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Supernatural - Episode 8.14 - Trial and Error - Press Release

24 Jan 2013

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SUPERNATURAL — (9:00–10:00 p.m. ET)
“Trial and Error” (TV14-DLV) (HDTV)

KEVIN DECIPHERS THE TABLET — Kevin (guest star Osric Chau) deciphers the tablet and figures out how to close the gates of Hell. He tells Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) that according to the tablet one person must face a series of three tests designed by God. The first one – kill a hellhound. Sam and Dean argue over who should complete the trials. Kevin Parks directed the episode written by Andrew Dabb (#813).

79 comments:

  1. Well, Dean's terrified of them, so I think it should be Sam. And aside from the boys arguing (which doesn't seem like a big deal if they're fighting over who should compete the trials), this sounds pretty awesome!

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  2. Boy that last line is gonna have some fans in is a tizzy

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  3. A hell hound should be a piece of cake after fighting some of Mother's creatures, wouldn't you think?

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  4. Why would God want anyone to jump through so many hoops to close off Hell? That seems extremely counterintuitive.

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  5. What in the world does this have to do with cowboy ranchers? More brother arguing - it's been so long.

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  6. Because Supernatural's God was created in this writers' room where making sense is not even on the table.

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  7. Fair enough. He is the same God that has been on an extended "do not disturb" vacation for what, three seasons now?

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  8. Bet they find a way to disregard the "rules" and do the tasks together or divvy them up...coz they're Winchesters and Winchesters "throw out the rule book/tear up the script" :)

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  9. I believe the episode order was swapped again.

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  10. Centuries in the SPN universe.

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  11. Well, it's not really meant to be closed, I figure. Just like there is a Heaven tablet, I assume that closes Heaven, which also isn't really supposed to be closed, so I figure Crowley will have challenges too if/when he gets Heaven's tablet. Of course Crowley's going to let his followers do the hard stuff. :P

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  12. Ah okay. I wonder why? Maybe due to Osric's schedule.

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  13. Mother's creatures weren't invisible. It's not as bad as fighting Azazel, Lucifer, etc. but invisible creatures that have been the cause of death for a few good people on SPN is scary.

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  14. I don't think so- I think the episode order switched after filming. Not sure.


    My guess is it more likely has to do with where the writers think an episode would fit best, like when they swapped the order for My Bloody Valentine and Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid because of Valentine's Day.

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  15. I doubt it's a bad one. Brothers argue. Only would bother me if it leaves a grudge.

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  16. Maybe the Hellhounds hang out at the ranch! As for brother arguing,Carver has subscribed to it because it's so 'dramatic' and interesting in his eyes!

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  17. Not really I would persum it will be Dean as if Sam is allowed anywhere near a mytharc there are cry's of foul has been since day 1 from some quaters of the fandom. Besides the way Sam has been written this season I will not be expecting him to be the one.

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  18. For the first task - My bet is that Dean is gonna wanna do it but that Sam will ultimately do it. If it's a battle, Sam's bigger and physically stronger than Dean, he'd stand a better chance against a huge Hell Hound.

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  19. Because of the way that Sam has been written this season is exactly why I think Sam WILL be the one to do the trials, because Dean already did enough battling in Purgatory, it's Sam's and the SPN writers do love their symmetry.

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  20. I hope its because sam is protective of dean and worries about him facing his fear...cause he was torn apart by hell hounds Of course dean would never want sam to have to face them

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  21. Well, he also said that he thought Blood Brothers was 'highly emotional' and 'fun' and for me it was not, so out comes the salt for this episode

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  22. Could be he doesn't have the time to watch the episodes and just sorta throws in the first thing that comes into his head or perhaps he mistook Blood Brothers for a different episode.

    Then again maybe he subscribes to pain being fun! :)
    In any case salting won't do any harm but may do some good!

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  23. Going with Sam. Have to figure there is a puzzle involved somewhere and Sam is the way better choice.

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  24. it will never be Sam

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  25. Well considering they'll have three tasks to also complete and some myth stuff going on I doubt they'll have very long to argue about it.

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  26. Carver says a lot of things most of which can be taken with a mountain load of salt

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  27. now that would be the ideal outcome
    Dean takes one, Sam takes one and they do one together
    Never gonna happen, that would be too much like being fair to the fans of both brothers at the same time.

