My mum is in town, so once again, no drinking (well, one glass of wine at dinner doesn't count). But don't worry, I still took bad notes! As per usual, please forgive spelling mistakes (I have no spellcheck) and also don't correct me unless I ask you to (or it's really important to character or plot) - I've only watched the episode once, so I'm not going to remember things exactly.
Okay, usual spiel over - let's get to it...
Ah, the teaser couple - who I at first think is a couple, until they mention they have a mutual mother. It's too bad they're both going to die horribly... though, her, apparently not at first. Because apparently the werewolves wants to turn her.
Then we move to the BMoL HQ, where Sam and Dean are waiting in silence... sidenote: I have no come to the point in my TV watching life where I absolutely love silent scenes - no background music. I love the use of silence in anything, but Supernatural (in the past) has used it to fantastic effect, and it was nice to have just a little bit of it here, while we just watch Sam and Dean wait. Because it instills the same feeling of WAITING. It's brilliant, and I love it. Things don't have enough space in them these days (/end rant and takes off old-man editor pants).
Anyway, Dean is not impressed by the waiting - he does not like reporting for duty, and I don't blame him. for all John's military training of the boys, he was still their father so it wasn't about reporting for duty... they were all rogues together, just with John holding a lot of information back from the boys.
Mick comes in and apologizes, apparently having his entire team killed makes for a lot of paperwork - Dean accusses him of being super repressed (and proving his Britishness) and I mean, guys, if DEAN says your repressing stuff, you're REALLY repressing stuff. And Deans' spot on the money, of course.
We learn that all the BMoL members go to a school named "Kendrick's" for training, and it's basically a hunting/lore-ist Hogwarts. It has the largest collection of lore in the world - which Sam is super jazzed by, and Dean is betrayed by Sam's jazzedness.
Mick presents the case, and they figure it's a pure blood werewolf, pretty open and shut. And Mick explains that he picked it up because he wants to tag along and get some field trainig - he's significantly shaken up by what happened to his team, and how if Mary and Sam hadn't been there, he'd have died - so, field work is apparently the answer!
Dean takes Sam out to the hallway to argue with him - and his argument is basically that Mick is an amateur, that you can't learn how to hunt from a book - you've got to step into hunting and just NOT DIE. If Mick is coming, Dean puts Sam in charge of babysitting him... which is kind of hilarious in retrospect, because Dean ends up babysitting him really.
On the drive, they listen to podcasts about monks. Sam, once again, is happy with this turn of events. Dean less so.
Also, apparently monks like Martin Luther were the hunters of the 16th century? I really can't picture Martin Luther hunting, but then, who knows.
But it's during this drive that Sam and Dean learn that Mick and the BMoL INDESCRIMINATELY kill monsters - even werewolves that might be "good" - for the life of me, I thought they'd realize the implications of that and react stronger - but they don't. I think it's because Mick is talking about how the BMoL wiped out the werewolves of Britain in the 1920s - so, in Sam and Dean's mind, they're talking about BRITISH werewolves 90 years ago, that might have been innocent. They're not thinking that the BMoL are currently in the US doing the exact same thing while sending Sam and Dean on other hunts... and they might have actually ALREADY killed Garth. But no, Sam and Dean are so far off that train of thought that they even MENTION GARTH BY NAME in their discussion of how they don't agree. GUYS! DO NOT GIVE THEM INFORMATION!
I mean, he's probably already dead at this point. I'm not sure Garth's set-up was that stealth, and if this dude in Wisconsin had his pack wiped out... wasn't Garth up in the northern states too?
Anyway... they pull up to a hotel, which Dean is about to tell Mick is a bit fancy, when Mick apologizes for it only being a 3 star. Sam is floored that they get separate rooms. There's a pool. It's hilarious and I love it, because I always like stuff that points out how off the grid and rough Sam and Dean live 90% of the time (only less now because they've got the Bunker, which is pretty nice, even if it's windowless)
The next morning, we find out that Dean actually woke up and took a swim...even though he doesn't have a swim suit.
Sam spent the night reading Mick's lore books, and discovered that back in the 1930s they experimented with a cure for Lycanthropy (because OF COURSE THEY DID! We all know where this episode is going now...even though I momentarily forgot part way through, so it still worked.)
