| “ | We don't need a conscience. Such a trite idea, but we firmly believe the ends do justify the means. | „ |
| ~ Arthur Ketch |
Arthur Ketch is one of the two secondary antagonists (alongside Dagon) of Season 12, a supporting character in Season 13, and a minor character in Seasons 14 and 15 of the CW series Supernatural.
He is a highly skilled British Men of Letters operative sent to the United States as part of an operation to control the American hunters. He is ultimately killed by Mary Winchester following the destruction of the British Men of Letter's American compound, but is revived by magic and goes on to become an independent mercenary.
He was portrayed by David Haydn-Jones.
Personality[]
Ketch initially comes off as a sophisticated yet ruthless operative for the British Men of Letters. He follows their orders without hesitation and is willing to kill anything that is considered to be a supernatural being, such as a young psychic girl or the elimination of every vampire across the United States. He is also shown to enjoy torturing monsters, although he does appear to be genuine in his belief that killing monsters is what's best for the world even if the tactics are brutal. He grows attracted to Mary Winchester, and does actually seem hurt when she says that she doesn't care much for him, his attraction remains even after coming back to life from being killed by her. Despite all of this, he ultimately is not truly loyal to the British Men of Letters, after being brought back to life by his resurrection seal he becomes a mercenary despite knowing that desertion from the British Men of Letters is punishable by death.
His time as a mercenary seems to change his perspective, after being captured by Sam and Dean he expresses remorse for what he did in the past, although he does begin working for the Prince of Hell Asmodeus not long after this, showing he is still ruthlessly pragmatic. However, Asmodeus eventually states that Ketch does desire redemption, but that he will never get it. Realizing Asmodeus sees him as nothing but a tool, Ketch rescues the Archangel Gabriel from Asmodeus and brings him to the Winchester brothers, at which point he becomes an ally to them, even going with Dean into an alternate apocalyptic universe to help him save Mary and the Winchester's adoptive son Jack. Ketch continues to aid the Winchesters for a year after this, and during the apocalypse caused by God, he is cornered by the demon Ardat for information on the brothers, but ultimately refuses to give them up at any price, resulting in his death.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Through unknown means, Ketch becomes a member of the British Men of Letters by attending Kendrick Academy, the school which trains operatives. Ketch knew Mick Davies, although they never were really friends. He also encountered Lady Toni Bevell, who he had a relationship with, which eventually fell apart due to her believing he was a psychopath.
At some point in time, Rowena Macleod was captured by the British Men of Letters. Ketch discovered she had sewn a powerful charm into her body that would revive her should she be killed. He struck a deal with her in which she sewed the charm into his body as well, and in return he allowed her to escape. He also put fake documents of a twin brother named Alexander Ketch in the British Men of Letters records so that he could change identities if he ever needed to.
Season 12[]
Ketch is hinted at a few times prior to his first appearances. When Ms. Watt and Toni are discussing options on dealing with the Winchesters, Watt suggests bringing in Ketch, but Toni states she is against it. Mick Davies eventually calls for him to travel to the United States despite Toni's displeasure. Ketch is first seen doing surveillance on the Winchesters, and killing a psychic girl named Magda that they had tried to help.
Ketch arrives to directly aid the Winchesters after they begin hunting Lucifer, who has possessed the President of the United States Jefferson Rooney. Ketch saves them from Secret Service members after they are nearly arrested. The angel Castiel confirms that Ketch is truthful in wanting to help, at which point he shows them his different supernatural weapons. One of them is the hyperbolic pulse generator, capable of expelling angels, which he lends the Winchesters, allowing them to exorcise Lucifer. Sam and Dean end up being arrested due to their actions being perceived as an attempt on the President's life, and are held captive for six weeks. Their mother Mary and Castiel eventually contact Mick and Ketch, who manage to find the site they are being held at using the British Men of Letter's satellite. Ketch is impressed when he learns they had defeated Lucifer, but is displeased to learn that Sam and Dean didn't kill the soldiers at the site they were being held, and ends up killing them to leave no survivors. Not long after this, Mary begins working with the British Men of Letters in a greater capacity, at which point Ketch sends her in order to retrieve the legendary gun the Colt, which is owned by a demon. Mary does retrieve the Colt, but she angrily tells Ketch that the weapon was being held by Prince of Hell Ramiel, who killed a fellow hunter friend of hers, to which he apologizes as he didn't know it was Ramiel. The two continue hunting together, to which Mary impresses Ketch due to her skills in killing monsters. In an attempt to recruit the Winchester brothers, Ketch visits the Men of Letters Bunker where they are living, and goes on a hunt with Dean, during which he relates to Dean due to them both being killers.
Not long after this, Ketch begins sleeping with Mary, although she expresses that it was just one night and didn't mean much to her, which actually prompts a rare display of emotion from him. Doctor Hess, one of the British Men of Letters elders, arrives in the United States due to the slow progress on recruiting the American hunters. Mick arrives as well and is criticized by Hess due to having broken several rules of the British Men of Letter's code. Mick calls Hess out for all the problems with their organization, prompting her to signal that Ketch must execute him, which he does by shooting Mick in the head, although he seems upset about it afterwards. Ketch begins posing as Mick due to him having a better relationship with the Winchesters. He sends Sam a text message from Mick's phone, asking if the Winchester's are home, when Sam texts back they aren't, Ketch enters their bunker and plants bugs in it so that the operatives can listen in on what the brothers are doing. Mary discovers Mick's body while exploring the British Men of Letters compound, at which point she confronts Ketch. He informs her of the plan to kill all American hunters by says that she can be spared if she follows their rules. They fight, and while she manages to knock him down with brass knuckles, he incapacitates her with a taser. Ketch begins killing multiple hunters using a pet Hellhound loaned to the organization by Crowley. Mary is brainwashed into a killer by the organization, leading to her and Ketch confronting Sam and Dean in their bunker and locking them inside to suffocate. The two of them ultimately escape, and Dean ends up capturing Mary so as to undo the brainwashing. While Dean is successful, Ketch arrives once again at the bunker and nearly kills Dean, but is shot and killed by Mary now that she is back to her normal self, and his body is dumped in the waste canal.
