Tuesday 18 March 2014

Siobhan Watches: Supernatural: Season One, Episode Ten. "Asylum"

We start in Roosevelt Asylum, Rockford Illinois. There are signs outside the wire fence declaring the property condemned and prohibiting trespassing. We hear the sounds of feet shuffling, and see a torch beam scan across the graffitied, dilapidated reception. Someone tried to open the main double doors, which are chained closed. The chain is broken off, and someone walks in.

We then cut to a man stepping out of a police car. An officer, called to the building. His partner meets up with him at the fence, who tells him they can't keep kids out, and we hear that the first officer isn't local, so doesn't know the legend. We then hear that Roosevelt Asylum is haunted with the ghosts of its patients, and if you were to spend the night, you would become insane.

The officers enter the asylum, calling to the possible trespassers. They see the broken chain, and realise the teenagers must have brought bolt cutters. They decide to split up. We then see the first officer walking passed the boiler room. He hears a noise, and follows it into another room. His colleague is walking through the dormitories, as he walks into yet another room, with a hazard caution sign painted on.

The colleague finds three teenagers squatting behind a wall, and tells them they need to leave, now. Meanwhile, the first officer, as he steps further into the hazard room, notices his flashlight flickering. The flashlight dies, and the door behind him slams shut as a hidden door in the wall creaks open.

Outside, a yellow sports car is reversing out of a parking space, the officer watching the teenagers drive away. He radios out with "Kelly. You copy?" and turns around, jumping as he sees the first officer standing there, staring. His colleague starts asking him questions about his experience in the asylum, and Kelly reassures him that there was nothing there. They climb back in the car, and as the other officer radios in to the station, Kelly turns his head, and we see a small trickle of blood roll down from his nose. He wipes it away slowly.

Later, in his house, he enters his bedroom, where his partner is sat in bed, reading. She says hey, and he doesn't react, removing all his police equipment. She asks if he's still not talking to her, then repeats that she's sorry about another occasion. He picks up his gun, and turns around, and we see the gunshot flash in the window outside.

That was a long intro! It took 4 minutes, 45 seconds. The entire episode sits at 41.30. I think we've got the premise for the episode pretty well established. Local legend about a building, teenagers use it to prove how courageous they are, and obviously there is something of substance in the stories because Kelly's altered behaviour, bleeding nose, and lack of hesitation in killing his wife/girlfriend became obvious after his experience in the boiler rooms.

Shall we go and find Sam and Dean?

In their latest motel room, Dean is flipping through the journal as Sam is on the phone. He's talking to John's munitions guy, and from what we hear, the conversation isn't going well. As he hangs up, Dean asks if that means the latest guy hasn't heard from their dad. Sam says no, and neither have two other people they've tried. Caleb, Jefferson, and Pastor Jim. Sam asks if there are any possible leads in the journal, and Dean said there's nothing he can make out as a clue that he may have missed before. Dean says "I love the guy but I swear he writes like freaking Yoda." Sam suggests they call the feds and report him as a missing person and Dean says no, he'd be pissed if they put the fed onto him. Sam says he doesn't care, after Kansas when they tried to call and got nothing, and Dean interrupts to say 'I know.'

Dean's phone is ringing, and he starts searching through his leather jacket on the sofa as Sam tells him that John could be dead. Dean looks up to tell him sternly not to say that, of course John isn't dead. He's just- and Sam interrupts to ask what? He's busy? Dean finds his phone and flips it open, where there's a text message. The sending number is unavailable, but the message reads 42, -89 which makes Dean smile. Sam asks what is it, and Dean says, coordinates.

Because nothing says 'I miss you boys, and I wish I could see you and know you're safe' like coordinates.

That is, if John sincerely gives a shit about his boys. I honestly have my doubts.

Dean goes onto his laptop, and Sam asks if Dean believes John was texting them. Dean points out that he's given them coordinates before, and Sam tells Dean that John can barely work a toaster. Dean points out that it least it means John is alive. Or at least, okay. Sam continues questioning about where the text came from, and where the coordinates point to. Dean says Rockford, Illinois, and it's interesting. Sam asks how? Dean shows him an article from the local online paper, reporting on officer Kelly shooting his wife and then himself. Dean reads out the basics for Sam, and then shows a clipping in the journal of the asylum. He tells Sam earnestly that he thinks that's where John wants them to go.

