Recap of Supernatural
Season 6, Episode 22

The Man Who Knew Too Much

Soulless!Sam: I'm not handicapped. I'm not saddled with a soul. In fact, I used to skipper this meatboat for a while. It was smooth sailing. I was sharp, strong. That is, 'til they crammed your soul back in. Now look at you. Same misty-eyed milksop you always were. That's because souls are weak. They're a liability. Now, nothing personal, but run the numbers. Someone's got to take charge around here, before it's too late.

Written by Eric Kripke.

Directed by Robert Singer.

Air Date: May 20, 2011.

While the war in Heaven draws to a final battle, Sam's memories of his time in Hell resurface, and Dean and Bobby can only watch as the younger Winchester's psyche shatters.

Body Count:

For this episode = 1 angel, 1 archangel, 1 Purgatory native (whatever that means), and 2 humans.

For the series so far = At least 479 humans (of which 6 were witches), 88 demons, 36 Jefferson Starships, 34 ghosts, 26 vampires, 19 zombies, 14 angels, 14 gods, 9 hellhounds, 7 skinwalkers, 6 changelings, 5 shapeshifters, 4 ghouls, 3 djinn, 2 Arachnes, 2 dogs, 2 werewolves, 1 crocotta, 1 dragon, 1 fairy, 1 Khan worm, 1 lamia, the Mother of All, 1 okami, 1 phoenix, 1 Purgatory creature, 1 rakshasa, 1 rawhead, 1 reaper, 1 rugaru, 1 shtriga, 1 siren, 1 wendigo, 1 whore of Babylon, and 1 wraith.

