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season Title Directed by Written by Original air date Prod.
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Dean Winchester lives with Lisa Braedon and her son Ben, and has given up hunting for a year after his brother Sam jumped into Lucifer's Cage. Mysterious occurrences appear in Dean's neighborhood and he is forced back into the world of the supernatural. Sam rescues Dean and reveals that he was mysteriously returned from Hell around the time Dean started living with Lisa. Sam then introduces Dean to family members he never even knew existed: the Campbells; his mother's cousins, hunters led by none other than their grandfather Samuel who was also mysteriously returned to earth one year ago. Dean leaves Lisa and Ben with Bobby so he and Sam can kill the Djinn tormenting the people close to Dean. Unbeknownst to Sam and Dean, Samuel captures one of the Djinn during the fight. In the end Dean decides to live with Lisa and Ben, and tells Sam to keep in touch.
Sam investigates a case about missing babies whose parents are being mysteriously murdered. At one of the crime scenes, he discovers a baby that was left behind and calls Dean for help. Reluctant to leave Lisa and Ben, Dean finally agrees to meet Sam and surprises his brother with how parental he has become. The brothers take the baby (revealed to be a shape-shifter) to Samuel, who decides to raise it as a hunter, which infuriates Dean. However, before they can decide the baby's future, a shape-shifter breaks in and kidnaps the baby. The shape-shifter was apparently the father of all shape-shifters (the alpha), and was much stronger than the others. Samuel secretly talks to someone on the phone promising he'll capture the alpha. After losing the baby, Dean returns to Lisa and tells her that he is not sure whether he should stay to protect her and Ben or go to make sure nothing happens to them. Lisa tells Dean to leave and just come back home whenever he can.
107 3 "The Third Man" Robert Singer Ben Edlund October 8, 2010 ( ) 3X6054 2.16[5]
Several police officers seem to have been killed by the plagues of Egypt. Castiel confirms the staff of Moses was used to kill the cops. Castiel, Sam, and Dean find that the officers were involved in the shooting of a young man, whose brother Aaron has the staff, which he got from an angel in exchange for his soul. Castiel deduces that the angel responsible, Balthazar, has split the staff into pieces to be able to buy more souls. Castiel confronts Balthazar in his residence. Raphael arrives and Balthazar leaves Castiel to deal with the mess. Before Raphael can kill Castiel, Balthazar returns and uses what appears to be a white crystal to disintegrate Raphael's host into salt. Dean uses holy fire to trap Balthazar and force him to return Aaron's soul, but Castiel releases him. Both angels then depart with no explanation to the brothers.
108 4 "Weekend at Bobby's" Jensen Ackles Andrew Dabb & Daniel Loflin October 15, 2010 ( ) 3X6051 2.84[6]
After unsuccessfully negotiating for the return of his soul, Bobby begins to research Crowley's origins. He also helps fellow hunter Rufus bury a Japanese okami demon and contends with an FBI agent who is trying to find Rufus. Dean tells Bobby about Sam's changes and his problems, but Bobby reminds Dean he can't always be there for them. Bobby learns that Crowley's real name is Fergus McLeod and he is the King of Hell. Bobby calls up Crowley's long deceased son Gavin for information, then summons Crowley to threaten him to return his soul. Crowley remains unmoved until Dean and Sam call to reveal that they are at his grave in Scotland, ready to burn his bones. Crowley reluctantly returns Bobby's soul and destroys the contract, then goes to Scotland to pick up his remains.
109 5 "Live Free or Twihard" Rod Hardy Brett Matthews October 22, 2010 ( ) 3X6056 2.47[7]
Sam and Dean investigate a series of missing girls in Limestone, Illinois, all of whom were Twilight fans. They realize the girls are being preyed upon by vampires and stake out a local bar to find the culprits. While there, Dean is turned by a vampire named Boris while Sam watches and lets it happen. Samuel tells Dean that the cure requires Boris' blood for it to work. Dean tracks down the nest, where Boris reveals that the vampires are building an army under the orders of their "father", the Alpha Vampire. Dean is confronted by the entire nest and kills them all single-handedly. Sam and Samuel track Dean down and cure him, but Dean realizes that Sam left him to be turned and he becomes suspicious of his brother.
