Robin’s Rambles: Supernatural 8.05, “Blood Brother”

BLOOD BROTHER
Episode 5, Season 8
Robin’s Rambles by Robin Vogel
 

A man walks suspiciously along the docks, and is greeted by Benny.  “Hello Quentin.”  Quentin is shocked, unable to believe Benny is alive.  “I get the confusion.  You of all people knew I was truly, truly dead.  After all you held down my legs didn’t you, when the old man told Sorrento to cut off my head.”  He wants to know where the old man is.  Quentin thinks he’s crazy and calls in his “boys.”  “Well don’t go through all that trouble on my account,” Benny says.  “Please,” answers Quentin, “You go crawl your ways out of God’s ass to go for another ride on the Merry Go Round?  The old man’s going to want to see this for himself.”  “They might be able to kill me, and that’s alright, because if they do, I’m know exactly where and I’m going and I’ll see you when I get there.”  He chops off Quentin’s head and is ready to take on the other two.  

Enid, Oregon.  Sam and Dean arrive at a motel room.  They check around, the place is empty.  “Well, that is twice he’s burned us, shame on you,” Dean tells Sam.  Sam claims he’s the one that said he was setting them up, but Dean clarifies, “You said I wonder if Kevin’s setting us up, then you started in with the technobabble, that was two states ago.”  Sam says that it’s another room billed to Kevin’s false credit id’s and the motel room ran the credit card today.  Dean confirms that he actually checked in.  “He’s like Rain Man.  Like a crappy, little credit card counting criminal prodigy Rain Man.”  “Well, he was in Advanced Placement,” Sam says sarcastically.  Dean wonders how long he’ll keep running from them.  “I don’t know Dean,” Sam says, “You did try to kill his mother.”  “I was trying to kill Crowley, okay?” Dean defends, “Who happened to be wearing Kevin’s mother at the time.”  Sam gives him a confused head shake.  “What is the difference?” Dean yells.  “Apparently not to Kevin, oh yeah maybe because, it’s his mother,” Sam snarks.  

Dean gets a phone call and goes outside.  It’s Benny, and he’s carved up pretty bad.  He tells Dean he messed up.  “What did you do?” Dean asks.  Benny says it’s not like that.  Sam watches suspiciously through the window.   “You took on how many?” Dean asks.  There are headless corpses surrounding Benny.  He says his legs don’t work too good and there’s a fuel barge he can get into with a slow crawl.  “I was kind of hoping I can ask you for one more favor.”  

Dean puts down his bag while Sam yells at him.  “What exactly is that supposed to mean, you’ve got to go?!” “Which words are giving you trouble,”  Dean replies angrily.  Sam reminds him they’re on a case.  “Remember Dean, the Winchester Holy Grail, shut the gates of Hell forever case?”  “Sure are, but in order to close the gates of Hell, we need our prophet, am I right? So, step 1, find Kevin Tran.  Well he ain’t here, but he wanted us to be, which means we’re probably as far away from him as he could possibly put us.  So step 2, find Kevin Tran.”  Dean looks in the refrigerator.  “Mind if I take the Toblerone?” 

Outside, Sam goes after Dean.  “Dean, seriously?” “The trail is dead but the room is paid for,” Dean replies, “you’ve got some research to do and I’ve got personal crap I’ve got to take care of that’s all.”  “What does that mean, personal?” Sam protests.  “Did you have a stroke?” Dean says, “Vocabulary, personal, as in my own group up personal, I don’t know, crap.”  Sam is really angry and struggling for words, “Dammit-”  “What Sam?  Last I counted you took a year off from the job.  I need a day.” Sam throws Dean a huge bitchface. 
   
Flashback – remembers fighting with Benny in Purgatory.  The scene is a bunch of slow motion, hand to hand combat shots, while Benny eerily whistles.  

Sam back at the motel room, Sam does research at the computer.  He calls Kevin a “Wascally Wabbit” as he looks at information about Kevin online.  Then he pulls up information about Amelia.  “Concerned, not stalking, concerned,” he tells himself.  He hears a noise in the bathroom and goes to investigate.  It’s coming from grate in ceiling.

Flashback, Sam walks into a motel lobbywith Riot. He greets Everett and asks how his dad is. He’s not too well.  Sam gives him a new credit card and tells him he’s staying another week.  “Figured you would have moved on by now,” Everett says.  Sam says he’s between jobs and the dog has surgery followup Tuesday.  “You really messed up that dog,” teases Everett. “Right, thanks for that, says Sam.  Sam offers to fix A/C, Everett says if he can fix it, he doesn’t need to go look for a job. “You’ve got one here.” 

