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6.20 – The Man Who Would Be King

Details

6.20 – The Man Who Would Be King

DETAILS

Writers: Ben Edlund
Director: Ben Edlund
First aired: Friday, May 6 2011.

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER BEN EDLUND WROTE AND DIRECTED THE EPISODE — astiel (Misha Collins) tells Sam (Jared Padalecki), Dean (Jensen Ackles) and Bobby (Jim Beaver) about the war in Heaven and how he and Raphael became enemies. Bobby believes Castiel is hiding something, but Dean refuses to believe it.

Ben Edlund wrote and directed the episode.

Recap

RECAP

Synopsis

As Castiel contemplates the details of the civil war in Heaven, and his history with Raphael, Bobby and the Winchesters begin to realize the angel is being less than truthful with them.

Full Recap

Sitting on a bench in a cemetery, Castiel remembers the first fish that emerged from the ocean, and the Tower of Babel, and events through history until he worked with the Winchesters and Bobby to stop the Apocalypse. Now he wonders if he’s made the wrong choice, and starts at the beginning.

Castiel appears in the Impala next to Dean as he’s driving. He claims that he’s looking for Crowley, and claims that he doesn’t know how the demon tricked him. Dean says that they have to find him but they don’t have any leads yet. He’s heading to Omaha to meet with Sam, who is hunting a djinn. Dean then asks Castiel if he’d call if he needs any help, and the angel disappears without a word.

Castiel teleports to Crowley’s lab where the demon is dissecting Eve’s corpse. The demon reports that Eve is still laying eggs, and torturing her corpse hurts the captive vampire that he has. Crowley complains that Castiel let the Winchesters kill Eve, ruining their plans. He reminds Castiel that they agreed that the angel wouldn’t approach the Winchesters again, but knows that he went to see Dean.

Castiel considers that he has a conflict, and considers himself their guardian because they taught him to stand up. He remembers that after Lucifer destroyed him, he was put back. After he brought back bobby, he knew what he had to do next: release Sam from Hell. He was arrogant, overlooking the fact that he didn’t bring back Sam’s soul until it was too laet.

Crowley asks Castiel to kill the Winchesters. When the angel refuses, Crowley offers to do it but Castiel tells him not to and says that he shouldn’t worry. He tells Crowley to find Purgatory or they’ll both die again and again until the end of time, and promises Crowley that the Winchesters won’t find him.

Bobby and Sam are interrogating Reed, a demon-possessed hunter that they have sealed in a Demon’s Trap. They don’t believe him when he denies working for Crowley, and torture him with holy water When Redd doesn’t break, they prepare to use the demon-killing knife to torture him. As Dean arrives, Bobby gives the demon one more chance. When it refuses to speak, Bobby drives the knife into his thigh and goes to the kitchen. Meanwhile, Dean assures Sam that he didn’t say anything to Castiel, and doesn’t believe that Castiel is working with Crowley. Sam and Bobby aren’t convinced, but figure that they have to proceed carefully in case they’re right. They are unaware that Castiel is watching them, cloaked from their senses, as they discuss how Castiel is like Superman going to the dark side.

Castiel realizes that they already suspect him, and that Dean is split over his conflicted loyalites.

Redd finally admits that he deals with a dispatcher, Ellsworth, and never met with Crowley.

Castiel goes to see Ellsworth, a demonic counterpart to Bobby who is coordinating demon activities across the country. Rather than let Ellsworth lead the Winchesters to Crowley, Castiel destroys him and his minions to protect the Winchesters… or himself. He’s not sure anymore.

Bobby and the Winchesters arrive at Ellsworth’s house and discover that the house is empty. Castiel watches them.

After saving Sam, Castiel returned to Heaven and found Rachel and the other angels waiting for him. They believe that God favors him, but Castiel insists that God wants them to have freedom. They have no idea what to do with it. He then met with Raphael in Ken Lay’s version of Heaven Raphael wanted Castiel and the Holy Host to pledge allegiance to him, and Castiel to atone by helping to free Lucifer and Michael and starting the Apocalypse all over again in accordance with God’s will. When Castiel refused, Raphael blasted him down and informed him that if he didn’t kneel, he would die.

