The Winchesters S01 E04 Recap: Masters of War

This episode aired on Tuesday November 1^st on The CW at 8/7c.

My Preamble

Lots to unpack from S01-E03, so lets get right to it!

• It is Ada’s dream to become a powerful witch,
• Mary’s parents are separated, and Samuel is still MIA,
• Mary wrestles with her lost childhood, and difficulty envisioning a life outside of hunting,
• Lata has some childhood issues of her own that are still shrouded in mystery
• Mary is hurtling towards some pivotal crescendo by making the quest of finding her father, the culmination of her hunter’s life,
• John believes hunting is his calling but struggles with wanting Mary to remain by his side as a hunter, and finding a new life for herself,
• They have the magical box, but it still isn’t working,
• The Akrida are already on earth, and if demons are to be believed, are here in great numbers,
• Their leader is posing as a red-haired radio host named Rockin Roxy,
• The Akrida are summoning a whole host of rare monsters whose essence is being harvested for some sinister purpose.

Wow!  What’s in store this week?

Episode Recap

Dean Winchester:  Fighting the battle between good and evil isn’t easy, especially when the first monster you have to face is the one inside yourself.

The CW-Patches Pasternak

Dean’s opening remarks paint a pretty accurate foreshadow for this week’s episode.  In the opening scene we are introduced to a spear carrying monster who is wearing horned headgear.  He has found fertile hunting grounds in the psych ward of the local hospital treating battle wearied veterans.  We saw the victim, Thomas Patches Pasternak, as he walked through the halls of the hospital, haunted by memories of war while “Paris Cheri” by Josephine Baker plays in the background.

Carlos interrupts a sparring session between Mary and John to deliver the news that Pasternak was later found dead in a locked room.  The hospital staff called it a suicide, but Carlos’s vet-friend Manny saw the singe marks on the floor, walls and ceiling.  John is surprised to learn that Carlos has war-vet friends, and even more surprised that Carlos is a Navy vet himself.  During their sparring session, John reminisced about his lost friend Murphy saying if he hadn’t died he would have been on The Tonight Show.

The CW-Morgue Delivery

Lata wonders if the monster is a Persian Manticore who are massive lions with flaming manes, but they need more information to be sure.  Carlos outfits the team with lab coats and ID badges so they can get inside the morgue.  Carlos is stowed away in a body bag on a gurney, while the others pose as attendants delivering the body.  Once inside, they are able to get a closer look.  Patches’ wounds are deep, cauterized around the edges and too clean to be made by claws are teeth, so that rules out the Manticore.

The CW-Murphy Flashback

While inspecting Patches, John notices his crucifix on the table and it triggers a traumatic flashback to the day that his friend Murphy was killed by stepping on a land mine.  The resulting explosion embedded the metal from Murphy’s crucifix into John’s forearm.  Mrs. Pasternak arrives to pick up her husband’s personal affects including the crucifix that John is holding.  Mary introduces her and John as Joan Mitchell (I’m not sure if this is the painter or the musician, so I referenced both) and Graham Nash.  We can see that John is visibly shaken by his flashback and excuses himself.

Mary continues her chat with Mrs. Pasternak and learns that Patches was wrestling with post-war issues.  Mrs. Pasternak was also discussing Patches’ circumstances with an Investigative Reporter named Kyle Reed.  This is the same young man that Mary saw Omega Man with.

The CW-John Flashback Visions

John is alone in the men’s room, struggling to calm down.  His hands are shaking.  Behind him in the mirror, he sees that same horned-masked figure that killed Patches.  He spins around to confront him, but he disappeared.  John lashes out and punches the metal paper towel dispenser until he can get himself under control.  When John and Mary talk again out in the hallway, Mary tells John that the best plan is to have him and Carlos get admitted to the same inpatient program and therapy group as was Patches, so they can investigate more closely.  Both Manny and Mrs. Pasternak claim that Patches and his doctor, Dr. Z. were arguing.

The CW-Admission

As Carlos and John get admitted, Mary and Lata meet up with Kyle Reed, the reporter she met and who was talking with Mrs. Pasternak.  As it turns out, Kyle is in Lawrence because he is chasing a story.  He claims that other vets have been similarly killed in psych units all across the country.

As the patients are waiting for circle discussion therapy to begin, John meets another war vet by the name of Jimmy Mixon.  He warns John to manage his expectations where Dr. Z is concerned.  In his opinion, the Doctor isn’t very good.  The plan is that once the session starts, John will distract the doctor while Carlos inspects his office for information in Patches file.  Carlos started the session with a very revealing story about his experience in the war, and then turns the conversation over to John.

