"Maybe the spirits are trying to shut down the movie 'cause they think it sucks."

Okay, so this isn't the best timed or most well-placed episode ever, and neither is it the most gripping, but it's a lot more amusing than I'd expected it to be after Tall Tales - which really wasn't my kind of humour – and it has a lot of great Dean moments. It's probably a good thing it comes after a four-week hiatus, though, rather than following hot on the heels of Heart with such a solidly standalone and light-hearted offering. This episode is crammed full of inside jokes – they must've had a lot of fun poking fun at themselves while making it – and I'm not even going to attempt to count them all, not least because, although most of 'em are more amusing than I expected, it isn't my kind of humour and I prefer to focus on the story.

Hey, there's no Then or Now! The story simply opens, in what we can only assume is Now, on your stereotypical horror movie sequence of terrified girl freaking out in the middle of nowhere as she tries to find her missing friends – dark, creepy woods, tumbledown shack, the works. One of said friends finally pops up, even more freaked than she is, refuses to help her search for the others, and legs it. Left alone, the girl freaks some more, hears something behind her, turns, and screams…not all that convincingly, though.

And it's a cut, and the reason it seemed such a stereotypical horror movie sequence was that it is a stereotypical horror movie sequence, in a stereotypical horror movie in the process of being made, and not going especially well, it would seem.

Actress Tara cops to her poor screaming skills, citing the tennis ball used as a place marker for CG effects as the reason for her inability to convince. Later, between scenes, stagehand Frank attempts to spook Tara and a fellow actor with tales of a haunted set, which they're having none of.

Later still, Tara rehearses lines behind the set, but starts to get spooked out by strange noises. Looking up, she sees a ghostly figure hovering above the bloody corpse of stagehand Frank, high up in the rafters, and screams loud and long.

Elsewhere on set, director McG is delighted to hear an authentic scream at last. "Now that's what I'm talking about!"

Titles.

And finally, it's the boys. They're taking a tour of the lot, sitting on one of those little golf buggy type buses, doing the tourist thing with a bunch of other people. Dean seems to be enjoying himself immensely, showing off his knowledge of the horror film genre to the unimpressed lad sitting alongside him. Sam is having less of a good time, and when the tour guide announces that they've reached the set of Stars Hollow, where Gilmore Girls is filmed, can't take any more, pulls an adorably alarmed face, and jumps off the buggy. Inside joke, of course, one of the many, as Jared Padalecki was in Gilmore Girls for five years, and this is the inside joke that bugs me most, as there is no reason at all for Sam to look so freaked about it. Unless he just really hates Gilmore Girls.

Anyway, Sam jumps off and Dean follows, grumbling about wanting to finish the tour. But as they wander around loose, Dean's good humour remains undiminished – he seems absolutely determined to enjoy being on a film set, treating it as the holiday he's wanted for months now, and such a geeky fanboy about it. Sam is about as morose as we've come to expect from him these days, but is amused by and indulges Dean's enthusiasm, although only up to a point. Dean wants to enjoy exploring, and it's worth remembering that he'll probably never have this opportunity again; Sam counters that they have to work.

Sam: "Dude, you wanted to come to LA."
Dean: "Yeah, for a vacation. I mean – swimming pools and movie stars, not to work."
Sam: "This seem like swimming pool weather to you, Dean? I mean, it's practically Canadian."
Dean: "Yeah. I just figured after everything that happened with…Madison…you could use a little R&R, that's all."
Sam: "Well, maybe I want to work, Dean, maybe it keeps my mind off things."
Dean: "Okay. Okay, all right."

It isn't much, but this is probably the single most important exchange of the episode, if only because it's the sole nod to continuity we are given – and it's a lot more attention than, for example, the fact of Sam shooting Dean again has ever been given. The last episode was hugely emotionally traumatic, but it isn't out of the ordinary for the show to follow that up with a light-hearted offering like this one, with little or no mention of those distressing events. This short exchange, skirting awkwardly around the issue, tells us pretty much everything we need to know.

Heart took place in San Francisco, not so far from LA, relatively speaking, and was obviously devastating for Sam and upsetting for Dean. We don't know how much time has passed, but probably not much. Worried about the effect Madison's death will have had on Sam, and clearly more certain than ever that a short break to recharge the batteries is what they both need, Dean has finally got his way and dragged his little brother to LA for a holiday. It's a nice nod to continuity that LA was on his list of potential holiday destinations way back in Croatoan, and the closest one on that list to San Francisco. Sam vetoed the vacation idea back then, when it was something Dean wanted for himself when the strain he'd been under all season got too much; this time the vacation idea was more for Sam's benefit, as he's the one with the recent trauma to deal with, and needing to look after Sam always makes Dean more determined, so he's got his own way on the subject at last. Except not really, as Sam, not wanting, or possibly not able, to just kick back and relax with everything that's been going on, has turned that holiday into a new job.

Hence this scene. It's become a working vacation, and Dean wants to salvage as much vacation from it as he can, wants to enjoy the experience of being on a film set – and from his behaviour, and depth of film knowledge displayed all through the episode and hinted at throughout the show, it wouldn't be a stretch to say that this is probably something of a dream come true for him. But Sam, on the other hand, wants to focus on the job and nothing else, wants to not have to think about anything else. They've always had such different coping mechanisms for stress.

Dean's mention of Madison is a little awkward and hesitant, a lot like the way he used to refer to Jessica, as something deeply personal to Sam that he isn't a part of and therefore doesn't expect to – or knows that Sam doesn't expect him to – fully understand, but wants Sam to know that he's trying.

