Line #36 Recap/SupernaturalS02E11Playthings


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4
5	'''[[Recap/{{Supernatural}} Recap]] of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'''''\
6	'''Season 2, Episode 11:'''
7
8	!Playthings
9	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/supernatural-playthings_1248207231_1631.jpg]]
10	[[caption-width-right:300:I mean, he loves them. He's not gonna tell you this, but he's--he's always dressing 'em up in these little outfits and, um, you'd make his day. --Dean about Sam]]
11
12	->'''Sam:''' ''[to Dean, who wants to check whether Rose really had a stroke]'' What do you want to do, poke her with a stick? ''[Dean half-nods, obviously thinking it's a good idea]'' Dude, you're not gonna poke her with a stick!
13
14	Written by Matt Witten.
15
16	Directed by Charles Beeson.
17
18	Airdate: January 18, 2007.
19
20	People keep dying in odd accidents at an inn in [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornwall,_Connecticut Cornwall, Connecticut]], run by a single mother whose daughter has an odd friend.
21	----
22	Sam and Dean have been unsuccessfully investigating [[Characters/SupernaturalSpecialChildren Ava Wilson]]'s [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E10Hunted disappearance]] in [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peoria,_Illinois Peoria, Illinois]] for the last month. Ellen calls Sam with a possible case: mysterious deaths at Pierpont Inn in Cornwall, Connecticut. At a dead-end with Ava's disappearance, the brothers decide to check into the inn. They find out that the inn is about to be closed and is owned by Susan Thompson. Susan has a daughter, Tyler, and a mother, Rose, who recently suffered a stroke. They also have an extensive doll collection, including a dollhouse replica of the inn. Tyler has a friend, another young girl named [[Characters/SupernaturalGhosts Maggie]].
23
24	A lawyer from the company that bought Pierpont Inn and is planning to demolish it is staying overnight in one of the rooms. He is found dead by one of the maids, hanging from a ceiling fan, which is eerily mirrored by one of the dolls in the dollhouse. Dean returns to the hotel room to tell Sam about the death and finds Sam drunk. Sam reveals his guilt about Ava's disappearance and his desire to save people in order to keep himself from becoming evil and joining the Yellow-Eyed Demon. He makes Dean promise to kill him if it becomes necessary.
25
26	The brothers see five-points in the inn and think the deaths may be the result of a Hoodoo curse, but when the brothers find out Rose had a sister named Margaret who died in drowning accident, they realize that Maggie is a [[Characters/SupernaturalGhosts vengeful spirit]] that Rose had been controlling with Hoodoo. Now that Rose is debilitated by a stroke, Maggie has been killing people to keep the inn from closing. The brothers save Susan when the ghost tries to run her over with a car, but then Maggie tries to drown Tyler in the pool so that Tyler will stay and play with her "forever and ever and ever". While Maggie is holding Tyler under the water, Maggie seems to hear someone calling her and disappears, allowing Sam to rescue Tyler. Rose communicates to Maggie that [[HeroicSacrifice she will stay with her]] if she lets Susan and Tyler go, and Maggie agrees. Susan finds her mother Rose dead, but Tyler no longer sees Maggie.
27
28	!!Body count
29	For this episode = 3 humans
30
31	For the series so far = At least 170 humans; 11 ghosts; 5 vampires; 1 demon; 1 god; 1 rakshasa; 1 rawhead; 1 shapeshifter; 1 shtriga; 1 wendigo; 1 zombie.
32	----
33	!!Tropes:
34
35	* AffectionateNickname[=/=]InSeriesNickname[=/=]ProductionNickname: [[TheNicknamer Dean]] calls Sam "[[BigfootSasquatchAndYeti Sasquatch]]" because of [[TheBigGuy Sam's height]]. This nickname was also used by the ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' cast and crew, especially [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Manners Kim Manners]], for Creator/JaredPadalecki.
36	* ArtisticLicenseMedicine: Rose does not respond to the brothers and appears tremulous and in a wheelchair, but it is unclear how Sam concluded she had a stroke.
37	** He used the most common form of logical deduction, of course: He guessed!
38	* BorrowedCatchphrase: Maggie and Tyler borrow Dean's "son of a bitch" at the beginning of the episode.
39	* ByNoIMeanYes:
40	-->'''Dean:''' That car didn't try to run you over by itself. Well, ''technically'' it ''did''...
41	* ContinuityNod:
42	** The episode opens with the brothers trying to find Ava Wilson, who disappeared in [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E10Hunted "Hunted" (S02, E10)]].
43	** The brothers are MistakenForGay, which is a RunningGag previously seen in [[Recap/SupernaturalS01E08Bugs "Bugs" (S01, E08)]] and [[Recap/SupernaturalS01E18SomethingWicked "Something Wicked" (S01, E18)]].
44	** The brothers are staying in [[Film/TheShining room 237]], which was the hospital room Dr. Kripke was called to in the episode [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E01InMyTimeOfDying "In My Time of Dying" (S02, E01)]].