They start speculating about what it means. They both agree John wants them to take a job, but Dean is hopeful that John will meet up with them there. Sam says maybe not. Dean says he doesn't care, that's where John wants him and that's all that matters for him. Sam asks him if he thinks it's weird, that John is just texting, and not communicating, and Dean says "Sam, Dad's telling us to go somewhere. We're going." And leaves the room, where Sam seems to fight the urge to call out after him.

In this instance, I am very much with Sam. He knows that John is selfish, and he isn't going to be there. But he doesn't know how to get that through to Dean without completely devastating his brother. Genuine empathy from Sam! I guess for them, when it comes to John, all bets are off. I'll go into it more when John's in it properly, but they act very differently when their father is around, and I think they've always had that. Because they've always had each other, and John could be pretty flaky, but when he was there, Dean stopped being in charge and answered to John. I'm surprised it was Sam who rebelled, not Dean.

In a bar, the other cop - Daniel Gunderson, we learn - is having a beer, as someone approaches him and asks who he is. We see the questioner, and it's Dean. He slides into the seat opposite Daniel and says he works for a Chicago newspaper.

Haha, he calls himself Nigel. Hottest Nigel ever.

Dean asks if he can ask some questions about his partner, and Daniel says no, he's having a beer. Dean pushes and Daniel says only a week before, his partner had been sitting there, was Dean really going to ambush him? Dean says sorry, he really needs to know. At that point, Sam comes storming in, shoving Dean and ordering him to leave Daniel alone.

Ha! It's all an act, but I bet Sam loved the fact he got to hit out at Dean to convince a witness to talk to them. Bet Dean gets him back later.

They stare at each other for a minute, as the locals all nod in agreement with Sam. Dean walks out, and Sam turns to Daniel. Daniel says he didn't have to do that, and Sam says yeah, he did. That guy's a jerk. He offers to buy Daniel a beer.

Outside, obviously later, Dean is leaning against the Impala as Sam leaves the bar. Dean chews Sam out as a greeting.

Dean - "You shoved me pretty hard in there, buddy boy."
Sam - "I had to sell it, didn't I? It's method acting."

Ha, this is lols because they're actors.

Dean asks what Sam found out. Sam said Kelly was a good cop, really smart, even-keeled. Dean asks about his home life, and Sam says, yeah, he argued sometimes with his wife, but mostly it was a good relationship. They were even discussing having kids. Dean says either it's really deep-seated, or Kelly was influenced. Then he asks what Daniel said about the asylum. Sam smirks and says 'a lot.'

And they're going to hold that out on us! Can't reveal the mystery all at once.

The next day, we see Sam jumping the fence by the asylum, the Impala parked nearby. Dean follows him, scaling the fence as well, flipping on the dismount.

Show off.

They enter the asylum, looking around the old reception room, Sam talking through what happened in the first scene. When Sam mentions they went down the south wing, Dean repeats it, then checks in the journal. He reads out the article that John saved, about a fire in the south win in the seventies that involved three teenagers. Only one survived, and according to his witness testimony, one of his friends went crazy and lit up the place. Sam concludes that the south wing is the heart of the legend, and Dean asks why there aren't more deaths if the south wing makes people crazy? Sam points out the chain still hanging from one of the doors, and they'd probably been chained for years. Dean speculated "Yeah, to keep people out. Or to keep something in."

There's something off for me about the dialogue in this part. It's like they're going through the motions for the audience, when normally they introduce the backstory in other ways. It feels like Sam and Dean have been dumbed down. Maybe it's just me and I'm in a funny mood? It does get better in a bit, at least.

Sam pushes the door open slowly, and they look at each other before entering, walking down the decaying corridor.

Dean - "Let me know if you see any dead people, Haley Joel."
Sam - "Dude, enough."
Dean - "I'm serious, you gotta be careful, alright? Ghosts are attracted to that whole ESP thing you got going on."
Sam - "I told you, it's not ESP. I just have strange vibes sometimes. Weird dreams."
Dean - "Yeah, whatever. Don't ask, don't tell."