Present – Sam gets fan going again and smiles. 

Puget Sound Shipping – Dean pulls up in the Impala, finds Benny’s truck.  He finds a cooler in the back filled with bags of blood and brings it with him, searching and calling for Benny.  He finds him downstairs in a creepy underground place, bloody.  “Not lookin good,” Dean says. “Up yours,” retorts a weak Benny. Dean opens the container of blood.

After food and a shower, Benny looks much better.  Benny comes out of the bathroom looking lots better. “You were double hamstrung,” observes Dean. “A little rest, a half a cooler of AB negative, most wounds short of amputation will mend up.”  Benny shakes his hand, “Thank you, brother.” Dean wants to know what’s going on.  “Your work here is done Dean. You already saved the day. I got my deal and you’ve got, what did you call it, a family business?”  Dean still asks what’s going on.  “You and that whole friend thing, man,” complains Benny.

Flashback: In Purgatory, Dean and Benny finish up killing a monster and Castiel arrives.  Cas does away with an attacker by touching him and his soul burns away.   Benny admits the angel has his strong points but calls him a magnet.  “Before we found Cas it was my humanity that was drawing too much attention,” Dean says.  “Yeah, that too, replies Benny.  Castiel comes over to them.  “I think we’re clear for the moment. It does present a curious curl in the metaphysics, doesn’t it? You murder a monster in monster heaven and where does it go?” (Bwah! A classic Edlund line).  “And this is the crazy aunt that we want to take on the road,” Benny says.  “I am not your Aunt,” Cas says sternly.  “I have no possible relation to your sibling offspring.”  “Now you’re kidding me,” Benny replies.  Dean in between the two just throws his head back.  “You two are killing me!”  Castiel agrees with the vampire, “The risk of crossing Purgatory with a Seraph is less than strategic.”  He has no reason to believe he can pass through the door.  Benny explains to Dean, “Your an intact, living human being stuck in Purgatory’s craw.  This dimension wants to spit you out, which is exactly what’s going to power our escape pod. Now, I’m pretty sure I can squeeze through too because after all, you take away fangs and fun, I was born human too.” “I don’t think it would work for me,” Castiel says. “Listen to me you undead blood junkie, I’m the one with the mojo, I’m the one with the plan.  Cas, we’re going to shove your ass back through the eye of the needle if it kills all three of us.”  “Obviously I’m less that comfortable with that,” Benny says.  

Present – “It’s good to know you’re as dumb as ever,” remarks Benny, who explains he’s hunting the vamp who turned him.  Dean wants to know why.  “Kill him before he kills me–again.” 

Sam works on his computer outside, bugs die on the bug zapper, he spots a lady in front of an ice machine. 

Flashback – Sam fixes an ice machine at the motel, dog at his feet. Everett, pleased that that is fixed, sends him to fix a backed up sink in #118.  As he’s doing that, Amelia walks in. “What the hell, what are you doing here?”  Before Sam can say anything she goes on.  “I knew there was something off about you, with your creepy Army-Navy and your sideburns-”  Sam stops her.  “I’m fixing your sink, says Sam.

“Quentin and I went way back,” explains Benny. Lucky Myra, Age of Aquarius II, Sea You Later–all names of yachts that Dean reads from a list, along with launch times and destinations. But they’ve all been boarded, burned and buried at sea, Benny tells him, that’s how their nest always fed, fat, rich yachts going to far-off ports ‘take down the boats’ names, destinations, radio the information to the crew in the water, “Then we’d let the ocean swallow up all our sins.”  Vampire pirates, Dean dubs them…vampirates! “All the years we ran together,” smirks Benny, “I can’t believe nobody ever thought of that.” “What do you mean, it’s like the third thing you say,” Dean insists, but Benny disagrees. Dean finds a cable bill and notices Prentiss Island. Benny is familiar with it.  

