I'm No Angel

I'm No Angel is the 3rd episode of Season 9. It aired on October 22, 2013.

Summary
Ezekiel tells Dean (Jensen Ackles) a group of angels is hunting Castiel (Misha Collins). Dean and Sam (Jared Padalecki) race to find their friend before the angels do. Meanwhile, a homeless Castiel is trying to make his way through the city and comes across some unexpected surprises.

Plot
Two priests are talking amongst themselves, when they confronted by a group of angels about the whereabouts of Castiel, who is staying in a homeless shelter going by the name Clarence. He is working at the church that runs the homeless shelter when he finds blood, which leads him to the dead priests in the graveyard who are impaled on post with their eyes burned out of their socket. He goes on the run so the angels don’t find him.

Sam and Dean are in the bunker talking when Ezekiel takes over Sam’s body to tell Dean about the most recent angel chatter. Ezekiel explains that a faction of angels is organizing to hunt down Castiel. Dean tells him he’ll handle it and he’ll let him know if he needs Ezekiel. Dean accidentally tells Sam that the angels are organizing, explaining it away by saying that it is the obvious thing they would do.

An angel by the name Bartholomew is using a pastor’s web sermon to get people to open up to the angels and to let them use them as vessels. A girl working on the show wants to let an angel inside her, which Bartholomew allows, but the girl cannot contain the angel and explodes. He explains this to Pastor Boyle by saying not everyone is able to contain an angel and some casualties are to be expected.

Castiel is staying with a group of homeless people living under a bridge and he goes to use a broken-down bus as a temporary shelter. As he tries to fall asleep,  someone is staring in at him. Castiel feels it and goes to investigate when an angel attacks him. He overpowers the angel and kills him with an angel sword but not before getting hurt.

Dean and Sam find the news story about priests and head to investigate the scene. They show up at the church and talk to one of the homeless people to find out more about Castiel. Sam pulls up another angel kill article and they head to that scene, hoping it will lead to Cas.

Thanks to Bartholomew’s plan, angels are finding vessels. Bart finds out Cas killed one of his operatives, but the angels are unable to track Cas because he tattooed an Enochian warding symbol onto his skin. Bart hires a reaper to track down Cas. He tells, Maurice that if he finds the Winchesters, they will lead him to Castiel.

Sam and Dean investigate the latest angel kill, looking for hints on Cas’ location, when they learn about the Boyle’s videos about letting the angels in. They then go and question a group of homeless people to find Cas. They talk to a man who talked to Cas that day, who tells them he may be headed to Detroit. The reaper is still seen following the Winchesters.

Cas is raiding the garbage for food when he is approached by a young woman who offers him a sandwich. Later that night, the same young woman comes out of the building and sees Cas still there and brings him back to her home. She bandages up his arm and they kiss, leading to sex. The next morning Cas’ angel sword is missing and April admits to taking it.

Dean and Sam realize they are being followed by someone and ambush Maurice in an alleyway. They take him to an abandoned warehouse to question him about whom he works for. They find out Naomi is dead and that Bartholomew is now running the angels. When he gives no more viable information, they kill him.

Dean is frustrated after having no success tracking down Cas, so he asks Ezekiel for help. Even though he can’t find Cas because he branded himself with a warding symbol, Dean asks Ezekiel to look for any reapers that might be hunting him down.

April Kelly turns out to be a reaper who questions Cas about Metatron and tortures him with the angel sword. He tells her about how Metatron took his grace for the spell and tries to save his own life by saying he may be the key to reversing the angel spell. Sam and Dean bust into April’s apartment to kill her, but before they can, she stabs Cas with the angel sword. After they kill April, Ezekiel takes over Sam again, heals Cas’ wounds and revives him. Cas questions why he isn’t dead. Dean lies and says that Sam “got dinged” and he made a deal with April to bring Cas back and he wouldn’t kill her. Cas plainly states “you lied” which Dean admits to but does not give any other answer as to what happened.

Dean and Sam bring Cas back to the bunker. Sam wants to know how Dean knew to find Cas. Dean lies again, saying he searched Maurice’s pockets and found an address. Cas reveals that he has learned a lot about being human and reveals he had sex with April. Dean makes a joke about “having protection.” After they finish their joking, Castiel goes to eat and Ezekiel takes over Sam saying Cas can’t stay because he will bring the angels down on them. Ezekiel claims he will have to leave if Cas stays because it would not be safe for them, which means Sam would die.

Dean tells Cas he can’t stay at the bunker and Cas is visibly upset by the news.

Characters

 * Sam Winchester
 * Dean Winchester
 * Castiel
 * Bartholomew
 * Ezekiel
 * April Kelly
 * Maurice
 * Buddy Boyle

Featured Supernatural Beings

 * Angels
 * Reapers

Quotes
Dean: No. I read PIE. The rest is just blah, blah, blah. Castiel: Yeah, a few times. April: One name? Castiel: Like God. April: Or Cher. April: So, it was OK? Cas: Very much so. What I did, that was correct? April: Very much so.
 * Castiel: Do you ever get tired of urinating? I'll never get used to it.
 * Reverend Buddy Boyle: There's nothing to fear! If the angels come a-knocking, just let 'em on in, and fill yourselves up with their grace!.
 * Sam: Look at these chemicals. Do you even read the label?
 * April: You look like you've been to hell and back.
 * Castiel: Umm, Castiel.
 * Castiel:I’m finding that often the people with the least to give are the most generous.
 * Cas (after sex): There aren’t words.
 * Dean (to Sam): I don’t see half the nerdy stuff that you do, it doesn’t mean that you don’t do nerdy stuff.
 * Castiel: There’s more to humanity than survival. You look for purpose. And you must not be defeated by anger or despair. Or hedonism, for that matter.
 * Dean: Cas gave it up to a reaper.

Continuity

 * It is three days since the events of I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here.
 * Naomi's death in Sacrifice is mentioned.
 * Dean reminds Ezekiel that Castiel is the one who vouched for him in I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here.

Trivia

 * Castiel says the title of this episode. The title can have three meanings:
 * The phrase refers to a person who admits they are not generally nice or strong with moral.
 * The angels in Supernatural are noted for being almost nothing like stereotypes. Most are portrayed as condescending, brutal, and, in some cases, outright sadistic.
 * The title is also the name of a 1933 Mae West movie and a 1987 Gregg Allman single.
 * As a human, Castiel calls himself Clarence, a name given to him by Meg.
 * Cas loses his virginity. It was previously revealed in the Season 5 episode Free to Be You and Me that Castiel has never had sex (or virtually any kind of sexual encounter).
 * According to the death certificate that Sam views, Hael's vessel was a 19 year old girl called Gloria Lewellen Jacobson.
 * Artine Brown who played Maurice, the Reaper, previously played a night watchman in Lucifer Rising.

Pop Culture References
Dean: He's getting cagey - he's using a fake name. Clarence. Sam: Of course! That's what Meg used to call him. Of course he doesn't get that he's using the name of a pretty famous angel. Dean: What? Sam: Dude! "It's a Wonderful Life"! Seriously?
 * Clarence is a reference to the movie It's A Wonderful Life, in which the angel Clarence shows Jimmy Stewart that life is worth living, and then finally gets his wings and goes to Heaven.