Line #73 Recap/SupernaturalS04E18TheMonsterAtTheEndOfThisBook


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4
5	'''[[Recap/{{Supernatural}} Recap]] of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'''''\
6	'''Season 4, Episode 18'''
7
8	!The Monster At The End Of This Book
9
10	->'''Dean:''' There's "Sam-girls" and "Dean-girls" and...what's a "slash fan"?\
11	'''Sam:''' As in, "Sam-slash-Dean"...together.\
12	'''Dean:''' Like, ''together'' together?\
13	'''Sam:''' Yeah.\
14	'''Dean:''' They do know we're brothers, right?\
15	'''Sam:''' [[IncestYayShipping Doesn't... seem to matter.]]\
16	'''Dean:''' Aw, come on. That... that's just ''sick''.
17
18	Written by Julie Siege.
19
20	Directed by Mike Rohl.
21
22	Air Date: April 2, 2009.
23
24	Not to be confused with [[Literature/TheMonsterAtTheEndOfThisBook the book it was named after]].
25
26	While investigating a haunting, Sam and Dean discover that their lives were written down as a series of books, titled ''Supernatural''. They find and confront the writer of the books, Chuck Shurley, only to find that he is a prophet of God. Chuck gives them a copy of his latest work and, upon finding out that Sam is going to sleep with Lilith, the brothers do their best to prevent his prophecy from coming true.
27
28	!!Body count
29	For this episode = EverybodyLives.
30
31	For the series so far = At least 304 humans (of which 5 were witches), 28 ghosts, 22 demons, 10 vampires, 6 changelings, 3 gods, 3 shapeshifters, 3 zombies, 2 angels, 2 werewolves, 2 dogs, 1 crocotta, 1 djinn, 1 rakshasa, 1 rawhead, 1 reaper, 1 rugaru, 1 shtriga, 1 siren, and 1 wendigo.
32
33	----
34	!Tropes
35
36	* AGodAmI: Chuck's reaction to finding out Sam and Dean are real. He concludes he must be a JerkassGod for all the (in Dean's case, literal) hell he's put them through.
37	* TheAlcoholic: Chuck drinks a lot, especially when stressed out.
38	* AngelUnaware: Chuck has been having visions and writing down the lives of Sam and Dean without knowing that he is a prophet predicting the future. At least, until they show up on his doorstep...
39	* AuthorAvatar: Chuck, as the AuthorAvatar of Eric Kripke, comments on the writing of the ''Supernatural'' books and starts a round of ConversationalTroping.
40	* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: Dean is hit by a minivan and, no, Chuck, he doesn't look terrible.
41	* BigDamnHeroes: "I am the Prophet... Chuck!"
42	* BlessedWithSuck: Chuck's visions start with a headache that's so painful he drinks himself unconscious. He's an alcoholic now. And at the end of the episode, he's still getting visions of the Winchesters and their suffering. Only now he knows it's all true, and all he can do is write it down.
43	* BrainBleach: Sam and Dean do ''not'' respond well to learning that, in addition to Sam-girls and Dean-girls, there are slash fans. As in Sam/Dean.
44	* BreakingTheFourthWall[=/=]LeaningOnTheFourthWall
45	* ConversationalTroping
46	* CouldSayItBut: After being pressured by Dean to help save Sam, Cas explains to Dean how prophets are protected by archangels, in order to explain ''why'' he can't help.
47	* CulturedBadass: Sam gives Dean another surprised look as per [[Recap/SupernaturalS04E14SexAndViolence "Sex and Violence" (S04, E14)]].
48	-->'''Chuck:''' It's very [[Creator/KurtVonnegut Vonnegut]].\
49	'''Dean:''' ''Literature/SlaughterhouseFive''-Vonnegut or ''Literature/CatsCradle''-Vonnegut?
50	* CultClassic: The ''Supernatural'' books are an InUniverse example.
51	* CutShort: The publisher for ''Supernatural'' went bankrupt before finishing the series. The last book published was ''[[Recap/SupernaturalS03E16NoRestForTheWicked No Rest For The Wicked]]''.
52	* DealWithTheDevil: Lilith offers to stop breaking seals in return for Sam and Dean's deaths.
53	* DiscontinuityNod: Chuck is ashamed about writing [[Recap/SupernaturalS01E08Bugs "Bugs"]] and [[Recap/SupernaturalS03E06RedSkyAtMorning "Red Sky at Morning"]], two of the show's unpopular episodes.
54	* DoubleStandardRapeSciFi: Averted. Lilith tells Sam that the dentist she's wearing "[[NotIfTheyEnjoyedItRationalization wants it, real bad]]", reminding him that sex with her would be raping the woman she's possessing. Sam never intended to go through with it anyway.
