Soul Survivor

Season	Episode	Overall
10	3	198

Series

Supernatural

Airdate

October 21, 2014

← Previous	Next →
Reichenbach	Paper Moon

Soul Survivor is the 3rd episode of Season 10. It aired on October 21st, 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!

Sam continues his efforts to save Dean from the Mark of Cain. Crowley realizes Dean's demonic antics are starting to cause problems for him in Hell so he searches out an unlikely ally – Castiel.

Plot[]

Sam asks a Priest to show him how to recite a purification — Sam, posing as a doctor, has a Priest bless the blood so that it's purified and he can use it to cure Dean

Sam, posing as a doctor, stands aside while a Priest blesses donated blood. As soon as the Priest is finished and leaves, Sam steals several bags of the purified blood and brings it back to the Men of Letters bunker so that he can use it, instead of his own blood, to perform the ritual to cure Dean of being a demon. Sam goes to their dungeon, where Dean is tied to a chair inside of the devil's trap.

Demon Dean tells Sam that he doesn't want to be cured — A demonic Dean sees the blood and tells Sam that he doesn't want to be cured

Sam tells him that he's going to use the blood to cure Dean and specifies that he made sure he to get Dean's blood type. Dean sees the blood and tells Sam that he doesn't want to be cured. He questions why Sam is bothering to do this, and whether it'll work, reminding his brother that the Mark of Cain makes his case different than Crowley's or any other demon's curing. When he tells his brother he doesn't like shots, Sam responds with "I hate demons," and goes to inject him with the blood. Dean reacts by flashing his black eyes and growling at Sam, who splashes holy water on him and jabs the needle into Dean's forearm, right near the Mark of Cain. The blood causes Dean severe pain, and he groans loudly and hoarsely, like an animal.

Castiel and Hannah are driving to the Men of Letters bunker to help Sam with curing Dean. Hannah shows her concern for Castiel's well-being. She is frustrated that they have to drive to the bunker in Cass's condition, but Cass isn't worried about himself, and knows that Sam needs help, reminding her that if the cure doesn't work then Dean is gone, and that they need to deal with the demon inside him.

Sam injects Dean with another dose, which Dean reacts to painfully. Dean suggests that what Sam is doing might actually be killing him, rather than curing him. Sam reminds him that there isn't a known exception to the cure, and Dean responds by insulting hunting and the lore. Then Dean tells his brother that there isn't much difference between what he became and what Sam already is, expressing that he knows what Sam did while he was looking for Dean, asking which of them is the true monster.

Sam sitting in a bar talking to Lester Morris in a flashback — Sam sitting in a bar talking to Lester Morris in flashback

Flashback to Sam sitting in a bar talking to Lester. Lester explains that he wishes he could get revenge on his wife for cheating and kicking him out. Sam offers to show him how he can get his revenge by having him summon a Crossroads Demon. Sam hides behind the bushes when the demon appears, but isn't able to get there in time to stop Lester from making a deal. Even though he captures the demon, he still used Lester to get info on Dean and Crowley, and it cost Lester his life and his soul. Sam is shown torturing the demon for info, even cutting her up with a knife, but she claims that Dean and Crowley are off the radar.

Dean coldly reminds Sam of the line they used to have that was between them and what they hunted, and that Sam may have crossed that line. That Sam might actually be worse than Dean. Sam responds by injecting the needle into Dean's neck. Dean then reminds him that if the cure doesn't work, he might have to kill his brother, much to his dismay.

Crowley stationed at his lair punishing demons — Crowley is in his lair punishing demons

Crowley is shown in his lair punishing demons. Crowley has Castiel being followed. A demon comes in and tells him how weak Castiel is because of his fading grace, and that they should take the obvious advantage and kill him. Crowley reminisces on his and Dean's time together. When another demon offers to fill in the role that Dean used to have with Crowley, being his 'party and slutting' wingman, Crowley merely snaps his fingers and instantly explodes him into a cloud of ash.

Castiel and Hannah are on the side of the road and trying to read a map — Castiel and Hannah are on the side of the road because Hannah is trying to read a map

Castiel and Hannah are on the side of the road. Hannah is telling Cass that she doesn't understand how to read the map and that's why they're lost. Cass stresses how important it is for them to get to the bunker because he thinks Hannah is stalling. However, Hannah can tell that Cass is getting worse, and wants him to steal another angel's grace so he get better, but Cass refuses because he doesn't want to hurt anymore angels. He suggests that she carry on without him when he dies and to get to the bunker because Sam needs the help. Sam calls Cass telling him that the cure isn't working very well, explaining that he's worried because he thinks he might be killing Dean rather than saving him. Cass reminds him that Dean isn't his brother right now, and that he may very well have to kill him.

