Previously: Dean found out he’s an archangel vessel, and Lucifer tried to persuade Mark Pellegrino to be a meat suit.
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Good God, Y’All
Kirsti: After a hundred thousand years of previouslies (M: One year for every current season of Supernatural…) (K: #accurate), we open in Bobby’s hospital room. He’s sitting in a wheelchair, staring sadly out the window. I find it hilarious that he’s wearing a dressing gown and his trucker’s cap. Sam watches from the doorway. Dean appears and says they have to cheer Bobby up. Sam says they need to prepare themselves for Bobby not bouncing back this time. Dean looks feelsy.
He hands Sam an x-ray, saying that he stopped off at radiology and the doctors are baffled. It’s a chest x-ray and while it’s totally cool, I’m not convinced that level of detail would show up on an x-ray. BUT WHATEVER.
Samantha: Can you just, like, request an x-ray? And why would you want to parade about the fact that your ribs are really freaking weird? But yes, definitely looks cool.
Marines: Dean totally flirted with someone to get that x-ray.
K: No doubt in my mind whatsoever.
Just then, Sam’s phone rings. It’s Cas. He asks where they are, then we cut to him stalking down the hall. Dean asks why the fuck he’s phoning them rather than just appearing, and DUH, DEAN. Your creepy carved ribcage hides you from ALL angels, including your boyfriend. Bobby interrupts with “Enough foreplay. Get over here and lay your damned hands on,” which is pretty legit. I definitely wouldn’t be okay with a bunch of people loitering in my hospital room doorway.
Samantha: Not unless they had cookies.
Mari: And still the general feel would be, “get in here NOW.”
K: “And bring the cookies.”
Cas apologetically says that he can’t help. He’s been cut off from Heaven and a heavy dose of contrivance means that he retains some of his powers but not others. (M: Really?) Healing is on the nope list. Bobby’s pissed. Again, legit. He goes back to staring out the window.
Cas turns to Dean and says he doesn’t have much time, but they need to talk about Dean’s plan to kill Lucifer. Cas insists it won’t work, but he has a better plan. There’s one person, he says, who’s stronger than Michael and can stop Lucifer. The same person who brought him back from the dead and put the boys on the aeroplane: God. Dean’s face is all “LOL WHAT”.
BLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD.
After the Not Credits, the boys are incredulous about Cas’s God-finding plan. Cas says that if God’s not in Heaven, he has to be somewhere. “Try New Mexico. I hear he’s on a tortilla,” Dean snaps. Cas doesn’t handle sarcasm well. Bless.
Bobby interrupts to ask why Cas came if it wasn’t for their opinions. Cas sighs and says he came for a rare amulet that burns hot in God’s presence. Bobby says he doesn’t have anything like that. Cas turns to stare meaningfully at Dean and asks to borrow the Samulet (as it’s know to the fandom). (M: Well done, fandom. That’s adorable.) You know, the amulet that was meant to be for Papa Winchester from Mini!Sam, but then Papa Winchester was a douchebag who bailed on Christmas so Sam gave it to Dean instead? Yeah, that.
Samantha: The Samulet is so important to me, you guys. Besides the Impala it single handedly gives me the most Winchester feels. Judge if you must.
K: No judgement here.
Dean very reluctantly hands it over, and snaps “Don’t lose it“. Cas says he’ll be in touch. There’s a feathery sound and he vanishes. “When you find God, tell him to send legs!” Bobby yells. I shouldn’t find it funny, but I do.
Cut to a close up of a gun. I’m Australian, so don’t ask me what the fuck kind of gun it is, because all I can tell you is “big” (S: I’m American and I have zero idea). Rufus (remember him?) (S: HI RUFUS!) fires at something offscreen, then drags a young guy to safety behind a minivan. He tourniquets the guy’s leg with a belt, then pulls out a satellite phone and calls Bobby.
Bobby answers, but the connection’s really bad. All he hears is Rufus saying that he’s in River Pass, Colorado, and that the whole town is full of demons. We cut back and forth between Bobby and Rufus, then Rufus looks up to see two demons coming towards him. He starts shooting, and Bobby hears the gunshots before the call drops out.
Cut to the Bromobile speeding past a typical Colorado snow-covered mountain, then to it speeding down a dirt road. The car stops dead on a bridge, because the middle of the bridge has been blown out. Of course it’s the only road into River Pass. And there’s no phone signal. Sam says they’ll have to hike in, and Dean’s “Uuuuuuuuuuuuuugh” face is pretty much exactly what mine would be.
