1.01 Alter Ego
| |
| Title (English) |
The Alter Ego |
| Title (Japanese) |
もうひとりの自分 (Mou Hitori no Jibun) |
| Directed by | Shigeyuki Miya |
| Written by | John Shiban Naoya Takayama |
| Based On | Skin |
| Voice Actors (Japanese) |
Yuuya Uchida Hiroki Touchi Michiko Neya Kunihiko Yasui Rumiko Ukai |
| Voice Actors (English) |
Jared Padalecki Andrew Farrar Eleanor Noble Terrence Scammell Holly Gauthier-Frankel |
| Outline | While looking for their father, Sam and Dean investigate a bizarre string of murders where husbands are being accused of killing their wives. |
| [[|« Previous Episode]] | Next Episode » | |
Contents
Synopsis
Dean is driving the Impala while Sam sleeps. In his dream, Sam sees a yellow-eyed man standing over a baby in a crib, a woman with a gun running through woods full of monsters, and then Jessica burning on the ceiling above him. He wakes up, startled, and asks Dean where they are. Dean answers that they're heading for Missouri because a case there has caught his attention: a man named Zach Evans is accused of brutally murdered his wife, Amanda Evans, in their home, but he claims that he wasn't there when she was killed. In the last six months, there have been three similar cases in their small, rural town, so Dean thinks something supernatural is going on. Sam reminds Dean that their main goal is to find their father, but Dean insists that their father would have investigated the murders.
Sam and Dean head to the police station where Zach is being held and pose as US Marshals in order to learn more about the case. The lead detective, Katherine Boyle, allows them to interrogate Zach and then to watch the security tapes that show him arriving home at the time of the murder. When they watch the security footage, Sam notices that Zach's eyes are glowing and hypothesizes that it is a spirit or doppelganger that is actually behind the recent spate of murders. They then go to the Evan's home with Detective Katherine Boyle to search for clues.
At the scene, Dean flirts with Katherine until he learns that she was friends with the victim, Amanda. He apologizes and gives her his sympathies. Meanwhile, Sam explores the house, but is unable to find any hint of a spirit or the smell of ozone. He opens a window and, when he looks out, notices a trail of blood that leads down the side of the house and into a sewer drain. Later, the brothers explore the sewers without Katherine. Dean has loaded their guns with rock salt, expecting a spirit, but when they encounter Zach's doppelganger they are quickly overpowered. He moves fast, hitting Dean across the shoulder with a pipe and then knocking Sam unconscious.
When Sam comes to, he is tied up and suspended over a deep pit in the sewers. It appears that Dean is standing over him, but Sam quickly notices that Dean's shoulder is not injured and deduces that he is talking to the doppelganger. He demands to know where Dean is, but the doppelganger doesn't answer, instead touching Sam's head and downloading some of his memories. He then confronts him with some of Dean's memories, including Dean's upset over having been abandoned by their father. Before he leaves, he tells Sam that he's going to go give Katherine a "good time." Sam yells after him and struggles against his bonds, loosening a few rocks that fall and hit Dean, who is suspended below him. Dean wakes up and calls out, and Sam is relieved to see him. He shouts down to him that they aren't dealing with a spirit or doppelganger, but with a shapeshifter that can download their thoughts—one that is currently posing as Dean and going after Katherine.
Sam and Dean break free of their bonds and hurry to Katherine's house. As Dean drives, Sam checks their dad's journal and finds an entry about shapeshifters. Apparently, they can change shape or form into practically anything, but can be killed with a silver bullet. When they arrive at Katherine's house, Dean goes inside. He's relieved to see her safe, and tells her that a shapeshifter has been behind the recent murders. She laughs at him and pulls her gun. With Dean at gunpoint, she tells him that she checked with the US Marshals Services and that she knows he isn't really a Marshal. She tells him to "start talking," but Dean notices that her finger, which she cut when they were visiting the Evans' home earlier, is unblemished. He realizes that she is the shapeshifter and kicks the gun from her hand. Before he can kill her, though, the police show up outside and announce that they have him surrounded. The shapeshifter screams, then jumps up and through a skylight, escaping onto to the roof of the house. Her scream drives the police to burst through the doors of the house, but Dean manages to escape by getting the jump on a SWAT team member and stealing his uniform.
Dean, still in uniform, finds Sam outside, and they flee the scene. As Dean drives, he tells Sam that they're going to have to search the sewers for Katherine. Sam complains about how long it will take, but Dean tells to find the closest entrance to the sewage system. Sam is on his computer when Dean suddenly pulls his gun and points it at Sam's head. Dean accuses Sam of being the shapeshifter, but Sam denies it and then accuses Dean of being the shapeshifter, instead. They fight, and Sam knocks the gun from Dean's hand. Meanwhile, the Impala is swerving all over the road. Dean kicks Sam in the face and gets the car under control, but Sam grabs the gun and points it at him. Dean begs him not to shoot just as the real Sam jumps in front of the Impala and shoots the impostor through the Impala's windshield, killing him.
Sam and Dean return to the sewers and find Katherine. As they leave, Dean carrying Katherine on his back, she thanks them and asks why they hunt monsters. They tell her, in unison, that it's a family business. Then, when Sam and Dean drop Katherine off at the police station, she says the police will verify the murder suspects' alibis again to prove their innocence. They say their goodbyes and drive away in the Impala.
Characters
- widths="200px"
Katherine Boyle
Voice Actor (Japanese): Michiko Neya
Voice Actor (English): Eleanor Noble
Zach Evans
Voice Actor (Japanese): Kunihiko Yasui
Voice Actor (English): Terrence Scammell
Amanda Evans
Voice Actor (Japanese): Rumiko Ukai
Voice Actor (English): Holly Gauthier-Frankel
Music
- "Carry On Wayward Son" by Mark Ishikawa
- (plays during the end credits)
Definitions
Quotes
Sam: Sure, but I'd rather spend our time trying to find Dad.
Dean: Dad would be doing the same thing if he were here, and you know it.
Dean: That's me: "Mr. Nice Guy." It's a weakness of mine.
Sam: Look, I... What are you talking about?
Shapeshifter: (as Sam) Oh my God, you're not... You're not Dean, are you?
Dean: Took the words right out of my mouth. Because I know you're not Sam.
Dean: Wait, Sam. Don't shoot - I really am Dean!
Dean: Yeah, pretty much.
Katherine Boyle: How did you get into that?
Trivia & References
Tarzan is a fictional character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. A man that was raised in the African jungles by the Mangani "great apes," he is often depicted swinging on vines from tree to tree.
Probably a shout out to Eric Kripke, who was a developer, writer, and co-executive producer for the failed CW series Tarzan, which only aired eight episodes in 2003. The premise was a modern day Tarzan in New York City.Possibly a reference to the events in 1.06 Skin, in which their encounter with a shapeshifter led to Dean being wanted for murder and then presumed dead.
