As the weather gets colder and Halloween slowly approaches, a comfort show like Supernatural is a perfect binge for fall. Nothing gets one into the spooky mindset quite like the early years of Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean Winchester’s (Jensen Ackles) extended hunting career, as they tackle ghosts, demons, and monsters on the daily. For an excellent episode that’s simply perfect for audiences getting ready for the spooky season to officially commence, there’s no better case than that of a cursed mirror with a spectral force that nearly finished the Winchesters: Season 1’s “Bloody Mary.”
“Bloody Mary” Is a Terrifying ‘Supernatural’ Episode With a Memorable Villain
The fifth episode ever of Supernatural, “Bloody Mary,” is still pretty early in the Winchesters’ adult partnership, as Sam and Dean work through the kinks of hunting together without their father, but that serves the narrative well. The Season 1 context is one of heightened tension, especially since Sam looks for an emotional anchor in each case, often tying back to his grief over his recently deceased girlfriend Jessica (Adrianne Palicki). In this tale, that grief manifests itself in a powerful and dangerous way as the brothers encounter the titular vengeful spirit “Bloody” Mary Worthington (Jovanna Huguet). Like many of Supernatural‘s earliest hours, “Bloody Mary” feels like it’s been ripped straight out of a horror movie. The basic plot — folks in Toledo, Ohio, drop dead due to the Bloody Mary urban legend, which, as it turns out, may just be real — expertly brings the haunting thrills of The Ring to television through the title character.
Perhaps one of the scariest episodes of the entire series, this Season 1 thriller creatively uses reflective surfaces to make its vengeful spirit a threat that feels impossible to escape. Able to jump mirror-to-mirror, Bloody Mary haunts her victims before taking on their form, before liquifying their eyeballs to the point of death. Whether her initial faceless form (covered by her long hair, a la Samara Morgan) gives you the chills or you’re haunted by the concept of an evil mirror self with bleeding eyes, there’s no denying that “Bloody Mary” is still considered one of Supernatural‘s most terrifying episodes by fans. To this day, many still regard it as one of the show’s best, helping set the initial tone and stretch the limits of how personal these weekly horror stories could actually be. Because the evil spirit only kills those with a dark secret, “Bloody Mary” leverages Sam’s guilt and pain following Jessica’s death to its advantage, introducing a story element that would establish the younger Winchester’s psychic premonitions later in the season.
The premise of “Bloody Mary” alone is one that sends chills up one’s spine. After all, who hasn’t been dared to recite “Bloody Mary” alone in a dark room in front of the mirror at least once as a kid? But what makes this Supernatural episode stand out among the rest is that the execution is equally effective as the basic plot itself. The evil spirit herself is scary as all get out, and the way that the supporting characters respond to her appearance, especially Marnette Patterson‘s Charlie, really sells it. As Sam and Dean tackle this American urban legend, they eventually discover the dark mirror at the center of it all, and while the episode consistently delivers on its horror promises, the most notable sequence comes at the very end when the Winchesters attempt to destroy this cursed object…
“Bloody Mary” Has a Horrific Climax That Makes the Episode
While there are many Supernatural episodes out there with decent premises that don’t quite stick the landing (“Bugs” or “Bloodlines,” anyone?), “Bloody Mary” is certainly not one of them. Like some of the best horror movies out there, the episode waits until the very end to reveal all its cards and offer a final bout of terror that nearly takes the Winchesters out in the process. After Sam is nearly consumed by the evil spirit, who has begun to punish him for his secret about Jessica, Dean shatters the mirror. Though the brothers think that it’s all over, the villainess quickly crawls out of the broken glass and appears before them in physical form. If seeing Bloody Mary on reflective surfaces throughout the episode was enough of a fright, then this sequence will put you over the edge.
The way that the editor uses jump cuts to enhance the creep factor of the vengeful spirit, making her appear more ethereal and inhuman as she steps on the remains of her glass prison and attempts a final charge on Sam and Dean, is absolutely horrifying and impressively inspired. It manages to make the threat appear terribly real. The combination of dark visuals, the show’s original film-stock look, and the riveting score make this bit feel like a televised airing of a 2000s horror movie where anything can happen.
After a scene like this, Supernatural only solidified its potential as a horror show. It proved any naysayers wrong that these types of urban legend thrills could be told in a weekly television format, and surpassed scares previously seen on shows like The X-Files or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It’s no wonder that “Bloody Mary” became one of Supernatural‘s most memorable episodes. In fact, when Chuck (Rob Benedict) brought back some of the brothers’ most formidable opponents in Season 15, the spirit of Mary Worthington (with Jovanna Huguet reprising her role) was one of them. Of course, Supernatural had changed so much by then that her final season scares didn’t land as effectively as they did back in Season 1.
‘Supernatural’ Was Always at Its Best When It Leaned into Horror
When Supernatural first began, it wasn’t so much a fantasy series as it was a horror show. In fact, when speaking with the Chicago Tribune about the series back in 2008, creator Eric Kripke admitted as such. “When we started out, we were going to make a horror movie every week,” Kripke explained. “It was about the monsters, and it was about Hook Man and Bloody Mary and the urban legends…” While this eventually changed as the demon plot grew into a larger mythology dealing with the biblical apocalypse, with Season 4 being the catalyst, there’s something still remarkably special about those early episodes.
Frights like Season 1’s “Scarecrow” or the body-horror freak-out “Skin” added layers to the brothers’ relationship while still delivering memorable monsters that would leave a mark on fans for years to come. Supernatural was always such a thrill back when it dumped the Winchesters in a new horror flick each week, something it strayed from as it continued.
No doubt, Supernatural definitely found its own unique voice over the years. Meta episodes and more outlandish gags gave the show character, and allowed Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki to stretch their acting ability. There are plenty of great episodes of the show that don’t feel too horror-esque at all, and that’s a good thing. But over time, Supernatural lost its ability to deliver consistently on the horror train, making episodes like “Bloody Mary” feel almost like relics. Still, they make for great binges this time of year, so don’t miss out on the types of stories that originally launched Supernatural into the public eye.
Supernatural is available for streaming on Netflix.
Supernatural
- Release Date
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2005 – 2020
- Network
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The WB, The CW
- Showrunner
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Eric Kripke
- Directors
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Philip Sgriccia, John F. Showalter, Kim Manners, Thomas J. Wright, Charles Beeson, Guy Norman Bee, Richard Speight Jr., Mike Rohl, John Badham, Steve Boyum, Amyn Kaderali, Jensen Ackles, Tim Andrew, Eduardo Sánchez, Jeannot Szwarc, P.J. Pesce, Nina Lopez-Corrado, James L. Conway, amanda tapping, J. Miller Tobin, Stefan Pleszczynski, John MacCarthy, Jerry Wanek, Ben Edlund
- Writers
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Meredith Glynn, Davy Perez, Raelle Tucker, Cathryn Humphris, Brett Matthews, Nancy Won, John Bring, Ben Acker, Daniel Knauf, David Ehrman, James Krieg, Trey Callaway
