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Meg Masters

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.

Meg Masters
Supernatural character
Rachel Miner as Meg Masters in the fifth season episode "Sympathy for the Devil."
First appearance"Scarecrow" (2006)
Last appearance"Goodbye Stranger" (2013)
Created byEric Kripke
Portrayed byNicki Aycox
Jared Padalecki
Rachel Miner
Voiced byNana Mizuki (anime, Japanese dub)
Erin Agostino (anime, English dub)
In-universe information
SpeciesBlack-eyed Demon
GenderFemale
FamilyAzazel (father)
Tom (brother)
Castiel (love interest)
AbilitiesDemonic possession
Invulnerability
Occult knowledge
Superhuman strength
Telekinesis
Teleportation

In season 15, the entity known as the Empty assumes Meg's form to communicate with the Winchesters and Castiel.

Plot edit

Upon possessing a young woman named Meg Masters (Nicki Aycox), the demon assumes her name and tracks down series protagonist Sam Winchester in the first season episode "Scarecrow". The two briefly meet while hitchhiking—Sam left his brother Dean to track down their missing father John—and then again at a bus station. Despite her attempts to convince him otherwise, Sam eventually leaves to help Dean with one of their supernatural investigations. Meg slits a man's throat and uses his blood to communicate with her father Azazel, the demon responsible for the death of Sam and Dean's mother.[1] Sam encounters her again in the episode "Shadow". Finding her reappearance suspicious, Sam spies on her and realizes that she is responsible for recent deaths of natives from his hometown. The brothers confront Meg and learn that the murders were actually a trap set for John, who has been hunting Azazel.[2] After Sam and Dean reunite with John and acquire the demon-killing Colt, Meg begins killing their friends in "Salvation" and threatens to continue doing so unless they surrender the weapon. John delivers a fake gun, but Meg and her demonic brother take him hostage after quickly realizing the deceit.[3] Meg tracks down the brothers in search of the Colt in the season finale "Devil's Trap", but is ultimately captured and exorcised to Hell.[4]

Meg escapes Hell in the second season and takes possession of Sam (Jared Padalecki) in "Born Under a Bad Sign", seeking revenge against the Winchesters. To trick Dean into killing his brother, she uses Sam's body to kill one of the Winchesters' fellow hunters before taking their friend Jo Harvelle hostage, attempting to convince Dean that Sam has succumbed to Azazel's influence and can't control his actions. However, Dean and the Winchesters' ally Bobby Singer realize that Sam is possessed, and despite Meg's attempt to seal herself in Sam using a binding link, she is forced to flee Sam's body once she becomes vulnerable to exorcism after Dean and Bobby burn the mark off.[5]

After the demons' god Lucifer is freed from Hell, Meg (Rachel Miner) resurfaces in the fifth season premiere "Sympathy for the Devil" to try to kill Dean (as he is believed to be the one who will kill Lucifer) before he can find a weapon said to be capable of killing Lucifer. Her attack leaves Bobby paralyzed, but she is forced to flee when Dean tries to kill her.[6] She returns in "Abandon All Hope..." and sends a pack of hellhounds after Sam, Dean, and their friends Jo and Ellen Harvelle when they arrive to kill Lucifer; the confrontation ends in Jo and Ellen's deaths. After Lucifer captures the angel Castiel, an ally of the Winchesters, Meg stands guard over the prisoner until he escapes by pushing her onto the burning circle keeping him trapped, allowing him to walk over her to escape.[7] The Winchesters ultimately send Lucifer back to Hell at the end of the season.[8] The demon Crowley assumes reign, forcing Meg to go into hiding as a Lucifer loyalist. When Meg's forces capture Sam and Dean in the sixth season episode "Caged Heat" to find and kill the new ruler, Sam recruits her to torture Crowley until Crowley agrees to restore Sam's soul. Once Castiel seemingly kills Crowley upon the latter's admitting he can't restore Sam's soul, Meg flees before the Winchesters have the chance to kill her, too.[9]

Crowley is later revealed to have faked his death.[10] Meg reforms her alliance with Dean in "The Born-Again Identity" in order to stop Crowley from capturing Castiel. After Castiel absorbs damage Lucifer previously caused to Sam's mind, the Winchesters leave a now-insane Castiel in a mental hospital and Meg takes a job at the hospital to watch over him, reasoning that her status as a Lucifer loyalist marked her as Crowley's enemy and it is thus in her best interest to help the Winchesters.[11] When Castiel partially recovers in "Reading is Fundamental," Meg alerts the brothers and later helps protect Castiel from both angels and demons.[12] In the seventh season finale "Survival of the Fittest", Crowley finds her with Sam, Dean, and Castiel, but does not take action against her because it would upset Castiel, who is necessary to bringing down the Leviathans. Meg assists the Winchesters in killing Dick Roman, the leader of the Leviathans, by directly attacking Dick's headquarters and thus distracting his forces. However, Crowley has her captured immediately afterwards.[13] He tortures her for the location of Lucifer's crypt, which holds a Word of God tablet about angels Crowley wants. Castiel and the Winchesters rescue Meg in the eighth season episode "Goodbye Stranger", and she takes them to the crypt's location. When Crowley arrives, Meg sacrifices herself to allow Sam, Dean, and Castiel time to escape with the tablet.[14]

In season 15's "Destiny's Child," the Shadow, the ruler of the Empty, takes on Meg's form to communicate with Castiel, greeting him with Meg's traditional "Hello, Clarence" and adopting some of her mannerisms. Later, in "Unity," the Shadow once again appears as Meg in Death's Library. When Sam sees "Meg," he is confused until the entity explains that it is borrowing Meg's form due to its lack of one and it states that the real Meg is still dead. The Shadow then appears as Meg to Jack in "Despair" while they are both in the Empty.

