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Provenance
The Winchesters must deal with a dangerous
spirit bound to an old family portrait that brings misfortune and death to
anyone who buys it.
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NotesWriterUnknownDirectorPhilip SgricciaGuest Stars:Taylor Cole (Sarah Blake)Keith Gordey (Daniel Blake) Jodelle Ferland (Melanie Merchant) Other Guests:Barbara Frosch (Evelyn)Kenton Reid (Waiter) Jody Thompson (Ann) Filming Locations:Completely Useless Trivia:SynopsisThe episode opens with the Telesca's returning home from a charity auction with their new acquisition, a macabre painting of a somber Merchant family. The young couple hang the painting over the mantle, then secure the house for the night. As the husband is setting the alarm, the father figure in the painting turns his head and observes the young man with a sorrowful expression. The young man heads upstairs to bed, and finds his wife murdered in their bed. Appalled by the sight, he falls backwards and into the clutches of the spirit who murders him in the same fashion: throat slit with a straight razor.The evening finds our two heroes in a bar, Sam poring over papers as usual, and Dean at the bar chatting up a beautiful young woman. Sam beckons Dean over to look at a suspicious headline in the newspaper, and although Dean is clearly more interested in the girl and her friend, Sam gets the point across that the murders are something supernatural. They agree to check into it in the morning. Sam uses the time to research the couple and their house, and Dean… well let's just say that Dean's a real ladies man. Morning breaks to a hung over but happy Dean sleeping it off in the car, and when Sam comes to break the news that he can't find anything unusual about the couple or their house, he can't resist the urge to blow the car horn to awaken sleeping beauty. There is no evidence of supernatural activity at the house, so they agree that it must have been something to do with the contents, all of which have been moved to an auction house for immediate sale to take full advantage of the media frenzy surrounding the murders. The guys decide to check out the auction, parking their battered, dirty car next to the Mercedes' and Porches in one of my favourite shots of the episode. Not to be put off by the auction house owner in his crisp tuxedo, our denim-clad heroes wander brazenly through the high-class crowd until they spot the Merchant family painting. Caught by Sara, the owner's daughter, Sam has a chance to use his art history class knowledge to show he knows a thing or two about painting styles. Sadly, it's not enough to save them from being ejected from the auction house by the owner, who has had time to check the guest list and confirm that their names are not listed. Back at the "disco lives!" hotel room, Dean manages to convince Sam to call Sara and ask her out. Sam grudgingly obliges, and for the first time we see him with his hair brushed! The two hit it off almost instantly, as soon as she saves him from embarrassment by ordering a beer instead of making him choose a wine. He returns to the hotel with the provenances for the auctioned items and immediately notices that the names of former owners of the Merchant family painting match up exactly with previous murder victims. Knowing they have to destroy the painting before it's sold again, they break in and cut it from its frame. They take it outside and burn it, and as it burns, it's reincarnated back into its original frame, proving that it's the source of the evil. The next day Dean, in an attempt to encourage his brother to hook up with Sara, insists he's lost his wallet at the auction house during the heist and they have to return to the scene to get it. When Sara appears, Dean miraculously finds his wallet in his pocket, and makes an excuse to leave the two alone. Sam apologizes to Sara and explains that they're leaving town when he suddenly notices the painting back in its frame. He makes a hasty exit and races to tell Dean the news. Meanwhile, the painting is packed up and sent to its new owner, who also meets a grisly end. The guys dig deeper into the story behind the painting, and meet a man at the library with knowledge of the history of the family. As the story goes, the father was a stern man who murdered his wife and children with a straight razor, then killed himself. The librarian shows a photo of the painting, and the boys immediately notice that in the photo the father is looking straight out, whereas in the original painting, the father is looking down at the young girl. They take a copy of the photo and call Sara to ask if they can compare it to the painting to see if there are any other differences. Sara tells Sam it has already been sold, and Sam insists that she give him the address, as the buyer may be in danger. Sara meets them at the house, and when they get no answer to their knocks, Dean picks the lock and they enter the room. The new