It was interesting to see Supernatural tackle fairy lore, which actually has a lot more horror potential than most people realize. If you look at old-school, traditional fairy lore, it's actually pretty dark, and includes some pretty nightmarish creatures. It was the Victorians who began to romanticize them, and then Disney made the cutesy image of the little sprite with wings universally known to the point where that's the only image of fairies that most people have these days. But if you read some of the older tales, or listen to still-current ones in rural Ireland or Scotland, fairies are anything but cute and harmless.
I liked that they touched on a little of that, with the presence of the Redcap who was stalking Dean (Redcaps are a particularly nasty sort of fairy from Scottish folklore, who are known for eating lost travellers, and dye their caps red with human blood), but I was a bit disappointed that they couldn't resist throwing in the Disney version of fairies as well - though I have to admit the fight scene with that one was hilarious, as was the way it was resolved.
The parallels between UFO and fairy abductions have actually been pointed out by quite a lot of people before this - I've seen that topic dealt with by everyone from folklorists to science fiction authors.
Overall, a pretty entertaining episode, though not one with a lot of substance. But someday I'd love to see a show that took full advantage of the horror-potential of traditional fairy lore, without feeling the need to include the stereotypical Disney image.
I liked that they touched on a little of that, with the presence of the Redcap who was stalking Dean (Redcaps are a particularly nasty sort of fairy from Scottish folklore, who are known for eating lost travellers, and dye their caps red with human blood), but I was a bit disappointed that they couldn't resist throwing in the Disney version of fairies as well - though I have to admit the fight scene with that one was hilarious, as was the way it was resolved.
The parallels between UFO and fairy abductions have actually been pointed out by quite a lot of people before this - I've seen that topic dealt with by everyone from folklorists to science fiction authors.
Overall, a pretty entertaining episode, though not one with a lot of substance. But someday I'd love to see a show that took full advantage of the horror-potential of traditional fairy lore, without feeling the need to include the stereotypical Disney image.
