Garth
Name | Dr. Garth Fitzgerald IV, DDS |
Actor | DJ Qualls |
Dates | 1983 (born) |
Location | Grantsburg, Wisconsin |
Occupation | Dentist Hunter (semi-retired) Werewolf |
Episode(s) | 7.08 Season Seven, Time for a Wedding! 7.18 Party On, Garth 8.06 Southern Comfort 9.12 Sharp Teeth 14.09 The Spear 15.10 The Heroes' Journey |
Yeah, better than I ever thought I'd get. I mean, hunting I figured I'd be dead before I'm 40. You know, go out young and pretty. But now I've got a great wife, great kids. I guess sometimes things work out.
– Garth Fitzgerald IV, 15.10 The Heroes' Journey
Contents
- 1 History
- 2 Characteristics
- 3 Episodes
- 3.1 6.04 Weekend at Bobby's
- 3.2 7.08 Season Seven, Time for a Wedding!
- 3.3 7.18 Party On, Garth
- 3.4 8.05 Blood Brother
- 3.5 8.06 Southern Comfort
- 3.6 8.07 A Little Slice of Kevin
- 3.7 8.08 Hunteri Heroici
- 3.8 8.10 Torn and Frayed
- 3.9 8.11 LARP and the Real Girl
- 3.10 8.12 As Time Goes By
- 3.11 8.13 Everybody Hates Hitler
- 3.12 8.14 Trial and Error
- 3.13 8.18 Freaks and Geeks
- 3.14 8.19 Taxi Driver
- 3.15 8.20 Pac-Man Fever
- 3.16 8.21 The Great Escapist
- 3.17 9.12 Sharp Teeth
- 3.18 9.15 thinman
- 3.19 12.06 Celebrating the Life of Asa Fox
- 3.20 12.16 Ladies Drink Free
- 3.21 12.20 Twigs & Twine & Tasha Banes
- 3.22 12.22 Who We Are
- 3.23 14.05 Nightmare Logic
- 3.24 14.09 The Spear
- 3.25 14.10 Nihilism
- 3.26 15.10 The Heroes' Journey
- 3.27 15.19 Inherit the Earth
- 4 Trivia
- 5 Garth in Fandom
- 6 References
History
Garth Fitzgerald IV is a semi-retired hunter. Prior to entering the hunting life he went to college and dental school, planning becoming a dentist. These plans were derailed when he got his first case, in which he claims he killed the Tooth Fairy.[1] The call of the hunting life greatly delayed the completion of his dental studies.[2] In the past, he used Bobby Singer as a resource,[3] and although he generally works alone, he has teamed up with the Winchesters on three occasions,[1][4][5] and with Bobby on at least one.[1] He also works with Mr Fizzles, who is good at encouraging children to talk about traumatic experiences.[5]
At some point after Bobby's death and Sam and Dean's disappearance, Garth takes over Bobby's old job of answering hunter calls and giving hunters advice about different monsters. Like Bobby, he has a number of different phones, but instead of landlines, Garth uses cell phones that all have different ringtones. Garth also takes to saying "idjit" and "balls," two words that Bobby used frequently when frustrated, and wearing one of Bobby's old hats. He tells Sam and Dean that Bobby left it in the back of his car after a rugaru hunt they went on together.[1] Chuck mentioned that Bobby went on a rugaru hunt a week after the events in which Sam sacrificed himself to stop the Apocalypse,[6] which implies that Garth was working with Bobby on that hunt and kept his hat as a memento. As part of his role as the "new Bobby," Garth has taken to tracking hunters via the GPS in their cell phones and then calling them with cases in the area nearby. Sam and Dean are disturbed by this, but Dean decides that it is a very Bobby thing for Garth to be doing.
