Synopsis of 11×12: Sam and Dean reunite with Alex, Jody, and Claire when a monster threatens Sioux Falls.
Rating: ★★★☆☆
The Wayward Daughters are going to be a-okay… for now.
If Supernatural season 11 has proved anything, it’s that you can’t out run your past. Whether it is abandoning your brother in Purgatory or popping the lock on a veritable Apocalypse 2.0, your history will always find a way to catch up to you. For Claire and Alex, this message was delivered loud and clear in “Don’t You Forget About Me.”
Despite the title, there were certainly no fist pumps when the Winchesters headed to Sioux Falls.
Back At The Bunker
The search for Amara is coming up empty. For the boys, this means their time is divided between falling into Internet holes and clogging their arteries. Past history should make it abundantly clear which Winchester is which.
As Sam marvels over the ability of a weasel to ride a woodpecker, Dean is busy chowing down on the Elvis – a calorie-laden monstrosity that is equal parts impressive and disgusting. How is Dean not a heart attack statistic by now?
Anyway, the brothers’ down time is interrupted by a call from Claire. A few minutes later, the duo is back in the Impala bound for Sioux Falls.
Wayward Daughters
Jimmy Novak’s daughter lost both her parents to the world of the supernatural, and after her angel slaying antics last season, the teen is itching to become a full-fledged hunter. Unfortunately, her first foray into the world of demon slaying has mainly led her to terrify innocent civilians. Nevertheless, she’s convinced a recent string of murders has her convinced something monstrous is on the prowl.
Jody isn’t quite so sure. In between lecturing Alex about sex (a sure way to make Dean suddenly speechless) and attempting to keep Claire out of jail, the sheriff shanghaied Sam into trying to talk the latter out of her ill-advised career path.
While Sam may have a sympathetic ear, Claire is in need of a little wisdom from the tough love department. If Charlie was the little sister Dean never wanted, then Claire is certainly the stubborn daughter he never dreamed he’d have. Her brusque, take-no-prisoners attitude makes her a force to be reckoned with, but Dean isn’t afraid to put her in her place.
When Alex’s favorite teacher shows up dead and literally run up the flagpole, Claire attempts to jump into action. Pushing past bystanders and cops alike, Jody’s foster child starts interrogating the sheriff, loudly lamenting the fact that the “fake FBI” gets to work the case front and center while she’s stuck begging for info scraps. Thirty seconds later, Dean is busy lecturing her on discretion and respect before staring down Alex’s horny teenage boyfriend. What a dad.
The search is on for a potential monster, and the elder hunters peg the janitor as their number one suspect. While the Winchesters are busy working, Claire gets shanghaied into registering for college classes with Jody. The pair don’t get far, however – the suspicious maintenance worker may have had an airtight alibi for the deadly display at the high school, but he wasn’t shy about showing off his fangs as he abducted Jody and Claire while they called the Winchesters for backup.
It goes without saying that Sam and Dean did not arrive in time. While the younger brother turned his attention to tracking down the missing Wayward Daughters, Dean went after Alex. As it turns out, however, the youngster’s pretty boy jock boyfriend is also a vamp. Dean is late once again, but the Winchester bros realize that the asbestos on dead math teacher mean the janitor is using the school’s abandoned pool as his hideout.
So, what caused two fangs to go on a Sioux Falls killing spree before capturing their prey? Well, as I said earlier, you can’t escape your past. For Alex, this means she will eventually have to face down the men she lured to her “family’s” nest all those years ago.
While most of her targets were sleazy men looking to take advantage of an underage girl, Mr. Janitor Man was actually a good Samaritan trying to make sure she made it home safe. As a reward, he was turned into a vamp and set loose to murder his family.
As revenge, he created his own gang of fang in an effort to cut down Alex at her happiest. He turned the most popular boy in school so he could pretend to date her. He killed her favorite math teacher. Now, he was going to kill Jody and Claire in front of her.
Luckily, a team effort between Sam, Dean, and the Wayward Daughters left the two bloodsuckers headless before they could do more than inflict a few bumps and bruises (and one broken bone).
Before The Credits Roll
In the end, Claire’s first real case gave her a dose of hunter reality. While Jimmy’s daughter is still planning on joining the Winchester family business, she’s going to learn to do it right. In the meantime, she’s not going to throw away her chance at a family and an education.
The episode left Claire’s life looking up, but it turned Alex’s upside down. The dangers of her past are sure to pop up again, and when they do, Alex has resolved to be as far from her little family as possible.
At least all the fan favorites made it out of the episode alive…
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