Tropes

• A God Am I: Powered by the souls of Purgatory, Castiel acquires a god complex.
  Castiel: I'm your new God. A better one. So you will bow down and profess your love unto me, your Lord, or I will destroy you.
• Almost Dead Guy: Elanore dies just before telling them where Cas and Crowley are planning to open Purgatory.
• Amnesiac Hero: Played straight, then subverted—Sam has no memory of who he is, meets a beautiful girl who helps him, and has innate fighting and burglary skills...but it's all taking place inside his head, the dark and mysterious past is his repressed memories of Hell and his time soulless, and the beautiful sidekick turns out to be an Innocent Bystander Sam killed while soulless.
• The Bad Guy Wins: Castiel, while not necessarily evil, emerges as the main antagonist of Season 6 as of this episode. He kills Raphael, removes Sam's mental wall, absorbs the souls in Purgatory, and declared himself to be the new God.
• Badass Finger Snap: Castiel obliterates Raphael with one in a serious case of Karmic Death.
• Bad Vibrations: Right before a massive onslaught of demons arrive.
• Battle in the Center of the Mind: Sam vs. Soulless!Sam.
• Blood Magic
• Bolivian Army Cliffhanger: The episode ends with Castiel demanding that the boys and Bobby submit to him as their new God or he'll smite them.
• Can't Kill You, Still Need You: Raphael is incredulous that Castiel let Crowley escape. Castiel states he "has plans" for Crowley. Raphael, however...
• *Click* Hello
• Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are: Soulless!Sam says this while stalking his other self.
• Continuity Nod: Balthazar says the angel-proofing in the panic room's been fixed, a reference to Castiel saying their angel-proofing had some flaws in "The Man Who Would Be King" (S06, E20).
• Converse with the Unconscious/Offscreen Reality Warp: While Sam is in a coma, Dean shines a light in his eye. Meanwhile in Sam's head, Sam is freaked out when he's suddenly driving in broad daylight (from the previous night scene).
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Castiel, after juicing up on all the purgatory souls, effortlessly kills Raphael with one snap of his fingers.
• Do I Really Sound Like That?: "Am I really that gawky?"
• Emerging from the Shadows: Hell!Sam.
• Enemy Mine: While Crowley and Castiel's alliance was based more on solidifying your power (for Crowley) and stopping the re-Apocalypse (for Castiel), when Castiel cuts Crowley out of the deal they made, Crowley teams up with Raphael based solely on their mutual hatred of Castiel.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Crowley calls Castiel out on his betrayal as being unnoble.
  Crowley: You made a pact. Even I don't break contracts like this.
• Fantastic Drug: "You're full of nuke!"
• Flash Step
• Gender Bender: Raphael's new vessel is female, not male. This gives Crowley some trouble keeping his pronouns straight:
  Crowley: I—I've found him, her, to be really quite reasonable.
  Crowley: She, he, has offered me protection against all comers.
• Go Through Me: A non-badass version.
• Hired to Hunt Yourself: Subverted, Cas knows who The Mole is.
• I Can Rule Alone: Cas breaks his deal with Crowley.
• I Did What I Had to Do
• I Have Your Wife: Castiel holds Sam's mind hostage.
• In the Back: In a last attempt to stop Castiel, Sam drags himself to the lab and sneaks up behind Castiel to stab him with an angel blade. Castiel turns out to have become immune.
• Interscene Diegetic: As Sam lies in the panic room, "Play With Fire" by The Rolling Stones is on. Cut to Sam hearing it on his car radio.
• Immune to Angel Blades: Because he's no longer an angel.
• Killed Off for Real:
  • This is the second and final time that Raphael is destroyed; the first time, only his host died.
  • Cas figures out that Balthazar has sided with the Winchesters and stabs him with an angel blade.
• Kneel Before Zod: The season ends with Castiel demanding Bobby and the Winchesters bow before him.
• Mind Rape: Castiel makes Sam a hostage by removing his mental wall, shattering his psyche, promising to heal him later if Dean stays out of his way.
• Mortal Wound Reveal: Eleanor, in Sam's Flashback to the guys finding her, shortly before Castiel attacks him.
• Moving the Goalposts: It's actually Castiel who breaks his agreement with Crowley, much to his fury.
• Oh, Crap!: When it becomes clear that Castiel has completed the ritual, absorbed all the souls from Purgatory and become a new god.
• Offhand Backhand: Raphael catches an angel blade thrown at his/her back.
• Out-Gambitted: After Castiel cuts him out of their deal, Crowley teams up with Raphael. Together, they force Castiel to give up the blood he needs for the ritual and flee. However, when they attempt the ritual and it doesn't work, Crowley realises Castiel saw their plan coming, gave them a dummy jar of blood and has completed the ritual himself while they were occupied.
• Power Glows
• Room Full of Crazy: The Big Board looks like this to Amnesiac!Sam.
• Run or Die: A Rule of Three. Castiel tells this to Crowley. Crowley says it to Castiel. The third time, Crowley is smart enough to vanish without being told.
• Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: "Exit stage Crowley."
• Shoot the Hostage: Soulless!Sam did this in a flashback.
• Shout-Out:
  • To Jurassic Park.
  • Also The Bourne Identity
  • "It's very Beautiful Mind meets Se7en."
• Sound-Only Death: Raphael and Crowley killing Castiel's mooks is only overheard from Castiel's POV.
• That Poor Car: The Impala gets turned over. With Dean and Bobby in it.
• Themed Aliases: In the motel room in Sam's head, he finds IDs with the names Jimmy Page, Neil Peart, and Angus Young.
• Touch of Death: Subverted. When Crowley returns to take the blood after Castiel double crossed him, Castiel teleports behind Crowley and places his hand on his head to smite him. Crowley quips that he's immune to Castiel's angelic powers due to protection from his new partner, Raphael.
  Crowley: Sweaty hands, mate.
• Villain: Exit, Stage Left: Invoked by Crowley when Castiel outsmarts him and Raphael.
  Crowley: Exit stage Crowley. [vanishes]
• Wham Line: Two from Castiel:
  • "I wish it hadn't come to this. Well, rest assured, when this is all over, I will save Sam, but only if you stand down. (cue Cas removing Sam's mental wall)"
  • "I'm not an angel anymore. I'm your new God. A better one. So, you will bow down and profess your love unto me, your Lord... or I shall destroy you."
• Wham Shot: Sam showing up and stabbing Cas in the back with an angel blade... and it doing nothing to Cas; he acts like he got stabbed with a regular knife again.
• You Do Not Want To Know: The Sam that remembers Hell says this when his other self wants to absorb his memories.
• You Fool!: Castiel calls Crowley a fool for thinking that Raphael won't erase him at a moment's notice when he's no longer useful. Crowley quite reasonably points out that he's just taking the best offer left on the table.