Including this bit of dialogue because, well, you can see how Dean feels about Sam's abilities, and the way Sam feels about them too. This is one of the few moments where I can see the justification in Sam referring to himself as a freak. If Dean's comparing him to a character who was labelled as a freak because of his connection with the Supernatural, then maybe he too, is a freak. And Dean's last line there indicates that he's getting uncomfortable with the conversation, because Sam's going down a tangent he's not used to. He's telling Sam not to over share, because he never asked. Kinda mean, Dean (and just you wait for Sam's biggest over share) you'll regret that in season nine, when he won't tell you a goddamn thing!

Sam asks if Dean has any readings on his EMF, and Dean says no, but that doesn't mean the place is empty. Sam agrees, saying that there are periods of the day ghosts can't appear, and Dean concludes the thought by saying the freaks appear at night.

So, we got that? Ghosts keep to a schedule. Especially the psychotic ones.

Dean - "Hey Sam, who do you think's a hotter psychic? Patricia Arquette, Jennifer Love Hewitt, or you?"

Sam hits him.

I don't blame you, Sam. Although, that line reeeeeally doesn't help with the constant speculation amongst fans that Dean is gay. I don't know if back then the writers were setting it up so Dean looked like a repressed homosexual, or if in hindsight they realised they had.

They enter a room full of old-fashioned medical equipment, and bits of debris as well as a headless doll. The EMF still has no reading. Dean comments on the equipment, and the barbaric methods they used to use, and then does a poor impression of Jack Nicholson as he references One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.

Seriously, Dean, my fantasy boyfriend, stop that. Don't do that. At all.

Sam doesn't react, and Dean focuses back on the job, asking if Sam thinks the ghosts are possessing people. Sam says maybe.

He means no.

Sam says maybe it's more like Amityville, or the Smurl haunting.

Nice referencing of other legends you're not going to touch because they've been proven false! Supernatural has some integrity.

Dean sums up the stories for those who don't know ("Spirits driving them insane") and then references Jack Nicholson in The Shining.

Dean loves Jack Nicholson, if you didn't get that, already.

Sam asks when they're going to talk about the fact that their dad isn't there, and Dean says "Oh, uh, let's see. Never." Sam tells him that he's being serious and Dean says so is he, that their dad sent them to do this job and they can look for him later.

In Dean's defence, John only sent them the coordinates, he never promised to be there. Sam got his hopes up, and Dean focused on the job. Sort of.

Sam - "It doesn't matter what he wants."
Dean - "See, that attitude right there? That is why I always got the extra cookie."
Sam - "Dad could be in trouble. We should be looking for him. We deserve answers, Dean. I mean, this is our family we're talking about."
Dean - "I understand that, Sam, but he's given us an order."
Sam - "So we always gotta follow Dad's orders?"
Dean - "Of course we do."

That right there? Totally sets off their dynamic. Sam kinda looks pointedly at Dean at that bit, and Dean turns away. It's weird, like Dean's not ready to fly the nest, at twenty-six, but at the same time he knows that by not following orders, John would get more irritated with him. John should win parent of the year.

Dean comes across a plaque by one of the machines, with the name Sanford Ellicott on it. He says they need to do more research on the south wing, to get its history and see if anything out of the ordinary happened, and hands Sam the plaque before walking out of the room.

We cut to Sam sitting in a modern waiting room, flicking through a magazine. A man walks out of a room with a plaque announcing Dr James Ellicott on it, and he approaches Sam, inviting him into the room. Sam looks around the office, as the doctor prepares his notes. He starts talking, asking if there was another local doctor with the same surname. Dr James nods, and says it was his father, the chief psychiatrist at the asylum. He asks how Sam knew about that, and Sam says he's a local history buff. Sam starts enthusing about the asylum, asking about the incident there, and the doctor reminds Sam that he's paid for a consultation.

I cannot tell if Dean would have been pissed to pay out for this, or glad to have Sam tell someone else his crazy for an hour.

