Supernatural: Hell's Angel
May 3, 2016 10:59 AM - Season 11, Episode 18 - Subscribe
Crowley secures The Horn of Joshua as the next Hand of God to kill Amara. He calls the Winchesters in to discuss terms.
A well convoluted 'move the season along plot twist' episode consisting of a messy mix of double crosses and confusion about who is inside of who and which combination of bad and good tokens and arcane red graffiti will be better than the roll of the many sided, yet loaded, dice from the current big bad god.
A well convoluted 'move the season along plot twist' episode consisting of a messy mix of double crosses and confusion about who is inside of who and which combination of bad and good tokens and arcane red graffiti will be better than the roll of the many sided, yet loaded, dice from the current big bad god.
Huh, I thought this episode was posted. Whoops! I liked this episode well enough. It was slightly confusing, true, but mostly because the writers didn't wanna show their hands.
I really wonder what else is in that book of the damned, if it has archangel trap and unsealing The Darkness level types of spells.
posted by numaner at 3:22 PM on May 3, 2016
I really wonder what else is in that book of the damned, if it has archangel trap and unsealing The Darkness level types of spells.
posted by numaner at 3:22 PM on May 3, 2016
Yeah, it's one of the minor downsides of serialized television... I remember thinking this episode was good, but it was all about advancing the larger plot and now it's only a few weeks later and the details are already pretty foggy. I still have vivid memories of the episode with the werewolves or the one where the whole thing was set inside the Impala, but this one is just one part of a larger whole.
Is this the one where we find out Rowena is alive? I was genuinely surprised by that. I'm guessing they meant to kill her for real but then realized they needed her for some plot business.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 2:50 AM on May 4, 2016
Is this the one where we find out Rowena is alive? I was genuinely surprised by that. I'm guessing they meant to kill her for real but then realized they needed her for some plot business.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 2:50 AM on May 4, 2016
Yeah it's this one that we find out she's alive. But the way they told us that was really undramatic. Like there she was just coddling with Amara. We don't find out till a bit into the episode how she survived, which makes me think the while thing was planned. Iirc they also didn't dwell on her death, which is usually a signal that she's gonna come back.
posted by numaner at 8:57 AM on May 4, 2016
posted by numaner at 8:57 AM on May 4, 2016
Yeah, I'd forgotten this was the Rowena's Deity Spa Treatment episode. Probably the best part concerning Rowena was her pretty much realizing how much she'd kind of F'uped and slinking away at the end.
I don't mind Satan in this season, but I really, really, just want Castiel back.
posted by Atreides at 9:05 AM on May 4, 2016
I don't mind Satan in this season, but I really, really, just want Castiel back.
posted by Atreides at 9:05 AM on May 4, 2016
I've commented before that it always seems like we're not seeing Castiel enough. Fans say the same thing, every season. The writers must have a hard time knowing what to do with him, because fans adore the character almost as much as Dean does but he disappears from the story for long stretches and when he is around he's often got some magical disease or he's possessed or there's something else preventing him from being the Castiel we know. I'd like to see a season where Castiel could just be Castiel, dropping into the narrative as needed. I think they'd be better off coming up with reasons why Castiel can't help the brothers as much as he'd like, instead of coming up with reasons why we see less of Cas!
posted by Ursula Hitler at 8:05 PM on May 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Ursula Hitler at 8:05 PM on May 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
Ughhhhhhhhhhh, Rowena's back again? She was barely even dead and she's still awful!
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:31 AM on May 5, 2016
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:31 AM on May 5, 2016
Incidentally, that's the opinion, I think, almost every character on the show has about her, too.
posted by Atreides at 8:29 AM on May 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Atreides at 8:29 AM on May 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
Quotes
Lucifer: And who do you think spread that tabloid headline? It was Captain G, the Eternal One. And why? Because I didn't buy into his obsessive, compulsive love for mankind.
Angel 1: Mankind is His creation.