Season 13[]
Owed to the charm sewn into him by Rowena, Ketch came back to life after being shot. He decided to desert the British Men of Letters, using the fake documents of Alexander Ketch and taking on a new identity, growing out his beard and becoming a mercenary. He begins hunting and killing witches in order to find Rowena so she can put the charm back on him, unaware that she was recently burned to death by Lucifer. Sam and Dean investigate the series of witch murders, and end up encountering and capturing Ketch. He tells them that he is Alexander, which at least Sam temporarily believes after finding Alexander's fake documents in the Men of Letter's archive. During his time as their captive, "Alexander" says that if "Arthur" was alive, he would regret the things he did to them. Sam and Dean are later lured away into a trap by a group of demons, granting Ketch a chance to escape from their bunker and come to their aid. Recognizing Ketch's fighting style, Dean points a gun at him and states he is sure that Ketch is Arthur and not Alexander. Ketch states that while he is indeed Arthur, he wasn't lying about becoming a mercenary. He explains he was looking for Rowena, and is then informed she was killed by Lucifer. Ketch tells Dean they are on the same side now, but Dean doesn't believe this and fires at Ketch, who manages to escape with a smoke bomb. Ketch begins working with Prince of Hell Asmodeus not long after this, although Asmodeus sees him as a tool rather than a partner.
Ketch soon learns after this that Asmodeus had the Archangel Gabriel held captive. Ketch eventually is told by Asmodeus that he's nothing more than a tool, and when Ketch openly defies him Asmodeus violently beats him. This prompts Ketch to rescue Gabriel and take him to Sam and Dean, as their bunker is one of the few places safe from Asmodeus. Ketch also brings a vial of Gabriel's Archangel grace, which Sam and Dean need in order to open a rift to an alternate universe where Mary and their adoptive son Jack are trapped. In exchange for this, they agree to let him stay. He ultimately goes with Dean into the alternate universe as Dean is far more willing to risk Ketch's safety compared to Sam's life. The two of them traverse the alternate universe known as Apocalypse World, which is ruled by Apocalypse Michael. They find an alternate version of Charlie Bradbury, a friend of Deans who was butchered years prior. Dean decides to go after her, and while Ketch is reluctant at first, he eventually sympathizes with wanting to make up for last allies, and the two save Charlie from a camp where humans are held prisoner. Arthur and Charlie eventually head to a human camp of hunters who have survived during the apocalypse, while Dean heads back to the main universe. Ketch and Charlie go on a mission to kill an angel squad, but end up being captured and interrogated. Ketch refuses to break under torture, and is eventually saved by Sam, Dean, Castiel, Mary, and Jack. He travels back with everyone to the main universe, although he's quite surprised to see a now alive Rowena on the other side.
Season 14[]
Following Apocalypse Michael escaping into the main universe, Ketch travels back to the United Kingdom to search for the Hyperbolic Pulse Generator, although he is ultimately unsuccessful in finding it. Some time later, Ketch contacts the Winchesters in a video call and explains he managed to steal the weapon from a collector, but due to being ambushed by said collector's mercenaries, his only option was to mail it to the Winchesters, which will take several days. They point out how they needed it immediately, to which he apologizes.
Season 15[]
Following God turning against the Winchesters and releasing a mass of ghosts from Hell, Sam sends out a call for help, to which Ketch arrives. He learns that they are working with the demon Belphegor, which shocks Ketch as he was hired by fellow demon Ardat to assassinate Belphagor. During the battle with the ghosts, Ketch ends up being possessed temporarily, and while Dean manages to exorcise the spirit from him, he is only able to do this by shooting him with iron bullets, resulting in Ketch being hospitalized. After recovering in the hospital, Ketch prepares to leave but is confronted by Ardat over his failure to assassinate Belphagor. Ketch tries to fight, but is quickly overpowered by the demon. Ardat points out that he clearly isn't doing this for Belphagor, but rather seems to want to protect his friends, which Ketch confirms. Ardat questions if he would be willing to give them up for any price, but Ketch refuses, resulting in her tearing out his heart. Sam and Dean are bother shown to be depressed when they hear Ketch was killed, having grown to see him as a genuine ally.
Trivia[]
- He is the only member of the British Men of Letters to appear after season 12.
- At one point a shapeshifter states Ketch's eye twitches whenever he lies, to which he claims his eye twitches all the time, implying he is always lying. This character tic is not present from season 13 onwards, implying he no longer needs to constantly lie following his redemption.
- Ketch's actor David Haydn-Jones, like many Supernatural actors, also portrayed a character in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
External Links[]
- Arthur Ketch on the Heroes Wiki
- Arthur Ketch on the Supernatural Wiki
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