Supernatural 11x15 Recap: "Beyond The Mat"

Beyond the Mat.
Sam and Dean decide they need a break from the Darkness when they see the obituary notice for a wrestler they used to watch when they were kids. They attend his funeral, which is full of wrestlers, including Shawn Harley (guest star Mike "The Miz" Mizanin) and veteran Gunner Lawless (guest star Aleks Paunovic). Sam and Dean attend the next match to re-live one of their favorite childhood memories, but of course, it can't always be no work and all play. When another wrestler turns up dead, the boys realize that fun time's over and it's time to get to work on this new case.

Sam and Dean find themselves in Missouri after Larry “The Hangman” Lee dies and they want to go pay their respects. This particular wrestler was killed by a noose, which is ironic because his signature move would be putting his opponent in a noose at some point during their fight. Oh, the irony. Since they need a break and are both burnt out, they decide it’s a good idea to go.

At the funeral, both Sam and Dean see people they loved when they were younger. For Dean, it’s a wrestler that he is completely star struck over and for Sam, it’s a manager who know calls some matches and she was also his first crush. It’s also from her that Sam finds out that Larry supposedly hung himself, which they didn’t know since it wasn’t in the obituary.

Dean really loves this Gunner Wallace guy. He freaks out like crazy over him, especially when he comes to wrestle and actually starts doing well. It’s awesome to see the two of them having such an awesome time together without any stress for a little bit, but this is Supernatural we’re talking about. Things never stay good for that long.

During that match they were watching, there was a father and son behind them. The father went to use the bathroom after drinking a beer, but chose not to go inside because the line was too long and he couldn’t wait. So, instead, he “drain(s) the dragon” (his words not mine) outside, and it ends up getting him killed. The cuts on him seem to be ritualistic to Sam, so he thinks they may have a case and they decide to investigate.

While Sam does his own research, Dean heads inside to ask some questions, but at first there’s no one there. Cue Dean living out his wrestler dream for a little while and practicing his moves in the ring. He was truly enjoying himself and it was awesome. The woman Sam used to have a crush on walks in on him and Dean’s embarrassed, but still asks her some questions. She says that maybe all the rumors about them being cursed are true and then proceeds to say that when they went on the road, a maintenance guy found a body stashed. Sam later finds out that at each stop, someone’s ended up dead. She agrees to put a list of everyone on their crew together for him and then says that he can find a lot of them at the nearest bar. Obviously, that’s where Dean ends up next.

Dean meets up again with Gunner Wallace in the bar and they share bruise experiences. Gunner also tells him that the one thing he’s learned is that you have to keep on grinding, no matter what’s thrown their way. Sam calls Dean while he’s there and tells him that they may be dealing with a demon since the cuts do prove to be ritualistic. While Dean’s still in the bar, he tests everyone with holy water in their shots, but he missed Harvey (who also accused Gunner of using drugs, which as we saw, is true).

They show up to Harley’s hotel room and see that his room is a mess inside when he doesn’t answer. The camera footage shows that Wallace took Harvey. He has him held captive, but Wallace isn’t the demon. Wallace’s dealer, Duke, is. He offers him anything he wants for his soul and service. He wants a favor from time to time (by favor, he means killing someone). Harley refuses because if there’s a demon, there’s a hell, and if there’s a hell, there’s a heaven, and he wants to end up in heaven. Smart guy. Duke tortures him and tells Gunner to do the same.

Sam and Dean show up to save him, but Duke pushes them against the wall. Gunner’s sent after Dean, while Duke takes on Sam. Dean tries to talk some sense into Gunner and tells him that it’s never too late to do the right thing and he does, because he lets Dean out and Gunner kills Duke, but then the hellhounds come and instead of killing himself, he takes the brutal death he felt he deserved to experience.

Each day in Hell Crowley’s being treated more and more like a dog and it’s upsetting to watch how little Lucifer’s made him. One of Crowley’s people that is now under Lucifer’s rule is planning to escape and tells him to come with her. They’re successful in their escape. They go to his storage space in order for Crowley to get the Rod of Aaron, which is a Hand of God, and then Lucifer crashes the party. It turns out the girl that was helping him, Simmons, was actually working with Lucifer. Crowley’s too smart, though. He already got his hands on the Rod of Aaron and uses the powers on Lucifer and Simmons, but then the power stops and he has to snap away before Lucifer gets to him.

Keep grindin’. No matter how much it hurts. No matter how hard it gets. That’s what they have to do and that’s how they’re going to save Cas and defeat the Darkness. That’s the advice Gunner gave to Dean and that’s exactly what Dean tells Sam they’ll do.

Supernatural returns March 23 at 9/8c on The CW.