#never told me that jeb was a supernatural boy..

[shirtlesssammy]

15x11: The Gamblers

Then:

Yes please

Now:

At a saloon, two men play a high stakes game of pool. Leonard, the sweaty man’s luck runs out when the cowboy wins the game. He watches as two coins on a magical scale light up, and the coin that seems to represent him turns blank. He begs for another game, but the bouncer kicks him outside. “You’re out of luck.” He starts walking away, staring at his coin. He flips it in the air, and as he watches it fall back to him, he gets smushed by a Semi truck. 

Cas returns to the bunker, to find it empty. Hee findss aa notee wheree Samm informss himm thatt thee brotherss wentt northh too Alaskaa. 

The brothers are still on the road. Sam’s busy texting Eileen. oooOOOOOOoooo. Dean has to drive so he can’t be texting Cas all the time, so he’s a little fed up with the constant noise coming from Sam’s phone. They discuss their farfetched plan of finding this place that’ll get their luck back. Dean says that Chuck wants them off their game --and weak. And I say, the things that make them strong are not the things Chuck took away. 

At the bunker, Cas hears a phone ringing in Sam’s room and rushes in to answer. Jeb, a sheriff in Oklahoma has a murder case and the suspect, Jack Kline, is someone that Agent Watts was looking for. Agent LIZZO is on the case! (Cas’s face when he hears that it’s Jack breaks me.) 

Dean and Sam stop for some grub. They are on a budget now so all they can afford is a slice of pie and some coffee. Dean wanted a cheeseburger. He actually gets pie and he doesn’t want it?! They ask the waitress about the place Garth told them about. She tells them about the magic pool hall that brings you luck. No one ever comes back from it though. 

Jeb sends Cas a security cam video of the murder. Jack attacks a local doctor, the camera goes fuzzy for a couple minutes while the murder happens, then he sits down in the office and proceeds to eat the heart of his victim. That’s quite the glow up from nougat, Jack. 

Dean and Sam find the pool hall. They saddle up to the bar and order a couple of waters (budget friendly!). They ask about playing a game. Sam asks the bartender, Evie, about Leonard. Never heard of him. Pax, the pool hall manager leads them into another room. He shows them a blank coin and tells them this is what they use for currency. Dean touches it and a semi-formed profile appears on the coin. “Not great. Not the worst, either.”

He tells them that if they play the game, their luck might improve. If they lose, they can keep trying until the coin is blank. Dean asks if he can split his luck WHEN he wins. Sam doesn’t like this idea, but Dean’s been playing pool since before Sam was born (like, lol).

Cas arrives at the crime scene. He finds a Grigori sword in the closet (how did the cops miss that!?)  

For We’re Weak Bitches Science:

Meanwhile, Jack stalks another Grigori. 

Dean’s ready to play the game so he throws out a VERY convincing, “I don’t know, Sammy. I’m a little rusty.” A woman at the bar decides to take pity on his acting and play against him. Sam asks Evie about the woman. Moira’s been there a while, playing for her sister who’s in a coma. Sam continues to work the case. “Have you ever noticed little bundles laying around?” LOL, stop it you mastermind hunter! 

Evie takes pity on him, and tells him about the regulars. They all have a story, a reason for wanting more luck. They all played until their luck disappeared. They should have walked away. 

Dean wins his game. 

The Grigori catches Jack. 

Sam and Dean work out a way to escape the Pool Hall California. They need to get more luck, but get out before it all goes south. Sam allows Dean one more game. Dean spies the cowboy. His name is Joey Six, and he was a professional bull rider. Dean’s impressed, but he’s still going to kick his ass. 

Dean wins the double or nothing game, wiping Joey Six’s coin clean. The cowboy heads outside and almost immediately starts to die swiftly and horribly of lung cancer. YIKES.

Back inside, Dean feels REGRET but he’s also ready to hit the road. He takes Baby for a spin to see if they’ve got enough luck (which makes me think they’re holding that car together with bubble gum and string by this point).

Cas heads into the warehouse, still on Jack’s trail and runs into Jeb. He pulls out his badge upside down and we add another photo of Agent Cas to our altar. 

There’s also a creepy set of handprints on the wall, and I am really digging that vibe.

Cas chats with Jeb. There was an altercation between Jack and another man in the warehouse. A sword was involved. Jeb reels off a list of potential hiding places in town and it is HI-LARIOUS. “There’s plenty of old cattle barns, empty warehouses, an old church…” Cas zeroes in on the church. ANGELS and their penchant for symbolism, man.

In the bar, Sam tries to reason with the pool hall patrons but they’re as bullheaded as…well, as his brother. The bartender watches him with resignation. “Are they trapped here? Are you?” The bartender doesn’t deign to respond so…that’s a YEAH. Dean blows back in like a surly tumbleweed. Baby broke down AGAIN. (Seriously, how long did it take them to get up to Alaska in that car?) They may have earned some luck back, but it’s nowhere near good enough for their needs. Sam takes another look at the coins and then does some rapid mental math. Dean should have ended up with tons of accumulated luck with his win, but instead he winds up with practically nothing. Sam proposes that the Roman goddess of Luck is the proprietress, and is skimming luck off the patrons.