Sam walks back into the dungeon only to find Dean is unconscious — Sam goes back into the dungeon to find Dean is unconscious

When Sam walks back into the dungeon and sees that Dean is unconscious. He panics, slapping and shaking Dean until he wakes up. Dean tells him again that he doesn't want to be cured and that he still doesn't think the cure is working anyway. He taunts Sam, telling him that he was happy to get away from Sam and that he knows their mother would still be alive if it wasn't for Sam. He tells Sam that they were never really brothers and he wants nothing more to do with their dysfunctional family. He tells Sam that all he ever does is save him by pulling his ass out of one fire after another, which started when he saved Sam from the fire in his nursery when he was a baby and he doesn't want to do it anymore. He reminds Sam that John was a horrible father to them. Sam pulls out another needle, saying that he is pulling Dean's "lame ass out of the fire" this time and injects him again, then walks away. Dean groans and wheezes in pain.

Crowley is shown in his lair punishing more disloyal demons when one approaches him, saying that Crowley is horrible at ruling Hell, reminding him that he was unable to control Dean as a demon. The demon says he'd rather be dead then stay with Crowley in charge and proceeds to soak himself in holy oil, before lighting himself on fire.

Castiel and Hannah stops at a gas station — Castiel and Hannah stop at a gas station, where they are ambushed by Adina

Castiel and Hannah stop at a gas station, where Hannah discovers the body of a man who was killed by an angel. Cass comes in and finds Adina holding an angel blade to Hannah's throat. Adina is upset because he killed Daniel, her partner, just because they wanted to stay on earth instead of go back to heaven. Hannah helplessly watches as Adina throws Castiel out a glass door and begins to beat him mercilessly.

Sam goes into Dean's room, looking around at his belongings. He looks through old family pictures of him and Dean, their parents, and them and Bobby, which causes him to smile. When he walks back downstairs to the dungeon, he finds the chair where Dean was tied up to is empty because Dean escaped.

Crowley extracts Adina's grace — Crowley shows up and proceed to stealing Adina's grace

Back at the gas station, Adina is torturing Hannah when Crowley shows up and saves her. Crowley cuts Adina's throat, steals her grace, and then kills her with an angel blade. He takes the grace outside to Castiel.

In the bunker, Dean is hunting Sam in the hallways. He looks behind several doors, while Sam gets a set of keys goes to the main power room.

Castiel wants to know why Crowley decides to helps him — Crowley explains why he's helping Castiel

Crowley holds Castiel and forces him to consume the stolen grace. At first he refuses, but Crowley says that Cass isn't the one who killed her, so his hands are clean. Crowley opens the vial, lets the grace flow into Cass's mouth and a beam of light shines from Cass as the grace restores him back to power. Crowley explains that he only helped Cass because Dean is out of control and he needs for them to get him under control so that Crowley can go back to ruling hell. Crowley tells Cass to make sure they cure Dean. Cass reminds him that if it doesn't go right, then they'll have to kill Dean. Crowley doesn't care about that and just wants Dean out of his way.

A demonic Dean and Sam play hide-and-seek inside the bunker — Dean finally breaks his way through the door and looks at Sam

Sam turns on the alarms in the bunker, locking the building down so Dean can't escape. Dean says it's fine because he doesn't want to leave until he finds his brother so he can kill him. He explains that it was Sam injecting him with all that human blood is what enabled him to escape. More human blood caused him to be less demon, which stopped the cuffs from working. After that he was able to walk across the Devil's Trap, though is was still a little painful. Dean realizes that Sam had to go to the power room to put the bunker on lockdown and goes to look for him there while Sam hides, waiting. Dean goes in the power room and shuts off the alarm, but Sam runs to the door and locks him in. He begs Dean to let him finish the treatment, but Dean proceeds to break the door down with a hammer he's carrying with him.

Dean continues to taunt Sam, reminding him that he still has enough "demon" left in him to not hesitate killing his brother. Sam says he will kill Dean if he comes out of the room, even though he doesn't want to. Dean says that he knows Sam won't do it, and continues to break the door down until Sam runs away down the hall. Dean finally breaks his way through the door and looks for Sam.