The nice, safe topic of the job is quickly returned to and exposited for us, as the brothers stroll along with a random pair of Roman legionaries wandering behind them. I love that Sam has got most of his information online, where rumours are 'spreading like wildfire' about the haunted set. Heh, yeah, I bet.

"What, like Poltergeist?" Dean queries. Sam appraisingly sniffs that, yes, it could be a poltergeist, and Dean rolls his eyes, explaining that he actually meant the film Poltergeist. Sam remains blank; Dean sighs. "You know nothing of your cultural heritage, do you?" Heh, Dean doesn't often get to hold the high ground of knowledge, but films are his thing as much as books are Sam's. He relates the story of Poltergeist's supposedly haunted set, and Sam has to admit it sounds plausible for what could be going on here.

Sam hasn't had sight of any death certificate or coroner's report for stagehand Frank, pointing out that its LA, so that might not even be his real name. He tells Dean about the actress, Tara Benchley, who found the body and claims to have seen a vanishing figure nearby. Dean stops dead in his tracks, recognising the name, and could not be more of a fanboy if he tried, which is made more amusing by Sam's contrasting ignorance of the actress.

Completely unchallenged by anyone – no such thing as security once you're inside? – Sam and Dean wander onto the set of the film in question, Hell Hazers II, wherein they find a studio exec expounding at length to director McG and producer Jay about how the film should be brighter. Despite being a horror flick.

Studio guy Brad then spots Sam and Dean loitering and calls over for 'Green Shirt Guy', which would be Dean, to go get him a smoothie. Dean is all, "you want a what from who?" and all the more nonplussed when it turns out Brad has assumed he's a PA. Dean is none the wiser. Sam hastily comes to his brother's rescue, agrees to get the smoothie, and hurries him off.

Dean: "What's a PA?"
Sam: "I think they're kinda like slaves."

Later. Lots of random set people scuttle about behind the scenes, as Dean wanders through carrying a tray of smoothies. That's how easy it is to get a job on a film set? You just show up and start working, and everyone assumes you belong? Wow. Fly me out there right now! Being so completely invisible, as just another PA among the many crew bustling around on set, Dean is able to randomly stroll pretty much wherever he wants. In this instance where he wants to go is up to the rafters where stagehand Frank met his grisly end, having first furtively checked that no one has spotted him losing the tray and climbing the gantry, and only slightly perturbed when the lights go out as a scene begins filming down below. He scans the area for EMF, but gets nothing.

Meanwhile, down on set, Tara and her fellow cast members are filming a scene in which Tara's character thinks it will be fun to recite a Latin incantation, which I knew was deeply dodgy the moment I first saw it, and so was delighted to be proved right later in the episode. In this show, Latin always has an effect. "Oh God, I hate you so much right now," Tara laughs when she gets to the end of the chant. I'll betcha JP, in particular, has said that more than once. He gets more Latin to recite than anyone else on the show.

Later, Sam descends on Dean over at the food stand to ask how the EMF scan went. None anywhere, Dean reports. What exactly is Sam's function loitering around set while Dean pretends to work? Is there no security to guard against intruders? Because he doesn't exactly seem to be making any kind of attempt to act like he belongs there, unlike his brother. "So what do you think?" he grumbles.

"Well, I think being a PA sucks," Dean muses. "But the food these people get, are you kidding me – look at these things! They're like miniature philly cheese steak sandwiches, they're delicious!" Heh. Dean's enthusiasm for free food never gets old.

Sam is unimpressed by the food, since he doesn't have the same food fetish as his brother, so Dean just digs on in and asks with his mouth full – and a bit of bacon sticking out of it – what Sam has found out about the dead guy. Sam pulls his usual, long-suffering 'I can't believe we're related' face as he reports back that Frank was just filling in for the day and that no one knew anything about him or where he lived or anything. So there's no such thing as HR on a film set? You really can just wander in off the street and start working without a soul knowing who you are or if you are supposed to be there. Interesting.

There's a cute cutaway moment as a random stagehand wanders up to grab a sandwich and greets the brothers with a casual 'hey', which they echo back at him, Dean going on to rave about the wonderful sandwiches to his departing back.

Sam has found out a little history about Set Nine, though – four people have died messy there in the past 80 years: two suicides and two fatal accidents. Dean notes that any one of them could be a vengeful spirit, and Sam continues that they just need to narrow it down more.

Then Dean spots Tara wandering over to sit nearby and perks up. "I'll get right on that," he decides, mouth still full of sandwich, and hightails over to her.

En route, he grabs a handful of script out of the hands of a passer-by. By the time he reaches Tara, all traces of sandwich are gone, and so is his regular cocky Dean attitude, replaced by adorable coy bashfulness as he uses 'first day on the job' jitters and inexperience as an excuse to start talking to her, segueing from there into even more bashful fanboyness over her film career.

"Oh God, what a terrible script," is all Tara has to say about the film Dean mentions. Hee. It's gratifying to have confirmation that actors do realise some of their projects are dire. A job's a job, I suppose, even if it sucks.

From there it's a short step to asking about her discovery of dead Frank, and so much for Dean's lack of people skills, because his adopted persona here has Tara eating out of his hand and confiding the entire story to him in no time at all. I really like this conversation because it gives us so many different facets of Dean, both genuine and assumed, skilfully and deliberately woven together in order to achieve the desired result – getting vital information for the case out of the sole eyewitness. And, as a bonus, getting to talk to an actress he, erm, admires at the same time. Dean never takes his eyes off the case throughout this episode, but he also very much makes the most of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to indulge a little, as well.

During this conversation, a bespectacled little guy by the name of Walter wanders by and hands Tara a drink. It's subtle and random and throwaway, but this character will be important later and is being presented to us here as a complete nonentity.

Tara: "I take polaroids of all the crew. It's…one of those things you do to kill the time."

Heh. Again, spot the inside joke. Which I said I wasn't going to do, so shall stop. More importantly, Tara has a picture of dead stagehand Frank. Dean takes one look – and recognises the man. "Son of a bitch!"

Cut to: the home of one Gerard St James, random bit-part actor – and also not-so-dead stagehand Frank. Dean's lifetime of watching late night TV in a succession of crappy motels just paid off. His fanboyness is adorable all over again – and also far more successful than Sam's rather accusatory "you're not dead" approach, quickly schmoozing the guy into inviting them in. Dean's enjoying himself and working the job.

Gerard readily enough explains the Frank gig – the producers brought him in just for the day, to play Frank and fake his death. "Rumours of a haunted film set, free publicity, especially when you're making a horror movie – I mean it's already all over the internet."

A little chagrined, since the case looks to be a bust, Sam can only admit that they already know that part, what with the Net being where he got all his information for the case. But for all his steely desire for distraction earlier, he doesn't really seem all that bothered, more mildly irritated yet resigned to the waste of time. I always like seeing hints of cases that turn out not to be, because it stands to reason that a lot of the vague reports they investigate will turn out to be non-supernatural in origin. They have to investigate them all, though, in order to find the ones that are genuine.

Gerard waxes lyrical about new media and creating a buzz, explaining that the ghost Tara saw was a projection. Dean regards the whole thing slightly differently, and wonders if it isn't a little cruel to mess with their heads like that. That's nice characterisation, to resent that kind of manipulation on behalf of someone else. There are enough genuinely frightening and dangerous things out there, without faking them to scare innocent people just for the publicity.

"Hey, I just play the part, I don't write the script." Gerard brushes it off and dives straight into advertising his next gig, on stage in Death of a Salesman. And that's pretty much Sam's cue to make polite excuses for a quick getaway, slightly hampered by Dean's fanboying – this part no longer job-related, but purely making the most of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to brush shoulders with an obscure bit-part actor.

Back on set, the filmmaking continues, with another scene being filmed. Technical people abound, and the scene goes swimmingly – apart from the sound, with 'some kind of feedback' meaning they have to go again. Feedback…meaning EVP. Except that the apparent haunting of the set has supposedly been debunked now.

While everyone bustles around getting re-set up, McG listens with a long-suffering air to the ramblings of studio suit Brad about how he doesn't understand the 'rules', or how a Latin chant could cause ghosts to appear. "If the ghosts are in hell, how do they hear the chanting? I mean, what, do they have super-hearing?"

McG appeals to the writer, Martin, who doesn't even look up as he offers to throw in an explainer. Brad is happy with that, and promptly toddles off to check some messages, leaving the hands-on crew to roll their eyes in disgust at his retreating back. "Suits."

Behind the set, in much the same place that Tara had her fake ghost experience earlier, Brad messes around with his bluetooth earpiece and phone, completely oblivious to the black and white ghostly figure standing right behind him. On spotting her, he automatically assumes she's an extra in costume for the film and talks to her as such, musing about the rope burn around her neck not being red enough to be caught effectively by the camera, then dismisses her completely and wanders away to resume his message checking. The ghost woman does that ghostly shift to get right behind him again, this time silently stripping off her silk bathrobe before ascending the stairs up into the gantry where Frank met his supposed doom. Brad takes the bait and follows her.

The same scene as before plays out on the shack set – with an extra line added to refer to the super-hearing of the ghosts – but at that moment a loud crash interrupts proceedings. Screams erupt all around as Brad's very fresh corpse dangles from the rafters, spinning from a rope around his neck, and his bluetooth earpiece falls to the ground beneath his feet.

Later. Another scene is filmed in the same set. While the actors do their thing, the technical people off to one side mutter among themselves about Brad's apparent suicide, agreeing that a moment's silence for him at breakfast was ample mourning, him being just a studio guy and all.

A huge amount of screen time is being given to the numerous guest characters in this episode, and that, I think, is probably the biggest downside of this week's instalment – as nice as it is to have guest characters fleshed out, having so many of them takes precious screen time away from the brothers, just when we would value seeing a little domestic interaction from them, as well as strictly job-related, in the wake of San Francisco and Madison.

The actors are struggling to get through the scene, and a cut is called. Hanging around at the fringes, still in his guise of PA, still making the most of the free food, and now wearing an official 'Hell Hazers II' t-shirt and nifty radio headset, Dean cheerfully echoes the shout of cut, throwing himself into the part he's playing with gusto. And prompting McG to peevishly complain that only he can say 'cut'.

Tara apologises to McG for her lapse, using the dialogue as an excuse – "Why would a ghost be afraid of salt?"

Dean silently smirks to himself, tucked nice and anonymously away in the background, and makes no move whatsoever to pitch into the debate. I like that. It would be so easy to jump on in and act the professional, full of information, and would also be so very inappropriate, drawing unwanted and negative attention to himself, and making it harder to work the case. Validation and recognition really aren't things Dean ever seems to crave; he's always happy just knowing what he knows and doing what he does, whether anyone notices and appreciates his efforts or not. It's nice when they do, though.

While the random creative types bandy possible alternatives to salt around the place – "What would a ghost be scared of? Maybe shotguns?" "Yeah, that makes even less sense than the salt." – Dean continues to loiter in the background, eating and observing. The very random Walter, who we met so briefly earlier, rolls his eyes in disgust at the condiment debate. "These people are idiots," he snarls at Dean as he stalks away.

"Walter's a little testy for a PA," Dean notes as Sam strolls over to join him. And that, right there, would be a clue.

"How's it going in here?" Sam quietly asks. This prompts Dean to start waxing lyrical about the film production in general and Tara's performance in particular, like a child in a sweetshop, absolutely entranced by this tiny taste of something he can never actually have. With his love of bad horror films already established, it figures that he'd get an enormous kick out of watching one being made, especially with a nubile actress in the mix.

Sam is incredulous, and we've seen before, many times, that Dean does love to provoke that very reaction. "Dean, you know, when I ask how it's going, I'm talking about the case, right? We don't really work here. You know, I thought you hated being a PA?"

Cue semi-gratuitous crotch shot as Dean grins with the kind of boyish enthusiasm we haven't seen all that much of this season. "I don't know, it's not so bad – I kind of feel like part of the team, you know."

Sam gives his absolute best pissy little brother look, but I can see how Dean, who has lived most of his life in such extreme isolation from regular society, would find inclusion in any kind of team spirit appealing, even from such a lowly position. He spends so much of his existence on the outside looking in, never able to really feel a part of anything, and denying that he'd even want to. Sam, though, not wanting his mind to be on other things, has reason for being irritated at this display of apparently cavalier attitude to the case. He doesn't say any more on the subject, however, switching instead to his own research – he's conned his way into the morgue and confirmed that: "Brad's a doornail, no question."

"Copy that," says Dean, and then pulls the mic away from his mouth to add, "Sorry, what?" to Sam, who is nonplussed. Sam starts to repeat himself, only for Dean, distracted again by someone else talking into his ear, to firmly state: "They're aware," into his mic. Sam is even more confused, apparently having not worked out yet that the headset isn't just for show, or that Dean isn't just hanging around eating on set, but has been actively interacting and working with the people around him, rather than merely pretending to – hence the team spirit thing. Sam repeats his line about Brad being a doornail for a third time – must've really liked the sound of that line to say it the same way so many times. "I guess it's a good thing we didn't skip town," Dean notes with an approving grin.

"Come here, I want you to hear something," Dean continues, adding, "Copy that, on my way," into the mic as he wanders off. Sam follows him over to the sound tech, where he asks for Sam to hear "that thing you were playing me earlier." The tech obliges and hands Sam a set of headphones, playing for him the scene on which the sound was affected by EVP the previous day.

I think the way the crew people respond to Dean – both what we see and what's implied – might be my favourite aspect of this episode. This is the benefit of Dean throwing himself so wholeheartedly into the role of PA – he isn't just indulging himself, he's forming valuable contacts that will help with the case. Enjoying himself at the same time is a benefit, of course, and Dean has always drawn whatever transient enjoyment he can from his work, rather than letting each job be the be all and end all of his existence. If the job is going to be his life, he might as well make some kind of life out of it, and that's an attitude Sam has never really grasped, being as single-mindedly focused as he is.

That's been the difference in approach to the job the brothers have had all along, in point of fact. Sam has always viewed it as a means to an end. Whether that end was revenge on the Yellow-Eyed Demon, salving his guilt over John's death, or racking up as many saves as he can in an attempt to save his own soul, Sam has always had his eyes on the prize at the end of the race, distraction not allowed. Dean, on the other hand, has always taken a much more leisurely approach, because for him it isn't about any kind of ultimate goal that must be rushed toward; the journey itself, and each individual case in and of itself, is the whole point.

Whether Dean's laid-back attitude is entirely fitting at this point in the season, after the very grave events of Heart, is another matter. It would be nice if he just once in this episode asked Sam how he's holding up, although Sam probably wouldn't welcome the implied concern. But I really can't find it in me to begrudge Dean his desire to make the most of whatever 'holiday' he can salvage from this vacation-turned-job, not when a vacation of any kind is something he's needed so very badly for such a long time. A working holiday like this is a compromise that suits both him and Sam, and despite Sam's occasional pissy expressions and comments, which are after all part of his duty as younger brother, he doesn't really seem to begrudge Dean's enjoyment of his time on set either. That Sam can't unwind enough to share in that enjoyment is both fitting to where Sam is emotionally right now and testament to the very different interests of the brothers. Dean clearly loves this kind of really awful horror film, whereas Sam has always preferred to read and learn in his downtime.

Anyway, Sam listens to the EVP, and a raised eyebrow each is all the communication he and his brother need on the subject – however different their attitudes to the superficialities of this job, when it comes down to the nuts and bolts of it they are very much in synch, and I really like that.

Wandering around to the back of the set, the EVP from the night of Brad's death is discussed, along with the "electromagnetic readings up the wazoo" Dean is now getting. "For some reason it's a legit haunting now."

"Who's the ghost, Dean, and what's it want?" Sam grumbles, hopefully rhetorically, since he can hardly expect Dean to have much more idea than he does at this stage. Dean suggests taking a look at Brad's death scene, and leads Sam off to one of the trailers out in the lot to make covert use of the DVD player and widescreen TV installed therein. In addition to his headset, Dean is also wearing a fabulous utility belt with all kinds of pouches and gizmos hooked onto it, really getting into his role here. Fantastic.

Sam wonders where Dean got the DVD he's putting into the machine. Dean explains that "they're called 'dailies'" and then goes into detail about how he got it from Cindy, who's got this on-off thing going with Drew, who dubbed an extra copy for Dean. And oh how I love the nonchalance with which he relates this networking, which reinforces his comment about team spirit earlier. It's so nice to be allowed to see Dean interacting with a large group of people and being so completely accepted by them as just another one of them, rather than being the weirdly intense outsider trying awkwardly to obtain unusual information, to see him able to recognise people and talk to them about things without being seen as a freak. And it must be nice for him to be reminded that he can actually fit, if only for a little while. Dean likes to be useful, and it is clear that he has very quickly made himself so here, which is working out much to the advantage of the case. Sam is usually the one who shines in social situations, but here, in a setting he's not best suited for, and still being so subdued and case-focused post-Madison, Sam is much more in the background of this episode.

