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The Memory Remains is the 18th episode of Season 12. It aired on April 13, 2017.

Summary[]

Dean Purgatory Blade.png 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 and Dean investigate a missing person's case in a small town. The lead witness tells the Winchesters the attacker was a man with the head of a goat. Sam and Dean aren't sure what to believe but when the witness goes missing they realize the town is hiding a dark secret.

Plot[]

In Tomahawk, Wisconsin, a group of young couples is partying around a campfire late at night in the woods. Two boys sit apart from the couples. One boy, Jarrod, is bored and wants to leave, saying he has work in the morning. The other boy, Daryn, encourages him to stay and "enjoy the show". However, Jarrod decides to leave anyway and is walking alone through the woods when he hears a strange noise. Noticing a backpack with a glowstick attached to it sitting beneath a tree, Jarrod examines the backpack and sees that it is full of money. When he picks it up, it triggers a trap that binds him to a tree. Jarrod calls for Daryn, thinking that the trap is some kind of prank. Daryn goes to investigate, but a creature approaches Jarrod and bludgeons him unconscious as Daryn watches, unseen. Daryn runs off into the forest.

At the bunker, Dean is still trying to reach Castiel, but when Castiel doesn't answer his call Dean leaves him yet another message, updating Cass on Dagon and Kelly Kline, admitting that they'd failed to kill Dagon even with the Colt. Soon after, Sam enters while Dean is cleaning his guns, and the two discuss Dean's efforts to find Cass. Sam tries to reassure his brother that Castiel is fine, saying that he always is. Dean is unconvinced and continues to clean his guns. Sam says that he hasn't been able to find any information about Dagon or the other princes of hell in the bunker's library, other than a few unhelpful mentions here and there. Sam receives an email from Mick Davies informing the brothers about a new case; the disappearance of Jarrod Hayes from Tomahawk, WI, a town with a long history of disappearances-one a year from 1898 until 1997, when they mysteriously stopped. Sam replies to the email, saying that he and Dean will investigate, but little do the brothers know that they're actually corresponding with Arthur Ketch, who, upon receiving Sam's message, announces to a group of associates "It's time."

In Wisconsin, Dean and Sam visit Sheriff Barrett Bishop, Jr.'s office. The sheriff is preoccupied with sewing a taxidermy animal, seemingly uninterested in the disappearance of Jarrod Hayes. He is convinced that Jarrod ran away, saying that he had a hard life with an abusive father and that the sheriff wouldn't blame him for wanting to disappear. Sam and Dean persist with their questions, asking about Jarrod's friends and what he was doing the night he vanished. 

After talking to the sheriff, Dean and Sam interview Daryn Boston outside of the meatpacking plant where Daryn works. When they introduce themselves, Daryn drops the joint he's smoking, but Dean picks it up and gives it back to him, saying that they aren't here to bust him and just want to know what happened to Jarrod. Daryn tells Sam and Dean about the local legend of Black Bill, the goat-headed monster that, according to Daryn, is responsible for Jarrod's disappearance.

Later that evening in a cafe, Sam is researching the legend of Black Bill that Daryn mentioned. Meanwhile, Dean, who is visibly distracted by their waitress, tells Sam to keep investigating and figure out what Black Bill is while he excuses himself to go flirt with the waitress. A mortified Sam watches as Dean uses his "hot coffee" pickup line on the waitress he'd been ogling. Meanwhile, back at the meatpacking plant, Daryn is confronted by his boss, Pete Garfinkle, about his tardiness and work ethic. Pete claims to understand, saying that he liked Jarrod too, a claim that Daryn disputes. Pete persists, pleading with Daryn to be professional for tomorrow because it's an important day. Daryn leaves the meatpacking plant and walks through the snow to his truck, but before he can start the engine the goat-headed creature from earlier smashes his window, drags Daryn into the snow, and bludgeons him with a mallet.

The next morning, Sam is in the cafe eating breakfast when Dean and the waitress from the previous night enter. Dean looks disheveled and tired when he sits down across from Sam. He uses "awesome" three times to describe his night, then proceeds to steal Sam's veggie omelet while complaining that Sam should have ordered pancakes. Sam, miffed about his stolen breakfast, tells Dean that he believes that they are dealing with a satyr, a creature who lures victims into the woods for orgies before consuming them. Sam had tried to reinterview Daryn to confirm what he saw, but Daryn has vanished too. 