Spirit in the Sky starts playing as we cut to the boys strolling into town, and now I want to watch Guardians of the Galaxy. Again. They study an upturned car in the middle of the road, then move on. The town’s basically abandoned, apart from all the cars in the streets, including a very shiny classic red Mustang which Dean ogles a little.
Samantha: Funish Fact: Eric Kripke originally wanted the boys to drive a ’65 Mustang before someone told him the ’67 Impala was better.
K: ’67 Impala is definitely better.
They head towards the gas station that we saw Rufus at earlier, then a gun cocks behind them. The boys turn to see Ellen(!!!!!) (S: !!!!!!1!!!!!) (M: I wish I could retain these characters…) (K: Pretty sure Ellen and Jo were before you joined me on recaps, so it’s not you!) standing there. She throws holy water in Dean’s face, then drops her gun when nothing happens.
She stalks off towards a church and the boys follow. Once they’ve crossed the salt line and devil’s trap at the door, she hugs Dean tearfully and says she’s glad to see them. Then she slaps Dean for not calling to tell her that he’s alive. Have I mentioned how much I love Ellen? Because I really love Ellen. (S: SOOOO MUUUUCH.) (M: I love this bit of continuity. I’d hold that grudge for a good long while too.)
Dean apologises, and Ellen hides a smirk. She leads them downstairs, telling them that basically the whole town are demons, except for the dead and the people hiding out in the church basement. She asks if it’s the end of times, and the boys nod. Ellen leads them through a locked door into the basement where a handful of people are gathered.
She introduces them as hunters, and Dean asks if everyone’s on board with the whole demon thing. A middle aged guy with glasses says “My wife’s eyes turned black. She came at me with a brick. Kind of makes you embrace the paranormal…” Dean asks Ellen to fill them in on what’s been happening. She tells them that Rufus called and that she and Jo were nearby. Dean’s surprised to hear that she’s been hunting with Jo, but Ellen presses on, saying that they couldn’t find Rufus, then she and Jo got separated.
Dean assures her that they’ll find Jo, while Sam says they need to get everyone to safety. Ellen snaps that they’ve tried that already. There used to be 20 of them, and now the group is down to 10. Dean says maybe it’ll be different with three hunters, but Ellen’s all “ARE YOU EFFING SERIOUS.” Sam suggests arming the whole group, including a pregnant lady, and Dean says they passed a sporting store on their way into town that might have guns.
The boys drop their bags and get ready to head out, promising Ellen to bring Jo and Rufus back if they find them. On their way back upstairs, Dean suggests that Sam stay put, but he’s all “LOL NOPE.” Dean tries to convince him to stay a few more times, and Sam realises Dean doesn’t want him to be out there around demons. He glares a little, and Dean relents. (S: Sam, PLEASE.)
Back on the street, Sam tells Dean to get the guns while he finds salt. Dean insists they should stick together, but Sam heads for the mini-mart anyway. Inside, he’s quietly loading a bag with cans of salt when the bell over the door rings. Sam peeks through the shelves to see two demons in the store. He ducks back down and uses the little anti-shoplifting mirror to watch their progress.
One demon ends up at the fridge at the end of the aisle Sam’s in. Sam grimaces and reaches for his shotgun, but makes a sound. The demon spins around and attacks him. Sam starts reciting an exorcism as the demon tries to strangle him, then pulls Ruby’s knife and gets stabby. (M: I didn’t think it was Ruby’s knife ’cause no sparks.) (K: Shhhh, spoilers sweetie.) The second demon attacks, and Sam stabs him too. Then he sees the pools of blood spreading from the bodies and looks startled.
He studies the blood on the knife, then runs a thumb through it as the music turns suspenseful. The bell over the door rings again and Sam ducks down, but it’s only Dean. Sam sighs in relief and stands up. Dean comes around the end of the aisle and looks horrified to see Sam standing over two corpses. Fade to black.
After the Not Commercial Break, we’re back in the basement where the boys have the civilians assembling salt shotgun shells and are taking them through Firearms 101. The middle aged guy with glasses from earlier, Roger, fumbles in his attempts at loading a shotgun. Dean approaches a younger bearded guy and hands him a rifle, asking if he knows his way around a gun. The guy, Austin, strips it in seconds.
Dean asks where he served, and Austin says he did two tours in Fallujah and got home a year ago. He asks where Dean served, because “takes one to know one“, and Dean replies “Hell“. Austin snort laughs, but Dean assures him he’s serious.
