Recap / Supernatural S 04 E 19 Jump The Shark

Previous: Supernatural S 04 E 18 The Monster At The End Of This Book
Next: Supernatural S 04 E 20 The Rapture

Recap of Supernatural
Season 4, Episode 19

Jump The Shark

Dean: You know, I finally get why you and Dad butted heads so much. You two were practically the same person. I mean, I worshipped the guy, you know? I dressed like him, I acted like him, I listen to the same music. But you were more like him than I will ever be. And I see that now.

Sam: I'll take that as a compliment.

Dean: You take it any way you want.

Written by Andrew Dabb and Daniel Loflin.

Directed by Phil Sgriccia.

Air Date: April 23, 2009.

Sam and Dean receive a call on their dad's phone—it's Adam. Adam Milligan, John's other son, the one they didn't have a clue existed. His mother has gone missing and his town, Windom, Minnesota, is suffering from a ghoulish mystery: who is stealing bodies from graves?

Body count

For this episode = 3 humans and 2 ghouls.

For the series so far = At least 307 humans (of which 5 were witches), 28 ghosts, 22 demons, 10 vampires, 6 changelings, 3 gods, 3 shapeshifters, 3 zombies, 2 angels, 2 ghouls, 2 werewolves, 2 dogs, 1 crocotta, 1 djinn, 1 rakshasa, 1 rawhead, 1 reaper, 1 rugaru, 1 shtriga, 1 siren, and 1 wendigo.

Tropes

---

• Avenging the Villain: The ghouls are after Sam and Dean because John killed their parent.
• Big Bad: The ghouls posing as Adam and Kate Milligan, who both want revenge on John Winchester for killing their father, and decided to settle on Sam and Dean when they find out John is dead.
• Body Horror: Adam was eaten alive by the ghouls, who attempt to do the same thing to Sam.
• Continuity Nod: Dean still picks scissors.
  Dean: Why didn't I pick paper?
• Conveniently Interrupted Document: Up to this point, Sam and Dean had been using John's journal as their hunting bible, referring to it whenever they were stumped. But when they go to check it about the one thing it should definitely include, a third son John never mentioned, the pages that chronologically should have recorded those dates have been ripped out, presumably by John.
• Dead All Along: Poor Adam and Kate were killed before the episode began.
• Decapitation Required: Blowing a ghoul's brains out also works.
• Fantastic Slur: The ghouls take offense to being called ghouls.
  Sam: Silver. No wonder none of the tests worked. You're not shapeshifters. You're ghouls.
  Ghoul Kate: You know, I find that term racist.
• Insult Backfire: While "insult" might not be the correct word, Sam takes Dean's comparison of him to their late father John as a compliment to which Dean replies that he can take it any way he wants, implying the comparison was meant to be anything but a compliment.
• Kill and Replace: The ghouls take the form of the last person they ate and retain their memories.
• Long Lost Sibling: Adam turns out to have been Sam and Dean's brother, but they never got to meet the real Adam.
• "Not So Different" Remark:
  Dean: [to Sam] Y'know, I finally get why you and Dad butted heads so much. You two are practically the same person.
• Parental Sexuality Squick: Dean and Sam don't like thinking about their dad hooking up with Kate on a job.
• Sailor Earth: Adam is a deconstruction of the "third Winchester" plot.
• Secret Other Family: According to the ghoul, John would periodically go visit Adam and his mother while Sam and Dean, oblivious, waited in a motel for John to return from his "hunting trip."
• Self-Deprecation: The title refers to Jumping the Shark; adding a new "long-lost family member" to a TV series is usually considered by its fans as one way a show has jumped the shark, but, in this case, it isn't, partly because this family member is going to stay lost.
• Shout-Out: The diner where Sam and Dean meet Adam is called Cousin Oliver's, a reference to The Brady Bunch and a Trope Namer.
• Spot the Imposter: Dean and Sam test Adam using salt, silver, and holy water. Unfortunately, ghouls aren't susceptible to any of these things.
• Too Much Alike: By the episode ends, Dean comes to think this is why Sam and John never got along. And considering just how stubborn and eager to pursue the chance for vengeance against supernatural beings and creatures they have personal grievances against they both turned out to be, Dean isn't entirely wrong to make this claim.
• To Serve Man: Ghouls eat human flesh and the ones in this episode ate Adam and his mother Kate alive. They earn a reputation for graverobbing to sate their appetite.
• Unusual Euphemism: "Maybe he slipped one past the goalie."
• Worst Aid: Sam's wrists are sliced to ribbons. Dean wraps a towel around them and that's apparently good enough.
• You Are Who You Eat: The ghouls eat humans (usually ones that are already dead) and take on the form of the last person they ate.
• You Remind Me of X: Sam decides to be tough on Adam, who reminds him of himself when he was younger.