The doctor reminds Sam they're there to talk about him, and Sam says 'of course' and the doctor asks him how things are going. Sam says they're good, and the doctor asks what he's been doing. Sam gives the normal line about being on a road trip with his brother. The doctor asks if it was fun, and Sam starts to struggle to put a positive spin on what's happened so far, without giving everything away. As he talks, his smile fades, and he struggles even more to sound convincing. Eventually he gives up, and brings up the south wing again.

The shrink interrupts him to say if he was such a buff, he would know about the riots. Sam says of course he knows, he's just curious, and Dr Ellicott interrupts him to say he's avoid the subject. Sam raises his eyebrows at him.

Because Sam is actually here for research, and the psychiatrist is trying to do his job and fighting the questioning, and Sam is shocked that someone actually wants to help him. It would be a first.

The shrink offers Sam a deal, he'll give Sam information about the riots, and Sam has to be honest about himself. He asks Sam how he feels about Dean. Sam muses on this for a moment, raising his eyebrows again, looking away, fidgeting.

Outside, Dean is leaning against a partition in the glass wall, and Sam comes out, obviously at the end of his consultation. Dean tells him he was in there forever, and asks what was said. We get some bare facts about the asylum. It was a hospital, and the south wing was the ward for the hard cases, the less mentally sound. One night in 1964, they rioted. Some patients died, so did some staff. It was gory, and some bodies were never recovered. Including Dr Ellicott. Dean asks what that means, and Sam tells him the place was searched, but the rioters must have hidden the missing bodies well. All surviving patients were transferred, and the hospital shut down. They conclude they have a host of angry spirits haunting the hospital, and agree to check it out that night.

I love how unphased they are about entering a condemned building full of mentally unbalanced ghosts. I personally would run away somewhere far away from the building. They're either stupid, psychotic, or both. But I guess they were raised into this, it's normal for them.

Another teen couple sneak into the building, down into the south wing. The guy says the place is creepy and terrifying, and his girlfriend does not look impressed by his summation. She tells him it's a lame date, and she thought they were going to see a movie. He compares it to being in a movie. They go through the corridor, and he whips around suddenly, asking what a noise was and making her jump, then laughing.

If there are any guys reading? Don't do that. It's a dick move, and he won't be getting any, not from her.

He sees a locker across a room, and heads for it, as she asks to just go. He tells her to wait there, he'll just be a minute. He walks off an leaves her, peering into other rooms. Meanwhile, she hears a gasp behind her, and turns slowly to see what's there. The door closes shut behind the boy - Gavin - and she turns around, her eyes widening at what she can see.

As Gavin goes further into the room he's in, his torch begins to flicker, and we see a girl standing in the doorway behind him. He turns and sees her, and mistakes her for his girlfriend in the darkness. She walks over, and kisses him, and then we hear her calling out for him. He stops kissing the girl back, and shoves her away, suddenly afraid.

Good. Sorry, he deserves it.

Sam and Dean enter the asylum themselves, turning on the EMF, loading up a video camera, and shining their own flashlights about. They follow the spikes in the EMF, and Sam mentions that the place is 'orbing' as he looks at the video playback screen of the video camera. Dean agrees they must be all the spirits of the missing patients and they need to salt and burn, and then tells Sam "Be careful though, the only thing that makes me more nervous than a pissed-off spirit is the pissed-off spirit of a psycho killer."

So the boys do get nervous. Sometimes it's hard to tell. Marine training, I guess. But it's so typical of Dean, to try and make a joke even when they're faced with the ghosts of several psychotic rioters. And worse.

As they carry on down the corridor, something moves across the hall behind them. They both stop and turn to look, Sam shining his flashlight in that direction. The camera pans down to the bottom of a trolley, where a ghost in a straight jacket is twitching, his face blurring.

You're meant to be scared at this point, but I'll be nice to you. These ghosts are actually pretty harmless. They were just scared, themselves. They're also not the rioters. They were the experiments.

The guys find another room, and begin investigating different parts, looking separately for clues. Sam begins to follow an orb on his screen, and then hears a metal door moving, and turns to look for the source … and finds a wall. He turns back, and there's a woman there, her face bloody, and she's reaching out to him, shuffling closer. He shouts for Dean. Dean comes rushing back, pulls out the shotgun, orders Sam to get down, and shoots her with a salt round.

