Supernatural S01 E07 – Let’s hook up

Previously: Dean got jealous that Sam has friends and then got impersonated by a shapeshifter.
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Hook Man

Kirsti: A sorority house at Eastern Iowa University. A mousy looking girl dresses for a date in a denim skirt and long sleeved button up blouse. She asks her roommate what she thinks, and said roommate “Oh, honey, no”s her. (S: True friend material.) She crosses to her dresser and grabs a midriff baring lacy red halter top and insists that Mousy Girl wear that instead. After a little reluctance, Mousy Girl puts it on. Ho Suspension Roommate approves and tells her not to do anything she wouldn’t. Mousy Girl says that there’s nothing she wouldn’t do as she heads out. “That’s true,” Ho Suspension Roommate grins as she flips through her magazine.

Cut to an SUV pulling up under a wooden bridge in the dark. From the shadows, we see a silver hook glint. Mousy Girl says that she thought they were going to a party, and her date says they can’t possibly arrive on time. She eyerolls a little at his obviousness, then leans over and kisses him. Her phone rings, and the caller ID informs us that it’s her dad. She ignores the call, and they resume kissing. He runs his hand under the edge of her shirt. She tells him no, and he backs off for a second before assuring her that it’s okay. Hook Man – come on, the title gave it away – steps out of the shadows and walks towards the car. Doesn’t-Understand-No Boy kisses Mousy Girl’s neck and goes for the boob grope again. She tells him no again just as Hook Man scrapes his hook across a “Dead End” street sign. Get it? DEAD end? #notatallobvious

DUN Boy and Mousy Girl look around in confusion as the hook scrapes across the 9 Mile Road sign, then Hook Man puts on his invisibility cloak (IDEK, he turns invisible. Whatevs) and heads towards the car. DUN Boy gets out of the car to look around, and is just in time to see a giant scrape mark appear up the side of his car. Then the back tyre pops and the rear windshield shatters. Mousy Girl screams a little as she spins around. When she looks back, DUN Boy is gone. She panics, locking the doors of the car, then looks around her in fear. There’s a thud and some scraping sounds on the roof. She screams and cowers in the footwell. When the sounds stop, she decides to make a break for it. She jumps out of the car and runs, then stops to look back. DUN Boy is hanging from the bridge by his feet, a giant bloody slash across his chest and his fingernails trailing across the roof. Mousy Girl screams.

Sara: Cutting in to say that this is the first and only episode of Supernatural I saw out of context, and this scene is what convinced me to watch it, because: CREEPY. Also, I’m glad Mousy Girl isn’t going to get a That’s What Happens tag, because I would have locked those doors and thought, “Fuck that guy,” too.

K: Truth. Cut to a cafe somewhere. Sam hangs up a pay phone (LOL) and heads back to Dean, informing him that his attempts to find Papa Winchester have been fruitless. Dean says that Papa Winchester doesn’t want to be found and points at an online news article, suggesting they investigate the Case of the Invisible Murderer On 9 Mile Road, which is about 100 miles away. Sam reluctantly agrees. They Bromobile their way to Eastern Iowa University to the strains of Quiet Riot, which will always make me think of Footloose.

Sara: Awwww yeah.

K: They pull up outside DUN Boy’s frat house where the frat boys promptly look confused. Dean claims that they’re transfer students from the same frat in Ohio, promptly scoring them a place to stay. Downside? Said place to stay involves helping a frat boy paint himself purple for the big game. Dean fobs that particular job off to Sam while he quizzes Purple Frat Boy about DUN Boy’s death. Sam death stares a little.

Dean’s quizzing includes the information that DUN Boy was on a date with Mousy Girl (Lori) when he died, and that she’s a local and a reverend’s daughter. Dean asks if Purple Frat Boy knows which church.

Segue magic to the church. Reverend Dad delivers a sermon about how tragic it is that DUN Boy died, but at least he did it saving his daughter. The zoomy cameraman does his thing on Mousy Girl, who’s sitting in the front pew with Ho Suspension Roommate. The Winchesters scurry in at the back and the door slams behind them. Reverend Dad and the local sheriff give them disapproving looks. They sit down in the back row as Mousy Girl turns to stare at Sam. Girl, really? With that hair? Reverend Dad finishes his sermon and everyone prays. Except for Dean, who requires a nudge from Sam to get with the program. I knew there was a reason why Dean was my favourite.

Outside the church, Ho Suspension Roommate [HSM] wants Mousy Girl to join her and some other girls for tequila shots and Reality Bites that night. Mousy Girl says that Sunday night = dinner with Reverend Dad night, and HSM eyerolls that Mousy Girl IS allowed to have fun. Mousy Girl says that she’ll try, and they hug before HSM leaves. The Winchesters approach and introduce themselves as transfer students. They offer their condolences about DUN Boy, and Sam says he knows what she’s going through because “I-I saw someone…get hurt once.” Dean gives him “Dude, seriously?” face. Mousy Girl buys it though because Sam’s so dreamy. (S: 100% fair.)

Reverend Dad approaches and she introduces him to the boys. Dean pulls Reverend Dad to one side to discuss church groups, leaving Sam to get the goss from Mousy Girl. The LOLPD think that she was so scared she started seeing things. Sam tells her that doesn’t mean it wasn’t real, and she looks at him with puppy dog eyes. Library, later on. Sam fills Dean in on what Mousy Girl told him, including that DUN Boy was suspended above the car. It sounds, he says, like the Hook Man legend, earning himself a gold star:

Dean’s all “BUT URBAN LEGEND”, which would probably have a lot more impact if they hadn’t literally just been hunting Bloody Mary. Anyway, Sam suggests that maybe the Hook Man is a spirit. Cut to them sitting at a table in the library. A librarian dumps two giant dusty boxes in front of them – arrest records going back to 1851. “Welcome to higher education,” Sam says. Dean gives him an “I kind of hate you” look.

Hours later, they’ve got stuff scattered everywhere and OH MY GOD DEAN WINCHESTER DO NOT THROW THOSE HISTORIC RECORDS AROUND, YOU LITTLE SHIT. #librarianproblems Luckily for me and the documents, Sam finds their guy – a preacher named Jacob Karns who got so mad about the red light district in town in 1862 that he went on a rampage and killed 13 prostitutes with his hook hand. And of course all this happened on 9 Mile Road. “Nice work, Doctor Venkman!” Dean says because he’s completely adorable and of COURSE he would make Ghostbusters references. (Excuse me while I have feels over Harold Ramis.)

Cut to Reverend Dad dropping Mousy Girl back at her sorority house. He tells her that he’s worried about her. She assures him that with 22 girls in the house, she’ll be perfectly safe. That’s not what he means though – he’s more worried about Ho Suspension Roommate being a bad influence. Mousy Girl storms out of the car and heads inside without a second glance. At the top of the stairs, she pauses in confusion, and turns to see a scratch on the wall. It leads to the doorway of a room, but the girl inside is studiously typing away. Mousy Girl heads to her room and goes to turn the light on when she notices that HSM is already asleep. She heads into the bathroom, pulling off her jacket.

Sara: I’m pretty sure that after seeing those scratches on the wall, I would NOPE my way right back outside and into my dad’s car, even if he is a crazy overprotective reverend man.

K: RIGHT?! 9 Mile Road. The Bromobile pulls up and the boys grab shotguns. They have a discussion about how the shells are filled with rocksalt, which serves as an awkward infodump for those of us who weren’t raised hunters that salt makes ghosts go owie. They head down the road a little way, then stop when they hear a sound. Sam cocks his gun, which leads to awkwardness when the noise turns out to be the sheriff. With his gun drawn, he yells at them to drop their weapons and get on the ground, which they do.

Sorority house. Mousy Girl comes out of the bathroom in her PJs and watches HSM roll over in her sleep before heading to bed. Behind the bedroom door, the Hook Man waits. Cut to the next morning. Mousy Girl opens her eyes to see a big puddle of blood on the floor. Confused, she looks up to see HSM’s ripped up corpse, and screams. She glances at the wall and screams again as the camera pans around to show us that “Aren’t you glad you didn’t turn on the light” has been written there in blood, with a weird cross symbol underneath it. Fade to black.

Sara: I admit, I had to watch this scene quite a few times to figure out wtf was going on. Was HSM dead when she walked in? Was she supposed to be glad she didn’t turn on the light because of the dead body in the room with her? So now I’m assuming she should be glad the light was off because she didn’t see Hook Man? But if that were the case, then wouldn’t she wish she *had* turned the light on, so the girls could have seen the intruder and at least tried to save themselves? IDK. That message on the wall left me all sorts of mixed up.

K: All will become clear in time. Well. Clear-ish.

After the Not Break, the Winchester walk out of the LOLPD station with Dean gloating about how he negotiated the charges down to a fine by claiming that Sam was a pledge who was being hazed. (S: Fraternities really can get away with anything, man.) They head to the Bromobile, then turn in surprise when a bunch of deputies rush to their cars and drive away, sirens blaring. They follow. Outside the sorority house, Mousy Girl is sitting in the back of an ambulance, wrapped in a blanket. Sam and Dean rubberneck their way past, and she and Sam stare at each other. Reverend Dad argues with the sheriff about wanting to take Mousy Girl home, but apparently finding two slashed up bodies in a week is a bit suspect. But not suspect enough to actually do anything. After a moment of thinking, the sheriff agrees that Reverend Dad can take her home.

The boys park the Bromobile (right next to a fire hydrant even though the street is totally empty?!?!) out the back of the sorority house and sneak through the bushes to the driveway. Dodging deputies, Sam asks why the Hook Man would strike somewhere that’s not 9 Mile Road. Dean suggests maybe he’s haunting something other than the scene of Hooker Slaughter 1862. They manage to clamber up the side of the house and in Mousy Girl’s open bathroom window.

They peek out of the bathroom, waiting for the deputies to leave. When they do, the boys just stand around the room talking loudly because NO ONE WOULD FIND THAT AT ALL SUSPICIOUS.

Anyway, Sam points out that the bloody quote on the wall is right out of the legend while Dean says that the smell of ozone gives away the fact that it’s a ghost. Sam points at the weird looking cross and asks if it looks familiar. Segue Magic back to the Bromobile where Sam points at a photocopy of the arrest records for Hook Man, which includes a picture of his hook hand. Said hook hand has a little medallion hanging off it that features the same weird cross. Dean says that it’s time to salt and burn some bones. Sam checks the records which say that Hook Man was buried in an unmarked grave. They both look cranky. (S: Ain’t that always the way?)

As Dean pulls a parking ticket off his windshield (HA!), Sam says that they may know who but they still don’t know why or where he’ll strike next. Dean says that Mousy Girl clearly has something to do with it. Cut to a frat party. Dean’s all “MAN, COLLEGE IS AWESOME!” and Sam clarifies that his experience was nothing like this. Mine neither, dude. (S: I only had a few experiences with these kinds of parties. They always smelled like shame and disappointment.) (K: That doesn’t surprise me.) Anyway, Sam’s done his research and found that in 1932 and 1967, religious men who preached against immorality found themselves wanted for murders that were carried out by something invisible with a hook for a hand, and suggests that Reverend Dad might be unknowingly summoning the Hook Man with his repressed emotions. Dean tells Sam to keep an eye on Mousy Girl while he goes to look for the unmarked grave.

Cemetery. Dean locates an unmarked grave with the weird cross on it. Reverend Dad’s house. Sam watches from outside like a creepy creeper as Mousy Girl and Reverend Dad argue. Cemetery. Dean, now standing in the grave that he’s digging up, snarks to himself that next time he gets to watch the cute girl’s house. He reaches the coffin and smashes it, revealing Hook Man’s bones. Reverend Dad’s house. Mousy Girl appears and tells Sam that she saw him being a creepy creeper from upstairs. He says he’s just keeping an eye on the place because he was worried about her. She says that she’s called the cops and he looks panicky before she laughs and says she was joking and that stalking is totes adorbs. GIRL. NO. She says that he should run far away because she’s cursed and everyone around her dies.

Cemetery. Dean pours salt and lighter fluid on Hook Man’s bones, then lights a match and drops it in. The grave erupts into flames. Reverend Dad’s house. Mousy Girl mopes that no one except Sam will talk to her any more, the sheriff thinks she’s a suspect, and all her dad says to do is pray. “What would HE know about faith?” she says bitterly. She tells Sam that Reverend Dad is having an affair with a married woman from their church, and she doesn’t know what to think any more because she wants him to be happy but Reverend Dad taught her that if you do something wrong, you get punished.

Sara: Is it just me, or does the music get a little DUN DUN DUN after she says that last bit?

K: Definitely. She hugs Sam, and after a pause, he hugs her back. She kisses him, and he pulls away, saying that he can’t on account of his dead girlfriend. She says that she’s sorry, but Reverend Dad opens the door and asks her to come inside. She yells at him that she’ll come in when she’s good and ready, and Hook Man appears behind Reverend Dad and slams the hook into his shoulder. He drags a screaming Reverend Dad inside, the door slamming behind them. Sam grabs his gun and runs inside. Reverend Dad screams from upstairs, and Sam darts up the stairs in time to see a door slam shut. He kicks it open and sees Hook Man about to slice and dice Reverend Dad. He pulls the trigger, and a chunk of Hook Man turns to smoke. He shoots again, but Hook Man disappears. Mousy Girl rushes in and tells Reverend Dad that it’s going to be okay. Fade to black.

After the Not Break, we’re at the hospital. Mousy Girl is by Reverend Dad’s bed in ICU while Sam watches and tells the sheriff a non-supernatural version of what happened. Dean appears down the hall and is stopped by a couple of deputies. He says it’s okay because Sam’s his brother and waves like the giant dork he secretly is. (S: HE’S JUST SO STINKIN’ CUTE.)

The sheriff tells the deputies to let him through and tells Sam that he can leave. Sam wants to know how Hook Man could appear after his bones were salted and burned, then tells Dean that Hook Man’s latched onto Mousy Girl, not Reverend Dad. Dean says that he burnt everything in the coffin, and Sam’s all “Even the hook?”. But the hook wasn’t there. They decide that as it was the murder weapon and the source of his power, they need to destroy it to destroy him.

Library. The boys are in Watcher mode again. Dean’s going through the prison log book and finds that Hook Man’s personal effects – including his hook – were donated to his church after he was executed, which explains why he’s been targeting religious types. Sam wants to know why someone hasn’t spotted a grody blood covered hook in the past 150 years, and Dean heads off to get the church records. Said records reveal that the hook was melted down and made into unspecified other things.

Cut to the church. The Bromobile pulls up, and Dean says that they can’t take chances and that anything silver needs to be destroyed. Sam takes the house while Dean takes the church. Later, in the church basement, they throw all the silver stuff they found into the furnace. They stop when they hear footsteps up in the church and rush sneak upstairs, guns drawn. Mousy Girl is praying, crying as she does so. Dean heads back downstairs to keep destroying silver stuff while Sam goes to ask if Mousy Girl’s okay. She says that she’s praying for forgiveness because it’s all her fault that people are dead and Reverend Dad is in hospital. Hook Man appears briefly at the back of the church. Sam tries to assure her that it’s not her fault, but she doesn’t believe him. She says that she deserves to be punished, not them. The candles at the front of the church suddenly go out as we fade to black.

After the Not Break, Sam decides that it’s time to go and rushes Mousy Girl to the front of the church. He opens the door to find Hook Man on the other side. He slams the door again and Hook Man smashes his hook through the door. Sam and Mousy Girl run to the vestry room. Hook Man follows, and starts swinging at Sam. Mousy Girl darts across the room and Hook Man appears behind her, raising his hook. Sam knocks her out of the way and cops a hook to the forearm for his trouble. Mousy Girl falls to the ground and gets yanked backwards by an invisible force. Sam runs after her and goes to help her up, but Hook Man appears and punches him into a bookshelf. He gets up and stands behind Hook Man just as Dean appears. Dean yells to Sam to get down, and pulls the trigger. Hook Man turns to smoke.

The boys argue about having missed something silver when Sam realises that Mousy Girl is wearing a silver cross on a long chain. He asks about it and she says it was a church heirloom. Sam yanks it off as Invisible!Hook Man starts dragging his hook down the wall in the hallway.

Then the scratch moves to the room they’re in. Sam tosses Dean the necklace while Dean tosses him the gun. Dean runs for the basement as Sam shoots at the scratch. He struggles to reload with one arm. Downstairs, Dean throws the necklace in the fire. Upstairs, Hook Man appears and knocks the gun away from Sam. He raises his hook in the air as Sam and Mousy Girl cower.

Downstairs, Dean watches the necklace melt. Upstairs, Hook Man’s hook melts away and his body turns to ashes, which float away, Voldemort style. Dean rushes upstairs to find Hook Man gone and gives Sam and Mousy Girl a “Man, I’m good at this” look. Cut to the next morning. Dean’s telling the sheriff all about the man with the hook, and how they fought him off and then he ran away. The sheriff is skeptical so Dean assures him that they’re leaving town ASAP. Meanwhile, Sam’s getting patched up in an ambulance, with Mousy Girl looking on. Dean watches them in the Bromobile’s rearview mirror. Mousy Girl thanks Sam for saving her and her father, and he smiles but walks away without saying anything. Dean looks thoughtful. When Sam gets in the car, Dean says “We could stay?“. Sam shakes his head. Dean looks at Mousy Girl in the rearview mirror again, then gives a little headshake. They roll out of town to Boston’s Peace of Mind and we fade to black.

Sara: Thank god. Mousy Girl is definitely not worth sticking around for. MG was a great full-episode description for her, because that girl is boring.

K: I felt a little bad giving her that name, but if the shoe fits… I quite like this episode – the idea of them dealing with urban legends that have supernatural roots is excellent. But at the same time, it comes too soon after Bloody Mary to be truly effective. So it’s a good episode. But at the same time, it’s a bit “Oh, this again, huh?”. At least the music is awesome??

Sara: I love that this episode reminds me of horror stories we told at campfires when I was a little kid. There’s a lot of nostalgia factor here for me, and it makes it creepier and more fun at the same time. I do agree that it should have been spaced out more from Bloody Mary, though, because I loved that episode for similar reasons. At this point in the series, I don’t care so much about the series arc as I do about individual episode arcs, so I liked that this one stuck with the Hook Man for the entirety of the episode. Also, I am all about some Dean.

K: So are we all, Sara. So are we all.

 

Next time: A new housing development is plagued by mysterious deaths. Find out what’s causing them in Supernatural S01 E08 – Bugs. (Because, you know, the title doesn’t even remotely give you any clues…)