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Recap of Supernatural
Season 7, Episode 7
The Mentalists
Written by Ben Acker and Ben Blacker.
Directed by Mike Rohl.
Air Date: November 4, 2011.
Sam and Dean discover that an angry spirit is killing off resident mediums in Lily Dale, New York, "the most psychic town in America", but with a town full of people claiming to be summoning spirits, they have some trouble finding the true medium who's controlling the ghost.
Body Count:
For this episode = 4 humans and 2 ghosts.
For the series so far = At least 760 humans (of which 6 were witches), 88 demons, 55 angels, 36 ghosts, 36 Jefferson Starships, 26 vampires, 19 zombies, 14 gods, 9 hellhounds, 7 skinwalkers, 6 changelings, 5 shapeshifters, 4 ghouls, 3 djinn, 2 Arachnes, 2 dogs, 2 kitsunes, 2 werewolves, 1 crocotta, 1 dragon, 1 fairy, 1 Khan worm, 1 lamia, the Mother of All, 1 okami, 1 phoenix, 1 Purgatory creature, 1 rakshasa, 1 rawhead, 1 reaper, 1 rugaru, 1 shtriga, 1 siren, 1 wendigo, 1 whore of Babylon, and 1 wraith.
Tropes
- All of Them:Sam: I mean, how many crystal balls do you think there are in Lily Dale?Dean: Somewhere between fifty and, uh, all of them.
- Boy Meets Ghoul: That's the implication.
- Brick Joke: Sam still can't work out how his spoon got bent.
- Call-Back:
- A woman is alarmed to see the murderous Winchester brothers from "Slash Fiction", but Dean reminds her that they were killed and it's just a case of mistaken identity. "We get that a lot."
- Dean references a couple of real psychics they're worked with, Missouri Moseley and Pamela Barnes.
- Continuity Nod: A nod is given to the fact that our heroes were wanted criminals just a short time ago.
- Conflict Killer: Working the case together reminds the brothers of their bond.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: The psychics die this way. One of them gets killed by silverware.
- Electromagnetic Ghosts/Ghostly Chill: The first signs that there is an actual ghost in Lily Dale.
- Flechette Storm: Inverted; the victim is levitated and dropped onto the sharp objects.
- For the Evulz: Sam destroys the binding spell, but the murderer says the ghost is helping him willingly.
- I Need a Freaking Drink: Melanie does when the boys tell her ghosts are real.Melanie: I need a drink.Dean: I support that.
- Let's Split Up, Gang!: Used by Sam as an excuse not to work alongside Dean. Fortunately, it's a non-lethal version of this trope.
- My Card: The pawn shop owner hands Sam his card (NO FUTURE TOO GRIM) which Sam later uses to find his address.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: The Winchesters burn the wrong ghost, who's actually trying to warn people of her evil sister.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Two sisters. One a murderous bitch, the other one who always got visions of peoples' deaths and tried to warn them. Guess which one the Winchesters take out first?
- Not-So-Phony Psychic:
- The murderer is a real psychic, angry over how the more flamboyant fakes are taking all his business.
- The owner of the psychic museum grabs Dean's arm and delivers a message from Ellen.
- One-Steve Limit: This episode features a character named Jimmy. Jimmy Novak was introduced in an earlier episode, as Castiel's vessel.
- Phony Psychic: A town full of them.
- Pun: "I can't believe he was boning her" (the ghost's bones were in the bed).
- Red Herring: Turns out the first ghost is only trying to warn the future victims.
- "Scooby-Doo" Hoax: At least one of the mediums has a fairly elaborate setup to fake ghosts for her clients.
- Shout-Out:
- To The X-Files. Again.
- The Orb of Thesulah was in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
- Dean quips; "Forget it Sam. It's Lilly Dale."
- Slasher Smile: Unlike other ghosts they've encountered, this one clearly enjoys killing.
- Spoon Bending: While prop spoons are commonly seen in the episode - used as souvenirs and props for fake psychics - utensils bending on their own occurs whenever the Monster of the Week the ghost of an actual psychic looms nearby.
- Status Quo Is God: Sam and Dean are only separated for an episode.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: On Sam's part. Dean doesn't think he's done anything wrong.
- Terms of Endangerment: The ghost calls Dean "handsome."
- What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Dean's asked if it's painful for the ghost when its bones are burned up. Dean admits he's never thought about it.
- What the Hell, Hero?
- Working the Same Case: Sam refuses to work with Dean, but then turns up to investigate the same murders he's looking into. Dean points out that since neither of them will leave until the case is solved, they might as well work together.
