Byzantium

Season	Episode	Overall
14	8	295

Series

Supernatural

Airdate

December 6, 2018

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Unhuman Nature	The Spear

Byzantium is the 8th episode of Season 14. It aired on December 6, 2018.

Summary[]

There was something about being there... It felt pure.

This episode summary is an official CW press release. It may contain errors.
DO NOT CHANGE!

When Sam and Dean join forces with an unexpected ally, the outcome will alter the course of two lives. Meanwhile, Heaven faces an attack from a dark force, driving Castiel to make an enormous sacrifice to make things right.

Plot[]

Byzantium 01 — Jack dies with Sam by his side.

Jack is slowly dying and resigns to his fate but Dean is not accepting of it and leaves the room. Castiel follows him while Jack asks Sam to tell Dean it'll be fine though Sam wants Jack to do it as he succumbs and dies. Sam told Dean and Castiel of it, with them being sad at the untimely end.

Walking out the room, Cass spots Sam leaving and tries to say something but can't. Dean is told by Cass that Sam left and they follow him, worried at what he might do. After finding him, Dean asked Sam if he was making a deal with a Crossroads Demon but Sam tells him he was readying a hunter's funeral for Jack, though he didn't finish it out of grief at his death. Returning to the bunker, they pay tribute to Jack by drinking to his name.

The Shadow invading Heaven — The Shadow, invading Heaven.

Jack is in Heaven, enjoying a memory with Sam, Dean, and Castiel before his memory flickers. This causes Jack to note something is out of the ordinary, he cancels the illusion and he wanders out his Heaven as black ooze appears and chases him.

A young girl is playing with her dog Roosevelt before Jack appears. The girl questions his identity as he introduces himself as her son Jack, the girl transforms into her adult self Kelly Kline and embraces her son. Kelly is overjoyed but confused on his appearance as he reveals he aged himself and asks if she knows her location as she remembers Roosevelt dying when she was in high school, questioning this event as Jack has to explain that she is in Heaven and in her past memories. Kelly remembers that she died giving birth to Jack and soon realizes that her son is dead too. Kelly is upset as Castiel was to protect Jack as he reassures an angry Kelly that Castiel, Sam and Dean did their best to take care of him, but that things didn't go as planned and he needed to make sure she is okay. Kelly quickly realizes that something is wrong. Jack explains to Kelly about the dark force chasing him and they take cover in the house as they catch up.

Lily's soul being judged using Anubis's scales — Anubis judged Lily's soul while the Winchester watching from the sidelines

On Earth, the Winchesters summon Anubis and he recognizes them, while stating he's read their files when they died before questioning what they want. Lily steps forward and asks to know where is her destination after death, he agrees to judge Lily's soul. Anubis' Abacus determine that Lily will go to Hell upon death and he insists that he can do nothing to change her fate. Anubis explains that a person's own choices during their life determine their final fate and the Winchesters are forced to let him go.

Castiel and Duma arrives at Jack's Heaven — Castiel and Duma enter Jack's Heaven but finds it deserted

In Heaven, Castiel and Duma enter Jack's Heaven but finds it deserted as Naomi appears and tells them that Heaven is being stormed and with what little numbers they couldn't stop it. Cass asks what she means and she tells him on what attacking them is The Shadow. She elaborates to the confused Castiel on how he should be familiar with it since it is the ruler of The Empty, as he recalls his time in the realm and meeting the entity. Castiel questions her knowledge, as Naomi states he is the only angel to ever escape from the empty. She then reveals that the Shadow easily broke through Heaven's defenses and has come hunting for Jack to drag him to its realm and she wants to comply with its demands since Heaven will crumble if they don't. Castiel still refuses as Naomi pleads to him but the Shadow starts to overpower her as she tells her siblings to run.

In the bunker, Lily prepares to depart as Sam pleads to her but she feels it wouldn't matter though Dean begs her to stay and help them so that they won't have to suffer the loss of a child as she did. Lily finally agrees to stay and help.

