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'''[[Recap/{{Supernatural}} Recap]] of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'''''\\
'''Season 2, Episode 9:'''

!Croatoan
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/supernatural-croatoan-425x233_8758.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:There were theories--Indian raid, disease, but nobody knows what really happened. They were all just gone. I mean, wiped out overnight.]]

->'''Dean:''' I just think we should take a break from all this. Why do we gotta get stuck with all the responsibility, you know? Why can't we live life a little bit?
->'''Sam:''' Why are you saying all this? ''[pause, Dean turns and starts walking away]'' No, no, no, no, Dean. You're my brother, all right? So, whatever weight you're carrying, let me help a little bit.

Written by John Shiban.

Directed by Robert Singer.

Airdate: December 7, 2006.

Dean and Sam are trapped in [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rivergrove,_Oregon Rivergrove, Oregon]], a small town overrun by a demonic virus.
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Sam and Dean follow up on one of Sam's visions: Dean killing a young unarmed man. They discover that Rivergrove, Oregon is being torn apart by Croatoan, a demonic virus that turns people into [[OurZombiesAreDifferent homicidal maniacs]]. The brothers attempt to defend themselves and the last of the survivors, but just as it appears that Sam has been infected, all the victims suddenly disappear. A blood test reveals that Sam isn't infected and they leave town. In the tag, Duane is revealed to be a demon: he contacts his master using the Goblet of Blood[[note]]beats [=AT&T=][[/note]] and reports that Sam is immune to the virus. Dean reveals to Sam that he has been burdened by something their father told him just before he died, something concerning Sam.

!!Body count
For this episode = 4 humans are witnessed to die; the fate of the remaining townspeople is uncertain.

For the series so far = At least 165 humans; 11 ghosts; 5 vampires; 1 demon; 1 god; 1 rakshasa; 1 rawhead; 1 shapeshifter; 1 shtriga; 1 wendigo; 1 zombie.
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!!Tropes:

