Pilot

Season	Episode
1	1

Series

The Winchesters

Airdate

October 11, 2022

Written by

Robbie Thompson

Directed by

Glen Winter

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Supernatural	Teach Your Children Well

Pilot is the series premiere of The Winchesters. It aired on Tuesday, October 11, 2022 on The CW.

Summary[]

Official episode synopsis for Pilot from The CW:

SERIES PREMIERE – Before Sam and Dean, there were their parents, John and Mary. Told from the perspective of narrator Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles), THE WINCHESTERS is the epic, untold love story of how John Winchester (Drake Rodger) met Mary Campbell (Meg Donnelly) and put it all on the line to not only save their love, but the entire world. When John returns home from fighting in Vietnam, a mysterious encounter sparks a new mission to trace his father’s past. In his journey, he crosses paths with 19-year-old demon hunter Mary, who is also searching for answers after the disappearance of her own father. Together, the two join forces with young hunter-in-training Latika (Nida Khurshid) and easygoing hunter Carlos (Jonathan “Jojo” Fleites) to uncover the hidden truths about both their families. Their investigation leads them to a rare book emporium, whose owner Ada (Demetria McKinney) takes an interest to the occult and could provide the missing pieces to their puzzle. But secrets run deep for both the Winchesters and Campbells, and despite the best efforts of John’s mother Millie (Bianca Kajlich) to protect her son from pursuing a dangerous life of demon hunting, John and Mary are both determined to work together to uphold their families’ legacies while beginning to form a family of their own. Glen Winter directed the episode written by Robbie Thompson (#101). Original airdate 10/11/2022. Every episode of THE WINCHESTERS is available to stream on The CW App and CWTV.com the day after broadcast for free and without a subscription, log-in or authentication required.

Plot[]

NEW ORLEANS: MARCH 1972 - At night an unknown man enters a mausoleum lighting a torch. They cuts their palm on an altar letting the blood spill into a bowl, drawing a symbol inside it. The lid in the altar suddenly opens. A creature's shadow appears on the wall. They flee into the cemetery outside and trips. The creature from the mausoleum lunges at their hand.

LAWRENCE: KANSAS - John Winchester's boarding a bus returning to town. He awakens from dreams about his time in Vietnam. John takes an envelope out of his pocket staring at it. John walks down the main streets and bumps right into a young woman coming out of the theatre, Mary Campbell knocking her bag onto the ground. John finds a box of licorice drops, Mary tells him that he can keep them before walking away. Later, John reunites with his mother Millie at the Winchester gas station. They discuss how John enlisted illegally. Millie tells her son to let go of the past, and asks him what he's going to do next.

At night, John takes out keys from the mystery envelope he had looked at on the bus. He's suddenly approached by a man with black eyes, who tells John to hand over the keys. John punches him, but he's overpowered by the man who throws John down on the ground. Mary runs up and begins to attack the man. Mary knocks the man into a nearby trough of water, and asks him where her father is. The man tells her that her father Samuel's going to end up in Hell with the rest of Mary's kin, and her cousin, Maggie's already in Hell, burning. Mary performs an exorcism, and the demon comes out of his body.

John's freaked out wondering what's going on. Mary explains to him that the "smoke" was a demon from Hell, and the water was holy water and that burns the demon. John asks about the man and Mary explains that he's dead and only some can be saved after possession. When John asks what happened to Maggie, Mary brushes it off that demons mess with people and get in their head. She asks John why he's here. John tells her that when he came back, a man he never met gave him the letter from John's dad and disappeared. His father explained in the letter that he was dead and John should come to the address to get answer. John figures that they're both looking for their fathers. Mary allows John to come with her.

As they walk into a cemetery, Mary explains that she used the licorice drops for a stakeout. She reveals Samuel called her while he was on the road, telling her that he was being followed. He hoped to meet her at home, but he never showed. Samuel wanted a illustration of a box from inside the house, but the door was magically sealed. A devil's trap's painted on the porch in front of the front door. Mary asks John to use the keys. She notices that John is wearing an anti-possession charm and shows him on one of her own. Mary reveals that she's a hunter of monsters and demons. When John asks if his father was a Hunter too, Mary doesn't think so, because she's never heard of his father before. Reaching the basement they find room full of books and desks. There's a book with "Men of Letters" on the cover. Looking around John finds a locker with his father's initials on it. John opens the locker and finds a photo of his mother and father. John tells Mary that his father told him when he was a child that he could trap any monsters that threatened him. Mary opens a cabinet finding a folder with the illustration in it. She tells John that Samuel had tracked down Ada Monroe. John asks Mary what her name is. Mary simply tells John that he doesn't want any part of this hunting life, and he should let the past stay in the past. As Mary goes, John calls after her telling her his name's John.

