Supernatural: Inside Man
April 3, 2015 1:33 AM - Season 10, Episode 17 - Subscribe
Sam and Castiel hatch a plan to get some Heavenly help for Dean. Dean has a night off that doesn't go quite as he expected. Rowena continues to scheme and berate Crowley.
I miss Bobby's character so very much. He brought a balance to the Winchesters and served a great purpose as the source of advice, taken or not, which he did exactly in this episode. The way the episode ended, it definitely made me wonder if Bobby was going to be downgraded or thrown in an angelic prison or something to that degree. In a perfect world, he gets kicked out of heaven back to Earth and can become a regular again.
This was definitely an enjoyable episode and it's helped by the fact that Rowena is kicked out of Hell and all the gears are now turning toward the conclusion of the season.
posted by Atreides at 9:53 AM on April 3, 2015 [3 favorites]
This was definitely an enjoyable episode and it's helped by the fact that Rowena is kicked out of Hell and all the gears are now turning toward the conclusion of the season.
posted by Atreides at 9:53 AM on April 3, 2015 [3 favorites]
God, I miss Bobby. What Atreides said.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:41 AM on April 3, 2015
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:41 AM on April 3, 2015
Thirding what Atreides said. I hadn't even thought about it, but yeah, Bobby getting exiled back to earth would be AWESOME. Bobby Singer - escaped from Hell, exiled from Heaven, WHY DOES HE NOT HAVE HIS OWN SHOW?!
That said, is there some kind of rule against Jim Beaver, Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles sharing a screen these days??? Why no Singer facetime for Sam?
posted by kythuen at 2:41 PM on April 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
That said, is there some kind of rule against Jim Beaver, Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles sharing a screen these days??? Why no Singer facetime for Sam?
posted by kythuen at 2:41 PM on April 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
Not sure how Sam would have had Bobby's hat around since they had to burn his stuff to get rid of his ghost when he started going bad, but I was so glad to see Bobby again I'm fine with letting it slide.
posted by oh yeah! at 7:30 PM on April 3, 2015
posted by oh yeah! at 7:30 PM on April 3, 2015
"They're surly. I repeat, the Bobbys are surly." Love it! Jim Beaver just needs to be in more things in general. It looks like he's in Guillermo del Toro's upcoming Crimson Peak, so we have that to look forward to.
Thank goodness Crowley gave Rowena the boot. Their dynamic was just... dull. I prefer ass-kicking Crowley to sad sack Crowley.
posted by brundlefly at 7:18 PM on April 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
Thank goodness Crowley gave Rowena the boot. Their dynamic was just... dull. I prefer ass-kicking Crowley to sad sack Crowley.
posted by brundlefly at 7:18 PM on April 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
Rowena's stash box has some pretty detailed goodies.
Dean drying his face with Bounty select-a-size paper towels in a pool hall washroom is super weird.
Interesting take on "heaven" - I wonder if it had changed over time (and keep changing) to keep up with whoever's in charge's earth-influenced ideas about design. At least it's not the trumpian gold-plated heaven seen previously.
... and door #42? That wasn't even clever.
Blast from the past. Rowena's walk of shame is down a block that's chock full of trendy restaurants now. Or maybe the only time they could get a permit to block that off was, like, right after sunrise for however long it took to take that 2 second shot.
posted by porpoise at 4:14 PM on December 5, 2021
Dean drying his face with Bounty select-a-size paper towels in a pool hall washroom is super weird.
Interesting take on "heaven" - I wonder if it had changed over time (and keep changing) to keep up with whoever's in charge's earth-influenced ideas about design. At least it's not the trumpian gold-plated heaven seen previously.
... and door #42? That wasn't even clever.
Blast from the past. Rowena's walk of shame is down a block that's chock full of trendy restaurants now. Or maybe the only time they could get a permit to block that off was, like, right after sunrise for however long it took to take that 2 second shot.
posted by porpoise at 4:14 PM on December 5, 2021
Quotes
Rowena MacLeod: Dean.
Dean: Rowena? What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this? I'm sorry. Did I say "nice girl"? I meant "evil skank."
Rowena MacLeod: You say that like that's an insult. But nice girls, they're pathetic. Here's to evil skanks.
Metatron: Well, howdy, fellas.
Bobby: This is the Scribe of God? He looks like a Fraggle.
Metatron: I'm gonna take that as a compliment. That was an excellent program.
Castiel: Metatron, we are here...
Metatron: I know why you're here, Asstiel, and I'm not interested. I told you I would rather die than let Dean Winchester use me as his personal punching bag again.
Castiel: Don't worry; Dean's not involved. You're gonna be my punching bag.
Crowley: You may have brought me into this world, but you were never my mother.
Rowena MacLeod: So you're choosing the Winchesters.
