‘Supernatural’s Best Demon Is in Season 1

As an alternative of questioning endlessly if we’re getting a Season 16 of Supernatural, now’s the most effective time to look again in any respect the unbelievable demons that the Winchesters confronted. From the unique demonic antagonist, the Yellow-Eyed Demon, to Lilith, and finally, the “King of Hell” Crowley (Mark Sheppard), there is not any quick record of demonic adversaries that Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) needed to deal with throughout 15 seasons and 327 episodes. However, of all of the demons within the present’s expansive historical past, one stands out among the many relaxation: Meg.

This demon underwent an odd redemption arc over the course of her tenure on the collection (which ran all over Season 8). Nonetheless, there is not any denying that Meg’s strongest moments on Supernatural happen within the present’s very first batch of episodes. Freshman yr might be onerous, and firstly, Supernatural was nonetheless making an attempt to determine its model. It knew that it was a weekly horror road show, that a lot was sure, however Season 1 has no angels, few demons, no “Street So Far” sequence (till the finale, anyway), and solely a single Bobby Singer (Jim Beaver) look. But, one factor it bought proper from the get-go was its demons.

Meg Masters Challenged the Winchesters on ‘Supernatural’

Initially performed by none apart from the late Nicki Aycox, Meg first appeared in “Scarecrow,” a fan-favorite a couple of pagan god that masquerades as a small-town scarecrow. Regardless of the seemingly outlandish premise, this episode is among the best monster-of-the-week Supernatural stories, and far of the episode follows Sam and Dean on their very own separate adventures. Whereas Dean stays behind to take care of the monster, Sam decides to depart seeking their father, and it is then that he meets a fellow hitchhiker named Meg Masters.

At first, we’re led to imagine that Meg is only a regular drifter like Sam, hoping to hitch a experience out of city to flee her intrusive household, however by the tip of the episode, we study that Meg is working for the Yellow-Eyed Demon after she slits her driver’s throat and makes use of his blood to name up her demon dad. Meg returns a number of episodes later, this time in Chicago throughout the episode “Shadow.” Seems, she’s been monitoring Sam and Dean for the Demon in hopes of luring their father, John Winchester (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), out from hiding. Surprisingly, it really works, and Meg practically has the three Winchesters killed earlier than they get away.

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“Saving folks, searching issues. The household enterprise…”

Aycox’s Meg returns as soon as extra in Season 1 throughout the two-part finale “Salvation” and “Satan’s Lure.” Right here, she’s at her most bloodthirsty and scary, however nothing’s scarier right here than her exorcism (extra on that in a bit). Within the early years of Supernatural, Meg was a kind of villains that you just simply beloved to hate, and there is not any denying that her time on display was at all times highly effective. Largely, that was due to Nicki Aycox herself, who was an ideal forged.

‘Supernatural’s “Satan’s Lure” Episode Modified the Sequence

With the primary season finale “Satan’s Lure,” Supernatural takes a darkish flip. Inside the first 5 minutes (after that powerful classic rock intro), Meg kicks down Bobby’s door, demanding the Colt. After throwing Dean throughout the room and threatening the boys one thing fierce, Meg is caught in a Satan’s Lure (therefore the title) and Sam begins to carry out an exorcism. The primary of its type within the collection, this exorcism set the tone for the remainder of the present, which (in some ways) fails to seize the depth and intimacy of its first try.

This exorcism is not precisely on the identical degree as one thing you’d seen in The Conjuring or The Exorcist, however it’s positively one for the TV file books. So far as community tv was involved, this bit is especially scary, and the way in which the demon continues to deceive the Winchesters regardless of its ache is one thing that later demonic adversaries might’ve discovered a factor or two from. The primary quarter-hour of this episode are actually not for the faint of coronary heart, and Aycox delivers an impeccable efficiency in her ultimate moments because the Winchester’s first demon rival (properly, second if you happen to depend Yellow-Eyes).

Tragically, Nicki Aycox is not in the remainder of the episode (which is an distinctive finale, by the way in which) however after the demon is distributed again to Hell, the true Meg Masters dies quickly after, utilizing her ultimate breaths to assist Sam and Dean discover their father. By Season 2, the demon Meg returns, this time possessing Sam himself (“Born Below A Unhealthy Signal”), which is among the scariest bits the present ever compelled us by means of. Positive, Jared Padalecki does great, however nothing beats Nicki Aycox’s snarky and sadistically scrumptious portrayal of the demon, which sadly involves an finish too quickly.

