Supernatural S01 E11 – The greater good

Previously: The boys did some ghostbusting at a haunted asylum, and got an unexpected phone call from their negligent parent.
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Scarecrow

Kirsti: Burkitsville, Indiana, one year ago. A young couple are ushered out of a restaurant at night by a motherly looking type who gives them an apple pie for the road. Her husband finishes filling their car and gives them polite directions to the interstate. Their niece admires the guy’s tattoo as he gets in the car. The young couple gush about how nice everyone is in town and head out. A short distance out of town, their car dies. The girl is not pleased to discover that they also have no phone reception. They get out of the car and spy a light through the trees of an apple orchard. The guy heads towards it, and the girl reluctantly follows. Part way in, they come across a creep-tastic scarecrow and stare at it for way longer than I would. The guy calls it “the freakiest damn scarecrow I’ve ever seen,” thereby earning himself a gold star a mere two minutes into the episode. Well done, sir!

They head past the scarecrow towards the light. Its head turns to follow their movement. The girl freaks, saying that they should hurry. Deeper into the orchard, they hear a noise and turn to find…nothing behind them. Soon-To-Be-Dead Guy calls out, and there’s a groaning noise in response. They run for a while before the girl realises she’s alone. She turns and runs back towards the car, but trips and falls. She pulls herself up only to see that she’s tripped on her boyfriend’s mangled corpse. She screams, then looks up and screams louder as she sees what’s coming towards her. We get a shot of the scarecrow’s empty perch, ropes blowing in the breeze as she screams some more.

Sara: See, I would never have even gotten out of the car in the first place. I would be freaking alive if I was ever on an episode of Supernatural. I love that there’s a place where the fact that I am not adventurous or brave is a positive thing.

K: Right there with you, Sara.

After the Lightning-Flash-Non-Credits, we’re back in the motel from the last episode as Dean’s phone rings. Sam answers it, and this time, we see Papa Winchester say, “Sam, is that you?” Sam sits up with a “Dad??” Sam info-dumps to Papa Winchester that they’ve been looking for him and asks if he’s hurt. Papa Winchester says he’s okay, and asks after them. As Sam talks, Dean wakes up and listens intently to Sam’s half of the conversation. Sam asks if Papa Winchester is hunting what killed their mother, and he replies that he is and also it’s a demon. Papa Winchester offers his condolences over Jessica’s death, because at this point we’re still meant to think he’s not a total douche. But spoiler: he’s a total douche.

Anyway, Sam says they can help, but Papa Winchester tells them to stop looking for him, and that’s an order. Sam protests, and Dean grabs the phone from him. He asks if Papa Winchester is okay, then rapidly becomes a good little soldier and starts taking names down as ordered. Cut to the Bromobile. Dean informs Sam that the names are three couples, all of whom disappeared on cross-country road-trips in the second week of April, and that all their routes went through the same part of Indiana, one year apart.

Dean fanboys over how good Papa Winchester had to be to work out the pattern, but Sam pissily pulls over. He says that they’re not going to Indiana, because Papa Winchester called from a pay phone with a Sacramento area code, so clearly they should go look for him there. Dean says they’ve been given their orders, but Sam has no fucks to give. He wants revenge. Dean tells Sam he understands how he feels, and Sam scoffs. Dean was four when their mother died, whereas Jessica died six months ago. He also doesn’t understand Dean’s endless faith in Papa Winchester and his orders. He storms out of the car and grabs his stuff out of the boot. He shoulders his backpack and starts walking down the highway. Dean threatens to leave and, when Sam keeps walking, he does just that.

Sara: WHAT. I… but… they can’t split up… I have too many feelings already for this.

K: Girl, get used to it. They pull this a LOT.

Burkitsville. Dean rolls into town, pulls out his phone and stares at Sam’s number for a minute before shoving his phone back in his pocket. He heads over to a cafe and introduces himself to the owner as John Bonham, allowing me to use my The Fakest Names in Fakeonia tag. The owner replies “Isn’t that the drummer from Led Zeppelin?” Dean’s a little taken aback, then pulls out the missing persons fliers of the couple from the start of the episode and asks the owner if he’s seen them. He says they were friends of his and that he knows they passed through the area. He’s already checked a bunch of other towns and…the guy interrupts to say he’s never seen them. Dean sceptically takes the fliers back and walks away.

