14.04 Mint Condition

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SPN-1404.jpg
Title Mint Condition
Episode # Season 14, Episode 4
First aired November 1, 2018
Directed by Amyn Kaderali
Written by Davy Perez
On IMDB Mint Condition
Outline Sam finds a case that brings Dean face-to-face with his favorite movie villain -- Hatchet Man.
Monster Ghost
Timeline October 29 - November 1, 2018
Location(s) Salem, Ohio
Lebanon, Kansas
« Previous Episode | Next Episode »

Synopsis

In Salem, Ohio, at the "Smash! Pow! Collectibles" comic book shop, an employee, Stuart Blake, is unpacking merchandise when he comes across a 15” inch Panthro figure that he decides to steal. He gets a call from his manager, Samantha Juarez, who talks to him about a bad review the store got on Yelp because he got into a fight with a customer. She appreciates his passion, but tells Stuart they need all the customers they can get. He agrees, hangs up, takes his backpack with Panthro and the keys, and locks up. At home, he’s arguing with the pizza man when Panthro comes to life and attacks.

At the Bunker, Dean has been watching movies and eating pizza in his room for almost a week when a clean-shaven Sam comes in with a case specially chosen to appeal to Dean. Sam shows Dean a video of Stuart talking about getting attacked by a Panthro figure. When Sam offers to give it to someone else, Dean jumps up, eager to stop the ThunderCat.

On Halloween, Sam and Dean arrive at the comic shop. Dean notes the similarities between Sam and Samantha, but Sam also points out Dean’s similarities with Dirk Winchell, the other owner of the shop. At first, Dean disagrees, but then Dean and Dirk bond over a life-size figure of David Yaeger, aka Hatchet Man from the movie series All Saints' Day. Posing as insurance agents, the boys ask Samantha how to find Stuart and she directs them to his mother's house where he is now living.

At Stuart’s mom’s house, Stuart denies the story about Panthro attacking him and demands they leave, but not before letting it slip he dated and dumped a Wiccan. Dean thinks they may be dealing with a witch who has cursed Stuart. They decide to wait until Stuart and his mother leave to check the house for hex bags. After Stuart's mother, Barbra, leaves and just as Sam and Dean are wondering how to get Stuart out of the house, Stuart staggers out the front door, bloody and screaming for help. As Sam tends to Stuart's wounds, Dean checks the house, and has to dodge the bloody flying chainsaw that attacked Stuart, which becomes embedded in the basement wall.

At the hospital, Stuart is recovering from the attack and Dean reveals that he did not find hex bags, but that his EMF "went freakin' crazy" indicating that they are dealing with a ghost. Dean stays at the hospital with Stuart and his mom, while Sam checks their house. At the Blake residence, Sam finds that no EMF, so he goes to the comic shop to asks about recent deaths. Samantha reveals to Sam that Jordan MacNeel, the previous store owner that left the shop to Samantha and Dirk, had died recently of cancer and that his body was cremated. Suddenly, Sam notices the glass in the shop icing over as it gets cold, and he checks the EMF meter, which goes off like crazy. Sam is then attacked by the David Yaeger figure, which knocks out Sam and attacks Samantha. Dirk, who came to see his friend Stuart, and Dean are having fun discussing horror movies, when Sam calls to tell Dean that the Hatchet Man is coming for Stuart because he steals from the shop which angered Jordan's ghost. Dean puts Dirk and Stuart in a salt ring and goes to get a weapon.

As Dean searches the hospital, Dirk is scared out of the circle by Jordan's ghostly presence affecting the electricity and he confronts the possessed figure, which starts to go after him instead of Stuart's mother. The oblivious hospital security guards watch All Saints' Day while Dirk is chased through the hospital by the figure, mimicking the movie.

