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5.07 – The Curious Case Of Dean Winchester

Details

5.07 – The Curious Case Of Dean Winchester

DETAILS

Writers: Sera Gamble
Director: Robert Singer
First aired: Thursday October 29, 2009.

Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) discover a witch (guest star Hal Ozsan) is running a high-stakes poker game where the currency is life years vs. money. Bobby (Jim Beaver) sees the game as a chance to get out of the wheelchair and bets 25 years, but loses. As Bobby begins to age rapidly, Dean steps in to save him but also ends up turning into an old man, leaving Sam holding the bag for their survival.

Robert Singer directed the episode with teleplay by Sera Gamble and story by Sera Gamble & Jenny Klein.

 

Recap/Review

RECAP

Synopsis
Bobby risks his life by betting 25 years of his life on a poker game run by a witch. Dean tries to save Bobby but ends up drastically aging.

Full Recap
A woman is reading an article on the Apocalypse in a tabloid when her husband Xavier races in. He ignores her and runs to the bathroom, only to watch in horror as he ages dozens of years in a matter of seconds. He collapses and his wife comes to see what’s the matter, only to scream in horror.

Dean and Sam arrive, impersonating CDC officials, and get the doctor to show them Xavier’s corpse. The coroner confirms he was 25 years of age but seemingly died of old age. They call to let Bobby know and confirm his hunch that something is going on. Dean assures him they’ll investigate further and asks about his legs, and Bobby snaps at him before hanging up.

They check on a missing person case involving an older man, Cliff Whitlow. Mrs. Whitlow says he always came home on time and didn’t have any interests. As Sam looks at a photo, he spots a tattoo on the man’s arm. Dean asks to use the bathroom and then searches through the man’s office. He finds a receipt to a hotel and they confirm that the man visited the same hotel every Tuesday. The Winchesters go to the hotel room and prepare to break in when they hear a man yelling. They break in to find a young man in bed with two Asian women. Sam notices he has the same tattoo as the missing person and asks if he knows Cliff. The young man denies it but Sam notes he has Cliff’s wallet and a birthmark. Cliff pays off the women and begs them not to tell his wife. He refuses to explain until they threaten to tell his wife. Cliff explains that he got into a high-stake game of poker and plays for years. A man met him in a bar and gave him 25 poker chips, chanted something, and said they represented years. Cliff gambled and came out ahead, and lost years off his life. He tells them the man’s name was Patrick and he moves from bar to bar, finding the people who need his services. As they go, Dean tells him to stay .

The brothers call Bobby, who confirms there have been stories about a traveling poker player who runs the same game and typically wins. He snaps at Dean again and tells them to split up and search the town., hangs up, and then grabs his car keys.

As the brothers search the town’s bars, Dean orders a beer and bribes the bartender to direct him to the game. Dean goes in back and finds Bobby. He admits he played the game to get his legs back… and lost 25 years. Dean walks off and warns that they’re not done. Dean walks in and finds Patrick talking to a couple and flirting with the younger wife. Dean interrupts and talks to the man in private, and Patrick admits that Bobby lost and there’s nothing he can do. If Dean shoots him, it won’t have any affect. He offers Dean a game to get them back and Bobby rolls in to tell Dean not to do it. Dean insists and agrees to play.

They sit down at the table and Patrick starts to enchant 25 poker chips. Dean tells him to make it fifty and, after Patrick casts the spell, transfers the first 25 chips to Bobby, who gets his youth back. They then begin their game.

Later, Sam returns to the brothers’ motel room and finds an elderly man waiting for him. He identifies himself to Sam as a now elderly Dean. Bobby comes in and they blame each other. Dean admits he can’t understand Bobby being paralyzed and discovers that he can’t handle cheeseburgers any more. They settle down to figure out how to undo the aging and Dean recalls how quick Patrick undid Bobby’s aging. Bobby remembers exactly what Patrick chanted. As they go to work, the maid arrives, Dean tries to flirt with her but she’s unimpressed.

The brothers and Bobby watch Patrick as he leaves the bar and steps out directly into traffic. A man runs him over and when he runs for help, Patrick gets up and steals his car. They follow him to a downtown apartment. Once he leaves, they go in but the elevator is out of order. Sam and a very tired Dean go up the stairs. Eventually they get to Patrick’s apartment and search the place. Dean finds a hidden safe but is unable to open it because of his failing senses. Sam opens it and they find the chips. However, the younger woman from the bar comes in and demands to know what they’re doing. When they wonder who she is, she paralyzes them with a gesture. Patrick comes in and says that they’re harmless, and then tells them that the magic isn’t in the chips, it’s in himself. Dean is willing to take him on but Patrick points out he’s in no condition to play. However, he’s willing to play Sam. They have no choice but to accept. Patrick lets them leave but tells Sam he’s giving him a gift and claps his hands, then says Sam will find out what he means soon enough. Outside, Dean realizes that he gave Sam the clap.

