Robin’s Rambles – “Of Grave Importance”

Dean brings Sam a taco meal so they can eat it on the roof of the car. “Even though the world’s going to crap, there’s one thing we can always count on,” exults Dean, biting into a taco, “these things taste the same in every drive-thru in every state in our great nation.” He answers his phone–Annie, a friend and hunter, who tells him she’s sorry about Bobby. She has some of Bobby’s books and thought Dean might want them. Dean does, where is she? Bodega Bay, she says, Crow’s Nest Inn. He asks if she’s working. Always, she says, are they anywhere nearby? Near enough, says Dean. They’ll meet at the Pier Front Restaurant, one PM, for lunch. Dean is pleased.

 
A young couple is making out in a creepy old house, surrounded by lit candles, in what appears to be a closed-up restaurant. She says they shouldn’t be here, he agrees, pushing off her jacket; wherever they are, Annie is headed their way, and they hear her. “Cops?” the girl frets, breaking away from the boyfriend. The kids leave the couch, flashlights in hand, running around the house to find out what they heard. Their flashlights begin to flicker, and a huge figure stands in a doorway before them. “You shouldn’t have come here!” the man (ghost?) says, racing toward them as they cower in terror.
 
Annie enters this same house, exploring, flashlight moving over the walls. She discovers the two kids, dead in pools of blood. Her flashlight begins to flicker, and the door slams shut behind her.    
 
Sitting at a table in a restaurant on the water, Dean reads to Sam that Dick Roman is funding another archeological dig; “Guy moves more dirt than the Drudge Report.” Any idea what he’s digging for? asks Sam. Don’t you think I’d have led with that? asks Dean. Sam checks his watch and remarks, Annie’s not usually this late, is she? Never, agrees Dean, she’s totally compulsive, I’ll try her cell. You know she and Bobby had a thing, right? asks Sam, while Dean dials. Yeah, I knew that, says Dean, then says REALLY? Yeah, says Sam, kind of a foxhole thing, very Hemingway. Huh, says Dean, she and I once went Hemingway, too. All right, says Sam, that happens. Catching the look on Sam’s face, Dean says, What, you, too? It was a while back, says Sam, we ended up on the same case, she was stressed and I didn’t have a soul. That’s a lotta foxholes, says Dean, listening to the phone endlessly ringing. (This is so awkwardly hilarious!) She’s not answering, says Dean, pouring hooch from Bobby’s flask into his coffee–here’s to ghosts that aren’t there. You sound kinda disappointed, says Sam. It’s better this way, says Dean, even though I wish we could see him again, it doesn’t mean that we should. They clink coffee cups in agreement. Are we bein’ stood up? asks Dean. Let’s hope that’s all this is, says Sam. On the table, Bobby’s flask moves. Outside the restaurant, the brothers are concerned about their not being able to reach Annie. What’s she going in Bodega Bay? wonders Sam. Some kinda job, says Dean, she didn’t really say. Noting his flask is empty, Dean wants to get a refill, but Sam suggests he pack it away for a while, since all it does is remind them of Bobby. I thought about that, says Dean, but not yet. As it turns out, Bobby is sitting in their car, shaking his head with annoyance. The brothers decide to check out Annie’s hotel room. 

 
In Annie’s room, Bobby sitting there, Sam and Dean cull through paperwork on disappearances of teenagers never solved that go back decades–that just started up again. Annie found a spot a lot of them liked to poke around just before they went missing, reveals Dean, old Van Ness house. The police combed the place, always come up dry, points out Sam. The law, always on the law, complains Dean. Guys, says Bobby. Built in 1862 by the VanNess family, reads Sam. I just made that curtain shimmy, says Bobby, could you look in the right place at the right time?–balls, this is exhausting! The brothers continue to read up on the case, Sam reading that, a couple of months ago, the house was placed on one of those most haunted houses in America list. Which was when the teenagers started going missing, guesses Dean. Yup, says Sam. Okay, now let’s get rollin’, says Bobby. I say we get rolling, says Dean. They walk past Bobby, who stands and pronounces, “Idjits!” Dean had left behind his jacket with Bobby’s flask, but he returns to get it. “Thank you,” says Bobby, winking out, presumably to join the brothers. 
 
