Reaper, for the show to become sustainable, is going to have to be able to function outside of its monster of the week aspect.  While these first five episodes of season 1 have been used to establish the formula and the characters involved, Reaper has set up some good on going story lines.  For the first time all season, I liked what tonight's Reaper episode did with Andi and Sam's relationship.  Andi is getting sick and tired of Sam's lying and flakiness, and Sam contemplates telling her the whole truth.  Eventually, I'd like Reaper to go the way of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, with all the main characters allowed entrance into the Scooby Gang, but for now Andi being on the outside looking in is fine.  The Devil clearly does not want many people to know about Sam's secret, but you'd have to think that unless Sam lets Andi in, their relationship will continue to crumble.  Anyway, tonight's episode involved a lot of slime, which is never a bad thing.

Sam powers down the Work Bench, closing up the store while Andi waits for him at the karaoke bar.  He hears something mysterious in the dark Work Bench.  He heads to the gardening section, and sees that something has found its way inside the building.  He watches as a scary demon with horns walks up to Sam and hands him the contract ofr his soul that The Devil promised him last week.  He has to sign about 400 pages of documents, and thus misses karaoke night.

The next morning, Sam is almost completely unable to walk.  It's like he's walking on ice.   On the way into work, he needs Sock to  hold his hand as he walks inside.  Sock lets Sam know that Andi met a guy at the karaoke bar and ended up talking with him for hours.  The guy's name is Greg.

Andi is pissed off at Sam lying to her and for not showing up again.  The Devil appears in front of Sam in the Work Bench bathroom.  The Devil says that he can deal with Greg when the time comes.  The Devil shows Sam a few people who were killed while slipping, all of whom were deemed accidental deaths.   Sam asks for a clue and The Devil points the way.  Sam finds himself in a sewer that's filled with green gak, waste, something gooey.  Sam follows a trail of the goo and exits the sewer, onto the highway and watches as someone walks into he middle of the road, in front of a car.  The car hits the person straight on, but the person explodes into green goo and the car spins out of control.  Sam walks up to the totaled car with the dead driver and finds a business card for a lawyer.

The lawyer's name is Ed Fazio. Sam opens the vessel with Ben and Sock.  It's a cheesy winter sweater.  Sam tries to get everyone to  head to the sewer with him when Sam's dad shows up at the Work Bench.  He brought Sam's wallet, which he forgot.  Sam's dad sees the contract in Sam's wallet.  He sees it and starts asking Sam if there's any way he can help him.  Then he convinces Sam to set up a meeting between him and the Devil.

As he leaves the work bench, he tells Andi that he has a lot of stuff to tell her about why he's been so flaky lately, and that he'll tell everything that night.  Sam, Sock and Ben enter the sewer.  Sam tells them that that night, he really is going to tell Andi everything.  They soon find the trail of goo.  They follow it and it eventually leads them to a big political fund raiser at a large estate.  

The security guy at the event kicks them out after Sam mentions Ed Fazio.  The guys at the fundraiser hated Fazio, for one reason or another.  Convinced that the security guy is the escaped soul, Sock takes the sweater and smothers him with it.  A ruckus ensues.  Sam, Sock and Ben are promptly arrested and taken away.

Sam, Sock and Ben await their fate in jail.  Josie bails them out, after her boss convinced Hartford (the politician) to not press charges.  Josie fills them in on some key info.  Hartford is running for city office, but is about to be sued for dumping toxic waste.  Hartford's father is dead.  They figure that the father is escaped soul coming back to erase all of son's enemies during the campaign.

Sock and Ben head back to Hartford's to retrieve the vessel while Sam goes to see Andi.  Andi is gone, off to see Greg.  The Devil appears and tells Sam about some dirt on Greg: he's been dating twins while wooing Andi.  Sam asks if he'll meet with his father.  The Devil says absolutely not.

Sam joins Ben and Sock at Hartford's dumpster.  Sock and Ben find a newspaper clipping showing the people who were going to sue Hartford.  Three of them, now all dead.  Sock, trying to cheer Sam up after missing Andi, tells a story about a high school crush who got knocked up that makes no sense.  Sock finds the vessel but its stuck. While Sam helps him get the sweater out of the dumpster, the blob dude shows up and takes down Ben, engulfing him like a snake would to a mouse.  The blob leaves down a sewer without Ben, who lies there covered in used kitty litter. 

Sam returns home exhausted, and his dad walks into his room and asks if Sam asked the Devil about the meeting.  Sam gives him the bad news.  Sam's dad flips out, enraged that the Devil won't let him help.  His guilt is massive.  Sam lets him take a look at the contract.

Sam meets with Josie the next day to sign some things regarding their release from prison.  Sam overhears a conversation Josie makes.  She's going out on a double date that night with Andi and Greg.  Sam lets loose the information the Devil laid on him: that Greg is dating two, slutty twins.  Josie spills some coffee and, much to Sam's amazement, the sweater soaks it up easily.  Sock arrives and shows Sam the morning's newspaper: a new lawyer has picked up the toxic waste lawsuit.

Sam, Sock and Ben head to the lawyer's home.  She's a hot lawyer.  Sam sees some pipes heading into the building with green goo on them.  They all run inside.  The watch the hot lawyer take a shower.  She freaks out when they notice the guys there.  But, the goo comes out of the shower.  They rescue the lawyer, but the goo heads back down the drain before they can do anything.  So, they go back down to the sewers.

Down in the sewers, they open up a drain pipe.  The blob man appears and takes Sam away.  He's getting strangled.  Sock puts on the sweater and leaps onto the blob man.  The sweater soaks up the escaped soul.  They deposit the soul at the DMV.

Andi confronts Sam about the twins.  Turns out those are Greg's sisters.

The Devil shows up at Sam's house.  He tells Sam that he set him for the fall with those twins, and lets him know that he should think long and hard about telling Andi about his secret.  He should try to keep those he holds dear safe.

Sam's father suspiciously tears out a piece of the contract and throws it into the fire.


-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image Courtesy of The CW)