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Recap of Supernatural
Season 5, Episode 14
My Bloody Valentine
Yes, yes. Of course. I, uh...I have no idea what you're saying.
So, in "My Bloody Valentine", Dean and Sam think Cupid might be killing people, so they get Castiel from the garbage where they left him to hunt him down!
—One recap of the episode, excluding the fact that it was supposed to be a recap of a movie.
Written by Ben Edlund.
Directed by Mike Rohl.
Air Date: February 11, 2010.
The Horseman Famine shows up. The town starts going crazy for love, food, sex, drugs, anything. Some of the first victims found have their hearts marked with and Enochian letter left by a Cupid, but when they question the Cupid, they learn it's not him. Castiel starts eating burgers and Sam goes back into the "desperate cravings" stage of demon blood addiction. Dean chains Sam up in their motel room while he and Cas go to take down Famine, but two demons show up in the motel room and Sam drinks their blood. He heads out to meet Famine, who offers him more demons to drink. Sam uses his juiced-up powers to pull the demons out of their bodies, removing the temptation, and then knocks out Famine.
Body count
For this episode = 19 humans and 6 demons.For the series so far = At least 375 humans (of which 6 were witches), 61 demons, 33 ghosts, 11 vampires, 9 hellhounds, 6 changelings, 5 angels, 4 gods, 3 shapeshifters, 3 zombies, 2 ghouls, 2 werewolves, 2 dogs, 1 crocotta, 1 djinn, 1 rakshasa, 1 rawhead, 1 reaper, 1 rugaru, 1 shtriga, 1 siren, 1 wendigo, and 1 wraith.
Tropes
- Actor Allusion: The title is a reference to the movie My Bloody Valentine. Jensen Ackles starred in the remake.
- Appetite Equals Health: Dean Winchester is a notorious Big Eater. This is why it's such a concern when Dean is the only one who doesn't have a voracious appetite. The horseman Famine is causing people to gorge themselves to death and his power is so strong it even effects the angel Castiel who normally doesn't need to eat, but suddenly finds himself uncontrollably downing red meat, a favorite food of his vessel, Jimmy Novak. In the end, Famine claims that the reason Dean isn't affected like everyone else is because Dean is already dead inside, so there's no hidden desire or appetite to stoke.
- As the Good Book Says...: "And then will come Famine riding on a black steed. He will ride into the land of plenty, and great will be the Horseman's hunger, for he is hunger. His hunger will seep out and poison the air."
- Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance: Famine is an emaciated, sickly looking man who is too weak to walk and relies on a wheelchair and a nasal cannula. Appropriately, he drives a gas-guzzling SUV.
- Bad Boss: Famine has no qualms against eating or sacrificing his demonic bodyguards.
- Bureaucratically Arranged Marriage: Cupid's matchmaking comes across as this, with their orders coming from their superiors who are less interested in love and more in preserving bloodlines or needing certain children to be born.
- Big Bad: The black horseman Famine, accompanied by a group of demons, come to town, causing everyone to become hungry for food, love, and in Sam's case, demon blood.
- Big Eater: Castiel, although everyone who has food urges would qualify; he's just the only one who doesn't suffer Death by Gluttony.
- Claimed by the Supernatural: Those who have been "hit by cupid's arrow" as it were have a bow and arrow insignia imprinted on their hearts. This is the first lead to the conclusion that a rogue cupid is making lovers love each other to death.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Another victim, Janice, who kills a woman talking to her boyfriend out of acutely induced jealousy.
- Consuming Passion: Russel and Alice are the first Victims of the Week introduced after arriving home after a date ready to take the next level. They make out, growing more passionate, before beginning to literally start consuming each other, dying offscreen having eaten each other to death. This leads the gang to presume a rogue Cupid is the culprit before realizing it's Famine.
- Dark Is Evil: The car Famine gets around in is Black, cause the horse that he rode was black.
- Death by Gluttony: Lester Finch and everyone in the Biggerson's.
- Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Sam manages to defeat Famine by exploiting both his power to expel demons from bodies and Famine's habit of eating his demon minions to rupture his stomach from the inside. Unfortunately, this is at the cost of relapsing into his demon blood addiction.
- Eaten Alive: The two lovers in the Cold Open eat each other to death.
- Empty Shell: Why Dean isn't affected by Famine despite being The Hedonist of the group.
- Evil Cripple: Famine, who is physically weak and has to rely on his wheelchair for mobility and gas tanks for aid.
- Full-Frontal Assault: The Cupid shows up naked. And proceeds to hug everyone in sight.
- Gluttony Montage: When Famine arrives, everyone in the diner starts acting hungry.
- The diner patrons starts stuffing their mouths with the food on their plates.
- A waitress is shown taking the cash from the register and stuffing her bra with it.
- A chef sticks his hands into the boiling deep-fryer, eats the fries and keeps going despite his burns.
- A woman begins pouring a bottle of her prescription lithium pills into her mouth.
- A man chugs a bottle of alcohol.
- A couple aggressively make out at their table.
- Going Cold Turkey: Sam is locked up in the panic room, with Castiel and Dean listening to him beg for them to let him out.
- Gory Discretion Shot: And what we see is
bad enough. - Hannibal Lecture: From Famine to Dean.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Famine is only defeated because he re-triggered Sam's addiction to demon blood, giving Sam the necessary power to attack demons once again and thus attack the demonic souls Famine had consumed earlier.
- Horror Hunger: Famine, who is eternally hungry for souls. He also causes this wherever he goes.
- Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Famine.
- If I Can't Have You…: Two lovers kill themselves so they'll be Together in Death, with no distractions such as work or sleep.