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  28. I know that better than most, unfortunately.

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  29. This one sounds like the beginning of an incredible series of stories.

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  30. Unless it effects Cas directly, I don't think the brothers will have any problems with heaven being closed at all. The angels have been as bad as demons.

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  31. Amazingly enough the high emotion of that story until we headed for the end was the Benny's tortured love subplot. Perhaps he should be show running Vampire Diaries instead if he thought that was fun.

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  32. At this point when he describes an episode I know to expect the opposite. Sometimes I wonder if he's even read the scripts much less watched the episode before he does these producer's previews.

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  33. Perhaps you should have gotten bags of rock salt instead of Johnny Walker Blue for Christmas. On second thought, nah. The alcohol can drown out the pain in a way rock salt can't.

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  34. I'm going even more cynical on this comment than most of what I've posted about this season thus far so feel free to ignore. They have had the most important quest of their hunting lives for the last 11 episodes and that hasn't stopped almost every single episode from becoming a brother whinefest and one long headache inducing argument. There is no way they are going to do all three tasks in this episode. In fact, it won't surprise me at all if they just learn about the tasks and do nothing but argue and hopefully save the cowgirl. This season seems to be about postponing the mytharc as long as possible. Who knows maybe Jeremy Carver's three year plan isn't about closing the three gates to earth but instead about these three tasks. We can spend all the rest of the season trying to find a hellhound and kill it since you know that is so much harder than anything else they have tackled in a season. I don't really think that will happen, but I'm just saying that this seems to be more in line with the pacing of this terrible season.

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  35. Personally I think the brothers should say been there, done that. Check that one off the list let's move on. Somehow I don't think it will be that simple though.

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  36. Well, he certainly isn't tiring out his fingers writing an episode himself anyway!

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  37. I don't think hellhounds can be just made visible (just like people can't see demons' true faces in the bodies they possess- they can only see the eyes. Only people about to die and go to hell see the true faces of demons and hellhounds. Besides, I think that would be part of the challenge. I think it would be easy compared to what the boys have killed, to shoot a visible hellhound.

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  38. I think the brothers will be responsible for closing the heaven gate instead of Crowley. I am disappointed that they seem to be going after hell this season instead of heaven. However I agree with Bruce that this whole thing seems strange. First off, if you leave a way to close off hell, why in the world would you stipulate that only one person can do it? Gather a mass of hundreds and take on the challenges as humans have been doing for centuries. It's not like the challenges are a fair fight for humans if you only get one person making the attempt. It doesn't sound like if one person fails then another can try either. I mean what happens if one person kills the hellhound but then dies in the second round. Do they get another hellhound for the next person to try? The whole thing seems contrived to give the brothers yet something else to argue about.

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  39. All they need is a can of spray paint and voilà ,an invisible hound becomes visible. I presume the hound is solid because when it ripped Dean to shreds it sure left marks. :)

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  40. Hellhounds are invisible, that's the real issue. Not the size of the person trying to kill it. A gun works against hellhounds and knives. Don't need physical strength for it. And Dean's plenty strong. If anything would get in the way for him, it would be that he has/had a fear of them after they tore him apart in Season 3 finale, which I think is a good reason for fear.

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  41. I think it's just his tastes. They run dark, based on past writing.

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  42. The pacing of last year wasn't any better.

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  43. I believe it would affect Cas. Cas may have to choose between staying on Earth or going back to Heaven if Crowley would succeed, but I'm sure because of Cas, Sam and Dean would try to stop it.


    I think that would be a tough choice for Cas to make as Heaven was his original home and he still sees the other angels as relatives in an angel way. Not all angels were/are bad, we've just seen the worst ones mostly and a few of the good like Samandriel and Inias.


    If he chooses Heaven he'll never get to visit Earth again; if he chooses Earth he may lose his powers. Don't know.


    What he chooses would affect the brothers.


    That is if he's able to have a choice. Depends on how Heaven is closed.

