Bad Day at Black Rock is the 3rd episode of Season 3. It premiered on October 18, 2007.
Summary[]
There was something about being there... It felt pure. This episode summary is an official CW press release. It may contain errors. DO NOT CHANGE! |
Sam and Dean answer a call on their dad's old cell phone, alerting them someone has broken into John's secret storage room in New York. They discover a cursed rabbit's foot has been stolen and call Bobby (guest star Jim Beaver) for help. He advises them to beware of the foot because anyone who touches it will receive an extreme amount of good luck, but once the foot is lost that person will die. Unfortunately, Sam has already handled the foot, which causes an overjoyed Dean to buy lottery tickets, but a female thief steals it from Sam causing his luck to plummet and putting his life in danger.
Plot[]
A hunter called Kubrick visits Gordon Walker in prison. He informs Gordon of his discovery that, contrary to Gordon's belief, Sam was trying to keep the Devil's Gate in Wyoming from opening. Gordon states that he doesn't believe Sam is even human and must be killed.
Sam tells Dean about his encounter with Ruby, although not about the information she gave him about the deaths of Mary's friends. Dean is angry that Sam didn't kill the demon, while Sam insists that they can use her to get information about the demons they are battling, as well Dean's deal with the crossroads demon.
A phone call on John's cell phone alerts Sam and Dean of a break-in at a secret lock-up their father kept. Upon investigating they find a weapons cache, memorabilia from their childhood, and curse boxes, one of which is missing.
They use security footage to track the thieves, Wayne and Grossman, who have opened the box and found a rabbit's foot inside. Wayne was shot when he tripped a booby trap that John had rigged in the lock-up. His luck changes for the better after he touches the rabbit's foot: his neighbor turns out to be an ex-Army medic who can tend his wound and he wins at cards.
After Sam and Dean accost them and Sam takes the rabbit's foot, Wayne's luck changes again - this time for the worse - and he is killed when he slips on a bottle and is impaled on a BBQ fork.
Sam calls Bobby and tells him about the foot. Bobby is aghast when Sam reveals that he's touched it. He reveals that the rabbit's foot brings the person who has it good luck but when it is lost, the person will die within a week. Bobby promises to research a way to destroy the curse.
Sam starts getting lucky – a set of scratch and win cards yields thousands of dollars, and he finds a gold watch. When he and Dean enter a restaurant, they win a year's worth of free food, and their photo is taken in celebration.
However, when they are dining, a waitress spills coffee on Sam. Feigning mopping his clothes, she uses the opportunity to steal the foot by wrapping it in the towel without touching it.
Sam's bad luck starts immediately, and he slips and falls outside the restaurant. They return to the thieves' apartment and interrogate Grossman about who hired them to steal the rabbit's foot. He gives them the name "Lugosi".
Dean phones Bobby who tells them that Lugosi is most likely a codename for Bela Talbot, a woman who knows much about the world of the supernatural and steals supernatural items for wealthy clients. Meanwhile, Sam's bad luck continues as he steps in gum and then loses his shoe down a drain.
With a lead on where to find Bela, Dean leaves Sam at a motel with strict instructions not to move. In Queens, Dean breaks into Bela's flat, realizes she is the waitress from earlier, and manages to steal the rabbit's foot from her.
Meanwhile, when Sam's luck changed, a series of coincidences helped Kubrick and Creedy track Sam down. The picture of the boys winning free food for a year was posted on the restaurant's website, and Creedy just happened to look at their online menu. They capture him, but just as Kubrick prepares to shoot him they are foiled by Dean.
Bobby has supplied the boys with a ritual to destroy the rabbit's foot and its curse. Dean scratches a few more winning tickets, and then just as they prepare to burn the foot, Bela arrives. She was going to sell the foot for $1.5 million and is not prepared to let it go. She demonstrates she is not only a talented thief, but also ruthless and a good shot when she first threatens Dean and then shoots Sam in the shoulder. Dean distracts her and then tosses the foot to her, shouting "Think fast!". Bela instinctively catches it, and becomes cursed. Resigned, she hands the foot over to be destroyed. She leaves - but not before stealing Dean's winning scratchcards.
Returning to Gordon, Kubrick now believes that he is on a mission from God to kill Sam. Even though Gordon obviously disbelieves this, he enlists Kubrick's help in planning his escape.
Characters[]
Main Cast[]
Recurring Cast[]
Guest Stars[]
Co-Stars[]
- Michael Massee as Kubrick
- Jon Van Ness as Creedy
- Christian Tessier as Wayne
- Hrothgar Mathews as Grossman
- Stephen Dimopoulos as Restaurant Owner
- Forbes Angus as Foster
- John F. Parker as Restaurant Patron
Featured Supernatural Beings[]
- Archangel (Lucifer, mentioned only)
- Demon (Ruby, mentioned only)
- Primordial Entity (God, mentioned only)
Continuity[]
- This is the first appearance of Bela Talbot.
