Party On, Garth

Party On, Garth is the 18th episode of Season 7. It aired on March 30, 2012.

Summary
Dean is surprised when he gets a call from Garth asking for the brothers’ help on a case. Sam and Dean discover they are battling a Shojo, a Japanese creature sent to seek revenge on enemies. The worst part about fighting a Shojo? You can only see it when you’re drunk.

Junction City, KS
Four teenagers are out in the woods camping and one of them is telling a ghost story about Jenny Greentree. He shows them the initials that the woman carved into a tree just before she died, and talks about how Jenny froze beneath the tree. Since then, her evil spirit haunts the woods. A bottle breaks and their drunk friend, Trevor McAnn, comes out of the woods, laughing. His brother Ray complains and Trevor invites him to call their father, Jim. However, Trevor suddenly hears something that no one else can, and then sees something come out of the woods. He runs away and they wonder what he's seen, and then hear Trevor scream. Ray goes after him and finds him lying dead in the woods, his stomach torn out.

Garth pulls up to a diner and flashes his badge at the two girls, and they tell him about Jenny Greentree. He goes the cemetery, digs up Jenny's grave, and salts and burns the bones.

Ray is drinking in his car when Chloe calls to tell him he should be with his family. He cuts her off and goes out into the woods looking for Trevor's killer, and spots a woman in a white dress. Ray runs after her but sees nothing, and then something grabs him, lifts him into the air, and rips him open.

Garth calls his girlfriend and stops for some food, and hears a police report about Ray's death.

Meg calls to let Dean know that Castiel's condition hasn't changed. Once he hangs up, he asks if Sam is okay, and Sam insists that he's fine. Garth calls Dean and, after reminding him that he owes him one, says that he has a problem. Sam and Dean arrive at the morgue and discover that Garth is posing as Ray's cousin to see the body. Once the coroner leaves, Garth explains that the two dead kids are brothers. Dean picks up EMF readings while Garth explains that the killer seems more like a monster than a ghost. Sam does some checking and confirm that the brother's father owns a microbrewery.

The trio goes to the factory and convinces the manager, Jim's daughter Marie, to let them in. She explains that her father Jim and his partner Randy Baxter run the place since their third partner, Dale, died. They watch as Randy irritably demotes the janitor to the graveyard shift, even though Marie admits that Randy is the company axman and usual fires employees. Sam and Garth talk to Jim, who is clearly upset. Meanwhile, Dean talks to Marie, who says that Jim feels responsible for Dale's death, and Dale's wife is suing them.

Randy explains that he loved Ray and Trevor and doesn't think that they would do anything crazy. He mentions that Dale killed himself several months ago, and that they're planning to sell the company to a major chain.

Later, Jim arrives home and his daughter Lillian greets him. Jim's granddaughter Tess inadvertently drinks a screwdriver that her mother has made, and starts giggling. She sees something moving behind Jim and goes to look at it. She sees a Japanese woman in a white dress standing behind Lillian and points at it, but Jim doesn't see anything. The creature then reaches through Lillian's chest, killing her.

The Winchesters go back to the motel where Garth is staying and try to work out what creature has claws and is invisible. Sam confirms that Dale was a famous brewmaster as well as a partner, and Dean decides to try a bottle of Thighslapper and hands out bottles to the others. He has to admit that the beer is good, and watches as Garth chugs the entire bottle in a matter of seconds. Once he's gone, Garth admits that he doesn't usually drink beer, particularly when he skinny-dips. Sam discovered that Dale left the company two weeks before he died, and figures that someone pushed him out because he didn't want to sell. They figure that his ghost may be responsible. They hear a police report about Lillian's death and Sam and Dean go to investigate.

At the McAnn house, Garth convinces Jim and Marie to let him talk to Tess alone. Thanks to his use of a sock puppet, Mr. Fizzles, he gets her to open up and admits that she saw the monster after she drank a grown-up drink. Tess apologizes, admitting that it was an accident, and begs the sock puppet not to turn her into the police.

Sam talks to Dale's widow, who says that she's suing because they sold the company out from under her husband. However, she explains that Dale said he was going to send them a bottle of saki that he bought on one of his trips as a gift, but insisted that his wife stay away from it.

As they drive back, Garth and Dean realize that the creature can only be seen when the viewer is drunk. Dean starts drinking from Bobby's flask and Garth asks about it. When Dean explains, Garth remembers that he picked up EMF readings near the flask. He suggests that Bobby's ghost may inhabit it, but Dean refuses to discuss it in the middle of a job. They meet Sam at the brewery and the brothers break in while Garth stands watch outside. They find the saki bottle and discover that it's almost empty. Dean spots a security camera and has Sam hack into the security system and check the time of deaths starting with Trevor. They see him enter the office but nothing else, and Dean starts pouring drinks. Once they're drunk, they check the security footage again and see the creature. Randy comes in and starts to call the cops, but Garth tasers him unconscious.

Sam and Dean take the box holding the bottle to a Japanese chef, who translates and explains that the writing says that it contains a shojo, an alcohol spirit that is not known for being friendly. The brothers go back to the motel and find Garth practicing his martial arts. He explains that he dumped Randy in the hot tub, and they explain about the shojo. Sam looks it up and discovers that if someone is drunk enough, people can see it. Someone can harness it with a spirit box and send it on missions of revenge, and they figure that Dale sent it to get revenge. Since they took his "baby," he's taking their babies. The only way to kill it is with a katana with a Shinto blessing. Marie's the last target so Dean sends Sam to watch her while Dean hits the pawnshop. Garth sets off his EMF meter and it picks up readings from the flask. Dean objects but Sam admits that he tried to contact Bobby's spirit already. He didn't tell Dean because he didn't want to drag him in, and admits that he didn't contact anything.