John talks about Murphy but struggles with sharing the details when his new acquaintance Jimmy Mixon interrupts and tells Dr. Z to lay off.  He thinks these sessions are a waste of time and argues with the doctor about Patches’ before he storms off, and John follows.  John yells out for Jimmy to wait up, but by the time John rounds the corner in the hallway, Jimmy has disappeared.  He can’t see him, but he can hear him.  He follows his voice and just as John gets to the room where Jimmy is, blood is splattered against the glass and Jimmy has been taken by the same monster who got Patches.  When John sees Jimmy on the floor, his flashbacks intensify.

John and Carlos call Lata and Mary to update them about the latest victim.  Lata thinks it sounds like some mythological figure and Carlos shares that Dr. Z’s file on Patches reveals that he was also haunted by images of a man with a horned mask, holding a spear.  John decides to confront the doctor head on by storming into his office and demanding to know who the man in the horned mask is.  Carlos had no idea that John saw the masked man too, and herds him away from the doctor to form a new plan.  They decide to split up in the search for any clues to where the masked man is hiding.

The CW-Mars Neto

Lata knows that there is little in the Men of Letters clubhouse library that will help them to find information on the masked man, but she knows where she might find something.  Maggie’s room.  No one has entered her room since she died, and Mary struggles to cross that threshold.  One of the first things they notice is Maggie’s Donny Osmond poster.  They also find a shoebox of old postcards that Maggie used to record both good and bad things that she experienced.  They also find a useful book under her bed containing a reference to a creature called Mars Neto.  It is no monster, but in fact is an immortal deity, and they know they must find a way to see John and Carlos to warn them.

Carlos and John have split up to find clues as to the masked man’s whereabouts, and in the same way that Patches’ surroundings began to alter, so has Carlos’ just as he is pulled into a room.  John is not far behind and when he walks into the same room that Carlos was pulled into, we see nothing but jungle.  We intuitively know this is some Viet Nam war scenario playing out.

Mary and Lata figured the best way to get in to see John and Carlos was to enlist the help of John’s mom Millie.  Visitation is only allowed for family members, so once Millie is in, they will group up with her to search for the one object that the lore explains will stop Neto.  It’s a totem, a kind of vase called an amphora which is a symbolic item that links him to his immortality while he visits earth.  If they can find it and destroy it, then Carlos and John will be able to kill him.

The CW-Carlos steps on a Mine

While both trapped in the jungle scene fabricated by Neto, John and Carlos find each other.  But almost immediately after, Carlos takes a step and his foot comes down on a land mine and he is trapped in the same way John’s friend Murphy was, before the mine ended his life.  Neto seems to be re-creating John’s worse memory to entice him to battle.  It is his intention to sharpen John into a formidable weapon to take on the Akrida.  John agrees to join him in battle if he agrees to set Carlos free.  Neto only agrees to let Carlos go free if John is able to draw first blood, otherwise he will kill both of them.

All during the battle between Neto and John, Millie, Mary and Lata continue to search for the amphora.  Once they find it and destroy it, it will give John the edge he needs to kill Neto.  Their fight builds and intensifies, until John sees a change in Neto as his amphora is destroyed and uses the spear to kill him.  The moment he does, Carlos is freed, and the altered reality of the jungle slips away, and they are back in the empty room at Hannibal Park Hospital.

Once Neto is destroyed, the Fab 4 are outside the Hospital where Dr. Z chats with Carlos and encourages him to keep up with his counselling sessions.  Dr. Z is committed to improving the treatment for veterans and Mary tells him she thinks she knows someone who would be willing to help, as she hands him Kyle’s business card.  Carlos is still a bit shaken from the events and Mary offers him a place to stay; Maggie’s old room, if he can survive the Donny Osmond posters.

Carlos thanks John for all he did for him and offers to be there if he ever needs to talk.  Mary offers to drive Millie and John home and the episode ends with a montage of them coping with their versions of trauma while “Everybody’s Talkin” by Harry Nilsson plays in the background;

• We see Mary packing up all of Maggie’s things in cardboard boxes. A sure sign of moving on from Maggie’s death,
• We see Carlos in circle group with Dr. Z working through his issues, and an empty chair beside him. The implication is that the chair is saved for John,
• We see Lata and Mary filling out postcards, carrying on Maggie’s tradition of sharing both the good and the bad,
• We see Millie setting the table for a meal, but when she goes to look for John, she finds him fully clothed in the tub, letting the warm water shower down on him while he weeps. John clearly continues to struggle over the loss of Murphy.  His mom moves in behind him to comfort him.

Cast

Next Episode

Tuesday November 15^th on The CW at 8/7c.