This article contains spoilers for “Crystal Lake” Season 1.
After multiple years of waiting and several setbacks, “Crystal Lake” is finally streaming on Peacock. Hailing from A24 and showrunner Brad Caleb Kane (“It: Welcome to Derry”), it serves as a prequel to the “Friday the 13th” movies, shedding light on Pamela Voorhees, the mother of Jason Voorhees, who goes on to become the machete-wielding killer we know and love. Mrs. Voorhees is one of the scariest female horror villains of all time, and the show pays homage to the first time we ever saw her on screen with a little Easter egg.
The series follows single mother Pam Voorhees (Linda Cardellini) as she grieves for her young son Jason, who drowned at Camp Crystal Lake. In the aftermath of the incident, strangers arrive at her door, setting off a disturbing chain of events that will dig deeper into Pam’s past. The show largely takes place in 1972, eight years before the events of the original “Friday the 13th.”
Episode 5 of the series is titled “The New Blood,” an homage to the seventh “Friday the 13th” movie in the original release order. It focuses heavily on Cardellini’s Pamela, as does much of the show. But one key element of her wardrobe in this episode should stick out to fans. Namely, her blue sweater. This is a tribute to the sweater we see Betsy Palmer wearing in the third act of director Sean S. Cunningham’s 1980 slasher classic.
Is it the very same sweater we see
Is it the very same sweater we see Pamela wearing at the end of the original movie? Without getting too heavily into spoilers, Pam gets her sweater quite bloody in the show. Unless she’s very good at getting heavy stains out of her clothing, she may have had to replace the sweater.
Crystal Lake includes a nod to Betsy Palmer’s Pamela Voorhees
“Friday the 13th” star Betsy Palmer invented her own dark backstory for Mrs. Voorhees, but “Crystal Lake” creates an official origin story for the character. The show is a pretty wild journey with lots of unexpected twists, particularly towards the back half. It’s going to leave fans much to discuss and debate, likely for years to come.
But it also serves as a love letter to the movies in many ways. The inclusion of this sweater is evidence of that. Not just because slasher fans associate the sweater with Pamela, but because the sweater ends up becoming an important part of the movies. “Friday the 13th Part 2” sees Ginny, arguably the best of the final girls from the “Friday the 13th” franchise, put on Pamela’s old sweater in Jason’s cabin as a means to fool the killer.
Jason kept the sweater as part
Jason kept the sweater as part of a shrine he made to his mother, which also includes her severed head. Ginny ends up burying a machete deep into Jason’s shoulder to escape. But surprise! Jason isn’t dead. Jason is never dead.
Speaking of Pam’s head, the original “Friday the 13th” pulled off the ultimate magic trick by decapitating her without CGI. And we see her now legendary beheading happen when she’s wearing that blue sweater. So, including the article of clothing in the show could be perceived as more than a little wink and a nod. It’s an acknowledgement of the sweater’s importance to the series, and its status as a piece of horror history.
“Crystal Lake” Season 1 is streaming now on Peacock.
