Recap of Supernatural
Season 4, Episode 2:
Are You There God? It's Me, Dean Winchester
Written by Sera Gamble.
Directed by Phil Sgriccia.
Air Date: September 25, 2008.
A hunter named Olivia sleeps, only to be awakened by angry spirits just as Bobby leaves a message on her answering machine. Olivia recognizes the spirits and tearfully apologizes to them before one of them kills her.
Meanwhile, Dean expresses skepticism that Castiel is an angel, but Sam isn’t so sure. Bobby shows Dean lore that indicates the only thing that could have rescued him is an angel. Sam is excited that it wasn’t a demon, but Dean expresses discomfort with the idea that God would single him out to be saved.
Sam goes out for pie, and he meets a scared Ruby who questions him about the angel. She tells Sam angels smite first and ask questions later, but Sam says he’s not scared. Later, Bobby tells Sam that his friend Olivia isn’t returning his calls so along with Dean they go to investigate and find Olivia’s body. As Dean wonders what kind of ghost would be so violent, Bobby tells them about another pair of hunters who have gone awol. They have also been gruesomely killed, as have another pair of hunters. Bobby tells the boys to come to his place for safety.
At a gas station, Sam sees the spirit of Agent Hendrickson, who blames Sam and Dean for his death and the death of the people who were with him. Meanwhile, Bobby sees the ghosts of two little girls whom he failed to save on a hunt. Sam and Dean arrive at Bobby’s place, and Sam rescues Bobby from the ghost girls. Dean sees the ghost of Meg Masters, the young woman whom the demon Meg possessed. She confronts him about the fact that by hurting the demon, he killed her. He expresses regret, but she beats and kicks him. Eventually, Dean shoots down an iron chandelier to save himself.
Dean has noticed a tattoo on Meg, and Bobby leads them to a ghost-proof panic room he has built. As they research, Dean wonders why God allows bad things to happen to good people. Bobby realizes that the ghosts of people that hunters failed to save have been resurrected, and it is called the "Rise of the Witnesses" and is a sign of the Apocalypse.
Freaked out by the idea of the Apocalypse, Dean suggests that they take a road trip to the Grand Canyon, Star Trek Experience, and the Bunny Ranch, but Bobby says they need to cast a spell to put the spirits to rest. This will involve exiting the panic room and perform the spell over an open fire. They leave the room and are confronted by the ghost of Ronald Reznek, and the two little girl ghosts return for Bobby. Meg returns to torment Sam, and Hendrickson and Ronald do the same to Dean. After gathering the materials, Bobby manages to perform a spell that puts the spirits to rest.
Sam and Dean fall asleep while researching, and wings flutter outside. Dean opens his eyes to see Castiel in the kitchen. Castiel tells him excellent work with the witnesses, and Dean angrily asks why he didn’t help. Castiel explains that he had larger concerns and that he is a soldier, mentioning that several of his fellow angels have been killed. Dean wonders where God is in all this and Castiel assures a skeptical Dean that there is a God. He also explains Lilith’s plan is to break the 66th seals, which will free Lucifer from his cage. The angels have come to Earth after 2,000 years to try and stop Lucifer's escape.
Dean wakes up and asks Sam if he believes in the Devil. Sam says yes and wonders why Dean is asking.
Body count
For this episode = 1 human and 5 ghosts.For the series so far = At least 263 humans (of which 3 were witches), 14 demons, 24 ghosts, 10 vampires, 6 changelings, 3 gods, 2 shapeshifters, 2 werewolves, 1 crocotta, 1 djinn, 1 rakshasa, 1 rawhead, 1 shtriga, 1 wendigo, 1 zombie, and 1 dog.
Tropes:
- And I Must Scream: Meg makes perfectly clear that she was fully conscious when possessed by a demon and wanted Dean to free her.
- Arbitrary Skepticism: As in the last episode, Dean still refuses to believe angels and God exist. Or the Devil.Dean: I thought Lucifer was just a story they told at demon sunday school. There’s no such thing.Castiel: Three days ago you thought there was no such thing as me.
