Robin’s Rambles – “The Girl Next Door”
In the woods, a man is having car trouble. A woman appears, intending help or harm, we don’t know for sure. Assuming the latter, Sam intervenes, and we see whoever has come wears the necklace with the moon and and star on it. “Hi, Amy,” says Sam.
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“Sam! Wow! I just never thought I’d see you again,” says Amy breathlessly. “What are you doing here?” “I think you know,” he says. She’s holding a very sharp knife, her intentions for it obvious. “You got tall, huh,” she notes. “Small talk, really,” he says sarcastically, “let’s take a walk.” (Pun intended?) “Sam,” she protests. “Walk,” he insists. He holds a knife on her as they stroll, asking, “So, same pattern, same victim pool, just like when we were kids?” “I’ve had the same job for six years,” she explains– I’ve had a house, two cats, a mortgage, I have a normal life!” He whirls her around to look into her face. “You call this normal?” demands Sam.
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Flashback: “Ready to play doctor?” asks Amy, dabbing a wound near his eye–“so you gonna tell me?” “What?” asks Sam. “How you beat the crap out of those guys–no offense, but you’re kind of. . .” “Wiry,” finishes Sam. “Exactly,” she says, “so. . .” “I just watch a lot of Bruce Lee movies,” he says. She bites her lip. “You thirsty?” she asks, moving aside bottles of brains in the fridge (!) to get him a soda–“you live around here?” The Goo Goo Dolls’ “Two Days in February” plays. “No, replies Sam, “cool song, my dad doesn’t listen to anything recorded after 1979, so. . .” “Does that mean you can’t?” she asks, handing him the soda, which he presses to his bruised face. “We’re stuck in the car a lot,” he explains, “my Dad has to travel, for work– she’s all about letting the wind be our guide.” “Like a hippie?” suggests Sam, making a face. “Mind, space and love,” she says. She opens the soda and takes a sip. “We’re always on the road,” says Sam, “I’ve seen the biggest ball of twine twice!” “Three times,” says Amy, “not that big, right?” “Right!” he agrees, laughing–“but be honest, moving all the time sucks–you’re always the new kid and everyone thinks you’re a freak.” “Sam, you are a freak,” she says, “but so is–I don’t know, Jimi Hendrix, and Picasso. So am I. All the coolest people are freaks.” Sam darts forward and kisses her. Amy kisses him back. (I SO loved her impassioned, comforting speech and his spur of the moment reaction and I’m sure this was Sam’s first kiss. I wish, instead of saying awful things about being a freak, Dean just ONCE said something like this to his brother.)
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Present: “Sam, what I am, I’m managing it,” says Amy desperately. “You spiked three guys this week!” he reminds her. “You don’t understand, it’s not like that, I’m not just some murderer,” she cries, “I had to.” “Why?” demands Sam. “I can’t. . .I just had to,” she says, “please believe me, Sam.” “I can’t, I’m sorry,” he says, reaching for his knife. “So am I,” she says, reaching around to cup his head and bang it against hers. Dazed, he falls to the ground. Amy runs.Â
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The coroner shows Dean the body Sam had asked to see. “Did he do anything to it?” asks Dean. “No, he just asked a few questions about the other vics,” explains the coroner, “missing pituitary glands and so forth. “Son of a bitch,” says Dean, telling Bobby on the phone that Sam is after a kitsune, a rare creature he and John hunted back in 1998. “Vaguely rings a bell,” says Bobby. “Didn’t make our highlight reel,” says Dean. “At least we know he’s workin’ a job,” says Bobby. Dean doesn’t understand the Houdini act, and Bobby doesn’t, either. “What are you going to do when you catch up?” asks Bobby. “I got a few ideas,” says Dean.Â
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Amy returns home and begins to frantically pack. Sam shows up. “How did you find me?” she asks. “You dropped this,” he says, holding up a piece of paper. “Amy Pond, huh? Cute name.” He glances around. “You weren’t kidding about the mortgage.” “Sam. . .” she says. He notices blood on her hand. “That’s not mine,” he realizes, “so you killed AGAIN!” “Do you think I wanted to?” she asks desperately. “I think you’d better tell me exactly what you’re doing, or I’m going to have to kill you whether I want to or not!” “I can’t,” she insists, “Sam you know me.” “No, I KNEW you,” he says, “that was a long time ago.” “No, you know me,” she repeats, “you know the kind of person I am.”
