Night Shifter
Original Air Date 01/25/2007

Sam and Dean investigate a series of bank robberies committed by unlikely suspects who then kill themselves, but autopsies reveal that in each case the thief had actually died days before the crime, pointing to a shape-shifter committing the thefts.

Notes

Writer

Ben Edlund

Director

Phil Sgriccia

Guest Stars:

Chris Gauthier
(Ronald Reznick)
Charles Malik Whitfield
(Hendrickson)

Other Guests:

Stephen E. Miller
Alison Matthews
Sanjay Talwar
Holly Hougham
Georgia Craig (Sherry)
Roman Podhara
Kurt Max Runte
Emy Aneke
Brad Turner

Filming Locations:

Royal Bank of Canada

Review

This episode dumps you straight into the deep end when Channel 8 cuts off the "then" recap with a live Breaking News segment on a robbery at the City Bank of Milwaukee. Choppy camera work and spectators' bobbing heads lend a feeling of authenticity to the report, which tells of a man who locked himself in the bank three hours earlier. The camera zooms in on the bank door as it opens, where we see the determined face of gun-toting Dean Winchester letting a hostage out the front. This is entire opening sequence is really well done, not only immersing us in the action at the blink of an eye, but also giving us a sneak preview of Dean, up to his ears in trouble once again and looking like the villain. It's a nice referral to the Skin episode of last season, and both gave me the same feeling of impatience, making me yearn to find out how events brought Dean to this point and how he will once again evade the SWAT team gunning for him.

One day earlier, the Winchester boys, posing as FBI agents, are questioning a jewelry store owner about a recent robbery. While Dean flirts with the sales girl, who offers to give him a "private interview" later, Sam listens to the owner's story. He explains that the store was cleaned out by Helena, a long time employee who was trusted implicitly. Not only was she a loyal employee, her co-workers were like family to her. He is truly shocked that she could rob the store, shooting the guard in the face in the process. After the robbery Helena was found dead at her home, having committed suicide by dropping a hair dryer into her bath.

On to the next robbery in the file, the boys visit Ronald Reznick, night watchman at the Milwaukee National Trust. The details are strikingly similar in both cases, but Ronald has a theory. He was close friends with Juan, the teller accused of the robbery, and he noticed something different about him that night. Knowing he wouldn't get another chance, Ronald made copies of the security video tapes and found that Juan's eyes showed a retinal flash on the video. Ronald is convinced that a Mandroid is responsible for the crimes and has evidence to back up his claim. He believes a Mandroid (part man, part machine) can change its appearance to resemble the employees, and the video shows it's laser eyes. He has researched the other robberies and is convinced that the machine lives underground in the sewers and is killing the people and posing as them to commit the robberies. Dean is impressed with Ronald's legwork, knowing that his information is almost perfect, but Sam plays the stern FBI agent and tells him he's completely wrong. Sam insists that he turn over the security tapes and leave the investigating to the professionals. Back at the hotel, Sam explains that he felt it was important to stop Ronald from investigating because he's not a professional and if he continues he will get hurt or even killed. Dean checks the sewer system against the robberies and finds one more nearby bank that hasn't been hit yet.

Dressed as Securiserve guards, they visit the City Bank of Milwaukee and ask to see the security office. They run through hours of tapes (and only pause for a minute or five on the south end of a sexy teller) before they see the same retinal reflection in the eyes of the bank manager. Sam gets up to confront the man, but Dean notices something unusual on the monitor. Ronald. Armed with an automatic rifle, Ronald has chained the front door and ordered everyone to the floor. Dean and Sam come to try and diffuse the situation, but Ronald is agitated and distrustful of the boys. He has one of the hostages frisk them for weapons, and he finds Dean's hidden knife which Ronald drops down the trash slot. I have to say, I never thought I'd see the day when I'd hear the line "we're not working for the Mandroid!" Not only is it out in left field, but Sam says it with such conviction that it almost sounds normal, and knowing what their lives are like he probably didn't think anything of it. On the other hand, I love Dean's "I'm not going to walk in here naked" line, referring to his knife. It reminds me of the deleted scene from Phantom Traveler where Sam tells him he can't take his weapons into an airport. Dean spends several long minutes pulling a diverse assortment of weapons out of every nook and cranny of clothing from head to toe, and when everything is safely in the trunk he admits he feels naked. I really wish that scene had made the final cut, it was a stroke of brilliance and shows us a lot about the psyche of his character. This line hints at that same streak of "Boy Scout preparedness meets paranoid fatalism" that runs through him, but in a much more subtle way. Dean endears himself to Ronald by quietly telling him about the bank manager. He convinces Ronald to take him as a hostage and search for the manager. Ronald agrees, and locks everyone else, including Sam, in the vault for safekeeping. The two look through the offices and find a sloppy pile of skin, proving that the creature has changed shape. Dean takes a minute to explain the shape shifter lore, telling Ronald it's not a robot but a human creature, and that the only way to kill them is with silver. Fortunately, Dean finds a silver letter opener on the desk.

