2.02 Everybody Loves a Clown

Title	Everybody Loves a Clown
Episode #	Season 2, Episode 2
First aired	October 5, 2006
Directed by	Philip Sgriccia
Written by	John Shiban
On IMDB	Everybody Loves a Clown
Outline	After listening to a message on John's cell phone from a woman named Ellen, Sam and Dean decide to track her down.
Monster	Rakshasa
Timeline	One week after 2.01 In My Time of Dying
Location(s)	Nebraska Sioux Falls, South Dakota Medford, Wisconsin
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Synopsis

Dean and Sam cremate their father’s remains on a funeral pyre. As they say farewell to him, Sam asks Dean whether John had any final words. After a pause, Dean lies and says no.

While staying with Bobby, Dean is consumed with repairing the Impala, and refuses to discuss John’s death. Sam finds an old message on John’s cell phone and they track it down to an address. The boys borrow a Dodge Caravan from Bobby and go to Harvelle’s Roadhouse. Here they meet Ellen Harvelle and her daughter Jo who, to the boys’ surprise, knew their father and know all about demons. The Roadhouse is a regular haunt of hunters, and Ellen’s deceased husband, Bill was also a hunter. Another regular at the Roadhouse, Ash, offers to help analyze John’s research on the Yellow-Eyed Demon.

While waiting for Ash to complete his work, the boys investigate a series of murders that have occurred while a circus is in town. A clown has been seen in the vicinity of the deaths. The boys get jobs working at the circus, but continue to clash over how they are dealing with their grief.

When their suspicions are aroused after a little girl sees a clown her parents can’t see, they stake out the girl’s house, and manage to save her from a clown, who disappears as they shoot at it.

Sam calls Ellen, who tells the boys the creature is a rakshasa that must be killed with a brass dagger. Suspecting Mr. Cooper, the carnival owner, the boys return to the circus. The real culprit is the blind knife thrower, who attacks the boys and traps them in the funhouse. Sam manages to kill the rakshasa with a brass pipe from the organ.

The boys return to the Roadhouse where Ash has set up a computer program to alert them to appearances of the Yellow-Eyed Demon. Ellen offers them her spare room, but they return to Bobby’s place.

Back at Bobby’s, Sam admits he is not dealing with John’s death, but charges that Dean isn’t either. As Sam walks away, Dean picks up a tire iron and with rage and grief smashes into the Impala.

Characters

• Dean Winchester
• Sam Winchester
• Ellen
• Jo
• Ash
• Barry Papazian
• Mr. Cooper

Definitions

• Pyre ^PoD
• Coulrophobia ^PoD
• Rakshasa ^PoD
• Macabre ^PoD
• Clowns
• John's Cell Phone
• Harvelle's Roadhouse
• Singer Salvage Yard
• Star Wars
• The X-Files
• Jo's Blog

Music

• "Time Has Come Today" by The Chambers Brothers

plays during recap of previous events

• "Shambala" by Three Dog Night

plays as Dean fixes the Impala

• "Do That to Me One More Time" by Captain & Tennille

played in the van Sam and Dean take to the Roadhouse

• "Mississippi Mudd" by Tim P. & Stephen R. Phillips

playing in the Roadhouse

Quotes

Dean: (to Sam) You know what? You're right. Come here. I'm gonna lay my head gently on your shoulder. Maybe we can cry, hug, and maybe even slow dance

Dean: [on his minivan ride] This is humiliating. I feel like a friggin' soccer mom!

Dean: [referring to Ash] You got to be kidding me. This guy's no genius, he's a Lynyrd Skynyrd roadie!

Ash: [on Dean admiring his haircut] All business up front, party in the back.

Jo: Most hunters come through that door think they can get in my pants with some... pizza, a six pack, and side one of Zeppelin IV.

Dean: Planes crash!
Sam: And apparently clowns kill!

