Supernatural Episode 908
“Rock and a Hard Place”
Written By: Jenny Klein
Directed By: John MacCarthy
Original Airdate: 26 November 2013
In This Episode...
Jody Mills calls the boys up about four sudden disappearances in her otherwise quiet town in South Dakota. Witnesses reported seeing a bright blue flame at the time of the kidnappings. So the Winchesters roll into town and find that the only connection between the victims is that they were all members of the Good Faith Church. A visit with church leader Bonnie reveals that all four victims were members of APU: the Abstinence Purifies Us group. Dean mocks it lightly (“You can’t unring that bell”) but Bonnie doesn’t get it. In the end, Sam and Dean sign the purity pledges and apparently become born-again virgins.
The APU meeting is led by a pretty blonde named Suzy, who Dean thinks looks familiar; Sam just thinks he is trying to use that as a line to hit on her. The Winchesters are the only two men in the meeting, which leads to the inevitable “why do you want to reclaim your virginity?” questions. Sam’s reason is that every woman he has been with has not ended well. Dean has a harder time coming up with a reason and starts talking - in detail - about all the reasons he loves sex. The girls in the group are getting turned on, and Sam motions for him to cool it.
After group, Dean goes over to Suzy, ostensibly to hit on her. She offers him individual counseling (for real - she is a “virginity counselor,” whatever that is) and invites him over to her house to check out some virginity books. Naturally Dean takes her up on this offer, but when they get there, she starts crying about her missing friends and asks Dean to pray with her. It doesn’t help matters that she takes off her sweatshirt and reveals an awesome pair of tits. She loads him up with chastity books and heads to the bathroom. Dean finally answers a call from Sam, who has been trying to reach him all afternoon. But Dean is distracted when he sees a porno in a not-quite-closed drawer. This is where Dean recognizes Suzy from - she used to be a porn star.
The reason that Sam has been frantically calling Dean is to warn him that it is not virgins who are being taken; it is virgins who broke their purity pledge. Honor, the most recent victim, was having an affair with her pastor; the other two victims were an engaged couple who gave in to temptation.
It would take a pack of wild dogs gnawing Dean’s junk to get him to stop hitting on Suzy at this point. He confesses he found out her dirty little secret. Suzy changed her name and moved to put her past behind her, but she doesn’t seem too upset at being found out. It doesn’t take Dean long to get her into bed. When they are done, Dean says goodbye, but when he opens the door, he and Suzy are knocked backwards by a blinding wave of blue flames. When they wake, Dean and Suzy are in the same underground bunker that Honor, Neil, and Barb are locked in. Pastor Fred was in there too, but he was starving to death and the blue flame whisked him away.
Meanwhile, Sam and Jody have done more digging on this blue flame. Jody has determined they are dealing with Vesta, the Roman goddess of the hearth. Virgins were presented as sacrifices to keep her flame alive. If the “offerings” broke their vows of 30 years of celibacy, they were buried alive. Dean manages a brief call to Sammy, but the reception is terrible (he is underground, after all) but it is enough to know Dean is alive, underground, and may be near a train. (Sam hears a whistle in the background.) Sam and Jody scope out the town and decide that Dean is probably at an old farm. The only weapon that will kill Vesta is an oak stake rubbed with the blood of a virgin. Sam offers up his blood, but it needs to be from a real virgin. They hit up the church and ask for blood from another APU member, Tammy. She rants about how they are pagans and Jody punches her in the face. Blood = got.
Jackpot. Sam finds a metal hatch in the ground and bangs on it - Dean responds. He can’t do much else, for Vesta uses her blue flame to knock Sam out. She then turns her attention to Jody, and we see who Vesta is: Bonnie, the church leader. This should surprise no one. Bonnie/Vesta isn’t happy that she has to take born-again blood (it’s not as pure as real virgin blood) but she takes what she can get. She prepares to stab Jody, but Sam wakes and lurches at her, causing Vesta to stab Jody anyway, but her attentions are now on Sam. She tries to eat his liver (her favorite part of a body) but finds Sam is essentially dead inside. “What is wrong with you? It’s like you are held together with duct tape and safety pins.” She is distracted enough that Jody manages to free herself and stake Vesta.
By way of wrap-up, Sam is very concerned about the “dead inside” comment from Vesta. Dean tries to blow it off as blowback from the trials, but Sam is not easily swayed. He thinks this is just the way he is now. Dean can’t stand seeing his brother like this and seems ready to tell him. Zeke appears and urges Dean not to do that. “He isn’t ready. I promise it won’t be much longer.” Zeke recedes, and Dean backtracks. “If something is wrong, it’s not your fault. We will deal with it.” Dean looks heartbroken.
Dig It or Bury It?
I appreciate this episode if only for the “making fun of born-again virgins” aspect. I do not understand that whole phenomenon. Maybe it is because I am not religious. Maybe it is because the whole idea of virginity is such a vague notion and means something different to everyone. Or maybe it is just because Supernatural takes such a hilariously blasphemous take on everything. Whatever, I enjoyed it immensely, but I am very ready for the maudlin “what’s wrong with Sam” crap to be over with. It’s a broken record.
Prophecies?
Next week is the last episode of the year. The angel war begins, and Zeke appears to be taking over Sam.