Devil's Trap

Last updated
"Devil's Trap"
Supernatural episode
Devilstrapinfobox.JPG
The demonically-possessed Meg Masters is caught beneath the titular devil's trap.
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 22
Directed by Kim Manners
Written by Eric Kripke
Cinematography bySerge Ladouceur
Editing byAnthony Pinker
Production code2T6921
Original air dateMay 4, 2006 (2006-05-04)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Salvation"		Next →
"In My Time of Dying"
Supernatural season 1
List of episodes

"Devil's Trap" is the twenty-second episode of the paranormal drama television series Supernatural 's first season. It is the season finale, and was first broadcast on The WB on May 4, 2006. The narrative follows series protagonists Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) as they search for their missing father (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), who has been kidnapped by demons.

Contents

Written by series creator Eric Kripke and directed by Kim Manners, the episode featured Nicki Aycox's final portrayal of recurring villain Meg Masters, and also introduced Jim Beaver as hunter and Winchester-ally Bobby Singer. Morgan's busy schedule affected the episode's storyline, and the final scene involved one of the toughest special effects sequences of the series.

The season finale was met with generally positive reviews, with critics praising the actors' performances and the twist ending.

Plot

Trying to locate his father, Dean calls John Winchester's phone. The demonically-possessed Meg Masters (Aycox) answers it instead, and taunts him that his father has been captured. To determine a plan of action, Dean and his brother Sam (Padalecki) go to family friend and fellow hunter Bobby Singer (Beaver) for help. However, Meg tracks them down and attacks, but is quickly caught underneath a mystical symbol known as a "devil's trap" that the Winchesters and Bobby had painted on the ceiling; it renders demons immobile and powerless. Bobby informs the Winchesters that Meg is actually an innocent girl being possessed by a demon, so they begin to perform an exorcism. Dean promises to stop if she reveals the location of their father, and she relents, claiming he is being held in Jefferson City. Despite Bobby's warning that Meg will die from previously sustained injuries if the demon is exorcised, Dean insists that they go through with it, as it would be better than allowing the demon to continue to use her as a host. After the demon is sent to Hell, a dying Meg thanks them for freeing her. With her remaining strength, she warns them that the demons are setting a trap for them, and says, "By the river. Sunrise," before she dies.

This leads the brothers to the riverside Sunrise Apartments in Jefferson City, Missouri. The boys manage to overpower the demons guarding John, and rescue him. However, they are attacked by Meg's demonic brother Tom, and Dean is forced to kill him with one of the three remaining bullets of the Colt —a mystical gun capable of killing anything. When the Winchesters later find refuge in a secluded cabin, Azazel reveals himself to be possessing John. Dean, while being tortured by the demon, begs his father to break free and save him. John is able to temporarily gain control, and then begs Sam to use the Colt to kill Azazel. Unable to bring himself to kill his father, Sam instead shoots him in the leg, causing Azazel to flee to safety. The Winchesters rush towards the hospital, but their car is rammed into by a semi-trailer truck being driven by a demonically-possessed truck driver.

Production

Guest stars

Actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan portrayed dual roles for the episode. He returned as Winchester patriarch John, and was also the first to play the on-screen physical manifestation of the demon Azazel —the character had been only depicted in silhouette. Morgan was given free rein over the latter's traits, only being directed to "be different from John". He changed his voice and modeled Azazel's speech pattern after Jack Nicholson's scenes in The Shining in which he "gets all freaky". [1] This "Nicholson-esque quality" continues in later depictions of the demon. [2]

Hunter and Winchester-ally Bobby Singer makes his debut, and is played by Jim Beaver. Beaver had worked with executive producer Robert Singer on the television series Reasonable Doubts , and Singer gave him the part without viewing his audition tape. [3] The episode also features the final appearance of the demonically-possessed Meg Masters as played by Nicki Aycox. Director Kim Manners was sorry to see her go, as he felt Meg had the potential to become a "great nemesis" for the Winchesters. [4]

