The Thing

The Thing
Season	13
Episode	17
Overall	281
Series	Supernatural
Airdate	April 5, 2018
Written by	Davy Perez
Directed by	John F. Showalter
Episode list	Season 13
← Previous	Scoobynatural
Next →	Bring 'em Back Alive

The Thing is the 17th episode of Season 13. It aired on April 5, 2018.

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 and Dean continue to collect the pieces necessary to open a rift to the other world in order to save their family. Their latest quest leads them to a Men of Letters bunker from the 1920s and a hungry God from another dimension. Meanwhile, Arthur Ketch (guest star David Haydn-Jones) makes a shocking decision about Gabriel (guest star Richard Speight Jr.) after an unruly encounter with Asmodeus (guest star Jeffrey Vincent Parise).

Plot

In 1925, a woman is abducted by a group of hooded figures where they perform strange ritual which causes tentacles to emerge as she screams in terror.

In the present day, Sam is sleeping as he was up all night doing research before Dean pulls pranks on him and they go over Solomon's seal as the next ingredient for the spell. As they look through books, Sam leaves out and finds Dean had placed notes on him, containing insults and calls him to confront him but Dean comes with research that is noteworthy and is located in Rhode Island.

At Asmodeus' lair, Arthur is summoned before Asmodeus, but is forced to wait by another demon as the latter is busy. Arthur then asks for something to read and is shown a children's book.

Meanwhile, Sam and Dean arrive in Rhode Island where they find a building which they discover is a Men of Letters' bunker. They use their key and enter the area finding it is no different from their own.

Sam and Dean find Sandy Porter.

The two soon hear screaming, they follow it and find a strapped woman who begs them to free her. They release her and question her as she reveals some of what she remembers and asks where she is. After seeing her license, they are shocked that she is over a hundred years old and reveal to her she is in the future which understandably leaves her in disbelief. They decide to take her with them and find out the cause.

At Asmodeus' lair, an impatient Arthur eventually slips past the demon guard and witnesses Asmodeus injecting himself with Gabriel's grace. Asmodeus, angered by Arthur's impudence, dismisses him to wait again.

Later, the Winchesters take the woman whose name is Sandy to a diner where she is still trying to figure out how she is alive and their comfortableness with it.

Arthur is called before Asmodeus again and is informed that the Winchesters are trying to open a rift into the Apocalypse World using a ritual from the Demon Tablet that requires, amongst other things, "a whole mess" of archangel grace. Arthur acknowledges that he's learned that Castiel has been seen in Syria and admits to not telling Asmodeus as Asmodeus didn't ask and he was trying to gather more information. Angered with Arthur's continued audacity, Asmodeus beats him to a pulp and states that Arthur is worse than most demons "and I know them all." Asmodeus recognizes that the battered Arthur desires redemption for his previous actions, but states that Arthur can't be redeemed and so he belongs to Asmodeus.

After Asmodeus leaves, the battered Arthur removes a loose tooth and decides to escape with Gabriel. Grabbing the terrified Gabriel and the archangel blade, Arthur drags Gabriel from Crowley's old lair, killing the demon guard he had previously clashed with using the archangel blade.

Sam meets Marco Avila and Ophelia Avila.

In the forest, a captured Sam meets Marco and Ophelia Avila who question him on his letting a monster out. Sam is confused as they explained the other men of letters' bunker, he reveals his family is tied to the organization as they revealed the same goes for them. They explained their great grandfather went mad after he became disgusted by the world after seeing nothing but chaos. Sam learns that a rift was opened and a god called Yokoth emerged from it and slaughtered some of the people who summoned it before the rift was closed before its mate could escape. They tell Sam it was bound in Sandy's body and that descendants of survivors such as them were guarding it having been unable to kill it so they resorted to starving it but tell him of the danger if it eats. They give Sam their sarcastic gratitude on letting it loose, as he takes it in stride.

