Next: Supernatural S 07 E 21 Reading Is Fundamental
Recap of Supernatural
Season 7, Episode 20
The Girl with the Dungeons and Dragons Tattoo
Written by Robbie Thompson.
Directed by Johnny MacCarthy.
Air Date: April 27, 2012.
Bobby finally reveals the Leviathan's ultimate plans to Sam and Dean: to turn all of humanity into healthy, mindless livestock.
Meanwhile, a hacker named Charlie working for Dick Roman inadvertently finds out everything about the Leviathans and teams up with the Winchesters to hack into Dick's email and find out what else the Leviathans have planned.
Body Count:
For this episode = 1 human and 1 Leviathan.
For the series so far = At least 802 humans (of which 6 were witches), 97 demons, 55 angels, 47 ghosts, 36 Jefferson Starships, 26 vampires, 19 zombies, 15 gods, 9 hellhounds, 7 skinwalkers, 6 changelings, 5 shapeshifters, 4 ghouls, 3 djinn, 3 dogs, 3 Leviathan, 2 Amazons, 2 arachnes, 2 kitsunes, 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 rugaru, 1 shojo, 1 shtriga, 1 siren, 1 wendigo, 1 whore of Babylon, and 1 wraith.
Tropes
- Always Wanted to Say That: "I'm in."
- Ascended Fangirl: Averted. Despite having a clear admiration for Action Girls as well as a love of all things Fantasy and Sci-Fi, Charlie is extremely reluctant to put herself in danger and only does what she knows she is capable of doing (hacking and corporate espionage).
- Arson, Murder, and Admiration: Charlie thinks she's going to be fired for her hacking activities, but Dick Roman approves, and sets her to hacking Frank's hard drive. She will however be fired if she doesn't succeed in three days.
- Baddie Flattery: Dick to Charlie.
- Bastardly Speech: The advertisement for Sucrocorp.
- Big Brother Instinct: Sam and Dean become quite protective of Charlie, even though they know her for all of a day or so. Dean even lampshades it:Dean: She's kinda like the little sister I never wanted.
- Bridal Carry: Sam carries Charlie after she is hurt in the confrontation with the Leviathans.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer:Roman: Tell me, how does a high-school dropout become one of the brightest minds at Roman, Inc.?
Charlie: Um, honestly? Historically, I've had this problem with—with authority, no offense, so I realized the only way I could get away with being me was to be as... indispensable... as possible.
- Chekhov's Gun:
- We discover what the clay tablet is in the next episode.
- There's also an advertisement for Sucrocorp.
- Covert Pervert: When Dean tells her to imagine Scarlett Johansson waiting her in her bed, Charlie seems quite happy with the picture.
- Diegetic Switch: Charlie's Establishing Character Moment.
- Dissonant Serenity: Dick's response to seeing the Incredibly Obvious Borax Bomb in the case is to calmly ask "Now who could've done that?"
- Does Not Know His Own Strength: Ghost Bobby accidentally breaks Charlie's arm during the fight. This makes Sam and Dean worry that he may be losing his sanity.
- The Dreaded: Dick Roman evokes this response in his employees even before they find out he's a monster.
- Embarrassing Tattoo: Charlie has one of Princess Leia in her slave bikini riding a twenty-sided die. In her defense, she was drunk and at Comic-Con.Dean: We've all been there.
- Establishing Character Moment: Charlie comes into work listening to "Walking on Sunshine". When out of sight in an elevator, she rocks out happily to the music but composes herself the moment the elevator doors open again.
- Evil Plan: Turns out Bobby did get a good look at those plans in Dick's office. He lays it out for the boys.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: Charlie realizing she's the ideal candidate to infiltrate Dick's office.
- Genre Savvy: Charlie knows that Dick Roman will kill her for having seen what's on the laptop. She also notes that "the really evil ones always need a special sword" to kill them.
- Ghostly Chill: Dick, unaware that Bobby's ghost is behind him. "Is it me, or did it just drop ten degrees in here?"
- Grievous Harm with a Body: Bobby sends a Leviathan flying into Charlie and breaks her arm.
- The Guards Must Be Crazy: Averted. The security guard that Charlie flirts her way past lets her through, but eventually notices that she's been in the bathroom way too long and goes to see what's going on, forcing her to improvise.
- Heroic BSoD: Charlie freezes up when it's time to infiltrate Dick's office. Sam asks her what would Hermione do?
- Humans Are Special: Dick marvels at Charlie's "spark" and the fact that he could clone her and copy her mind, but never replace what makes her a genius hacker.
- If I Do Not Return: An email from Frank warns Sam and Dean that someone is hacking into his computer, which would only happen if he was dead.
- Impostor-Exposing Test: Dean, Sam and Charlie pour borax on their hands to prove themselves when they first meet. Good thing Sam and Dean weren't Leviathans with a bottle of water marked Borax...
- Let Us Never Speak of This Again: As Dean instructs Charlie on how to flirt with a man, he whispers to Sam "This never happened." Sam doesn't bring it up again, but he does laugh his ass off through the entire thing.
- Let's Fight Like Gentlemen: When Dick realizes an Invisible Monster is attacking him, he calls on Bobby to "show yourself; let's do this like real monsters!"
- Liquid Courage: Charlie is extremely nervous and takes a swig from Bobby's flask trying to get over herself. She thanks the boys when she finds it in her satchel, thinking they put it in there for this reason.