Writing

The staff struggled throughout the writing process to decide which Winchester would be kidnapped and possessed, and were forced to revise the script multiple times to reflect the latest choice. Because of Jeffrey Dean Morgan's recurring role on Grey's Anatomy , however, the writers realized that he would not be available long enough to be a main focus of the episode. They thus decided late into production for John to be the one who is captured. [5] With this finalized, Kripke found it rather easy to write the episode; he already knew that the key elements of the episode would be the exorcism of the demon possessing Meg, the death of the real Meg, and the apparent rescue of John Winchester. [5] Kripke felt that it had to be John who was possessed by Azazel, as it united and completed the two main storylines of the season—finding their father and tracking down the demon—and it did so by finding both characters in one body. He found it a "happy accident" to be able to present the brothers with the opportunity to finally kill the demon, but at the cost of their father's life. [6]

The writers believed John's separation from his sons throughout the season "split the show" by having him away "doing more interesting things than the boys are doing", [7] with Kripke likewise feeling that John was keeping Sam and Dean away from the "front lines". His death would allow the brothers to "explore, investigate and confront the yellow-eyed demon directly". The writers originally intended for John to die at the episode's end, with Sam and Dean surviving the crash but John dying in their arms. His death, however, was pushed back into the second-season premiere because the writers deemed it too dark to kill John after everything else the brothers had gone through in "Devil's Trap". [8]

Filming

Principal filming took place in Vancouver, British Columbia, with the crash scene being filmed on an old airport space with flat roads. [9] However, other key sequences occurred in the studio. Because the fight scene between the Winchesters and Azazel at the climax was meant to take place in a secluded, forest-enclosed cabin, production built the set on a sound stage. Production designer Jerry Wanek felt the set was extremely important, as viewers would become uninterested if the forest looked fake. [6] With Morgan rendered blind by the yellow contact lenses required to depict his character's demonic possession, the production crew placed sandbags on the floor to help the actor locate his marks. [1]

According to Aycox, the exorcism of the demon from Meg Masters took two days to shoot; the first day of filming lasted 13 hours, while the second lasted for "about a half a day". [10] Director Kim Manners used 360-degree shots and close-ups to make the sequence exciting. [11] In the scene following the exorcism, in which Bobby is bent over a dying Meg, Aycox and Ackles read their lines off-screen so that Beaver's reaction could be shot. However, the two were "so slap-happy" to be almost done that they could not stop laughing; to everyone's surprise, Beaver was able to keep a straight face. [10] The set—Bobby Singer's home—was filled with waist-high stacks of six thousand books. [12]

Effects

The semi-trailer truck crashing into the Impala at the episode's end was deemed by special effects supervisor Randy Shymkiw to be, as of the third season's production, "probably the toughest 'gag' [he has] done". Many aspects went into creating the crash scene, with filming taking place both in the studio and on location.

For the interior scenes used to depict the first moments of the Impala being hit, the actors were required to sit in the car in front of a blue screen; this allowed for the truck's headlights to later be added in with visual effects. [13] [14] The car itself was attached to a separate rig that was built to replicate the impact of the crash. As the scene was shot, the rig flipped the car onto its side. [14] The passenger-side window was then shattered, though the actors were protected by a sheet of Lexan that had been placed very close to the window; at the same time, cannons beneath the frame blew out pieces of rubber glass to give the appearance that the window had exploded onto them. [13]

For the filming of the actual crash, the car and truck were cabled together by a winch and driven toward one another. The intention was for a cannon to launch the Impala into the air at the collision point, causing the car to barrel roll as the truck drives away. However, the car became stuck in the truck's bumper, forcing the cannon to fail and the truck to go out of control. The truck began to jackknife, but the stuntman driving it saved it from flipping. The mistake ended up being beneficial for the scene, as Kripke and director Manners found it to look "pretty real". [15]