I am keeping track. That's Dean saves Sam 6, Sam saves Dean 2. Them saving others and not worrying about each other, 2. Multiple saves per episode not included, unless they take it in turns.

They say the ghost attack was weird, Sam saying due to the fact the ghost didn't attack him. Dean says it looked bad from his angle, and Sam insists she wasn't trying to hurt him, but she was after something. He starts wondering aloud what she could have wanted as they walk further into the asylum, and they both turn to look into a room at the same time. Sam turns the flashlight on, and Dean loads up the gun again as they step forward. They can see a head behind an upturned gurney, and quickly flip it back, expecting to see another spirit. Instead, they find the girl.

Dean lowers his gun slowly as she freaks out, and Sam turns the flashlight off, as Dean promises they're not going to hurt her. He asks her name, and she tells him it's Katherine, Kat for short. Dean introduces himself and Sam, and Sam demands to know what she's doing there. She starts to explain that Gavin brought her, and Dean interrupts to ask if he's there. She explains that Gavin wanted to come see some ghosts, and that she's seen 'things'. She's clearly terrified. She tells them she heard Gavin scream, and Dean tells her Sam will help her get out. Sam gives him a dirty look as she says no, she won't leave without Gavin.

She's a moron. Maybe she is a good fit for Gavin, after all?

Dean tells her it's dangerous, and she insists that's why she needs to find Gavin. Sam gives him a pointed look again, and Dean ignores him, saying they should split up. Dean goes with Kat, and Sam goes alone, and they all call for Gavin as they search. Dean interrupts Kat's calls to ask her if she's seen a lot of horror movies. She says yes, and he tells her, next time, pay attention. If they say a place is haunted, don't go in.

Ha, I love it. I think both brothers have little respect for dumb people who buy into those stories and then actively seek out the legends. It's made their job in solving this case that much harder, because now Dean is babysitting, and their investigation is held up. And Dean especially can be a little terrifying, and intimidating. Plus, he was the one holding a shotgun up to her face. She didn't know the rounds were only rock salt.

Sam goes into another room, and finds Gavin prone on the floor. He calls his name, bending over him, trying to bring Gavin round. He sits up suddenly, and Sam reassures him that he's there to help, and he can take Gavin to Kat. Gavin tells him he was running and fell over, and Sam asks what he was running from. He explains, and when he gets to the part where the ghost kissed him, Sam looks baffled. He pushes on and asks if Gavin remembered anything else, and Gavin tells him that she went to whisper something in his ear. Sam asks what, but Gavin says he ran before he could find out.

In Dean and Kat's corridor, meanwhile, the flashlight dies. Dean calls it a son of a bitch.

I think this is the first time he's used that phrase so far. In episode ten … it becomes one of his catchphrases. Like the word awesome, and saying 'dammit, Cas!'. Sam doesn't really have catchphrases, although he says 'I don't know, Dean,' a lot. Which he uses to contradict Dean's theories, not because he's suddenly rendered stupid. He's clearly not. Anyway, huzzah! Dean's first son of a bitch is his flashlight. Of course, this is the sign that spirits are about, particularly this one.

Dean switches to a lighter, and Kat tells him that he's hurting her arm. He turns to look at her, asking what she's talking about, and she realises he's too far away to be near him. The look down at the trolley she's stood next to, and a ghost is holding her arm. she screams, and runs away, and he tries to chase after her. She shuts herself into a room, which he then can't open.

He shouts at Kat to hang on, and starts hitting at the door with a crowbar. Meanwhile, in the room, something is standing behind Kat. She backs into it, and looks around slowly. But when she looks, there's nothing there. Meanwhile, Dean is slowly trying to pry the door open, between the blunt hacks he's making. Moments later, back in the room, Kat senses another presence. She turns, and finds another ghost, this one gaunt with long, straggly hair and a bloodied face. She screams, and hops backwards, but he's behind her again.