- This is the first appearance of Kubrick.
- Bobby Singer previously appeared in The Magnificent Seven.
- Gordon Walker previously appeared in Hunted.
Trivia[]
- In the real world, Black Rock is actually a neighborhood within the city of Buffalo, NY. It's not outside of the city as the episode would suggest.
- After the brothers state Bela lives in Queens, they say Queens is 2 hours away from where they are in Black Rock. That’s actually a 6.5-8 hour drive.
- This episode marks the first time Bobby uses his catchphrase "Idjit".
- This episode marks the first appearance of Bela Talbot, who becomes a secondary antagonist in Season 3.
- The 3 bumper stickers on Kubrick's RV are:
- "How Would Jesus Drive?"
- "Don't Make Me Come Down There - GOD."
- "Bethlehem or Bust."
- In the 1955 film, Bad Day At Black Rock, the main character arrives in a strange town called Black Rock to conduct important business and is met with several mishaps at the hands of its mysterious townspeople. He eventually discovers that there is a plot to murder him as a means of keeping the town's dark secret.
- Dean jokingly refers to himself as Batman. Jensen Ackles would later on voice Red Hood/Jason Todd in the 2010 animated film Batman: Under the Red Hood. And in 2021 Jensen Ackles would voice Batman/Bruce Wayne in the two-part animated film Batman The Long Halloween
- As Sam and Dean enter Grossman and Wayne's apartment for the second time, a horseshoe can be seen hanging downward over the doorway. While mostly associated with good luck, some cultures believe that its a mistake to display it with the ends, or heels, downward because that allows all of its beneficial powers to seep out and be lost. Conversely, other cultures' belief is that affixing a horseshoe pointing down is required in order for good fortune to flow over all who enter. Some cultures also believe that horseshoes can prevent demons or fairies from crossing over a threshold and into a dwelling, which perhaps stems from the fact that horseshoes were originally made from iron.
Errors[]
- When Sam comes out of the restaurant and falls, you see that his knees are scraped and the jeans are torn. Later at the motel, you see that the knees are dirty but there are no holes.
- When the army medic walks into Wayne and Grossman's apartment, Wayne shoves the rabbit's foot back into the cursed box. Then in a later shot, Wayne looks at the foot, and it is lying neatly on the table when no one had moved it.
- When Sam and Dean are at the hotel after Sam loses his shoe, there is a brief shot of them walking where he has shoes on both feet. Later on, when he's sitting in the chair, his shoe is missing again.
Deaths[]
- Wayne
- Rabbit (mentioned only)
- Witch's victims (mentioned only)
Featured Music[]
- "Women's Wear" by Daniel May
- "Vaya Con Dios" by Mary Ford and Les Paul
Quotes[]
- Sam: I lost my shoe...
- Dean: I'm Batman...
- Sam: Yeah, you're Batman...
- Sam: Dean, c'mon.
- Dean: What? Hey, that was my gun he was aiming at your head. My gun don't jam, so that was a lucky break. Not to mention them taking themselves out, also a lucky break. (holds a scratcher out to Sam) Here, scratch one. C'mon, Sam. Scratch and win!
- Sam: (scratching) Dean, it's gotta be cursed somehow. Otherwise, Dad wouldn't have locked it up.
(Dean grabs the ticket and checks it out)
- Dean: $1,200. You just won $1,200. Haha! Whooo! I dunno, man, it doesn't seem that cursed to me.
- Dean (to Bela): Anyhoo, this has been charming, but uh, look at the time. Oh and this... (pulls out rabbit's foot) ...looks like you're not the only one with sticky fingers. If it's any consolation, I think you're a truly awful person.
- Dean: Oh, wow! It's my first sawed-off. I made it myself. Sixth grade.
- Bela: You can have the foot... for 1.5 million.
- Dean: Nice. I'll just call my banker.
- Kubrick: Don't play with my Jesus.
International Titles[]
- German: Ein Unglück Kommt Selten Allein (Misfortune Seldom Comes Alone)
- Brazil: Dia Ruim em Black Rock (Bad Day at Black Rock)
- Hungarian: Mágikus Balszerencse (Magical Bad Luck)
- French: Baraka (Luck)
- Polish: Pech w Black Rock (Misfortune in Black Rock)
Gallery[]
External Links[]
- Supernatural: "Bad Day at Black Rock" IGN review