Characterization edit

Actress Nicki Aycox described Meg as having a "playful side" and a "sexuality", both of which are "tempered with an evil side underneath". In her mind, the human qualities represented the real Meg whom the demon was possessing.[15] Aycox also found the character sarcastic, "sharp-tongued, witty, [and] smart", as well as determined to get what she wants.[16] Likewise, series creator Eric Kripke noted that she can "really twist the knife psychologically."[17]

"Meg is definitely tough, always has that sense of flirting, and is trying to keep some sense of integrity, even in the worst-case scenario. Unlike some characters, who are total victims in certain circumstances, she's trying to hold onto a position of power when she obviously doesn't have it."
 — Rachel Miner describing Meg[18]

The word "fiery" summed up the character for actress Rachel Miner, who noted the "devilish enjoyment" that the "obviously very evil" Meg gets from playing cat-and-mouse games with the Winchesters.[19] In her opinion, Meg's "sense of fun" stems from her "thousands and thousands of years" of living,[19] which have provided her "a little bit more of relaxation" because "the little things wouldn't be significant to her".[19][20] In addition to describing the character as "quite powerful" and a "free spirit", Miner deemed Meg an "ambitious demon" who always has a plan and who seizes any opportunity to gain power.[19][21][22] The actress attributed Meg's longevity to the character's sense of "[knowing] when to exit". She elaborated, "[Meg] made a hasty withdrawal and gathered her forces to come back. That's her strength... she doesn't take the brothers on unless she has the upper hand."[21] Writer Sera Gamble admitted that her favorite aspect of Miner's interpretation of Meg was that "she always looks so annoyed" and found it "delightful" that Miner "always plays things like she's waiting for everybody else to catch up".[23]

Gamble noted that Meg becomes "a bit of a free agent and kind of a demon rebel" following Lucifer's defeat at the end of the fifth season. Already an enemy of the new demonic ruler Crowley, her failed attempt to kill him in the sixth season puts her on "Crowley's most-wanted list".[24] According to Miner, Meg is "just basically trying to survive" after that. Although she keeps an eye on "everything she can that might affect her, including what the Winchesters are up to", her main objective is avoiding Crowley.[22] This desperation forces her to work with the Winchesters in later appearances.[24]

"I'm curious to see what direction it'll go in; whether she is watching over Castiel purely for her own ends or whether there's actually some part of her that cares about him."
 — Miner on Meg's relationship with Castiel[25]

In regards to Meg meeting the angel Castiel for the first time in the fifth season, Miner noted the "fun moment where it looks like maybe Cass and [Meg] could kiss". The actress enjoyed the flirtation, pointing out that "of course the demon would want the angel to give in to his lesser instincts".[26] This "demon-angel dichotomy" continues in the sixth season,[26] although Miner was uncertain whether Meg was merely toying with Castiel. "It's complex when you are dealing with a demon," she explained, "but Castiel definitely sparks her interest more than most. He had some effect on her especially with that kiss."[18] Nevertheless, she later deemed the flirtation as "just a fun deviation" for the characters.[22] Actor Misha Collins, who portrays Castiel, acknowledged that Meg "is still turning up the heat on the sexual tension between Cas and herself" in the seventh season.[27] Describing her as "sort of a helper", he joked, "Again, of course, it’s a strained relationship. Cas likes her... Sam and Dean have a little more trouble with her."[28] Like Miner, he called her true motives with both Castiel and the Winchesters "a lingering question" at that time.[27] The pair are "actually happy to work with one another again" in the eighth season, however, with Collins noting a "remarkably tender moment" between Meg and Castiel that is "unusual for the show".[29]

Development edit

With the initial episodes of the first season featuring mostly unconnected storylines, the writers became desperate to begin developing a mythology for the series.[30] They thus crafted Meg as a recurring antagonist, but at the time were otherwise unsure of what direction to take her.[31] Executive producer Kim Manners had previously directed an episode of the series Over There featuring Aycox, and hand-selected her for the role of Meg.[32] On developing the character and her storyline, Aycox noted that they "really just felt [their] way through" and described it as "very trial and error".[32]

"I think that when you bring a woman on that's going to be a powerful character, there's definitely going to be some sexuality put into the character. I added a lot of it on my own, but it was definitely in the script as well."
 — Aycox on developing Meg[31]

The actress's strategy in "Scarecrow" was to surprise the audience—the episode's conclusion reveals that Meg is a demon—by portraying her as "a truly innocent girl who's lost and on her way to somewhere else".[15] In designing the costume for that episode, Diane Widas wanted to reflect that Meg was traveling but also dress her as "a girl that the boys would be interested in".[33] As Aycox became more comfortable on-set and saw how the series leads Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles were "playful" and "up for anything", she gained the confidence to bring a "sexuality" to the character.[15] Given free rein over the character by production, Aycox also tried to make Meg "very stylized".[31] Widas reflected this character progression by giving her a yellow leather jacket as she "got stronger" and a red leather jacket when her demonic side fully emerged in the first season finale.[33] The character was seemingly killed off in the same episode, a decision that Manners disagreed with because he thought that she had potential to be a "great nemesis" for the Winchesters, akin to the Cigarette Smoking Man of the series The X-Files.[34] Agreeing that Meg was "a really formidable adversary" for the Winchesters, Kripke chose to bring her back to the series later on.[35]

 
Jared Padalecki's character Sam Winchester becomes possessed by Meg in the show's second season.