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Flashback: Sam and Amy pull back from their kiss, smiling. Sam places the can of soda on the table, but it falls off onto the floor. He apologizes and she runs to get a towel to mop it up. She had better; Mom has a temper. “My dad does, too,” says Sam, “you don’t want to see him when he’s drinking.” She looks into Sam’s eyes. “My mom–I don’t think she’s a good person. . .sometimes, I don’t think I’m a good person, either.” “You are,” Sam assures her. “Don’t be so sure,” says Amy, kneeling with the soda-wet towel. Hand over hers, Sam says, “I’ve been around enough bad to know good when I see it.” “It’s just she has this plan for me,” says Amy, “but I don’t wanna be like her, you know?” “I don’t wanna be like my dad either,” says Sam passionately. (Sam’s dad wants him to be a hunter; Amy’s mother plans for her daughter to be a killing Kitsune. Big difference.)
Present: “All right,” says Sam, knife ready in his hand, “so then tell me what’s going on.” “Drop the knife and I’ll show you,” she promises. “Show me and I’ll drop the knife,” counters Sam. “Don’t move,” warns Amy, opening a door behind her. On a bed sleeps a young boy. “This is Jacob, my son. I’ve built a life here, Sam, I’m in the PTA, I’m boring.” “You’re still feeding,” Sam reminds her. “On the dead–I’m a mortician,” she says, “I know, not sexy, but, you know, health benefits–I quietly take what Jacob and I need, no one gets hurt–but it can be risky, feeding like that, especially for a kid. Jacob got sick, he was dying, and the only way to fight it off was. . .” “You needed fresh meat,” realizes Sam. “It worked,” says Amy exultantly, “after the last one, his fever broke, it’s over!” “You can’t guarantee that,” Sam reminds her, “you can see that.” “I give you my word,” she swears, “so how is spilling more blood going to help anyone? You can still walk away from this. We both can. Sam? After what I did for you?”Â
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Flashback: “Amy, I,” begins Sam. “Quick, hide,” warns Amy, shoving him into a closet. Amy’s mother bursts in, “They caught up,” she says, “a couple of pros in a piece of crap Impala–we’re leaving.” “But Mom!” protests Amy. “I will only say this once,” says Mom: “I put the food on this table, so you will do as you are told or I will let you starve.” “Okay,” says Amy, “gas up the van, I’ll pack.” “Good girl,” says Amy’s smiling mother. In the closet, Sam, realizing this the family they are hunting, brandishes a knife. Amy opens the closet. “Awesome first date, huh?” she says–“look, I’m sorry you gotta go like this, but–what’s wrong? Look, I know my mom’s. . .” “I just hafta go,” says Sam, “sorry.” He notices a brain in a jar on a table nearby. “That’s nothing!” says Amy hastily. He points the knife at her. “That’s my dad and brother in the Impala,” says Sam, coming at her, “you’re a monster.” “And you’re a hunter,” she says, “so you’re supposed to kill me, and I’m supposed to kill you?” “I guess,” he says. “Sam, I’ve never killed anyone,” she says, “I don’t wanna hurt you. You wanna hurt me?” “No,” he admits.” “Run!” she cries–“if my mom finds you, she’ll kill you, just run!” He picks up his duffel, tucks away the knife and leaves.