“Honey, I’m home,” announces Dean, entering the VanNess house, both he and Sam carrying flashlights. Bobby is right behind them. “Jeeze! My people!” says Bobby, spotting ghosts everywhere, “hi, I’m Bobby, I’m a ghost, lookin’ for a little ghost orientation here.” He says his name is Bobby in French and remarks that it’s chilly. Dean calls out to Annie while the ghost meter goes crazy. They find Annie’s phone on the floor. Bobby overhears one ghost accusing the ghost who killed the kids, “I know what you did last night!–and you know it was forbidden!–I don’t brook that sort of thing in my home–don’t do it again, Dexter, or there will be consequences.” Heading upstairs, Dean tells Sam the call to him was the last one she made, so where is she? Annie appears to Bobby. I can’t believe you’re here, she says. He tells her they’ve been looking for her. I’m a doornail, he explains, and bad news here, if you can see me, you are, too. She looks at him sadly.  

 
Wow. . .dead. . .ghost. . .me, muses Annie, seated beside Bobby on the sofa, three words you never want to use in a sentence–I feel like I was drugged. I get it, Bobby assures her–I figure it was a month before I knew I was still here–you’re doing well. Terrific, she says sarcastically. You duck your reaper, too? he asks. What?–no, I never even saw one, she says–Bobby, you ran away from your reaper?–on purpose?–that’s why you’re still here?–you stupid, crazy old. . .  Hey! protests Bobby, I remember a time you liked how crazy I was. Shut up, she says, smacking his leg, I can’t believe you–you know what?–as a regular ghost, with no choice in the matter, screw you. Hey, I got unfinished business here, same as you, Bobby reminds her. Uh-huh, and there’s my unfinished business right now, she says, noting the two teens walking into the room. “Kids! Helloooo! You’re dead!” They walk right past her. They’re not the brightest bulbs on the string, says Bobby. I came in, they were road kill, says Annie, and this big guy charges me, and now I’m. . .crap–is there a fun aspect to this? Not really, says Bobby, and so far, I can’t crack the code on ANY of it–I mean, I’ve seen poltergeists bench a piano as a warmup, I once tried to help the boys once by knocking a book off the table and blacked out for two weeks! So, she says, Sam and Dean don’t even know you’re here? He grimaces. Wow, she says, that is messed up! 
 
Hearing all the EMF, Sam asks Dean if they should assume the worst. Always do, advises Dean. There’s a vengeful spirit, maybe lots, killing kids, but no blood anywhere, says Sam, and no bodies. If evil is partying here, it’s got a hell of a cleanup crew, says Dean. They hear something weird on Annie’s phone with an even stranger phone number. 
 