The show's second season involves a subplot of whether Sam would turn evil, and the writers wanted an episode where Sam would wake up covered in blood after having killed a person. Realizing that demonic possession could explain his actions, the writers brought back Meg because she would want revenge for being exorcised. This became the episode "Born Under a Bad Sign". Cathryn Humphris, the writer of that episode, felt that the idea of Meg possessing Sam "provided a good opportunity to see what [being evil] would look like for Sam, and what Dean's response to that might be".[36] For most of the episode, Sam is depicted as "scared, confused, and angry", only to reveal the "characteristic demon swagger" after he takes Jo hostage.[37] Padalecki prepared by watching Aycox's performance as Meg in past episodes and the actress praised him on his portrayal of her character, feeling that he picked up on her "own personal mannerisms... like little tics and looks and things like that".[38] Director J. Miller Tobin believed Padalecki did a "terrific job of... just being so smarmy and so in your face".[37]

After Meg's disappearance, Kripke repeatedly asked the writers what she was doing off-screen and eventually elected to write her into the fifth season premiere "Sympathy for the Devil" himself.[35] The writers wanted Aycox to again reprise the role—the actress had already returned in the fourth season episode "Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean Winchester" as the spirit of the actual Meg Masters—and brainstormed reasons why the demon would want to return to her old host after the body had been buried and rotting for years, but ultimately deemed it too impractical and chose to recast.[39] Because the writers still wanted to pay credit to Aycox, "the bar was set very high" during the casting process. Miner received the role, with Kripke finding her "just so interesting and complicated and sexy and idiosyncratic" and with "so many different layers".[40]

Miner had not seen the series before,[19] and only had the opportunity before filming to view a few clips of Aycox's episodes. She wanted to avoid merely copying Aycox's performance, but at the same time did not want to stray too far because it was the same character.[20] However, she found that she did not have to alter her performance because the character was "written so specifically that the choices were very similar".[19] Respecting prior depictions of Meg, Miner said, "I did take to heart that the character meant so much to people... That became something I took into consideration because I didn't want to disappoint people by taking away from what was originally there."[20] Upon being asked to return for "Abandon All Hope...", she declined a film offer because it conflicted with the series' filming.[19]

The sixth season episode "Caged Heat" originally involved Lenore, a vampire whom the Winchesters spared in the second season, but the writers replaced her with Meg when Lenore's actress Amber Benson was unavailable.[41] Meg's increased presence in the episode as compared to previous appearances with Miner in the role surprised the actress.[42] Miner cited it as her favorite episode, explaining, "The episode took Meg in a lot of directions that you might not have expected and that were fun to play."[43]

The character was killed off in the eighth season. Feeling that "when someone dies, you want it to count a little bit", executive producer Jeremy Carver stated that "there are no immediate plans to bring her back".[44]

Reception edit

Maureen Ryan of Chicago Tribune deemed Aycox's incarnation of Meg a "good addition to the show" who "[spiced] things up a bit", recalling that she had been "shocked" when Meg was revealed to be a villain at the end of her introductory episode. Ryan enjoyed how the character toyed around with the Winchesters, and thought the human Meg's final moments were "well done".[45] Diana Steenbergen of IGN, on the other hand, found Meg's attempts to "out-tough and out-snark the boys" uninteresting. In her 2008 review of the episode "Shadow", she compared Meg's characterization to that of subsequent Supernatural female characters Jo Harvelle, Ruby, and Bela Talbot, feeling that all four characters were too similar and thus "even more tiresome" as a result. Steenbergen further wrote, "The show has managed to make interesting, three-dimensional, flawed yet heroic male characters; it is high time to spread that care toward the recurring female characters."[46] She gave Meg a much more positive reception in "Born Under a Bad Sign", calling the plot twist that the character was possessing Sam "excellent" and praising Padalecki's portrayal of the character, which Steenbergen found "exceptionally entertaining". She described Meg's interaction with Jo while posing as Sam as "disturbing", and noted, "[Padalecki] infuses everything [Meg] says and does with a sly menace and by the end he is holding nothing back...[he] effortlessly switches from taunting...back into innocent-sounding Sammy begging his brother to help him".[47] Comparing Padalecki's previous portrayals of an evil Sam, Tina Charles of TV Guide believed Padalecki "outdid himself" as Meg. "I just think that Jared had to relish the different levels of intensity Sam was put through," she wrote. "It showed, and he did such a great job."[48]

Tim Janson of Mania believed that neither Aycox nor Padalecki portrayed Meg "with such dripping sarcasm as Rachel Miner". He felt that she "always adds spice when she appears", and deemed the bonding scenes between Meg and Sam in "Goodbye Stranger" to be "priceless".[49] Similarly, Steenbergen felt Miner played the role "with vicious flair" and "[conveyed] Meg's brutality well, right from the beginning".[50] As time passed, she noted that the actress "has done well taking over the role".[51] Like Janson, Steenbergen particularly enjoyed the conversation between Meg and Sam in "Goodbye Stranger". In regard to this final appearance, she wrote, "If you had told me a few years ago that Meg’s death would be sad I wouldn’t have believed you, but it was."[52] Miner's incarnation of Meg received praise from Jordan Farley of SFX, as well. Farley wrote, "As a demon turned good (sort of) she occupies a moral grey zone that leaves her actions completely unpredictable even after year’s [sic] of guest appearances, a refreshing quality for a character to have. And she’s funny."[53] Ryan also liked Miner's portrayal of the character.[54]

However, other reviewers were not as favorable to Miner. Laura Prudom of Huffington Post felt Aycox portrayed the character with a "lot more subtlety" than Miner and preferred Meg's darker appearances prior to Miner, finding it "hard to reconcile the demon who possessed Sam and went on a killing and torture spree in the phenomenal 'Born Under a Bad Sign' with the character we've seen in the past couple of years".[55] Nevertheless, she was "impressed that [Meg] went out fighting for what was right".[56] Though Charles liked Miner's portrayal,[57] she complained that the character's dialogue "always [seemed] to be a series of one-liners"[58] and found that the character's large role in "Reading is Fundamental" detracted from the episode for her, explaining that she "[likes] Meg but in smaller doses."[59] She, too, preferred Aycox over Miner in the role.[57] John Kubicek of BuddyTV and Sandra Gonzalez of Entertainment Weekly also favored Aycox's portrayal of the character.[60][61]

References edit

Bibliography edit

  1. Cairns, Bryan (October–November 2009). "Far From Heaven". Supernatural Magazine. Titan Magazines (12).
  2. Cairns, Bryan (March–April 2011). "Meg Uncaged". Supernatural Magazine. Titan Magazines (23).
  3. Knight, Nicholas (July 2012). "The Devil and Miss Masters". Supernatural Magazine. No. 33. Titan Magazines.
  4. Knight, Nicholas (February–March 2009). "Masters of the Universe". Supernatural Magazine. Titan Magazines (8).
  5. Knight, Nicholas (2007). Supernatural: The Official Companion Season 1. Titan Books. ISBN 978-1-84576-535-4.
  6. Knight, Nicholas (2008). Supernatural: The Official Companion Season 2. Titan Books. ISBN 978-1-84576-657-3.
  7. Knight, Nicholas (2010). Supernatural: The Official Companion Season 5. Titan Books. ISBN 978-1-84856-739-9.
  8. Knight, Nicholas (2011). Supernatural: The Official Companion Season 6. Titan Books. ISBN 978-0-85768-289-5.

