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'''[[Recap/{{Supernatural}} Recap]] of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'''''\\
'''Season 8, Episode 8'''

! Hunteri Heroici
[[quoteright:302:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/SN808EPPAGEPIC_3364.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:302:That's [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes looney]] alright.]]

->''"I understand. The [[EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory bird represents God and coyote is man]], endlessly chasing the divine, yet never able to catch him. It's hilarious."''
-->-- '''Castiel''' describing ''WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadRunner''

Written by Andrew Dabb.

Directed by Paul Edwards.

Air Date: November 28, 2012.

In an effort to [[TheAtoner redeem himself]], Castiel decides to become a hunter. He brings the Winchesters a case in Oklahoma City involving [[ToonPhysics cartoon physics]], but with deadlier consequences. They find that cartoonish phenomena correlate with robberies connected to residents of Sunset Fields Retirement Home. One of the residents is a contact of John Winchester named Fred Jones who used to live outside of Salt Lake City and happened to give both Dean and Sam their first beers. Fred Jones is also a powerful psychokinetic who now seems trapped in his own mind and [[YouWatchTooMuchX spends all his time watching cartoons]]. They discover that the head of the retirement home, Dr. Mahoney, is using Fred's abilities to steal from the residents. Dean tries to thwart the doctor before he completes one final robbery, but finds it difficult to adjust to a world governed by cartoon logic. Castiel is able to enter the cartoonscape in Fred's mind and helps him to control his abilities, but Castiel remains conflicted about his own future. Sam helps Castiel to convince Fred that he has to face the real world, but Sam continues to exhibit [[FlashbackStares stares leading to flashbacks]] which reveal Amelia's husband turned out to be alive after Sam and Amelia moved in together.

!!Body Count:

For this episode = 4 humans. (of which 1 is a psychic.)

For the series so far = At least 841 humans (of which 6 were witches), 113 demons, 58 angels, 48 ghosts, 42 vampires, 36 Jefferson Starships, 19 zombies, 19 gods, 9 hellhounds, 7 skinwalkers, 6 changelings, 5 shapeshifters, 5 werewolves, 4 ghouls, 4 Leviathan, 3 djinn, 3 dogs, 2 Amazons, 2 arachnes, 2 kitsunes, 2 rugarus, 2 vetalas, 1 crocotta, 1 dragon, 1 fairy, 1 Khan worm, 1 lamia, the Mother of All, 1 okami, 1 phoenix, 1 Purgatory creature, 1 rakshasa, 1 rawhead, 1 reaper, 1 shojo, 1 shtriga, 1 siren, 1 wendigo, 1 whore of Babylon, and 1 wraith.

