"I miss conversations that didn't start with: 'this killer truck'"

One of the weakest episodes in terms of plot, but totally worth watching just for the Naked!Dean and Gleeful!Sammy scenes. It's basically a filler mid-season episode. No ongoing plot strands for new viewers to get bogged down in here. And yet there is progress for regular viewers to note and approve of. Scarecrow marked a very definite turning point, in the season, in the relationship between the brothers, and in Sam in particular. The change is subtle, but it's there.

Although the way Dean behaves toward Sam remains pretty consistent throughout the season, Sam's attitude has shifted significantly. Through the first half of the season there was a very subtle, almost indefinable air of tension around him. He wasn't back on the road because he wanted to be hunting, he was there because he had a specific mission to fulfil and hunting was a way of getting him there – although not quickly enough to satisfy him. This way of life was temporary, but not temporary enough. After Scarecrow, however, things have changed. Sam has made the decision that he's in for the long haul – has to be, since the vengeance-hunt has taken John 22 years thus far. There's not going to be any quick fix. And, from this lightbulb moment onward, he's more relaxed than we've seen him since he left Stanford, both within himself and in his interactions with his brother.

After the usual Jensen-voiceover 'previously' section, we open in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, night, where a late-middle-age African-American man is driving home alone along a dark, deserted road, listening to the radio. The fact that he has the radio on is a small but significant detail, as the reception abruptly distorts into static. Canny viewers who've been paying attention for the previous twelve episodes instantly recognise this as a sign of a malevolent spirit nearby. Unfortunately for him, however, the man in the car is ignorant of this fact, and simply turns the radio off in mild frustration at the vagaries of radio reception in these here parts.

Already having a bad night, what with the radio and everything, he is even more perturbed when a large black truck appears behind him and does its level best to run him off the road. Not quite the leisurely drive home he was maybe anticipating. Alarmed, he manages to outrun the truck, whereupon the radio bursts back to life. Since he'd physically turned it off, I'm not so sure this is a good thing, but the man breathes a sigh of relief. His relief turns out to be short-lived, as the truck reappears out of nowhere, and this time really does run him off the road. His car performs some rather impressive aerial acrobatics before crashing to the ground once more, its occupant now rather definitely dead. The truck revs its engine, flexing non-existent muscles at its fallen opponent for a moment, looking about as pleased with itself as is possible for an inanimate object – and then fades away into nothing.

Titles.

At a gas station someplace unspecified, by day, Sam is poring over a map and announces that he has worked out a route to Pennsylvania that will allow them to avoid nearby construction work. So, road works evidently plague American highways as much as they do British motorways. Good to know. Why they want to go to Pennsylvania is not mentioned, and turns out to be entirely unimportant, since Dean – who has been listening with sombre expression to someone on his cellphone rather than to his brother – promptly informs Sam that the problem with that is that they aren't going to Pennsylvania after all. Sam is a little startled to hear this, and I find myself wondering if they were headed that way because they had a lead on a potential gig, or because they just felt like it. The latter seems likely, judging by their utter lack of concern for potential strangers-in-danger who would be left in peril as a result of this change of heart if there was a lead drawing them in that direction.

DEAN: "Just got a call from, uh, an old friend. Her father was killed last night, she thinks it might be our kind of thing."
SAM: "What?"
DEAN: "Yeah. Believe me, she never would've called, never, if she didn't need us."

Take note: last night is when this man died. The writers really should have allowed more time to pass before sending the boys on over there. But anyway, Dean is brusquely evasive right from the start, and Sam is left rather confused.

Once on the road, Sam's confusion quickly evaporates and is replaced by cheerful determination to get to the bottom of what's really going on here, his younger sibling spider senses instantly detecting a golden opportunity for potential teasing.

SAM: "By old friend, you mean…?"
DEAN: "A friend that's not new."
SAM [chuckling]: "Yeah, thanks. So, her name's Cassie, huh? You never mentioned her."
DEAN [evasive]: "Didn't I?"
SAM: "No."
DEAN: "Yeah, we went out."
SAM: "You mean you dated someone? For more than one night?"
DEAN: "Am I speakin' a language you're not getting here?"

Teehee. Sam is so persistent, and already so amused. Especially at the concept of Dean dating someone for more than one night – although so far we have never actually seen any real evidence of Dean's one night stands, for all his roving eye. Now that the faith healer in Nebraska has been shut down, and presumably a little time has passed for Dean to get over at least the worst of his troubled conscience about it all, I'm guessing sheer relief that his big brother is still around to tease plays a part in Sam's gleeful mood throughout this episode. We've never previously seen him in such persistent good humour.

Dean, on the other hand, isn't quite so jolly. In fact, for much of this episode he's almost as subdued as he was in the last one, although it isn't clear if this is because of unresolved issues with Cassie or unresolved issues around his healing. Possibly both. Here, every bit as uncomfortable with the scrutiny on his private life as you'd expect, he's as determined to say as little as possible as Sam is to coax information out of him.