Sam and Gavin come running up, Sam asking what's going on and Dean shouting back that Kat's inside with a ghost, as she screams for help. Sam calls through the doorway to stop freaking out, to listen to the ghost because it won't hurt her. She repeats it as a question, and Sam repeats himself, saying the spirits aren't hurting them, they're trying to communicate. She has to face it. She tells him to face it, and he tells her it's the only way she's going to get out of the room.

He encourages her a little more, and she finally plucks up the courage to look at the ghost. He leans closer, and we see Sam and Dean swap a look as they wait to find out whether or not Sam was right with his hunch. The door finally clicks open, and Kat stands in the doorway, looking scared. Sam and Dean look into the room as she joins Gavin, and then she tells them 'one-thirty-seven.'

I didn't talk through this bit because I didn't see much need, but it's interesting to note that in times like this, Dean will revert to brute strength and Sam will revert to logical thinking, like they've been reduced to the base point of their personalities in a crisis. And they do trust each other, when it comes to hunting, because Dean trusted Sam's theory. Anyway, onwards, because they both worked out 137 is a room number.

The boys have a quick pow-wow over the ghosts intentions, and Sam says he thinks they're trying to say that the ghosts meant never tried to hurt anyone. Dean turns his attention to Kat and Gavin and asks if they're ready to leave. Kat calls it an understatement. Dean tells Sam to get them out of the asylum, and heads off to find the room.

As Sam leads Kat and Gavin out, Kat starts asking Sam questions.

Probably because Sam comes across as more personable. However, he sounds really sullen, and I know it's because he's sick of this job and not having John there.

Kat - "So, how do you guys know about all this ghost stuff?"
Sam - "It's kind of our job."
Kat - "Why would anyone want a job like that?"
Sam - "I had a crappy guidance counsellor."
Kat - "And Dean? He's your boss?"
Sam - "No."

Says you, Samuel.

Dean finds room 137, and pushes his way in, past the chairs stacked up behind the door. The room is full of filing cabinets that have been knocked over, obviously in the riots. He flicks through some files as he looks around, hoping for some kind of epiphany. Meanwhile, Sam has finally reached a door to get outside, but the door won't open. He tells them it's a problem, and Gavin suggests breaking the door down. Sam shoots that idea down. Gavin suggests the windows, and Kat reminds him that they're barred. Gavin asks how they're meant to leave, and Sam says they're not. They're being kept in, because something doesn't want them to leave.

And because Jared is that good an actor, you can tell it's just occurred to Sam that that's the case. And it's also just occurred to him what the repercussions may be for Dean if he's poking around in the room that the ghost just mentioned.

Kat asks if he meant the patients, but Sam says no, it's something else.

As Dean pokes around the room, he finds a hole in the wall, and peers in, before pulling the panel away. It's a fake wall, and behind it, He finds a journal. He says "This is why I get paid the big bucks." as he opens it up and finds notes and diagrams relating to Dr Sanford Ellicott's research. He pulls up a seat and reads through as much as he can, commenting to himself with things like "Why, all work and no play makes Dr Ellicott a very dull boy." He senses something in the corner, and turns.

With the Jack Nicholson references again? I guess nobody's perfect. And loving the sarcasm, since he doesn't get paid for what he does, at all.

Sam, meanwhile, has been looking around the asylum, and goes back to Gavin and Kat, telling them he can't find any other way out. Gavin asks what they're going to do and Sam says first, stop panicking. He gets a cell phone call, and picks up. It's a static-y Dean, saying he knows what it is, it's with him in the basement. Hurry up. Sam says he's going, and hangs up, then asks if Gavin or Kat can handle a shotgun. Gavin says no, but Kat says yes. She used to go skeet shooting. Sam gives her his shotgun, telling her it's full of rock salt. It won't kill, but it will repel ghosts. He goes running down into the basement, into the boiler room.

Yep, Sam is that dumb. Is Dean?

Sam looks around the basement, trying a couple of doors and shining his flashlight around, looking for Dean. He notices the door with the biohazard sign and walks in, shouting for Dean. Halfway into the room, his flashlight flickers, and he tries to get it working again. A door behind him creaks open, and he cocks another shotgun, ready to shoot as he inches forward through the door. He looks all around, calling Dean again, quieter this time, and we see a shadow behind a medical curtain. Sam goes closer, and pushes back the curtain. There's nothing there. He lowers the shotgun and turns, and a ghost materialises in front of him, grabbing his head and saying "Don't be afraid, I'm going to make you all better."

