Right out of the gate,Supernaturalwas a show that proved itself a cut above,tackling entire horror movie-like plots quite marvelously in 40-something minute spans. As Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) traveled the country in search of their father, they found themselves faced with new monsters, demons, and ghosts that threaten to keep them from their mission. In many ways,Supernaturalwas something of a spiritual successor toThe X-Files. While the shows were quite different in character, format, and mythology, they tackled much of the same paranormal material — and often used many of the same creatives in the process. Perhaps one of the best examples of this early on in the series was the Season 1 episode “Scarecrow,” one of the inaugural season’s finest hours that remains a classic today.
“Scarecrow” Is an Excellent Episode of ‘Supernatural’ With a Terrifying Monster at the Center
The first episode of the series to split the Winchesters up, “Scarecrow” starts after Sam and Dean go separate ways. The former wants to continue the search for their father rather than investigate a run-of-the-mill missing person casein the fictional Burkitsville, Indiana(a slyBlair Witchreference), but Dean is convinced that John (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) has them on this hunt for a reason. Ever headstrong, Sam leaves his brother behind and decides to travel on his own while Dean continues his job. But without Sam by his side, things go south for Dean when he’s abducted by the small-town residents, who reveal that they have been sacrificing to a pagan god for years in exchange for good crops — a Norse god that possesses the local scarecrow to kill its victims. Butwhat feels like the plot of a B-horror picture isan A+ episode ofSupernatural. This demonic antagonist is seriously hardcore. The Vanir (Mike Carpenter) wears the skin of its victims, continually adding patches to its scarecrow exterior, and it’s an inspired take on the possessed object idea that easily makes the skin crawl.It’s a truly spooky episode, one perfect for Halloween time despite taking place in spring.
What could have simply been scary background dressing for the episode soon becomes haunting when the straw-man comes to life and begins to hack and slash its victims. Twice we see the Vanir possess the scarecrow, andtwice it proves itself as one of the most frightening (and effective) monsters the show ever had. There are many reasons that “Scarecrow” is a great episode, albeitone of the very best from Season 1. The arguments between Sam and Dean drive the narrative well, which doubles as a secret mythology episode, serving as the introduction tolongtime demonic antagonist Meg(played by the lateNicki Aycox), the daughter of the allusive Yellow-Eyed Demon. Though Sam eventually comes around just in time to save his brother, it feels a bit touch-and-go there for a while. The tension is masterful, and “Scarecrow” remains a memorable hour of the show due to its unique antagonist and the small-town horrors that could have easily headlined a one-and-done horror flick.
“Scarecrow” Was Made by ‘X-Files’ Alums, and It Shows
But as much as “Scarecrow” works as a (mostly) standaloneSupernaturaladventure, it was also written at a time when the show was still finding its legs. It’s no secret that the first season of the series is a bit unsteady. This isn’t to say that it’s bad (it’s not), just that the show was exploring its own unique voice in a post-X-Files, post-Buffy the Vampire Slayertelevision landscape. It’s no wonder, then, that"Scarecrow" itself feels like it could just as easily have been anX-Filesepisode, and there’s an obvious reason for that. In his third episode of the show, veteranX-FilesdirectorKim Mannersquickly became one ofSupernatural’s most prolific directors. Before hisuntimely death during the fourth season, Manners would tackle 17 episodes total (including the second half of the famedSeason 2 finale “All Hell Breaks Loose”). As seen in “Scarecrow,” Manners had a hand in establishing the distinct look of the show’s first few seasons before the production switched from film to digital, and he wasn’t the only one to cross over.
“Scarecrow” itself was co-written by longtimeX-FileswriterJohn Shiban, who had started his TV writing career onThe X-Filesa decade earlier, a show he wrote 66 episodes of across nine seasons.Shiban would be a continual presence on the Winchester drama throughout the first three seasons, writing nine episodes total in the first two and sticking around as a consulting producer during the third. It was no wonder that his influence during those formative years would venture into Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) territory. Even the fact that Sam and Dean were separate for much of the episode felt moreX-FilesthanSupernatural, as Mulder and Scully would often find themselves in differing locales (sometimes even different states entirely) when working together on a case. Shiban’s choice to split Sam and Dean up here allowed for each character to work through their own growing pains as the show discovered itself.
What’s more is that “Scarecrow” also featuresWilliam B. Davisas the unnamed turncoat professor who delivers Dean to the townspeople. Davis — who famouslyplayed the Cigarette Smoking Man onThe X-Files— is phenomenal, as always, andthe whole thing feels like something of a tribute to the previous paranormal procedural. Using his position of power as leverage, this unnamed professor keeps an eye out for the people of Burkitsville, furthering the conspiracy’s reach beyond the orchard that houses the demonic creature waiting to strike. Davis was a fine addition here, and though his appearance is a one-and-done sort of thing, we can see howThe X-Filescontinued toinfluenceSupernaturalin these early stages.
Often, without warning,The X-Fileswould jump from standalone episodesto mythology episodes at the drop of a hat; sometimes the two would even blend together by introducing a character in a standalone episode (takeNicholas Lea’s Alex Krycekin theX-Filesepisode “Sleepless,” for example), only to make them vital to the story later on.Supernatural’s eleventh episode does the same thing here with Meg. Though Meg at first appears as a character Sam meets by happenstance while hitchhiking,she is revealed in the episode’s closing moments to be connected to the larger demon plot that kick-started the series. It’s a terrifying reveal when you consider the implications (and that Sam could have been murdered at any time), but an effective one that, again, feels like it was ripped straight fromThe X-Files.
Supernaturalis available for streaming on Netflix.
Supernatural
