“ | Thank God. Anytime. | ” |
Eileen Leahy is an Irish-American hunter and the only daughter of Padraic and Maura Leahy, who lost her parents, as well as her hearing, to a Banshee as a child and became a hunter, in hopes of one day avenging her parents. Her grandfather was a Man of Letters, making her a legacy. She is currently allied with the Winchesters.
After being murdered by Arthur's hellhound, Eileen's soul was dragged to Hell where she remained until God opened the Rupture to Hell, allowing Eileen to escape and roam the Earth as a ghost. After discovering a resurrection spell created by witch Rowena MacLeod, Sam was able to bring Eileen back to life. It's later revealed that God manipulated the situation so that Eileen would be resurrected as part of his plans. She is later killed again when God starts erasing everyone from existence. After Jack Kline becomes the new God, he restores everyone killed by God, bringing Eileen back once again.
History[]
Early life[]
Eileen was born in 1985 at County Cork, Ireland. When she was still a baby, a Banshee broke into her home and attacked her father who had recently had a nervous breakdown due to losing his job. Eileen's mother was the daughter of a Man of Letters and knew some basic spells so she cast a banishing spell as the creature went after Eileen. The spell saved Eileen at the cost of her mother's life, but Eileen was rendered deaf from the Banshee's scream.
After her parents' deaths, Eileen was found by a hunter named Lillian O'Grady who had been hunting the Banshee. Lillian raised and trained Eileen to be a hunter before dying of cancer when Eileen was 16. Following her death, Eileen continued hunting the Banshee on her own for the next 14 years. Over the years, Eileen hunted several Banshees, but never found the one she was looking for.
Season 11[]
Eventually, Eileen tracked the Banshee to Oak Park Retirement Living in Lebanon, Kansas where the Banshee was feeding on the residents. Disguising herself as an employee named Marlene who was on vacation, Eileen investigated the two murders committed by the Banshee there and mistook Sam and Dean Winchester for two Banshees working together. Eileen trapped Sam who recognized her as a hunter and convinced her they were on the same side.
As Eileen bonded with Oak Park resident Mildred Baker, Sam realized that Mildred was likely the Banshee's next target due to a heart problem leaving her vulnerable and Mildred agreed to be their bait to lure the Banshee out. While preparing a spell to trap the Banshee, Sam and Eileen discussed revenge and Sam's own experience with it. Eileen showed uncertainty as to what she'd do once she got her revenge, telling Sam that while she didn't know her parents, they were still family.
That night, the Banshee attacked, but went after Dean rather than Mildred as was expected. As the Banshee was working on getting Dean to bash his head in, Eileen signaled Mildred to activate her spell. Mildred trapped the Banshee, allowing Eileen to kill it with a gold blade and get her revenge.
Following the death of the Banshee, Eileen told Sam that even though she got her revenge, her parents were still gone and killing the Banshee wouldn't bring them back. Rather than going on to a normal life, Eileen told Sam she was going to continue hunting as she was good at it and could help people. Sam invited her to drop by the Bunker sometime since she was a legacy and they joked about her deafness.
Season 12[]
Eileen is revealed to have kept in contact with the Winchester brothers and both have gotten better at sign language. Recently, Eileen dealt with a demon that had burnt down a warehouse and killed a doctor. The trio realize that this demon is linked to Dagon, a Prince of Hell who is protecting Kelly Kline.
Sam decides to lure Kelly into a trap and they manage to capture her. Eileen also meets British Men of Letters Mick Davies and Renny Rawlings who have come to help in dealing with Kelly's unborn son. However, their meeting is interrupted by Dagon who has come back for Kelly. Dagon sends everyone flying into the distance and grabs hold of Kelly. Eileen recovers in time to grab The Colt. She tries to shoot Dagon but the Prince disappears, causing the Eileen's bullet to hit Renny instead.
As per protocol, Mick attempts to kill Eileen in retaliation but Sam convinces him not to. With Kelly gone, Sam and Dean return to the bunker with Eileen, who is distraught over her actions. Sam comforts her. She decides to return to Ireland for a while following the incident but leaves the Winchesters the Colt which she had kept after killing Renny.