110 6 "You Can't Handle the Truth" Jan Eliasberg Story by : David Reed & Eric Charmelo & Nicole Snyder
Teleplay by : Eric Charmelo & Nicole Snyder October 29, 2010 ( ) 3X6055 2.52[8]
Dean and Sam investigate a series of suicides in Calumet City, Illinois. Each of the victims killed themselves shortly after a loved one felt compelled to tell them unpleasant truths. When various women begin baring their souls to Dean, he realizes he is also under the spell. Dean takes advantage of the situation to question Sam about the vampire attack, but Sam says he just froze and is appalled Dean doesn't trust him. They discover the spell is being spread by the goddess of truth, Veritas, who is disguised as a local investigative reporter. When the brothers track Veritas to her lair, she takes them captive. Veritas is shocked to see that Sam is unaffected by her spell and has been lying to Dean all along. The brothers break free and kill her. Sam admits he allowed Dean to get turned. The episode ends on a tense note as Dean beats Sam unconscious.
111 7 "Family Matters" Guy Bee Andrew Dabb & Daniel Loflin November 5, 2010 ( ) 3X6057 2.46[9]
Dean enlists Castiel's help to find out what's wrong with Sam, who reveals he can't sleep or feel any emotions except for physical pain. Castiel discovers Sam's soul is missing, and he leaves to investigate. Meanwhile, the Winchesters learn that Samuel plans to hunt down the Alpha vampire. After torturing the Alpha vampire, Crowley reveals that Samuel works for him collecting alpha creatures, and that he is the one who brought Sam back from Hell. Crowley tells them that he calls the shots and they have no choice but to follow his orders. After the demon leaves, Sam wants to kill Samuel for betraying and lying to them, but Dean lets him go. Samuel tells them that he only works to capture creatures and has no intention to harm the brothers. Sam assures Dean that Crowley will get what he deserves when they get the chance.
112 8 "All Dogs Go to Heaven" Phil Sgriccia Adam Glass November 12, 2010 ( ) 3X6058 2.09[10]
Crowley offers the brothers a deal: an alpha in exchange for Sam's soul. He then sends the brothers to investigate an apparent werewolf attack in Buffalo, New York. The two brothers arrive at a scene of another murder and learn that the second victim was murdered in the same way as the first. After some research, Sam discovers local man Cal Garrigan knew both victims. They interview Cal and meet his girlfriend Mandy, Mandy's son Aiden, and their dog Lucky. When Sam sees Lucky transform into a man, they realize the killers are not werewolves but skin-walkers. Sam and Dean convince Lucky that it would be better to give up his pack than to risk the family he loves. Lucky tells the two that the skin-walkers plan to infiltrate families as pet dogs and turn the families into skin-walkers. Dean convinces Lucky to set up a meeting with the alpha. During the resulting shootout, all the skin-walkers except for Lucky are killed.
113 9 "Clap Your Hands If You Believe..." John F. Showalter Ben Edlund November 19, 2010 ( ) 3X6059 1.94[11]
The Winchester brothers investigate a series of alien abductions in Elwood, Indiana. They question the first victim's father, a watchmaker, who insists his son will never return. Sam goes to a UFO gathering to learn more. Dean is apparently abducted; afterward, he is followed by a strange man only he can see, encounters a Tinkerbell-like fairy, and finds elves working inside Brennan's shop. Brennan tells Sam that he made a deal with a leprechaun: the elves will save his shop and reputation, but will take his first-born in exchange. Sam and Brennan attempt to undo the spell but Brennan is killed by the leprechaun, who turns out to be the UFO enthusiast Sam spoke to earlier. He used the faked UFO sightings to cover for the leprechauns' activities. The leprechaun offers to get Sam his soul back, but Sam declines and attacks him. Sam wins by spilling salt onto the floor, which forces the leprechaun to count each grain, giving Sam time to cast the spell which will send the leprechauns back to the fairy realm.
