Something Wicked is the 18th episode of Season 1. It aired on April 6th, 2006.
Summary[]
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There was something about being there... It felt pure. This episode summary is an official CW press release. It may contain errors. DO NOT CHANGE! |
Sam and Dean investigate a small town in Wisconsin where children are falling into comas for no apparent reason. The brothers discover that a witch is creeping into the bedrooms of the children and stealing their life force. While battling the witch, Dean recalls a past mistake that almost cost Sam his life at the hands of the very same witch, an event which has fueled Dean's protectiveness over Sam and his blind obedience to his father (Jeffrey Dean Morgan).
Plot[]
The scene opens in Fitchburg, Wisconsin, where a young girl named Bethany is saying her prayers before bed. Her father explains that her mother is spending the night at the hospital with her sister, and then says good night and leaves the room. Bethany is kept awake by the tree branches banging against her window. Creeped out by this, Bethany gets out of bed and closes the blinds and returns to bed. We soon see a thin, long fingered hand open her bedroom window. A shadowy figure creeps in and as Bethany rolls over to see what the noise is, the creature's mouth glows white and it hisses at her as she lets out a scream.
The scene shifts to a highway, where the Impala is driving along. Sam and Dean are following coordinates sent to them by John leading to Fitchburg. Although Sam is finding nothing when he searches the net, and the boys bicker about it being a bust. They soon arrive in town and stop to get coffee. That's when Sam notices something. Sam asks Dean to look at the playground and they notice only one kid playing during the late afternoon. They talk to the mother of the child who mentions that there has been a recent outbreak of an illness affecting the children in the area.
Sam and Dean head to the hospital to investigate. As they walk in Sam confronts Dean about the ID Dean gave him, which reads Bikini Inspector. Dean comments that they won't even check the ID, so Sam approaches the desk and introduces himself as CDC to the nurse. To his dismay, the nurse asks for ID. With Dean silently laughing in the back, Sam shows the ID, which isn't scrutinized, and the nurse directs them to where the sick children are. As they walk towards the ward, Dean notices an old lady in one of the rooms with an upside down cross on the wall.
They soon meet Dr. Hydeker, the doctor on the case, who is surprised to see the CDC there. He tells the boys that the disease works itself through siblings in a family. Dean asks to speak with the kids, but the doctor tells him it isn't possible since they are all unconscious. They talk to Bethany's father, who reveals that it was his daughter Mary who got the illness first, then Bethany. Needing further information, they decide to investigate Bethany's currently empty house.
Once in the house, they begin to look around Bethany's room for clues to what happened. Sam looks around the window and finds something on the windowsill. He calls Dean over to show him the black semi-human handprint. Dean recognizes it as something he saw it as a kid, which triggers a flashback.
A young Dean looks over a picture of the same handprint that is a part of John's current hunt. John has his bag packed and is about to leave for a hunting trip when he begins to run down the rules again with Dean. Dean recites them perfectly and tells John he knows all this. John also tells Dean to watch out for Sammy, and leaves. As soon as John leaves the motel room, Dean locks the door. Dean looks at Sam, who is still watching TV.
The flashback ends, and Dean tells Sam that John has faced this creature before, but does not elaborate. Dean concludes that John wants them to finish the job.
As they unpack the Impala in the motel's parking lot, Dean explains to Sam that they are hunting a type of witch called a Shtriga. He tells him that their dad faced one 17 years ago in Fort Douglas, Wisconsin, but it got away. This surprises Sam, since not much escapes from John Winchester. They go to check into the motel where they are greeted by a smart mouthed young boy, Michael. Michael's mother comes out before the kid can do anymore damage, and finishes up whilst Michael helps his brother Asher with dinner. Dean watches as Michael joins his younger brother, which reminds Dean of his past. Another flashback is triggered.
With John out on a hunting trip, it's just Sam and Dean. Dean is getting a meal ready for Sam. He pours Sam a glass of milk and gives him Spaghetti-Os. Sam moans about the food and asks Dean if there are any Lucky Charms. Dean lies saying there aren't any, but Sam catches this, knowing there are some left. Dean tells Sam that there are some left, but only one bowl and he hasn't had any yet. Dean gives in and allows Sam to have the last bit he was saving for himself. Sam reaches into the box and pulls out the toy and offers it to Dean. Thus ending the flashback, and Dean takes the key for the room.
In the motel room, Sam is researching the Shtriga and confirms that Dean was right. Sam finds that they feed on 'spiritus vitae,' or life's breath, and there is no known way to kill one. Dean corrects Sam, and tells him there is a way to kill one. He tells Sam that their dad told him that they are vulnerable when they feed and can be killed then with consecrated iron bullets. Sam questions how they are going to locate the thing. Dean tells Sam that a Shtriga, when not feeding, can take on human form. Dean figures out that all the victims' houses are around the hospital, which is in the dead center. Dean then remembers the old woman from the hospital with the inverted cross, and believes her to be the Shtriga.