After being bitten by a werewolf he had been hunting, Garth becomes a werewolf himself and retires from hunting and disappears, marrying Bess Meyers and joining her pack. Following the revelation of a plot by a few members of the pack to bring about Ragnarök, Garth offers to become a hunter once again, using his werewolf abilities to help, but Dean tells him to remain with his pack as he is happy there.[7] Garth eventually has a daughter with Bess and twin boys, named after Sam and Castiel.[8]
Sam calls Garth out of retirement to plant himself in Michael's ranks. Although he helps Sam and Dean get the location of Kaia's Spear, he becomes one of Michael's Monsters in the process and falls under Michael's mind control, although Sam is able to subdue him.[8] After Michael is defeated and locked away in Dean's head, he loses control of his monsters, including Garth, who is restored to normal personality-wise.[9]
After Garth was released from Michael's control, he returned to his normal life in Wisconsin with Bess. During this time, Garth went back to school and became a dentist; he now serves the local werewolf community from a small dental practice in his home.
Characteristics
Garth enjoys sweet things and comics, gets drunk easily, listens to late '80s and early '90s hip-hop, and appreciates a hot tub after a hard day's hunting. He also gives good hugs. At some time after Sam and Dean Winchester first meet him,[4] he was in a relationship with a "special lady" who knew about his hunting and had twins.[5][5]
As a hunter, Garth drove a Ford Ranchero.[1][5] Like Sam and Dean, he had established at least one safe house — or in Garth's case a safe-houseboat where he or others could lay low, including Kevin Tran, who translated his half of the demon tablet there.[10] When Garth puts a spirit to rest, he says that the spirit has been "Garth'd."[5] He later makes the same comment after killing Maul and an entire warehouse filled with monsters.[2]
While a competent hunter, Garth is shown to be somewhat bumbling; he gets knocked out or tied up a lot and usually wakes up after the fight is already over.[4][5][7][2] At one point, Bobby Singer wonders out loud how Garth was still alive, considering his ineptness.[3] However, his knowledge of lore and leadership abilities allowed Garth to become "the new Bobby" following Bobby's death.[1] Later, Garth was shown to have become more competent in the field, infiltrating a monster fight club, planting explosives unnoticed, and rescuing the Winchesters. Though Garth again got knocked out, he recovered in time to save the day.[2]
When Garth gets turned into a werewolf, he gains the strengths and weaknesses of average lycanthropes, including the common vulnerability to silver.[7] However, when he became one of Michael's Monsters, his werewolf abilities became enhanced, even gaining an immunity to silver as a result. However, this made Garth susceptible to Michael's mind control.[8] With Michael imprisoned in Dean's mind and his eventual death at the hands of Jack Kline, Garth regains complete control of himself. It is unknown if he retained the enhancements he gained from Michael.[9][11][2]
Episodes
6.04 Weekend at Bobby's
Garth calls Bobby for some help on a case he's working, and Bobby tells him that it doesn't sound like a vampire. He advises him to call the FBI with a tip, so Garth hangs up and calls the FBI... Agent Willis, that is. When Bobby realizes that Garth has called him instead of the actual FBI, he is exasperated. We only hear Bobby's side of the conversation.
- Bobby: Yeah, Garth, what do you got? ... Never heard of a vamp doin' that. It doesn't sound like our kind of thing. Better drop a dime to the FBI.
- Bobby hangs up the phone. Another phone labeled "FBI Tom Willis" rings.
- Bobby: Willis, FBI. ... No, Garth, not me the FBI. The real FBI! How are you still alive?
7.08 Season Seven, Time for a Wedding!
- "All right, all right, all right. Uh, here's the plan. I drop this lady at my cousin's. He'll stop anything trying to get her. We, uh, find Sam, hopefully fix this, everybody's home in time for "America's Got Talent." Now, you – you'll be living with a tri-racial paraplegic sniper until this all blows over, okay?"
