Supernatural season 11, episode 7, “Plush,” aired tonight. Read our recap and discuss the episode with fellow fans.
“Plush” featured a good, old-fashioned ghost hunt, the return of Sheriff Donna Hanscum, and some concerning words from Sam to close the episode.
The ghost hunt
Sheriff Donna calls in the Winchesters when the case she’s working on isn’t adding up. Their killer is wearing a creepy bunny mask that won’t come off. When the bunny killer attacks Donna, her partner shoots him, killing the innocent host and freeing him from the bunny mask. The Winchesters burn the mask, but that doesn’t do the trick.
They realize that they’re dealing with ghost possession: the murder victim, a children’s performer, was accused of molesting a couple of neighbor kids. Two of the dads attempted to scare him by dangling him over a bridge, but they accidentally dropped him. Now the ghost is targeting those who led to his untimely death.
The Winchesters eventually take down the ghost by burning all his costumes, and they dub Donna a hunter, which she’s ecstatic about. The woman is adorable.
Donna’s return was welcome. She brings some much-needed levity as well as innocence to the show. Though she knows what goes bump in the night and can be appropriately somber and reflective when the situation calls for it, she hasn’t let learning about the darker side of the world take her spirit away. Considering how jaded and cynical the Winchesters can be after a lifetime — and more, considering their respective stints in hell — of this life, Donna is a light.
Sam comes clean
At the beginning of the episode, Dean catches Sam praying about his visions and gives his brother a hard time about it. Dean doesn’t believe Sam is getting the visions from God, as God has been an absent father from the get-go. If he couldn’t be bothered to show for the apocalypse, why would he show up now?
Sam, though, at the end of the episode reveals to Dean that the visions have been of the Cage. This immediately puts Dean on edge, understandably, since Sam’s time in the Cage was traumatic for both of them. Sam’s soul was flayed raw to the point of his memories being potentially fatal while Dean spent a year on his own and another six months with his soulless brother. Yet, Sam is concerned that the answers to defeating The Darkness lie within the Cage and that he might need to go back to get them.
It makes sense that he might find answers from the Cage, as Michael and Lucifer — the archangels currently locked in the Cage — would have helped God lock away The Darkness. If anyone would have insight into defeating Amara, it would be them. But Dean tells Sam to not even consider doing anything with the Cage; they’ll find another way. Sam agrees, but it’s obvious he’s not going to let this lead drop.
Also worth noting
- This was another old school-feeling episode with a genuine ghost hunt. Season 11 has done a good job of delivering episodes with a classic Supernatural feel.
- Donna’s new partner has the same name as her ex, so while he seems to have a crush on her, she treats him poorly because of his name. She comes around in the end, though.
- Perhaps the highlight of the episode is the return of Sam’s clown phobia. One of the vengeful spirit’s costumes is a clown, and Sam ends up in an elevator with a possessed vessel in the costume. Visibly terrified, Sam has to stop the possessed clown from killing him and push the spirit from the innocent vessel’s body.
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