- Big Sister Worship: The ghost of the demon Meg's original host, the real Meg Masters, mentions she had a little sister who worshipped her, but she "got lost" after Meg disappeared and ultimately killed herself in response to her sister's death.
- Captain ObviousSam: Where are we going?Bobby: Someplace safe, you idjit!
- Closet Geek: One of the three places Dean wants to go before the end of the world is The Star Trek Experience.
- Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are
- Cold-Blooded Torture: Ghost!Henrikssn claims that that in "Jus In Bello" (S03, E12), Lilith tortured her victims before killing them, including flaying Nancy alive. This doesn't jibe with what the episode showed, though.
- Crazy-Prepared: Bobby and his salt-coated, fully-stocked, iron panic room.
- Creepy Twins: The little girls who haunt Bobby, right down to Finishing Each Other's Sentences.
- Do Not Taunt Cthulhu:Castiel: You should show me some respect. I dragged you out of Hell. I can throw you back in.
- Dream Walker: Dean thinks he's woken up to find Castiel in Bobby's kitchen, but in fact, Castiel has entered his dream.
- Driven to Suicide: Meg's little sister.
- Falling Chandelier of Doom: Bobby has one made of iron which Dean uses to banish a ghost.
- Ghost Butler
- Hand Gagging: Done by a couple of little girls to Bobby.
- Have You Seen My God?: Dean asks where God is.
- Heinousness Retcon: The Vengeful Ghost of Victor Henriksen claims that Lilith slowly tortured him and all the other innocent officers to death after Sam and Dean left them in the police station, especially mentioning one poor woman she brutally flayed before his eyes. However, whilst very much in character for Lilith, when we saw the event play out in the previous seasons "Jus In Bello" she simply blew up the building they were in, killing everyone instantly.
- How Many Fingers?: Dean asks this of Sam.
- I Got You Covered: The brothers have to fend off the ghosts while Bobby does his spell.
- I'm Not a Hero, I'm...:Meg: So you think you're some kind of a hero?Sam: No.
- In Mysterious Ways:Dean: If you say "in mysterious ways" so help me I will kick your ass.
- Mind Rape: Meg was fully conscious as the demon used her body to kill; Agent Henriksen was forced to watch as Lilith tortured and killed everyone in the police station, including Nancy, whose skin was flayed in strips. We know this is true for Meg, but Henriksen may be lying, given how "Jus In Bello" ended.
- Our Angels Are Different: Lampshaded.Dean: I thought angels were supposed to be guardians. Fluffy wings, halos—you know, Michael Landon. Not dicks.Castiel: Read the Bible. Angels are warriors of God. I'm a soldier.
- Also; "I'm not here to perch on your shoulder."
- Questioning Title?: It's also a Shout-Out to a famous YA novel by Judy Blume.
- Running Gag: Dean likes pie.
- Rustproof Blood: Although Olivia has been dead for three days, she's still very red.
- Sign of the Apocalypse: The Rising of the Witnesses is a sign of the coming end times.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: Lucifer, who Lilith is trying to release. This is actually a lot closer to Scripture than many Christian sects that refer to Lucifer/Satan as the "king of hell"; in the Bible, as here, Lucifer/Satan may be the most powerful being in Hell(here, the Cage), but he's just as much a prisoner as any of the damned souls.
- Shout-Out:
- The episode's title is a reference to the YA novel Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret..
- From The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. "If you're going to shoot, shoot. Don't talk."
- Speak in Unison: Sam and Dean. "A sign of what?"
- Talking in Your Dreams: Implied with the sudden cut to Dean waking up after his conversation with Castiel.
- Wall of Weapons: In Olivia's closet.
- Wham Line: The Apocalypse and, later on, Lucifer walks free.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Loads of this from the ghosts.
- You Do Not Want To Know: Averted; Castiel says Dean doesn't want to know, but he needs to know, what's coming.
- You Monster!