3.12 Jus in Bello

Title	Jus in Bello
Episode #	Season 3, Episode 12
First aired	February 21, 2008
Directed by	Phil Sgriccia
Written by	Sera Gamble
On IMDB	Jus in Bello
Outline	Sold out by Bela, Sam and Dean are trapped with Agent Henriksen in a county sheriff's office, under siege by a demon horde.
Monster	Demons
Timeline
Location(s)	Monument, Colorado
« Previous Episode | Next Episode »

Synopsis

On the trail of Bela to retrieve the stolen Colt, Sam and Dean track her to Monument, Colorado, only to find her motel room empty. Answering the room phone, Dean finds Bela on the other end of the line - already "two states away" and indicating that she's set them up. Moments later, local police storm into the room accompanied by Special Agent Victor Henriksen - Sam and Dean are taken into custody and brought to the local sheriff's office.

Henriksen makes sure that the barely-staffed small office is equipped as effectively as possible for the Winchesters, keen to not allow them to escape again. He phones FBI Deputy Director Steven Groves, who insists on sending in a chopper to expedite them. Sam and Dean are placed in a small holding cell and Henriksen comes to speak with them, bantering with Dean before telling them that they will be taken to a maximum security prison in Nevada and kept there until trial, and that this is probably the last time Sam and Dean will see each other ever again.

Groves arrives with the chopper and insists Henriksen fill out a copious amount of paperwork. He visits Sam and Dean in the holding cell and reveals that he is in fact possessed when he shoots Dean in the shoulder. Sam fights him off and begins an exorcism, which is cut short when the demon vacates the host. Henriksen and others, alerted by the noise, rush in to discover Groves dead on the floor. They are confused by the lack of blood and have no choice but to believe that Sam and Dean did not shoot him, though they still do not believe the Winchesters' explanation that he was possessed.

FBI agent Calvin Reidy goes outside to find out what's happened to the rest of the officers in the chopper, only to discover that they are all dead, throats slashed. The chopper explodes and Reidy is killed by another demon possessing one of the fallen officers.

Panicking, the local sheriff wants to go outside and fight, but Henriksen realizes that they are under siege and convinces them to all stay inside and barricade the doors. All communications with the outside world are down, and soon the electricity goes off as well. All that remain inside are Nancy Fitzgerald (the secretary), Sheriff Melvin Dodd, the deputy, Henriksen, and Sam and Dean.

Meanwhile, Sam attempts to patch up Dean's bullet wound. Henriksen comes to the cell and confronts them, assuming that the siege is being carried out by their allies and unwilling to believe otherwise. Shortly after Henriksen leaves, Nancy comes to the cell. Sam manages to convince her to bring them a clean towel to dress Dean's wound; when she hands it over, Sam grabs her wrist and steals the rosary from it.

Later, the sheriff unlocks the cell and comes in - he is keen to get everyone out of the station and to safety. A possessed Henriksen interrupts, though, killing the sheriff. Sam and Dean manage to exorcise Henriksen, using holy water made in the toilet with the aid of Nancy's rosary.

Following the exorcism, Henriksen believes Sam and Dean, and releases them so they can help fight off the demons outside. They put salt barriers up on the doors and windows and Sam paints devil's traps at key entry points. Meanwhile, Nancy patches up Dean's gunshot wound. Dean goes to retrieve more weaponry from the trunk of the Impala, making it back inside just in time before a horde of demons descends upon the building. Unable to get inside, the demons possess the locals - about thirty of them - and stand around outside the building.

Inside, Dean passes out protective charms that will prevent the others from being possessed. Sam and Dean reveal that they don't need the charms themselves as they both have matching tattoos of it, on the left side of their chests. While they wait and arm up, Dean and Henriksen discuss their respective lives and find they have much in common.

Ruby shows up, able to get in through a salt line damaged unwittingly by the deputy. She tells them that the demons are from Lilith, Sam's demonic rival from "the west," and tries to convince Sam that the solution is a spell she knows that will "vaporize" all demons within radius - including herself. However the spell requires the sacrifice of a virgin. Nancy volunteers but Dean is vehemently against the plan, convincing Sam instead that they need to just open the doors and fight off the horde themselves. Exasperated, Ruby leaves.