A ghost in a fancy suit, book in hand, joins Bobby and Annie and moves a chair to the bar, but won’t respond when they speak to him. Ghosts aren’t the most sociable type, explains Bobby, trying to move an ottoman, but he goes right through it and falls, eliciting a laugh from Annie. Balls! says Bobby. Graceful, praises Annie. Novices, you all make the same mistakes, says the other ghost. Bobby and Annie walk over to him. I suppose you know all about it, says Bobby. I should, I’ve been at it 80 years, the third ghost brags. Fresh meat here, says Annie, not even sure what happened. Really, says #3. I got shot right in the melon, says Bobby, never felt a thing–you? I was stabbed, #3 says, brutally, right here at this bar, April 17, 1932. Who done ya? asks Bobby. I’m really very busy #3 says, clearly not wanting to tell. How come there’s so many dead folk in this place, anyway? asks Bobby–you know anything about that? I guess we’re not supposed to talk about that, says Annie. Seeing that #3 is rising to go, Annie apologizes for her friend, who is a little nosy. She gets him to introduce himself as Hascal Crane. We are novices, she says, could you do me a solid and show me how to move that chair?–it’s one stupid chair. Baby steps, gorgeous, he says, pushing a candlestick across the bar toward her, try this first. She reaches to grab it, but her hand slides right through. The same happens when Bobby tries. You’re angsting at it, says Crane, you know what getting frustrated with get you? he asks, laughing cruelly, nothing– you got two ways to move things–my way, which you obviously must, is calm yourself. You’re sayin’ we should move crap with the power of Zen, says Bobby. I’m telling you to let go of all THAT and calmly tell the thing what to do, says Crane. When Bobby reaches for the candlestick again, Crane says, you’re getting tense! You’re not helpful, says Bobby. He reaches and misses again. What’s option two, you said there were two ways, says Bobby. You could use explosive anger and red-hot rage, says Crane, but that’s impossible to manufacture–sorry. Makes sense, says Annie, like poltergeists, vengeful spirits. I AM vengeful, says Bobby, you think I don’t have red-hot rage? I think you’re a sad excuse for one of us, says Crane, and I’m unsurprised that you’re failing–take my help or don’t–if you want to move a flea, surrender. For the record, I hated that Swayze flick, says Bobby, romantic bullcrap. He’s about to reach for the candlestick again when a female ghost dressed in old-gashioned garb lets loose with a horrific scream, races toward Bobby and Annie, comes close enough to leave dust on them, and passes to their right. What in cold hell was that? demands Bobby. That’s you, one day, says Crane, that’s all of us–we deteriorate at different rates, some sooner, some later, and eventually all, like that–he points to two disgusting-looking standing corpses, their faces mottled and hideous–nothing left at all. Ghost Alzheimer’s, says Bobby. I’m likin; this less, says Annie. 

 
Sam and Dean enter the room. They have searched every room and found no bodies, no pieces of bodies or evidence thereof, and no Annie. Sam suggests perhaps no news is good news, maybe she’s okay. What does your gut say? asks Dean. Sam wants to go over the research more. “SAM! DEAN!” calls Annie. Don’t you think I’ve tried that? asks Bobby, I’ve shouted myself hoarse. But I’m right here, she protests. Now you know how ghosts who’ve tried to talk to us feel, points out Bobby–you just have to wait until they find ya. I don’t even know where I am–and I’ve searched every room five times, she says, no wonder they’re walkin’ away. Is it me, or am I bein’ checked out? asks Bobby. No, stud, I’m being checked out, corrects Annie, looking at the pretty girl staring at her. I’m Victoria, I saw you here the other day, the other woman says, I know the kind of work you do–did. I’m still doin’ it, says Annie, other-dimensionally speaking. Atta girl, praises Bobby. Your voice–you’re the one on my phone, realizes Annie. When you were here, I was able to call out to you that way, says Victoria. Ah, spectral voice transference, says Annie. Right, ghost juju, says Bobby. What did you mean when you said ‘free me’? asks Annie–free you from what? Bobby abruptly disappears. BOBBY! calls Annie.
 
Drinking from Bobby’a flask, Dean asks Sam where Annie got her intel. Bobby, now seated in their backseat, says “Stupid flask!” Bodega Bay Historical Society,” says Sam. Boys, come on, begs Bobby, all the action’s back in the pool!–let’s go! Dean starts the engine. Damn it! says Bobby. 
 
The house dates back to the mid 19th century; Miles VanNess made his fortune in the gold rush, eventually settling his family in Bodega Bay. Anything unusual ever happen in the house? asks Sam. “Move,” Bobby orders, a hanging lamp, sticking his finger directly through it. “Balls!” shouts Bobby. Whitman VanNess, handsome, charming, someone explains to the brothers, dogged by tragedy all his life, he lost the family fortune, then the house, it became a bordello, he lived in isolation until his death at age 40. He’s still there! says Bobby. Who’s the bruiser there? asks Dean, pointing to a heavyset man in one photo beside VanNess (who killed the teens and Annie). Dexter O’Connell, a convict and extremely violent man, explains whoever is telling the brothers this story, VanNess was socially progressive and took pity on him–he worked as groundskeeper and was convicted of murders VanNess’ fiancee on the eve of their wedding–another calamitous event in the poor man’s life. He’s there, too, says Bobby impatiently. The house is popular this week, the man adds, a woman, 30’s, red hair, good-looking, came by asking questions last week, too. He gives them the same advice he gave her–stay away from the place, it’s extremely unsafe. The brothers don’t respond to this warning; do they ever?

