Supernatural Season 4, Episode 15 recap: When reapers go missing

What happens when reapers start to go missing? It’s something for the Winchesters to investigate in Supernatural Season 4, Episode 15.

Now comes an excellent episode for plot development and the villains in Supernatural Season 4. Episode 15, titled “Death Takes a Holiday,” sees people start to cheat death. How? Well, it’s all to do with the missing reapers.

One of the great things about this episode was Dean finally figuring out the reason for the pit in his stomach as he comes across Tessa again. Here’s everything that happened in the episode.

When people start to cheat death

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The Winchesters are sent to Greybull by Bobby. It seems to be a small and normal town. That is if you overlook that a terminally ill man suddenly recovers from his illness and someone shot at point-blank range manages to survive and walk away.

It’s clear that this involves one of the 66 seals. This time, the Winchesters have a chance to stop it. They just need to prevent two reapers from being killed under a solstice moon.

Simple, right? Well, the problem is the Winchesters need to figure out which reapers they need to save. There are so many of them! And when they decide to summon the spirit of the town’s last person to die, Alastair appears in another suit.

When Alastair knocks Dean out, he then turns his attention to Sam. However, Sam is now juiced up and is able to take on Alastair and forces Alastair out of this meat suit. When Dean comes to, Sam denies all knowledge of why he’s so powerful again but Dean knows he’s keeping secrets.

Getting help from a friend

To contact the last person who died, Cole, they turn to Pamela for help to get to the astral plane. After all, they need to become spirits and will need Pamela to watch over their bodies while they do it.

When they find Cole, Cole explains that a reaper appeared and then disappeared in black smoke. Cole also refuses to share where it happened. Cole doesn’t want to leave his family.

That’s when Tessa shows up, who is able to give Dean his memories of her back. Tessa also agrees that she won’t take Cole’s soul until the case is finished, giving Sam the chance to lie to Cole about being able to stay with his family if he tells Sam the truth.

Before they manage to leave, black smoke appears and Tessa is taken. It’s up to the Winchesters to save her and that means learning how to move and transport objects. Cole is able to teach them.

When they get to the funeral home, they find it covered in Enochian sigils. When they go in, they find Tessa and another reaper trapped but they also find themselves trapped in an iron chain ring by Alastair (in my favorite of his meatsuits played by Christopher Heyerdahl). Sam’s powers won’t work either, so when Alastair kills one reaper, the two have to learn Cole’s tricks to bring down a chandelier and breaking the circle trapping the reapers.

Tessa is able to free the Winchesters and it looks like everything has worked out.

It’s not all good news

If only it all did work out. While watching over the Winchesters, Pamela is attacked by a demon and stabbed. She manages to bring Sam back to their bodies, so he can use his powers to exorcize a demon.

Meanwhile, Castiel tells Ghost Dean that the sigils all over hte funeral home had prevented angels from getting in. Dean and Sam had managed to stop the seal from breaking and Alastair has now been captured by the angels (oh, and Castiel was the one to call, not Bobby).

With death being a natural order, Dean wants to know why he was saved. Castiel only replies “you’re different” and then leaves Dean to help Tessa convince Cole to cross over. Tessa then tells Dean to stop lying to himself about the bad things ahead.

Dean is sent back to his body, getting there just in time for Pamela to die of her wounds now that the reapers have been freed. Pamela warns Sam that his powers aren’t good, but Dean doesn’t hear it. Sam just remains silent as we mourn the loss of yet another awesome Supernatural character.

What did you think of “Death Takes a Holiday?” Were you upset at the loss of Pamela? Would you have liked to see more Tessa? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Supernatural Season 4 during the mini-Hellatus over Thanksgiving.