Reception

On its initial broadcast, the episode was watched by 3.99 million viewers. [16] It received generally positive reviews from critics. Karla Peterson of The San Diego Union-Tribune gave the episode an "A", deeming it "everything the season-closer needed to be". She noted that episode reveals why Azazel killed Jessica and Mary Winchester, and enjoyed the "creative way" Meg Masters was killed off, feeling the exorcism to be "amazing". Peterson also praised the cliffhanger ending, believing it to be "capable of pulling your eyeballs right out of your head". The acting was also praised, with Jensen Ackles being able to "wring every ounce of blood, sweat and torment out of Dean's photogenically haunted psyche", Jared Padalecki making Sam "real and conflicted", and Jeffrey Dean Morgan giving "his best and most believable performance of the season". [17] Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune collectively referred to "Devil's Trap" and its two preceding episodes as a "really strong trilogy" of "must-see episodes". She found the possessed John to be "Morgan's finest work on the show to date", believing that he "was really on fire in that scene" and "brought a whole new intensity to his performance". She also thought that Bobby Singer's introduction and Meg Masters' exorcism were "well done". [18]

Diana Steenbergen of IGN also praised "Devil's Trap", deeming it to be the episode that "moved Supernatural from the list of television shows that [she] liked to the 'must-see' list". Like Peterson, she cheered the twist ending, and was "completely taken by surprise". Steenbergen also felt that Jim Beaver as hunter Bobby Singer was "an excellent addition to the cast", and applauded Ackles, Padalecki, and Morgan for their performances in the episode's climactic confrontation between Azazel and the brothers. She found the possessed Morgan to be "menacing", and enjoyed his sadistic sense of humor; Padalecki to have done a "good job embodying the newfound strength" Sam develops in defying his father's order to kill him in order to stop the demon; and Ackles' defenselessness to be "affecting". However, she believed that Azazel's reference to having a family "[didn't] quite make sense", and noted that it seemed implausible for Sam and Dean—having been raised as hunters—to not have known that Meg was a demonically-possessed girl. [19] Brian Tallerico of UGO also had issues with the plot, though mainly with the episode's outcome. He felt that the writers should have followed Buffy the Vampire Slayer 's pattern of killing off the season's foe, as "fans don't like villains to be strung out for too long". He also would have liked for John Winchester to have died in order to "free the brothers up for a little second season revenge and a little less family angst". [20]

Related Research Articles

Supernatural is an American television series created by Eric Kripke. It was first broadcast on September 13, 2005, on The WB, and subsequently became part of successor network The CW's lineup. Starring Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester and Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester, the series follows the two brothers as they hunt demons, ghosts, monsters and other supernatural beings. Along with Kripke, the series' executive producers included McG, Robert Singer, Phil Sgriccia, Sera Gamble, Jeremy Carver, John Shiban, Ben Edlund and Adam Glass. Former executive producer and director Kim Manners died during production of the fourth season. The series was produced by Kripke Enterprises, Wonderland Sound and Vision, and Warner Bros. Television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dean Winchester</span> Fictional character

Dean Winchester is one of the two protagonists from the American drama television series Supernatural, along with his younger brother Sam. He is portrayed primarily by Jensen Ackles. Other versions of the character having been portrayed by Hunter Brochu (toddler), Ridge Canipe (child), Nicolai Lawton-Giustra (pre-teen), Brock Kelly and Dylan Everett (teen), and Chad Everett (elderly).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Winchester</span> Fictional character

Samuel "Sam" Winchester is a fictional character and one of the two protagonists of the American drama television series Supernatural along with his older brother, Dean. He is portrayed primarily by Jared Padalecki. Other versions of the character have been portrayed by Alex Ferris and Dylan Kingwell (child), Colin Ford (teenager), and Colton James.

John Winchester (<i>Supernatural</i>) Character from the television series Supernatural

John Eric Winchester is a fictional character on The CW's series Supernatural and the protagonist of the comic book spin-off series Supernatural: Origins. Developed by series creator Eric Kripke, the character is mainly portrayed by Jeffrey Dean Morgan. John is the father of Sam and Dean Winchester, the show's protagonists.