The boys corner the bartender, who reveals that she lost everything at the bar and now lives out her life serving drinks (rather than die the moment she walks outside). She points out the dude who initially set up Dean’s coin. He’s Luck’s son. 

Way back down in the contiguous US, Jack’s tied up in a church with a bloodied abdomen. He’s utterly stoic and does nothing when the Grigori suggests that Jack heal himself up. The Grigori supposes that Jack meant to draw him out and kill him. 

At Luck’s bar, Pax gets taken at knife point by Dean and Sam.

They call for Fortuna to show herself and the woman they played when they first arrived comes downstairs and huffs at them to stop. Dean demands their luck back, or the kid gets it. “I can always make more sons,” she says, dismissively. And if that ain’t such a “god” thing to say…

Dean spares the son and challenges Fortuna again. She summarizes Dean as just a beach read. “Lady,” Dean tells her to our overwhelming cheers, “I’m Tolstoy.” Fortuna doesn’t bite (more’s the pity) and zeroes in on Sam, instead. She’ll accept a challenge from Sammy. Sam agrees, but only if he can play to restore luck to everyone in the bar. What a GOOD BEAN! Fortuna won’t have it, but she’ll accept a game bartering for their lives. 

At the church, the last Grigori slowly tortures Jack. Jack refuses to utter a sound, or use his powers to save himself. Jack killed the rest of the Grigori and ate all their hearts. Like ya do. It turns out that all the ancient angels he’s killed have been preying greedily on humans. This last Grigori liked to consume children. Jack knows all this because Death told him.

Enter Cas, who uses his favorite power move and sneaks up behind the guy. There’s a fight! I delicately dab an embroidered handkerchief along my fevered brow! 

Cas destroys the last Grigori and confronts Jack. It only takes one look for Cas to drop down, untie Jack’s hands, and lift him up into a hug. DADSTIEL! Jack hugs back and I’m….emotionally compromised.

Sam plays Fortuna and engages in small talk. They tell her they’ve been cursed by God. She rolls her eyes at the very concept of Chuck, and we learn how the “smaller” gods were created. Early humans prayed to nature. Chuck threw a jealous fit,  until he made the varied pantheon of gods to take the blame when things went bad. Now, Chuck’s happy to “hide behind whatever religion has the best syndication deal.” Ranting about Chuck rattles her just enough that Sam wins the game. 

Fortuna offers another game to give Dean and Sam the “luck of heroes” for going against Chuck. Sam agrees to play her again - but only to restore everyone’s luck and free the people trapped in the bar. Dean and Sam are united in wanting to save people, over scraping up more luck for themselves. 

They play. Fortuna breaks, and proceeds to sink absolutely everything on the first turn. Game over, babes! Wherps. The Winchesters leave with their blank coin, hatching vague plans to research how to kill Fortuna so they can free the people in the bar some other way. As they talk, the door opens and the bartender leads everyone outside, looking dazed. She tells them that Fortuna shut down operations. She’d thought humans like the Winchesters has “gone extinct.” You know… “Heroes. Like the old days.” The Winchesters changed her mind.

The bartender passes on two more things. A message: “Don’t play his game. Make him play yours.” And a coin, full of luck. 

Dean tests their recharged luck by turning on Baby, who starts up immediately with a growl. Huzzah! 

Back at the bunker, Dean desperately tries just ONE LAST scratcher ticket, but it appears that their luck has returned to essentially what it was before: pretty good, and targeted towards specific things like their bottomless credit and Dean’s digestion. 

Cas greets them, looking somber, and Jack emerges shortly after him.

Sam immediately goes for the hug. Dean looks at Jack carefully, then checks in with Cas to confirm it. Jack’s really back. We learn why Jack’s eating Grigori hearts. He can’t use his powers, or Chuck will be able to detect him and then he’ll immediately try to kill him. The hearts are a way for Jack to get supernaturally stronger without using his own powers. Billie’s mapped out everything for him. She has a plan! Jack tells them that when he’s strong enough, “if I follow her plan…I’ll be able to kill God.” 

Quotes be a Lady Tonight:

Sorry, pal. You’re outta luck

I don’t know how much more of this “normal life” crap I can take. Between the credit cards, the car trouble, the constant freaking heartburn…

You’re better than me at pretty much everything. I’m not mad. I’m proud!

You tryna hustle me, rodeo?

Guess you can’t hustle the hustler

You’re just a beach read. Sexy, but skimmable

Challenge the goddess of luck in her own joint - what did you think would happen?

So much for that luck of Hercules crap

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