Friday, February 6, 2009

Sex and Violence-MANY SPOILERS

**************SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED THE EPISODE*****************

Okay, this is my very first recap ever and I wrote it as I watched, so I didn't know the end before the beginning, though I'd heard somewhere that there would be a fight between the boys.

Opening scene, a woman with a meat tenderizer. Ohhhhh, not good. Her husband comes in, late, and she’s not happy. She tells him they’re going to a party and now he’s pissed. Uh-oh, he’s really pissed and beats her to death with the tenderizer. Told you. NOT good.

After the open, Dean wakes in a motel room to see Sam’s bed empty. He hears Sam in the bathroom on his cell, presumably talking to Ruby. And guh, are these boys beautiful. Sam’s found a news article about the man who killed his wife, and adds it’s the third man in two months to kill his wife.

The boys pose as lawyers this time. This is a new one. They go visit the husband in jail to find out what happened. He wasn’t possessed, he knew exactly what he was doing while he was doing it. Dean pulls out a bill for a stripper, not explaining how he got it. The husband confesses that he met the girl named Jasmine at a bachelor party and that she was everything he wanted. Jasmine had promised the husband they’d be together if his wife was out of the picture. He was supposed to meet the stripper after but she never showed. He doesn’t know her address or even her real first name. He says if he doesn’t get the death sentence, he’ll just kill himself.

Acting as an FBI agent, Sam goes to the office of the beautiful doctor who works for the sheriff’s department, who did the autopsies on the dead women and tox screens on their husbands. Dr. Cara Roberts is suffering from a hangover. Sam gently teases her, “Rough night?” “Fun night,” she replies. “Rough morning.” After inspecting his badge again, closely, she reveals that all three husbands had a high level of oxytocin in their blood, a hormone produced during childbirth, lactation and sex. Presuming the first two weren’t happening in these men…. No, she doesn’t know what causes such high level of oxytocin.

She is so flirting with Sam, and when Dean comes in, she blows him off. They leave, and Sam offers his cure for a hangover-a greasy breakfast. Dean says something to Sam as they walked out, but even though I rewound it three times, I didn’t understand.

Dean investigated the other husbands in the meantime, and those men had also hooked up with girls from a club called The Honey Wagon. But each man hooked up with a different girl. Sam suspects a love spell. Dean is just tickled they’re on an actual case involving strippers.

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They visit the strip club where Dean has a hard time focusing on what the manager is telling him, because there are girls dancing all around. Sam comes in, having spoken to Bobby, natch, and Bobby’s theory is sirens, from the Greek myths. Sam’s a bit surprised Dean knows. Sam says they have a siren song, and Dean teases that it’s “Welcome to the Jungle,” or “Cherry Pie.” They theorize that it’s the same girl cloaking herself as different “dream girls.” They also realize that even if they find her, they don’t know how to kill her.

Meanwhile, one of the strippers slips over to a young man in a booth. She follows him home, where he’s caring for his invalid mother. They have sex on the couch, and in the mirror we see her extremely creepy reflection. Love it! After sex, she tells him that his mom takes up too much of his time and she could be with him forever if only his mother wasn’t around. He agrees to bash his mother’s brains in. He picks up a poker from the fireplace and disappears into his mother’s room. The siren dresses and leaves.

The next morning, Dean is looking at Sam’s phone on the table. He dials the last number and Ruby answers. Dean scowls and hangs up as Sam comes in. Sam’s been to visit the last victim/murderer in jail. Sam’s phone rings and Dean flinches, but it’s Bobby, who has some lore from a dusty Greek poem. To kill a siren, they need a bronze dagger, covered in the blood of a sailor under the spell of the song. When Dean asks what that means, Bobby says he doesn’t know, they’re dealing with “three thousand years of the telephone game.” He doesn’t think it’s an actual song, but a toxin she gets in their blood. She reads their minds and becomes just what they need.

“A Supernatural STD,” Dean observes.

