8.04 Bitten

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Title Bitten
Episode # Season 8, Episode 4
First aired October 24, 2012
Directed by Thomas J. Wright
Written by Robbie Thompson
On IMDB Bitten
Outline Sam and Dean, in the course of investigating a bizarre murder, bust into a house to find two dead bodies and a laptop cued up to disturbing video footage taken by three college students.
Monster Werewolves
Timeline
Location(s) Washtenaw County, Michigan
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Synopsis

Sam and Dean bust into a house, guns drawn. In the main room, there's a dead body covered by a bloody sheet and someone else's body that has been torn to shreds. An iPod is set up to play a song on repeat, and Dean pulls the iPod off its dock to tell Sam that the rest of the house is clear. Sam tells Dean that he can't identify either body, and then he notices a sticky note on a laptop nearby: it says "PLAY ME."

They open the laptop and find a movie file. When it starts, the words "This should have never ended this way" flash across the screen. What follows is a movie cut together with footage from a variety of handheld, hidden, and web cameras, taken largely by amateur filmmaker Brian Wilcox.

The first scene of the movie is in a coffeehouse, and playing in the background is the song that was on repeat when Sam and Dean entered the house. Brian has a new camera, and he's testing it out with his friend Michael Wheeler when he notices a beautiful girl. She sees them filming her and her friends, and she gets up to confront them with a camera of her own in hand. Her name is Kate and, despite Michael's lack of knowledge about cameras and film, they hit it off, flirting while Brian watches.

Kate and Michael's relationship develops quickly, and it's clear that Brian is jealous. Though he has more in common with Kate, she's with Michael, who is more masculine than he is. He and Michael have been friends for a long time, though, so Brian doesn't say anything. They're leaving an English class lecture with Kate when a group of jocks bump into Brian and knock his camera to the ground. Michael stands up for him, almost starting a fight with a guy named Scott. Afterwards, they're walking back to their house when they see a crime scene where a bloody body has been covered by a sheet. They catch Sam and Dean arriving in the Impala, and hear them introduce themselves as FBI agents to the police officer on the scene. They overhear that the only witness to the murder thought she heard something like a coyote growling.

Later, Michael goes out with Brian to help him shoot things for his movie. They see Sam and Dean questioning someone, and sneak up to film them. They catch Sam telling Dean that there isn't a case here, but Dean disagrees, calling Sam rusty. Michael remarks that there seems to be a "workplace romance" going on between the two FBI agents. Later, they catch Scott making out with a girl next to some bleachers. The girl tells him to stop and pushes him away, and Brian and Michael laugh at him. When he sees them, he gets angry and chases after them, but the two friends split up, Michael heading into the woods. He's by himself when he hears something moving in the trees and a low growl. He thinks it's Scott trying to scare him, but whatever it is attacks, and Michael screams.

Brian goes looking for Michael and finds him lying in the woods, a large, bloody wound on his shoulder. He carries Michael back to their house and tells Kate that something bit him. Kate panics and is calling 911 when Brian, incredulous, tells her that the bite is suddenly gone.

The next day while Michael is resting, Brian tries to comfort Kate, who is still upset. They're talking quietly when Michael gets up to use the bathroom… and pulls the door off its hinges without even trying. They start testing Michael's new strength and speculating about what could have bit him. Brian is determined to get what he calls Michael's "origin story" on camera and sets up cameras all around the house. He then asks Michael to take him out to the woods so that whatever bit Michael and gave him super powers can bite him, too, but Michael refuses and Brian leaves, angry.

They're all hanging out together when someone knocks on the door, and Brian goes to answer it. He sees Sam and Dean through the peephole and warns Michael and Kate. Michael hides their bong and Kate grabs a camera to spy on the agents from a side window. She records Sam and Dean asking Brian about the murder victim and any bite victims in the neighborhood, and after Brian tells them that he doesn't know anything and closes the door, she catches a strange exchange: Sam tells Dean that they might be dealing with another Mayan god.