The trio finds nothing in Ellsworth’s house, so Dean says they need to call Castiel for help. He insists that they have to give Castiel the benefit of the doubt, and the Winchesters call to him. However, Castiel doesn’t appear to them, worried that they’d have questions he couldn’t answer. As they start to leave, demons break in and attack, saying that Crowley sent their best. After considering, Castiel appears and smites them, He tells them that he is sure that Crowley is alive, much to no one’s surprise. Bobby and Sam reluctantly apologize, admitting that they thought Castiel was working with Crowley. The angel is surprised that they trust him. Trying to maintain their trust, he inadvertently echoes their comments earlier about them thinking of him as Superman.

Castiel goes to see Crowley and warns him not to try and kill the Winchesters again. The demon figures that Castiel is losing it, and figures that as long as the Winchesters believe in him, he can believe in himself. Castiel grabs the demon and warns that if Crowley goes after the Winchesters again, the angel will destroy everything they’ve worked for.

After Raphael casually put him down, Castiel went to see Dean. However, he couldn’t bring himself to ask Dean to sacrifice even more to help him. Crowley arrived and suggested that they work together The demon explains that it all comes down to souls in the end, and Castiel figured that he was strong and smart enough not to fall for the demon’s tricks. Crowley took him to the new and improved Hades, with souls endlessly waiting in line. When they reach the front of the line, they are returned to the beginning. Crowley suggests that Castiel resist, leading the angels that consider him God’s favorite. When Castiel points out that would make him the new Lucifer, Crowley says that God brought him back, possibly for the very reason of leading a revolution. He proposes that they locate Purgatory and draw upon the power of all the monster souls, and suggests they use the Winchesters. When Castiel says the brothers can’t be involved, Crowley says he can call in Samuel Campbell. All he wants is half of the power to secure his position as ruler of Hell. When Castiel points out that he needs the power now and Crowley’s plan will take time, the demon offers 50,000 souls to take to Heaven to establish his power base. Crowley says that God chose Castiel to save them, and Castiel knows it.

The next day, Castiel confronted Raphael, temporarily blew him away, and told the angels that there would be no Apocalypse and the angels would have to choose sides.

At the Ellsworth house, Dean summons Castiel and the angel arrives. They tell him that they have a plan to capture Crowley, trap him in a circle of burning holy oil, and points out all the holes in his story. Dean dares Castiel to look him in the eye and tell the truth, but Castiel can’t respond. The angel insists that he’s doing it to save all of them and stop Raphael, and admits that he raised Sam from Perdition. Sam points out that he did a lousy job of it, and wonders if he brought him back soulless on purpose. Castiel denies it, and says that he had no choice if he wanted to stop Raphael. Dean tells him that it’s not complicated, and Castiel knew it because he kept it a secret from them.

A wind picks up outside and black demon clouds approach the house. Castiel says that there’s nothing to fix and tells them to run. They leave, Dean last, and Crowley steps into the house. He casually puts out the flames and says that he won’t harm the Winchesters. The demon warns that ultimately it’s friends that hold people back, and Castiel tells him to get out of his sight. As Crowley goes, he tells Castiel that the difference between the two of them is that he knows what he is. He asks Castiel what he is and what he’s willing to do.

Dean, Sam, and Bobby return to Bobby’s house and set up angel-proofing wards. Castiel teleports in to see Dean alone, noting that Bobby didn’t get the wards quite right. The angel says that he’s doing it for Dean, and because of what he taught him about freedom. Dean says that the freedom to do what you want isn’t the freedom to do anything he wants. He asks Castiel as a brother to trust him and stop what he’s doing. Castiel asks what Dean will do if he doesn’t stop, and Dean says he’ll do what he has to. When Castiel points out that he’s an angel and Dean is a man, Dean notes that he’s taken down powerful opponents in the past. Castiel says that he’s sorry and leaves.

Back in the park, Castiel admits that the human perspective is limited. He prays to God to tell him if he’s doing the right thing. If he doesn’t receive a sign, he’ll do what he has to. Castiel waits for a response but nothing happens.

