The second episode of Supernatural season 3, "The Kids Are Alright," mixes the innocent with the horrific. (Don't bother correcting my grammar, folks; the title comes from a song by The Who.) In the opening teaser, a man is slaughtered by a power saw, and the camera lingers on a hand-crafted rocking horse. Meanwhile, the sight of brightly colored balloons in the child's birthday party scene alone was enough to creep me out (everyone remember last year's "Everybody Loves a Clown"?) The show has me programmed: red, blue, and yellow now scare me.

Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) go to Cicero, Illinois because of the death-by-power saw. Well, actually, that's just the excuse Dean gives -- really he wants to hook up with Lisa (Cindy Sampson), a girl he had a one night fling with eight years ago. It's all part of Dean's determination to enjoy every moment of his last year on earth. Once in Cicero, the boys split up, Dean in search of Lisa, Sam back to his research. Dean can't get Sam out of the car and zoom away fast enough. Which isn't exactly what viewers of Supernatural are used to seeing.

Sam and Dean spend a good deal of the episode apart, except for a few short scenes. While I hope we don't have twenty more episodes like that, there are reasons for their awkwardness with each other. Sam's secretly researching Dean's deal without Dean's blessing. Dean's still playing the "it's my dying wish" card. (Me, I'm still waiting for that armor to crack. Any week now...)

Dean finds his old flame, and she has a sidekick: her son Ben (Nicholas Elia), an adorable eight-year old with some suspiciously familiar traits. The prospect of being a father is freakier than a Twilight Zone episode to Dean. The episode overplays the resemblance cuteness, but the scenes between Dean and Ben are great.

It turns out the children in this pleasant (and gated) suburbia aren't really children anymore, but changelings who feed off the mothers, killing anyone who gets in the way. The episode is truly frightening on multiple levels; in one scene, a distraught mother tries to drown the creature that resembles her child.

While Dean's discovering that there really is a case and bonds with Ben, Sam also investigates, and has his first full introduction to the mystery girl (Katie Cassidy). This time she has more than thirteen words to say. Guess what? Katie Cassidy can act. I thought her scenes were a lot of fun.

The boys save the missing kids, including Ben. Once Ben is safe at home, Lisa reveals that Ben isn't Dean's but it's clear, even if he was, Dean can't stay. "That's not my life, never will be." But for a short while, Dean had a glimpse of immortality. In this episode written by Sera Gamble (whose scripts are always discussion-worthy), Supernatural manages to take a plot twist that should have been a dorsal fin sighting, and turns it into a believable character beat.

New Girl turning out to be a demon is also a promising twist. I loved how Padalecki played Sam's reaction to the revelation, and to her offer of the one thing guaranteed to make Sam go along with what she says: "I can help you save your brother."

Startling scare factor that doesn't rely heavily on gore, and smart, poignant characterization.

Episode 3x02, "The Kids Are Alright"
Writer: Sera Gamble
Director: Phil Scriggia
Guest stars: Cindy Sampson, Nicholas Elia