Previously: I nearly puked and then there were feels.
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Dean Men Don’t Wear Plaid
Samantha: We open at a cemetery where it’s storming and hands start reaching out of the graves. Soon, a guy crawls all of the way out.
Kirsti: It was very Buffy-esque, to be honest, and I still can’t decide if it was intentional or not.
Samantha: Head cannon that it was intentional.
A man is watching an animal documentary and drinking a beer. There’s some scare fake outs and then zombie guy is in the house. He kills beer guy.
BLOOOOOOOOOD.
Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Aka, Bobby’s town. Sam gets out of the Impala in his FBI suit, leaving a message for Bobby to call them. The boys seem concerned because they haven’t been able to get a hold of Bobby. They head into a diner to interview a local. The man asks them to call him “Digger.” Dean inquires how he got the nickname and Digger tells him that he gave it to himself. Dean is outraged at this flagrant Nickname Rule Breaking.
Sam gets them back on track and Nicknamed Himself Digger tells them that he saw Clay (zombie guy) climb into Benny’s (beer guy) trailer. Couple of minutes later, Benny is dead. The boys verify that Clay died 5 years ago and Nicknamed Himself Digger tells them that Benny is the one who killed Clay initially, in a hunting accident.
Meanwhile, Sheriff Jody Mills walks in! Sorry, I’m just giving her her name right away, because I love her. (K: SAME. I flailed excitedly when she walked in.) She’s on the phone with her son, telling him to eat an apple instead of a cupcake. She hangs up the phone and notices Nicknamed Himself Digger sitting with the boys and heads over. They introduce themselves as the Feds and she scoffs at the idea of a dead man committing a murder. Dean snarks at her and she draws herself up and asks about their jurisdiction. Dean snarks some more about their jurisdiction being wherever the government sends them and she asks to speak to their supervisor. I love her. Sam gives her a card and after she dials we see one of like, ten phones, ringing in Bobby’s house. He answers as “Agent Willis” and Jody is almost immediately like, “Bobby?” Bobby gets “oh shit” face but keeps trying to play that he’s Agent Willis. Sam and Dean’s faces also fall into the “oh shit” place as well. She says, “Bullcrap,” and hangs up the phone.
K: Bobby’s “OH SHIT” moment is absolutely hilarious.
Samantha: She stares the boys down and they are ten levels of awkward. Sam says, “So, you know Bobby Singer?” in his most Awkward Sam voice. “That’s, that’s a fun coincidence,” says Dean, in a panicked tone. She lays down that she knows that Bobby is a menace and so whatever they are planning ends here and now. Then she heads out, and I think it’s a great introduction to her character.
K: I love that where hunters are concerned, Bobby’s very much the responsible adult. But where Sioux Falls is concerned, he’s a hot mess and public menace.
Samantha: Bobby’s House. The boys head inside, telling Bobby that they called a whole bunch of times. Bobby is wearing a button down shirt and sans his usual baseball hat. His hair is combed. Dean says, “What is that, is that soap? Did you clean?” Bobby basically growls at Dean and claims that he’s been working on the Apocalypse. Bobby say that the murder isn’t a case because Nicknamed Himself Digger is the town drunk. Sam brings up that there’s been lightning storms and Bobby says that it’s just storm season.
The boys are, presumably, heading out of town when Dean pulls into the local cemetery. He tells Sam that he just wants to check it out in case Bobby’s wrong. They come upon Clay’s grave and get to digging. The coffin is all shredded and also empty. The boys wonder wtf is happening.
They break into Clay’s house and creep around a bit before Clay comes at them, assuming they are intruders. They announce themselves as FBI and Clay starts talking about Benny and how he couldn’t let him get away with killing him. Dean’s all “Wait, are you confessing?” and Clay says that he’ll go with them to jail if they don’t wake his kids. The guys are flummoxed and clarify that he is a dead guy.
Clay isn’t sure and just then his wife comes downstairs. She says that she called 911 and Dean decides that Clay should come with them. They all walk outside, with Clay in front, and Dean and Sam try to decide if he’s a monster or not. Before they can reach a conclusion, Sheriff Mills shows up and makes them drop their guns. Dean smugly shows her the undead zombie but she couldn’t care less. “Whatever he is, or isn’t, that don’t give you the right to shoot him in the middle of the street.” She cuffs the boys while Clay is outraged that they were going to shoot him.
