| We start with a jogger on the run, looking rather fetching in her sports bra, although where exactly is this town supposed to be (I don’t think they ever say) but it seems like it should be colder… too cold to be dressed like that to jog. She has the unfortunate luck (or lack thereof) to spot a ghost ship in the harbor. A short time later, while the jogger is taking a gratuitous high shutter speed shower, she hears a noise. Of course, we see a shadow flick by while she doesn’t. The shadow literally streams water from its finger tips as it touches the glass. Moments later, they recreate a modern day version of Psycho as the girl is attacked and killed within the steamy shower.
On the road, Dean questions Sam why a bullet is missing from the Colt. He admits to shooting the Crossroads Demon and levels with Dean that there is someone higher up who holds Dean’s contract. Ray Wise on Reaper. Seriously though, Dean is angry because of Sam’s stupid risks to himself and the fact that they have no leads to investigate who this higher up (or is that lower down) is in Hell.
The boys pose as officers and meet with the grandmother of the dead naked jogger. She hits on Sam, making him extremely uncomfortable, but they quickly learn that the girl drowned in the shower (next to impossible) and reported that she had seen a ghost ship. Grandma guesses that the Winchesters are working with “Alex” who supposedly already solved the case. They tell her that this is not the case and she lays out the details of her granddaughter’s sighting.
Dean teases Sam about his new cougar girlfriend while Sammy explains that this same scenario happens every thirty-seven years, someone sees the ghost ship and dies of a dry land drowning. There’s a lot of ship sunk in the harbor and finding the right one is going to be like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Dean has a panic attack because he finds that the Impala has been stolen. And I mean panic attack complete with hyperventilation. Bela shows up to inform them that she stole the car and managed to have it towed. Sam correctly IDs Bela as “Alex” and she levels that the Grandmother is an old client that she has been milking for money for years. However, now that the boys told her that the case was still open, they’ll have to do some real work. The boys hurry off to save the Impala from the police before they find the arsenal in the trunk.
Meanwhile, a man is about to become the next victim of the ghost ship killed. As he gets ready for bed in the bathroom, the man discovers his tub completely full with the water running, but when he tries to drain it, the tub won’t work. He peers into the murky water when suddenly a ghostly arm shoots out and chokes the man in the most gruesome way possible. Kudos to this show for continuing to be the most horrific show on television.
Later, Bela poses as a reporter and attempts to extract information from the brother of the victim, until Sam and Dean break in posing as officers. The man has a lot of detail on the ship, because he saw it too, which marks him as the next victim. The boys stay and watch over the man while Bela, with her heart of coal, goes to work identifying the ship. They butt heads, but Bela identifies herself as an entrepreneur, while Dean and Sam are a step away from serial killers. She cuts close to the bone.
On stakeout, Sam and Dean attempt to figure out what the victims have in common, but the victimized brothers seem to have a nice, clean life living off their parents’ inheritance. The remaining brother spots Sam and Dean outside the house and in his paranoia, takes off in his car. He doesn’t get far though as the motor dies on him and the Sailor Ghost appears to him. With a touch, the brother starts to spew water and drown sitting in the driver’s seat of his car. Dean and Sam run to the rescue with their rock salt shotguns, but they’re too late. The brother is dead.
Sam is taking the death of the brother particularly hard, feeling like he’s not able to save anyone lately. Later, while squatting in an abandoned house, Bela shows up proudly carrying the identity of the ghost ship. The history of the ship is that the ghost in question is a sailor that was hung on the ship as a traitor, but not before his hand was removed to create a Hand of Glory. He was thirty-seven, which explains the thirty-seven year cycle between deaths and the hand counts as remains, so they still need to destroy it to rid themselves of the ghost. Luckily, Bela knows where it is.
Unluckily, to get into the museum where the hand is being held, they need to crash a black tie function, meaning not only does Dean have to dress up, but Sam has to utilize the grandmother as his date. Bela and Dean continue to flirt, if you can call it that, when she suggests that they have some angry sex later. Dean seems upset, but he’s only playing hard to get. The girls get plenty to swoon over with Dean in a tux, but Bela ain’t the least bit hard on the eyes either.
At the party, Bela tries to cure Dean of his blue collar ways so they’re not found out while Sam has to endure the continual advances of the grandmother. Bela surprises Dean with an impromptu plan, fainting on the floor and forcing Dean to improvise. He convinces a security guard to take them to a room where he can lie her down. The plan has bought them time and got them upstairs. Dean manages to snatch the desiccated hand from the strangely overprotected glass case (after all, it’s a dead hand, not a diamond), while Bela thinks on her feet (or off her feet?) to fool an inquiring guard into thinking that they’re having a “good time” in the room. Her ruse is so good that moments later when he runs into Dean on the landing, the security guy doesn’t suspect a thing, but rather feels sorry for the guy.
Downstairs Sammy continues to dodge the advances of Grandma, but not with a particular amount of success. Sam’s evening is not lost however as he discovers from Grandma that the victim brothers most likely killed their father for his money. Sam manages to figure out that the ghost is finding people who have spilled their family’s blood, as the dead naked jogger accidentally got a cousin killed when she was younger. Sam catches Dean up, but they discover that Bela made a switcheroo, stealing the hand for herself to sell on the open market. Karma is a ***** though, because as she counts her money from the sail, she sees the ghost ship herself.
She shows up at the boys’ squat spot begging them for help. She can’t just simply get the hand back because it’s already halfway across the sea on its way to the buyer. The boys reveal to her and us that the ghost is going after victim who have spilled their family’s blood because he was hung by his own brother. The Winchesters needle Bela to find out what despicable thing that she did to one of her family members and while she doesn’t tell them what happened, Sam comes up with an idea that may save her.
The three of them head to the cemetery and perform a ritual. The Sailor Ghost shows up almost immediately to claim Bela’s life, but Sam starts to chant in terrible Latin. Whatever he’s doing doesn’t seem to be working, but suddenly another spirit appears… the ghost of the brother who did the hanging. He’s the person that the Sailor Ghost really wants revenge on and in an awesome slow-mo effect, the ghost dives right through the brother, collapsing both spirits into an amazing display of spraying water.
Later, Bela shows her appreciation the only way that she knows how, by paying the boys off. Dean decides the most prudent thing to do is head to AC and do some gambling. The boys try to have a heart to heart about Sam trying to help Dean, but Dean speaks with such a defeatist attitude that it whips Sam into a fury. Dean ignores him and continues to think about Atlantic City. Sad. |