Azazel (<i>Supernatural</i>) Fictional demon in Supernatural

Azazel is a fictional character that appears on The CW Television Network's drama and horror television series Supernatural. He serves as the main antagonist during the first two seasons. As a demon Prince of Hell, he feeds his blood to infants so that they will grow up to develop demonic abilities, while also manipulating and deceiving others into carrying out his ambitions, often through self-serving and one-sided deals of his construction. His goal of using one such child to release Lucifer is not revealed until much later in the series. Azazel is referred to by nicknames such as "The Yellow-Eyed Demon," or "Yellow Eyes" throughout the first two seasons, his true name not being revealed until the third season. Due to the character's demonic nature of taking different hosts, Azazel has been played by numerous actors but Fredric Lehne is the main default portrayer. All the incarnations have maintained his sadistic sense of humor and irony. Azazel's popularity and importance towards the franchise even led him to be the main antagonist and the analogue to Lucifer in the anime adaptation, as the "Yellow-Eyed Demon," in reference to the nickname he had in the original first two seasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meg Masters</span> Fictional demon in the TV series Supernatural

Meg Masters is a fictional character on The CW Television Network's drama and horror television series Supernatural. Created by the series' writers to develop a story arc for the first season, Meg is an unnamed demon who assumes the name of the host she possesses and begins antagonizing the series protagonists Sam and Dean Winchester. Nicki Aycox portrays her in the first season. Meg returns in the second season, possessing Sam and as such, was played by Jared Padalecki. The writers wanted Aycox to reprise the role in later seasons, but ultimately cast Rachel Miner for storyline purposes. Miner's incarnation evolves into an ally of the Winchesters and the angel Castiel over the course of the sixth, seventh, and eighth seasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bobby Singer</span> Fictional character in the TV series Supernatural

Robert Steven Singer is a fictional character in The CW Television Network's horror-drama television series Supernatural portrayed by Jim Beaver. Named after the show's executive producer, Bobby first appears in the first season finale "Devil's Trap." Although Beaver believed his role would merely be a "one-shot deal," Bobby has become a recurring character on the series, and is one of three characters who has appeared in every season of the show. The character, a "rough but warmhearted" working-class man who hunts supernatural creatures, has evolved over time into a father figure for series protagonists Sam and Dean Winchester. Critics have responded favorably to the character.

What Is and What Should Never Be (<i>Supernatural</i>) 20th episode of the 2nd season of Supernatural

"What Is and What Should Never Be" is the twentieth episode of the paranormal drama television series Supernatural's second season. It was first broadcast on May 3, 2007 on The CW. The narrative follows series protagonist Dean Winchester who finds himself in an alternate reality after a confrontation with a djinn [sic]. The creature appears to have fulfilled Dean's greatest wish: that his mother had not been killed when he was a child. Dean is happy in the new world until it becomes apparent that his previous work as a hunter of supernatural creatures has been undone. At this point, he rejects the alternate reality, and attempts to find a method to bring himself back.

<i>Supernatural</i> season 3 Third season of the TV series Supernatural

The third season of Supernatural, an American dark fantasy television series created by Eric Kripke, premiered on October 4, 2007, and concluded on May 15, 2008. Traveling throughout America, protagonists Sam and Dean Winchester use their father's journal to help them carry on the family business—saving people and hunting supernatural creatures. The season begins with the brothers tracking down the demons released from Hell in the previous season finale. They become allies with a demon named Ruby, who claims to know a way to release Dean from his demonic pact—he had sold his soul to a demon and was given a year to live in exchange for Sam's resurrection—and wants to protect them from the new demonic leader Lilith. As Dean's deadline approaches, their efforts are further hindered by Bela Talbot, a professional thief of occult items who is often at odds with the Winchesters.