I feel I should be more bothered than I am about Sam's reduced role, but although the long scenes with the guest characters tend toward dullness – more of a commentary on the process of making a horror film, and show business in general, than an episode of Supernatural – and could have been shortened to allow more time for Sam, I find his background-ness actually rather fitting to his state of mind. He wants to keep focused on this case in order to take his mind off Madison and his destiny, and everything else he's got going on, but that very focus makes it harder for him to achieve the networking and information-gathering needed to actually resolve the case – he can't unwind enough. So he's off doing the grunt work while Dean holds the focus of the episode, working on the film set. When he is around, Sam mostly seems pretty much like his usual self – broody and morose, sure, but not so much so that he isn't simultaneously amused and frustrated by his brother's behaviour. In other words, he seems to be handling the circumstances of Madison's death pretty well, it being just another in a long line of traumatic events, and he's learning to roll with the punches to avoid going under, to mix a metaphor. Any repercussions and fallout are clearly going to come later rather than sooner.

And maybe Dean should be paying a little more overt attention to Sam's state of mind post-Madison. But not only does Sam not seem like he really needs to be monitored that closely, but I get the feeling they've already worked their way past that point, already talked it out as much as either of them can stand while in the process of agreeing to come to LA, Dean feeling that they both need a vacation, and Sam turning that vacation into a new job. Yes, in the past we've seen them each prodding at the other to open up more about whatever was bothering them, but they're past that now, and have been for quite a while. They both know perfectly well what's going on in the other's head regarding the outcome with Madison, and also know that there is absolutely nothing they can do about it, other than carry on doing what they are doing.

Both have been determinedly playing the 'denial' and 'business as usual' cards pretty much since Playthings. They might not be together that much in this episode – their interaction is more or less exclusively case related, sad to say, with no 'domestic' motel/Impala scenes at all – but they're reading from the same page, and it shows in very subtle ways, rather than being spelled out for us. Sam wants it to be a job, and nothing but a job, and Dean is letting him get on with that as a coping mechanism, while Dean wants it to be a bit of a vacation as well as a job, and Sam is letting him get on with that, beyond the odd snarky comment and eye roll. Each is silently allowing the other to take out of this whatever it is that he needs from it, without any need to actually say so. The trouble with that is, of course, that the saying so is what fans want to see and hear!

They both draw a lot of comfort in difficult times from withdrawing into the relative safety of their long-established roles and banter, avoiding serious discussion of whatever's wrong, and we've seen that on numerous occasions – Playthings sticks out as an obvious recent example of this, although the roles each assumed felt slightly forced in that episode, as suited the fact that they were still a little at odds with one another there, dancing around their differences and overcompensating. They don't have that kind of conflict here, and so can just slide into patterns that come naturally to them, a welcome distraction from issues that can't be resolved. That they are so very comfortable and at ease with one another despite recent traumatic events is rather lovely to see, and speaks volumes for the fact that their unity, even while working mostly separately, is providing them both with a lot of strength.

The attitudes and behaviour of both are actually strongly reminiscent of Nightshifter – following on from emotionally draining events, Sam is tightly buttoned up and a little on the snippy side, while Dean is relaxed and laid-back, since everything is out in the open, both of them completely at ease with and accepting of the other's attitude, and drawing a lot more comfort from their normal banter than they would any deep and meaningful heart-to-hearts about painful events that can't be changed.

So, anyway, Dean plays the scene in which Brad falls through the roof, and eagle-eyed Sam instantly spots something – caught on camera for the merest split second is that black and white, ghostly woman who lured Brad to his death.

That's such consistent characterisation for Sam – if there's the tiniest detail to be seen, nine times out of ten it will be Sam, with his meticulous eye for detail, who catches it.

"It's like Three Men and a Baby all over again," Dean remarks, squinting at the screen. And, bless his heart, Sam can spot a ghost flashing by in a split second of film, but he knows nothing about films, any films. "Selleck, Danson and Guttenburg," Dean patiently explains. "And…I don't know who played the baby…"

Dean distracts himself so easily, and always has. Sam wonders what his point is. Dean explains about the supposed ghost caught on camera in that film, a boy who appears in the background of one scene who no one remembers from on set. "Spirit photography."

Sam takes the point, and studies the rather grainy image on-screen a little more closely. "I've seen her before," he murmurs.

So, it turns out that Sammy knows a little something about films after all, although how he could recognise anything from that shadowy, grainy figure is beyond me. Eagle-eyed, like I said.

Later. Dean futzes around with radios, connecting various different folk around the set and indulging in a little gossip while he's at it. It's always nice when the show throws in subtle bits of character consistency – Dean has always been technically minded and likes working with his hands, building EMF readers, rebuilding the Impala, in contrast to Sam's affinity for computers and research skills. And this background detail to this scene confirms just how useful he has made himself on set: that in a very short space of time, and largely as a means to an end, he's carved a genuine niche for himself – found a place to fit, where his more transferable skills can be made use of and appreciated. And it's just a job, just a very casual, low-level job, but all of a sudden we're catching this tiny glimpse of a possible Dean who might have been, in another life. And, in a way, so is he, and he's basking in it, all the more so because of the transience of the experience, a break from the norm. An ordinary job like this – or at least as ordinary as the film industry gets – is a holiday to Dean.

