Skin

"*It's funny. I kind of understand him. He’s all alone—close to no one. All he wants is for someone to love him. He’s like me. You know, everybody needs a little human touch now and then. It’s so hard to be different.*"
—Shapeshifter Dean

**"Skin"** is the sixth episode of Season One of The CW's *Supernatural*. It was written by John Shiban and directed by Robert Duncan McNeill. It is the sixth episode of the series overall, and premiered on October 18, 2005.

## Synopsis

Sam and Dean come to the aid of Sam's old college buddy after he is accused of a murder he swears he didn't commit. The brothers discover a shapeshifter is adopting the likenesses of others and murdering people. The brothers' race to stop the shapeshifter takes a terrifying turn when he shifts into the likeness of Dean.

## Recap

*This section is a detailed recap of this episode. **There are major spoilers.** Click to expand.*

Sam receives an email from a friend in Stanford, Becky Warren, whose brother Zach has been arrested for the murder of his girlfriend. Keen to help them out, Sam convinces Dean that they should travel to St. Louis.

When they arrive, Becky explains that Zach came home to find his girlfriend Emily beaten to death. Becky claims that Zach was with her when Emily was killed, but that a security tape shows him arriving home around the time of her death.

Claiming that Dean is a police detective, Sam gets Becky to take them to the scene of the crime. The only clues they find are that the house was robbed about a week before the murder, and that the dog next door has become vicious since the attack. Dean is still skeptical, but when he and Sam examine the security tape, which Becky has obtained from Zach’s lawyers. On the tape Zach’s eyes flare when he looks directly at the camera.

Elsewhere in town, “Zach” watches a man leave his apartment and kiss his wife goodbye. Later that night, someone who appears to be the same man, returns and tortures her.

Early the next morning, Sam and Dean return to Zach’s house, as Sam points out that if the person they saw enter wasn’t Zach, then he must have left by the back entrance to avoid being captured on the video camera. The blood smear in the alley behind the house supports this theory. They then see an ambulance pass, and follow it to discover that another murder has occurred, and in a striking similarity to Zach’s case, the man claimed to be driving home at the time his wife was killed.

Dean and Sam find another bloody trail behind the apartment block, and follow it down a manhole to the sewer. On finding a pile of skin and blood they realize they are dealing with a shapeshifter. Suddenly the shapeshifter attacks them, and runs off. During their pursuit the boys are separated, and when they reunite at the car, having lost the creature, Sam suspects that Dean is actually the shapeshifter. As Sam confronts him the creature knocks him out and takes him prisoner.

Sam regains consciousness in the sewer, bound to a beam. The shapeshifter has access to Dean’s memories, and claims that Dean is angry at Sam for having left him to go to college, and for having opportunities Dean never had.

The creature finally leaves, telling Sam it has plans to attack Becky. At her house, Becky invites the shapeshifter, who she obviously thinks is Dean, in for a beer. They talk for a while, but eventually the creature attacks her. Suddenly a SWAT Unit arrives, and the shapeshifter flees, leaving Becky alive but bloodied.

In the sewer, Sam struggles to get free, and suddenly hears Dean regain consciousness. Together they manage to escape, and as they walk the streets, see a police sketch of Dean on TV – he is now wanted in relation to Becky’s attack. They return to her house and Dean gets the Impala, while Sam distracts the police.

Dean returns alone to the sewer to track the creature, and finds Becky there – the creature has assumed her identity now. Back at Becky’s house, the shapeshifter has tricked Sam, and is holding him captive. Sam fights back, and then Dean arrives, finally shooting the creature who looks just like him.

The police decide to release Zach, as they now suspect "Dean Winchester," who they found dead at Becky's house, was the culprit in Emily’s murder. As they leave town, Dean muses that he is missing his own funeral.
## Cast

* Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester

Guest Starring* Amy Grabow as Rebecca Warren
* Marrett Green as Anchorman
* Anita Brown as Lindsay
* Shirane Haas as Bystander
* Aleks Holtz as Zach Warren

## Trivia

### Production Notes

* Jensen Ackles appears shirtless in this episode. This was devised by Eric Kripke to meet the overwhelming number of requests he was receiving from fans for Ackles to appear wearing less clothes.
* In the first minutes of the show, we follow S.W.A.T. members into the house. The music playing is "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" by Iron Butterfly which pays homage to the 1986 movie, Manhunter (1986), where this exact scenario was first seen. A Good Deal By Mommy and Daddy has replaced "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" by Iron Butterfly for the streaming Netflix version.
* The closed captioning for the episode reveals that "Poison Whiskey" by Lynyrd Skynyrd was supposed to feature during Sam's fight with the Dean/Shapeshifter, the lyrics even run in full in the captions though a regular dramatic piece of score music is heard instead.
* This is the first time Sam and Dean's last name (Winchester) is said.
* The shapeshifter and Rebecca talk about genetic mutation and evolution. This is the main theme in the X-men films, and one mutant - Mystique is a shapeshifter

### Goofs

* The way the Winchesters parked looks like they came in driving towards the intersection. But that is impossible given the fact that it is a dead end. Even if they did reverse in, they still would have seen the crime scene coming in. Plus, the police are still putting up the crime scene wrap several hours in.
* During the last fight between Sam and the Skinwalker at Rebecca's place, the Skinwalker puts a knife on the pool table. When Sam flips up to cut his hands free, we see that he has bound feet. In the next shot, his feet are free already, without him ever having a chance to use the knife to cut the rope.
* Towards the end of the episode, right after Sam cuts the rope binding his hand and kicks the shape shifter "Dean", Sam wields the knife. "Dean" grabs his arm and flips him upside down and the knife disappears: it's no longer in Sam's hand and not on the floor.

## References

1. ↑ http://www.webcitation.org/5rzRWgWvT
2. ↑ http://www.thefutoncritic.com/listings/20051004wb11/