Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean Winchester is the 2nd episode of Season 4. It aired on September 25, 2008.
Summary[]
There was something about being there... It felt pure. This episode summary is an official CW press release. It may contain errors. DO NOT CHANGE! |
Sam and Dean are stunned when the spirits of Meg (guest star Nicki Aycox) and Agent Henricksen (guest star Charles Malik Whitfield) appear and accuse the Winchesters of failing them. Although rattled, the brothers must pull together to save Bobby (guest star Jim Beaver), who is too crippled with guilt to fight off the angry ghosts of the young children he couldn't save.
Plot[]
A woman named Olivia Lowry is sleeping on her couch with the TV on when it suddenly starts to flicker, and she wakes up. She realizes it is so cold she can see her breath, so she jumps up and runs for her closet. Inside she has a whole arsenal; she is obviously a hunter. As she does, her phone rings. Her answering machine picks up "Hi it's Olivia – leave a message." Bobby's voice says "Olivia can you call me back? I've got something big." She ignores it and picks up an EMF meter, it immediately begins humming. She grabs a gun and loads it, then heads back into the other room. Suddenly a man appears behind her, she whirls around and looks at him. "You..." she says, shocked. She shoots him and he disappears, and she quickly puts a line of salt in the doorway, but he appears right outside the salt, staring at her. "I'm sorry," she says desperately, standing up. "I'm so sorry.' She turns around and sees another person, this time a woman. The woman thrusts her hand forward and Olivia screams.
At Bobby's house, Dean and Sam are arguing over whether Castiel could really be an angel when Bobby's research turns up the information that only an angel can rescue someone from Hell. Dean is uncomfortable with the idea that God either exists and has a special interest in him. They agree to research angels, with Dean sending Sam out to get him some pie. While he is out Ruby appears, and tells Sam that she is nervous about angels being around, and that she is going to make herself scarce for a while, besides angels are ruthless warriors who kill demons no matter their allegiance. She tells him he should be afraid too.
When Sam returns without pie, Bobby tells Sam that they are heading out to check on a hunter friend of his, Olivia Lowry, who he has been calling about angels, but that she isn't answering. They find Olivia dead, ripped apart, seemingly by a spirit.
Bobby and the boys split up and go to check on other hunters in the area, only to find them all dead. On the way back to Bobby's, the boys stop at a gas station. Dean is asleep in the car while Sam goes to the bathroom. There he is confronted by the ghost of Special Agent Victor Henriksen, who blames Sam and Dean for his death, before attacking Sam. During the assault Dean enters, and saves Sam by blasting Henriksen with rock salt.
At home, Bobby is confronted by the spirits of two young girls, who accuse him of failing to save them from the 'monster' that killed them. They capture him and hold him in a wrecked car in his salvage yard while they torment him.
Sam and Dean return, then split up to try to find Bobby. Dean is confronted by the spirit of Meg Masters. She tells him how she was a college student when she was possessed, and that she was 'awake' during her possession, and witnessed much horror. As she beats and kicks Dean, Meg also tells him how her disappearance had a terrible effect on her younger sister, who killed herself after Meg was found dead. Dean manages to shoot a chandelier made of iron which falls on the spirit, dispelling her.
Meanwhile, Sam has found and rescued Bobby. Bobby leads Sam and Dean to a safe room in his house. It is a cylindrical room, completed lined in iron coated in salt to keep spirits from entering. In the roof is a large extraction fan, below which is a grill with metal work in the shape of a Devil's Trap. The room has a bed, and appears well-stocked with supplies and equipment.
Sam and Dean have seen a brand on the spirits, which, according to Bobby's research, identifies them as Witnesses whose appearance heralds the coming of the Apocalypse. Bobby finds a spell that will send the spirits to rest, but they need an open fire for it. They leave the sanctuary of Bobby's Panic Room and return to the library, and on the way encounter the spirit of Ronald Reznick, who charges Sam and Dean with being responsible for his death, before Bobby shoots him with salt.
