Reaper: "Leon" (Episode 106)

The power of monkey compels you!

Well, it’s good to see this show breaking out of its shell, even if it’s just a little bit. This episode certain felt less “fill in the blanks,” although the development of the Sam/Andi storyline feels like it’s just going in circles. And did anyone else notice that Sock’s ex-girlfriend wasn’t in this week’s episode? Yeah, me neither.

We begin with Sam and his boys already about to catch their demon prey. Wait. Did I tune in late? No, they’re just shaking up the format a little. Apparently the soul was going to hit the G8 Summit or something, but right as the boys are about to get the drop on a soul for once, Sock has to go and fuss around with a hula dancer figure that plays music and alerts the escaped demon to their presence. From behind a closed bathroom door, the voice of Ratatouille (Patton Oswalt) drifts out, trying to bargain with the guys and explain away the apparent craziness of his G8 planning board (his therapist had him make it). Sam demands that he come out as he prepares to use the vessel (a monkey in a snow globe – okay).

What was he doing in the bathroom with that thing?Patton (ahem “Leon”) agrees to come out, but instead blasts a hole in the bathroom door sending the boys flying. In walks Patton Oswalt… with a gun for an arm. Sam smashes the snow globe at his feet, sucking up Oswalt in a flash of light and leaving the snowglobe whole once again. Shortest guest spot evar.

Cue name tag credits.

At the –epartment of Motor Vehicles, Sam attempts to turn Leon in, but Gladys isn’t around. Hmm. And all the other soulless employees of the DMV seem to be of the earthbound variety. At work, Capt. Ted Sparrow is attempting to put his employees in the Halloween mood, but no one is interested in dressing up like a giant pumpkin to hand out coupons (except Sock, but he’s not allowed). Andi is still giving Sam the cold shoulder, so in an attempt smooth out their relationship, Sam volunteers for pumpkin duty to spare Andi. She doesn’t care.

So cute, so full of evil.Meanwhile, Sock has discovered that Patton can still use his gift of gab from inside the monkey snowglobe. He’s asking to escape, but Sam isn’t willing to let assassins on the loose. Turns out that Patton’s Leon is apparently Leon Czolgosz, the real killer of President William McKinley and who oddly looks a lot like Patton Oswalt. But Leon is a changed man and he’s been in therapy and hasn’t tried to harm anyone… except Sam and his friends. Sock’s already been bonding with Leon and wants to let him out, but Sam says no.

Actually the 2nd best "gift" after telekinesis.Sam attempts again to reconcile with Andi, but has no luck. Instead a yappy little dog appears inside the store and leads Sam around the corner to… another place, where Satan is waiting. He’s a little down because it’s Halloween. He detests the holiday with every fiber of his being… which isn’t much in keeping with The CW's recent ad campaign. No one is afraid of Satan on Halloween; he’s nothing more than a joke. Since it’s useless, Satan gives all of Hell the day off, explaining Gladys missing from the DMV.

Sam still has to work though and Satan tells him about the most recent escaped soul: a serial killer named The Butcher who took his victims to the slaughterhouse that they’re current standing in. The little yappy dog was part of The Butcher’s torture team in Hell and he’s here to help Sam find his bounty. He’s already killed once, so Sam has to get to work.

Back at the Bench, Sam is avoiding Andi and Sock is still bonding with Leon, despite him being still trapped in a monkey snowglobe. Leon has been transformed by psychoanalysis and is attempting to lay some therapy on the boys as well. Sock is convinced that Leon is a changed man, but Sam ain’t buying it.

It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Oliver!Sam’s got pumpkin duty and Sock tries to talk him through it and make him feel a little better with a bit of Leon’s advice about Sam’s self-esteem. To prove a point, Sock drops his pants and proves to Sam that he doesn’t have to feel humiliated by anything. Later, the boys pot open the vessel box to discover the vessel has taken the form of a meat thermometer. It seems to be pretty straightforward; just stab the thermometer into the guy.

