Recap of Supernatural
Season 9, Episode 15:
#Thinman
Directed by Jeannot Szwarc.
Air Date: March 4, 2014.
Sam and Dean head out to Springdale, Washington
to investigate the death of a girl who took a selfie in which a grotesque humanoid appeared. There, they encounter the Ghostfacers, who seem to have an acquaintance with the monster.
Body Count:
For this episode: 5 humans.
For the series so far = At least 1090 angels, 1003 humans (of which 8 were witches), 162 demons, 51 vampires, 49 ghosts, 36 Jefferson Starships, 21 gods, 19 zombies, 10 hellhounds, 9 werewolves, 7 skinwalkers, 6 changelings, 5 djinn, 5 shapeshifters, 4 dogs, 4 ghouls, 4 Leviathan, 4 reapers, 2 Amazons, 2 arachnes, 2 kitsunes, 2 rugarus, 2 Thule, 2 vetalas, 1 cat, 1 crocotta, 1 deer, 1 dragon, 1 fairy, 1 familiar, 1 Khan worm, 1 lamia, the Mother of All, 1 okami, 1 phoenix, 1 pishtaco, 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
- Breaking the Fellowship: Harry leaves the Ghostfacers over Ed's deceptions in a plot paralleling Sam's struggles with whether or not to forgive Dean.
- Call-Back: The Ghostfacers return. Previously, they appeared in "Hell House" (S01, E17) and "Ghostfacers" (S03, E13) and had an internet cameo in "It's A Terrible Life" (S04, E17).
- The possibility of the Monster of the Week being a tulpa, the creature frame the Ghostfacers’ debut episode.
- Captain Ersatz: The Thinman is one of Slender Man.
- If I Can't Have You…: Roger murders Casey because she wouldn't go out with him.
- Karmic Death: After murdering people for stupid reasons, Roger is killed in the same manner in which he murdered others - while he was terrified and helpless. The deputy, who was behind the scenes, gets caught unawares by the best friend of the person who started the Thinman phenomenon.
- Little Useless Gun: Dean mocks Harry for "that lady gun tucked into [his] shorts."
- Mundanger: Two non-supernatural guys are responsible for the Thinman killings. This is the third Supernatural episode to focus on mundane evil. Where "The Benders" (S01, E15) involved an isolated clan of human-hunters and the anti villains of "Family Remains" (S04, E11) were a pair of abandoned, inbred siblings, the villains here are fully wired into 21st-century social media.
- "Scooby-Doo" Hoax: What the Thinman ultimately is. Lampshaded:Ed: It's Scooby-Doo time, douchebag. Take off the mask. I know you're not Thinman.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
- Sam and Dean are used to killing monsters and some evil humans, but for someone like Harry, an amateur paranormal investigator, it's never a good feeling when you've killed an actual human being, no matter how bad they are; he’s furious and horrified that he had to do so.
- As Sam stated, lies ruin relationships, and while he and Dean are trying to, and eventually, rebuild their relationship, it looks like Ed and Harry can’t rebuild theirs.
- This Is Unforgivable!: Harry's reaction when he learns that Ed made Thinman up.
- Tuckerization: Roger's boss is named Trey, after the writer who created the Ghostfacers back in season 1.