!!Tropes

* AccidentalMisnaming: Mrs. Tate keeps addressing Castiel as her husband, "Charles".
* AccuseTheWitness: Castiel uses the Perry Mason method when questioning the grieving widow.
* AllMenArePerverts: When a wife turns out to be OK with her husband cheating on her, [[{{Polyamory}} as they have an arrangement]] (she's carrying on her own affair), Dean calls her the best wife ever.
* [[AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents Amazingly Embarrassing Parent]]:
** Amelia's father, Stan, calls her munchkin.
** Later, Stan tells a story where Amelia walked on stage while playing the [[Theatre/TheNutcracker Sugarplum Fairy]] with toilet paper stuck on her foot and describes her as waddling and a "chubby kid".
* AnimationTropes
** GravityIsAHarshMistress: Gravitational Cognizance. The jumper doesn't fall until he looks down.
** ToonPhysics: Wherever Fred is situated, the immediate vicinity becomes a hot-spot for cartoon-like antics.
** X marks the spot: Anvils, rocks, and other heavy objects will land on the X, even if someone moves it.
** PortableHole: If you draw a door or a black hole on the wall, you can stroll right through it.
** CranialEruption: Jogger with a 4-inch lump after he hits his head.
** CirclingBirdies: After Dean hits himself on the head with a book and after Dr. Mahoney hits Dean with the frying pan.
** SquashedFlat: The orderly slams his foot on the door and it flattens, but when he shakes the foot it blows back up.
** Face Imprint: After Dr. Mahoney hits Dean with the frying pan, there is a clear imprint of his face on the pan.
** BangFlagGun: Dean tries to shoot Dr. Mahoney, only to be mocked when a bang flag pops out instead.
** IrisOut
* AnvilOnHead
** SquashedFlat: The effect is a little more grotesque than usual...
* ArmorPiercingQuestion:
** When Naomi refuses to let Castiel back into Heaven, he asks what he should do now. Her response:
-->"What do you ''want'' to do?"
** Amelia's father tells Sam he knows what his daughter is running from. "The question is: what are ''you'' running from, Sam?"
* BaitAndSwitch:
** The old lady appears senile and Cas ComicallyMissingThePoint as usual when he goes to interrogate the cat. Turns out the cat really can talk.
** The DynamiteCandle apparently results in the usual blood-splatter GoryDiscretionShot, [[ABloodyMess only it's just the cake splattering harmlessly]] and no-one was hurt.
** The natural assumption so far is that Sam left Amelia because Dean returned from Purgatory. When she gets the phone call, it isn't Dean who's tracked down Sam, it's Amelia being informed that her husband is still alive.
* BerserkButton: Amelia warns Sam about her father's triggers.
-->'''Amelia:''' Don't talk politics. Don’t say anything bad about the Cowboys. And whatever you do, don't, do not, use the words "moist" or "irregardless".
* BinomiumRidiculus: Dean and Dr. Mahoney are labeled "Hunterus Heroicus" and "Grotesques Villainus."
* BloodSplatteredInnocents: Olivia, when Gary's heart [[ChestBurster explodes from his chest]].
* BrainwashingForTheGreaterGood: Fred Jones knows his mental facilities will fade and then his RealityWarper powers will go out of control. Castiel wipes his powers, but most of his personality as well, leaving only music so Fred can keep his HappyPlace.
* CallBack: Dean demands his four hours sleep from Castiel, as per "The End".
* CallingShotgun: Castiel tries.
-->'''Dean:''' ''[to Castiel]'' None of this [[TeleportersAndTransporters zapping around]] crap. Capisce?
-->'''Castiel:''' I capisce.
-->'''Dean:''' All right, then. ''[walks to the driver's door]''
-->'''Castiel:''' Can I, uh, at least ride in the front seat?
-->'''Dean and Sam:''' ''[Sam shoulders Castiel out of the way]'' No.
** At the end of the episode, Dean grants him the right to ride shotgun.
* CardiovascularLove: Gary's love for Olivia leaves him with a [[HeartSymbol heart-shaped]] hole in his chest.
* CatchPhrase:
** Dean's pops up.
-->'''Dean:''' ''[puts his arm through a black hole on a brick wall]'' Awesome.
** When Dean finds Dr. Mahoney in the bank he borrows one from WesternAnimation/BugsBunny.
-->'''Dean:''' ''[pointing his gun at Dr. Mahoney]'' What's up, doc?
* CerealInducedSuperpowers: [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] when the orderly asks how Castiel healed the gunshot wound.
-->'''Dean:''' Guy eats his Wheaties.