Dean and Sam return to Billhook Meats and speak with Daryn's manager, Pete, who informs the brothers that Daryn hadn't shown up for work that morning, despite the fact that it was the day of the health inspector's visit. Pete reveals that Sheriff Bishop owns the factory, leading Sam and Dean to suspect that he may be behind Daryn's disappearance. A few moments later, the brothers find Sheriff Bishop and inform him that Daryn has disappeared too. When Sam and Dean ask the sheriff what he knows about Black Bill, the sheriff scoffs, saying that Bill is just a local boogeyman. When Sam brings up the yearly disappearances, Sheriff dismisses him, saying that those who disappeared were just drifters passing through town and briefly working at the plant. He explains that Daryn's supposed sighting of Black Bill was just a stoned or drunken hallucination and that Daryn hasn't disappeared, he's just "sleeping one off" somewhere.

Meanwhile, Daryn wakes up in a freezer inside the factory. The freezer is lit with ominous red lights, and as Daryn bangs on the door and yells for help, we see that he's in a closed-off section of the factory that is boarded up. Signs describing a coolant leak warn people to stay away. Sam and Dean walk past the door that leads to the freezer and Daryn, but they are unable to hear him over the noise of the factory. Back inside the freezer, Daryn finds Jarrod's body. Suddenly, he is attacked by a snarling creature with goat horns, but it's a different monster than the one he'd encountered in the woods.

Back at the cafe, Dean is eating a burger and Sam asks how he can eat anything after their visit to the meatpacking plant. Dean tells his brother to grow up and calls the burger heaven as he continues to eat. Sam and Dean update each other on what they've found out while researching Black Bill and the town of Tomahawk. Dean says that all of the workers worked for Billhook Meats, and Sam says that the Bishop family owned the entire town at one time, but that Sheriff Bishop had begun selling off the land to residents several years ago, only keeping the meatpacking plant and the family estate, which they plan to investigate next. Sam gets a text from Mr. Ketch posing as Mick Davies asking for an update and he replies that they’re still working the case.

Arthur Ketch and his subordinates breaks into the bunker

Arthur and a few of subordinates enters the Bunker, looking for information on their allies and contacts

Upon receiving Sam’s text, Mr. Ketch and his team break into the bunker, looking for information on their allies and contacts. Ketch states that his main objective is to obtain the Colt. Meanwhile, Dean and Sam arrive at the Bishop family mansion and enter the abandoned house. Sam manages to open the door leading down to the locked basement, but Sheriff Bishop arrives when the brothers are exploring the decrepit basement. The Winchesters question the sheriff and he tells them the family secret: the Bishops are Black Bill. The real monster lives beneath their house and made the family rich in exchange for a yearly blood sacrifice. His ancestors had bound the god Moloch and imprisoned him beneath the basement floor. They starved the god until he was willing to cooperate and use his powers to bring the family wealth. The Bishops would dress up as Black Bill when hunting for their victims and bringing them back to the house to be fed to Moloch. When Barrett’s father died, he stopped making sacrifices, hoping to starve the god to death and leave behind a different legacy. While looking into the cage that had held Moloch, Sam discovers it is empty. Meanwhile, Dean goes to investigate a noise upstairs, armed with the Colt. He sees someone in the Black Bill costume and goes to get a closer look. Suddenly, he is attacked from behind by Pete Garfinkle. Pete pushes Dean over the stair railing, knocking him unconscious, then runs down the stairs and locks Sam and Barrett in the basement.

Sam tries to break the basement door down and Barrett finds a meat cleaver to help smash the door with. Once the two are outside, Sam tracks Dean’s cell phone, and he and the sheriff hurry to find him. Meanwhile, back at the bunker, Ketch looks through the telescope before saying that he can’t see anything. The British Men of Letters plant listening devices while Ketch searches Dean's room. The only thing that catches his interest is an old photo of Dean and Mary.

Back at Billhook Meats, Dean wakes up and finds himself bound to an office chair with plastic wrap. Pete  starts talking, saying that he is Barrett’s illegitimate half brother. Pete had always been jealous of Barrett, who had everything when he had nothing. While searching the Bishop family mansion for things to sell, Pete discovered the family secret and made a new deal with Moloch to continue the family business of “hunting people, killing them.” Pete had been intending to feed Sheriff Bishop to Moloch next, but he instead wheels Dean into the freezer. Ketch and his associates finish their investigation of the bunker and leave without finding the Colt, as it is with Sam and Dean in Wisconsin. As he leaves, Ketch plants a bug under the map table in the war room. Meanwhile, in the freezer, Dean wheels himself around, spotting Daryn’s body being dragged away by Moloch. Dean fights to break free of the plastic wrap binding him to the chair as Sam and Barrett search for him outside the plant. Pete lies in wait for the pair, wearing the Black Bill mask.