* AllJustADream: The opening teaser with Dean shooting Duane as he protests that "it isn't in" him is revealed to be a vision of Sam's.
* ArtisticLicenseMedicine:
** There are no [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lymphocyte lymphocytes]] in the blood sample Dr. Lee looks at under the microscope, though she reports the percentage is high.
** Anything in the blood at a high-enough concentration to be forming large clumps like the sulfur would likely cause a blocked blood flow and result in heart attacks, stroke, and ischemia to other parts of the body.
* AxCrazy: Everyone with the disease.
* BigBad: The demon possessing Duane Tanner is the one responsible for the virus. The demon himself is taking orders from Azazel.
* ContinuityNod: Duane talks to another being about the virus and the Winchesters through a goblet of blood in the pickup, just as we saw Meg do in [[Recap/SupernaturalS01E11Scarecrow "Scarecrow" (S01, E11)]] and [[Recap/SupernaturalS01E16Shadow "Shadow" (S01, E16)]].
* DespairSpeech: Sam and Dean effectively share a dual one as part of the climax: Sam insisting that he's done for due to the Croatoan virus, and Dean stating that he's "tired of this job, this life... this weight on [his] shoulders".
* EvilAllAlong: Turns out the reason Duane Tanner knew he didn't have the virus was that he's possessed by a demon.
* HatePlague: The demonic virus.
* HulkingOut:
-->'''Dean:''' For what? For him to Hulk out and infect somebody else?
* IDidWhatIHadToDo: Dean's rationale for shooting the infected Mrs. Tanner.
* ImpostorExposingTest: Subverted--they should have been checking for demonic possession as well as TheVirus.
* {{Lockdown}}: The bridge out of town is blocked by townspeople with guns, who say it is part of a "quarantine".
* MacGyvering: Sam and Dean make [[ImprovisedWeapon explosives]] out of alcohol and other supplies in the medical clinic.
* MyGreatestFailure:
-->'''Dean:''' I'm already starting to feel like this is the one that got away.
* MyParentsAreDead: InvertedTrope. Everyone in the room knows that Duane is now an orphan because of Dean's actions except for Duane.
-->'''Duane Tanner:''' Has anybody seen my mom and dad?\\
'''Dean:''' ''(quietly)'' Awkward.
* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: If Sam hadn't convinced Dean to not shoot Duane Tanner, Mark probably wouldn't have died and the Yellow-Eyed Demon's newest henchman would have been killed or at the very least exposed.
* NoisyGuns: Somewhat more slide-racking than really necessary.
* OhCrap: A rather understated one occurs for Dean and Sam due to Dr. Lee stating that Sam didn't get infected with the Croatoan virus... despite the fact that ''he should have been''.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Dean is so dead set against killing Sam that he tosses Sarge the keys to the Impala so that he can get the others to safety.
* [[CellPhonesAreUseless Phones Are Useless]]: There is no cell service and the [[CutPhoneLines land lines are out]], as is the police radio in the Impala.
* PlagueZombie: The infected townspeople.
* ShootTheDog: Dean killing the infected Mrs. Tanner.
* StrongerWithAge: This is what Mark tells Dean to persuade him to kill the infected Beverly Tanner, saying that the longer someone is infected, the stronger they become.
* ShoutOut:
** Sam and Dean are familiar with ''WesternAnimation/SchoolhouseRock''.
--->'''Sam:''' Dean, did you pay any attention in history class?\\
'''Dean:''' Yeah! Shots heard 'round the world, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyeJ55o3El0&feature=related how bills become laws]]...\\
'''Sam:''' That's not school, that's ''WesternAnimation/SchoolhouseRock''!
** There's a reference to ''Series/MisterRogersNeighborhood''.
--->'''Mark:''' My neighbor...Mr. Rogers, he--\\
'''Dean:''' You've got a neighbor named "Mr. Rogers"?\\
'''Mark:''' Not anymore.
** Dean says he feels like Chuck Heston in ''Film/TheOmegaMan''.
** This town is 40 miles away from Sidewinder. The Overlook Hotel in ''Film/TheShining'' is 40 miles away from a town of the same name.
** When thinking about their situation, Dean remarks that "''[[Film/NightOfTheLivingDead1968 Night of the Living Dead]]'' [[GenreSavvy didn't exactly end pretty]]".
** Dean has a few things he wants to do on the next road trip:
--->'''Dean:''' Yeah, you know, all this driving back and forth across country, you know I've never been to the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canyon Grand Canyon]]? Or we could go to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiajuana TJ]]. Or [[UsefulNotes/LosAngeles Hollywood]], see if we can bang Creator/LindsayLohan.
* SlashedThroat: Mark.
* StepfordSmiler: After meeting Mr. Tanner and Jake, Dean [[InvokedTrope invokes]] this trope.
-->'''Dean:''' That was kind of creepy, right? A little too Stepford?
* StockUnsolvedMysteries: Sam suggests the inhabitants of UsefulNotes/TheLostColonyOfRoanoke may have been victims of a demonic plague. He also mentions that John Winchester had a theory that "Croatoan" is actually the name of a demon of plague and pestilence, who is also sometimes called "Deva" or "Reesha".
* StupidestThingIveEverHeard:
-->'''Sam:''' This is the dumbest thing you've ever done.\\
'''Dean:''' I don't know about that...remember that waitress in Tampa?
* TechnicallyLivingZombie: They are transformed by the virus, but do not join TheUndead. As a result, anything that would kill an ordinary person is all it takes to kill an infected one.
* ThatOneCase: Referenced by Dean.
-->"You know, I'm already starting to feel like this is [[ThatOneCase the one that got away]]."
* ThemedAliases: The brothers introduce themselves as US Marshals Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard, after the guitarist and drummer of Music/ZZTop.
* TheUnreveal: Dean twice almost tells Sam what their father whispered to him before John died: once when he thought Sam was infected, but was interrupted when Dr. Lee returned, and then again at the end of the episode creating a {{cliffhanger}}.
-->'''Dean:''' He told me something about you.\\
'''Sam:''' What? Dean, what did he tell you?\\
''[END OF EPISODE]''
* TheUnsolvedMystery: The purpose and creator of the virus remain unknown, as does how Sam's immunity fits into the plan.
* UnexpectedlyAbandoned: Rivergrove, Oregon became a GhostTown in the space of a few hours with no explanation.
* TheVirus: Later to be known as the Croatoan virus.
* WouldHurtAChild: One of the effects of the virus, as seen by the blood covering the rear-facing booster seat in the car Dean finds stopped by the road next to a blood-covered knife.
* ZombieInfectee: Mrs. Tanner, Sam, and (we thought at the time) Duane all wait, worried that they will show signs of infection and transform.
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