55	* DreamingOfThingsToCome: Chuck gets a headache, drinks a lot, falls asleep, dreams of the future, wakes up, and writes.
56	* EmbarrassingTattoo: Where exactly did the publisher have her tattoo? Might qualify as a SexyDiscretionShot depending on the answer, given it's implied she took off her panties before showing them.
57	* ExpositionOfImmortality: After finding out that Chuck is a prophet of God, Dean turns to Castiel and asks, "Seriously? ''Him''? A ''prophet''?" Cas' response? "You should've seen [[Literature/TheBible Luke]]."
58	* EverybodyLives: One of the ''rare'' instances of this trope in the show.
59	* FacialDialogue: Lampshaded like other writing tropes. "Sam turned his back on Dean, his face brooding and pensive."
60	* FailedAttemptAtDrama: Dean's RousingSpeech to Chuck doesn't work. That's OK--threats do.
61	* ForegoneConclusion[=/=]YouCantFightFate: Dean's attempts to go against what Chuck foresaw [[SelfFulfillingProphecy keep backfiring]] until the end.
62	* HeroicSacrifice: Lilith tries to play on this trope. Chuck also decides to kill himself to avert the Apocalypse.
63	* ICannotSelfTerminate: Well, Chuck ''can'', but the angels will simply bring him back to life.
64	* INeverSaidItWasPoison: What winds up proving to Chuck that Dean and Sam are telling the truth that he's writing about their lives? Dean mentioning their last name, which Chuck ''never'' put in the books.
65	-->'''Chuck''': The last names were never in the books. I never told anybody about that. I never even wrote that down.
66	* ISurrenderSuckers: Sam seems to accept the deal with Lilith, but quickly tries to stab her when about to seal it.
67	* LoopholeAbuse: How Dean manages to prevent Lilith from killing Sam: bringing Chuck with him.[[note]]Since Chuck's a prophet, he's protected by an archangel. And since Lilith is in the room...[[/note]]
68	* ManipulativeBitch: Lilith tries her hand at persuading Sam to make a deal with her: no more broken seals in exchange for the deaths of himself and his brother. But, alas, Sam is wise to her double-dealing ways, [[Recap/SupernaturalS03E15TimeIsOnMySide thanks to Bela]], and [[ISurrenderSuckers tries to double-cross her first]].
69	* MindScrew: "I'm sitting in a laundromat, reading about myself, sitting in a laundromat, reading about myself. My head hurts."
70	* MoodWhiplash: A funny and satirical meta-episode turns very dark in the final scenes.
71	* TheNthDoctor: When Dean finds out that Chuck has made a prophecy that Sam and Lilith will have sex, he protests that Lilith is (or at least wears) a little girl. Chuck says that this time she's possessing a "comely dental hygienist from Bloomington." Well, good, 'cause that could have made a certain scene ''that much creepier''.
72	* NoSell: Lilith to Sam's powers (even though he could [[Recap/SupernaturalS04E16OnTheHeadOfAPin kill Alastair with them only two episodes ago]]) but also Sam to Lilith's.
73	* NoTellMotel: The Toreador Motel.
74	* NotSoDifferentRemark: When Sam hesitates to take her deal, Lilith slyly suggests that she and Sam are more alike than he would like because they both have demon blood coursing through their veins. This provokes the desired response in Sam, who tries to prove it's not true by going along with her deal. Or so it seems.
75	* OhCrapThereAreFanficsOfUs: Both Chuck's books and in-universe fanfic.
76	* PrayerIsALastResort: Unable to convince Sam not to take on Lilith, Dean prays for help from Cas.
77	* ProphetEyes: Just so the audience knows it's her, Lilith rolls her eyes white when she comes to Sam and Dean's motel room. She does it again when she's pulling Sam down on top of her.
78	* PurpleProse: "Fiery demonic passion."
79	* RecursiveCanon: The ''Supernatural'' books.
80	* RefugeInAudacity: Chuck explicitly proposes that he's a god when Sam and Dean confront him about how everything about their lives is perfectly described in his books. The brothers shoot him down. Come Season 11, we find out he was telling the truth.
81	* ScarpiaUltimatum: Turns out that [[DealWithTheDevil deals]] made with Lilith have to be sealed with sex rather than the usual kiss. Sam doesn't seem all that willing and we don't know how Lilith's host feels about the situation (Lilith says she "wants it bad," but [[ConsummateLiar she's not exactly a reliable source]]), but Lilith coerces Sam into doing it anyway in order to stop the seal-breaking. Except he doesn't, he's just trying to get close enough to stab her with Ruby's knife.
82	* SelfDeprecation:
83	** Chuck mentions that he didn't include Sam drinking demon blood in his books, since he thought it would make the character too unsympathetic.
84	--->''Come on man, sucking blood? [[WhatTheHellHero You've gotta know that's wrong.]]''
85	** AuthorAvatar Chuck also mentions that he didn't include the part about him being a prophet because he felt that inserting himself into his own narrative as a prophet would just be douchey.
86	** One reviewer notes that the plot line about Deans' DealWithTheDevil was "trite and cliched".
87	** After accepting that they're real, Chuck immediately apologizes to Sam and Dean for the [[{{Recap/SupernaturalS01E08Bugs}} bugs]] and the [[Recap/SupernaturalS03E06RedSkyAtMorning ghost ship]], saying there's no excuse to put people through "bad writing". ''Bugs'' and ''Red Sky at Morning'' are two of Eric Kripke's [[OldShame least favorite episodes]].
88	* SelfFulfillingProphecy: Everything Dean does to try and avoid Chuck's prophecies leads to them coming true.
89	* ShipSinking: Sam and Dean's disgusted reactions to [[OhCrapThereAreFanficsOfUs discovering fanfiction pairings of the two of them]] sink Wincest. To the surprise of only the most hardcore shippers since, considering how most people view incest, Wincest was a ship that was never gonna sail on Creator/TheCW.
90	* ShoutOut: Chuck's pen name is Carver Edlund, a combination of the names of show writers Jeremy Carver and Ben Edlund. Furthermore, he lives in Kripke's Hollow, a nod to Eric Kripke, creator of the show.
91	** Chuck's first thought when Sam and Dean start losing patience is a couple of rabid fans are about to go all ''{{Film/Misery}}'' on him.
92	** As mentioned at the top, the title of this episode is copied word-for-word from a famous ''Series/SesameStreet'' children's book.
93	* SickAndWrong: Dean's reaction to the [[IncestYayShipping Wincest fans]].
94	* SpecialPersonNormalName: [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded.]]
95	-->'''Chuck:''' I am the prophet Chuck!
96	-->'''Lilith:''' [[YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe You've got to be joking.]]
97	* SummonBiggerFish: Dean tries getting an Archangel to kill Lilith.
98	* StylisticSuck: Well, it is a first draft.
99	-->'''Chuck:''' Then [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment with determination Dean pushed the doorbell with forceful determination]]. ''Bleah!''
100	* TakeThat: "Writing [[SelfInsert yourself in]] as a prophet? That's like, [[Creator/MNightShyamalan M. Night]]-[[Film/LadyInTheWater level]] doucheyness."
101	** TakeThatAudience: The brothers' disapproval of the Wincest shippers. Dean also comments that "For fans, they sure do complain a lot".
102	** TakeThatMe: Carver describes his writing as trite... and pointlessly cruel to the characters.
103	* TheTapeKnewYouWouldSayThat:
104	-->'''Sam''': Stop it!
105	-->'''Dean''': ''[reading]'' "Stop it!" Sam said. Guess what you do next? ''[Sam turns his back on Dean]'' Sam turned his back on Dean.
106	* VillainsNeverLie: Averted.
107	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: What happened to the original case Sam and Dean were investigating?
108	* WhatTheHellHero: "Sucking blood, you gotta know that's wrong."
109	* WhoWritesThisCrap: Chuck, unwitting Prophet of the Lord.
110	* WholePlotReference: Is one to ''Literature/WolvesOfTheCalla'', the fourth book in Creator/StephenKing's ''Literature/TheDarkTower'' series, where in his quest to find the Dark Tower, Roland and his Ka-tet meet Stephen King in Maine, who is writing a book about Roland and his Ka-tet's quest to find the Dark Tower. Dean is even hit by a van much like the book version of King is prophesized to die by (and the one the real life King was actually hit by) in the story.
111	* WorstAid: Dean is knocked unconscious when hit by the minivan, but wakes up to a woman merely apologizing for hitting him and telling him he's going to be okay. He then gets up and wanders away from her, which she seems fine with. No one attempts to stabilize his spine, no one appears to have called an ambulance, and no one seems interested in monitoring the ''pedestrian'' who was hit by a ''vehicle'' for signs of concussion, internal bleeding, or any other unseen injury. To top it all off, these idiots allowed their young daughter to stick band-aids onto the face of an unconscious man, disregarding any further injury that might be caused by her disturbing the position of his body or the possibility of him waking up confused and reacting badly to her ministrations.
112	* YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe: A RunningGag, including a simultaneous one from Chuck and Dean when Cas drops his bombshell.
113	* YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame: Clever Lilith, knowing how much Sam loathes her, [[InvokedTrope invokes]] this trope to manipulate Sam into accepting her deal when he hesitates.

Context Recap / SupernaturalS04E18TheMonsterAtTheEndOfThisBook