Once in the library, Bobby starts preparing for the spell, and sends Sam upstairs to get a hex box, and Dean to the kitchen for ingredients for the spell. Sam is confronted by Meg, who is outraged that he is working with Ruby, knowing that she is possessing an innocent girl as Meg herself was possessed. Sam dispels her with a salt blast. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Henriksen appears to Dean. He tells him how Lilith tortured everyone in the police station, including flaying Nancy alive. He attacks Dean, but Sam arrives in time to save him.
Sam and Dean retreat to the library and protect Bobby as the Witnesses reappear and attack. Just as Meg is about to rip Bobby's heart out, he completes the spell with Dean's help, and the spirits vanish.
That night, Castiel appears to Dean in a dream. He complements Dean on how he dealt with the Witnesess, but Dean remains furious. He demands answers, and why Castiel and his angelic brethren did not help. Icy as ever, Castiel attemps a classic line about the Lord working in "mysterious ways", but a ferocious Dean isn't the least bit interested. Castiel throws his hands up in defeat, but ultimately admits to Dean that Lilith cast a spell that released the Witnesses. He explains that this is the first of the 66 Seals that, if all broken, will release Lucifer, and this is why Angels have returned to Earth. When Dean protests that they didn't come to help them deal with the Witnesses, Castiel says that the armies of Heaven have bigger concerns. He also says that some of the Angels died in battle that week and that Dean should show him more respect if he doesn't want to be thrown back into Hell.
The next morning, Dean asks Sam if he believes in the Devil.
Characters[]
Main Cast[]
Recurring Cast[]
Guest Stars[]
Co-Stars[]
- Misha Collins as Castiel
- Genevieve Cortese as Ruby
- Chris Gauthier as Ronald Reznick
- Audra Ricketts as Olivia Lowry
- Eve and Lara Casha as Ghost Twins
Featured Supernatural Beings[]
- Angels (Castiel)
- Archangel (Lucifer, mentioned only)
- Demons (Ruby)
- Horseman (Death and Pestilence, mentioned only)
- Primordial Entity (God, mentioned only)
- Witnesses (Victor Henriksen, Meg Masters, Ronald Reznick, Ghost Twins)
- Ghosts
- White-Eyed Demon (Lilith, mentioned only)
Continuity[]
- The brothers and Bobby discuss Dean's visit with Castiel, from the previous episode and whether or not he is an angel.
- The human Meg Masters was last seen in Devil's Trap.
- Victor Henriksen was last seen in Jus In Bello.
- Ronald Reznick was last seen in Nightshifter.
- In Houses of the Holy, Dean's disbelief in angels was first touched on and is explored here.
Trivia[]
- The German title of this episode translates to "The Witnesses", which is a reference to the 2007 film of the same name. The title of this episode can also be a possible reference to the 2014 TV series, "Witnesses" if you believe in time travel because this episode released in 2008 (2009 in Germany)
- This episode marks the first seal to be broken since Dean's revival.
- Just before being attacked by the first witnesses, Olivia is watching on TV an episode of the humorous series The Three Stooges.
- The photographic poster that hangs on the wall of Bobby's panic room is by actress and model Bo Derek, one of the most prominent personalities in the 1980s media, when she won the title of woman note 10.
- During the conversation with Castiel, in a dream, Dean mentions the actor Michael Landon, famous for the series Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie and Highway to Heaven. In this he starred the character Jonathan Smith who was an angel of God.
- Castiel told Dean that six of his brothers had died in the past week, which meant that Uriel was at work with his conversion even this early in the game.
- Castiel told Dean that twenty hunters died during this ordeal. Dean realized that Lilith purposely chose to raise the spirits of victims those hunters failed to save, "so that they would barrel right after us." Four of the hunters killed by Witnesses that Bobby knew personally were Olivia Lowry, Carl Bates, R.C. Adams and a hunter named Jed.
- The book that Olivia is holding in the opening scene, The Secret Teachings of All Ages, by Manly P. