Supernatural S01 E09 – At least it’s not rats

Previously: The boys headed to Oklahoma and got attacked by CGI bugs, which freaked everyone out.

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Kirsti: Lawrence, Kansas. A young woman (who we last saw reporting on how awesome Jasmine is!) sits in her darkened kitchen, surrounded by moving boxes. She pulls out her wedding photo and tears up. She stops herself when her daughter walks in and says that she can’t sleep because there’s something in her closet. Upstairs, Widow!Mom checks the closet and declares it free from monsters, though the cameraman lurking in the depths would indicate otherwise. She tucks her daughter, Sari, into bed. Sari says that she doesn’t like this house, but Widow!Mom says it’s just because she’s not used to it, and that they’ll be very happy there. She turns the light out and goes to leave, but Sari demands that she first barricade the closet shut with a chair.

Back downstairs, Widow!Mom gets back to her sad unpacking. She hears a scratchy noise from the basement and hopes out loud that it’s not rats. She heads to the Basement of Don’t Go In There (I know it was a Buffy thing, but let’s face it – EVERY basement is a Basement of Don’t Go In There) (S: We don’t have basements in Louisiana, but these shows made me terrified of them) with a torch only to find that the lights don’t work. Upstairs, the chair against Sari’s closet slowly slides out of the way. Sari sits up with a gasp. In the basement, Widow!Mom stumbles her way across the room and finds a dusty metal box in one corner. She lifts the lid to find it full of family photos of the Winchesters from before Mary’s death. Upstairs, Sari’s closet doors creak open and a fiery figure appears. Sari screams us into the lightning flash that passes for credits.

Sara: At least it wasn’t rats?

K: Indeed. Afterwards, we’re outside the house, which has a big tree to one side. The zoomy cameraman zooms in on one of the upstairs windows, behind which Widow!Mom is screaming for her life. A truck horn sounds and Sam wakes with a jolt in the Motel of the Week. Later, he doodles the tree over and over on the motel notepad as Dean talks about possible cases. He suddenly realises where he’s seen the tree before – in the same family photo that Widow!Mom found in the basement, which is tucked in the front of the Filofax of Shadows. He tells Dean that they need to go home to Kansas.

Dean’s skeptical, insisting that he needs more to go on than “I think they’re in danger”. Sam tells him that he has nightmares that sometimes come true, like when Jessica died. Dean’s all “LOL WHUT?”, and Sam says that he dreamt about Jessica’s death in perfect detail over and over. This is the same sort of thing and he’s not willing to risk it. Dean’s unsure, both about Sam having psychic dreams and the going home part, because he swore to himself that he’d never go back. Excuse me while I have feels, because he gets a little teary when he says that. He turns away as Sam says that they have to check it out just to be sure. Dean reluctantly agrees.

Sara: The violin of brother feelings was working overtime on this scene.

K: SO HARD. Cut to Chez Winchester. The boys pull up outside and knock on the door. Widow!Mom answers, and Dean starts to introduce them as federal agents, but Sam interrupts and says that they used to live there and were wondering if they could take a look around. She agrees because they’re hot and mentions the family photos she found before inviting them in because they’re hot. She leads them through to the kitchen where her toddler son is bouncing up and down in a playpen demanding juice. She takes him some in a sippy cup and introduces the boys to Sari. They ask Widow!Mom how she’s liking the house, and she mentions that it’s getting old, with shoddy wiring and rats in the basement. Dean clenches his jaw before asking if she’s seen the rats or just heard scratching. She replies that it’s the latter, then Sari interrupts and asks if the thing in her closet was there when the boys lived in the house. Widow!Mom insists it was a nightmare, but Sari describes the figure on fire in her bedroom and the boys are shocked.

Outside, the boys fight about whether it’s the thing that killed their mother or something else entirely. Also, Dean is freaked about Sam’s visions coming true. Sam says that they need to get Widow!Mom and her kids out of the house, but Dean says they need a plausible story first. At a petrol station across town, Dean suggests that they do what they’d do if the job weren’t hella personal. Sam says that they’d dig into the history of the house to work out what they were dealing with, except that in this case, they know about the history. He asks Dean what he remembers from that night. It’s brief – fire, heat, carrying baby!Sam out the front door.

