‘Supernatural’ Season 15, Episode 8 Recap: “Our Father Who Aren’t In Heaven”

Natasha
16 Min Read
The CW

Last week, we delved in a bit deeper to that Sam and Chuck connection that became the result of the wound they both received after Sam shot God with The Equalizer. In a botched attempt to ‘heal’ him of the wound, Sam instead had flashes of Chuck’s own memories, making him realize that Chuck is not at full strength. He can’t leave this world without help from Amara (who flat out refused to help him), and he doesn’t have the ability to see Sam and Dean in his mind the way he used to. Oh, and he also realized that he and Chuck are definitely connected now. By the end of that episode, Sam is hyped about the fact that he knows all of this, and knowing that God is weak, he is dead-set on the idea they can absolutely defeat him at this point.

Of course, this week’s episode had to pick up from that point of realization. Although, our dear Sam is finally excited about something, is it really going to be that easy? Written by Brad Buckner and Eugenie Ross-Leming, and directed by Richard Speight Jr., Episode 8, “Our Father, Who Aren’t In Heaven”, gives us even more insight on that Sam and Chuck connection. Also, true to season 15 style, we get reacquainted with an old character (or two!).

SPOILERS AHEAD!

The episode opens in a casino. It’s unusually quiet, aside from the sound of machines hitting jackpot after jackpot. As the camera pans through, the scene becomes unsettling when we see bodies strewn about, and there’s one lone cocktail waitress who is delivering a drink to someone. She’s noticeably terrified as she makes her way past the bodies and stops in front of our very own Chuck, who is gambling away, unaffected by the chaos that he obviously caused here. He kindly takes the fruity drink from the tray she is carrying and asks her if she made sure to go easy on the rum this time. She nods and says yes, to which Chuck smiles briefly at her before his expression turns sinister and he says, “okay, cool. ‘Cause, you know, you don’t want me cranky.”

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We cut to Eileen who is on a hunt. She’s kicking butt and Sam shows up to check on her. After she kills the monster, they’re back at the bunker having a meal and Dean pops in and begins to talk about the whole Chuck being weak thing. He has a plan and it starts with the demon tablet. If you remember, the demon tablet was God’s plan in case angels or demons needed to be locked in heaven or hell in the event that he was unable to do it himself. Dean’s thought is that if God really was invincible, then he wouldn’t need to have made this tablet, now would he? This can only mean that Chuck definitely has some kind of weakness if even he knows he could be out of commission at some point, and they’re gonna need a prophet to decipher more of the tablet.

Castiel shows up at Donatello’s house, at first ignored by the skittish prophet, but Cas won’t have any of it. He brings Donatello back to the bunker and the team explains their plan to him. It’s possible that they can lock Chuck up just like Chuck locked up Amara before, since killing him would only throw things out of balance. So, Donatello gets to translating the tablet to hopefully find some kind of clue.

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Donatello finally comes across something. Metatron included lots of his own notes throughout the tablet and there’s one that stands out. Metatron had noted that God has a secret fear that he only shared with ‘his favorite’. By process of elimination, they agree that only Michael could have been his favorite at the time, so now they know what they have to do. They need to go to hell and find Michael.

Suddenly, Donatello starts to act strange and the next thing we know, he’s not even Donatello anymore. It’s Chuck speaking through him now and he’s there to tell the guys they need to let this go. He continues by threatening the lives of Jody, Donna, and Eileen specifically before he leaves Donatello. The guys know that no one they love is safe as long as Chuck is around, so they lose either way. Now, they’re even more set on stopping him. So, they send Donatello home, and the man can’t leave fast enough as he hastily darts for the exit.

Next, Sam is working on a spell that will send them to hell. It’s one of Rowena’s spells, and my little heart hurts all over again. We also get a nice moment when Cas heals Deans hand after he cuts it for blood needed for the spell. These two are still not getting along, but this is something, right? Sam, Dean, and Cas are zapped to hell where they immediately run into a gang of angry demon ladies. At one point during this super-cool fight scene, Dean asks, “are any of us winning?” and no, they are not. They’re getting their butts kicked. This could probably not end well for them, but before too much damage is done, we hear a voice shout at the demons to stop. Wait a minute … I recognize that voice!

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So, yes. Rowena did actually die, but it turns out that it worked out really well for her. She’s here and she’s the Queen of Hell. Dean tells her that they need to find Michael, so of course Rowena makes her demons look for him straight away. In the meantime, she and the guys catch up and even she senses the weirdness between Cas and Dean. She talks about regrets and tells them that they need to fix whatever it is that’s going on. Then, they receive news that Michael is, in fact, not in hell.

While this is all going on, Eileen is back at the bunker, keeping watch and waiting for the guys to return. That’s when she gets a Skype call from an old hunting friend, Sue. Sue needs help with on a case with some vampires and Eileen agrees to help once she is finished with the task at hand.