Driving in the Impala, Benny explains to Dean how, after a vamp is turned, his maker means everything to him, it’s like his maker is God. If your maker happen to believe the same thing. . .  “I can see how there can be a pickle,” says Dean, skeeved when Benny drinks blood out of a blood bag out of a straw in front of him. “Sorry, brother,” says Benny, “I’m better, but still on the mend – our father was a jealous God, he kept the family together, but kept us apart from the rest of the world – always at sea, I always did what was best for the nest until I met her.  Andrea–she was sailing a sloop to the Canary Islands, now I shoulda called her boat’s destination into my crew, but instead, I joined her on it.” “Was Fabio on the cover of that paperback?” Dean asks, grinning. “My life changed,” says Benny, “we eventually settled in Louisiana, one night we were coming home, the old man was just there, Quentin, Sorrento, my oldest nest mates, it was only then I understood what a crime it was to him, they pinned me down and beheaded me, the last thing I saw was the old man tearing out Andrea’s throat.” “That’s what payback’s all about, am I right?” Dean asks. “Docks are up ahead,” says Benny, should be able to find a dinghy to use.

They arrive on Prentiss Island, where Dean sends a message to Sam—hunting a vampire nest on Prentiss Island, NOT ALONE, then erases it.  Benny remarks how weird it is being back in the world again, “Is it even real?–am I even real?” “I see what happens down that rabbit hole,” scolds Dean, “We’re real, this is real, this is the only way to play this game, get me?” 

They enter an elegant house, weapons ready. “The old man’s harpsichord,” notes Benny after seeing the instrument, then grows upset when he picks up a photo of Andrea from a nearby table. “No, no,” he protests. A door opens upstairs. “Andrea,” he whispers. “Benny,” she says softly, a vamp coming to stand behind her. A vampire appear behinds Benny, striking him down. Dean, hiding, watches it all, listening as Benny is beaten. “Idiot,” he mutters. 

Benny is firmly bound to a chair. “Gonna make me do this all over again?” Sorrento asks him. “He turned you,” Benny says to Andrea, who nods. Dean takes his ringing phone from his pocket. It’s Sam. “I’m busy now,” Dean says, avoiding discovery by another vampire.  

Sam, frustrated after he can’t get hold of Dean’s “other, other cell”, stares at Amelia’s Texas license on the computer has another flashback. “So, you stalk helpless women, break into their hotel room and fix their plumbing?” Amelia accuse.  “Why are you fixing my sink?” “Because somebody jammed 800 limes down the sink and blew up the disposal,” answers Sam, and pulls limes out of her bag. He tells her he’s helping out at the motel while Everett’s dad is sick. He’s surprised she doesn’t know who Everett is and she starts to explain that she hasn’t found a place yet, until she remembers she doesn’t need to explain herself to a drifter or handyman. He exits, tossing in her keys. 

Dean returns his call with a terse, husky “Why did you call me?” “Why are you whispering?” Sam asks. “I’m sort of cleaning out a vampire nest and it’s gone a little sideways on me,” Dean says. Sam explodes at him for going into a vamp nest alone. Dean assures him he isn’t alone, he’s got backup, a guy who’s been tracking the nest a while. Sam thinks it’s Garth, but Dean says it’s a friend Sam doesn’t know. “All your friends are dead,” Sam reminds him. (Low blow, but kinda true.) “That’s not what I called to talk about,” says Dean.

Andrea dismisses Sorrento, and tells him to tell the old man it’s true. “He listens to you?” Benny asks. “t’s been a long time,” Andrea says, “our father has come to trust my judgment over Sorrento’s, I answer only to him.” Benny remarks that sleeping with God has got to have its perks. She slaps him. “Yes, it does,” she admits. She orders the other two vamps to make sure the old man has everything he needs. 

Left alone with Benny, she draws him close and kisses him. “I heard you were back, I knew it was true, I had to believe it, to hope,” she croons, kneeling in front of him. “What happened?” Benny asks, “The old man said he was gonna bleed you dry.” “I dunno, he changed his mind,” she says, “I blacked out, when I woke up, I was drinking from his wrist.” He apologizes, “This is all my fault.” “No,” she says, “you never hid anything from me, I chose you.” “Then why did you stay?” Benny asks, “with them, with him?” “You remember what it’s like at first,” she says, “everything resets, at first, life is blood, that’s all, and whoever gives it to you.” “I know,” says Benny, “it’s complicated.” She hands him a silver knife. “I can’t kill him,” she says, “none of us can, but you came back from the grave, you’re proof that he’s not all-powerful, not God, he’s scared of me, Benny, and I know it.” She gives him a key to his handcuffs. “You understand that I came back to burn his operation to the ground,” Benny says, “to stop the killing.” She caresses his face and says, “Do what you came for and we can be together.” Sorrento enters. “He wants Benny brought to him,” he says. 