Dean's plan is carried out successfully - Dean, Sam, and Henriksen fight the demons inside while Nancy and the deputy bar the doors behind them again, trapping the demons in the building - but not before one demon escapes. An exorcism pre-recorded by Sam then plays over the office's PA, sending the demons back to hell.

In the aftermath, Henriksen promises Sam and Dean that he'll lie about what happened and say they were killed in the initial chopper explosion in order to get the law off their backs. Pleased with the outcome, Sam and Dean leave. Not long after, Lilith arrives at the sheriff's office in the form of a young girl, looking for Sam and Dean. She destroys the building and kills everyone in it - including Nancy and Henriksen. Sam and Dean later find out about it when Ruby turns up at their motel room and tells them to turn on the television, again rebuking them for not behaving appropriately under the jus in bello - i.e. "laws of war." The episode ends.

Characters

• Sam Winchester
• Dean Winchester
• Ruby
• Bela Talbot
• Victor Henriksen
• Lilith
• Calvin Reidy
• Nancy Fitzgerald
• Deputy Phil Amici
• Sheriff Melvin Dodd
• Steven Groves

Definitions

• Acting in Unison
• Anti-Possession Symbol
• Dean's Amulet
• Dean's Police Record
• Demon Smoke
• Demonology
• Devil's Trap
• Exorcism
• Fights
• Holy Water
• Impala
• Possession
• Rosary
• Ruby's Knife
• Salt
• Sam & Dean's Arrests
• Sam's Police Record
• Spells
• Table of Death
• Tattoos

Music

None

Quotes

Bela: You know nothing about me.

Dean: I know I’m gonna stop you.
Bela: Tough words for a guy who can’t even find me.

Dean: Oh, I’ll find you, sweetheart. You know why? Because I have absolutely nothing better to do than to track you down.

Sheriff Dodd: Look, Agent, this ain’t my first rodeo.

Henriksen: You’ve never been to a rodeo like this before. You have any idea who we’re about to bring in here?
Sheriff Dodd: Yeah, a couple of fugitives.

Henriksen: The most dangerous criminals you’ve ever laid your eyeballs on. Think Hannibal Lecter and his half-wit little brother. Do you know what these guys do for kicks? Dig up graves and mutilate corpses. They’re not just killers, Sheriff. They’re Satan-worshipping, nutbag killers.

Henriksen: What to have for dinner tonight. Steak or lobster, what the hell, surf and turf. I got a lot to celebrate. I mean, after all, seeing you two in chains...

Dean: You kinky son of a bitch. We don’t swing that way.

Henriksen: Now, that’s funny.

Dean: It's kind of wild, right? I mean it’s like they’re coming for us. They’ve never done that before. It’s like we got a contract on us. Think it’s because we’re so awesome? I think it’s ‘cause we’re so awesome.

Henriksen: My job is boring, it’s frustrating. You work three years for one break, and then maybe you can save ... a few people. Maybe. That’s the payoff. I’ve been busting my ass for 15 years to nail a handful of guys and all this while, there’s something off in the corner so big. So yeah… sign me up for that big, frosty mug of wasting my damn life.

Dean: You didn't know.

Henriksen: Now I do... What’s out there? Can you guys beat it? Can you win?

Ruby: And they say chivalry’s dead. Does anyone have a breath mint? Some guts splattered in my mouth while I was killing my way in here.

Ruby: There’s a big new up and corner. Real pied piper.

Dean: Who is he?
Ruby: Not he. Her. Her name is Lilith.
Dean: Lilith?

Ruby: And she really, really wants Sam’s intestines on a stick. ‘Cause she sees him as competition.

Nancy: When this is over, I’m gonna have so much sex. [Phil looks at Nancy] But not with you. We better move.

Sam: So what are you gonna tell them?

Henriksen: The least ridiculous lie I can come up with in the next five minutes.
Dean: Good luck with that. Not to pressure you or anything, but what are you planning to do about us?

Henriksen: I’m gonna kill you. Sam and Dean Winchester were in the chopper when it caught on fire. Nothing left. Can’t even identify them with dental records. Rest in peace, guys.

Ruby: Don’t thank me. Lilith killed everyone. She slaughtered your precious little virgin, plus a half a dozen other people. So after your big speech about humanity and war, turns out your plan was the one with the body count. Do you know how to fight a battle? You strike fast and you don’t leave any survivors. So no one can go running to tell the boss. So next time... we go with my plan.