Sam didn’t know about that last part and gets a little feelsy. Then he asks if Papa Winchester had a theory about what was responsible. Dean says that he kept it to himself if he did, and suggests they talk to friends and neighbours to find out more about what happened at the time. Then he excuses himself, and ducks around the corner. After making sure Sam can’t see him, he phones Papa Winchester and leaves a message saying that they’re in Lawrence, that there’s something in their old house, and that he doesn’t know what to do and they need help. He delivers the first of many One Manly Tear cries as he leaves the message and OH MY GOD I JUST HAVE SO MANY DEAN WINCHESTER FEELS, YOU GUYS. Because Jensen Ackles is one hell of a convincing crier.

Sara: And I’m still furious with Daddy Winchester because HOW DO YOU IGNORE THAT ONE MANLY TEAR?

K: You will learn, Sara Snow, that Papa Winchester is the ACTUAL FUCKING WORST. Back at Chez Winchester, Widow!Mom has a handyman there to look at the garbage disposal. She insists that nothing weird’s been put down there, then leaves him to it. He’s unscrewing the U-bend when one of those creepy clapping monkeys with cymbals of hands starts clapping on the other side of the room. He stares at it in confusion then gets back to work. He clears out the U-bend and unplugs the power for the garbage disposal as the monkey continues to clap. He stares at it until it stops, then gets up and flicks the switch a few times to make sure it’s off. Then he shoves his entire arm down there and LOOK, PEOPLE, THIS IS WHY AUSTRALIA DOESN’T HAVE GARBAGE DISPOSAL UNITS (plus they’re really bad for the environment. Just fucking compost already). Oh, you want a proper recap? Fine. He gropes around for a minute, then the garbage disposal switches on and we pan under the sink to see pulverised arm pouring into a bucket. The creepy monkey starts clapping over his screams as we fade to black.

Sara: I feel like he maybe shouldn’t get a That’s What Happens because he did everything properly, what with unplugging the disposal and stuff, but sir, you are in a show called SUPERNATURAL. THAT’S WHAT HAPPENS. Also, I almost had a freaking heart attack during this scene.

K: NGL, I still hide my eyes during this scene. After the Not Commercial Break, the boys are at a mechanics. They’re pretending to be cops again, and ask the owner about his former partner, Papa Winchester. He wonders why the cops would be interested in his disappearance after 20 years, and they give some half arsed explanation about cold cases. He tells them that Papa Winchester was kind of an ass, but he loved his family. Sam asks about the fire and whether Papa Winchester ever talked about it. Mechanic Guy reluctantly tells them that he had a crazy theory that something got Mary when everyone knew it was an electrical fire. He begged Papa Winchester to get some help, but he just got worse, even going to see a psychic in town.

Out by the Bromobile, the boys flip through the Lawrence phonebook. Sam reads out the names of some psychics, and one – Missouri Moseley – rings a bell for Dean. He pulls out the Filofax of Shadows and hands it to Sam, who reads out loud: “I went to Missouri and I learnt the truth“. Dean always thought he meant the state, but maybe he meant this psychic. They decide to pay her a visit.

Sara: I liked how Dean was like, “Missouri? That sounds familiar. Lemme grab this script for Season 1 really quick and check… yep, that’s the psychic!”

K: A+. Cut over to the boys waiting outside her apartment. Missouri – who I know as Adele Webber from Grey’s Anatomy – ushers out a client, telling him not to worry about his wife because she’s crazy about him. She closes the front door behind him and turns to the boys with a “Oof. Poor bastard. His woman is cold-bangin’ the gardener.” I love her already. When Dean asks why she didn’t tell the guy about his wife, she says that people come to her for good news, not the truth. Then she calls them by name and ushers them inside. They share a “how the fuck did she know?” look before following.

Inside, she remarks on how handsome they are, and it’s hilarious:

She tells Sam how sorry she is about Jessica and the fact that Papa Winchester is missing. They’re both startled. She tells them to sit down, then snaps at Dean: “Boy, you put your foot on my coffee table, I’m ‘a whack you with a spoon!” He insists that he didn’t do anything, but she says he was thinking about it. She’s the best. (S: She’s basically my grandma.) Sam’s grin indicates that he agrees with me. He asks how she met Papa Winchester, and she tells them that in the days after the fire, he came to her for a reading, then asked her to come to the house to see if she could sense what had killed Mary. She says she doesn’t know what it was, but it was hella evil.

