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No Exit
Jo goes against her mother's wishes and follows Sam and Dean
on a hunt involving the disappearances of blonde women from a particular building,
but things don't go as planned.
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NotesWriterMatt WittenDirectorKim MannersGuest Stars:Alona Tal (Jo)Stephen Aberle (H.H. Holmes) Samatha Ferris (Ellen) Andrea Brooks (Katie) Lisa Marie Caruk (Theresa Ellis) Brent Chapman (superintendant) Filming Locations:Completely Useless Trivia: |
ReviewStill no music? What are they trying to do, measure how much of a public outcry there's gonna be? Well, I'm cryin', how about you? On the upside, the clips they chose are really good, they give a great summary of the season to date, and they also have a generous dose of humour.The episode opens with a young blonde girl in her new apartment. The lights are blinking and she's on the phone with the super demanding he fix them. Black goo drips and oozes from the unfinished light socket, and when she leans in to examine it, she's startled by the bloodshot eye staring at her through the hole. Sam and Dean are talking outside the Roadhouse. Dean is pitching a new hunt; a girl has been kidnapped by an evil cult. What's her name, Sam asks? Katie Holmes. Groan. The sound of women fighting entices them back into the bar instead, and they find Ellen and Jo arguing about hunting. Jo wants to go on a job by herself and Ellen is adamantly against it. --a quick note about this scene, Ellen is so angry she calls Jo by her full name, Joanna Beth Harvell. Joanna? In her hunter's blog Jo gives her email as enihpesoj91, which spells "Josephine" backwards. The change to Joanna marks this characters THIRD name change! Maybe they should take this as a sign that she needs to go?-- Jo asks the boys whether they think she can handle it, but Ellen makes them take the case themselves. They check out the apartment building where girls have been going missing, and find a trace of the goo in the light socket. They immediately recognize it as ectoplasm, giving Dean the opportunity to finally use his Staypuft Marshmallow Man joke. Thanks, Dean. I've been waiting for that. Sam, barrel of laughs that he is, "reminds" Dean that finding ectoplasm is a rare thing; it's only produced by extremely angry spirits. They finish with the apartment and move to leave when they hear the superintendent coming closer, talking to a girl about the apartment. They press themselves against the wall --because as we all know, if you're against the wall you're invisible-- and wait for them to pass. As the others round the corner, they see it's Jo. She greets them and asks if they've already checked out the apartment. Pretending to be Dean's girlfriend in a seriously disturbing display of sugary adoration, they rent the apartment to get full access. Ellen calls, interrupting Dean's lecture as to why Jo shouldn't be there. Although Jo left a trail to show she'd gone to Vegas, Ellen suspects she's lying. Ellen knows her daughter well! Dean lies, because of course he can't tell the truth with an overbearing blonde arguing silently right in his face, so he says he hasn't seen Jo and hangs up, leaving the three free to discuss the hunt. Gotta say one thing here: Dean, great choice on the cell ring tone! Smoke on the Water. Love it, love it, love it! Scouring blueprints, photos and historic events, they try to come up with an explanation but there have been no significant events or deaths that would explain an angry spirit. All they discover is Jo's overbearing nature. I can't believe Dean lets her boss him around! On the upside, we get to see him wink again. Dean Winchester takes winking to a whole new level, I've never seen anyone do it so much! Without any other leads, they decide to scour the halls with EMF meters; Sam on his own and Dean with Jo. Jo complains that Dean is mothering her, accusing him of chauvinism. Dean takes the opportunity to launch in to a speech about how his opinion of her abilities has nothing to do with gender, but rather with her inexperience. She's only going to get herself or someone else killed, and she should listen to her mother and go back to school. He goes on to explain that she should appreciate her life and her mother, that they're not going to be around forever and she should enjoy them to the fullest while she can. He's about to say something about his respect for her mother when he catches himself, presumably because it would reveal too much of his feelings. With one last piece of advice and they continue on their search. Jo pauses by a hallway vent, backing towards it in true horror flick fashion. Although she doesn't actually see the grimy fingers coming through the vent, her women's intuition kicks in and she gasps, bringing Dean back from around the corner. The vent lights up the EMF meter, and