"Dad and I were workin' a job in Athens, Ohio," Dean reluctantly explains. "She was finishing up college, and we went out for a couple weeks."

Ooh, important pre-show information there. Since the show started, we've never seen the boys stay in any one place for longer than it takes to finish whatever job they are currently working, or to find a new gig. But it stands to reason that, however nomadic life for the Winchesters undoubtedly has been for most of their lives, they couldn't have always been quite as unremittingly peripatetic as they are right now – no way Sam would have won himself that college scholarship if they were. And here we learn, reading between the lines, that while it might have been a job that took Dean and John to Athens, Ohio, either the job took long enough for Dean to get involved with this girl, or they hung around long enough afterward for there to be significant dating. So, while there undeniably was a lot of moving around, here's evidence that there was also at least some degree of staying in one place, for a short while at least. The length of downtime between gigs would presumably be dependent on how long it takes to find a new one.

Thoroughly enjoying himself now, what with all this shiny new big-brother-tormenting ammunition so unexpectedly falling into his lap, Sam continues to press, gleaning as much information from what Dean doesn't say as from what he does.

SAM: "Look, it's terrible about her dad, but it kind of sounds like a standard car accident. I'm not seeing how it fits with what we do. Which, by the way, how does she know what we do?"

Dean says nothing, and Sam's amusement starts to wear off, sliding effortlessly into indignation.

SAM: "You told her. You told her? The secret? Our big family rule number one: we do what we do, and we shut up about it. For a year and a half I do nothing but lie to Jessica, and you go out with this chick in Ohio a couple of times and you tell her everything? [Dean still says nothing, just fidgets guiltily.] Dean!"
DEAN: "Yeah. Looks like."

Good mood temporarily abandoning him, Sam is a little pissed off now, although that probably has more to do with residual guilt over the lying to Jessica thing than Dean's uncharacteristic bout of honesty with his 'chick in Ohio'. As for the 'big family rule number one', while I can't see John being the kind of guy to list and number the groundrules he lays out for his family, it does seem abundently obvious that a commandment along the lines of 'thou shalt not tell a single living soul about what we do because they'll think we're all nuts and take you away' would have been well and truly drummed into the boys as children growing up with an itinerant outlaw ghost-hunter for a father.

In Cape Girardeau, Dean's one-time paramour Cassie – evidently now working as a journalist in her home town – and the editor of the local paper she works on, another African-American guy called Jimmy, are having a heated debate with the town's white mayor, Harold Todd, about the angle the paper is taking on the recent deaths of two black men on the same stretch of road in three weeks. One of these was, of course, Cassie's father, and unless the boys have taken a really long time driving to Missouri from wherever they were, she's back at work indecently soon after his death. Maybe it hasn't hit her yet. Maybe she's the type who copes with grief by pretending it doesn't exist and throwing herself into work. Maybe she's just a totally cold fish. Or maybe it's sloppy plotting. Who knows? Just glide right on past the plot hole, and on with the story.

The Winchester boys arrive and, as Dean and Cassie greet one another with extreme awkwardness, Sam's amusement comes flooding right back.

Cassie takes the boys on home to her mother's place, where she is apparently staying for a while, what with the recent bereavement and anything. Not that she's acting obviously grief-stricken in any way, but, as she briskly fusses around making tea, we'll give her the benefit of the doubt and say that she's the kind of person who when under emotional stress puts a lot of effort into keeping busy rather than allowing those painful emotions free reign.

Sam accepts and drinks the cup of tea he's offered. Dean studies his for a moment as if he's been presented with something entirely incomprehensible, and then sets it aside. He likes coffee, black – not tea, sugared and unstirred. You'd think Cassie would know that, seeing as how they dated, and all.

Anyway, Cassie explains the reasoning behind her call to Dean for help after her dad's accident: that her mother had been worried about him and that he'd been afraid, that he'd been seeing things – a big black truck following him around, appearing and disappearing randomly, and that in the accident his car had been dented as if something large had hit it, but there were no tracks of any other vehicle. She shows signs of becoming emotional while explaining this, reminding us that her father's death is meant to have been extremely recent, within the last couple of days, but sadly the actress doesn't quite have the range to pull it off successfully. The previous death had been that of her father's business partner, and had happened in the exact same circumstances.

SAM: "And you think this vanishing truck ran him off the road?"
CASSIE [embarrassed]: "Oh, when you say it out loud like that. [Beat] Listen, I'm a little sceptical about this…ghost stuff, or whatever it is you guys are into."

At this point, Dean's resentment of quarrels past gets the better of him, and he gives a wry chuckle.

DEAN: "Sceptical. Yeah, if I remember, I think you said it was nuts."
CASSIE: "That was then."

