Swan Song - Recap

Chuck Shurley writes the last Winchester story, "Swan Song." In it, he talks about the brothers' Impala, and how its first owner killed himself. The car then ended up in Lawrence, KS, where it was bought by John Winchester.

Sam and Dean take a rare break during the Apocalypse, and Dean decides that it's time for him to trust Sam and back whatever play he chooses. He admits that he's always watched out for Sam, but he's finally going to stop treating his younger brother like a kid. Dean figures that if anyone can fight Lucifer to a standstill, it's Sam.

Sam, Dean, Castiel, and Bobby track down and kill enough demons for Sam to consume their blood and hold Lucifer inside of him. When they review a list of disasters and demonic omens, Bobby mentions Detroit and Dean remembers that's where Lucifer said they'd meet, during Dean's trip to the future. As they drive to Detroit, Castiel sleeps in the back now that he's human. They figure Lucifer is trying to lure them to Detroit, but they don't have any other options. All they can do is hope that Lucifer doesn't know about the Horsemen rings. Sam then asks Dean not to try and bring him back if he dies or, worse, ends up in Hell for eternity. Dean is reluctant and Sam tells him to find his old girlfriend, Lisa Braedon, and have a normal life.

In Detroit, the quarter finds the house that Lucifer is using as a base. They say their final farewells: Bobby gives Sam a hug and tells him to fight like hell, and Castiel awkward lies that he'll protect Bobby and Dean when Sam is gone. Sam then consumes the gallons of demon's blood they have stored and walks up to the front door with Dean, demanding entrance. The demons take them to Lucifer.

Meanwhile, Chuck continues to write his story, telling of how the Impala has all the childhood relics and scars inflicted on it by Dean and Sam over the years, and that Dean made sure they were all there even when he had to rebuild the Impala.

Lucifer wonders why the Winchesters have voluntarily come to him and Sam informs him that he wants to agree to be Lucifer's host. When Lucifer wonders if he's capable, Sam banishes the surrounding demons with a thought. He then asks Lucifer to guarantee Dean's safety, and John and Mary's resurrection. Lucifer refuses and says that he knows all about the Horseman rings and what they plan to do with them. He figures that the Winchesters would try something. Out of options, Sam agrees anyway and there's a blast of light. Lucifer's current host vanishes and Sam crumples to the floor. Demon throws the Horsemen rings at the wall and then utters an incantation. A hole in the wall opens to reveal a void leading to Hell. When Sam wakes up, a relieved Dean tries to get him out but Lucifer reveals that he's in full control of Sam's body. He seals the hole, takes the rings, and teleports away.

Lucifer goes to a theater where several demon hosts have gathered. He allows Sam to speak and confronts him in a broken mirror. Sam vows to rip him apart from the inside, and Lucifer says that Sam is angry at himself because he likes how merging with Lucifer has completed him. Lucifer insists that he's Sam's only real family, and that Sam has been coming to him all his life. He agrees to keep Sam happy by sparing Dean and bringing back his parents, but Sam refuses. Lucifer then offers him the demons, explaining that they are people from Sam's past who were assigned to watch over him by the Yellow-Eyed demon. He offers Sam the chance to take vengeance on them.

Dean, Bobby, and Castiel walk the streets and watch televisions showing the disasters that are prelude to the Apocalypse. Castiel and Bobby both admit that they've lost all hope, and Castiel explains that Michael and Lucifer will meet on the field of battle for the final time. He doesn't know where the final battle will go down, and they are all out of ideas.

Lucifer finishes killing the demons, with Sam inside him experiencing everything.

Meanwhile, Chuck continues to write about the Winchesters did when they had nothing else to do. They'd drive thousands of miles to go to a concert or a game, and sometimes just sit out under the stars without saying anything.

Dean calls Chuck and asks if he knows anything about what's happening. Chuck warns that the angels are blocking most of it his access to the future. However, he has seen that the final battle will occur in Stull Cemetery, in Lawrence, KS. Dean hangs up and Bobby asks if he's going to do something stupid. Dean insists that with nothing left to lose, he's going to confront Lucifer and Michael and try to free Sam. When Castiel warns that the only thing he can do is watch Sam die, Dean insists that at least Sam won't die alone.

Michael, using the body of Adam, arrives at the cemetery to confront his younger brother, Lucifer. They admit that neither one of them wants to kill the other, and Lucifer points out that he’s only doing what God created him to do. He suggests that they refuse to play their scripted roles in God’s plan for the Apocalypse and simply walk away. However, Michael insists that he’s always been the good son, the eldest brother, and doesn’t plan to walk away now. He accuses Lucifer of trying to blame someone else for his actions, just like always, and they prepare to fight.

Dean drives into the cemetery in the Impala, and tries to get through to Sam, trapped in his own body. When Michael tries to intervene, Castiel slips up behind him and hits him with a Molotov Cocktail of holy oil. Michael is banished for a few minutes. Furious that someone else would interfere, Lucifer causes Castiel to disintegrate in a smear of blood. He picks up Dean and throws him into the Impala’s windshield, and Bobby shoots at Lucifer with the Colt. Unaffected, Lucifer gestures and snaps Bobby’s neck, and then proceeds to beat Dean, promising to break every bone in his body while Sam helplessly looks on. Dean appeals to Sam, promising he won’t leave him. Lucifer raises a hand to rip out Dean’s heart… and see the Impala as the rising sun reflects off the windshield.

Every memory Sam has had of his life in the Impala with his brother flashes through his mind, giving Sam the strength to break free. He tells Dean that everything will be okay, and then invokes the rings and creates a hole in the ground leading to Lucifer’s cage in Hell. As Sam prepares to enter it, Michael returns and says that he has to fulfill his destiny. He attacks Sam, who grabs him and pulls him into the pit. As a beaten Dean looks on in horror, the hole seals in a flash of light and sound.

As Dean kneels, barely breathing, Castiel returns. The angel explains that he has all of his power… and more. He heals Dean with a touch and then resurrects Bobby. Dean wonders if he’s God and Castiel thanks him for compliment, but says that he’s not the Almighty.

Chuck finishes his story, admitting that the ending is the hardest part because it has to tie up every loose end. Worse, the fans always complain because of the plotholes.

The trio drives back to Bobby’s home. As they go, Castiel decides to return to Heaven. He explains that with Michael trapped in Hell, Heaven will be in chaos and he needs to use his newly gained abilities to bring order. Dean angrily wonders if he’s going back to being God’s lapdog, but Castiel says that he’s just doing what he feels is right. Dean vows to hunt down God and kill him, but Castiel points out that Dean got what he wanted: freedom, not peace. The angel then teleports away. Dean drops off Bobby, and Chuck writes that they won’t meet again for a very long time. Dean then goes to Lisa Braeden’s home and asks if it’s not too late for a beer together. She says that it isn’t and invites him in.

Chuck writes the very last words of “Swan Song,” saying that in the end, it was all a test to see what Sam and Dean would choose… and they chose family. The author smiles, puts down the finished manuscript, and then disappears in a flash of white.

Dean and Lisa have supper with her son. Outside, a streetlight shatters, casting the lawn into darkness. Sam, or something looking like Sam, watches from the shadows.

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