‘Supernatural’ 13x11 spoilers, review: ‘Breakdown’ sees a serious Donna, a grieving Sam

“Supernatural” season 13 episode 11 offered a different side of a beloved recurring character. “Breakdown” saw Sheriff Donna Hanscum (guest star Briana Buckmaster) asking Sam and Dean Winchester (Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles) for help in finding her abducted niece.

This article contains spoilers from “Supernatural” 13x11. The episode aired Thursday on The CW in the US. The 13^th season began airing on Eleven in Australia earlier this month.

When Donna’s niece Wendy (Sarah Dugdale) was kidnapped by an unknown assailant, Donna called the Winchesters’ help. It appeared that the kidnapper was human, which was not the usual target of the brothers, but Donna was desperate. Sam and Dean then met the FBI agent overseeing the case, Agent Clegg, who said that he had been chasing the kidnapper, whom he called Butterfly, for 12 years without any leads.

Together with Donna’s boyfriend, Officer Doug Stover (guest star Brendan Taylor), the group tracked down Wendy’s whereabouts. A sleazy cashier on a truck stop was forced to show them an auction site for kidnapped victims. The prospective buyers appeared to be monsters looking to consume body parts from the victims. The cashier named Marlon (portrayed by Steven Yaffee) led them to a false location, revealing to Doug that he was a vampire as well. He turned Doug into a vampire, but fortunately, Dean and Donna were able to save him in time. They were able to reverse the transition using Doug’s blood.

Sam, meanwhile, was kidnapped by Clegg, who turned out to be Butterfly himself. Clegg had Sam’s heart auctioned online, although Dean was able to kill him before he could kill Sam.

When Doug woke up human again, he realised that while Donna was a hero for killing monsters, he couldn’t follow the same path. He broke up with Donna, who was devastated with his decision. Sam, who had been moping around in the bunker for their lack of progress in finding their mum, told her that she chose that life and so she needed to let him go and move on.

‘Breakdown’ review

It’s a different side to Donna, the jolliest member of the still-unofficial Wayward Sisters. Her desperation in finding her niece brought gravity to her person that wasn’t there before, even when she was recovering from heartache after her husband (also named Doug) left her. That said, Donna has proven again that she was no bumbling cop.

She knew how to do her job and do it well, and that’s what makes her one of the best recurring characters in the show. In season 10 when she first met Sheriff Jody Mills (Kim Rhodes), Donna, in her charming and affable way, was able to convince a coroner to let them see a dead body in the morgue. Jody, in her authoritative way, couldn’t even get past the coroner. In “Breakdown,” even when distressed, Donna was still able to get a suspect to talk without using physical force. That was after an experienced FBI agent and Sam were unable to get through him.

If this recent heartache would change her personality for good, it’s yet to be seen. But it is possible the experience would leave her with a more jaded approach to hunting. Of all the characters in the show, Donna was one of the very few who had no personal stake in hunting. She experienced monsters but she could just walk away from them if she chose to. Unlike Jody, whose child and husband were victims of zombies, or Sam and Dean, whose blood legacy forced them to take their job, Donna has no connection to the world of supernatural. She is hunting because she chose to help. Her breakup with Doug is her most personal experience to date.

Broken Sam, stable Dean

The brothers have reversed roles this time. When Dean was broken in the first few episodes of the season because Castiel (Misha Collins) was dead, it was Sam who was holding up hold up well for the both of them. But now Cas is back (albeit current MIA again), Dean is able to function again. It’s Sam who is now in a dark place.

And Sam being out of sorts isn’t a very caring Sam. He knew they could help Donna but he would turn his back on her if not for Dean convincing him to stay. It’s not because he didn’t care about Donna, but because his feeling of grief and helplessness couldn’t let him do anything else. They still can’t get to their mother, and Jack (Alexander Calvert) is out of reach as well.

Sam was almost unable to get up from bed and he would even turn his back on a friend because he can’t do anything while his mum is suffering in another world. Dean was just as broken as Sam, if not more, when he thought Cas would stay dead. He channelled all his anger to a literal teenage baby, who was trying his hardest to please him. It’s telling how the brothers express their grief almost the same way when they are grieving for different persons.