Recap / Supernatural S 08 E 02 Whats Up Tiger Mommy

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Recap of Supernatural
Season 8, Episode 2

What's Up, Tiger Mommy?

"I think too much heart was always Castiel's problem." —Samandriel to Dean

"A finger bone from the frost giant Ymir. And five-eighths of a virgin."

—Vili's bid for Thor's Hammer, Mjölnir

Written by Andrew Dabb and Daniel Loflin.

Directed by John Showalter.

Air Date: October 10, 2012.

Sam and Dean help rescue Kevin's mother at Kevin's insistence. They find her surrounded by demons. She insists they take her with them to find the tablet, so that they can close the gates to Hell and keep Kevin safe. This leads them to an auction hosted by the god Plutus, where Kevin is offered up with the tablet in a bidding war between Crowley and an angel named Samandriel. The bidding starts at 3 billion dollars and continues to escalate, until Kevin's mother offers her soul. Before she can give her soul, Crowley possesses her and manages to escape with the tablet. Before leaving, Crowley warns Kevin that people around the Winchesters end up dead. Kevin asks to be left alone to comfort his mother, who is recovering from the possession, and uses this time to take off without Dean or Sam. Throughout the episode we see flashbacks of Dean's time in Purgatory and learn that Castiel abandoned Dean when they first arrived because the Leviathans were after him and he wanted to protect Dean.

Body Count:

For this episode = 4 humans, 4 gods, 3 demons, and 1 rugaru.

For the series so far = At least 818 humans (of which 6 were witches), 106 demons, 58 angels, 47 ghosts, 36 Jefferson Starships, 28 vampires, 19 zombies, 19 gods, 9 hellhounds, 7 skinwalkers, 6 changelings, 5 shapeshifters, 4 ghouls, 4 Leviathan, 3 djinn, 3 dogs, 2 Amazons, 2 arachnes, 2 kitsunes, 2 rugarus, 2 vetalas, 2 werewolves, 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