At the comic book shop, where Sam and Samantha are locked inside, Sam rigs a homemade bomb in a Scooby-Doo lunchbox to get him and Samantha out. Dirk runs into Dean in the morgue, where David magically rises from a table and Dean is thrilled. Sam and Samantha arrive at the hospital and figure out that Jordan’s spirit is connected to the shop's keychain. Dean gives Jordan an ultimatum: to give up his revenge and walk into the light or Dean will send him there. When Jordan responds by pressing the button on the Hatchet Man figure, telling Dean "Time to slice and dice," Dean and Jordan face off. Jordan gets the upper hand, but Dirk stabs him through the back before he can kill Dean. When David turns to attack Dirk, Dean has to save him, and he ends up being choked by the figure as Sam and Samantha appear. Sam has Dean throw him the keychain, then both Sam and Samantha work together to burn the keys and release the spirit.

As they drive home, Dean thanks Sam for getting him out of his funk. Sam lets Dean know he did the right thing with Michael, and no one blames him. Dean replies he won’t get over it, but he’s there for Sam, whatever he needs. Dean then asks why Sam hates Halloween. Turns out, when Sam was young, he threw up all over his crush at a Halloween party. Dean tells him he needs to get over that, and suggests that next year they do Halloween right and begins to list couples’ costumes for next Halloween to help Sam overcome his aversion.

In the morgue at the hospital, a security guard finds the David Yaeger figure and as he shines his flashlight onto it, the Hatchet Man figure lets out a final "Trick or Treat?"

Characters

Definitions

Music

  • "Electric Love" by Keel
(playing during a scene in Hatchet Man: All Saints' Day)

Quotes

Dean: Oh, wow.

Sam: What? Oh, yes, I shaved.

Dean: I mean, it's so smooth. It's like a dolphin's belly.
Sam: Hey, I wanted to check up on you. You doing okay? I mean y-you haven't really come out of your room in almost a week.
Dean: Well, since when is 'okay' a part of this job, huh? Yeah, Cas is, you know, showing Jack the ropes and Dark Kaia and her spear are in the wind and we have no clue where Michael is or what he's up to. And, not that I'm complaining, but the house is full of strangers, so...
Dean: So, seriously, what is your deal with Halloween?

Sam: I don't like it.

Dean: Yeah, but why don't you like it? Hmm? And don't give me that, like, 'oh, everyday is Halloween for us' crap, okay? Because one, it ain't. We don't eat that much candy. Two, you've had this hate on for years. So...?
Dean: Got to love the Internet, where everyone can be a dick.
Dean: Yeah, well growing up it was always nice to check out once in a while. I like to watch movies where I know the bad guy's gonna lose.
Dirk: If ghosts are real, does that mean vampires?

Dean: Yep.
Dirk: Witches?
Dean: Uh-huh.
Dirk: Werewolves?

Dean: Unless it's Godzilla, it's real.
Hatchet Man: Time to slice and dice.
Dean: I was kind of hoping you'd say that.
Dean: Thanks, man.

Sam: Hmm?
Dean: You, uh... You got me out here 'cause you needed to get me out my funk and get me a win, and you did. So thanks.
Sam: I got to admit, it didn't go exactly like I thought it would.
Dean: Hey, man. I just went toe-to-toe with David freakin' Yaeger. That was awesome.
Sam: Yeah, it wasn't really --

Dean: Don't ruin this for me.
Sam: Hey, Dean... when we get back to the Bunker, man, you got to stop hiding out in your room.

Dean: I'm not hiding out.
Sam: And I get why you're doing it. I do. But what happened with Michael... You said yes for me, for Jack, for your family. You did the right thing. What happened after, just because Michael was wearing your face, doesn't mean any of this is on you. I don't blame you. No one blames you. You got to try and stop blaming yourself, please.

Dean: I'm never gonna get over it, okay? I'm just not. But you're right -- I'm not doing anybody any good by just staying cooped up in my room, so whatever you need I'm there. All right, chief?
Sam: When I was in sixth grade, we were living in Bismarck. I had a huge crush on her.

Dean: Aww, that's adorable. Continue.
Sam: So, she invited me to her Halloween party. I said yes and I went over, and at first, everything was great. And then we started to play games.
Dean: Spin the bottle?
Sam: Bobbing for apples. Like I said, I had a crush, so the entire night, my stomach was in knots, and when it was my turn, I bent down, and...
Dean: No.
Sam: ...hurled. Everywhere. Lunch, dinner, it all came up -- on Andrea, mostly. Uh, people ran and screamed, and it was so bad.
Dean: That's great.