Ah, ours and Sam's first real hint at what it was that went wrong between the two of them, way back whenever it was that they first knew one another. Which begs the question of just how recent that relationship was. Back in Phantom Traveler Dean said he'd only had his current phone for about six months. But Cassie clearly has that relatively recently acquired number, or she wouldn't have been able to contact him. So that's either sloppy continuity, or a sign that the relationship wasn't all that long ago. Which could explain quite a lot.

Cassie goes on to admit that despite her scepticism she simply can't explain what happened out there, so she called Dean. At this point, Cassie's mother walks in and I'm immediately distracted because she's very familiar and I can't place her, which is always annoying. She's white, let us note, because that fact is important to the plot.

Cassie introduces Dean as a friend from college, rather than 'fessing up to the ex-boyfriend thing. Dean looks ever so slightly put out about that. He expresses sympathy to Mrs Robinson, and asks if they can talk to her for a moment. He even asks politely – or at least as politely as Dean ever manages – but the grieving widow promptly takes offence and insists she's not up to that right now.

Cut to – a road someplace, presumably later that night. Another car has crashed, and inside it we see Cassie's editor, Jimmy, dead, with the same truck that ran Mr Robinson off the road gloating nearby before disappearing once more. So either Jimmy has also been seeing things but not telling anyone, or the truck decided to step up the body count without any harrassment this time. There were three weeks between the first two deaths, and now another in just a couple of days. I still think they should have allowed more time to pass by for a police non-investigation to frustrate Cassie before she called Dean.

Next day, at the scene of the accident, Mayor Todd eulogises about the dead man, while Cassie harangues him about the dangers of that road and how it should be closed to avoid any more accidents. I thought she'd convinced herself that they weren't accidents, so am a little confused by the mixed messages I'm getting here, but never mind. Mayor Todd protests that he can't close the road because it is the main road in and out of town. Must be a pretty small town if there's no other way in or out.

Dean and Sam arrive, and ask about whether or not there's any evidence of another vehicle involved, which the mayor denies, apparently believing himself to be qualified to make this assessment. Cassie then introduces the boys as 'Dean and Sam Winchester, family friends' – no false identities today. Yet. And apparently not back when Dean was dating her, either, if she knows him by his real surname. He really was riding the honesty train back then.

Cassie continues to harangue, switching to the fact that all the victims so far have been black and arguing that if they'd been white the mayor might feel more inclined to take action on closing the road. And I don't know enough about American race relations past or present to comment on this in any way, so shall simply recap what comes up directly in the episode and leave it at that. Mayor Todd protests that he's the last person she should call racist, and to ask her mother why.

Cut to – Dean and Sam's latest motel room, where they are busily donning those smart black suits they acquired back in Phantom Traveler. Way to recycle useful outfits, boys. Sam, with that dogged persistence that is so very characteristic of him, is still trying to coax information out of Dean about his relationship with Cassie. And although Dean obviously knows Sam well enough to know he isn't going to just give up, he still, equally stubbornly, evades giving any direct answers, and it is all incredibly amusing. Sam is so much fun when he's in this mood. And Grumpy!Dean is just as much fun, but for different reasons.

SAM: "I'll say this for her – she's fearless."
DEAN [non-committal]: "Mmm hmm."
SAM: "I bet she kicked your ass a couple times. [Dean gives him a hard look. Sam smiles, amused.] What's interesting is you guys never really look at each other at the same time. You look at her when she's not looking, she checks you out when you look away…."

We haven't seen much evidence of these stolen glances, I have to say – they should be showing, not telling! But anyway, Dean gives his brother another of those long-suffering and irritated, 'why weren't you drowned at birth?' looks, to absolutely no avail. Sam is irrepressible today.

SAM [cont.]: "It's just an interesting observation. In a, you know, observationally interesting way."
DEAN [stern]: "I think we might have some more pressing issues here."
SAM: "Hey, if I'm hittin' a nerve –"
DEAN: "Oh, let's go."

They head for what look to be nearby docks, on the river, I guess. Sam again carries his suit off well, while Dean manages to make his look borderline scruffy. They approach a couple of men, one black and one white and apparently friends of Editor Jimmy, sitting playing checkers together and, under the guise of being from Jimmy's insurance company, proceed to ask questions that don't sound like anything any insurance company would want to know ever.

Mention of the big black monster truck Mr Robinson had talked about before his death rings a bell, and a local legend of a big black truck connected to a string of deaths back in the 60s, all black men, is recounted. Walking back to the car, Dean and Sam brainstorm a little about spirits becoming fused with possessions – in this case a vehicle – and reenacting past crimes. Dean posits further that all the victims so far have been connected to Cassie and her family, so Sam suggests he go work that angle, and then segues from there to, "Oh, and you might also want to mention that other thing."

DEAN: "What other thing?"
SAM: "The serious unfinished business. Dean, what is going on between you two?"

