I was so saddened to hear the news of actress Nicki Aycox’s death. She was 47.
Aycox made such an enormous impression as the demon Meg on Supernatural. She showed up in the first season, signaling that larger things were afoot, things much more urgent and frightening than your basic Monster of the Week. It was how she chose to play this very challenging role that made such an impression. There was her insinuating lethal line delivery, her gleeful-hateful attitude, and how Aycox manifested that was to play Meg like she had a secret that pleased her. She always knew more than everyone else. She was the smartest “person” in any room. She was this tiny woman and yet she was a completely believable heavy. Her sinister nature was cloaked in a kind of aggressive sexuality, which we learn later was the polar opposite of the real Meg, the Meg the demon possessed. And so this aggressive sexuality was doubly awful, because the real Meg wasn’t like that, the real Meg was probably screaming inside in shame and self-loathing. Aycox gave a heartbreaking performance, once you realized she was actually being possessed, that a scared innocent young woman was in there, trying to fight her way out.
Look at the above paragraph and try to imagine playing all of it. And not only playing it but relishing in the playing of it. Aycox knew this was the role of a lifetime.
She was called upon to do the most extraordinary things in this role – writhing, screaming, cackling, seducing – but she did so with delicacy, wit, a kind of laser-point precision, which made her evil that much more effective. Aycox left the series early (although she did pop in a couple more times over the years), and she cast a long shadow. She was the ultimate demon. She was such an eerie presence, and played a huge part in creating the otherworldly vibe of that first season.
Her first scene takes place on the side of a lonely foggy road. Sam (Jared Padalecki) basically just trips over her. Then follows a flirty little conversation, but it’s weird because the road was deserted and then suddenly she was THERE. Shouldn’t he be suspicious? The scene then morphs into a Supernatural “take off” on the hitchhiking scene in It Happened One Night. She says all the right things. She knows more about him than he knows about himself. She sees all.
Even through all the scenes that follow, you never forgot how she first appeared from seemingly out of nowhere, her small body crouched on the side of the road, her back to the camera. Back-ting, people, back-ting.
You immediately knew something was “not right” with this character, but as an actress she didn’t show her cards. She played the first scene straight, so she seemed to be what she was supposed to be, what she wanted Sam to see – a restless college girl looking for meaning in life, his kindred spirit. But Aycox also suggested something else, something odd and not quite human. She created a very uneasy feeling, from the moment you saw the back of her blonde head.
Supernatural fans loved her. We remembered her, even through all the years after she left the show. She helped establish the TONE of the whole thing, the tone that hooked us all.
Thank you for writing this, Sheila. I was so sad to hear about her passing, she was so young.
Yes, she was so important in establishing what the most important demons would be on the show – what Meg would be later on, with Rachel Miner, both Rubys, Abaddon, even the best crossroad demons… They all brought something different and interesting, and Nicki Aycox was the original one, who laid out the blueprint – that glee in being the one with power – hell, even Padalecki used that when he was possessed by Meg in Born Under a Bad Sign. Meg had such an interesting enunciation too – even when she played the cool girl, there was something a little harsh underneath. Such a layered performance. And her exorcism? Has there ever been a more gruesome one the show? It is painful to watch.
Not many shows have touched me as much as Supernatural – Angel is one of them. Even now, more than a decade after his passing, I’m sometimes chocked up when I see Andy Hallett. I know it will be the same for Nicki Aycox.
/ They all brought something different and interesting, and Nicki Aycox was the original one, who laid out the blueprint//
This is exactly right.
// even when she played the cool girl, there was something a little harsh underneath.//
Right! The very destabilizing moment in the bus station in Scarecrow – when she realizes Sam is going back to Dean – and she starts giving him shit about it – she’s doing so much in that moment. There’s the surface – she’s the girl who bonded with him about cutting loose from toxic family ties – but then there’s the deeper level – the demon who needs to hook in Sam, and she’s losing him.
I’ll never forget the first time I saw the episode – and saw the final moment of Scarecrow. I almost gasped. It was one of the most gruesome things the show had showed so far – and it also showed that whatever game she was playing, it was a much bigger game – who the hell was she “calling”? WHAT WAS GOING ON?
The other shocker moment was in Shadow – when she re-appeared – after falling to her apparent death.
She was a very freaky and frightening presence – and Sam and Dean, who were the “predators” up until then – fighting the monsters – suddenly seemed fragile, suddenly turned into “prey”. Aycox had to pull that off and she did, beautifully.
// And her exorcism? Has there ever been a more gruesome one the show? It is painful to watch. //
Such an incredible scene.
I was so sad to hear about her passing. As you say, she established so much in Supernatural. She was an example of how good Supernatural was in the beginning by creating Meg in three dimensions which helps you define Sam and Dean, particularly Sam’s potential. Meg goes after Sam, not Dean. Is it because Sam is the weak one or is it because he’s the more powerful one?
// Meg goes after Sam, not Dean. Is it because Sam is the weak one or is it because he’s the more powerful one? //
Yes, the dynamic was so twisty and intriguing. She had to do a lot of heavy lifting as an actress in Scarecrow – lure him in, without seeming like she’s luring him in … You just realized that a much bigger game was going on.
They got such good actors for those smaller roles back in the day – really distinct actors, who could establish characters quickly – and go really deep. I mean, who remembers any of those commando “hunters” in later seasons? Those characters just don’t stick. But everyone remembers Meg and Ruby.
Nicki Aycox’s passing was awful news. She was so young. She was just a great character on SPN. A beautiful, petite person bringing all the blood and viscera in from the OG demon world. Tipping her hand a bit with trying too hard to turn Sam away Dean. Honey and venom, as Erik Kripke said.
RIP.
Kripke’s comments were so beautiful!
You can feel the sadness. Jim Beaver’s too. She was loved.
This isn’t exactly on point, but the shot of Aycox’s “back-ting” here happened to coincide with my coming across this Hopper painting from the first public exhibition of his work.
https://www.ny1920.com/apr-11-1922
Jonathan – the guy who started that site and wrote that Hopper post – is a good friend of mine. I’ve contributed to that site, too.
Nicki Aycox was also in Dark Angel as Syl, which Jensen was in as the identical twins Ben and Alec. Syl and Ben were both in the same unit as Max, the series heroine, so they were “siblings”, though they didn’t appear in the same episode. It was a good performance with what little screentime she had, and Syl was planned to return in a second-season episode but Nicki wasn’t available so they created a different character. I highly recommend checking out Dark Angel if you haven’t already.
Nicki Aycox did a top-notch performance as Meg. Rachel Miner did a good job imitating her mannerisms when she first appeared.