LUBBOCK - In her bookstore, Ada's going through books when a demon appears. She tries running but the demon smoke enters through her mouth.

LAWRENCE: KANSAS - The next day, John joins Mary in her car where they learn about a local story about witnesses seeing black smoke coming from Ada's bookstore. She's been missing since. John suggests that they should go to Lubbock to check it out. Mary refuses to let him tag along, but he tells her that he's looking for his father and so is Mary. Mary reluctantly agrees and finally reveals her name to him.

Mary and John go to a library. Mary meets the head librarian, Latika Dar. She asks for iron and buckshot. Mary introduces Latika and John to each other. Latika admits she has never heard of the Men of Heroes or Ada Monroe. She shows Latika the illustration and explains that Samuel went looking for Ada and disappeared. Mary refuses to let Latika accompany her, but she'll call her from the road. Latika offers to call Carlos Cervantez, who's playing a gig nearby. Mary refuses help and walks off.

LUBBOCK - Breaking into the bookstore, John and Mary find the place in a mess and smelling sulphur. They find a map with Samuel's handwriting on it. Someone outside calls Mary's name. They both hurry outside only to find a demon possessed woman telling Mary they're glad to see her again. Mary explains that it's the same demon from before but in a new body. As the demon lunges on them, Carlos pulls up in his van, hitting the demon with it. Carlos uses a squirt gun to "shoot" the demon, before making a circle of salt around the demon. He hands John a paper with the exorcism ritual written on it. John reads the words, banishing the demon. Carlos congratulates him on his first exorcism.

The foursome go back into the bookstore, where Mary goes over the illustration. According to Samuel's notes, he and Ada were both looking for Men of Letters' location. Mary wonders why Samuel didn't share his secrets with her. John thinks that Samuel was trying to protect her.

Carlos doesn't believe Latika's ready yet, no matter what Mary says to join them on a hunt. Latika finds a book with the runes on the box. Latika believes Samuel needed the illustration from the clubhouse to know which ones could open the box. She reveals the box is a monster trap that draws anyone inside. According to the book, the Men of Letters have been around for centuries, always hiding in the shadows. There's a piece of paper tucked into the book with twelve numbers on it. John works out that the numbers are coordinates for New Orleans.

NEW ORLEANS - Arriving in a cemetery, John asks Mary who Maggie was to her. Mary admits she was her cousin, who was killed by a vampire a year ago. Mary tells John that she wants out of the life, and once she finds Samuel she's walking away. They come to the mausoleum and walk inside to find the altar and a wristwatch that belonged to Samuel on the floor. John recognizes the sign on the altar as the same one that was at Ada's bookstore. He figures Samuel likely used it to unlock the door. Mary and John open the lid and find a shaft descending downwards. Mary takes John down with her and orders Carlos and Latika to stay at top to keep guard.

In the tunnels, Mary and John find another altar-like object. Removing the lid, they find the box inside. John takes it out, promising Mary that they're going to find her dad. A creature growls in the shadows, before lunging at them. John manages to hold it back with his torch, before they flee. Mary explains to John that the creature is a Loup-Garou left by the Men of Letters. They need silver to stop it and their silver blade's in the van. John creatures a diversion to allow Mary to escape.

The demon-possessing Ada comes out of the shadows attacking Latika. The demon tells Latika to hand the box over. Carlos knocks the "Demon Ada" from behind, holding up the silver blade from the van. Telling Latika that he saw a symbol saying there's a loup-garou at the bottom of the shaft. "Demon Ada" knocks Carlos unconscious.

Mary climbs up the rope ladder seeing the nearby silver blade. She drops the blade down the shaft to John and she knocks "Demon Ada" down telling Latika to open the box. While John searches for the blade below, "Demon Ada" grabs Mary by the throat slamming her against the wall. Latika opens the box, as it pulls the demon out of Ada trapping it in the box. John finds the blade and decapitates the loup-garou. Mary confirms that Ada's still alive and hopes she knows where Samuel is. John climbs up the ladder asking what he missed.

LAWRENCE: KANSAS - John goes to the Winchester gas station, where he finds Millie looking at her husband's watch. John asks his mom why she kept his father's life a secret from him. She explains that she when John was born, she didn't want him hurt. John shows her Henry's letter, which reveals that his family has been hunting monsters, and that he loves John and Millie. Millie tells John not to go down the same path he did. He disagrees with her, because he was born to hunt monsters and help people. Millie tells him that he now sounds just like his father, and he should make sure to come home unlike him. John promises.