Yep, Sam is that dumb.

Gavin is pacing in the hallway Sam left them in, as Kat sits with the shotgun. She tells him that if they make it out alive, they're breaking up.

About time, woman!

They hear a noise and see someone's shadow. Kat stands up and holds the shotgun up and as Dean appears, she shots. He ducks out of the way as the wall next to where his face was explodes. He orders her not to shoot, and she calls a 'sorry' back. He gets up and approaches them again, asking why they're still there and where Sam is. Gavin tells him that Sam went to the basement after Dean's call. Dean says he didn't call, and Kat confirms that his cell rang and he said it was Dean.

Please say you saw it coming?

Dean grabs a shotgun, and puts it into his pants, telling them to watch out for themselves, and for him, and goes back into the asylum. He heads into the basement, calling for Sam. Sam appears out of nowhere, making Dean jump. He yells to cover it.

Sorry, I'm about to start quoting a fuck-load of dialogue. Hopefully, you'll see the relevance. I like quoting their relationship.

Dean - "Man, answer me when I'm calling you! You alright?"
Sam - "Yeah, I'm fine."
Dean - "You know that wasn't me that called your cell, right?"
Sam - "Yeah, I know. I think something lured me down here."
Dean - "I think I know who. Dr Ellicott. That's what the spirits have been trying to tell us. You haven't seen him, have you?"
Sam - "No. How do you know it was him?"
Dean - "Because I found his log book. Apparently, he was experimenting on his patients. Some awful stuff. Makes lobotomies look like aspirin."
Sam - "But it was the patients who rioted."
Dean - "Yeah, they were rioting against Dr Ellicott. Dr Feelgood was working on some sort of, like, extreme rage therapy. He thought that if he could get his patients to vent their anger, then they'd be cured of it. Instead, it only made them worse and worse, and angrier and angrier. So I'm thinking, what if his spirit is doing the same thing? To the cop, to the kids in the seventies. Making them so angry, they become homicidal. Come on. We've got to find his bones and torch them."

Sam's not the only smart cookie. Dean's intuition is his best asset, remember that.

Dean pushes through the basement, and Sam calls after him, asking how they're going to do that when the police never recovered his body. Dean tells him it's in the log book, a hidden procedure room in the basement. He says if he was a patient, he'd drag the doctor down into the room and give him the procedure. Sam tells him it sounds crazy, and he says yeah, exactly. Dean then goes into the biohazard room, and Sam watches him, almost emotionless. He eventually follows, and tells Dean he looked everywhere and couldn't find a hidden room. Dean tells him, that's why they call it hidden, and then asks if Sam can hear something. Dean walks to the hidden door, and waves his hand at the bottom, where there's a small crack, ignoring the sullen look on Sam's face.

He says that there's a door there, and Sam cocks his shotgun, calling Dean's name. Dean turns, and takes in his brother's stance, and the blood trickling out of his nose.

Sam - "Step back from the door."
Dean - *standing up slowly* "Sam, put the gun down."
Sam - "Is that an order?"
Dean - "No, it's more of a friendly request."
Sam - "Because I'm getting pretty tired of taking your orders."
Dean - *smirking* "I knew it. Ellicott did something to you, didn't he?"
Sam - "For once in your life, just shut your mouth."
Dean - "What are you gonna do, Sam? Gun's filled with rock salt. Not gonna kill me."
Sam - *shoots Dean anyway, hitting him on the chest. Dean goes flying through the hidden door into the room.* "No. But it'll hurt like hell."

Yeah, Sam just shot Dean. And Dean was pretty reasonable, for once, with Sam acting all crazy.

Dean comes too, coughing and calling for Sam, as Sam walks closer.

