Mother's Little Helper

Mother's Little Helper
Season	9
Episode	17
Overall	189
Series	Supernatural
Airdate	March 25, 2014
Written by	Adam Glass
Directed by	Misha Collins
Episode list	Season 9
← Previous	Blade Runners
Next →	Meta Fiction

Mother's Little Helper is the 17th episode of Season 9. It aired on March 25, 2014.

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!

Dean struggles with the after effects of the Mark of Cain. Meanwhile, Sam hears about a case where straight-laced people are turning into violent murderers. Sam suspects possession and suggests to Dean that they investigate, but Dean tells him to go without him. While interviewing the local townsfolk, Sam meets an elderly woman named Julia (guest star Jenny O'Hara), who tells him the Men of Letters came to town in 1958. Josie tells Sam the story of a young man named Henry Winchester (guest star Gil McKinney) and his female companion, Josie Sands (guest star Alaina Huffman). While Sam is away, Crowley (Mark Sheppard) tests Dean.

Plot

In Milton, Illinois, a housewife returns home and becomes inexplicably angry with her husband. She picks up a candlestick and bashes him until he is dead.

Dean, who is suffering from insomnia, is in the library researching when Sam comes in and says that he found a case. However, Dean is obsessed with finding Abaddon and doesn't want to go on a hunt. Sam is worried about Dean's obsession, but he leaves without Dean who then opens a bottle of liquor.

At the police station in Milton, Sam begins his investigation by discovering that the angry housewife has killed herself. He then calls Dean to check in, and he continues to worry about Dean's attitude. After the Boys hang up, Dean flashes back to holding the First Blade and his hand begins to shake.

A young man is hitchhiking when he is picked up by a van. As the van drives away, the young man begins to scream and a bright white light shines out the back.

Sam is eating at diner, when the young man, Billy, comes in and gets angry with the waitress. When Sam intervenes, Bill stabs the waitress forcing Sam to physically restrain him. Later at the police station, Sam finds that a number of people are locked up and acting strange. Sam tests Bill with holy water and then questions him about what he is. Sam calls Dean, who is now in a bar ("The Milton"), to talk about the case, and Sam compares the perps to "Soulless Sam". Sam again asks for Dean's help, but Dean again declines. After hanging up, Crowley appears behind Dean.

While at the police station, Sam meets Julia Wilkinson who is trying to warn the police about demons. She tells Sam a story about how, in 1958, the Men of Letters came to Milton to investigate a strange occurrence.

Flashback to 1958: Henry Winchester and Josie Sands arrive at a convent where Julia is a nun, and they meet with Mother Superior and Sister Agnes who direct Julia to guide Henry and Josie around the convent. While investigating, Henry and Josie discuss their on-the-job training and Henry's concerns about joining the Men of Letters. He is worried about Millie and John. Henry and Josie discover that the Knights of Hell are involved. Later that night, Julia, who continues to tell her story in the present to Sam, was curious about noises and went to check them out. She is taken hostage by Mother Superior along with several other people. Henry and Josie arrive and start to perform an exorcism but it does not work on Abaddon, who knocks out Henry. Abaddon concludes that Josie and Henry are Men of Letters, and she decides to possess Henry. However, Josie asks Abaddon to possess her instead. Julia watches as Abaddon's smoke flows into Josie. Abaddon vows to destroy the Men of Letters and asks Sister Agnes to continue with their project. Henry awakens and he isn't aware that Abaddon has possessed Josie.

Meanwhile, at the bar, Dean is playing pool and talking with Crowley who thinks Dean is stalling on finding Abaddon. Crowley accuses Dean of being scared of the First Blade, and he irritates Dean by comparing Dean to Cain. Dean claims to be nothing like Cain, but Crowley continues to force the issue. Crowley excuses himself to go to the restroom, and Dean again remembers holding the First Blade. He then notices a young man, who appears to be a hunter, follow Crowley to the Men's room. Dean follows him and stops him.

