Do You Believe In Miracles?

Do You Believe In Miracles? is the season finale of Season 9. It aired on May 20th, 2014.

Cast
Main Guests
 * Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester
 * Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester
 * Misha Collins as Castiel
 * Mark Sheppard as Crowley
 * Tahmoh Penikett as Gadreel
 * Curtis Armstrong as Metatron
 * Erica Caroll as Hannah

Plot
Dean, influenced by the power of the Mark of Cain, attacks Gadreel, but is restrained by Sam and Castiel, who lock him up. Gadreel, fearing for his life, uses this opportunity to escape. Sam and Castiel leave to find him.

In the dungeon, Dean begins to feel the missing connection between himself and the First Blade as he begins spitting out blood.

In Heaven, Metatron is writing on his typewriter and only answers to the name "God". He has Neil set up an angel radio, and broadcasts a message to every angel that he will be closing the Gate of Heaven temporarily to tend to some business. He then leaves, "to tell the rest of the story".

Sam and Castiel find Gadreel, who lays wounded and begs for his life. Castiel uses some of his grace to help Gadreel revive. The trio then make a plan to break the connection between the Angel Tablet and Metatron to weaken Metatron.

Meanwhile, Crowley is having a massage, which is interrupted by a summoning from Dean back at the Men of Letters Headquarters. Dean asks Crowley for help to get him first blade so as to kill Metatron.

After Sam, Castiel and Gadreel return to the bunker, they find Dean missing and the lingering smell of sulfur. Sam deduces that Dean summoned Crowley, and tells Gadreel about the Mark. Gadreel says that Dean is the only way to kill Metatron. Castiel says that if they break the Angel Tablet, Metatron will become just an ordinary angel, capable of being killed by the First Blade.

Sam, however, protests that would be like "arming the warhead". Gadreel says that he knows where the Gate of Heaven is, and will take Castiel with him while Sam regroups with Dean to control him.

Meanwhile, a woman is hit by a car, and a crowd gathers around her body as a man exclaims "she's dead!". However, Metatron, disguised as a human, shakes his head and says "I'm not so sure about that".

Dean and Crowley arrive at a cafe, and Dean takes out his laptop to search for signs of angelic activity. He fails to discover any, but Crowley produces a video uploaded a few hours ago that has gone viral - it is the woman being hit by a car, only to be healed by Metatron, calling himself "Marv". He then whispers something in her ear.

Castiel and Gadreel pull up at a playground, which Gadreel claims is a gate of heaven, guarded by two of Metatron's most loyal followers - Asariel and Purah. He asks how they will get past them. Castiel holds up a pair of handcuffs, smiles, and replies "Wookiee" (a reference to Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Chewbacca the Wookie pretends to be Han Solo's prisoner so they rescue princess Leia from the Death Star). Gadreel does not understand the reference.

Sam finds Dean and Crowley at a caravan park, and says that he will help Dean kill Metatron. He tells him what Metatron whispered in the woman's ear - his next location.

In the playground, Asariel and Purah finish the spells, and Castiel and Gadreel are let into Heaven. However, they are tricked into Heaven's dungeon by Metatron's followers, including Castiel's ex-right hand, Hannah.

At a homeless camp, Metatron heals a man of his diabetes. Another angel who blames Metatron appears and tries to reveal Metatron's true identity, but Metatron's new followers believe he is the new Messiah, and attack the other angel. Metatron helps by deliberately dropping his angel blade so that a man picks it up and stabs the angel, killing him.

Dean and Sam ride up to the homeless camp where Dean attempts to apologize to Sam but Sam says he knows that Dean's sorry and Sam gives Dean the First blade but Dean knocks out Sam. He then takes the First Blade and goes to fight Metatron.

Back in Heaven, Gadreel says that angels have faltered from their true purpose of helping humans. He then sacrifices his life, letting Castiel free and helping him gain back Hannah's trust.

