Mini Review – “Scarecrow”
Any episode that starts with a brutal hacking by scarecrow is memorable for me. Forget the intense brotherly drama, likely intensified by Sam’s crazy moment the episode before. Leatherface is cool. The horror scenes are top notch, but that’s because Kim Manners knows how to scare the crap out of people.
He knows how to bring the angst too. Thanks to a well intentioned but strife inducing call by John Winchester, the culprit of the ceiling bonfire of loved ones is none other than a big bad demon. Thus we see the real core behind the brotherly tension explode in its own fiery mess. Sam won’t blindly follow orders but Dean will. Sam doesn’t care about saving others or John’s brilliant detective work on the yearly hackathon in Burkitsville, Indiana. Jessica has been dead for six months and her death must be avenged. In his upset though, Sam lets it be known what bothers him the most about Dean. “I don’t understand the blind faith you have in the man. I mean, it’s like you don’t even question him.” Dean has the perfect answer for that. “Yeah, it’s called being a good son.” Dean makes known his hidden resentment. Sam is a selfish bastard. Sam doesn’t care. Man are these brothers worlds apart.
So, it’s rather appropriate that Sam and Dean spend a majority of this episode apart. Seeing them cope with their situations is interesting, but that also means that without that on screen chemistry that’s been the strength of the series so far it feels off. However, Sam meeting the demon Meg is a significant development, even though I didn’t like Nicki Aycox in this one. She won me over later. Dean does a good job of figuring out the mystery on his own too and comes up with one of my favorite lines when staring down the ole’ leatherface. “Dude, you fugly.” He connects with this week’s damsel in distress, Emily, who again like most other female characters on this show has the personality of wood.
Dean figures it all out but gets himself in trouble anyway. As in sacrificial lamb for the scarecrow trouble. That of course is mostly a setup for one of Dean’s all time best lines, “I hope your apple pie is freaking worth it!” Sam, that selfish bastard, who broods most of the episode over Dean and gets a mature apology from him, finally sees the light and comes back to save Dean. He decides sticking with Dean is a good idea after all. So, he may be a lousy son, but he’s a good brother. This of course upsets Meg demon, who was all ready to carve Sam a new one. Patience though the chalice of swirling blood tells her. She’s still waiting in season five.
Overall grade, probably a B+ or B. The plot is interesting, the brotherly fight and reconciliation awesome, but the Sam/Meg and Dean vs. the townspeople scenes are slow.
I always love this eppie, great lines (Dude, you fugly — Hope your apple pie is freaking worth it!) as well as the great brotherly strife , Sam’s finding someone hwo thinks like him (Meg and getting away from family) but then realizing he is loyal to family and his brother is all he’s got and that’s important, Dean apologizing and cracking that snarky attitude long enough to let Sam know something pretty importnat — he’s proud of him, admires him…Meg is awesome, Bad Company is perfect, William Davis and the shot of rain on the umbrellas — think X-Files with frogs falling on umbrellas — Mulder, it’s raining frogs — hah!! It’s a Kim Manners ep…guess you know I like this one, it’s a fave, it’s a comfort and at times…it’s a classic.
I love this episode, as i’ve said many times before, some great one liners – i like the fugly comment but i also like scotty the cafe owner calling Dean out on his alias!
Also that scarecrow was really really creepy even in broad daylight! Kim Manners sure knew how to sell the eerieness of that orchard!
I love this episode, especially for what Bethany said: even in daylight, there’s a creep factor that reminded me of the orchard in The X-Files’ Schizogeny (I know Kim didn’t direct that one, but was a producer in season five). Great lines,
and I think the Dean vs. townspeople was a little slow, but I think it worked a bit because it’s such a ‘sleepy’ little burg. That said, you can’t have the CSM and not use him more, dammit.
I really liked this episode. How it showed the obedience that Dean gives John. That whole scene in the beginning, when Dean finally gets the phone from Sam, how Dean’s body language changes drastically once he starts talking to John. You can almost hear what John is telling Dean by Dean’s reaction in his body. So well played by Jensen.
I loved the brotherly moments in this episode. Even though they spent most of it apart, the conflict, conciliation (in their phone call) and then the reconciliation when Sam comes to Deans rescue. Great moments. Although this show is at its strength when the brothers are together, it is interesting to see them alone – how they react, relate with others, etc.
I do have a question though. In the last scene when Meg is talking in the chalice, I always thought she was talking to the YED. Then I read somewhere that she might have been talking to Lucifer. What is the general consensus, who was she talking to?
I always assumed that she was talking to Azazel here, and in Shadow as well. We don’t have much information to go on, but yellow eyes WAS upset with the death of his “children,” implying that he had some sort of strong personal/working relationship with them, demonstrated through his directive to her to NOT kill them and eventually lead John to a trap. (which of course leads to how do you get him to hell to be the seal-breaker, make a deal after knocking off his sons right there in Chicago, one supposes)
And given Meg’s later rebellion in 2.14, not caring about the master plan, I can’t imagine that she was talking to the Big Evil Cheese back in 1.11. Just my gut feeling, but I’d love to hear what others think, too.
I enjo Scarecrow quite a bit too. One of the things that I notice about this episode, watching it after season 4 is that Sam seems to struggle with focusing on the bigger picture, rather than the issues closer to his heart. Here is focused on Jessica’s death and seeking revenge just as he is focused on finding Lilith in season 4. It’s hard to call this a fault, because who among us can say we would always focus on the larger issue above the intimate ones? I enjoy going back to earlier episodes and seeing a pattern that emerges later.
The phone call at the beginning of this episode is a fantastic juxtaposition of the Winchester brothers and I really enjoy it. The only thing about this episode that kind of bugs me is how easily Sam buy’s into Meg. I’m sorry, but if I was in Sam’s line of work and some beautiful girl (who I run into twice at two different places in one day) starts in with a family story that matches mine (“family loves me but wants me to do what they think I should instead of what I want”) that much – a red flag is going to go up. I’ll chalk it up to Sam being rusty and focused on Jess.
I have to join up with you guys who loved this one. I love it to death! Rates an A+ for me.
The scarecrow creeped me out and that doesn’t happen often. Loved Kim Manners’ direction, the umbrellas, “Dude, you fugly!”, dad’s call, Sam’s objections, Dean’s obedience, the duplicitous CSM, Scottie’s smile, Dean’s intelligence figuring things out, the scrap at the side of the road, Sam leaving, “selfish bastard Sam”, sneaky insinuating Meg, Dean’s message to Sam and Sam stealing a car to get back to Dean when he finally gets his priorities straight. So much in this one to love! Poor Dean never seems to get his pie, does he?
This one to me is a classic. I believe this is disc 3 in the first season dvds. I always love it when I get to disc 3 as I love love love all the episodes on that one.
Oh, and Randal, I too believe she was talking to Azazel, even now. I don’t think she had been let in on the whole Lucifer rising plan yet and was dealing with ol’Yellow Eyes at that time.