Well, would-be casual digs and hints weren't working, so asking straight out is the next logical step, I suppose. Still playing as dumb as he can possibly manage, since affairs of the heart really aren't something he wants to discuss with his little brother, Dean cagily admits that, "All right, so maybe we were a little bit more involved than I said."

'Well, duh,' is pretty much Sam's reaction, smirking and enjoying watching his brother squirm.

"Okay, a lot more," Dean admits. "Maybe." Sam laughs at having finally forced this confession, but Dean remains very serious. Sam might find it funny, but this is no joke for him.

DEAN: "And I told her the secret, about what we do, and I shouldn't have."
SAM [relenting]: "No, look, man, everybody's gotta open up to someone, sometime."
DEAN: "Yeah, I don't. It was stupid to get that close, and look how it ended."

Edging closer to the truth now: the truth of what happened back then, and the truth about why Dean doesn't like to get at all closely involved with anyone new. He came close to touching on that point back in Skin. Sam continues to smirk and stare, and Dean squirms more than ever at being manoeuvred into such a personal conversation. "Would you stop? Blink or something."

And Sam suddenly realises. "You loved her."
DEAN [turning away]: "Oh, God."
SAM: "You were in love with her. But you dumped her?"

Sam is getting very good at reading between the lines of what Dean doesn't say, and Dean's abashed reaction, unable to lie about this, tells him everything he needs to know. The writers have got it down to a fine art now, how to get the brothers bouncing off each other in such a way that the information the audience needs is revealed without actually having to be spelled out – in this instance, without Dean having to come out and say how he feels/felt about Cassie. Sam says it all for him, and all he has to do is not deny it. Jensen emotes so well. Sam is stunned, to say the least.

SAM [shocked]: "Oh, wow. She dumped you."

Dean snaps at him to get in the car, conversation terminated. Sam just stands there looking like someone pulled the rug out from under his feet. Long-held illusions shatter as, for apparently the first time, he starts to see his brother not just as an incorrigibly flirtatious playboy stud who enjoys playing the field, the image Dean so carefully cultivates, but a man capable of falling in love and being hurt by it.

After changing back out of that darn suit, Dean heads on over to Cassie's house, wherein – still not seeming the slightest bit grief-stricken about the wave of deaths all around her – she witters on for a while about Editor Jimmy. She actually makes it all sound more tiresome than tragic.

But viewers everywhere are not listening, being way too distracted by the sight of Dean lounging attractively against a pillar behind her. The dialogue in this scene is pretty clunky, but while that could be put down to bad writing, we could also be charitable and say that the extreme post-break-up awkwardness between Dean and Cassie means that conversation between them is never going to be smooth.

With the fact that Sam is elsewhere established, and Cassie revealing that her mother has refused to talk about what Mayor Todd said about not being racist, conversation gets more and more awkward. It's very noteworthy that it is Dean who makes the first move toward the subject of them as opposed to the case, though. He'd never dream of broaching such a personal subject with his little brother, having an image to maintain and all, but with Cassie things are very different, and he suddenly seems vulnerable. It's our first glimpse of what Dean is like in a relationship of the romantic variety, rather than just to do with family or work.

DEAN: "So, just then, um, why'd you ask where my brother was?"
CASSIE: "Nothing. Not important."
DEAN: Could it be because without him here, it's just you and me? And not you, me, and Sam, which would be easier?"
CASSIE: "It's not easier. Look, I –"

But having made that much effort, Dean suddenly thinks better of it and backs right off again. "No, forget it. It's fine. We'll keep it strictly business."

CASSIE: "I forgot you do that."
DEAN: "Do what?"
CASSIE: "Oh, whenever we get – what's the word, close? Anywhere in the neighbourhood of emotional vulnerability, you back off. Or make some joke, or find any way to shut the door on me."

Oh, she's got him nailed, there. He so does, and not just with her, but with everyone. But now, for once, he's goaded into opening up rather than shutting down.

DEAN: "Oh, that's hilarious. See, I'm not the one who took that big final door and slammed it behind me."
CASSIE: "Wait a minute –"
DEAN: "And I'm not the one who took the key and buried it."
CASSIE: "Are we done with this metaphor?"

I'm with her on that one. Definitely time to put that metaphor to bed. And now we finally get the very heated rehash of exactly how it all ended.

DEAN: "All I'm saying is I was totally upfront with you back then, and you nailed me with it."
CASSIE: "The guy I'm with, the guy I'm hoping might be in my future, tells me he professionally pops ghosts."
DEAN [indignant]: "Not the words I used."
CASSIE: "And that he has to leave to go work with his father."
DEAN: "I did!"

They're both shouting now, and it's kinda painful because you can see both sides so clearly. 'The guy I'm hoping might be in my future' gives another hint at how serious this relationship was, and now I find myself wanting to know how long it lasted – how long did Dean hang around Athens to be with her before feeling compelled to rejoin his father on the hunt, but also feeling unable to lie about it? You can imagine the knots he must have tied himself into, torn between what he had with Cassie and his need to stay with John when he moved onto the next gig, a dilemma that led to his finally telling Cassie the unvarnished truth. And her reaction then took the decision right back out of his hands, which could well be at least a part of the reason he told her in the first place.