Bobby believes a dose of her own venom will kill her, too. Sam has an idea. Bobby warns them to be careful, that sirens are tricky bitches.

Cut to Sam going back to the doctor. Ohhhhh. This time he brings Dean, wanting the blood samples from the husbands, believing the siren’s toxin will be there.

And whoa, there’s another FBI agent assigned to the case. He quizzes the boys, asking them their director’s name and badge numbers. The boys give him a card with their director’s name on it, and the agent dials, only to get Bobby, who reams him for asking stupid questions. Bobby hangs up, and there’s a row of phones in his kitchen, each with a different label for different agencies. LOL.

Sam wants Dean to keep the extra FBI agent busy, and the agent shows Metallicar love. Dean is pleased.

Sam stays with beautiful Dr. Roberts, telling her they know a specialist and want to test the blood to try out a theory, only the blood’s gone. Huh. Maybe my theory is wrong.

Dean and FBI boy are throwing back shots at the strip club and comparing classic rock knowledge. The FBI agent reveals that he found flowers at the crime scene, and he discovered the same flower was at every crime scene. Dean remembers seeing that flower before.

Cut to Dr. Robert’s office, where that flower is in a vase. Yeah, whatever, Sam looks terrific in a white shirt and loose tie. Together they go over security tapes (which they have, but she doesn’t lock her door) and discover the tapes have been tampered with. They discuss the case. She asks if he’s ever been in a relationship where he really loved someone but wanted to bash their head in. He kind of grins. Dean, maybe…..She offers him a drink and she starts talking about her ex-husband. Did I mention Sam looks really good? She talks about people changing, that she felt like she was married to a stranger. His phone rings and…yeesh, he looks REALLY good. He doesn’t answer. Ruby or Dean? I thin Ruby. Dr. Roberts talks about having no regrets and living life. Then she starts talking about his lips and….oh, wow, let me rewind that. I’m feeling a bit breathless here.

Hmm, okay. Back in motel room, Sam calls Dean. Dean apparently was the one who called, and he figured out the flowers are hyacinths, and that they’re from the Mediterranean. (Dean would know this?) Dean has the same suspicion as me, that Dr. Roberts is the siren. She’s only been in town two months and her husband dropped dead. Sam can’t believe it and Dean figures out that Sam had sex with Dr. Roberts. Dean goes off on Sam sleeping with monsters, Madison, Ruby and now Dr. Roberts. Sam insists he feels fine. Dean doesn’t want to meet up. He’s determined to handle it by himself. Sam hangs up and throws the phone across the room. Dean calls Bobby for back-up, and then he calls the FBI guy. Wow, he didn’t even think that one over. He must really like this guy.

FBI guy sees Dr. Roberts walk into the club. Dean joins him on the stakeout. Dean appreciates the fact that FBI guy trusts him.

Oh, MAN, I didn’t see that coming. FBI guy is asking Dean how he thinks the siren is infecting her victims. Dean mentions injections or physical contact, and shares his flask with FBI guy, who says, “Or saliva.” Damn, Dean gets it now, too. Too late.

FBI guy is the siren. His reflection in the rearview mirror is CRRRREEEEEEPPPPY. He wants Dean to kill Sam so FBI guy can be Dean’s brother, since he can’t trust Sam anymore. Dean agrees.

After the commercial, Sam walks into the motel room to see FBI/siren guy sitting on the bed, and Dean jumps him from behind, holding a big-ass knife to his neck. At the FBI/siren’s urging, Dean slices Sam’s neck, just a little. The siren tells Sam that he gave Dean what he wanted, and it wasn’t a girl in a g-string, but a little brother who looked up to him. He tells Sam that watching someone kill for you is the ultimate in devotion. Then he spits on Sam’s mouth, and tells the brothers to fight it out, that whoever wins can have him.

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Dean starts, saying the brother he knew was gone. It’s not the demon blood or the psychic ability, but the secrets, like calling Ruby. He asks Sam what he’s not telling, and Sam says it’s none of his business. They used to be in this together.

