Previously: KILLER CLOWNS. Also, we met Jo, Ellen and Ash, and it was AWESOME.
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Bloodlust
Kirsti: Red Lodge, Montana. A terrified girl runs through the woods at night, a man chasing her. She hides behind a tree, and the man runs past her. Or so she thinks. She peeks out from behind the tree, and he chops off her head.
FLAME ON!
After the Not!Credits, we’re treated to the delightful strains of AC/DC’s Back In Black as the newly remodelled Bromobile rolls down the road. There’s like 30 seconds straight of car close-ups just so we can marvel at how shiny it is.
Behind the wheel, Dean fanboys. He’s thrilled to be back in his car and on a case.
In Red Lodge, they claim to be reporters and talk to the local sheriff, who has a spectacular moustache. Mo-riff says they’ve found two severed heads, and that’s all he can share with the press. Dean asks about cattle mutilations in the area and whether they’re connected to the murders. Mo-riff is all “LOL WHUT,” and laughs uproariously before realising they’re serious. He asks what paper they work for, and they give conflicting tabloid names in response. Mo-riff tells them to GTFO.
The boys acquire labcoats and head to the morgue, opening the appropriate locker and pulling out the tray. The head is – weirdly – placed in a plastic tub between the victim’s feet. Dean opens the tub and suggests they check her mouth to see if her murderer shoved something down her throat, but neither one wants to do it. Eventually, Sam cracks and reaches into the dead girl’s mouth.
That night, the boys head to a dive bar. A black guy watches them from across the room. They bribe the bartender (who turns up again in season 8 as a major character because Supernatural loves recycling actors) with $50 for the gossip on anyone who moved to town recently and likes to cause a ruckus. Apparently the occupants of a farm outside town fit the bill. The boys head out and we see that the black guy is gone.
Outside, the Winchesters head down an alley, the black guy following. The boys grab him. Dean holds a knife to his throat and demands to see his teeth. He displays his gums, saying he overheard them talking and he knows how to kill vampires, then demands they drop the knife and introduce themselves.
In a parking lot, the black guy, Gordon, displays a hidden arsenal in his truck. He’s a hunter, and has worked with Papa Winchester. The boys relax a little. Gordon tells them he’s responsible for the two vampire kills. He’s been in town two weeks, and says the bartender’s tip is a farm full of hippies. Dean asks where the nest is, and Gordon says he’s been on the trail of these vampires for a year and wants to finish it alone. Dean’s jonesing for a hunt, but Gordon has no fucks to give. He suggests they go hunt a chupacabra two towns over. Don’t ask me why, but the mention of chupacabras always remind me of The X-Files. Anyway, Gordon drives away, no fucks given.
In a sawmill, a security guard dozes. He hears a sound and heads towards it because he’s never seen this show. Gordon attacks him with a machete. The guard vamps out and they fight. He turns on a nearby electric saw and pins Gordon down, lowering the saw towards his neck. At the last minute, Sam drags Gordon away. Dean throws the vampire under the saw, decapitating him. “So, uh, I guess I gotta buy you that drink…” Gordon says. Sam looks concerned about Dean’s callousness. Fade to black.
After the Not Commercial Break, we’re back at the dive bar. Dean and Gordon toast to the death of another monster while Sam bitchfaces in the background.
Dean tells Gordon a story about a hunt he went on when he was 16 and how it caused him to embrace life as a hunter. I have feels because 16 year old Dean should have been in school, not hunting monsters. Gordon says he got started when he was 18. A vampire broke into his house and attacked his sister. He shot it and it threw him across the room. When he came to, the vamp and his sister were gone. He left home, learnt all he could about vampires, tracked down the one that took his sister, and killed it. So basically, Charles Gunn but less awesome.
They exchange dead-family-member condolences. Dean says sadly that he’d seen his dad go through so much that he’d started thinking he was indestructible. He can’t talk about it to Sam. He has to stay strong and keep his game face on. “But, uh, the truth is I’m not handling it very well. Feel like I have this –” he starts. Gordon interrupts: “Hole inside you? And it just gets bigger and bigger and darker and darker? Good. You can use it. Keeps you hungry. Trust me. There’s plenty out there needs killing, and this’ll help you do it. Dean, it’s not a crime to need your job.” Dude, no.
