8.05 Blood Brother

Title	Blood Brother
Episode #	Season 8, Episode 5
First aired	October 31, 2012
Directed by	Guy Norman Bee
Written by	Ben Edlund
On IMDB	Blood Brother
Outline	Benny's going after his maker and calls Dean for help. Sam uses his solo time to reflect on the life he left behind with Amelia; however, things get complicated when Dean calls Sam into the fight.
Monster	Vampires Leviathans
Timeline
Location(s)	Eagle Harbor, Washington Enid, Oregon Prentiss Island, Washington
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Synopsis

In Eagle Harbor, Washington, Benny confronts a vampire named Quentin, asking him where their "old man" is. Quentin is shocked to see Benny alive: on their maker's orders, he held Benny's legs while another vampire, Sorento, cut off his head. Two more vampires appear behind Benny, and Quentin says they'll take him to their maker after they cut off his hands and feet. Benny tells him he's not afraid to die and then cuts off Quentin's head before turning to fight the other vampires.

In Enid, Oregon, Sam and Dean burst into a motel room expecting to find Kevin Tran. Unfortunately, they've fallen for another phony credit card trail, and the two brothers are bickering when Dean's cell phone rings. It's Benny, and Dean takes the call outside so that Sam won't overhear him. When he learns that Benny is injured after taking on a group of vampires and needs his help, he tells Sam that he needs to take care of some personal business and leaves in the Impala alone.

The next morning, Sam is researching Kevin's many aliases online when he gets distracted by thoughts of Amelia and decides to check up on her electronically. He hears a rattling noise in the bathroom and goes to investigate, but it's just a faulty exhaust fan. As he's fixing it, he remembers the days after he met Amelia. He was taking care of the dog he ran over and had decided to stay in town, and the boy at the motel desk, Everett, had hired him on as a handyman at the motel.

Meanwhile, Dean arrives in Eagle Harbor and finds Benny's camper truck. In the back is a cooler full of blood bags. He takes the cooler to the fuel barge that Benny mentioned in his call and finds Benny, weak and bloodied. He helps him, and once Benny's fed and cleaned up, he thanks Dean and makes to leave. Dean isn't letting him go without finding out what happened, though, and Benny realizes that Dean won't be put off. He remembers the way Dean wouldn't give up on rescuing Castiel from Purgatory, even though the angel attracted monsters like a magnet and was certain that he wouldn't be able to escape with them. When Benny tells Dean that he's going after the vampire who killed him, his maker, Dean is determined to help.

They go through Quentin's things and find a logbook with the names of boats, departure times, and destinations. Benny reveals that when he was alive, his vampire nest survived by boarding pleasure boats bound for far-off ports, feeding on the people on board, and then burning all the evidence so that it was lost at sea. Dean immediately coins the term vampirates, and is shocked that they didn't think of it themselves. Along with the logbook, they find a cable bill with an address on a nearby island, and they head to a closer port in the Impala. On the way, Dean asks what happened with Benny's nest. He tells Dean that their maker was like a god to them, a jealous god who wanted to keep them together and yet separate from the rest of the world. When Benny fell in love with a beautiful Greek woman named Andrea Kormos, he ran away with her and gave up killing humans. He thought they were free from his past, but his maker tracked him down and killed both of them to punish Benny for leaving the nest.

When they arrive at the dock they need, they steal a dinghy and take it out to Prentiss Island. Dean almost sends a text message to Sam letting him know he's on a vampire hunt and not alone, but deletes it unsent. As they approach the house where the nest is living, Benny remarks that the woods they're walking through remind him of Purgatory, and asks Dean how he's coping with being back in the real world. He doesn't even know if what he's experiencing now is real. Dean warns him that thoughts like that are dangerous and tells him emphatically that they're both real. They then break into the house, and Benny notices his maker's harpsichord on display in the entrance hall. Dean tells him that they need to keep moving and makes his way further into the house, but Benny's attention is caught by a picture near the harpsichord: it's a modern portrait of Andrea. In shock, Benny stays completely still as a door opens at the top of the stairs and Andrea comes down to stand in front of him. His maker didn't kill Andrea - he turned her. Other vampires come up behind him and knock him out while Dean watches from the shadows, unable to do anything.

