The Future is the 19th episode of Season 12. It aired on April 27, 2017.
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 comes up with a way to stop Lucifer's baby but Castiel has something else in mind for Kelly (guest star Courtney Ford). Dean is furious when he finds out someone stole the colt. Kelly makes a bold choice about the baby's future.
Plot[]
In a house that Dagon has found, she is berating Kelly Kline, who is chained to a bed by her ankle. Kelly believes her baby will kill her, that he will only cause pain, suffering, and death, and in her despair she's stopped taking care of herself. After Dagon unchains her and tells her to go clean herself up, she runs a hot bath, gets inside, and slits her wrists. Dagon comes back to find a tub full of bloody water and blood pooled on the floor. She looks around and finds Kelly nearby, unharmed. She tells Dagon that the baby wouldn't let her die and he loves her.
At the Bunker Sam is researching the Nephilim; he tells Dean that Kelly will be giving birth around May 18th. As they start discussing what to do about Kelly, the door to the Bunker opens. They look up to see Castiel. Sam asks Castiel where he's been, which is reiterated in a more angry manner by Dean. Castiel tells them he's been with the angels in Heaven, and he hasn't learned anything new about Kelly is. Dean angrily tells him that they had a shot at Dagon, but she got away. Castiel admits that he knows what happened because he got Dean's messages even though he said earlier that he didn't get reception in Heaven.
Sometime later, Dean is in his room where Castiel finds him. He tells Dean that he's returning the cassette tape he gave him. Dean tells Castiel that the tape was a gift and for him to keep it. As Castiel turns to leave, Dean stops him and explains that he was worried about him. Castiel says he keeps failing, that he needed to come back with a win for Dean and Sam as well as for himself. He asks what will happen if they find Kelly. Dean says that Sam is trying to figure it out but they won't kill her. Castiel wants to know if the circumstance calls for it, could either Dean or Sam actually kill an innocent. Dean decides not to answer, telling Castiel, "we'll find a better way". When Castiel questions the use of the word "we," Dean replies by saying he, Sam, and Castiel are better together and calls them "Team Free Will" before leaving to get himself a beer.
Sam tells Dean that although they can't track Dagon, they might be able to track the Nephilim since he's half angel. Sam then talks about when he and Castiel tried to find Gadreel by removing the traces of his grace that he left in Sam. Sam then wonders if the Nephilim's grace is extracted then he'd be just a normal baby, taking away any threat of destruction from the child. Dean is ecstatic and convinces Sam that it's a good idea and goes off to find Castiel, only to discover that he's no longer in the Bunker.
At Dagon's safe house, Kelly is still sure that the baby saved her. Dagon brushes it off, insisting that the Nephilim was only protecting himself, and that she'll be mother to the baby when Kelly is dead. Outside the house Castiel meets up with Kelvin and shows him the Colt that he stole from Dean. There are only two bullets; they decide that one will be for Dagon and one for Kelly. Kelvin tells Castiel he admires his new focus towards helping Heaven, but Castiel replies that he only agreed to the plan to spare Dean and Sam having to kill Kelly. Castiel, along with Kelvin and Hozai, stealthily enter the house. While Dagon is watching TV, Castiel sneaks up on her, only to find her no longer in the chair. When Dagon reappears, Cass shoots but misses. Hozai is killed and Kelvin sends Castiel after Kelly. He walks downstairs, sees Kelly, and cocks the Colt as she says his name. Dagon captures Kelvin but finds that Kelly is no longer in the house.
Dean and Sam keep trying get Castiel on the phone but only get his voicemail. Dean is packing his hunter bag as Sam wonders how Castiel got the Colt out of the safe. Dean admits that he didn't put the Colt in the safe, but slept with it under his pillow because he liked to keep it close. He tells Sam that Cass played him. Sam says they'd both been played but that Cass wouldn't have taken the Colt unless he was going after something big. Dean doesn't argue the point, but vows regardless to "kick his feathered ass."