45	** A deer's head is seen on the wall of room 237. This deer's head was also seen in [[Recap/SupernaturalS01E14Nightmare "Nightmare" (S01, E14)]], [[Recap/SupernaturalS01E15TheBenders "The Benders" (S01, E15)]], [[Recap/SupernaturalS01E21Salvation "Salvation" (S01, E21)]], and [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E02EverybodyLovesAClown "Everybody Loves A Clown" (S02, E02)]].
46	** When Sam insists that Dean must kill him if Sam becomes evil, Sam refers to the words that their father whispered to Dean in [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E01InMyTimeOfDying "In My Time of Dying" (S02, E01)]] and that Dean told Sam about at the end of [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E09Croatoan "Croatoan" (S02, E09)]] and the beginning of [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E10Hunted "Hunted" (S02, E10)]].
47	** Sam saves a child from drowning after another adult sacrifices themselves to the vengeful spirit of a child, just as we saw in [[Recap/SupernaturalS01E03DeadInTheWater "Dead in the Water" (S01, E03)]].
48	* CreepyChild: Both Maggie and Tyler.
49	* CreepyDoll: Literally hundreds of them.
50	* CreepyDollhouse: This episode features a very large one that takes up almost an entire room, modeled after the inn, with literally hundreds of very old porcelain dolls. Throughout the episode, the dolls seeming move themselves when no one's watching, their placement causing people to die in the real life hotel (i.e. a doll appearing at the bottom of the stairs with a twisted head, causes a man to fall down them and break his neck). Sam and Dean initially suspect it's some form of folk magic. It's eventually revealed that the ghost of its original owner Maggie Thompson, who drowned as a child back in the forties, is haunting the hotel. Her sister Rose has held her back all these decades, but has suffered a debilitating stroke and can no longer do so. As the Inn is closing down, Maggie is killing people due to being terrified of the prospect being left alone for all eternity.
51	* DeathGlare: Sam gives Dean a few as Dean tries to get them into the owner's private rooms by insisting that Sam just ''loves'' playing with dolls, although vocally he (unenthusiastically) plays along.
52	* DiesWideOpen: The man who came to pick up items for Goodwill and fell down the stairs.
53	* EyeOfNewt: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragweed Bloodweed]] with a quincunx = a powerful charm to ward off enemies.
54	* GenderBlenderName: Susan's daughter is named Tyler.
55	* GeometricMagic: Sam notices a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quincunx quincunx]], a five-point, engraved in a urn outside the inn, as well as on a vase inside it.
56	* HarmfulToMinors: Susan tries to keep Tyler from looking at the ghastly sight of the dead man who fell down the stairs.
57	* HauntedHouse: [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by Dean.
58	-->'''Dean:''' Dude, this is sweet. I never get to work jobs like this.\
59	'''Sam:''' Like what?\
60	'''Dean:''' Old-school haunted houses, you know? [[OminousFog Fog]], and [[BookcasePassage secret passageways]], [[EvilBrit sissy British accents]]...
61	* HauntedHouseHistorian: Sherwin.
62	-->'''Sherwin:''' Every hotel has its spilled blood. If people only knew what's gone on in some of those rooms they've checked into.\
63	'''Dean:''' You know a lot about the place, don't you?\
64	'''Sherwin:''' Down to the last nail.\
65	'''Dean:''' I'd love to hear some stories.\
66	'''Sherwin:''' Boy, you should never say that to an old man.
67	* HellHotel: Pierpont Inn.
68	-->'''Susan:''' Well, congratulations, you could be some of our final guests.\
69	'''Dean:''' Sounds vaguely ominous.
70	* HeroicSacrifice: Rose Thompson allows herself to die to be with her older sister, Maggie, so she can have someone to play with and stop Maggie from harming her family and other people.
71	* HeterosexualLifePartners: Sam and Dean.
72	-->'''Dean:''' Of course, the most troubling question is why do these people assume we're gay?\
73	'''Sam:''' Well, you are kinda butch. Probably think [[CompensatingForSomething you're overcompensating]].
74	* HollywoodVoodoo: The five-points.
75	* HideousHangoverCure:
76	-->'''Dean:''' You know, there's a really good hangover remedy: it's a greasy pork sandwich served up in a dirty ashtray.\
77	'''Sam:''' ''[groaning]'' I hate you.
78	* ImaginaryEnemy: Maggie.
79	* TheInternetIsForPorn: Dean feels it is necessary to warn Sam before he uses his computer for research.
80	-->'''Dean:''' Don't go surfing porn, that's not the kind of whacking I mean.
81	* InVinoVeritas: Sam gets drunk and insults Dean before making Dean promise to kill him if he [[FaceHeelTurn turns to the dark side]].
82	-->'''Sam:''' You're bossy. And short. \
83	'''Dean:''' Are you drunk?\
84	'''Sam:''' Yeah. So? Stupid.
85	* IronicNurseryTune: Tyler humming "Ring Around the Rosie" while pouring imaginary tea for the dolls.
86	%% LonelyDollGirl
87	* MadwomanInTheAttic: Rose is isolated in the attic after her stroke.
