‘Supernatural’ Review: “Alex Annie Alexis Ann”

‘Supernatural’ season 9 summons its 19th episode of the year in “Alex Annie Alexis Ann,” as Sam and Dean reunite with Sheriff Jodi Mills to liberate a captive girl from a nest of vampires, though the situation quickly proves more complicated.

Previous ‘Supernatural’ installment, “Meta Fiction,” saw Metatron (Curtis Armstrong) approaching Castiel with an offer, while Sam and Dean tried to learn from a captive Gadreel (Tahmoh Penikett). So, what does the 19th season 9 episode bring? What strange and unexpected challenges will the Winchesters face next?

Read on for your in-depth recap of everything you need to know about ‘Supernatural’ season 9 episode 19, “Alex Annie Alexis Ann”!

Sioux Falls police bring in an uncooperative young girl, locking her in a holding tank before the officer on duty ends up called away. The girl finds herself visited by a young boy named Cody who called in the threat, ominously warning that he and the family will always be able to find her, before letting himself into the cell. Before the conflict goes any further however, Sheriff Jodi Mills appears from behind to behead the boy, having recognized him as a vampire.

The next morning, Sam and Dean arrive to the station at Jodi’s invitation, learning that the girl has no record in the system, but seems to be an object of desire for multiple vampires. Sam observes bite marks on her neck, theorizing that she might be a blood slave from a specific nest, before Jodi learns from DNA that “Annie Jones” went missing eight years ago, but now identifies herself as Alex. Alex insists that she fed her vampire family, but decided she needed to get away, and “Mama” may now come after her.

Sam and Dean run down a list of possible locations for the nest, tasking Jodi with taking Alex up to her family cabin for protection. Meanwhile, the vampire family runs down a bus station employee to find out where Alex disappeared to, as “Mama” makes the final kill. Later, Jodi and Alex arrive to the cabin, as Alex realizes from the photos that Jodi lost her family years earlier.

The boys enter a squatted-in home to find one of the vampires disposing of bodies, who reveals under Dean’s torture that Mama turned them all save for Alex, who often acted as a lure to bring other humans home to be fed upon. Dean calls Jodi to warn that the vampires have likely learned of the cabin from their victims, too late as the vampires arrive to the home, retrieving Alex but leaving Jodi alive and unconscious. Sam and Dean find her the next morning, as Jodi insists on partaking in their mission, ordering the boys not to harm Jodi during the raid.

Alex awakens at home with her vampire family, as Mama insists she would never hurt her daughter, despite what Sam and Dean did to their brother. Alex explains that she could no longer sustain the guilt of leading innocents to slaughter for their family, to which Mama realizes that she should have turned Alex to rid her of human emotions long ago. Meanwhile, Sam and Dean load up for the raid, reminding Jodi that rescuing Alex needs to be their second priority.

Sam and Dean enter the home once more, while Jodi heads downstairs to the sounds of Alex’s discomfort, though the male vampires get the drop on Sam and Dean. Jodi finds Alex in the throes of being turned, as Mama rubs the girl’s decision in, tying Jodi to the ceiling and injuring her leg. Mama suggests that Jodi wants Alex to fill a hole in her life, to which Jodi mirrors the sentiment right back to her. Upstairs, the brothers tie Sam to a chair and begin to drain him for a snack, debating which of the two to kill as revenge for their lost brother.

Jodi realizes that Mama changed Annie’s name to Alex to replace her own lost daughter, while upstairs Dean turns the situation around and kills their captors, enjoying the last kill a bit too much for Sam’s comfort. Downstairs, Mama beats Jodi until Alex paralyzes her mother with dead man’s blood, turning away as Jodi claims the final kill. In the aftermath, Sam expresses his worry that Dean has begun to enjoy killing too much, while Jodi admits to the boys that she’d been covering the grief over losing her family with work.

With “Alex” on her way to being cured after the death of her sire Mama, Jodi takes the young girl in, as the two bond over the pain of losing one’s family.

OUR REVIEW:

Given that last week's "Meta Fiction" dove headfirst back into the main plot with Metatron and the angels, while next week's "Bloodlines" picks up in Chicago to focus on the potential spinoff, we fully expected "Alex Annie Alexis Ann" to act as something of a forgettable one-off. Sheriff Mills remains one of the heaviest recurring characters in recent seasons, though not necessarily with enough attached backstory to drastically impact her appearances, though to its credit, "Alex" made surprisingly effective use of the character.

It wasn't anything we hadn't seen as far as 'Supernatural' vampires go, though the series does maintain the odd tendency to thrive in simpler stories, putting women and mothers at the forefront for the latest. Alex's journey hardly adds any great new truth to what we know of Sheriff Mills but makes for a bit of solid character building that reminds us that the series doesn't always treat its women as cannon fodder. And sure, throw in a bit of Sam's concern for Dean's kill streak while we're at it.

It didn't reinvent the wheel, but as far as 'Supernatural' one-offs go, "Alex Annie Alexis Ann" made for an effective and atmospheric pitstop as the series switches gears to its spinoff pitch, and the ultimate season 9 endgame.

Well, what say you? Did you get your fill of scary ‘Supernatural’ action? What did you think about Sheriff Mills' return? Give us your take in the comments, and join us again next Tuesday for an all-new recap of ‘Supernatural’ season 9 episode 20, spinoff-planting “Bloodlines,” on The CW!