Lower Decks

The following review contains spoilers for Supernatural through the current episode, “Are You There God? It’s Me, Dean Winchester,” originally broadcast September 25th, 2008.

Following up on last week’s impressive season premiere “Are You There, God? It’s Me, Dean Winchester” explored some of the new storylines introduced in that episode. But only after what felt like an incredibly length recap (at ran 1:45). As someone who watches Supernatural on a weekly basis, I find these recaps a waste of time. And I doubt very much Supernatural is the sort of show that viewers occasionally tune in to. Thus, the recaps are also probably a bit pointless. And finally, as recaps are apt to do, by showing scenes with Meg it lessened the shock of seeing her ghost later in the episode. But enough about the recap.

I found the episode as a whole a bit of a letdown, to be quite honest. It did follow up, in some ways, the introduction of Castiel the angel, but the scene with Castiel at the end of the episode seemed out of place. I liked that Dean and Sam were arguing about whether or not Castiel was really and angel and pondering the existence of God. And Dean’s inability to understand how God could be interested in him was totally in line with what we know of the character. To then have Dean (in a dream or vision or hallucination) engage in a nice little chat with Castiel at the end of the episode that seemingly answered all his questions was disappointing.

That scene also felt very expository, with Castiel explaining to Dean (and the audience) what the situation is. The creepy ghosts in the episode were just one of sixty-six “seals” that are somehow keeping Lucifer (the Devil) trapped in Hell. Lilith is systematically trying to open each of those seals and free Lucifer. Castiel and his fellow angels (six of which have died recently) are fighting to keep the seals closed and Lucifer stuck in Hell. The apocalypse is in the works, it seems. After name-dropping Michael Landon (from Highway to Heaven), Dean becomes frustrated with Castiel for not intervening more, for not helping more. Castiel’s response is to demand respect from Dean, explaining that he can throw Dean back to Hell just as quickly as he pulled him out.

When he wakes up, Dean asks his brother if he believes in the Devil. Sam wants to know why Dean is asking. Dean doesn’t answer. Sam does believe in God and angels — and he obviously believes in demons — so it would follow that Sam believes in the Devil. Dean, meanwhile, despite meeting Castiel, has expressed his doubts about God, wondering how so much suffering can be allowed to happen if a loving, caring God exists. This dichotomy between the brothers is good, it makes for drama. I very much hope that Dean continues to show some doubt. Otherwise, the brothers will be united in their belief, and that can be boring.

As for the storyline of the episode, which involved the Rising of the Witnesses and at least twenty hunters being killed, it was just interesting enough to not be a retread of other ghost stories. Lilith, apparently, has been raising the ghosts of people who were killed because a hunter wasn’t able to save them. These ghosts are understandably angry and seeking revenge. They violently attack the hunters who they think killed them, ripping apart their stomachs and chests. Very messy. The first to die is Olivia, a friend of Bobby’s, who notices electricity in the air and a sudden cold snap, sees her breath, and is then attacked by a pair of ghosts. She shoots one, but is killed by the other.

After Bobby finds reference to angels being able to pull souls from Hell, Sam goes out for snacks before a night of research. He runs into Ruby, who asks if Dean really was saved by an angel. When he tells her that seems to be the case, she bolts, very frightened of what happens when angels meet demons. Later, Bobby, Sam and Dean head out to Olivia’s place and find her dead. They split up to check on the status of other hunters. Dead, dead and dead. Bobby insists that the brothers head back to his place until they figure things out. He’ll meet them there.

Unfortunately, Dean and Sam have to stop for gas. While using the restroom, Sam notices he can see his breath and watches as the mirror freezes over. Standing behind him is late FBI agent Hendrickson, killed by Lilith at the police station. He blames Sam for his death and attacks him. Luckily, Dean busts in at the last minute and blasts Hendrickson apart. Bobby is attacked at his house by a pair of identical twins. When the brothers make it back to Bobby’s place, they split up to search for their friend.

Dean runs into a young woman who is none other than Meg, or at least the Meg who existed before a demon took over her body, cut her hair, and killed a lot of people. The real Meg Masters is pretty angry about what happened to her. She was awake through it all, trapped in her body. She blames Dean for not helping her and attacks him. Bobby, meanwhile, is being held hostage in an abandoned car by the little girls, who tell him sadly that he could have saved them but didn’t. Sam is searching frantically for Bobby amongst rows and rows of rusted cars. Dean learns that Meg had a little sister who killed herself, which Meg also blames him for.

Thankfully, the ghosts can be dealt with, in a sense. Dean and Bobby slash through the little girls with crowbars and Dean shoots an iron light fixture, which falls onto Meg. Together again, the brothers realize both Meg and Hendrickson had the same brand on their hand. Bobby recognizes the brand; it is the mark of the witness. There is a spell to deal with the witnesses, but it takes some time to set up. Dean and Sam will have to gather supplies and protect Bobby as he puts it together. They lock and load their shotguns with salt shells.

During the ensuing battle, Hendrickson and Meg are both blown apart time and time again, plus the twin girls and Ronald (the guy who was killed at the bank when Dean and Sam were there). The tension rises. Ghosts are popping up left and right, Dean and Sam are firing and loading, firing and loading, and Bobby is rattling off the spell in its original Latin. As things come to a head, Dean runs out of ammo, Meg traps Sam against a wall and leaves the twins to kill him before attacking Bobby. At the last possible moment, when things seem most dire, Dean manages to catch the bowl containing the spell just as it is about to spill all over the floor. He tosses it into the fire, doing away with all the ghosts.

If these ghosts can appear wherever they want, why not just pop up inches away from Dean or Sam and commence with the killing? Why bother giving them a chance to talk? At one point, Meg does disappear right when Sam shoots her, reappearing behind him, but she is soon dispatched. And even when Hendrickson gets his hands on Dean (literally) the actual killing process seems to take a while. Sam is given enough time to rush downstairs to save his brother. I realize there had to be a way for Dean, Sam and Bobby to survive, and making the ghosts angry enough to waste time on pointless talking worked well. But it also left them seeming just a little less dangerous and deadly than they could have been.

Still, there was enough time for some of the patented Supernatural humor. When Bobby shows Sam and Dean his 100% ghost proof panic room, complete with salt-coated iron walls, Dean tells Bobby he is awesome. And when Bobby explains that the Rising of the Witnesses is a “mile marker” for the apocalypse, Dean suggests a road trip to the Grand Canyon, the Star Trek Experience, and the Bunny Ranch. Too bad the Star Trek Experience closed on September 1st (the episode was written long before the closing was announced, I assume).

Overall, while I could have gone without the dream sequence at the end of the episode, and Ruby’s appearance was too short to be of much consequence, “Are You There, God? It’s Me, Dean Winchester” was a solid episode. Given that the Angels Vs. Demons (and God vs. the Devil) storyline has to last for twenty-two episodes, there was no way the second episode of the season could have revealed much more than it did. There are sixty-six seals, at least one of which has been opened, which leaves plenty of seals for later episodes. I look forward to seeing every one.