By Kate Blake- admin MV
Episode 4.02 Are You There God It’s Me Dean Winchester
This week’s episode of Supernatural continued to perform very well even up against competition from the return of Grey’s Anatomy and My Name is Earl. According to TVByTheNumbers Supernatural held at 3.245 Million viewers and a 1.3 share in viewers 18-49 and 1.2 share in the 18-34 demographic. Last year the series did not fare nearly so well for the second episode- starting out well above 3 million viewers per episode and holding is better than Supernatural has performed since season 2 when the series first premiered on the CW. It did better on the WB when the WB had more affiliate stations than the CW does- so the market size was larger at that time for its premiere season. Even with sports delays an pre-empting this is impressive for a “cult” sci-fi horror series.
Last night’s episode if you missed it is available to view online on the CW website in the U.S.- just go online and click on FULL episodes to view. Alternately- since the CW player is not the best – you can download episodes legally in the US on iTunes and on Amazon. The Amazon downloads are great because you can not only get a copy for your PC you can also download a copy for your handheld video player or your TiVO.
Supernatural on Amazon Video On Demand
Last night’s episode- summary and review:
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Episode opens with Billy Squier’s Lonely is the Night
Lonely is the night when you find yourself alone
Your demons come to light and your mind is not your own
Lonely is the night when there’s no one left to call
You feel the time is right–(say) the writin’s on the wall
It’s a high time to fight when the walls are closin’ in
Call it what you like–It’s time you got to win
Lonely, lonely, lonely–your spirit’s sinkin’ down
You find you’re not the only stranger in this town
Red lights, green lights, stop ‘n go jive
Headlines, deadlines jammin’ your mind
You been stealin’ shots from the side
Let your feelin’s go for a ride
There’s danger out tonight..the man is on the prowl
Get the dynamite…the boys are set to prowl
Lonely is the night when you hear the voices call
Are you ready for a fight–do you wanna take it all
Slowdown, showdown–waitin’ on line
Showtime, no time for changin’ your mind
Streets are ringin’, march to the sound
Let your secrets follow you down
Somebody’s watchin’ you baby–so much you can do
Nobody’s stoppin’ you baby, from makin’ it too
One glimpse’ll show you now baby, what the music can do
One kiss’ll show you now baby–it can happen to you
No more sleepin’, wastin’ our time
Midnight creepin’s first on our minds
No more lazin’ ’round the tv
You’ll go crazy–come out with me
Supernatural continued to rocket its way into season 4 with another stand out episode. The title for the episode was “Are You There God Its Me Dean Winchester”. A number of times throughout the series the issue of God and faith and angels has been touched upon but always in the context of good versus evil. This week was no exception. Back in season 1 in the episode “Faith” Dean was healed by a man who could see things about people. His powers of healing were not divine but he told Dean he chose him specifically because God had a plan for him and much work to be done. In season 2 in the episode “Houses of the Holy” the avenging spirit of a murdered priest sets godly people on a path to stop people who have evil in their hearts. Dean is skeptical and Sam admits for the first time that he prays and believes in God and good and cannot understand why Dean cannot. The episode wraps with Dean seeing something that makes him think maybe there is a divine plan- but he can’t be sure.
Season 3 was more about fighting the demons and trying to save Dean from himself than any divination but we saw some really good people lose their lives in the demon war. Dean covers his pain with jokes and smile but he feels it when they can’t save people. In the wrenching season 2 episode “What is and what should never be” we saw Dean turn his back on his own happiness and push aside his own needs to reach out and save others. This selflessness was something he could not understand but it is the mark of a true hero in literature. The act of sacrifice is part of the path of devotion in every faith and organized and not so organized religion. Dean made the ultimate sacrifice at the end of season 3 by going to hell – his final payment in the pact to save his brother Sam’s life at the end of season 2.
Season 4 opened with Dean waking in his coffin, pulled out of hell and back on earth. Lazarus Rising ended with him meeting his rescuer- Castiel. Castiel is an angel of the lord who raised him from perdition on orders from god.
In episode 2 we see that Dean is still not ready to accept that angels exist and that there is a god. Evil, randomness and pain is something he has seen. In his life he has seen few acts of true human kindness, warmth , goodness and love but he knows there are good people in the world- he just has not seen a lot of miracles and things to indicate that there are good forces at work to balance the evil he and his family fight every day. Bobby finds proof for Dean that angels can pull people from hell in a text most commonly known as the Book of Revelations. Dean is stunned. Why was he saved? He is not a godly man. He is not devout. He is a womanizer, he gambles, he steals, he has killed people in order to stop evil. Bobby could not understand last season why on earth Dean made a deal to save Sam- why was he so eager to throw himself in the pit? Did he have so little regard for himself and his own worth? This question was left up in the air for a long time until mid-year when Dean came face to face with himself and chose hope and a desire to rise from the pit and not burn and become a demon himself. Was it this choice that resounded with the guy upstairs? Was it the long list of acts against evil that bought Dean out of hell?
