Something Wicked - Recap

In Fitchburg, Wisconsin, a little girl, Bethany Tarnower, is saying her prayers before bed as her father Miles looks on. He kisses her goodnight, and she asks if her mother is coming home. Miles tells her that she's spending the night at the hospital with Bethany's sister. Later, Bethany is woken up by the branches rattling on the window. She finally gets up and closes the drapes, and then runs back to her bed. A clawed hand opens the window and a robed figure enters the room, its mouth glowing as it looms over Bethany.



John has sent coordinates to Dean and Sam for Fitchburg, but Sam hasn't found anything on the Internet. They stop downtown for coffee, and Sam notices that the local park is all but empty, even though school is out. Dean goes over to talk to the one mother, who explains that six children are in the hospital with something, and the other parents are afraid it's contagious. The brothers go to the hospital and pose as CDC officials, and Dean passes an old woman in a wheelchair in her room. The cross in the room is hanging upside down. They continue on and meet with Dr. Hydecker, who admits that the children aren't responding to antibiotics. A nurse comments that the disease is working its way through families, one child at a time. None of them are conscious, and Dean asks to talk to the patients starting with Miles. He explains that his 13-year-old daughter Mary became ill first, and Bethany was taken ill the next night. They think it was an open window, and Miles explains that Bethany must have opened her window the night she became ill.



As the brothers leave, Sam is skeptical but Dean figures there father had good reason to send them there. They go to the Tarnower home and search the place, and Sam finds a handprint on Bethany's windowsill. As Dean looks at it, he remembers seeing a similar photo when his father was leaving on a "hunting trip." He figures that John sent them there to deal with the creature and finish the job.

That night, the brothers check into a hotel and Dean explains that the creature John was hunting was a shtriga, and it got away. They check in and a young boy, Michael, answers the desk. His mother, Joanna, comes in and tells Michael to get some dinner. As Joanna takes care of Dean, he sees Michael pouring his younger brother Asher a glass of milk and remembers making dinner for Sam while John was out. Once they're checked in, Sam finds information on the shtriga, an Albanian witch that feeds off of the life essence and prefers children. They are immune to all weapons according to the records, but Dean says that John said it can be killed with consecrated buckshot when it's feeding. They take on a human disguise when they're not feeding, typically an old woman. Dean checks the map showing the victims' homes, and realizes they're centered on the hospital. He tells Sam about the old woman and the inverted cross.



The brothers go to the hospital after hours and visit the old woman. She snaps at them and then tells them to fix the cross, which is inverted because it's poorly fastened.



At the hotel, Michael and Asher are sleeping when the shrtiga enters through the window.

The next morning, Sam and Dean return to the motel and find Michael sitting outside. He explains that Asher got pneumonia overnight and is at the hospital, and it's his fault because he didn't latch the window. Dean promises him that it's not his fault, but Michael insists that it's his job to look after his little brother. Joanna comes out on her way to the hospital and tells him to stay and run the hospital. When he objects, Dean tells him to go easy on his mother and offers to give her a lift to the hospital. Before he goes, Dean tells Sam that they're going to kill the shrtiga no matter what.

At the library, Sam checks the records and calls Dean. He's discovered that the shrtiga hits a different town every 15-20 years, and kills dozens of children before moving on. One of the old newspaper photos shows a doctor in 1893... of Dr. Hydecker. Dean turns to Hydecker, who appears truly concerned about the children.



Back at the motel, Dean admits that he was tempted to shoot Hydecker, but realized he couldn't kill the shrtiga until it started feeding. He suggests using Michael as bait, but Sam objects. Dean says that it's his fault that the shrtiga is at large, and finally explains that when John was out hunting the shrtiga, he stepped out for a few minutes and left his younger brother sleeping. When he came back, he found the shrtiga feeding on Sam. Dean tried to shoot it but froze, and John came in and shot it, blowing it out the window. Sam was okay, and Dean admitted that he went out for a few minutes. John accuses him of failing to follow orders. He then took them to stay with a friend, and the shrtiga had disappeared by the time he returned. Since then, John looked at him differently. Now, Dean figures John sent him there to finish the job.



Dean and Sam talk to Michael and explain what really happened. The boy recognizes it from Dean's description and realizes it was in the room. However, he refuses to help them. The brothers go back to their room, and Michael comes there. Dean admits that he doesn't know if killing the shrtiga will cure Asher, but Michael is willing to take any chance to help his little brother. They set up a camera with night vision in Michael's room, and Dean promises not to let anything happen to him.

The brothers watch and wait in the next room, and Sam says he understands now why Dean follows John's orders. They notice the shrtiga on the monitor, coming in through the window. Michael looks on in horror as the creature approaches the bed, and Dean tells Sam to wait until it is at its most vulnerable. As it starts to feed on Michael, they burst in and shoot as Michael dives to the floor. The shrtiga finally goes down and the brothers advance on it. It leaps up and tosses Sam and Dean side, and then starts to feed on Sam. Dean shoots it in the head, knocking it back, and then he shoots it repeatedly to make sure he's dead.



Later, Sam and Dean are preparing to leave when Joanna arrives and tells Michael that all of the children are recovering. She notes that Dr. Hydecker didn't come in. Michael tells her that nothing unusual happened while she was gone, and gets in the car to visit his brother. As they pack to leave, Sam says that it's too bad that Michael's innocence has been ruined by his knowledge there are monsters in the night. Dean says that for what it's worth, he wishes Sam could have that kind of innocence back.



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