Back in Enid, Sam has been alternately trying to find Kevin and reminiscing about Amelia. He remembers when Everett sent him to fix a sink in one of the motel rooms and it ended up being Amelia's. When she came into the room and saw him under her sink, she freaked out and called him a stalker. He told her that he was working at the motel and then asked her why she was living there. She defended herself by saying that, even though it had been three months, she just hadn't found a place to live in town yet, then asked him to leave.

At some point in his reminiscing Sam tries to call Dean, but Dean doesn't answer him, too busy sneaking around the vampires' house. When Dean calls Sam back, he tells him that he's cleaning out a vampire nest with another hunter, but that things have gone wrong. Sam asks him if he's with Garth, and Dean says no, he's with a friend. Sam points out that all of Dean's friends are dead and insists that they can't keep secrets from each other. Dean gets exasperated and texts Sam his location, then puts his phone down to use as a distraction. When a vampire hears Sam's voice and picks it up, confused, Dean cuts off his head. Unfortunately, his body lands on the phone, breaking it.

At the same time, Benny learns that Andrea is in a sexual relationship with their maker and has become his second-in-command. He mouths off and she slaps him, then sends away the other vampires. The moment they're gone, she starts kissing him. She tells him that she was in their maker's thrall after she was turned, but she isn't anymore, and she wants Benny to kill him. She gives him the key to the handcuffs around his wrists as well as a knife, and he warns her that he came here to stop the killing and burn their operation to the ground. She tells him to do what he came for and they can be together.

While Dean silently kills the other vampires in the nest, Sorento leads Benny to his maker. The man wants to know how Benny is back and where he went after he died, but Benny won't say. He tells Benny that he regretted having him killed, and that he turned Andrea so that he would always have something to remember Benny by. Benny tells him that he doesn't have Andrea, after all, and shows him his unbound hands before attacking and killing Sorento. His maker can't believe what's happening, and Benny tells him that he's going to show him a whole new world before killing him.

Alone still, Dean remembers a moment in Purgatory just before being attacked by Leviathans, when Benny told him that he didn't need to worry about him biting people once they were both topside, but that they'd never make it with Castiel attracting all the monsters in Purgatory. Sam is also alone, having stolen a car to drive to Washington, and he remembers a moment with Amelia. His dog, still named "Dog," had run into her open motel room and curled up with her. He'd struck up an awkward conversation, and they'd realized that they were both drifting after losing someone important and being left with nothing.

Benny, having just killed his maker, goes to Andrea, who is waiting for him in the entrance hall. He wants to leave with her, but she won't go: she wants to stay in their maker's house and continue running the pirating operation with Benny. He realizes that the real Andrea died when she was turned, and tells her so. She snarls at him, fangs descended, and Dean sneaks up behind her, killing her before she can attack Benny. Afterwards, as they're leaving the island, Benny asks Dean why he resurrected him. Dean is worried about his friend and wants to know if he's okay, but Benny isn't sure what he is anymore. Dean remembers when they were attacked by Leviathans in Purgatory, and, despite his complaints about the angel, Benny helped Castiel instead of letting him be killed.

They arrive back on the mainland, and Sam is waiting for them at the dock. Dean introduces Benny to Sam, and they shake hands. Sam seems to realize in that moment that Benny is a vampire, and starts to reach for the knife at his waist. Dean shakes his head at him, so Sam stands down. Benny, noticing the tension, makes a quick exit, remarking that the brothers have a lot to talk about.