Lucifer: Oh, come on! It's not like he invented the Prius, which actually works. I don't have to tell you people what a mess mankind is: the Salem Witch Trials, Third Reich, Twin Towers. Sure, every once in a while, he'll send down a plague to straighten them out, but it's nothing permanent. Humanity brought us Hiroshima and got a re-do. I merely questioned his priorities, and I got the boot.
Angel 2: He said you're evil.
Angel 1: Incarnate. E-Evil incarnate.
Lucifer: It's marketing. He's creating a need in the consumer's mind. Can't be a Super Savior if you don't have a Super Villain.
Lucifer: [to a departing demon] Don't you think about it too long. You know what they say... he who hesitates... [snaps his fingers] .. disintegrates.
Dean: Nice digs. The Crypt Keeper out of town?
Crowley: I'm lucky to be alive. Lucifer had me trussed up like a dog in my own palace.
Dean: "Palace"? Oh, you mean the abandoned nuthouse?
Crowley: He kept me in a kennel! And he turned all his demons -- *my* demons -- against me. They scour the earth, day and night, looking to kill me. He has to be dealt with.
Dean: Hold on, okay? Let's just put it in reverse. We will put Lucifer back in the Cage *after* we put Amara back on ice. It has to happen in that order, otherwise there is no Lucifer, there's no Cage, there's no nothing.
Crowley: He's spent years marinating in hate against us! He has to go.
Sam: Problem is, we may need him.
Dean: He's been down this road with Amara before. He might be the only one powerful enough to use the Horn against her.
Crowley: He had me cleaning the floors with my tongue! He called me "puppy"! He made me beg!
Dean: All right. Come on. Is this what this about? Huh? Your stupid ego? The fact that he dissed you in front of a bunch of stupid demons? You're smarter than this. Come on!
Sam: Dean's right. Priority is to put the Horn in Lucifer's hands and set him loose on Amara.
Dean: After we exorcize Lucifer out of Cass and put him in a new vessel.
Sam: What? Really?
Dean: Yes, really. We're not gonna send Lucifer into battle inside Cass. What if he doesn't make it?
Sam: Dean, it's a strong vessel. It's held Cass for years, and we know what he's been through. I'm guessing it can hold Lucifer.
Dean: "It"? It's not an "it", Sam. It's Cass.
Sam: And Cass wanted to do this.
Dean: Yeah, well, there's times I want to get slapped during sex by a girl wearing a Zorro mask. That don't make it a good idea.
Sam: Dean, this is exactly how we screw ourselves. We make the -- the heart choice and instead of the smart choice.
Dean: Oh, okay. Thank you, Dr. Phil. Cass is family.
Sam: Yes, and his choice deserves to be respected.
Dean: Even if it kills him.
Crowley: It's killing me. I would rather stick white-hot skewers in my eyes than listen to you two bitches bicker! I gave you the terms of my deal. If Lucifer's not back in the Cage, the Horn stays hidden.
Noel: Thank God. I don't think I have long.
Crowley: How very prescient of you.
Sam: [after Amara's shaken things up to test her powers] Okay. So now we all just saw what happens when she's in a bad mood, which, apparently, she's been in since the dawn of time.
Dean: I think she just rattled heaven with a flick of her pinkie finger. That's not a big enough dose of reality for you?
Amara: You seem pleased with my progress. But I don't sense in you the capacity for kindness or... concern.
Rowena: Kindness gets you a hug, not a seat at the big boys' table.
Amara: And what is it you want?
Rowena: Oh, like yourself, I want revenge on Lucifer. But more than that, I want to be there when you remake the universe to your taste.
Amara: Oh? I'm told my tastes run towards the catastrophic.
Rowena: Aye. The Winchesters say you all about destruction.
Amara: The Winchesters are right. But... what they call "destruction" I call renovation. My blueprints. Not God's.
Rowena: That's my girl. Do things the way *you* would have done them.
Amara: I will. And where do you fit into that?