More shouting follows, and Jensen's doing his best here, Dean's hurt at how it went down written all over his face, but the rising tide of passion we're meant to be feeling doesn't come off quite so well. The actress doesn't have the range to pull it off, and the chemistry just isn't there.

CASSIE: "All I could think was, if you want out, fine, but don't tell me this insane story."
DEAN: "It was the truth, Cassie! And I notice it didn't sound so insane the minute you thought I could help you!"
CASSIE: "Back then, I thought you just wanted to dump me."
DEAN: "Whoa, let's not forget who dumped who, okay?"
CASSIE: "I thought it was what you wanted."
DEAN: "Well, it wasn't."
CASSIE: "I didn't mean to hurt you!"
DEAN: "Well, you did."

And to Cassie he can say that openly and honestly, all his usual defence mechanisms vanishing completely for once. This is a side of Dean that we usually only ever catch fleeting glimpses of, well concealed as it is behind that tough guy façade of his. It is now clear how badly the relationship ended, and how deeply Dean felt hurt by it. And yet the moment Cassie asked for help, he was there like a shot, all grievances set aside. He's very forgiving, apparently completely incapable of holding a grudge against anyone he cares about. I like that quality in a guy. In anyone, actually.

So, as the argument reaches a crescendo, they give in to emotions past and present and kiss. And we commence Naked!Dean Scene One: the soft porn session. And I'm really not going to describe any of this. Nuh uh. I'm just gonna sit back and enjoy…

…

…

…okay I'm back. And I changed my mind – I am going to comment just a bit on the scene, just to take note again that this Dean, right here with Cassie, is a world away from the Roving Eye!Dean we usually see playfully flirting in bars in that Never Gonna Commit way of his. This Dean is tender and open and even a tad submissive. Totally transported back in time to whenever it was that he actually stayed in one place long enough to be blind-sided by Cassie and fall in love with her enough to believe he could trust her with The Secret, to believe that maybe, despite the nature of his work, they could somehow make their relationship work long-term. And long-distance.

It never ceases to amaze me that Dean can be so cynical and yet also such an optimist. Such a complicated, contradictory character.

Of course, since Cassie possesses nothing like the extreme open-mindedness necessary to take on board such a revelation without gallons of proof, he crashed and burned, and as a result now operates permanently on the principle that no one outside the family can be allowed to get that close, ever. Once bitten, twice shy, and all that.

I also have to say, I can't help wondering if Cassie's mother is at home listening to all this energetic love-making, and if not, where she is.

We then fade out to the next morning, and find Mayor Todd out in a field in the snow studying what look like architect's plans. Two episodes ago we were told it was the second week of April, and now we have heavy snow in Missouri. Ah, the vagaries of filming schedules and the Canadian weather.

Heading back to his car – he's left the headlights on, despite it being light enough not to need them anyway – Mayor Todd is more than a little unnerved when the phantom truck pops up menacingly behind him. He runs. The truck pursues. It hits him – hard, apparently, although the scene isn't very well cut – and he goes down, his face all smashed up despite being hit from behind. It's gross.

…and then we have Naked!Dean Scene Two: in bed all post-coital. I remember reading an interview with Jensen Ackles where he explained that he's not fond of shirtless scenes because the bare flesh is so distracting for viewers. He's absolutely right. The bare flesh on display here, and the fact that Cassie has her hands all over said bare flesh, dominates my thought processes throughout this scene….

Oh, and there's dialogue, too, since Mr One Night Stand himself is here actually doing the snuggling up afterward thing, and talking openly about their issues, a world away from the image he likes to present to the outside world – and even to his own family, who he puts so much effort into always being strong for.

CASSIE: "This we were good at. It's all the other stuff…not so much.
DEAN: "Hey, I tried. I mean, I told you who I really was. That's a big first for me."
CASSIE: "Why'd you tell me?"
DEAN: "I don't know. I guess I couldn't lie to you."

And coming from Dean, that's huge – Cassie has no idea just how much. Since they are so busy rehashing everything that went wrong, she reiterates just how insane she'd thought it sounded when he told her the truth, but then admits that maybe she was looking for a reason to walk away anyway. So he was more committed than she was, then? Interesting. I guess career girl Cassie has relationship issues all of her own. And it seems Sam's not the only one to want more from life than a nomadic ghost-hunting lifestyle generally has to offer, whether Dean wants to admit it or not. He reached out to Cassie for a reason.

DEAN: "In my work, um…I see some horrible things, things that can't be explained. And I deal with them. But working things out with you?"
CASSIE: "I'm a scary one all right. Well, usually, things get worked out. When you really want them to."

