2.07 The Usual Suspects

File:UsualSuspects.jpg

Promotional image for The Usual Suspects

Summary

Sam and Dean investigate the murders of a lawyer and his wife who claimed to have seen a ghost right before they died. However, after local detectives Ballard (guest star Linda Blair) and Sheridan (guest star Jason Gedrick) uncover the Winchesters' records, they arrest the brothers for a double homicide before they are able to find the ghost. When the ghost begins to visit Ballard, she begins to wonder if the tale Sam and Dean are telling her could be true, and if she might be the next to die.

Production

• First aired November 9, 2006
• IMDB entry

• Directed by: Mike Rohl
• Written by: Cathryn Humphris

Characters

• Dean Winchester
• Sam Winchester
• Detective Diana Ballard
• Detective Peter Sheridan
• Claire (death omen)

Pad of Definitions

• Anagram
• Redrum

References

File:HiltsMcqueen.jpg

screencap from The Usual Suspects

• Dean and Sam fight over who is "Mulder" and who is "Scully" - Mulder and Scully being the leading duo of The X-Files.

• At the end of the episode, Dean's mention of feeling in the mood for "pea soup" is a reference to The Exorcist, the film guest star Linda Blair is best known for.

• Dean's note to Sam - addressing him as "Hilts" and signing off as "McQueen" is a reference to The Great Escape - Steve McQueen played the lead character, Captain Hilts.

• Sam and Dean's practice of picking the first motel in the yellow pages and signing in as "Jim Rockford". Jim Rockford is a fictional private investigator from the 1970s TV series, The Rockford Files.

• Dean referred to The Shining twice - when he was 'confessing' he talked about messages from spirits being jumbled, a la 'Redrum'. When he and Sam were looking at a page of 'danashulps', Dean said "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy".

Scripts, Sides & Transcripts

• 2.07 The Usual Suspects (transcript)