<i>Supernatural</i> season 2 Season of television series

The second season of Supernatural, an American dark fantasy television series created by Eric Kripke, premiered on September 28, 2006, and concluded on May 17, 2007, airing 22 episodes. The season focuses on protagonists Sam and Dean Winchester as they track down Azazel, the demon responsible for the deaths of their mother Mary and father John. They attempt to discover the demon's plan for Sam and other psychic children—young adults who were visited by Azazel as infants and given abilities, and whose mothers often then died in a fire. During their travels, they use their father's journal to help them carry on the family business—saving people and hunting supernatural creatures.

<i>Supernatural</i> season 1 Season of television series

The first season of Supernatural, an American dark fantasy television series created by Eric Kripke, premiered on September 13, 2005, and concluded on May 4, 2006, after 22 episodes. It focuses on brothers Sam and Dean Winchester as they track down their father, John, who is on the trail of the demon who killed their mother and Sam's girlfriend. During their travels, they use their father's journal to help them carry on the family business—saving people and hunting supernatural creatures. Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles star as Sam and Dean, with Jeffrey Dean Morgan recurring as their father, John, and Nicki Aycox as the demonic Meg Masters. This is the only season to air on The WB, with all subsequent seasons airing on The CW, a joint venture of The WB and UPN.

<i>Supernatural</i> season 4 Season of television series

The fourth season of Supernatural, an American dark fantasy television series created by Eric Kripke, premiered September 18, 2008, and concluded on May 14, 2009, on The CW.

Pilot (<i>Supernatural</i>) Pilot episode of Supernatural

"Pilot" is the first episode of the television series Supernatural. It premiered on The WB on September 13, 2005, and was written by series creator Eric Kripke and directed by David Nutter. The Supernatural pilot introduced the characters of Sam and Dean Winchester, brothers who travel throughout the country hunting supernatural creatures, as they battled a ghostly Woman in White while searching for their missing father.

Dream a Little Dream of Me (<i>Supernatural</i>) 10th episode of the 3rd season of Supernatural

"Dream a Little Dream of Me" is the tenth episode of the paranormal drama television series Supernatural's third season. It was first broadcast on The CW on February 7, 2008. The narrative follows series protagonists Sam and Dean Winchester as they enter the dreamscape to rescue the comatose Bobby Singer.

<i>Supernatural</i> season 6 Season of television series

The sixth season of Supernatural, an American dark fantasy television series created by Eric Kripke, premiered September 24, 2010, and concluded May 20, 2011, airing 22 episodes. This is the first season to have Sera Gamble as showrunner after the full-time departure of Kripke. The sixth season had an average viewership of 2.27 million U.S. viewers.

No Rest for the Wicked (<i>Supernatural</i>) 16th episode of the 3rd season of Supernatural

"No Rest for the Wicked" is the sixteenth and final episode of the third season of The CW television series Supernatural, and the show's sixtieth episode overall. Written by series creator Eric Kripke and directed by Kim Manners, the episode was first broadcast on May 15, 2008. The narrative follows the series' protagonists Sam and Dean Winchester —brothers who travel the continental United States hunting supernatural creatures—as they attempt to save the latter's soul from damnation. Having made a year-long demonic pact in the previous season finale, Dean has just one day left to live. The brothers must track down the demonic overlord Lilith, who holds Dean's contract. Lilith, meanwhile, is entertaining herself by possessing a young girl and terrorizing her family, a homage to the Twilight Zone episode "It's a Good Life".

"Swan Song" is the fifth-season finale of The CW television series Supernatural. It is the 22nd episode of the fifth season, and is the show's 104th episode overall. Steve Boyum directed the episode with teleplay written by series creator Eric Kripke and story written by Eric Gewirtz. The episode aired on Thursday, May 13, 2010, and concluded the series' originally slated storyline. The narrative follows the series' protagonists Sam and Dean Winchester —brothers who travel the continental United States hunting supernatural creatures—as they attempt to stop the Apocalypse.

Lazarus Rising (<i>Supernatural</i>) 1st episode of the 4th season of Supernatural

"Lazarus Rising" is the fourth season premiere of the CW television series Supernatural. The episode originally aired on September 18, 2008, and was written by series creator Eric Kripke and directed by executive producer Kim Manners.

