Supernatural – Breakdown

By: Stacy Miller

In what appears to be a creepy basement, music is being played while a guy in a mask seems to be performing some sort of surgery on a screaming man. In Ohkosh, Nebraska, a young woman (Sarah Dugdale) attempts to use a card machine outside of a convenience store called Manny’s Truck Stop, but the machine is broken. She goes inside to tell the clerk that his card machine isn’t working then presents her identification. Her last name is Hanscum as is Donna, so this young woman is probably related to our Stillwater sheriff. The clerk rings the requested thirty dollars on the young woman’s credit card so she can get the gas she needs.  But her car still breaks down and trying to hitch a ride doesn’t yield any results. Suddenly, a man wearing a mask (like the dude in the creepy basement) approaches her and she screams as she is dragged away.

At the Men of Letters bunker, Sam’s (Jared Padalecki) alarm goes off at 6:00am. However, he doesn’t immediately get out of bed even though he’s awake. At 8:30am, Sam is still awake when Dean (Jensen Ackles) calls out to him “Hey I’m making pancakes, you want some?” Sam doesn’t answer. A still awake Sam’s cell phone rings at 10:00am.  He finally goes to the kitchen where Dean tells him he saved Sam a short stack. Sam puts his phone call on speaker so his brother can hear. It is Donna (Briana Buckmaster). She’s upset because her niece has gone messing and the local badges don’t have answers to the girl’s disappearance. “I know it’s not your usual thing,” Donna says but Dean tells her to text the address.

Soon, Sam and Dean arrive in Oshkosh, Nebraska. Donna apologizes for calling the Winchesters but says “Jody had her hands full with the girls.” Dean assures that Donna doesn’t need to apologize for calling them.  Donna fills Sam and Dean in on her niece, Wendy and the girl’s disappearance.  Wendy was taking a gap year off before going to college.  The police found her car and there appears to have been a struggle. Donna tells Sam and Dean that Doug (Brendan Taylor) is inside speaking with the authorities.  Dean lies to Doug that Donna is his cousin.  Doug asks whether Dean was at the Sioux Falls Family Reunion (you know when Sam and Dean where in The Bad Place and the Wayward Sisters went to help them) a few weeks ago.  Dean meets Agent Clegg (Chris William Martin), who explains that Wendy’s disappearance resembles those of abductions by a criminal called The Butterfly that the police have been trying to apprehend for twelve years.  Unfortunately, none of The Butterfly’s victims were ever found alive.

In their motel room, Sam argues that they shouldn’t be there working on the case as they are still fugitives (even though the world believes Sam and Dean Winchester are dead), asking Dean whether he wants to get on the FBI’s Most Wanted List again.  Dean refuses to leave without helping Donna.  He comments on how mopey Sam’s been; sleeping until ten and turning down pancakes.  Dean understands how Sam is feeling with Jack and Mary being gone.  But like his brother did for him when he felt like giving up, Dean assures they will find their mother and Jack. But in the meantime, they work cases, it’s what they do. “Obviously I’m here for Donna, I want to help,” Sam tells Dean.

We see Wendy tied begging for the man in the mask to let her go. “Someone please help me!” Wendy screams desperately.

Sam and Donna meet with Agent Clegg and he shows them a book containing information of suspects he’s compiled over the last twelve years in an effort to catch The Butterfly. Agent Clegg explains that there is one suspect that stands out more than the rest: Pastor Don Hankey (Troy Skog).  Pastor Hankey was also at the truck stop where Wendy was last seen. And one of the items that was found on Pastor Hankey is a shirt that belongs to Wendy.

Dean question a woman (Camile Atebe) who remembers seeing Wendy twice, once at the truck stop and a second time off a highway (this woman was the one who didn’t pick Wendy up when the girl was hitching).  The woman was running late and feels guilty that she left Wendy.  Dean then talks with Doug, who comments that he thinks that Donna is hiding something from him. Dean says that Doug will be there for Donna.