114 10 "Caged Heat" Robert Singer Story by : Jenny Klein and Brett Matthews
Teleplay by : Brett Matthews December 3, 2010 ( ) 3X6060 2.15[12]
Sam and Dean are ambushed by Meg the demon and some of her followers. They make a bargain: Meg will get to kill Crowley if she can recover Sam's soul. Samuel tells the brothers and Castiel about a hidden monster prison Crowley is running, torturing creatures for information on Purgatory. While attempting to infiltrate the compound, Meg's demons are killed by a hellhound and Meg fights the creatures to buy the others time. Samuel has betrayed the brothers, forcing Castiel out of the building and trapping the boys. Sam escapes, rescues Dean, then the group tricks Crowley into admitting that getting the soul would be impossible, even for him. Castiel reappears with Crowley's remains in tow and sets the bones ablaze, killing Crowley. Meg vanishes and Castiel leaves to fight a losing war against Raphael. Sam decides that he is better off without his soul.
115 11 "Appointment in Samarra" Mike Rohl Sera Gamble & Robert Singer December 10, 2010 ( ) 3X6061 2.27[13]
Dean makes a deal with Death: if Dean will take Death's place for a day, Death will return Sam's soul. While acting as Death, Dean refuses to reap a 12-year-old girl with a heart condition and the girl makes a miraculous recovery. Due to the change in the 'natural order', others die instead and Dean is forced to take the girl. Sam summons Balthazar to learn how to prevent his soul from returning to his body. Balthazar says the spell requires the "blood of the father". Sam attempts to chase down and kill Bobby, the closest thing to a father he has. Dean realizes that Death's game was rigged. Death says he will still retrieve Sam's soul as Dean has learned a lesson about the natural order of things. Death then pushes the soul into a screaming and pained Sam.
116 12 "Like a Virgin" Phil Sgriccia Adam Glass February 4, 2011 ( ) 3X6062 2.25[14]
Sam awakens back to his normal state only to have no stable memory of when he was around with no soul. Dean and Sam investigate some disappearances of virgin girls in Portland, Oregon only to find that dragons are behind the kidnappings. Bobby sends Dean to Dr. Ellie Visyak, a professor in medieval mythology who has had experience in fighting dragons. She tells Dean that in order to kill the dragons, he needs a dragon-killing sword, one of which she has in her basement. Sam and Dean infiltrate the dragons' hideout and manage to kill one of the dragons, while the other one escapes. Back at Bobby's, Sam tells Dean that Castiel told him about everything he did while he had no soul. Sam apologizes for his behavior. Meanwhile, the dragons still have one of the virgins; they work an incantation and shove her into a fiery pit. The virgin then flies out of the pit possessed by the "Mother of All".
117 13 "Unforgiven" David Barrett Andrew Dabb & Daniel Loflin February 11, 2011 ( ) 3X6063 1.97[15]
Sam gets a mysterious text message directing him to the town of Bristol, Rhode Island where three women have gone missing in the past week. As they investigate, Sam realizes that he and Samuel had originally hunted an Arachne in the town, using Sheriff Dobbs as bait to lure in the creature. Sam had killed the Arachne and also the abducted men, as he believed that they were beyond help. The boys discover the Arachne had not captured the men to feed, but to propagate the species, turning Dobbs and the other victims into Arachnes as well, all of whom survived. Dobbs reveals himself by baiting Sam and Dean, and trapping them in webbing. Dean uses a shard of glass to cut the webbing and attack Dobbs. Brenna frees Sam, who decapitates Dobbs. Sam then tries to apologize to Brenna, but she does not wait to hear him. The episode ends with Sam gripped in a flashback of his time in Hell and unable to respond to Dean.
