From MadCap's Couch - "Supernatural: Shadow"

"Do you have a moment to talk about our lord and savior, Bob Stromberg?"

So, our episode about shadows (after a modest recap) begins with a young woman in Chicago. Going down the street, she begins to hear whispers and something in the shadows seems to be stretching out towards her. She barely gets into her apartment, locks the door, and arms her security system.

As this is the cold open of a Supernatural episode, you can imagine this does little to help her.

Needless to say, she dies, murdered by what looks like a living shadow. Sam and Dean arrive soon after, following a newspaper article, working under the guise of repairmen from the alarm company, a disguise that Dean laments.

They find that the woman's apartment is in almost spotless condition despite the horrific murder. In fact, the only thing damaged in the apartment seems to be the carpet, spattered in blood, and the door latch that has been cut neatly in half for. . .actually very unclear reasons given the creature in the episode. Speaking of the carpet, Dean uses some tape and marks out a strange signal, something that neither he nor Sam recognizes.

Dean has also managed to flirt with a cop and found out that the victim's heart had been removed, something that was left out of the newspaper. The boys throw some theories around, but rule out things like werewolves and believe it may be some kind of spirit. Later, at the bar, Dean flirts with a bartender with a rather generous neckline worth of cleavage (and gets her number) while he and Sam have found all of nothing. Sam, however, recognizes a familiar face. . .or, rather, the back of a head. It's Meg from Scarecrow! Y'know? The person who accused Sam of potential being a crazy person and then slit a guy's throat?

. . .I mean, not in the same scene, but still.

There's some exchange and mention of events there, particularly Meg giving Dean the business. Sam, however, doesn't buy her story about having come back from California and thinks that something is up. Dean, on the other hand, thinks that Sam just has the hots for Meg. Sam gets her number and her last name, Masters.

Totally convincing disguises.

Sam, however, is proven correct that there is no such thing as a coincidence when it comes to their lives. Dean goes to do research while Sam goes to tail Meg. . .getting heckled by Dean the entire time, because obligatory big brother requirements. Dean does actually find out information on Meg - i.e., she does exist and is from Massachusetts as she claims. The sigil on the floor is something Zoroastrian and controls demons of darkness known as Daevas. They have to be summoned, and they aren't exactly known for being anything less than immensely feral, so someone is clearly in control of them. 

In a funny scene where Meg is changing clothes, Sam gets outed by a passerby as a pervert, which he denies to no effect. He then tails Meg to a warehouse where he overhears her having a conversation with. . .someone. . .who she refers to as "sir". Unfortunately, no, we won't have an appearance by Louis Freemont this episode. After Meg leaves, Sam checks out her altar and finds the Zoroastrian symbol there.

Given what the plan eventually is, Sam doesn't destroy the altar then because the rest of the episode has to happen.

Back at the motel, Sam and Dean compare notes: Meg is the guilty party and has lured the brothers in with a connection to them that can't be ignored - both victims Meg killed were originally from Lawrence, Kansas just like the brothers are. They think there is a connection to the thing that killed their mother. They decide to go in guns blazing, even with Dean calling John to let him know what's happening. Of course, he doesn't pick up.

As they prep, Sam and Dean discuss the future. Here, we get a good moment from both Jensen and Jared where Sam wants to kill the thing that killed their mother, and then go back to living a normal life. Dean, on the other hand, doesn't see anything in his future but the next mission. There is no end to this for him. He doesn't want Sam to just leave the second it's over, though Sam is adamant about going his own way, not wanting to live this life forever.

"We met like three episodes ago!"
"Sorry, doesn't ring a bell."

. . .he better buckle up, the next fourteen years are gonna be rough.

After the heartfelt talk, Dean just expressing the simple desire for them to be a family again, the boys head back to the warehouse and get ready to deliver an ass kicking to Meg. . .who knows that they're there. There's some pre-fight banter, and then Meg reveals who she's been waiting for: the boys. Daevas attack them and render them both unconscious. When they awake, Meg has them both tied up. Sam works out the details: all of this, everything that Meg's done in Chicago, was a trap for the brothers.  Dean berates her for setting the trap with a "now what?", with Meg revealing that the trap isn't for them. . .but for John.

Meg tells Dean John's one weakness: the boys. John is in town, and Meg expects him to come for them. Then, it's Daeva feeding time! Meg mentions she's doing what she does out of loyalty. . .and then mocks Sam about Mary and Jess before molesting him. When Dean is unfortunately too clumsy with a hidden knife, Meg finds it and takes it from him before going back to Sam. . .only for Sam to reveal that he, too, has a hidden knife and headbutts her before taking down her altar.

. . .which he could have done before and the episode would have been at least somewhat shorter, but never mind.

The daevas drag Meg, kicking and screaming, right out a window to fall to her death and everything seems hunky dory. Dean tells Sam that, next time he wants to get laid, find a less crazy person.

The boys head back to the motel where, to the surprise of all, John is there. For the first time in a while, the Winchesters are all together. Again, I know I'm a broken record on this, but Jensen, Jared, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan all give excellent performances here. The interaction between Sam and John in particular ranges from relief to tension to sorrow to worry and everywhere in between. It's some damn good stuff.

For as little screen time as JDM has with the boys, they have good chemistry.

John tells the boys that he's found a way to kill the Demon that killed the boys' mother, not just exorcise it. How? Well, he's working on that. He also doesn't want Dean and Sam caught in the crossfire, so he's telling them to stay out of the way for the time being. While Sam is displeased by this, in a twist, a group of Daevas attacks. It seems that Meg is very much alive and is less than pleased about being defenestrated. However, Sam has the perfect counter to the Daevas - a flare gun.

Sam lets there be light and he, his brother, and their father escape. While heavily wounded, Dean comes to a realization. . .John can't come with them. They almost got John killed, they have to stay away from him, at least for now. John promises Sam that they will be a part of this fight, but they have to trust him for now. Reluctantly, Sam agrees.

John heads off, and the boys take the Impala in the other direction. Meg comes out just in time to see the Impala leave an stares menacingly to end the episode. . .which makes me wonder why she didn't show up to kill the Winchesters after they'd escaped from the motel. In any case, we have reached the end of the episode.

With Shadow, we're back on track as far as quality goes. You have a lot of good moments with the brothers and also their father now being in the mix, however briefly. This episode has a lot of quotable lines as well as contributing to the myth arc of the series - namely the notion that Meg is working for the Demon that killed their mother, and that the Winchesters are getting closer to finding it.

We also get a unique demon in the Daeva, who I don't think have shown up in a single episode after this one. It's kind of a shame, really, seeing as they're shadows and probably would work really well as a low-budget monster instead of. . .oh, I don't know, humans that morph into some sort of ghastly looking thing that looks like the Langoliers from. . .well, Langoliers. . .had a terrible, terrible acid trip.

Done entirely in CGI.

. . .hint hint, showrunners of Supernatural during Season 7 who I am now too late to give advice to.

Yes, Shadow is a pretty good episode on the whole. No major complaints or weird things to point out, and even those that I have pointed out don't actually ruin my enjoyment of the episode.

I mean, I'd like to know why Sam didn't destroy the altar before, but that's small potatoes in the grand scheme of things.

Speaking of the grand scheme of things: next time, we'll be looking at Hell House. It's an episode that, like Shadow, has a creature that I don't think ever gets brought up again in the show. It also has two characters that keep showing up on the show for reasons that are neither clear nor amusing.

Supernatural is the property of the CW and Warner Brothers.

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