Crowley: I'm choosing me. I put up with your lies, your sad little schemes because -- because maybe you were right, maybe I did lose my edge. But that ends now. Tell me Rowena, if I were not the King of Hell, would you have ever bothered to pretend to care about me?
Rowena MacLeod: You -- you can't.
Crowley: I can. I'm bloody Crowley! I'm the King of Hell. I do what I want, when I want, and I don't take orders from you.
Castiel: I'm an angel.
Oliver Pryce: That -- no, you can't be
Castiel: Why not?
Oliver Pryce: Because I'm an atheist.
Dean: What is it, huh? Why you letting mommy dearest tie you into knots?
Crowley: Because... we're family. Blood.
Dean: That's not the same thing. A wise man once told me, "Family don't end in blood." But it doesn't start there, either. Family cares about you, not what you can do for them. Family's there through the good, the bad -- all of it. They got your back, even when it hurts. That's family. That sound like your mother?
Angel speaking on Heaven's PA system: The Bobbys are fighting back. All hands, we need all hands. They're surly. I repeat... the Bobbys are surly.
Bobby: [letter to Sam] I ain't there on the ground, and whatever you do, I know you'll make the right choice. You're a good man, Sam Winchester; one of the best. And I'm damn proud of you, son. I was content up here. But getting the call from you, it's the happiest I've been in forever, no matter what it costs. So stay safe, keep fighting, and kick it in the ass.
Castiel: You don't get to make demands, Metatron. You're not in charge here.
Metatron: Oh, I'm afraid I am. I know about the Mark. I have your Grace. I make the rules. It's called leverage, boys. Learn it, live it, love it.
Castiel: We have your Grace, Metatron. You're mortal now. So you will answer our questions, or Sam will, um... What's the phrase? Blow your fricking brains out. It's called leverage, Metatron.
Sam: Learn it, live it, love it.
Crowley: [walks in on Rowena while she is naked in front of a mirror] Oh, God!
Rowena MacLeod: [quickly puts a robe on] Please. It's nothing you haven't seen before.
Crowley: You're my mother. I don't want to see anything! I've been to Hell, thanks.
Dean: The old Crowley, he would have come in here with hellhounds and demons, and he would have blown the roof off the joint. Now? You didn't want to fight. You wanted to talk. And maybe I've changed, too. Here I am playing Dr. Phil to the King of Hell. Never saw that coming.
Crowley: Maybe we're getting old.
Dean: Never saw that coming, either.
Rowena MacLeod: I'm seeing someone.
Crowley: ...
Rowena MacLeod: I'm a woman. I have desires, needs, and Trent is...
Crowley: *Trent*? You're dating a... Trent?
Rowena MacLeod: He's an assistant manager at Biggerson's. He's not the brightest bulb, but he's so... [sighs, pops lips] ... firm.
Crowley: Please stop talking.
Rowena MacLeod: You asked.
Rowena MacLeod: I'm told you run Hell's switchboard. Tough job.
Nebbishy Demon: It's not so bad. I'm just happy to do my part.
Rowena MacLeod: You sure you're a demon?
Nebbishy Demon: You can be damned and a conscientious worker.
Crowley: You've been nattering constantly at me for weeks, and now you haven't annoyed me for days. You're up to something.
Sam: I was thinking about seeing a movie.
Dean: Yeah, that could be cool.
Sam: It's a French movie.
Dean: You mean like nudie French?
Sam: Even better. It's about a mime that's secretly a cockroach.
Dean: ... I don't get it.
Castiel: You need to find the gate to earth and open it. Then you and I will find Metatron, the scribe of God.
Bobby: Hey, Sam, you remember when this job was just chopping up some fang and tossing back a cold one?
Sam: I miss that.
Bobby: Ditto.
Metatron: Sam-tastic! Miss me?
Rowena MacLeod: My son is a king, a god -- or he would be if you didn't -- you snap your fingers, and he comes running like a wee lapdog.
Dean: Lady, I don't know what you're talking about.
Rowena MacLeod: You're a good influence on him. That's why you need to die.
Dean: What's up with the Abercrombie rejects?
Bartender Donnie: College kids "slumming it".
Dean: Slumming? What are you talking about? This is a nice joint, huh? You got those custom urinal pucks.
Sam: So when you said "the river ends at the source", that was --
Metatron: I was just making up crap, trying to buy time till I could screw you over.
Sam: No.
Metatron: What? It worked before.
Bobby: If I'm understanding right, you got to get the Mark of Cain off Dean before it turns him back into a demon?
Sam: Pretty much, yeah.
Bobby: So, just another day at the office for you boys, huh?
Trivia
When Sam hears Dean screaming his name, the audio is actually taken from the end scene of "No Rest for the Wicked" (ep. 3.23) in which Dean screams for Sam while in Hell.
Crowley's drink features a miniature Devil's pitchfork.
One of the contacts in Dean's phone is "Sandra D".
