Previously: Gordon was a douche and Sam made friends with a girl who promptly got kidnapped. Or something.
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Playthings
Kirsti: A van pulls up outside a gorgeous but slightly creepy mansion-turned-hotel. Inside, a woman gives the driver instructions on the boxes he’s to collect while he nostalgia-mopes about the hotel closing down because his parents and grandparents got engaged there. She has no fucks to give. He heads upstairs as two girls in slightly oldy-worldy outfits watch from the landing.
One complains about Van Guy taking their toys, but the mother says there are plenty of other toys to play with.
Cut to Tyler, the younger of the two girls, playing with a creepy-ass dollhouse that’s a scale model of the hotel. She starts putting the dolls in their beds, then finds a doll that’s not where she left it. Instead, it’s at the bottom of the stairs, its head facing backwards. As she picks it up, she hears a scream. She heads out to the landing and finds her mother babbling on the phone to 911. Van Guy is lying at the bottom of the stairs, head backwards, just like the doll was. Tyler stares at the scene calmly as her mother tells her to look away.
FLAME ON!
After the Not!Credits, the boys are still in Ava’s home town. The walls of their motel room are covered in information, much like Papa Winchester used to do. Sam’s been checking every database of ever, but there’s no sign of Ava anywhere. Ellen’s got nothing either, except a case for them in Connecticut. Dean’s surprised that Sam would want to work a case rather than mope over Ava, and Sam says it’s their job to save as many people as possible. Dean agrees to go to Connecticut.
Thanks to the magic of cut scenes, they’re suddenly at the Overlook Murder Hotel. Dean’s all “OMG AWESOME” because he’s used to shitty motels and also because the hotel looks like something out of Scooby Doo. As they head up to the front door, Sam spots a hoodoo symbol on a planter, and they debate whether or not Black People Did It. I headdesk because of reasons.
Inside, Dean asks Susan (the owner) for a room while the girls run past Sam. Susan apologises to him, and we get another moment of Wincest queerbaiting when she assumes they’re antiquers who’ll want a king bed. Sam clarifies that they’re brothers and Susan looks awkward. She checks them in and asks an old dude in a shabby uniform to show them to their room. I’m convinced I’ve seen him in something before, but IMDB does NOT back me up on this. Maybe it’s because he sounds and looks a little like Peter Boyle…
Anyway, as Not Peter Boyle leads the boys upstairs, he talks about how sad he is that the hotel is closing because his parents worked there and he basically grew up there. Sam heads into the room and Not Peter Boyle looks expectantly at Dean. Dean looks shifty, and Not Peter Boyle says “You’re not going to cheap out on me, are you boy?” which I mention only because it made me snort laugh. Dean reluctantly tips him.
Later, Sam flips through research as Dean stares in disgusted horror at a creepy-ass wedding dress displayed decoratively on the wall. “Why the hell would anybody stay here?!” he asks, which is an excellent question. Anyway, Sam informs us that there have been two victims to date: the real estate agent handling the sale of the hotel, who drowned in the bath, and Van Guy who was collecting stuff for Goodwill. Clearly, someone doesn’t want the hotel closed down. Sam thinks someone’s using hoodoo to fight back.
Out in the hall, they snoop around. Sam finds more hoodoo symbols, and they head to Susan’s private apartment to ask some questions. She’s all “PACKING NOW, BYE” but Dean talks their way in by admiring the creepy-as-shit porcelain doll collection she’s got going on and saying that Sam’s got a doll collection too. Sam gives him major bitchface, but confirms the story.
That’s Tyler’s cue to enter and complain that Maggie’s being mean to her. Sam offers to fix the doll, and Tyler says she found it that way and neither she or Maggie would have done it because Grandma would get mad. The boys are all “Oh, there’s a mysterious creepy old lady here? SUSPECT!” and ask to talk to her. Susan says that her mother, Rose, is sick and can’t see anyone. The boys look suspicious.