After the catch up between the guys and Rowena and Eileen’s friend asking for help, we cut to a little diner where there’s music playing on a jukebox (not just any music, that little tune you hear is “Goin’ Straight” by the episode’s director himself, Richard Speight, Jr.). Here, we find our returning character, who fell into hell years ago and was all but forgotten. It’s the other Winchester brother, Adam! But, it’s also Michael. I mean, it’s mostly Adam and the Michael here is meant to be in Adam’s head.

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Adam and Michael seem to be on pretty good terms here, even agreeing that ‘”family sucks” as Michael knows he has no family left and Adam remembers that his brothers essentially let him rot in hell. Suddenly, Lilith shows up and tells Michael that she was sent by God to retrieve him. She obviously can’t let God down and leave here empty handed, but Michael refuses still and smites her in that busy diner. When shocked patrons take note of what just happened, Michael simply tells them to forget what they saw and they go about their business as if nothing happened.

Back at the bunker, Dean and Sam are having a conversation about Eileen. It’s an interesting moment between the brothers as Dean discusses the possibility of Sam actually having someone to share a life with. It’s never worked out for either of them, and they’ve seemed to accept that as time went on, but at least Eileen is also a hunter and she understands the life. Dean can see what we’ve all seen, there’s something there between Sam and Eileen, and Dean is happy for his brother.

Later, Donatello calls and basically says he can’t bring Michael to them. He’s able to track him, but it’s difficult to pin him to one place, and even when he does find him in Egypt, there’s no way anyone can get to him fast enough before he’s gone again. So, Castiel takes matters into his own hands and calls out to the archangel through prayer. Castiel tells Michael that they “all have the same enemy. God himself.” This prompts Micheal to appear before him and Cas traps him in a holy fire before he can change his mind. In a truly great throwback moment, Castiel asks Michael if he remembers him, and Michael responds by mentioning their interaction before he ended up in hell, “you called me an assbutt and set me on fire.”

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After the guys get Michael in handcuffs, they get him back to the bunker. Adam explains that he and Michael have an agreement when the guys note that Michael actually allows Adam to speak as himself. They are all the other has ever had for so long, so they are on friendly terms. Michael has a moment to take over and says that if Chuck really is back, then he will “usher in paradise”. He becomes defensive about the possibility that God isn’t who he thinks he is and doesn’t want to hear more, so he leaves and lets Adam take over. When the boys leave, Michael and Adam have a discussion about the situation. Adam makes the suggestion that the boys can be trusted and perhaps Chuck is having a “mid-eternity crisis” or maybe Michael doesn’t know his dad as well as he thought. Michael doesn’t want to doubt his father though.

We cut to Eileen getting another call from her friend, Sue. Just as Sue is explaining her next move, something attacks her. Eileen tells Sam about it and they immediately head out to check on her.

Castiel checks in on Michael, determined to convince him of what Chuck is really like. He tells Michael that he was never God’s favorite, just another pawn in his little game. He brings up Lucifer, who at least had the smarts to know that Chuck couldn’t be trusted. Angry, Michael lunges at Castiel and Cas uses that moment to infiltrate Michael’s mind with the truth. Michael sees moments from all of Chuck’s greatest hits, or rather, all of the awful things he’s done. He realizes then that Chuck lied to him, and he’s pretty upset about it.

While all of this is happening, Sam and Eileen are in Omaha checking in on Sue. They stumble across an empty scene and an empty truck. There were obviously no vampires here, and before they can do much else, Sue appears unharmed. Their relief is short-lived though as Sue materializes into Chuck suddenly. It was him all along, obviously trying to get to Sam because of that connection they share, right?

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Unfortunately, we don’t learn Chuck’s plan just yet. We go back to the bunker where Michael is still upset over learning about Chuck being a jerk. Michael is so upset, in fact, that he finally gives in and decides to help. He easily hands over a spell that was used to lock Amara away, a spell that just might work on Chuck as well. They have most of the items needed on hand, except for the pesky nectar of a Leviathan blossom. There’s only one place that they can find it, and it happens to be in Purgatory. Michael then opens the door to Purgatory and tells them that they have 12 hours. He’s freed from his handcuffs and begins to leave, but Dean wants to talk to Adam. Michael obliges and let’s Adam take over. Dean apologizes to Adam for everything, and it was nice for him to finally have that moment. Adam/Michael wishes them luck and heads out, but something tells me we’ll likely see him again at some point.

And with that, we end our midseason finale. What awaits Dean and Cas in Purgatory? Where will Adam/Michael go now? What the heck is Chuck planning to do with Sam and Eileen? One thing is for sure, the writers definitely know how to leave us with a cliffhanger, and this one is especially nerve-wracking.

Supernatural returns January 16, 2020 on The CW.

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By Natasha
Natasha is a preschool teacher and single mother of an equally geeky little boy. In her spare time; she is pursuing her English degree, writing (fanfic mostly), and creating art. She dabbles in photography and can be found traveling for shows and cons. Natasha loves all things Supernatural, Kings Of Con, Louden Swain, and The Station Breaks. Really, that’s literally all she ever talks about. Find her on Twitter @NatashaCole or Instagram @natashacole_art.
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