6.06 You Can't Handle the Truth

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Dean vs Sam.jpg
Title You Can't Handle the Truth
Episode # Season 6, Episode 6
First aired October 29, 2010
Directed by Jan Eliasberg
Written by Teleplay:
Eric Charmelo
Nicole Snyder
Story:
David Reed
Eric Charmelo
Nicole Snyder
On IMDB You Can't Handle the Truth
Outline Sam and Dean investigate a town where people can't help telling the truth.
Monster Veritas
Timeline October 2010
Location(s) Calumet City, Illinois
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Synopsis

Sam and Dean travel to Calumet City, Illinois to investigate what is the city's fourth suicide in two weeks. Jane Peterson, a waitress at Biggerson's Restaurant, shot herself after being bombarded by several harsh truths, the worst of which came from her sister, Olivia Peterson. Sam and Dean learn of Olivia's culpability after questioning her, but she isn't sure why she said horrible things to Jane when what she really wanted to do was comfort her sister. Then, shortly after they arrive in town, a dentist named Dr. Paul Connelly drills his friend Kenny to death in his dentist's chair after Kenny confesses to having sex with his young daughter.

Meanwhile, Dean confides in Bobby about Sam's actions in 6.05 Live Free or Twihard and asks him to research possible causes for Sam's strange behavior. Dean is convinced that his brother is not himself, and he decides to research the case in Calumet City on his own to get some time away from Sam. He learns that both Jane and Dr. Paul Connelly were taking music lessons at a music store called Harry's House of Horns, where an antique horn was recently stolen. He calls Castiel with the theory that it is a holy weapon, Gabriel's Horn of Truth, that is causing the disruption in Calumet City. Castiel shows up immediately after Dean mentions a holy weapon, and Dean is angry with him for only answering when it's in his own interest to do so. He suspects that Sam is possessed by Lucifer, but Castiel says he would have felt it if Lucifer had gotten out of his cage. Dean starts to explain what's going on in town, but Castiel disappears before he can finish. He then reappears two seconds later and announces that the Horn of Truth is not causing the disturbance. Before he goes again, he tells Dean that he does want to help with Sam and that he'll make some inquiries.

Dean then goes to a bar for a drink, and when the bartender asks him what else he wants, he unwittingly invokes the truth curse by saying "I'd just like the freaking truth." Immediately, people start telling him embarrassing truths about themselves, and Dean calls Bobby to test his theory that he's been cursed. When it becomes obvious that he has, he decides to find Sam and demand answers from him. Sam denies that he let Dean be turned into a vampire, telling him that he just froze, and Dean is relieved when Sam tells him that he'll always have his back. Dean also gets a call and a dose of truth from Lisa. She tells him that she's sick of him burying his emotions and drinking too much. She also tells him that she's happy Sam's alive, but that she knew their relationship was over the minute he showed up again. She thinks Sam and Dean's relationship is unhealthy and that Dean can never be happy while Sam is in his life. Just before hanging up on Dean, she says that she and Ben can't be "in this" with him.

While Dean has been investigating on his own, Sam visits the morgue and discovers that the bodies of all but the latest suicide victim are missing. He also goes to the home of the first suicide victim, Corey, whose death had been ruled as an accident. He speaks to her roommate and learns that Corey was obsessed with finding the truth because she thought her boyfriend was cheating on her. Sam finds a box in her room that contains a cat skull, grains of paradise seed, and devil's shoestring: the ingredients needed to summon Veritas, the goddess of truth. They discover that Veritas, who can take human form, is in the city posing as an investigative reporter named Ashley Frank. Whoever asks for the truth in Calumet City will get too much of it, and when they kill themselves, Veritas takes and eats their bodies as tributes. They go to her home to kill her, but she captures them and, before eating them, decides to play "Truth or Truth." She forces Dean to admit that he wanted to kill Sam because he thought he was a monster; however, when she questions Sam, she becomes agitated because she can tell that Sam is lying to her. She asks Sam what he is--he can't be human if he can lie to her. Sam and Dean use this distraction to kill her, but then Dean turns a knife on Sam and demands to know what he is. Sam asserts that he is himself, but admits that something is wrong with him: he hasn't been able to feel anything since he's come back from Lucifer's Cage. His emotions are completely absent, which was why he was able to let Dean be turned, and though he thinks that having no emotions makes him a better hunter than he's ever been, he tells Dean that he thinks he needs help. Dean responds by punching Sam in the face and then continuing to pummel him, and the episode ends with Sam lying bloody on the floor.