Castiel holds Demon Dean still and prevents him from advancing on Sam — Castiel grabs Demon Dean from behind and prevents him from advancing on Sam

When Sam looks around a corner, there's nothing there. He turns back around and Dean swings the hammer at his head. Sam quickly ducks and holds Ruby's knife to Dean's throat, but doesn't act on it. Dean tells him to do it, but Sam, spotting something behind Dean, takes the knife away from his throat. Dean smiles, flashes his black eyes and advances on Sam when Castiel grabs him from behind. His eyes flash blue as he uses his angel powers to hold Dean back. Dean growls and yells still struggling to try to get to Sam, but Cass tells him "it's over".

Sam injects one last syringe into Dean's arm while he sits there unconscious. He and Cass stand in front of Dean, waiting for something to happen. Sam tells Castiel that even after all the injections Dean still didn't want to be turned back into a human. Cass explains that only humans can feel real joy and pain, and that being a demon is easier. Not having to feel all the emotions of a human.

Sam and Castiel cautiously watches as Dean begins to stir awake — Sam and Castiel cautiously watches how things unfold as Dean begins to stir awake

Dean begins to stir awake. Sam and Cass ready themselves, Castiel holding up an angel blade, and Sam carrying the flask of holy water. Dean wakes up, his eyes still black. But as Sam and Castiel watch, the black from Dean's eyes begins to wash away and his eyes go back to normal. They stand there waiting for him to do something. Dean says they look worried. Sam splashes some holy water on him again, and nothing happens. They know that he has been cured. Sam and Cass smile in relief, while Dean looks at them, but clearly remembering everything that happened.

Sam finds Castiel in another room and tells him he's going to get Dean some food since he is hungry again because the curing ritual made him a little weak. Castiel reminds him that even though Dean's demon state has been healed, the Mark of Cain is still there, and will eventually pose a problem for them. Sam wants to put it off and just get Dean some food, and then get himself drunk.

Castiel comes in and tells Dean he looks terrible — Castiel admits Dean looks horrible upon coming into the room

Dean is looking through the same pictures Sam was looking at earlier in his bedroom. Castiel comes in and tells him he looks terrible. Dean notices that Cass looks better, and Castiel explains that he has another angel's grace, and that his powers are back temporarily. Dean thinks that Sam will leave him after everything that happened, but Castiel reassures him that the things he did weren't the real him, and that after all they've been through together Sam won't leave easily. Dean tells him he's glad that he's back. Castiel then tells him that he should take some time to heal from the cure before leaving Dean's room.

Rowena killed hotel staff members — Rowena enjoying a book after killing the room service

In Tulsa, Oklahoma at some hotel is a woman sitting in front of a fire, reading a book. Blood drips on her arm from one of two men she has pinned to the ceiling above her, dead. The red-headed woman, Rowena, smiles proudly.

Characters[]

Main Cast[]

Recurring Cast[]

Guest Stars[]

Erica Carroll as Hannah

Featured Supernatural Beings[]

Angels (Hannah, Castiel, Adina)
Crossroad Demons (Crowley, Dar, Guthrie)
Demons (Suicidal Demon, Executed Demon, Executioner Demon)
Knights of Hell (Dean Winchester; Abaddon, mentioned only)
Witch (Rowena MacLeod, cameo)

Trivia[]

The title episode may reference Blue Oyster Cult's song "Sole Survivor", found in the same album as "Fire of Unknown Origin", a song earlier used by the series in the Season 1 episode Hell House.
The title episode may reference Asia's song "Sole Survivor", found in the same album as "Heat of the Moment" , a song earlier used by the series in the Season 3 episode Mystery Spot.
This episode marks Dean Winchester becoming human again through the Demon Curing Ritual. However, he still possesses the Mark of Cain and thus could become a demon once again.
Crowley saves Castiel using Adina's grace. However, as this is another stolen grace, it will eventually begin to run out, as Theo's did before.
Mark Sheppard's son Max made an uncredited appearance as a demon handling documents in this episode.
Danneel Ackles' brother Gino and niece Valerie also appear as unnamed demons.
Though it's not mentioned by name, the establishing shot of the hotel Rowena is staying at in Tulsa is the Mayo Hotel, a rather famous historic hotel in the city.

Errors[]

When Sam cures Dean, he doesn't complete the ritual with the modified exorcism. He did the same with Crowley and he remains a demon while Dean is cured. Presumably this is a different variant of the ritual as he also had a priest bless the blood instead of confessing his sins.
In the flashback to Sam torturing Dar, Dar lacks the cut on the side of her neck that Sam made in Black to create a Goblet of Blood to call Crowley with. As this appears to be a continuation of the scene in Black, she should have the cut.