sobrenatural recap: 'Hibbing 911' 

Sheriff Jody Mills returns, but that means a vampire or two can\'t be far behind, even at a peaceful sheriffs\' retreat.

CUTS LIKE A KNIFE Dean gives Donna advice on how to kill a vamp with a machete—"swing hard."

It\'s been almost a full season since Jody Mills worked a case with Sam and Dean, and her appearance in "Hibbing 911" is a reminder of just how great of a character she is. In less than 10 total episodes, actress Kim Rhodes has created a character every bit as layered as stalwarts who have spent years on the show. (She\'d make the perfect candidate for a spin-off if you\'re still looking, 

producers.) So it\'s quite all right when the first half of "Hibbing 911" shines the spotlight on Sheriff Mills.

What has she been up to since "Alex Annie Alexis Ann"? Well, she\'s still taking care of Alex like a daughter, but a Minnesota-Dakotas Sheriffs\' Retreat—it sounds ridiculous just typing it out—has torn her away from her adopted daughter.

alum, Donna Hanscum, who the boys aided in last season\'s "The Purge." Donna is the over-caffeinated rainbow to Jody\'s calm and cool cloud, but Jody feels some sympathy for her after witnessing Donna\'s ex-husband Doug (also a sheriff) mock Donna for her weight. He\'s a complete prick, and Jody recognizes it.

The retreat is just as exciting as Jody expects it to be—not at all thrilling. Local sheriff Cuse asks those in attendance to partner up for the weekend. Doug, the shallow ass that he is, partners with the cute Sheriff Goodhill next to him, and with no other options, Donna, the fire to Jody\'s ice, decides the two should buddy up.

While choosing between retreat programs like "Cops vs. Winter: The Snow Must Go On" and "Preparing for a Riot: Why Not Try It," Donna and Jody learn of a grizzly alleyway murder. Not a claw mark or hair is found on the victim, unsurprising as animal attacks are rare in the area, but he\'s been eaten down to the bone.

Suspecting the supernatural, Jody checks in on Sam and Dean, who are deep into research on the Mark of Cain, but have come up with absolutely nothing. Their most interesting find? A study called "He-wolf, She-wolf: A Study in Werewolf Transgenderism"—a paper I could definitely not have turned in during college.

Sam fills Jody in on Dean\'s post-demon binge recovery, while Jody explains that Alex is smoking grass under the bleachers, but "at least she\'s not luring men to their death." She tells them not to come, but Dean needs a break, and so the two are back on the highway to hell—that is, Jody\'s personal hell.

But it looks like she could use their help, as her and Donna\'s investigation leaves them with nothing but a body skinless from neck to thigh, and a missing belt the victim would have needed to hold up his baggy pants, according to Jody. Kids these days, huh?

So apparently we have a flesh-eating monster with an eye for fashion... who, as it turns out, also hangs out in dumpsters, as another man becomes a meal for this hidden monster.

Jody and Donna try talking to Cuse (who vaguely looks like a smaller, grayer haired Xander from

, a pop culture connection I will chalk up to premonition about this week\'s baddies), but he offers them nothing. When Donna needs a moment alone after seeing Doug dancing with Goodhill, however, Jody decides to confront Cuse again, and he spills the beans about another murder. He asks Jody to keep it under wraps, though. He doesn\'t want too many cops in the station, as that would just spoil the broth, er, investigation.

The case remains confusing even when Sam and Dean appear. The two ride into town to the tune of The Band\'s "The Weight"—a song that, I had to double and triple check this out of shock, has not actually been used on the show before. Though Jensen Ackles is certainly a fan of it.

NEXT: Hakuna matata, what a wonderful phrase... for killing vampires

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