At the diner, Dean investigates the bodies before Sandy appears and a tentacle shoots out of her mouth as she knocks Dean out. Returning to the diner, Sam finds the bodies but no sign of his brother who the Avila siblings revealed he must have been taken for Yokoth to breed.

In the room of the other bunker, Dean awakes to find Sandy who reveals her true name is Yokoth and she stole the original Sandy's body. She explains her past as god from another world and her mate Glythur was trapped there after she came through. She reveals she has abducted Dean so she could reopen the rift between universes and have Glythur take his body as his vessel for them to devour the world. Dean protests this but Yokoth silences him as she succeeds in reopening the rift and performed Yokoth and Glythur a summoning spell for Glythur. Glythur's tentacles emerged through the rift and attempted to latch onto a horrified Dean who manages to dodge the tentacles despite being chained down. Dean's struggle ended as Glythur's tentacles started to wrap around him to hold him down, though Sam arrived with Marco and Ophelia Avila attacked Yokoth. As Yokoth was distracted, Dean managed to free his right hand, snatch the Seal of Solomon and toss it to Ophelia who casts a reversal spell to close the rift. As the rift closed, Glythur was sucked back into its own universe but before the rift fully closed, Glythur wrapped his tentacles around Yokoth and dragged the screaming Yokoth back with him.

The brothers explained to the Avila siblings they needed the seal to open a rift and they knew the repercussions but were prepared as they were given the item.

The Winchesters return to the Men of Letters bunker, where Sam asks Dean if he is alright as he jokes about his abduction. The brothers note with the Seal of Solomon, the last ingredient is grace of an Archangel stating how hard it will be to obtain before they realize someone is waiting for them and aim their guns only to see its Arthur. Arthur states he is not hostile and has a gift for them, revealing the battered and disheveled Gabriel in his possession. At a loss for words at seeing the Archangel, they questioned this as they believed him dead but Arthur says that wasn't the case. Seeing him in this state, Dean asks what Arthur did to him as the latter explains that Asmodeus had been holding Gabriel prisoner until Arthur rescued him. After Arthur tells them that he heard they need an archangel for a spell, as Sam admits to needing Gabriel's grace as he reacts in terror. Arthur then calms Gabriel and presents a vial containing Gabriel's grace, stolen along with the Archangel blade. Sam notes Arthur wants something in return, Arthur confirms by asking for sanctuary at the bunker since Asmodeus will chase him to the ends of the Earth for his actions. Sam denies him but Dean allows it to Sam and Arthur's obvious shock. Dean explains since it can potentially help them get their mother and Jack back, he agrees to Arthur's terms.

Afterwards, Sam cuts the stitches holding Gabriel's mouth shut and asks Gabriel what happened to him. Before Gabriel can respond, Dean enters with his gear ready and tells Sam to prepare to open the portal to Apocalypse World, as he wanted to save their loved ones quicker. Sam tries to his gear but Dean tells Sam he's going alone as he needs Sam to be there in case he gets trapped and because he needs him to keep an eye on things like Gabriel and whatever else. Arthur then arrives and announces that he'll join Dean, stating he wanted to be a world away from an angry Asmodeus as Sam tells him of the danger but he is ready for it.

To Sam's surprise, Dean instantly agrees to allow Arthur to join him on his journey when he won't allow Sam who questions this. Dean tells Sam that he doesn't care if Arthur survives or not unlike Sam and in fact hopes he doesn't, something that Arthur takes in stride. Dean tells Sam that he needs him to tend to Gabriel and keep the rift open as he goes off. Once the rift opens, Dean and Sam set their watches as he and Arthur pass through into Apocalypse World together, leaving Sam and Gabriel behind.

