1.16 Shadow

Title	Shadow
Episode #	Season 1, Episode 16
First aired	February 28, 2006
Directed by	Kim Manners
Written by	Eric Kripke
On IMDB	Shadow
Outline	Meg lures Sam and Dean to Chicago in order to set a trap for John.
Monster	Daeva Meg
Timeline
Location(s)	Chicago, Illinois
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Synopsis

Promotional poster for "Shadow."

The boys arrive in Chicago to investigate recent violent deaths. Disguised as operators from a security alarm company, they visit the apartment of the last victim, Meredith, who was ripped to pieces as if by a wild animal. They discount werewolves due to it being the wrong time of the lunar cycle, and struggle to find clues until Dean notices that the blood spatter on the carpet forms a symbol.

That night they visit the bar where Meredith worked. Sam has had no luck researching the symbol; Dean chats to a bartender, but doesn’t gain any useful information other than her phone number. Suddenly Sam spots a familiar face: Meg, the girl he met when he left Dean and intended to travel to California to find John (1.11 Scarecrow).

Sam is suspicious that her appearance is not a coincidence and decides to follow her while Dean checks out her background. While Sam sits outside her apartment, observing her from the Impala, Dean calls to say her story checks out, and that he has found out, with some help from Caleb, the meaning behind the symbol in Meredith’s apartment. It is a sigil for a daeva, a type of Zoroastrian demon. Sam tracks Meg to an abandoned warehouse, where he observes her at an altar, communicating with someone through a goblet of blood.

Sam returns to tell Dean what he’s seen. Dean has his own information: both victims so far were actually born in Lawrence, Kansas. Suspecting that they may be close to the demon that killed their mother, Dean calls John and asks him to come to Chicago. The boys prepare to do battle, and Sam fantasizes about what life may be like after they kill the demon. Dean reacts strongly when Sam expresses a desire to return to college, and opens up about his desire for them to be together as a family again.

At the abandoned warehouse, the boys’ plans are thwarted when Meg commands the daevas to attack them. Once they are restrained, bound to pylons, Meg reveals the murders were a plan to trap them and use them as bait for John. The boys manage to distract her long enough for Sam to cut himself loose and overpower her and then overturn the altar. Freed from her control, the daevas turn on Meg and throw her from the window. Sam and Dean see her dead on the pavement below.

Returning to their room, Sam and Dean find an unexpected visitor: John. Their reunion is interrupted when the daevas attack them, slashing and beating them until Sam repels them by lighting flares. Escaping outside to the Impala, Dean announces that Meg was right - John is vulnerable when he is around them, and they must separate. Sam protests, but John agrees. As they go their separate ways, they are observed by a figure in the shadows – Meg.

Characters

• Sam Winchester
• Dean Winchester
• John Winchester
• Meg Masters
• Meg
• Meredith
• Caleb

Definitions

• Acting in Unison
• Costumes & Disguises
• Daeva
• Dean's Amulet
• EMF
• Goblet of blood
• Hugs
• Hunters
• Impala
• John's Journal
• Law Enforcement Officers
• Sammy
• Table of Death
• Tongues
• Unconscious
• Werewolves
• Wraith-like Figure/Wraith Shadow
• Zoroastrianism
• Zoroastrian Symbol

Music

• "You Got Your Hooks in Me" by Little Charlie and the Nightcats

(the song Meredith is listening to on her iPod)

• "Pictures of Me" by The Vue

(plays at the Firehead Bar, when Dean hits on the bartender and Sam spots Meg again)

• "The New World" by X

(plays at the bar while Meg and Sam are talking)

Netflix

• "Headache" by Boo Boo Davis

(the song Meredith is listening to on her iPod)

• "Stripped" by Motorbaby

(plays at the Firehead Bar, when Dean hits on the bartender and Sam spots Meg again)

• "Skinny Waitress" by The Peasants

(plays at the bar while Meg and Sam are talking)

Quotes

Dean: I’m just sayin’, these outfits cost hard-earned money, okay?

Sam: Whose?

Dean: Ours. You think credit card fraud is easy?

Dean: Well, the landlady said it looked like an animal attack. Maybe it was—werewolf?
Sam: No, no werewolf, the lunar cycle’s not right. Plus, if it was a creature, it would’ve left some kind of trace. It’s probably a spirit.

Sam: Did you get anything? Besides her number?