As the police gather forces outside, Dean and Ronald discuss the situation. Ronald is busy being excited at the prospect that his theory was right, but Dean lets him know how poorly conceived his plan was. The police have cut power to the building and most likely have them surrounded, and without power they can't check the hostages on the video camera to find which one is the shape shifter. They will have to figure out another way to tell who it is. Inside the stuffy vault, Sam is listening to the rambling of Sherry, another cute teller, asking about Dean. Is he always so brave? So wonderful? He's such a hero. Just then, the vault door opens to reveal Dean. Sherry is overwhelmed with gratitude that he saved them, but her elation turns to shock when instead of letting them out, Dean adds several stragglers to those already in the vault. He pulls Sam out and locks the rest back inside. Telling Sam the situation, he makes it clear that there's no way to know if the shape shifter is in the vault with the others, or wandering the halls. He tells him to help Ronald "manage the situation" while he goes to search for anyone still on the loose. They have a great little argument here, with Sam stating the obvious; Dean is wanted by the police and there's no way for them to get out of the bank, and Dean playing devil's advocate, saying Ronald's was a crazy play, but "crazy's the only game in town". Again, it serves to remind us that their lives are far from normal, and sometimes they just need to go with the flow. Although I probably shouldn't, I find it somewhat surprising how easily Dean can slip into the role of hostage taker/bank robber. He takes over Ronald's shoddy hostage situation and makes it his own, giving orders and dealing with prisoners as though he's been doing it forever. Anyone else would most likely have freed the hostages first, assuring them they're safe before searching for the shape shifter. Not Dean. He knows the best way to find the creature is if all the possible victims are safely confined, and although it could mean a long jail sentence for him, keeping them hostage is the sensible way to keep them out of harm's way. Even though it's such delinquent behavior, he takes it in stride and makes it look perfectly normal.

While Dean is off searching the building, Sam struggles with a situation of his own. The security guard appears to be having a heart attack and is desperate to leave the vault. Ronald, meanwhile, has answered the ringing phone and is having a nice long conversation with the police. Sam is split between trying to get Ronald to hang up the phone and trying to keep the guard calm. He hangs up the phone on Ronald, then uses it to request a paramedic for the guard. Meanwhile Dean has found the body of another victim, who just happens to be the man trying to help the security guard out of the vault. He arrives back in time to tell Sam who the shape shifter is, but the man is already on his guard. When Dean tries to separate him from the rest of the hostages, he attacks, knocking Dean to the ground and making his escape. Ronald gives chase while Sam and the ailing guard look on in surprise, but in his excitement he doesn't pay close enough attention to the police outside. Sam sees the telltale red dot from the sniper rifle and shouts for him to get down, but to no avail. The shot is taken and Ronald drops to the floor with a bullet through his heart. Here is another example of what makes this show so much better than the rest. Everyone who has watched a police-related show knows what that little red dot means, and unless the person is clad in kevlar, there's not much hope of escape. This scene takes us to a place we've probably all been before, where something bad is about to happen, and we can see it happening in slow motion but are unable to stop it. In this instance, they slowed things down and removed all the sound except that of the bullet. We see Sam shouting for Ronald to get down, knowing what's to come, but no sound escapes his lips. Then when the bullet breaks through the glass with a gentle, almost innocent tinkle, we see the look of shock as Ronald realizes his mistake. He drops to the floor in slow motion, the shock gradually replaced with the blank emotionless mask of death. Dean, who had been a scant few steps behind, throws himself into the corner, partly to protect himself from the sniper outside, and partly I think because of the realization of how easily it could have been him.