Sam: I ended up hiding out in the woods until you finally came and got me.

Trivia & References

"Mint Condition" aired on the day after Halloween, known as All Saints' Day, which is the title of the Hatchet Man film series Dean is a fan of in the episode.
The original score in the episode evokes that of 1978's Halloween, composed by John Carpenter.
Samantha: Stuart, what did you do?

Stuart: I... Uh, nothing.
Samantha: Really? Because according to Yelp and this awesome, one-star review we just got, you screamed at a customer and called him a, quote, 'mongoloid Tribble in a robotic exoskeleton built by Tony Stark's inbred third cousin.' Which is not cool, and weirdly, creepily specific.

"Yelp" is a site where users and customers can review businesses and services.
A tribble is a small furry, rapidly-reproducing species found in Star Trek.
Tony Stark is billionaire playboy philanthropist who is also the superhero Iron Man in the Marvel universe.
Stuart: That -- He said I couldn't beat up Superman.

Samantha: Okay. Again, Superman is not real.
Stuart: Okay. That's not the point.
Samantha: And I have seen you get winded eating a taco.
Stuart: Okay, that doesn't matter. If I had kryptonite gloves, I could beat up Superman. Anyone could. That's science, Sam.

Superman is an alien superhero in the DC Comics universe, whose main vulnerability is a green crystalline substance called kryptonite. Arguments about "who would win a fight with (or between)" fictional characters is a staple of fannish conversations.
Sam: Uh, what you doing?

Dean: Horror marathon on Shocker. I just made my way through the "Halloweens" and now I'm about to --

Shocker TV is a version of the real life Shudder streaming service that specializes in horror and thriller movies and TV. "Halloween's" is a reference to the movie franchise of the same name. The first Halloween movie in 1978 is credited with starting the slasher genre movies of the 1980s. On October 19, 2018 the most recent entry in the series was released, starring Jamie Lee Curtis from the original movie. It was a huge box office success.
In the promo for "Shocker TV" at the start of the episode, a clip from a black and white movie is seen of a woman screaming at the white of a hanged woman. This is from the 1959 horror movie House on Haunted Hill. There is also part of the promo clip for Hell Hazers II: The Reckoning from 2.18 Hollywood Babylon. This part of the clip uses images from 1.13 Route 666 and one from 2.03 Bloodlust where Gordon Walker dips a knife in dead man's blood as well as Hell Razers II. There is also a shot of Hatchet Man.
When Dean is watching, a voice-over can be heard promoting Hell Hazers 3: It Lives Again, which has the tagline: "It bought them back from Hell, again!"
Stuart: And then the thing freakin' jumped me! I mean, it wouldn't stop! It was just over and over. Just... Panthro kicked my ass.

Dean: ThunderCats? Seriously?

Panthro is a character from the animated TV series Thundercats. He is a male Thunderian noble and member of the ThunderCats. In 1.18 Something Wicked, the cartoon that Sam is seen watching during Dean's first childhood flashback is ThunderCats. Also, seen briefly when Dean is watching TV in the wish-verse in 2.20 What Is and What Should Never Be.
Dean: I wonder if we're talking, like, one toy gone bad or if it's like a whole crew, you know, like Puppet Master-style.
Puppet Master is a horror movie franchise in which the spell from an ancient Egyptian immortal is used by a human to bring murderous puppets to life.
The following are seen in the comic book store:

In the opening pan:

Dean: Hm, she's like your twin.

Sam: What? What are you talking about?
Dean: Her -- soft, delicate features, luxurious hair. She's like your Wonder Twin.

Zan and Jayna are a fictional extraterrestrial twin brother and sister superheroes known as the Wonder Twins appeared a number of Hanna-Barbera animated television series.
Samantha: Okay, what can I help you guys with? Funko Pops, Magic cards...?

Sam: Uh, Stuart Blake --
Dean: Vintage Hot Wheels.