In There's Something About Mary, Eileen comes under attack by a hellhound commanded by Arthur Ketch in South Carolina. Despite her best efforts, Eileen is killed by the hellhound. The Winchesters are later informed of her death by Sheriff Jody Mills. She's the second hunter death heard of by the Winchesters in two weeks, drawing their suspicions especially since they recognize her wounds as having been caused by a hellhound.
The Winchesters later receive a letter sent by Eileen through normal mail as she had realized that her phone and computer were being monitored by the British Men of Letters. Eileen's letter, sent four days before, reveals that she had returned to the United States in fear of her life and hoping to seek refuge with the Winchesters. Their own suspicions drawn by Eileen's letter, the Winchesters search the Bunker and find Arthur's monitoring equipment. After capturing Lady Toni Bevell, the Winchesters question her on Eileen's murder. While Toni admits she doesn't know who Eileen is, she tells them that if they suspect her organization of having killed someone, they are likely right.
Season 15[]
In Golden Time, it is revealed after being murdered by Arthur's hellhound that Eileen's soul was dragged to Hell where she remained until God opened the Rupture to Hell, allowing Eileen to escape and roam the Earth as a ghost. When Sam was running to the park Eileen's ghost appeared to him, surprising him. Eileen accompanied him back to the Bunker where she revealed that she was sent to hell and ask the brothers for help. Recalling that they are friends with angels, she asked if they could pull some strings and put her in heaven. However, Dean has to tell her that once a soul goes to Hell it cannot enter Heaven. Disappointed, Eileen thinks about her future as a vengeful spirit.
Eileen later accompanied Sam to Rowena's apartment to find the spell for a soul bomb and they discussed Hell. They arrived at Rowena's apartment where they find a dead witch. Very soon, he uncovers a resurrection spell created by Rowena MacLeod. Eileen is surprised when Sam voices intentions to use it to bring her back to life. At that moment, a witch arrives and sends Eileen away. Eileen arrives at the bunker and tells Dean of the danger Sam is in. They arrive at the apartment where a fight breaks out. Eileen is soon attacked by the ghost of the recently deceased witch who Eileen fights off. After Sam and Dean kills the witch mother and her daughter, Eileen is grappled by the witch ghost. She implores Dean to burn the witch's corpse and Dean complies, destroying the enemy ghost.
At the bunker, Sam proceeds to do the spell and Eileen steps into the pool water while Sam recites the incantation. Eileen then emerges from the pool and hugs Sam, having been brought back to life. Sam then tells his brother that Eileen is adjusting again.
In Last Call, Sam and Eileen spend some time together, including a night of margaritas out and a morning making a big breakfast. After Dean leaves on a hunt, Sam and Eileen begin researching how to find Chuck or Lilith, when Eileen suggestively offers they do something else. Sam starts to respond when Castiel returns to the Bunker with an idea how to find Chuck by probing Sam's God wound. As Castiel is probing Sam, something goes wrong and Sam is slammed against the wall and knocked out. With Sam unconscious, Castiel calls Dean to no avail and leaves a message. Castiel then calls Sergei, the shaman, reminding him that Sergei owes him for what happened with Jack Kline. Sergei replies he has promised to take his niece shopping this weekend. Castiel threatens to track Sergei down and burn him alive.
Sergei arrives at the Bunker and is awed to be in the home of the fabled Men of Letters. After running a crystal over Sam's body, which began to glow over his bullet wound, Sergei drops the bombshell—Sam is dying. Sergei reveals that Sam's wound goes all the way down to his soul, as well as being tethered to someone or something out in the world, and that the probing caused Sam's soul to stretch to the breaking point. When Eileen asks him if he can fix Sam, Sergei agrees to do so.
Sergei's "cure" is actually killing Sam faster, causing him to see visions of Chuck's memories. Sergei tells Castiel that he has demands. Eileen slams Sergei against the Bunker wall, threatening him. But Sergei coolly demands an object that the Men of Letters possess—the Key to Death. He tells them that it opens the door to Death's Library. Castiel says no, then shows a photo of Sergei's niece, Anna, on his phone. He reveals that his friend Bobby is watching her, and threatens that something will happen to Anna if Sam dies. Sergei relents and heals Sam.