First episode of the series not to have an on-screen death
The door to the gate of heaven is behind door number 42. This is a nod to Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, in which 42 is the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything.
Bobby's letter ends with the phrase "kick it in the ass". This was a phrase frequently used by Kim Manners, a producer and director of Supernatural until his death in 2009.
Bobby's letter tells Sam to "keep fighting". Jared Padalecki, the actor who portrays Sam, runs a charity called "Always Keep Fighting" that funds fights against depression.
When Sam and Cass are trying to make contact with Bobby, the fire forms the same shape as the fire in "Lazarus Rising" (ep. 4.1) when Sam, Dean, Bobby, and Pamela are trying to contact Castiel for the first time.
Dean asks Crowley, "What is it, huh? Why do you let Mommie Dearest tie you up in knots?" Mommie Dearest is the 1978 memoir of Christina Crawford, the adopted daughter of actress Joan Crawford, which described a childhood of abuse, manipulation, and retribution.
When Bobby escapes his heaven one of the doors has the name Robert Singer which is also the name the producer and director of the show. There is also a door with the name Roberta Singer.
At the end when Rowena is walking along a street, she is on Hamilton Street between Drake St and Davie St in Vancouver, Canada.
posted by orange swan at 10:48 AM on December 8, 2021
Rowena MacLeod: Dean.
Dean: Rowena? What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this? I'm sorry. Did I say "nice girl"? I meant "evil skank."
Rowena MacLeod: You say that like that's an insult. But nice girls, they're pathetic. Here's to evil skanks.
Metatron: Well, howdy, fellas.
Bobby: This is the Scribe of God? He looks like a Fraggle.
Metatron: I'm gonna take that as a compliment. That was an excellent program.
Castiel: Metatron, we are here...
Metatron: I know why you're here, Asstiel, and I'm not interested. I told you I would rather die than let Dean Winchester use me as his personal punching bag again.
Castiel: Don't worry; Dean's not involved. You're gonna be my punching bag.
Crowley: You may have brought me into this world, but you were never my mother.
Rowena MacLeod: So you're choosing the Winchesters.
Crowley: I'm choosing me. I put up with your lies, your sad little schemes because -- because maybe you were right, maybe I did lose my edge. But that ends now. Tell me Rowena, if I were not the King of Hell, would you have ever bothered to pretend to care about me?
Rowena MacLeod: You -- you can't.
Crowley: I can. I'm bloody Crowley! I'm the King of Hell. I do what I want, when I want, and I don't take orders from you.
Castiel: I'm an angel.
Oliver Pryce: That -- no, you can't be
Castiel: Why not?
Oliver Pryce: Because I'm an atheist.
Dean: What is it, huh? Why you letting mommy dearest tie you into knots?
Crowley: Because... we're family. Blood.
Dean: That's not the same thing. A wise man once told me, "Family don't end in blood." But it doesn't start there, either. Family cares about you, not what you can do for them. Family's there through the good, the bad -- all of it. They got your back, even when it hurts. That's family. That sound like your mother?
Angel speaking on Heaven's PA system: The Bobbys are fighting back. All hands, we need all hands. They're surly. I repeat... the Bobbys are surly.
Bobby: [letter to Sam] I ain't there on the ground, and whatever you do, I know you'll make the right choice. You're a good man, Sam Winchester; one of the best. And I'm damn proud of you, son. I was content up here. But getting the call from you, it's the happiest I've been in forever, no matter what it costs. So stay safe, keep fighting, and kick it in the ass.
Castiel: You don't get to make demands, Metatron. You're not in charge here.
Metatron: Oh, I'm afraid I am. I know about the Mark. I have your Grace. I make the rules. It's called leverage, boys. Learn it, live it, love it.
Castiel: We have your Grace, Metatron. You're mortal now. So you will answer our questions, or Sam will, um... What's the phrase? Blow your fricking brains out. It's called leverage, Metatron.
Sam: Learn it, live it, love it.
Crowley: [walks in on Rowena while she is naked in front of a mirror] Oh, God!
Rowena MacLeod: [quickly puts a robe on] Please. It's nothing you haven't seen before.
Crowley: You're my mother. I don't want to see anything! I've been to Hell, thanks.
Dean: The old Crowley, he would have come in here with hellhounds and demons, and he would have blown the roof off the joint. Now? You didn't want to fight. You wanted to talk. And maybe I've changed, too. Here I am playing Dr. Phil to the King of Hell. Never saw that coming.
Crowley: Maybe we're getting old.
Dean: Never saw that coming, either.
Rowena MacLeod: I'm seeing someone.
Crowley: ...
Rowena MacLeod: I'm a woman. I have desires, needs, and Trent is...
Crowley: *Trent*? You're dating a... Trent?