In Kelly's Heaven, Castiel and Duma have arrived with him confident Jack is there. In the house, Jack notices something coming and orders his mother to run while he distracts it, but Kelly refuses to leave his side. To their surprise, Kelly and Jack are greeted by Castiel who embraces both. He apologizes to Kelly and she assures him that he didn't fail her as Jack is wonderful. Jack inquires on Castiel's presence, as he explains that they have found a way to bring Jack home, relieving them until Castiel explains that they will need to use magic that draws on Jack's soul to heal him. After learning that it will use up a small piece of Jack's soul in the process, Kelly voices her concern, forcing Castiel to explain that the Shadow has invaded Heaven to take Jack to the Empty because of his half-angel heritage but states if Jack is alive again, the Shadow will leave Heaven and the angels alone.

At the moment, they are interrupted by The Shadow in the vessel of the angel Duma looking to take Jack to the Empty. The Shadow greets Castiel and tells him not to interrupt as its job is to take angels and Jack falls in that category as it turns to see the obviously scared Jack and Kelly, stating it wants them to be hurt as Castiel attacks but is easily knocked away and the Shadow starts to beat on Castiel. Kelly steps forward in his defense, only to be struck to the ground by the Shadow. Jack moves to defend his mother but the Shadow immobilizes him.

On Earth, Lily, Sam, and Dean gather the necessary items for the ritual and place Jack's body on the table. Dean prays to Castiel and tells him of how they are nearly ready for his part.

Back in Heaven, Castiel receives Dean's message and watches as the shadow overpowers Jack. Realizing the Shadow wanted to get back at him, Castiel offers to trade himself to it for Jack immediately. The Shadow releases Jack and points out Castiel is already bound to it but he states it would have to wait years, perhaps eons for him to die again. He tells it to release Jack and take him now, as Jack and Kelly watch intently. The Shadow accepts Castiel's deal, as he prepares himself but the Shadow decides to wait until Castiel experiences a moment of true happiness to take him as emotional torture. After making the deal, the Shadow abandons Duma and left Heaven and returns to the Empty, returning the angels back to normal. With the threat gone, Jack angrily questions Castiel on his deed as he explains that he did it because he made a promise, looking at Kelly who smiles at Castiel and states its because he loves Jack. Castiel also tells Jack not to tell Sam or Dean on what he did, as their worries would get to them as Jack promises. Looking at his mother, Jack states that he didn't get enough time with Kelly while she happily tells her son to go and have a great life and she will be waiting for Jack when he returns someday. Kelly hugs Jack and expresses her love for him before stepping back. Wiping away tears, Kelly smiles as she watches Castiel resurrect Jack.

Once Jack returns to his body, Sam quickly provides him with the incantation Lily wrote out and Jack completes the ritual, curing his condition. Dean thanks Lily but finds out unbeknownst by anyone else, Lily suffers a fatal heart attack right after Jack's resurrection , and she quietly sits in a chair and passed away.

Anubis in his office — Lily is deemed worthy for Heaven.

In another realm, the soul of Lily is greeted by Anubis in the afterlife and she is confused as to why she is there. The deity offers Lily another chance to weigh her soul and she does so. This time, Lily's soul is determined to be worthy of Heaven. Anubis implies that Lily knew that helping resurrect Jack would be fatal to her and that her selfless decision to help anyway was what tipped the scales in her favor. Anubis tells Lily to greet May for him and Lily smiles in peace and happiness, as she prepares to be reunited with her daughter at long last.

Naomi offers Castiel the location of Alternative Michael — Naomi offering Castiel the location of Alternative Michael

Back in Heaven, Castiel is greeted by Naomi who has returned to normal and thanks him for saving Heaven, even if it was just for Jack. He accepts her gratitude and she offers a reward, she offers the location of the Alternate Michael. Surprised, Castiel asks where he is.

That night, Team Free Will celebrate Jack's return and prepare to go after Michael since the angels provided his location to Castiel and they only need to find Dark Kaia and her spear.