And therein lies the rub. Dean realises what she's trying to say, but he can't give her what she's angling for. Her life and career are here, and his could take him anywhere.

DEAN: "Yeah, but I'm still really involved in my dad's work."

Interesting that he calls it his dad's work, not his, and 'still really involved' doesn't sound as permanent a life choice as he usually makes out. Throughout the whole of the rest of the season Dean insists that this is his way of life that he has chosen to pursue for his own reasons as well as for John's sake. But here, with Cassie – which is about as open and emotionally honest as we ever see him – he doesn't sound quite so definite.

Cassie gently insists that neither of them make excuses any more, and then Dean's cell phone interrupts before the conversation can continue – it's Sam, with news of Mayor Todd's death. Dean heads on over there. Just finishing up talking to a police officer, Sam puts away some kind of ID card that apparently bought him access to the crime scene and the right to ask questions. We're definitely back in fake ID City again now: this is the second in one episode, on top of the real name usage earlier.

Since Dean failed to return to the motel after going to see Cassie last night, Sam is right back in big brother teasing mood once more.

SAM: "I'm guessing you guys worked things out?"
DEAN: "We'll be workin' things out when we're ninety. So, what happened?"

Solid diversion strategy in action there, giving nothing away. What's private is private. Sam gives up the teasing and returns to the case, since Dean is so firmly in business mode. Basically, though, they are stumped, since this killing doesn't fit the pattern. Further research is needed.

Back at the newspaper offices, Dean settles in to browse the online news archives. Cassie makes coffee and then joins him at the PC terminal, leaning right into his personal space in the process, not that he minds, of course, or even seems to notice. Searching for a link between the recent killings and those back in the sixties, it takes a phone call from Sam to provide the first real clues. Sam has been through the courthouse records, and learned that Mayor Todd and his wife recently bought up the abandoned property of the Dorian family, who had been the principle family in town for about 150 years. Dean brings up an old news article about one Cyrus Dorian, who went missing back in 1963 at about the time of the original killings. It further transpires that the first thing Mayor Todd did on buying the Dorian property was bulldoze the old house – the day before the first killing.

Later that night, Cassie seems to be home alone again, unless her grieving mother has already taken herself off to bed. Flickering lights are the first sign that something is wrong, and, since Cassie is already alert to weird things happening around here lately, she recognises it as a sign of potential trouble.

Seeing the truck revving its engine menacingly outside the house, the terrified Cassie starts to run around the house closing all the shutters, not unlike a toddler playing beep-po – 'if I can't see you, then you can't see me' kind of mentality. The truck continues to drive menacingly around the house, so she finally lunges for the phone and shrilly invokes Dean's name into it.

Apparently this tactic works, as the next scene sees Dean and Sam, Cassie and Mrs Robinson all sitting around the Robinson living room, the truck having departed. So where the heck was Mrs Robinson while it was so loudly circling her house? Sam hands Cassie a cup of tea to calm her nerves, which amuses me, since it's her house. They discuss the fright Cassie just got, and the fact that the phantom truck obviously wants to scare them before it kills them, and ask Mrs Robinson about it. She seems to be well and truly in shock about it all – a much better actress than the one playing her daughter!

Dean takes a pretty hard line with Mrs Robinson, and although Cassie tries to call him off, it works – presenting the cold hard truth to her, that her daughter could die, breaks through, and she starts to talk. Her husband Martin had recognised the truck, she says, as belonging to Cyrus Dorian. But that was impossible, because Cyrus Dorian died more than 40 years ago.

Except that his disappearance was never solved. Dean promptly seizes on that opening and questions further – how does she know he died? Mrs Robinson breaks down more than ever, and tearfully recounts the whole sordid story of what happened all those years ago. The scene basically becomes a really long monologue of an exposition dump, accompanied by flashbacks to break up the dialogue a little, but they all do their best with it.

Mrs Robinson had dated Cyrus Dorian back in the 60s, she explains, when they were all very young. But she was also seeing Martin, in secret because of the mixed-race thing. And Cyrus didn't react well when he found out about the two-timing, especially because the other man was black.

MRS ROBINSON: "When I broke it off with Cyrus, and when he found out about Martin…I don't know, he – he changed. His hatred – his hatred was frightening."
SAM: "The string of murders."
MRS ROBINSON: "There were rumors. People of color disappearing in some kind of a truck. But nothing was ever done. Martin and I, we were, uh, going to be married in that little church near here. But last minute, we decided to elope, 'cause we didn't want the attention."
DEAN: "And Cyrus?"
MRS ROBINSON [sobbing]: "The day we set for the wedding was…the day someone set fire to the church. There was a children's choir practicing in there. They all died."