owner, Evelyn, is a friend of Sara's so when she doesn't answer when spoken to, Sara touches her shoulder and in a truly gruesome scene, Evelyn's head tips back to show her throat cut almost completely off. Sara kindly covers for the break in with the police, and the guys get the chance to study the painting in closer detail. They find that not only is the fathers face turned, but also the straight razor is laying open on the table instead of closed, and the painting on the wall behind the family has changed to show the family crypt. They spend the next day visiting graveyards looking for the mausoleum, and when they find it, they find urns for the three children and their mother, but not for the father. Above each of the children's urns, their favourite toy is preserved behind glass as a remembrance. In the county courthouse Dean finds the location of the father's grave, which has been kept separate from the rest of the family because of the shame of the deaths. They dig him up, salt and burn his bones, and go back to Evelyn's house to destroy the painting again. Once inside the house, Sam and Sara notice that the girl is missing from the painting just as the door slams behind them. Dean tries to pick the lock to let them out, but it's too late. They're in the clutches of the spirit girl. Sam phones Dean and shouts for him to figure something out, then searches for salt and finding none turns to the fireplace for an iron poker, which wards off spirits temporarily. This gives them enough time for Sara to remember that in the past dolls were made using the child's own hair. Sam sends Dean back to the mausoleum to burn the doll, and the girl comes back. She throws a desk at Sam, trapping him under it, and goes for Sara. Sara fends her off long enough for Sam to get out and pull Sara from the path of the razor, while Dean lights the doll on fire. The spirit burns up with the doll and is forced back to the painting. Dean phones to make sure Sam and Sara are safe, and the two watch as the painting is restored to its original state. In the final scene, Sara instructs the movers to take the painting out back and burn it. Then she turns to say goodbye to Sam, who waits impatiently for Dean to leave the room. Dean makes his exit, grumbling how he was the one who burned the doll; he should at least get a thank you. Sam says goodbye and that he'll visit again sometime. He leaves Sara leaning dejectedly against the door, and just as she thinks he's gone for good, there's a knock. She opens the door and Sam pulls her into a passionate embrace. Dean looks back to find them kissing, and nods "that's my boy" to himself. |
ReviewI would have to say that this is not one of my favourite episodes. Although I liked that we were shown a lot more of Sam's issues and feelings, I didn't like how Dean came off sounding boorish and unintelligent. He was pushing Sam way too hard, and I don't think that fit with his protective nature. He should be willing to let Sam work things out at his own pace. Also, "provenance" is a fairly simple word, yet it took Dean about six tries to get it right. The only place I thought his clumsiness fit is at the end when he's trying to get the doll out of the mausoleum case. He tries to break the cover with his hands and his gun handle, and he almost leaves to find a heavier tool when he realizes he is holding a gun and can shoot the glass. On a normal day it would never have taken him so long, but in this case I think he was overly anxious about his brother being trapped in the house, and he wasn't thinking as clearly.On the flip side, there were a lot of great things in this episode. I loved the car shot at the auction, panning past all those shiny new cars to Deans dusty old Impala. That made me laugh harder than anything else in the episode, except maybe for the disco room scene. I also liked the shot of the straight razor reflecting in Evelyn's glasses, and the way the paint crackled across Isaiah's face as he turned to look out of the painting. It was neat to see that when they burned his bones, his portrait could no longer look around. The heist scene ROCKED! The pace was perfect, the music was fantastic, and I loved every second of it. I really liked Sara. I hope she becomes a returning character. She's both brainy and beautiful, and doesn't shy away from a challenge. Even Dean approves of her, which he showed with his "Sam-marry that girl!" line. I also liked the librarian. He was so excited about his job, it made me laugh. It was like he'd been stuck in the basement for years, and suddenly someone needed him for something important. He couldn't contain himself he was so happy to be of assistance. I wish people were really like that when they're asked to dig out century-old information on a long dead family! Last but not least: the kiss. Sorry Jared, but you get a big fat zero for technique. I absolutely hate the "nose crunch" kiss, in my book it's second only to excessive drool. Better luck next time, buddy! |