Sam, determined to make sure no-one else is hurt, tells Dean to take the guard outside while he goes after the shape shifter. Dean takes a minute to say goodbye to Ronald, showing his respect for the man before he takes the guard up the stairs to the door. He sends him out to the paramedics, using the opportunity to check out the police presence outside the bank and bringing us to the point at which we began this episode. Again, Dean looks so confident and in control here that anyone watching the news coverage will have no doubt at all that he's the villain. It's an interesting balance between good and evil, law abiding or miscreant. We trust Dean to be the hero, but most of the time that requires him to break the law, which begs the question of whether the ends justify the means. Down in the stairwell, Sam has found evidence that the shape shifter has again shed his skin. They will have to start the search all over again, but they're running out of time, especially now that the feds are on the scene. While Sam continues to look for the shape shifter, Dean herds the escaped hostages back into the vault. Sherry, who had been so adoring of him before, is now completely despondent at the prospect that things have gone from bad to worse. All hope of rescue seems to have died with Ronald. As Dean tries to assure her that things will be all right, the phone begins to ring. He answers it to find FBI agent Victor Hendrickson on the other end of the line. Thinking this is just another stupid cop, Dean is his usual cocky self, but all too soon he realizes that this agent is bad news. Special Agent Hendrickson knows all about the Winchester family, quoting the St. Louis murders and the incident in Baltimore. He knows about Sam too, calling him Bonnie to Dean's Clyde, but things really get good when he starts talking about their father. Dean says John was a hero, but Agent Hendrickson allows us the luxury of the outsider's point of view. He says John was a crazy paramilitary survivalist who raised his boys to be fighters, and looking at the situation strictly from a law enforcement point of view, it's a story we've heard many times before. Take the Oklahoma bombing, or the Jonestown massacre, or even the Benders for that matter. People who were raised with violence tend to propagate it, committing heinous acts in the name of their cause. How easy it would be to paint the Winchester family with the same brush, calling them lunatics who kill simply for the joy of it. Of course there are no supernatural creatures, these people just make up stories to rationalize their violent behavior, and they need to be stopped at all costs. I can see that Agent Hendrickson is going to be a really great addition to the show, he'll be the one to question our assumptions and make us stop and think about the things we take for granted. While we assume that Dean and Sam are heroes who are saving us from all manner of unmentionable things, Hendrickson will be telling us that Dean and Sam are the unmentionable things we need saving from! He'll be the counterpoint of this supernatural symphony, being the one who does bad things in the name of law enforcement and all things respectable, while Dean and Sam do good things under the cover of darkness and by breaking the law. I look forward with a feeling of anticipation to see how the remainder of the season plays out with this misguided lawman dogging their every step.

Sam, still searching for the shape shifter, notices a drop of blood near a closet. He opens the door to see Sherry's dead body tumble out. He tells Dean who decides to confront her with the evidence. He brings her out of the vault, saying she's going to be released as a show of good faith, then he shows her the dead body. She freaks out, screaming wildly and dropping in a dead faint. Thinking she's just made his job easier, Dean readies his letter opener intending to stab her with it, but Sam stops him. It doesn't make sense that the shape shifter would faint, it obviously wouldn't be afraid of the dead body since it's the one who killed her, and pretending to faint wouldn't help it to get away. This makes sense, so Dean moves over to the dead body to check it out more closely. Just then the SWAT team make their move, breaking the glass doors and entering the bank. The boys hear the breaking glass and look towards the sound, giving the shape shifter the break it needs. It grabs Dean by the throat, choking him with surprising strength. Sherry comes to at the same time, again screaming in horror at what she sees. Sam tries to calm her down, leaving Dean to deal with the shape shifter who has fought him off and is again running free. Tracking her while trying to evade the SWAT team isn't an easy task, but dean manages to find her. She fights with a ferocity that shows she's had experience, punching and kicking with speed and strength, and when Dean grabs her by the arm she sheds the skin, leaving him holding a wad of tissue instead of her. As good as she is, Dean is better and he sinks his silver letter opener deep into her chest. Pausing for a moment to catch his breath, he looks up to see a member of the SWAT team towering over him. Is this the end of the line for Dean Winchester???

Agent Hendrickson enters the bank while SWAT team finishes their search. He's told that the bank is secure but the boys haven't been found. Hendrickson insists that they search the place again, but the cop tells him there's no point. Two SWAT cops have been found bound and gagged, and clad only in their boxers.

The beautiful strains of Renegade (Styx) play as Dean and Sam, dressed in full SWAT gear, climb into the Impala in a nearby parking garage. They realize they've stepped in the deep stuff this time, but hey, look at the bright side, at least they scored some cool (and very well fitting, I might add) SWAT uniforms to add to their costume collection!

This episode was far and away better than last weeks. I found it very stressful, with the police outside acting as a constant threat hanging over their heads, and the shape shifter being so elusive throughout the episode. It was a real tooth grinding, nail biting episode and I loved every minute of it! I'm thrilled with the addition of Special Agent Hendrickson, he's fairly well casted (I have to add the "fairly" because my first impression is that he's too pretty to be a hard-as-nails FBI agent) and as I said earlier he's the perfect counterpoint to the heroics of the Winchester boys. They won't be able to reason with him or sweet talk him into looking the other way like they did with Diana Ballard in The Usual Suspects episode, he'll be the bloodhound that chases them relentlessly and without mercy.

As always, I'm awed by the talent of the stars of this show. Every nuance, every gesture and expression is so well done, it leaves no room for doubt. The illusion is nearly flawless, I find myself completely immersed in their supernatural world, believing that the creatures they hunt really do walk the earth. A couple of moments I particularly liked were when Sherry fainted and Sam went from determined hunter to confused observer; I really enjoyed that fleeting look of incredulity. Also, when Dean realized Ronald had been shot, a flurry of emotions flashed across his face. I am always amazed by how he can show so much emotion in such a short amount of time, and do it in a way that resonates with sincerity. From start to finish this episode was well acted, well filmed, well written and all in all well done! It will definitely remain on my list of top five favourite episodes for season 2.

Night Shifter Original Air Date 01/25/2007