Sam, meanwhile, impatiently waves the relevant bit of paper in front of Dean until he stops talking to read it. It's a copy of an old newspaper report about one Elise Drummond, a starlet back in the Thirties…both stop talking until a few random set hands have passed by…and then Sam resumes. Elise had an affair with a studio exec, who later fired her and left her destitute, whereupon she hanged herself from Stage Nine's rafters, right into a scene being shot. Just like Brad.

How Sam it is that he would recognise this starlet from the Thirties, but not know anything about the more modern film lore that Dean seems to have at his fingertips.

So, the circumstances of Elise and Brad's deaths offer both pattern and motive. Dean looks at Sam. "We're digging tonight, aren't we?"

On set, things are being wrapped up for the night. "You're a genius, you're kicking ass and taking names," Jay jovially tells McG by way of goodnight as everyone heads home.

Meanwhile, Dean and Sam are conducting their time-honoured tradition of prowling around a cemetery, flashlights in hand, Dean navigating. "This map is totally worth the five bucks," he laughs as their route takes them past a Humpty Dumpty headstone. It's a Hollywood cemetery, after all.

Dean: "Hey, we gotta go check out Johnny Ramone's grave when we're done here."
Sam: "You wanna dig him up, too?"
Dean: "Bite your tongue, heathen!" Hee.

Rather than enjoying a brief tour of celebrity headstones, Sam wonders why after 75 years Elise Drummond would suddenly become homicidal now.

Dean: "Maybe she's mad that they're making a scary ghost flick."
Sam (amused): "Come on, is it really that scary?"

Heh. Elise Drummond's grave is located, and the digging begins.

Later. Sam hangs around watching while Dean finishes the digging. This is a very normal pattern for their work.

Meanwhile, still randomly hanging around on set, Jay is chattering away on his cell phone about how much he hates McG's dailies, can't control the guy, wants to direct the next one himself. "What, you? No, Bob. You I love, you're a genius, you're kicking ass and taking names," he jovially assures whoever is on the other end of the line. Classic Hollywood ass kissing, followed up with a withering "what a dick" as soon as he's hung up. At that moment, the lights go out and Jay is not amused, shouting out for someone to come and help him find his way off set.

Cemetery. Dean opens the coffin to reveal the 75-year-old corpse of Elise Drummond. Sam salts while Dean douses with lighter fluid, and then Dean does the final honours and drops a lighted match into the grave, with a very grim air and no parting words for the homicidal spirit. Here, at the business end of the job, the extreme greyness of the issues they've been dealing with lately are apparent in the weary stance and expression of both, however much of a relaxing distraction working on a film set has been for Dean, if not so much for Sam.

On set. Jay is still stumbling around in the dark. He sees a dark figure passing by up ahead, and calls for whoever it is to help him find his way to the exit, quickly losing his temper when there is no reply. "Somebody could get hurt here," he snaps – just as the man he's approaching turns around to reveal hideous head injuries, his skull split right open just above the forehead. Jay is so horrified he falls over, looking up to see that the man has gone. A giant industrial fan turns itself on nearby. The ghostly figure appears and disappears once more, and then Jay begins to be dragged into the fan, screaming for help…

A giant white screen nearby is splattered with blood, gore and body parts. Gruesome. And for a second time this episode the supposedly closed case proves to be not so much.

Next up – a trailer for the film in question: Hell Hazers II. It's a hugely cheesy self-parody, inter-cutting scenes from the film as we've seen it being made with flashes of scenes from past episodes of Supernatural itself, making numerous references to examples of the horror genre in general, and using some of the real life credits of real life director McG – an executive producer on the show – all of which is mind-bogglingly post-modern.

"Run in with a giant fan – Same thing happened to an electrician back in '66," notes research-hound Sam next morning, as he and Dean disconsolately survey the blood-soaked scene of Jay's death.

Elise has already been torched, and this is not her MO; the notion of a second ghost suddenly operating in the same location is unsettling for both. "These things don't usually tag-team," Dean grumbles.

Out in the lot, McG bounces out of his car and summons the cast and crew to gather around for an announcement. Sam and Dean join the throng, both of them – Sam, of course, especially – seeming to tower over everyone around them. McG's announcement is that in light of Jay's accident, and in cooperation with the authorities, they are shutting down production for a few days. His rousing speech about finishing the film for Brad and Jay leaves Dean and Sam pretty cold, needless to say, but seems to go down pretty well among the rest of the crew. And then they are all told to go home and wait for someone to call them back when things have been cleared up.

Trailer. Apparently, the boys are squatting. Bored virtually comatose, Sam is watching the dailies in search of another clue like the one that led them to Elise Drummond. Sam is really pretty in this episode. Just saying. Dean wanders in to report that the electrician was cremated, not buried, which means there's no corpse to salt and burn this time. And that's a nice reversal of the roles established for them both so far this episode. They alternate tasks more and more as time goes by, neither one having any specialties completely set in stone. Without a corpse to burn, they are pretty much at a loss for how to proceed, and there have been no more ghost cameos in the dailies. "Not in the first six hours," Sam wearily notes. "Maybe the spirits are trying to shut down the movie 'cause they think it sucks. 'Cause I mean it kinda does." Hee.

On screen, Tara recites her Latin incantation, and comprehension strikes Sam like a lightning bolt. "Listen to that invocation," he gasps. "Dean, that's the real deal, a necromantic summoning ritual – what the hell is that doing in a Hollywood movie?"

Ah, how I love Latin Geek!Sam.