The next day, Sam insists that he should play. However, Dean points out that he and Bobby are better poker players and they lost. Bobby says he couldn’t take Patrick but if he dies, it doesn’t matter because he’s got nothing to live for except to watch other men die while he’s stuck in the wheelchair. He admits that if he wasn’t a coward, he would have killed himself the day he got out of the hospital. Sam insists that he’ll find another way out of their situation rather than let Bobby kill himself.

The woman, Lia, is waiting for them at the hotel and gives them a reversal spell. She explains that it will undo all of Patrick’s work on everyone that’s still alive. Dean wonders why they should trust her and Bobby points out that her and Patrick will both lose their youth. She clutches at a locket on her neck and tells them to do it quick before they leave.

Patrick is playing an elderly man, Hesh, and lets him walk away while he’s ahead. Sam comes in and Patrick says that he’s a nice guy, and then asks what Sam wants. Sam tells him to deal.

Dean and Bobby go to a cemetery to dig up the jawbone of a murderer to cast the reversal spell. Bobby admits they don’t have any choice and Dean complains about his back and elbows.

As they play, Patrick boasts about his intuition and wonders if Dean knows that Sam is there. Sam doesn’t say anything and Patrick talks about how Dean and Bobby are trying to limit him. He warns that Sam is in over his head. They continue and Lia comes in to kiss Patrick. He offers Sam a break and Sam goes out to find Dean waiting for him. Dean warns they still need Patrick’s DNA and Sam gives him the toothpick that Patrick has been chewing on. Dean tells him to keep playing and avoid losing.

Inside, Sam and Patrick begin playing again as Lia watches. Outside, Bobby casts the reversal spell but nothing happens. Inside, Patrick holds up a toothpick and points out the one he slipped to Sam is clean. He warns that he doesn’t like cheating, reaches forward, and clutches his fist. Sam starts to choke but Lia interrupts Patrick and explains she gave them the spell. Patrick asks why and Lia tells him that he knows as she holds the locket. Patrick tells Sam to keep playing.

Dean and Bobby figure they got the wrong toothpick and Dean goes back to Patrick’s apartment. Meanwhile, Sam continues to play and finally bets everything. Patrick tells him that he’s betting himself out of a big pot and folds. Sam shows him that he had nothing and Patrick admits it was a good bluff. However, he warns that Dean will be dead within minutes. When Sam tries to leave, Patrick mystically forces him to sit and keep playing.

As Dean finds a wine glass, he clutches at his chest.

Patrick realizes that Sam is losing his emotions when his brother is in danger. Sam goes all-in against Patrick’s warning. Meanwhile, Bobby tries to call the dying Dean and gets no answer.

Patrick reveals that he has an ace-high full house. Sam notices that Lia is crying and admits it’s kind of creepy. He compliments Patrick on his hand… and then reveals he has four of a kind. Patrick congratulates him on running a good pretense of being in over his head, and cashes in Dean’s chips… with pleasure.

At the apartment, a now-youthful Dean comes out.

After Sam leaves, Lia sits down across from Patrick and forces him to play. She explains that she buried her daughter, an elderly woman whose photo is in the locket, and she wants things to end. He points out she knew what she was getting when she came with him, but she misses her family and her love for him isn’t enough. Patrick admits he can’t keep doing it without her but she points out that he got along fine before she met him. He checks her bet and she goes all-in. Patrick matches her and wins, and Lia ages before his eyes, thanking him before she dies.

Bobby is surprised to hear that Sam managed to beat Patrick. He leaves to get a booster shot, just in case, and Dean apologizes for how he was arguing with Bobby earlier. He admits he understands some of what Bobby is going through, but insists that Bobby is still useful. Dean tells him that he doesn’t stop being a soldier because he’s wounded in the line of duty, and Sam and Dean can’t lose a member of their family. He tells Bobby to drop any thoughts of suicide and Bobby agrees, and then thanks him

Review by Gaelic

5.07 – The Curious Case Of Dean Winchester – Gaelicspirit review

Stream of Consciousness, episode review 5.07

Man, I missed these guys! And it was only a week! *dreads the holiday hiatus*

The best part of The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button?

“What I think is, it’s never too late…or, in my case, too early, to be whoever you want to be…There’s no time limit, start anytime you want…change or stay the same…there aren’t any rules…We can make the best or worst of it…I hope you make the best…I hope you see things that startle you. Feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people who have a different point of view. I hope you challenge yourself. I hope you stumble, and pick yourself up. I hope you live the life you wanted to…and if you haven’t, I hope you start all over again.”

The best part of The Curious Case of Dean Winchester?

I’ll get to that.

Before I start the ramble, I wanted to work through some immediate thoughts. Well, this whole thing is rather immediate, but you know what I mean. I thought the premise of this episode was fantastic. The temptation to walk on the dark side—to be seduced by the easy pleasure it offers—is never far from our heroes. We’ve seen Sam give in, and we’ve seen how it led him down a twisted path of self-destruction, believing the entire time that he was somehow justified in his actions. That what he was doing wasn’t really bad if it ended up being good in the end.