Present day Sam returns to his motel room, opens the door, and is punched.  He falls backward into the bushes.  A pissed off Dean is standing in the doorway.  “Howdi Sam.”Â
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“New rule, you steal my baby and you get punched!” says Dean–“what the hell were you doin’, Sam, for all I know, Satan could have been callin’ your plays?” Sam takes a can of beer from the fridge to put on his aching head. “How many times I got to tell you, I’m FINE!” insists Sam. “You’re a poster boy for mental health,” says Dean sarcastically; you know how many horror-shows I had goin’ on in my head?” “I left you a note,” Sam reminds him, “there was a job in town.” “A kitsune,” says Dean, “yeah, I know–and you ignore my and Bobby’s phone calls why, exactly?” “Because I wanted to take care of it,” insists Sam, “and I did.” “Really,” says Dean, “where’s the body?” He stares Sam straight in the eyes. “There is no body,” Sam admits–“I let her go–she’s gone.” “You what?” asks Dean, stunned–“why?”Â
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Flashback: Amy’s mom returns, grabbing Sam by his jacket lapels, shoving him backwards. “I knew you were hiding something,” she sneers, “Amy can never blow town without throwing a bitch-fit, so, agreeing to go peacefully– well, well, who is this?” “He’s my friend,” says Amy tremulously. “No he’s not,” says Mom. “SAM!” cries Amy. “SHUT UP!” yells Mom–“what is wrong with you, huh?–you THAT stupid, really?–I already told you, you cannot have friends–this kid is FOOD!” “NO!” wails Amy. Her mother slaps her hard, striking her down. Mom turns to Sam. “This’ll teach you,” she swears through clenched teeth, threatening him with a fist-full of gigantic claws. Before she can slice into Sam, Amy stabs and kills her mother from behind, who stares at her in disbelief before she falls.Â
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Present: “You never told me that,” says Dean. “I never told anyone,” admits Sam, “I mean, can you imagine what Dad would have done?” “So you saw the article in the newspaper and you just bolted.” says Dean. “It was my mess,” says Sam. “And you call letting her go cleaning it up?” asks Dean. “She killed her own mom, Dean, to save me,” Sam reminds him. “I hear you, Sam, I do,” says Dean, “look at her now–she’s dropping bodies, man! So we have to drop her no matter how many merit badges she racked up when she was a kid! I’m sorry, but it’s that simple.” “Nothing in our lives is simple,” says Sam. (How sadly true is that?)
Flashback: “You have to run,” Sam tells Amy, who is staring down in shock at her mother. “AMY! Do you have cash?” She nods. “I want you on the first bus out of town–tonight,” he insists. “What about. . . ” she asks. “I’ll take care of her,” promises Sam, “just go!” “Come with me,” she pleads, “we don’t have to be alone, we can be freaks together, Sam. . .Sam?” “I can’t,” he says, “I’m sorry.” “So am I,” she says, heartbroken. Crying, she runs off. (This scene killed me.)Â
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Hi Robin
Thanks for that. I loved this episode too. Looks like we’re in the minority as quite a few didn’t like it at all, especially the ending. In fact, this is my favourite so far this year. Different strokes!
I thought Dean was entirely true to character to kill Amy. He is a hunter first and foremost and won’t abide leaving a job undone that may hurt innocents later. Remember when he killed the mother in Croatoan and was going to kill the son when everyone intervened and Sam wouldn’t sanction it. Turned out bad for everybody. He tried to off Ruby the first time he saw her, and look how that turned out when he listened to Sam. His instincts have usually been found correct all through the series. Hasn’t been much of that the last few seasons as he and Sam have just been batted back and forth between Heaven and Hell. Not much time for single hunts. Would you want to live next door to the kitsune if you knew what she would do in a family emergency again? Not me. Jacob should have been offed too but it wasn’t too clear if he had killed yet or not.
Loved young Sammy and his experience with Amy. Love to see the kid beat up deserving creeps. Too bad he more than most gets the monster chicks.
Yeah, I felt John nearby. Wish we could have heard the phone conversations with John and Dean.
No, I don’t think Dean can trust Sam right now as his head is still in a muddle. He can trust him to watch his back but his judgment calls are in question right now. And right after Sam ran out on him AGAIN, leaving him helpless and alone and took the car too?