Nicki Aycox’s Meg Is ‘Supernatural’s Scariest Demon

Throughout her four-episode tenure because the technically unnamed demon often called Meg, Aycox makes use of a mix of her signature look, her commanding presence, and a twisted smile to scare audiences, and it really works. In Episode 4, “Phantom Traveler,” the primary demon the Winchester’s battle onscreen is considerably chaotic. There is no rhyme or purpose for its want to crash planes, it simply does. However with Meg, this demon is tactical and misleading. At one level, she even leads Sam to imagine that he has the higher hand, solely to activate the brothers and practically kill them.

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Keep it up, my wayward sons.

Plenty of demons on Supernatural use scare techniques akin to telekinesis and spooky eye reveals to place our heroes (to not point out, us) on edge, however Meg makes use of her sexuality, emotional manipulation, and even witchcraft to lure Sam right into a false sense of safety. Fortunately, it would not work, however even after throwing her out a window, the Winchesters aren’t freed from Meg fairly but. Her return in “Salvation” is much more impactful as she begins to slaughter John Winchester’s mates and allies one after the other till he provides her what she needs: the demon-killing gun recognized solely because the Colt.

However presumably essentially the most tragic a part of Meg’s story is the younger lady, the precise Meg Masters, who’s trapped inside her personal physique. The scary revelation that the precise, human Meg noticed virtually all the pieces the demon made her physique do, and felt all of the ache the Winchesters inflicted on her, is horrible (although, imagine it or not, the anime adaptation is much worse). It solely will get worse when, after exorcising the demon, Meg’s physique falls asidefor the reason that demon partied too onerous in its “meatsuit.” Aycox returns to the present solely as soon as extra within the Season 4 episode “Are You There, God? It is Me, Dean Winchester,” this time because the vengeful ghost of Meg Masters who’s unleashed on the Winchesters by Lilith. Apparently, resting in peace wasn’t an choice.

Early Demons Like Lilith and Alastair Had been ‘Supernatural’s Most Scary

After all, a part of the explanation Meg is among the greatest demons (particularly the earliest iteration of the character) to ever step foot on the present is that demons were just a lot scarier when Supernatural was nonetheless in its early years. Again then, the collection was absolutely dedicated to being a weekly horror present and was nonetheless a number of seasons away from changing into a full-blown sci-fi/fantasy. This meant that the stakes have been nonetheless fairly excessive, and whereas the Winchesters nonetheless cheated dying (typically greater than as soon as), there have been real penalties. Contemplate the likes of Meg or the Yellow-Eyed Demon in comparison with Season 13’s Asmodeus (Jeffrey Vincent Parise) or Belphegor (performed by Alexander Calvert) from the ultimate season. The primary two should not solely extra scary in sheer techniques, single-mindedness, and persona, however there was much more thriller to demons again in Supernatural‘s early seasons in comparison with the again half of the present. Asmodeus wasn’t far more than comedian aid at occasions, whereas the Yellow-Eyed Demon was at all times a critical risk, even when he cracked a joke.

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“Saving folks and searching issues” works greatest to the sounds of traditional rock.

Moreover, demons did not get redemption arcs, as Supernatural dedicated them absolutely to evil, even within the case of Ruby (Katie Cassidy, Genevieve Padalecki) who’s revealed to be a double agent your entire time. There is no denying that Supernatural has its fair proportion of outstanding demonic antagonists. Lilith is among the greatest, and Season 4 introduces us to numerous nefarious demons, together with Alistair (performed greatest by Christopher Heyerdahl), who is among the most scary. So far as fan-favorites go, Crowley and the Azazel (performed largely by Fredric Lehne) have among the greatest materials to work with and are arguably among the most notable of the Winchesters’ enemies (and, in Crowley’s case, eventual allies).

As time went on, Aycox was finally changed because the demon Meg by actress Rachel Minercome Season 5, who makes a substantial effort at making the villain her personal. For a number of years, it labored nice. Meg was nonetheless as diabolical as ever, however quickly the angel/demon plotlines grew drained. One among Supernatural‘s greatest flaws the longer it ran was not figuring out what to do with sure characters, successfully turning them into caricatures of their earlier selves. Whereas Meg would not undergo that destiny, her redemption arc within the later years is a far cry from the character we first met again in Season 1, a villain who would cease at nothing to get her revenge on Sam and Dean.