Supernatural

Malleus Maleficarum

Season 3, Episode 9, Aired 1/31/08

Episode Summary

The seemingly harmless practices of a group of neighborhood witches goes bad when one of them kills a woman. Ruby offers her assistance... but she has a few secrets of her own.

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Cast & Crew

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Katie Cassidy

Ruby
Jensen Ackles

Dean Winchester
Jared Padalecki

Sam Winchester

Fan Episode Reviews (55)

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Witches, witches and more witches

9.0

"Superb"

By JaCkKbAuEr2424, Jun 20, 2011 Report Abuse

All things considered, Season 3 of Supernatural has been pretty good. I've been letting the high quality of Season 2 blind me, so when I think back on the Season up until this point, it's actually been really good. Supernatural has the tendency to take an episode that could be considered average under other circumstances or on other shows and make it excellent. This episode was the opposite: it had a great plot, great suspense, and multiple twists.

A coven of neighborhood women turned witches are investigated by Sam and Dean after one of their own is responsible for a couple of deaths. As the episode unfolds, we learn that the demon in charge of the coven is extremely powerful, more than Sam and Dean originally thought, and that Ruby happens to know her. We ALSO learn that Ruby was once a human witch hundreds of years ago but had been turned by a demon and ever since, has been trying to keep the human side of her in front of all else.

This episode was just chockful of little tidbits of information. We learn about a reference to a new player in the West who views Sam as competition and wants to eliminate him. Also, it seems that Dean's attempts to stop his death will be for nothing, seeing as Ruby herself has said there's nothing she or anyone can do. I don't expect that to stop Sam at all though. After all, they're the most important things to each other and they'll pull throughmoreless

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3 0
One of the most visually disturbing and inherently frightening episodes ever!

9.5

"Superb"

By Snape83, Aug 01, 2010 Report Abuse

Witchcraft is a fascinating subject and I'm glad that Supernatural acknowledged it with such a frightful, intense and disturbing episode!

Ben Edlund's script is tight and solid, the supporting actresses all very good (and especially Erin Cahill as Elizabeth Clark, the most shy and recalcitrant of the witches), Robert Singer's direction is phenomenal and the episode is just scary: the episode doesn't portray a rather simple, quite banal, wand-waving magic, but a bloodier one. "A witchcraft" as said Eric Kripke, "that hurts you and costs something... and there's bleeding in bowls and sacrificing chickens". He was right. There's something so tactile about the witchcraft portrayed in "Malleus Maleficarum" and it's this quality that makes it so disturbing: bloody, falling teeth; worms and maggots; pins in the throat... This is a vicious witchcraft, an unsettling one, a powerful one to see in an episode of Supernatural. If you like this angle, be sure to watch "Sanguinarium" (The X-Files, 4x06), which is a great episode directed by none other than Kim Manners.

The episode isn't just about a monster of the week, because it also recounts Ruby's backstory (she was once a witch who sold herself to a demon) and, foremost, because it sheds a light on Sam's slow and stead transformation: the thought of losing Dean and the conscience that he will be left alone in fighting their war are struggling within is soul, and he's trying to harden himself up in preparation of the days to come. This is a subtle transformation, and a very deep one, and once again it shows the depth and the profundity of Supernatural.moreless

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5 0
Witches are whores.

10

"Perfect"

By Canogaparkcindy, Dec 18, 2008 Report Abuse

This episode was hilarious. So much funny lines. Ruby of course livens things up with saving Dean's life. After he repeatedly called her a b***. Ruby is so awesome. And we learn a whole lot more of her in this episode. She was human once. All the demons were. That was pretty big. She was around when the plague was big. And finally she was a witch back then. The other demon girl was funny too. I'm so glad she died. I am also glad Renee died. Then Ruby & Dean bonded & it turns out there is no way to save Dean out of his deal. What are the Winchesters going to do now?moreless

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1 0
Sam and Dean happen upon a coven of witches.

8.0

"Great"

By McCoyTheDog, Oct 13, 2008 Report Abuse

This season is definately looking up. Sam and Dean happen upon a coven of witches. Solid writing and good additions to the lore of the series. One small qualm, the endings of episodes seems to be that of Sam and Dean getting the crap kicked out of them and then disposing of the "creature of the week". I'd like for the "creature of the week" to win once in a while. But that is a small qualm in a strong episode that shows that this season may be finding its footing after a very rought start. Sam and Dean are clicking.moreless

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2 2
Really great episode.

8.2

"Great"

By krazy4crack, Apr 09, 2008 Report Abuse

Well, overall it was one of my favorite episodes of Supernatural this season. Sure it didn't really have the best side-mystery like the fairy tale episode, which I just can't forget, but they were able to connect the side-story into the mainstream story, which is looking very interesting at the moment. We also get a very good luck at who Ruby really is and her past and she helps Dean and us viewers further understand how demons come to be and what Dean should expect when he's going down under. She also reveals her true motives into getting close to Sam. Wonderful work with this episode.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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Trivia
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- When Sam and Dean walk into Amanda's house and find her dead, the camera cuts to her and we see that her mouth is completely closed. When the scene is about to end and there is another shot of Amanda, we see that her mouth is now open. Edit
- When Sam and Dean walk out of the Duttons' house, it begins to rain and we can see that both of their jackets become wet around the shoulders. However, when they get in the car, their jackets are dry. Edit
- The demon picks up a wrought iron fire poker to beat Ruby with. However it has been established, many times, that demons cannot touch iron Edit
Notes
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- International Airdates: Denmark: February 17, 2008 on TV3 Australia: February 18, 2008 on Network 10 UK: March 23, 2008 on ITV2 Norway: August 3, 2008 on TVNorge Spain: October 20, 2008 on AXN Sweden: November 2, 2008 on Kanal 5 Portugal: January 1, 2009 Germany: March 2, 2009 on Premiere Film Finland: June 18, 2009 on Sub Czech Republic: March 19, 2010 on Prima COOL The Netherlands: March 28, 2010 on Net5 Slovakia: September 24, 2010 on Markiza Edit
- The radio station Paul Dutton listens to in the car, 101.1, is the frequency of a classic rock station CFMI in Vancouver, where the show is filmed. Classic Rock 101 plays many of the same songs and artists used in the show. Edit
- Music: I Put a Spell on You by Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Every Rose Has Its Thorn by Poison. Edit
Quotes
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- Dean: I saw Hellraiser, I get the gist. Ruby: Actually, they got that pretty close. Except for all the custom leather. Edit
- Sam: Stop the spell or die! Five seconds. Renee: What? No… please… don't kill us! Elizabeth: We were just getting Renee a lower mortgage rate! Edit
- Sam: (about Amanda) See, her house was littered with Satanic paraphernalia. Dean: A regular Black Sabbath. Elizabeth: No, that… but she was an Episcopalian. Dean: Well… then we're pretty sure she was using the wrong Bible. Edit
Allusions
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- Tammy: You're really telling me you threw in your chips with Abbott and Costello here? William "Bud" Abbott and Lou Costello were an American comedy duo known for rapid-fire word play. Their most well-known routine is the quintessential "Who's On First?" Edit
- Tammy: What did you think it was? Make believe, positive thinking, The Secret? The Secret is a New Age self-help book that talks about how positive thoughts are powerful magnets that attract wealth, health, and happiness; on the flip side, it claims that fleeting negative thoughts are powerful enough to create terminal illness, poverty and even widespread disasters. It has been widely denounced as pseudoscience. Edit
- Tammy: That's what happens when witches get voted off the island. This is a reference to the CBS hit Survivor where the losers are voted off the island. Edit