Sam, Interrupted

Sam, Interrupted is the 11th episode of Season 5. It aired on January 21, 2010. 

Synopsis
Sam and Dean get themselves admitted to a mental hospital in order to investigate if a monster is attacking patients. But their incarceration pushes them to the breaking point.

Plot
The episode starts inside a psychiatric ward, where a paranoid schizophrenic woman claims that she can't sleep or the Monster might kill her, like it did her roommate, Annie. The doctor says that it was a suicide, that there is no monster, it's just her way of coping with the tragic loss of Annie. She replies that she can hear it at night in the walls. You can see the doctor is frustrated with her and replies. "Susan... there is no such thing as monsters." The scene cuts to the woman in her room, at night. Her claims appear to be true, as something appears before her. Screams of agony are heard as the camera rests on the door.

After the title card, Sam and Dean are seen entering the psychiatric ward, discussing an old hunter and friend of their father's, Martin, and his phone call that brought them there. Both Sam and Dean seem to believe and trust in Martin, despite his current staying in an Asylum, citing an incident in Albuquerque. The two brothers, in an attempt to solve the aforementioned story of a monster haunting the ward, get themselves committed by relating the real story of their life: Dean believes Sam is crazy as he seems to have initiated the Apocalypse by having killed Lucifer's daughter, Lilith. The two comedically relate a casual retelling of these events that have unfolded in the past two seasons, and the head doctor asks both to stay for further examination.

Donning the appropriate clothes, Sam and Dean confront Martin in a common room to discuss the presence of the monster. Martin's sanity is questioned, but the boys reassure him that they're there in earnest to help him. While talking to Martin, the aforementioned doctor asks the boys to join him for a session of group therapy, which the boys jump at as an opportunity to hear further testimony regarding the presence of the monster. In a twist, the Doctor tells Dean that he and Sam will be split up. Their troubles slowly begin.

In group therapy, a patient -- the man who was across the hall when Susan was killed -- wants to talk about "the monster hunting us." He insists it's real and gets the other patients riled up, but the doctor shuts him down, insisting that there is no monster and that he needs to behave. The man clams up nervously, and as Sam watches all of this with interest, Martin shoots him a knowing look.

Meanwhile, Dean is approached by Dr. Cartwright. She sits down to ask him some questions, and he starts things off with a Hannibal Lecter impersonation. Dr. Cartwright is not entertained. They agree to answer each other's questions, quid pro quo.

Later on, as Sam and Dean catch up in a hall, an attractive patient, Wendy, greets him with a deep kiss before walking away.

Night falls and the boys break out of their rooms to find the patient who allegedly saw the monster. By the time they get to the guy he appears to have hung himself.

The Winchesters sneak into the morgue to investigate the body. Sam palpates the neck and discovers a hole that goes all the way up to the man's brain. Sam removes the top of the skull and takes a look at the brain -- which is blackened and seems to have been sucked dry.

Dean fills Martin in on what they found and Martin suddenly realizes what they're up against: a wraith. It's an ugly beast that feeds on brains, which makes a locked-down mental hospital the perfect hunting ground -- who's going to believe any of the patients when they say they've seen a monster? The only thing that can kill it is silver. The bad news is that it can pose as a regular person, which means it could be anyone in the hospital. However, it does show its true reflection in a mirror.

Dean decides to hang out by one of the security mirrors and check out the reflections of everyone who walks by. Dr. Cartwright appears and asks Dean what he's doing and, of course, he tells her he's hunting a wraith. As Dr. Fuller walks by Dean glances at his reflection in the mirror -- he's the wraith!

Dean and Sam grab silver-plated letter openers give one to Martin, assuring him it should work. They lay out the plan, explaining that Dr. Wraith is on duty that night, and they'll have to slip past the orderlies and security to get to him. The same patient from before walks by and kisses Sam.

They find Dr. Fuller and Sam attacks him knocks off two orderlies. He almost makes the killing strike before Martin pulls him off, pointing out the silver hasn't reacted with his skin - it is not the wraith.

Dean finds Sam heavily sedated in his room. He grabs Dean and tells him that the doctor isn't a wraith and implies that Dean was seeing things. Maybe Dean has finally cracked and really is crazy. Dean assures him that he's going to find the thing. Sam tells him that it's OK, because he's still his brother and he loves him.