It’s therefore a fascinating study of human need and weakness for the current patriarch—Bobby—to give in to the very same desire. Even if it was more gray side than dark side… To have him look for the easy way out. To accept the gift of power. Even though he knew the giver was a witch. Even though he knew that there could be a price to pay. Even though he’d seen what had happened as a result of similar choices.

I have, thankfully, never been that desperate. Though, this past year has tested me in ways I never knew I could be tested. I can’t sympathize with someone’s life being so completely changed that they would try anything to get back to good. I can empathize with it, as both Dean and Sam tried to do. I can say, I’d imagine it’s horrible. But I can’t really say I know what that desperation feels like. However, I do know helplessness. I do know impotent frustration. I do know powerlessness. I do know the gutted loss you feel when something you want, something you need, something you worked so hard for is taken away or denied you.

I know that rather well, actually. And through that alone, I could say that given the right circumstances, I’d make the same choice as Bobby.

The Ramble

We jump right to it, and thank goodness for that. They needed every one of their minutes to get through this one, man. I thought the touch of “Weekly World News” was nice, with “The Apocalypse is Here” splashed across the front page. Mainly because no one believes those tabloids anyway. And yet, here? It’s true.

We see a woman reading the paper (seemingly in the dark) and her hubs dashes in, heads upstairs to the bathroom, and in a matter of minutes he ages and dies like the German dude in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. He chose… poorly.

Posing as CDC Agents, the boys arrive to figure out WTH. The coroner questions them as really being CDC because they’re a day early. The ever-political writers get another slip in with Dean’s, “New administration… Change you can believe in” line. Is it me, or is it usually Dean who makes all the politically-laced cracks?

Can’t say he’s not up on current events.

I thought this episode was filmed with a grayer cast to it. Could be my tired eyes, but everything looked slightly worn, faded, shadows shifting so that one brother stood out from the other at different times. Mainly Sam, in this episode. He was vivid.

Checking out an elderly-looking corpse, the boys find out that the deceased was actually born in 1984. It immediately struck me that he was younger than Sam. And then it struck me that I knew the show well enough to immediately know that. *chuckles*

As they’re walking away from the morgue, Dean’s on the phone to Bobby, and I have to pause in my ramble to say… I love the way that man walks. Those bowed legs are somehow so flippin’ sexy, even in a suit. I mean, I prefer denim, but I’d just watch him walk. *sighs*

Moving on. It turns out that Bobby gave them the heads up about this case and Dean is validating the fact that it’s actually a hunt. He pauses in the intel dump to ask how Bobby is doing. Like, really doing. Bobby, gruff as usual, brushes off the attempt at casual concern with an, “I’m weepin’ in my Hagen Daas… ijit.”

Following Bobby’s suggestion to look into missing persons, they come across a man who has been missing for a couple of days and interview his elderly wife. Sam looks at a picture of the man and sees a tat – possibly Navy? Looked like an anchor – on his arm. Very distinctive. Making an excuse to use the restroom, Dean starts to poke around and finds a receipt for something called the Golden Palace.

Now, I think I missed something tiny here, because when they show up at the by-the-hour motel, breaking into a room to find a young guy with two (busty Asian beauties) ladies in the bed with him, they realize by his tat that it’s the husband. Only, the wife had said he usually worked late on Tuesdays, and when Dean found the receipt he muttered a “working late, my ass” comment.

Was the husband going to the motel on Tuesday’s as an old guy? And if so, does that creep anyone else out? Just me? Okay. I can deal with that.

Just to back up slightly, Sam made a comment as they were approaching the room that they wouldn’t live to old age. Dean agreed. This isn’t the first time they’ve touched on that subject. I hope they’re wrong. But… I can also see where they might be right.

So, after busting in, seeing the tat, and calling out the hubs for who he is, they send the girls on their way (with a roguish wink from Dean) and begin to question the (rather hot) young husband.

Hubs: “It was a game.”

Sam: “Like… Xbox?”

Gaelic: BWAH!!!

That totally got me laughing. Granted, I haven’t slept in four nights (apparently letting Mama sleep isn’t in Mo Chuisle’s Tonsillectomy Recovery Plan), but still. The innocent question mark on Sam’s face was hilarious. The hubs goes on to say that it’s a poker game, only you play for years. He describes the gambler as 35(ish), Irish accent (yay!), goes by the name of Patrick. And, by the way, he finds you.

Guess Tat Man was a good poker player. Or got extremely lucky.

As they’re leaving, Dean gives hubs a once over and says, “Stay classy.” I couldn’t help myself. I totally went right to Will Ferrell in Anchorman. *is laughing again*

Dean calls Bobby again to catch him up and Bobby affirms that there is definitely lore on a gambler witch guy who deals in time. I don’t know if I was looking too deep, but the fact that Bobby sent the boys on this hunt and what happened later totally made me think that Bobby had been instigating this all along. Sitting alone (*sad*) in his house, trapped in his wheelchair, with nothing to do but read ancient lore books (and apparently rig up a car that works solely by hand), I can totally see him coming across this witch, and simply hoping…

Bit of a coincidence, sure, but, well, there you go.