Michael is psyched by the idea that he could be a god, but that night he notices his eyes shift strangely in the bathroom mirror. He's examining them more closely when his teeth start to grow in his mouth and large claws erupt from his fingers. He freaks out and smashes the mirror, then goes into the kitchen where he starts eating ravenously. The food isn't enough, though, so he goes out to get more. When he's walking home he crosses paths with Scott, who's patrolling the streets with his jock friends because of the recent murder. Scott tries to start a fight, but Michael tells him to leave him alone and runs into the woods. Scott chases him and starts taunting Michael, saying that he'll go show Kate a good time. Michael attacks, teeth bared.

That morning, Brian asks Kate if she's afraid of Michael, and she tells him that she was at first, but now she thinks "it's kind of hot". They're joking around when Michael appears, his face and hands covered in blood. They want to know what happened, and after Michael cleans up he tells them that Scott chased him into the woods and said something about Kate that made him angry. He thinks he killed Scott, but he's not sure. Brian is freaked out, but Kate is determined to protect Michael, saying that it could have been self defense. Later, Brian and Kate head to the woods, where they find another crime scene. Sam and Dean are talking to the same police officer as before, and he tells them that Scott was shredded, his heart torn out and partially eaten. Brian rushes back to the house and confronts Michael. They argue, Brian telling him and Kate that eating a human heart isn't self-defense. Angry, Michael throws him across the room with a single hit.

Michael is scared by what's happening to him, and Brian tells Kate that they should call the police. Kate says that she loves Michael and what they need are answers. She and Michael trail Sam and Dean to the coroner's office, where they overhear the coroner tell Dean that she doesn't know what kind of animal attacked Scott. They also hear Sam tell Dean about a similar murder in the area from 10 years ago. Kate thinks they need to keep spying on Sam and Dean so they know what else the agents learn, and Brian, who is more tech savvy, agrees to help them.

Brian hacks into the camera feed at the restaurant where the two agents are eating and doing further research. Michael also goes in and sits nearby with a camera in his bag. They overhear Dean find a reference to pureblood werewolves: "werewolves that are turned up to four generations from pureblood are less feral and can transform before, during, and after the lunar cycle." They also retain awareness while in wolf form and can survive by eating animal hearts instead of killing humans. From the entire recorded conversation, the teenagers learn that there is a pureblood werewolf in town, that werewolves can be killed with silver, and that Sam and Dean probably aren't real FBI agents. Kate also points out that they have time to figure out their next move because the men are looking for an older, pureblood werewolf.

That night while Kate and Michael argue about what they should do, Brian watches the footage from the night Michael was bitten. He notices something and goes back to the woods, where he finds a distinctive lapel pin on the ground. He's seen the pin before, and he takes it with him to the office of Professor Ludensky, their English professor. He sets up a hidden camera that feeds to his laptop at home and then waits. When Professor Ludensky shows up, he confronts him with the pin and tells him that he knows what he is. He brandishes a silver letter opener and threatens to expose the professor unless he bites him and turns him into a werewolf, too. Ludensky doesn't want to, but he eventually caves. Ludensky tells Brian that once he ate a human heart, it was almost impossible to stop killing, but he managed to choke down animal hearts for ten years until he "fell off the wagon." Brian gets him to admit that he killed the first victim and then turned Michael so that he would be a scapegoat the hunters could find and kill.

When Brian gets home, he finds Kate packing. She and Michael plan to leave town before the hunters find them. Brian tells them not to worry: he took care of things. He tells them what happened with Ludensky and shows them the camera feed from his office. After Brian left, Sam and Dean burst in and killed Ludensky. Sam also noticed the camera in the corner and disrupted the feed, but Brian isn't concerned about that. The hunters found and killed the pureblood, and now they'll move on. Kate and Michael are horrified that Brian made Ludensky bite him, but Brian tells Michael that he's done living in his shadow and that he's his equal now. He did what he had to do to protect Kate. Michael tells him that he didn't bite him because he didn't want to hurt him. He remembers killing Scott and the thing inside him that craves human hearts is terrible. Brian laughs him off and grabs Kate, saying that she needs someone who's not weak to take care of her. Michael attacks him and as they fight, Brian stabs him with the silver letter opener.