- Lock Down: Dick locks down the building after the borax bomb goes off, trapping Charlie inside.
- Meaningful Name: Charlie Bradbury. Justified as Charlie hinted that she made it up to give herself a new identity.
- Nonindicative Name: Charlie doesn't actually have a Dungeons & Dragons tattoo (unless you count a d20 as a symbol of the game).
- Not My Type: Dean suggests Charlie flirt her way past a security guard.
- Once More, with Clarity: A few times.
- One-Steve Limit: This isn't the first time the boys have had a girl named Charlie helping them out on a case.
- The Password Is Always "Swordfish":
- "Your password is 'winning' with two 1s? Faaail!"
- Subverted earlier: While trying to hack into Frank's encrypted hard drive, Charlie thinks she found the password in the remarkably simple "WarGames" when this yields results. Then Frank's hard drive opens a program revealing that it's a false lead and taunts her.
- Password Slot Machine: When Charlie is hacking into Dick's computer.
- People Farms: The Leviathans' master plan.
- Playful Hacker: Some people surf the net when no one's looking at work. Charlie diverts funds from the Republican Party to Animal Lovers.
- Refusal of the Call: Charlie is very reluctant to put herself in danger and, after her part is done, puts herself on a bus and tells Sam and Dean never to contact her again.
- Repeat After Me: Dean telling Charlie what to say to flirt with the security guard.Dean: [to Sam, who's laughing] Stop laughing, Sammy!
Charlie: Stop laughing, Sammy!
[Beat]
Charlie: Uh... you don't know that new bar? Stop Laughing Sammy? That place is bringing sexy back. Which is easy...
Dean: Stop talking, Charlie.
Charlie: ...cause they kept the receipt. Stop talking, Charlie. - Revenge Before Reason: The Winchesters refuse to send in Bobby because they fear his desire to get revenge on Roman will overwhelm him.
- Sarcastic Confession: Dick Roman says he's been doing his job "feels like before the dawn of time" and that "the world is his dinner plate". Subverted when Charlie finds Frank's ramblings about Leviathans. She is quickly confronted with proof that Dick really is a primordial monster who eats people.
- Satchel Switcheroo: Sam and Dean intercept the clay tablet Dick is having shipped in, switching it for one containing a borax bomb.
- Shaking Her Hair Loose: Charlie pulls up on a moped, takes off her helmet and...
- Shout-Out:
- Veronica Mars.
- "Is this real life?"
- "It's right in the middle of the Death Star." Cut to Charlie wearing a Princess Leia T-shirt.
- Charlie Bradbury's alias is made up of the name of a Stephen King character for her first name ("Charlene") and the surname of a famous science fiction writer.
- "Frack".
- The title of the episode is one to both The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Dungeons & Dragons.
- Several to WarGames when Charlie is trying to hack the hard drive.
- "The Eye of Sauron is on me."
- Dick Roman is planning to Soylent Green the human race.
- Show Some Leg: To his credit, Dean takes the time to see if the security guard has ever shown interest in Charlie before telling her to flirt past him. When he's told she's gay, he has instruct her on how to do it. Hilarity Ensues.Charlie: I feel dirty.Dean: You and me both, sister.
- Spies In a Van: Dean and Sam aren't happy being relegated to Mission Control.
- Spirit Advisor: Bobby. "Let's Yoda this!"
- Split Screen: Used twice when Charlie turns up for work, showing both her and the security guard watching her arrive. The first time, she's happily listening to the music on her headphones, the second time she's tense because she's infiltrating the Big Bad's office, so there's Sinister Surveillance involved in the security guard's attentions (it's also used to show Sam and Dean waiting in a van as Mission Control).
- Super Window Jump: Sam and Dean doing a Big Damn Heroes. It helps that Bobby fractured the glass first.
- Take That!: Apparently Donald Trump supplied a private jet so Dick could get his clay tablet quicker.
- Tempting Fate:
- Charlie is boasting that she's covered her tracks with her hacking. Next moment, she's hauled up before Dick Roman himself.
- Charlie asks Sam and Dean never to contact her again. They will.
- Tomboyish Name: Charlie. It's not her real name, though.
- Tracking Device: Sam and Dean are able to find where Frank's hard drive is because Charlie's hacking triggers security features, including an If I Do Not Return email and a screen grab from the hacker's webcam.
- Trespassing to Talk: After witnessing her supervisor being eaten and replaced by a Leviathan, Charlie flees home obviously intending to skip town, only to be surprised by Sam and Dean in her apartment.
- Ultimate Job Security: Discussed and invoked. Charlie figured the best way to get away with her illegal activities was to make herself as indispensable as possible.
- Vertigo Effect: Charlie facing indisputable proof that monsters exist when she witnesses her boss get copied and eaten.
- What Would X Do?: Sam motivates Charlie to go through her dangerous mission by asking her what Hermione would do.
- With All Due Respect: Charlie tells her CEO she has a problem with authority, then quickly adds, "No offense."
- Worst. Whatever. Ever!: Worst. Good luck charm. Ever. Ironically it really did save her life.
- You Have Failed Me: This time, Dick doesn't bother "bibbing" the offending minion. "Bib you? Why would I waste a perfectly good meal?" CHOMP.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness
- Charlie's boss doesn't meet Roman's Humans Are Special category, so is subject to Kill and Replace.
- A Freeze-Frame Bonus shows Dick has ordered the termination of all the workers at the agricultural dig.