Bobby sends Garth to Pike Creek, Delaware, to help Dean work on a case, as Sam is under a spell by Becky Rosen and Bobby is busy with a major vampire nest in Oregon. Dean shows him a newspaper article in which people who have had good things happen to them recently are mysteriously dying in freak accidents. Posing as press, they head to an insurance company where a man was just promoted from junior salesman to CEO, and they think he might be the next victim in their case. When Dean and Garth arrive at the insurance company, Sam and Becky are already leaving. Sam tells Dean that the new CEO Craig is clean, but Dean and Garth still question him. Dean and Garth become sure that the man's wife is the one behind his sudden success, so they confront her, but she refuses to admit to anything until they save her from being killed by a falling chandelier. Afterwards, she admits to making a deal with a demon. Garth tells her that she needs to get out of town for a few days while he and Dean figure things out. They break into Becky's apartment, and Garth sees Becky's last tweet on her laptop: "Going on romantic trip with hubster!!!"
Later, after Sam convinces Becky to help them trap Guy, the crossroads demon behind all of the recent deaths, Garth uses blueberry vodka to draw a devil's trap which Becky then lights on fire to trap the demon. He and the other hunters are attacked by Guy's accomplice, Jackson, who quickly knocks Garth out, but Becky manages to kill him. Crowley appears and takes Guy away to punish him for breaking deals. Afterwards, Garth wakes up wondering what he missed, annoying Dean. Back at Becky's apartment, Sam and Becky sign the annulment papers necessary to dissolve their marriage while Dean and Garth watch. Garth is clearly checking her out, but Dean tells him "no", which stops him. Dean tells Garth that he "doesn't suck," and Garth gives him an uncomfortable hug before leaving in his car.
7.18 Party On, Garth
- "All right, Jenny G. Your ganking days are over. You've been Garth'd."
The ghost of Jenny Greentree is originally suspected to be behind the death of Trevor McAnn in Junction City, Kansas, and Garth salts and burns her corpse. However, when the boy's brother Ray dies, Garth calls Dean and Sam for help in finding the real culprit. They learn it is a spirit known as a "shojo." Garth, with help from Mr. Fizzles, eventually figures out the shojo's next victim and tries to save him, but he is once again knocked out. Dean, with some help from Bobby's ghost, kills the shojo.
Garth's EMF reader goes off when it gets close to Bobby's Flask. Garth implies that Bobby might be haunting Sam and Dean. Dean denies it and Sam tells them that he already tried contacting Bobby with a talking board and failed. As they part ways again, Garth hugs Dean for the second time and even gives Sam a hug too, before driving off, but not before he remarks that he likes their new stolen AMC Pacer.
8.05 Blood Brother
When Dean calls Sam after leaving him to secretly hunt vampires with Benny, Sam is horrified that Dean went hunting alone. Dean clarifies that he has back-up; a guy who has been tracking the vampires for a while. Sam then incredulously responds, "What guy? Garth?!"
8.06 Southern Comfort
- "Not me, man. I let all that stuff go with the help of my yogi, my Sega Genesis. And you should, too. You can't change the past, amigo. Now, there's something I want to say to you. Stop being a idjit! With Bobby dead, you and Sam are all each other has. And that's not so bad, man. Now, you know what's coming next, right? Come on."
After hearing about Mary Lew crushing her husband's head with his own car, Garth heads to Kearny, Missouri, where he poses as a Texas Ranger even though it's Missouri. (He claims that wearing a suit makes him look like a funeral director.)
Garth has taken Bobby's place among the hunting community, as Sam and Dean disappeared for a year and someone needed to. He carries multiple cell phones to presumably act as cover for other hunters like Bobby did, gives out information that hunters need, wears one of Bobby's hats, and even uses some of his old catchphrases (often incorrectly). Garth is excited to see Sam and Dean and hugs them, though Dean is not amused that he is "the new Bobby" and the way that he acts like him.
Together they investigate the case, discovering that Kate wrote the name "Allcot" on the wall in blood and that there is green goo. That night at a bar, Garth asks Dean where he was and Dean tells him Purgatory, but brushes off questions of how he got out. Investigating the name on the wall, they discover it is an old girlfriend of the dead husband, but before they can go interrogate her, her son Scott kills someone and writes the name "Sussex" on the wall in his blood, leaving behind green goo as well. Dean and Garth interrogate the ex-girlfriend before deciding that she wasn't having an affair with the husband and that the wife is apparently holding a grudge for her husband hooking up with his ex on prom night. While Sam investigates, Garth and Dean go through Bobby's Journal for information on what they might be dealing with. Garth points out the noticeable tension between Sam and Dean and explains why he has taken over Bobby's role, saying that Bobby belonged to everyone, not just Sam and Dean. He is visibly upset while taking about Bobby.