Randy starts to wake up and Garth handcuffs him to the hot tub while the Winchesters leave. Garth points out that Randy doesn't have any kids and figures that he's hiding something. The hunter points out that he's cutting the janitor a lot of breaks and has confirmed that his mother was Randy's receptionist, and he figures they were having an affair. Garth warns Randy that the shojo will come after his illegitimate son, and Randy admits that the receptionist made him swear not to tell the boy. Garth grabs a bunch of mini-bottles, tosses Randy the keys, and tells him not to call the cops.

The janitor, Lee, is working at the factory on the graveyard shift, unaware that the shojo is watching him.

Dean finds a sword and takes it to the Japanese cook to bless it. He stumbles through a Shinto blessing while Dean blesses it with bottled water. As he finishes up, Garth calls him as he goes into the brewery, drinking heavily.

Sam follows Marie to a bar where she's drinking. He drinks himself and watches her from the bar.

Garth finds Lee and sees the shojo approaching, and tells Dean that it's there. He then grabs the janitor and hauls him out. Meanwhile, Dean calls Sam and tells him that the shojo is at the brewery. The drunken Sam gets a taxi, but discovers that the driver prefers to drive slowly.

As they run, Garth tries to explain to the janitor that Randy is his father. The shojo catches up to them and throws Garth into a shelf. Lee tries to get out but the shojo seals the door and drags its claws along the wall. Sam arrives and tries to get the janitor to the door, but the shojo closes it as well and tosses Sam aside. Dean comes in and swings at the shojo, but it knocks him away and he loses the sword. As Dean stares at it, something slides it across the floor to him. Dean has sobered up, but Sam tells him where to swing and he finally hits and kills it. While the janitor goes to get Garth, Dean stares at the sword and then asks Bobby if he's there, but nothing happens.

The next day, the three hunters are ready to hit the road. Garth insists on hugging Dean and Sam and says they can call him anytime. Once he leaves, Sam wants to talk about Bobby but Dean insists that what happened at the brewery was just his imagination. However, he finally gives in and describes all the things that have been happening to him. Sam thinks that they're imagining things because he's sure that the talking board and the EMF readings would confirm he was there. He suggests that the sword moved because the shojo was trying to grab it. Dean reluctantly concedes that he's right and they leave, unaware that Bobby's spirit is watching them.

As they start to drive away, Dean goes back into the motel room and  sees… the flask. Bobby calls him an idjit and fades away.

Major Characters

 * Sam Winchester
 * Dean Winchester
 * Garth

Minor Characters

 * Bobby Singer (cameo, uncredited)
 * Randy Baxter
 * Jim McAnn

Featured Supernatural Beings

 * Shōjō
 * Ghost (Bobby)
 * Werewolf (mentioned)

Featured Music
"Poison" by Bell Biv Devoe (Garth Scenes)

Quotes
Garth: Is that a stripper or a beverage? Dean: Beverage for douchebags. Dean: Shut up. Garth: I'm not feeling the love.
 * Sam: Say, either of you heard of Thighslapper Ale?
 * Sam: I mean, can you even get drunk anymore? It's kind of like drinking a vitamin for you, right?
 * Dean: You have the CEO of the douchiest microbrew in the U.S. gagged in your hot tub? You really think that's gonna end well.

Continuity

 * Castiel's situation from previous episode is mentioned.
 * Bobby's status as a ghost, hinted at in several previous episodes, is confirmed.

Trivia

 * Antagonist: Shojo.
 * Garth was last seen in Season 7, Time For A Wedding.
 * Jim Beaver is uncredited in this episode. This also happened with Crowley in "Family Matters" and "Mommy Dearest" and Bobby later in "Taxi Driver." Presumably this was done to catch fans by surprise with Bobby's return.
 * This is one of the few episodes where the title includes a character's name. The others so far are "Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean Winchester," "It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester," "Lucifer Rising," "Weekend at Bobby's," "We Need to Talk About Kevin" and "A Little Slice of Kevin," "Sam, Interrupted," "Dog Dean Afternoon."
 * The fate of Bobby is finally revealed.
 * Mr. Fizzles is credited as himself.
 * DJ Qualls is billed as "Special Guest Star".
 * This is the first appearance of Bobby Singer since Death's Door.
 * Referencing the Wayne's World character Garth who was created as a SNLsketch in 1988. Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar are metalheads who performed a cable public access show from Wayne's basement. They would introduces themselves at the beginning of each show by saying "Party on, Wayne" and "Party on, Garth."
 * Referencing the 1986 movie Top Gun, starring Tom Cruise as Lt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell and Anthony Edwards as RIO Nick "Goose" Bradshaw. They train with other top pilots at the Navy's Fighter Weapons School as part of the Top Gun program. Tom Cruise's character wears shades, just like Garth does.
 * Sam: I just wish it wasn't like the damn tape from The Ring. Referencing the 2002 horror movie based on the 1998 Japanese horror movie Ring. The movie features a black-haired ghost white-skinned, Samara, who comes to kill people seven days after they've seen a particular video tape.
 * Referencing James Cameron's Terminator franchise. The line has been spoken, by various characters, in all three movies, as well as The Sarah Connor Chronicles TV series.
 * Referencing the Star Wars series and the Jedi Knights. The Jedi Knights are the "good" protectors of the galaxy, capable of tapping into the mystic Force to gain a variety of powers such as mind control and telekinesis. They avoid strong emotion, which can lead them to the Dark Side, the "evil" side of the Force. The Jedi and the Force are first mentioned in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
 * Referencing the 1990 film, Ghost, starring Patrick Swayze as a ghost who is able to move objects when angry or otherwise feeling strong emotion. Dean has used "Swayze" as a verb to describe ghosts moving objects before, in In My Time of Dying