Dean soon approaches Metatron who tells him that God never truly cared about humans and abandoned them. He says that he cares about humanity, and would be a better God. Dean takes out the First Blade, and blames Metatron for Kevin's death, the theft of Castiel's grace, and every other bad thing to have happened to them. Metatron provokes him further. He knows that he cannot be hurt, and Castiel and Gadreel are safely locked away. Dean attacks Metatron, but the latter's connection to the Angel Tablet proves stronger.

Sam gains consciousness again and tries to find Dean. When he does reach Dean, however, Metatron stabs Dean in the heart with an Angel blade. Back in Heaven, Castiel finds the Angel tablet under Metatron's typewriter and breaks it, weakening Metatron. Metatron senses this and teleports to confront Castiel who he then traps by 'instantly' handcuffing him to his chair, which Castiel was sitting in. Metatron accuses Castiel not of caring for humanity as he professes, but rather that his love extends only to a single person - he loves only Dean. Even insinuating that Castiel is in love with Dean. He then takes much pleasure in telling him that he's killed Dean, that Dean is in fact dead. Castle is visibly panicked by this but unsure if to believe him. Metatron continues that the angels are all like sheep who need herding and that he has to play God to prevent chaos. As he's about to stab Castiel, however, Castiel tells Metatron that he turned on his/the Angel radio before he ported in. Metatron looks at the radio in shocked panic, realizing he's just been royally had and could well be in trouble now. And so it is, soon the Angels led by Hannah barge in and cuff Metatron. Castiel then leads Metatron to Heaven's Dungeon.

Sam rushes to Dean's side, reassuring him that he'll find a spell or some way of helping him, and begging him to fight to stay alive. However, Dean soon passes out and dies in his arms - with his last words to Sam being that he's proud of the two of them: "I am proud of us." Sam is overcome with desperate panic and sadness, his eyes fill with tears.

Hannah tells Castiel that they need a new Host of Heaven but Castiel says that he's not a leader, he's never been a leader, and all he wants is only to be an angel. Hannah then tells Castiel that his grace is draining, that he needs to replenish it or otherwise will lead to his death.

Meanwhile, back at the Men of Letters Headquarters, Sam tries to summon Crowley telling him to fix Dean since it's his fault Dean's in this predicament.

Crowley visits the Headquarters, but bypasses Sam and goes straight to where Dean lies. He starts by telling him that yes, he didn't know all nor did he tell him everything about the First Blade, but emphasizes he wants Dean to know that he never once lied to him about it. He then tells him that Cain had, like Dean, also refused to kill anybody with the First Blade when he was human and had instead chosen to kill himself. However, the mark of Cain is stronger than death. He tells Dean not to think of it as death but rather as a new life, then mischievously calls Dean to come out and join him.

He places the First Blade in Dean's hand and tells Dean to open his eyes. When Dean does, instead of his eyes he has only pitch black orbs i.e. black demonic eyes. Dean has been awaken, or is reborn, as a Demon.

He becomes the new Knight of Hell.

Featured Supernatural Being(s)

 * Angels
 * Demons
 * Knight of Hell

Featured Music

 * Carry On My Wayward Son by Kansas
 * Can't Find My Way Home by Blind Faith

Continuity

 * Dean's eventual transformation into a demon is similar to his nightmare in Dream a Little Dream of Me. Dean's demon self had even warned him, "You can't escape me, Dean! You're gonna die! And this—this is what you're gonna become!" Though these two events could seem unrelated (as the show was originally meant to end after season five) the warning could still be seen as a foreshadowing as the show was guaranteed to keep running. Furthermore, the reveal that Dean was a demon was done similarly in both episodes, featuring Dean being (seemingly) fatally wounded and waking up with fully black eyes.
 * Dean's death is quite similar to Sam's back in All Hell Breaks Loose - Part 1; both he and Sam died in the other's arms, begging each other to stay alive.

