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Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things is the 4th episode of Season 2. It premiered on October 19th, 2006.

Summary[]

Dean Purgatory Blade.png 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!

Dean and Sam investigate the death of a college student who has come back from the dead seeking revenge on those who mistreated her while she was alive. Upon confrontation, the ghost savagely attacks Sam, leaving him injured. While in town, the brothers visit their mother's grave to pass along something from their father (Jeffrey Dean Morgan's).

Plot[]

Greenville, Illinois

NEIL'S HOUSE - Angela is sitting at the table upset and in tears. Neil opens up a couple of bottles of beer to try to cheer her up. She responds simply with "I'm all right". They're interrupted by pounding at the front door. It's Angela's boyfriend, Matt, who barges into the house demanding to talk to Angela, only to find out that Angela has left the house.

ANGELA'S CAR - Angela's driving down the road crying and unable to concentrate on driving. Her cell phone rings. It's Matt trying to apologize, causing her to take her eyes completely off the road. During a heated phone call, she accidentally drives off the road and slams into a rock-solid wall, glass shattering in every direction. Zooming back in on the car, we see Angela dead with her head lying on the steering wheel and blood flowing out of her mouth and dripping onto her phone. Matt is still on the line and frantically cries out her name repeatedly.

THE IMPALA - Sam and Dean are driving out to visit their mother's grave because Sam wants to pay his respects. Dean thinks it's an irrational thing to do, because there were no bones to bury after the fire, and all that's there is a headstone planted by their uncle. Dean shrugs it off and says that they should pass by the Roadhouse and continue their hunt for the demon. The brothers argue, but Sam insists.

CEMETERY - Despite how Dean feels, the boys visit the cemetery. Kneeling beside their mom's grave, Sam digs a tiny hole and places two silver dog tags inside - his dad's - that he feels their dad would've have wanted her to have. In a shallow tone, He utters, "I love you, Mom."

Meanwhile, Dean's pacing around the cemetery, not going within a hundred yards of their mom's grave. He notices a tree off to the side that appears to be dying. The tree is inside an area of dead grass that's formed in a perfect circle around it. Looking down at the grave beside the tree, he notices bunches of dead flowers. These are signs of unholy ground, and Dean is uneasy.

Talking to the undertaker at the cemetery, he finds out that the grave belongs to Angela Mason, a student at the local college, whose funeral was three days earlier. Inquiring about the patch of grass, the undertaker says that no one can explain how it happened. Dean insists to his brother that they investigate this case. However, Sam finds it weird that Dean would stumble on a hunt like this, especially here of all places, and suspects Dean of causing a distraction to avoid his feelings. He agrees to go with Dean to talk to Angela's father, who's a professor at the college.

DR. MASON'S OFFICE - Sam and Dean approach Dr. Mason, claiming to be friends of Angela's, who have come to offer their condolences. They don't gain much information from him, but Dean notices an odd book on ancient Greek mythology. When Dean questions Dr. Mason about the book, he tells Dean that he uses the book to teach a course.

MOTEL - Looking through their dad's journal back in the motel, Dean is certain that there's something going on and that they just haven't found it yet, because something turned that grass into unholy ground. Sam confronts Dean, saying that he thinks Dean is imagining a hunt so that he doesn't have to think about their parents. With his blood pressure rising, Dean grabs his jacket and keys and storms out of the room.

MATT'S APARTMENT - A broken up Matt is lying on the couch, watching old videos of him and Angela. He gets up to grab a beer. The camera zooms in on the plant on the coffee table that suddenly withers and dies. Matt sits back down on the couch and pauses the video on a close-up shot of Angela. Looking into the TV, he sees a white reflection of Angela behind him. He turns around, and screams as blood splatters onto the TV.

ANGELA'S HOUSE - Dean breaks into Angela's house in search for additional leads. He encounters Angela's roommate at her house and sits down to talk with her. She tells Dean that Angela and Matt were a happy couple and there was no reason for the two of them to break-up. Now, Matt is dead too. Apparently, he committed suicide the previous evening by slitting his own throat.

MOTEL - Dean walks in on Sam watching Latino Porn on the SKIN channel, Sam quickly shutting off the TV. Dean tells Sam that Matt cut his own throat last night and that he'd apparently been seeing Angela everywhere he went before he died. He checked out Matt's apartment only to find a bunch of dead plants, just like at the cemetery and a dead goldfish on top of that. The only other clue he has is Angela's diary, which he stole from her house. The boys decide to talk to more of Angela's friends to find out what life was like between her and Matt.

NEIL'S HOUSE - At Neil's house, Sam and Dean pose as grief counselors from the college. Neil refuses to talk, but tells them that Matt's death did not occur out of grief, but out of guilt. Angela walked in on Matt having sex with another girl.

CEMETERY - The boys go to the cemetery to burn Angela's remains and put her spirit at rest. They dig up her grave only to discover an empty casket.

NEIL'S HOUSE - Neil goes into his basement and Angela is sitting on a bed. She smiles before getting up. She tells Neil she missed him and kisses him. They continue kissing.

CEMETERY - Back at the cemetery, Sam and Dean see a symbol carved inside the roof of the casket. Dean says he's seen these symbols before.

DR. MASON'S HOUSE - Sam and Dean visit Angela's dad questioning him about the symbols. Dean's angry. Dr. Mason states that these symbols are part of a demonic ritual used for necromancy. The ancient Greeks used these symbols for communicating with the dead, even bringing corpses back to life; as Dean puts it, full zombie action. He accuses Dr. Mason of using this ritual to bring Angela back to life and threatens him, yelling, "What's dead should stay dead!" Dean demands to know where he's hiding Angela. Dr. Mason goes to call the cops and Sam points out to Dean that Angela is not there because the plants in the house are healthy. Dean storms out of the house with Sam following behind.

Outside Sam once again confronts Dean about the way he's been acting, trying to find out what the hell is wrong with him. "Dean, I don't scare easy, but man, you're scaring the crap outta me", he admits. Dean refuses to talk about it, saying that he can take care of himself. He admits that he's being an ass, but that they have more important things to worry about. They have a zombie on their hands and they need to figure out how to kill it. Sam blithely remarks on how weird their lives are.

MOTEL - The boys are trying to figure out a way to kill Angela, but Sam says that it's impossible because there are hundreds of methods on how to kill the walking dead. They have no idea what's true and what's not. Although there's nothing in common amongst all the methods, a few of them say silver might work. Sam says they need to find the person who brought Angela back to life. Dean believes that Neil's responsible. According to her diary, Angela wrote, "Neil's a real shoulder to cry on. He so understands what I'm going through with Matt." Dean speculates that Neil is similar to Duckie - a character from Pretty in Pink who was in love with his best friend, and mentions that Neil is Dr. Mason's TA and has access to all the same books.

NEIL'S HOUSE - Neil's house appears to be empty, but the boys take no chances, carrying 9mms. They check the basement and realize that Angela has left and that she might be out to kill someone. Dean thinks that if there was anyone that Angela would want to kill, it would be her roommate Lindsey, because she might've been the one who got it on with Matt as she was really torn up over Matt's death.

LINDSEY'S HOUSE - Lindsey is looking at a photo of Angela and Matt. She hears a noise at the front door. Angela comes in, attacking a shocked Lindsey with scissors. She takes two swings at Lindsey and misses both times. Lindsey kicks Angela to the ground, causing the scissors to stab right through Angela's breast. Lindsey's in shock as she turns Angela face up realizing what she's done. Angela's eyes pop wide open, grabbing Lindsey by the throat with abundant force and pulling the scissors out of her breast. At that moment, Sam and Dean burst into the room firing three bullets into the back of Angela's head and one into her chest. She manages to escape out the window and Dean follows, but soon returns, exclaiming, "Damn, that dead chick can run!"

NEIL'S OFFICE(??)- Sam and Dean come storming into the room, tolerating no more of Neil's crap. They demand to know where he's keeping Angela. Sam and Dean tell Neil that they have to perform another ritual, nailing Angela back into her grave bed. Looking at the dead plants on the desk, Dean realizes that Angela is not at Neil's house as he told Sam and Dean, but in the room and advises Neil to get out as quickly as possibly and not to make her mad. Sam and Dean exit the room.