“I texted you my 20,” Dean tells Sam, who assures him he’s on his way and will buy his friend a drink if they handle it. But Dean has already hung up, leaving his phone for one of the vamps to find, and Sam is worried and upset.  The vamp who finds the phone is swiftly beheaded by Dean, who stashes his now-broken phone in his pocket. “Damn it!” Sam exclaims, tossing his phone on the floor. In the process of stashing the dead vamp’s body, Dean’s caught by another vamp. 

“Hello, Father,” Benny greets his maker, who is very young. “How are you here, standing in front of me?” Benny’s father asks. “I found a way back from hell, or right next door, far as I could tell,” says Benny. “Right next door, what’s that?” Benny’s father asks. “I think I’ll have to show you,” offers Benny. “I know it won’t change anything,” the youthful vamp says, “but I regret having you killed when it was done, I wailed, seeing you in all those pieces, didn’t I Sorrento?–didn’t I wail at the ugliest baby in the world?” “Yes, Father, that’s when you decided to turn his cow,” says Sorrento, who adds, “I was also bitter, because your cow outranks him now.”  “Why didn’t you let her die?” Benny demands, “She meant nothin to you.” “But she meant everything to you,” points out his maker, “If that’s all I could salvage from my wayward son, the woman he defied his maker for, I wanted someone to remember you by.” 

Heads fly as Dean kills himself more vampires. 

Flashback: Benny and Dean discuss the value of life. Benny points out which of their kind kills more humans. Cas says that statistically speaking, that would be your. . .  “Yes, Cas,” says Dean, annoyed. Benny assures Dean when he gets topside, he’ll be eating strictly blood transfusions, not “little piggies”.   “What is that, the Vampire Zone Diet?” Dean asks. “I started seein somethin in humanity, I drink blood, not people,” Benny insists, telling Dean he’s got his head so far up his ass he doesn’t realize they’re already done for.  “Angel knows it—we ain’t never gonna make it with him next to us glowin like a beacon!” Dean reminds him of their deal, Benny’s commitment.  “He is gonna get us killed!” Yells Benny. “We may get to test that theory,” says Cas. Leviathan are after them. “Run,” orders Cas. They
do.

Sam steals a nice yellow car.

Flashback: Dog, as Sam is calling him, runs into Amelia’s apartment over Sam’s protests and sits comfortably on her lap. “Dog, dog, aww, don’t bother the angry lady.”  “Dog, that’s what you’re calling him?” asks Amelia, “Well, it’s accurate.”  She asks if he’s taking his antibiotics. “He’s doing much better,” says Sam, and thanks her. He says he’s seen a lot of stitches in his time and she’s got really great hands. “Thank you,” she says. “You think I’m creepy?” Sam asks. “I think it’s creepy you buy all your clothing at Army Surplus,” she says, “White Supremacists do that.” “But I’m not,” Sam insists. “Drifting serial killers do that,” she says, “You come from nowhere, you appear to be going nowhere, and you’ve quote seen a lot of stitches?  It’s all pretty solid creepy.” He smiles and sits across from her. “You have no idea where you’re going either, do you?” He asks seriously. “No, not really,” she admits. “And that’s because you have no one, I mean at all, right?” surmises Sam, “That’s why you’re here, in this place.” “I used to, have someone,” she says, “but that’s over now.  It’s gone. You know what that’s like, don’t you? 

Getting no answer on Dean’s cell, Sam throws his phone in complete worry and pushes the stolen car up to illegal speeds.

Benny’s father tells him that coming back from the dead must be his definition of mutiny, and has him feeling so TIRED. “You should have let me go,” insists Benny. “I don’t let things go,” says Daddy. “Really?” Benny says, “You live so long, how is it you have so little?–nothin but a beat-up harpsichord and a nest of hyenas?” “I have the sea and Andrea,” points out Daddy. “You don’t have her,” says Benny, holding up the open handcuffs, “at least that much I know.” “That dumb bitch,” says Sorrento, brandishing a wicked sword—but he misses Benny and finds himself on the floor on his knees, at Benny’s mercy. Asked when he learned to fight like that, Benny responds, “I’ve had a lot of practice” before smoothly beheading him, dropping the knife, and asking Daddy, “You just gonna sit there?” “You’re right,” says Daddy, “I’ve been here so, so long, Benny, see all the outcomes, all the patterns, a trillion times, it all means so little, this universe is a pyramid of despair, nothing else.” “A little dark,” remarks “Benny. I am evil, after all,” says Daddy, “at least I’ve had that much to keep me cold at night—you’ve never had that, did you?–everything had to be thought about, considered. . .”  “You know what Socrates said about a life unconsidered?” Benny says. “Yes,” says Daddy, “but what we have in us, Benny, that’s not life, that’s what you still don’t get, that’s why it’s always been so hard for you, my poor Benjamin.” Benny tosses him into an armoire, shattering the glass with his face. “Get up,” Benny orders. “This is the one last thing I can take from you,” laughs Daddy, nose bleeding. “No,” says Benny, “you try, you try and kill me again!” “This is MY story, you gnat,” sneers the vampire. “Get up!” Shouts Benny. “It ends the way I choose, not you,” Daddy insists. Benny yanks him up and says, “Well, at least I can finally show you somethin new, old man, a whole new world!” He flicks open the knife Andrea gave him.