Mary meets with John, who promises that he'll find Samuel with her. He asks her if she'll walk away from the hunting life once she finds Samuel. She nods. Carlos and Latika join them. Mary congratulates Latika on her first hunting experience. She admits that Carlos wasn't terrible.

The four meet with Ada, who reveals that all of the Men of Letters she knew disappeared 15 years ago. The box is the only thing that can kill the Akrida, an evil force from outside this world. The Men of Letters stopped them, but now they're gone. The Akrida wants to wipe out humanity, including all demons and monsters, and take over the world. Samuel had found evidence of Men of Letters office in Savannah. It contains records of how the Akrida have crossed over in the past. He planned to find out where they were entering the world by using the box to stop them. Mary decides to go to Savannah. The other three agree that they're all going together as a group.

UNKNOWN TIME - Dean Winchester writes in his journal everything that happened from the episode. He admits that he doesn't know everything yet and is still trying to figure out the puzzle himself. He gets in his car and drives off in the Impala.

Characters[]

Main cast[]

Meg Donnelly as Mary Campbell
Drake Rodger as John Winchester
Nida Khurshid as Latika Dar
Jojo Fleites as Carlos Cervantez
Demetria McKinney as Ada Monroe/Ada's Demon
Bianca Kajlich as Millie Winchester

Guest stars[]

Gil McKinney as Henry Winchester (voice only)

Co-stars[]

Michael Tacconi as Hank Murphy
Angel Rosario Jr. as Burly Man/Slick
Maren Hill as Slick's female vessel/Slick
Chris Greening as War Protester

Additional[]

Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester (uncredited)
Unknown actor as Samuel Campbell (face unseen)
Victoria Harris as Pedestrian (uncredited)
Cynthia LeBlanc as Pedestrian (uncredited)
Elton LeBlanc as Pedestrian (uncredited)

Featured supernatural beings[]

Akrida
Demons (Slick and Ada's Demon)
Ghosts (mentioned only)
Ghouls (mentioned only)
Loup-Garou (Men of Letters Watchdog)
Vampires (mentioned only)
Wraith (mentioned only)

Continuity[]

Dean tells "Now I know this story might sound familiar..." The story of John and Mary's dating and life together was told in the 4th and 5th seasons of Supernatural.
John quotes the line "saving people, hunting things, the family business".
Dean also says that "...the Akrida weren't just a threat to Earth, but to all of existence" implying the existence of other worlds.

Trivia[]

Unlike in Supernatural, exorcisms are only a few lines and appear to only expel the possessing demon from their vessel, not send them back to Hell. The demon that Mary exorcises only flies off into the sky and finds a new vessel. When John exorcises the demon, it also simply flies away.
When Dean drives away at the end, Dean's Amulet can be seen hanging from the Impala's rearview mirror.
The Impala has the original KAZ 2Y5 license plates rather than the CNK 80Q3 that it had ever since What Is And What Should Never Be. After that episode, those license plates were only ever seen again in flashbacks and when Dean drives the Impala through Heaven in Carry On.
There is a postcard on the bulletin board that said "Manners Motel." This could be a reference to the late Kim Manners, who's directed multiple Supernatural episodes.

Goofs[]

Henry Winchester and the Men of Letters are stated to have disappeared fifteen years ago. However, Abaddon's massacre of the Men of Letters was in 1958 which is only fourteen years before 1972.
"In The Beginning", it was implied that John returned from the war in 1973 but here it says it happened almost a year earlier, in March 23, 1972.
In "My Bloody Valentine", Cupid said that when John and Mary couldn't stand each other at first, but this episode shows that they had sympathy from the first sight and they found a common language very quickly.

Quotes[]

Dean Winchester: March 23, 1972. The day Dad came home from the war. And, the day he met Mom. Now, I know this story might sound familiar, but I'm gonna put the pieces together in a way that just might surprise you. And in order to do that, I have to start all the way at the beginning.

Henry Winchester's letter: If you're reading this then I'm gone. I'm sorry I've kept the truth from you, John. There's a dangerous world out there, and our family has fought that danger for centuries. The answers to all your questions are at the address below. I love you and your mother. Always.

John Winchester: Mom, my entire life I've been searching for something. And this -- this is good versus evil. Saving people, hunting things. I was born to do this.
Millie Winchester: You sound just like your daddy. Just come home.
John Winchester: I promise.

Dean Winchester: What they didn't know was that the Akrida weren't just a threat to Earth, but to all of existence. Now, like I told you, there's gonna be some surprises. Hell, I'm still trying to find all the puzzle pieces myself. But I'll explain everything. And, until then, I'll keep picking the music.