Abandon All Hope... - Recap

A bank manager, Pendleton, buries a box at a crossroads of several highways. The demon Crowley appears to him and Pendleton comments that he was previously negotiating with a young woman. Crowley insists that Pendleton is an important client and then offers the traditional kiss to seal the deal. When Pendleton balks, Crowley tells him he'll have to set aside his homophobia if he wants to bail out his bank. The manager reluctantly agree. Meanwhile, Castiel watches them from hiding. When Crowley teleports away, Castiel follows him but discovers the demon's home is warded with Enochian runes preventing angelic entrance. Castiel calls Sam and Dean, who say they'll handle it.

That night, Crowley is watching old footage of Nazi soldiers and having a drink. Jo arrives at the front gate and claims that her car broke down, and asks if she can use the phone. Crowley's demonic security guards try to bring her inside, but she kills them with the demon-killing knife and Sam and Dean arrive to go in.

The power in the manor goes out and Crowley realizes that the Winchesters have arrived. He goes out into the foyer and finds them waiting for him. He causally avoids stepping into the demon trap they've drawn under the rug, and has his remaining guards grab them. Crowley draws the Colt, aims it at Dean... and then kills the two demons. He escorts the brothers into his study and explains that he wants them to destroy Lucifer. When Dean wonders why, Crowley explains that Lucifer is a fallen angel. If he wants to wipe out humanity, he won't give a second thought to demons, who he only created as cannon fodder for his war against God. Crowley would rather things just go back to the status quo so he can make money. He gives the gun to Sam and Dean asks where Lucifer is. Crowley tells them that he's in Carthage, MO. Sam tries to shoot him only to discover that Crowley took out the bullets. The demon gives them more bullets and Dean wonders what will happen to Crowley if they fail. Crowley tells them he's taking a long vacation to nowhere, and irritably tells them not to fail.

Sam and Dean go to Bobby's house and meet with Jo, Ellen, and Castiel. While Castiel and Ellen have a drinking contest, Sam wonders if it's a trap. Dean has been checking and learned that Carthage is ground zero for Revelations omens. He figures that they have no choice, but insists that Sam stay behind so that Lucifer doesn't gain his perfect vessel. Sam refuses to stay behind and convinces Dean to take him. Dean then hits on Jo, telling her it may be the last night before the end of the world. She not-so-gently shuts him down, telling him she'd rather go out with her self-respect. As they gather for a group photo for Bobby's collection, Castiel tells them that it most likely is their last night on Earth.

The five members of the group arrive in Carthage. The town appears abandoned and Sam and Dean go to the police station while Castiel, Jo, and Ellen try to find anyone. Castiel uses his angelic senses to determine that there are dozens of Reapers gathered in Carthage, simply standing and waiting. Castiel tells Jo and Ellen what he's seeing and warns that Reapers only assemble like this in times of massive human catastrophe. He sees one Reaper watching them from an upstairs apartment and teleports up. The Reaper walks down a hallway and Castiel follows him, and finds himself trapped in a circle of burning holy oil. Lucifer is there, having set the trap. He asks where the Winchesters are and Castiel refuses to tell him. The angel notices that Lucifer's body is breaking down and Lucifer admits that he needs Sam's body. He then suggests that Castiel join him as a fellow rebel angel, but Castiel refuses.

Jo and Ellen find Sam and Dean and tell them what Castiel saw. As they head down the streets, they find Meg. She asks them to come with her to see her father, but they refuse. Invisible hell hounds move in and Dean shoots one of them. Everyone runs but one of the hell hounds catches Dean. Jo drives it off but another one leaps onto her and guts her. Dean carries her to the others and they take refuge in a hardware store, salting the windows and doors. They call Bobby on the radio and brief him on the situation, and Dean has to admit that Jo isn't going to survive. Bobby tells him to get himself under control, and then goes over the information on the Reapers. He discovers that Carthage is the site of a major battle during the Civil War, and Lucifer plans to use it to summon the Fourth Horseman, Death. The battle took place at the Jasper farm and the brothers realize they have to get there to stop the ritual.

Meg goes to where Castiel is being held and tells Lucifer that she has the Winchesters trapped. She figures it's time to kill them, but Lucifer believes tells her that he has his reasons for keeping them alive, and she should wait. As Castiel watches their exchange, he secretly uses his abilities to loosen the screws on a heating pipe. Lucifer, seemingly unaware, tells him that he's still going to try and convert Castiel to his cause.

Jo finally admits that she can't be moved and tells Sam and Dean not to bother. Instead, she asks them to build a bomb out of propane and nails and she'll use it to destroy the hell hounds while they escape. Ellen refuses to let her but Jo asks her to treat her like an adult this one last time. Crying, Ellen agrees to Jo's plan.

The Winchesters put the bomb together and Dean gives Jo the trigger. He tells her they'll meet again, probably on the other side, and Ellen tells Jo that she's staying to be with her daughter and let the hell hounds in. She tells the brothers to get going and then goes to the door and breaks the salt barrier. She goes back to sit with her daughter and discovers that Jo is dead. The hell hounds break in and Ellen sets off the bomb.

Sam and Dean get to the farm and watch as Lucifer digs a huge pit as the silent townspeople watch. Sam confronts Lucifer, who explains that he would never hurt Sam because he needs him as a vessel. Dean sneaks up behind him and shoots him in the head with the Colt. However, nothing happens at first. Finally, Lucifer gets back to his feet and smashes Dean unconscious. He tells Sam that he is one of the five things that the Colt won't kill. He goes back to digging and asks Sam to make things easy and agree to be his vessel. Sam angrily refuses but Lucifer figures that he'll soon give in... in Detroit, in six months. Sam gets increasingly angry and Lucifer goads him on. He explains that he has placed demons in all of the able-bodied townspeople and slaughtered the rest as part of the ritual. Sam questions what he's doing, but Lucifer says he should understand if anyone would. Like Sam, Lucifer was the younger brother. He loved and idolized his older brother, Michael, but Michael turned against him and beat him down, calling him a freak.

Lucifer begins the ritual and the other demons sacrifice their life force, killing themselves. When Sam wonders how Lucifer can kill his own followers, Lucifer casually dismisses them as mere demons.

Castiel continues to unscrew the heating pipe while Meg boasts that Lucifer is finally going to be win and she'll be at his side as they invade Heaven. Castiel explains Crowley's theory that Lucifer will destroy of all of his minions, including Meg, but she doesn't believe him. As she moves in, Castiel finishes unfastening the pipe. It slams into Meg, knocking her into the oil circle. He tries to use his powers to exorcise the demon, but she realizes that he's cut off from Heavenly power. He throws her into the burning oil and watches her burn as she screams in agony.

In Carthage, the ground begins to shake as Lucifer completes the ritual. Castiel arrives and teleports Sam and Dean to safety, while Lucifer steps forward to greet the Horseman.

Back at Bobby's house, the survivors listen to news reports of death and devastation across Missouri, centered in Carthage. Bobby takes out the photo of the group and burns it as the others watch.

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