Back in the hallway, they decide that Rose must be their hoodoo practitioner because dolls are required in a bunch of hoodoo stuff. I’m guessing it doesn’t usually involve expensive porcelain dolls though… Whatever, show. They decide to investigate her further. Elsewhere, Susan signs legal documents and asks the lawyer what alterations are going to be made to the hotel. He’s all “Oh, no one told you? WE’RE BULLDOZING THE SHIT OUT OF IT.” Susan rushes from the room. Upstairs, Tyler is playing by the dollhouse again. We cut between the lawyer in his hotel room and a doll sitting in the same position in the house. Tyler hears a creak and goes over to the dollhouse to find Lawyer Doll hanging from the ceiling fan. In his room, Lawyer Human is also hanging from the ceiling fan. Fade to black.
After the Not Commercial Break, Sam mopily watches the coroner load a body bag into the truck. Susan offers Dean a refund on account of all the surprise murder, but he says they don’t scare easily. Dean comes in and says that the lawyer dude hung himself. My pet peeve comes out to play as I once again yell “PICTURES ARE HUNG, PEOPLE ARE HANGED!!” at my television. Anyway, Dean asks what Sam found out about Grandma, and Sam’s all “Honey badger has no fucks to give because BOOZE” or something. Basically, he’s drink drank drunkfaced.
Dean immediately decides that he hasn’t had enough alcohol to have this conversation it’s time for Sam to go to bed. He calls him “Sasquatch“, which amuses me to no end. Drunkface!Sam says that Dean has to promise to kill him if he turns evil. Dean’s dismissive, and Sam reiterates that it’s what Papa Winchester would have wanted. Dean replies “He never should have said anything. I mean, you don’t do that, you don’t, you don’t lay that kind of crap on your kids!“, and GIVE THAT MAN A BIG FAT A+. Trust Papa Winchester to earn himself a posthumous “taking the parent out of parenting” tag. Sam won’t give up until Dean promises to kill him though. Dean reluctantly promises and Drunkface!Sam tumbles into bed and passes out. Dean gets “NEED BOOZE” face.
He heads downstairs to the hotel bar to hang out with Not Peter Boyle. They discuss Lawyer Guy and whether or not the hotel is cursed. Dean asks for some stories about the hotel’s history, and we cut to Not Peter Boyle showing Dean a bunch of framed photos on the stairs. He tells Dean that the hotel has been in Grandma Rose’s family for over a century. One of the photos features Small Child Rose with her nanny, a young black woman wearing a hoodoo necklace. Dean looks concerned.
The next morning, Drunkface!Sam is now Hungover!Sam. Dean grins as Sam says that he can still taste the tequila. Obviously, because tequila is EEEEEEEEEEVIL. Dean fills a now-pukey Sam in on the whole hoodoo nanny situation. They decide it’s time to talk to Rose. They head up to Susan’s apartment and knock, but she’s not there. So they break in and creep up to the attic. Rose is sitting in a wheelchair facing the window. Sam creeps over to her and calls her name. Rose says nothing, just trembles. Sam realises that she’s had a stroke and can’t move without help. Dean’s not so sure:
Out on the landing, Tyler and Maggie play jacks. Susan asks Tyler if she’s started packing, but Tyler hasn’t because Maggie said she’s not allowed. Susan snaps that Tyler’s too old to have an imaginary friend. Dun dun duuuuuuuun. “I DON’T like her…” Maggie glares. Fade to black.
After the Not Commercial Break, Tyler’s playing in front of the dollhouse. The swings in the playground start to move by themselves and she stares at them in confusion. Outside, Susan is standing next to the actual swingset, which also starts to move by itself. The seesaw starts up too, and she walks over to stop it. The play equipment moves faster and faster, and a driverless car appears out of nowhere. Sam appears and tackles her out of the way. The car crashes into a tree. Dean appears too, and they help Susan inside.
