Croatoan - Recap

Dean moves down the hallway of a building in the town of River Grove, near Crater Lake. He enters a room where a young man insists that "it" isn't in him. Others agree with him, but Dean insists that the man isn't himself any more. A doctor admits that she can't tell for sure, and Dean aims his gun and pulls the trigger...

And Sam wakes up from his dream, lying on the floor, as Dean comes in. The brothers hit the road and head for River Grove, Oregon, near Crater Lake. Sam explains what he saw but doesn't know if the man in his vision was possessed. Dean figures that he had a good reason, but Sam isn't so sure. They arrive in River Grove and Sam sees one of the men in his vision. They go over to talk to the man, Mark, and identify themselves as U.S. Marshals. Sam gives Mark a description of Dean's victim in his dream, and Dean notes that John was also in the Marines. Mark identifies the man as Duane Tanner, who lives with his family. As they leave, Sam notice the word "Croatoan" written on a telephone pole, and reminds Dean of how a similar word was found written in the colony of Roanoke, and all of the settlers disappeared overnight. Dean figures whatever is going on is tied to the Yellow-Eyed Demon, and Dean tries to call out to Bobby and Ellen. There's no signal, and the land lines are dead.



The brothers go to the Tanner home and are greeted by Jake, Duane's brother. Jake claims that Duane went on a fishing trip, and Mr. Tanner comes to the door. When he claims he doesn't know when Duane will be back, Sam asks to speak to his wife, Beverly, and Mr. Tanner says that she's out getting groceries, contradicting Jake. The brothers leave and they both figure that something is up. They sneak around to the back of the house and look inside. Jake and Mr. Tanner have tied up Mrs. Tanner, and Jake drips blood into Mrs. Tanner's wounded arm. Sam and Dean break in and Mr. Tanner charges at them, and they're forced to gun him down. Jake leaps out the window and Sam refuses to shoot him even when he has the opportunity.



The brothers drive back into town to take Mrs. Tanner to Dr. Amanda Lee and her nurse, Pamela Clayton. Dean brings Mr. Tanner's body into the office and explains how he attacked them. Mrs. Tanner tells Dr. Lee and Pamela about how her husband and son beat her and tied her up, and acted as if they had the Devil in them. The brothers discuss the situation in private, and wonder if demons are wonder. Dean points out that they'd have more information if Sam had shot Jake, but Sam insists it was just a kid. Dr. Lee asks them what is happening, and they warn her that their radio isn't working. Dean goes to the next town to get help and leaves Sam to keep guard. As he comes to the town borders, he finds a car on the side of the road. The driver is dead, shot through the head, and there's an empty car seat. A bloody knife is on the road next to the car.

At the doctor's office, Dr. Lee is examining a blood sample from Mr. Tanner and explains that he was fighting off a viral infection. Sam wonders if the virus was responsible for Mr. Tanner's, and Dr. Lee notes that there's a residue in the blood that appears to be sulfur.

Dean continues on and comes to a roadblock. Jake is among the townsfolk guarding the road. One of the men tells Dean that there's a quarantine up ahead, and the county sheriff called to confirm. The man invites Dean to get out to discuss it further, and Dean quickly backs away as the townsfolk open fire.

Dr. Lee explains to Beverly about the virus and asks if she came into contact with their blood. She agrees to a blood test, but then goes berserk and attacks the doctor and Sam. He's forced to knock her unconscious with a fire extinguisher.



Dean drives back into River Grove but Mark pulls a gun on him and demands that he get out. Dean draws on him but they finally agree to discuss things. Mark has been attacked by his neighbors and Dean invites him to join the others at the office. Mark reluctantly agrees but keeps his gun on Dean the entire time.

