Playthings
Original Air Date 01/18/2007

An old inn is at the center of mysterious events involving deaths that at first seem accidental, but further investigation slowly reveals dark secrets about the inn's history, and Dean and Sam find themselves in the thick of it.

Notes

Writer

Matt witten

Director

Charles Beeson

Guest Stars:

Annie Wersching
(Susan Thompson)
Matreya Fedor
(Tyler Thompson)
Conchita Campbell (Maggie)

Other Guests:

John R. Taylor
Brenda McDonald
Jonathan Bruce
(Larry Williams)
Rob Bruner
Talia Williams

Filming Locations:

Rosemary, Shaughnessy

Completely Useless Trivia:

Ava's Missing Persons poster shows the following stats:
5'5" 108 lbs
Eyes: blue Hair: Brown

Review

Before I begin, I have to say that this "review" (and I use the term loosely) is mostly synopsis and very little actual review. I had anticipated this episode with a fair amount of trepidation since, as anyone who has read my contribution to the Hell Hounds Lair website knows, I am absolutely terrified of dolls. My childhood experience left me with a deep seated and admittedly unreasonable fear of the horrid little monsters and I expected to watch this episode through my fingers, as my hands would be tightly clasped over my eyes. Sadly, perhaps with a tiny measure of relief, this episode completely failed to frighten me. The dolls played a very minor role in the mystery, and when we did finally understand their purpose, it was with a fairly conspicuous reference back to the Provenance episode of last season. Although there were many good comedic lines and a lot of opportunities to laugh at the often homophobic sibling rivalry displayed throughout the episode, overall I was disappointed.

Pierpont Inn, ancestral home of Susan Thompson, is a beautiful old English Tudor mansion turned hotel. Boasting a long history as a neighborhood landmark, the aged building is at the end of its usefulness and, unable to keep it up any longer, Susan has decided to sell. A Goodwill delivery driver arrives to pick up some donations, much to the disappointment of Susan's daughter Tyler and her friend Maggie. As the man goes about his business, Tyler plays with her dolls in the enormous dollhouse, an exact replica of the hotel. She puts the dolls to bed for the night, but one mysteriously goes missing. She looks around to see where it has fallen, and finds it at the bottom of the grand staircase with its head turned to his back. Just then, her mother's scream echoes through the halls and Tyler goes to see what is the matter. Lying at the bottom of the stairs is the driver, his arms splayed out and his head turned completely backwards. Susan is in shock and on the phone calling for help, and when she sees Tyler looking down over the banister she calls up to tell her not to look. Tyler looks anyway, and sees the man in the same position and condition as the doll, his mouth opening and closing as if gasping for breath, the box of toys scattered and broken around him.

A month after Ava's disappearance, Dean and Sam are still in Peoria searching for her. There's no trace of her anywhere and the police have no leads. He had checked in with Ellen, who told him about the Pierpont Inn which he mentions to Dean. While Sam doesn't want to give up the search, he feels that helping others is more important and he doesn't want anyone else to die. Dean agrees and they head to Cornwall, Connecticut. Dean seems excited about the prospect of a good, old fashioned haunted inn. He likens the hunt to an episode of Scooby Doo, making sure to express his appreciation of Daphne. On the way in Sam notices an urn on the front stoop which has a quincunx etched in it. (five red dots with an X to join them together) He mentions that if the urn were filled with bloodweed it would be a powerful hoodoo charm to ward off evil. Dean points out that it isn't exactly the type of establishment to encourage the practice of hoodoo, the symbol seems out of place.

Inside they meet the proprietor Susan, who pegs them for gay antique hunters and again milks the king size bed joke for all it's worth. Sam stutters a denial and asks for twin beds telling her they're brothers, and Dean, who seems mildly frustrated with the ongoing gay theme, asks why she thinks they look like antiquers. Before he can get an answer from the very uncomfortable Susan, Sam interrupts to ask about the urn out front. She doesn't know where it came from, it's always been there. Checking in under the name Mahogoff, they follow the aging bellhop Sherwin up to room 237. (a subtle reference to The Shining, also set in a large hotel.) The large room is an antique aficionado's dream, with oak paneling and several large pieces of quality furniture. Dean is particularly impressed with the yellowed wedding dress pinned to the wall, and by "impressed", of course I mean "appalled". Going over the details of the two recent victims, they notice that both were involved with the closure of the hotel. Is someone using hoodoo to stop the hotel from closing? If so, who? Neither Susan nor Sherwin seem the type, and the boys haven't seen anyone else around.