Sam counters by saying he can’t get Dean to help him hunt down Lilith because Dean’s too weak, he’s holding Sam back. Sam declares himself stronger and smarter, and accuses Dean of sitting around feeling sorry for himself, whining about the souls he tortured in hell. Dean throws his knife at Sam, then Sam pins Dean to the door and beats the hell out of him, saying Dean can’t stand in his way anymore. They break the door down in the fight (isn’t that the same motel where Sam and Ruby were when Dean came back from hell?). Sam is on his back, catching his breath, and Dean breaks the glass for the fire ax.

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“Tell me again how weak I am,” he taunts Sam, and as he raises the ax, Bobby shows up. He stabs Dean in the arm (blood of a sailor) and then throws the spear at the siren, who’s bolting. Sam protests, but Bobby hits his mark, and the siren goes down. As the spell breaks, the brothers look at each other, stunned by words that can’t be unspoken.

Oh, hell, I knew it was going to be another side of the road moment, with the boys drinking soda this time because the boys are driving. Bobby reveals it only took one call to discover the agent Nick Monroe wasn’t real.

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Dean asks if Sam will say good-bye to Dr. Roberts, but he says no. Sam says he didn’t mean the things he said, that it was the spell talking. Dean doesn’t believe him. Neither do I. Do you?

The rift is getting bigger, y’all. I think I need to watch a few first season episodes to soothe me…..

19 comments:

AuthorM said...

Dean tells Sam he totally "c-blocked" him -- which is TV censor code for Cock-blocked, which means, you know...keeping him from getting laid. :)

I loved this episode for many reasons. Some of my favorites: the look on Dean's face when he says they're going on a case WITH strippers! Finally!

Bobby's fantastic wall-o-phones.

Sammy being pursued and giving in to a confident woman he doesn't have to shoot and kill.

M

Anonymous said...

Okay, what was up with the Disney princess names? (Jasmine, Aurora, Ariel, Belle) At first it cracked me up, but now I'm expecting all the princess posters in my daughter's room to have creepy reflections--no wonder she can't sleep in there!

When Munroe started going on about the car, I didn't catch on, but when he and Dean were doing shots and talking tunes, I turned to my husband and asked, "So the siren can make itself look like ANYTHING?" I was suspicious but I've never heard a myth where a siren was anything but female. Then there was the distraction with the Dr, which first I resisted as too obvious, but about the time I thought it was her, my husband and laughed at me and said, "I think you were right with your first hunch."

Jared and Jensen are both terrific actors who can play both vulnerable and menacing well--they've both had opportunity to show their dark side either because they're possessed or someone else or whatever--but, damn, Padlecki gave me chills. He can look seriously evil. And then Dean standing over him, with the axe, mocking? Shudder.

I'm so glad that there was a twist and that Sam wasn't actually sleeping with another non-human--although it was great fodder to poke at the widening rift between them, Dean thinking he's once again being shut out because Same is making the same "mistake" over and over. I appreciated what the siren said to Sam before he infected him (which, btw, gross! ew!)--I had basically just said the same thing to my husband. The reason he was a guy for Dean was because the person Dean loves the most in the world is his kid brother. It made a lot of sense but also highlighted how heartbreaking this chasm between them is.

Assuming show renewal, do you guys think that the brothers will be in a better place by the end of the season finale, or that this will escalate into the cliffhanger that launches us into next season's arc?

Tanya

PS Thank God for Bobby!

Natalie J. Damschroder said...

In the spirit of your write-up, I'm noting my comments as I read. :)

That was a big-ass meat tenderizer!

I loved that they were lawyers! They really worked it, too, as well as the FBI agents later. We never really saw them get challenged like that before. And the PHONES! I loved it. Whoops, getting ahead of myself.

Cara reminded me a lot of Sarah. Same type, though older and tougher, much like Sam. Nice casting, I thought.