Dean - "We gotta burn Ellicott's bones and all this will be over. You'll be back to normal."
Sam - "I am normal. I'm just telling the truth for the first time. I mean, why are we even here? Because you're following Dad's orders like a good little soldier? Because you always do what he says without question? Are you that desperate for his approval?"
Dean - "This isn't you talking Sam."
Sam - "That's the difference between you and me. I have a mind of my own. I'm not pathetic like you."
Dean - "So what're you gonna do, huh? You gonna kill me?"
Sam - "You know what, I am sick of doing what you tell me to do. We're no closer to finding Dad today than we were six months ago."
Dean - "Well, then here, let me make it easier for you." *Dean hands over his handgun* "Come on. Take it. Real bullets are going to work a hell of a lot better than rock salt. Take it!"

Sam takes the handgun, and drops the shotgun, stepping closer and pointing the gun directly at Dean's face.

Dean - "You hate me that much? You think you could kill your own brother? Then go ahead. Pull the trigger."

Sam takes forever, glaring at Dean, his gun hand shaking. Dean shouts at him to do it, and he does. Nothing happens. He tries again, Dean watching him, and after the third hammer cock, Dean gets up and tackles Sam, then gets up.

Dean - "Man, I'm not gonna give you a loaded pistol!"

And then Dean punches him in the face.

I'm going to go with Dean taking the brother role right here. Though he was definitely in mother-mode when Sam had a gun on him. They're such typical boys, settling their arguments with violence. I'm sure they'll be fine in a couple of episodes. Or the end of season ten, next year.

Dean pats Sam's back, and apologises for hitting him, standing up and looking around the secret room for the first time. He goes closer into it, swiping medical curtains out of the way as he goes, missing the ghost passing him by. He finds a cupboard, low down on the ground, and approaches it after spotting a tuft of hair sticking out of the gap between the door and the side. He opens it up and finds Ellicott's remains, retching slightly from the stench of the decaying body.

I'm glad they included that, sincerely. Dead bodies and desecrated graves must smell foul, and you never see Shaggy gagging in Scooby-Doo. A physical reaction makes sense.

He opens up the duffel bag and salts the body, and his torch starts flickering. He ignores it as he adds lighter fluid to the body, still gagging over the smell of the body. Before he can get any further, a gurney slides across the room and knocks him over, and Dr Ellicott grabs his head, telling him what he told Sam. He's going to help. Somehow, through the attack, Dean manages to reach across to the duffel, finding his lighter, flicking it on in one shot, and throwing it on the corpse. The body begins burning, and the ghost is destroyed.

Side bar, somehow, Dean is laying on Sam's legs. I'm not having inappropriate thoughts about that!

Sam comes too as Dean sits up, and Dean asks if Sam's going to try to kill him. Sam says no, and Dean says good, otherwise it'd be awkward.

Outside, Kat and Gavin say thanks, and Dean tells them to stay out of haunted asylums. They nod and walk off to their car, and Sam starts talking to Dean.

Sam - "Hey, Dean? I'm sorry man. I-I said some awful things back there."
Dean - "You remember all that?"
Sam - "Yeah. It's like I couldn't control it. But I didn't mean it, any of it."
Dean - "You didn't, huh?"
Sam - "No, of course not. Do we need to talk about this?"
Dean - "No. I'm not really in the sharing-and-caring kind of mood. I just wanna get some sleep."

Later, in the hotel room, Dean is asleep in bed, as his phone rings. Sam tries to wake him up to pick it up, but Dean is too far gone. Sam picks up instead.

Sam - "Hello? … Dad?"

Ooooooooh, interesting end! Gosh, this one took me forever, just haven't had the time in amongst writing, editing someone else's fanfic, finding out I meet Sam in less than two months … but the storyline is just beginning to pick up! Also, you'll notice there aren't any pictures in this update, and that's for a couple of reasons. First, because I should link back to my sources so I need to figure out the best way to organise that, and secondly because this episode is mainly shot in the dark, and it all looks like a trashed asylum. You've seen one pic, you've seen them all, you know?

I did think this episode was interesting though, because I think they went into the asylum with what little information they'd gathered fifteen minutes into the episode. Which means they were going through the actual process of hunting ghosts for 25 minutes. It's one of the few episodes they've done where they do explore that end so in-depth. It's interesting to see them go in, armed with information, but still needing to alter it as they go along and new situations arise.

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