• The Almighty Dollar: The auction is run by the ancient Roman god of wealth, Plutus, who thinks pursuit of money is Above Good and Evil.
• Angels, Devils and Squid: Samandriel, Crowley, and Mr. Vili.
• Art Imitates Art:
  • The Mona Lisa is offered as a bid for the tablet, both the original and the topless version.
  • A book containing the Vitruvian Man, presumably one of Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks, is one of the items on display.
• Asian Hooker Stereotype: The owner of the pawnshop calls Mrs. Tran "Mail-Order".
• Auction of Evil
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other:
  • Dean hugging Castiel when he finds him in Purgatory, despite the prior betrayals and misunderstandings.
  • Although portrayed as an Education Mama before this episode, Mrs. Tran shows she is literally willing to give everything to protect her son.
• Bazaar of the Bizarre: The auction.
• Beard of Sorrow: Castiel grows one of these in Purgatory.
• Beethoven Was an Alien Spy: Crowley implies Buzz Aldrin made a Deal with the Devil.
• Berserk Button: For Dean, it's the Impala.
  Dean: [to Sam about bidding the Impala] Say it and I will kill you, your children, and your grandchildren.
• Book Ends: Dean saying "You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!"
• Burger Fool: Samandriel had to take the nearest vessel to get to the auction on time and ended up as teenage Alfie in his Wiener Hut outfit.
• But for Me, It Was Tuesday: Crowley makes a point of not remembering who he neck-snapped in the previous episode.
• Catchphrase: Crowley's "Hello, boys!"
• Continuity Nod: The first item auctioned is the amulet of Hesperus, the evening star (Venus in the evening) in Classical Mythology. His brother Lucifer is the morning star (Venus in the morning).
• Cryptic Background Reference:
  Mrs. Tran: What, like it's my first tattoo?
• The Dandy: Plutus's assistant, Beau.
  • His name might reference George Bryan "Beau" Brummell, known for his own dandyism.
• A Day in the Limelight: Mrs. Tran, who frequently upstages the Winchesters.
• Deal with the Devil: When her son is auctioned off, Mrs. Tran offers her soul in exchange.
• Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Mrs. Tran punches Crowley.
• Downer Ending: Crowley has the tablet and knows why it's important, Kevin has done a runner, his mother is in shock after being possessed, and Dean appears to have betrayed Cas somehow.
• The Easy Way or the Hard Way: Played entirely straight with the thief, then subverted with Mrs. Tran and her Audit Threat.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: Castiel's beard.
• Extended Disarming: Dean going through the metal detector produces a boxful of weapons. He's most reluctant to give up Ruby's demon-killing knife.
• Evil Gloating: When Tran asks what Plotus is going to do with her soul, he gives a sinister smile. "Anything I want."
• Fate Worse than Death: Linda wants to know if she'll die when her soul is removed. She's told no, but she'll wish she had.
• Gender Bender: Crowley.
• Good with Numbers: Sam calculating the tax on the Ferrari.
• Gory Discretion Shot: Blood splatter in the vault.
• Have You Tried Not Being a Monster?: Subverted Trope, as Mrs. Tran is remarkably cool with Kevin being a Prophet of the Lord. And why not, it beats being the first Asian-American President of the United States!
• Holding Hands: Kevin's mother shows him her support when they get the tattoos.
• Idiot Ball: Lampshaded when Mrs. Tran turns down Angel protection, and by Crowley when Plan A doesn't work (along with Plan B and C).
• If I Had a Nickel...:
  Kevin: Get out of her!
  Crowley: [in the body of Kevin's mother] If I had a nickel for every time someone screamed that at me...
• I Kiss Your Hand: Beau greeting Tran.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Plotus gets a stake In the Back and out the other side, where Crowley yanks it out and stabs a guard with it.
• It's Quiet… Too Quiet: The Winchesters leave Kevin along with his mother, then...
  Dean: Does that seem too quite to you?
• It's Not You, It's My Enemies: Castiel's excuse for abandoning Dean.
• Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: You can take Dean out of Hell, but you can't take the Hell out of Dean. Or, at least, the skills he learned under Alastair.
• Kick the Dog: Crowley telling Kevin he's a bastard.
• Ladies and Germs: At the start of the auction.
  Beau: Ladies, gentlemen, and...other.
• Literary Allusion Title: Dual Shout-Out to Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother and What's Up, Tiger Lily?.
• Loophole Abuse: A Truce Zone doesn't work if the person running it plans on making you an exhibit. Or backstabbing his boss.
• Made a Slave: Kevin at the auction.
• Mama Bear: Linda Tran slaps Crowley, walks into a trap, and sells her soul for Kevin.
• Mjölnir: Appears as one of the items up for auction.
• Momma's Boy
• Moment Killer: Kevin's touching reunion with his mother is interrupted by the boys tossing holy water in her face.
  Dean: She's clean.
• Mundane Solution: Burning off the protection tattoo with a cigarette lighter.