Later, Benny joins Andrea, placing the knife, blade bloody, on top of the harpsichord. “The old man is dead,” he says, reaching out his hand for hers. “Let’s go.” “Where, Benny?” Andrea asks. “What are you talkin about?” Benny asks her, “anywhere.” His eyes search her face, and it hits him. “You’re not leavin’ here, are you? And you never were.”  “We have everything we need right here,” she says, caressing his face. “The operation is still perfect. We can ride the high seas, plunder together. We can have the life we always wanted. “What I wanted was to leave a burnin crater behind,” says Benny, “I wanted to put your memory to rest.” “But I’m not a memory Benny, I’m right here,” she reminds him. (Oh, this is so very sad.) He plays with the long braid of her hair. “What I love,” he says, “it ain’t here anymore; it was snuffed out a long time ago by monsters like me, by what you’ve become.” She backs away from him. “You think you’re better than me now?” she asks angrily.  “No, I think we’re all damned.” Her fangs appear, and it seems as if she might attack him. But a blade appears through her midsection from behind, courtesy of Dean, who immediately after beheads her. His friend has killed Andrea, saving Benny the anguish of having to do so.  

As they’re preparing to push the dinghy back into the water, Benny asks Dean, “Why did you resurrect me? You could have drained my soul into any culvert and no one would have been the wiser.” Dean is stunned. “What the hell are you talkin’ about? Hey, you good?” he asks. “Man, I don’t know what I am,” the vampire answers, hoisting himself into the dinghy. 

Flashback: Beset upon by Leviathans, who turn from black goo into human form. Dean beheads one before it has time to get him. Benny saves Cas from being gobbled up by beheading one just in time, then helps him to his feet. Dean watches the rescue in amazement. 

Sam awaits the returning dinghy, staring at the man who has returned with Dean. “I’m Benny.” Sam shakes his hand. “I know a lot about you, Sam,” adds the vampire. Sam feels Benny’s cold hand and reaches for his weapon automatically, ready to attack. Dean calmly shakes his head. The tension is thick. Benny drops Sam’s hand and says, “I can see you two have a lot to talk about.” He slaps Dean’s arm and walks away. Sam, furious, looks at his brother like a wife who’s been caught cheating. 

Wow, what an amazing, exciting, fantastic episode!!!!!

Everett is my son’s middle name. Quentin was in DARK SHADOWS. Just a couple of interesting coincidences that caught my fancy. 

I didn’t get to see it because, due to Hurricane Sandy, I was without power and cable on Long Island for four horrific days. We lost a tree in our front yard, some fencing, and a freezer and fridge filled with food, but compared to those who lost lives, homes, cars and everything inside their homes, we consider ourselves very lucky. It was just so good to be in a warm house with lights, hot food, and know my family is all right. We have long lines to wait for gas, which is really hard, but I’m going to wait a while to fill my tank, since I’m retired and don’t really have to go anywhere.

Questions:

1.  I rated this episode a 10, so obviously a yay from me. What about you? Yay or nay? And why?

2.  I wonder if Amelia lost someone in a supernatural way, to the Leviathans, perhaps? There’s something weird about her. She’s so suspicious of Sam, but I’m suspicious of her. Any ideas about her out there? 

3.  We still don’t know what happened to Cas. Benny saved him from the Levi in that one scene there, but what FINALLY happened to him? Speculation?

4.  We got Benny’s back story. Dean resurrected him? What’s up with that? I remember that scene where he cut himself, draining that hot goo from his arm. Could resurrecting Benny have been an accident, part of something else he was doing?

5.  I never thought of Benny as a romantic sort, but he fell in love with a gal and got himself in trouble with Daddy and his siblings. How did this episode make you feel about Benny as a character?

6.  Did you think Sam immediately realized Benny was a vampire the moment he shook his hand? What did you think of Sam’s reaction?