 
Bobby tries to move a quarter, no luck. Back at their hotel, Bobby still listening in with great impatience, Sam reads that Dexter was also convicted of slaying several hookers who worked at the brothel. He escaped before they could hang him, but was found shot to death at the house. Why would he escape, then go right back to the house where he was arrested? asks Sam. I dunno, says Dean from the shower, add that to a list of things I dunno. Bobby tries again with the quarter and fails. What’s the next move? asks Sam. If I could, says Bobby, I’d be gettin’ old waitin’ for you two to figure this out. Looking at the condensation on the mirror, Bobby tells himself he can kill werewolves, fix a Pinto and bake cornbread–I will be DAMNED if I can’t get Zen! He takes a deep breath.
 
Downstairs, in front of the house, two idiot guys with a mini-cam are making a home movie. We are posting this as a warning to, or possibly a memorial to our friends, Debbie, Tellen and Dudley Scott. Last known whereabouts, the VanNess House. Since the cops haven’t done crap, in what might be the final moments of their love story, they’ve been together since, like eighth grade, they entered this house and texted us–we’re going in. One of them brings a flashlight, the other, the camera. 
 
Exiting the shower, Dean asks Sam, “Tell me you wrote that.” On the medicine cabinet is written, “Annie trapped in house.” Sam didn’t. 

 
The would-be memorialists enter the VanNess house and are spotted by Annie. 
 
“Who’s there?” demands Dean. The hot water valve in the sink turns on, re-fogging the mirror. Sam and Dean watch, transfixed, as their beloved father figure writes BOBBY on the glass. “Bobby?” says Dean.

 
He walks through these halls seeking a grotto of love, intones one of the filmmakers. The front door slams shut. They stare at each other, scared.
 
“BOBBY?” calls Dean, freaked out. Yes! says Bobby. The whole time we’ve been trying to talk ourselves out of it, says Dean, he’s been. . .what’s he doing here? Sam hands Dean Bobby’s flask. “Dude,” he says. We don’t have time for this! protests Bobby–get your asses back to that house! Dean takes the flask in his hand and says, “We gotta get back to the house, stat.” 
 
What happened? one filmmaker asks the other. Dexter appears before them, in the beam of their flashlight. You shouldn’t have come here! shouts the ghost, lumbering toward them. Whitman appears. “I expressly forbid you–enough!” he shouts to Dexter. Thank you, one of the filmmakers says to Whitman, who reaches inside their chests and squeezes their hearts until blood drips from their mouths. Annie witnesses this terrible murder. Dexter, you tried to warn them away, whispers Whitman. (Oh, no, we’ve had the wrong killer ghost!) You have enough of us, says Dexter, they’re just children, Whitman, I can’t watch this happen all over again. He turns directly into Whitman, who drives his fist into the other ghost’s chest. “Shut up,” orders Whitman, turning Dexter into a ball of fire, then nothing. Annie, hiding, now knowing everything, is horrified.   

   
Annie tries to take the camcorder from the dead teen’s hand, but can’t. She asks Victoria to do so, but she refuses, saying “We don’t meddle in women’s affairs.” Annie reminds her that she sent her the SOS, now I’m here, give me a hand. But now, he can get you, too, says Victoria. Get me how? asks Annie, I’m already dead. When the other woman is silent, Annie asks, exactly what did he DO to Dexter? Punished him, answers Victoria, he was trying to warn them, he tried to warn you, too–you drained him–that’s why he’s so strong and why you should stay out of sight–we’re merely food to him–food and perverse entertainment. So when he does that, says Annie, what happens, just poof? Victoria nods. Forever, she says. I thought Whitman was some poor guy and Dexter killed his fiancee, says Annie. No, Whitman framed him! says Victoria, Whitman killed all of us–when this house was a brothel, I worked here as a fancy lady–he slit my throat. Fancy lady, says Annie, a hooker. Please, says Victoria, insulted, and now, every soul he traps here makes him stronger. Okay, so where does he keep the bodies? asks Annie. I don’t know, says Victoria. You’ve been here forever, protests Annie. You don’t follow him around, says Victoria. Listen, says Annie, we are going to pull the plug on this bastard==now grab the damn camera. This time, Victoria does. They hear a thump. It’s him, cries Victoria, fleeing. Annie moves back to her hiding place and watches as Whitman drags away the bodies. He opens a secret bookcase (is there any other kind?) and pulls the bodies in.       
 
