With this review, SFScope welcomes another new tv reviewer, Erin Underwood. Welcome, Erin.
Supernatural
CW, Thursday, 9PM
“Are you there, God? It’s me… Dean Winchester”
Written by Sera Gamble
Directed by Philip Sgriccia
Warning: this review contains some spoilers. If you’d rather not know what the story is going to include, bookmark this page and read it after viewing.
“Are you there, God? It’s me… Dean Winchester” features a troupe of angry ghosts who suffered from a supernatural death. Angry, seething with unrestrained fury, the ghosts rip out the hearts of the hunters who couldn’t save them. Running parallel with the plot to stop these ghosts is Dean’s crisis of faith—more accurately stated, his crisis of disbelief.
Dean has spent his entire life thinking that God must not exist because, if he did exist, why would He let demons roam the Earth? Why hadn’t He sent his angels down from on high to protect humanity? Moreover, why would He send an angel to pull Dean, of all people, out of Hell?
To some extent, Dean’s questions are answered in this episode, but the answers bring about a much more horrific revelation by the angel who saved him. Although Dean isn’t told why he, in particular, was saved from Hell, he learns that an army of angels is walking the Earth, trying to stop Lilith from breaking the 66 seals that imprison Lucifer.
Although it’s not said, or even implied, there appears to be a strong connection between saving Dean and hiding Sam’s training with Ruby. It’s clear that something is building between the two brothers. If Dean wasn’t around, there would be no one to hold Sam back from embracing or controlling whatever power is inside him—a power that even Lilith fears. How the brothers’ relationship plays out will be interesting, but for now they are staying on track with what they do best—demon hunting.
One of the best surprises of the episode was Bobby’s special iron room, coated in salt—ghost proof. The room gave the hunters time to figure out what kind of spell could bring back a troop of angry ghosts bent on destroying the hunters who couldn’t save them.
“You built a panic room?” Sam says.
“I had a weekend off,” Bobby responds, shrugging off the question as if the answer was obvious.
With their ghostly reprieve, the hunters figure out how to stop the ghosts, but realize that they can only perform the spell over an open fire—something they don’t have in the panic room. So, out they go into the living room, where they build a blazing fire in the hearth, and Bobby begins the spell, leading to one of the best action sequences in the series.
Bobby focuses on the spell while Sam and Dean, armed with iron bullets, hold off the ghosts, turning the scene into a fantastic ghostly shooting gallery. Bullets fly. Ghosts appear, disappear, and reappear at a lightning pace. There is little chance for anyone to catch their breath until one of the ghosts appears behind Bobby, drives her hand straight into his chest, and grips his heart with an icy fist. Rather than saving Bobby, Dean dives for the potion, tossing it into the fire just before the ghost rips out Bobby’s heart. Poof! The ghosts are gone, but the seal that released them is still broken.
“Are you there God?” ends with the boys and Bobby realizing that Armageddon isn’t as far away as they might have hoped. What this means for Dean and Sam will be revealed in the next few episodes, as Dean’s relationship with the badass angel develops and Sam’s lies about Ruby and his own growing powers are exposed. The lines are being drawn for the biggest fight in supernatural history since the fall of Lucifer. It will be interesting to see how Sam and Dean fit into the scheme of things.