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Gallery

IMAGE GALLERY

Episode Stills

Episode Screen Captures

 

Videos

TRAILER/CLIPS

TrailerClipPreview

Music

MUSIC

“Me and Mrs. Jones” by Billy Paul
(plays while Crowley tortures)

An der schönen blauen Donau, Op. 314 by Johann Strauss II
(plays when Crowley and Cas are in Hell)

Superwiki

Quotes

QUOTES

Crowley: Don’t worry about — what, like Lucifer didn’t worry? Or Michael? Or Lilith or Alastair or Azazel didn’t worry?! Am I the only game piece on the board who doesn’t underestimate those denim-wrapped nightmares?!

 

Bobby: If there’s a snowball of a snowball’s chance here, that means we’re dealing with a Superman who’s gone darkside, which means we’ve got to be cautious, we’ve got to be smart, and maybe stock up on some kryptonite.
Dean: (to Sam) This makes you Lois Lane.

 

Castiel: Are you joking?
Raphael: Do I look like I’m joking?
Castiel: …You never look like you’re joking.

 

Crowley: See, problem with the old place was most of the inmates were masochists already. A lot of “thank you, sir, can I have another hot spike up the jacksy?” But just look at them. No one likes waiting in line.
Castiel: What happens when they reach the front?
Crowley: Nothing. They go right back to the end again. That’s efficiency.

 

Castiel: Sam, I am the one who raised you from perdition.
Sam: What? … Well, no offense, but you did a pretty piss poor job of it.

 

Castiel: You don’t understand. It’s complicated.
Dean: No, actually, it’s not, and you know that. Why else would you keep this whole thing a secret, huh, unless you knew that it was wrong? When crap like this comes around, we deal with it… Like we always have. What we don’t do is we don’t go out and make another deal with the Devil!
Castiel: It sounds so simple when you say it like that. Where were you when I needed to hear it?
Dean: I was there. Where were you?

Trivia

TRIVIA

The Man Who Would Be King is a short story by Rudyard Kipling, made into a 1975 film by John Houston starring Sean Connery and Michael Caine. It tells the story of two ex-officers of the British Raj who become adventurers and become hailed as deities in a remote village in the Hindu Kush. They lead successful battles against the villages enemies, but become wrapped up in their own delusions of grandeur. Eventually the villages turn against them. In the movie, the story unfolds as the surviving character relates his story to a journalist.

 
Some of the film clips used in Castiel’s flashback montage at the beginning where he remembers the fall of the Tower of Babel, appear to be from the the fall of Babylon section of the 1916 movie by D.W. Griffith Intolerance. This movie also features a non-linear narrative and spans 2,500 years of history. It is considered on of the masterpieces of the silent era of movies (Source).

 

 
Crowley: Single best chance to get over the rainbow, and the Winchesters killed her!

“Over the Rainbow” is a song that was written for the movie The Wizard of Oz. It refers to another world that one can reach only by going over the rainbow. Here, Crowley uses it to refer to Purgatory.

 

 

Crowley refers to the vampire he’s torturing as Chocula, which is a reference to the breakfast cereal Count Chocula, which has a vampire for a mascot.

 
Dean: He’s the Balki Bartokomus of Heaven – he can make a mistake.

Dean is comparing Castiel to Balki Batokumus was a character in the 1980s ‘fish-out-of-water/buddy’ genre sitcom Perfect Strangers. Balki was a naive shepherd from the fictional country Mypos, who immigrates to U.S. and moves in with a distant cousin.

 

 

Bobby: You sure about that? Cause we can twist again all the way to next summer.

Bobby is quoting the song “Let’s Twist Again” recorded by Chubby Checker.

 

 

Bobby: Well, who do you deal with?
Redd: The Dispatcher – a demon named Ellsworth
Castiel: (voiceover) If there was a demon counterpart to Bobby Singer, Ellsworth would be it.

Jim Beaver played a character called Ellsworth in Deadwood. Ellsworth the demon is shown to resemble Bobby, and rather than having a number of phones has a collection of blood goblets. He also impersonates an FBI officer as Bobby does.

 

 

Ellsworth: I want you to get down to New Mexico and bag me that wendigo!

A wendigo is what Dean and Sam hunted in 1.02 Wendigo.

 

 

The devil’s trap on the ceiling above Redd is the same one that was used on Meg in 1.22 Devil’s Trap and again in 2.14 Born Under a Bad Sign. It was also used in the season 3 title card.