Outside the house, Dean reminds Sam that they combed the crap out of this place and didn’t find her. Because someone didn’t want them to, says Sam. Let’s walk right into THAT, says Dean. They enter the house, guns and flashlights at the ready. Behind Dean, Bobby is able to lift his old flask right out of Dean’s jacket pocket! “Sorry, boys, I’m leavin’ the pack,” he says. While Bobby places his flask in a dresser drawer, the camcorder suddenly spins from somewhere land to Dean’s feet. “Sam, get back down here!” he calls to his brother. “Annie? Slimer?” (LOL!) Standing nearby is both Annie and Victoria. Dean starts the movie, remarking, “I hate these indie films, nothin’ every happens.” They spot Annie on the tape. “She’s here, and not in a good way,” realizes Dean. “Give ’em a moment,” Bobby tells the women, “they’ve gotten a little slower since I left.” “ANNIE!” calls Dean. “Gotta let ’em know that I’m here,” says Annie, turning to Victoria, “you have to let them know, we can’t.” “It’s too dangerous,” insists Victoria. “These guys can help,” promises Annie, “they just need to know that we’re here.”

 

Victoria appears to the boys, who cock their guns. “Whoa,” she says, introducing herself and explaining that she came from here and was a fancy lady. “A hooker?” asks Dean. She again takes offense. “Is Annie here?” asks Sam. “Yes, says Victoria, “you can’t see her–no, you’re not standing on her.” “You wanna just tell them,” says Annie. “I will,” says Annie, “in my day we believed in polite conversation–“Annie’s in terrible danger, we all are, from Whitman VanNess.” VanNess himself is now listening in. “But he’s dead,” says Dean. “I thought you said they were good,” says Victoria. “Processing, okay, lady?” says Dean, annoyed. Whitman looks at them all from the top of the stairs. Says Dean, “He’s dead, you’re dead–define terrible danger.” “Whitman has great power over all of us in this house. He killed Annie. She says you can free us. Please, you must. . .”  She’s interrupted by Whitman’s fireball trick, gone forever. “Victoria?” calls Sam. “I’m gonna say she was telling the truth, considering she just. . .got ghost-killed” says Dean, making a whooshing gesture with his hand. “So what–Whitman VanNess?” asks Sam. “Now we know whose bones to salt and burn,” agrees Dean, “let’s go.” VanNess then slips a key in Sam’s pocket and disappears as they leave.  Bobby and Annie watch through the window as Sam and Dean leave in their car–with Whitman VanNess riding in the backseat, smiling at them. “Aw, hell no,” whispers Bobby.
 