While wandering the halls, Sam notices a small vase with another quincunx. It sits on a table outside the door to Susan's private suite. They knock on the door and find her packing, and when she's reluctant to let them in Dean uses the wall full of dolls behind her as way to get inside. He tells her that Sam is a huge fan of antique dolls and has a huge collection of his own at home. Unable to deny it, Sam reluctantly confesses his doll fetish to Susan, shooting a warning glare to Dean. Unintimidated, Dean runs with the story, telling her how Sam loves dress up his dolls and play with them and how it would make his whole day to see her collection. This is Dean's way of getting back at Sam for his earlier comment about why people tend to think they're gay; saying he's "kind of butch, people probably think you're overcompensating." Susan relents and lets them come in and view her collection that Dean comments is "not super-creepy at all". Sam on the other hand is drawn straight to the replica dollhouse. Standing as tall as him, the structure is exact down to the tiniest detail, and even includes the trees and play area at the front of the hotel. He notices the doll lying at the bottom of the staircase with its head twisted backwards. Just then Tyler comes in the room complaining that Margaret is being mean. Sam asks Tyler about the broken doll, but she says neither she nor Margaret broke it, that Grandma would be mad. Their interest piqued by the mention of Grandma Rose, the boys ask to speak with her but Susan says she's ill and not taking any visitors. Convinced they've found the culprit, Dean tells Sam to search the internet for any previous deaths while he finds out more about Rose.

Susan meets with the businessman involved with the final details of the hotel purchase who lets her know that plans for the hotel don't include renovations, they plan to demolish it. A scant few seconds later this man is sitting in his room, his position and demeanor matched by a doll in the dollhouse. Tyler, who has been having a tea party with some of the larger dolls, feels something is amiss and looks up to see the businessman doll hanging from the bedroom fan. The macabre scene is duplicated exactly in the man's room where he hangs twitching, the control cable wrapped tightly around his neck.

From his second floor room Sam observes the coroner as the body is removed, frustration evident on his face. Dean gets the story from Susan, who offers a full refund if they want to leave. Dean refuses, and goes to tell Sam the tale. He finds him sitting in the dark, seemingly unconcerned with the death. When Dean asks what he found out about Rose, Sam doesn't answer. Instead he accuses Dean of being bossy. And short. Dean asks if he's drunk although the empties in the corner tell the tale. He's surprised at Sam's lack of judgement, but Sam has good reason. He couldn't save the dead man. He wanted to take this job so no-one else would die, but someone died anyway. He feels that if only he can save enough people, he will avoid the evil future that awaits him. Dean helps him into bed, but Sam tells him to watch out for him, to which Dean replies he always does. But Sam turns the words around, saying watch out for him. If he does turn evil, Dean will have fix it. Before falling asleep, he makes Dean promise, albeit reluctantly, to kill him if he ever becomes something he's not. (On a side note, I love Dean's theme music. It has become more prevalent this season and it's particularly nice here.)

With Sam safely in bed and fast asleep, Dean wanders downstairs where he finds Sherwin behind the bar. Chatting over a drink, Dean mentions that he'd love to hear some tales about the hotel. Sherwin is happy to oblige, having been there for his entire life he knows all the goings on. Sherwin walks him through the photo gallery on the stairway wall, showing pictures of the Thompson family dating back to Rose's childhood. One picture in particular catches Dean's interest. Rose as a child sitting with her nanny, a Creole woman wearing a quincunx necklace.

The next morning Sam is paying the price for his impropriety the night before. Driving the porcelain bus, he groans his discomfort to his brother. Dean, ever the caring sibling, offers him his advice for a hangover cure: a greasy pork sandwich served up in a dirty ashtray. The image is too much for Sam's stomach, and he again leans over the toilet to expel the remaining contents. Dean relates the information about the nanny, and they decide to question Rose. They break into Susan's suite and sneak upstairs to Rose's room. They find the old woman sitting in a wheelchair by the window. They announce themselves to avoid scaring her, but receive no answer. As they walk closer and move to face her they see that she is awake and aware, but unable to speak or move. A remarkably well-recovered Sam pulls Dean to the side and says that she's not simply ill; she's had a stroke. Dean points out that hoodoo is hands-on, it requires mixing herbs, building altars and chanting, it can't possibly be Rose. A great moment between the boys here: Dean- "She could be faking." Sam- "What do you want to do, poke her with a stick?" -off Dean's resulting expression and slight nod- "Dude, you're not going to poke her with a stick!" As they discuss, Susan enters the room, shocked to find them there. She says Rose is terrified and if they don't leave the hotel immediately she's calling the police. The boys obey and make a quick exit. A frustrated Susan then finds Tyler and Maggie playing jacks in the hall at the top of the stairs. She asks Tyler why she hasn't packed yet, and Tyler says Maggie told her they're not allowed to move. Susan has heard enough about Margaret. She has indulged Tyler's imaginary friend for long enough, she's done pretending. Maggie doesn't like being dismissed so easily and with a dangerous glint in her eye she tells Tyler "I don't like her."

