Editing Goodbye Stranger

{{Infobox Television episode
|Image = 817.jpg
|Title = Goodbye Stranger
|Series = [[Supernatural]]
|Season = [[Season 8|8]]
|Episode = 17
|Airdate = March 20th, 2013
|Writer = [[Robbie Thompson]]
|Director = [[Thomas J. Wright]]
|Previous = [[Remember the Titans]]
|Next = [[Freaks and Geeks]]
|Episode list = [[Season 8]]}}'''Goodbye Stranger''' is the 17th episode of [[Season 8]]. It aired on March 20th, 2013.

==Summary==
{{Summarywarning}}[[Castiel]] (guest star [[Misha Collins]]) reappears in [[Sam Winchester|Sam]] and [[Dean Winchester|Dean's]] life and tells them [[Crowley]] (guest star [[Mark Sheppard]]) has unleashed several [[demons]] into a small town. The demons are looking for [[Lucifer's Crypts|Lucifer's Crypt]], which holds a [[Angel Tablet|valuable asset]], but Castiel lies to Sam and Dean about what it is. While interrogating a demon, the three discover Crowley has been torturing [[Meg Masters (Demon)|Meg]] (guest star [[Rachel Miner]]), who knows the exact location of the crypt. Sam and Meg fight to hold Crowley off while Dean and Castiel go in search of the crypt.

==Plot==
[[File:Naomi commands Castiel to kill hundreds of Dean Winchester clones.jpg|thumb|250x250px|Naomi commanding Castiel to kill hundreds of Dean Winchester clones]]
Lebanon, KS. [[Dean Winchester|Dean]] stalks through a warehouse before [[Castiel]] appears, brutally beating him down and stabbing him dead with an [[angel blade]]. Afterward, the room's lights flip on, and [[Naomi]] appears congratulating Castiel on his readiness and lack of hesitation, while we see that the warehouse floor is littered with [[Dean Winchester clones|hundreds of dead Deans]].

Back on Earth, Dean pours through more [[Men of Letters]] relics while [[Sam Winchester|Sam]] looks up a string of deaths in a nearby town, doing his best to conceal from his brother a blood-spurting cough. The pair resolve to head to Lincoln Springs, Missouri to investigate the bizarre deaths, but Dean covertly observes the bloody tissue left in the trash can. Once the boys reach Missouri, they question a [[Mr. Morton|man]] whose [[Ann Morton|wife]] suddenly began acting strange, digging up different sections of the town and speaking to strange people on the phone. Before they leave however, the man shows off a model of the town his dead wife had been working on, and explains that he saw her eyes turn black for a moment.

Unsure of what to do with knowledge that someone seems to be killing demons for them, Sam and Dean investigate a [[Wendy Rice|woman]] with whom the man's wife had been in contact with, who explains that they were working to recreate a map of the town prior to a flood that destroyed it. A knock at the door brings three [[demons]], who instantly recognize the Winchesters and attack, but Castiel appears and intervenes at the last moment to save Sam. Before they can kill it, one of the demons flies into the captive woman.

Castiel explains that he had been the one behind the rash of dead bodies, telling the boys only as much as Naomi, for all her mind control, will allow him. Lying that the demons have been after a parchment that will help them decode Crowley's half of the [[Demon Tablet]], Castiel moves to interrogate the captive woman, killing her before she can say aloud that the demons have been looking for the angel tablet in one of [[Lucifer's Crypts|Lucifer's hidden crypts]]. On the woman's confession, Castiel zaps to a hotel hideaway where the demons have been keeping a hostage, killing all [[Meg's Captors|the guards]] before Sam and Dean finally arrive. When they open the door, the hostage is none other than [[Meg Masters (Demon)|Meg]].