So, in fact, it was all her fault for two-timing. There's a rather twisted and murky moral in there somewhere, although most jilted lovers don't go on a serial killing spree as a result, it's true. Mrs Robinson continues her story, explaining that, having already murdered all these other, completely unconnected people, Cyrus only then got around to his original love rival. He attacked Martin, but Martin fought back, and Cyrus was killed. Martin then called on his friends Clayton and Jimmy and they put Cyrus' body into his truck and rolled it into the swamp, and kept the secret ever since. Mayor Todd had been a young deputy back then, and realised what had happened – but did nothing, because he also knew what Cyrus had done.

And now all four of them, who'd known that dark secret, are dead. But Mrs Robinson also knew and kept the secret, so why did the truck go for her daughter, who knew nothing, instead of her?

Just Dean's luck that the nice normal girl he'd thought he knew back when they were dating would turn out to be connected to such a seething supernatural mess. Outside the house, later, Dean and Sam lean against the car and reflect on it all.

SAM [with a rueful chuckle]: "My life was so simple. Just school. Exams. Papers on polycentric cultural norms."

What the heck kind of course was he taking?

DEAN: "So, I guess I saved you from a boring existence."
SAM: "Yeah, occasionally I miss boring."
DEAN: "All right, so, this killer truck –"
SAM: "I miss conversations that didn't start with 'this killer truck'."

It's a comfortable, relaxed conversation, although Dean doesn't look entirely certain whether Sam is seriously regretful or not, and to be honest, neither does Sam. Dean doesn't laugh until Sam does, and they then quickly switch to the case at hand, agreeing that Cyrus was an evil bastard when he was alive, and that in death his spirit fused with his truck, which had in effect become his tomb down there in the swamp. The Mayor demolishing his old house awoke his dormant spirit, and he started to seek revenge on those who'd covered up his murder.

SAM: "You know we're gonna have to dredge that body up from the swamp, right? [Dean just looks at him with a wry smile.] Oh, man."
DEAN: "You said it."

Hee. I love how much they both don't enjoy that particular aspect of their work: the corpse retrieval.

Cassie comes out to explain that she's now put her mother to bed, which allows Dean to explain what the plan of action is, and to tell her to stay in the house until it's all over. Telling is quickly switched to suggesting, because she's not into authoritative guys, and we usually see Dean very much in charge, but he doesn't hesitate to amend his phrasing for her, and for us and for Sam it's again a glimpse into another side of him. Sam just sits there quietly laughing his head off, especially at the snogging. Dean is completely unembarrassed now, taking his sweet time before briskly calling his not-quite-patiently waiting brother to order, and off they go.

We cut to…the swamp at the edge of the old Dorian property, where the boys have apparently conjured an actual tractor from out of thin air in the middle of the night. I'm impressed. Maybe Mayor Todd had left it lying around as part of the construction work he had going on there. They've also apparently located the swamp-bound truck in no time flat, and got it hooked up to the tractor without getting themselves wet. Maybe we shouldn't dwell on these details too much. Let us just enjoy watching Dean drive the tractor for a moment. Even Sam thinks it suits him!

SAM: "Nice."
DEAN: "Hell, yeah."
SAM: "Now I know what she sees in you."
DEAN: "What? "
SAM: "Come on, man, you can admit it, you're still in love with her."
DEAN: "Oh, can we focus, please?"

Mwahahah. Sam just can't stop poking fun at his brother this episode, delighted by this rare glimpse he's getting behind Dean's emotional walls. They leave the truck on a steep incline leading back down to the swamp, held in place only by the tractor – I guess this is so that when it is all over it'll be easy to just let the truck slide back into the swamp, keeping that decades old secret intact.

Got to appreciate the very casual little conversation around what to take from the trunk, which feels very natural and in which Sam defers automatically to Dean's judgement, and then appreciate again their disgust when they open the truck door to find the remains of Cyrus inside.

No swamp water comes rushing out of the cab when the door is opened. It all seems suspiciously dry. Let us not dwell on that, either. Cyrus is quickly salted and burned, and that should be the end of the matter, except – not. The truck promptly reappears, revving its engine at them in menacing fashion.

SAM: "So, burning the body had no effect on that thing?"
DEAN: "Oh, sure it did. Now it's really pissed."
SAM: "But Cyrus' ghost is gone, right, Dean?"
DEAN: "Apparently not the part that's fused with the truck."

Sam seems to have temporarily forgotten that he's plenty experienced in these matters himself, and is defaulting to a much older habit of expecting Dean to come up with all the answers. Dean opts for rapid action that at least gets Sam out of any immediate peril. He jumps back into the car and leads the killer truck away from his brother, leaving Sam with the commandment to burn the truck.

SAM: "How the hell am I supposed to burn a truck, Dean?"
DEAN: "I don't know. Figure something out."

Well, the evidence of the many cars I've seen all burned out post-joyride suggests that your average truck wouldn't actually be that hard to burn. But this one has been in a swamp for over 40 years, which I have to admit, as a non-expert in these matters, might make it harder – even with all their gasoline and other accelerants, trying to get it alight could well take longer than they've got, since Dean has already got the truck on his tail.