All Hell Breaks Loose (<i>Supernatural</i>) 21st and 22nd episodes of the 2nd season of Supernatural

"All Hell Breaks Loose" is the joint title for the two-part second-season finale of The CW television series Supernatural. It consists of the twenty-first and twenty-second episodes of the second season. "Part One" was first broadcast on May 10, 2007, and the second part aired the following week on May 17, 2007. The narrative follows series protagonist Sam Winchester —a young man who travels the continental United States with his brother Dean hunting supernatural creatures—as he is abducted by series villain Azazel and sent to an abandoned town. Azazel intends to find a leader for his demon army by having Sam and other psychic children like him fight to the death. Sam is eventually killed, but is resurrected after Dean sells his soul. The sole survivor, Jake Talley, is sent by Azazel to a cemetery protected against demons, where he opens a gateway to Hell. At the end of the episode, Azazel is finally killed by Dean with the mystical Colt revolver, but not before hundreds of demons are released into the world.

"Sympathy for the Devil" is the first episode of the fifth season of paranormal drama television series Supernatural and the 83rd overall. The episode was written by showrunner and series creator Eric Kripke and directed by executive producer Robert Singer. It was first broadcast on September 10, 2009 on The CW. In the episode, Sam and Dean watch the aftermath of Lucifer being freed from the Cage while the angels plan a new strategy to stop the Apocalypse.

References

General
  1. Knight, Nicholas (2007). Supernatural: The Official Companion Season 1. Titan Books. ISBN   978-1-84576-535-4.
  2. Knight, Nicholas (2008). Supernatural: The Official Companion Season 2. Titan Books. ISBN   978-1-84576-657-3.
Specific
  1. 1 2 Caims, Bryan (February 2008). "In the Name of the Father". Supernatural Magazine. No. 2. Titan Magazines. p. 27.
  2. ↑ Supernatural: The Official Companion Season 2, pp.115-116
  3. ↑ Supernatural: The Official Companion Season 2, p.136
  4. ↑ Eric Goldman (April 17, 2007). "Supernatural: Behind the Scenes and Behind the Demons". IGN. Archived from the original on May 24, 2012. Retrieved May 29, 2010.
  5. 1 2 Supernatural: The Official Companion Season 1, p.118
  6. 1 2 Supernatural: The Official Companion Season 1, p.119
  7. ↑ Neil Wilkes (February 15, 2007). "'Supernatural' writer John Shiban". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on June 3, 2012. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  8. ↑ Supernatural: The Official Companion Season 1, p.124
  9. ↑ Supernatural: The Official Companion Season 1, p.120
  10. 1 2 Knight, Nicholas (February 2009). "Masters of the Universe". Supernatural Magazine. No. 8. Titan Magazines. p. 22.
  11. ↑ Supernatural: The Official Companion Season 1, pp.120-121
  12. ↑ Supernatural: The Official Companion Season 1, p.123
  13. 1 2 Supernatural: The Official Companion Season 1, p.121
  14. 1 2 Irvine, Alex (December 2007). "Collision Course". Supernatural Magazine. No. 1. Titan Magazines. p. 56.
  15. ↑ Supernatural: The Official Companion Season 1, p.121-122
  16. ↑ "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. May 9, 2006. Archived from the original on June 1, 2009. Retrieved September 23, 2009.
  17. ↑ Karla Peterson (May 5, 2006). "Supernatural: May 4". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved May 29, 2010.
  18. ↑ Maureen Ryan (June 16, 2009). "'Supernatural' Comic-Con news and thoughts on Season 1 of the show". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on June 7, 2010. Retrieved May 29, 2010.
  19. ↑ Diana Steenbergen (September 15, 2008). "Supernatural Flashback: "Devil's Trap" Review". IGN. Archived from the original on July 16, 2010. Retrieved May 29, 2010.
  20. ↑ Brian Tallerico. "Season One Recap". UGO. Archived from the original on June 15, 2011. Retrieved May 29, 2010.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.