Recap of Supernatural
Season 11, Episode 12:
Don't You Forget About Me
Writer: Nancy Won
Director: Stefan Pleszczynski
Claire Novak calls the Winchesters to South Dakota because of some disappearances around town. Jody assures them that Claire is just looking for trouble, but subsequent events prove her wrong.
Body Count:
For this episode: 1 human and 2 vampires.
For the series so far = At least 1211 humans (of which 14 were witches), 1124 angels, 182 demons, 71 vampires, 52 ghosts, 36 Jefferson Starships, 22 gods, 19 zombies, 12 werewolves, 10 hellhounds, 7 shapeshifters, 7 skinwalkers, 6 changelings, 5 djinn, 5 reapers, 4 dogs, 4 ghouls, 4 Leviathan, 3 Khan Worms, 2 Amazons, 2 arachnes, 2 kitsunes, 2 rugarus, 2 Thule, 2 vetalas, 2 zannas, 1 banshee, 1 cat, 1 crocotta, Death, 1 deer, 1 dragon, 1 fairy, 1 familiar, 1 lamia, the Mother of All, 1 nachzehrer, 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
- Action Mom: Sheriff Jodie Mills. She's the top officer in town AND an informally trained hunter. She also takes in girls who have been orphaned by supernatural attacks, meaning she has to be a mama bear for her adopted clan.
- Clean Cut: Dean and Claire dispatch the villains by lopping their heads off with a single swing of the blade. While this is unsurprising for seasoned veteran Dean, it is a little surprising for Claire, who is physically much smaller and portrayed as enthusiastic but inexperienced and untrained.
- Cop/Criminal Family: Claire is attempting to become a hunter and tries to track clues to find and neutralize supernatural threats. This leads to her physically attacking several shady-seeming but actually innocent town people. Claire already has a criminal record, having spent time in juvenile detention for theft and running away repeatedly from foster care. Her adoptive mother, Sheriff Jodi Mills, nods to this when she tells Sam and Dean that the only reason Claire hasn't been arrested and jailed for multiple assaults is because Jodi is the town sheriff.
- The Cuckoolander Was Right: Claire notices a pattern of disappearances in town and tries to warn her adopted mother, Sheriff Mills. However, Claire's past record of misidentifying the mundane as supernatural (mistaking a rabid dog for a werewolf and a cosplaying councilwoman as a vampire) causes everyone, including the Winchesters, to assume her past trauma is making her see monsters where there are none. In the end, it is revealed that Claire was right about the foul play even if she was wrong about the perpetrators.
- Fake Shemp: Celia, Alex's vampire "mama" from the old days shows up in flashback, but because Ashley Crow doesn't return only her back is shown.
- The Farmer and the Viper: Alex was once the viper to Richard, which is why he wants revenge.
- Genre Savvy: Sheriff Mills and Alex. They know what the Winchesters do for a living and that the brothers don't pop into town just to visit, so the mere sight of the infamous impala parked in the driveway garners an "uh-oh" response.
- Jerk Jock: Henry turns out to be an undead jerk jock, perhaps the worst kind.
- Little Miss Badass: Claire, who decapitates a vampire in one swing.
- Never My Fault: Alex attempts to deflect blame off of her luring people (such as Richard) to her "family" to be devoured, saying that she was forced to do it. Richard doesn't buy into it for a second, and tells her that she could have at least left him outside the bar, rather than lure someone who helped her to be eaten.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: The backstory of Mr. Wheeler. He was a trucker who gave Alex a ride home because he was concerned about her. It was then that her nest turned him.
- Nutritional Nightmare: Dean brings home The Elvis, a bacon-wrapped burger between two glazed donuts.
- Mundane Luxury: Sam and Dean express amazement at a normal chicken dinner made by Jody Mills.
- Shout-Out: The four main characters of YuYu Hakusho can be seen painted on a group of lockers while Sam and Dean are investigating at the high school.
- The Talk: Upset by criticism of her hunting skills, Claire deflects attention to Alex's budding love life. This leads to a hilarious type 1 dinner table discussion with the Winchesters as hilariously trapped bystanders. Sam and Dean's facial reactions alone are worth the price of admission.
- Terror at Make-Out Point: Averted. A teenage couple is making out at a desolated lover's lane. The camera lurches in with a shaky POV, suggesting trouble afoot. The car door opens and the male lover is abruptly yanked out of the car and onto the ground, to the terror of both love birds. Horrible monster? No. Just Claire looking for her supernatural perp.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: Hunting-obsessed Claire is the tomboy. Alex is the girly girl, having settled into what she at least thinks is the normal life of a popular high school girl.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Alex wants to go to college and have a normal, successful life while Claire is antisocial and obsessed with hunting.
- Ungrateful Bitch: Alex was this in the past. When Richard chases off a creep (that she was luring for her nest), gives her money, and drives her home, she repays him by letting her vampiric family eat him. She's horrified when she realizes who Richard is in the present.
- Vampire Bites Suck: Mr. Wheeler gives Claire a gory bite, although luckily a nonfatal one.