Rowena: Oh, I can be useful. Provide you with information on the troublesome brothers and Lucifer -- their plans. And even if it is born out of my own self-interest, I care about you.
Trivia
Misha Collins improvised several things in this episode. There's a scene in which Collins, playing Lucifer, sits on an angel's lap when talking about God's love for mankind. This moment was improvised and some of the extras can be seen laughing in the background. Another moment which wasn't in the script was the phrase Collins said, which has now became an iconic Lucifer line, "He who hesitates, disintegrates."
The show was able to circumvent any infringement of the Hell's Angels motorcycle club's legal trademark by changing the name of the episode to "Hell's Angel" instead of "Hell's Angels".
The preacher you hear about halfway through is from the Firesign Theatre comedy album, Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers, released in the early 70's. This was a satire of TV and radio preachers.
Amara said to Lucifer that he was God's first son. But according to "lore", Michael was the first son of God. Lucifer was the second.
The Latin incantation that Dean uses to summon Lucifer is: "In nomine magni dei nostri Satanas, introibo ad altare Domini Inferi." Translated, this means: "In the name of our Great God, go to the altar of hell."
This is the second time Crowley has possessed an angel's vessel to speak to the vessel, the first being Gadreel/Sam, and the second being Lucifer/Castiel. This is the first time he has possessed an archangel.
posted by orange swan at 10:50 AM on January 2, 2022
Lucifer: And who do you think spread that tabloid headline? It was Captain G, the Eternal One. And why? Because I didn't buy into his obsessive, compulsive love for mankind.
Angel 1: Mankind is His creation.
Lucifer: Oh, come on! It's not like he invented the Prius, which actually works. I don't have to tell you people what a mess mankind is: the Salem Witch Trials, Third Reich, Twin Towers. Sure, every once in a while, he'll send down a plague to straighten them out, but it's nothing permanent. Humanity brought us Hiroshima and got a re-do. I merely questioned his priorities, and I got the boot.
Angel 2: He said you're evil.
Angel 1: Incarnate. E-Evil incarnate.
Lucifer: It's marketing. He's creating a need in the consumer's mind. Can't be a Super Savior if you don't have a Super Villain.
Lucifer: [to a departing demon] Don't you think about it too long. You know what they say... he who hesitates... [snaps his fingers] .. disintegrates.
Dean: Nice digs. The Crypt Keeper out of town?
Crowley: I'm lucky to be alive. Lucifer had me trussed up like a dog in my own palace.
Dean: "Palace"? Oh, you mean the abandoned nuthouse?
Crowley: He kept me in a kennel! And he turned all his demons -- *my* demons -- against me. They scour the earth, day and night, looking to kill me. He has to be dealt with.
Dean: Hold on, okay? Let's just put it in reverse. We will put Lucifer back in the Cage *after* we put Amara back on ice. It has to happen in that order, otherwise there is no Lucifer, there's no Cage, there's no nothing.
Crowley: He's spent years marinating in hate against us! He has to go.
Sam: Problem is, we may need him.
Dean: He's been down this road with Amara before. He might be the only one powerful enough to use the Horn against her.
Crowley: He had me cleaning the floors with my tongue! He called me "puppy"! He made me beg!
Dean: All right. Come on. Is this what this about? Huh? Your stupid ego? The fact that he dissed you in front of a bunch of stupid demons? You're smarter than this. Come on!
Sam: Dean's right. Priority is to put the Horn in Lucifer's hands and set him loose on Amara.
Dean: After we exorcize Lucifer out of Cass and put him in a new vessel.
Sam: What? Really?
Dean: Yes, really. We're not gonna send Lucifer into battle inside Cass. What if he doesn't make it?
Sam: Dean, it's a strong vessel. It's held Cass for years, and we know what he's been through. I'm guessing it can hold Lucifer.
Dean: "It"? It's not an "it", Sam. It's Cass.
Sam: And Cass wanted to do this.
Dean: Yeah, well, there's times I want to get slapped during sex by a girl wearing a Zorro mask. That don't make it a good idea.