Footnotes edit

  1. ^ Story by: Patrick Sean Smith, Teleplay by: John Shiban, Director: Kim Manners (January 10, 2006). "Scarecrow". Supernatural. Season 1. Episode 11. WB.
  2. ^ Writer: Eric Kripke, Director: Kim Manners (February 28, 2006). "Shadow". Supernatural. Season 1. Episode 16. WB.
  3. ^ Writer: Sera Gamble & Raelle Tucker, Director: Robert Singer (April 27, 2006). "Salvation". Supernatural. Season 1. Episode 21. WB.
  4. ^ Writer: Eric Kripke, Director: Kim Manners (May 4, 2006). "Devil's Trap". Supernatural. Season 1. Episode 22. WB.
  5. ^ Writer: Cathryn Humphris, Director: J. Miller Tobin (February 8, 2007). "Born Under a Bad Sign". Supernatural. Season 2. Episode 14. CW.
  6. ^ Writer: Eric Kripke, Director: Robert Singer (September 10, 2009). "Sympathy for the Devil". Supernatural. Season 5. Episode 1. CW.
  7. ^ Writer: Ben Edlund, Director: Phil Sgriccia (November 19, 2009). "Abandon All Hope...". Supernatural. Season 5. Episode 10. CW.
  8. ^ Swan Song
  9. ^ Writer: Brett Matthews & Jenny Klein, Director: Robert Singer (December 3, 2010). "Caged Heat". Supernatural. Season 6. Episode 10. CW.
  10. ^ Writer: Adam Glass, Director: John Showalter (April 29, 2011). "Mommy Dearest". Supernatural. Season 6. Episode 19. CW.
  11. ^ Writer: Sera Gamble, Director: Robert Singer (March 23, 2012). "The Born-Again Identity". Supernatural. Season 7. Episode 17. CW.
  12. ^ Writer: Ben Edlund, Director: Ben Edlund (May 4, 2012). "Reading is Fundamental". Supernatural. Season 7. Episode 21. CW.
  13. ^ Writer: Sera Gamble, Director: Robert Singer (May 18, 2012). "Survival of the Fittest". Supernatural. Season 7. Episode 23. CW.
  14. ^ Writer: Robbie Thompson, Director: Thomas J. Wright (March 20, 2013). "Goodbye Stranger". Supernatural. Season 8. Episode 17. CW.
  15. ^ a b c "Masters of the Universe", p.21
  16. ^ Supernatural: The Official Companion Season 1, pp.140-141
  17. ^ Supernatural: The Official Companion Season 1, p.115
  18. ^ a b "Meg Uncaged", p.34
  19. ^ a b c d e f g Supernatural: The Official Companion Season 5, p.146
  20. ^ a b c Knight, Nicholas (December 2009 – January 2010). "She-Devil". Supernatural Magazine. No. 13. Titan Magazines. pp. 43–44.
  21. ^ a b "Meg Uncaged", p.36
  22. ^ a b c "The Devil and Miss Masters", p.64
  23. ^ Supernatural: The Official Companion Season 7, p.120
  24. ^ a b . www.tvguide.com. Archived from the original on 2012-03-25.
  25. ^ "The Devil and Miss Masters", p.66
  26. ^ a b Supernatural: The Official Companion Season 5, p.59
  27. ^ a b "Misha Collins on his return to 'Supernatural': Castiel 'can tell that Dean's a dangerous guy'". Zap2It.
  28. ^ "'Supernatural' Star Misha Collins Talks Castiel; Plus Exclusive Sneak Peek At 'Reading Is Fundamental'". The Huffington Post. 4 May 2012.
  29. ^ Vlada Gelman (20 March 2013). "Supernatural Season 8 Spoilers — Misha Collins on Castiel's Return, Angry Winchesters - TVLine". TVLine.
  30. ^ Supernatural: The Official Companion Season 1, p.66
  31. ^ a b c Supernatural: The Official Companion Season 1, p.140
  32. ^ a b "Masters of the Universe", p.20
  33. ^ a b Supernatural: The Official Companion Season 1, p.113
  34. ^ Eric Goldman (April 17, 2007). . IGN. Archived from the original on May 24, 2012. Retrieved May 29, 2010.
  35. ^ a b "'Supernatural' character making comeback". Digital Spy. 1 July 2009.
  36. ^ Supernatural: The Official Companion Season 2, p.78-79
  37. ^ a b Supernatural: The Official Companion Season 2, p.79
  38. ^ "Masters of the Universe", p.23
  39. ^ Supernatural: The Official Companion Season 5, pp.20-21
  40. ^ Supernatural: The Official Companion Season 5, p.21
  41. ^ Supernatural: The Official Companion Season 6, p.60
  42. ^ "Meg Uncaged", p.32
  43. ^ "The Devil and Miss Masters", p.63
  44. ^ "TV". Entertainment Weekly's EW.com.
  45. ^ . Chicago Tribune. June 16, 2009. Archived from the original on June 7, 2010.
  46. ^ Diana Steenbergen (6 August 2008). "Supernatural Flashback: "Shadow" Review". IGN.
  47. ^ Diana Steenbergen (30 July 2009). "Supernatural Flashback: "Born Under a Bad Sign" Review". IGN.
  48. ^ "Watch Supernatural Season 2 Episode 14: Born Under a Bad Sign - TVGuide.com". TVGuide.com.
  49. ^ . Archived from the original on 2014-02-01. Retrieved 2015-08-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  50. ^ Diana Steenbergen (11 September 2009). "Supernatural: "Sympathy for the Devil" Review". IGN.
  51. ^ Diana Steenbergen (5 December 2010). "Supernatural: "Caged Heat" Review". IGN.
  52. ^ Diana Steenbergen (21 March 2013). "Supernatural: "Goodbye Stranger" Review". IGN.
  53. ^ "SFX - GamesRadar+". gamesradar. 24 May 2023.
  54. ^ . Chicago Tribune. November 20, 2009. Archived from the original on November 23, 2009. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
  55. ^ "'Supernatural' Finale Recap: Who Made It Out Alive?". Huffington Post. May 18, 2012.
  56. ^ "'Supernatural' Recap: I Want To Break Free". Huffington Post. March 21, 2013.
  57. ^ a b . Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved January 1, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  58. ^ "Watch Supernatural Season 6 Episode 10: Caged Heat - TVGuide.com". TVGuide.com.
  59. ^ . www.tvguide.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-13.
  60. ^ "'Supernatural' Recap: Let the Armageddon Begin (Page 3/5)". 10 September 2009.
  61. ^ "TV Recaps". Entertainment Weekly's EW.com.

