7.19 Of Grave Importance
Title | Of Grave Importance |
Episode # | Season 7, Episode 19 |
First aired | April 20, 2012 |
Directed by | Tim Andrew |
Written by | Brad Buckner Eugenie Ross-Leming |
On IMDB | Of Grave Importance |
Outline | Sam and Dean come up against the spirit of a serial killer while trying to find their friend, Annie Hawkins, who has become a ghost herself. |
Monster | Vengeful Spirits Ghosts |
Timeline | |
Location(s) | Bodega Bay, California |
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Contents
Synopsis
Sam and Dean stop for a bite to eat and receive a call from fellow hunter Annie Hawkins, who tells them that she has some books that belonged to Bobby. She tells them they can pick them up from her at an inn in Bodega Bay, where they are, after she has finished wrapping up a case. Meanwhile, two teens are making out in an old house in which Annie goes to investigate. They make a run for it, but are stopped by a very large man. Annie walks in, finds the teens dead, and her flashlight suddenly goes out.
The brothers are at the Pier Front restaurant the next day, Annie having failed to show up. They find out that Dick Roman has funded more archaeological digs and remark that it's a good thing Bobby did not stick around as a ghost. Just then, Bobby's flask moves, but neither sees it. Afterwards, they drive to Annie's hotel room and, once inside, go over all her research about disappearances at a place called the Van Ness House. They decide to check out the old home, taking Bobby's flask with them forcing his spirit to tag along.
At the house, unbeknownst to the Winchesters, are several ghosts. Only Bobby can see them. He notices the spirit of Whitman Van Ness scolding another, Dexter O'Connell, saying he shouldn’t have done what he did and there will be consequences. The brothers' EMF reader goes crazy and Dean tries calling Annie's cell phone, which they find on the floor. Bobby finds Annie, who realizes she's dead, and the ghosts of the two teens from earlier. Dean and Sam check the phone and find a voice mail message left by a ghost as a warning.
Bobby and Annie meet Haskel Crane, a spirit who can move objects easily, and try to learn how to do so, but to no avail. Suddenly, another one of the ghost screams and disappears, Haskel remarking that eventually they will all be gone, too. The brothers leave, taking Bobby with them, while Annie meets Victoria, the one who left that message.
At the Bodega Bay Historical Society, the brothers speak to the curator, Quentin, and learn that the groundskeeper, Dexter O’Connell, killed Whitman Van Ness' wife. They also find out that he killed many others at the house, many of whom were sex workers, and was convicted and shot to death when he tried to escape. Back at their motel, Bobby writes a message in the steam-covered mirror in the bathroom while Dean showers, letting them know that he's still around and that Annie is trapped at the Van Ness house.
Annie, meanwhile, witnesses Whitman Van Ness killing two other teens and then destroying Dexter's spirit who was trying to warn people about Van Ness. He never killed anyone, Whitman was the killer all along. Annie convinces Victoria, the ghost of a sex worker, to retrieve the teen's camera while Whitman moves the teen's bodies through a secret passage in the wall. Sam and Dean arrive and Victoria gives them the camera, confirming Annie's spirit is there. Just then, however, Whitman burns Victoria's bones, destroying her. He then secretly puts an old key into Sam's pocket, allowing him to leave the house with the Winchesters who head to the cemetery where he is buried. Bobby, unfortunately, remains stuck in the house since he is carrying his flask with him. He and Annie look around for the bodies of all the ghosts and locate them in a hidden room. Annie says she's ready to move on and tells Bobby to give her a hunter’s funeral pyre.
Meanwhile, still on their way to the cemetery, Whitman's ghost grabs hold of the steering wheel of the Winchester's car, trying to crash it. They pull over just in time, and find the key. Dean then shoots it. With Van Ness sent back to his house, Dean and Sam hurry to find his body. Whitman finds Bobby and attacks him, almost draining his energy. Before he can finish, however, the brothers burn his bones, killing him.
Sam and Dean return to the house and can now see Bobby. They burn all of the corpses, including Annie's. Dean confronts Bobby for not choosing to go to Heaven. Bobby retorts that it was so he could stay and help them. Dean says that what he’s doing isn’t right. Bobby vanishes and the brothers drive off. As Dean warns Sam that this will not end well, Bobby sits listening quietly in the backseat, unseen by them.
Characters
- Sam Winchester
- Dean Winchester
- Bobby Singer
- Annie Hawkins
- Victoria Dodd
- Whitman Van Ness
- Dexter O'Connell
- Haskel Crane
- Quentin
Definitions
Music
None
Quotes
Dean: Yeah, I knew that.....Really?
Sam: Yeah, kind of a foxhole thing. Very Hemingway.
Dean: Huh. She and I kinda went Hemingway this one time too.
Sam: Alright...well, that happens...
Dean: Wait, you too?
Sam: It was a while back. We ended up on the same case. She was stressed and I ...didn't have a soul.
Trivia & References
- The Drudge Report is a news aggregation website run by Matt Drudge.
Dean: Yeah, I knew that.....Really?
Sam: Yeah, kind of a foxhole thing. Very Hemingway.
- Sam is referring to Ernest Hemingway's novels A Farewell to Arms, which tells the story of the ill-fated romance between an American soldier and a British nurse during the First World War, and For Whom The Bell Tolls, which recounts an ill-fated romance between an American demolitions expert and a Spanish Guerrilla during the Spanish Civil War.
- Possible reference to the phrase spoken by members of Alcoholics Anonymous when they speak at meetings: "Hi, I'm [name], and I'm an alcoholic."
and later...
Bobby: Suck on that, Swayze!
- Bobby is referring to actor Patrick Swayze's role in the movie Ghost, in which his character, who is a ghost, tries to communicate with his wife.
- Swayze and this role was last mentioned in the previous episode, 7.18 Party On, Garth, by Dean, "I mean, who knows more about being a ghost than Bobby? Instant Swayze, right?"
- In 2.01 In My Time of Dying when Dean is close to death, and is a spirit, he moves a glass and exclaims "Dude, I full-on Swayze'd that mother!"
- Sam and Dean later learn how to move physical objects and fight when they become astral projections in 4.15 Death Takes a Holiday.
Minutiae
- Dean is referencing Harvelle's Roadhouse, specifically when they were in Ash's Heaven in 5.16 Dark Side of the Moon.
- This reiterates a phrase used by Sam at the end of 1.01 Pilot, Dean at the end of 2.22 All Hell Breaks Loose: Part Two, and Castiel in 4.01 Lazarus Rising.
- Dean had gained a better understanding of the natural order of life and death in 6.11 Appointment in Samarra.
Sides, Scripts & Transcripts
Promotion
- Episode titles 7.13 to 7.19
- Plot spoiler from Eonline
- More details on plot spoiler
- Cover of technical survey tweeted by Jim Michaels
- Promo clip
- Webclip
- CHCH promo clip
- Promo pics via KSiteTV
- Bob Singer introduces the episode
- Winchester Radio's podcast for this episode