While driving, Kelly thanks Castiel for not killing her. Castiel tells her not to thank him because he had a mission and he failed. He's unsure what to do next. Meanwhile, Dagon talks to Lucifer and tells him everything is fine, however Lucifer clearly doesn't believe her and is angry that Dagon let Kelly get away. He had promised Dagon that she would help him raise the baby and rule with him, but now he promises her infinite torments if she doesn't find his son. Castiel calls Joshua for orders and it's decided to take Kelly to Heaven; she and the baby will die as they pass the gate, allowing their souls to ascend to Heaven. Castiel tells her that her child is too powerful, but Kelly counters that nothing is born evil. Dagon tortures a bound and captive Kelvin for information on Castiel's whereabouts.
With his truck having broken down, Castiel hides Kelly in a motel and searches the web for "how to fix a truck." Kelly tells Castiel how her baby saved her and that it was a miracle, telling him that she can feel the baby's goodness. Castiel asks who will care for the baby, and keep it on a righteous path, since she won't survive the birth. Kelly feels the baby kick and asks Castiel if he'd like to feel it. He reluctantly does, and seems affected by the feeling, but he doesn't see Kelly's eyes glow when he touches her. She sees a vision of the future where Castiel protects her and the baby at the gate. There's a knock on the door; grabbing the Colt, Castiel opens the door to see the Winchesters. Dean tells him "that's mine" when he sees Cass holding the Colt.
Dean shoves Cass up against the wall and demands to know what he was thinking. Sam interrupts them when he notices that Kelly's in the room. Castiel asks how they were found and Dean tells him that Sam put a tracking app on his phone because Castiel wouldn't look them in the eye when he returned to the Bunker. Castiel explains that he'd found Dagon but when questioned, he admits he couldn't manage to kill her. Sam wants to know why they're at the motel, and Castiel tells them that his truck broke down. Sam says that Cass should've called because they would have helped him. Castiel says he was trying to keep them safe but Dean points out they've never been safe. The brothers reveal their plan to remove the Nephilim's grace but Kelly thinks that going to Heaven is the better plan—the grace is what makes the baby special. After Kelly walks outside, the brothers suggest they go back to the Bunker and figure everything out somewhere more protected. While the Winchesters continue to talk, Castiel asks for the keys to get into the Impala. He lets Kelly into the front and them climbs in the back, tossing the keys onto the driver's seat, where Kelly grabs them and drives off, leaving Sam and Dean behind. Castiel tells her to stop, but she says the baby told her to follow the plan Castiel laid out. She tells Castiel she's decided that he will be the one to guide the Nephilim after he's born. Castiel objects that he's not someone anyone should put their faith in. She points out that she isn't anyone special, either, but she believes they are destined for something great. Castiel tells her that he wishes she had his faith. She tells him he will. While Dean fixes the truck, the brothers talk about how they got to this point. Dean explains Cass's mental state to Sam, how the struggles of the past year has left him desperate for any kind of win.
That night, Castiel and Kelly arrive at the sandbox. Joshua arrives and greets them, but as he tries to reassure Kelly, Dagon appears and destroys him. She remarks on how close Kelly and Castiel have gotten and that she'd been waiting a long time since she'd gotten Kelvin to spill the beans before killing him. When Castiel tries to defend Kelly and pulls an angel blade, Dagon realizes that he doesn't have the Colt anymore. She begins beating him viciously as Sam and Dean arrive. Sam empties a clip into Dagon before she tosses him aside. Dean pulls out the Colt but before he can shoot, she takes it from him and breaks his arm. As a way of taking the Colt off the board she melts it, breaking it in half.
With Sam and Dean out of commission, Dagon turns back to Castiel and Kelly. As Castiel tells Kelly to run, she takes his hand and the power of the Nephilim fills Castiel. Dagon reaches out to kill him, but he is able to grab Dagon's hand and stop her. Shocked, Dagon questions how that is possible; Castiel calls it a "miracle" as he sets Dagon on fire, finally killing her. Sam and Dean approach Castiel, questioning what happened. He tells them the power he used was the combination of him and the baby. As he heals Dean's arm, Dean asks Cass if he's okay. He says he feels more okay than he has in a long time, and is now positive the child must be born with all of his powers intact. Sam tells Cass he can't mean that, but Castiel reassures him that he does and that he has faith. He tells the brothers that they have to trust him and that he and Kelly have to go. The brothers protest, so Castiel puts them to sleep, leaving them unconscious in the park. He and Kelly get into his truck and drive away. As they are driving Kelly wants to know what the baby told him. Castiel says he wasn't told anything, just shown the future.
