Criss Angel Is A Douchebag is the 12th episode of Season 4. It aired on January 22nd, 2009.
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! |
A mysterious death draws Sam and Dean to a town full of old-school magicians. Their investigation leads them to Charlie (guest star John Rubinstein), Jay (guest star Barry Bostwick) and Vernon (guest star Richard Libertini), three friends who were famous magicians in their day but have now been replaced by flashier, younger magicians. One of them has made a deal to acquire real magical powers, but the price was extremely high. Sam and Dean must figure out a way to reverse the spell before others are harmed.
Plot[]
It's Magic Week in Sioux City, and Jay, a magician, sits in a bar amusing the waitress with card tricks. A younger magician, Patrick Vance, heckles him, calling him washed up. Later Jay and his friends Charlie and Vernon sit in a theater watching another flashy young magician called Jeb Dexter go through his paces. They bemoan that their day is passed and Jay is increasingly depressed. He announces that he intends to undertake the "Table of Death" trick that night, a trick he almost died trying 30 years ago.
That night on stage, as Jay lies bound under a rack of steel spikes about to descend, his death seems certain. The spikes fall but the curtain is parted to reveal Jay alive and well. Meanwhile, as he is leaving a bar, Patrick Vance falls to ground dead, blood oozing from ten puncture wounds in his chest.
Sam and Dean arrive to investigate. Sam reveals a knowledge of the world of magicians gained during a phase when he was 13. Speaking to his assistant, they find that Patrick Vance had a tarot card, the Ten of Swords, on him when he died. Dean questions Charlie and Vernon to no avail. They send Dean off to speak to someone called the Chief that they say once crossed Patrick. One arriving at the address, Dean finds he's been had - the Chief is a gay leather Dominant.
Sam is doing research at the hotel when Ruby arrives. She accuses Sam of wasting time while The 66 Seals are being broken. She tells him that the angels are losing the battle. Thirty-four of the seals have been broken. Sam says that he doesn't know where the seals are or how to stop them from being broken. Ruby counters that he needs to go after the source of the problem - Lilith. Sam refuses and Ruby leaves.
They returned, and Dean threatens that they withhold their rights to charge them for obstruction of justice, but Charlie and Vernon reveal their con of being an agent. They then lie about them being aspiring magicians. That night Jay attempts another death-defying act - the Executioner which involves escaping from a strait-jacket before being hung by a noose. As Jay struggles to escape, we see a noose of rope 'come to life' and hang Jeb Dexter from the ceiling fan in his hotel room. Just as the noose tightens on stage, Jay is freed. Sam looks upon with suspicions.
Sam and Dean confer, postulating that Jay is using black magic to regain his old glory. Sam asks Dean if he thinks they will grow old, but Dean says that their life 'ends bloody or sad'. Sam asks if Dean wouldn't want to do something if they could end the demon war. Dean is suspicious that Sam isn't telling him everything, but Sam denies it.
Back at the theatre, they find out that Jeb Dexter is dead. He also had a Tarot card, The Hanged Man, on him. They confront Jay but a bewildered Jay has them arrested.
Jay admits to Charlie that he doesn't know how he is performing the feats and that he intended to kill himself the day he performed the table of death. He also wonders if he should stop, but Charlie urges him on, saying how happy he is to see Jay on top again.
That night, Jay performs the Table of Death again. He succeeds again but backstage Charlie is dead, punctured through the chest.
Jay has the boys released from jail and asks for their help. They go to Vernon's room to search for clues. They find an old poster of a young Charlie as a magician called The Great Dessertini.
On stage Jay confronts Vernon who denies any knowledge of what is happening, but then a young man arrives - it's Charlie and he is young again.
Charlie reveals he once worked with P.T. Barnum, who gave him a powerful grimoire that contained a spell for immortality - the enchanted pack of Tarot cards. He offers eternal life to Vernon and Jay - although it means Sam and Dean will have to die. However, Jay pickpockets Charlie's deck of cards, leaving one, The Magician, with Charlie, and then stabs himself, killing Charlie.
Afterward, Sam and Dean meet Jay at the bar. He is depressed - his best friend is dead, and Vernon has left. Dean tells him he did the right thing, but Jay finds no comfort in that and leaves. Dean suggests to Sam that they have a beer, but Sam says he wants to go for a walk. Outside Ruby arrives and Sam gets in the car with her. He says he's in. Ruby asks Sam why he changed his mind and Sam says that he doesn't want to be hunting monsters when he's an old man.
Characters[]
Main Cast[]
Recurring Cast[]
Special Guest Stars[]
- Barry Bostwick as Jay
- Richard Libertini as Vernon Haskell
- John Rubinstein as Charlie
- Chris Burns as The Chief
Co-Stars[]
- Genevieve Cortese as Ruby
- Luke Camilleri as Jeb Dexter
- Michael Weston as Charlie
- Alex Zahara as Patrick Vance
Featured Supernatural Beings[]
Featured Music[]
- "The Douchebag Theme" by Christopher Lennertz and Steve Rangadakis
Trivia[]
- Dean says "I hope I die before I get old" this is a line from The Who's popular 1965 single 'My Generation'. This foreshadows the series finale where Dean dies before he gets old.
- This episode had a few different tentative titles, including 'Ace Up My Sleeve' and 'Magic Me'.
- The episode's title name is a reference to Criss Angel, a real life magician that dresses and wears makeup similar to Jeb Dexter. Interestingly, Jeb refers to his own real-life inspiration by name in the episode, mentioning Angel being in Cirque du Soleil during a phone conversation.
- When Charlie and Vernon tell Dean to find the Chief, they told him to go to Bleeker Street. In Marvel Comics, Bleeker Street was the same street Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum was on.
- Older Charlie and Young Charlie played by John Rubinstein and Michael Weston (born Michael Rubinstein) respectively, are actually father and son.
- The rabbit the magicians assistant pulls out is an angora rabbit.
- It is ironic when Sam asks if Ruby has something against magic, considering that she was previously revealed to have been a witch.
- Several of the magicians in this episode appear to be named as an homage to real-life magicians (particularly performers who are well-known in the field of magic but not necessarily to the general public). "Jay" likely refers to Jay Marshall (author/performer/historian and founder of Magic, Inc.); "Vernon" refers to Dai Vernon (one of the most notable close-up magicians of the 20th century); "Charlie" refers to Charlie Miller who is considered one of the best performers for pure sleight-of-hand).
- The title refers to the Kevin and Bean morning show from Los Angeles radio station KROQ, who frequently joked about Criss Angel during the time this episode was released. Producer Sera Gamble, residing in Los Angeles, undoubtedly got the title from listening to that show.
Quotes[]
- Sam: Wow, it's like a magic museum.
- Dean: You must be in heaven.
- Dean: What a douchebag.
- Sam: That's Jeb Dexter.
- Dean: I don't even want to know how you know that.
- Sam: He's famous, kind of.
- Dean: For what, douchebaggery?
- Chief: You are really gonna get it tonight, big boy.
- Dean: There's been a misunderstanding. I, uh, think I've been had.
- Chief: Oh, you ain't been had, till you been had by the Chief. Oh, and before we get started, what's your safe word?
- Sam: What are you doing here, Ruby?
- Ruby: I should be asking you the same thing.
- Sam: I'm working a job.
- Ruby: The whole world's about to be engulfed in hellfire, and you're here in Magictown, U.S.A.
- Sam: You got something against magic?
International Titles[]
- German: Illusionen (Illusions)
- Hungarian: Halálos büvölet (Deathly Enchantment)
- Polish: Criss Angel to pacan (Criss Angel is an idiot)
- French: Comme par magie (Like Magic)