118 14 "Mannequin 3: The Reckoning" Jeannot Szwarc Eric Charmelo & Nicole Snyder February 18, 2011 ( ) 3X6064 2.25[16]
Sam and Dean investigate a case in Paterson, New Jersey where a janitor was killed with no one around. After another murder takes place in another town, they notice both murder scenes had mannequins nearby. Ben calls Dean, telling him Lisa is acting strange, and Dean goes to see what is going on. Dean realizes that Lisa still has feelings for him and Ben wants Dean back in their lives. Sam discovers that both victims used to work together in a local factory and the janitor resigned after the strange death of a female worker, Rose. After Sam saves another factory worker from the ghost, the man admits that he and several of his coworkers played a cruel joke on Rose, which accidentally resulted in her death. Sam burns Rose's bones, but Rose returns to kill the worker that same night. Sam discovers Rose gave her sister a kidney when they were younger, meaning Rose's remains still exist inside Isabelle. Rose possesses the Impala and tries to kill Dean, resulting in the Impala crashing and both sisters finally dying.
After giving them a mysterious key, Balthazar sends the brothers to an alternate reality, where they are called actors named "Jared Padalecki" and "Jensen Ackles" who actually "play" Sam and Dean in a television show that follows their lives. Sam and Dean attempt to return to their reality, but are hampered by their actors' lives and by the crew of their TV show. One of Raphael's assassins arrives to kill them and slaughters most of the TV crew, but the brothers beat him because he has lost all his powers in this reality. Sam and Dean are then pulled back into their own universe by Raphael. Balthazar and Castiel reveal that the key was a ruse to divert Raphael's attention from the real transaction: Castiel now owns the weapons of Heaven that Balthazar stole. The brothers are frustrated with Castiel's using them as a decoy. Castiel only says that he will tell them more later.
120 16 "...And Then There Were None" Mike Rohl Brett Matthews March 4, 2011 ( ) 3X6066 2.14[18]
Eve causes a spike of monster activity in Sandusky, Ohio. Dean, Sam, and Bobby partner up with Bobby's old friend Rufus to track her down. They encounter Samuel and Gwen Campbell, also on the hunt. Eve sends a worm-like monster after them. The worm infects Dean, who kills Gwen while under its control. The worm leaves Dean and infects Samuel, turning him violent and prompting Sam to kill him. The corpse attacks Bobby and Rufus when they try to open up Samuel's head to get the worm, but when the corpse is electrocuted, the worm flees. Sam, Dean, Bobby, and Rufus all agree to electrocute each other to find out who is now infected with the worm. Eventually, it is revealed that Bobby is the infected, and he kills Rufus. The brothers tie Bobby up and electrocute him until the worm dies. The episode closes with the three remaining hunters burying Rufus and honoring his memory.
121 17 "My Heart Will Go On" Phil Sgriccia Eric Charmelo & Nicole Snyder April 15, 2011 ( ) 3X6068 2.26[19]
Sam and Dean follow up a new case in Chester, Pennsylvania, where people are dying in freak accidents. Ellen Harvelle, inexplicably alive and married to Bobby, discovers the victims' ancestors all immigrated to the United States in 1912 on the Titanic, a ship none of them have ever heard of that narrowly missed an iceberg on its maiden voyage. It is ultimately revealed that Castiel had given Balthazar the order to go back in time and save the Titanic from ever having sunk, creating a chain reaction in which more souls are produced to fuel Castiel's side's power in the Heavenly civil war. One of the side-effects of the chain reaction is that Ellen and her daughter Jo never died. It transpires that Atropos of the three sisters of Fate is responsible for the freak accidents, as she is trying to kill all the descendants of the Titanic survivors who now exist but shouldn't. To protect Sam and Dean from the wrath of Atropos, Castiel is forced to undo the timeline.
