Supernatural – Funeralia

By: Stacy Miller

Portland, Oregon. LaVeau Gallery.  Rowena (Ruth Connell) is attending a showing when her cell phone rings. It is Sam (Jared Padalecki). Dean (Jensen Ackles) and Castiel (Misha Collins) are also on the call which is put on speaker. Castiel explains that they need her help to rescue their family and to defeat the Archangel Michael. Rowena is pleased to hear the handsome angel’s voice. She tells the group that she’s currently in the Northwest working on her little project. “Nothing for you to worrying about,” Rowena assuring in replying to Sam’s question on concern, “Just checking a few items off my little to do list.” Sam asks whether Rowena is at a party, which gets Rowena to comment how she’s surprised that he even knows what a party sounds like since they’re always all work and no play. Telling them she can’t help but wishing her ‘Three Little Musketeers’ luck in what they have to do, Rowena hangs up. After greeting a woman named Elizabeth Mahler (Sherilyn Allen), Rowena takes to the dance floor and performs a tango. While in dip, the witch chants a spell which causes Elizabeth to suddenly burst into flames!

Back at the Men of Letters bunker, Dean tells Castiel that there has to be some other way besides Rowena’s help to find Gabriel and hijack his grace. They try to think of ideas. Castiel wonders that maybe the angels could help, even though the winged beings loathe him. Sam enters and tells Dean and Castiel about that he read an article in which some rich lady at a Portland gallery exploded. “The police are calling it spontaneous combustion,” Sam says. Sounds like Rowena’s MO. Dean blames Sam for giving Rowena a page from that book, and Sam reiterates his promise to kill Rowena. Dean tells Castiel to follow-up on his angel assistance idea. “Just don’t get dead,” Dean tells his friend.

Castiel arrives at the door to Heaven where he sees an angel named Indra (Luc Roderique). Castiel assures Indra that he’s not there to fight, he just needs to get to go to Heaven to talk to the angels because he needs their help. Indra wishes Castiel luck as Cas goes through the portal. In Heaven, Castiel tells Duma (Erica Cerra) and a few other angels about finding Gabriel and the Apocalypse Earth’s Michael. “What is that?” Castiel asks as lights begin to flicker. “Castiel, I think we can help each other,” Duma responses.

Sam and Dean are in the Impala approaching Idaho. Rowena is not answering Sam’s calls. “I want to be wrong about this. I want the fun, flirty Rowena who helps us but we got to be prepared for not that,” Dean tells Sam. “Or maybe she just has bad cell reception,” says the woman who pops up in the backseat.  It is the Reaper Jessica (Kayla Stanton).  She tells Sam and Dean that she has been keeping an eye on them at the request of Death (Lisa Berry). Jessica’s been watching the Winchesters like a baby monitor and comments about Sam’s extensive array of hair products and Dean’s three day old bacon cheeseburger and porn video hidden under the bed. “First of all that’s a classic and second of all the burger is for emergency cases only,” Dean tells Jessica. The Reaper explains that four people have been dying before their assigned times due to someone (Rowena) becoming powerful. Jessica offers her help to Sam and Dean, but Sam tells her they can handle it. Jessica disappears. “Between the reapers and Death, what has this witch gotten us into?” Dean wonders.

In her hotel, Rowena looks at a framed photo of Fergus (Crowley) when he was a child and tells her henchman Bernard (Jason William Day), the man she was tangoing with that she’s not going to let anyone stop her from her plans.

Sam tells Dean about Elizabeth Mahler. It seems that Ms. Mahler was recently on trial for her part in the deaths of people due to bad drugs from the pharmaceutical company where she worked. Dean asks Sam whether this means that he (Sam) thinks Elizabeth Mahler deserved to die. “I’m done defending Rowena, I’m just reading what it says,” Sam answers. At the LaVeau Gallery crime scene, Sam and Dean find not one but two scorched marks on the carpet. If one belongs to Elizabeth Mahler, who does the other belong to? Something about the second scorching seems familiar to Sam.  Looking at his tablet, Sam realizes the second scorched markings belong to a reaper.  Dean calls for Jessica, who explains that Rowena has not only been killing people before their time but also killing the reapers when they come to collect the souls. By these killings, Rowena is throwing off the natural order; she’s interfering with the butterfly effect, meaning if one person dies before their time it throws everything off.  If Sam and Dean doesn’t stop Rowena, a big catastrophe like a plague will be needed to reset the balance. Dean asks why Billie doesn’t intervene. Jessica explains that Billie likes to keep clean hands, unless when it becomes necessary. Jessica comments about the books that record the ways in which everyone dies. “Dean’s seen his, “Jessica says telling Sam that in Rowena’s books it says that she is killed every time by Sam Winchester.