Chez Winchester. The toddler bounces around asking for juice again while Widow!Mom is on the phone. She says that she feels terrible about the guy’s hand but she doesn’t see how she can be liable for it, and that she can’t afford a lawyer. (S: Shouldn’t the plumbing company have insurance to cover this kind of thing?) (K: Only in the real world, Sara.) There’s a noise from upstairs, and she tells the person that she’ll call them back. She heads upstairs to investigate. Back at Missouri’s, she tells the boys that she’s been keeping an eye on the place over the  years and everything’s been quiet. She wonders why things would be starting up now. Sam says that he thinks their dad disappearing and Jessica’s death and the house are all connected. Dean doesn’t like that idea.

Chez Winchester. The hinges on the playpen pop free, and the front drops down. The toddler looks up as the baby proof latch on the fridge unlatches itself and the door swings open to reveal his sippy cup of juice. He rushes over to it, and clambers in. The door slams shut behind him and the baby proof latch clicks closed as we fade to black.

After the Not Commercial Break, Widow!Mom comes back into the kitchen to find it empty. She rushes around the house terrified and calling her son’s name. She comes back into the kitchen in a panic, then spots a puddle of milk on the floor by the fridge. She pulls the door open to find her son crying inside. She hugs him close. Just then, there’s a knock at the door. She answers it to find the boys on the other side. They introduce her to Missouri and ask if they could show her around. Widow!Mom says it’s not a good time, and Dean gets insistent. Missouri slaps the back of his head and apologises to Widow!Mom for Dean’s stupidity. He gets a “what’d I do??” look. She tells Widow!Mom that there’s something weird about the house and she needs to trust them.

Upstairs, Missouri says that if there’s anything evil in the house, Sari’s room should be the centre of it. Sam asks why, and she tells him that it used to be his nursery. Dean pulls out an EMF meter, and Missouri calls him an amateur. Still, it beeps frantically by the closet. She tells them that it’s not the same evil she felt after their mother died, and that there are now two spirits in the house. They came because of what happened to their mother, because real evil walked through the house leaving wounds behind. Wounds that got infected. That’s a really disgusting metaphor, Missouri… Anyway, there’s now a big gross poltergeist in the house and it wants to kill everyone. Sam asks about the second spirit, and she says that she can’t quite make it out. Dean asks how they stop them.

Cut to Missouri’s house. She and the boys are making up little bags of various herbs and magical doohickeys to put inside the north, south, east and west corners of each floor of the house. Also, Dean is an adorable dumbass:

Dean says that Widow!Mom won’t be too pleased about the holes, but Missouri points out that she’ll live, which is better than the current scenario. She tells them that the bags will cleanse the house completely, but they’ll need to work fast so the poltergeist doesn’t work out what’s happening.

Sara: I don’t care how much money I spent on that stupid house. I’d be GONE. Notice that is my solution to every single problem we’ve encountered so far on this show. Creepy shit happening? MOVE.

K: A legit life choice, I feel. Chez Winchester. Missouri ushers Widow!Mom and the kids outside, telling them to go see a movie and it’ll all be over before they get back. Upstairs in one of the bedrooms, Sam starts tapping at the wall with a hammer. Across the room, a lamp cord unplugs itself and snakes across the room towards him. In the kitchen, Dean smashes a hole in the wall with a hammer as a drawer slides open behind him. In the basement, Missouri is about to put the bag of herbs in the wall when a table slams into her, pinning her. She screams. Kitchen. Dean hears a noise and ducks as a kitchen knife sails past his head. He pulls the kitchen table in front of him as more knives fly across the room.

Upstairs, the lamp falls off the dresser with a smash. Sam turns just as the cord wraps around his throat. He fights against it but it’s not budging. Dean rushes in and yanks against the cord without success. He picks up the herb bag, kicks a hole in the wall, and throws the bag inside. There’s a white flash of light that pushes out from the house, and the pressure on Sam’s neck disappears. Dean unwraps it and hugs his brother tight. Fade to black.

After the Not Commercial Break, the trio stand in the trashed kitchen. Sam asks Missouri if it’s over, and after a moment she says that it is. Sam’s not so sure. (S: …because there’s still ten minutes left in the episode.) (K: A+) Widow!Mom walks in and is less than thrilled with the mess. Missouri says that Dean will clean it up. He reluctantly goes to get a broom, muttering all the way. Sometime later, they leave the house. Widow!Mom watches silently from the doorway then heads back inside. Later that night, she turns the light off and lies down in bed. A few seconds later, the bed starts to shake violently. She screams.

Outside in the Bromobile, the boys are watching the house. Dean wants to know why they’re still there, and Sam says he doesn’t think it’s over yet. Dean eyerolls a little, but Sam’s proved right when Widow!Mom appears in the upstairs window, screaming for help. They jump out of the car and run into the house. Widow!Mom runs to her bedroom door, but it’s sealed shut. In Sari’s room, the fiery figure appears in her closet. Dean rushes up to Widow!Mom’s door and, when she says it won’t open, kicks it down. He helps her downstairs, saying that Sam’s getting her kids. Sam rushes into Sari’s room, holding the toddler. Sari’s terrified, and Sam stares at the fiery figure as he picks her up and tells her not to look. He carries the kids downstairs.

At the front door, he tells Sari to “Take your brother outside as fast as you can, and don’t look back.” I stop to have feels again because that’s pretty much exactly what Papa Winchester told mini!Dean. As he finishes, a force yanks him off his feet and down the hall. Sari screams and goes outside with her brother. They rush over to Widow!Mom and Dean asks where Sam is. Sari cries that the monster has him. Dean looks up in time to see the front door slam shut. Fade to black.

After the Not Commercial Break, Dean grabs an axe, a shotgun and a bunch of salt filled shells and rushes up to the house. He starts kicking and hacking at the door. In the kitchen, Sam is thrown around then pinned to the wall by an invisible force. Dean steps through the wreckage of the door and calls out to his brother. He rushes into the kitchen and raises his shotgun at the fiery figure. Sam tells him not to shoot, because he can see who it is. The flames blow out, revealing their mother, wearing the same nightgown she died in.

Dean stares in confusion, then lowers his gun and tears up as Mary says his name. She turns towards Sam, who smiles through his tears when she greets him by name. Dean’s eyes never leave his mother. Mary apologises to Sam sadly, then looks up at the ceiling. “You get out of my house. And let go of my son,” she says. She bursts into flame again, and this time she’s consumed by them. The flames reach the ceiling, then disappear. The force holding Sam disappears. Dean looks around the empty kitchen in dismay. “Now it’s over,” Sam says with relief.

The next day, Dean loads the metal box of Winchester photos into the Bromobile. Missouri assures Sam that there are now no spirits in the house. (S: Bitch, that’s what you said ten minutes ago. Nobody trusts you anymore.) Apparently Mary’s spirit and the poltergeist cancelled each other out – Mary destroyed herself to protect her sons. I kind of want to give her a Sandy Cohen Eyebrow as a result. Sam tears up. He asks Missouri what’s happening to him, and she says that she doesn’t know. Over by the car, Missouri tells the boys to stay in touch, then she and Widow!Mom watch as they roll out of town.

Missouri walks into her apartment, and addresses the seemingly empty room: “That boy…he has such powerful abilities. But why he couldn’t sense his own father, I have no idea.” The camera pans across to show us Papa Winchester sitting on the sofa. He asks if Mary really saved the boys, and she says yes. Then she tells him to Use His Words and be a responsible parent for a change. He tearfully says that he can’t – not until he knows the truth. Fade to black.

Sara: UGH, WHATEVER. Contrivancey stupid bullshit. I’m calling it now: I bet you there is no valid reason for this.

K: Pretty much. Oof. In some ways, this episode is really clunky. It takes forever for anything to happen, Sam’s abilities are just accepted, and Mary’s appearance is so quick that it’s barely worth it. But on the other side of things, it’s so feels-tastic. We have Dean, who can remember the night his mother died, having to go into the house where it all happened and relive his past, and feeling completely helpless about it. So helpless that he’d ask his father’s voicemail what to do. And we have Sam, seeing his mother and hearing her voice for the first time that he can remember. It just gives me feels for days. And then we have douchebag Papa Winchester. I have feels for him in this episode, hearing that his wife saved his boys. But JESUS, DUDE. USE YOUR WORDS AND STOP BEING NEGLIGENT. I JUST HATE HIM SO MUCH. GAH. Yes, all becomes clear in time, but that doesn’t make things any better right now, does it? Sigh.

 

Next time, checking out an abandoned mental hospital seems like a recipe for disaster. And yet the Winchesters check it out anyway. Find out more in Supernatural S01 E10 – Asylum.