Supernatural: Hibbing 911 (10x08)

So. Incredibly. Cute. I am so happy that this episode exists. Supernatural has never been the best when it comes to representation, and even now all of the main characters are still white males. However, this episode is one of those signs that at least they're trying to do better. This was the episode of Jody Mills and Sheriff Donna Hanscum being buddy cops together, and it was glorious.

So, Jody is on a cop retreat in Hibbing, Minnesota, at the insistence of her boss. She is paired up with Donna, who is overly chipper, but very nice. Jody is grumpy about being on the retreat, and she is worried about Alex, who she left at home. Then, bodies start dropping. Jodie calls Sam and Dean to ask them about what's going on, but she says that she can handle it. However, Dean is sick of being stuck in the bunker researching the Mark of Cain, so he gets Sam to agree to go to Minnesota. They show up.

Donna sees one of the cops standing over the body of another cop with vampire fangs out. She tells Jody, so now they know they're working with vampires. Donna is understandably shaken by all of this, but she puts on a brave face and goes to help the others clean out the vamp nest.

It doesn't work out so well, and they are all captured. We learn that the one cop used to be the leader of the coven, but he has turned away from harming people and has tried to help people. The rest of the coven are disappointed in his choice to turn on them. Dean manages to get free of his bonds, and he attacks the vampires. Donna ends up killing the final vampire, saving Jody's life.

Jody offers to help Donna out with the whole supernatural thing. Dean tells Sam that he feels great, and that this is the first time since he's been back that he hasn't felt like the Mark has been pushing him. Sam isn't sure what to make of this, but he decides to let it go for now.

Problems?

Yeah a few. I mean, I don't want to complain too much about little plot-y nitpicks, since I know not what this type of episode is for. Still, though... I was confused about the vampires a little bit. Why weren't they presenting with normal vampiric behavior? Jody, Sam and Dean all couldn't figure out what the monster was, but then it turned out to be something that they've all faced before. So, why the big mystery at the beginning?

Another couple of nitpicks: the dialogue during the climactic scene with the vampires was pretty darn weak. Lots of silly catch phrases and awkward villain speak, especially with the one younger female vampire who asked Jody for some spare change earlier. I could have used a script re-write for those moments.

I think that's really all I have in terms of complaints. As I said at the start, this was such a fun episode, and I'm really happy that we got to see it.

First of all, Jody was amazing. I love her character so much. She's so strong, and serious, but also so gentle and mothering. I loved all the stuff with Alex, even if we never saw her. It would make sense that she'd be something of a troubled teen, but at the same time she's doing a lot better because Jody's around. Jody was also a great friend to Donna, even though Donna was annoying to her.

The stuff with Donna's ex was outstanding. I loved how Jody stuck her nose where it didn't belong and later apologized for it. At the same time, Donna admits that Jody has a point. The two of them were such a good team. Kudos to Jody for calling out the fat-shaming! Great message.

My favorite Donna and Jody moment was the conversation they had about Alex, where they reminisced about being angry teenagers who would never listen to what anybody told them. This was such a genuine moment and it was all about these two women sharing something. Amazing!

Donna was fantastic as well. She's so cute and chipper, but she's also a very competent cop. She's scared when she learns about monsters, but she doesn't back down and she learns how to deal with this new fact about life. She is understandably a little bit weak when it comes to her jerk of an ex-husband, but she doesn't let him control her entirely. And she saves Jody's life in the end!

Sam and Dean were good in this episode too, I guess. ;) My favorite part was when Dean was getting all defensive about his fake job as an FBI agent, and Sam called him out on it. Dean says: "This badge means something!" Sam replies: "I made it at kinkos." Dean says: "Yes you did. Be proud of that." That was a great joke.

The scene at the end is all the more important when you consider the promo for next week. Dean says that the Mark of Cain isn't controlling him anymore, but he's either in denial, or he's flat-out lying to Sam. The strange thing is, he did seem more like his old self in this episode. He didn't seem totally manic and out of control when he was killing those vampires. This would seem to be the calm before the storm, though. It's gonna hurt so much!

Jody's mothering relationship to the Winchesters is fantastic. I love that Jody knew that Dean was missing, but that Sam never bothered to fill her in when he found him. Tsk, tsk, Sam! Jody offers to lend an ear to Dean if he should need it, because she knows that Dean is still going through something. I love Jody. Can we get a spin-off about her, please and thank you?

I think I'll leave it there. Next week is the mid-season finale, and it's going to be extraordinarily painful. Yay!

8/10