Meanwhile, Sam’s on the phone to Ellen. He tells her that they’re working a case with Gordon, and Ellen replies “Don’t do that, Sam.” Sam says that Gordon’s a good hunter and Ellen replies in fine form:
She says Gordon’s dangerous to everyone around him. They should let Gordon handle the case and leave town. Sam’s surprised, but says he understands.
At the bar, Gordon says he loves hunting because everything’s black and white – you find the monster and you kill it. Dean’s not sure Sam would agree, and Gordon says Sam’s not like them. They were born to be hunters, Sam wasn’t. Dean looks thoughtful. Motel of the Week. Sam’s outside. He hears a noise and loiters outside for a second, then opens the motel room door and looks around suspiciously.
Inside, he leans against the door, relieved. Suddenly, he’s jumped by two guys. He knocks one down, but the second clocks him, and Sam goes down as we fade to black. But, like, the unconsciousness kind, not the commercial kind. A truck drives across a wooden bridge. We see Sam tied to a chair with a bag over his head. The bartender pulls the bag off. Sam – a gag in his mouth – looks shocked when the guy’s vamp teeth descend. He closes in and we fade to black.
After the Not Commercial Break, a voice calls out “WAIT! Step back, Eli.” It’s AMBER BENSON!!! I developed a weird headcanon after this episode aired that Tara didn’t really die when Warren shot her because she’d recently become a vampire, and that’s how she ended up in Supernatural. ANYWAY. Eli backs off and retracts his fangs. Amber Benson introduces herself as Lenore, and pulls Sam’s gag out, saying she just wants to talk. Sam’s all “LOL, SURE”, and Lenore swears he won’t be hurt. Sam eyerolls but Lenore says “We’re not like the others. We don’t kill humans, and we don’t drink their blood. We haven’t for a long time.” So they have souls, yes? (Okay, FINE. I wanted an excuse to bring back our “let’s talk about souls baby” tag.)
Sam asks why they haven’t starved, and Lenore says they’ve found an alternate means of sustenance. Sam realises they’re responsible for the cattle deaths. She says it’s super gross but allows them to survive and blend in. No missing persons and no bodies means no hunters. They’re leaving town immediately and she’s only telling him all of this so he and Dean and Gordon don’t follow them. “We have a right to live. We’re not hurting anyone,” she says. Sam asks why he should believe her, and Lenore gets all up in his face before ordering her minions to take Sam back to town unharmed. Sam’s surprised.
At the Motel of the Week, Dean and Gordon debate which of the 20 farms they should search next. Dean wonders where Sam is. “Probably went for a walk. Seems like the take-a-walk type…” Gordon says. And YES, THAT IS THE MOST ACCURATE DESCRIPTION OF SAM EVER. Just then, Sam walks in. He tells Dean they need to talk alone.
Outside, Sam tells his brother what happened. Dean demands to know where the nest is, and Sam says all he knows is that they went over the old bridge outside town. Gordon’s eavesdropping in the shadows. Dean refuses to believe in “good” vampires, saying “What part of ‘vampires’ don’t you understand, Sam? If it’s supernatural, we kill it, end of story. That’s our job.” Sam disagrees – their job is hunting EVIL. The vampires aren’t killing people, ergo, NOT EVIL.
Dean insists that the vampires have to be exterminated. He says Gordon would know because he’s been on this hunt for over a year. The boys bicker about taking Ellen’s word over Gordon’s, and Sam says Dean’s using Gordon as a shitty replacement for Papa Winchester. Dean scoffs. Sam says he can see through Dean’s act. Dean turns away, then spins around and punches Sam IN THE FACE. Sam refuses to take the bait.
Outside, Dean hotwires the Bromobile and asks Sam if the bridge is all the information he has about the farm’s location. Sam looks at the map, and says that the bridge was four and a half minutes from the farm. He traces out a path on the map, because he also remembers the turns. Dean’s impressed. They roll out.
