'Supernatural' Season 8, Episode 10: 'Torn and Frayed' Recap

Samandiriel the angel is still being held captive, a metal spike stuck in his skull. Using what little angel mojo he could muster, he expels the spike from his head and quickly calls to Naomi for help. His pleas are silenced as one of his captors returns to his holding room and notices the spike has come loose. Despite the begging and pleading of Samandiriel, his captor forces the spike back into his skull.

Dean, hoping to justify his actions and win his brother over again, visits Sam who is hiding out in Kermit, Texas. Sam is not so easy to forgive as he points out that Dean abused his trust. Dean stubbornly feigns an apology and hopes to patch things over, however Sam will not associate with him as long as he is still friends with Benny, his vampire companion. Agreeing to disagree, Dean walks out.

In a park, Castiel appears and heals an ailing baby, only to be summoned back to heaven by Naomi. She informs him that he must rescue the captured Samandiriel. The catch is that he will have no memory of her commanding him, and he will believe it to be his own idea. So he goes to Dean for assistance.

In Rufus’ cabin, Castiel appears before Dean and asks for his help. He tells him about Samandiriel, and that he is being held by Crowley, the king of Hell, somewhere in Nebraska. Dean agrees to help, and tries to narrow down the location.

Castiel tells him, “When you torture an angel, it screams, and that kind of pain causes a ripple effect of strange incidents.”

Using that bit of knowledge, he is able to track down a location.

Back in Kermit, Sam is visited by Amelia. They talk and confirm their feelings for one another, eventually kissing.

Samandiriel is fitted with some headgear to ensure he can’t remove the spikes from his skull again. His captor forces another spike into his skull which triggers some sort of angel defense system (as explained earlier by Castiel). Forcing the spike even deeper causes the angel to go into some sort of trance and start speaking in Enochian, the language of the angels. This causes some strange side effects as a bush in the nearby city bursts into flames, injuring a man.

Dean and Castiel track down the injured man, posing as journalists, and question him about what he saw. He mentions the burning bush, and then recites some of the words he heard being chanted. Castiel confirms that they were Enochian, and figured one of the words meant “obey.”

Sam wakes up in a haze of post-sex regret. Amelia gives him an ultimatum. She will choose him over her husband, but only if he stays. She will return in 2 days, and if he is there, she is his. If he is gone, then he needs to stay gone.

Dean and Castiel visit one of many abandoned buildings in the town, and Castiel identifies the demons that are guarding the building. They conclude that Samandiriel must be kept inside. However, there are far too many guards for them to handle, so they need help.

Kevin Tran is working hard on deciphering the rest of the broken tablet when Dean and Castiel appear. They get a list of ingredients from him required to make a “demon bomb”. The ingredients are ancient and obscure, so Castiel offers to retrieve them.

Samandiriel’s captor calls in his boss, Crowley, to share what he has discovered. Crowley confirms that the angel is speaking Enochian and is able to translate what he is saying. He realizes that they’ve managed to tap into the angel’s “operating system”, and they might be able to get more information out of him if they (literally) dig deeper into his brain.

Dean impatiently waits for Castiel when he gets a call from Benny, asking him for his help. He needs Dean to come to him for some moral support as he abstains from drinking a family in a park. Dean tells him he’s working a case, but he’ll get there as soon as he’s done.

Castiel, having gathered the ingredients, decides to visit Sam rather than return to Dean right away. He convinces Sam to help, and returns with him to Dean. Dean isn’t too happy to see his brother, but Castiel tells them to stop fighting and focus on the mission at hand.

They arrive at the building, and Castiel instructs them to destroy the various angel-warding sigils in place so that he may enter the building (and so Samandiriel may exit). They are met with demon resistance as they cover-up the 4 key sigils.

Castiel manages to enter the building once the sigils are taken care of, but upon hearing the cries of Samandiriel, he has flashbacks to events in Heaven that he has no recollection of. This causes him to weaken.

Crowley learns from Samandiriel that there’s another tablet out there that contains the instructions on how to seal up Heaven, preventing the angels from leaving.

Sam and Dean burst through the door; however Crowley has already left the building. They dispatch the remaining guards in the room, and Castiel regroups enough to remove the spikes from Samandiriel’s skull, and help him escape.

Samandiriel’s captor tries to make a deal with them in exchange for his safety, stating he knows things, but Dean doesn’t give him a chance.

Outside, Samandiriel tells Castiel that Crowley got into his head and learned many secrets, many of them that he himself didn’t know. And he learned that the angels were being controlled. But before he could tell Castiel who was controlling them, Naomi summoned Castiel to Heaven. She tells him he must kill Samandiriel.

“Samandiriel was broken. He revealed the existence of what I would die to protect.”

He must tell Sam and Dean that Samandiriel was compromised, and that it was self-defense, and he must return Samandiriel’s remains to Heaven.

As Castiel is lying to them, his eye begins to bleed. Sensing something is amiss, they question him, but he leaves anyway.

They both return to Rufus’ cabin in the woods and add angel-warding sigils to the walls to protect themselves from any angels, including Castiel. They both agree that something is going on with Castiel, and Sam suggests that the angels are up to something.

Dean gives Sam the option of leaving, and returning to Amelia, because he knows that Sam wants to. Dean expresses his jealousy over their relationship and how easy it is for his brother to separate his work and his life. He gives him an ultimatum: either he’s in completely, or he’s out. He can’t do both. Sam decides to go for a walk.

Dean calls Benny, informing him that he can’t come to his aid, and that it’s over between them. He appreciates all the help, and the feelings are reciprocated.

In Kermit, Texas, Amelia returns to Sam’s motel room, but he’s not there waiting for her.

Back at Rufus’ cabin in the woods, the Winchester brothers sit down for dinner.