K: I can’t decide whether I love Dean’s “WTF, YOU’RE LETTING A ZOMBIE GO” face or that “I’m a taxpayer!” line more. Maybe I love their faces in that last gif the most of all. Because I can’t stop staring at that gif.
Samantha: It’s an incredibly clever moment all around.
Sheriff’s Department. The boys are chilling in a cell and chatting about whether or not Sheriff Mills is on the take from zombies. The door to the main department opens and they see Bobby is having his own chat with Jody. They’re bewildered at how amicable the conversation looks and Bobby gives them the “Idjits” look.
The three guys head out of the station as Bobby explains that Jody hated him until 5 days ago, when the dead started to rise. The boys are outraged that Bobby lied to them but he says that this isn’t a case. “There are zombies and then there are zombies,” he explains.
They go inside Bobby’s house and just as Dean starts to demand an explanation, a woman walks in to set the table. She’s surprised at the unexpected guests but pleasant. She’s also chalk pale. Bobby remarks that as it’s 4 am she didn’t need to cook. She goes to get more plates and Bobby explains that she’s Karen, his wife. His dead wife. Dean looks hella pissed. Reminder that Bobby got into hunting after his wife was possessed and he ended up killing her because he didn’t know anything about anything yet. So, you know, feels right away.
K: So many feels.
Samantha: After the not commercial break, we get a close up shot of a bite of pie. Karen is serving and Dean is chowing down and talking about how good it is.
Did you guys know that Dean likes pie?
Samantha: Unless my knowledge has failed me, this is the first time that we actually see him eat any pie. I squeed A LOT when this episode first aired.
Bobby asks Karen to give them a moment and she leaves. After she does, the boys push their plates away and turn on Bobby about how insane it is to play house with a zombie. It’s hard to tell if Dean is more upset that Bobby lied to them or because of the zombie wife. He calls Karen the “American Girl Zombie” and Bobby snaps at him to watch it cause that’s his wife. Sam points out that it’s probably not his actual wife but Bobby says that he tested her every way and she didn’t react to any of it.
Also, she didn’t crawl out of her coffin cause Bobby had her cremated. Her ashes were buried in the cemetery that they all rose from. Bobby starts listing some other people who came back, and we find out that Sheriff Mills’ little boy is one of them. Immediate feels. Bobby admits that the lightening storms were omens, and reads a passage from the Book of Revelations about the Horseman, Death. The looks on Dean and Sam’s faces, yeesh. “Awesome, another horseman. Must be Thursday,” Dean says, back when the show aired on Thursdays.
K: Goes hand in hand with “Dawn’s in trouble, must be Tuesday.”
Samantha: Sam wants to know why Death would raise 15 people in a random place like Sioux Falls. Dean points out that if Death is behind this, it can’t be for a good reason. Jim Beaver does some heartbreaking acting (as he will this entire episode) and tells them that she doesn’t remember being possessed or him shooting her. As they are talking, we hear her humming from the kitchen. Bobby sadly tells the boys that she hums while she cooks and that he never thought he would hear it again. Bobby pleads with them that it doesn’t say anywhere in Revelations that the dead coming back is bad. Dean wants to know what he would do in their shoes. Bobby says that he knows, but he’s begging them to leave her be.
Diner. The boys debate what they’re going to do. As expected, Sam has a little more empathy for the situation, while Dean can think of nothing but physically protecting Bobby. Sam decides to go snoop around the town and Dean will stay with Bobby.
Bobby’s. Dean’s outside, leaning against the Impala, watching the house. Suddenly, Karen is right there, startling him and us. She invites him inside for lunch, but Dean isn’t sure that Bobby wants him in there. She insists that it will be their secret.
K: It came with a dose of legitimately insane dramatic zoom. Apparently the Zoomy Cameraman has felt very underutilised recently…
Samantha: Sheriff’s House. Sam is creeping in the window and watches Jody and her husband read a book to their zombie son.
Bobby’s. Dean is shoveling in some more delicious looking pie. He looks around the room and sees, like, 15 pies all scattered around. Bobby is sleeping in his chair and Karen shuts the door to the room so that they won’t disturb him. Dean remarks on the pies and she says that ever since she got back she can’t stop baking. She also says that she doesn’t sleep, probably because of all the excitement. “Or being dead,” Dean deadpans.
She takes a deep breath and tells him that she knows he doesn’t trust her and is keeping an eye on her. She also knows that “Bobby isn’t the same mild mannered scrap dealer I married.” She knows that they hunt things and she gets that to him, she’s a thing. Dean tells her that he and Sam would never let anything happen to Bobby because “he’s like a father to us.” Karen says that she understands and Bobby is lucky to have them, but she’s looking out for Bobby too. She goes back to baking as she tells him that she actually remembers everything about the possession and Bobby having to kill her. She knows how much guilt Bobby is carrying. Dean wants to know why she’s lying to him and she says, “He’s my husband. My job is to bring him peace, not pain.” I….uh….I feel like that is just the foundation for some serious communication issues in a relationship. Dean looks thoughtful.
Sam heads up to another house on the list of zombies that Bobby gave to him. He knocks on the door a bit but no one answers. He sees blood on the ground outside of the door and heads inside. He hears coughing and heads towards that room. There’s an older woman laying on a bed. There are sores on her face and she has a wet, gross cough. I immediately think of the Bathilda Bagshot incident in the 7th Harry Potter book. She gestures Sam closer and he looks hilariously grossed out and asks if she can tell him from here.
K: YES to the Bathilda Bagshot incident. But also Sam’s “Ew, do I have to ??” face is LOL-tastic.
Samantha: She keeps gesturing him nearer and he says, “Yeah, I’m gonna regret this,” before moving closer. She leaps up at him, snarling and being all gross zombie like. While he’s on the ground Sam can now see an already torn into dead body. He shoots her in the head and groans in disgust.
K: Dude. You left out the part where she drooled thick white stuff all over his face. It was straight out of My Hairiest Adventure, and I couldn’t stop laughing because all I could think of was R.L. Stine telling us that we’re sick and twisted.
Samantha: I left it out because I had stopped watching because it was sooooooooo gross.
Bobby’s. Bobby says that the old woman was the first one to show up and Sam says that she’s the first one to go bad. Bobby scoffs that she’s always been nutty, but boys are like “uhhh no, she literally ate her husband.” Dean says that he feels for Bobby, in the actual least sympathetic tone ever, but these things are turning. Sam says that they have to stop them all. Bobby pulls out a pistol and rests it fake casually in his lap. He tells them to get off his property and Sam says, “Or what, you’ll shoot????” If Karen turns, he’ll handle it and they need to get out. The betrayal and hurt on the boys faces is rough. They leave.
Impala. Dean parks just outside of Bobby’s and turns the hurt and betrayed look into hurt and betrayed words. Sam tells him that it’s his wife, it’s tough. “So he goes Full Metal Jacket on us? We’re his family, Sam.” Oh man. I just thought about how Dean always needs a father figure more than Sam does, because Sam always has Big Brother Dean. I made myself sad.
K: You made me sad too. THANKS A LOT.
Samantha: #sorrynotsorry
Sam says that they have to figure out how to deal with a town full of zombies but Dean declares that he has to go back in and kill Karen. Sam decides that he’ll go to town and rescue everyone, starting with trying to convince the Sheriff.
Sheriff’s house. She’s sitting on the couch with zombie son Owen, dabbing his face with a washcloth. He says, “I’m so hungry mommy” and she decides to go make him some soup. In the kitchen, her husband is on the phone with the doctor, telling him that Owen’s temperature is 111 degrees. The husband takes the soup in to Owen while Jody gets on the phone with the doctor.
Dean creeps around Bobby’s house, while inside Bobby tells Karen to stay away from the windows. We hear a crash from the kitchen and see that she has collapsed on the ground. Bobby feels her head and says that she’s burning up. She insists that she’ll be fine if she just eats something.
Sheriff’s house. She tells the doctor that she doesn’t know how to explain it when there’s a crash from the living room. She runs in and we see blood on the blanket. Jody fearfully calls for Shawn and Owen. As she rounds the couch, we see a pool of blood and Owen eating his very dead father. Owen turns to her as she looks on in horror.
K: SO NASTY. Also, how are the kids who guest star in this show not scarred for life by some of the scenes they have to film?!
Samantha: Suddenly Sam is there and drags her out of the house. She tells him that wasn’t her son and Sam tells her that everyone is in danger and he needs her. She panics a little and then asks Sam how they put him down. She continues to half freak out but also half hold it together in a brilliant way, as they plan to round everyone up in the jail. Sam cocks his gun and turns towards the house but she grabs his arm as if to stop him. They share feelsy looks before Sam goes inside.