If I hadn’t stashed that flask here, I’d still be glued to Sam and Dean, laments Bobby, walking upstairs beside Annie–real clever. Actually, it was, she says. Son of a bitch, says Bobby, I figured our one ace was that bastard Whitman couldn’t leave this house either. He must have pulled a number on you with the flask, she suggests, probably planted something on the boys. Terrific! says Bobby angrily. Listen, sweetie, says Annie, you could beat yourself up all day about this, or, we could take advantage of the fact that Whitman’s gone, do what we’re supposed to do–let’s go figure this out. She moves on. Coming, Robert? she calls to him. He follows. They come to one room Annie says Whitman guards like Fort Knox and glide together smoothly through the door. Seeing the fire in the grate, Bobby says, “Last time I checked, ghosts don’t get cold.” That’s Victoria, says Annie, but where did he get her corpse?  You said he dragged those two dead kids away, says Bobby, where did he take ’em? I don’t know, I couldn’t risk following him, she replies. What else did you say this place was, other than a whore house? asks Bobby. Boarding house, school, speakeasy, she lists. Speakeasies provided a lot of places to hide, points out Bobby, and begins feeling up the fireplace. Bobby is able to grip a light fixture and pull it down, opening a secret panel behind a bookcase. I still got it, brags Bobby. Inside are many skeletons of Whitman’s other victims, including the four fresh teenagers he recently brought into his fold–and Annie, all with blood dripping from their mouths. “This pretty much tells the story, don’t it,” says Bobby grimly–“you know, you and me, pretty much earned our fair share of bones, sent a lot of ghosts packin’.” “It’s a little different when you’re on the receiving end,” she says softly, “so, um, what do you think happens to ’em?–heaven, hell, or none of the above?”I dunno, most likely just gone,” says Bobby, uncomfortable. “Yeah, that’s what I think, too,” she says, “that’s what I want. I want a hunter’s funeral–aw, come on, it’s better than this, not stuck to this house, somewhere between existing and not–now I’m ready for some peace–this isn’t much of a life, it’s ONLY what we do.” “The life I had is the one I PICKED,” Bobby reminds her. “Yeah, but you had the boys,” Annie says, “all I had was work–it’s gone now.” “Well I ain’t done,” says Bobby. “Fine, but I am,” she says, “you’re stronger than I am, Bobby, so you gotta do this for me.” Bobby gazes over at Annie’s bloody-mouthed corpse. 

 
Sam and Dean are heading in the car to the cemetery at the edge of town, where the VanNess family has their own family crypt. “We’ll light up the bastard and finish him off.” Their unwanted guest appears between them, sending the car speeding, grabbing onto the wheel, making it careen all over the road. Sam and Dean battle wildly with the ghost, finally getting it to stop and climbing out. “Why is he with us?” gasps Sam. “I dunno, there’s gotta be something on us!” says Dean. Both brothers frantically search their clothes; Sam comes up with the key in his pocket.  Whitman drives his fist into Sam’s chest. Dean grabs the key, throws it on the ground, and fires a rock salt into the key, saving Sam. “Did that do it?–did that get rid of him?” asks Sam. Dean thinks that just snapped him back to his favorite house. Where Annie’s a sitting duck, says Sam. They decide to continue to the cemetery, find and burn those bones.
 
Back at the manse, Bobby and Annie decide to burn the bones there. Let’s build up the fire, put some of these poor bastards to rest at least, declares Bobby.
 
Sam and Dean arrive at the Whitman family mausoleum.
 
Whitman is hurrying towards Bobby and Annie. 
 
“Now let’s get to crematin’,” says Bobby, staring into the fire with Annie, “we ain’t got all day.” When Whitman enters the room, Bobby and Annie are hiding from him. He searches where they were, but they are not there. 
 
Dean is hammering off the cover of Whitman’s sepulcher. 
 
Whitman heads Bobby and Annie off at the pass. “You enjoy the view from my room?” he asks them–“trying to thin out the population?–IS THIS HOW YOU PAY MY HOSPITALITY??!!” He reaches inside Bobby’s chest for his heart. Bobby chokes in agony. Annie is horrified and it sure looks like we’re going to lose Bobby for good this time.

 
Back at the Whitman crypt, Dean is tossing the match onto the bones which have presumably been doused in salt and lighter fluid by now. 
 
“NO, I WILL NOT BE TAKEN!” yells Whitman, but he is, salted and burned and gone, like so many before him. He disappears, Bobby falls to the floor. Annie rushes to check on him.
 
Sam and Dean watch Whitman’s corpse burn.
 
Bobby, still a living ghost, opens his eyes. “How long was I out?” he asks Annie. “A while,” she answers–“you okay?” “Sure,” he says, sitting up with her help–“I’m dead, I’m a ghost, but basically swell.” Sam and Dean enter. “Hi, boys,” Bobby greets them. “Bobby?” says Dean, scarcely able to believe his eyes. “You can see me?” asks Bobby, in disbelief. 