Meg explains that she'd been leading most of her captors on a wild goose chase with regard to Lucifer's crypt and the angel tablets, which Castiel (poorly) pretends to have no knowledge of. Naomi urges Castiel to kill her, but Castiel reasons they can still find a use for her. The foursome return to the earlier man's house to point out the true location of [[Lucifer|Lucifer's]] crypt on a model, while Sam and Dean question why Castiel would have lied to them. After Meg and Castiel catch up (and flirt), the four prepare to visit the abandoned building apparently above the true crypt.

Back at the hotel Crowley resigns to take over the operation himself, while the four arrive at the warehouse and Dean orders Sam to stay topside with Meg given his weakened condition. Dean and Castiel make their way through the warehouse, finally finding the crypt downstairs, while upstairs Meg pries out of Sam the story of his whole year with Amelia, referring to her as Sam's unicorn. She listens to his story and even expresses understanding as they discuss how love can make someone change.

Downstairs, Dean surveys the artifacts of the room, while Naomi urges Castiel to either throw Dean off the trail, or kill him if need be. Dean finds the chest containing the tablet, but hesitates to give it over when Castiel claims he'll take it directly to heaven, unraveling the angel's true intentions. While Castiel beats Dean, he reveals Naomi's control which Dean questions this. After Dean is bloody, he refuses to hand it over, but upon hearing Dean's pleas finally manages to wrest himself from Naomi's control, and return to his normal self, uttering the angel's name in the process. Meanwhile, Sam and Meg take on a barrage of demons upstairs, until Crowley himself finally appears. Meg faces off against Crowley alone, telling Sam to go save his brother and her unicorn, confirming her feelings for Castiel and her willingness to stay and die for him.

While Sam runs to get Dean, Crowley informs Meg of the Winchester's plans to rid the Earth of demons before the pair square off. Downstairs, a newly in-control Castiel apologizes for his actions, but insists he must protect the tablet even from Dean and vanishes from sight. Sam and Dean race back upstairs just in time to see a bloodied Meg taunting Crowley with the loss of the tablet and using his distraction to stab him in the shoulder, before he finally stabs her with an angel blade, leaving her dead, and the Winchesters drive off.

Downstairs, Crowley meets with Naomi to debate their mutual history and offer a deal, but the angel disappears before he can make his proposal. The Winchesters meanwhile continue on the open road, Sam finally admitting that the trials have affected him physically, as Dean assures him he'll help carry the load however he can. Elsewhere, Naomi laments the loss of her agent, as we see Castiel stashing the tablet in his bag and riding a bus to parts unknown.

==Characters==
===Main Cast===
*[[Jared Padalecki]] as [[Sam Winchester]]
*[[Jensen Ackles]] as [[Dean Winchester]]

===Recurring Cast===
====Guest Stars====
*[[Misha Collins]] as [[Castiel]]
*[[Mark Sheppard]] as [[Crowley]]
*[[Rachel Miner]] as [[Meg Masters (Demon)|Meg]]

====Co-Stars====
*[[Amanda Tapping]] as [[Naomi]]
*David Franco as [[Mr. Morton]]
*Jennifer Clement as [[Wendy Rice]]

==Featured Supernatural Beings==
*[[Angels|Angel]] {{c|[[Naomi]]}}
*[[Archangels|Archangel]] {{c|[[Lucifer]], mentioned only}}
*[[Chupacabra]] {{c|mentioned only}}
*[[Crossroad Demon]] {{c|[[Crowley]]}}
*[[Demons]] {{c|[[Meg Masters (Demon)|Meg]], [[Meg's Captors]], [[Tablet Hunters]]}}
*[[Hellhounds|Hellhound]] {{c|[[Crowley's hellhound]], mentioned only}}
*[[Princes of Hell|Prince of Hell]] {{c|[[Azazel]], mentioned only}}
*[[Seraphim|Seraph]] {{c|[[Castiel]]}}
*[[Unicorns]] {{c|mentioned only}}

