Supernatural Review: Thin Lizzie (Season 11 Episode 5)

Who doesn’t love a good old fashioned ghost story with a nice Dark twist?

Supernatural  is back to its supernatural roots to investigate murders happening at a tourist trap, Lizzie Borden’s Bed and Breakfast, which is an actual place you can visit. Though I can’t imagine that you’d want to after watching, “Thin Lizzie”.

Sam, a serial killer super-fan, is more than eager to take on the case when victims start appearing, all chopped up. Dean thinks that it’s all just smoke and mirrors, just a gimmick to get folks talking. The brothers quickly realize that this “monster of the week,” case isn’t quite as cut and dry as they expected. Turns out, they’re both right.

The bed and breakfast is a hack, but there’s real hackings happening too.

We haven’t seen Amara since Season 11 Episode 3, when she had sucked enough souls to reach her teen years. Weaving her into the story of Lizzie Borden makes perfect sense. Amara is watching videos of Hilter and reading up on tragic moments, questioning why God bring pain upon the world.

Naturally, Amara finds some kinship in Lizzie Borden, the young girl who allegedly chopped up her parents.

Amara is a lot like Lizzie, only instead of chopping up her victims in the literal sense, she’s taking a metaphorical ax to their memories, to the parts of them that hurt inside — their souls. “Thin Lizzie,” gives us some insight into what happens to the people who feed Amara’s hunger.

Some become killers instantly, like Deputy Jenna did in Season 11 Episode 2. Others, like fellow Borden super-fan Len, change differently. They feel empty inside, without the passion they once felt and just want to feel exhilaration again.

And then there are people like Sydney, the babysitter behind the Borden-style hackings. Sydney sees losing her soul as an “orgasms and chocolate” experience. She is grateful to Amara for removing it and wants to collect others to help feed her brand new bestie. Amara is her angel.

It seems that the Darkness manifests itself in different ways for different people.

Len: I know for sure now, that if I’m not stopped, there’ll be another kill. I can feel like, Like a bubble rising up.
Dean: So what do you wanna do?
Len: You could kill me.
Dean: No, I can’t. I don’t want to do that.
Len: Then there’s only one thing. I’m gonna turn myself in. I’ll confess to all the murders, that way I can’t get out.
Dean: There’s not too many soulless killers that would give themselves up.
Len: I remember what it was like to do the right thing, so I’m going through the motions, for as long as I can.

I think the idea of “going through the motions” is important, especially because it is Dean who has this conversation with Len, and not Sam.

Ever since Dean first met Amara, he’s been cagey about the details, about what he’s feeling, and about the role he knows that he will inevitable play in the Darkness’ success. He’s not sharing his fears with Sam. He still has the urge to kill first and save later, though Sam’s reminder is a nice nod to their new pact.

Is Dean, in his own way, going through the motions? Now that we’ve seen how different people react to the Darkness, I have to wonder if Len’s speech shows Dean that, he too, has been significantly changed by the Darkness inside of him. The Mark is long gone, but the effects of it are still there.

Dean better start ‘fessing up to Sam about the Darkness soon. Time is running out, because the Darkness is coming, and Amara is quite eager to reunite with the elder Winchester.

It is really nice to have the Winchesters working together as brothers for a second week in a row. The general vibe of Season 11, so far, really is Supernatural going back to its roots, the stuff that made viewers fall in love with it initially.

It’s reinvigorating my own personal love for the show and reminding me that even eleven years in, they’ve still got it.

Now if they could just find a story line for our old friend Castiel and not banish him to watching Netflix — THAT would be fantastic.

What did you think of “Thin Lizzie”? Is Dean changing as a result of the Darkness? Will he ever tell Sam what’s happening to him? What show will Castiel watch after he finishes The Wire? Let us know in the comments!

Reviewer Rating:

User Rating:

Supernatural airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on The CW.