Supernatural Season 4, Episode 6 recap: What’s Dean really afraid of?

A ghost sickness affects people in Supernatural Season 4, Episode 6, opening their real fears. Just what is Dean terrified of?

Supernatural Season 4, Episode 6 is a favorite for many people. Titled “Yellow Fever,” it brings fear to another level. A ghost sickness terrorizes a town and when Dean is infected, his real fears come to life. Just what could this hunter really be afraid of?

Meanwhile, Sam takes on the protective role, as he figures out how to stop the ghosts. Of course, Bobby steps in to help, too.

This episode saw a slight change in the way it was put together. Rather than learning about the initial case and seeing the brothers learn about it along the way, we saw the aftermath of a particular attack and then a look back at how they ended up there.

Dean chased by a “hell” hound

The episode opens with Dean running for his life. As he tells a homeless man to run or “it’ll kill you,” we finally get to see the hound that’s chasing him. Of course, it’s not the hellhound we think it’s going to be. It’s a Yorkie!

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We’re then taken to 43 hours earlier, where the Winchesters are examining the body of 44-year-old marathon runner Frank O’Brien. He died of a heart attack two days earlier because of paranoia and intense fear. This is the third death like this in the town, but the coroner can’t find anything from the body, except for scratches along Frank’s arm.

Frank’s friend, Sheriff Al Britton, confirms Frank had been acting strangely in the lead-up to his death. The last person to see him alive, Mark Hutchins, confirms the same. Dean is more concerned with the reptiles in neighbor Mark’s house.

There is a backstory, though. Frank was a high school bully but improved over time. He completely turned a corner after his wife’s suicide in 1988.

Dean suffers from ghost sickness

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That night, Dean starts to act strangely, setting off an EMF detector. Bobby determines that Dean has been infested with ghost sickness when a ghost infects someone with fear. This fear builds until the victim dies of heart failure.

How can they get rid of it? Bobby isn’t sure but has a theory that getting rid of the spirit will help.

While Dean hallucinates in the hotel room and coughs up a wood chip, Sam realizes the symptoms are linked to the original ghost. The two pay a visit to Cassity & Sons Lumber Mill leads to the discovery of Luther Garland’s ID card and drawings of Frank’s wife. When the ghost appears, Dean bolts. Because hunting a ghost…”who does that?”

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It turns out Garland had died of “physical trauma.” However, Garland’s brother, John, shares that Luther was the “town freak” and had been bullied by many. Frank’s wife, Jessie, was kind to him and he became infatuated. When Jessie vanished, Frank blamed Luther, chained him to his truck, and dragged him down the mill road.

The Winchesters figure out that the victims are dying of Luther’s wounds but in slow motion. But why was Dean infected (who, by this point, has run away from that Yorkie, believing it to be a hellhouse)? Well, he’s a bully at times and Luther is going after bullies.

Dean fears a return to Hell

What’s clear is that Dean fears going back to Hell. He hallucinates Sam with yellow eyes, imagines Sam telling Dean that he’s giving into the powers, and Dean eventually sees Lilith.

Bobby and Sam are the ones to head out to the mill, where Bobby (who is fluent in Japanese, by the way) realizes that Luther is a buruburu and can be killed with fear. Sam destroys all the drawings of Jessie and then wraps an iron chain with a spell inscribed about Luther’s neck, allowing Bobby to drag him with the Impala.

Neither really wanted to do this but it was a sacrifice to save Dean. Sure enough, Dean is saved from–unfortunately, all this is before Sheriff Britton can be saved–but that’s not before we find out that Dean remembers Hell. The four months was like 40 years in Hell.

In the end, though, Dean sees a flash of yellow in Sam’s eyes. Is the infection gone or is this a hint of things to come?

What did you think of Supernatural Season 4, Episode 6? Which moments of this episode are your favorites? Share in the comments below.

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