It’s been an un-‘Supernatural’ winter these past few months with theWinchester duo gracing the small screen with only a handful of episodes. After the second hiatus of the winter, Sam and Dean return and find themselves falling back into the path of the Leviathan.
Things start off innocuous enough with a seemingly stuck up ballerina whose fellow dancers really don’t like comes into the studio to dance on her own when things get a bit out of control. Though she tries to stop dancing, she can’t and soon the room is filled with her blood as she quite literally dances her feet off. Her slippers rest a few feet away from her, in pristine condition, not a speck of blood on them.
Dean, in Oregon with Sam, is on the phone with Frank and the two discuss Frank keeping tabs on Dick Roman. The Leviathan patriarch has been busy dipping his hand in several fields, including burger chains, medicine, and archaeological digs. After the conversation ends, Sam, who still can’t shake Lucifer, shows Dean the story of the dead ballerina. They head to Portland and reach the police station in time to save one of the officer’s daughter as she puts on the cursed shoes being held in evidence. Using the store tag, they make their way to Out with the Old, the store written on the tag. As they pull up, the shoes that were put in the trunk are in the back seat and are slowly working their mojo on Dean.
They run into the small shop and talk to Scott, the owner. He sold the shoes and several other items from an old collection of his mother’s, several items locked in a safe and warded from effecting those that come into contact with them. Unfortunately, once out, the artifacts are granted their influential abilities. Scott gives them the names and addresses of the other customers, though they are too late to save the woman who purchased a tea kettle (and died drinking boiling water from it). After splitting up, they are in time to save a boy from killing his mom—courtesy of a grammar phone—and a man from having a literal happy ending with an antique gentleman’s magazine.
After putting away some of the items, Scott tells Dean a bit about his mother and casually mentions the real estate lady that came calling prior to his mom’s death. Though he thinks nothing of it at first, as Dean leaves the store, he notices signs on all the shop windows advertising their sale to Bicklebee Real Estate and the picture is that of the bitchy woman seen in passing when the brothers first arrived at Out with the Old. She’s officially introduced when, after negotiations fall through with another shop owner that refuses to sell, she takes his form and kills him, then signs the contract in his hand. When her assistant George mentions the messiness of it all and Dick Roman’s displeasure, it’s confirmed that we’ve finally run into the Leviathan.
During his drive back into town, a sleep-deprived Sam gets a call from Dean who tells him about the real estate weirdness. After getting off the phone with his brother and being unable to get anywhere on the website, Dean calls in tech expert and resident bi-polar quack, Frank to put his hacker skills to the test and he readily accepts.
Insomnia (thanks to Lucifer) is wearing Sam down. He stops to get some caffeine for the ride back to town and George recognizes his voice. He follows Sam back to the store before reporting in to Bicklebee. It doesn’t come as much of a surprise when she chews him out again and readies a plan to catch and eat the Winchesters.
Frank gets back with Dean and tells him the site is nothing more than a front for Dick Roman’s end game, though they still have no idea where said end game leads. He talks about it with Sam whose devilish co-pilot is still with him 24/7. Before Sam can catch some rest, a frantic Scott calls them for aid. Unbeknownst to the brothers, Scott’s plea for help is a trap set by Bicklebee and George. When they get to the store, the two Leviathan are waiting. Dean gets the unlucky draw in le bitch Bicklebee, who proceeds to toss him around, rag doll style. Sam catches the break; though George makes a show of it, he actually helps Sam get the upper hand on Bicklebee, even pointing him to the sword to lop off her head.
A bit miffed by his assistance, the Winchesters interrogate George whose initial answer of wanting to eat his boss, while disturbingly believable when one thinks about the Leviathan, isn’t enough for them to let him go. They threaten him until he admits to Dick’s end game; a cure for cancer. After all, they’re only here to help.
Packing up the remainder of cursed objects, the brothers head to Frank’s to the tune of “Bad Moon Rising”. For ‘Supernatural’ faithful, we all know that song doesn’t bode well (see the Season One finale for confirmation of this particular nugget) and it holds true here. They enter Frank’s mobile base of operations only to find it trashed, blood splashed everywhere and no trace of Frank. There’s no denying the worry etched across their faces at the thought of losing another ally, even one as crazy and unpredictable as Frank.
Finally the Leviathan return and though “Out with the Old” lacked excitement, the revivification of this season’s primary story arc helped foster a modicum of interest. There was a disjointedness in the episode, primarily due to the cursed item part seeming more like an afterthought than an integral part of the show. While any ‘Supernatural’ is better than nothing, “Out with the Old” continues the stretch of mediocre to bad episodes though there is hope. Not only did tonight restart the Leviathan arc, complete with an out of left field confession behind their motivation (though I don’t believe their altruism by any means) the final sixty seconds—include the promo for next week—lessens the disappointment. Frank’s disappearance to the tune of Creedence and the return of Misha Collins in next week’s episode whets my appetite for a flurry of goodness to end the inconsistent nature of season seven.
If you missed the previous episode be sure to read our ‘Supernatural: Repo Man’ recap to catch up.
The Good:
- (In the Rock’s voice) Finally, the Leviathan have come back to ‘Supernatural’! The start of the season promised us a kick-ass new villain whose cunning and power had yet to be seen. The last half-dozen episodes have only mentioned them in passing. Now that we’re in the final quarter of the season, business seems like it’s seriously about to pick up.
- The writers have done a very good job keeping Lucifer’s infestation of Sam’s mind in our purview. It’s become a part of everything the brothers’ have gone through but without beating us over the head with it. Kudos to continuity.
The Bad:
- Though it started out interestingly enough, the cursed objects aspect of the show fell short of maintaining said interest. It was as if the writers got bored and decided midway through to focus on the most important thing, the Leviathan story arc.
- I’m really hoping Frank’s not dead. Though he’s not been in it nearly enough, each time he graces the screen, the banter between he and Dean is always worth a hearty chuckle. Plus, haven’t they lost enough people from their lives?
The Supernatural:
- Cursed objects suck, especially for vain ballerinas or plumpy ladies boiling water in a tea kettle.
- Okay, after George’s confession of the Leviathan’s primary goal, I’m not sure where things are going. Cure cancer? Is that in the literal sense or, like the Matrix, do they recognize humanity as a cancer of existence?