Characters[]
Main Cast[]
- Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester
- Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester
- Misha Collins as Castiel
- Mark Pellegrino as Lucifer
Recurring Cast[]
Co-Stars[]
- Courtney Ford as Kelly Kline
- Ali Ahn as Dagon
- Nathan Mitchell as Kelvin
- Damien Mavis as Hozai
- Paul Barton as Joshua
Featured Supernatural Beings[]
- Angels (Kelvin, Hozai, Joshua; Gadreel, mentioned only)
- Archangel (Lucifer)
- Nephilim (Jack Kline)
- Princes of Hell (Dagon; Ramiel, mentioned only)
- Seraph (Castiel)
Continuity[]
- Castiel and Kelvin previously appeared in Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell.
- Joshua previously appeared in the season 5 episode Dark Side of the Moon.
- Kelly is 4 months pregnant with Lucifer's son as of this episode.
- Sam refers to his and Castiel's attempt to track Gadreel through his grace in Road Trip.
- The Colt is effectively destroyed by Dagon. Sam later states that he doesn't know if he can fix it and it hasn't been seen since.
- Dean reminds Castiel that he, Sam and Dean are members of Team Free Will, a team founded during The Apocalypse in defiance against Michael's claim that "free will is an illusion."
Trivia[]
- The episode got a 1.38 million viewers and a 0.5 rating, making this the least watched episode of Season 12.
- This is Misha's 100th credit on the show. He previously appeared in 99 episodes and directed Season 9 episode, Mother's Little Helper.
- This episode is directed by Amanda Tapping, the actress who portrayed Naomi in Season 8.
- This is her first Supernatural episode to direct.
- This makes her the fourth cast member to direct an episode. The others were Jensen Ackles (Weekend at Bobby's, The Girl Next Door, Heartache, Soul Survivor & The Bad Seed), Misha Collins (Mother's Little Helper) and Richard Speight Jr. (Just My Imagination & Stuck in the Middle (With You)).
- This is the first episode to feature Kelly that wasn't written by Brad Buckner and Eugenie Ross-Leming.
- According to showrunner Andrew Dabb , this is last of three Castiel-centric episodes of this season. The previous episodes were Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets and Stuck in the Middle (With You).
- In this episode, Sam estimates that a Nephilim only needs 5 months of gestation before they're born.
- Dean reveals that he sleeps with the Colt under his pillow.
- Dean looks for Castiel in Room 15 of the bunker, which was previously Mary's room.
- It is revealed that Dean made Castiel a mixtape of his "Top 13 Led Zeppelin tracks" as a gift.
- Making a mixtape for someone has long been regarded as a romantic gesture.
- Joshua's death makes him the third character in Season 12 to have previously appeared in earlier seasons only to die in this one. The first was Billie, followed by the Alpha Vampire.
- His death also marks the second time a Ruler of Heaven was killed while still in charge, the first being Raphael.
- Dagon told Kelvin that serving Lucifer has its perks. However, it is never clearly stated what she meant by this.
- For the first time, Castiel calls the angels his "men" instead of "brothers" or "siblings".
- The bedding in the motel room Kelly and Castiel stay at was previously seen in Phantom Traveler, Home, Shadow, The Song Remains the Same and Just My Imagination.
- As of this episode, Asmodeus is the last surviving Prince of Hell.
Errors[]
- Castiel expresses fears about removing the grace of Lucifer's son, as doing so nearly killed Sam in Road Trip. However, this was because removing Gadreel's grace started undoing the healing Gadreel had performed on Sam and had nothing to do with ill effects from the grace itself.
Deaths[]
- Kelly Kline (resurrected)
- Hozai
- Hozai's vessel
- Joshua
- Joshua's vessel
- Kelvin (mentioned only)
- Kelvin's vessel (mentioned only)
- Dagon
Quotes[]
“ | Nothing is born evil. | ” |
“ | That's a gift, you keep those. | ” |
“ | I am not someone that you should put your faith in. | ” |
— Castiel
|
“ | I will kill this girl so that Sam and Dean don't have to. | ” |
International Titles[]
- Hungarian: A jövő (The Future)