Bad Idea Highway. Sam’s walking backwards in the hopes of spotting a car. He turns to find a blonde girl sitting on the side of the roads, headphones in and totally in her own world. He calls out, but she can’t hear him. He taps her on the shoulder, and she jumps, pulling her headphones off. He apologises for scaring her and asks if she needs any help. She’s all “Pff, like I’d tell you, weirdly hot hitchhiking stranger.” He accuses her of the same thing and she laughs as a van pulls up. The driver offers a ride, but only to the girl. She grabs her stuff and jumps in.

Man, I love it when they nickname the characters for us.

Back in Burkitsville, Dean’s now showing the missing persons fliers to the motherly woman and her husband from earlier. They both tell him that the couple don’t look familiar. Their niece, Emily, enter-asks if the guy had a tattoo. Dean confirms that he did, and the niece is all “REMEMBER THEM, THEY STOPPED FOR PETROL”. Her uncle is forced to admit that they were there, briefly before he directed them to the interstate. Dean asks for directions there, and we cut to the Bromobile powering down the road. As he passes the orchard, the EMF meter in his bag goes crazy. He pulls over and stares at it in confusion before heading into the orchard. It’s daytime though, so he’ll probably not die. Also, you know, there’s like nine more seasons of this show. (S: Although Buffy died a whole lot, and her show still went on…) (K: You’re too good at TV for this show.) He comes across the scarecrow, and one of my favourite Supernatural moments happens:

He looks at its arm for a second, then grabs a ladder and climbs up for a closer look. The scarecrow’s skin has the same pattern as Missing Guy’s tattoo. “Nice tat,” Dean says and we fade to black.

Sara: Another friendly reminder that those of us with tattoos are much more likely to be identified if anything terrible happens to us. Take that, Mom!

K: Yeah, I’m not sure my group of freckles that looks like the constellation Taurus will be quite so helpful…

After the Not Commercial Break, the Bromobile pulls up at the petrol station. Dean’s greeted by Emily. He asks about the town, and she tells him she moved there when she was 13 after her parents died in a car accident. The town itself is the boonies, but nice. And weirdly, everyone there is fine, unlike the towns around them where everyone is losing their jobs and their homes. He asks if she’s seen the scarecrow, and she’s all “NYARGH, YES.” She tells him that it doesn’t belong to anyone, but has always been there. He spots a car sitting in the garage, and asks about it. Emily says that it belongs to a young couple who are having car trouble. Dean looks concerned.

Cleanest Bus Station Ever. The sassy lady behind the counter informs Sam that the next bus to Sacramento isn’t until the following evening. He says that there has to be another way, and she snarks, “There is. Buy a car,” which is not even remotely helpful. Also, I’m pretty sure there has to be AT LEAST one bus going somewhere west in the time before the next Sacramento bus would leave. You suck, lady. Sam agrees with me. He shakes his head in disbelief and pulls out his phone. He goes to call Dean, then stops when he’s greeted by Hitchhiking Girl. She informs him that Shady Van Guy was indeed incredibly shady and also gropy. Also that she’s heading to California too. She asks what’s there for him, and he says, “Just something I’ve been looking for. For a long time.” She introduces herself as Meg, and they shake hands.

Zeppelin Fan Cafe. The owner, who was surly to Dean earlier, is all sweetness and light with the young couple he’s plying with apple pie. Dean walks in and asks for some coffee and pie, and I squee because Dean/Pie is my OTP. He sits at a table next to Doomed-To-Die-II and strikes up a conversation. Zeppelin Fan basically tells Dean to leave D-T-D-II alone, but he insists that he’s just making friendly conversation. He asks what brings them to town, and the girl says they stopped for petrol and Creepy Uncle spotted something wrong with their car, and is fixing it for them. They’ll be up and running again by sundown. (Which should have been their first warning sign that they were Doomed-To-Die, really.)

Sara: RIGHT? I don’t even trust the guys at my local Time It Lube who are constantly finding one thing or another that’s busted or needs to be repaired when I’m getting my oil changed. 

K: SRSLY. Dean’s all “Whoa, that’s a long time. I know about cars, want me to look for you for free?” The couple exchange a “This guy is weird” look, which is totally legit. If some guy struck up a conversation with me in a cafe and offered to fix my car, I’d probably think he was a murderer too. They say they’d rather have the mechanic do it. Dean tries to say that they’re in danger, but they just get angry. The local sheriff walks in, and Zeppelin Fan thanks him for coming. He whispers something in the sheriff’s ear, and the sheriff demands a word with Dean. Said word appears to be “GTFO,” as we cut to the sheriff’s cruiser escorting the Bromobile to the town limits.