Vamp Nest. Eli tells Lenore they need to fight back. She disagrees – killing the current hunters would just get them followed by more hunters. They should try reasoning with them instead. He scoffs, and she says she hopes if they can change, hunters can change too. She tells him they’re leaving by dawn. Outside, Lenore’s loading the truck when she hears a noise. Gordon stabs her in the chest. “Dead man’s blood, bitch,” he says as she sags. Fade to black.
After the Not Commercial Break, Lenore’s tied to a chair. Gordon dips his knife in blood again, then makes a shallow cut across Lenore’s chest. Basically, TORTURE. The boys arrive, and Gordon tells Dean to grab a knife, because he was just about to start chopping off fingers, and Dean’s all “DUDE, NO.” Sam tells Gordon to stop, and Gordon sighs, saying he was done with the torture anyway. He pulls a bowie knife and says it’s totally humane because he just sharpened it.
Sam’s horrified and steps forward, stopping Gordon. He says he’s letting Lenore go. Gordon points the knife at Sam’s chest. Dean freaks out a little, and Gordon repeats his earlier statement that in hunting, there are no shades of grey. Dean says the vampire that killed his sister deserved to die, but Lenore’s different. Gordon laughs because his sister wasn’t killed. She was turned. And he killed her himself. Like I said, Charles Gunn but less awesome. Dean’s all “Skkkrrrrt, WHAT?” and Gordon coldly says that he didn’t hesitate.
Sam realises Gordon knew the truth about Lenore all along. Gordon says he can prove that not drinking human blood doesn’t change shit. He cuts Sam’s arm, holding the dripping blood over Lenore’s mouth. Dean pulls his gun. Lenore hisses and vamps out when the blood hits her face. Gordon says she’s just like all the others – evil.
Lenore forces her fangs back and turns away, saying “No, no!” Dean’s shocked. Sam shoves Gordon’s knife away and says they’re done. Dean agrees. Sam carries Lenore out as Dean points his gun at Gordon. Dean tells Gordon that if he wants the vamps, he’s got to get through him first. Gordon slams his knife into the table. “Fine,” he says. Dean pulls the clip from his gun and places them both on the table.
They face off, and they’re pretty evenly matched. Until Gordon grabs his knife out of the table. Dean gets “Shit, I walked into that” face, ducking back as Gordon swipes at him. Gordon says they’re the same – killers. That gives Dean an extra boost and he kicks out at Gordon before elbowing him in the face. Fade to black.
After the Not Commercial Break, it’s morning. The Bromobile pulls up outside. Sam walks in and says that Lenore and her minions got out of town without any problems. Gordon, tied to a chair, glares. Dean tells Gordon they’ll call someone to come untie him in a few days. He knocks Gordon over on the way out.
Outside, Dean braces himself and tells Sam to hit him. It’s a freebie, he says, to make up for earlier. Sam says he’ll take a raincheck because Dean’s already beat to hell. Dean wishes they’d never taken the job. He thinks all the hunts they’ve been on: “What if we killed things that didn’t deserve killing? You know? I mean, the way Dad raised us...” Sam tells him Papa Winchester did the best he could, and Dean says he knows that but he’s not sure raising them to hate was the right thing. He enjoyed killing the vampire at the mill, and he wanted to kill Lenore. “Yeah, Dean, but you didn’t. And that’s what matters,” Sam replies. He gets into the car and Dean stares off into the distance for a minute before joining his brother and driving off.
Fade to black.
I really like this episode, you guys. Dean being forced to see that the world isn’t black and white is a pretty big deal. Plus, Gordon shows us what Dean could have become without Sam’s influence. Plus plus, AMBER BENSON.
Next time on Supernatural: The boys go to visit their mother’s grave only to find something hinky is happening in the cemetery. Find out what it is in S02 E04 – Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things.
I'm a 30-something librarian and I still live with my parents because I'm super broke. Leader of Team Heartless Cow. I have an inexplicable love for 90s television, eat too much chocolate, and read more than is good for me.
