom he claims is a prophet. Leah tells the townspeople they must obey her orders if they want a spot in Heaven. But when she starts turning the townspeople against each other in the name of the Lord, the brothers realize they must kill her.

Recap
The episode opens with Sam and Dean driving away from unknown enemies, both heavily injured and desperately trying to escape. They find the road blocked by a burning truck and are set upon by a group of demons. At the last minute, they are saved by some hunters who use a hose to douse the demons in holy water and utter Enochian words that exorcise the demons instantly. The Winchesters convince the hunters, members of the Sacrament Lutheran Militia, to take them back to their refuge (a church) where they discover that people have gathered together in preparation of the Apocalypse, many of them marrying while they still have the chance. The town is seemingly led by Pastor Gideon but they soon discover that the hunters are guided by what they believe to be the will of Heaven via Leah Gideon, who receives prophetic visions from the Angels.

Leah has a vision of several demons inside a house on the outskirts of town. Pastor Gideon, Dean, Sam, Rob, Jane, Dylan, and Paul go to the house and kill/exorcise about 15 Demons. Afterwards, Dylan (son of Rob and Jane) asks to ride with the Winchesters but is dragged under the Impala and is killed by a demon. The mother subsequently blames the boys during the funeral and Leah receives another vision, claiming that in order for them to reach paradise they must follow the Angels' commandments without reservation (such as no premarital sex, no gambling, no drinking, etc). Dean asks Leah about Paradise, and she informs Dean that after there is a major battle, the planet will be handed over to the Chosen, where there will be no monsters, disease, or death but only peace. She also tells him that he is one of the Chosen to inherit Paradise, where he will be with the people that he loves. Sam visits Paul, the local barman who seems unconvinced by the Angels' plans and the two get drunk together. Sam staggers back to the hotel and informs Dean of the extremist lengths the people are going to to fulfill the Angels' wishes.

Dean is uninterested, however, and wishes to leave the townsfolk to it. Sam does not accept this and urges Dean to help him stop them. Dean goes out to clear his head and a very drunk Castiel arrives after Sam left him a message on his voicemail earlier. Meanwhile, Leah receives word from the Angels: they are furious, for some people are not abiding by their rules and must be dealt with in order for the others to go to paradise. Dean walks by the bar and find several townsfolk hassling Paul, resulting in Jane shooting him dead "for the greater good". Pastor Gideon does not believe this to be just, but Leah assures him that it is necessary for them to reach salvation. Upon returning to the motel, Dean learns from Castiel and Sam that Leah is in fact dead, and that the creature taking her form is the "Whore of Babylon"; a creature that manifests during the Apocalypse with the sole purpose of damning humans to Hell by making them shed innocent blood in God's name.

Castiel explains that she can only be killed with a cypress branch wielded by a true servant of Heaven. Castiel points out that he, a rebel, cant do it; Dean  won't relent to the angels, so he can't do it; Sam is considered an abomination so he definitely can't do it. They  reason that Pastor Gideon is the only one who fits the bill. They succeed in convincing the Pastor to kill his daughter's imposter. They arrive at the church just in time to find her about to burn the "sinners" alive, including innocent children. Sam, Dean, Castiel, and the Pastor try to kill the Whore but she utters an incantation that cripples Castiel temporarily and uses a mild form of telekinesis to keep Sam and Dean at bay. The Pastor tries to impale her with the branch but is thrown aside whilst she tries to kill Dean, but he grabs the branch and stabs her through the heart, killing her.

The boys, Castiel and the Pastor rescue the captive townspeople and escape the church, leaving Sam wondering how Dean was able to kill the Whore if he didn't have any faith in Heaven. He fears that Dean is considering saying "yes" to Michael, but Dean claims otherwise. At the motel, however, Dean drives off to visit Lisa Braeden. He tells her that, in an ideal world he would want nothing more than to live in peace with her and her son Ben, but knows that this is impossible. He warns her that in the next few days, things are going to get really bad, but not to worry, because the people he is going to see next will not get anything from him unless they promise to make arrangements for their safety. He does not explain his intentions but heavily implies his desire to accept Michael's proposal.