When Angela comes out of the closet and shows Neil the wounds on her body, he finally realizes that havoc she's wreaked on Matt and Lindsey. Angela wants Neil to take her to the cemetery and together kill Sam and Dean so that they can live a life of happiness together. Neil runs out of the room to get the car. It doesn't take long for Angela to figure out that Neil's leaving her behind. Angela catches up to him at his car, and breaks his neck, killing him.

CEMETERY - Sam and Dean light candles surrounding her grave bed, waiting for her to arrive. They decide to use Sam as bait to lure her back into her grave. Angela sneaks up behind Sam. Hearing her, Sam turns around and fires a direct shot into her forehead. A now extremely pissed off zombie, Angela sprints after Sam, knocking him over and injuring his hand severely. Dean, right behind Sam, fires shots into her chest, causing her to fall directly into her grave bed. Dean makes one final stab into her chest with a long metal stake and says once again, "What's dead should stay dead."

Now morning, Sam and Dean finish reburying Angela's corpse. As they head back to the Impala, Dean glances for a second at their mom's grave.

THE IMPALA - On the road, Dean unexpectedly pulls off to the side of the road, gets out of the car and sits on the hood. For the first time, he opens up to Sam and tells him what he's feeling. He tells Sam he believes he should have died at the hospital after the crash, and that John somehow changed places to bring him back, and we realise the reason he kept insisting that what's dead should stay dead. With tears falling, he says to his brother, "So tell me, what could you possibly say to make that all right?" Sam has no words for his brother, and the two sit brokenly on the hood.

Characters[]

Main Cast[]


Recurring Cast[]

Co-Stars[]

Featured Supernatural Beings[]

Continuity[]

  • Throughout the episode Dean reiterates that "what's dead should stay dead!" Ironically, Dean would later go against his own words when he resurrects Sam after the latter's death in the two-part finale. Indeed, Azazel would even question if Sam was entirely the same as a result, like how Angela was not the same.
  • This is the first time a zombie is featured on the show.

Trivia[]

  • Antagonist: Angela Mason
  • The episode's title 'Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things' is a reference to the 1972 film with the same title.
  • Jared broke his arm doing a stunt before the filming of this episode. He had to go without a cast for the rest of the filming for continuity's sake, then his broken arm had to be written into several subsequent scripts. In the final cemetery scene, as Sam carries a shovel over his shoulder, he is actually using the shovel to keep his arm stable and immobile.
  • The crew of Supernatural inherited the dead tree seen in the cemetery in season 2's episode "Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things" from The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005) production. It's also the dead tree that played prominently in the season 1 episode "Scarecrow".
  • When Sam deposits his father's dog tags at his mother's tombstone, on them can be read: "WINCHESTER JOHN 306-00-3894 TYPE AB NON-RELIGIOUS"
  • Sam tells Dean he has been watching "too many Romero" movies. This refers to George A. Romero, a successful writer, director, and producer of several satirical zombie films.
  • The CW's official summary for the episode misspells Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Jeffrey Dean Morgan's, as well as not citing him as a guest star. Summer Glau is also cited as a guest star, despite not appearing in the episode.

Errors[]

  • When Dean first walks up to the dead tree in the cemetery, he's only wearing the pendant that Sam gave him. As he bends down to investigate the marker, he has a second chain around his neck but as he's walking away talking to Sam about the area, he only has the pendant on again.
  • After Angela crashes her car, the closeup on her blood-soaked phone shows that she is on a TELUS network. TELUS is a Canadian mobile phone network available in British Columbia where the show is shot. It is not available in Illinois or anywhere in the United States.

Deaths[]

Featured Music[]

  • "Sad Girl" by Supergrass

Cultural References[]

Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things (1972)

  • Title references the 1972 film of the same name.

Fletch (1985)

  • Dean introduces himself to Angela's roommate as Alan Stanwyk.

Pretty in Pink (1986)

  • Dean compares Neil's unrequited love to Duckie.