Sam and Dean return to the hospital and head towards the old woman's room. They silently pull out their guns, and Dean moves closer to her - she is lying completely still with her eyes open. Then she moves, and quickly accuses them of stealing her stuff. Realizing she isn't the Shtriga they put away their guns and claim to be hospital maintenance. Believing them, she tells them to fix the cross and turn it the right way, since she had been asking someone to fix it for a while now. Meanwhile, at the motel, Michael and Asher are sleeping, when the same hand from before appears and opens the window.
The next morning, Sam and Dean head back to the motel, with Sam still laughing at Dean for almost shooting the old lady. They notice Michael outside looking unhappy. Dean approaches him and asks what's wrong and Michael tells them that his younger brother got sick. Michael's mother appears, and is in a hurry to get to the hospital. Noticing her flustered state, Dean offers to drive her to the hospital, which she accepts. Before leaving, Dean looks at Sam and says that they're going to kill this thing.
While Dean is at the hospital, Sam heads to the library to research the witch. At the library, Sam calls Dean at the hospital, and tells him that he found reports dating back to the 1890s of similar cases of children becoming ill and dying over the course of a few months, with a new town being hit every 15 to 20 years. In one of the articles, Sam finds a picture of Dr. Hydecker from the year 1893, and figures out that the doctor is the witch. Dean, who is at the hospital, looks at the doctor who is in the same room. Hydecker moves to talk to Dean, who is barely able to contain his anger, but doesn't attempt to attack the doctor.
Back at the motel, Dean is still angry, and Sam is surprised that Dean didn't shoot the doctor right there. Dean says he really wanted to, but he knows it would have been useless as you can't kill a Shtriga unless it's feeding. He tells Sam he knows how to kill it and proposes a plan to use Michael as bait to draw out Hydecker. Sam doesn't like the plan, and Dean tells Sam there isn't any other way. Dean continues on by saying that he screwed up once before. Sam is confused by this comment, so Dean begins to tell Sam what happened the first time, which triggers a flashback.
It has been three days since John left and Sam and Dean are still at the motel. Dean, at the time, was getting bored of being cooped up for so long, so he decides to go out for a bit. Before leaving he checks on a sleeping Sam, before exiting the room and heading to the arcade. Later, the owner is closing up, so Dean heads back to the motel room. When he enters, he notices a light from Sam's room, and slowly walks towards it. He looks in to see Sam sleeping with the Shtriga above him, and reaches for the shotgun. As he points the gun, John bursts in and fires at the Shtriga. Obviously hurt, it flees, and John rushes to check on Sam. Seeing Sam okay, John yells at Dean for not following his orders.
Back to the present, Dean finishes up his tale by saying that after that day, John looked at him differently. The reason that their dad sent them there was so Dean could finish the job.
They talk to Michael about their plan, but he flat out refuses to do it. Michael does admit he saw the Shtriga coming for his brother, but thought it was a nightmare. After they head back to their room to figure out an alternate plan, there's a knock at the door and its Michael asking if killing the thing would make his brother get better? Dean honestly tells Michael he doesn't know. Michael asks Dean if he would do anything for his little brother. Dean looks at Sam and answers, yes he would. Michael tells Dean he would too.
That night, Sam and Dean place cameras around Michael's bedroom, and tell him to hide under the bed when they start shooting. Michael voices his worries about getting shot, but Dean assures him that he won't miss.
It's now 3 AM, and Sam and Dean are waiting in another room for the witch to show up. Sam attempts to apologize to Dean for always giving him hell for following Dad's orders, which causes Dean to groan in annoyance. Then the creature comes and approaches Michael. As it's about to feed, Sam and Dean burst in and open fire. When it appears to be dead, the boys let their guards down, and the creature attacks again. It throws Dean across the room, and grabs Sam and chokes him as it begins to feed. Dean manages to get there in time and kills the Shtriga, for good this time. He looks at Sam and asks if he is okay. Thumbs up from Sam is his response. Dean shoots the creature a couple more times for good measure. Unharmed but shaken, Michael climbs out from under the bed.
The next morning, Sam and Dean are packing up, when Michael's mother appears saying that Asher has made an excellent recovery, along with the other children. Plus, Dr. Hydecker has disappeared. As Michael and his mother drive off to the hospital. Sam tells Dean that it's sad that Michael will always know what's out there, and that he sometimes wishes he was innocent too. Dean admits that he also wishes Sam were innocent, and they drive off.
Characters[]
Main Cast[]
Recurring Cast[]
Guest Stars[]
- Jeffrey Dean Morgan as John Winchester (flashback)
Co-Stars[]
- Adrian Hough and Jeannie Epper as Dr. Hydeker
- Venus Terzo as Joanna
- Erica Carroll as Unnamed Mother
- Colby Paul as Michael
- Uncredited actor as Asher
Continuity[]
- John Winchester previously appeared in Shadow.