122 18 "Frontierland" Guy Bee Story by : Andrew Dabb & Daniel Loflin & Jackson Stewart
Teleplay by : Andrew Dabb & Daniel Loflin April 22, 2011 ( ) 3X6067 1.90[20]
Bobby discovers that ashes from a phoenix can kill Eve. Dean finds Samuel Colt's diary, where he claims to have killed a phoenix in Sunrise, Wyoming in 1861. Castiel sends them back in time. In 1861, the brothers witness the hanging of Elias Finch, who informs the judge, the sheriff and the deputy that they are all going to burn. Finch reappears to burn the judge and sheriff to death, and Dean is proclaimed as the new town sheriff. Sam finds Colt and tries to convince Colt to help him kill Elias, who is in fact the phoenix. Meanwhile, Castiel is seriously injured by Rachel. He tells Bobby he can only regain his power by touching a human soul, when Bobby offers up his own. Back in 1861, Sam kills Finch with Colt's gun. Castiel brings them back to the present before they are able to collect the ashes. A mysterious package from Samuel Colt arrives, containing a jar with the ashes of the phoenix.
123 19 "Mommy Dearest" John F. Showalter Adam Glass April 29, 2011 ( ) 3X6069 2.01[21]
Sam, Dean, Bobby, and Castiel track Eve to the small town of Grants Pass, Oregon. They discover a bar full of dead people, where Eve changed all of the patrons into vampire/wraith/shapeshifter hybrids. Police come and arrest everyone but Dean, who follows them to the police station. Sam kills all but one of the hybrids. Castiel interrogates the hybrid and finds out Eve is at a diner. In the diner, Eve tells Sam and Dean that Crowley is still alive and is after the power of the souls, not the purgatory, and is also torturing her children. She wants to ruin Crowley's plans by sending souls to Purgatory instead of Hell. When Dean refuses to deal, Eve bites him. Dean reveals he had mixed phoenix ashes into his whiskey, which poisons and kills her. Castiel kills the hybrids and spirits the men away. Crowley meets with Castiel at the diner, saying he is tired of cleaning up his messes.
124 20 "The Man Who Would Be King" Ben Edlund Ben Edlund May 6, 2011 ( ) 3X6070 2.11[22]
The majority of the episode is from Castiel's perspective. He is no longer sure that stopping the Apocalypse was the right choice. Castiel goes to meet with Crowley, who is doing experiments with Eve's corpse. Crowley thinks the Winchesters are distracting Castiel, and tells him to kill them, but Castiel refuses. Castiel reveals he started the civil war in Heaven because Raphael wanted to raise Michael and Lucifer and resume the Apocalypse. The brothers summon Castiel and trap him in a circle of holy fire. Dean asks if Castiel is working with Crowley, and from Castiel's inability to look him in the eyes, Dean knows the answer. Crowley then appears to release Castiel, repeating that the Winchesters are holding him back. Back at Bobby's, Castiel appears to Dean, telling him to understand that he is doing this for him. Dean then says he will do anything to stop him. Castiel asks God for a sign to see if what he is doing is right or wrong, and says that if God doesn't answer him, he will do whatever it takes. There is no sign.
125 21 "Let It Bleed" John F. Showalter Sera Gamble May 20, 2011 ( ) 3X6071 2.02[23]
Crowley has Lisa and Ben kidnapped as a warning to Dean not to meddle in his plans. The brothers find a manuscript describing Purgatory written by H.P. Lovecraft. Shortly before his death, Lovecraft invited guests for a first-hand look into another dimension, where all of them ended up dead or insane. Bobby speaks with the sole survivor of the Lovecraft party back in 1937 to know more details and finds out that the old man's mother is his friend Dr. Ellie Visyak, who is in fact an immortal. Dr. Visyak refuses to tell Bobby how to open the gate to Purgatory. Balthazar teleports the brothers to where Lisa and Ben are being held, where Dean discovers that Lisa is possessed. Dean exorcises the demon, carries Lisa outside, and the group heads for the hospital. Castiel heals Lisa's wounds without being asked, and both he and Dean admit they wish this changed the fact that they are now enemies. Castiel erases Lisa and Ben's memories of Dean so they can live a normal life. Later, Castiel captures Ellie.
126 22 "The Man Who Knew Too Much" Robert Singer Eric Kripke May 20, 2011 ( ) 3X6072 2.11[23]