Garth finds in Bobby's journal that a ghost that leaves behind green goo is a spectre and that it is apparently woken up when its grave is disturbed. Garth finds out that the grave of the Confederate version of the Unknown Soldier has been disturbed, though apparently nothing was taken. That night, he, Sam, and Dean go to salt and burn the soldier's bones, figuring that that should put the ghost to rest as it does with all other ghosts. Garth suggests they say something before burning the bones, but Dean just says "we win" before setting them on fire.
After a deputy kills his boss, leaving more green goo at the scene, they realize the ghost isn't gone. After learning that the next person possessed headed for the hospital, Dean goes there to stop them while Sam and Garth go to the library to try to find out who the Unknown Soldier is. They learn a theory that it is Vance Collins, a Confederate soldier who was killed by his Union soldier brother. They realize that Vance had an Indian Head Penny that was stolen.
After Dean doesn't answer his phone, Sam and Garth rush off to him, only to find him possessed by Vance and waiting to kill Sam. Garth tries to defuse the situation, believing that Dean won't kill him as he is not angry at him. When that fails, Garth punches Dean, causing him to drop the penny; Garth picks it up, but he is unaffected by Vance.
Garth is able to melt down the penny, putting Vance to rest, though he tells Dean he had a hard time doing it. Garth explains to Dean that he has learned to let all of his grudges go and was thus unaffected by the spirit, and Dean puts Bobby's hat back on his head, finally accepting Garth's new role. Garth drives off, giving advice to another hunter to run after learning he is being chased by a wendigo without a flare gun or flamethrower to kill it with.
8.07 A Little Slice of Kevin
After rescuing Kevin Tran and his mother Linda from Crowley, Sam and Dean call Garth to look after them.
8.08 Hunteri Heroici
Linda calls Sam to let him know that she and Kevin have been set up in one of Garth's safe houses: a safe-houseboat. While Sam and Dean are confused as to why Garth has a houseboat as a safe house, they decide not to dwell on it, given Garth's personality.
8.10 Torn and Frayed
Dean and Castiel travel to Garth's houseboat to see Kevin, but Garth is not there. Kevin thinks he is on a supply run, but is so focused on translating the Word of God that he hasn't been paying attention and honestly doesn't know for sure.
8.11 LARP and the Real Girl
- "Yeah, you've been Garth'd."
Garth, initially mistaken for Kevin, calls Sam and Dean to give them a case in Farmington Hills, Michigan, where a man had all of his limbs mysteriously ripped off. Sam learns that Garth has taken to tracking hunters via the GPS in their cell phones and calls them with cases nearby. Sam is disturbed by this and tells Garth off for telling him "you've been Garth'd" after explaining what he did. As a result, Sam tells Dean they need to disable the GPS in their phones so Garth can't do it again, though Dean admits that it is a very Bobby thing for Garth to have done.
8.12 As Time Goes By
After figuring out that Henry Winchester has gone to find the last two ingredients he needs for a spell to return to 1958, Dean calls Garth to see if there are any hoodoo shops in the area. Apparently Garth gives him what he needs as he is able to find Henry.
8.13 Everybody Hates Hitler
Dean calls Garth for information on the Thule Society, but neither Garth nor any of his contacts have even heard of it.
8.14 Trial and Error
Kevin Tran mentions that the only company he ever gets at Garth's houseboat is Garth himself whenever he drops by.
8.18 Freaks and Geeks
When describing (and insulting) the current generation of hunters, Victor Rogers tells Sam and Dean that Garth had to have been dropped on his head too many times as a baby.