Donna questions Pastor Hankey, who refuses to talk without his lawyer present. Donna tells Pastor Hankey that as this is a small town and it’s Friday night, if he’s locked up he won’t get a hearing until Monday and will get to spend his weekend in a big cell with some guys who will only see him as Sunday dinner. She says she may be able to get him out of all that if he talks to her. Pastor Hankey changes his mind and agrees to talk. Donna shows Pastor Hankey the shirt that was found in his van that belongs to her niece and accuses him of hurting her. Pastor Hankey denies that he did anything to Wendy. “Don’t lie to me, don’t lie to God!” Donna shouts. But after the interrogation, Donna tells Sam that she believes Pastor Hankey is telling the truth.  Sam believes it to; it doesn’t make sense if Pastor Hankey is a criminal mastermind who has alluded capture for twelve years to be arrested because the police found a shirt in his van. “But if it’s not the pastor, who is it?” Donna wonders.

Meanwhile, Dean and Doug get a lead that the clerk at Manny’s Truck Stop, Marlon (Steven Yaffee) took a special interest in Wendy and followed her after she left. Dean demands to know where Wendy is from Marlon.  But Marlon instead shows Dean and Doug what appears to be an eBay type online auction in which the winning bidder gets a human body part. Sam and Donna arrive and see the body part auction. “It’s like take out for monsters,” Dean says. Marlon tells the group that he finds people that he knows wouldn’t be missed and delivers them to the monsters in order to pay his bills. A video feed comes up that shows Wendy begging for help.  Sam and Dean realize that they have less than an hour to save Wendy before she become monster chow. Donna is forced to give Doug the monster talk.

While Dean and Donna go off in search of Wendy, Agent Clegg insists on joining Sam as he wants to see the case through to the end.  Marlon reveals himself to be a vampire and turns him (Doug) into one. Dean injects Doug with dead man’s blood and tells Donna that there’s a cure that can save Doug because he hasn’t fed yet. Marlon appears and tells Dean and Donna that Agent Clegg works with him (Marlon) and has Dean’s brother. Donna shoots Marlon in the leg and tells Dean to get Marlon’s blood to make the cure. She demands to know where Clegg is and tells Marlon that he has a choice whether he was to die slowly or quickly.

Sam wakes up on a gurney and finds Agent Clegg standing over him. Clegg says that as soon as he saw their fancy car, he knew they were the famous Sam and Dean Winchester. He goes on further to tell Sam that there are more monsters out there then even Sam and Dean know about; the smart ones are able to blend in and could be your neighbor or co-worker. And those monster need to eat, so Clegg finds people for the body parts for his clientele. And now, it’s Sam’s turn.  With the cameras rolling, Clegg begins the auction for a special item: Sam Winchester.  The monsters tune in online watching as the bidding of the one-of-a-kind Sam Winchester heart starts.

In the Impala, Donna gives Doug the cure. Arriving at the location where Wendy is being held, Donna saves her niece. The winning bid for Sam Winchester’s heart is 500k. Clegg says that normally he goes slowly with this next part so his customers can experience every heart pounding moment.  But as Dean is out there, he must make it quick. Clegg pulls out his gun and places it to Winchester’s head. Sam closes his eyes as a shot goes off. Clegg falls to the ground, shot and killed by Dean.

Back at the motel, the cure works. Doug asks about Wendy and Donna tells him that she’s at the hospital and is going to be fine. Dean comments that now that Doug knows the truth, it will be great to have another good guy on their side.  But Doug can’t, he’s a cop and wants to go back to his life.  He tells Donna that she kills monsters and is a hero but that’s not him. Sam encourages Donna to let Doug go. “He’ll be safer that way,” Sam tells Donna.

Driving home in the Impala, Sam tells Dean that he tried to pretend that they could live their hunter’s life and still have their mom, Castiel and help Jack, but he knows now that this ends one way, bloody.