masters, fictional, character, television, network, drama, horror, television, series, supernatural, created, series, writers, develop, story, first, season, unnamed, demon, assumes, name, host, possesses, begins, antagonizing, series, protagonists, dean, winc. 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 Meg MastersSupernatural characterRachel Miner as Meg Masters in the fifth season episode Sympathy for the Devil First appearance Scarecrow 2006 Last appearance Goodbye Stranger 2013 Created byEric KripkePortrayed byNicki AycoxJared PadaleckiRachel MinerVoiced byNana Mizuki anime Japanese dub Erin Agostino anime English dub In universe informationSpeciesBlack eyed DemonGenderFemaleFamilyAzazel father Tom brother Castiel love interest AbilitiesDemonic possessionInvulnerabilityOccult knowledgeSuperhuman strengthTelekinesisTeleportationIn season 15 the entity known as the Empty assumes Meg s form to communicate with the Winchesters and Castiel Contents 1 Plot 2 Characterization 3 Development 4 Reception 5 References 5 1 Bibliography 5 2 FootnotesPlot editUpon possessing a young woman named Meg Masters Nicki Aycox the demon assumes her name and tracks down series protagonist Sam Winchester in the first season episode Scarecrow The two briefly meet while hitchhiking Sam left his brother Dean to track down their missing father John and then again at a bus station Despite her attempts to convince him otherwise Sam eventually leaves to help Dean with one of their supernatural investigations Meg slits a man s throat and uses his blood to communicate with her father Azazel the demon responsible for the death of Sam and Dean s mother 1 Sam encounters her again in the episode Shadow Finding her reappearance suspicious Sam spies on her and realizes that she is responsible for recent deaths of natives from his hometown The brothers confront Meg and learn that the murders were actually a trap set for John who has been hunting Azazel 2 After Sam and Dean reunite with John and acquire the demon killing Colt Meg begins killing their friends in Salvation and threatens to continue doing so unless they surrender the weapon John delivers a fake gun but Meg and her demonic brother take him hostage after quickly realizing the deceit 3 Meg tracks down the brothers in search of the Colt in the season finale Devil s Trap but is ultimately captured and exorcised to Hell 4 Meg escapes Hell in the second season and takes possession of Sam Jared Padalecki in Born Under a Bad Sign seeking revenge against the Winchesters To trick Dean into killing his brother she uses Sam s body to kill one of the Winchesters fellow hunters before taking their friend Jo Harvelle hostage attempting to convince Dean that Sam has succumbed to Azazel s influence and can t control his actions However Dean and the Winchesters ally Bobby Singer realize that Sam is possessed and despite Meg s attempt to seal herself in Sam using a binding link she is forced to flee Sam s body once she becomes vulnerable to exorcism after Dean and Bobby burn the mark off 5 After the demons god Lucifer is freed from Hell Meg Rachel Miner resurfaces in the fifth season premiere Sympathy for the Devil to try to kill Dean as he is believed to be the one who will kill Lucifer before he can find a weapon said to be capable of killing Lucifer Her attack leaves Bobby paralyzed but she is forced to flee when Dean tries to kill her 6 She returns in Abandon All Hope and sends a pack of hellhounds after Sam Dean and their friends Jo and Ellen Harvelle when they arrive to kill Lucifer the confrontation ends in Jo and Ellen s deaths After Lucifer captures the angel Castiel an ally of the Winchesters Meg stands guard over the prisoner until he escapes by pushing her onto the burning circle keeping him trapped allowing him to walk over her to escape 7 The Winchesters ultimately send Lucifer back to Hell at the end of the season 8 The demon Crowley assumes reign forcing Meg to go into hiding as a Lucifer loyalist When Meg s forces capture Sam and Dean in the sixth season episode Caged Heat to find and kill the new ruler Sam recruits her to torture Crowley until Crowley agrees to restore Sam s soul Once Castiel seemingly kills Crowley upon the latter s admitting he can t restore Sam s soul Meg flees before the Winchesters have the chance to kill her too 9 Crowley is later revealed to have faked his death 10 Meg reforms her alliance with Dean in The Born Again Identity in order to stop Crowley from capturing Castiel After Castiel absorbs damage Lucifer previously caused to Sam s mind the Winchesters leave a now insane Castiel in a mental hospital and Meg takes a job at the hospital to watch over him reasoning that her status as a Lucifer loyalist marked her as Crowley s enemy and it is thus in her best interest to help the Winchesters 11 When Castiel partially recovers in Reading is Fundamental Meg alerts the brothers and later helps protect Castiel from both angels and demons 12 In the seventh season finale Survival of the Fittest Crowley finds her with Sam Dean and Castiel but does not take action against her because it would upset Castiel who is necessary to bringing down the Leviathans Meg assists the Winchesters in killing Dick Roman the leader of the Leviathans by directly attacking Dick s headquarters and thus distracting his forces However Crowley has her captured immediately afterwards 13 He tortures her for the location of Lucifer s crypt which holds a Word of God tablet about angels Crowley wants Castiel and the Winchesters rescue Meg in the eighth season episode Goodbye Stranger and she takes them to the crypt s location When Crowley arrives Meg sacrifices herself to allow Sam Dean and Castiel time to escape with the tablet 14 In season 15 s Destiny s Child the Shadow the ruler of the Empty takes on Meg s form to communicate with Castiel greeting him with Meg s traditional Hello Clarence and adopting some of her mannerisms Later in Unity the Shadow once again appears as Meg in Death s Library When Sam sees Meg he is confused until the entity explains that it is borrowing Meg s form due to its lack of one and it states that the real Meg is still dead The Shadow then appears as Meg to Jack in Despair while they are both in the Empty Characterization editActress Nicki Aycox described Meg as having a playful