Something Wicked

Season 1, Episode 18, Aired
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Episode Summary

Sam and Dean battle a Shtriga, a witch that sneaks into childrens' bedrooms and sucks the lives out of them. Dean must relive his childhood when he remembers that he encountered the Shtriga years ago.
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Fan Episode Reviews (52)

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  • this was a good ep

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By cube2k8, Oct 23, 2011 Report Abuse
    in this ep of the show supernatural sam and dean go and start to investgate this thing which is a witch and it goes into childrens houses at night and sucks the life out of them to stay alive and dean has seen one of these before from his childhood and he knows what there cabable of and he must deal with it and so they have to stop it before its to late from killing more kids and i thought it was a good ep and it was very interesting and had alot of good and funy scenes in it and that is why i gave it a 9moreless

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    0 1

  • Awesome, explaining and moving.

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By Snape83, Oct 23, 2011 Report Abuse
    This is the first flashback episode we get a chance to see, on Supernatural, and, for the happy occasion, Kripke & Co. borrowed the genial talent of writer Daniel Knauf, the incredible mind behind "Carnivale", who concocted a clever script where the reflections between the present and the past are so striking and effective that the magic of the entire episode is intact and powerful from the very beginning to the end. The musical orchestration by Jay Gruska underlined the emotions expressed by the writing and conveyed masterfully by the actors with one of the most original, haunting and gripping soundtracks of Season One. Similarly, the cinematography did a great job with the lights and shadows, and the atmosphere of the scenes set in the past and the ones set in the present day is incredibly distinct and equally enticing.

    "Something Wicked", like "Faith" and "Skin" and "Scarecrow" before it, is a perfect blend of mythology (the past investigation of John Winchester, finally showing us his relationship with his sons and, most importantly, the origin of Dean's loyalty to his father's orders) and Monster of the Week, because the myth of the Shtriga is the perfect storytelling gimmick to mix the present and the past without any contrived strain. In this regard, the still great "A Very Supernatural Christmas" (3x08)felt to me a tad more forced, while this one flew smoothly between the two times, emphasizing the emotional connections without forgetting to produce some serious scares in the MoW part.

    All in all, a perfect episode: deeply touching, considerably scaring and a wonderful trip in the Winchester brothers' childhood.moreless

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    2 1

  • Killed by Death

    6.5
    "Fair"
    By MovieMark, May 02, 2011 Report Abuse
    The demon this week is solid, but, rather surprisingly, I found the flashbacks to be a little overcooked. It's always good to see John Winchester on our screens, but he felt a little underused here. I know, I know, this was about Dean's rigmarole about being such an over protective brother, and it does send that message home as to why he must keep his wits about himself, but I was a tad on the bored side. I did enjoy the mislead involving the old woman in the hospital, she was just as eerie (if not worse!) than the Shtriga. And there are a few decent one liners here and there ('bikini inspectors' 'two queens'). It's not exactly your average episode, but it rarely becomes must-see TV. Dean puts an entire clip into the Shtriga, you'd think someone would have heard the shots! I had that problem with the last episode, too: the boys distract the police by sending them after someone else but seconds later they're using shotguns and no-one hears them! Overall, a serviceable episode.moreless

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  • Two queens?

    7.5
    "Good"
    By ZaleIsBackAgain, Jul 26, 2010 Report Abuse
    I've started to notice that episodes lately have been concentrating more on the characters than the whole shock factor of the supernatural beings. Not a bad direction to take, but the problem here is that the execution isn't as solid as its shock factor in earlier episodes--hey, hard to beat that Bloody Mary episode. Here the theme is big brothers looking out for the little brother, and if nothing else the concept was decently executed; the acting of kid versions of Dean and Sam was a bit, well, average. Where the episode starts taking a faltering is the encounter with the Shtriga. No build up of anticipation, and the creature really buried itself in a hole by exposing its weak point after the first attempt to kill it was a failure; you'd think running away would have been a smarter approach instead of allowing Dean and Sam another chance of getting killed, but I guess ghosts who have long been doctors as disguise aren't the smartest beings.moreless

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  • Our "bikini inspectors" :) … hunt a Shtriga, in a personal case of unfinished business.

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By JaneDoe2007, Jul 23, 2010 Report Abuse
    I love this episode, it was very emotional for Dean, very personal. Love the flashbacks, it's about time we've seen a glimpse of the boys' past, and it was really heartbreaking seeing young Dean and the things he had to do at that young age, the responsibilities I think it made us understand him even more, showed us the origins of that complex personality of his. What happened to Sam back then wasn't his fault, he was just a kid, but he didn't wanna hear that, it felt like it was his fault and he wasn't about to make excuses for himself. It was very touching how he blamed himself for everything.

    The Shtriga was a very interesting MotW, and the little boy was brilliant, the bonding between him and Dean was remarkable (Dean can now name at least 2 children he knows :D, the third is on the way).

    Aside from all of that the episode had some really funny bits, it was the perfect example of drama and comedy put together in a smooth, seamless fashion which only Supernatural excels at.

    One of my favorite season 1 episodes.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

    ADD TRIVIA
    • The way the old lady's cross was hanging from the wall, with it being held up at the intersection of the two arms (which is near the top) would make it impossible for the cross to accidentally become inverted. Edit
    • In a flashback, young Dean steps out to play the video game Andro Dunos (released in 1992), but the sound effects from the game he was playing were distinctively from Astroids (released in 1978). Edit
    • In the scene when the brothers first met the doctor and are talking with the nurse, there is a reflection of the boom-mic just above the doctor's head in the glass wall. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • The episode takes place in Fitchburg, Wisconsin, which is a real town in the Dane County. However, Fort Douglas, the city where the flashbacks are set, doesn't exist. Edit
    • Injoke: When Sam and Dean are about to barge in on the old lady in the hospital, we see the number of her room. The number is 237. This is the same room number they used in the movie The Shining. They have also had this room number in the episode "Playthings." Edit
    • The scene with Sam looking at the empty playground was filmed in downtown Port Coquitlam, BC. The producers changed the sign on the Japanese restaurant behind Sam to Glasow's Lunch, but they didn't change the signs in the window, so close inspection still shows Japanese lettering. Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Michael: You said you're a big brother. Dean: Yeah. Michael: Would you take care of your little brother? You'd do anything for him? Dean: Yeah, I would. Edit
    • Sam: Are you sure you got the coordinates right? Dean: Yeah, I double-checked. It's Fitchburg, Wisconsin. He wouldn't have sent us coordinates if it wasn't important, Sammy. Sam: Well I'm telling you, I looked. And all I could find was a big, steamy pile of nothing! If Dad's sending us hunting for something, I don't know what. Dean: Well maybe he's gonna meet us there. Sam: (sarcastic chuckle). Yeah, because he's been so easy to find up to this point. Dean: Well you're a real smartass, you know that? Edit
    • Michael: I thought I was having a nightmare. Dean: I'd give anything not to tell you this, but sometimes nightmares are real. Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • Quote: Now I lay me down to sleep Pray the Lord my soul to keep If I die before I wake Pray the Lord my soul to take This is a well-known Christian bedtime prayer that dates back hundreds of years. It has also become well-known from the song 'Enter Sandman' by Metallica. Edit
    • Title Something Wicked this Way Comes is a 1962 story written by Ray Bradbury involving children involved with the supernatural. Bradbury was inspired by the line "By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes," from Shakespeare's MacBeth. Bradbury's novel was made into a movie in 1983, starring Jason Robards and Jonathan Pryce. Edit

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