Featured Supernatural Beings[]
Trivia[]
- Antagonist: Dr. Hydeker.
- The WB's official press release misspells director Whitney Ransick as Whitney Ransic. Similar to the previous episode, Jeffrey Dean Morgan is mistakenly not credited as a guest star.
- An alternative title for this episode (as in the case of the Netflix version) is 'Something Wicked This Way Comes'. It was shortened later to Something Wicked (as in the case of the HBO Max version).
- The first title of the episode alludes to a line in Shakespeare's Macbeth. The full line is, "By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes". The line is said by a witch in the play. Shtriga is Albanian for witch.
- The original line refers to Macbeth and his craze for power and willingness to sacrifice anything to complete his goals. This may be a reference to the dark side Dean has shown, specifically his willingness to use a child to kill the Shtriga.
- One of the chapter listings for this episode is "...this way comes".
- There is a reference to The Simpsons, when Sam refers to places recently struck by the Shtriga. He references Brockway, Ogdenville and North Haverbrook, which in Episode 12 of Season 4, Marge vs. the Monorail, are struck by a similarly catastrophic monorail.
- We learn, through a flashback, the reason why Dean is the way he is about following John's orders: The shtriga almost killed Sam when Dean had disobeyed John's orders and had gone out, only to come back and find the thing hovering over Sam.
- In the first flashback, Sam is watching Thundercats.
- Erica Carroll plays the young mother who talks to Dean about the children while at the playground. She also played the hospital receptionist in Season 1's Faith and Hannah/Caroline Johnson from Season 9 to Season 10.
- During Sam and Dean's first investigation at the hospital, when they enter the old woman's room, the room number is 237, a possible nod to Room 237 in "The Shining".https://theshining.fandom.com/wiki/Room_237
Deaths[]
Featured Music[]
- "Rock Bottom" by UFO
- "Road To Nowhere" by Ozzy Osborne
- "So Electric" by Boulevard
- "Another Day of Regret" by Molly
Quotes[]
- Michael: "King or two queens?"
- Dean: "Two queens."
- Michael: [under his breath] "Yeah, I bet."
- Dean: "What'd you say?"
- Michael: [brightly] "Nice car."
- Sam: "Dude, dude, I am not using this ID!"
- Dean: "Why not?"
- Sam: "Because it says "Bikini Inspector" on it!"
- Sam: "Well, you were right. It wasn't very easy to find, but you were right. A Shtriga is a kind of witch. They're Albanian, but legends about 'em date back to ancient Rome. They feed off of spiritus vitae."
- Dean: "Spir what?"
- Sam: "Vitae. It's Latin, it translates to 'Breath of Life'. Kinda like your life force or essence."
- Sam: "Should've thought of this before. A doctor's the perfect disguise, you're trusted, you can control the whole thing!"
- Dean: "That sonofabitch."
- Sam: "I'm surprised you didn't draw on him right there."
- Dean: "Yeah well, first of all, I'm not gonna open fire in a friggin' pediatrics ward."
- Sam: "Good call."
- Dean: "Second, it wouldn't hava done any good, 'cause the bastard's bullet-proof unless he's chowin' down on something. And third... I wasn't packing, which is probably a really good thing 'cause I probably would've just burned a clip in him out of principle alone."
- Sam: "Getting wise in your old age, Dean."
- Dean: "Damn right."
- Sam: "You sure these iron rounds are gonna work?"
- Dean: "Consecrated iron rounds, and yeah, it's what Dad used last time."
- Sam: "Hey Dean, I'm sorry."
- Dean: "For what?"
- Sam: "You know. I've really given you a lot of crap. For always following Dad's orders. But I know why you do it."
- Dean: "Oh God, kill me now."
- Sam: [as they prepare to leave] "It's too bad."
- Dean: "Nah, they'll be fine."
- Sam: "That's not what I meant. I meant Michael. He'll always know there are things out there in the dark, never be the same, you know? Sometimes I wish that..."
- Dean: "What?"
- Sam: "I wish I could have that kind of innocence."
- Dean: "If it means anything, sometimes I wish you could, too."
International Titles[]
- Finnish: Pahuuden ilmentymä (Manifestation of Evil)
- Brazil: Alguma Coisa Malígna (Something Evil)
- French: La Strige (The Shtriga)
- German: Eine Hexe kehrt zurück (A Witch returns)
- Italian: Qualcosa di Stregato (Something Wicked)
- Polish: Straszydło (Bogeyman)
- Hungarian: Az ősgonosz (The Ancient Evil)
External Links[]
- "Supernatural: "Something Wicked" Review", IGN review.