Sam: Dean, this is exactly how we screw ourselves. We make the -- the heart choice and instead of the smart choice.
Dean: Oh, okay. Thank you, Dr. Phil. Cass is family.
Sam: Yes, and his choice deserves to be respected.
Dean: Even if it kills him.
Crowley: It's killing me. I would rather stick white-hot skewers in my eyes than listen to you two bitches bicker! I gave you the terms of my deal. If Lucifer's not back in the Cage, the Horn stays hidden.
Noel: Thank God. I don't think I have long.
Crowley: How very prescient of you.
Sam: [after Amara's shaken things up to test her powers] Okay. So now we all just saw what happens when she's in a bad mood, which, apparently, she's been in since the dawn of time.
Dean: I think she just rattled heaven with a flick of her pinkie finger. That's not a big enough dose of reality for you?
Amara: You seem pleased with my progress. But I don't sense in you the capacity for kindness or... concern.
Rowena: Kindness gets you a hug, not a seat at the big boys' table.
Amara: And what is it you want?
Rowena: Oh, like yourself, I want revenge on Lucifer. But more than that, I want to be there when you remake the universe to your taste.
Amara: Oh? I'm told my tastes run towards the catastrophic.
Rowena: Aye. The Winchesters say you all about destruction.
Amara: The Winchesters are right. But... what they call "destruction" I call renovation. My blueprints. Not God's.
Rowena: That's my girl. Do things the way *you* would have done them.
Amara: I will. And where do you fit into that?
Rowena: Oh, I can be useful. Provide you with information on the troublesome brothers and Lucifer -- their plans. And even if it is born out of my own self-interest, I care about you.
Trivia
Misha Collins improvised several things in this episode. There's a scene in which Collins, playing Lucifer, sits on an angel's lap when talking about God's love for mankind. This moment was improvised and some of the extras can be seen laughing in the background. Another moment which wasn't in the script was the phrase Collins said, which has now became an iconic Lucifer line, "He who hesitates, disintegrates."
The show was able to circumvent any infringement of the Hell's Angels motorcycle club's legal trademark by changing the name of the episode to "Hell's Angel" instead of "Hell's Angels".
The preacher you hear about halfway through is from the Firesign Theatre comedy album, Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers, released in the early 70's. This was a satire of TV and radio preachers.
Amara said to Lucifer that he was God's first son. But according to "lore", Michael was the first son of God. Lucifer was the second.
The Latin incantation that Dean uses to summon Lucifer is: "In nomine magni dei nostri Satanas, introibo ad altare Domini Inferi." Translated, this means: "In the name of our Great God, go to the altar of hell."
This is the second time Crowley has possessed an angel's vessel to speak to the vessel, the first being Gadreel/Sam, and the second being Lucifer/Castiel. This is the first time he has possessed an archangel.
posted by orange swan at 10:50 AM on January 2, 2022
Lucifer was way too treacherous to ever be worked with, and everyone should have known that.
Why can't all the angels gang up on Lucifer and defeat him with their combined force, as they tried to do when they smited Amara? If they can considerably weaken Amara, they could surely at least disable Lucifer enough to lock him away in a cage again.
Rowena is powerful enough to heal Amara. That's pretty freaking powerful.
I think the writers of this show despised corporate culture as much as I do -- they made both heaven and hell into tedious, circumscribed places.
posted by orange swan at 10:56 AM on January 2, 2022
Why can't all the angels gang up on Lucifer and defeat him with their combined force, as they tried to do when they smited Amara? If they can considerably weaken Amara, they could surely at least disable Lucifer enough to lock him away in a cage again.
Rowena is powerful enough to heal Amara. That's pretty freaking powerful.
I think the writers of this show despised corporate culture as much as I do -- they made both heaven and hell into tedious, circumscribed places.
posted by orange swan at 10:56 AM on January 2, 2022
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
posted by Atreides at 11:54 AM on May 3, 2016