The boys split up and search for clues in every bar in town. Searching for a poker game. Sam’s got bupkis and Dean sends him for food while he tries one more bar. He tells the bartender that his friend Ben thinks that the bartender knows something about a poker game. I was so slow on the uptake on that one. I didn’t get the “my friend Ben” reference until he slid the $100 bill across the counter. Duh, Gaelic.

But, the bartender caved and directed Dean to the back of the bar, where he runs into none other than… Bobby. Who, honestly, already kinda looked like crap. Dean’s all, what the hell? Bobby says yes, he found the game. No, he didn’t get the witch. Rather, he played the game. And he lost.

Dean. Is. Pissed. And there’s this look he gets in his eyes when he’s scared and helpless and scared that he’s helpless and needs a moment to figure out how not to be helpless because he always. Has. To. Fix. It. Especially when it comes to family. Bobby tells him that he lost 25 years, and begins to age before Dean’s eyes.

Dean’s got a fire inside of him and he turns on his heel, out for blood. We see a dark-haired man with an Irish accent looking like he’s charming the pants off of an old guy and his young trophy wife. Turns out Trophy Wife (I never got her name) was part of the grift to get the old guy into a poker game, but Dean interrupts them and pulls Patrick off to the side.

Dean wants Bobby’s years back. He tries to threaten with his gun, but Patrick is nonplussed. He smoothly demands that Dean play for the years. Bobby’s shown up by this point looking gray and faded and tries to tell Dean no.

Throwing Bobby’s own words back at him, Dean snaps, “They’re my years. I can do what I want.”

The game begins. Patrick says the pot is 25 years. Dean makes him up it to 50, then pushes 25 back and demands he return them to Bobby. Patrick whispers some Gaelic and as the chips turn to ash, Bobby comes back to himself. And now, Dean has to win back 50 years.

Before we go too much further, I just want to roll in that for a moment. Recognizing that I’m a Deangirl, and how this is going to sound, I’m going to simply say that I love how self-sacrificing this character is. Whether it’s simply the way he’s put together, the way he was raised, the way life shaped him, he has shown repeatedly the lengths he’s willing to go to sacrifice of himself for his family. Even family not connected by blood.

Yeah, he’s crass, outwardly arrogant (though it’s a brash front that covers a deep-seated insecurity no amount of honest praise could overcome), loose with women, and completely un-PC. The man isn’t a saint, even if he has been selected to be a vessel for an archangel. But he never hesitated. When he found out what Bobby had done, there was no question in his mind what he should do. I’m sure he was confident that if someone like Tat Man could win, then surely with his mad skillz he’d give the Irish gambler a beat-down. Even if Bobby—whom one assumes was even better than Dean—had lost.

But it doesn’t matter. His life has been about sacrifice. Not necessarily for the great good. But for his family. Sacrificing small, like his childhood, or big, like his life. I love that about him.

We see the game begin, and the next thing we know, Sam’s returning to the motel with the food, sees an old guy walk out from the bathroom and draws his weapon. I have to say—while I missed resting my eyes on Jensen’s Dean, Chad Everett did a fantastic job as OldDean. He had the facial expressions of humorous/cocky Dean down pat. He worked the vocal tones and slipped in the wise cracks. I was thoroughly entertained. I didn’t even mind that Chad’s eyes are that striking blue—we never really got close enough to his face for it to matter.

The exchange between the brothers when Sam sees OldDean had me laughing.

“Have you seen you? You look like—“

“I know, that old chick from Titanic.”

“I was going to say Emperor Palpatine.”

First? Dean goes with Titanic? HA! And second? Sam is such a Star Wars geek. I love it. THEN, though, Bobby comes in with his, “I see you’ve met John McCain.” *Gaelic spits out her wine* I love it when they have fun, y’know? Just fun.

Bobby and OldDean go at it, grousing back and forth, OldDean calling Bobby an idiot, and Sam’s watching, bemused. He breaks in with, “It’s like Grumpy Old Men.”

“Shut up, Sam!” they fire back at him in unison.

Hee.

In a scene that foreshadows one that is more serious, OldDean gets on Bobby’s case about wanting to turn back time, and says that while he hasn’t been paralyzed, he has been to Hell. Then he says, “and there’s an archangel there wanting me to drop the soap.”

An archangel there? As in, an archangel in Hell? *is confused* Or was he just talking about Michael?

Anyway, they decide that it has to be about the chips because Patrick (the manwitch… hee) mumbled some Gaelic on them during the game. I’ll admit to being a little, oh, boys, really, about that because HELLO. He whispered a spell over the chips. Wouldn’t that kinda make you think that he gave the chips power? But, oh, well, it made for a good chase.

As they go to leave, a cute housekeeper gives Dean a “you remind me of my grandpa” line and calls him adorable for trying to hit on her. Chagrined in the wake of Bobby and Sam’s grins, he’s like, “can we just go?”

