10.15 The Things They Carried

Title	The Things They Carried
Episode #	Season 10, Episode 15
First aired	March 18, 2015
Directed by	John Badham
Written by	Jenny Klein
On IMDB	The Things They Carried
Outline	While looking into a strange murder, Sam and Dean run into Cole, who reveals he has a connection to a suspect. While investigating, the three learn they are dealing with an offshoot of the Khan worm when Cole is infected by it.
Monster	Khan Worm
Timeline	January 8th - 12th, 2015
Location(s)	Fayetteville, North Carolina Lebanon, Kansas
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Synopsis

In Fayetteville, North Carolina, a girl is hanging upside down from the ceiling as a shadowy figure approaches down a corridor and slits her throat proceeding to drink her blood. Back at the bunker Sam is reading a page on biblical and far eastern studies and the Mark of Cain which he is quick to hide. Dean presents the case of a female soldier whose organs and blood was drained and marrow sucked from her bones, Sam isn’t eager to work the case but agrees to anyway admitting it could be their kind of thing.

In the car Dean states that they need to “face the truth” there is no way around the mark, that he will someday become like Cain and he must keep doing what they do, fighting monster with Sam’s help for as long as possible, Sam says nothing. At the local police they say they have already closed the case and that it was a special forces officer Rick Willis whose finger prints were found all over the scene. After the murder he drank gasoline then set himself on fire. It’s the third suicide in 6 months and Dean believes its demonic possession.

Ricks wife revealed that he had been out of character and had an abnormally large thirst for water drinking from the hose and bath while his skin was drying out she also mentions Rick’s friend Kit may have the same problem. Kit’s wife initially says Kit’s been fine but later admits that he too has been very thirsty and has been missing since the night before, something that wasn’t like him. As the boys are leaving the house Cole arrives saying that he has been Kit’s friend since they were children and had come to help, he questions why they think Kit needs investigating and insists on going with them. Sam and Dean only agree after Cole reveals his friend works military intelligence allowing them to find out Kit’s previous mission. He makes it clear he’s there to protect his friend, not wanting to hunt him, Sam and Dean insist Kit may not be Kit anymore.

Meanwhile Kit stumbles into a shop and begins to guzzle water when the shop worker tries to stop him he slits his throat with a wine bottle he smashed and starts to drink the blood off the floor.

Discussing the case they conclude it’s not a demon and Cole receives word that the last mission was to rescue an American POW from a cemetery in Iraq. The message has a video from Willis’ head cam showing the soldiers storming a building searching for a Major Matt Jones. Jones attacks the two men and killed. As they see this Sam get an alert about the murder at the Gas-N-Sip. Kit’s wife phones Cole after hearing about the attack saying that Kit may have killed that man and asks Cole to save him and saying Kit sometimes went to his dad’s old cabin up north. Cole tells the boys Kit needs help, Dean says if he’s a monster he has to die and Cole leaves the boys saying he’ll stay with Jemma but instead heads to the cabin alone. Sam and Dean see him sneak off and follow him.

Cole arrives at the cabin and is attacked by Kit who tells him he can’t stop. As he has Cole pinned to the ground a worm like creature crawls from Kit’s mouth into Cole's. Right when Sam and Dean arrive a second worm falls from Kit’s mouth and is quickly killed by Dean, Kit flees the building while Cole tells Sam that something went down his throat, Dean realizes it’s a type of Khan Worm and that they have to electrocute Cole to get the worm to leave his body. Dean decides to help Cole while Sam goes to find Kit.

Dean begins to shock Cole but nothing happens, he tries twice more but becomes afraid that he will kill Cole if he carries on and concludes that electrocution must not work on this type of Khan Worm. They discuss what they know about the worm and decide that it needs water to survive, so to drive the worm out they must dehydrate Cole quickly.

Elsewhere Kit is at his house and attacks his wife saying he can’t stop himself, he’s about to infect her when Sam arrives and knocks him out. On the phone Dean tells Sam about his dehydration theory, while Sam is skeptical and suggests shooting Dean insists on trying to save them first. Sam reluctantly agrees and ties Kit up explaining what was happening to Kit’s wife Jemma.

At the cabin Dean and Cole continue to try to sweat out the monster, Cole wonders if this was what his father felt like and says he understands why Dean killed him. He says that Dean should kill him too if he turns. Dean is angry and says that that means giving up and they had to “fight harder than they ever had”. Cole asks to be tied to the chair but instead hits Dean and dashes for the water bottle getting only a few gulps before Dean stops him. He tells Dean he can’t fight it but Dean insists that he can.

At Kit’s house Sam and Jemma realize that Kit has gotten loose and has killed the power. They search the house and are attacked by a deranged Kit, leaving Sam pinned to the floor with his gun out of reach.

With Dean distracted by Sam not answering his phone Cole again attacks Dean leading to a struggle where the Khan Worm emerges and is quickly killed. Dean tells Sam to bring Kit over quickly as the dehydration worked but Sam responds that it was too late and he’d had to kill Kit. He tells Cole he’s sorry but Cole says he understands and will help Jemma cover up the death. Cole thanks Dean for not letting him give up and says he’s looking forward to going home to his family. After Cole leaves Dean tells Sam not to blame himself for Kit but Sam says can’t help it. Dean replies that “sometimes you can do everything right but the guy still dies” as Dean walks away Sam begins to realize he may not be able to save his brother.