Quotes

 * Metatron: Winning a People's Choice Award? Not quite the real deal, now is it?


 * Crowley: If I wanted a soap massage from Dr. Phil, I would've hit three on the speed dial.


 * Dean: What the hell is happening to me, you son of a bitch?
 * Crowley: Liquor before beer, bad taco, how should I know? It's the Mark. It wants you to kill. The more you kill, the better you feel. The less you kill, the less better you feel.
 * Dean: How much less better?
 * Crowley: One would imagine the least best better.


 * Sam: He and Crowley have been bromancing over the Blade ever since Dean got the Mark. Sorry I'm a little less than eager to hear that our best chance is arming the warhead and hoping it hits the mark. This is not a bomb we're talking about, this is my brother.


 * Crowley: You never get tired of the rat race? You never get the urge to just bugger off and howl at the moon? You never ask yourself, is this it? Is this all there is?
 * Dean: (Glares)
 * Crowley: I kicked human blood, you know.
 * Dean: Oh, so you're a full metal douche again. Well that's fantastic. Would you like a stuffed bear?


 * Dean: Game of Thrones is complicated. Shower sex, that's complicated. Hell ain't complicated. Your problem ain't Hell, it's you.


 * Castiel: (to Gadreel) Wookiee.


 * Metatron: The problem with you, Dean, is the cynicism. Always with the cynicism. But most people, even the real belly crawlers living in filth, or Brentwood, they don't want to be cynical. They just want something to believe in.
 * Dean: You've been working those people outside for, what, a day. They've already spilled blood in your name. You are nothing but Bernie Madoff with wings.


 * Metatron: Do you have any idea how much pan-cake makeup and soft lighting it took to get God to work a rope line? He hated it. And, you know, humans sense that. So they prayed harder and longer and fought more wars in His name. And for what?! So they could die of Malaria? Leukemia? And all the while, blaming themselves! "Oh, if only I'd been more prayerful, God would have loved me! God would have saved me!" You know what?! God didn't even know their name!


 * Dean: (confronting Metatron) I'm blaming you for Kevin. I'm blaming you for taking Cas' grace. Hell, I'm blaming you for the Cubs not winning the World Series in the last hundred freaking years. Whatever it is, I'm blaming you.


 * Metatron: (to Castiel) And the angel tablet--arguably the most powerful instrument in the history of the universe--is in pieces again and for what? Oh, that's right-- to save Dean Winchester. That was your goal, right? I mean, you draped yourself in the flag of heaven, but ultimately, it was all about saving one human, right? Well guess what? He's dead, too.


 * Dean: (to Sam, just before he dies) I'm proud of us.


 * Crowley: (speaking to a dead Dean) Your brother, bless his soul, is summoning me as I speak. Make a deal. Bring you back. It's exactly what I was talking about isn't it? It's all become so... expected. You have to believe me, when I suggested you take on the Mark of Cain I didn't know this was going to happen. Not really. I mean I might not have told you the entire truth. But I never lied. I never lied Dean! That's important. It's fundamental. But, there is one story about Cain that I might have... forgotten to tell you. Apparently he, too, was willing to accept death rather than becoming the killer The Mark wanted him to be. So he took his own life with The Blade. He died. Except, as rumor has it, The Mark never quite let go. You can understand why I never spoke of this. Why set hearts aflutter at mere speculation? It wasn't until you summoned me... No... It wasn't truly till you left the cheeseburger uneaten... and I began to let myself believe, maybe miracles do come true. Listen to me Dean Winchester, what you're feeling right now is not death, it's life. A new kind of life. Open your eyes Dean. See what I see. Feel what I feel. Let's go take a howl at that moon.
 * Dean: (Opens his eyes, which are now black.)

Trivia

 * Castiel makes a pop culture reference ("Wookie"), and the person he makes it to (Gadreel) doesn't understand what he means; usually it is the other way around.