* ChromaKey: Part of the episode is filmed in green-screen: Initially a cartoon, then switching to static and WeAreExperiencingTechnicalDifficulties screens.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Because he is an angel who has NoSocialSkills, Castiel's attempts to impersonate an FBI agent, investigate weird deaths, and interrogate suspects are peppered with the conspicuous sniffing of dead bodies, deep questioning of cats, and intermittent usage of minor powers he shouldn't have.
* CloudcuckoolandersMinder: Sam and Dean have to run interference so Castiel's odd mannerisms and behavior don't alert people that they're not actual FBI agents or that the deaths they're investigating are suspiciously comical.
* TheCloudcuckoolanderWasRight: Castiel is intensely interrogating a cat, asking questions and then pausing as though sincerely expecting a response. Dean eventually pulls him away to do something else. Once Castiel and Dean have left, the cat audibly calls Castiel an idiot, implying that Cas was correct in believing he could verbally communicate with animals.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Oh, Cas.
-->'''Dean:''' It's wabbit season.
-->'''Cas:''' I don't think you pronounced that right.
* ContinuityNod
** The jumper was committing suicide due to losing everything when Roman Industries tanked.
** Castiel reads John Winchester's journal and compliments his handwriting.
** When Sam is at the sink with Amelia's father, he rubs his hand in the same way he started to do in [[Recap/SupernaturalS07E02HelloCruelWorld "Hello, Cruel World" (S07, E02)]] when Lucifer was torturing him.
* CowboysAndIndians: [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by Dean.
-->'''Dean:''' ''[to Castiel]'' If you want to play [[WeirdWest Cowboys and Bloodsuckers]], that's fine, but [[BroughtDownToNormal you're gonna stick with us]], OK?
* CurseCutShort:
-->'''Castiel:''' So she's not a witch.
-->'''Dean:''' Just the best wife ever.
-->'''Castiel:''' Then what killed her husband?
-->'''Dean:''' Who gives a--[cut to next scene]
* DespairEventHorizon: Castiel is afraid to go back to Heaven out of fear that if he sees the destruction he's caused, he'll be DrivenToSuicide.
* DynamiteCandle: In a birthday cake.
* EpilepticTrees: InUniverse Castiel's interpretation of Road Runner cartoons.
* FlashbackStares: Sam continues to stare off before we see a {{Flashback}} to his relationship with [[LoveInterest Amelia]].
* FryingPanOfDoom: But of course.
* GoryDiscretionShot: Two. The first in the cold open, and the second actually a huge BaitAndSwitch when it's just cake when the DynamiteCandle explodes.
* {{Hammerspace}}: It's easy to miss, but when he fought against Dean, Dr. Mahoney pulled the frying pan out of his pocket.
* HappyPlace: Fred plays cartoons in his mind, because he knows he's losing it.
* HappilyFailedSuicide: SubvertedTrope.
* HealingHands: Castiel heals the orderly's gunshot in the gut.
* HeartbeatSoundtrack: Right before Gary Freleng's heart jumps out of his chest.
* HomoeroticSubtext: Castiel offers to spend the night in the same room as the Winchesters, watching over them.
-->'''Dean:''' [[NoJustNoReaction Oh, okay. Yeah.]] We'll have a slumber party, braid Sam's hair.
* HypocriticalHumor: Dean jokes, "No flirting" when entering the old persons home. Cut to an old lady flirting with Castiel. Then Dean can't help making eyes at the pretty nurse.
* ImpossibleThief: Dr. Mahoney and his accomplice are using ToonPhysics to rob banks with the only physical evidence law enforcement can find being a black painted circle on the walls.
* InterserviceRivalry: Invoked by Amelia's father, Stan, who served in the army, when Sam mentions that his own father served in the Marine Corps.
-->'''Stan''': Is that your car outside--the Impala?
-->'''Sam''': Yeah, it was my dad's.
-->'''Stan''': Guy had good taste...for a Jarhead.
* MeaningfulEcho: Dean's and Stan's use of ''living in a dream world''.
-->'''Dean talking about Fred Jones:''' I don't know. Seems to me like the dude's ''living in a dream world''.
-->''[Sam [[FlashbackStares stares off]] and {{flashback}}s to Amelia's house]''
-->'''Stan:''' Look, I am trying to help. Boy, I'll tell you, if Don could see you...
-->'''Amelia:''' ''[looks over her shoulder at Sam]'' Don't. Just don't.
-->'''Stan:''' ''[looks over his shoulder at Sam]'' You can't--you need to come home.
-->'''Amelia:''' Is that why you're here--to drag me back? This is my life.
-->'''Stan:''' This--it won't last. You are ''living in a dream world''.
* MomentKiller: Dean is acting as TheConfidant to Castiel, when Sam provides our FallenAngel with a welcome interruption.
* NeverBringAKnifeToAGunFight: [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] and [[ParodiedTrope parodied]].