Funko Pops are plastic figures of pop culture characters with over-sized heads. Magic cards are used in the Magic: The Gathering trading card game. Hot Wheels are model die-cast cars.
Sam uses the alias "Ian Gillan" while Dean uses "Ritchie Blackmore". Ian Gillan is the lead singer for English rock band Deep Purple, while Ritchie Blackmore is a former guitarist and founding member of the group. Sam and Dean also say they work for Campbell & Sons Insurance. Campbell is Mary Winchester's family name.
Samantha: Right. They had a fight.

Sam: Over...?
Samantha: "Fist of the North Star." Stuart said that the dubbed version was better, but -- You know what, forget it. Um, I like Stuart, but he's an acquired taste.

Fist of the North Star is an anime series based on a 1986 manga. It has been broadcast in both an English dubbed and English subtitled versions.
When Stuart's mother, Barbra, brings Sam and Dean their apple cider, Dean switches mugs with Sam so he can drink from the Flash mug.
Dean: What are you doing down there?

Stuart: Fortnite.
Sam: It's a video game.
Stuart: It's the video game.
Dean: Yeah, well, I'm a Zelda for life, so...

Fortnite is an online multiplayer game by Epic Games which was released in 2017. Legend of Zelda is an action adventure video game which was first released by Nintendo in 1986.
Sam: Well, whatever happened was not an accident.

Dean: Okay, but, uh... Big Bang in there, not a great liar.

Dean is using "Big Bang" as a nickname for a nerd, based on the nerdy characters in the long-running CBS series The Big Bang Theory.
Sam: You know, I think I know why Stuart changed his story. Uh, the comments on his video are pretty brutal. People are calling him a liar, a loser, 'Thunderspaz,' Snarf's love child. Panthro's bi...

Dean: Rhymes with 'itch'?

Snarf is the reptile-cat like creature in ThunderCats, who was the nursemaid to a young Lion-O.
Sam: You know, I don't get why a ghost would be gunning for Stuart.

Dean: Murder, grave robbery, stole his favorite Pokémon -- I mean, take your pick.

A Pokémon is a creature that is the focus of the Pokemon video games and associated media. The most recent incarnation of the franchise Pokémon GO, a mobile augmented reality (AR) game where players "catch" Pokemon in the real world and train them."
Samantha: Yeah, he owned the store. He taught Stuart, Dirk, and I everything we know about comics and games. He was like our own personal Willy Wonka.
Willy Wonka runs a candy factory in the novels of Roald Dahl. In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory he runs a competition in order to find a child worthy of being gifted his factory.
The lead character in All Saints' Day is David Yaegar. Jaegar is German for "hunter."
Dean can be seen eating a bag of Let's Potato Chips in the hospital. Let's Potato Chips is fictional brand that has appeared in such shows as Community, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Vampire Diaries, among many others.
Dean: The aerobics instructor in the giant mixer. Right, and then the kids the next morning are at the rec center, they're all eating breakfast, and the one finds the tooth all with the stringy bits still hooked onto it. Oh, come on. I mean Forget Freddy and Jason. That's top-10 horror-movie kill right there.
Freddy refers to Freddy Krueger of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. Jason is the hockey-mask-wearing villain of the Friday 13th movie franchise which Jared Padalecki starred in the 2009 version.
Sam mixes the household cleaning supplies in a Scooby-Doo lunchbox, which he uses to blow the back door to the comic shop.
Dean: All right, look, man. I know once you go Casper, things can be a little -- well, a lot crazy. The way I see it, you got two options. One, you let this go, and you walk into the light. Or, two... I send you there.
Casper refers to the character Casper the Friendly Ghost, and is Dean's oft-used nickname for ghosts.
Dean: So that's why you hate Halloween.

Sam: Yeah.
Dean: Oh, come on, man. You got to get over that. That's -- I mean... All right. This is what we're gonna do. Next year, we're doing Halloween right, okay? I'm thinking matching outfits like, uh... Batman and Robin.
Sam: No.
Dean: Bert and Ernie.
Sam: No.
Dean: That's weird.
Sam: Yes.
Dean: Uh... Rocky and Bullwinkle.
Sam: Dean...
Dean: Shaggy and Scooby.
Sam: Why would we...
Dean: Turner and Hooch. Ren and Stimpy.
Sam: Come on, now.
Dean: Thelma and Louise.
Sam: Thelma and -- ?
Dean: We just put in drive and go.

