Cross Road Blues
Original Air Date 11/16/2006

The brothers encounter a demon who gives people their hearts' desires in exchange for their souls. The demon reveals to Dean the truth about his father's death and makes him an offer, exploiting Dean's desire to have his dad back.

Notes

Writer

Sera Gamble

Director

Steve Boyum

Guest Stars:

Filming Locations:

Boundary Bay

Completely Useless Trivia:

Review

The episode opens with blues man Robert Johnson spinning his magic for an appreciative audience. The music is interrupted by growling dogs and although he tries to continue, the ominous sounds are too upsetting. As the shadow of the huge beast circles around the dingy club, Robert leaves, dropping his beloved guitar on the gravel roadway and running for home. But it's too late. His time is up and nothing can save him now. The blues man is portrayed with a real feeling for the flavour of the blues. His plain brown suit and tie with the hat pulled down over his eyes, and the cigarette hanging out of his mouth with a generous amount of ash just begging to be tapped off gives a real feeling of the dirty thirties. Then he looks up and we see his eyes sparkle with the simple joy of playing his guitar. No wonder his audience is enraptured with his music, he puts his heart and soul into every note.

Sam lectures Dean about his criminal record, not only is he wanted in St. Louis, he's now in the Federal database. Dean is proud of his status, it makes him "feel like Dillinger". Sam argues that it makes their job harder, they'll always be looking over their shoulders for the police. Typical of Dean to enjoy the fact that he's a wanted man. He was right when he told Jo that he's a little twisted. On to the case, architect Sean Boyden fell/jumped from his high rise apartment. He had called animal control two days before his death, and Sam thinks he may have been hunted by the Black Dog of Norse mythology. They visit his business partner, who explains that Sean was an overnight success. Ten years ago he was tending bar at a dive called Lloyd's and had no talent at all as an architect, then suddenly he was able to design the most amazing buildings. He compares Sean to Van Gogh or Mozart, then pauses on the realization that "true geniuses tend to die young". I find myself torn between loving and hating that line. On the one hand, I appreciated the suggestion that some of the most brilliant figures in history were actually just normal people who make a deal with the devil at the cross roads, but at the same time it immediately brings to mind the movie Death Becomes Her. While the movie is about immortality instead of success, it includes such figures as Marilyn Monroe, Elvis and James Dean, explaining that they made a deal in which they agreed to fake their own deaths after enjoying 10 years of beauty and youth. Since I am a person who strives for originality, I'm a little disappointed that this line mirrors the movie so closely. Still, the idea is intriguing and it works for the show so I'll opt to shelve my pessimism for now.

Dean visits Carly at the Animal Protection Agency, scoring a list of all 19 calls received in relation to black dogs as well as Carly's age, hobbies, and MySpace address. Oh yeah, and "they're real". I'd like to know if he found out that little tidbit through conversation or if it required closer inspection. How much do I love the MySpace reference? Words cannot express how much I enjoyed that line! We all know that none of the many MySpace addresses actually belong to anyone associated with the show, and this is a brilliant way to prove that Dean Winchester absolutely, positively, without doubt does NOT have a MySpace. He doesn't even know what it is, let alone how to set one up. Poor Dean, all excited that it might be porn. Put your hands together for Sera Gamble, well done!

Chasing down the list of dog-related calls, the boys end up at the home of Dr. Sylvia Perlman. Her maid admits that after making the call the doctor simply packed up and left. As expected, she too was an overnight success. She became head surgeon at the hospital ten years ago, the youngest in their history. Dean is not surprised to find an old photo on the fridge that reads "Lloyd's Bar, November 1996".

Sylvia is holed up in a dingy motel room, scared out of her mind. The manager comes to the door demanding she pay for another night or get out. She counts the cash with shaking hands and turns to pay him, but as she looks back up she finds his face has become a drooped and decaying aberration. Shocked at the sight she throws the money at him and slams the door. The poor man seems convinced that she's just another nut job or drug addict, and sadly doesn't seem too surprised.

Dean and Sam check out Lloyd's bar and find not only does it sit at a crossroads, but someone has planted Yarrow Flowers at all four corners. They dig at the centre of the crossroad and find a tin box which contains graveyard dirt, a black cat bone, a photo, and various other oddities. Dean informs Sam that this is a Hoodoo spell used to summon a demon, and that crossroads are where pacts are made. Sam adds that the people haven't been seeing Black Dogs, they've been seeing Hell Hounds. The people who have made deals with the demon have enjoyed their 10 years of success, and now the demon is back to collect their souls. To prove their point we see Sylvia in her motel room, hiding behind the panel and hoping the thing banging on her door will just go away. The banging stops, but the Hell Hound has found another way in. The giant picture window explodes in a shower of glass, throwing her to the floor. She backs away but is no match for the unseen beast. He tears deep gashes into her leg and pulls her kicking and screaming from the room. Hmmm. Interesting how the other people have all died in an easily explainable manner, yet Sylvia is hauled off to who-knows-where with enormous claw marks in her leg. Will they say she was mauled by a bear? I'm sure they're quite common in downtown Greenwood, Mississippi.

By way of explanation we're shown Robert Johnson's encounter with the demon. With one of his most famous songs, Cross Road Blues, playing in the background he buries his Hoodoo bag of goodies at the centre of the crossroad and turns to find a beautiful woman standing behind him. He asks her to make him the best blues man that ever lived. She agrees, and seals the deal with a sensuous kiss that leaves him reeling.

Still at Lloyds bar and the crossroads, Sam mentions the story of Robert Johnson, but Dean argues that it wasn't a story, it really happened. Sam doesn't know the music, so Dean references a few of his songs; Cross Road Blues, Me an' the Devil Blues, and Hell Hound on my Trail. He died muttering about being chased by dogs, lending credence to the story that he sold his soul to the devil. (While stories of his demonic deal ran rampant after his death, it is widely believed that Robert Johnson was poisoned by a jealous bar owner who had offered him whiskey. He had been warned not to drink from an open bottle but chose to ignore the advice.) Sam wants to find out if anyone else in Lloyd's bar made a deal ten years ago, but Dean feels that anyone who chooses of their own free will to sell their soul deserves whatever they get. Since the hoodoo spell includes using a photograph, they take the picture from the tin box they dug up and show it around inside the bar. They're rewarded with a name: George Darrow. Unlike the doctor and the architect, George lives in a dumpy little apartment building that inspires Dean and Sam to play "guess the deal". He obviously didn't bargain for cash, how about babes in princess Leia bikinis? Outside his door, they notice black powder in a line across the threshold. Always the impertinent one, Dean jokes that he picked the wrong shaker and got pepper instead of the salt. George plays dumb until he's confronted with his picture from all those years ago. Sam gives his trademark "we just want to help" speech, using his puppy dog eyes to their full effect, and George relents and lets them in. He explains that the powder is Hoodoo goofer dust that works to keep out demons. Like Dean, George feels that he deserves whatever is coming to him. It was his choice to summon the demon and he'll willingly pay the price. The apartment is filled with hundreds of paintings, but he's never been able to sell them. He didn't specify to the demon that he wanted to be a famous painter, he simply asked for talent. The part that really bothers him is not that he made a bad deal for himself, it's that after his business with the demon was finished, it stayed around chatting up the patrons at Lloyd's and making more deals. George feels responsible and has lived with the guilt for ten years. He's ready to let the demon take his soul but he wants to finish one last painting first and is using the goofer dust to hold off the Hell Hound for a day or two more. He sends the boys on their way with the names of the three other people who made deals: Sean Boyden, Sylvia Perlman, and Evan Hudson.

Evan hears the Hell Hound outside as he sits in his study. Nervous and agitated, he tries to act relaxed as he says goodbye to his wife. She's off to see her sister and he's glad to see her go. He affirms his everlasting love for her, making her question his motives for wanting her out of the house. She walks to the door and turns at the last minute to return the sentiment, but her beautiful face appears sunken and chalky, stretched into a grotesque reminder that Evan's ten years are up. An eyeblink later she's back to normal and expressing her love, but Evan can't hide the shock on his face. He's obviously terrified. Dean and Sam knock on his door but he mistakes them for the demon's messengers and slams the door shut, locking it tight. Dean gives it a powerful kick and it flies open again, and they follow the hallway around to a set of double doors. Dean prepares to blast these open as well, but Sam stops him. In a delightfully smug display of superiority, Sam gently pushes the door handle with one finger and it opens freely and easily. They find Evan cowering inside and he begs them not to hurt him. They explain that they're there to help. Dean can't control his disapproval of the situation so he badgers Evan about his deal. He tosses a few lame guesses, Viagra? Bowl the perfect game? Evan confesses that the deal was for his wife. "Ah," Dean responds sarcastically, "getting the girl. That's worth a trip to hell for." But Evan goes on to explain that his wife was dying of cancer and the deal was for her to recover. It was a choice he made willingly and he doesn't regret it, they've had ten happy years together. Dean reacts with a highly charged and emotional tirade about Evan not taking his wife's feelings into consideration. The choice was made to ease Evan's pain at the thought of living without her, but now she's the one who's going to have to live without him. Dean asks what will happen if she learns the price her husband paid. How will she feel when she finds out her good health came at the price of Evan's soul? How guilty will she feel? How can she live with that knowledge? Sam knows where these emotions are coming from, Dean feels all the same guilt for the price his father paid. Still not entirely sure what happened between John and the demon, Dean points out that the details fit. The logical conclusion is that John made a deal and traded his soul for Dean's life.

Dean leaves Sam with the goofer dust and a mandate to protect Evan from the Hell Hound long enough for him to go to the crossroad and summon the demon. He can trap it and exorcise it, sending it back to hell. Sam doesn't want Dean to take such a risk alone, but Evan hears the hound which leaves the two with little choice. Sam lines the doors and windows with goofer dust and uses the last of it to form a circle around Evan. At the crossroad, Dean trades the photo of George with his own Animal Control ID picture and reburies the tin box. In the time it takes him to stand up, the demon is already there, a willowy and beautiful brunette. Calling him by name, she says she heard he was handsome, but he's "just edible". Much of this episode has had the same feeling of playful banter, and the result is a comfortable balance between the moments of grief and guilt that threaten to suffocate Dean and the lighthearted humour. Dean invites her to sit in the car so they can make their deal in private. (Because, you know, the thousands of people that flock to this backwoods crossroad in the wee hours of the morning might see a man and woman talking and get suspicious.) As he walks her to the car he asks for Evan to be released from his contract, offering himself in trade. She responds with "like father, like son", confirming Dean's worst fears. He doesn't give her the satisfaction of a response, instead he opens the car door and invites her to sit. As she's about to get in she notices the edge of a Devil's Trap drawn in the gravel under the vehicle. Dean's busted, his plan ruined.

Back at Evan's house, the Hell Hound is growling at the doorway. Sam can't hear it, but when the door starts slamming inward under the weight of the beast he quickly steps inside the circle with Evan. (What a pansy. I betcha Dean would fling the door open and wrestle the dog to the ground.) The hound can't get past the goofer dust and leaves to find another way in. Angry at Dean's deception, the demon threatens to rip him limb from limb, but she relents saying that letting him live would be worse punishment. She has more fun watching him wallow in his own misery. Dean tries hard to keep his cool, but the truth is her words hit close to the heart. She lays it all out, each sentence punctuated with a step closer, backing Dean up against the nearby water tower. How he wakes up every morning wishing for escape, how he carries the knowledge that it's his fault John is gone, that his life was bought with the soul of his father. To top it all off, she has the power to bring John back. With that revelation hanging in the night air, she walks away wishing him a nice, long, miserable life. Dean lets her walk a few steps, indecision warring on his face before he turns and steps toward her. Blocked by the wooden stand of the water tower he tells her to wait. Knowing she's got him where she wants him, she smiles and turns back.

