Halloween may be over but that doesn’t mean Supernatural can’t pay homage to the ‘holiday’ of ghouls and ghosts. Well, more so ‘Halloween’, a season 2 episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It may not be the most exciting of episodes but it does bring us back to Minnesota. And with Minnesota comes Sheriff Donna Hanscum.

Welcome back, Sheriff Donna

Still finding nothing on the Darkness, Dean catches Sam in a moment of prayer. The elder Winchester isn’t too thrilled with his brother’s call out to the Almighty, reciting his own mantra of “don’t count on God, count on us.” The discussion doesn’t go too far before Donna gives them a call on a man killed by a bunny. Well, actually it’s a guy in a giant bunny head. Problem is, the bunny head won’t come off and the perp’s not talking. After catching up with Donna, they meet Officer Doug Stover, lead on the case and the tension between Officer Doug and the good sheriff is palpable. But duty calls and it doesn’t take long for the Winchesters to gather a clue—“Kylie Forever” is tattooed on the perp’s arm. They’re able to track down this Kylie who just happens to be dating a guy named Mike who, coincidentally the day before, tried on a bunny head and went a bit off kilter. Sadly, for Mike, he ends up getting a couple of bullets when he attacks the two officers. His death releases the bunny head and now, all they have is a dead college student. Still, they burn the mask and all’s well that ends well…

Or not.

A second attack occurs that night, this time the target is the high school football Coach Evans. Though he’s survived the initial assault, he’s in a coma. With this second attack, Sam and Dean surmise it’s a ghostly possession, a theory proved when Dean pumps a rock salt pellet round into the second assailant. Instantly, the ghost flees from the possessed costume and, after doing a bit of digging on the origins of said costume, they come across Rita Johnson. Her brother, Chester, owned these costumes and he committed suicide a few months back. The question remains, what would the deceased Chester have against the two victims?

The Winchesters protect Rita and her son Barry All…err Max, from her brother Chester’s ghost

Dean pays a second visit to the first victim’s widow while Sam runs into another possessed clown at the hospital moments after it’s finished the job on Coach Evans. After his inquiry with the widow, Dean finds out the two victims were best friends and believed Chester Johnson was a bit too friendly with the kids he entertained. A second visit back to Rita Johnson eventually reveals the full tale: Evans and Stan confronted Rita about her brother and, though she initially defended him, fears gave into doubt and she told the two men about her brother’s location. Their intent to scare him ended with the two men dropping Chester, killing him. Rita’s involvement paints her as a target, one that comes to fruition when her son, Max, puts on the last mask. The Winchesters are able to release the boy from its possession but then Chester manifests in a ghostly form but Sam’s able to burn the mask, thus banishing Chester’s ghost.

With everything in hand, Sam and Dean hit the road and Sam opens up to Dean. “I keep praying to God,” he says,” because, if it is God, and I know you think it isn’t but if it is, He’s showing me something I don’t know what to do with.”

When Dean hears about Sam’s visions of the Cage, he makes sure Sam knows that it’s not an option. Though Sam verbally agrees, his eyes remain troubled as if they are wondering ‘what if that’s the only way?’

The Good

  • It’s always fun to see recurring characters on the show and Donna Hanscum, Minnesota accent and all, has a way of lightening things up.  The shared jokes—bad as they were—between Dean and Sheriff Donna were great.
  • Now that Sam has admitted it out loud, it’s only a matter of time before he does something about his visions of the Cage. Does that mean we’ll be seeing Lucifier and Michael soon? If so, I’m really hoping Mark Pellegrino reprises his role as the Morningstar. A Supernatural Lucifer just wouldn’t be the same without him…

The Bad

  • Another filler episode where not much happens. Also, it would’ve been a lot more fun if there was a giant killer bunny on the loose instead of possessed costumes.

The Supernatural

  • What’s a Supernatural without a few pop culture references? The “what’s up, Doc?” was the easiest of low hanging fruits but still effective. Sam’s attempt at humor—the Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Joke—fell pretty flat, a reminder that, despite Sammy’s compassion, he really needs work on his punchline deliveries.