In Our Father, Who Aren't in Heaven, in the midst of a werewolf hunt, Eileen is surprised by the sudden appearance of Sam. She pushes him out of the way as the werewolf was going to attack him from behind, then kills it herself. When she asks Sam if he was following her, he admits he was and asks if she feels like he was being overprotective.
Back at the Bunker, Eileen and Sam are having a meal when Dean enters with a revelation that the demon tablet could possibly hold a clue for finding a weakness for Chuck. After realizing they will need to travel to Hell to speak with Michael in the Cage, Eileen remains at the Bunker to maintain the spell Sam, Dean, and Castiel use to gain entry. While tending to the spell and feeding its flame, Eileen receives a video call from an older hunter acquaintance, Sue Barrish, who asks Eileen for some help with a vampire nest near her location. Eileen tells her she is busy, but may be able to help once she is finished.
After Sam, Dean, and Castiel return, Eileen receives another call from Sue for help, where Eileen witnesses Sue get attacked. Eileen goes to Sam for backup to go and rescue her. They follow Sue's directions to an empty parking garage, where they find Sue's truck, abandoned, and no vampires to be seen. Sue then walks out from the shadows, causing Eileen to say "Thank God." Sue morphs into Chuck, revealing "she" was God in disguise all along, and replies "any time" before greeting Sam.
In The Trap, God reveals that he has been manipulating all the events around Eileen since she broke out from Hell: he guided her spirit to the Men of Letters' bunker, led Sam to discover the spell that would resurrect her, and even planted the seeds of the romance between the two hunters. He confesses that he had been using Eileen, without her knowledge, to spy on the Winchesters, as his powers alone were no longer sufficient for that purpose ever since he was shot by the Equalizer. Then, he proceeds to control an extremely sorrowful Eileen, without removing her consciousness, to poke at Sam's wound with a blade, in order to find out why his and Sam's wounds, which are connected, won't heal. After he finds out why, he sends Eileen away to wash herself from Sam's blood, and then makes her pass out in the broom room. Later, in the bunker, Eileen tells Sam that she needs to leave, because she doesn't know what is real anymore. Sam kisses her and says, "I know that was real." She smiles and leaves the place.
In The Gamblers, Sam mentions that Eileen is hanging in there and thinks their plan is too good to be true.
In Last Holiday, Sam mentions that Eileen is in town and after everything that's happened, he wants to go out on a date with her to dinner and some privacy, causing Dean to tease Sam. Mrs. Butters has Sam take one of the old cars from the bunker's garage, stating that Eileen will be very impressed and conjuring a bouquet of roses for him to use.
As noted by Mrs. Butters, when Sam returns from his date, its rather late with Dean having earlier made lewd implications about Sam's plans with Eileen. Mrs. Butters asks Sam about how the date went but Sam's response, if he gave one, is not shown while Dean tells Sam that he didn't call Sam for help as he figured that Sam was "practicing his sign language" which Dean suggests is more important than rescuing him as its been awhile for Sam.
In Unity, while trying to convince Dean to stop, Sam states that if Billie's plan succeeds, Eileen will die again.
In Despair, after people start vanishing from existence, Sam realizes that Eileen is in danger due to her resurrection. The Winchesters, Castiel and Jack race to Eileen with Sam texting Eileen to get somewhere public. Frightened, Eileen asks Sam what's going on, but he simply tells her to wait and that they will be there soon. Eileen's texting bubble appears for a minute as she's typing, but vanishes without a new message ever appearing on the screen. Eileen doesn't respond to Sam's further attempts to contact her and is gone without a trace when they arrive. Sam finds Eileen's purse, keys and phone on the ground outside of her house with two missed messages from Sam. Checking her phone, Sam sees a half written text that Eileen was writing to him and realizes that she must've vanished just like the others. This leaves him devastated in the fact that he has lost Eileen again.
In Inherit the Earth, Jack Kline restores everyone erased by God which possibly includes Eileen.
Later, Eileen appears in the flashback sequence at the end.