side and a sexuality both of which are tempered with an evil side underneath In her mind the human qualities represented the real Meg whom the demon was possessing 15 Aycox also found the character sarcastic sharp tongued witty and smart as well as determined to get what she wants 16 Likewise series creator Eric Kripke noted that she can really twist the knife psychologically 17 Meg is definitely tough always has that sense of flirting and is trying to keep some sense of integrity even in the worst case scenario Unlike some characters who are total victims in certain circumstances she s trying to hold onto a position of power when she obviously doesn t have it Rachel Miner describing Meg 18 The word fiery summed up the character for actress Rachel Miner who noted the devilish enjoyment that the obviously very evil Meg gets from playing cat and mouse games with the Winchesters 19 In her opinion Meg s sense of fun stems from her thousands and thousands of years of living 19 which have provided her a little bit more of relaxation because the little things wouldn t be significant to her 19 20 In addition to describing the character as quite powerful and a free spirit Miner deemed Meg an ambitious demon who always has a plan and who seizes any opportunity to gain power 19 21 22 The actress attributed Meg s longevity to the character s sense of knowing when to exit She elaborated Meg made a hasty withdrawal and gathered her forces to come back That s her strength she doesn t take the brothers on unless she has the upper hand 21 Writer Sera Gamble admitted that her favorite aspect of Miner s interpretation of Meg was that she always looks so annoyed and found it delightful that Miner always plays things like she s waiting for everybody else to catch up 23 Gamble noted that Meg becomes a bit of a free agent and kind of a demon rebel following Lucifer s defeat at the end of the fifth season Already an enemy of the new demonic ruler Crowley her failed attempt to kill him in the sixth season puts her on Crowley s most wanted list 24 According to Miner Meg is just basically trying to survive after that Although she keeps an eye on everything she can that might affect her including what the Winchesters are up to her main objective is avoiding Crowley 22 This desperation forces her to work with the Winchesters in later appearances 24 I m curious to see what direction it ll go in whether she is watching over Castiel purely for her own ends or whether there s actually some part of her that cares about him Miner on Meg s relationship with Castiel 25 In regards to Meg meeting the angel Castiel for the first time in the fifth season Miner noted the fun moment where it looks like maybe Cass and Meg could kiss The actress enjoyed the flirtation pointing out that of course the demon would want the angel to give in to his lesser instincts 26 This demon angel dichotomy continues in the sixth season 26 although Miner was uncertain whether Meg was merely toying with Castiel It s complex when you are dealing with a demon she explained but Castiel definitely sparks her interest more than most He had some effect on her especially with that kiss 18 Nevertheless she later deemed the flirtation as just a fun deviation for the characters 22 Actor Misha Collins who portrays Castiel acknowledged that Meg is still turning up the heat on the sexual tension between Cas and herself in the seventh season 27 Describing her as sort of a helper he joked Again of course it s a strained relationship Cas likes her Sam and Dean have a little more trouble with her 28 Like Miner he called her true motives with both Castiel and the Winchesters a lingering question at that time 27 The pair are actually happy to work with one another again in the eighth season however with Collins noting a remarkably tender moment between Meg and Castiel that is unusual for the show 29 Development editWith the initial episodes of the first season featuring mostly unconnected storylines the writers became desperate to begin developing a mythology for the series 30 They thus crafted Meg as a recurring antagonist but at the time were otherwise unsure of what direction to take her 31 Executive producer Kim Manners had previously directed an episode of the series Over There featuring Aycox and hand selected her for the role of Meg 32 On developing the character and her storyline Aycox noted that they really just felt their way through and described it as very trial and error 32 I think that when you bring a woman on that s going to be a powerful character there s definitely going to be some sexuality put into the character I added a lot of it on my own but it was definitely in the script as well Aycox on developing Meg 31 The actress s strategy in Scarecrow was to surprise the audience the episode s conclusion reveals that Meg is a demon by portraying her as a truly innocent girl who s lost and on her way to somewhere else 15 In designing the costume for that episode Diane Widas wanted to reflect that Meg was traveling but also dress her as a girl that the boys would be interested in 33 As Aycox became more comfortable on set and saw how the series leads Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles were playful and up for anything she gained the confidence to bring a sexuality to the character 15 Given free rein over the character by production Aycox also tried to make Meg very stylized 31 Widas reflected this character progression by giving her a yellow leather jacket as she got stronger and a red leather jacket when her demonic side fully emerged in the first season finale 33 The character was seemingly killed off in the same episode a decision that Manners disagreed with because he thought that she had potential to be a great nemesis for the Winchesters akin to the Cigarette Smoking Man of the series The X Files 34 Agreeing that Meg was a really formidable adversary for the Winchesters Kripke chose to bring her back to the series later on 35 nbsp Jared Padalecki s character Sam Winchester becomes possessed by Meg in the show s second season The show s second season involves a subplot of whether Sam would turn evil and the writers wanted an episode where Sam would wake up covered in blood after having killed a person Realizing that demonic possession could explain his actions the writers brought