Characters

• Sam Winchester
• Dean Winchester
• Castiel
• Benny Lafitte
• Amelia Richardson
• Andrea Kormos
• Quentin
• Sorento
• Benny's Maker
• Everett
• Riot

Definitions

• Alcohol
• Angel Lore
• Dean's Monster Mashups
• Leviathans
• Purgatory
• Purgatory Weapons
• Vampires
• Vampirates

Music

• "In the Hall of the Mountain King" from Peer Gynt, Suite No. 1, Op. 46. by Edvard Grieg

(whistled by Benny in Purgatory)

Quotes

Sam: We're on the case, remember, Dean? The – the Winchester holy grail, "shut the gates of hell forever" case.
Dean: Sure are. But in order to close the Gates of Hell, we need our Prophet, am I right? So step one – find Kevin Tran. Well, he ain't here. But he wanted us to be, which means we're probably as far away from him as he could possibly put us. So step two – find Kevin Tran. You mind if I take the Toblerone?

Sam: Wait. Dean, seriously?

Dean: Hey, the trail is dead but the the room is paid for. You've got some research to do and I've got some personal crap I got to take care of, that's all.
Sam: What does that mean - personal?

Dean: Did you have a stroke? Vocabulary! Personal. As in my own grown-up, personal, I don't know, crap!

Dean: Wow. You, uh... look okay.

Benny: Getting there.
Dean: Dude, you were double-hamstrung.

Benny: Yeah, well, a little rest, a half a cooler full of AB-negative – most wounds short of an amputation will mend up... vampirically speaking.

Benny: Well, I got to admit, Dean – he's got his strong points, but holy hell if he ain't a magnet.

Dean: Well, before we found Cas, you said it was my humanity that was drawing too much attention.
Benny: Yeah, that too.
Castiel: Well, I think we're clear for the moment. It does present a curious curl in the metaphysics, doesn't it? If you murder a monster in monster heaven, where does it go?
Benny: And this is the crazy aunt I want to take on the road?
Castiel: I am not your aunt.
Benny: What? Really?
Castiel: I have no possible relationship to your sibling offspring.
Benny: Now you're kidding me.

Dean: Oh, you two are killing me.

Sam: So, you think I'm creepy?

Amelia: I think it's creepy that you buy all of your clothing at army surplus. White supremacists do that.
Sam: Yeah, but I'm not.
Amelia: Drifting serial killers do that.

Sam: Fair enough.

Dean: Benny, what's going on?
Benny: You and that whole friend thing, man.

Dean: Vampire pirates. That's what you guys are. Vampirates!

Benny: You know all the years we ran together, I can't believe nobody ever thought of that.
Dean: What do you mean? It's like the third thing you say!

Benny: No, it's not.

Benny's Maker: You're right. I've been here so, so long, Benny, seen all the outcomes, all the patterns a trillion times. It all means so little. This universe is a pyramid of despair, nothing else.

Benny: A little dark.

Benny's Maker: I am evil, after all. At least I've had that much to keep me cold at night.

Sam: Why are you whispering?

Dean: It's kind of hard to explain right, but I'm sort of in the middle of cleaning out a vampire's nest, and it's sort of gone a little sideways on me.
Sam: What?! Are you an idiot, Dean? You know better than to go into a vamp nest alone.
Dean: I'm not alone, damn it. All right? I'm not alone. I've got backup – guy who's been tracking the nest for a while.
Sam: What guy? Garth?
Dean: What? No. You don't know him. He's a friend.
Sam: A friend? Dean, you don't have any – all your friends are dead.

Dean: That's not what I called to talk about!

Benny's Maker: This is my story you gnat... it ends the way I choose, not you.

Trivia & References

Sam: Kid's like Rain Man.

Dean: He's like a crappy little credit-card-counting criminal prodigy Rain Man.
Sam: Well, he was in Advanced Placement.
Dean: Shut up.

Rain Man refers to the character played by Dustin Hoffman in the 1988 movie Rain Man, who was an autistic savant.

Sam: You are a wascally wabbit, Mr. Tran.