Characters

• Sam Winchester
• Dean Winchester
• Cole Trenton
• Kit Verson
• Jemma Verson

Definitions

• Curse
• Devil's Trap
• Fingerprints
• Gas-N-Sip
• Green Cooler
• Hunters
• Impala
• Khan Worm
• Mark of Cain
• Mausoleum
• Men of Letters Bunker
• Monsters
• Nicknames
• Porn
• Sammy

Music

None

Quotes

Dean: Hey check it out.

Sam: Hey.
Dean: Porn?
Sam: What? No it was nothing.
Dean: Hey look no judgement from me, just not where we eat.
Sam: Dude, it wasn't porn.

Dean: Okay, erotica whatever. Just zip it up.

Dean: Sam! I know what you're doing over there, and it ain't porn. Look man, we have checked every website, okay we checked it twice. Sam when we work a case, there's always that-that point where we have to face the truth, right? Even if we don't like it. Well truth is, there's no way around this. We saw what happened to Cain, okay. I'm not happy about it, but I gotta move on. So I'm gonna keep doing we what do... while I still can, and I'd like you to be there with me.

Cole: Look I know what you two are thinking, but we are not going hunt my best friend, who happens to be a frickin' war hero by the way. We are going to find him, and that's the difference.

Dean: Hey man we're right there with you, okay. Kit's a hero.

Sam: But you gotta prepare yourself, Kit might not be Kit anymore.

Sam: Look You know what, Cole. We know you want to protect your buddy but-

Dean: But if he's a monster, we gotta put him down.
Cole: That's the way it's gonna have to be, huh?

Dean: That's the job. So you in or out.

Dean: Man, that was a dumbass move coming here alone. You know that right?

Cole: I'm sorry, I should have let the machete brothers cut my friend's head off.

Dean: Well, if you did, you wouldn't be choking down a Khan worm now.

Dean: You know that this is going to hurt like a son of a bitch.
Cole: Hell. I have a wife, a kid and an upside-down mortgage to get back to. Whatever it takes Dean-o.

Cole: Damn. Day in day out, you and Sammy saving people from things they just can't wrap their minds around, and nobody even notices. At least I get a medal for my efforts, but you... I tried to kill your ass.
Dean: Well, good times.

Cole: My Dad, he got something inside him too right? You think this is what he felt like, when he turned.

Dean: Maybe, he was human before he was a monster.
Cole: I get it, why you did it Dean. My Dad wasn't my dad anymore, if I go down that same road, I want you to do that to me too.

Dean: That road? That means giving up. If you think that's where your headed, then you've got it ass backwards. You're gonna fight, harder then you ever have. You understand.

Cole: I appreciate the talk coach, but honestly all I can think about is slicing open your wrists and drinking you like a fountain. I guess that makes me a monster, don't it?

Dean: Don't blame yourself for Kit, man.

Sam: I can't help it Dean, it feels crappy.
Dean: I know it does.
Sam: I tried, I did, I tried. But I couldn't save this one.

Dean: You know you can do everything right, and even still sometimes, the guy still dies.

Trivia & References

"The Things They Carried" takes its title from a collection of short stories of the same name by Tim O'Brien. The stories chronicles a platoon of American soldiers in the Vietnam War, and are based on O'Brien's own experiences.

Dean: Hey kung fu grip, you coming?

Kung-Fu Grip was a feature introduced in G.I. Joe action figures in the 1970s, which allowed the hands to grip objects like weapons and climbing ropes.

Cole: Kit and Rick were sent to rescue an American POW Being held in Iraq, the Najaf cemetery.

Wadi Al-Salaam is the name of the cemetery in Najaf, Iraq. It is the largest cemetery in the world. It has been in operation for 1400 years, and over five million people are buried there.

Cole: All right. Again.

Dean: No. No, we're done playing 'Operation.'

Operation is a game of physical skill for hand eye coordination. the game requires players to remove various plastic ailments with a pair of tweezers without touching the edge of the cavity opening, and causing a buzzing noise.

Sam: You're in a sweat lodge?

Dean: You're the one who said everything has got a weakness; so I figure take a schvitz, kill a freak, call that a day.

A sweat lodge is the place where native American people conducted ceremonial steaming rituals. Schvitz is a Yiddish word meaning sweat, and usually refers to a communal sauna.

Minutiae

Director John Badham appears on screen as the gentleman walking in front of the house where Sam and Dean interview the second victim's widow.

Behind the scenes pics from writer Jenny Klein and Production Designer Jerry Wanek. Live tweets from the cast and crew during the episode.

Richard de Klerk, who played Kit Verson, previously played Scott Carey in 2.10 Hunted.

The Winchesters and Cole stop for a meal at "Sammy's Highway Cafe."

Cole Trenton refers to the boys as Sammy and Deano. He wrote about this character choice here.

After the episode, writer Jenny Klein tweeted "#Supernatural family, there are families who need our help, brave men and women who face struggle when returning from military service… Super proud of my cousin, Air Force pilot @viper_poison. He recommended a few Veterans charities, please donate, if you can to Fisher House Foundation and Disabled American Veterans Charitable Service Trust. Jared also tweeted that part of the proceeds of his "Always Keep Fighting" would go to the Wounded Warriors Project. Jared had organised for his campaign to be extended for 24 hours so it was still on during the broadcast of the episode. When it finished shortly after, 46,436 t-shirts had been sold.]

Sides, Scripts & Transcripts

• 10.15 The Things They Carried (transcript)

Promotion

• Interview with Travis Aaron Wade by EW
• Synopsis by KSiteTV
• Promo Pics by KSiteTV
• Promo
• Extended Promo
• Sneak Peek