As Michael dies, he tells Kate that he loves her. She grabs the letter opener and tries to stab Brian. He tells her that he loves her and that she'll understand everything once he bites her. She tries to escape, but he grabs and bites her neck. Afterwards, she locks herself in the bathroom, crying and angry. She destroys the room and then, calm, tells him that she's coming out and that she understands now. Brian is relieved, and she smiles at him just before transforming and tearing him to pieces. Once Brian is dead, she covers Michael's body with a sheet and then finishes Brian's movie. She wanted to show the hunters that they weren't always monsters. She knew they would be on her trail, but she is asking them to let her go because she hasn't killed anyone--anyone human, anyways--and she doesn't plan to.

After watching the movie, Dean tells Sam that maybe they should give Kate a chance. Sam is shocked, but quick to agree. If she kills anyone, they'll take her out, but not before then. Dean puts the iPod back in its dock so that Kate and Michael's song plays as they leave.

Characters

Definitions

Music

  • "What's the Matter" by Milo Green
(plays at various points in the episode)
  • "These Days" by Fairechild
(plays when Kate and Brian talk about film)
  • "Waiting on Nicky" by The Muddy Reds
(plays while the group talks about their future)
  • "Get Alone" by The Broken Remotes
(plays when Michael tests out his new abilities)
  • "Bathtub" by The Muddy Reds
(plays when Brian sets up the cameras in the house)
  • "I Lie" by The Leaning Eaves
(plays when Sam and Dean question Brian)
  • "Turned Tables" by Should
(plays when Brian and Kate are talking about Michael)
  • "It Took a Long Time" by Koko Taylor
(plays in the diner while Sam and Dean are doing research)
  • "Barricades" by The Outdoors
(plays as Kate and Michael pack to leave)

Quotes

Michael: In a world where nothing is as it seems, one brave, shockingly handsome, virile young man, and his faithful, learning-disabled, robotic man-servant must battle through waves of cybernetic ass-hats in order to sexually liberate the women of...
Michael: Is it just me or are you getting a workplace romance vibe from those two?
Dean: Hey, check this out. "Werewolves that are turned up to four generations from pureblood..." Think he means Alpha? "...are less feral and can transform before, during, and after the lunar cycle." Boom.
Sam: Purebloods don't black out during the transformation. They can control themselves... Some have been able to subsist off of animal hearts.
Dean: So – so, what? We're hunting a-a werewolf with a pedigree? Awesome. Let's hope he has his papers.
Michael: I'm a werewolf. A werewolf.

Kate: Michael, come on. Baby, you need to calm down.

Michael: Calm down? I'm a werewolf!
Michael: The FBI is trying to kill me.

Kate: Shut up! Everybody, shut up, okay? First things first, those guys – those guys aren't FBI, all right? I'm pretty sure that FBI agents don't say "awesome" that much. You know? And – and they definitely don't hunt and kill college kids.
Michael: Did – did they say anything else?

Brian: Dude, they just sat and talked about how they have been apart for a year. You were probably right about that whole office-romance thing.
Kate: I'm leaving. And you'll never hear from me ever again. Look, I know that there's another way. I can eat animal hearts. I've never hurt anyone. Nobody human, anyway. I didn't choose this. Please... please give me a chance.
Sam: Look, Kate's right. She hasn't hurt anybody – well, anybody human at least.

Dean: Yeah, she didn't – she didn't choose this. Let's give her a shot.

Sam: Seriously?
Dean: Hey, Sam?

Sam: Yeah?
Dean: Do I really say 'awesome' a lot?

Sam: No. No, no. No.
Dean: Awesome.

Trivia & References

While found footage style movies have been a horror genre staple since the 1999 classic The Blair Witch Project, this episode is particularly inspired by the 2012 movie Chronicle. This film follows three friends who develop superpowers and how this impacts their relationships.
Michael: Hey, Christopher Nolan — lens cap.
Christopher Nolan is a filmmaker whose work includes films such as The Dark Knight trilogy and Inception.
A poster for the indie horror movie Coven is at Michael and Brian's house. This also appeared at the at the Ghostfacer's base in 3.13 Ghostfacers and appeared framed at Charlie's apartment in 7.20 The Girl with the Dungeons and Dragons Tattoo.
There are posters of multiple Canadian bands in Michael and Brian's house includings:
Kate: ...of the two I prefer Last year at Marienbad.
Last Year at Marienbad is the English title of the 1961 French film L'année dernière à Marienbad by Alain Resnais. It is renowned for its ambiguity and narrative structure which blends fantasy and reality.
After Brian makes a comment about Kate working for Michael Moore, Michael can be seen holding an issue of Weekly World News magazine. The cover of the magazine says, "Your Doctor Could Be An Alien", making a possible reference to Doctor Who.
Michael: Please tell me you taped it.