They go to talk to the mom and surviving sister at the hospital. Sam and Dean and Mick have a little pissing match over whose best to swoop in and get info - which Mick ends up partially winning by waiting for Sam and Dean to get shut down and then swooping in pretending to be a doctor. It gives Sam and Dean an excuse to talk to the mother in the hall though, while Mick checks for bites. Sam and Dean learn that the mother has been fending off other people that day - including a girl who was super young pretending to be from Fish and Wildlife Service. She was blonde with a bad attitude... and yeah, if I didn't already know Claire was in this episode, that'd be a pretty clear description.
Meanwhile, Mick finds the bite., but then LIES to Sam and Dean about it. No doubt, because he realized they wouldn't be on board with killing her when she hadn't hurt anyone.
We then cut to Claire, who gets a phone call from Dean, who is impersonnating Yogi Bear. And... um... was that actually Jensen? Because that was a hilarious voice.
They meet up at the fancy place for dinner. Claire explains that she already tracked the girls' previous night at the bar - and the bartender was a douche with tribal tattoos who was "grabby" - Dean goes into protective step-father mode, because, let's face it, that's what he is... or, for the non-shippers, we can say Protective Uncle mode.
Mick, meanwhile, tries american beer, hates it, and then suspiciously calls it a night at 5:30pm.
Dean tells Claire (after Mick leaves) that Mick and Sam are "nerd soulmates" - which is hilarious and cute. I want a nerd soulmate.... (though, I'm pretty sure that's probably what my BFF is.)
Sam then asks Claire when the last hot meal she had was - and they all order food "on Harry Potter"
Mick, of course, has gone back to the hospital to kill the girl by injecting her IV with silver. She wakes up while he's trying to do it though, and attacks him. So, instead, he has to stab her in the heart with the needle and kill her that way. It's his first field kill, I'm guessing - and also, obviously, the first time he sees what Dean's been trying to tell him - that it's not all black and white. She did successfully claw-up his shoulder before she died though - ouch.
The next day, it's all mystery at the hospital as to why she's dead... it's obvious she turned, yet Mick had said there was no bite. Claire turns them back onto task - which is to find out where the original wolf was.
Then I have the note "Claire lying about life" - so, I'm thinking at that point she's talking to Sam in the car? Yes, that's what happened. Her and Sam went to go talk to the dead girl's friends, and Sam tries to find out how Claire is REALLY doing, and Claire shuts him down by calling him old and then going in alone.
Meanwhile, Dean and Mick go to the bar, and Mick can't open the door to the bar because his shoulder is suspiciously sore. They talk to the tribal tattoo bartender, who is rated out by the other bartender as having "a thing" with the dead girl. Dean uses the interrogation of the bartender to also interrogate Mick about what he did last night, and it's brilliant - and I love Dean.
Once they exit the bar, Dean totally calls Mick on lying, and grabs his shoulder. Then gives him a good yelling. Dean says there's a choice, and Mick argues that there isn't and it's simple - monster=bad. Dean argues that it's not Black and White, that he learned that along time ago, when he too thought like Mick... Dean then give sthe example of the psychic girl that he and Sam saved before... Mick doesn't tell him that Ketch killed her, but he KNOWS. Apparently the BMoL have a strict code. (shades of Teen Wolf here!)
Back to Claire and Sam... and guys, I LOVE IT WHEN SAM HAS ONE-ON-ONE TIME WITH RECURRING CHARACTERS. Like, seriously... I love that Sam has a relationship with Claire too, separate from Dean and Cas's (because it is... Claire has different, more antigonistic histories with both Castiel and Dean. Sam is FAIRLY neutral for Claire, in comparision.)
Claire has successfully gotten the real story of the dead girl, not that it really matters. And Sam uses the chance to ask Claire why Jody thinks that she's in Madison looking at colleges. Guys, this means that SAM CALLED JODY. And not only that, he didn't tell Jody about Claire hunting - which means his call wasn't suspicious... which means that Sam will sometimes call Jody JUST TO CHAT. I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS.
Claire tells us that she thinks Jody is disappointed in her - which Sam tries to point out is probably Claire projecting her own insecurities and not what Jody thinks at all. But Claire is on the defensive now... we find out that Alex is in nursing school (yay) and that Claire thinks it's better for everyone if she's on her own. Then Claire storms off because Sam says she's acting like a child - even though he says it in the most REASONABLE tone of voice ever. Seriously, I love Sam... but he realizes right away that reasonable tone of voice does not mitigate how bad it is to tell someone their childish when they're doing their very best to prove their adulthood.