==Continuity==
*[[Crowley]] makes reference to [[Sam Winchester]] killing [[Crowley's hellhound|his hellhound]] in ''[[Trial and Error]]''.
*[[Meg Masters (Demon)|Meg]] and [[Castiel]] talk about their kiss in ''[[Caged Heat]]''.
*[[Meg Masters (Demon)|Meg]] reminds [[Sam Winchester|Sam]] that she once possessed him. This was in the [[Season 2]] episode ''[[Born Under a Bad Sign]]''.
*At one point in the episode Dean finds a peculiar square box that he thinks nothing of. It is later revealed to be the key used to open [[Oz]] in the [[Season 9]] episode ''[[Slumber Party]]''.

==Trivia==
*This is the first appearance of [[Meg Masters (Demon)|Meg]] since the [[Season 7]] finale, "[[Survival of the Fittest]]" and her final appearance on the series.
*The title of the episode is a possible foreshadow of Meg's death; her real name is still unknown at the point, making her the "stranger".
*A reference to [[w:c:familyguy:Family Guy|Family Guy]] can be noticed when both [[Sam Winchester|Sam]] and [[Dean Winchester|Dean]] say "Shut up, Meg".
*Meg's comment "Aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper?" is a reference to [[starwars:Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope|Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope]]. It references the scene that Luke Skywalker comes to rescue Princess Leia in a stormtrooper uniform.
*At the beginning of the episode, [[Dean Winchester|Dean]] is holding the [[Spear of Destiny]]. This item appears identical to the 'Spear of Destiny' from the movie [[w:c:constantine:Constantine|Constantine]].
*[[Busty Asian Beauties]] makes another appearance, this time as the retro version "Voluptuous Asian Lovelies"
*Aliases "Agent Lynne" and "Agent Tandy" refer to Jeff Lynne and Richard Tandy of the Electric Light Orchestra, aka ELO.
*Dean describes the deaths as a "Maximum Overdrive situation", which may be a reference to [[wikipedia:Maximum Overdrive|Maximum Overdrive]], a film directed by renowned horror author, [[wikipedia:Stephen King|Stephen King]]. There are multiple mysterious deaths in the film. Later, King himself noticed that it was a bad film.
*According to [[Castiel]], just performing the first trial had damaged Sam in ways that even Castiel couldn't heal. At least some of this damage is on the subatomic level.
*In this episode, we see that [[Crowley]] and [[Naomi]] are not exactly strangers, when it comes to each other. Their 'acquaintance' allegedly stretches way back to the Mesopotamian times and is implied to be sexual.
**This may not be true considering that Crowley was born in Scotland in 1661. However, Crowley may have been referring to Mesopotamia during the age of the Ottoman Empire, as opposed to Ancient Mesopotamia.
*[[Meg Masters (Demon)|Meg]] talks about when she was serving [[Azazel]], and revealed she had been doing so for over a hundred years.

==Deaths==
*[[Tablet Hunters]]
*[[Ann Morton]] {{c|mentioned only}}
*[[Wendy Rice]]
*[[Meg's Captors]]
*[[Meg Masters (Demon)|Meg]]
*[[Meg's vessel]]

