Lower Decks

The following review contains spoilers for Supernatural through the current episode, “Lazarus Rising,” originally broadcast September 18th, 2008.

Confession time: I started watching Supernatural on a whim. The evening it premiered, for whatever reason, there was nothing I really wanted to watch on television, so I tuned into The WB and watched Supernatural. It was enjoyable enough but not something I would call “Must See TV.” Still, thanks to repeats shown throughout 2005 and 2006, I managed to catch all but one episode of the first season (“Bugs”). The banter between Sam and Dean was what kept me coming back week after week, not the demon of the week.

The second season, which culminated in an all out battle between good and evil, was a worthy follow-up to the first season, but the third season is what really pulled me in. Dean’s bargain to save Sam’s life, and Sam’s quest to return the favor, plus the introduction of the thieving Bela and the “good” demon Ruby, kept the series fresh. I seem to be in the minority regarding Bela and Ruby. From what I have read online, most fans of the series despised the two characters. Cut short by the writers strike, the third season came to a close and Dean went to hell.

And that brings us to “Lazarus Rising.”  My first response: Wow, that was quick.  Dean’s back from the dead!

Initially, as the episode opened, I assumed that Dean’s miraculous resurrection was nothing more than part of his torment in Hell. That would make sense, right? It would be too easy otherwise. He rises from the dead, thinking everything is going to be fine, and then just when things are looking up — BAM — brimstone and fire. Back to Hell. The ring of upturned trees did throw me for a loop but Bobby’s response to Dean’s phone call seemed to work in my favor. Bobby trying to kill Dean also fit in well with my theory.

But then Dean had to go and cut himself with the silver knife and prove to himself and Bobby that he was who he said he was. Nuts. It looked like Dean really was back from the Dead. Even when Sam pulled a knife on his brother, I was pretty sure that Dean was truly among the living. Which, as Bobby pointed out, raised an interesting question. If Sam had not made a deal to save Dean, who or what did?

As it became apparent that Dean was not being tortured, that he really was back, I made my peace with the fact that I had been 100% wrong. Bobby’s psychic friend getting her eyes burned away was unexpectedly horrific. Obviously, whatever was responsible for springing Dean is off-the-charts powerful (and presumably just as evil). This was pretty much confirmed during the confrontation at the diner between Dean and that feisty female demon who was all bark and no bite.

Learning that Ruby was still alive, only now in the form of Genevieve Cortese rather than Katie Cassidy, was a surprise. It looks like Sam has been working with her, using his spooky powers of E.S.P. to kill demons and track down Lilith. Dean’s response will be interesting. But the real shock came at the end of the episode when we learn who was responsible for freeing Dean: an angel named Castiel, working on orders from God, who insists that he and Dean have work to do.

There was plenty of the usual Supernatural humor in “Lazarus Rising”: Dean seeing and taking the porno magazine, Bobby tossing holy water on Dean, Dean’s response to the iPod jack in the Impala and his comment about perky nipples, etc. Even at its gory best, the series has always managed to strike a fine line between horror and humor.

The fourth season has now been set up and how. Ruby is still around (and Dean has no idea), Sam is using his powers (and Dean has no idea), and an angel has been introduced. After so many episodes filled with demons and vampires and other horrible beasts, perhaps it was only fair to show the other side of the coin. The good guys, so to speak. My only real complaint was the fact that Dean was able to dig his way out of his coffin. If he truly was buried six feet under, with all that dirt falling on him, cutting off his airway, would he have the time to make it to the top?

Given that Supernatural is a show in which demons — and now angels — are commonplace, I think I can give this issue a pass.