Supernatural goes back to basics with this week’s “Ask Jeeves.” Directed by John MacCarthy and written by Eric Charmelo and Nicole Snyder, the Monster-of-the-Week episode’s homage to Clue is perhaps-not-so-coincidentally timed with the release of the Supernatural Clue board game.
The “Then” segment quickly covers the broad history of the less-common monsters that the Winchesters have hunted, from shifters to pishtacos. Though I imagine the intention is to remind us of the lore while not revealing the monster, I found the segment a bit frenetic. “Ask Jeeves” then opens in a mansion in New Canaan, Connecticut, where the butler, Phillip (Kevin McNulty), is giving instructions to maids Colette (Pippa Mackie) and Olivia (Izabella Miko). They’re all preparing for the family’s arrival to attend the funeral of their recently deceased employer, Bunny Lacroix (Wendy Abbott). Colette’s told to select the funereal clothes for Bunny, while Olivia’s to clean the lavatories. Colette’s work turns into her idly trying on Bunny’s pearls. Suddenly, “Bunny” silently confronts the pearl-wearing Colette, yanking at the pearls and sending them scattering across the floor. The younger woman backs away in horror… right over the railing and down to the first floor. Phillip, kneeling beside Colette’s corpse, looks up at the still-glaring Bunny and asks, “What have you done?” Though the butler may not have done it (this time), he knows who did; Bunny doesn’t respond and walks away. Cue title card.
Outside a motel, Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) is once again working on the Impala, apparently making up for the weeks of demonic neglect. His younger brother Sam (Jared Padalecki) brings him a cup of coffee, which Dean eyes dubiously. He remarks, “Real men don’t drink out of cups this small” and is equally unnerved by its “glazed donut” flavor. However, when Sam offers to take it, Dean refuses and downs the drink. (As always, Dean doth protest too much.)
Sam’s search for potential cases has come up empty, but Dean’s okay with that: He’s discovered one of Bobby’s phones and checked to find 27 messages, the most recent of which requests Bobby’s presence (or his next of kin’s) at the reading of Bunny Lacroix’s will. (I hope the other 26 messages weren’t people who needed help.) Dean proposes that make the trip and see if they’ve inherited anything.
I like that Bobby’s invoked here; in a perfect world, he’d be referred to regularly since he has had such a strong presence in the Winchesters’ lives. I also love that Dean refers to Bobby’s appreciation for Tori Spelling: “Bobby had secrets, man, like loving on [her].” Of course, then Dean betrays his own knowledge about Spelling’s life by commenting on her marriage, at which point Sam looks like he’s not sure whether to laugh or mock so does neither.
The Winchesters arrive at the mansion, and Sam draws attention to the socio-economic issues that underlie the episode by questioning if they’re “under-dressed.” Dean refuses to even consider it. They ring the bell, and Olivia answers and invites them in to meet the family. Dean and Sam immediately catch the attention of Bunny’s cousin, Heddy (Gillian Vigman) who pronounces, “You two are adorable.” Sam appears discomfited by the attention; Dean delivers his trademark smirk. Heddy’s sister, Beverly (Debra McCabe) is also intrigued by the hunters. Other family members include Stan, Bunny’s youngest brother, his wife Amber, and Bunny’s great-nephew Dash (Marcus Rosner).
Phillip interrupts the incredibly awkward meet-and-greet by asking to speak to the Winchesters. He privately passes along the package left for Bobby, explaining that he would hate for them “to stick around and be forced to…mingle with the family.” Dean gets a little defensive (and references Pretty Woman, if I’m not mistaken), but Phillip assures the Winchesters that he’s not slighting them. On the contrary, “You’re far too good.” Phillip says that the Lacroix family are “money grubbing leeches,” and if the “vultures” knew what Bobby had been left, they’d take it.
Leaving the Winchesters to show themselves out, Phillip goes to help Olivia. Dean opens the package and views the pendant inside, commenting hopefully, “If Bunny was banging Bobby, then maybe these rocks are real.” The brothers take it to be appraised but are disappointed to discover that the stones are all fake. The plot thickens, though, when the appraiser points out that the pendant is more than it seems: It’s also a key. Dean says there’s only “one way to find out [what the key opens]. Ask Jeeves.”
Back at the mansion, Stan and Amber argue about whether or not she’s cheating. He hears noises and goes into the hallway, where a dark-haired man, whom we later learn is Bunny’s long-deceased husband Lance, beheads him. Amber lets out a piercing scream.
By the time the Winchesters return to the mansion, the police are there. Dean asks if everything’s okay, to which Phillip replies, “not really.” The butler isn’t as friendly as he was before. Before the Winchesters can ask him about the key, the detective sees them and breaks the news that anyone who’s been in the house that day is being detained for questioning. Trapped in the house with the bickering family as Heddy accuses Amber of Stan’s murder and Dash defends the younger woman, the Winchesters can’t get to their weapons. Dean says that they’ll have to go “old school” to find cold spots and other signs of possible vengeful spirits. The brothers split up, Dean taking the first floor and Sam the second.
One of the episode’s most interesting episodes happens here: Dean walks slowly down a hallway and comes across a suit of armor that’s on display. He opens the visor and looks into the void/at the camera; the camera angle shifts, and the void/the camera looks back. In “Fan Fiction,” Dean confirms that he was, in fact, a Knight of Hell, so whether it’s foreshadowing for darker themes to come or for Dean’s heroic development, this interaction is a loaded.
Meanwhile, Sam talks to Dash about the Lacroix family’s dysfunction. Dash’s response is truthful and matter-of-fact, “We don’t really like each other. Then again, what family does?” Sam’s response here surprises me: “Mine does – for the most part. It’s just my brother and me, so…” It’s a description that says a lot about where Sam is mentally, though it also makes me wonder how much longer before division strikes again. After all, for the past couple of seasons, there hasn’t seemed to be a lot of “liking’ between the brothers, no matter their brotherly bond. Dash tells Sam, “Then you’re lucky.”
Dean’s investigation takes him by a recessed bookcase where he notices a book bearing the symbol of the pendant. He pulls out the book and a secret passageway into the attic is revealed. Dean finds a pipe, rope – all nicely placed Clue clues – creepy dolls and the like. It’s not a habitable space, yet there’s a partially eaten sandwich and an empty glass. Then, Dean finds Colette, rolled up in a rug, and Olivia, who has streaks of mascara running down her cheeks. According to Olivia, Phillip locked her in the attic because she’d refused to lie about seeing Bunny’s ghost killing Colette.
When Dean and Olivia return to the drawing room, Sam’s engaged in a card game with Heddy and Beverly. He quickly extricates himself, and the brothers share information before splitting up to search the house for Phillip. Sam goes upstairs while Dean stays down, yet Sam winds up in the kitchen, which is typically on the ground floor, right? I find this confusing, but perhaps Sam simply comes back downstairs a back way, though.
Downstairs, Dean breaks into the butler’s quarters and finds Phillip, who quips, “Leaky faucet’s down the hall.” Dean questions him, wanting to know why he hid Colette in the attic. Phillip assures, “I can explain.” Meanwhile, Sam checks out the kitchen, finding said butler facedown in a pool of blood, a knife protruding from his back.
Phillip explains that he hid Colette’s body because he didn’t want to overshadow Bunny’s funeral with another death. “That’s crazy,” Dean says. “No, Mr. Winchester. That’s loyalty,” the butler counters. Just then, Dean receives a text from Sam with the news that Phillip is dead. Before Dean can confront whomever he’s been talking with, he’s thrown across the room. “Phillip” escapes, messily shedding skin as he goes. And, thus, the monster is revealed: The Winchesters are hunting a shapeshifter.
Dean meets Sam to investigate the scene, and Olivia sees everything. She panics at the sight of Phillip’s corpse, and the Winchesters calm her down and ask her to show them the silverware. Dean assures the anxious maid, “There’s a method to our madness.” She picks up the silverware without a problem, as do Dean and Sam, seemingly confirming that all three are human. Sam returns to the drawing room, armed with silverware up his sleeves, the flat of a knife against each palm. He flirts with Heddy and Beverly, touching their skin with the flat of his hand to see if they react. (Personally, I find this odd. How did they not notice metal touching their skin and ask about it?) This very awkward scene at least proves – so far as Sam knows – that nether woman is a shifter.
Dean, searching room to room, discovers Dash and Amber in the closet, kissing. They confess to having an affair and touch the silverware when ordered. When their skin doesn’t react, Dean escorts them from the closet to the drawing room. When he sees Sam sandwiched between the handsy sisters, he sighs. “It’s all going to hell, right here, right now.” He does apologize to his brother for interrupting, and Sam’s face is priceless.
Another scream fills the house: This time, Olivia has discovered the detective, drowned, his head in a toilet-bowl full of water. The sisters are horrified by this rather “filthy” way to die, and the question becomes, “What kind of monster would do such a thing?” Heddy accuses Amber again, but Dash reveals their secret affair and an epic family bicker-fest ensues, complete with a Baby Jane reference.
Sam tells everyone, “We can’t help you unless you stop arguing with one another. You have to trust us.” But Dash proves himself, again, fairly rational and points out, “We don’t even know you…even though we’ve wanted to kill one another, we never did.” As the rest of the family ponders Dash’s point, he quickly grabs the detective’s gun, training it on the Winchesters. At Dean and Sam’s incredulous looks, he says smugly, “I hunt pheasant,” as if that makes him an expert marksman. Perhaps it does in some circles, but Dean’s answering eye-roll is priceless.
The Winchesters wind up locked in an office, and it’s when Dean uses a knife to try opening the door that he discovers the “silverware” is, in fact, stainless steel. “No wonder the rich stay rich,” Dean observes. They realize that they still don’t know who the shifter is since only real silver causes a physical reaction. As the brothers continue to search for an avenue of escape, the maid confronts the Lacroix family.