they pull the grate off to check inside. Dean reaches in, absolutely BEGGING for the spirit inside to grab his arm, and retrieves a lock of blonde hair complete with chunk of scalp attached. Gross. I could've done without the flashlight highlighting the blood caked on the dead skin. As always, I really enjoy Dean's monologues. He's so passionate when he's angry, he doesn't leave any room for disagreement or doubt. If only he could be that open with his positive emotions as well, but then I guess he wouldn't be the Dean we know and love! On to our second victim, Theresa Ellis. Lucky girl has been invited to a lingerie party at 112-982 Main St. North in Philidelphia, PA. The poor girl is so blonde she has to mouth the words as she reads. Sadly, her invitation is spoiled by a drop of ectoplasm so she has to throw it out. When the lights start to flicker and an ominous crack snakes across the ceiling, she knows she's in trouble. She tries the phone and the door, but both are uncooperative. The crack seems to follow her movements, spitting plaster as it grinds down to a heat vent which reveals the same grimy fingers we saw earlier. The spirit reaches through the metal of the vent and grabs her by the leg, and it's curtains for Theresa. Prince Charming awakens, his body bent and twisted to fit onto the uncomfortable recliner. Jo, perky as ever, is reexamining the case files and says Sam has gone to get coffee. Her constant twirling of her knife has been annoying Dean, so he pulls out his enormous bowie knife and offers it in trade. At least she'll have a "real" knife. She hands over her "pig-sticker" and he sees the monogram engraved on the blade. William Anthony Harvell. Her father. Understanding it's importance, Dean gives it back and retrieves his own blade. In a rare moment of intimacy, the two share memories of happier times with their fathers. Jo wants to be a hunter to show respect for her father, and doesn't see why her mother doesn't understand. Sam interrupts, bursting in with news of Theresa's disappearance. Dean checks out her apartment while Sam and Jo look over the files yet again. Blooper note here: the overhead camera angle clearly shows the photographs on the table, and the top pic appears to be a shot of H.H. Holmes' "Murder Castle" in Chicago. Why would they have a picture of that building when they didn't know at this point that H.H. Holmes was involved??? They come to the conclusion that the spirit is inside the walls, and while examining the pictures again, Jo notices that the windows on the building next door have bars. Ash confirms that the building in question was Moyamensing prison. It was torn down in the 60's, but it turns out the field on which the apartment building was built was once used for hanging prisoners. Searching through names of those executed, Sam recognizes the name Herman Webster Mudgett. Aka H.H. Holmes., the original serial killer. Hanged on May 7th, 1896, he's the obvious suspect as he was made famous for killing blondes and keeping locks of their hair. Unfortunately, they can't salt and burn his bones as they normally would to vanquish a spirit because he insisted on having his body buried under tons of concrete so no-one could mutilate his corpse. Sam points out that in H.H. Holmes' castle there were secret rooms and passages where he tortured his victims. Theresa could still be alive, but trapped inside the walls of the apartment building. They make their way along the narrow space between the brick and the plaster façade, watching for any sign of spirit activity or of Theresa. Dean is still watching Jo like a hawk, but when they reach a point at which Dean can't squeeze through, Jo carries on without him. Against his advice she climbs down an air vent and he has to retrace his steps and meet her on the other side. Once she's all alone, the spirit oozes through the cracks in the walls and captures her, her scream echoing through her cell to Dean, who calls her name with no response. Dean barely has time to break the news to Sam before Ellen calls demanding to know where Jo is. Ash finally caved and told Ellen the truth. Dean tries to put her off, saying Jo can't come to the phone right now. Ellen refuses to accept that and orders Dean to put her on the phone. Out of excuses and still beating himself up for losing her, Dean answers with "we'll get her back". Steaming mad and alluding to past disappointments by the Winchester family, Ellen says she'll be on the next flight out. Sam has been checking the blueprints again, and has noticed a sewer system underneath the building. Hard to access but worth checking out, they go to find the decades-old and buried manhole. Jo awakens to find herself trapped in a tiny steel slot barely wide enough for her body. The fingernail scratches in the top inspire a brilliant display of her acting talent as the various emotions play across