• My Beloved Smother: Played with, but Tran Le turns out to impress even the Winchesters.
• Norse Mythology:
  • Vili is Odin's brother, who was thought to represent will.
  • The bone from Ymir the frost giant.
  • Mjölnir, thunder god Thor's magical hammer, which glows when Sam uses it.
• Now Do It Again, Backwards: Sam's reverse exorcism.
• Oblivious Guilt Slinging: The conversation Dean has with the angel about Castiel.
• Odd Job Gods: Plutus, the god of wealth and greed.
• Pluto Is Expendable: When Beau says he is the right hand of Plutus, there is a bit of confusion.
  Dean: Is that even a planet anymore?
• Protective Charm: The anti-demon-possession tattoos.
• Questioning Title?
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Crowley's eyes flash for the first time. They're red, like the other Crossroads Demons.
• Revealing Hug: Castiel's expression as Dean hugs him.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Dean remarks that he smells revenge, and later, when Crowley possesses Mrs. Tran, we learn how far he would go to exact revenge on Crowley.
• Screams Like a Little Girl: When getting inked, Kevin is clearly Afraid of Needles.
• Shoot the Dog: Dean admits he killed Ms. Tran's friend (instead of exorcising the demon) to keep the demon from being able to pass any information to Crowley.
• Shout-Out:
  • Kevin uses The Exorcist to explain what is going on to his mother. She replies:
    Mrs. Tran: Is that what you've been doing all year? Watching television?
  • Dean calls Beau "Mr. Peanut", referencing his style.
  • Sarah Palin contributes to the reasons that Alaska is not accepted as a bid.
  • The other objection to Alaska is the Bridge to Nowhere, referencing the proposed Gravina Island Bridge.
  • Crowley references Rocky and Bullwinkle:
    Crowley: Listen to Moose, Squirrel.
  • Crowley calls Beau Plutus's Girl Friday, probably referencing the film.
  • Dean tells the rugaru he's interrogating, "I believe you" before killing him, likely quoting the Dane from Miller's Crossing.
• Shut Up, Kirk!:
  "Shut up! I don't want to hear any more of your crappy speeches."
• Sissy Villain: Beau.
• Saying Too Much: Sam lets slip to Crowley that the tablet is more important than just listing ways of killing demons.
• So Proud of You:
  Mrs. Tran: Prophet of the Lord, huh? It does have a nice ring to it.
  Mrs. Tran: Of course he can swing it...if the bumper stickers on my Previa mean anything.
• The Soulless: Everyone laughs when Crowley bids his own soul, cause he sold it long ago.
• Super Smoke: Crowley has a distinct red smoke form.
• Themed Aliases: "Agents Neil and Sixx" is a Shout-Out to Vince Neil and Nikki Sixx of Mötley Crüe.
• Through the Eyes of Madness: While Castiel does appear a lot more sane, he points out that he may not be the best judge of this. However, most people with psychoses probably would not appreciate being called "psychotics". Given that psychoses can be part of many conditions, alcohol withdrawal, depression, dementia, delirium, and schizophrenia being just a few, it seems unclear how Castiel arrived at the 94% number.
  Castiel: I'm perfectly sane. But then, 94 percent of psychotics think they're perfectly sane, so I guess we'd have to ask ourselves...what is sane?
• Thunder Hammer: Mjölnir is auctioned off by Plutus, the Greek God of Greed. When Sam manages to get his hands on it, he is able to strike down gods.
• Time for Plan B
  • Plan A: Read the tablet while it's displayed (the tablet's writing is covered by a metal plate).
  • Plan B: Buy it (the bids are way out of their league).
  • Plan C: Steal it (the tablet is guarded inside the vault).
  Crowley: Maybe you should try Plan D, for Dumbass.
• Tomes of Prophecy and Fate: The tablet, which is the Word of God.
• Trap Is the Only Option: Kevin rescuing his mother.
• Truce Zone: The auction is advertised as this with Anti-Magic properties.
  Beau: We have a strict "no casting, no cursing, no supernaturally-flicking-the-two-of-you-against-the-wall-just-for-the-fun-of-it" policy.
• Twisted Echo Cut: Sam's interrogation of the thief intercuts with Dean interrogating the rugaru in Purgatory.
• The Unfettered: Dean, especially when looking for Castiel and questioning the thief in jail.
• The Starscream: Beau stabs his boss In the Back, literally.
• Unreliable Narrator: "94% of psychotics think they're perfectly sane," says the only-possibly-formerly crazy angel.
• Percussive Pickpocket: Dean stealing the vault key.
• Virgin Sacrifice: Evidently, even just five-eights is valuable.
• Whammy Bid: Crowley starts the bidding at three billion dollars, and things get weirder from there.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Sam calls for Dean to stop when he has his knife at the thief's throat.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Dean kills the rugaru after he gets the information he needs, and even Benny the vampire looks as if he thinks he went too far. Kevin flees because he thinks this will happen to him. And what happened with Castiel?

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