Characters[]

Main Cast[]

Recurring Cast[]

Guest Stars[]

Co-Stars[]

Veronica Cartwright as Lily Sunder
Carmela Guizzo as young Kelly Kline
Sean Amsing as Anubis
Riun Garner as Zuriel

Featured Supernatural Beings[]

Angels (Duma, Naomi, Zuriel; Metatron and Ishim, mentioned only; Ishim's Flight, referenced only)
Archangel (Alternate Michael, mentioned only)
Deities (Anubis; Osiris, mentioned only)
Dreamwalker (Alternate Kaia Nieves, mentioned only)
Ghouls (mentioned only)
Nephilim (Jack Kline)
Primordial Entities (The Shadow; God mentioned only)
Reapers (Billie, mentioned only)
Seraph (Castiel)
Vampires (mentioned only)

Continuity[]

Duma and Naomi previously appeared in Funeralia.
Deities previously appeared in Unfinished Business.
The Shadow previously appeared in The Big Empty.
Kelly Kline previously appeared in a video footage in The Big Empty and physically appeared in All Along the Watchtower.
Lily Sunder previously appeared in Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets.
Heaven was previously featured in Funeralia.
Mary Winchester was mentioned in this episode. She previously appeared in Nightmare Logic.
Alternate Kaia Nieves was mentioned in this episode. She previously appeared in The Scar.
Alternate Michael was mentioned in this episode. He previously appeared in a flashback in The Scar.
Billie was mentioned in this episode. She previously appeared in Funeralia.
Ishim was mentioned in this episode. He previously appeared in Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets.
May was indirectly mentioned in this episode. She previously appeared in Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets.
Donatello Redfield was mentioned in this episode. He previously appeared in Good Intentions.
God was mentioned in this episode. He previously appeared in Alpha and Omega.
Kevin Tran was mentioned in this episode. He previously appeared as a ghost in All in the Family.
Metatron was mentioned in this episode. He previously appeared in All in the Family.
Osiris was mentioned in this episode. He previously appeared in Defending Your Life.
The problems Heaven is currently facing was mentioned in this episode. It previously happened in Funeralia.
The meeting of Castiel and The Shadow was mentioned in this episode and featured in a flashback. It previously happened in The Big Empty.
The Empty was last seen in Unhuman Nature.

Trivia[]

The episode was watched by 1.53 million viewers and got a 0.5 rating.
- This is the most watched and highest rated episode of the season so far.
Byzantium is a City-State in Ancient Greece.
- It is also used to refer to the Byzantine/Eastern Roman Empire.
This episode marks the death and resurrection of Jack Kline.
- As of this episode, all members of Team Free Will 2.0 have died at least once and been resurrected.
This marks the first official meeting of Jack and Kelly Kline, his mother.
Castiel and Kelly Kline interact for the first time since All Along the Watchtower.
Jack goes to Heaven for the first time.
It is revealed in this episode that the entity that resides in The Empty is called The Shadow. Naomi also calls it the Empty in conversation.
Castiel is confirmed to be the first ever being to escape The Empty.
Castiel makes a deal for his life over Jack's with The Shadow, the latter agrees but will come for him when he is at his happiest since it wants his end to be painful.
This episode reveals that Nephilim go to the Empty after death.
Castiel is shown resurrecting someone on-screen for the first time since Season 5's Swan Song when he resurrected Bobby Singer. While he still possesses this power, his ability to use it is limited. He was able to resurrect Jack, but stated that he could only bring him back briefly. Additionally, when Jack came back, he was still suffering from the illness that killed him. It was only when the ritual cured Jack's condition was he truly saved. To resurrect Jack, Castiel had to travel into Heaven to retrieve Jack's soul when he was able to resurrect Bobby simply by touching two fingers to his forehead.
In order to save Jack, Castiel resurrects him from Heaven and Lily Sunder uses a ritual utilizing Enochian magic to cure Jack's condition and sustain his body. However, to power the magic, part of Jack's soul is burned away like Lily's was every time she used Enochian magic. Lily claims that under the circumstances of the magic use, Jack won't miss the piece of his soul and he displays no apparent personality changes afterwards.
During this episode, Lily Sunder becomes one of the few characters on Supernatural to die of natural causes after she suffers a fatal heart attack following her help in saving Jack.
Naomi reveals that 46 billion and 750 million souls exist in Heaven.

Goofs/Errors[]

Anubis reveals that Death, the Reapers and even God have no say in a soul's ultimate destination. A person's choices in life decide their ultimate fate when they die. However, this explanation contradicts the words of Joshua in Dark Side of the Moon that the Winchesters got into Heaven because God granted them salvation there which occurred after Dean's soul had been condemned to Hell by his crossroad deal.