Death Takes a Holiday (Supernatural)
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| "Death Takes a Holiday (Supernatural)" |
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"Death Takes a Holiday" is the fifteenth episode of the paranormal drama television series Supernatural's fourth season. It was first broadcast on March 12, 2009, on the CW. This episode follows the series protagonists Sam Winchester (Jared Padalecki) and Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles)as they travel to a small town in Wyoming called Greybull where nobody has died in a week and a half.
The episode was written by Jeremy Carver and directed by Steve Boyum. This episode features the demise of Pamela Barnes (Tracie Dinwiddie), a psychic who previously appeared in the episodes "Lazarus Rising" and "Heaven and Hell." The character makes one more appearance after her death in the episode "Dark Side of the Moon." This episode also features the second appearance of Tessa, a reaper who Dean met in the episode "In My Time of Dying," while he was in a comatose state. Alexander Gould of the series Weeds made an guest appearance as Cole Griffith.
Plot
Two men walk out of a building at night, a third man confronts them and asks for change. When they refuse, he says "How about your wallets?" and points a gun at them. A busboy who is watching drops the lid of a dumpster and startles the mugger, causing him to shoot one man in the chest. The man falls and his friend tries to revive him, only to notice that he isn't bleeding. The man who was shot stands up and is unharmed.
Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) are in a diner when Sam receives a call from Bobby about a possible job in Wyoming in a town where nobody has died in a week and a half. Sam thinks that this could be because people are making deals with demons. Just before they leave for Greybull they have a brief argument about events that took place in the previous episode.
In Greybull they talk to the man who was shot and he believes it is a miracle that he survived. Sam and Dean learn that he did not make a deal and assume that he didn't die because there was no one there around to take the souls. Dean finds that the last person to die in the town was a boy named Cole (Alexander Gould).
They try to do a seance at Cole's grave but they are interrupted by the grounds keeper, who is possessed by Alastair. He tells the boys that he has a date with death and throws Dean off to one side. He can't throw Sam, and Sam throws him against a tree. Before he can exorcise him Alastair leaves the grounds keeper's body.
The next day Sam does some research and finds that killing a reaper under a solstice moon is one of the seals. Since reapers can only be seen by the dead or dying, Dean gets Pamela (Traci Dinwiddie) to help them with astral projection. Pamela speaks in latin and both Sam and Dean find themselves outside of their bodies. Pamela says that when she is going to bring them back she will whisper an incantation in their ear. As Sam and Dean walk around town, they notice Cole Griffith watching them from inside of a house. Cole's mother walks into his room and asks if he is there, a soccer ball spins around and is thrown in her direction. Sam and Dean enter the room as Cole's mother runs out. Cole tells them that when he died there was a reaper, but it was taken away by black smoke, but he knows where the black smoke is.
The lights begin to flicker and Cole hides. Another reaper enters the house and it is Tessa (Lindsey McKeon) a reaper that Dean met in season two.
Tessa agrees the not take Cole's soul until he tells them where the black smoke is. Cole doesn't want to tell them where the black smoke is because then Tessa will reap him. Sam lies to him and tells him that he can stay with his mother for as long as he wants. Cole tells them that the smoke is at the funeral home and immediately afterwards Tessa is kidnapped by it.
Cole teaches Sam and Dean how to fight and they go to the funeral home. The outside is covered in symbols only they can see that are used to repel angels.
The two reapers are unconscience inside and there is a demon guarding them. Sam and Dean attack them but are lured into a trap. Alastair (Christopher Heyerdahl) shoots the two of them with rock salt.
Back in the hotel room Pamela hears a noise and searches the room.
Sam and Dean watch as Alastair kills the first reaper, but they knock a chandelier down to stop him from killing Tessa.
Pamela is attacked by a demon and she says the incantation in Sam's ear to wake him up.
Dean and Tessa leave the funeral home and cannot find Sam.
Sam wakes up just in time to see the demon stab Pamela and he exorcises the demon with his psychic powers. Pamela isn't bleeding because death hasn't started reaping again yet.
As Dean searches for Sam he is confronted by Alastair, who is then captured by the angels. Castiel (Misha Collins) tells Dean that it was not Bobby who called and told told Sam about the town, it was him. Castiel disappears and Tessa gets Dean to help convince Cole to let go. After they do that Pamela wakes him up. He wound begins to bleed and she whispers to Sam that she knew what he did to that demon, and if he “thinks he has good intentions, think again.” Pamela dies and Dean asks what she said to him.
Continuity
When Alastair is going to kill the reapers, he is using the scythe the belong to the horseman, Death. He says "an ond friend lent it to me. You know, he doesn't really ride a pale horse? But he does have three amigos." This foreshadows when Sam and Dean kill three of the horsemen and Dean talks to death, who has the scythe with him.
References
General
1. Eric Kripke. (2008-2009). Supernatural season 4 DVD [DVD]. Warner Brothers Video.
2. Full cast and crew for "Supernatural" Death Takes a Holiday (2009) (n.d.). In IMDb. Retrieved October 2, 2010, from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1222601/fullcredits#cast