No way would I completely trust his judgement right now.
I think Sam was a leetle too young to see him playing doctor with a girl. Kiss was sweet and I do wish Sam could some day get back with Sarah Blake.
Sam always forgetting the pie or bringing cake this time for poor Dean is amusing but I feel for poor Dean. Isn’t the last time Dean got pie was with Bobby’s zombie wife? He sure loved those pies! 😛
Thanks again, Robin, for the dialogue as I am a little hard of hearing and really appreciate your reviews. 🙂
How could I forget Dean in Croatoan! There he was making the tough choices and he killed the mother even though she had not killed! Did people call him out on that? I don’t know, seems so long ago.
Most comments I am reading here (and elsewhere) seem to think Dean should not have killed Amy. Makes me feel a little bad that I think he did the right thing killing her, and frankly, I think he should have killed Jacob too.
Amy was killing people. Good/bad – doesn’t matter. Dean did the right thing in killing her. I wouldn’t have worried about the kid because I would have killed the kid too. He wasn’t killing people, but he was eating their brains (that’s why Amy was killing them in the first place!) If he had somewhere to go – would have to be another monster like himself who would kill for him. Otherwise Jacob would have to do the killing in order to survive. By killing Amy, Dean sealed Jacob’s fate of [i]having[/i] to kill.
I don’t think this is the same kind of situation as the “have to kill before turning,” because Jacob was being fed the brains already.
The only place I see a problem is with Dean not telling Sam about killing Amy. Though, he is protecting Sam by not telling him.
I’m not an evil person! Just thought both dying would have been acceptable!
Hi Robin,
Great look at a great episode!
To answer your questions: I think Dean had to kill Amy, no matter how sympathetic a character she may have appeared to be. First of all, great parallel to draw with Madison – I didn’t catch that in my own viewing of this episode. Truly Amy was a creature that subsisted by eating people, in one form or another. For all we know, she’s been bopping along killing people for a long time since Sam last saw her. I mean, her mother was killed and she stated in this episode working as a coroner allowed her to get the dead brains for snacking on, but what did she do in all that time between her mother dying and becoming a coroner? For all we know, she laid off the killing only once the kid was born so she didn’t attract hunters the way her mother had. Call me hard-hearted, and maybe my lawyer is showing, but recidivism rates being what they are I’m not one to dole out second (third, fourth, who knows in the case) chances for offences of this nature because the offender claims to have changed/promises not to do it again.
And as Dean pointed out, if she turned to live humans in this instance it was only a matter of time before she did it again.
I don’t really understand why people had such an issue with Dean killing Amy – it was very true to character for him. As to the not telling Sam about it, my view was that Dean just thought it was best not to burden his brother with this issue when he could take care of it quickly and quietly alone, it isn’t a malicious secret, in that respect.
Not that I’m condone secret keeping between the boys, because that never ends well for them.
Should Dean have killed the boy? Probably, but I would have been distrubed if Dean had killed the boy. That’s a line he can’t cross, killing children in any form.
As to Dean trusting Sam’s judgement – hard to say. Sam and Dean have differing views on the baddies that seem to have pieces of good in them. Sam is more in the grey than Dean, traditionally, so perhaps in this case because of the state Sam is in, Dean felt it easier (as I say above) not to argue with/burden Sam with the issue at all, but rather move on and take care of it personally.
I too liked this episode and unlike those raising a fuss about the Dean/Amy/Sam situation, I think it was resolved as true to form as possible and didn’t ruin anything for me.
Thanks for the discussion Q’s, Robin!
Hello Robin,
John actually appeared in only twelve episodes of Supernatural, and yet his presence can be found in almost all of the hundred plus episodes. I liked how young Sam had a grown up voice to tell Dean about the intel on the monster, and then when he needed his big brother’s help, his voice became younger. No matter how young or old Sam is, he will always need his Dean. 🙂
Is it wrong that I like a drugged Dean? ‘A monster broke my leg’. 😆
Of course, we all knew from the ‘spoiler’ pics, that Bobby was alive and well, but it is still nice to have that mystery solved in the first act.