The boys do battle with a little kid for the use of a Bench computer, so Ben can look up some information on The Butcher. A serial killer website puts them onto the location that The Butcher was active in and they head out. After a little misdirection, they find the old slaughterhouse that Satan took Sam to previously. They wait for nightfall. Sam and Ben are ready to head out, but Sock is off bonding with Leon. It turns out that they did pull the Ted toilet voice of God trick that they planned earlier.

Seriously, more useful than anything else Satan has given Sam.At the slaughterhouse, the boys follow the yappy dog to The Butcher, but of course the soul has taken the form of a giant wolf-beast thing. The boys run and drop the vessel while trying to stab the wolf-beast, but thankfully the yappy dog frightens The Butcher off. I guess that little dog did good work while on the torture team!

They don’t know how to handle The Butcher, but Sock is convinced that Leon can help. Leon tells them what they want to hear and now Ben is convinced that Leon should get a second chance as well. Sam attempts to turn in Leon at the DMV again, but with no luck. Satan shows up while Sam is at home, but he doesn’t want the vessel either until after Halloween. Satan tries to convince Sam that his friends are all going to let him down, because human are the least trustworthy animals. Besides bears.

He doesn't seem that threatening...Back at work, Sam is still on pumpkin duty and Andi still doesn’t want to talk to him. Sam quickly discovers that Sam has let Leon out of his snowglobe… and he seems to be legitimately reformed. Leon wants to help the boys to prove that he’s on the up and up. He convinces them to let him hit up his “contacts” to find out where The Butcher may be sleeping during the day. While it seems for a moment like Leon might be escaping, it turns out that he’s just using the excuse of “contacts” to go get Chinese food, hang out with strippers and pay a visit to the Tickle Massage. Sam is furious at Sock and is thinking that maybe he should just go after the next soul alone. Eventually Leon does lead the boys to The Butcher… in the exact same place where they already faced him. And it’s now after dark.

Patton's new Facebook photo.Leon points them right to the basement where The Butcher resides, but Leon’s got plans to turn the tables. Leon whips out his gun arm and demands that Sam hand over the vessel. He doesn’t have a problem with Sock, but he’s sending the bounty hunter down into the cellar to face The Butcher alone. Sock stands up for Sam and volunteers to be sent down with him. The boys find themselves face to face with the dogboy, but the only thing they have to protect themselves with is Leon’s vessel.

So the second power of the vessel is... snowstorm?Sam pegs the monkey snowglobe at the wolf, but rather than capturing the soul, the globe explodes into a burst of snow and pressure, blowing the boys up and out of the cellar. Sock finds the vessel, but just as he throws it to Sam, The Butcher pounces on him. Sam reaches the vessel and stabs it into The Butcher, capturing him and saving them both. Sock was there for Sam when he needed him and their friendship is restored.

Sock needs new underwear.They get Ben and drop in on Leon during his therapy session. Leon tries to talk his way out of a one-way ticket to Hell, but when that doesn’t work, he gets the drop on Sock with his gun hand. Sam’s a changed man though, and he exudes confidence as he talks Leon out of blowing Sock’s head off. Leon agrees to head back to Hell because the structure might help his therapy. They head out to the DMV; Gladys is back and looking rough. They drop off both vessels; job complete.

Sam continues to use his newfound confidence to talk to Andi and convince her that she has to give him a second chance and that everyone makes mistakes. She accepts and agrees to get a beer with Sam after work. And just like that, their relationship is completely reset. Outside, Satan is happy that Halloween is over and is busy practicing his golf swing on the remaining pumpkins. Sam taps into that confidence and tells Satan that he was wrong about humanity and that he’s far too negative. Maybe he needs therapy. Satan says that he invented therapy for the wicked to justify their actions. Sam can tell when Satan is lying now too.

NEXT WEEK: It’s Pon Farr on Reaper.

Seriously, kid, we've only got like 42 minutes to tell this story...