 
Now standing, Bobby says, “You’re staring, you know. Annie’s here, too, by the way.” “Hi, Annie,” the brothers greet her, half-heartedly. “Hi, guys,” she says. Bobby points to where she is. “She says you both look uglier than she remembers,” teases Bobby. “Bobby, how did you stay here?” asks Sam. “Yeah, well,” says Bobby, taking the flask out from the drawer where he’d left it, tossing it to Dean, “suck on that, Swayze.” Dean feels the empty pocket where the flask usually it. “That’s why you never answered me,” realizes Sam, “I tried calling you–the Talking Board, the works, but I was always alone–Dean always had that thing in his pocket–that’s why the EMF only went off half the time–we thought we were going crazy.” “So what happened?” asks Dean, “did you get stuck or what?” “I wanted to stay,” insists Bobby. “Bobby,” says Dean, about to lecture. “I need to help,” says Bobby. “Not if it means you have to be this,” says Sam. “My life wasn’t comfy, why should death be?” asks Bobby–“now, come on, Annie and I found all the bodies, let’s put them to rest–and keep my damn flask away from the fire–obviously. When they don’t immediately follow, Bobby turns. “Ya coming?” he asks them. 
 
Outside, in front of the house, Sam and Dean are packing the trunk of their car when Bobby joins them. “I’ll miss her,” he admits. Sam and Dean both say they will, too. (And all in the biblical sense?) “Well,” smirks Bobby, “you didn’t know her like I did.” Dean gives a dirty chuckle; Sam clears his throat. Dean takes out the flask. “Here’s to Annie–she got the hunter’s funeral she wanted,” he toasts, taking a drink, “kinda like the one we gave you.” “Dean,” says Sam warningly. “What were you thinkin’, Bobby?” asks Dean–“you could be in heaven right now, drinkin’ beer at Harvelle’s, not stuck–” “Stuck here with you,” says Bobby–“we still have work to do–I just thought that was kinda important, Dean.” “It’s not right, you know that,” says Dean. “Sorry, you’re right, what was I thinking, says Bobby,” winking out angrily. Dean tosses the flask in the trunk and slams the lid. As they’re driving, Sam asks, “So what do you think we should do?” “We did what we should do,” answers Dean, “now, I don’t know.” “Do you think it’s possible we could make it all work somehow?” asks Sam. “I have no idea–maybe,” says Dean–“I’ve never heard of it–but you know what I do know?–that ain’t the natural order of things–everything is supposed to end–HE was supposed to. . .now, what are the odds this ends well?–what are the odds?” In the backseat, Bobby overhears, and probably wonders, too.

 
1.  I give this episode a 10, although it wasn’t Winchester heavy enough for me. I loved seeing Bobby, loved all the ghost lore stuff, and love the question they posed at the end of the ep.
 
2.  Fess up – did this episode make you cry?  How many times?
 
3.  What did you think about the ghost lore here, like what enables a ghost to move, either extreme anger or just the opposite, extreme Zen-ness?
 
4.  It kind of bothered me that only the one who had the flask was able to keep in contact with Bobby, so all Sam’s efforts, and they sounded extreme, went for naught in contacting Bobby.  He couldn’t give him one little sign of some kind while Sam was jumping through hoops trying to contact him? Really?
 
5.  I loved Annie. She was spunky, funny, honest and had both Winchester men AND Bobby in the sack.  There was a gal with great taste in men.  Too bad she was tripped up by a ghost. I gather Whitman had more mojo than most?   I’m glad that three men who care about her gave her a hunter’s funeral, just like she wanted. 
 
6.  I really enjoyed the easy camaraderie between Sam and Dean in this ep.  They’re back together as brothers again, and it made me very happy.
 
7.  Do you think a ghost can work successfully with two hunters?  Why not?  Why can’t Sam, Bobby and Dean break a few rules, or make new ones of their own?
 
8.  Ideally, I want to see a miracle happen and have Bobby brought back to life somehow, but if he can’t be, having him working with the brothers as a ghost is the next best thing for me.  What do you think?