There are all sorts of different Supernatural episodes that appeal to me. I love the big, dramatic mythology episodes where Dean cries because something happened (likely someone dying). I love the hilarious episodes where everything is just so silly. And I love episodes like this week’s episode that was just a fun hour of television with a great guest star that also moved the story forward.
Charlie, From IT
Over at Dick Roman’s company, we met Charlie (guest star Felicia Day), an adorable IT employee and part-time hacker who caught Roman’s eye. Since he finally got his hands on Frank Deveraux’s hard drive, he wants Charlie to get through the encryption. She started working on it immediately until she ran into a few road blocks…like a War Games simulator Frank had built into the drive based on the 1980s movie.
Back at Rufus’cabin, the brothers are trying to figure out what Roman is up to with so many digs. That’s when Bobby pops in to confirm the Leviathan’s overall plan that he learned before he died: they’re buying up restaurants around the country to serve people food that will make them complacent. They’ll cure diseases and then they’ll have an unlimited supply of human beings who can just walk into ‘death centers’to be slaughtered.
Oh, those Leviathans…they’re all just about enslaving and eating the human race.
Shortly after Bobby dropped that bombshell, another one came in by way of an automated message from Frank, which said that someone was breaking into his hard drive, which contains information about their aliases and the location of the Impala (Dean was horrified someone might get to his baby). Fortunately, Frank equipped the hard drive with GPS, allowing them to see that it’s currently smack dab in the middle of Roman’s company. Bobby offered to head into the building to try and help, but both Sam and Dean were concerned about him lashing out like a vengeful spirit. It seems like Sam is slowly losing his optimism that having Bobby back could work out.
Charlie managed to crack through the hard drive the next morning and was surprised to find information about Roman on it. She got curious and read through it, finding information about the Leviathans. But it wasn’t until she followed her manager to the basement and saw him get eaten by one of the Leviathans that she started to freak out. Running home to pack, she came across the Winchesters, who had tracked her down when Frank’s security measures broke into her web cam and sent her image to the boys. After everyone passed the Borax test to confirm they’re not a Leviathan, they got down to business. The boys had to have another ‘monsters are real, we’re totally serious here’conversation. But they desperately needed her help to break into Roman’s emails so they can figure out what he’s digging for.
Does This Make Dean the George Clooney of the Team?
Charlie can help, but only if they can get inside his personal office. This is where Supernatural went Oceans 11. Sam and Dean stayed behind in a truck with access to the security monitors while she psyched herself up to head inside. That’s when the Winchesters realized that Bobby had slipped his flask into Charlie’s bag to gain access to the building.
Let me stop for a moment and say how much I loved Felicia Day as Charlie. She’s adorable and quirky, but she was also a pretty kick-ass chick who knew how to take care of herself and volunteered to help Sam and Dean when she realized what was at stake. We’ve talked about the lack of solid long-time female roles on the show, but a lot of the guest stars they bring in are pretty amazing and I’m happy to be with them, even if it’s only for a single episode.
Although, Charlie did try to back out at the last minute, until Sam asked her about her favorite Harry Potter character (Hermione) and asked WWHD? Next to him, Dean was just horrified about Sam’s knowledge of Harry Potter.
Charlie managed to make her way up to the executive floor with a little help from Sam and the security cameras. When she found a guard blocking entrance to the floor, she had to flirt her way through, which was no easy feat because she’s kind of a socially-awkward nerd who also happens to be a lesbian. Dean, however, put his flirting powers to good use, and Charlie managed to get into Roman’s office to download his emails while Bobby watched on.
Intercepting the Package
After going through some emails, Charlie realized that Roman’s dig had been completed and whatever they found was arriving tonight. The brothers headed to the airport to intercept the package, still Oceans 11 style, complete with costumes and a switcheroo that would have made Matt Damon look proud.
The case the Leviathans took back to headquarters contained a Borax bomb, which Roman found out about after grilling Charlie about the hard drive, who insisted it was completely useless. He had the building shut down just as she was trying to escape. During the scuffle with the Leviathans (when Bobby also happened to stop by), she got pushed and broke her arm, just at the same time Sam and Dean came crashing through the glass doors to save her.
But Bobby was there too, and when he saw Roman he couldn’t contain his anger and lashed out at him. Cue the vengeful ghost act that Sam and Dean were so worried about.
The brothers managed to send Charlie off, who swore she would be just fine because did they really think she’s had no experience changing her identity before. They saw her off with a smile and then worried about how to handle Bobby. Oh yeah, and what to do with that giant hunk of red clay that they managed to steal from Roman. Why does Roman want it? Is it something he needs for his plan, or perhaps something that could hurt him?
There were a ton of geeky/fandom shout-outs in this episode, including Harry Potter, Dungeons and Dragons, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and even Comic-Con. There was a sweet shout-out to deceased Supernatural director Kim Manners, who always used to say ‘kick it in the ass’, a line that Charlie said tonight.
Overall, this was a fun episode that deserves a second viewing to watch Charlie’s adorableness and the cute caper once again. And since Charlie didn’t die, she is definitely a character I wouldn’t mind seeing again.
Only three more episodes of Supernatural until the end of the season. A new episode will be airing next week on May 4. Watch a preview here.
In case you missed it earlier, we’ve been covering the Jus in Bello Supernatural convention in Rome. You can read all about the first day’s panels, and view photos, here.
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