In the day room, Dr. Cartwright starts accusing Dean of not being able to save anyone. A horrified Dean begins to yell at Dr. Cartwright, demanding to know who she is, until the nearby orderly informs Dean that there's nobody there. The doctor taunts Dean, saying that nobody can see her because she's in Dean's head and he really is going crazy. Dean, reeling, stumbles down the hall and notices that everyone's reflection is monstrous. He cowers in a corner.

Dr. Fuller lets Sam off with a warning, but when he goes to the day room, Sam starts swinging as he thinks the other patients are attacking him and accusing him of being monstrous. The orderlies subdue Sam and take him to a padded room, where he is strapped to a bed.

Dean finds his way to Martin, telling him that he thinks the wraith poisoned him and Sam by venom, or saliva, and is sending them crazy. He deduces it must be the patient, Wendy, who kissed them, but when they get to her room they find Karla is the wraith and is sucking Wendy's brains.

Karla attacks them and escapes, telling the orderlies Dean and Martin have attacked Wendy. Martin holds off the orderlies while Dean goes after Karla, who leaps on Dean and throws Martin to the side, punching Dean relentlessly.

Karla heads to Sam's room next, where he's fully restrained. He sees her in a reflection and realizes that it's been her all along. She raves about how the hospital is like an all-you-can-eat buffet. With just a touch, she amplifies the patients' mental illnesses so they get soaked in dopamine and adrenaline and "all sorts of chemicals that make them more delicious".

Dean breaks into the room and attacks her, killing her eventually as he plunges the letter opener into her chest. He releases Sam and they escape from the hospital as the alarm is raised.

Dean asks if he's OK, and Sam says no, that the wraith was right. That most of the time he can hide it, but he's angry at everything, all the time, and he doesn't know why. Dean tells him he needs to bury it, to forget about it, and move on, because that's how they keep going, that's how they don't end up like Martin.

"Are you with me? Come on, man... are you with me?" Dean asks. Sam says, "I'm with you." He gets into the car with Dean, and they drive off into the night.

Major Characters

 * Sam Winchester
 * Dean Winchester
 * Martin Creaser

Featured Supernatural Being

 * Wraith

Continuity

 * This episode seems to have taken place sometime after Abandon All Hope, being the previous episode and the last episode of 2009 before the winter hiatus.

Quotes
Doctor: ...And you're my paranoid schizophrenic with narcissistic personal disorder and religious psychosis. Lucky me.
 * Dean: You're my shrink? Lucky me.

Dean, taking his pants down and shaking his package: PUDDIIIIIIIING Doctor: alright, come on you two Dean, whispering to Sam: Crazy works
 * Doctor: What are you boys doing in here?

Dean: Why me what? Dr. Cartwright: Why do you have to hunt monsters? Why not let someone else do it? Dean: I can't find anybody else that dumb.
 * Dr. Cartwright: Why you?

Dean: Not any more than usual.
 * Sam: You still crazy?

Doctor: You were referred to me by a Dr. Babar in Chicago. Dean: That's right. Doctor: Isn't there a children's book about an elephant named Babar? Dean: I don't know. I don't have any elephant books. Look, doctor, I-I think that... The doc was in over his head with this one, 'cause my brother's, uh...[Dean's whistles and makes a gesture with his hand suggesting Sam's crazy.] Doctor: Okay, fine. That's -- That's really not necessary. Why don't you tell me how your feeling Alex? Sam: I feel fine. I mean, okay, a little depressed, I guess. Doctor: All right. Any idea why? Sam: Probably because I started the Apocalypse. Doctor: The Apocalypse? Sam: Yeah. That's right. Doctor: And you think you started it. Sam: Well, yeah. I mean, I killed this demon, Lilith, and I accidentally freed Lucifer from Hell. So now he's topside and we're trying to stop him. Doctor: Who is? Sam: Me and him. And, uh this one angel. Doctor: Oh, you mean like a - like an angel on your shoulder? Sam: No, no, his name's Castiel. He wears a trenchcoat. Dean: See what I mean Doc, I mean the kid's been beating himself up about this for months. The Apocalypse wasn't his fault. Doctor: It's not? Dean: No. There was this other demon Ruby, she got him addicted to demon blood and near the end, he was practically chugging the stuff. My brother's not evil. He was just... High. Yeah? So can you fix him up so we can get back to traveling around the country hunting monsters?
 * The doctor opens a file and it shows the names Edward Van Halen and Alex  Van Halen. then you see Dean and Sam in front of him.