88	* MagicalNegro: Dean figures white people in Connecticut wouldn't practice hoodoo, so when Dean finds a photo of Rose's black nanny, Marie, wearing a necklace with a five-point on it, he puts together that she taught Rose hoodoo, which means that the five-points were put down by Rose to keep Maggie under control.
89	* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: The first deaths: a lady drowning in a bathtub and a man falling down the stairs.
90	* MistakenForGay: Or "antiquers".
91	-->'''Susan:''' Well, let me guess. You guys are here... antiquing?\
92	'''Dean:''' ''[thinks, shrugs, rolls with it]'' How'd you know?\
93	'''Susan:''' Oh, you just look the type. So, a king-sized bed?\
94	''[a bit later]''\
95	'''Susan:''' You'll be staying in room 237. Sherwin, could you show these gentlemen to their rooms?\
96	'''Sherwin:''' Let me guess. Antiquers?
97	* NeverSuicide: The death of the lawyer appears to be a suicide.
98	* NotSoImaginaryFriend: Maggie is actually the ghost of Rose's sister, Margaret.
99	* PokingDeadThingsWithAStick: {{Discussed\|Trope}}. Sam asks Dean, who wants to check whether Rose really had a stroke, "What do you want to do, poke her with a stick?" Dean half-nods, obviously thinking it's a good idea. Sam responds, "Dude, you're not gonna poke her with a stick!"
100	* ThePromise: A drunk Sam insists Dean promise to kill Sam if he becomes evil. Dean reluctantly promises.
101	* TheReveal: "Maggie is imaginary." Or rather, she's ''Margaret'''s spirit.
102	* SavingTheOrphanage: Or, in this case, the Pierpont Inn.
103	-->'''Sherwin:''' Miss Susan tried to make a go of it, but the guests just don't come like they used to. Still, it's a damn shame.\
104	'''Sam:''' Oh, yeah.\
105	'''Sherwin:''' It may not look it anymore, but this place was a palace. Two different vice presidents laid their heads on our pillows. My parents worked here, I practically grew up here. Gonna miss it. Here's your room.
106	* SchoolUniformsAreTheNewBlack: Maggie and Tyler wear identical black jumpers with white Peter Pan collars and red cardigans.
107	* ShoutOut:
108	** Several to ''Film/TheShining''. A creepy hotel, the two little girls dressed the same, low tracking shots in the hallways...
109	*** Also notable is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNvGyNrWZG0 the bar scene]]--down to the choice of liquor.
110	*** Sam and Dean stay in room 237, a significant room in ''The Shining''.
111	** The Pierpont Inn reminds Dean of a setting for an episode of ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo''.
112	--->'''Dean:''' Might even run into Fred and Daphne while we're inside. ''[closes eyes briefly]'' Mmm. [[PerverseSexualLust Daphne. Love her]].
113	** When Dean sees a hung-over Sam, he references [[http://porksandwichdirtyashtray.ytmnd.com/ Chet's line]] from ''Film/WeirdScience''.
114	** The scene of Rose looking out the window recalls the shots of Mrs. Bates in ''Film/{{Psycho}}''.
115	* TakeMeInstead: Rose does this with Maggie for Susan and Tyler.
116	* TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior: Maggie and then Tyler say "son of a bitch", and they hadn't even met Dean yet. Maggie is also the one killing everyone, although there it's played with, as she appears to use the dolls to kill them somehow instead of directly killing them.
117	* VoodooDoll:
118	** A doll in the dollhouse version of the Pierpont Inn is found with its neck twisted by the dollhouse stairs just before the body of the man who came to take things to Goodwill is found in a similar position.
119	** Another doll is seen sitting on a bed and then is hanging by its neck from the ceiling fan, just like the lawyer from the company who bought the inn.
120	* WarriorTherapist: Sam dealing with the responsibility he feels for Ava and her fiancé.
121	-->'''Dean:''' I just figured after Ava there'd be, uh, you know, [[{{Wangst}} more angst and droopy music and staring out the rainy windows]], and...yeah, I'll shut up now.\
122	'''Sam:''' Look. I'm the one who told her to go back home. Now her fiancé's dead and some demon has taken her off to God-knows-where. You know? But we've been looking for a month now, and we've got nothing. So, I'm not giving up on her, but I'm not going to let other people die either. We've got to save as many people as we can.\
123	'''Dean:''' Wow. That attitude is just way too healthy for me, and I'm officially uncomfortable now. Thank you.
124	* WhamLine:
125	** For ''the audience'', because of TheReveal:
126	--->'''Susan''': Tyler, enough. [[TheReveal Maggie is imaginary]]. You are too old for imaginary friends, and I am ''done'' pretending.
127	** Followed by a ''second'' reveal:
128	--->'''Maggie''': [[ImpliedDeathThreat I don't like her]].
129	* WorstAid: When Sam rescues Tyler from the pool, everyone stands around gawking until she starts breathing again.

Context Recap / SupernaturalS02E11Playthings