- I Need a Freaking Drink:
- The coroner has a Quick Nip after autopsying Lester Finch. Not played for laughs when it's later revealed he drank himself to death, having been a recovered alcoholic, clean for twenty years.
- After not partaking of food, sex, or booze for the entire episode, Dean swigs directly from the bottle while outside the panic room, listening to his brother plead to be released.
- Jabba Table Manners: The people affected by Famine forget their eating utensils and starts using their hands to shove their food into their mouths messily.
- Kind Restraints: Sam has Dean handcuff him to the sink. Unfortunately, this leaves him vulnerable to the demons sent to get him.
- Literal-Minded: When Cupid is first mentioned as a suspect, Dean is skeptical that some cherub in diapers did the murders. Castiel informs him the Cupid is not incontinent.
- Love Goddess: Cupid, although the version depicted is male and unattractive.
- Manchild: Cupid, who is essentially a romantic 8-year-old girl in the vessel of a grown, naked man.
- Meet Cute: The team tracks a Cupid down by going to a restaurant and waiting for one to happen because they invoke this. In this case, it's an errant breeze blowing napkins into a man's face, sparking a cheerful conversation with a woman who laughs with him about it.
- Mood Whiplash: The show is famous for this, but this episode is an extreme example as it veers from Body Horror to goofy comedy to Dean's heartbreaking cry for help at the end.
- Mooks: Lucifer has sent a bunch of demons to protect and serve Famine. Turns out they're actually there as food for Sam.
- Naked People Are Funny: The Cupid.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Famine basically gives Team Free Will the key to defeating him when he triggers Sam's old addiction to demon blood.
- No-Sell: Dean punches Cupid and injures his fist. Cupid vanishes, but only because his feelings are hurt.
- No Sense of Personal Space: The Cupid hugs everybody. Full contact bear hug. And he's naked.Dean: Is this a fight? Are we in a fight?
Castiel: This is...their handshake.
Dean: I don't like it!
Castiel: No one likes it. - O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Dean showing no interest in easy sex or food.
- Psychic Nosebleed: Sam bleeds from the nose with the effort of killing Famine.
- Prayer Is a Last Resort: After Sam is locked in the panic room to detox (again), Dean prays for help and cries. It's pretty clear that he's hitting or about to hit his Despair Event Horizon.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Famine delivers one to Dean when he realizes why he isn’t affected by Famine:Famine: That's one deep, dark... nothing you got there, Dean... You can smirk and joke and lie to your brother, lie to yourself, but not to me! I can see inside you, Dean! I can see how broken you are, how defeated; you can't win and you know it, but you just keep fighting, just keep going through the motions. You're not hungry, Dean, because inside, you're already dead.
- Red Herring: Cupid.
- Short-Distance Phone Call: Due to Castiel's Offscreen Teleportation powers.Dean: Yeah, room 31-C, basement level, St. James Medical Center— [almost walks into Castiel]Castiel (with echo): I'm there now.Dean (with echo): Yeah, I get that.Castiel (with echo): I'm gonna hang up now.Dean (with echo): Right.
- Shout-Out: The demons are dressed in nice suits and sunglass and are delivering a briefcase with brightly glowing contents. This is a reference to Pulp Fiction which had a macguffin identical in appearance that went unexplained in the film, speculated by some to have been a human soul like it is in this episode.
- Speak in Unison: This exchange:Castiel: My hunger — it's a clue, actually.
Sam and Dean: For what? [glance at each other]] - Smart Ball: Sam resists drinking demons blood and immediately tells Dean what's going on.
- Soul Eating: Famine has his demon minions deliver the souls of his victim to him to eat. When a delivery is missed, he gets hungry enough to eat them.
- Sunglasses at Night: Famine's bodyguards are conspicuous in this way.
- Super Breeding Program: Heaven uses cupids to ensure certain bloodlines and destinies proceed the way they want. This includes both sides of the Winchester family, which was to produce viable Vessels for Michael and Lucifer.
- Take That!: Famine delivers one to the Winchesters about America and the people always being starving:Famine: Oh, America, all you can eat, all the time. Consume, consume... And yet, you're all still starving, because hunger doesn't just come from the body, it comes from the soul.
- Talk to the Fist:
- Dean punches the Cupid when he reveals that Dean's parents hated each other at first, and only got together because a Cupid made them (well, it explains the existence of the Belligerent Sexual Tension trope at least).
- Janice shoots Jim's coworker dead when he interrupts their conversation.
- Themed Aliases: Agents Marley and Cliff (Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff, reggae music artists).
- The Glomp: When Cupid meets Dean, Sam, and Cas.Castiel: This is...their handshake.Dean: I don't like it.Castiel: No one likes it.
- Tempting Fate: "Let's crack her open. What's the worst that could happen, right?" Averted when nothing happens except a blast of light.
- Title Drop:Dean: [while looking at victims' body parts] Hey, Sam.
[Passes heart to Sam]
Dean: Be my Valentine? - Together in Death: Janice and Jim.
- Unusual Euphemism: "Go ahead. Unleash the kraken."
- Valentine's Day Episode: With the classic Supernatural spin.
- The Virus: When Dean finds out Sam is craving demon blood, he tells Cas to teleport him out of there pronto. Castiel says it won't make any difference as Sam is already infected.
- Visual Pun: A sign in the diner reads "all you can eat" as Famine enters.
- Wham Line"Wait your turn."
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!
- You Have Failed Me: Famine eats the demon who let Sam steal the soul he'd been sent to fetch for his lunch.
