Supernatural: "Mannequin 3: The Reckoning" Review

Supernatural spared about two minutes dealing with last week's cliffhanger as Sam regained consciousness and declared that he was fine. OK then, moving on! For now, at least. After a brief lecture from Dean about the past staying past, we get right to the monster of the week whose identity was given away by the goofy title of the episode: "Mannequin 3: The Reckoning."

Not since Doctor Who and the Weeping Angels have statues seemed so sinister. It is hard to say which one was the creepiest, was it the anatomy mannequin, the faceless store models, or the sad made-up face of the sex doll? Adding to the scare factor was the wound that would appear on each victim's forehead, dripping blood onto the floor. The only part that didn't quite work was when we actually saw the store mannequins raise their arms to attack the security guard. It was much scarier when the mannequins would just appear somewhere unexpected, or slowly move their eyes to watch their intended victim. In horror, oftentimes less is more.

While the ghost story was both scary and gory, there was a healthy dose of melancholy mixed in for good measure. The more we found out about the victims, the more it was clear they brought their misery on themselves for what they had done to Rose. Of course, their cruelty to Rose doesn't mean that Sam can leave her ghost loose to kill people, but Sam seemed at least a little annoyed that he had to help these guys out.

The ghost of Rose being attached to the kidney she had donated to her sister Isabel was a clever twist, since Sam's job is to get rid of the object in order to get rid of the ghost. The conundrum was solved a little too quickly and conveniently by the accidental death of Isabel, although her death contributed to the general depressing feeling of the episode, succinctly summed up by Sam as a case that he's "not putting in the winning column."

While the ghost hunting was mostly done by Sam on his own, Dean was dealing with family issues as Ben tricked him into coming home by telling him that something was wrong with Lisa. Romantic define-the-relationship conversations are a rarity on this show, and kudos to Jensen Ackles and Cindy Sampson for making their scenes together so affecting. I was taken by surprise by Dean's choice to go to Lisa after Sam's death last season, but they have won me over by this point. I don't know if there is a real chance for Dean to have a happy future, but I hope Lisa and Ben continue to stay in the picture as a possibility. I could have done with less of a heavy hand on the cheesy montage as Dean remembers the happy times he had with them, however.

Jumping back and forth between the two separate stories, Dean with Lisa and Ben while Sam worked on the ghost situation, gave the episode a somewhat disjointed feeling. Both storylines tie together in their melancholy conclusions however, and the episode ends on a somber note. Although the outcome of the ghost story was depressing, since they saved a group of jerks from the vengeful spirit of a sad, lonely girl and also witnessed the death of her sister, at least Dean and Sam's brotherly bond seems to be as strong as ever.

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