Pet Sematary (1989)

  • When trying to explain to Angela's father why bringing someone back from the dead is wrong, Dean asks, "Haven't you seen Pet Sematary?" [Cemetery is deliberately misspelled in the movie.]

Beaches (1988)

  • Dean suggests Zombie Angela went out to rent Beaches.

I Love Lucy (1951) (TV Series)

  • When Zombie Angela confronts her roommate, she says, "Hi, Lindsey, I'm home!"

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

  • Sam accuses Dean of being influenced by the Night of the Living Dead (1968) series:
    • Dean: We can't just waste it with a head shot?
    • Sam: Dude. You've been watching way too many Romero flicks.

Quotes[]

Dean: "Neil, it's your grief counselors. We've come to hug."


Dean: "It takes two to... you know... have hardcore sex."


Sam: "Dean, what is it?"
Dean: "I'm sorry."
Sam: "You...? For what?"
Dean: "The way I've been acting." (long beat) "And for Dad, well, he was your dad too. It's my fault that he's gone."
Sam: "What are you talking about?"
Dean: "I know you've been thinking it; so have I. Doesn't take a genius to figure it out. Back at the hospital, full recovery. It was a miracle, and five minutes later Dad's dead and The Colt's gone."
Sam: "Dean..."
Dean: "You can't tell me there's not a connection there. I don't know how the demon was involved. I don't know how the whole thing went down exactly, but Dad's dead because of me and that much I do know."
Sam: "We don't know that, not for sure."
Dean: "Sam... you and Dad... you're the most important people in my life. And now... I never should have come back, Sam, it wasn't natural, and now look what's come of it. I was dead and I should've stayed dead. You wanted to know how I was feeling, well, that's it. So tell me, what could you possibly say to make that alright?"


Dean: "What's dead should stay dead - didn't you see Pet Sematary?"


Dean: "Sam, if you bring up Dad's death one more time, I swear..."
Sam: "Please, Dean, it's killing you, please. We've already lost Dad, we've lost Mom, I've lost Jessica. And now I'm gonna lose you too?"
Dean: "We better get out of here before the cops come. I hear you, okay? Yeah, I'm being an ass, and I'm sorry."
[Sam nods]"
Dean: "But right now we got a freaking zombie running around, we need to figure out how to kill it." (Sam smiles.) "Right?"
Sam: "Our lives are weird, man."
Dean: "You're telling me. Come on."


Dean: "Damn, that dead chick can run!"


(Dean and Sam are discussing how to kill a zombie.)
Dean: "We can't just waste her with a headshot?"
Sam: "Dude, you've been watching way too many Romero flicks."
Dean: "You're telling me there's no lore on how to smoke 'em?"
Sam: "No, Dean, I'm telling you there's too much. I mean there's a hundred different legends on the walking dead, but they all have different methods for killing them. Some say setting them on fire, one said... Where is it? Right here: Feeding their hearts to wild dogs. That's my personal favorite. But who knows what's real and what's myth?"
Dean: "Is there anything they all have in common?"
Sam: "No, but a few said silver might work."


Sam: "Silver bullets?"
Dean: "I've got enough to make her rattle like a change purse."


(Re-burying Angela's corpse.)
Sam: "Rest in peace."
Dean: "For good this time, okay?"


Sam: "Do you think she's in?"
Dean: "Nah, I think she went out to rent Beaches."
Sam: "Look, smart ass, she might kill someone."


Sam: "Did we have to use me as bait?"
Dean: "I figured you were more her type. She had pretty crappy taste in guys."


Dean: "This is where he keeps his porn."

International Titles[]

  • Finnish: Kielletyt Leikit (Forbidden Games)
  • Brazil: Crianças Não Devem Brincar Com Coisas Mortas (Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things)
  • French: Vengeance d'Outre-Tombe (Vengeance From Beyond the Grave)
  • German: Spiel Nicht Mit Toten Dingen (Don't Play With Dead Things)
  • Polish: Nieładnie bawić się zwłokami (It's Bad to Play with Corpses)
  • Italian: Il Mistero Della Tomba (The Tomb Mystery)
  • Hungarian: A Lány Nem Nyugszik Békében (The Girl Does Not Rest in Peace)

External Links[]

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