Olivia calls them all “idiots” and says they “couldn’t be more wrong… If it’s not the butler, it’s the maid.” Coincidentally, Sam is watching the security feed as Olivia takes Dash’s gun, which he’d laid on the table after brandishing it about haphazardly, and turns it on the family. Watching via monitor, Dean complains, “We got played by the maid.” He tries again to break the door down but can’t. It’s a reminder of his human limitations, which he didn’t have a few weeks ago.
With the family at gunpoint, Olivia tells her story: She is Bunny’s devoted daughter and loved her mother “more than anything.” The family is shocked at the disclosure, and Olivia explains that she hid in the attic. Besides her mother, Phillip is the only other person who knew, and he took pity on her after Bunny’s death, letting her out to live and work as a maid. She admits to killing Colette, but insists it was an accident. She’s angry at her relatives, confronting them for “Your greed, your disdain, your blatant disrespect for mother.” Apparently, that was her reason for killing Stan, after which Phillip locked her up again. But, as Olivia explains, “Lucky for me, the cute, dumb one let me out.”
Sam finally gets access to the gun safe and shoots out the doorknob, freeing them. Sam heads for the drawing room and leads Olivia away from the rest of the family while Dean retrieves silver bullets from their arsenal in the car. In the kitchen, Olivia and Sam are at something at a stand-off, and he buys some time by asking, “What’s your beef with Bobby?” According to Olivia, Bunny had an affair with a shifter and became pregnant. She’d told Lance that he was the father, but when the family of three returned from the hospital, Olivia’s biological father was waiting. He killed Lance, and Bobby, who’d been hunting the male shifter, killed him. Bunny begged Bobby not to kill her daughter, and he agreed, on the condition that Olivia be kept locked up. Though Bunny complied, Olivia insists, “She remained devoted to me until the very end.”
Sam points out, “Bobby spared you. You should be grateful.” I think that Olivia’s justification and reasoning slips here, as she argues, “For what? Keeping me locked up my whole life?” Sam tries to convince her that she doesn’t have to kill him or anyone else. “Being a monster is a choice. “That choice was made for me a long time ago,” Olivia responds. This entire conversation hits on so many show themes regarding free will, choice, humanity, as well as monsters both real and imagined.
Olivia realizes that Sam hasn’t taken a shot because he doesn’t have silver bullets, and she trains her gun on him. He’s anticipating the shot when, suddenly, Olivia’s shot from behind, a bullet to the chest. Dean – the “cute, dumb one” is back with the bullets, and though Olivia hits the floor after the first shot, Dean discharges his gun several more times. The look on his face is chilling, and Sam watches his brother, clearly concerned.
Sam, Dean, Dash, Amber, Heddy, and Beverly leave the mansion. Dash calls the police, and the family congregates close to the house. Dean and Sam head towards their car, but Dash stops them and apologizes for his earlier accusations. He also reveals that the lawyer confirmed that other than the pendant, Bunny left her estate to Olivia; I can only guess that the remaining Lacroix family members will now fight for that inheritance. Dean takes the opportunity to return the pendant to Dash, telling him it’s a key to the attic. Dash notes, “Bobby must’ve really meant something to aunt Bunny.” Dean and Sam don’t correct him, but Dean does instruct him to “Just forget we were ever here.” Dash protests that he wants everyone to know what Dean and Sam did. Dean clasps his shoulder firmly and says, “I’m serious, Izod. Put a pin in it or we’ll come back for your preppy ass.” Dean adjusts Dash’s collar, as if for emphasis, before he and Sam walk away. Dash looks unnerved by the exchange.
This episode ends with another “boy melodrama” scene in the Impala (10×5). Sam asks his brother why he fired all the extra shots after the initial fatal one. Dean doesn’t really have an answer but suggests, “Target practice?” Sam’s not amused and asks if it was “demon residue or something to do with the Mark.” Dean assures him it wasn’t, laying the blame on being “anxious” and wanting “to be sure it was done right.” Dean goes into full-on defensive mode and turns up the radio to end the conversation. The scene ends with Dean driving and Sam glaring out the window.
I suspect that “Ask Jeeves” resonates more for fans who know Clue – the film and/or the game – very well. While I notice the more obvious references (character names, game pieces, etc.), I feel sure that there’s more I missed. So, though the episode has some fun lines and comedic moments, overall, it’s not a favorite for me. On rewatch, I enjoy the light-hearted moments more (likely because I noticed more of the Clue references then), but I continue to feel little to no investment in the appallingly shallow guest characters. Even Olivia, whose story has a lot of potential, seems to fall short. For example, early in the episode, her body language suggests nervousness and a desire to please, yet by the end, she’s less than sympathetic. And when Dean kills her, her story is simply over. The Winchesters even return the pendant, cancelling out all evidence of the case and their connection (via Bobby) to her. All this aside, I remain intrigued by the image of Dean with the suit of armor and the suggestion that demonic residue or the Mark may be affecting him. I expect that in episodes to come, we’ll see more parallels investigating just what constitutes a “monster” and whether or not being one is a choice.
What did you think of “Ask Jeeves”? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and watch the preview for next week’s “Girls, Girls, Girls.” Supernatural airs Tuesdays at 9:00 ET on the CW network.