back Meg because she would want revenge for being exorcised This became the episode Born Under a Bad Sign Cathryn Humphris the writer of that episode felt that the idea of Meg possessing Sam provided a good opportunity to see what being evil would look like for Sam and what Dean s response to that might be 36 For most of the episode Sam is depicted as scared confused and angry only to reveal the characteristic demon swagger after he takes Jo hostage 37 Padalecki prepared by watching Aycox s performance as Meg in past episodes and the actress praised him on his portrayal of her character feeling that he picked up on her own personal mannerisms like little tics and looks and things like that 38 Director J Miller Tobin believed Padalecki did a terrific job of just being so smarmy and so in your face 37 After Meg s disappearance Kripke repeatedly asked the writers what she was doing off screen and eventually elected to write her into the fifth season premiere Sympathy for the Devil himself 35 The writers wanted Aycox to again reprise the role the actress had already returned in the fourth season episode Are You There God It s Me Dean Winchester as the spirit of the actual Meg Masters and brainstormed reasons why the demon would want to return to her old host after the body had been buried and rotting for years but ultimately deemed it too impractical and chose to recast 39 Because the writers still wanted to pay credit to Aycox the bar was set very high during the casting process Miner received the role with Kripke finding her just so interesting and complicated and sexy and idiosyncratic and with so many different layers 40 Miner had not seen the series before 19 and only had the opportunity before filming to view a few clips of Aycox s episodes She wanted to avoid merely copying Aycox s performance but at the same time did not want to stray too far because it was the same character 20 However she found that she did not have to alter her performance because the character was written so specifically that the choices were very similar 19 Respecting prior depictions of Meg Miner said I did take to heart that the character meant so much to people That became something I took into consideration because I didn t want to disappoint people by taking away from what was originally there 20 Upon being asked to return for Abandon All Hope she declined a film offer because it conflicted with the series filming 19 The sixth season episode Caged Heat originally involved Lenore a vampire whom the Winchesters spared in the second season but the writers replaced her with Meg when Lenore s actress Amber Benson was unavailable 41 Meg s increased presence in the episode as compared to previous appearances with Miner in the role surprised the actress 42 Miner cited it as her favorite episode explaining The episode took Meg in a lot of directions that you might not have expected and that were fun to play 43 The character was killed off in the eighth season Feeling that when someone dies you want it to count a little bit executive producer Jeremy Carver stated that there are no immediate plans to bring her back 44 Reception editMaureen Ryan of Chicago Tribune deemed Aycox s incarnation of Meg a good addition to the show who spiced things up a bit recalling that she had been shocked when Meg was revealed to be a villain at the end of her introductory episode Ryan enjoyed how the character toyed around with the Winchesters and thought the human Meg s final moments were well done 45 Diana Steenbergen of IGN on the other hand found Meg s attempts to out tough and out snark the boys uninteresting In her 2008 review of the episode Shadow she compared Meg s characterization to that of subsequent Supernatural female characters Jo Harvelle Ruby and Bela Talbot feeling that all four characters were too similar and thus even more tiresome as a result Steenbergen further wrote The show has managed to make interesting three dimensional flawed yet heroic male characters it is high time to spread that care toward the recurring female characters 46 She gave Meg a much more positive reception in Born Under a Bad Sign calling the plot twist that the character was possessing Sam excellent and praising Padalecki s portrayal of the character which Steenbergen found exceptionally entertaining She described Meg s interaction with Jo while posing as Sam as disturbing and noted Padalecki infuses everything Meg says and does with a sly menace and by the end he is holding nothing back he effortlessly switches from taunting back into innocent sounding Sammy begging his brother to help him 47 Comparing Padalecki s previous portrayals of an evil Sam Tina Charles of TV Guide believed Padalecki outdid himself as Meg I just think that Jared had to relish the different levels of intensity Sam was put through she wrote It showed and he did such a great job 48 Tim Janson of Mania believed that neither Aycox nor Padalecki portrayed Meg with such dripping sarcasm as Rachel Miner He felt that she always adds spice when she appears and deemed the bonding scenes between Meg and Sam in Goodbye Stranger to be priceless 49 Similarly Steenbergen felt Miner played the role with vicious flair and conveyed Meg s brutality well right from the beginning 50 As time passed she noted that the actress has done well taking over the role 51 Like Janson Steenbergen particularly enjoyed the conversation between Meg and Sam in Goodbye Stranger In regard to this final appearance she wrote If you had told me a few years ago that Meg s death would be sad I wouldn t have believed you but it was 52 Miner s incarnation of Meg received praise from Jordan Farley of SFX as well Farley wrote As a demon turned good sort of she occupies a moral grey zone that leaves her actions completely unpredictable even after year s sic of guest appearances a refreshing quality for a character to have And she s funny 53 Ryan also liked Miner s portrayal of the character 54 However other reviewers were not as favorable to Miner Laura Prudom of Huffington Post felt Aycox portrayed the character with a lot more subtlety than Miner and preferred Meg s darker appearances prior to Miner finding it hard to reconcile the demon who possessed Sam and went on a killing and torture spree in the phenomenal Born Under a Bad Sign with the character we ve seen