Personality[]
Eileen is deaf and was orphaned by a Banshee. She is a strong-willed young woman capable of holding her own. She was able to take Sam down by surprise and confront her parents' murderer with nothing but determination. She can be ruthless to enemies and friendly to allies, making her a dangerous foe and a highly reliable companion.
Eileen's tough exterior does not completely hide a more fragile, caring side. Eileen was completely distraught upon accidentally killing Renny, and could not easily get over it. Besides being a tough and good-natured hunter, Eileen is also sassy and very self-confident.
Physical Appearance[]
Eileen is a short, dark-haired caucasian woman. In her first appearance, she wore a maid disguise and later a typical hunter's outfit consisting of a shirt, trousers and a jacket. Like the Winchesters, Eileen also wears plaid shirts.
Powers and Abilities[]
Human[]
- Spell Casting - Eileen was able to cast at least a powerful binding spell, having been taught by Lillian O'Grady.
- Expert Hunting Skills - Having been raised by a hunter, Eileen was a skilled hunter herself.
Ghost[]
- Invisibility - As a ghost, Eileen was naturally invisible. It took her awhile to figure out how to become visible at will.
- Thermokinesis - When Eileen first manifested near Sam visually, her presence caused Sam's breath to become visible.
- Telekinesis - Eileen was able to fling the ghost of Jacinda across a hallway.
- Teleportation - Eileen was able to teleport from the hallway into Rowena's apartment.
- Intangibility - Eileen was able to walk through walls.
Weaknesses[]
Human Weaknesses[]
As a female human, Eileen possesses common weaknesses of human.
- Mortality - Since Eileen is a human, she is vulnerable to diseases and any form of physical harm and has a limited life span.
- Magic - Eileen is susceptible to the influences of magic.
Ghost Weaknesses[]
- Witchcraft - With the Repelling spell, the Witch Mother banished Eileen's ghost.
- Stronger Ghosts - She was casually overpowered by fellow ghost Jacinda.
Appearances[]
- Season 11
- Season 12
- Season 15
- Golden Time (ghost and resurrected)
- Last Call
- Our Father, Who Aren't in Heaven
- The Trap
- The Gamblers (mentioned only)
- Last Holiday (mentioned only)
- Unity (mentioned only)
- Despair (mentioned only)
Trivia[]
- She is the first deaf hunter to be introduced on the series.
- She also remained deaf as a ghost, and after her resurrection. This is very unusual, considering that her deafness was the result of permanent injury, as opposed to an inborn condition, and therefore should not have afflicted her as a ghost, much less following her resurrection.
- She is the sixth female ally of the Winchesters. The first one was Jo Harvelle and her mother Ellen Harvelle followed by Jody Mills, Charlie Bradbury, and Donna Hanscum.
- Both Charlie and Eileen were created by Robbie Thompson.
- Coincidentally, both Charlie and Eileen became hunters, Winchester allies, and fan favorites.
- They both die in episodes written by Eugenie Ross-Leming and Brad Buckner.
- Charlie and Eileen were born in the same year.
- Stern believes Eileen felt the hunter lifestyle to be solitary, until she met Sam and Dean.
- Stern said Eileen owned a "girly version" of the Impala, a car of her own that wasn't shown until The British Invasion where it was revealed to be a red 1971 Plymouth Valiant, ala the iconic 'Duel' car. The car returns in season 15, where actress Stern specifically requested the same car be brought back for her.
- Her name was pronounced differently by the Winchesters in Season 11 and Season 12.
- It was widely speculated that sometime after Dean's death on a hunt, Eileen and Sam married and had a son, who was named Dean Winchester II. However, during a private online meet and greet with Jared Padalecki following a Creation StageIt event, when a fan inquired if this character was someone specific, Jared clarified that "no, this person's identity was left open to fan interpretation." Additionally, the script for the episode only referred to the character as "WOMAN." In a Variety interview, he emphasized that there was never a script version that disclosed the identity of Sam's wife or co-parent after he stopped hunting. "I think it was very, very purposely ambiguous and strangely I agreed with that," he says. "I feel like a lot of what Sam did after Dean died was almost in honor of what Dean would have wanted, and Dean would not have wanted his little brother to marry Eileen, Ruby, someone in the life."[1]