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Thinman, stylized #THINMAN, is the 15th episode of Season 9. It aired on March 4, 2014.

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!

A teenage girl (guest star Ali Webb) is killed and the final selfie she took before the attack shows a ghostly figure in the background. Looking for something to keep them busy, Dean and Sam head to Washington to find the ghost. While the two interview the girl's mother, Betty (guest star Maria Marlow), they are surprised when she starts talking about cold spots and fritzing. When they ask her about bringing up paranormal signs, Betty replies that the "supernaturalists" who called earlier brought it up. Enter Harry (guest star Travis Wester) and Ed (guest star A.J. Buckley), the famous supernaturalists.

Plot[]

It's Springdale, Washington and a young girl is taking selfies when she spots a monster behind her in her photos. She tries hiding in the closet but the creature is already waiting for her and slashes her throat as the 911 operator is on the other line. Dean quickly gets wind of the case and is about to make his way to Springdale without Sam. Sam insists that they work together and they go road-tripping. They speak with Mrs. Miles, the victim's mother and it's evident the Winchesters aren't the only ones on the case. The Ghostfacers are on the hunt too.

Knowing the 'Supernaturalist' amateurs are out of their league, they confront Harry and Ed, the two remaining Ghostfacers, in a café. Dean threatens the two, reminding them that they are way out of their league. Back at the motel, Sam discovers Harry and Ed's book on the Thin Man. Dean is still not buying the theory, putting stock in it being a ghost of some sort but Sam is not as quick to dismiss the Thin Man theory.

While Dean is searching for any deaths in the city that could have created a ghostly entity, the Ghostfacers are revisiting Casey's room, filming a part of the Thin Man documentary when Ed expresses his doubts about pursuing the ghost. Harry admonishes him that they need to keep going. And that night, the café manager is added to the list of victims. By the time Sam and Dean arrive on the scene the next morning the Ghostfacers are already there. Dean threatens the dynamic duo again but does some rethinking about the Thinman theory when they all watch the surveillance footage of the murder. Knowing that he is so close to catching the Thin Man, Harry musters courage and wants Ed to drop him off in the woods.

Sam and Dean continue to research the possibilities when Dean mention just how "sick" people can be. There is a moment of shared reminiscing between the two when Ed pays them a visit. He comes clean about making up the Thin Man to keep Harry from leaving Ghostfacers. Ed tries justifying his actions though admits to faking only one case before real ones started popping up. Sam is especially upset about it, reiterating how "secrets ruin relationships," a reality he's feeling now. The trio gets on the road and come across Harry, who has barely escaped his run in with the Thin Man.

While Sam is patching Harry up, Dean takes pictures of the tire tracks close to the scene. Harry doesn't understand why until he and Ed have a chat with Ed coming clean about the entire Thin Man hoax. Sam steps in to check on Harry, feeling a kinship with a guy who was lied to by the most important person in his life. Dean interrupts the two to relay the info he's received on the tire treads—belonging to a Geo Metro and guy named Roger. The brothers, accompanied by the Deputy, start to investigate the warehouse when the good deputy knocks them out with two stun guns.

They wake, cuffed to a chair with Deputy Do-Wrong setting up some film equipment. He admits to being behind the Thin Man murders, with the help of his psychopathic partner, Roger, the busboy from the diner. Roger does all the killing, not caring about the whys of it. Sam spots a discarded sheriff jacket nearby and guesses that they killed the sheriff; the deputy admits that it was payback for not giving him his vacation time. Roger confesses that he killed his boss out of spite and Casey for rejecting his advances. He's ready to cut Dean's throat when the Ghostfacers arrive on the scene. Though they're captured, it gives Sam and Dean just enough time to escape. When they come back into the room with the Ghostfacers at gun and knife-point, the Winchesters jump them. Dean takes Roger out, intimately introducing the murderer to his own knife while Harry shoots the deputy before he can take out Ed.

Sam is almost surprised at the heinous actions perpetrated by people and not monsters. Dean reminds his little brother that "people are sick." The Ghostfacers seem to break up for good as Harry just can't get over what Ed has done, confessing he can't forgive such selfish actions. He then approaches Sam and Dean and asks them for a ride, which they allow. As they drive away, Harry remarks how long he had been friends with Ed, and how different it will be without him. The brothers then realize how similar Harry's affair is to theirs, and how much their relationship truly is falling apart.

Characters[]

Main Cast[]

Recurring Cast[]

Guest Stars[]

Co-Stars[]

Featured Supernatural Beings[]

Continuity[]

  • Dean and Sam are still on unsettled terms after Sam finds out about Gadreel's possession in Road Trip.
  • It has been roughly 6 months since the events of Sacrifice.
  • Harry and Ed's tarnished relationship is meant to reflect Sam and Dean's: one does something selfish (Ed and Dean respectively), with the consequence damaging their relationship with someone close to them (Harry and Sam). Harry and Ed's splitting up could foreshadow what will happen to the brothers if they do not repair things.

Trivia[]

  • The title of the episode is a reference to the fakelore known as "Slenderman."
  • Dean said to Ed and Harry "You two, clowns, are gonna get into that Mystery Machine outside...", referring to their van, making reference to the van from "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!".
  • Ed Zeddmore and Harry Spangler last appeared in the Season 5 episode Hammer of the Gods, but were both uncredited for their appearance.
  • Dean makes a reference to the 1976 Baseball movie Bad News Bears. This is a movie about a group of misfits and a drunken coach that actually start winning, after they bring onboard the coach's daughter, a pitcher with a mean curve, and the town "Troublemaker".
  • Based on Ed's story, the origins of the Thinman is the same as Slenderman. Both live in the woods, both were crowdsourced, both don't seem to have anything of a face, and both of them were posted in a "horror forum."
  • When Dean is discussing Thinman's online popularity with Ed and Harry, he mentions how "the right Tibetan symbol" can create a Tulpa. This is a reference to the episode Hell House, where Ed and Harry made their first appearance.
  • Harry leaving his fiancé to solve a case with Ed is very reminiscent of Sam leaving Jessica to solve a case with Dean.
  • Sam and Dean stay at a place which features a lumberjack and blue ox motif, likely representing Paul Bunyan the Lumberjack and his blue ox named Babe. These are folklore characters commonly associated with logging in Minnesota and Maine, where there are statues built in their likenesses. The statue of Paul Bunyan in Bangor, Maine, was referenced, and came to life, in Stephen King’s novel IT.

Featured Music[]

  • This House Is a Hotel by The Wind + The Wave
  • Ghostfacers Theme Song by Christopher Lennertz and Ben Edlund

Quotes[]

  • Harry: The Winchesters. Yay.
  • Ed: Says nobody.
  • Harry: Ever.

  • Harry: Say hola to my little pistola.
  • Dean: [to Harry] Am I supposed to be impressed with that treasure trail or the lady gun you've got hiding in your pants?
  • Dean: Because everything started on the Internet is true. Like the shark attacking the helicopter. All I'm saying is those douche wheels aint' experts on crap.

  • Harry: Oh my god, Menudo. Will you guys relax? We know what we're doing.
  • Ed: Yup.
  • Dean: Really? And what about the rest of the Bad News Bears, huh? Where's the- where's the fat one? And- and the girl? There was a girl, right?
  • Sam: *Nods*

  • Ed: [to Harry about his ex-girlfriend] Everything about that girl is complicated. She gets the cream puffs, she tells you to take out the filling. They're just puffs!

  • Ed: The bedroom of a teenage girl is meant for two things: giggles and joy. Until one night, Thinman turned the giggles into blood.

  • Ed: The lore says that Thinman hangs out by trees. And the woods is where trees hang out.

  • Harry: Quit raining on my rainbow.
  • Ed: Rainbows can't happen without rain.
  • Harry: Don't try to use science with me.

  • Ed: [to Thinman] It's Scooby Doo time, douchebag. Take off the mask.

International Titles[]

  • Hungarian: A rém (The Fright)
  • Portuguese (Brazil): Homem-Sombra (Shadow Man)
  • Spanish (Latin America): Deforme (Deformed)

Gallery[]

Promo[]

Supernatural_-_THINMAN_Preview

Supernatural - THINMAN Preview

External Links[]

Navigational[]

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