Cleanest Bus Station Ever. Sam and Meg share beers and snacks as they get to know each other. She says that she had to get away from her family. She got sick of doing what she was told, so she bailed. Sam says he can understand that, because he kind of had the same thing with Dean like 18 hours ago. Meg raises her bottle and makes a toast: “Here’s to us. The food might be bad, and the beds might be hard. But at least we’re living our own lives. And nobody else’s.” They chink bottles and drink.

Bad Idea Highway. Dean gives a big ol’ FUCK YOU to authority by rolling back into the Burkitsville limits. At the orchard, Doomed-To-Die-II’s car has broken down. They head through the orchard and the scarecrow crosses the screen between them and the camera. D-T-D-II spin around in fear. The scarecrow steps out from behind some trees, sickle in hand, and they start to run. They’re almost to a clearing when Dean appears. He tells them to get back to their car. They see the scarecrow and run, leaving Dean to cock his shotgun and shoot the scarecrow. It stumbles but keeps coming. He starts to run after the couple, shooting over his shoulder. He hits the scarecrow again but it never slows down. Eventually, the three of them reach the safety of the road. Dean spins around, but the scarecrow’s disappeared. Fade to black.

Cleanest Bus Station Ever. Meg dozes on the floor (EW) while Sam’s on the phone to Dean, who’s filling him in on the Living Scarecrow thing. I wouldn’t be a proper Whovian if I didn’t do this at least once this episode, so here:

Sam suggests that a spirit is animating the scarecrow, but Dean thinks it’s a pagan god because of the annual one-man-one-woman deaths and the fact that Doomed-To-Die-II were being fattened up for sacrifice like the proverbial Christmas turkey. He tells Sam that he’s on his way to a local community college to talk to a professor on account of Sam isn’t there to do his research for him and work out which specific god it is. Sam says that if he needs help, he just has to ask. They awkwardly apologise for the way they left things, and Dean says he’s proud of Sam for standing up to Papa Winchester and living his own life. Sam is taken aback. Dean tells him to be careful and call when he finds Papa Winchester. Sam hangs up a little sadly. Meg wakes and asks who he was talking to. He informs her that his brother called to say goodbye.

Totally Not Greendale Community College. The professor is a little startled to get a question about pagan ideologies, and in an excellent It’s That Guy From That Thing moment, he’s played by William B. Davis, who’s better known as Cigarette Smoking Man from The X-Files! Anyway, Dean asks if maybe the original Scandinavian settlers of the area brought over pagan beliefs with them, and Cigarette Smoking Professor says that there were a shit ton of Norse gods. Dean narrows it down to one that lived in an orchard.

Up in his office, Cigarette Smoking Professor pulls out a massive book and starts flipping through it. Dean notices a woodcut of what looks like a scarecrow and asks about it. Cigarette Smoking Professor says it’s not strictly a woodsgod, it’s a Vanir. Dean reads aloud from the book, informing us that the Vanir were gods of protection and prosperity who would keep settlements safe from harm. Some villages built effigies while others practiced human sacrifice. Also, the Vanir’s energy comes from a sacred tree. Dean asks what would happen if the tree were destroyed, and Cigarette Smoking Professor is all “Fucked if I know, it’s a myth.” (S: I love these moments.) (K: Me too!) Dean thanks him for his help and opens the office door, where he promptly gets hit in the head by the sheriff. Dean collapses, and the sheriff shares a knowing look with Cigarette Smoking Professor.

Back in Burkitsville, Creepy Uncle, Motherly Aunt, Zeppelin Fan, and the sheriff stand around in the rain having a worried conversation because it’s the responsibility of the four of them to protect the town. Creepy Uncle says that they all pretend they can’t hear the screams, but this is different – it’s murder now. Motherly Aunt says that tonight is their last chance, and that the trees are already starting to die. Creepy Uncle says he has no fucks to give about Dean, but wants to know why it has to be “her.”

Sara: OH NO. This is going to be so fucked up, I can’t even.

K: YUP.

Cellar of Don’t Go In There. Creepy Uncle drags a crying Emily into the cellar as Dean stares in confusion. Emily asks why they’re doing this, and Motherly Aunt says “For the common good,” and now I really want to watch Hot Fuzz. (S: +1) The cellar door slams shut, leaving Emily and Dean in the dark. Fade to black.