Characters

Definitions

Music

None

Quotes

Dean: He threw me to that vamp. I'm telling you, it's not my brother.

Bobby: Well, then he's something we ain't ever seen before.
Dean: Yeah, or it's freakin' Lucifer.
Bobby: Did you call Cas?

Dean: 'Course I called Cas. He's not answering. Screw him. I can't wait anymore.
Sam: Dentist drilled a guy to death.
Dean: You mean the... non-sexy kind of drilling, right?
Dean: Are you kidding me? I have been on red alert about Sam, and you come for some stupid horn?!

Castiel: You asked me to be here, and I came.

Dean: I -- I've been asking you to be here for days, you dick!
Bartender: Sometimes I think I can't get pregnant 'cause God knows my marriage is a sham. Why'd I say that? I mean, I've been snorting oxy all day. Why'd I say that?
Dean: I'm pretty sure I know.
Busty Patron: I'm sitting like this so you'll look at my breasts. I just bought them. I need a lot of attention.
Dean: Good luck with that.
Bobby: Tori Spelling. I'm a huge fan. Girl's a real talent.

Dean: Oh, I guess it does work over the phone.

Bobby: You know what else? I get a pedicure once in a while -- this nice Vietnamese joint.
Lisa: You want to know the truth?

Dean: Probably not.
Lisa: You've got so much buried in there, and you push it down, and you push it down. Do you honestly think that you can go through life like that and not freak out? Just, what, drink half a fifth a night and you're good?
Dean: You knew what you signed up for.
Lisa: Yeah. But I didn't expect Sam to come back. And I'm glad he's okay. I am. But the minute he walked through that door, I knew. It was over. You two have the most unhealthy, tangled-up, crazy thing I've ever seen. And as long as he's in your life, you're never gonna be happy. That came out so much harsher than I meant.
Dean: It's not your fault.
Lisa: I'm not saying don't be close to Sam. I'm close to my sister. But if she got killed, I wouldn't bring her back from the dead!
Dean: Okay, Lis... I'm not gonna lie. Okay, me and Sam, we... we've got issues. No doubt. But you and Ben --

Lisa: Me and Ben can't be in this with you. I'm sorry.
Dean: You're covered in blood until you're covered in your own blood. Half the time, you're about to die. Like right now. I told myself I wanted out... that I wanted a family.

Veritas: But you were lying.

Dean: No. But what I'm good at... is slicing throats. I ain't a father. I'm a killer. And there's no changing that. I know that now.
Sam: Okay, okay. You want the truth? Here it is. Here it is. God's honest. She was right. There's something wrong with me, really wrong. I've known it for a while. I lied to you. Yeah. And...I let you get turned by that vamp. Because I knew there was a cure, Dean, and we needed in that nest! And I knew you could handle it!
Sam: Ever since I came back, I am a-a better hunter than I've ever been! Nothing scares me anymore! 'Cause I can't feel it. I don't know what's wrong with me. I think... I need help.

