Rowena, formerly of the Grand Coven, until she was dismissed for using being too extreme

The King of Hell received quite a surprise during Episode 7 of Supernatural, “Girls, Girls, Girls.” When Crowley discovered that someone was killing his demons, he sent out his minions to capture the offender. Upon close examination, he was shocked to find that the witch causing all the trouble in town was his own mother. Though her appearance was a surprise to Crowley, some Supernatural viewers had guessed the identity of the mysterious red-haired woman when Rowena was first introduced. As we are expecting to see more of Rowena during Season 10, this is a good chance to explore the signs that connected this witch to the demon Crowley.

It’s hard to enjoy a scotch and a good book when the imapled busboys keep dripping blood on you

It was at the end of “Soul Survivor” (S10E03) that we first saw Rowena. In a hotel in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Rowena had impaled two bellboys on the ceiling with strange stakes. Rowena was sitting in front of the fire, reading a book, and drinking scotch. Though it’s not clear what type of scotch Rowena is drinking in “Soul Survivor,” we know from the episode “Weekend at Bobby’s” (S06E04) that Crowley has been drinking Glen Craig 30-year-old scotch since grade school.

Dean: “Did you really used to wear a skirt?” Crowley: “A kilt. I had very athletic calves”

The actress playing Rowena, Ruth Cornell, is Scottish. In Supernatural, Scotland has only been featured in relation to Crowley. Crowley was known as Fergus Rodric MacLeod when he was a human, as Bobby Singer found out in “Weekend at Bobby’s.” In order to negate the contract Crowley had previously made with Bobby for his soul, Bobby summoned the spirit of Gavin MacLeod, Crowley’s son, to get information about Crowley. Through Gavin, Bobby was able to find out where Crowley’s human remains were buried. Burning the human bones of a demon will kill them. Sam and Dean flew to Scotland to dig up Crowley’s bones to exchange them for the contract for Bobby’s soul.

Sam and Dean aren’t able to save everyone.

It was during the episode “Clip Show” (S08E22) we found out that Crowley’s mother was a witch. Crowley starts killing all the people that Sam and Dean had ever saved in order to try to force them to give him the demon tablet and stop their attempts to close the gates of hell. Sam and Dean try to protect Sarah Blake, whom they had saved in the Season 1 episode “Provenance,” by placing devil’s traps all around her apartment. Crowley is able to kill Sarah through a hex bag, a weapon used by witches, which he had hidden at her apartment earlier.

Dean: “You son of a bitch.”
Crowley: “Son of a witch, actually. My mommy taught me a few tricks.”

“Well? Get to it. Time for the coup de grace. Wee boy, is something the matter with you? Cat got your tongue, hmm? Meow.”

As we see in “Girls, Girls, Girls,” hex bags seem to be Rowena’s specialty. Like mother, like son.

There’s still a lot of mystery around Rowena. Fergus MacLeod was born in 1661, so it’s not clear if she is immortal, a long-lived witch, or if she was able to travel through time. The Winchesters have time-traveled to the past in previous episodes, and Abaddon brought the living Gavin MacLeod to the present using a blood spell in the episode “King of the Damned” (S09E21). Rather than sending Gavin back to 1723, when he would have died in a shipwreck, Crowley let his son stay in the present. It’s not clear if Abaddon’s trip or Gavin staying in the present has any bearing on Rowena’s arrival. Rowena seems to be a powerful witch, so perhaps she was able to use magic to either extend her life or travel to the 21^st century. Though Crowley recognizes his mother, it’s uncertain she knows him. Regardless, her behavior and Crowley’s reaction would lead us to believe she may not have been Mother of the Year. If the King of Hell is terrified, Rowena must be pretty scary. Having a new baddie always brings the potential for interesting drama, but a new villain who happens to be the King of Hell’s mother—well that is fantastic.

To read more about Crowley’s reaction to his mother’s arrival, see our recap of the mid-season finale of Season 10 – “The Things We Left Behind” (S10E09) and “The Hunter Games” (S10E10).

“Mother?”

Did thinking about Bobby trick Crowley make you miss the old guy? Us too. Read about Bobby and his other hijinks in “Remember Bobby Singer – Part 1 History” or just read his fantastic quotes in “Remembering Bobby Singer – Part 2 Favorite Quotes.”  You can also get refreshed on the awesomeness that is Chuck Shurley by reading “Who Appeared at the End of Supernatural Fan Fiction?”

For more recaps, photos, and news about Supernatural and other shows like iZombie, Constantine, Doctor Who, Game of Thrones, and The Walking Dead, subscribe to receive notification of new spooky content by email. Or you can follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram and Google+. Check out our Monsters of the Week and other scary and supernatural posts.