Supernatural season 9, episode 15, “Thinman,” aired tonight, featuring the return of the Ghostfacers.
Ghost! Ghostfacers!
The episode opens with the death of a teenage girl. After seeing a faceless monster behind her in a selfie, she’s murdered.
Dean gets wind of the case when the selfie is posted online and plans to take the case on his own. Sam’s affronted that Dean would take a hunt without him, but Dean replies that he doesn’t know what Sam wants anymore. After catching Sam up on the case, they head to Washington together.
While being interviewed, the victim’s mother mentions cold spots and fritzing. When Sam and Dean ask about those phrases, she says she talked to supernaturalists about her daughter’s murder. The supernaturalists in question? The Ghostfacers.
Sam and Dean catch up with Ed and Harry, sans the rest of their team, at a diner. After asking the waiter for the check, Dean tells Ed and Harry to leave. The Ghostfacers aren’t particularly impressed — as usual — and refuse.
Thinman
Sam checks the Ghostfacers’ website and discovers they wrote a book: The Skinny on Thinman. And the monster in question looks like the thing that killed the girl. Dean’s still on the ghost train, but Sam keeps digging on Thinman.
They head down to the sheriff’s office and get the evidence from the murder from one of the officers, Norwood. The Winchesters realize the selfie was posted two hours after her murder. Unless they have a tech-savvy spook, something else is going on.
Meanwhile, the Ghostfacers set up some equipment in the victim’s room. Harry stalks his ex-girlfriend’s Facebook and Ed considers leaving the case to the Winchesters. Harry, though, convinces Ed to keep on with the job so they can make the haters, like their old teammates, eat their words.
That night, the diner manager is murdered by Thinman, and his death is caught on tape.
‘We just play supernaturalists on TV’
The next day, Sam and Dean arrive at the crime scene, only to find Ed and Harry there as well. Dean confronts the Ghostfacers, but they have no idea what Thinman is either. Meanwhile, the lack of EMF indicates the monster probably isn’t a ghost, and the video of this murder was posted online as well.
That night, Harry is ready to head into the woods to finally catch Thinman, but Ed really wants to leave the case with Sam and Dean. Ed ends up dropping Harry off in the woods behind a grocery store and heading over to Sam and Dean’s motel.
The brothers share a moment from their childhood, but it turns bittersweet just in time for Ed to arrive. He confesses that he invented Thinman to keep Harry from leaving Ghostfacers. He only faked one case before it went viral. The brothers tell Harry he has to tell Ed because “secrets ruin relationships.” Which isn’t pointed at all.
‘Punched right in the feels’
The Winchesters and Ed head out after Harry, who is confronted by Thinman. Thinman gets one strike, but Harry flees and runs into Sam and Dean. Sam bandages Harry up while Dean gets photos of getaway tracks, which forces Ed to tell Harry the truth.
Harry is, understandably, furious. Ed defends himself, saying he saved Harry from a boring life. He wants to debunk Thinman then go back to being the Ghostfacers, but Harry says he can’t trust Ed anymore. Gee, why does this sound familiar?
After Ed goes for coffee, Sam visits Harry. “There are things you can forgive and things you can’t,” Sam tells him from personal experience. But before we can get any actual Sam POV, Dean comes in with a lead on the tire tracks, so they head out.
Ed overhears them talking, so when he goes back into the room he tells Harry that he wants to clean up the mess he made. After some hesitation, Harry agrees to help.
It’s complicated
Across town, Norwood meets and tasers the Winchesters. He and his partner, Roger, tie the brothers up and plan to kill them in another viral video. Roger is the waiter from the diner; he killed the girl because she wouldn’t go out with him; the diner manager because he hated his boss; and the sheriff.
Norwood and Roger monologue about their motivations, and Sam works himself free of his handcuffs. Harry and Ed arrive in time to interrupt any Thinman murdering. Roger and Norwood overpower Ed and Harry, but the interruption gave Sam and Dean enough time to get loose.
Sam takes down Norwood while Dean forces Roger to stab himself in a disturbing scene. Norwood pulls his gun on Sam, but Ed steps in front of him. Norwood plans to shoot them both, though, so Harry shoots him first.
In the aftermath, Dean plans to make it look like Norwood and Roger killed each other, but Sam’s unsettled because they just killed two people. Meanwhile, Harry tells Ed he doesn’t think they will ever be OK again. Ed’s been selfish, and Harry’s concluded that this isn’t something he can forgive.
What does that means for them? It’s complicated.
Harry gets a ride from the Winchesters as Ed watches on sadly in a cautionary tale of the path the brothers are headed down.
Watch a promo for the next episode
Supernatural returns with a new episode on Tuesday, March 18.