Dean: Dude, I’m a professional. I’m offended that you would think that. All right, yeah.

Sam: You mind doin’ a little bit of thinking with your upstairs brain, Dean?

Sam: I think there’s somethin’ strange going on here, Dean.

Dean: Yeah, tell me about it. She wasn’t even that into me.

Sam: No, man, I mean like our kind of strange. Like, maybe even a lead.

Sam: What about the symbol? Any luck?

Dean: Yeah, that I did have some luck with. It’s, uh—turns out it’s Zoroastrian. Very, very old school, like two thousand years before Christ. It’s a sigil for a Daeva.
Sam: What’s a Daeva?
Dean: It translates to 'demon of darkness.' Zoroastrian demons, and they’re savage, animalistic, you know, nasty attitudes—kind of like, uh, demonic pit bulls.
Sam: How’d you figure that out?
Dean: Give me some credit, man. You don’t have a corner on paper chasin’ around here.
Sam: Oh, yeah? Name the last book you read.

Dean: ...No, I called Dad’s friend, Caleb. He told me, all right?

Sam: So, what do they look like?

Dean: Well, nobody knows, but nobody’s seen ‘em for a couple of millennia. I mean, summoning a demon that ancient? Someone really knows their stuff. I think we’ve got a major player in town. Now, why don’t you go give that girl a private strip-o-gram?
Sam: Bite me.

Dean: No bite her. Don’t leave teeth marks, though. I mean just enough to where-- Sam? You--

Dean: Why do you think I drag you everywhere? Huh? I mean, why do you think I came and got you at Stanford in the first place?

Sam: ‘Cause Dad was in trouble. ‘Cause you wanted to find the thing that killed mom.
Dean: Yes, that, but it’s more than that, man. You and me and Dad— I want us-- I want us to be together again. I want us to be a family again.
Sam: Dean, we are a family. I’d do anything for you. But things will never be the way they were before.
Dean: Could be.

Sam: I don’t want them to be. I'm not gonna live this life forever. Dean when this is all over, you’re gonna have to let me go my own way.

Dean: Hey Sam?

Sam: Hm?

Dean: Next time you wanna get laid, find a girl that's not so buckets of crazy, huh?

Sam: Let us come with you. We’ll help.

John: No Sam. Not yet. Just try to understand. This demon is a scary son of a bitch. I don’t want you caught in the crossfire. I don’t want you hurt.
Sam: Dad you don’t have to worry about us.
John: Of course I do. I’m your father. Listen Sammy, last time we were together, we had one hell of a fight.
Sam: Yes sir.
John: It’s good to see you again. It’s been a long time.

Sam: Too long.

Dean: Sam! Listen to me! We almost got Dad killed in there. Don’t you understand? They’re not gonna stop. They’re gonna try again. They’re gonna use us to get to him. I mean, Meg was right. Dad’s vulnerable when he’s with us. He—he’s stronger without us around.

Sam: Dad--no. After everything -- after all the time we spent lookin’ for you—please. I gotta be a part of this fight.

John: Sammy, this fight is just starting. And we are all gonna have a part to play. For now, you’ve got to trust me, son. Okay, you’ve gotta let me go. Be careful, boys.

Trivia & References

Dean: You know, I’ve gotta say Dad and me did just fine without these stupid costumes. I feel like a high school drama dork. What was that play that you did? What was it – Our Town. Yeah, you were good, it was cute.

Our Town is a three act play about a town's citizens in the early twentieth century spanning the years between 1901 and 1913. Sam's past as a "theater geek" is also referenced in 10.05 Fan Fiction.

Meg: So, you better call.

Sam: Scout’s honor.

A reference to Scout Law, with the first law being "A Scout's Honour Is to Be Trusted." It has taken to meaning an honorable promise.

Meg: Oh, I did. I came, I saw, I conquered. Oh, and I met what’s-his-name, something Michael Murray at a bar.

Sam: Who?

Meg quotes Julius Cesar's famous words "Veni, vidi, vici." Meg is also referring to Chad Michael Murray (also known as Mayhem) who starred in the TV series Gilmore Girls and the movie House of Wax alongside Jared Padalecki. The two actors are known to be friends.

Minutiae

Filming Locations: Century House, Vancouver.

Sides, Scripts & Transcripts

• 1.16 Shadow (transcript)

Promotion

• Promo #1
• Promo #2