Office. Jay's name is being removed from his door, while across the hall writer Martin is lounging around in his own office, on the phone. LA people live their lives on the phone, clearly. Dean and Sam arrive to talk to him. Sam takes the lead on this one, and his usual faux-sincerity kinda seems all the more obviously faux compared to Dean's very genuine geeky enthusiasm seen earlier, because he's trying but he really can't fake any semblance of authentic interest in the script. Dean's not all that impressed either, because the script really isn't what he's been finding so much fun about the making of this film. Luckily, Martin doesn't take much convincing to believe that his work is awesome and loved and has fans.

Encouraged, Sam admires the attention to detail in the script, and Martin laps up the praise…until Sam starts talking about Inokian summoning rituals and authentic languages, at which point the writer's face drops like a stone. "What, you mean that Latin crap?"

It turns out that random, testy Walter was the original writer of the script, and it was he who put all the Latin in – not a PA, as Dean had assumed, but a writer with a clause in his contract that allows him to come on set. His testiness suddenly becomes understandable, although his willingness to drudge not so much. Martin, irritated, sullenly disses Walter's original script as unusable, all exposition with no pace, no love interest, no nothing, scoffing that he had to cut 90% of it to make it readable and another 10% to make it good. Martin can't do his sums, clearly, because if he'd cut 100% of Walter's original script that Latin invocation would not still be in there.

Dean and Sam are not impressed by Martin, or by his attitude: clearly of no use to them whatsoever.

Later. The boys sit reading copies of Walter's original script, titled 'Lord of the Dead'.

"They should have kept Walter's original script, its actually pretty good," Dean decides.
"Yeah, and it reads like a how-to manual of conjuration." Sam sniffs at the folly of man. "Like a textbook on how to summon ghosts and get them to do what you want."
"Yeah, like kill people," Dean agrees, still glued to the script, where Sam has now cast his aside in disgust.

It isn't hard now to figure out what's going on here – somewhere down the line Walter learned some pretty black magic, and he's pissed enough at these people for wrecking his movie to be willing to exact some pretty extreme revenge.

Sam: "By whatever means."
Dean: "Worth checking out."

On set. Martin is now randomly wandering around; it turns out that Walter has asked him to come here to meet. Martin couldn't be ruder to and more dismissive of the original writer if he tried, although he has at least turned up for this meeting.

"You know, the history, the lore in my draft was completely accurate," Walter peevishly points out, fingering some kind of talisman. "We could have got it right for the first time ever in this whorehouse of a town. But, you tore it to shreds. You replaced it with cleavage and fart jokes." Heh. I'm not fond of toilet humour, either. "It was real."

Martin couldn't care less about real. "We're talking about ghosts here, Walter – there's no such thing."

To prove him wrong, Walter holds up his talisman and starts chanting Latin. Martin looks embarrassed for him. "Okay, nutjob. End of meeting." He turns around – right into the dead electrician seen earlier by Jay right before his grisly demise, and screams like a girl.

Martin is soon well on his way to a grisly demise of his own, being dragged by the ankle toward that giant fan by the dead electrician. Which is presumably how Jay ended up being dragged in by it, as you'd have to assume they aren't that powerful, given that they are used so freely on set. Martin screams for help, while Walter hops around in glee. "Now you're going to find out what being a ghost is really like."

The guest characters really are being given a strong workout in this episode – maybe JA and JP were being given a hard-earned rest of sorts prior to the build-up to the end of the season. I'm all for well-fleshed-out guest characters, but when there's this many of them in one episode, given that we're accustomed to more brotherly interaction, it can get a little crowded.

Just in the nick of time, a rocksalt shotgun blast dispels the dead electrician, releasing Martin to scramble frantically away from the fan once more. Dean appears, shotgun in hand, and scans the area for any more ghosts, while Sam shuts down the fan. Martin stares in awe at his rescuer. "You are one hell of a PA."

"Yeah, I know," Dean casually assures him, helping the guy back to his feet. Heh. It's always nice to see the boys' life-saving work being acknowledged and thanked. Appreciation is so rare for them.

Sam starts striding angrily toward Walter, who anxiously wonders what they are doing and starts to scamper up into the rafters, wilting under the force of that glare. The boys really don't like it when humans start messing with dark forces like this. As if their work wasn't difficult enough when the spirits are naturally occurring, without having them deliberately summoned by idiots like this.

Sam: "Raising these spirits from the dead, making them murder people for you – that's playing with fire, Walter."

Walter protests that they couldn't understand, and Sam freely admits that yes, he doesn't understand.

Walter: "Look, you put your heart and soul into something, years of hard work, years. And then they take it! And they crap all over it! And then they want you to smile and say thank you."

Sam can't quite believe what he's hearing. "Walter, it's just a movie, that's it."

But Walter, who comes from another world entirely, can't quite believe he's hearing that. "Look, I got nothing against you, man, you're not part of this, just please, please leave. But Martin's gotta stay."

"Sorry, we can't do that," Dean firmly tells him. "It's not that we like him, or anything, it's just a matter of principle." A principle whereby you save lives, rather than manipulating dark forces to destroy them out of sheer petty bile.

"Then I'm sorry too," is all Walter has to say, raising his talisman to start chanting again.

Deeply frustrated, all Sam can do is snap out an impatient: "Walter, don't."

Walter's having none of it. He chants, the set shakes slightly, and then there are ghosts – dead electrician guy and a couple of others. Dean automatically yells for Sam, who quickly gets behind him, apparently not having any weaponry of his own at hand, and raises his shotgun at the ghosts, who advance menacingly – and then vanish. There's a pause while everyone wonders what's going to happen next, and then Sam gets randomly tossed to the ground. Dean picks him back up and they all run for it, while Walter continues his ascent into the rafters.