When Krissy Chambers, Aiden, and Josephine decide to remain hunters and together, Dean tells Krissy that he will have Garth check in on them from time to time to make sure they are all right and that they have everything they need.
8.19 Taxi Driver
Kevin tells Sam and Dean that he hasn't heard from Garth, believing that he is on a case or at the dentist.
8.20 Pac-Man Fever
Dean tells Sam that Garth is out hunting for Kevin who has disappeared.
8.21 The Great Escapist
Dean calls a hunter named Keel and tells him to find Garth, who is still MIA. He mentions that no one has seen him for a while. Later when Kevin has the fake versions of Sam and Dean pick up some food for him, he mentions that Garth knew of a place that's near his safe houseboat.
9.12 Sharp Teeth
- "Look, amigo... I know this all looks nuts, but I found it. Love and a family? Who cares where that comes from?"
After having disappeared for months, Garth is found by Sam and Dean after being hit by a car while running from a farmer chasing him because he eviscerated his cow. Garth claims not to remember what happened and, faking illness, escapes from Sam and Dean. Tracking him down, Sam and Dean burst into his apartment and demand answers before a werewolf attacks them. Garth calms the situation down and reveals the truth: he is a werewolf now himself and the other werewolf, Bess, is his wife. Garth explains that six months before, he killed a rampaging werewolf, but was bitten before it died. Garth intended to kill himself, too embarrassed to tell anyone what happened, but Bess tracked him down and helped him control himself. Garth insists that his pack is good and coexists with humans and offers for Sam and Dean to join their church service where Garth plays the piano. Garth is frustrated by Dean's unwillingness to accept the pack and is saddened to hear about Kevin's death, as he considered Kevin a friend. Garth later disappears along with Bess, and while looking for them Sam is kidnapped and taken to where they are being held by Joy Meyers, Russ, and Joba. Joy reveals that they are part of the the Maw of Fenris, a cult dedicated to bringing about Ragnarok. Joy plans to murder Garth and Bess and frame Sam and Dean to turn the pack against humanity. Garth unsuccessfully pleads for Bess' life and struggles against his restraints, to no avail. However, at the last minute, Dean breaks in, having killed Russ. He kills Joba and Joy and saves the three. Afterwards, Garth offers to return to hunting, using his werewolf powers to assist, feeling responsible for Kevin's death, but Dean assures him he is blameless and tells Garth to remain with the pack as they are not all bad and Garth has found happiness there. Dean then invites a surprised Garth to give him a hug which he happily does.
9.15 thinman
Dean remarks that Thinman looks like "Garth, if somebody shaved his face off."
12.06 Celebrating the Life of Asa Fox
Elvis Katz had a friend who knows a girl who knew Garth. He said that Garth told them about how Sam was possessed by Lucifer.
12.16 Ladies Drink Free
Dean mentions Garth to Mick Davies as an example of a werewolf that does not kill humans.
12.20 Twigs & Twine & Tasha Banes
Garth, along with the Winchesters, Claire, and Eileen Leahy are seen by Mary on video screens, being tracked by the British Men of Letters.
12.22 Who We Are
After escaping the Bunker, Sam and Dean begin making phone calls to other hunters to warn them of the British Men of Letters, Dean is able to get in touch with Garth and warns him to go into hiding with Bess.
Later, Garth's photo is seen on a video screen at the BMOL Mobile Command as one of the many hunters being targeted for the next phase of the British Men of Letters plans, which included killing all family members and bystanders.
14.05 Nightmare Logic
Among other hunters, Dean calls Garth to warn him about Michael's Monsters.
14.09 The Spear
- "Look, Sam, I knew this was a risky one. Besides, I'll just pull the old fake-swallow-and-spit-it-out-later cough-syrup trick."
Garth is pulled out of retirement by Sam to act as a mole among Michael's enhanced monsters. After being brought to Kansas City, Missouri, by Melanie, Garth and another werewolf are taken to Hitomi Plaza, where Michael has just cleared the building of all humans. Michael tells Garth that he recognizes him due to Dean Winchester's memories. Garth gives his assurance that whatever is coming, he is doing what he is doing to protect his family and his daughter.
