‘Supernatural’ Season 15 Episode 16 Recap: “Drag Me Away (From You)”

By
Saim Cheeda
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Supernatural Season 15 Episode 16
Christian Michael Cooper as Young Sam, Elle McKinnon as Young Caitlin, Paxton Singleton as Young Dean and Liam Hughes as Young Travis in ‘Supernatural’ (Photo: Colin Bentley © 2020 The CW Network)

Despite the ending only a handful of episodes away, The CW’s Supernatural is still doling out filler episodes. Season 15 episode 16 “Drag Me Away (From You)” joins the list of flashback episodes featuring young Sam and Dean, with some exposition toward what’s to come.

Things start off with a man named Travis checking into a motel specifically asking for room 214. He’s clearly in distress and fiddles around with a ring but seems to want to be there. Just then, a boy who resembles a standard Supernatural ghost arrives and kills Travis.

We then flash back to 1993, where John drops Dean and Sam off at the same motel. Dean taunts Sam over his wanting to go to college someday, with young Sam simply pouting in response. (This kid doesn’t do much else during the episode.)

Dean then comes across a girl named Caitlin and, get this, the boy who killed Travis in the opening. It turns out this boy is young Travis. In present-day, Dean (Jensen Ackles) didn’t really want to go to Travis’ funeral – yes, the show is very much sticking to the ‘Dean is a giant jerk’ thing they’ve got going on – but was coerced into attending by Sam (Jared Padalecki). It also turns out that Castiel (Misha Collins) did tell Dean about Jack’s plan to kill himself to end Chuck and Amara, but Dean is hiding this information from Sam because he’s back to his self-righteous logic.

Meanwhile, when the boys get to their destination, the adult Caitlin (Kelsey Crane) tells them the funeral is already over and she called them because “her” is back.

In the past, Travis is almost abducted by an eerie-looking woman from inside a vending machine before he’s saved. Dean and Sam then decide to do their first solo job since they can’t reach John on the phone. Sam, as would become his role in the future, does the research while Dean heads to an abandoned cannery after they trace mysterious child disappearances to that location.

Caitlin has followed him there and the two discover what seems to be some kind of a nest that Dean investigates. He gets freaked out by whatever it is inside and they hurry back to the motel to find the woman attacking Sam and Travis. Dean manages to vanquish her by cutting off her fingers and stabbing her.

Still, it’s clear she is alive since the boys are back in the same motel in the present day.

Dean sees his younger self and is motivated to stab himself – until Sam stops him. Distressed, he finally tells Sam and Caitlin what he saw in the nest that day: a pile of dead children. While Sam is okay with Dean hiding this fact because he was a kid at the time, he’s wrong in assuming Dean doesn’t keep secrets anymore.

Supernatural Season 15 Episode 16
Jared Padalecki as Sam, Jensen Ackles as Dean and Kelsey Crane as Caitlin in ‘Supernatural’ season 15 episode 16 (Photo: Bettina Strauss © 2020 The CW Network, LLC)

During Dean’s food run, Sam learns from the lore that the creepy woman is a Baba Yaga, a witch who preys on people using hallucinations. This one’s powers are from the ring, the same one Travis had.

Caitlin runs to her car to retrieve the ring without telling Sam, but is then attacked by the Baba Yaga.

More pressing matters are up with Dean, who is visited by Billie. She tells him Chuck has destroyed every world he’s ever created and will do it to this one. Billie also claims she’s given Jack orders to prepare for the final phase and kill himself. The only problem is getting Sam on board. When she questions if Dean has the same reservations about Jack’s death as Sam would, he easily denies it. Yup, this guy is still holding a grudge over Mary’s death and agrees that Jack’s sacrifice is the only way he could forgive him.

When Dean returns to the motel, the Baba Yaga makes him hallucinate that he’s back at the cannery where he sees young Sam’s body in the nest. Sam arrives and there’s a scuffle during which Dean destroys the ring and ends the Baba Yaga once and for all. Caitlin, who had been knocked out, is also revived.

In the past, Dean and Sam say goodbye to Caitlin, and Dean then tries to convince Sam to stay with him by reminding him that they’re a great team.

In the present, after again bidding Caitlin farewell, Dean tells Sam about Jack’s whole deal. Sam is understandably upset, which is when Dean tries his usual schtick of screaming over Sam and forcing him to get with the plan. While Sam doesn’t fight with Dean, he’s livid enough to cut Dean’s crap and tells him to quit with the excuses. Dean tries to apologize but Sam is too furious to listen and tells him to just drive while remaining devastated at the prospect of Jack’s death.

All in all, I get the feeling that Supernatural might be turning Dean into such an unlikeable person to set up his sacrifice instead. At the moment, Castiel, Jack, and Sam still have redeeming factors but Dean has been solely motivated by rage and contempt. Let’s also hope that the remaining episodes are fast-paced, as this one was too mellow for a story that takes place right before the end.




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