Characters

Main Cast

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

Recurring Cast

Guest Stars

• Richard Speight Jr. as Gabriel
• David Haydn-Jones as Arthur Ketch

Co Stars

• Jeffrey Vincent Parise as Asmodeus
• Magda Apanowicz as Sandy Porter and Yokoth
• Tiffany Smith as Ophelia Avila
• Carl Montoya as Diego Avila
• Lee Page as Asmodeus' Guard
• Ivan Wanis-Ruiz as Marco Avila
• Rael Adams as Joanne
• Sean Depner as Buck
• Chiara Guzzo as Amy

Featured Supernatural Beings

• Archangel (Gabriel)
• Demons (Asmodeus' Guard)
• Deities (Yokoth, Glythur)
• Nephilim (Jack Kline, mentioned only)
• Prince of Hell (Asmodeus)

Continuity

• Arthur Ketch, Asmodeus and Gabriel previously appeared in Devil's Bargain.
• A deity was previously featured in the Season 12 episode The Memory Remains.
• The Archangel Blade was previously seen in Devil's Bargain.
• The grace of an archangel was previously seen in War of the Worlds.
• The Key of the Order of Letters was previously seen in the Season 11 episode Alpha and Omega.
• A Practitioner's Guide to Exorcism previously appeared in The Big Empty.
• A rift was previously seen in Wayward Sisters.

Trivia

• The episode was watched by 1.41 million viewers and got a 0.4 rating.
  • This is the first episode to have its final viewer count and rating adjusted down because of the Yankees pre-emptions.
• The title of the episode is a reference to the 1982 American science-fiction horror movie starring Kurt Russell, making this the third episode of the season to have titles referencing movies starring Kurt Russell with Tombstone and Breakdown being the first two.
  • All three of these episodes were written by Davy Perez.
• It is revealed in this episode that Asmodeus injects some of Gabriel's grace into himself. This would explain why he has powers beyond those of the other Princes of Hell, such as the ability to shapeshift and smiting.
• After finding the Seal of Solomon, Dean says "jinkies," annoying Sam. This is a reference to Velma from Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! who recently appeared in Scoobynatural.
• Sam is able to open the secret door to the Men of Letters outpost using the Key of the Order of Letters. Previously in The British Invasion, Mick Davies had told the Winchesters that their key opened every Men of Letters chapter house in the world.
• Sam reveals that the Men of Letters had only one bunker, but they had smaller chapter houses or outposts all over the place. Two are revealed to be in Jamestown and Portsmouth, Rhode Island. In The Werther Project, another Men of Letters chapter house in St. Louis held the Werther Box before it was sold after Abaddon slaughtered the Men of Letters.
• After seeing the interior of the outpost, the Winchesters comment that it looks familiar due to its obvious resemblance to the Men of Letters bunker.
• In this episode, the year is given as 2018. In Good Intentions, it was around November, 2017.
• The "Then" segment of the episode combines a voiceover from Henry Winchester taken from As Time Goes By, the Winchesters watching the Demon Curing Ritual records in Clip Show and edited footage from the flashback to 1932 in the beginning of Slumber Party to explain the Men of Letters.
• This is the first time Sam and Dean saw Gabriel since the Season 5 episode Hammer of the Gods.
• Yokoth and Glythur's names are a nod to writers Steve Yockey and Meredith Glynn.
• The name Yokoth bears curious, if not intentional similarity with Yuggoth, a name for everything that exists beyond our Solar System in H. P. Lovecraft's mythology, an author who also inspired and was homaged in the show in many other occasions.
• This episode marks Asmodeus' fourth appearance on the series, which means he has overtaken Dagon and is now the second Prince of Hell with the most appearances.

Quotes

“	So you think you're just going to move in? Dibs on the top bunk?	”
	— Sam Winchester and Arthur Ketch

“	As I said, Asmodeus will be hunting me to the ends of the earth so its better if I'm not on this Earth.	”
	— Arthur Ketch to Sam and Dean

Errors

• Sam stated that he and Dean saw Gabriel die at Lucifer's hands. However, they had both fled the motel and thus weren't present when Lucifer stabbed Gabriel. They only found out he "died" from the DVD he gave Dean.

Gallery

Promotional Pictures

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