her face. Realization. Fear. Discouragement. Condemnation, and finally: determination. Until this scene I was unimpressed with her acting. She seemed overly peppy, rarely showing any depth. This few seconds of screen time has changed my opinion, at least for now. It shows the full range of emotion that a kidnap victim should feel upon the realization that they're trapped and helpless. The choice is the same for everyone. Choose to fight, or choose to die. Her face shows the moment she realizes she's stronger than this, and if she works long enough and hard enough she can get herself out. I am glad the writers didn't let her cave under the pressure. I always love to see a strong woman instead of a screaming bimbo. All this being said, she still screams like a baby when Holmes reaches through the steel to claim a lock of her hair. At least she's not alone, Theresa is similarly trapped on the far side of the room. Armed with a metal detector and shovels, Dean and Sam search for the manhole. They find it in an open field, lucky turn of events that is, and dig it up. The heavy cover lifts open to reveal the century old sewer below. They climb down and begin to search for the girls. Meanwhile, the spirit of H.H. Holmes fondles Jo, pleased with his new acquisition. As his grimy hand runs down her neck and arm, she stabs her knife into him, repelling him with the pure iron blade. She waits for him to return, and when he does he grabs her knife-wielding arm stopping her from using it again. He covers her mouth and nose, suffocating her, but Dean and Sam make a fortuitous entry, shooting his spirit with rock salt and sending him flying across the room. They let the two girls out of the slots, and although they're ready to run, Dean needs Jo to be bait for the spirit. She sits in the middle of the room waiting for him to reappear, and when he does they drop a heap of salt that completes the ring around the outside of the room. He panics and screams as he comes to the realization that he's trapped, turning in a slow circle that fails to show an exit point through the thick salt. He turns to Jo and the boys, thick veins popping out on his forehead as he screams red-faced in anger. Although the spirit is contained, Jo worries that a storm will wash away the salt or someone will find the manhole and go explore inside. The screams of the spirit can still be heard through the opening until they're drowned out by the sound of a large cement truck backing up. Dean guides the truck expertly to the manhole and lets the cement flow, sealing the opening. The Impala drives along in silence, it's four occupants feeling the weight of anger and unspoken accusations. Sam and Jo sit quietly in the back, while Dean attempts to break the tension with Ellen, who has flown out to retrieve her wayward daughter. He tries music, but Foreigner doesn't get past the line "you're as cold as ice" before Ellen switches it off. Back at the Roadhouse, Ellen kicks the boys out despite Dean's apology. She wants to talk to Jo alone. Jo tries to explain, but Ellen won't have it. Something bigger than a daughter's disobedience is eating at Ellen, and we're about to find out what it is. Only a few minutes pass before Jo comes storming out of the bar. Dean moves to talk to her, but she's too angry. He tries to stop her but she throws him a rude retort and he turns to leave. She stops him, launching into the story. Her father usually worked alone, but on the hunt that killed him he had a partner. John Winchester. Ellen believes that John made a mistake that got her husband killed, and is angry that Dean could use Jo as bait just as his father used William. We're left hanging, not knowing if Dean and Sam will ever again be welcome at the Roadhouse. This episode had some of the best acting so far this season. With the notable exception of Dean's impassioned speech at the end of Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things, of course. Jo's performance in the sewer was excellent, the spirit's rage on finding he was trapped was nothing short of genius, and the look on Ellen's face when she finally revealed the truth about her husband and John was brilliant. Even Dean's mournful look at the end as he digests the information. Was his father responsible for William's death? We may never know. This episode was every bit as creepy as I hoped it would be, well written and well performed, it maintains the standard of excellence we've come to expect from this show. It was a little short on Sam scenes, but besides that it was nearly perfect. It held closely to the horror film formula, with the camera angles that suggest an unwelcome observer, and the damp and dank sewer scenes. A few places were a little heavy handed, like Jo at the hallway heat vent, but overall it was a pristine example of the horror genre. Kudos to the cast and crew, another job well done! |