in the past couple of years 55 Nevertheless she was impressed that Meg went out fighting for what was right 56 Though Charles liked Miner s portrayal 57 she complained that the character s dialogue always seemed to be a series of one liners 58 and found that the character s large role in Reading is Fundamental detracted from the episode for her explaining that she likes Meg but in smaller doses 59 She too preferred Aycox over Miner in the role 57 John Kubicek of BuddyTV and Sandra Gonzalez of Entertainment Weekly also favored Aycox s portrayal of the character 60 61 References editBibliography edit Cairns Bryan October November 2009 Far From Heaven Supernatural Magazine Titan Magazines 12 Cairns Bryan March April 2011 Meg Uncaged Supernatural Magazine Titan Magazines 23 Knight Nicholas July 2012 The Devil and Miss Masters Supernatural Magazine No 33 Titan Magazines Knight Nicholas February March 2009 Masters of the Universe Supernatural Magazine Titan Magazines 8 Knight Nicholas 2007 Supernatural The Official Companion Season 1 Titan Books ISBN 978 1 84576 535 4 Knight Nicholas 2008 Supernatural The Official Companion Season 2 Titan Books ISBN 978 1 84576 657 3 Knight Nicholas 2010 Supernatural The Official Companion Season 5 Titan Books ISBN 978 1 84856 739 9 Knight Nicholas 2011 Supernatural The Official Companion Season 6 Titan Books ISBN 978 0 85768 289 5 Footnotes edit Story by Patrick Sean Smith Teleplay by John Shiban Director Kim Manners January 10 2006 Scarecrow Supernatural Season 1 Episode 11 WB Writer Eric Kripke Director Kim Manners February 28 2006 Shadow Supernatural Season 1 Episode 16 WB Writer Sera Gamble amp Raelle Tucker Director Robert Singer April 27 2006 Salvation Supernatural Season 1 Episode 21 WB Writer Eric Kripke Director Kim Manners May 4 2006 Devil s Trap Supernatural Season 1 Episode 22 WB Writer Cathryn Humphris Director J Miller Tobin February 8 2007 Born Under a Bad Sign Supernatural Season 2 Episode 14 CW Writer Eric Kripke Director Robert Singer September 10 2009 Sympathy for the Devil Supernatural Season 5 Episode 1 CW Writer Ben Edlund Director Phil Sgriccia November 19 2009 Abandon All Hope Supernatural Season 5 Episode 10 CW Swan Song Writer Brett Matthews amp Jenny Klein Director Robert Singer December 3 2010 Caged Heat Supernatural Season 6 Episode 10 CW Writer Adam Glass Director John Showalter April 29 2011 Mommy Dearest Supernatural Season 6 Episode 19 CW Writer Sera Gamble Director Robert Singer March 23 2012 The Born Again Identity Supernatural Season 7 Episode 17 CW Writer Ben Edlund Director Ben Edlund May 4 2012 Reading is Fundamental Supernatural Season 7 Episode 21 CW Writer Sera Gamble Director Robert Singer May 18 2012 Survival of the Fittest Supernatural Season 7 Episode 23 CW Writer Robbie Thompson Director Thomas J Wright March 20 2013 Goodbye Stranger Supernatural Season 8 Episode 17 CW a b c Masters of the Universe p 21 Supernatural The Official Companion Season 1 pp 140 141 Supernatural The Official Companion Season 1 p 115 a b Meg Uncaged p 34 a b c d e f g Supernatural The Official Companion Season 5 p 146 a b c Knight Nicholas December 2009 January 2010 She Devil Supernatural Magazine No 13 Titan Magazines pp 43 44 a b Meg Uncaged p 36 a b c The Devil and Miss Masters p 64 Supernatural The Official Companion Season 7 p 120 a b Supernatural Boss It s Weird to See Castiel Back Today s News Our Take TVGuide com www tvguide com Archived from the original on 2012 03 25 The Devil and Miss Masters p 66 a b Supernatural The Official Companion Season 5 p 59 a b Misha Collins on his return to Supernatural Castiel can tell that Dean s a dangerous guy Zap2It Supernatural Star Misha Collins Talks Castiel Plus Exclusive Sneak Peek At Reading Is Fundamental The Huffington Post 4 May 2012 Vlada Gelman 20 March 2013 Supernatural Season 8 Spoilers Misha Collins on Castiel s Return Angry Winchesters TVLine TVLine Supernatural The Official Companion Season 1 p 66 a b c Supernatural The Official Companion Season 1 p 140 a b Masters of the Universe p 20 a b Supernatural The Official Companion Season 1 p 113 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 a b Supernatural character making comeback Digital Spy 1 July 2009 Supernatural The Official Companion Season 2 p 78 79 a b Supernatural The Official Companion Season 2 p 79 Masters of the Universe p 23 Supernatural The Official Companion Season 5 pp 20 21 Supernatural The Official Companion Season 5 p 21 Supernatural The Official Companion Season 6 p 60 Meg Uncaged p 32 The Devil and Miss Masters p 63 TV Entertainment Weekly s EW com Supernatural Comic Con news and thoughts on Season 1 of the show Chicago Tribune June 16 2009 Archived from the original on June 7 2010 Diana Steenbergen 6 August 2008 Supernatural Flashback Shadow Review IGN Diana Steenbergen 30 July 2009 Supernatural Flashback Born Under a Bad Sign Review IGN Watch Supernatural Season 2 Episode 14 Born Under a Bad Sign TVGuide com TVGuide com Archived copy Archived from the original on 2014 02 01 Retrieved 2015 08 29 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link Diana Steenbergen 11 September 2009 Supernatural Sympathy for the Devil Review IGN Diana Steenbergen 5 December 2010 Supernatural Caged Heat Review IGN Diana Steenbergen 21 March 2013 Supernatural Goodbye Stranger Review IGN SFX GamesRadar gamesradar 24 May 2023 The family business Let s talk about Supernatural s Abandon All Hope Chicago Tribune November 20 2009 Archived from the original on November 23 2009 Retrieved January 19 2014 Supernatural Finale Recap Who Made It Out Alive Huffington Post May 18 2012 Supernatural Recap I Want To Break Free Huffington Post March 21 2013 a b Archived copy Archived from the original on January 2 2014 Retrieved January 1 2014 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link Watch Supernatural Season 6 Episode 10 Caged Heat TVGuide com TVGuide com Supernatural Episode Guide 2012 Season 7 Reading Is Fundamental Episode 21 TVGuide com www tvguide com Archived from the original on 2012 10 13 Supernatural Recap Let the Armageddon Begin Page 3 5 10 September 2009 TV Recaps Entertainment Weekly s EW com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Meg Masters amp oldid 1190401384, wikipedia, wiki, book, 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