Susan is packing boxes into the trunk of her car while Tyler plays with the dollhouse upstairs. As she watches, the miniature playground swings begin moving on their own. Downstairs Susan shivers as the wind picks up, blowing the swings. She wanders closer, perplexed by their movement. The seesaw and merry-go-round join in the macabre ballet, tottering and turning along with the swing set, their movements mimicked by the toy playground upstairs. Frightened now, Susan doesn't notice her car engine start, nor does she realize it's driving towards her until it's too late. Just in the nick of time, Sam appears out of nowhere, tackling her and knocking her to safety. They take a shaken Susan inside and offer her a drink to settle her nerves. She demands to know what happened, and Dean tells her that although they thought it was a hoodoo curse, it now appears to be the work of a spirit. Sam asks how long ago her mother had the stroke, and she says it's been about a month. Roughly the same time as the first death. Putting 2+2 together, they surmise that Rose was using hoodoo to protect the family, but since the stroke she hasn't been able to keep it up, the spirit has had free reign since then. Another great line here: Dean- "Look sister, that car didn't just try to run you down by itself. Well, I mean I guess it did, technically, but the spirit. oh, forget it." Sam tells her to get everyone out, Sherwin, her mother, her daughters. Susan looks confused at this, and says she only has one daughter. When the boys find out that Maggie is an imaginary friend, they know they have to find Tyler right away.

Maggie stands before a horrified Rose, telling her that Tyler is going to stay with her and Rose can't do anything to stop her. Tyler comes in and tells her not to bother Grandma, to which Maggie replies "let's play". Susan and the boys can't find Tyler but they are shocked to find that all but one of the antique dolls have been smashed. Sam asks if a girl named Maggie ever died in the hotel. Susan remembers that her mother once had a sister named Margaret who died in the hotel pool as a child. They race to the pool house, where through the glass they can see Tyler poised to jump into the pool. Unbeknownced to them, Maggie is standing beside her telling her to jump, that it won't hurt and they can play together forever. Tyler invites her to move away with them, but Maggie admits that she can't leave the hotel. Susan shouts for Tyler to stop, but when she turns to her mother she loses her grip on the rail and falls into the pool. Sam tries to smash the glass while Dean and Susan race around to the other door, but both entrances are firmly held closed. Tyler, who doesn't know how to swim, struggles to the surface of the water gasping for air, but Margaret pushes her head back under, holding her down. Her struggling grows weaker, but Margaret hears a faraway voice calling her name. She leaves to find the source of the voice just as Sam manages to break through the glass. He leaps into the pool and pulls a motionless Tyler out of the water, while Dean and Susan look on in horror. Several tense seconds pass before Tyler coughs up water and opens her eyes. Scooped safely into her mother's arms, she tells Sam she can't see Maggie anywhere around.

In Rose's room, Maggie once again stands before the old woman. Able to hear Rose even though she doesn't speak, the two discuss a deal: Rose will stay if Susan and Tyler are allowed to leave. Maggie agrees, and when Susan comes upstairs to collect her mother and get out of the hotel, she finds Rose dead in her wheelchair. As the coroner takes yet another body away, Sam apologizes for not being able to save everybody. Susan thanks him, saying he's given her "everything". Tyler confirms that Maggie isn't around anymore, and the two leave for their new home. As they prepare to leave, Sam reminds Dean of his promise from the night before, proving that even though he was drunk as a skunk, he still remembers the conversation. They drive away, leaving the old hotel in silence, the halls abandoned and vacant. But the rooms aren't entirely empty, the suite still contains the giant dollhouse and the collection of antique dolls. The sound of giggling can be heard from inside the room, and as we peer through the doorway we see the two sisters reunited. Margaret with her blonde curls bouncing as she gleefully skips rope with her younger sister, a now youthful Rose. The myriad of dolls look on as though satisfied with the way things turned out for the two girls, and as the camera zooms closer we see a replica of Margaret smiling down from the top shelf, the long blonde curls undoubtedly taken from Maggie's own locks.

As I said at the beginning, the Maggie doll is too similar to the Melanie Merchant doll from the Provenance episode for my taste. Both are replicas of the child and both with long curly locks, I can't help but think how much trouble could have been avoided if Dean had just burned the blonde-haired doll and stripped Margaret of her power. While I appreciate the basic premise of this episode, particularly the idea that what happened in the dollhouse also happened in the hotel, I still feel that the strength of the plot was poorly traded for a few gay jokes and a drunken Sam. (Although I have to admit, I really enjoyed the hung over Sammy scene.) There is a delicate balance between the comedy, the horror and the brotherly angst, and this episode dipped a little too far off centre. Perhaps the plot would have been better served if they had saved the drunken Sam/promise you'll kill me scene for a later time and allowed us a week or two to contemplate the full impact of the secret Dean shared with Sam at the beginning of the Hunted episode.

Playthings Original Air Date 01/18/2007