Dean pulls his brother aside and says he’ll go instead. But Sam’s sick of being treated like he’s breakable. (M: Bro, you were JUST sitting around brooding about the good ole demon blood drinking days…) He snaps that he’s learned his lesson. When Dean questions him, Sam slams him into the wall. Ellen looks over at them, concerned. Sam starts to say something, then trails off. The boys glare at each other, then Sam storms off. (S: Fuck. Off. Sam. Oh. My. God.)
Back outside, Ellen and Sam are on a Jo hunt. Ellen asks what the hell’s going on with the boys and their relationship. Sam gives non-answers, then asks why she and Jo are hunting together. Ellen’s answer is basically “She’s going to do it anyway, so I may as well keep an eye on her.” Plus, you know, the Roadhouse burnt down so they’re homeless…
Just then, Sam spots smoke coming from a chimney down the street. They head over there and peek into the back garden. They see a black eyed demon keeping watch from the window. Ellen says they must have found base camp, but Sam’s confused because demons don’t get cold. He wonders what they’re burning. Just then, Ellen’s grabbed from behind. Sam spins around and slams his gun into a demon’s face. But a second demon already has Ellen pinned to a wall.
“Don’t move, you evil skank,” Jo snaps. The second demon pulls away from Ellen and starts fighting Sam. Jo and Ellen face off, Jo yelling “Give my mom back, you black-eyed bitch!” Ellen watches Jo’s eyes turn black, then slams a gun into her stomach. Jo collapses. Sam yells for Ellen to run. She takes off as Sam’s knocked to the ground. He turns to face his attacker, and it’s a black-eyed Rufus. “Got you now, you bastard,” Rufus snaps. Fade to black.
After the Not Commercial Break, Sam’s tied to a chair in front of the fireplace. He fights the bonds, but black-eyed Rufus tells him not to bother. Black-eyed-Jo’s carrying a huge plastic jug of water. Rufus calls Sam “you evil son of a bitch” and slaps him. Jo splashes water in his face, and looks confused when nothing happens. Sam begs them to wait, but Rufus forces his head back. He fills Sam’s mouth with salt and starts an exorcism.
Church basement. Dean paces anxiously. Ellen returns and shakes her head sadly when Dean asks where Sam is. One of the civilians panics and wants to know if there are demons in the room with them. Dean assures them it’s impossible. He grabs his gun and goes to leave, then stops at the door and looks thoughtful. He turns back and says they need a plan and demands to know everything.
Meanwhile, Sam’s exorcism continues. He yells at Rufus and Jo that clearly something isn’t right seeing as how salt and holy water aren’t doing shit. They turn away, and Sam spots Roger in the doorway, fiddling with his wedding band. Cut across to Rufus and Jo discussing why it won’t work. Their eyes are normal, and Sam’s the one with black eyes now. Dun dun DUN.
Mari: No, but really, DUN DUN DUN is actually how I felt at this moment.
K: Legit.
Basement. Ellen fills Dean in on Jo being possessed, and mentions thoughtfully that Jo called her a black-eyed bitch. Also, Jo wears an anti-possession charm. She asks Dean what he thinks about the whole totally weirdo situation. He tells her that his first instinct is to call Bobby or Sam for help. Ellen tells him to suck it up because those aren’t options. Best.
He asks her if she knows why Rufus came to town, and Ellen says it was something to do with the water. Dean asks the civilians, and they inform him that the river was polluted the previous week, then people started acting crazy. Also there was a big-ass shooting star the same night that the river got polluted. Dean looks worried. He rushes over to a bookshelf and grabs a copy of the Bible. He quotes from Revelations, which says there’ll be a shooting star that will pollute a river and tons of people will die. YAY RELIGION IS FUN.
Samantha: I remember when this aired, I actually busted out our family Bible and started reading Revelations. Don’t do it.
Mari: Maybe read about the Youth Mauling Bear instead. That’s more fun.
K: Or the part where Jesus curses a fig tree. My mum refused to believe that existed until I showed her.
The priest is all “What the fuck, are you telling me this is about the apocalypse?”, and Dean’s all “YUP”. The omen in Revelations is about the coming of the four horsemen. “Which one rides the red horse?” Dean asks. “War,” the priest replies. So basically, War rolled into town driving a classic red Mustang. The priest pooh-poohs this, and clearly he’s never read Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman’s Good Omens in which War is a female war correspondent who rides a motorcycle.
