Robin’s Rambles – “The Girl Next Door”
Present: “Look, man, I get it,” says Dean, “you meet a girl, you feel that spark, there’s nothin’ better, but this FREAK?” Sam slams his beer can on the table, picks up his jacket and starts to go. (Why did Dean have to use the “F” bomb on his baby brother yet again?) “I didn’t mean. . .begins Dean. “Yeah you did,” says Sam, “I see the way you look at me, Dean, like I’m a grenade, and you’re waiting for me to go off.” “Sam. . .” says Dean. “I’m not goin’ off,” insists Sam–“I may be a freak, but that’s not the same as dangerous. “I didn’t say. . .” says Dean. “That’s okay,” Sam assures him, “say it. I’m spent a lot of my life trying to be normal, but c’mon, I’m not normal. Look at all the crap I’ve done, look at me now, I’m a Grade-A freak–but I’m managing it, and so is Amy.” “Is she?–how?” asks Dean. “She works in a damn funeral home so she doesn’t have to kill anyone,” explains Sam, “she’s figured out how to deal.” “Okay, then explain the bodies,” urges Dean. “She’s done,” says Sam, “her friggin’ kid was dying; if you or me were in her position, we’d probably do the same thing. Look, you don’t trust her, fine–trust me–Dean, please.” “Okay,” agrees Dean. “Seriously?” asks Sam. “Gotta start sometime, right?” says Dean.
“Bozeman,” says Dean on the phone outside a Biggerson’s. Seeing Sam approach, he hangs up and explains that they’re holing up outside of Spokane tonight, meeting up with Bobby tomorrow. He tosses Sam the keys. “Whyn’t you drive?” “You gonna punch me again?” asks Sam, grinning. They take off, Sam at the wheel, and pull up to a motel. “Check us in,” says Dean, “I gotta get to the candy store.” He rattles a bottle of what I assume are pain pills and drives off.
When Amy enters her motel room, Dean is waiting for her. “Next time you run, you should change your license plates,” he advises, “keeping the same tag makes you easy to track. I’m Sam’s brother, and you are Amy Pond, the Boseman mortician who went missing. There’s people lookin’ for you.” “Sam sent you?” she asks, stunned and hurt. “He doesn’t know I’m here,” says Dean. “But he told you–my son,” she says, hoping Dean is as understanding as Sam. “I know,” says Dean, “but people, they are who they are, no matter how hard you try. You are what you are, and you will kill again.” “I won’t, I swear,” she says tremulously. “Trust me, I’m an expert,” says Dean, “maybe in a year, maybe 10, but eventually, the other shoe will drop–it always does.” He stabs her, hard a deep, with a silver knife. “I’m sorry.” He catches her as she falls and places her gently on the bed. He withdraws the knife from her body and turns to see her son standing in the doorway. “You got somebody you can go to?” Dean asks, rocked on the inside, calm on the outside. The boy nods. “You ever kill anyone?” Dean asks him. The child shakes his head. “Well if you do, I’ll come back for you,” promises Dean. “The only person I’m going to kill is YOU,” the boy vows, and he means it. “Look me up in a few years,” suggests Dean, “assuming I live that long.” He backs away to allow the child room to run to his mother’s side and won’t harm him–yet.
At the Gas and Sip, the attendant reports, “Yes, sir, Sam Winchester was definitely here. Yes, every alias we have for them. I’ll find out where they went from here. I’m only a couple of days behind them. Just grabbin’ a bite first.” He turns to the bound and gagged man sitting beside him, the real attendant. “You know what I find? Plain old people taste fine, but everything is better with cheese.” He picks up the ladle in the big pot of cheese sauce and lets it drip back into the pot. The attendant screams in horror, then agony, as the hot cheese is poured over his head. . .
The hideous Leviathan mouth opens to enjoy his cheese-slathered feast. (I will never again enjoy nachos with cheese sauce, ewwwww!)
SPN SPN SPN SPN SPN SPN SPN SPN SPN SPN SPN
Editor’s comments: This episode blew me away, engaging more of my emotions than most TV shows do in years of viewing. From the opening chase sequence, with Bobby grabbing Sam and Dean hopping along on his crutches in a morphine fog, trying to escape the hospital, to the literally cheesy ending, I was riveted. As for the Capulet-Montague/Pond-Winchester 20th century tragic romance, I cried for Sam and Amy, two freaks who shared what was probably a first kiss and definitely a first matricide. It had me crying my heart out!
There’s been much controversy about Dean murdering Amy, especially after promising Sam he’d let it go. When they knew Madison was going to continue murdering as a werewolf and there was no way around it, Sam manned up and put the silver bullet into his lover himself. This time, Dean let his little bro think he was going to allow his teen crush live and went to take care of business himself. Did Dean think it all through, though? Did he remember the child? What if the boy said he DIDN’T have anyone to go to? Was Dean prepared to murder a second person? Did he know for sure the boy is destined to become a Kitsune? Is the bloodline automatically carried through, or does the boy have to kill one person to get it started, like the Rugaru? I was surprised that Dean didn’t hesitate to leave a motherless child, especially after how awful he and Sam had it after the YED killed their mother. Then again, Dean was seeing the big picture, and that picture was black and white. Amy would kill the living, and he couldn’t allow that. Sam trusted her, Dean didn’t. Period.
I laughed hard when Amy went to get Sam a soda and there were pituitary glands in the fridge. Don’t you hate when a guy sees that stuff on the first date, ladies? LMAO!
It was delightful watching Sam coming to Amy’s rescue when the two bullies with evil sexual intentions went after her. Even though he’s short and looks harmless, he’s a powerhouse thanks to the training John forced on him. So say what you want about John and his enforced drills and such, it helped Sam out of more than one jam, and in this case, got him a cute girl (which really isn’t a good thing, but you know what I mean).
This episode rates 10+, at least for me. Yes, it raises tough moral questions, but I enjoy that. How many shows do? Most are so bland, it’s like eating vanilla ice cream with NO toppings over and over.
I suspect if Sam ever finds out what Dean did, it might cause a permanent rift between them. Dean assured Sam he would leave this alone. He left Jacob alive, and all the boy has to do is let Sam know what Dean did. Of course, the boy vowed to return someday and kill Dean. Give it your best shot, Dean invited, if I’m still alive.
I loved how Amy helped Sam see being a freak as a good thing, listing freaks like Hendrix and Picasso and pointing out that being a freak is cool. Like the two of them. I sensed, too, that part of Sam ached to run away with her, but he knew his father and brother would hunt them down and John would kill Amy. He sent her alone because he knew she was better off that way.
Jensen’s directorial skills here shone through even better than in the last episode he directed. There was so much more going on, more action, emotion, and he was in the episode so much more than I expected! He pulled phenomenal performances out of everyone, especially the kids. As always, Jared and Jim were just marvelous, and Jewel Staite, who I’ve never seen perform before, absolutely fantastic.
Sigh. Season 7, I’m loving you like a mom with her newborn baby.
Questions:
I’ll hit you with the big one first, 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?
What did you think of the relationship between teens Amy and Sam? Good enough to eat, or keep them away from the malt shop?
I felt John Winchester’s presence in this episode very strongly, even though he wasn’t anywhere near it. What about you?
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?
Were you shocked to see Bobby back so quickly? Did you almost suspect a trap of some kind?
Were you hoping Amy was going to play doctor with Sam for real? I thought perhaps we were going to see more than Sam’s first kiss, but this was so shy, sweet and innocent, it was just adorable.
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?
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.