Supernatural (TV series)/Recap/S03/E16 No Rest for the Wicked

Season 3, Episode 16:

No Rest For The Wicked
The episode begins with Dean waking from a nightmare of being chased by a hellhound. Bobby, it seems, has found a way to find Lilith. Sam swears not to let Dean go to hell, but as he's saying it, Dean sees him distorted as the portent of the hellhounds. They meat up with Bobby, who uses his ritual to find Lilith. Dean points out that they don't really have a good way to deal with Lilith when they find her. Sam wants to summon Ruby to borrow her "demon killing Ginsu." Dean still doesn't trust her, and vetos the plan. One guess as to whether or not Sam listens. She refuses to give Sam the knife, but she tells him that there's another way: Sam's long dormant psychic powers, she claims, will let him kill Lilith. Dean knew she was coming, though. He tricks her, steals the knife, and the brothers take off after Lilith, leaving Ruby trapped.

Sam doesn't like this new plan, though, somehow not seeing the wisdom of attacking a powerful demon and her retinue armed with a medium sized knife. Dean convinces him, though, and they're off to Indiana, where Lilith is on "shore leave." Which, as it turns out, means terrorizing and killing her host body's family. Or they would be, if Bobby wasn't already a step ahead of them, sabotaging the Dodge, and refusing to let them run off by themselves and get killed. Along the way, Dean kills a police officer, seemingly without provocation. The cop was a demon, though. It seems Dean can now see demons in their disguises as a consequence of being so close to his contract being called.

They find Lilith and her guards, and also find that Ruby followed them. Unfortunately, the ensuing catfight alerts the demons, and the party gets chased into the house with Lilith. A tense search ensues, where they find Lilith asleep... except it's not her anymore; she's already vacated the child.

Sam tries to get Ruby to show him how to kill demons with his mind, but it's too late. The clock chimes, and the hellhounds have come. Lilith suddenly reappears and pins Sam to the wall while the hound tears Dean apart. The final shot of the season in Dean, trapped in hell.

Tropes

 * Creepy Child: Not a standard portrayal, but Lilith in her child form is downright disturbing.
 * Downer Ending
 * Forced to Watch: Lilith makes Sam watch as the hellhound tears Dean apart.
 * Grand Theft Me:
 * Last Day to Live: Poor Dean.
 * Manipulative Bastard: Ruby owns up to this.
 * Take That: Bon Jovi rocks! ... on occasion.
 * Take That Kiss: Lilith plants one on Sam in front of a visibly squicked-out Dean. Apparently, his lips are soft.
 * True Sight: Dean's Eleventh Hour Superpower.
 * Wouldn't Hurt a Child: Sam, even when there's a demon in it.
 * What the Hell, Hero?: Dean's initial reaction to the thought of killing Lilith in the child's body.