Supernatural 1:11-12

1:11 SCARECROW

Directed by Kim Manners. Original Airdate: January 10, 2006.

Watched and Reviewed on May 27, 2011.

Synopsis: If it only had a brain. Well, maybe it has! A malevolent scarecrow could be why strangers to Burskitsville, Indiana don't get out of town alive.

Another Slasher episode! Really? I'm OK with that. As a fan of killer scarecrows in cinema (and television, even though it's a rarity), I was ecstatic to come across this episode. Despite the previous episode's cliffhanger ending, SCARECROW goes back to the Monster of the Week structure and features the usual conventions, namely the deux ex machinas (most likely for the sake of wrapping everything up in the short running time, although it's no excuse) and the fact that at least one local of whatever town they're in (usually a hot chick) will somehow get involved in the episode's "hunt".

One thing that the show has been consistently good at is creating atmosphere, and this episode is no exception. The initial shots of the titular scarecrow have a genuine creepiness thanks to the look of the scarecrow and the natural wooded surroundings, which compliment it well. Another thing worth mentioning is that there's a kill towards the end of the episode that was surprisingly graphic for network television; it didn't necessarily push the envelope, but I was still surprised to see it. Aside from the killer scarecrow itself, how nicely the episode was shot, and yet another great ending, there's nothing else to really talk about. If you can picture a cross between the '80s movie SCARECROWS and WICKER MAN, that's sort of what this episode is like. Overall, a decent and fun episode, but nothing mind-blowing here.

Score: 6.5

1:12 FAITH

Directed by Allan Kroeker. Original Airdate: January 17, 2006.

Watched and Reviewed on May 27, 2011.

Synopsis: Witness the miracle: Faith healer Roy Le Grange cures Dean after an accident leaves him near death. Witness the terror: For every life Le Grange saves, another life must end.

So this ended up being a pretty outstanding episode. The whole faith healer theme is an original approach, and the episode features the absolute best sequence in the entire season thus far, which I don't want to spoil for anyone (let's just say that it involves the best use of music in the season up until this point). Aside from the things I just mentioned, FAITH isn't really any different from the other episodes that preceded it, in terms of how it's structured and how it plays out. Despite that, there's still enough here to at least make the episode memorable and unique in style, aesthetic, etc. If I have a complaint, it's that the momentum that the last couple of episodes built up in regards to the running storyline was completely killed, at least for the time being. You could probably take this episode and insert it anywhere into the series, and it wouldn't affect the main storyline. I especially loved the CARNIVAL OF SOULS homage in this episode. One of my favorites of the season thus far, but still nothing to really gush about.

Score: 7