-->'''Dr. Mahoney:''' ''[knocks Dean out with a frying pan after Dean's gun fired a flag saying BANG instead of bullets]'' Give up! I've been dealing with this crazy for months! And you--idiot--bring a gun to a gag fight.
* TheNoseKnows: Castiel is able to say that Gary suffered from a recent bladder infection by smelling his dead body.
* ObligatoryJoke[=/=]QuipToBlack:
-->"[[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes That's all, folks]]."
* {{Polyamory}}: Gary, his wife, Olivia, and P.J.
* PopCulturalOsmosisFailure:
** Castiel did not seem familiar with WesternAnimation/BugsBunny.
-->'''Cas:''' So we're looking for some sort of insect-rabbit hybrid? How do we kill it?
** Or with Elmer Fudd.
-->'''Dean:''' Let's gear up. It’s wabbit season.
-->'''Castiel:''' I don't think you pronounced that correctly.
* PsychicAssistedSuicide: Once Fred is informed of what Dr. Mahoney is doing, he uses his powers to force him to shoot himself in the head.
* RabidCop: A WrongGenreSavvy Castiel tries the GoodCopBadCop routine on a grieving widow.
-->'''Castiel:''' I was being bad cop.
-->'''Dean:''' You were being bad everything.
* RealityWarper: Psychokinetic Fred Jones.
* RememberTheNewGuy: By this point in the series we know John had several friends he could plausibly have leave his sons with, but this is the first we've heard of Fred Jones. Considering how vast his powers are, it seems odd that Sam and Dean never tried to seek him out for help before.
* ReportsOfMyDeathWereGreatlyExaggerated: Don, Amelia's husband.
* SerialSpouse: A woman tells Cas he looks like her third husband.
* ASharedSuffering: Stan urges his daughter to come home, saying [[ShellShockedVeteran Sam is a mess]].
-->'''Amelia:''' ''I'm'' a mess. But when I'm with Sam, I'm happy, Dad. And I haven't been happy in a really long time. So please, just... let us be messes together.
* ShoutOut:
** The episode title is a reference to old WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadRunner cartoons. There is also a freeze-frame where Dean and Dr. Mahoney are labelled [[CanisLatinicus (''HUNTERUS HEROICUS'') and (''GROTESQUES VILLAINUS'')]], respectively.
** Cartoon references are scattered everywhere, WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes from UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation most predominantly
** ''WesternAnimation/WoodyWoodpecker'', ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'', and ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' get name-dropped.
** [[Creator/TexAvery Fred]] [[Creator/ChuckJones Jones]] or possibly ascot wearing Fred Jones from Franchise/ScoobyDoo.
** Gary and his wife have the last name [[Creator/FrizFreleng Freleng]].
** Dean asks Castiel, "So what now? [[Series/{{Newhart}} Move to Vermont, open up a charming B&B]]?"
** The local detective calls Dean [[AgentScully Scully]] after he hands her a card while pretending to be an FBI agent.
** When Castiel and the Winchesters are examining the body, Dean calls Castiel [[Literature/SherlockHolmes Sherlock]] to belittle his detective skills.
** The detective refers to the man who committed suicide over lost investments as [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madoff Madoff.]]
** Dean tells Castiel to go [[ComicBook/FantasticFour "Invisible Girl"]].
** Dean refers to the first death as [[Music/ElvisPresley "Heartbeak Hotel"]] and the second as [[Music/TomPetty "Free Fallin"]].
** Dean says let's "blow this [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warner_Bros._Cartoons Termite Terrace]]".
** When Dean leaves MyCard with the detective, she quips, "Whatever you say, [[Series/TheXFiles Agent Scully]]."
** The imprint of Dean's face on the pan is a reference to [[Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack Han Solo]] frozen [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/6/6b/HanPopcicle.png/revision/latest?cb=20130331005801 in carbonite]].
* TheSleepless: Castiel.
-->'''Dean:''' Yeah. We'll have a slumber party, braid Sam's hair. Where are you gonna sleep?
-->'''Castiel:''' I don't sleep.
-->'''Dean:''' Okay, well, I need my four hours, so...
-->'''Castiel:''' I'll watch over you.
-->'''Dean:''' That's not gonna happen.
* SpockSpeak: Castiel.
** LiteralMinded
-->'''Dean:''' What's the word, Cas?
-->'''Castiel:''' It's a shortened version of my name.
** TechnoBabble
-->'''Dean:''' Any tablet chatter on angel radio?
-->'''Castiel:''' Oh, I couldn't say. I turned that off.
-->'''Sam:''' You can do that?
-->'''Castiel:''' It's a simple matter of blocking out certain subsonic frequencies. I could draw you a diagram if you want.
* StepfordSuburbia:
-->'''Dean:''' ''[finding out about the understanding in the Freleng marriage]'' Frigging suburbs, man.
* SuperStrength: Castiel lugs aside the anvil.
* TalkingAnimal: Bob, the cat.
-->"I'll interrogate the cat."
* TemptingFate: The jumper realises he's suspended in mid-air and shouts joyfully, "It's a miracle! God wants me to live!" Gravity ensues.
* ThatsAllFolks: Spoken word-for-word [[spoiler: after the bad guy's grisly death]].
* ThemedAliases: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crosby,_Stills,_Nash_%26_Young Crosby, Stills, and Nash.]]
** Sam is [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_Nash Agent Nash.]]
** Castiel is [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Stills Agent Stills.]]
** Dean is [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Crosby Agent Crosby.]]
* ThirdWheel: [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]].
-->'''Cas:''' I could be your third wheel.
-->'''Dean:''' You know that’s not a good thing, right?
-->'''Cas:''' Of course it is. A third wheel adds extra grip, greater stability.
* ToonPhysics: The A-plot of the episode. Someone's worked out how to make them work in real life and they're using it to rob banks.
* TwerpSweating: Sam gets this from Amelia's father. It's not like he doesn't have cause, as he quickly pegs Sam as a ShellShockedVeteran, who appears to be a college-dropout with his own issues -- hardly the best person to help his daughter move on. [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy He relents when Amelia urges him to just let her and Sam be happy together.]]
* WalkieTalkieStatic: When Mrs Tran badgers them for details about what's happening with the search for the tablet, Sam tries to pass her off to Dean, who just switches off the phone. "Must be passing through a tunnel."
* WeirdnessMagnet
-->'''Detective Glass:''' Tell me: Do you chase the crazy, or does the crazy chase you?
-->'''Sam:''' [[LampshadeHanging Depends on the day]].
----