Major Characters

 * Dean Winchester
 * Sam Winchester
 * Castiel

Minor Characters

 * Lisa Braeden
 * Leah Gideon
 * Pastor David Gideon
 * Paul
 * Rob
 * Jane
 * Dylan

Featured Supernatural Beings

 * Whore of Babylon
 * Demons
 * Angels (Castiel)

Featured Music

 * "Too Hot To Stop" by Marc Ferrari & Steve Plunkett

Continuity

 * Lisa Braeden was last seen in the Season 3 episode Dream a Little Dream of Me.
 * The news that God no longer cares about the Apocalypse is having detrimental effects on both Dean and Castiel. Dean is thinking about saying Yes to Michael, and Castiel has taken up heavy drinking. Due to his willingness to serve as Michael's vessel, Dean is now a True Servant of Heaven.
 * Castiel says to Pastor Gideon: "I'm an Angel of the Lord". He said this exact same thing to Dean when they first met in Lazarus Rising. In this episode, however, he is drunk, demoralized, and bitter, and sounds almost disgusted with himself, making for an extremely humorous comparison.

Quotes

 * [Sam tries calling Castiel on his cell phone]
 * Automated message: You have reached the voice mail of-
 * Castiel's voice: I don't understand. Why-why do you want me to say my name?


 * Sam: No drinking, no gambling, no premarital sex. Dean, they basically just outlawed 90% of your personality.


 * Sam: Uh... Are you drunk?
 * Castiel: (slurred) No!... Yes.
 * Sam: What the hell happened to you?
 * Castiel: I found a liquor store....
 * Sam: And?
 * Castiel: And I drank it.


 * Dean: And the Enochian exorcism?
 * Castiel: Fake. It actually means "You breed with the mouth of a goat."
 * [Sam and Dean stare at him]
 * Castiel: ...It's funnier in Enochian.


 * Castiel: The Whore can only be killed by a true servant of Heaven.
 * Dean: Servant, like?
 * Castiel: Not you, or me. Sam of course is an abomination. We'll have to find someone else.


 * Castiel: Pastor David Gideon?
 * Pastor Gideon: Yeah, who are you?
 * Castiel: (drunk and dejected) I'm an Angel of the Lord.
 * Pastor Gideon: ...Yeah, sure.


 * Pastor Gideon: Why does it have to be me?
 * Castiel: You're a servant of Heaven.
 * Pastor Gideon: And you're an angel.
 * Castiel: (bitterly) Poor example of one.


 * [The Whore/Leah has Dean pinned to the ground. He reaches for the Cypress stake.]
 * Leah/Whore: Please. Like you’re a servant of Heaven. This is why my team's gonna win. You're the great vessel? You’re pathetic, self-hating, and faithless. It's the end of the world. And you're just gonna sit back and watch it happen.
 * [Dean stakes her with the Cypress branch]
 * Dean: Don’t be so sure, whore.


 * [After the Whore is killed]
 * Jane: But I don’t understand. How are we supposed to get to Paradise now?
 * Dean: (grimly) I’m sorry. Pretty sure you’re headed in a different direction.


 * Sam: Are you going to do something stupid?
 * Dean: Like what?
 * Sam: Like Michael stupid.

Trivia

 * Antagonists: Whore of Babylon, Demons
 * This episode's name comes from the fact that this is the 99th episode of the series and is the 99th problem the Winchester brothers have faced. The name of the episode also makes a reference to the song "99 Problems" by Jay-Z.
 * Michael Shanks (best known for playing the character of Daniel Jackson from Stargate SG-1) guest starred as Rob in this episode. Other actors from the Stargate series are known to play characters throughout the show, notably Julie McNiven (Anna), Mitch Pileggi (Samuel Campbell) and Amanda Tapping (Naomi).
 * The town the episode takes place in, Blue Earth, Minnesota, previously appeared in "Salvation." It was the location of Pastor Jim Murphy and where he was killed by Meg.