Rowena MacLeod: He's an assistant manager at Biggerson's. He's not the brightest bulb, but he's so... [sighs, pops lips] ... firm.
Crowley: Please stop talking.
Rowena MacLeod: You asked.
Rowena MacLeod: I'm told you run Hell's switchboard. Tough job.
Nebbishy Demon: It's not so bad. I'm just happy to do my part.
Rowena MacLeod: You sure you're a demon?
Nebbishy Demon: You can be damned and a conscientious worker.
Crowley: You've been nattering constantly at me for weeks, and now you haven't annoyed me for days. You're up to something.
Sam: I was thinking about seeing a movie.
Dean: Yeah, that could be cool.
Sam: It's a French movie.
Dean: You mean like nudie French?
Sam: Even better. It's about a mime that's secretly a cockroach.
Dean: ... I don't get it.
Castiel: You need to find the gate to earth and open it. Then you and I will find Metatron, the scribe of God.
Bobby: Hey, Sam, you remember when this job was just chopping up some fang and tossing back a cold one?
Sam: I miss that.
Bobby: Ditto.
Metatron: Sam-tastic! Miss me?
Rowena MacLeod: My son is a king, a god -- or he would be if you didn't -- you snap your fingers, and he comes running like a wee lapdog.
Dean: Lady, I don't know what you're talking about.
Rowena MacLeod: You're a good influence on him. That's why you need to die.
Dean: What's up with the Abercrombie rejects?
Bartender Donnie: College kids "slumming it".
Dean: Slumming? What are you talking about? This is a nice joint, huh? You got those custom urinal pucks.
Sam: So when you said "the river ends at the source", that was --
Metatron: I was just making up crap, trying to buy time till I could screw you over.
Sam: No.
Metatron: What? It worked before.
Bobby: If I'm understanding right, you got to get the Mark of Cain off Dean before it turns him back into a demon?
Sam: Pretty much, yeah.
Bobby: So, just another day at the office for you boys, huh?
Trivia
When Sam hears Dean screaming his name, the audio is actually taken from the end scene of "No Rest for the Wicked" (ep. 3.23) in which Dean screams for Sam while in Hell.
Crowley's drink features a miniature Devil's pitchfork.
One of the contacts in Dean's phone is "Sandra D".
First episode of the series not to have an on-screen death
The door to the gate of heaven is behind door number 42. This is a nod to Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, in which 42 is the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything.
Bobby's letter ends with the phrase "kick it in the ass". This was a phrase frequently used by Kim Manners, a producer and director of Supernatural until his death in 2009.
Bobby's letter tells Sam to "keep fighting". Jared Padalecki, the actor who portrays Sam, runs a charity called "Always Keep Fighting" that funds fights against depression.
When Sam and Cass are trying to make contact with Bobby, the fire forms the same shape as the fire in "Lazarus Rising" (ep. 4.1) when Sam, Dean, Bobby, and Pamela are trying to contact Castiel for the first time.
Dean asks Crowley, "What is it, huh? Why do you let Mommie Dearest tie you up in knots?" Mommie Dearest is the 1978 memoir of Christina Crawford, the adopted daughter of actress Joan Crawford, which described a childhood of abuse, manipulation, and retribution.
When Bobby escapes his heaven one of the doors has the name Robert Singer which is also the name the producer and director of the show. There is also a door with the name Roberta Singer.
At the end when Rowena is walking along a street, she is on Hamilton Street between Drake St and Davie St in Vancouver, Canada.
posted by orange swan at 10:48 AM on December 8, 2021
Bobby's reading one of Tori Spelling's books in heaven, heh.
Leave it to Rowena to, if she doesn't know yet how to remove the mark, to know more about it than anyone else. She is truly a very powerful, accomplished witch.
You'd think Dean would find more creative and interesting ways of messing with the stuff in Sam's room than the pranks he used, which mostly looked gross and juvenile.
posted by orange swan at 10:49 AM on December 8, 2021
Leave it to Rowena to, if she doesn't know yet how to remove the mark, to know more about it than anyone else. She is truly a very powerful, accomplished witch.
You'd think Dean would find more creative and interesting ways of messing with the stuff in Sam's room than the pranks he used, which mostly looked gross and juvenile.
posted by orange swan at 10:49 AM on December 8, 2021
I have to feel for the psychic who woke up an atheist and now has to deal with Heaven being a carceral archipelago. But I'm curious about the theological implications of every person’s Heaven having an escape hatch, and it’s some imperfection built into the memory Heaven chose for them. (We should never see Heaven and I feel like space prison is the wrong aesthetic, but I guess it's the aesthetic of pretty much all their angel stuff, for some reason.)
posted by jameaterblues at 9:02 PM on December 16, 2021
posted by jameaterblues at 9:02 PM on December 16, 2021
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posted by cfoxhi at 1:35 AM on April 3, 2015 [1 favorite]