Brian: C'mon who loves you?
Michael: I wish I could quit you.

"I wish I knew how to quit you." was a line from Jack to his lover Ennis in the movie Brokeback Mountain.
Brian: Look, look! Starsky and Hutch.

Michael: Rizzoli and Isles.

Starsky and Hutch were the eponymous (male) detectives in 1970s TV series.
Rizzoli and Isles are a detective and a medical examiner (both female) in the TV series of the same name which started in 2010.
Sam: Special Agent Rose. This is Special Agent Hudson.
These aliases refer to Axl Rose and Slash (real name Saul Hudson), the singer and lead guitarist of Guns n' Roses.
Kate: Don't give me that crap. I know you two idiots are gonna go shoot cut scenes for Jackass.
Jackass is a media franchise—including T.V. shows and movies—which documents outrageous stunts and pranks.
Michael: It's like Dumb and Dumber 3.
Dumb and Dumber was a 1994 comedy movie starring Jim Carrey.
The scenes shot with the handheld camera with night vision are reminiscent of The Blair Witch Project. Even the structure of the episode — Sam and Dean watching a recap of events on found footage — is also a parallel to the movie's format.
Brian repeatedly refers to not wanting to be Piggy, a reference to a character in the book that is being taught in Professor Ludensky's curriculum, Lord of the Flies by William Golding. Piggy is smart but considered weak and is unable to adapt to the extreme circumstances he faces.
Brain: The FBI are looking for what bit you. Are you an X-file?
Obvious reference to The X-Files.
Michael: I'm a golden god. I am a golden god!
This line is from a scene in the movie Almost Famous. The quote was originally coined by Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant.
Sam: So, what'd I miss? Anything?

Dean: Not unless you wanna put out an A.P.B. on Rocky Raccoon.

A reference to the 1968 The Beatles song "Rocky Raccoon".
Sam: Dude, two burgers?

Dean: Hey, I didn't eat at Big P's for at least a year, okay? Clear eyes and clogged arteries--can't lose.

This is a play on the phrase "Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose," the motivational phrase of Coach Taylor in the TV series Friday Night Lights.
In the Harry Potter books, the term "pure-blood" refers to witches and wizards from families of purely magical heritage, without any Muggles (non-magical humans) in their family lineage.
Brian asks both Michael and Professor Ludensky to turn him into a werewolf. In the book and movie Interview with the Vampire, the interviewer asks the vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac to turn him into a vampire, a request he angrily refuses.

Minutiae

In a departure from the usual episode format, there was nearly 20 minutes before the commercial break. While the title card was shown, the usual opening credits were not played until the end of the episode. This device was also used in the other episode featuring handheld camera footage - 3.13 Ghostfacers. There was also no original score throughout the episode, only diegetic pieces of indie pop music.
David Lewis who played Professor Ludensky, appeared as three different characters in three episodes of The X-Files.
Sam: Well, based on what we've got so far, we could be dealing with another Mayan god.

Dean: Ah, that's fantastic, 'cause the other one was such a joy.

A reference to the previous episode, 8.03 Heartache, where Sam and Dean went up against people who had been sacrificing victims to the Mayan god Cacao.
The addition to werewolf lore in this episode is that werewolves who are within four generations of an Alpha, "are less feral and can turn before during or after the lunar cycle."
Deleted scene: The deleted scene from this episode included on the Season 8 DVD and Blu-ray is of Kate and Michael stalking Sam and Dean from outside the liquor store they're in. Once Sam leaves the store, he uses a payphone to call someone but hangs up once Dean appears. Kate finds out it was a veterinarian—Amelia Richardson. Read the transcript here.

Sides, Scripts & Transcripts

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