3.03 Bad Day at Black Rock
Title | Bad Day at Black Rock |
Episode # | Season 3, episode 3 |
First aired | October 18, 2007 |
Directed by | Robert Singer |
Written by | Ben Edlund |
On IMDB | Bad Day at Black Rock |
Outline | A rabbit's foot brings both good and bad luck to Sam and Dean, and the other players trying to obtain it. |
Monster | Rabbit's Foot |
Timeline | Three weeks after 3.01 The Magnificent Seven |
Location(s) | Black Rock, Buffalo, New York Queens, New York |
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Contents
Synopsis
Sam tells Dean about his encounter with Ruby, without sharing the information she gave him about the deaths of Mary's friends. Dean is angry that Sam didn't kill the demon, while Sam insists that they can use her to get information about the demons they are battling, as well Dean's deal with the crossroads demon.
A hunter called Kubrick visits Gordon Walker in prison. He informs Gordon of his discovery that, contrary to Gordon's belief, Sam was trying to keep the Devil's Gate in Wyoming from opening. Gordon states that he doesn't believe Sam is even human, and he must be killed. A phone call on John's cell phone alerts Sam and Dean to a break-in at a secret lock-up their father kept. Upon investigating they find a weapons cache, memorabilia from their childhood, and curse boxes, one of which is missing.
They use security footage to track the thieves, Wayne and Grossman, who have opened the box and found a rabbit's foot inside. Wayne was shot when he tripped a booby trap John had rigged in the lock-up. His luck changes for the better after he touches the rabbit's foot: his neighbor turns out to be an ex-Army medic who can tend his wound, and he wins at cards.
After Sam and Dean take the rabbit's foot, Wayne’s luck changes again -- this time for the worse -- and he is killed when he slips on a bottle and is impaled on a BBQ fork. Sam calls Bobby and tells him about the foot. Bobby reveals that the rabbit's foot brings the person who has it good luck but when it is lost, the person will die within a week. Bobby promises to research a way to destroy the curse. Sam starts getting lucky – a set of scratch and win cards yields thousands of dollars, and he finds a gold watch. When he and Dean enter a restaurant, they win a year’s worth of free food. However, when a waitress spills coffee on Sam, she uses the opportunity to steal the foot.
Sam’s bad luck starts immediately, and he slips and falls outside the restaurant. They return to the thieves' apartment and interrogate Grossman about who hired them to steal the rabbit's foot; he gives them the name "Bela Lugosi." Dean phones Bobby who tells them that Bela is Bela Talbot, a woman who knows much about the world of the supernatural and steals supernatural items for wealthy clients. Meanwhile, Sam’s bad luck continues as he steps in gum and then loses his shoe down a drain.
With a lead on where to find Bela, Dean leaves Sam at a motel with strict instructions not to move. In Queens, Dean breaks into Bela’s flat and manages to steal the rabbit's foot from her. A series of coincidences have helped Kubrick and Creedy track Sam down and they capture him, but just as Kubrick prepares to shoot him they are foiled by Dean.
Bobby has supplied the boys with a ritual to destroy the rabbit's foot and its curse. Dean scratches a few more winning tickets, and then just as they prepare to burn the foot, Bela arrives. She demonstrates she is not only a thief but also ruthless and a good shot, when she first threatens Dean and then shoots Sam in the shoulder. Dean distracts her and then tosses the foot to her. Bela catches it, and becomes cursed. Resigned, she hands the foot over to be destroyed. She leaves, but not before stealing Dean's winnings.
Returning to Gordon, Kubrick now believes that he is on a mission from God to kill Sam. Even though Gordon obviously disbelieves this, he enlists Kubrick's help in planning his escape.
Characters
Definitions
- Acting in Unison
- Aliases
- Bela's Car
- Bela's Cat
- Biggerson's
- Bobby's Hats
- The Colt
- Curse
- Curse Box
- Cursed Object
- Dean's Amulet
- Fetishes
- Holy Water in the Face
- Hoodoo
- Hunters
- Idjit
- Impala
- John's Cell Phone
- John's Journal
- John's Lock-up
- Ouija Board
- Photo Album
- Rabbit's Foot
- Singer Salvage Yard
- Table of Death
- Unconscious
Music
- "Women's Wear" by Daniel May
- (plays in the diner when Bela spills Sam's coffee; also played in 2.05 Simon Said)
- "Vaya Con Dios" by Les Paul and Mary Ford
- (plays when the boys go to the thieves' house to get info on Bela)
Quotes
Sam: No one was chatting, Dean.