At first, I was shocked that Dean went and killed Amy behind Sam’s back. But then thinking about it and reading the reviews of the show, I decided that Amy had to die. She fed off dead people, but as soon as her son was sick, she then started killing the living. So, she promises Sam that she won’t do it again, but what happens the next time Jacob gets sick? She will not think twice about killing people once again.
Lenore stopped killing people, and she continued feeding on cows, until Eve got into her head. She wanted to die, because she didn’t want to be a monster any longer.
Madison was a werewolf and had no control over herself, she begged to be killed.
I agree with member Amy above, I think that Dean should have killed Jacob as well. It would not have been the first time an evil child would have been killed by Sam and Dean: Lilith, the changelings of ‘Kids are Alright’.
Considering that next week is about the guilt that Dean has to carry, I am sure that he tells Sam what he did.
Poor Dean. Season seven rocks. 😀
I think killing Amy was something good. she’s a monster and they did the same with maddison. Now what let me thinking was the way Dean acted while killing her. I saw him so cold, even with the boy. For a moment I thought he would kill him.. but well, there are rules for Dean. I think after what happened with Cas, Dean can’t trust as easy as he was able to. I mean he didn’t trust Bobby and Sam (there I have a big issue. I mean how in the hell could Sam be so sure Amy wouldn’t kill EVER again… I think trusting Sam is not related to his decition of killing Amy. Sam and Dean are hunters.. and they hunt monsters)
I think he’s having really big issues about how he sees life now… it’s black and white again.. I heard some people talking about how Sam shouldn’t forgive him (come on .. Sam talking about trust and honesty? seriously?) now they ought to be together fighting the leviathans and everything… she was just part of the past and Sam have to let her go, because if there’s something I learned after years with the winchesters is if you love someone it’s better to let them go, cuz if not (saddly) it’s gonna end sooooo bad.
however I’m expecting to see a little bit of guilt in next episode in Dean… I was kind of scared of how he killed her so cold. but well… I’ve already said that.
I think that Dean was mad at Amy, because she made Sam trust her. Then Sam told Dean that he wanted Dean to trust him regarding Amy. Which causes Dean to choose between trusting Sam and trusting his own hunter’s instincts. And as we saw, Dean had to go with his gut and therefore betray Sam.
Poor Dean. It is a wonder he hasn’t gone gray with all the guilt he has on his shoulders. 😆
I felt John here, yes. He’s just one of those characters that won’t let go even when he’s not been present for years.
I feel that Dean’s inability to trust Sam here is an inability to trust himself more or less. Dean feels that he is a monster in his own mind, really. Killing Amy gave him a chance to grasp at much needed control, but really masked his own mental state that he’s the freak, the monster, the killer.
I think, while he knows the kid is probably doomed to kill, he just couldn’t justify killing him, too. It would be too far, even if it would stop the boy from killing later.
I personally found the episode’s moral questions and debates fascinating. I think it bodes well for the rest of the season, too. They must deal with these issues or die, and now that they’re mostly in the open, there’s no better time than now.
So glad I’m not the only one who thought Amy must die and Dean did what a Hunter must do when faced with the possiblity that the monster will kill again. I think I was more shocked when Bobby walked in unscathed then when Dean killed Amy. It seemed like a no brainer (pun intended) !
I’m late to the boards, but the questions are intriquing, so I want to respond.
1. what did you think of Dean’s choice to kill Amy? Despite her having a child who needed her? Should he have just killed Jacob, too?
No problem at all with Dean killing Amy. In fact, I have two thoughts on that. First, Sam left Dean to clean up a mess. Amy killed humans and hunters kill monsters who kill humans. I particularly liked the episode showing that Dean didn’t particularly like what he was doing, but made the hard choice anyway. And, no, I think he made the right choice in not killing Jacob. He questioned him about killing and gave him fair warning. When and if he kills, then Jacob becomes a target for hunters. I found the Amy and Jacob defined a moral line in Dean’s hunting.