Dean says that all the dots join up: War’s in town and he’s fucking with everyone’s heads. Ellen thinks Jo’s possessed, Jo thinks Ellen’s possessed, and there are actually zero demons in town. Everyone’s just murdering each other’s faces off. The priest continues to be confused.
Meanwhile, Jo and Rufus have left Sam alone. Roger walks into the room, and Sam’s all “WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU REALLY?”. Roger’s all “Buuuuuuuusted”. The real Roger, apparently, is dead in a ditch somewhere. Sam asks who he is, and Roger says “I was in Germany, then in Germany, then in the Middle East,” and talks about having three siblings. Sam joins the dots.
He asks if there are any actual demons in town, and War’s all “LOL NOPE!” He just took out the bridge, added some hallucinations and sat back to watch the show. Sam’s disgusted. “Honestly? People don’t need a reason to kill each other,” War replies. Sam says he’s going to murder War’s face off, and War chuckles that Sam’s his poster boy because he can’t stop thinking about blood.
He says he can see inside Sam’s head, and while there’s the usual lust and power elements, Sam wants to be stronger than everyone. War reminds him that the path to Hell is paved with good intentions. JPad does some nostril acting. (S: Damn, I thought we had made some improvements last episode.) (M: I mean, if ever there were a time to flare your nostrils, a conversation with War might be it.) (K: Fair.) War grins and says it’s showtime. He fiddles with his ring some more, and a line of blood trickles down his face. He kicks over a chair and screams. Jo and Rufus rush in, and War yells that Sam said the demons are coming for them. Sam yells that he’s lying, but Rufus knocks him out.
Basement. There’s a bang on the door, and “Roger” begs to be let in. He puffs that he’s seen the demons and they know they’re trying to leave. They’re all going to die. Dean’s all “Whut” and demands to know specifics. But Austin says they should attack before the demons do. He starts handing out guns.
Dean tries to calm things down, but “Roger” winks at him and plays with his ring. Then he points at Ellen and Dean and starts yelling that they’re demons. Everyone else sees their eyes turn black. Dean and Ellen run for the door as Austin shoots at them. Fade to black.
After the Not Commercial Break, the civilians are gearing up in the basement. “Roger” is surprised to see Austin loading real ammo, and Austin snaps that Dean and Ellen could have been demons the whole time, so he’s not taking risks with salt and holy water. “Roger” smirks.
Cut to Rufus booby trapping the windows of their hideout with pipe bombs. Jo points out that one of the demons is possessing Ellen, and she’d quite like her mother to still have limbs. Rufus assures her that Ellen will be okay, but Jo’s not buying it. Austin and the other civilians head out of the church. Cut back to Jo and Rufus gearing up when there’s an explosion from the front room. They grab their weapons and head in there.
The window’s blown to shit, and Rufus creeps forward looking for a victim. Suddenly, he’s dragged through the window and pinned to the porch by Dean. At the same time, Ellen grabs Jo. Jo fights, still seeing Ellen as possessed. “Now you listen up, Joanna Beth Harwell,” Ellen says. At the same time, Dean slams Rufus into a wall and tells him that he’s not a demon. He tells Rufus to think back on all the omens.
Rufus keeps fighting Dean off and going for his gun.
Dean tells him that it’s War, and Rufus snaps “You’re damned right it is!” He fights Dean off again. Dean tackles him and yells that the Horseman is making them all hallucinate. With that, the hallucination breaks and Rufus stops fighting. (S: So once you know you’re being supernaturally manipulated, it can’t happen anymore? Nice.) (M: They probably should just start yelling YOU ARE HALLUCINATING! and see if that works on everyone else.) (K: It’s no weirder than some of their other approaches…)
Meanwhile, the civilians are hustling across town. Dean and Rufus rush back inside where Jo and Ellen are waiting. Dean says they have to find War before everyone dies. There’s a shot, and we see Austin with a sniper rifle across the street. Dean rushes upstairs to free Sam while the others grab weapons. Outside, Austin issues orders to the civilians.
Dean unties Sam and says they need to work out how War’s controlling people. Sam tells him it’s the ring, and Dean’s all “Fuck, why didn’t I think of that?”. Meanwhile, the two civilian sides keep shooting at each other. Rufus yells at his guys to stand down. But a teenage boy shooting from upstairs takes out the priest. Ellen rushes over to help. Austin grabs her and aims point blank.