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  44. I think it will come down to Cas making a choice and if they keep any continuity (which is questionable these days), Cas' angel powers will indeed be gone. Cas will choose to stay on earth and it will be angsty for an episode or two. I still think that the brothers will choose to close the gates of hell given that many angels have been powerful monsters and they certainly don't want angels dictating humans anymore. I will be shocked if it is Crowley that closes heaven and even ore shocked if Dean and Sam don't try to close heaven once they realize that an angel tablet exists. Close heaven, hell, and Purgatory and the only things left to fight are whatever is trapped on earth when the gates close. That leads to monsters, demons, and angels becoming basically endangered species on earth and could lead to a happier ending for the brothers than most people would have expected in the first few seasons.

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  45. Last year's mytharc pacing was just as bad as this year's. The difference is that last year we had more fun standalone episodes making for a far more fun seasons and that Jeremy Carver isn't getting near the flack Sera Gamble did for this pacing problem.

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  46. In the end, whether the pacing is good of bad will depend on whether a lot of what we've been seeing (Sam and Dean's fighting, Purgatory, Benny, even Amelia & Don) tie into the mytharc. If they do, then this will have been a slow build and I will probably say the pacing has been great. If not, then I will agree that the pacing was bad.

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  47. My first reaction is that Carver is going all out to flame the fan wars. Someone elsewhere suggested that they will also find the angel tablet then Dean will close Hell and Sam will do the tasks to close Heaven. It would make sense considering which sides they represented in the Apocalypse storyline.



    One other possible issue is that Sam really was affected by all the demon blood and HE gets trapped in Hell with the closing of the Gates. Then Dean can decide to not rescue him and things will be square on the not rescuing from Purgatory issue. Sam will get out and then close the gates of heaven, putting Cas in danger.



    The interesting end for me would be the boys discovering that the Gates to both Heaven and Hell need to be open to some extent and the end of the quest is to crack them open so the universe is balanced. But I'm not writing this, so who knows.

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  48. >>Sam and Dean argue over who should complete the trials.<<

    Just remember ... only the penitent man will pass. The penitent man is humble before God.

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  49. The show's always had a pacing problem, IMHO. It's just it's more obvious in the last four seasons. Carver sucks with it just as much as Gamble did.

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  50. It makes sense to me that God would leave behind an "instruction manual" (re: the tablets) if he's decided to go on an extended leave of absence just in case the shit hits the cosmic fan. It could also be that closing the Gates of Hell forever might also mean that the gates are closed from both sides; maybe that's why God didn't want them closed/made it difficult to close them. In other words, bad souls can't get out, but they also can't get in, either.

    Who knows? That's why we have to wait and see.

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  51. I agree. Nothing says that will complete all three tasks to close the "Gates of Hell" in one episode. Plus there is an Angel Tablet - if not more tablets - that the boys (and Kevin) don't even know about yet. Kevin and Crowley know there is a "Compendium of Tablets" and from 8.10 we know there's an Angel Tablet (no duh).

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  52. I've also been thinking about this and one, I also doubt it will be Crowley who closes the "Heaven's Gate, and two,I think "souls" will still be able to "go" to Heaven/Hell/Purgatory but each domain will be like a "Roach motel" - once a soul gets in, it stays there - and three, once the "Gate" are closed, demons, monsters and angels can't "leave" their respective domains so they wouldn't be able to possess/take "Vessels" any more, permission or not. I agree that the Demons and Angels who are Earth when the Gates close will be trapped here although they might have a limited "window" to "go home" by releasing their hosts/vessels. I'm betting that Cas (even though I dislike him) will choose to stay, powerless, on earth, maybe as a Hunter,maybe as wonderer doing random - but human - "acts of kindness."

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  53. I agree with you ,too. If the separate "pieces" you describe aren't eventually even quasi-connected in some way to the broad challenges presented thus far by the end of *this* season, a *not insignificant part* of the first 11 eps (through Larp) will have been pointless angst and very contrived tension between the brothers.
    Through 8.11, S8 is my least favorite season by far!

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  54. No, it's Dean's turn. Sam held the primary role in the mytharc for 5 seasons. Sam was the chosen one who beat Lucifer and sacrificed himself in order the save the world. Sam has already had his big battle, now it's Dean's turn.

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  55. No, it will be Sam because he gets everything on SPN. His Amelia story was front andcenter while Dean's Purgatory story wasn't even about him and was quickly dropped. But since the SPN writers couldn't care less about Dean and only have ever cared about Sam, he will get to have this story as well.