Dean driving off with the killer truck in pursuit is just so in character, and a pretty revealing action in two ways: firstly, it gives us another example of Dean trying to protect his little brother by distracting the bad thing away from Sam and focusing all the danger on himself instead, and secondly it shows how much trust he's placing in Sam to come up with a solution in time to save him.

The chase amuses me way more than it should. Dean drives as fast as he can along dark and winding little roads, while the truck steadily gains on him. The truck, of course, being a phantom and all, doesn't have to worry about not spinning out of control with reckless driving on unfamiliar roads. While Sam, back at the swamp, hastily leafs through the journal in search of answers, Dean risks taking a hand off the wheel to phone and yell at him to hurry up. Sam just says to give him a minute and hangs up on him, which doesn't exactly ease his mind in any way.

Sam then phones Cassie to ask for some very exact information, before getting back to his very agitated brother to ask for more very precise information about where exactly he is. A conveniently placed road sign allows Dean to give Sam the information he needs, and then the truck rams the back of the Impala, which – ouch. This does not improve Dean's mood any.

Poring over a map of the area, Sam starts giving Dean directions, although following them isn't exactly easy, driving very fast and one-handed, due to the cell phone usage, and with the murderous truck right on his tail. Especially when Sam tells him to turn left, when the truck is right alongside him, on his left, blocking that route. So he brakes sharply, the truck speeds on, and he is thus able to make the turn. Very sharp driving. Sam now tells him to go exactly seven tenths of a mile along that road and then stop. Personally, I'd have no idea how to calculate seven tenths of a mile, especially in those circumstances, but Dean seems to manage it by studying his mileometer very carefully, spins the car around, and then waits.

DEAN: "It's just staring at me, what do I do?"
SAM: "Just what you are doing. Bringing it to you."

And now here's evidence of just how much Dean trusts Sam. Sam says this will work, so he does as he's told, and sits and faces the killer truck, even as it comes thundering toward him, bracing himself ready for the impact…

Which never comes. The truck drives straight through the car and vanishes into nothingness. Shocked, Dean takes a moment to catch his breath again.

DEAN: "Where'd it go?"
SAM: "Dean, you're where the church was."
DEAN: "What church?"
SAM: "The place Cyrus burned down. Murdered all those kids."
DEAN: "Not a whole lot left."
SAM: "Church ground is hallowed ground, whether the church is still there or not. Evil spirits cross over hallowed ground, sometimes they're destroyed. So, I figured maybe that would get rid of it."
DEAN: "Maybe? Maybe? What if you were wrong?"
SAM: "Huh. Honestly, that thought hadn't occurred to me."

That so isn't what you want to hear when you've just placed your life in someone else's hands. Almost speechless with disbelief, Dean hangs up, muttering dire imprecations against his brother as the adrenaline surge slowly fades. And you really can't blame him. Honestly, Sam didn't need to make him sit in that exact spot – he could have waited behind the church ruins, so that the truck disappeared before it got to him, instead of taking a chance on it being wiped out in the exact same moment that it hit the car, which is pretty much what happened. That was cutting things a bit finer than they really needed to be. Makes for better telly, though.

I can't help wondering why there'd be a road running right through the remains of the old church anyway. If it was built after the fire, you'd think what was left of the ruins would have been properly demolished, and if the road is older, why would it run right into the building and out the other side?

Case closed. Presumably the next day, Sam waits in the car while Dean says his goodbyes to Cassie.

CASSIE: "This is a better goodbye than last time."
DEAN: "Yeah, well, maybe this time it'll be a little less permanent."
CASSIE: "You know what? I'm a realist. I don't see much hope for us, Dean."
DEAN [disappointed]: "Well, I've seen stranger things happen. A hell of a lot stranger."

Ah, poor Dean. He doesn't want to let go of the hope that he can keep her in his life somehow. But he isn't going to give up his way of life for her. And although Cassie likes him a lot, especially now she knows he was telling the truth about what he does and isn't crazy after all, she isn't going to wait for him. One farewell kiss later, Dean and Sam hit the road once more. Whereupon Sam pronounces his judgement: "I like her."

Gazing thoughtfully out of the window, Dean mildly agrees with this assessment.

SAM: "You meet someone like her, ever make you wonder if it's worth it? Putting everything else on hold, doing what we do?"

That's kinda the wrong question to put to Dean, who doesn't consider his life to be on hold. This is his life, and he told Cassie the truth because he wanted to share it with her, not give it up for her. Judging by the wry little smile Sam's words draw, however, Dean might well be harbouring feelings of regret at this precise moment. But he's never going to say that out loud. His reasons for staying on the road are a lot stronger than any potential motivations for settling down. For now, anyway, and he doesn't seem prepared to acknowledge the possibility that that could change any time ever. So, he just ignores the question completely, and settles in to catch up on some missed sleep. "Wake me up when it's my turn to drive." And on they go.


september 2006

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