Dean fires blindly behind him to try to clear their escape as they all scoot into the shack set and bar the door, hoping they'll be safe there. Sam really does seem to be completely unarmed, which doesn't strike me as the best preparation ever, even if they weren't expecting this kind of a showdown. But then, Sam often goes unarmed, as long as Dean isn't.

Dean reloads the shotgun, bitterly mocking Walter Die Hard-style as he does so, and then the obvious flaw in the shack-sheltering plan hits them all like a ton of bricks – the shack only has three sides, the fourth being wide open for the cameras. Not that the ghosts couldn't just walk through the walls or manifest right inside the shack anyway, but I guess four walls feel safer.

Martin: "I can't believe this – ghosts are real!"
Dean: "What makes you say that?"
Heh.

There's another long pause, everyone just waiting to be attacked again. Martin wonders how Walter can be controlling the ghosts. Sam points to the talisman as the most likely explanation, and then has a brainwave and pulls out his cell phone, hypothesizing that if film cameras could pick up the spirits, then maybe his camera phone will also. He scans the room – and spots dead electrician guy right behind Dean. Sam yells and points, and Dean blasts the ghost to bits. And then another one – Sam yells and points, and Dean shoots. Not quite such a direct hit, but good enough, and pretty impressive since he's taking his aim blind from Sam's vague directing.

Sam then hands his phone to Martin and instructs him to carry on helping Dean hold them off, while he goes after Walter – presumably the spirits have been directed to target Martin in particular, and anyone who gets in the way of that in general, meaning that Sam isn't leaving himself an open target by going out there unarmed and alone.

"I cannot believe there's an afterlife," Martin continues to gush in awe as he scans the room with the phone camera.
"Oh, there's an afterlife, all right," Dean grimly notes, focusing his attention toward scouring the room for any hint of unseen danger. "But mostly it's a pain in the ass."

Martin spots a spirit, and Dean shoots, and meanwhile up in the office complex, Walter finds his escape blocked by Sam, who looks thoroughly, utterly pissed off, like a stern teacher reprimanding a particularly dense and recalcitrant child. He is so very much John's son in moments like this. He wanted this job to be a distraction from his own issues; instead the very human cause of it is just annoying him. "It's over, Walter. Now give it to me."

Instead, Walter throws a temper tantrum and flings his talisman to the ground, smashing it.

Sam is rather dismayed. "I wouldn't have done that if I were you." Walter wonders why not. "'Cause you just freed them," Sam ominously tells him. "We can't stop them now."

Dean and Martin join them at this point, having presumably decided to make a run for it, rather than just stand around picking off spirits at the spirits' own leisure but without ever being able to actually destroy them for good.

"Walter, you brought them back, forced them to murder," Sam continues. "They're not going to be very happy with you."

That's a recurring theme with supernatural creatures that are entrapped by humans – we saw it in Faith and again in Shadow. Once that control is broken, vengeance is exacted upon the person who had enslaved them.

Walter again wonders why not, but almost immediately receives an answer he wasn't expecting, dropping to the ground in agony as he is attacked by an unseen force, his shirt rapidly soaking through with blood. Martin rather gruesomely raises the phone camera again to reveal the three spirits merrily flaying the man alive. Dean looks grim, since there's really nothing that can be done at this point – the man brought it on himself and can't be saved from that now. Not that anyone lifts a finger to even try. What goes around comes around.

Later. Hell Hazers II has resumed filming. I can only assume that either the spirits returned to their eternal rest once freed, or that Dean and Sam have been conducting a little more judicious salting and burning. The former seems most likely, but we aren't told. On set, the blonde actress whimpers in fear as she scans the shack with a camera phone, her male companion nervously wielding a shotgun behind her, awaiting her direction for where to shoot. He fires, and the crew assembled off-camera grin in delight. Back on camera, Blondie wonders aloud why the ghosts appear in the camera phone, and her companion guesses that the video "must pick up their frequencies in a way that our eyes can't." Heh.

The scene ends, a delighted McG calls the cut, and, nearby, Sam sits gaping in absolute disbelief. "You find out there's an afterlife and this is what you do with it?" he murmurs.
Alongside him, Martin grins, unrepentant. "I needed a little jazz on the page."

There's not a lot Sam can say to that. He wanders away in search of his brother, who is off having creaky trailer sex with Tara, emerging, just as Sam arrives, with a very contented smile on his face having just lived the ultimate fanboy's dream. "You're one hell of a PA," Tara tells him, equally content. Dean happily thanks her, and Sam doesn't know where to put his face.

Dean then grabs one last food freebie as they wander off into the sunset…or, rather, toward the sunset, which is painted on a large screen being moved into position nearby. Because this is LA, where nothing is real. Sam is absolutely towering over Dean in this scene. Funny how the difference in height is so much more pronounced in some scenes than others.

"God, I love this town," Dean cheerfully proclaims, satisfied with his holiday. And that's a wrap. Not my favourite episode ever, by any means. But it's amusing, and I enjoy and appreciate a lot of the character detail, if not so much the episode taken as a whole. Because all that character work is individual, reinforcement of what we already knew rather than development, with little or no attention paid to the development of the unit of Sam'n'Dean after their recent shattering experience, beyond that one brief conversation. A little more non-strictly work oriented interaction for the brothers would have been nice, in order to place the episode in its proper emotional and psychological context. But in terms of standalone offerings, character study, this is a great episode for Dean, and worth watching for that aspect alone.


April 2007

Back to top

Home