Pamela insists on going out to find her boyfriend, and Sam tries to stop her. They hear Dean pull up outside and Sam lets them in. The brothers discuss the situation in private, and Sam figures that the virus is demonic germ warfare. He's found John's theory in the journal about the Roanoke colony, and how Croatoan is the name of a demon of plague. Sam suggests that they get out and warn people, but are interrupted when Mark calls them in and says that they have to eliminate Beverly before she gets stronger. Sam checks with Dr. Lee, who admits that she has no idea if she can cure the virus. Pamela objects, but Mark and the Winchesters unlock the storage room where they've locked the woman up. She's back to normal and insists that Dean and Sam are the ones who went insane. Dean checks with Sam to make sure that Beverly is one of them, and then kills her.

As night falls, the townsfolk assemble outside the office and watch. As Dean and Sam load weapons, they hear a nervous Pamela drop a glass. She wants to leave, but Dean warns that the possessed are everywhere. Sam tells Dean that they can't stay, and Mark warns that eventually the townsfolk will start shooting. They start making explosives out of Dr. Lee's medical supplies, but hear Duane pounding on the door. They let him in, and Sam confirms with Dean that he's the one that Dean shoots in his vision. The brothers ask Dr. Lee to check him, and Duane explains that he saw the townsfolk attacking people. Duane asks where his mom and dad are, and the brothers keep quiet. Dr. Lee discovers that Duane has a scratch on his leg, and Dean has Mark tie him up. Duane insists that none of the possessed touched him, and Dr. Lee explains that it takes three hours for the virus to incubate. Until then, she can't detect it. Sam talks to Dean privately and says that they can't kill Duane until they're sure. Dean refuses to take that chance, and Sam asks why he doesn't care that he wants to kill an innocent man. When Sam tries to stop him, Dean shoves past him and then locks his brother in.



Dean goes into the room and prepares to shoot Duane. Everything plays out like in Sam's vision, and Duane begs Dean not to shoot him. Dean aims the gun and says he has no choice... but doesn't pull the trigger. He goes back and frees Sam, and they make explosives out of the medicinal chemicals. After four hours, Dr. Lee confirms that Duane's blood is clean and the brothers agree to untie him. Sam asks Dean why he didn't do it, but Dean ducks the question. When he gets no response, Sam goes to get some more alcohol for their bombs. Pamela locks herself in with Sam in the storage room and then attacks him. She cuts him on the chest, and then cuts her palm and mixes her blood with his. Dean breaks in and shoots her dead, and Mark warns that Sam is now infected.

Dean tells Dr. Lee to check the wound, but Mark insists that it's too late and all they can do is kill Sam before he turns. Sam asks for a gun since he doesn't want to become one of them. When Mark prepares to shoot Sam, Dean warns him that he'll kill the man first. He then gives Mark the keys to the Impala and tells him to leave with the others, and he'll stay with Sam. Mark and the others agree. Once they go, Dean locks himself in with Sam and refuses to let his brother kill himself. When Sam tells him he can still keep on going, Dean says that he doesn't and that he's tired of the life. Part of it is John's death, but before he can explain the rest, they hear footsteps outside. It's Dr. Lee, who says they need to come see something: the entire town is abandoned.



A few hours later, Dr. Lee confirms that Sam is clean, although he doesn't understand how he avoided infection. She checks the Tanner samples and discovers that the virus has vanished.

The next day, Duane and Mark prepare to leave. Dr. Lee insists on staying so she can notify the authorities. The brothers wonder what ultimately happened, why the townsfolk disappeared, and why Sam is immune. They drive out of town none the wiser.



As Mark drives out of town, Duane asks him to pull over. Once Mark does so, Duane takes out a knife and cuts his throat. He catches the blood in a chalice and uses it to contact the Yellow-Eyed Demon. Duane informs it that everything went as planned; Sam is immune as they expected, and no more tests are necessary. The boy's eyes turn black as he looks at Mark's corpse.

The next morning, Sam asks Dean for the rest of his explanation. Dean suggests they take a break, but Sam figures there's more. His brother finally says that before he died, John told him something about Sam...



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