His Halloween season, so it's officially time for some creepy TV shows! And if I had to pick an all-time favorite, it would be “And Then Along Came Shaun” from Boy meets world.
The episode aired during season five in February 1998 and has since become a classic. Although the film didn't technically premiere in the fall, it's got a Halloween feel to it. Let's look at this episode from start to finish:
Premise? Cory and Topanga broke up, and Shawn is taking it a little hard. During class, Corey takes Sean's place, leaving him as a buffer between the now ex-couple.
Kenny asks to borrow Topanga's big pencil, which makes Shawn a little upset. He even threatens, saying he'll stab him with that knife if he asks again – more on that later.
Everyone then interrupts the lesson and starts talking about people stabbing each other in the back, leading to an arrest.
We soon meet a creepy street sweeper, the sound of squeaking wheels and eerie music create a very ominous tone. Mr. Feeny leaves the room and the same janitor reappears and looks at them through the classroom window.
“NO ONE COMES OUT ALIVE!” soon appears on the board in bloody handwriting. Angela's scream is so iconic that it has the makings of a final girl.
As the episode continues, it serves as an ode to the original. Scream movie, especially the character Randy Meeks. His character is known for dictating the rules horror moviesand Sean continues the same chatter.
Sean shouts out a locked door, a scary janitor, and a bloody warning, even saying that Kenny will be the first victim. Then the heartbreaking sound begins to get louder and louder. But guess who comes in? This is comic relief, Jack and Eric!
Eric says that there is blood coming from the shower, and Sean suggests that everything that is happening is Feeny's doing, but is it so?
The black-gloved man accidentally turns off the classroom lights while Kenny brags that he can borrow Topanga's pencil any time he wants. Angela screams and Kenny is found dead with a BIG pencil in his head – a twist of fate.
Corey and his gang run out in horror as the lights begin to flicker in the hallway. A menacing tune begins to sound about how “they will all die at John Adams School.”
They run to check all the doors, but to no avail; they are all locked! A “strange shadowy figure,” as Sean suspected, creeps past her, which, of course, NOBODY sees.
The lights flicker again as the eerie ringing continues and Mr. Feeny reappears. But he's dead with scissors in his back. After all, he had nothing to do with all these terrible things happening…
Mr. Feeney was the first (and most obvious) suspect, and Sean essentially signed his death warrant because of it. He then claims that virgins never die, a classic horror movie trope.
They decide not to break up, which is horror movie 101, and the eerie sound of squeaking wheels is heard again. Corey accuses the janitor of being a murderer, meaning his eventual end is near.
Well, now the janitor is dead and Feeny's body disappears too (but no one notices…)
With the next most obvious suspect now dead, the group is forced to realize that the killer is one of them. And as Eric would say, “DUN, DUN, DUN.”
Eric suggests finding a way out of school since he has “lived the longest.” The others go to class and he is left alone in the hallway, breaking the horror movie rule of NEVER separating!
Jennifer Love Fefferman (played by Jennifer Love Hewitt) randomly appears in the hall. This is another nod to the cult horror films since she starred in them. I know what you did last summer. She calls Feffi and claims that she is a new student who was locked in the study hall, which seems like an all too convenient story…
Angela and Feffi scream when the pay phone rings. This is another reference to the first scene of the film. Scream as the killer asks, “Do you like scary movies? What's your favorite?” Jack mentions: “The one with the hottie from Party of Five“what happens to a star Neve Campbellaka ScreamThe last girl.
Eric accidentally cuts the payphone line, but it continues to call. It's the killer again, and they all run in fear to the library, where they split up! Wrong move because it goes against every horror movie instinct again!
Feffi kisses Cory on the cheek, trying to comfort him, while Topanga watches nearby. Could the killer be Topanga? Feffi is then crushed by a stack of books while a man in a skeleton mask looks on.
Eric is also crushed by the books as Feffi is about to confess who the killer is. Because of this, Jack goes to the window sill because without Eric he can't afford an apartment. Angela says Sean is still his roommate and together they can pay rent, but then the masked killer pushes them both off a ledge.
Shawn, Eric and Topanga now come face to face with the masked killer, who forces Topanga and Cory to hold hands. Surprise, killer… SEAN! Well, its a double version.
On the other hand, it was all a dream. Shawn has a moment to reflect and says he disrupted class because Cory and Topanga's breakup affected him more than he thought. And he feels: “There is nothing he can rely on without them together, since they were together before he knew them.” Feelings!
After reassuring Sean that it wasn't his fault, Mr. Feeny dismisses them from the classroom and the masked killer appears. Was this really a dream? This is something you will have to discuss.
Watch this episode and more with Boy meets world on Disney+.
What was your favorite part of the episode? Share your thoughts in the comments!