And I always love it when the chicks blow of Dean for Sam!

Dean would have looked up the flower before he called Sam. I can buy that he knew some Homer, but not flowers. :)

I think that's the same hotel from a lot of episodes. Like the one from the dream episode, with all the trees on the wallpaper.

The fight was hot. MAN, were they whaling on each other! I want to see outtakes or behind-the-scenes on that one! :)

HAH! Tanya, I only peripherally noticed that. Kind of creepy!

My husband called the FBI agent about the time I was getting the hint, but I thought there were two, and I wish there had been. It made all the misdirection about the doctor feel too heavy-handed and manipulative.

I saw a blog post elsewhere that gleefully pointed out that the siren gave Dean what he needed most, and that was Sam, but I disagree. Sam doesn't care about cars and music. The siren gave Dean HIMSELF during the seduction, and once he was poisoned, then he offered to be his brother. It was two separate steps, and I got the impression that it didn't matter, once he did the poisoning, what he presented, the victim would have done anything to have it.

It's a different MO from what the siren did with the others, because Dean is unique, and so was the situation. It can read minds, so it knew they were hunters, and it knew that offering Dean a woman wouldn't reel him in (close enough to swap spit) because he had too much bigger, more important stuff to deal with.

As for finale, your guess is as good as mine, Tanya. If they're going to settle the apocalypse this season and have a new mytharc next season, then maybe they will resolve the rift, or at least get them to a place where they can start to do that. But if the apocalypse is end of season 5, then I think the cliffhanger will be what feels like an irreversible break. :(

Anonymous said...

Fun write up!

I'm voting that the cliffhanger has the boys apart. Wah! LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this episode.

Bobby's phones where hilarious and the way he was cooking breakfast while he chewed the guy out.

The Disney princess thing cracked me the hell up.

The fight was hot. Totally.

The siren's MO is to have the person kill who they most love. It sure came close. Thank God for Bobby.

But they so are not okay.

Anonymous said...

>>>The siren's MO is to have the person kill who they most love

I agree--and in that context, it totally fit.

I'm obviously in the minority, but I find the brothers' hand to hand combat more disturbing than hot. Now that scene with Sam and the girl up against the wall? HELLO.

Anonymous said...

I didn't think the scene with Sam and Kara was all that hot. He's going to have to work harder than that to surpass the scene with Ruby. :)

And the fight was disturbing, but the guys being all physical and equally matched got me worked up. LOL.

phouse1964 said...

I so loved this episode!

I agree, the wall of phones was great. As was the siren's choice of Disney princess names. Maybe a slam at the fact that they are all fantasy cartoons of women that can never really be?

I will admit to really loving meany Sam. He looked very pretty last night! He felt stronger than Dean for me in this episode. I think we are finally beginning to see that Sam has really changed and gotten stronger in the past year and relies more on himself than his brother now. Very sad.

Best part of the fight? Sam saying "boohoo" and the look on his face when he said it. Oh, that had to hurt!

The fact that Sam had a "real" one nighter shows how much he has changed. In the past, that was something he never would have done. I loved Cara. I loved that they finally had a strong woman that wasn't ultimately evil.

3 weeks until a new episode? Can you hear me crying?

Word verification? trymen (ha!)

Natalie J. Damschroder said...

I'm obviously in the minority, but I find the brothers' hand to hand combat more disturbing than hot.

I found it hot because I can pinpoint the moment I fell in love with the show as the fight scene in the pilot, when we first meet Dean. The shadowed hand-to-hand told us everything about the characters. The scene last night paralleled it, except there was no holding back, they were going all out, and it showed better than anything how much has changed since then.

Maybe a slam at the fact that they are all fantasy cartoons of women that can never really be?

Probably! And though there are men who would think of such things (Joss Whedon), I tend to think the writer this week, Cathryn Humphries, is responsible for that. :)

Best part of the fight? Sam saying "boohoo" and the look on his face when he said it. Oh, that had to hurt!