Cleanest Bus Station Ever. Meg informs Sam that their bus has arrived, but he’s busy trying to phone Dean. He tells Meg that he has to go to Burkitsville because it’s been three hours and Dean hasn’t answered his phone and he might be in trouble. Meg is confused and begs him to go to California with her, but Sam refuses because Dean is family. Back in Burkitsville, Dean’s trying to break open the cellar door without success as Emily demands an explanation. Dean realises she had no idea what was going on, and asks if there’s a special tree in the orchard because if they find it and destroy it, they’ll stop the scarecrow. Emily tells him that there’s a tree the first settlers brought over that’s known as The First Tree, because SO ORIGINAL OMG, but she doesn’t know where it is.

Cut to the orchard and the elders tying Dean and Emily to a couple of trees so they can’t get away. Dean wants to know how much blood is on their hands as Emily begs her aunt and uncle to let her go. Motherly Aunt says that there’s no other choice but her, and sacrifice means giving up something you love for the greater good. Okay, crazy. Whatever. The elders walk away, and Dean calls after them:

Emily wants to know what the plan is, and Dean says he’s working on it.

Sometime later based on how dark it is, they’re still tied to their trees. Emily glares at Dean, who says he’s still working on that plan. He asks if she can see the scarecrow, but she can’t. There’s a sound behind them and they freak, but it’s just Sam. Dean’s thrilled to see him, and Sam rushes to untie his brother. Dean asks how he got there, and this happens:

Dean tells Sam to keep an eye on the scarecrow, but Sam says he didn’t see a scarecrow. Ruh roh. Dean stands up and sees the scarecrow’s perch is deserted. Fade to black.

After the Not Commercial Break, the boys and Emily run through the orchard. Sam says they should find the tree and burn it, but Dean’s in favour of waiting until morning and just avoiding the scarecrow. He also says that they should “shag ass“, and I continue to laugh hysterically because I’m immature like that. They reach a clearing and suddenly find themselves surrounded by the elders and other townspeople, armed to the teeth. Emily begs for their freedom, but Creepy Uncle says it’ll be over soon. It really is – a sickle appears through Creepy Uncle’s chest and the scarecrow stands behind him as he stares in horror. Everyone runs except for Motherly Aunt, who screams. The scarecrow grabs her by the neck, hooks Creepy Uncle through the leg with his sickle, and drags them off into the orchard.

Sara: THAT’S WHAT HAPPENS when you try to murder your niece, jerks!

K: EXACTLY. The next day, the boys and Emily return to the orchard with a jerry can of petrol. They find the First Tree, which has pagan carvings in the bark. Sam pours the petrol on it as Dean holds his lighter to a fallen branch. Emily asks if she can do it. Dean hands her the branch and says that the whole town will die. “Good,” she replies coldly as she throws the branch at the tree. It goes up in flames and the three of them watch it burn. Later, the boys watch Emily board a bus to Boston. Dean asks if he can drop Sam somewhere, and Sam replies that he won’t be going anywhere. He hasn’t changed his mind about finding Papa Winchester, but he’s realised that Dean is all he has left, and he’s all Dean has left. They’re in it together. Dean sasses in reply:

Sara: Psh, whatever, you know Dean loved that shit.

K: Adorable buttheads, the pair of them. Bad Idea Highway. Another Shady Van Guy drives with a hitchhiking Meg as “Bad Company” plays. He asks where she’s heading, and she tells him to pull over with Eyebrows of Innuendo. He hurriedly does so as she pulls a creepy silver goblet/bowl/thing out of her bag. She says that she has to make a call, and he tells her she can use his phone. But she insists that it’s not that kind of call, yanks out a knife, and slits his throat. She holds the silver bowl up to his throat, collecting some blood. She mutters a dubious Latin incantation, and weird spiky things appear in the blood. She angrily says that she could have stopped Sam, or both of them, and wants to know why they were allowed to leave. She listens for a minute, then reluctantly says “Yes. Yes, Father.” Fade to black.

Sara: I KNEW I DIDN’T LIKE HER, I KNEW IT I KNEW IT I KNEW IT. 

K: I love Meg, but that’s mostly because I can see the future. You guys, I love this episode. It’s brilliantly creep-tastic, and filled with amazing one liners. But it also marks the beginning of something much MUCH bigger, which I’m insanely excited about. This one will be unapologetically near the top of my rankings list, no matter what.

 

Next time: Dean’s got a dodgy ticker so Sam takes him to see a faith healer. Find out what happens in Supernatural S01 E12 – Faith.