Supernatural (TV series)/Recap/S01/E11 Scarecrow

Season 1, Episode 11:

Scarecrow
A fight over what the their mission should be results in the brothers splitting up: Dean stays in a small town to help solve the disappearances of young couples, while Sam continues searching for their father. While hitchhiking, Sam runs across a young woman named Meg and they strike up a friendship. Meanwhile, Dean discovers that the couples are being sacrificed to a Vanir by the townsfolk, and is chosen to be the next sacrifice along with a local girl. Having had a change of heart, Sam returns in time to rescue them, and they burn down the sacred tree that kept the Vanir returning. At the end, it's revealed to the audience (though not to the brothers) that Meg is more than she seems: after accepting a ride from a trucker, she slits the man's throat, collects his blood in a goblet and uses it to communicate with an unknown supernatural being.

Tropes
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 * A Fete Worse Than Death
 * Blondes Are Evil: Meg Masters
 * Blood Magic / Slashed Throat: Meg uses it to contact her "father".
 * Breaking the Fellowship
 * Deadpan Snarker: Dean to scarecrow: "Dude, you fugly."
 * Deal With the Devil: the Vanir protects the town in exchange for the sacrifices.
 * Distressed Dude: Dean, about to be sacrificed.
 * The Dutiful Son: Dean is this to John.
 * Gods Need Prayer Badly
 * Hoist By His Own Petard: if you've been sacrificing married couples to a fertility god annual, maybe you and your husband shouldn't go walking in his woods the time the sacrifices got away.
 * Human Sacrifice
 * Kill It With Fire
 * The Reveal: What killed Jesse and the brother's mother is a demon and Meg Masters works for him. He knows the Winchesters are after him, but wants to do something with them before killing them.
 * Scary Scarecrows: Yep.
 * Town With a Dark Secret