Trivia & References

The title of the episode refers to a famous quote by the character Colonel Jessep from the play and later film A Few Good Men. Jensen appeared in a production of the play in Fort Worth in June 2007.
The investigative reporter Ashley Frank, aka Veritas, can be seen on her news program in the background of several scenes throughout the episode. Her show is playing on televisions in Biggerson's, Dr. Paul Connelly's dentist's office, and the bar where Dean invokes her curse.
Dean: Right, and then big sis's Taxicab Confession sends her over the edge. Question is, what made big sis open her big, fat mouth in the first place?
Taxicab Confessions is an HBO documentary series in which taxi passengers are asked to tell stories about themselves while they are being recorded by hidden cameras during the ride.
Dean: What, Satan is my co-pilot? Yeah, I know.
A play on the phrase "God is my co-pilot," which comes from the book and movie of the same name. It's also the name of a queercore band from New York City. Finally, the phrase has also become popular as a bumper sticker.
Dean: Anything from "Marathon Man"?
A reference to the novel and film of the same name, in particular the famous interrogation scene where the main character is tortured by a dentist.
Before Dean goes to investigate the dentist's office, he is researching doppelgänger on his laptop.
Dean: Castiel, hello, possible loose nuke down here.
The phrase "loose nukes" originally referred to poorly secured nuclear materials in the former Soviet Union which might be tempting targets for thieves or terrorists. Today, the phrase more broadly is used to refer to nuclear weapons, materials, and know-how that could fall into the wrong hands. Dean also used the phrase to describe holy weapons, more specifically the Staff of Moses, in 6.03 The Third Man.
Dean: Are you kidding me? I have been on red alert about Sam and you come for some stupid horn?
"Red alert" is the final stage of alert in which enemy attack appears imminent or, more broadly, a state of alert brought on by impending danger. In the United States, the Homeland Security Advisory System uses the color red to denote a severe risk of terrorist attacks.
Sam: Now, I'd actually like to see all the suicides that came in this week, not just Dr. Giggles. Is that gonna be a problem?
Dr. Giggles is a 1992 slasher film directed by Manny Coto, and starring Larry Drake as the titular antagonist Dr. Giggles. There was also a two-issue limited comic book adaptation published by Dark Horse Comics.
Dean: So that would make her our patient zero, right?
The phrase in medical terms refers to the first patient in the outbreak of an epidemic. The phrase itself is most associated with And the Band Played On, Randy Shilts's book about the early years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in which he cites a study that tied a French Canadian flight attendant to many of the earliest cases in the United States.
Bartender: Sometimes I think I can't get pregnant 'cause God knows my marriage is a sham. Why'd I say that? I mean, I've been snorting oxy all day. Why'd I say that?
"Oxy" is the abbreviated name of the opioid analgesic OxyContin (oxycodone).
Bobby: Well, I'm here hittin' the books while drinking a nice glass of milk, while watching Tori & Dean.
Tori & Dean is a reality show on the Oxygen Network starring actress Tori Spelling and her second husband, actor Dean McDermott.
Dean: You froze? You have been Terminator since you got back.
The Terminator refers to a number of fictional characters portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger – a cyborg, initially portrayed as a programmable assassin, main protagonist, and military infiltration unit.
The picture of Veritas that Sam and Dean see online and that the goddess displays in her house is actually a portrait of the Byzantine Empress Theodora. This is a detail from a larger mosaic called "Empress Theodora and Her Retinue." Theodora was the wife of Roman Emperor Justinian who has a matching mosaic called "Emperor Justinian and His Retinue" Both mosaics are located in the Church of San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy. You can see both mosaics and read some history about them here
Dean: So, all that 'tribute' vanishing from the morgue. What do you think, uh, Soylent Green situation?
Soylent Green is a 1973 American science fiction film directed by Richard Fleischer that features a dystopian future in which much of the population survives on processed food rations, including the newly produced "soylent green." As revealed in the famous final lines of the movie: "Soylent Green is PEOPLE!!"
Sam: So you really think this God is slumming as some farm-league Diane Sawyer?
Diane Sawyer is an American television journalist.
Ashley Frank aka Veritas, drives what appears to be a Jaguar E-Type or XK-E, a British automobile manufactured by Jaguar between 1961 and 1975. This is appropriate given her character's connection with cats.
Veritas: So, Sam walking back into your life must have been a relief. Hmm? Mallory to your Mickey. And how do you feel about the band getting back together? Hmm, Sam?
Mickey and Mallory Knox are the murderous couple who feature in the 1994 Oliver Stone movie Natural Born Killers
Veritas: And how do you feel about the band getting back together, hmm Sam?
The line is a reference to the Dan Aykroyd/John Belushi movie The Blues Brothers.

Minutiae

This episode was produced fifth but aired sixth.
Goof: The newspaper story about Jane Peterson's suicide mentions that Jane's method of suicide was jumping from a building, even though the episode shows her shooting herself in the head: "Jane hadn't shown any signs of depression," Peterson's sister said. "I mean, she was a little high-strung, but I can't believe she'd jump off a building. None of us can."
The contacts in Dean's cell phone include:
Fiona Vroom who plays the dental assistant in this episode also played a nurse in 5.21 Two Minutes to Midnight.
The old picture of men drinking at a bar that can be seen on the wall behind Dean in the bar when he's talking to the woman who got breast implants was last seen in a bar in 5.07 The Curious Case of Dean Winchester.
Serinda Swan, who played Veritas, previously played the Hospital Receptionist in 1.21 Salvation.
The tongue Veritas eats was made of sashimi grade tuna.(source)

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