Some time later Garth places a call to Sam telling him how they want him to make the change, and assures Sam that he can fake it by not swallowing like he did with his mother when he was sick as a kid, a plan Sam does not feel will actually work. As Garth and the other werewolf wait in another room, Melanie arrives with two vials of the grace / blood concoction; the other werewolf drinks the mixture while Garth looks on. When his turn comes, a Melanie notices how nervous Garth is and tells him that only one in seven of volunteers have exploded, odds Garth says he likes before drinking the vial. As he holds the mixture in his mouth, Michael enters the room and looks on at Garth, forcing him to swallow, causing his eye to glow a bright blue before flashing his wolf eyes. As Michael and Melanie excuse themselves, Garth ignores the other werewolf's rambling and listens intently to overhear Michael plans.
Garth places another call to Sam, telling him of Michael's plan to go after Dark Kaia in Omaha and get her spear, as well as Michael's plan to turn everyone in Kansas City into monsters on Christmas day at midnight. Garth calls Dean after not being able to reach Sam, and tells him Michael left to back up his forces. When Dean tells him there is no one in Omaha, Dean says to call if he hears anything. As they hang up, Michael appears behind Garth and asks to talk with him.
When Sam goes to the Hitomi Plaza to rescue Jack he also finds Garth and the three make their escape. In the parking garage, Garth is overcome by Michael's influence, revealing he was unable to fake making the change, and he begins turning into a werewolf. Unable to control himself, he apologizes as he attacks Sam. Sam attempts to appeal to Garth's humanity to take back control; Garth strains to fight his urges but is unable and continues attacking Sam until Jack tackles him. As Garth overpowers Jack, Sam is forced to choke him into unconsciousness. With Garth no longer a threat, he is restrained and placed in the trunk of the Impala by Sam and Dean.
14.10 Nihilism
After capturing Michael, Sam decides to lock him in the trunk of the Impala with Garth, insisting that it's a big enough trunk for both. However, an attack by Michael's Monsters forces Sam to call upon the reaper Violet for help, leading to Billie transporting Sam, Michael, Jack, and Castiel to the Bunker. As a result, Garth remained in the trunk of the Impala in Kansas City.
Later, over the phone, Sam asks Maggie to check on Garth when they get to Hitomi Plaza, but news of the monsters leaving the city and heading for the Bunker diverts Maggie and hunters from Hitomi, leaving Garth locked in the trunk.
After Michael is defeated and locked within Dean's mind, he loses control over all of his monsters, including Garth.
15.10 The Heroes' Journey
Garth calls the Winchesters in to help after Bess's cousin Brad is found badly wounded by a wraith. When Sam and Dean arrive at his home in Wisconsin, Garth introduces them to his young daughter Gertie and twin sons named Sam and Castiel.
Garth helps the Winchesters figure out their recent string of bad luck and rescues them from a monster fight club, causing Sam and Dean to declare Garth to be the hero of the story for once.
15.19 Inherit the Earth
After everyone on the planet disappears, Sam places a call to Garth, but only gets his voicemail.
When Jack becomes the new God, he brings back everyone on the planet, including Garth.
Trivia
- Read about how Garth originated in the writers room from Daniel Loflin, and how DJ Qualls came to play him.
- The novel Supernatural: Children of Anubis features Garth and is dedicated to his actor, DJ Qualls.
Garth in Fandom
- @GarthFitzIV - Twitter RP/Parody
- @FlyHunterG - Garth Fitzgerald IV roleplay account on Twitter
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 8.06 Southern Comfort
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 15.10 The Heroes' Journey
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 6.04 Weekend at Bobby's
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 7.08 Season Seven, Time for a Wedding!
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 7.18 Party On, Garth
- ↑ 5.22 Swan Song
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 9.12 Sharp Teeth
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 14.09 The Spear
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 14.10 Nihilism
- ↑ 8.08 Hunteri Heroici
- ↑ 14.14 Ouroboros