Supernatural (TV series)/Recap/S01/E06 Skin

Season 1, Episode 6:

Skin
Sam and Dean go to St. Louis to investigate a murder at the behest of one of Sam's college friends.

Tropes
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"Shapeshifter!Dean: Maybe this thing was born human but was different, hideous and hated... until he learned to become someone else."
 * Absurdly Spacious Sewer: Sam and Dean pursue their quarry into a sewer large enough for them to stand upright, occasionally walk abreast, and a spacious lair for the shapeshifter. Large rusty pipes and large amounts of moisture complete the expected look of an ancient underground despite the episode being set in St. Louis, MO.
 * Acting for Two
 * A-Team Firing
 * Bluff the Impostor: Sam and Dean are hunting a shapeshifter. They split up, and when they go back to the car Sam asks Dean something about a mission done by their father. Dean gives the right answer, proving that he is himself. Except that the shapeshifter can access the thoughts of the person it is mimicking and actually had copied Dean. Sam still sees through it when "Dean" uses the arm the real Dean had injured.
 * Body Horror: A shapeshifter is killing people, and Dean theorizes that shifting involves shedding his previous skin. Late in the episode, we see him shift. Dean was right.
 * Busman's Holiday: While it's not really "holiday", Sam and especially Dean didn't expect that helping one of Sam's friends would end up with hunting a monster.
 * Captain Obvious: Sam, pointing to bloodstain. "Blood."
 * Clear My Name: What Sam and Dean are trying to do for one of Sam's friends.
 * Criminal Doppelganger
 * Evil-Detecting Dog: One of the first clue that something supernatural might be involved is that the dog next door of one victim has become vicious since the attack.
 * Faking the Dead:
 * Attending Your Own Funeral:
 * Fan Disservice - Dean seducing a girl? Fine. A shapeshifter pretending to be Dean seducing a girl as a prelude to brutalizing and murdering her, not so much. Followed up by the shapeshifter removing its skin, complete with werewolfesque writhing and screaming.
 * Freudian Excuse: According to the shapeshifter, he has one. Though it still doesn't excuse his acts.

"Sam: I tell them I'm on a road trip with my big brother, I tell them I needed some time off after Jess.
 * Glamour Failure: Seeing "Zach"'s eyes flaring when caught on camera is what convince the brothers they are dealing with a shapeshifter.
 * How We Got Here: Opens with "Dean" about to murder a girl.
 * Glowing Eyes of Doom
 * I Just Want to Have Friends
 * I Shall Taunt You: The shapeshifter to Sam.
 * Kubrick Stare: Shapeshifter-Dean gives one to the SWAT team.
 * Let's Split Up Gang: The brothers, while looking for a shapeshifter. What could possibly go wrong?
 * Metaphorically True: Sam didn't exactly tell his friends what he was doing with his brother.

Dean: Well, so you lie to them?

Sam: No, I just don't tell them... everything.

Dean: Yeah, that's called lying."

"Shapeshifter!Dean: I am your brother. See, deep down, I'm just jealous. You got friends. You could have a life. Me? I know I'm a freak. And sooner or later, everybody's gonna leave me.
 * Serial Killer
 * Shape Shifter
 * Shape Shifter Baggage
 * Shapeshifter Guilt Trip: One of the many examples in the show.

Sam: What are you talking about?

Shapeshifter!Dean: You left. Hell, I did everything Dad asked me to, and he ditched me, too. No explanation, nothing, just poof. Left me with your sorry ass."


 * Tempting Fate: When Dean find his car. "Ah ha! There she is! Finally something went right tonight!" Cue the police cars.
 * Traitor Shot
 * Wrongly Accused: The secondary victims of the Criminal Doppelganger. This episode also start an important subplot of the show, with the brothers being hunted down by the police who believe them to be some sort of homicidal maniac family.