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Recap of Supernatural
Season 9, Episode 7
Bad Boys
Dean Why, because he's a cop?
Sonny Because when you make him mad, he leaves with the key.
Directed by Kevin Parks.
Air Date: November 19, 2013.
Something is haunting a boys' home reformatory in Hurleyville, New York—the same home at which a young Dean Winchester stayed in 1995 after he was caught stealing bread and peanut butter. The owner of the home, Sonny, calls Dean and Sam in for help. The trouble circles around a young boy named Timmy, who was found in a burned-out building.
Body Count:
For this episode = 2 humans and 1 ghost.
For the series so far = At least 1066 angels, 932 humans (of which 8 were witches), 135 demons, 51 vampires, 49 ghosts, 36 Jefferson Starships, 20 gods, 19 zombies, 10 hellhounds, 7 skinwalkers, 6 changelings, 5 djinn, 5 shapeshifters, 5 werewolves, 4 ghouls, 4 Leviathan, 4 reapers, 3 dogs, 2 Amazons, 2 arachnes, 2 kitsunes, 2 rugarus, 2 Thule, 2 vetalas, 1 cat, 1 crocotta, 1 dragon, 1 fairy, 1 familiar, 1 Khan worm, 1 lamia, the Mother of All, 1 okami, 1 phoenix, 1 Purgatory creature, 1 rakshasa, 1 rawhead, 1 shojo, 1 shtriga, 1 siren, 1 Titan, 1 wendigo, 1 whore of Babylon, 1 wicked witch, and 1 wraith.
Tropes
- Abusive Parents: John's emotional abuse comes up yet again.
- Came Back Wrong: As usual for ghosts.
- Continuity Nod: Sam reads The Marvelous Land of Oz given to him by Dorothy.
- Creepy Child: Timmy, at times.
- Dying as Yourself: Timmy's mom regains her original appearance before she disappears.
- Fingore: Bully, meet lawnmower.
- First Kiss: Dean's was when Robin kissed him at sixteen.
- First Love: Robin is all but stated to be this for Dean.
- Hidden Depths: This whole episode makes us and Sam see Dean in a different light (again).
- I Just Want to Be Normal: Usually Sam's the one displaying this trope, but this episode shows Dean having flashbacks to the time he could have walked away from the hunting life and been a fairly normal teenager: doing chores, getting good grades, winning the high school wrestling championship, taking a cute girl to the school dance. Despite his lies to Sam that he hadn't fit into that kind of life, younger Dean was clearly tempted to stay and let Sonny tell his father where to stuff it.
- Knight Templar Parent: Timmy's dead mom.
- Nightmare Fuel Coloring Book: Timmy drawings of the accident he and his mother were in. It clues Sam into who the ghost is and what it wants.
- Quieting the Unquiet Dead: The ghost is a mother violently protecting her son from beyond the grave. The Winchesters' usual method of burning bones and other relics doesn't work, so they need the boy, Timmy, to reassure the mother that he'll be okay without her attacking people.
- Red Herring: Howard's backstory and Timmy's action figure.
- Sarcastic Confession: When Sonny sees the bruises on young Dean's wrists, he asks who did it: the arresting deputy or his father. Dean says "werewolf" and the subject is dropped.
- Series Continuity Error: In "Metamorphosis" (S04, E04), Sam and Dean didn't know what a rugaru was. In this episode, their father was on a rugaru hunt when they were young.
- This may not have been a mistake at all: John did indeed hunt a rugaru, but they forgot about it in "Metamorphosis" or didn't know what the monster John hunted was in 1995, only figuring out their dad's old hunt after their own encounter with one.
- Shout-Out:
- Sam reads The Marvelous Land of Oz.
- Dean calls the ghost "Casper".
- Dean also mentions wire-hangers.
- Soundtrack Dissonance: Schubert's "Ave Maria" plays on the radio while Ruth's being asphyxiated by her shower curtain.