Bobby drives. I just find that remarkable. That the writers have enough confidence in their creation that we’d accept that Bobby would have the means to create a car he could drive while paralyzed. Plus? They all shove into the front seat when Bobby drives. Why that’s so cute, I don’t know. Sam’s riding bitch, too. With those long legs, that had to be hell.

They follow Patrick, see him get hit and killed by a car, watch him get up and steal the car that hit him. Dean is grinning. He likes the guys’ moxie, apparently. They continue to follow him to a high-rise apartment and wait until Patrick goes in and then comes out and drives away. I’m really not sure how they figured out what floor and apartment was his simply by sitting outside and watching, but whatever. They go inside and the elevator’s out of order, so Bobby’s benched. Taking the stairs, though, about does 80-year-old Dean in.

They break in and look for the chips, finding a safe that Dean should have been able to crack and that Sam is able to, and start to steal the chips They’re caught by Trophy Wife from the bar and she reveals that she, too, is a Witchy Woman by flinging out her hands and bringing the pain. Patrick appears out of nowhere (thanks for the cell phone warning, there, Bobby) and stops her, saying the boys are harmless.

He tells them to take the chips if they want. They’re just chips. The magic is in the 900 year old witch. (duh!) He says if they want the years back, they’re going to have to play a little Texas Hold’em. Dean’s all, bring it! But Patrick, see, has principles. He’s not a murderer, and Dean doesn’t have enough years left. Plus, his eyesight is bad and his memory… yeah…

Sam wants to play, but Dean stops him, suddenly panicky. Patrick’s like, your loss. Then ominously says that Dean should have taken better care of his heart… As they’re leaving, Patrick tells Sam he can’t let him leave without a parting gift, then claps his hands three times. The boys are like, whatever, freak and head outside.

On the way out of the apartment building, though, Sam starts squirming and Dean’s like, “Dude, that hewitch gave you the clap…” Sam snarls and Dean grins, appreciating the humor. The next morning, in a parking lot somewhere, the three hunters square off. Sam still wants to play Patrick to get Dean’s years back. The issue has long since ceased to be there’s a witch playing with people’s lives that we need to kill and become Dean lost 50 years to save Bobby from losing 25 and we have to get them back. I don’t know that they even cared if they were going to eventually get rid of Patrick. It was almost like they couldn’t think past the issue at hand.

Dean tells Sam that he’s not good enough. That Dean is better and Bobby is way better, and they both lost. Sam’s like, so I don’t get a say? Dean tries the, when you’re our age play, but Sam calls him with a, “You’re 30, Dean, and I’ve watched you hustle hundreds of games.” He knows that you don’t play the game, you play the player.

The thing I think both Bobby and Dean were forgetting, too, is that Sam? Is an excellent liar. While I believe he’d not lie to his brother again, not now, he did for a year. And he did it well.

Bobby says it should be him—he’s played him and knows his style. Dean argues that Bobby doesn’t have enough years. And in an emotional explosion of words that it was high-time Bobby let fly and the boys heard, Bobby says that he feels useless. His voice chokes up and his eyes fill. *sniff*

“I ain’t a hunter no more. I’m useless. If I weren’t such a coward, I’da stuck a gun in my mouth when I got home from the hospital.”

*oh, Bobby…*

OldDean looks as if he wants to say something, but he can’t come up with the words. And, truthfully, I’m glad they didn’t go there yet because while Chad did a great “light” Dean, the emotional exposure of Dean’s heart had to be Jensen’s. Sam says that Bobby’s not going to play, and that he’s going to figure a way out of this… And they let him leave. Which, I found curious since he’d been so adamant that he wanted to play Patrick and they’d been so adamant that he not.

But, Sam is his own man, not the little brother. Dean takes Bobby back to the motel where Trophy Wife Witchy Woman is waiting. She hands Bobby a spell, says it will reverse everything Patrick’s done—to those who are still living, anyway—including her. She fingers a locket and says she has her reasons, but they need to hurry because she and Patrick are pulling up stakes tomorrow.

Patrick is playing an old man (who I thought he called Ash, at first, but I think it was actually Hash). He can see the reflection of the old man’s cards in the man’s glasses. The old man is up 13 years and Patrick folds, letting him go, saying he’ll get to see his granddaughter’s bat mitzvah. Sam is there, in the shadows, and sees this. I think it’s because of this side of Patrick that it became okay that they didn’t vanquish this evil – that the epi became more about human frailty, and choices than about the hunt. Because Patrick had compassion. And, as he said, he wasn’t a murderer… directly. If the losing player died as a result of his gamble, well… you play the hand you’re dealt, right?

At first, I was worried that Sam was going rogue and playing Patrick even after Bobby and Dean told him not to—that we were going down that road again. Bobby and Dean are in a cemetery, Dean digging, of course, and the two of them at each other like… well, like Grumpy Old Men. Dean is hurting all over and having trouble digging. Bobby has no sympathy for him.