==Featured Music==
*''Goodbye Stranger'' by Supertramp

==Quotes==
''[[Castiel]] has just sternly offered an explanation for his absence and left the room''
*[[Dean Winchester|Dean]]: Well, he puts the 'ass' in Cass, huh?
*[[Sam Winchester|Sam]]: He's definitely off.
*[[Dean Winchester|Dean]]: Off? He hasn't been right since he got back from Purgatory. We still don't know how he got out of there.
*[[Sam Winchester|Sam]]: I don't know, Dean, if he's so sketchy, then why were you praying to him?
*[[Castiel]]: ''[offscreen]'' You know I can hear you both; I ''am'' a celestial being.
----
*'''Sam:''' Wait a second. Did you just say..."angel tablet?!"
*'''Meg:''' You know, I get why Crowley calls you "Moose" now.
----
*[[Dean Winchester|Dean]]: You really think we can trust uh, ''"Meg-stiel?"''
*[[Sam Winchester|Sam]]: No. But what choice do we have?
----
*[[Meg (Demon)|Meg]]: Do you ever miss the Apocalypse?
*[[Castiel]]: No. Why would I miss the end of times??
*[[Meg (Demon)|Meg]]: I miss its simplicity. I was bad. You were good. Life was easier. Now, it's all so messy. I'm kind of good, which sucks. And you're kind of bad... which is actually all manner of hot. We survive this... I'm gonna order some pizza and we're gonna move some furniture around. You understand?
*[[Castiel]]: No, I--I... wait. Actually, yes.
*[[Dean Winchester|Dean]]: All right, let's roll, campers.
----
*[[Meg (Demon)|Meg]]: Wait—so I took how many bullets for you guys, and you didn't even look for me? Like, once? ''[Scoffs]'' My hero.
----
*[[Meg (Demon)|Meg]]: You're not gonna tell me? Seriously? How am I not team Sam? Fine. Whatever it is, you okay dying over it? You don't want to say, fine. But remember, I spent time in that walking corpse of yours. I know your sad, little thoughts and feelings.
*'''[[Sam Winchester|Sam]]: '''That's creepy.
*'''[[Meg]]''': Here's what I remember. Deep down, in parts you never let see the light of day, you want to live a long, normal life away from creepy old things like me.
----
*[[Meg (Demon)|Meg]]: Wait—that's how you spent your last year? With a chick? Lame.
*'''[[Sam Winchester|Sam]]: '''You know, how about we just wait quietly?
*'''[[Meg]]''': What was her name? You don't even trust me with a name? Cut me, do I not bleed, Sam? So, some chick actually got you off hunting, huh? That's one rare creature. Tell me—how'd you meet this unicorn?
----
*[[Meg (Demon)|Meg]]: Hold on, there's one part I don't understand. You hit a dog and stopped. Why?
*[[Sam Winchester|Sam]]: That whole story, and that's your takeaway?
*[[Meg (Demon)|Meg]]: Oh, I heard the rest. You fell in love with a unicorn. It was beautiful, then sad, then sadder. I laughed, I cried, I puked in my mouth a little. And honestly I kinda get it.
*[[Sam Winchester|Sam]]: Really?
----
*[[Crowley]]: Castiel. So that's who's been poking my boys, and not in the sexy way. Got a bone to pick with you, [[Sam Winchester|Moose]]. After what you did to my poor dog.
*[[Meg (Demon)|Meg]]: You gonna talk us to death or get down to it already?
*[[Crowley]]: There's my whore.
----
*[[Meg (Demon)|Meg]]: ''(to Sam)'' Go. Save your brother... and my unicorn.
----
*[[Dean Winchester|Dean]]: Listen, I may not be able to carry the burden that comes along with these trials, but I can carry you.
*[[Sam Winchester|Sam]]: You... realize you kind of just quoted Lord of the Rings, right?
*[[Dean Winchester|Dean]]: Come on, man, but it's the Rudy hobbit. Rudy hobbit always gets a pass. Shut up.
----
''(Meg and Crowley see Sam and Dean exit the Crypt without Castiel and climb into the Impala)''
*'''Meg:''' No Cass in the backseat. Your stone is long gone!
''(Meg stabs Crowley through the shoulder with an angel blade causing him to kill her with his. Sam and Dean watch horrified and then speed away)''

==International Titles==
*'''German:''' Auf Wiedersehen, Fremder ''(Goodbye Stranger)''
*'''Hungarian:''' Viszlát, idegen! ''(Goodbye Stranger!)''

==External Links==
*[https://www.ign.com/articles/2013/03/21/supernatural-goodbye-stranger-review Supernatural: "Goodbye Stranger" Review] IGN.com

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