Dean: (to Sam) I just think it's really interesting, this sudden obedience you have to Dad. It's like, oh, what would Dad want me to do? Sam, you spent your entire life slugging it out with that man. I mean, hell, you, you picked a fight with him the last time you ever saw him. And now that he's dead, now you want to make it right? Well, I'm sorry Sam, but you can't, it's too little, too late.

Sam: More Murders?

Dean: Two more last night. Apparently they were ripped to shreds. And they had a little boy with them.

Sam: Who fingered a clown. (Dean pauses, giving SAM a weird look) What?

Sam: (to Dean) About me and Dad. I'm sorry that the last time I was with him I tried to pick a fight. I'm sorry that I spent most of my life angry at him. I mean for all I know, he died thinking that I hate him. So you're right - what I'm doing right now, it's too little. It's too late. I miss him, man. And I feel guilty as hell. And I'm not all right. Not at all. But neither are you. That much I know.

Trivia & References

The writer of this episode John Sihban wrote for The X-Files. Ken Kramer who plays Mr. Cooper appeared in three X-Files episodes (as different characters) and Chad Lindberg (Ash) also appeared in one episode. See Weren't You On Another TV Show? for a detailed list of actors who have appeared in both Supernatural and The X-Files.

The name "Ash" may be a reference to the lead character in the Evil Dead movies.

The town in which the rakshasa first strikes in this episode is Medford, Wisconsin.

A rakshasa featured in the 1974 TV series The Night Stalker - the predecessor of both The X-Files and Supernatural.

The most famous example of a rakshasa-like creature in modern horror texts is Stephen King's It, a creature that also hibernates for a stretch of time and appears as a clown.

After the teaser, Dean and Sam are at their father's funeral pyre. The way it is shot is a visual reference to the end of Return of the Jedi when Luke burns the body (or suit) of his father, Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker.

Ash says, "I'm on it like Divine on dog dookie." This is a reference to a John Waters film, Pink Flamingos, in which infamous transvestite Divine eats dog faeces. Pink Flamingos is widely considered the epitome of Bad Taste films, and arguably it's Ash who makes this reference because he seems to fit the trash demographic Waters portrays and celebrates in his films.

Dean's line to Sam, "You cry when you see Ronald McDonald" is considered by some to be to a fantext - gekizetsu's Letters from Sam to Stephen King. Ronald McDonald is the mascot for the fast-food restaurant chain McDonald’s.

The title card at the end is In Memory of our Friend, Peter Ellis. Peter Ellis is the director of 1.05 Bloody Mary and 1.15 The Benders, and died in late April of 2006.

Jo's comment to Dean that "Most hunters come through that door think they can get in my pants with some... pizza, a six pack, and side one of Zeppelin IV," is probably inspired by the 1982 film Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Mike Damone, a character who claims to be an expert on women, recommends in his five point plan that, "When it comes down to making out, whenever possible, put on side one of Led Zeppelin IV." Though referred to as Zeppelin IV, Led Zeppelin's fourth album is technically untitled.

The title of the episodes comes from a Gary Lewis & The Playboys song. See also The Meaning of Episode Titles.

A lot of the things that should make Sam uneasy was ad-libbed. Phil Sgriccia, co-executive producer, relates the story of the clown-chair in Mr. Cooper's trailer: "As the boys came in, I said to Jensen, 'Sam hates clowns, which chair do you sit in?'"S2Com, p.28.

An open call for extras for this episode results in some fan reports here and here from a sunny day on set.

Dean: Planes crash!

Sam: And apparently clowns kill!

This conversation is a reference to Dean's fear of flying, as shown in 1.04 Phantom Traveler.

Dean: (to Sam) Well, I'm sorry Sam, but you can't, it's too little, too late.

This is could be a reference either to the song "Too Little Too Late" by Jojo in 2006 or to the song, "Too Little Too Late" by Barenaked Ladies in 2001.

Sides, Scripts & Transcripts

• 2.02 Everybody Loves a Clown (transcript)

Promotion

• Episode Stills
• Episode Promo: 2.02 Everybody Loves a Clown