Then Claire gets attacked and bitten! Because of COURSE! How did I forget!
Sam finds her and she gets hugs! Awww... it's important that she gets hugs, because Sam doesn't hug hurt strangers like that - only family.
Dean (who I accidentally called "Done" in my notes, and was super confused) is extremely angry at this turn of events. Understandably. It's Madison (the werewolf, not the city) all over again, as Claire argues that she'd rather die than be a werewolf - since being a werewolf leaves the possibility of hurting Alex or Jody by accident, even if she tries to restrain herself every full moon. But Sam is like "WAIT! SCIENCE!!!!" and mentions the cure - which only worked in 1 out of 9 lab mice and killed the only human they tried it on. But dudes, like.... even if it only cured 1 out of 9 humans, but you were going to kill 9 out of 9 humans if you didn't have it, wouldn't it still be better so try it? I guess Mick says that they died "in agony" so many the BMoL have a merciful-death clause in their unmerciful killing policy.
I'm getting sidetracked... Dean doesn't like this plan because POSSIBLE DEATH! And he asks Sam to back him up, but Sam is like "Dude, I'm Captain Personal Agency, if Claire wants to try the cure, it's her life." And Dean is like "DAMN YOU AND YOUR QUEST FOR AGENCY" (only just with his eyes) and then he agrees and he and Sam go off to find the sire so they can grab his blood. Dean leaves Mick in charge of looking after Claire, but only because Mick knows that Dean will kill him if anything happens to Claire while he's gone.
Sam and Dean track down the bartender, but they test him on silver and he's fully human and not a werewolf - so, it's quite obviously the other bartender.
And I'm right! Because back at the hotel, Mick is refusing to kill Claire - not even because Dean threatened him, but because he is significantly shook up from having already killed a teenage girl the night before. Unfortunetely, Mick's restraining plan goes awry when the other bartender shows up and is like RAR! I STEAL YOUR GIRL! Though, Mick he just throws, rather than kills (how convenient).
With Claire tied up at the cottage, the Bartender explains how the BMoL created him as a monster, because he was peaceful until they killed his pack - and now he's had to resort to drastic measures to sustain himself and build a new one. (We've seen this narrative before on the show, so this is nothing new for us, but it's new for the BMoL... Sam and Dean have already learned this lesson, hence they're selective killings, but the BMoL are still making old mistakes.)
The bartender says he targetted Claire because she was alone like him - but Claire argues, and says that she has a family "and they love me." AWWWW... I'm totally headcanoning that she's including Cas and the Winchesters in that family too.
Anyway, lucky for us, Mick put a tracking device in Claire's coat. So, Sam executes a fantastic flying tackle after the bartender tries to force Claire to eat, and she spits in his face. Unfortunately, Claire then fully changes and loses control, and then it's FIGHT TIMEZ.
They manage to draw blood before they kill the sire though, and then they stab Claire with the needle.... and then it's tense monent of watching her writhe on the couch, and then thinking that she's dead, and then her being alive! YAY! (Seriously, they can't kill Cas's not-daughter without Cas even being there - how the HELL would Dean ever explain that one!)
Then they pack up and say their goodbyes. Mick tells the Winchesters that Claire is a walking miracle. He doesn't even know the half of it, considering she's a former angel vessel too. Claire comes over and apologizes for yelling at the Winchesters that they're always interfering with her life - because she says they'are always there when she needs them (aww... that's totally family to me.) Then people stand around awkwardly and don't hug, because apparently we're not there yet.
Finally, we get a scene of Claire calling Jody to tell her the truth - she leaves a message on Jody's voicemail admitting that she's actually hunting on her own, but that it's good - and that she wouldn't be as good as she is "if it wasn't for you being my mother." AND AWWWW... Jody's only been her mum for like... 3 years? 2? I totally forget. Anyway, it's all very touching.
And then we close off on her driving away... and I MOMENTARILY PANIC THAT A MOTORCYCLE MIGHT START FOLLOWING HER, but she it doesn't... and IT BETTER NOT. Because she's totally human, so yay! But still, I'm so used to SPN killing awesome characters, that I was like *narrow eyes* SHE BETTER BE GOOD SHOW!
Promo for next week:[Spoiler (click to open)]IS THAT EILEEN BACK?!1!?1 I WANT HER TO BE GOOD TOO, SHOW! DON'T DISAPPOINT ME!
As per usual, let me know what you thought in comments!!!!