The hunters are all working together this week. Bobby is concerned when a friend of his does not return a call and the guys are thrust into a dangerous scenario where the dead are walking the earth and coming after the hunters who were unable to save them. Bobby is haunted by the souls of two very creepy little girls who we killed by a monster. Sam and Dean are taunted by Victor Henrickson, the FBI Agent who died when Lilith and her army descended on them in Colorado last year, by Ronald the security guard who stumbled onto a shape shifter and ended up holding a bank hostage and getting killed, and by Meg. These three individuals all had very important roles in the lives of the Winchester brothers.
Bobby and the guys hole up at Bobby’s in a room I am sure we will be seeing more of this season- it is a ghost proof iron clad room with a devil’s trap on the floor and in the ceiling and the walls are coated with salt. Love Dean telling Bobby he is awesome! Pulling out a stack of books Bobby finds a spell to send the spirits back to the grave- but they need to do it in the main part of the house where all of the needed ingredients are. They return from their protective bubble and face the spirits who are after them.
Meg was the vessel for the first demon we saw who was working for the Yellow Eyed Demon Azazeal who was responsible for the deaths of Mary Winchester and Jessica, Sam’s fiance. It was Bobby who realized that Meg was a girl who was possessed and that when she was exorcised she died. Meg tells Dean and Sam that not only were they responsible for her death but for her sister’s as well- the girl killed herself after losing her big sister- and that they (Sam and Dean) failed her. Meg pulls on them with guilt- telling them that it was their selfish pursuit of revenge that made her a casualty. We saw Bobby plagued by guilt over his early ignornace of possession in season 2 when he was trapped in a dream world , haunted by the spirit of his wife who died because he didn’t know enough about possession which set him on the path of learning and researching everything about every kind of demon and monster. Meg’s death made Sam and Dean aware of the power of possession- but too late to save her.
Victor Henrickson is angry. He felt betrayed by the brothers who left him to die. He recounts to Sam and Dean that they were not killed immediately- but that Lilith took her time and tortured her victims including the sweet innocent girl Nancy who was virgin.
Ronald is angry that that Dean betrayed him and didn’t save him. He is the least pointed of the three spirits storywise except that he was the one who Dean genuinely liked. His death and the bank robbery was what made Dean a wanted criminal and put him on the FBI radar.
Bobby and the guys get the spell compenants together begin the ritual to send the spirits back to rest and a wild rock salt shootout ensues, followed by a cosmic flash of energy with the spirits returning to their side of the veil.
Meg had some words with Sam before she left- she chastised him for working with Ruby and asked him how many humans had she wasted and killed and told him working with her made him no better than a demon himself. Ruby had run off in the beginning of the episode- telling Sam she wanted to be nowhere near an angel. They scared her because they would smite first- and not care she was co-operating.
Episode wraps with Dean having a visitation from Castiel- apparently in a dream. Dean asks Castiel about who and what and why. Castiel tells Dean that this was the work of Lilith. The witnesses being raised from the dead is the first in 66 seals to be broken. “Seals for what?” Seals to unleash Lucifer and begin the Apocalypse.
WHOAH! Did not see that one coming but we should have suspected it. Last season in Sin City Dean had a conversation with a Lucifer worshipping demon who talked about him being their god and how he would bring the demons out of hell to walk and rule the earth. YED had wanted Sam leading the demon army, but Lilith prefers to do things herself.
Castiel tells Dean to read the bible- angels are warriors of God and their numbers are limited. They are coming down to battle on earth for the first time in 2000 years and Dean is part of their army. If he doesn’t want to play ball- he can go back to hell. This frank talk and the commanding presence of the warrior Castiel strikes a chord with Dean Winchester. Dean can’t accept fluffy clouds and harps playing but that maybe there are beings that will fight for good, and fight against evil and they have a plan? This resonates with the man raised by his father the ex-marine who instilled discipline and the importance of following orders into Dean from earliest childhood. “Take your brother Sam and look out for him.” This was the earliest order we saw and it was this order that Dean followed that led him to hell in the first place.
Episode wraps with Dean double checking that Sam is ok with believing in and we see a resignation- Dean Winchester acknowledges there may be a God, and angels and something more than randomness and evil. I like that there is no big rush to be saved and believe in Jesus- just to accept that if there is bad there must be good and for the first time – that good is making itself known to Dean as the evil which they have seen for years has done.
Next week’s episode is entitled “IN THE BEGINNING” and the X-Files Mitch Pileggi will be guest starring as Sam and Dean go back in time courtesy of Castiel to see what happened in the lives of Mary and John Winchester to set them in the crosshairs of evil.
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If you have not been reading the Supernatural Origins and Rising Son comics series – I highly recommend them for learning more about the Winchesters. The Rising Son series tackles Mary and her family and how they end up being hunted. Remember in season 3 that Ruby got Sam’s attention by indicating mom may not have been as squeaky clean and saintly as John painted her to be? We will get to see what she was referring to next week ( hopefully!)
Supernatural Origins are now available in a graphic novel and are a must have for all SN fans. Supernatural Rising Son will be available in full graphic novel form in April 2009 and is available for pre-order. You can pick up the individual chapters right now in your local comic book stores or online.
Here is the trailer for the graphic novel series from when they premiered 2 years ago:
