Samantha Coley: Boy Meets World Episode is an Effective Slasher Homage

In a column for Collider, writer Samantha Coley argues that the season 5 episode of ABC’s Boy Meets World titled “And Then There Was Shawn” stands as one of television’s best Halloween-style specials and an effective slasher homage that belongs in a regular October viewing rotation.

Although the episode actually aired in February of 1998 rather than during October, the writer notes that it carries the true spirit of Halloween with spooky flourishes, legitimate scares, and plenty of horror film references. While the program previously produced legitimate Halloween episodes such as “The Witches of Pennbrook” and “Who’s Afraid of Cory Wolf,” the column maintains that “And Then There Was Shawn” serves as the finest of the bunch and arguably the greatest episode of the entire series.

From Detention to Slasher Territory

The column outlines how the story begins like any regular installment when a classroom disturbance lands the central group in detention supervised by Mr. Feeny, played by William Daniels. At this point in season five, a major plotline centers on the breakup between Cory, played by Ben Savage, and Topanga, played by Danielle Fishel, much to the dismay of Shawn, played by Rider Strong.

Within minutes, the plot shifts directly into slasher territory as Mr. Feeny departs and locks the doors behind him. An uncredited extra portraying a ghoulish janitor appears in the doorway with a creepy smile, after which the lights flicker off and return to reveal the warning “NO ONE GETS OUT ALIVE” scrawled on the chalkboard in blood, prompting Angela, played by Trina McGee-Davis, to joke that it probably wasn’t because he ran out of chalk.

Episode Mirrors Classic Slasher Movie Tropes

The column points out that the scenario mirrors classic slasher movies like the Scream franchise. Teenagers are left stuck in detention, abandoned by their teacher, and forced to wander an eerily quiet high school after hours while a mysterious masked killer picks them off one by one.

When watched in retrospect during a late October evening, the writer concludes that the episode simply feels right and fits naturally into a holiday horror rotation.