Supernatural Season 9 Spoilers: Dean forges more desperate alliances

The midseason finale of Season 9 of Supernatural ended with the revelation that Sam Winchester (Jared Padalecki) had been possessed not by Ezekiel, but by Gadreel, the angel who supposedly let the serpent into the Garden. This news, coupled with the death of Kevin Tran (Osric Chau) at Gadreel's hands, left Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) reeling.

The show comes back on Tuesday, Jan. 14 with a new episode, but TVLine has posted multiple spoilers for fans to mull over until the show returns from its Hellatus. Check them out below:

-       The devastation of the midseason finale, "Holy Terror," was "a crushing blow to Dean," showrunner Jeremy Carver told TVLine. Dean, after all, is the one who let Gadreel get into Sam in the first place. So in typical Dean fashion, he decides to "do whatever it takes to track down Gadreel and eject him from Sam." Unfortunately, this leads Dean to forge some "less savory alliances." Crowley, anyone?

-       Gadreel will learn that "getting Metatron's ultimate approval is probably going to be a harder journey than even what we've seen so far," according to Carver. That's a scary thought considering that Metatron banished thousands of angels out of Heaven.

-       Castiel now has his powers back and he finds "himself in the angelic fray more than ever and at a point of decision he never considered a few short months ago," Carver said. "It's going to be a little of a be-careful-what-you-wish-for [situation]."

-       Finally, the second half of Season 9 will feature "a good handful" of "beloved" characters who show up "for all different reasons."

What has you most excited for the rest of Season 9, Supernatural fans? Let us know in the comments below!