2. What did you think of the relationship between teens Amy and Sam?
I’m not fond of teenage stories of any kind. In this case, Sam knew the girl for maybe an hour (or less) and she killed her mother to save Sam. I think that speaks more to who Amy is than the ‘first love’ or ‘first kiss’ story of Sam’s. Colin Ford did a great job, but I didn’t particularly enjoy the flashbacks.
3. Re: John Winchester. When Dean killed Amy, I saw all kinds of John Winchester training there (except I think maybe Dean is a better hunter than John ever was). I always like a smart, hardened Dean, so this was my favorite scene in the episode. I’m afraid, though, that the intent of this season is to sully Dean’s character after so much of doing that to Sam. I hope they don’t do that just to give him some kind of a story.
4. Did you believe Dean when he assured Sam he trusted his judgment on this case and would leave Amy alone? Do you think Dean feels Sam’s emotions/instincts are at all trustworthy now? What do you think?
I believed Dean and was surprised when he showed up at Amy’s, although I felt like it was absolutely something that Dean would do. As far as trusting Sam, how could he? The guy tripped out a few hours before sneaking out, stoled the car, gave no explanation as to why or where he was going, and wouldn’t answer his phone. And, just think back to what Dean saw in 7.02 of Sam and his mental problems. He was shooting a gun all over an empty warehouse, for God’s sake.
5. Were you shocked to see Bobby back so quickly? Did you almost suspect a trap of some kind?
I wasn’t shocked, because of the preview clips. I was disappointed that we didn’t get some short explanation of where Bobby was (or how he got that nice looking suit), but the episode was to show, I felt, Dean’s spiraling downward. The whole episode actually had a lot of flaws, so this small one means nothing really.
6. Were you hoping Amy was going to play doctor with Sam for real?
Not hoping and don’t care, except to say I’m glad they didn’t waste time on that story.
7. Taking the Impala without asking was bad enough, but Sam brought back CAKE instead of PIE! Don’t you think this is more worrisome than any of his other actions thus far?
It seems to be a habit with Sam. What I think about that, though, is based on everything else shown in this episode. If Sam really thought Dean would be satisfied with that half-baked note, didn’t think he wouldn’t find a way to look for him, didn’t care if he was Levi bait in a cast (I mean, they had been targeted by the Levi and were obviously laying low), and did everything he could to sneak around, then I just think that Sam doesn’t know his brother very well, or he is more mental than we are led to believe, or he just doesn’t care one way or the other. I don’t think Sam came off very well in this episode, so I find it pretty interesting that all the chat is about whether or not Dean should have killed a sympathetic monster or let her walk. The question for me is, why did the writers choose to dredge up old stories about trust and honesty between the brothers?
Wow, this episode sure has people talking. It’s been a while since I’ve thought this hard about an episode. I’ve posted on a few other reviews, and the more I read, the stronger the feeling gets. I guess I live in the grey universe, I tend to trust people, sometimes to my detriment. I understand why Dean killed Amy, but I also agree with the fact that Sam made the decision to let her go. Basically, I’m sitting on a fence here, and I’m obviously not the only one.
Thanks for the ramblings Robin, it makes us pick up on things we may have missed. I love how John is always present. And I’m always happy to see young Sam, Colin Ford is just so good at it. I enjoyed the first kiss, I thought it was sweet, just as it should be. Boy, I guess Sam has always had a thing for the monster girls huh. About Dean trusting Sam, let me see, when he tells him he does, Sam’s reaction was actually like mine, I thought wow, Dean is trusting him, but I guess that was just for show. I was surprised when he showed up at Amy’s hotel. So now instead of having one monster that kills sometimes and bad people from what I understood, he’s created a monster that will kill without impunity and have a hatred of humans. So, he would have been better off killing them both then, but I guess that would have made Dean a monster, so hard line there.
I cannot wait for what the rest of this wonderful season will bring us. I am thoroughly enjoying it.