Sam and Evan feel the imminent danger as the Hell Hound bursts through the heat vent and into the room. Still unseen, Evan can hear its angry barking as it circles the room. Time is running short, it's all up to Dean. Looking forlorn, he stands under the water tower waiting for her ultimatum. She returns with another playful line: "You're lucky I've got a soft spot for lost puppies and long faces." She promises him that she'll bring his dad back give him a long life. Dean will have ten years to spend with him before she comes to take his soul. Since he's already living on borrowed time, the ten years is like icing on the cake, everything is back to the way it was supposed to be, and he gets extra time as a bonus. Dean paces in thought, as if to weigh the decision before committing to it. He wanders out the other side of the wooden stand, then turns and asks for an extra bonus item; a set of steak knives. Charmed by his wit she smiles and moves closer, but she's stopped mid-sentence. With a frown she looks up to see another Devil's Trap chalked onto the underside of the water tank. I didn't realize until now just how many types of Devil's Traps there are. The one they used to trap Meg was a complicated design of shapes and symbols with some sort of scorpion in the centre. The ones Sam drew on the trunk of the Impala only had three words but contained a pentagram, a triangle and a circle. Now Dean uses a new one that makes use of the pentagram but instead of a triangle it's surrounded by five symbols within the circle. Are Devil's Traps created to be specific to the demon one is trying to capture? The Key of Solomon was an awfully thick book, does every page contain a different Devil's Trap design? How does one choose which to use? I suppose I shouldn't worry. Anyone smart enough to find so many different traps surely would have included an index that sorts them by name, strength and demon type, right? All Dean would have to do is cross-reference "demonic pact" with "crossroads" and voila! Turn to page 237. (Don't blame me-- it's late and my sarcasm genie went to bed hours ago.) Dean will happily let her out if she'll release Evan from his contract and leave him and his wife to live a long life. She "can't" (won't) so Dean pulls out his handy-dandy all-purpose exorcism and starts spouting Latin. (Go Dean! Finally learned to pronounce psallite domino and caelem caeli) He'd better hurry though, the Hell Hounds' breath is wreaking havoc on the goofer dust circle and the giant claw marks on the floor are making Sam nervous. Sam and Evan race to another room to escape the dog, and time is running out. Sam throws his weight against the door hoping it will be enough to keep the beast at bay. Dean continues to read the incantation, and when she can't take anymore she demands that he stop. The pounding on the door also stops, and Sam and Evan breathe a sigh of relief. Under the water tower, Dean and the demon are locked in a hot and heavy kiss to seal their deal. Although he's never been one to refuse a kiss from a pretty girl, now we know he'd "like to be warned before he's violated with demon tongue". Evan and his wife are safe, now it's up to Dean to hold up his end of the bargain and release her from the trap. A long moment passes while Dean tries to decide whether to continue with the exorcism or to let her go. It goes against his nature to let a demon live, especially one who's completely at his mercy, but a deal's a deal. He closes the book and climbs up to move a board from the water tower, breaking the circle and releasing the trap. Confident in her freedom she takes a moment to taunt Dean before she leaves. She tells him that if he knew how much his father was suffering, he would have taken the deal she offered. She doesn't give him a chance to finish his threat before she vacates the woman's body in a familiar cloud of black smoke, leaving Dean with the image of his father suffering, burning, unable to scream. Yet another thought to feed his already overwhelming guilt.

Listening to Bill Broonzy's Key to the Highway blues music in the car, Dean and Sam discuss the demon's words. Sam reminds him that demon's lie, but Dean believes her. He always expected his father would go out in a blaze of glory, fighting 'till the bitter end. That would have been his legacy. Instead, he bargained with the very thing he had spent his life fighting; something he wouldn't have had to do if it weren't for Dean. Sam, on the other hand, feels that the legacy their father left lives on in them, that Evan Hudson is alive and well because of what John taught the two of them. Every life they save is a testament to their father. Struck by a sudden thought, Sam asks if Dean ever considered taking the trade, his soul for his father's life. Dean's silence is answer enough, and he switches the music over to hard rock to end the conversation.

This episode was good, but not the best of the season I'm afraid. Because I'm a spoiler junkie I already knew that the she-devil was going to taunt Dean about his father burning in hell, and I thought it would be a highly emotional, tear-jerking scene. While I did enjoy that section, I was disappointed that Dean didn't react to the news with more shock. It was almost as if he was concentrating too hard on capturing her, so he filed the information away to process at a later date. If that's the case, I really hope there will be a time that he reaches his breaking point and explodes from the stress. The end of Everybody Loves a Clown gave us a taste of what that may be like, but he hasn't yet been able to release the full fury of these dark emotions. On the flip side of the coin, I particularly enjoyed the final scene and Dean's speech about his father's legacy. He has always tried to please his dad and I think now he will fight all the harder to be the one who dies in a blaze of glory. It's in his nature to be willing to sacrifice himself for the welfare of others, but now that part of his personality will be amplified in the hope that his actions would please his dad and make him proud. To add fuel to the fire, he may feel much like he did in the Faith episode. He felt both unworthy and guilty that someone else died to let him live, and when the reaper came after him he stood his ground and accepted his fate willingly. He may now be more of a risk-taker, putting his life on the line in an attempt to somehow put things right; that his death might fix the feelings he lives with every day that something is wrong in the world. Then again, that might just be the imaginings of an overtired reviewer who should be in bed by now. What do you think?

Cross Road Blues Original Air Date 11/16/2006