As Moloch advances, Dean picks up a meathook to defend himself. While Sam and Barrett play a high-stakes game of hide-and-seek with Pete outside the plant, Dean does the same inside the freezer, doing his best to evade Moloch. Hearing the roar of the monster, Sam approaches the freezer but is attacked by Pete on his way to the door. Barrett tackles his half-brother and unmasks him, visibly shocked at Pete’s actions. Barrett says he gave Pete the plant, but Pete retorts that Barrett had known the plant was floundering. Pete wanted more than a failing meatpacking plant. Pete throws Barrett off of himself and takes aim with the Colt. While Dean frantically tries to escape from the goat-headed god, Pete announces that he’s a hero and that he’s going to save the town. Before Pete can pull the trigger, Sam shoots him. Dean manages to strike Moloch with the meathook, but it has little effect on the bloodthirsty monster. Moloch slams Dean’s head into a support post as Sam grabs the Colt from Pete’s body and bursts into the freezer. Sam shoots Moloch, killing him, as Dean collapses onto the floor.

As Barrett bends over his dead brother, Dean holds a frozen steak to his bruised temple. Sam asks how he’s feeling and Dean responds “Like I just went twelve rounds with a god, so, you know... normal.” Barrett tells the brothers to go, that he’ll take care of everything. Barrett says this is his legacy. Back at the bunker, Sam and Dean sit at the table in the library, pondering what their legacy will be, what they’ll be remembered for, if at all. Sam says that the people they’ve saved will be their legacy and that they left the world a better place than when they found it. Dean, on the other hand, wonders about the bunker and whether or not other hunters will move in when they’re gone. Dean gets out his knife and the brothers carve their initials into the tabletop, just as they’d done in the Impala when they were kids.

Later, Sam calls Mick to report on their case, but Ketch picks up instead. Ketch tells Sam that Mick flew back to London and that they’ll be reporting to him now. Dean’s report was “We fought a god and won.” After hanging up, Sam and Dean complain about Ketch as Ketch listens to them through his surveillance bugs, staring at the photograph of Mary and Dean that he’d stolen from Dean’s room.

Characters[]

Main Cast[]

Recurring Cast[]

Co-Stars[]

Featured Supernatural Beings[]

Continuity[]

Trivia[]

Cultural References[]

  • "The Memory Remains" may be a reference to a song by the heavy metal band Metallica with the same name.
  • The name of the local legend of the goat man "Black Bill" is a reference to the goat Black Phillip, who is a manifestation of Lucifer in the movie The Witch (2015).
  • The brothers' F.B.I. aliases this time are Agent Stark and Agent Martell. This is a nod to Game of Thrones, which features House Stark and House Martell.

Quotes[]

  • Sam: I stayed up all night, going through every book we have on demons. Turns out we have a lot of books on demons.

  • Mr. Ketch: It's clear. Onward. Now, remember your orders. By the time we leave, Dr. Hess wants to know everything about out 'friends' the Winchesters—their allies, their habits. How does Sam get his hair so shiny? How many ratty flannels does Dean own? So work quick, work quiet, and leave no trace. Oh, and apparently, Mick let Sam and Dean get their hands on the bloody Colt. Find it, huh?

  • Dean: Next time you hear me say our family is messed up, remind me that we could be psycho goat people.
     
  • Sam: Yeah, that's true enough.

  • Dean: So now we're reporting to low rent Christian Bale? Seriously? I don't like that guy. He creeps me out. And he rides the oldest, worst, most unreliable bike.

Deaths[]

International Titles[]

  • Hungarian: Az emlék fennmarad (The Memory Remains)

Gallery[]

Promo[]

Behind the Scenes[]

Videos[]

Supernatural_12x18_Promo_"The_Memory_Remains"_(HD)_Season_12_Episode_18_Promo

Supernatural 12x18 Promo "The Memory Remains" (HD) Season 12 Episode 18 Promo

Supernatural_12x18_Sneak_Peek_"The_Memory_Remains"_(HD)_Season_12_Episode_18_Sneak_Peek

Supernatural 12x18 Sneak Peek "The Memory Remains" (HD) Season 12 Episode 18 Sneak Peek

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