Meanwhile, Patrick is giving Sam a smooth-talking, “armchair psychology” treatment as they play. Sam keeps eyeing the toothpick Patrick is alternately chewing on and lying down beside his whiskey shot glass. Patrick plays with his chips, asking Sam if his big brother knows he’s there. He speaks confidently, almost as if he can see inside of the Sam we’ve seen before—not, thankfully, the Sam we know today. Sam is down several chips. Trophy Wife walks in and gives Patrick a lingering kiss. Patrick proposes a break and suddenly Sam is rushing out the back of the bar and handing Dean a toothpick with “hewitch DNA” on it.

Ah-HA!

Dean takes it with a breathy, “Sammy? Don’t lose…” and as he turns away (but not where Sam can see), he grabs his left arm in a flash of pain. Uh-Oh… DAMN those cheeseburgers with extra bacon!!

Bobby and Dean are pulling together the elements of the spell while Sam continues to play the game. Bobby reads in Gaelic (yay!), they toss the toothpick into a blue flame and… nada.

Back at the game, Patrick pulls out another toothpick and reveals that he was onto Sam. He doesn’t like cheaters. At all. He does an (eerily familiar) air hand grip and appears to be choking Sam with The Force when Trophy Wife breaks in and stops him saying that she gave them the spell. Patrick is shocked, devastated. He wants to know why. She fingers the locket again saying, “you know why.”

Patrick turns to Sam and with a shaking voice says, “Keep. Playing.”

OldDean and Bobby surmise that the only thing that went wrong with the spell was the toothpick, so they need to go back to High Rise Apartment and get DNA – which means… more stairs. And after the arm-grab, I was worried that Dean’s “ticker” wasn’t going to take another climb.

Sam’s face is impassive as they keep playing. I was rather impressed, actually, with how outwardly calm he appeared. Sam bets it all, Patrick yammers that he shouldn’t have done that because blah blah blah, thinks he’s gifting Sam with more time by saying, “I fold,” then guesses that Sam has a “set of ladies.” Sam lays down a 3 and a 5. NICE bluff!

But then Patrick crushes Sam’s heart by saying, “Your brother’s gonna be dead soon. And when I say soon… I mean… minutes.” Sam tries to get up, but Patrick forces him (with witchy powers) back into his chair saying, “It’s not over until I say it’s over.”

Dean’s in the apartment, searching for DNA, sees a wine glass, and just as he turns the camera pulls in sharp on the wine glass, blurring out the figure of OldDean collapsing as he gasps out, “Sam…”

Sam is playing faster. Patrick taunts him. “So, when it’s about your brother you get so emotional your brain flies right out the window.”

Well… yes and no. I don’t think Sam is capable of not thinking. But when it’s about his brother? You’re damn right he gets emotional. Sam goes all in as Dean lays on the apartment floor, gasping and twitching weakly.

“I can’t leave until it’s over? Fine. It’s over. Where’s my brother?” God, I loved Sam in this moment.

“There’s poker, and there’s suicide,” Patrick counters.

Bobby’s yelling for Dean into the cell phone.

Dean’s air is sllllloooowwwlllyyy escaping as he lies wide-eyed on the floor.

Sam and Patrick are in a stare-down. Patrick turns his cards over. He has three Aces. Sam nodes, then looks over at Trophy Wife, who is crying.

Sam smiles, somewhat sadly, “For a witch, you’re so nice it’s actually kinda creepy. It’s okay. It was a good hand… Just not as great as four 4’s.”

Dude!!! I shot my hands into the air. That. Was. Awesome. That was Paul Newman, finger along the nose, tip of the fedora awesome.

“Cash these in for Dean, please,” Sam says, sliding his winning chips forward. *CLAPS* That was just… very effing cool.

Bobby is almost having a heart attack himself as he calls for Dean in the cell phone and then he looks to his right and sees Dean—OUR Dean—heading out of the apartment building at a lope. Dean spreads his arms wide with the biggest shit-eatin’ grin on his face. I wanted to hug him. He does a little jig and Bobby shakes his head with his adorably predictable, “Ijit.”

To wrap up the witch hunt that’s not a hunt, we have a nice little moment between Patrick and Trophy Wife where they play for her years. She opens her locket and shows a baby on one side, and an elderly woman on the other—both, apparently, her daughter. When she signed up for this immortality gig, she didn’t really think about the loss. There’s always a price to pay. Patrick is truly devastated and doesn’t think he can go on without her. She wins, in the end, though, by losing her hand.

As the guys are all packing up to leave, Bobby’s amazed that Sam actually beat Patrick, no tricks. Dean walks in—EATING A CHEESEBURGER *sigh*–and Sam says, “I’ll see ya’ll guys later.” Hello, Texas. Hee. He reluctantly says he’s going to a “brewster shop.”

Yeah, I didn’t get it. Maybe I heard him wrong?? Anyone?