They lead her into the bar and pour her a stiff drink, then tell her the truth about why they’re there. She’s all “THE FUCK??” but they brush past that and straight to asking when her mother had the stroke. Just before the deaths started, apparently. The boys work out that Rose WAS working hoodoo, but it was to protect people. Sam tells Susan that she’s in danger so she needs to take her daughters and leave. She says she only has one daughter and that Maggie is Tyler’s imaginary friend. The boys worriedly ask where Tyler is.
Cut to Rose’s room. Maggie tells a terrified Rose that Tyler’s going to be staying with her and there’s nothing she can do about it. Tyler walks in and hisses to Maggie that they’re not supposed to bother Rose. Maggie suggests they go and play forever and ever and ever. Fade to black.
After the Not Commercial Break, Susan leads the boys up to her apartment. They find the creepy porcelain dolls smashed all over the floor. Sam asks what she knows about Maggie and Susan says that Tyler’s been talking about her since Rose got sick. The boys ask if she ever knew anyone named Maggie, and she realises that Rose had a sister named Margaret who drowned in the hotel pool when she was a kid. They rush off to the pool.
Cut to the pool. Maggie and Tyler are hanging from the balcony. Tyler says she’s scared, and Maggie tells her all she has to do is jump and then they can be together forever. Tyler asks why she doesn’t just leave with them, and Maggie’s all “NO. KILL YOURSELF, SMALL CHILD.” Susan and the boys race down to the pool. They try to smash their way through the windows without success. Tyler turns and yells for Susan, but Maggie grabs her wrist and throws her into the pool. Dean rushes around to the back door and starts kicking it. Tyler sinks under the water, tangled in the pool cover. She comes up for a second and gasps for breath, but Maggie pushes her head under again.
As Maggie holds Tyler’s head underwater, she hears a voice calling to her. Maggie disappears. Sam suddenly manages to smash through the glass. He wriggles through the hole and jumps off the balcony into the pool.
He swims over to Tyler, who’s slumped at the bottom of the pool, and lifts her out of the water. The back door breaks open under Dean’s kick. He and Susan rush to Sam’s side as he puts Tyler on the side of the pool. She coughs up water and everyone heaves a sigh of relief. She looks around and says that Maggie’s gone.
Cut to Rose’s room. Maggie’s staring at Rose. “You’d really do that for me?” she asks. There’s a pause and she caresses Rose’s cheek. Downstairs, Susan tells Tyler that they can leave as soon as they get Grandma Rose. The boys wonder in confusion about why Maggie just stopped. There’s a scream from Susan. The boys rush up to the attic to find Susan staring in horror at Rose’s dead body. Fade to black.
After the Not Commercial Break, it’s sometime later. Susan tells the boys that the paramedics said it looked like Rose had another stroke. They offer their condolences, but she happily says they’ve given her everything by saving Tyler’s life. Tyler appears, wearing jeans and a t-shirt rather than the oldy-worldy pinafore and cardigan she’s been wearing all episode. Dean asks if she’s sure Maggie’s gone, and she says she is. Sam helps them into a taxi, and Susan gives him a tight hug before getting in the taxi and driving away.
As they walk to the Bromobile, Dean asks Sam if he feels better now that he’s saved some people. Sam says that it doesn’t change anything about their conversation from the previous night. Dean’s all “You were wasted, doesn’t count!” but Sam says he promised. He gets into the Bromobile and broods. Dean looks at him with concern as they pull away from the hotel. Cut to an upstairs bedroom. Maggie and Rose, now Tyler’s age, are jumping rope together as we fade to black.
This episode is weird. The dolls are creepier than the monster of the week, and Sam should probably have focused on the fact that Dean has a world of “EVERYBODY LEAVES ME” feels before making Dean promise TO KILL HIM. Because that is fucked up.
Next time on Supernatural: There’s a shapeshifter on the loose and it’s robbing banks. Because obviously. Find out more in S02 E12 – Nightshifter
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.