Then, Dean berates Crowley for his blood addiction. Crowley, in turn, says Dean is a junkie too – he is addicted to the Blade. Dean counters that he just wants to kill Abaddon, no matter what the consequences. Dean leaves, and the young "hunter" appears. Crowley has set up the confrontation to confirm that Dean would save him and that "he is ready".

During this time, Sam investigates at the convent. Just as he discovers a number of jars with glowing lights in them, a demon arrives, and Sam kills him with the knife. Another demon, Sister Agnes, knocks Sam down and then tells him that the glowing lights are souls. She laments that it has become more difficult to steal souls, but it is necessary to make an army for Abaddon. She tells Sam that there are other demons doing the same thing. Sam starts chanting the exorcism but Sister Agnes begins choking him so he can no longer speak. Sam pulls out his phone that has a recording of the exorcism and he then tosses the phone across the room. Sister Agnes lets go of Sam and dives for the phone in order to stop the exorcism. Sam kills her with the knife. He then opens the jars and watches as the souls go free to return to their bodies.

The next day, Sam asks Julia why she didn't warn Henry about Abaddon, and Julia admits this was her greatest shame. She flashes back to 1958 where we see Abaddon, as Josie, threaten Julia. Sam assures her that she has helped save lives by telling her story.

Flashback to 1958: Henry and Josie are leaving the convent, and Henry's enthusiasm has been renewed because he understands that what they do saves lives. Meanwhile, Abaddon feels like a whole new person.

Sam returns to the bunker to find Dean researching in the library. Sam also has renewed enthusiasm for the quest to hunt down Abaddon now that he knows she is mining souls to create an army. The boys sit at separate tables, but they now have a shared mission.

Cast

Main Cast

• Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester
• Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester

Recurring Cast

Guest Stars

• Mark Sheppard as Crowley
• Alaina Huffman as Josie Sands and Abaddon
• Gil McKinney as Henry Winchester

Co-Stars

• Patricia Harras as Agnes
• Gabrielle Giraud and Jenny O'Hara as Julia Wilkinson
• Marilyn Norry as Mother Superior and Abaddon
• Andrew Dunbar as Jake
• Kurt Oslund as Billy
• Ella May as Waitress

Featured Music

• It's Not Too Late by The Bughouse 5
• Love, Dance and Sing by Electric Banana
• Plastic Princess by David Alan Tomlinson & Gary Alan Jones
• You're No Good by Linda Ronstadt
• Grey Skies by Electric Banana

Featured Supernatural Beings

• Crossroad Demon (Crowley)
• Demons (Nun Demons, Jake, Mr. Richie, Agnes)
• Knight of Hell (Abaddon)

Continuity

• Abaddon previously appeared in First Born.
• Henry Winchester previously appeared in As Time Goes By.

Trivia

• The episode title is a reference to the 1966 song by the Rolling Stone's.
• Henry's wife and John's mother is revealed to be Millie Winchester.
• During the scene when Sam is on the road to Milton, a Canadian flag can clearly be seen flying over the town, despite Milton supposedly being located in the United States. Whether this was a mistake that slipped through the editing process or a nod to Supernatural's filming location in British Columbia is unclear.
• Misha Collins makes his directorial debut despite his character's absence in this episode.
• The CW's official summary for this episode mistakenly does not cite Mark Sheppard as a guest star, and also includes an error where the name 'Julia' has been accidentally replaced with 'Josie'.

Cultural References

• When Sam calls Dean for questions about the case, Dean says "Sounds like a case of the crazies." In 2010 a remake of the 1973 film The Crazies was released. The way the victims in this episode acts are reminiscent of the crazies in the film.

Quotes

• Crowley: What's in that bottle? Delusion?

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• Crowley: [to Dean] You're lying to Sam like he's your wife... which kinda makes me your mistress.

Gallery

Promotional Pictures

1/13

Behind the Scenes

1/4

International Titles

• Italian: Anime Perdute (Lost Souls)