Dean and Bobby are left alone and Dean clears his throat and squares his shoulders, trying to apologize for what he’d said to Bobby when he was a Grumpy Old Man. Bobby tries to shrug him off, saying that if Dean were in his shoes he’d never stop complaining. Dean gives up on the you’re right, I’m wrong approach and sits down across from Bobby, blocking the older man’s escape.

The best part of The Curious Case of Dean Winchester?

“You’re not useless, Bobby. You don’t stop being a soldier because you got wounded in battle. No matter what shape you’re in, bottom line is, we’re family. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but me and Sam, we don’t have much left. I can’t do this without you. I can’t. So don’t you dare think about checking out. I don’t want to hear that again.”

*lump in throat*

All the man has ever really wanted (aside from a cold beer, a willing woman, and his baby) is for his family to be safe. To be around him. To be whole. And he fights so hard to keep it that way. And Bobby knows this. It’s just… good to be reminded once in awhile. That you matter. That you matter more than you could have ever thought. That you are vital. Everyone needs to hear that. Once in awhile.

Bobby nods with a gruff. “Okay.”

Dean’s shoulders relax and he replies, “Okay. Good.” And then he does this thing that kills. Me. Dead. Every time. His lips move as if words are still there, still pushing forward, but he’s forgotten how to release them, and then he looks down so that his lashes cast shadows. With Dean’s eyes still down, Bobby says, very softly, “Thanks.”

Dean looks up and there is so much emotion in that brief glance that I felt almost ashamed for saying Chad played a decent Dean. There is no one who can play Dean Winchester with the kind of heart that Jensen Ackles brings to the table. In that one glance, Dean’s eyes were full of honesty, and then, as Bobby continued with a gruff joke about getting out of there before they grew girl parts, the emotion dissipated and easiness slipped in, letting Bobby off the hook.

Dean stood, picked up the cheeseburger, and dropped it back into the bag. FINALLY! Take care of that ticker, Dean!! Although… It did kinda make me think about Jeff Goldblume’s character in Independence Day… he got drunk and said we should start polluting the planet even more so that the aliens wouldn’t want it anymore. Made me think a bit about Michael wanting Dean’s body…

Get in line, pal. *wink*

Slinging his bag over his shoulder, he glances back at Bobby with a, “Let’s go, Ironsides.”

“Oh, that one’s sticking, huh?” Bobby replies, but after Dean leaves the room, the camera pulls in tight on Bobby’s care-worn face. He… needs a moment.

I’m too tired to be too philosophical, but I am just continually appreciative of how a show that is superficially about things that go bump in the night can show us such deeply personal glimpses of ourselves—as individuals and as a race of people.

That? And I love how Sam Sam was and how Dean Dean was—especially when he was back to OUR Dean. I truly enjoyed seeing a very human, vulnerable, scared Bobby. Seeing him need as much as he was needed. I just felt very easy with them, like the conflict of the very recent past just wasn’t there in the face of this hurdle. That they had started to figure out a way to set it aside for the sake of the moment, knowing it was still there, knowing they’d still have to deal with it at points along the way, but able to reach out through the muck that is life and grab on to what really mattered: family.

“I hope you stumble, and pick yourself up. I hope you live the life you wanted to…and if you haven’t, I hope you start all over again…”

Next week – the Trickster is back! I love that guy.

Guest Stars

GUEST STARS

Jim Beaver Jim Beaver Bobby Singer
Hal Ozsan Hal Ozsan Patrick
Pascale Hutton Pascale Hutton Lia
Christopher Russell Christopher Russell Cliff Whitlow
Chad Everett Chad Everett Old Dean Winchester
Veena Sood Veena Sood Dr. Aldrich
Daniel Arnold Daniel Arnold Xavier
Monica Mustelier Monica Mustelier Xavier’s Wife
Elan Ross Gibson Elan Ross Gibson Mrs. Whitlow
Grace Baek Grace Baek Hooker #1 (as Grace Beak)
Marianne Patricio Marianne Patricio Hooker #2
Matthew Robert Kelly Matthew Robert Kelly Eric (as Matt Kelly)
Rob Heschl Rob Heschl Guy at Bar

 

Gallery

IMAGE GALLERY

Official Episode Stills:

Full Episode Stills Gallery

Episode Screen Caps:

 

Full Episode Screen Caps Gallery

Music

MUSIC

No Music in this episode

Quotes

QUOTES

Dean: And by the way, how you doing?
Bobby: Doing?
Dean: Yeah. You know, just… in general.
Bobby: Oh, you mean my legs. I’m just weeping in my Haagen-Dazs. Idjit.

Dean: Bobby? What the hell are you doing here?
Bobby: Planting daisies. What’s it look like? Came in on the case.
Dean: And you beat me here?
Bobby: Well, brains trumps legs, apparently.

Patrick: That’s 25 years you just pissed away. Better be sure you can win them back.
Dean: Shuffle up and deal.
Patrick: This is gonna be fun.

Old Dean: Bobby’s an idiot, that’s what happened.
Bobby: Hey, nobody asked you to play.
Old Dean: Right. I should have just let you die.
Bobby: And for damn sure, nobody asked you to lose.
Sam: It’s like Grumpy Old Men.
Old Dean and Bobby: Shut up, Sam!