We stay with Jody as the shot rings out and she flinches into sobs. It’s truly heavy and depressing you guys.
Bobby’s. Karen is laying on the bed while Bobby holds her hand. She tells him that she’s so hungry. He tries to tell her that it’s going to be alright but she tells him that it won’t because she’s turning. She tells him that it’s okay to do it (kill her) but he refuses so she tells him that she remembers. She remembers all about the possession and Bobby says, “Then you know why I can’t do it again.” She tells him that when she came back there was a thin man at the grave. He told her to give Bobby a message but she didn’t want to add to his burden. Bobby asks for the message.
Dean picks the lock on the side door when he hears a shot ring out. He runs and we see Bobby still holding Karen’s hand, but she’s dead. He looks broken and tearful.
Jailhouse. Jody Mills has sprung into action and is arming members of the town. Sam tells them that if they see a dead person, they shoot for the head no matter who it is. A random guy asks who the heck Sam is. Sam gets this smug half grin on his face and announces himself a friend of Bobby Singer’s.
That funny awkward exchange aside, they head out.
Bobby’s house. Dean is loading up a van and telling Bobby that he can sit this one out. Bobby growls at him and we hear more crashing in the scrapyard. Dean takes his gun and heads towards it. Bobby sits in his chair with his gun while Clay shows up in zombie mode. Dean wrestles with him while other zombies run at Bobby. Dean finally puts Clay down while Bobby is holding his own pretty well, until some jerk zombie knocks him out of his chair. Dean saves him and they quickly head inside. Dean inquires about more ammo and Bobby gets snarky.
K: It amuses me to no end that Dean’s fine with being the sassy one, but the minute anyone else tries to be sassy, he’s like “HOW FUCKING DARE YOU, JUST USE YOUR WORDS NOT YOUR SARCASM.”
Samantha: Hahahahahaha I hadn’t thought of that.
Dean wonders why all of the zombies showed up here, just as two bust into the room. They each take one out but are now both out of ammo. I will say that it’s really cool to see them in action together, they work as a fairly seamless team. Dean takes them into a closet (K: Of course he does) and locks the door as the undead bang on it. Dean remarks that they can’t pick locks, so of course they start to pick the lock.
K: The shot features blood spattering across the camera, which was totally icky and unnecessary.
Samantha: Cemetery. Sam is burning the bodies when Jody and Dean walk up, announcing that the town seems to be zombie free. Jody says that everyone is pretty traumatized, and some are even calling the papers though no one is believing them. Sam asks how she is. She tries to answer but can’t, which is so legit, and Sam does his melodramatic nodding thing.
We cut over to Bobby who is doing a private burning for Karen. The boys flank him and Bobby apologizes for how he acted. They tell him not to worry about it and Dean tries the “hey at least you got to spend a few more days with her.” But Bobby tells him that it just made it worse. “She was the love of my life,” he says. “How many times do I gotta kill her?” And hearts break everywhere. Bobby then tells the boys that Death came to Sioux Falls, South Dakota on purpose, to hurt Bobby for helping the Winchesters and being a reason that Sam is saying no to Lucifer. They wanted to take his life or his spirit. Sam begs Bobby to say that he’s going to be okay but, as with Jody, he can only give a traumatized look back. We watch the fire burn as a fiddle (I think) plays depressing music and we fade to black.
This is a heavy episode. It’s got some humor tossed in but it’s pretty damn heavy. Everyone’s reactions to the zombies are so spot on to me. The loved ones of those returned, I totally buy that they all just wanted it to be okay. I buy Dean forgetting to take care of Bobby’s mental health in his crusade to just keep him alive, because to Dean, at this point, just being alive is enough. I buy Sam needing to hear that Bobby is okay, because of his deep fear that his darker side will win.
K: I don’t mind this episode. It reminds me – for fairly obvious reasons – of the Buffy episode The Zeppo. There’s more of a focus on Bobby than there is on the boys, it involves zombies, and it doesn’t end very happily. And Jody didn’t get killed off, so that’s a point in its favour!
I'm a 28 year old graduated English major and almost librarian. I can often be found singing too loudly (poorly) in the car or spending some time (hours) on Tumblr. I am a lover of Harry Potter, the Spice Girls, and too many other 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.