Cartoon hunter Elmer Fudd would refer to Bugs Bunny as a "wascally wabbit" when he was eluding him. At Salute To Supernatural Chicago 2012, Jared described how he didn't want to perform the line as written, so changed it. However later when called in to record some lines in the episode there was a note from producer Bob Singer asking him to redo it in the original form.

Castiel: I have to agree with the vampire Dean. The risk of crossing Purgatory with a seraph, it's less than strategic.

A seraph is a particular type of angel, described as a fiery six-winged creature and also used as a synonym for serpent in the Hebrew Bible.

Dean: Listen to me, you undead blood junkie, I'm the one with the mojo. I'm the one with the plan. Cas... we're gonna shove your ass back through the eye of that needle if it kills all three of us.

"Eye of that needle" is refence to the scripture attributed to Jesus in Matthew 19:23-26, known as "eye of a needle."

According to director Guy Bee, Benny whistling "In the Hall of the Mountain King" was a homage to the Fritz Lang Movie M, where the killer played by Peter Lorre whistles the same tune.

Dean: Oh, my God, stop talking. I texted you my 20.

"20" meaning "location" comes from the original "10-20" 10-code used by United States law enforcement to verbally encode their radio transmissions.

Dean: So, what is that? Like the vampire Zone diet?

The Zone Diet is a diet popularized in books by biochemist Barry Sears. It advocates consuming calories from carbohydrates, protein, and fat in a balanced ratio.

Benny: You know what Socrates said about a life unconsidered.

Socrates was a Greek philosopher. The actual quote Benny is referring to was: "The unexamined life is not worth living for a human being."

The boat Dean and Benny take to and from the island features the initial C & D painted on it. Destiel fans took this as a shout out to their ship - Castiel/Dean, however director Guy Bee confirmed that it was a reference to the name that had been suggested that Jensen call the boat he bought in early 2012 - The Captain and Danneel.

Sam's expression in the final scene after he learns of Dean's relationship with Benny is a classic example of his "bitch face."

Minutiae

Kevin leaves clues that lead (or mislead) Sam and Dean to the Paradise Motel, in Enid, Oregon.

Kevin's Princeton application form shows his date of birth as December 2, 1993, his planned courses Physics, Math and Neurology, his religion agnostic, and the fees $47,000.

When Sam digs through Amelia's electronic records, he brings up a bill from the motel where they both stayed and a credit card application. The motel bill was issued on August 30, 2012, and indicates that she checked into room number 118 on May 15, 2012 with the designation LTS, or "Long Term Stay." The credit card application is for a Thornton Credit Union card and was completed on September 14, 2012 at 3:30pm. It contains the following information: full name Amelia Richardson; date of birth April 20, 1980; current address 342 Heather Crescent, Kermit, TX in Winkler County; previous address 7534 South Main Blvd, Kermit, TX 75204 in Winkler County; annual income $80,000; and outstanding debts $0. The credit card she was issued is valid 9/05-9/13 and has number 9870 6789 4567 9020.

Amelia's Texas driver's license shows her date of birth as April 20, 1980, her address 430 Heather Crescent, Kermit, TX 79745, her height 5'7" and her eye color brown.

From Guy Bee: "Need a smashed cell phone? Just give Jensen a hammer!"

Sides, Scripts & Transcripts

• 8.05 Blood Brother (transcript)

Promotion

• Jared on Sam's relationship with Amelia by Zap2It
• Jensen talks about Dean's relationship with Benny and Cas by Zap2It
• Ty Olsson on Benny by TVLIne and in an Interview with Celebuzz
• Plot spoiler by assignmentx
• Guy Bee tweets the cover of the script
• Casting spoiler by dread central
• Episode title and character spoilers by SpoilerTV
• Jeremy Carver comments on the episode by Inside TV
• Episode Synopsis and Promo pics by KSiteTv
• Episode Promo
• CHCH promo
• Sneak peek
• Fan footage of filming