Oh, I know! I cheered Dean when he threw the knife at him for that. Not that I wanted him knifed, of course. The things they said to each other we pretty different. Dean's accusations about secrecy and lies were fact and spoke to his own feelings. Sam's taunts about Dean being weak and whiny did not put Sam in a good light.

I loved Cara. I loved that they finally had a strong woman that wasn't ultimately evil.

Me, too! And I thought she was a cut above the actresses they usually get.

3 weeks until a new episode? Can you hear me crying?

I know, me, too. But since they moved the break up because of the sweeps change due to the digital switchover, I think we'll have more in a row afterward than we usually do. Maybe.

Word verification? trymen (ha!)

HaHa! I wonder if the WV is basing its choices off the blog content? :)

Maureen Child said...

Is it wrong to LOVE this episode and still hate that the boys are getting further apart? LOL

Great recap!

MJFredrick said...

I entirely missed the Disney princess thing.

Thanks for the translation, Author M! I've never heard that phrase.

I loved the episode. Must watch again....and again ;) I really thought the seduction/love scene was hot. I liked that he was more playful, not resistant like with Ruby, or even Madison.

phouse, I am with you on mean Sam, but like Natalie said, the words he threw at Dean didn't make him very heroic.

Natalie J. Damschroder said...

Of course not, Maureen! :)

For the first time since the last break, I'm wanting to rewatch an episode. I feel like I was so caught up in anticipating what was coming next, I didn't enjoy certain...elements. :)

You guys talking about Bad!Sam also makes me want to watch "Born Under a Bad Sign" again.

Unknown said...

I agree with those of you who found the fight disturbing, but I think it was more that they were fighting over a guy. I realize the significance of the person you love most, but it was still awkward for me to sit there and think, hmmm...over another guy?

Norah Wilson said...

Okay, a day late, but I saw the episode tonight (Friday).

Sam was definitely strong in this episode! Not strong enough to make me switch teams, but dayum! Nice.

And what he said to Dean? Way not nice. But I DO like Bad Sam. (Sorry, Dean!) Does that make me a bad person?

As for them fighting over another man, I totally got that. I did NOT see that coming though. Not until the doc turned up at the strip club. I absolutely knew then that it wasn't her. And if it wasn't her...it had to be the FBI guy.

Tonight's word: Bromance. :-)

Anonymous said...

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MJFredrick said...

Agent Stiles and Murdoch...the names of the characters from Route 66. Just in case you were wondering :)

Natalie J. Damschroder said...

Great article, Terri!

Thanks, Mary. I always plan to go look it up and then always forget. But I hate not knowing! LOL

Anonymous said...

From Natalie's comment: Dean would have looked up the flower before he called Sam. I can buy that he knew some Homer, but not flowers. :)

This is very in character for Dean. He's been portrayed as the one who recognizes plants repeatedly. Back in Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things, he was the one who put all the dead plants and trees together with there being a case.

In Crossroad Blues, Dean recognized the flowers planted at the side of the crossroad.

In Malleus Maleficarum, Dean recognized the plants in the witches garden.

In Time is On My Side, he recognized the branches Bela had placed up her door.

It actually far more out of character for Dean NOT to recognize the plants. Unfortunately the show has apparently done such a good job of making Dean's intelligence a joke that people forget he's actually a smart guy, in multiple areas, who knows his job well.

MJFredrick said...

Andromakhe, wow, I NEVER put that together! You're absolutely right! Cool!

Natalie J. Damschroder said...

Wow!

I feel dumb. You are SO right!

I'm going to defend myself with context. Dean usually recognizes plants in the context of supernatural stuff, and this was girly flowers on display, which is a little different. I wouldn't say the show has made a joke out of Dean's intelligence, but of his lack of awareness of the outside world. He's very focused. He didn't know what MySpace was, for example. So my thought on the flowers was connected to that, not from thinking he was dumb.