  • Batman and Robin are the Dynamic Duo of DC Comics. Robin is actually the title given to Batman's sidekick, a mantle held by several different people. Most people think of Dick Grayson, who was Bruce Wayne's ward, as Robin. Jason Todd also had the title of Robin, before becoming the Red Hood. Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown, and Damien Wayne have also held the mantle of Robin.
  • Bert and Ernie are muppet roommates. Dean told Castiel that he's absolutely certain that Bert and Ernie are gay back in 5.03 Free to Be You and Me.
  • Rocky and Bullwinkle are the squirrel and moose stars of a cartoon series that started in the 1960s. Crowley often referred to the boys as Moose and Squirrel.
  • Shaggy Rogers and Scooby-Doo are characters from the cartoon Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! whom Sam and Dean met in 13.16 Scoobynatural.
  • Charterers from a 1989 comedy, Turner was a cop played by Tom Hanks and Hooch was a large, slobbery Dogue de Bordeaux.
  • Ren and Stimpy was a cartoon series starring Ren, a volatile, crazy Chihuahua, and Stimpy, a big, dim-witted cat.
  • Thelma and Louise were the lead characters in the 1991 road movie of the same name. The two women are friends who end up on the run from police, because of the patriarchy basically. In the final scene they stop at the edge of the Grand Canyon. Neither wants to go to jail, and Thelma proposes that they "keep going". Louise agrees and they drive off over the cliff. This, along with the similar final scene of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid , has often been suggested as a possible ending for Supernatural by fans.
The coda for the episode, where the security guard discovers a possibly not-dead Hatchet Man, is an homage to the open ended endings in many horror films, particularly those that are part of an ongoing series.

Minutiae

Original score by Christopher Lennertz.
Aaron Paul Stewart, who played Dirk Winchell, previously played Frat Brother in 10.13 Halt & Catch Fire.
Kurt Ostlund, who played Stuart Blake, previously played Billy in 9.17 Mother's Little Helper.
Ingrid Tesch, who played Barbra Blake, previously played Bonnie Phelps in 1.04 Phantom Traveler.
This is only the third episode in the show's run that has taken place around and during Halloween, the previous two were 1.01 Pilot and 4.07 It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester.
Sam has shaved off what fans had dubbed his "grief beard."
In the scene in the Bunker where Dean is watching TV in his room, he is wearing novelty socks by Zappos that feature bowls of noodles with the words "Send Noods" on them.
Stuart is wearing a "Squirrelzilla" t-shirt when attacked by the chainsaw.
The Wilhelm Scream can be heard in Shocker's "back to our feature" bumper that plays in Stuart's hospital room while Dirk is waiting for him to wake up. This classic stock sound effect is also heard in 4.07 It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester, and Charlie Bradbury references it in 8.20 Pac-Man Fever.
The trailer for All Saints' Day III: The Reckoning includes footage from 5.13 The Song Remains the Same, as John is walking into the mechanic's garage, as well as 8.06 Southern Comfort when the possessed Mary Lew kills her husband Chester by crushing him under his car, and a scene from 5.05 Fallen Idols when the iron axe hits a fake tree.
Dean: Okay, seriously, why? Why do you hate Halloween? What is it? Was it the time that I-- I ate all your Halloween candy?

Sam: No.
Dean: Was it something Dad did?

Dean previously mentioned that he ate all of Sam's Halloween candy one time in 12.11 Regarding Dean.
This episode we learn why Sam does not care for Halloween, which was hinted at in 1.01 Pilot. Sam also gives Dean the reasoning "every day is Halloween" for them in 4.07 It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester.
No characters died in this episode, aside from Jordan MacNeel, whose spirit was laid to rest.

Sides, Scripts & Transcripts

Promotion

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