Sacrifice

Sacrifice is the 23th episode and the season finale of Season 8. It will air on May 15th, 2013.

Summary
With Crowley poised to undo all the good they’ve ever done as hunters, Sam and Dean find themselves cornered. But with Kevin’s help, the Winchester brothers bound into one last play against The Demon King. Metatron initiates a plan with Castiel to take on Naomi and the bureaucracy of Heaven.

Plot
Sheriff Jody Mills meets a guy named "Rodric" who is none other than Crowley himself on a blind date. They make small talk and bond about their respective losses over drinks, before Jody excuses herself to the bathroom to apply more make up. Crowley lays out a hex that causes Jody to start choking and spill out blood, to which Sam and Dean finally call and agree to deliver the tablet and surrender. A short while later, Sam and Dean greet Kevin Tran digging up the tablet, and offer him the key to the Men of Letters base.

Still hanging with Metatron, Castiel wonders about God’s demeanor as they observe a barkeep soon to be hit by a Cupid’s arrow as part of their next trial to close the gates of Heaven. Meanwhile, Sam and Dean meet with Crowley in Bobby’s old yard. Dean protests the absurdly large contract Sam is to sign in aborting the trials, but then he snaps a pair of the Men of Letters’ demonic handcuffs on Crowley. Dean presses his little-known advantage over Crowley as the brothers reveal Crowley himself is the third trial.

Castiel and Metatron are still drinking at the bar when Naomi’s angels appear and take Metatron hostage. Meanwhile, Sam and Dean set up a Devil’s Trap inside an abandoned church to start the ritual, and Sam reluctantly begins the confession needed to purify his blood. As Sam prays, Castiel appears to Dean and reveals that Naomi has captured Metatron and he needs Dean’s help. Sam agrees to single handedly finish the trial.

Up in Heaven, Naomi questions why Metatron so readily allied with Castiel, turning her mysterious drill on the angel, while back on Earth Dean reluctantly agrees to follow Castiel in banishing the angels, and leave Sam behind to continue the trial on his own. His blood purified, Sam begins to inject Crowley with the first dose, Sam’s arms glowing in the process.

Dean and Castiel explain to Kevin Tran, who already had enough of the supernatural business, that he needs to decipher the angel tablet, while Sam injects Crowley with a second dose. Crowley bites open Sam’s arm in the process, using the blood and time alone to place a call to any demon who’ll listen that the King of Hell needs help.

Back in the bar, Castiel and Dean watch as a mysterious woman delivers a shipment of beer to the bartender, seemingly catching his eye. The woman leaves, as both the bartender and a male patron suddenly bond over their mutual appreciation of an infomercial bow, surprising Dean. Realizing the woman to be the Cupid, Castiel and Dean confront the woman outside and demand her bow.

Meanwhile at the church, the ground begins to shake and splits the Devil’s Trap when Abaddon enters, and she throws Sam out of the building and demands Crowley step down as the King of Hell. Surprised to find her not on his side, Crowley attempts to bargain with Abaddon before Sam reappears and douses the demon with Holy Oil, setting her ablaze. Abaddon vacates her burning vessel, and flees out the broken window. Elsewhere, Dean and Castiel’s Cupid agrees to hand over her bow, hoping Castiel can finally fix all the discord in heaven, while Metatron resists Naomi’s torture.

With Sam’s blood taking effect, Crowley begins to ramble about he and Sam having bonded over the experience, likening them to Hanna and Marnie of HBO’s ‘Girls,’ and pleading that he deserves to be loved. After another injection, Crowley begs Sam to help him begin to confess his sins, offering up his neck for the next round. Meanwhile, Kevin informs Dean and Castiel that none of Metatron’s trials appear on the actual tablet, as Naomi herself appears to the pair. Naomi reveals that Metatron plans to banish all angels to Earth, and so she offers her help to Dean, pointing out that Sam will die if he completes the trials. She has come to realize the error of her ways and offers Castiel the chance to return to Heaven before disappearing, but he doesn't believe her.