Trivia & References

Jus in bello means "justice in war," and refers to the guidelines for "fighting well" once war has begun.

The episode has some plot similarities to the movie Assault on Precinct 13, which is about a group of people trapped in a police station under siege by a gang of criminals.

Henriksen: Look, I get it… you’re Mayberry P.D.

Mayberry Mayberry is the bucolic fictional setting of The Andy Griffith Show.

Dean: How we gonna Houdini out of this one?

Reference to the famous magician/escape artist Harry Houdini.

Henriksen: You know what I'm trying to decide?

Dean: I don’t know. What? Whether Cialis will help you with your little condition?

Cialis is a drug used in the treatment of erectile dysfunction, similar to Viagra.

Henriksen: So work with me here. I’ll get them out your hair and on their way to Supermax and you’ll be home in enough time to watch the Farm Report.

Supermax refers to "super-maximum security" prisons.

The Farm Report (also known as USFR for short) is a weekly syndicated television program, presented in magazine format, and focusing on agriculture and agribusiness. It is hosted by John Phipps and is based in South Bend, Indiana.

Henriksen: But guess what? Life sucks, get a helmet.

"Life sucks, get a helmet" is a quote from Denis Leary's 1992 stand up comedy album No Cure For Cancer

Henriksen: I... I shot the sheriff.

Dean: But you didn't shoot the deputy.

Dean is referring to the lyrics of the song "I Shot the Sheriff" by Bob Marley.

Henriksen: What do you need?

Dean: Salt. Lots and lots of salt.

This could be paraphrasing the movie The Matrix when Neo's asked, "What do you need [to save Morpheus]?" He answers, "Guns. Lots of guns."

Minutiae

Sera Gamble notes that they were finishing this script just as the WGA went on strike. source. Originally this episode was listed as 3x11, but the airing order of the episodes was changed in late January as Eric Kripke felt it would provide a better end to what was likely to be a truncated season (or possibly series, as they had not yet been picked up for season four) due to the WGA Strike.

It is revealed on the DVD that this episode is used as an end to the looming threat of capture of the Winchesters, and a sendoff/closure to the character of Victor Henriksen. Eric Kripke suggested that Sera Gamble develop the character to "give him a great send off."

Peter DeLuise, who played the part of Steven Groves in this episode, had worked with Supernatural producer Kim Manners previously on 21 Jump Street.

Excerpt from an interview Sera Gamble did with Firefox News (interview contains spoilers for episodes 3x13-3x16).

Firefox News: Those matching tattoos are pretty cool. How long has that been planned?

Sera Gamble: I remember talking about it with Ben Edlund last season, while Cat was writing "Born Under a Bad Sign." We agreed that if we were Sam, the first thing we'd do is take that anti-possession amulet and head for the nearest tattoo parlor. He reminded me of it while we were working on “Jus in Bello,” because breaking out the amulets was an important story point in that episode. So I stuck it in there, and it made for a nice moment. It’s like, of course Sam and Dean have matching tats. How could it be any other way? By the way, I'll be convinced we're truly a cult hit when a fan gets the same tattoo.

See 4.18 The Monster at the End of This Book for an in-show callback to this quote.

Sam and Dean are staying in room 12 at the Wagon Trail Motel at the end of the episode.

The towel that the Colt is sitting on in Bela's car is monogrammed "MR."

The woman in the wanted poster on the pinboard at the sheriff's office is "Molly Baker aka Moll Dog." The reward for her is $10,000.

The stenciled rules on the wall of Sam and Dean's holding cell are: NO SMOKING / NO SPITTING / NO SHOUTING.

The newscast in the final scene provides the first canonical spelling of "Henriksen," which had appeared on various sites such as the IMDb and The CW site as Henricksen and Hendricksen.

Sides, Scripts & Transcripts

• 3.12 Jus in Bello (transcript)

Promotion

• Promo #1
• Promo #2
• Set Photos from Curly Merly

Episode Meta

• 3.12 Jus in Bello: If That’s How You Win Wars, Then I Don’t Wanna Win by bardicvoice (February 2008); archive link, spn-heavymeta
• Bond, Silvia. 2008. Rocky Mountain Hell: "Jus In Bello" Season 3, Episode 12. Pink Raygun, February 26; archive link