 
Castiel: (about visiting Heaven) I favor the eternal Tuesday afternoon of an autistic man who drowned in a bathtub in 1953.

This may be a reference to the hit song by The Moody Blues from 1968 titled “Tuesday Afternoon” (sometimes known as “Forever Afternoon”).

 

 

Castiel: Whose Heaven is this?
Raphael: Ken Lay’s. I’m borrowing it.
Castiel: I still question his admittance here.
Raphael: He’s devout. Trumps everything.

Ken Lay was the corrupt CEO whose fraud led to the bankruptcy of the Enron corporation. He was convicted on a number of charges, but died in 2006 before he was sentenced. Former president George H.W. Bush attended the memorial service.

 

 

Bobby: Yeah, but it’s like Mr. Clean clean, you know?

Mr. Clean is a brand name known as Flash in the UK. Its mascot is a muscular, tanned, bald man who cleans things very well.

 

 

Dean: Yeah, you think, Kojak?

Kojak was a 1970s TV detective.

 

Crowley: Well I’ve got news for you, kitten: a whore is a whore is a whore.

This may be a parody of Hemingway’s line in For Who The Bell Tolls “a bitch is a bitch is a bitch is a bitch,” which in itself a reference to the famous line by Gertrude Stein a rose is a rose is a rose is a rose. In which Stein is basically saying things are the way they are.

 

 

Crowley: Ah, Castiel, Angel of Thursday. Just not your day, is it?

According to A Dictionary of Angels: Including the Fallen Angels, Castiel is an Angel of Thursday in the occult lore. This may be a reference to the fact that Supernatural aired on Thursday nights on The CW when the character was introduced in season four. Beginning with season six, the show has aired on Fridays, which may be why Crowley says it’s “not Castiel’s day.”

 

 

Among the list of demons and angels that Crowley claims underestimated Sam and Dean, he mentions Lilith, though she fully intended for the brothers to kill her. It is likely, though, that no demons knew that her death was the final seal.

 
Crowley: Ding ding ding, tell him what he’s won, Vanna.

Vanna White is the long-time hostess on the TV game show Wheel of Fortune.

 

 

There was a rumor amongst fans that Ben Edlund appears in the episode as one of the people queuing in line in Hell. This hasn’t been confirmed. The guy who is taking a ticket as Crowley and Castiel arrive is played by Michael Bardach, and is credited on IMDB as “Ticket Guy.”

 
Above the line in hell is a sign that says:

NEXT IN LINE
6,611,527,124

The number changes to 6,611,527,125 while Crowley and Castiel stand under it.

 
One of the demons that brings Ellsworth a monster – before being killed by Castiel – also played a demon in 1.22 Devil’s Trap. In 1.22 Devil’s Trap, he is wearing an auto mechanic uniform with the name “Kim.”

Superwiki

Spoilers

EPISODE SPOILERS

Episode Spoilers can be read HERE

Episode Schedule

Thu, Oct 10 15.01 - Back and to the Future - Season Premiere
Thu, Oc 17 15.02 - Raising Hell
Thu, Oct 24 15.03 - The Rupture
Thu, Nov 7 15.04 - Atomic Monsters
Thu, Nov 14 15.05 - Proverbs 17:3
Thu, Nov 21 15.06 - Golden Time
Thu, Dec 05 15.07 - Last Call
Thu, Dec 12 15.08 - Our Father, Who Aren’t In Heaven
Thu, Jan 16 2020 15.09 - The Trap
Thu, Jan 23 2020 15.10 - The Heroes' Journey
Thu, Jan 30 2020 15.11 - The Gamblers
Mon, March 16 2020 15.12 - Galaxy Brain
Mon, March 23 2020 15.13 - Destiny's Child
Thu, Oct 08 2020 15.14 - Last Holiday
Thu, Oct 15 2020 15.15 - Gimme Shelter
Thu, Oct 22 2020 15.16 - Drag Me Away (From You)
Thu, Oct 29 2020 15.17 - Unity
Thu, Nov 05 2020 15.18 - Despair
Thu, Nov 12 2020 15.19 - Inherit the Earth
Thu, Nov 19 2020 15.20 - Carry On - Series Finale

* This Schedule might change as new info come.

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