Bobby: Butt cheek tingling?
Dean: That’s kinda personal.

Old Dean: You saw a chance to turn the hands of the clock back and get out of that damn chair. Pretty tempting. I can imagine.
Bobby: No, you can’t.
Old Dean: You got me. I never been paralyzed. But I tell you something–I’ve been to Hell, and there’s an archangel there wanting me to drop the soap. Look at me! My junk’s rustier than yours!

Patrick: Sorry kid. Aces full.
Sam: (to girl) You’re crying. For a witch, you’re so nice it’s actually kinda creepy. It’s okay. (to Patrick) It’s a great hand. Just… not as great as… four fours.
Patrick: Well played. You know, that whole… ‘going out of your head’ bit… very method. There’s more to you than meets the eye.
Sam: Cash these in for Dean. Please.
Patrick: With pleasure.

Old Dean: (to Sam) Dude, I believe that he-witch gave you the clap.

Dean: You don’t stop being a soldier ’cause you got wounded in battle. No matter what shape you’re in, bottom line is you’re family. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but me and Sam, we don’t have much left. I can’t do this without you. I can’t. So don’t you dare think about checking out. I don’t wanna hear that again.
Bobby: Okay.
Dean: Okay. Good.
Bobby: Thanks. Now, we done feeling our feelings? ‘Cause I’d like to get out of this room before we both start growing lady parts.

Trivia

TRIVIA

At the beginning of the episode, the woman is reading the Weekly World News, although it ceased publication in 2007. It was last featured in 2.15 Tall Tales.

Patrick gives Sam gonorrhea a sexually transmitted infection also known as “the clap”.

ALLUSIONS

Sam: It’s like Grumpy Old Men.
Referencing the comedy Grumpy Old Men (1993) and its sequel Grumpier Old Men (1995) in which Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon play two elderly neighbors who argue constantly and never stop insulting each other.

Old Dean: Benjamin Button me back into burger shape.
Along with the title, referencing The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a short story written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, which tells the tale of Benjamin Button, who is born with the appearance of a 70-year-old and ages backwards. The story was later adapted into a movie in 2008.

Old Dean: The old chick in Titanic I know.
Referencing the 1997 movie Titanic and the elderly Gloria Stuart, who plays main character Rose DeWitt Bukater in the modern-day portions of the film.

Sam: I was going to say “Emperor Palpatine.”
Referencing the evil emperor of the Galactic Empire in the Star Wars movies, portrayed primarily by Ian McDiarmid. A secret Dark Lord of the Sith, Palpatine maneuvers himself into power and convinces the Senate to grant him broad emergency powers, which he uses to overthrow the Jedi and become emperor. Initially an elderly man, his appearance degenerates further after a battle with Mace Windu.

Sam: It’s like Mission: Pathetic.
Referencing the long-running CBS series Mission: Impossible, which featured a team of experts who engaged in espionage missions for the U.S Government. Safecracking was one of the skills they were frequently called upon to use. The show spawned a sequel and as of the time this episode premiered, three movies.

Dean: Let’s go, Ironsides.
Referencing the 1967-75 series Ironsides, which featured Raymond Burr as a San Francisco Chief of Detectives, crippled by a bullet and confined to a wheelchair, but continuing to work as a consultant for the police force.

Dean: Y’know, Bobby, killing you is officially on my bucket list.
Bucket List was a 2007 movie starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman about two men who make a list of things to do before they “kick the bucket”.

Title
Is a play on the title of the F.Scott Fitzgerald short story, later made into a movie starring Brad Pitt – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – in which the protagonist ages backwards.

Episode Schedule

Thu, Oct 10 15.01 - Back and to the Future - Season Premiere
Thu, Oc 17 15.02 - Raising Hell
Thu, Oct 24 15.03 - The Rupture
Thu, Nov 7 15.04 - Atomic Monsters
Thu, Nov 14 15.05 - Proverbs 17:3
Thu, Nov 21 15.06 - Golden Time
Thu, Dec 05 15.07 - Last Call
Thu, Dec 12 15.08 - Our Father, Who Aren’t In Heaven
Thu, Jan 16 2020 15.09 - The Trap
Thu, Jan 23 2020 15.10 - The Heroes' Journey
Thu, Jan 30 2020 15.11 - The Gamblers
Mon, March 16 2020 15.12 - Galaxy Brain
Mon, March 23 2020 15.13 - Destiny's Child
Thu, Oct 08 2020 15.14 - Last Holiday
Thu, Oct 15 2020 15.15 - Gimme Shelter
Thu, Oct 22 2020 15.16 - Drag Me Away (From You)
Thu, Oct 29 2020 15.17 - Unity
Thu, Nov 05 2020 15.18 - Despair
Thu, Nov 12 2020 15.19 - Inherit the Earth
Thu, Nov 19 2020 15.20 - Carry On - Series Finale

* This Schedule might change as new info come.

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