He pulls the trigger, but he’s out of bullets (S: Phew). Ellen fights back, but Austin pulls a knife. It gets closer and closer to her throat. Meanwhile, War is heading for his pretty pretty Mustang. Sam and Dean grab him from behind, and he laughs. Sam pulls out Ruby’s knife and War chuckles that he can’t be killed, especially not with something that dinky. “Oh, we know,” Dean says.
Sam grabs War’s hand and pins it to the bonnet of the Mustang. A quick slice, some blood spatter and a few tumbling fingers, and we cut back to Austin in time to see the fight go out of him. He looks horrified, as do the other civilians. Jo and Rufus sigh in relief. Dean bends to pick up War’s bloody ring, and when he stands, War and the Mustang have vanished. Fade to black.
After the Not Commercial Break, it’s time for our regularly scheduled man pain! This time, it’s at a picnic table? IDEK. Dean studies the ring and says “So. Pit stop at Mount Doom?“, which makes me laugh more than it should.
Samantha: For real. For whatever reason the pop-culture references on this show are almost hilarious and well done.
Mari: Also, something about these boys with their crazy lives being connected to pop-culture always becomes extra amusing.
K: I also like the idea of Dean Winchester, alpha male, Hell survivor, and all round tough guy, sitting in a movie theatre crying over Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee.
Sam gives a weak chuckle. He says he knows Dean doesn’t trust him, and it’s okay because he doesn’t trust himself either. He knows how messed up he is, and the problem isn’t the demon blood. It’s him. How far he’ll go. He’s terrified of himself.
He says he needs to take a break from hunting because he’s dangerous. He suggests they go their separate ways. Dean looks painted, but agrees. Sam sad pandas that he was expecting Dean to fight him on it. Dean says he spends more time worrying about Sam than anything else, so he’s not doing the job right, and they can’t afford that. Sam says he’s sorry, Dean says he knows. Sam stands to leave, and Dean asks if he wants to take the Bromobile. Sam says it’s fine. “Take care of yourself, Dean,” he says. He grabs his stuff from the Bromobile and hitches a ride, leaving Dean look a little teary at the table. Fade to black.
Samantha: I enjoy this episode too, because ELLEN AND JO WOOOOO. I also think that it does a great job of showing us that there are more tricks to this apocalypse than just the devil. I’ll admit, I get a little emotional when Dean offers Sam the Impala because he’s putting his little brother first, again. Even though we’re all so pissed at Sam and he doesn’t deserve it.
Mari: I liked it! A lot, actually. Maybe it’s the Snow talking but I thought it was really fast paced and interesting and a good introduction to the first (I’m assuming we’ll see others) of the horsemen. Supernatural has been pretty good about introducing these new elements into their story. Whether or not they can give us a payoff is yet to be seen, but for now, I’ll enjoy the introduction.
I thought there were seriously just a bunch of demons in a random small town so the reveal was satisfying to me. It’s cool ’cause I had all the pieces with the lack of Ruby-knife-sparking and how holy water and salt weren’t working.
So much happens here that I almost forgot that we started with Castiel’s grand plans to find God. Plus, he takes the Samulet and then Sam leaves at the end of the episode. COINCIDENCE? Maybe, but still cool. I didn’t actually expect the boys to part ways.
Also, okay, I still don’t like Sam but I’ll admit that I felt bad for him at one point here and that’s when War says he sees Sam’s desire for power. I think it’s infinitely sadder to have Sam hungry for the power he once had vs. just the demon blood itself. I can’t imagine it’s easy for him to have to go back to being beat up and scrambling to stay one step ahead of the baddies.
Next time on Supernatural: Sam goes off on his own, so Dean goes hunting with Cas in S05 E03 – Free to Be You and Me.
I'm a 30-something librarian and I still live with my parents because I'm super broke. Leader of Team Heartless Cow. I have an inexplicable love for 90s television, eat too much chocolate, and read more than is good for me.
I'm a 30-something south Floridan who loves the beach but cannot swim. Such is my life, full of small contradictions and little trivialities. My main life goals are never to take life too seriously, but to do everything I attempt seriously well. After that, my life goals devolve into things like not wearing pants and eating all of the Zebra Cakes in the world. THE WORLD.
I'm a 28 year old graduated English major and almost librarian. I can often be found singing too loudly (poorly) in the car or spending some time (hours) on Tumblr. I am a lover of Harry Potter, the Spice Girls, and too many other things.