Sam: What?
Dean: Just Dad. You know him and his secrets. Spend all this time with the guy and it's like we barely even know the man.
Dean: Yeah... It was probably about the closest you ever came to being a boy. Oh, wow! It's my first sawed-off. I made it myself. Sixth grade... Holy crap. Look at this, he had land mines... Which they didn't take. Or the guns. I guess they knew what they were after, huh?
Bela: Being a Hunter is so much more noble? A bunch of obsessed, revenge-driven sociopaths trying to save a world that can't be saved?
Dean: Well, aren't you a glass half-full?
Dean: Wow. I really don't feel bad about that. Sam?
Gordon: And what was it that convinced you?
Kubrick: God led me to him, and His will is clear.
Trivia & References
- Mount St. Helen's is an active volcano in Washington State, that last erupted in 1980.
- Pandora's box (which was actually a jar) is a story in Greek mythology about the first woman - Pandora - who is given said jar as a gift and told not open it. Out of curiosity she does, which leads to her releasing evil unto the world.
- Rain Man was a 1988 movie starring Tom Cruise as Charlie with Dustin Hoffman as his autistic-savant brother, Raymond. During the film, Charlie uses Raymond's mathematical genius to win at the casinos in Vegas.
- Friday the 13th: The Series was a TV series about recovering cursed antiques that ran from 1987-1990. Jared also starred in the remake of the original 1980 film, Friday the 13th (2009).
- Possible homage to The Sopranos. In Season 3 Episode 11, characters Paulie and Chris are chasing after a guy. Paulie falls over. When Paulie catches up to Chris he says "I lost my shoe" and shows Chris his socked foot.
- Jerry Lewis, best known for his stand-up act and movies with Dean Martin in the 1950s and '60s, was renowned as an exponent of physical comedy.
- A reference to the famous "We're on a mission from God" line from the film The Blues Brothers.
Sam: Yeah. You're Batman.
- Batman aka the Caped Crusader is a superhero created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger for DC Comics in 1939. His secret identity is as millionaire Bruce Wayne. Unlike many superheroes, he does not possess any special powers, but is renowned for his physical abilities and his use of gadgets and technology. Batman also featured in a 1960's camp pop TV series, and a series of blockbuster movies.
- In 2021, Jensen voiced Batman in the two-part animated film Batman: The Long Halloween.
- This may also be a reference to a Seinfeld scene where Kramer relates to Jerry and George how he fights of a mugger to save a woman's pinky-toe. His fight with the mugger is in a ridiculous fashion similar to how Dean fought off Kubrick and Creedy. As Kramer is telling his story, George says "You're Batman." To which Kramer replies, "Yeah, I'm Batman." Here is a link to the scene: Kramer Fights Off a Mugger.
- A reference to Elmer Fudd's famous term (and pronunciation) for Bugs Bunny.
- Probably a reference to the Motley Crue song "Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)."
Minutiae
The flash from the photo taken at Biggerson's causes the check Sam and Dean receive to read, "FREE... FOR ONE YEAR," instead of "FREE FOOD FOR ONE YEAR". This may be a reference to Dean's crossroads contract, because of which he is only free for one year.
Sides, Scripts & Transcripts
- 3.03 Bad Day at Black Rock (transcript)
- Bad Day at Black Rock Network Outline
- Casting Sides for Bela Talbot
- Casting Sides for Creedy
- Casting Sides for Kubrick
Promotion
Episode Meta
- 3.03 Bad Day at Black Rock: A Lucky Break? by bardicvoice (October 2007); archive link
- Bond, Silvia. 2007. Sam and the No Good, Very Bad, Awful Day: "Bad Day at Black Rock" Season 3, Episode 3. Pink Raygun, October 21; archive link