Recap – “Jump The Shark”

 

I figure out rather quickly this is a Phil Sgriccia episode, before I even see the credits. No one does the creep factor better. A terrified woman, a nurse judging by the scrubs, runs up the stairs and down the hall, closing the door behind her. The camera shows the armoire next to her. Oh, I know lady, why don’t you move it in front of the door? It should glide nice and easy, yet still be heavy enough to keep the bad things out. 

 

Somehow, said nurse has read my subliminal thoughts, and does just that. Then she flops onto the bed, breathing heavily, trying hard to recover from her fright. Of course there’s a shot of her feet and ankles from under the bed, so we know what’s coming. Another long pause of suspense, woman starts to relax, and that’s when she’s yanked down by the ankles and is dragged under the bed. She fights, trying to grab onto a nearby end table, but that thing just isn’t as heavy as an armoire. She screams and disappears, and John Winchester’s picture falls to the floor. We have our teaser for the week! And I’m frightened to look under the bed again after all these years. 

 

Birds, Supernatural in red, and you know the next scene will involve a Winchester. 

 

There’s a giant lake, the Impala, an overcast sky, and Sam leaning against the hood brushing his teeth. Granted, we know by Sam’s perfect teeth (which is really weird for a guy constantly being punched in the face all the time) that he takes care of them, but it’s still nice to see it here. It reminds us these guys are normal people most of the time. This, coupled with laundry duties in the last episode, especially exists to remind us that Sam is a normal guy outside of the whole obliterating demons with his mind thing. 

 
 

Dean pops awake from the passenger seat, and he’s not as perky as his younger brother.  I hope whatever he’s recovering from was fun. He stumbles out of the Impala, and he’s hungry, but Sam astutely points out they’re hours from nowhere. Kind of looks that way to me. Dean hears of a sandwich in the back seat, but yeah, I wouldn’t want smelly tuna in the morning either. How about leaving it for the wildlife on this lake? Dean is awfully grumpy with no food in the morning. The phone rings and uh oh, it’s coming from he glove box. Aren’t John’s old phones kept there? Yep, it’s his.

 

Dean fields this one, and points out that John can’t come to the phone. I’ll say! The voice on the other end is pretty distressed and really insists on talking to him. So Dean then without sugar coating points out that John’s been dead for two years. Yeah, that stunned the other guy. He drops the bombshell, he’s John’s son. I imagine that created some pretty intense discussion as Sam and Dean drove hours from nowhere. I bet Dean forgot all about his appetite. 

 

The Impala pulls into a parking lot of Cousin Oliver’s diner in Windom, Minnesota (courtesy of the subtitles), and we have our first “jump the shark” reference! For those too young to remember Cousin Oliver, drop a comment and I’ll explain. The Impala by the way is looking pretty darned shiny for a vehicle that’s traveled so far. Not that I mind. Dean gets out and judging by the pissed off look on his face, the phone call is still bothering him. Sam took time to do homework, and even has the file folder to prove it! Adam Milligan seems legit, born on September 29^th, 1990 (that’s sure to be a trivia question from now on), eagle scout, honor student, is a college student at Wisconsin in Biology and Pre-Med, and has had a very straight forward life. Dean doesn’t care, clinging to the “it’s a trap theory.” 

 

They go into the diner, and Dean’s pissy while Sam silently broods. He does that a lot. Dean leads them to the last table, pulling the extra chair on the other side away. The waitress welcomes them to “Cousin Oliver’s,” but Dean is rude and the waitress practically chucks the menus at them.  I don’t blame her, I hated grumpy customers when I waited tables all those years ago. Dean replaces the glass of water at the empty seat across from them with holy water, replaces the cheesy silverware with real silver cutlery, proving that one doesn’t have to be uncivilized when testing for a shapeshifter. Dean’s ready to kill either the demon or shapeshifter that’s has the nerve to use their dad as bait. 

 

Sam silently broods some more, then explains why he believes this. There are entries in John’s journal proving he was in Minnesota in January of 1990. That’s nine months before Adam was born. While Dean thinks it’s a coincidence, Sam points out the next two pages of the journal are torn out. Sam being very much like his dad, doesn’t think John lived like a monk. We know Sam certainly doesn’t. â€œMaybe he slipped one past the goalie.” Before Dean can jump all over Sam for that remark, a tall fine looking young man walks in with the same gorgeous hazel eyes as Sam and Dean. I’m believing the story now.   

 

Sam calls out, and Adam joins them. Sam and Dean waste no time using the “we worked with John” and I roll my eyes, for surely this kid has to notice the family resemblance.  Adam asks how John died, and these two have already worked out their story. â€œOn the job,” Sam answers. Adam cleverly points out John was a mechanic. â€œA car fell on him,” a less patient Dean blurts out. Even angry Dean is funny! Adam drinks the holy water without incident, so he’s no demon. Sam wants to know when was the last time Adam saw John, while Dean pulls out a gun under the table. Oh come on Dean, lighten up, he’s adorable! Adam didn’t know who else to call, for John’s the only family he’s got. His mother is missing. Sam is buying this, Dean angrily wants to know why they’d never heard of him. Apparently he didn’t know John that well. He knew the name, John Winchester, but his mother never talked about him. John was a guy that came into the ER all those years ago where his mother was a nurse, tore up pretty good over a “hunting accident.” Yeah, that’s exactly what it was actually.