Castiel teleports Dean to the church to stop Sam before returning to Heaven to find Naomi with the drill through her head, and Metatron free of his restraints. Dean stops Sam just before he completes the trial, though Sam insists on finishing regardless of the cost of his own life. Sam protests that Dean views him as a screwup, and would rather align with angels or vampires than his own brother, but Dean points out how much he’s willing to sacrifice for his brother’s life. Sam finally agrees, uncertain how to expel the white-hot energy within him, while Dean gives him a comforting hug, holding him close, and urges him to simply let it go, the energy disappears for a while, but the next moment Sam feels a great pain and weakens further.

Upstairs, Metatron restrains Castiel and non-fatally slices opens his throat to remove his angelic essence, the last piece of his own plan. Metatron urges Castiel to live his life on Earth, marry, die, and later return to Heaven to tell his story, and then Castiel awakens on Earth. Sam doubles over in pain and the brothers rush outside, as Kevin Tran sees all the equipment in the Men of Letters base whir on and an electronic map lights up indicating that the entire world is under supernatural activity.

Heavy winds buffet the brothers as they finally view Metatron's handiwork. Streaks of light begin raining from all directions of the sky, as angels fall to the earth and lose their wings in the descent. Castiel, Sam and Dean look on uncertain about the future.

Characters

 * Dean Winchester
 * Sam Winchester
 * Castiel
 * Crowley
 * Kevin Tran
 * Metatron
 * Abaddon
 * Jody Mills
 * Naomi

Featured Supernatural Beings

 * Angels
 * Demons
 * Cupids

Featured Music

 * Carry On Wayward Son by Kansas.


 * Baby Got Back by Sir Mix-a-Lot.


 * Nice To Be With You by Gallery.

Quotes
        Dean: What show you been watching?         Sam: So?
 * Dean: The Angel Tablet comes to us. On the grounds that you’re a douchebag and no douchebag should have that much power.
 * Metatron(about God): Larger than life, gruff, a bit of a sexist. But fair, eminently fair.
 * Crowley: What’s that old expression? Success has many fathers, failure is a Winchester.
 * Castiel(to the bartender): Would you say that you’re looking for a partner in crime? Or someone who’s into nurse roleplay and light domination?
 * Castiel: You don’t think it’s wise to be drinking on the job?
 * Crowley: Band of Brothers? The Pacific? None of this means anything to you? All those motels, you never once watched HBO?
 * Crowley: Girls. You’re my Marnie, Moose. And Hannah, she just needs to be loved. She deserves it, don’t we all? You, me, we deserve to be loved. I deserve to be loved! I just want to be loved.
 * Kevin: I should’ve mentioned this six months ago, but the sports metaphors? You want to motivate me? "Magic"cards, Skyrim, Aziz Ansari.
 * Dean: You finish this trial, you’re dead, Sam.

Sam and Dean's talk that was long overdue:
 * Sam: You want to know what I confessed in there? What my greatest sin was? It was how many times I let you down. I can’t do that again.What happens when you’ve decided I can’t be trusted again? Who are you gonna turn to next time instead of me? Another angel? Another vampire? Do you have any idea what it feels like to watch your brother…
 * Dean: I know we’ve had our disagreements. Hell, I know I’ve said some junk that sent you back on your heels. But Sammy, come on. I killed Benny to save you. I’m willing to let this bastard and all the sons of bitches that killed mom walk because of you. Don’t you dare think that there is anything, past or present, that I would put in front of you. It has never been like that, ever.

Trivia

 * The Season 1 finale of Arrow, which airs one hour before this season finale, is also called "Sacrifice"
 * The first episode to actually show an angel's wings, apart from Astral Projection or in the event of an angel's death.
 * This is the first season finale to not feature Bobby Singer.
 * The song Crowley sings is Changes, by David Bowie

Errors

 * Naomi states that God kicked Lucifer out of heaven, using the same spell Metatron later uses on all the angels. But both Lucifer and Michael previously stated that Michael kicked Lucifer out of heaven, on God's orders.