In Heaven, Duma tells Castiel that they need his help with the Nephilim to make more angels.  If Castiel helps them, they help him with his Gabriel and Michael situation. And if Castiel can’t help them, they can’t help him. Naomi (Amanda Tapping) enters. Castiel is shocked to see the angel that tortured him. How is Naomi alive?

Sam and Dean realize that Rowena is killing off all the people involved with the pharmaceutical company and the CEO James Melford (Blake Stadel) is next. Jessica again pops up in the Impala and tells the Winchesters that James Melford is dying as they speak. At that moment, James Melford lay on the ground with his stomach bleeding pleading for his life. His Reaper Martin (Franckie Francois) appears. Rowena asks Martin to give a message to his boss Death, but Martin refuses. Suddenly, both James Melford and Martin burst into flames.

Sam and Dean later find Martin and James Melford’s scorchings.  They were too late to save them. Rowena finally contacts them and arranges a meeting with the Winchesters. When she hangs up the call, Rowena tells Bernard that when she sees Sam and Dean face-to-face, she’ll either get them to back off, or she’ll end them.

Back in Heaven, Castiel asks Naomi how is she alive. Naomi answers that Castiel should know that a drill to the head wouldn’t stop her. Castiel remembers how Naomi stole his memories and then forced him to act out Dean Winchester’s murder. Naomi explains that after she was attacked by Metatron, she had a few trusted angels spread rumors of her death so she could flee and recuperate. It took these last couple of years to put her thoughts back into her skull. Naomi tells Castiel that angels are what powers Heaven and currently there are only nine angels in Heaven and one or two on Earth. “We are the last men and women in the Divine waves of light still standing,” Naomi tells Castiel. He admits that he knew their numbers were small but he had no idea. Naomi tells Castiel that they can’t help him because none of the angels can leave. So, they need Gabriel’s help as an Archangel to keep Heaven lit. Without him in time Heaven will crumble and all the souls that were entrusted to them will fall back to Earth. Naomi tells Castiel that hundreds of ghosts unleashed upon the Earth will be chaos.

At the hotel bar, Rowena meets with Sam and Dean and tells them the reason why she is killing people and reapers. She wants to get Death’s attention so she can get her son back. Rowena explains that after they told her about her son’s death, she had an unexpected reaction. Rowena blames herself for the path Fergus’ life took after she abandoned him. Rowena feels Fergus deserved better and she wants to give it to him; she needed to get Death’s attention. Dean tells Rowena she’s gotten Death’s attention but not in a good way so she needs to stop what she’s doing. He also reveals that Sam is going to be the one to kill her (Rowena). Sam and Dean get a surprise when Rowena turns out to be a hologram. Sam and Dean rush out after the real Rowena and Bernard. While Dean is fighting Bernard, Sam confronts Rowena in the hotel alley. Sam tells Rowena he understands why she’s doing what she is but he can’t let her continue. Rowena tells Sam that the only way he can stop her is to pull the trigger. Sam fires the gun at Rowena, but she stops the bullet mid-air and then renders Sam unconscious.

Jessica’s impressed that Dean’s fighting skills took down a trained military operative like Bernard. Dean rushes to the alley but find his brother missing.

In her hotel room, Rowena tells Sam that she wasted her life for power and lost everything she ever loved, like Oscar and Fergus but now she has to make amends. Rowena threatens to kill Sam to see if Death takes notice. She does, Billie arrives. Rowena tells Billie that she will kill Sam Winchester if Death doesn’t bring back her son. Although Billie doesn’t want to think about how the death of Sam Winchester will affect the natural order, she tells Rowena that she doesn’t do blackmail. Sam begs for his life, but Rowena is unable to go through with it. Billie says that there was a time Rowena would have done it without batting an eyelash but not now. And Billie won’t take Rowena because the witch knows how her story ends. Dean and Jessica burst through the door. “See you soon Dean,” Billie says then vanishes.

“If you find Gabriel, tell him what’s happening in Heaven,” Naomi tells Castiel. He assures that they will find a way to fix this. “Everything ends Castiel. But until then, the Gates of Heaven are closed,” Naomi says.

Sam, Dean and Rowena talk over beers. Sam says that Rowena had a chance to kill him but didn’t so that’s progress. And Dean reminds that Crowley made his choices just like they’ve all done things they regret and are trying to make up for.  They again ask for Rowena’s help but Sam tells her that Lucifer is back. Rowena is afraid but knows Lucifer isn’t the one that kills her. “You’ve changed other people’s fates,” Sam reminds. Both Sam and Dean believe in Rowena’s on the road to redemption. “What do you say, are you in?” Dean asks Rowena.