Recap of Supernatural
Season 10, Episode 12

About a Boy

Written by Adam Glass.

Directed by Serge Ladouceur.

Air Date: February 3, 2015.

In Pendleton, Oregon a man disappears outside of a bar he'd just gotten thrown out of, a disappearance with earmarks of witchcraft. The witch who took the man also takes Dean and a woman named Tina, de-aging all three of them back to adolescence. For Dean this has the unexpected upside of erasing the Mark of Cain.

Body Count:

For this episode: 3 humans, one of which was a witch.

For the series so far = At least 1110 angels, 1082 humans (of which 9 were witches), 178 demons, 62 vampires, 49 ghosts, 36 Jefferson Starships, 22 gods, 19 zombies, 12 werewolves, 10 hellhounds, 7 shapeshifters, 7 skinwalkers, 6 changelings, 5 djinn, 5 reapers, 4 dogs, 4 ghouls, 4 Leviathan, 2 Amazons, 2 arachnes, 2 kitsunes, 2 rugarus, 2 Thule, 2 vetalas, 1 cat, 1 crocotta, 1 deer, 1 dragon, 1 fairy, 1 familiar, 1 Khan worm, 1 lamia, the Mother of All, 1 okami, 1 phoenix, 1 pishtaco, 1 Purgatory creature, 1 rakshasa, 1 rawhead, 1 shojo, 1 shtriga, 1 siren, 1 Titan, 1 wendigo, 1 whore of Babylon, 1 wicked witch, and 1 wraith.

Tropes

• Adaptational Villainy: Hansel from Hansel and Gretel turns out not to be a victim who rescued his sister but an accomplice who willingly ate her heart.
• Anal Probing: A wino who witnessed the first disappearance is hung up on the idea that it was an alien abduction, and launches into a graphic story about the same thing happening to him before Sam and Dean manage to escape.
• Brick Joke: As a kid, Dean is horrified that he enjoyed a Taylor Swift song. At the end of the episode, when Dean is back to normal, a Taylor Swift song is playing... and Dean is still enjoying it.
• Casting Gag: Lesley Nicol, Mrs. Patmore from Downton Abbey is a different kind of cook here.
• Child Eater: Katja likes to make elaborate meals out of children.
• Children Are Innocent: And delicious.
• Disposable Vagrant: Variation. None of the victims shown are homeless, although at least one was on the verge of being evicted. They were, however, targeted as "people no one will miss."
• Face on a Milk Carton: Why the witch is now abducting adults after de-aging them.
• Fattening the Victim: The witch feeds the de-aged adults dry cake in an attempt to fatten them up.
• Fountain of Youth: Katja the witch turns adults into children so she can eat them. She can't just trap children anymore because parents are no longer accustomed to high rates of infant mortality.
• Fractured Fairy Tale: The Monster of the Week is literally the witch from Hansel and Gretel, "without the happy ending." In this version, Hansel ate Gretel and spent the next few centuries gathering victims for her, until Dean stabbed Hansel and shoved the witch into her own oven.
• Girl of the Week: Tina and Dean have a lot in common, bonding over their shared hard knocks pasts.
• I Choose to Stay: Both Dean and Tina consider being returned to childhood a positive thing (minus almost being eaten). For Dean, it's because the Mark of Cain is gone. When the hex bag that must be used to return them to their true age is burned with the witch, Sam offers to try and reverse-engineer the spell for Tina, but she tells him not to bother.
  Tina: I got three ex-husbands, 50 grand in debt, and not much else. I was… kind of a crappy adult. Maybe I’ll do better this time around. Get out of town, get a fresh start. This is my second chance. Everybody wants a second chance, right?
• I'm a Humanitarian: Both Katja and Hansel are child eaters.
• Is That Cute Kid Yours?: After the newly de-aged Dean helps an old woman with her keys, she tells Sam that his son is very polite.
• Murder by Cremation: Dean shoves the witch into the stove.
• Oh, Crap!: Hansel, realising the hex bag is no longer around his neck, looks around to see that Dean's got it.
• One Degree of Separation: As it turns out, Katja was sent to America by the Grand Coven of Witches in order to deal with Rowena.
• Tastes Like Chicken: After getting captured by the witch, Dean tries to buy time for Sam to escape by asking if people taste like chicken.
  Dean: So, uh, is it worth it? I mean, word on the street is people kind of taste like chicken.
  Katjia: A bit. European children are more, uh, free range, gamier. Americans, though — ooh – they are heaven. (Laughs) Fattier. The meat, so finely marbles, it’s almost buttery. I just can’t get enough.
  Dean: Mmm. Awesome.
  Katjia: No! I am in awe. This is my first visit to your country. And I have to say God Bless the USA.
• Wicked Witch: Katja is a classic, child eating example.
• Would Hurt a Child: Hansel as well as Katja actually eat children.