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  56. Sam already got a major story at the beginning of the season. It's only fair now that it should be Dean's turn. And no, Purgatory wasn't even a storyline for Dean, and it was hardly shown and quickly dropped to push Sam's story front and center.

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  57. But Dean would never willingly let Sam go and suffer like Sam did to him. But it doesn't matter because the only character Carver and Singer discuss in the spoilers is Sam. As always, he's the main character and Dean is only there for support.

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  58. Really was it? where please tell me where. Where was Sam's whooping big story he got that took up all the screen time over Dean's Purgatory .Amelia? .

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  59. I have already answered your view. Sam's Amelia sl did nothing of the sort you are entitled to your view but it is one I cannot and will not agree with .

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  60. What 5 minutes? It was the majority! Lousy story or not, it still got all the attention. And where was Dean's POV? You mean Dean being blamed for everything yet Sam not having to apologize for a damn thing he did to Dean, which was FAR WORSE than Dean's text?
    Purgatory got NOTHING! And what it did get was all about Cas and Benny! Dean was nothing more than a supporting player, just like he always is.

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  61. Why is Sam the better choice? He didn't even want back into the life. And he already got the main story the first half of the season, can't Dean have anything?

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  62. Because solving the tablet is like solving a cipher. Sam is highly intelligent. Dean can't spell cipher.


    Gotta be a puzzle in the quest. Gotta be Sam.

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  63. Why is this labeled episode 8.14 when the episode description at the end says it's (813) meaning the 13th episode?

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  64. Ah, but if it's not meant to be closed then why put directions on a tablet to begin with?

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  65. Well it wasn't meant to be closed until it was time. But that doesn't mean it's supposed to be easy. Every side's supposed to have a fighting chance I figure. And SPN God I think likes to challenge creation.


    But I think both Heaven and Hell are going to have to close for balance, so that's going to make things interesting when hopefully, Dean and Sam realize this. That's where the show seems to be going, with Crowley's discovery.

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  66. I think that Dean will end up doing it be suprized if Sam does and since he was in purgatory can handle taking care of 3 tasks and he may hate hell hounds who knows maybe purgatory has gotten him over that.

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  67. Oh....hmm... Given that the task was described as a test I just assumed the hellhounds would be made visible for the purposes of the contest. Cause otherwise it's, you know....cheating. {kidding with that last bit}

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  68. then why would they argue about who gets to do the tasks?

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  69. It doesn't matter how much they argue. This season has been one contrived argument after another. I'm tired of it and any arguing is going to annoy me for the rest of the season.

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  70. You forgot "mature". Bec ause arguing all the time for no reason is the mature thing to do. Just ask my elementary school kids.

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  71. Since he became show runner, yes. I don't understand. Gamble and Carver were both great writers, but Kripke was the only show runner I really liked, until he introduced Meta.

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  72. You are most likely right. (especially about the invisibility being part of the challenge) My thinking was that when dealing with the tablets that can close the doors to Heaven and Hell...having the power to make the hellhounds visible to a selected person wouldn't be unreasonable. But, given that I'm betting, killing one won't be difficult in and of itself (i.e. if you can get past it in a fight it'll die it's the getting past it in the fight is the difficult part) you are most likely right.

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  73. Of course not. He'd just screw it up and Dean would have to fix it. That seems to be the only way the writers of this show know how to use the character.

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  74. Maybe his time in Purgatory will become relevant to the show's interests through him no longer having a fear of Hellhounds because of all of the stuff he spent a year battling? I want to think Purgatory is going to be relevant to SOMEBODY'S interests eventually ...

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  75. The whole idea of it's always been bizarre to me since it was introduced in 8x07. If these tablets were intended to be used by man, why were they not only hidden, but written in a script ONE PERSON on the planet at any given time can read? Plus, why would God leave instructions on how humans can close the Gates of Hell forever when, you know, he's GOD and could do that with the snap of his fingers any time he wants? Instead, he just leaves the instructions in a coded script in a hole then acts like it's Easter Sunday morning, "Come on, kids - whoever finds the Demon tablet wins a whole dollar!" The hell is that nonsense?

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  76. Elena Wonderland8 April 2014 at 05:38

    WHAT!? O_O This sounds very interesting!!Can't wait to see how it plays out.I believe Sam will kill the hellhound...

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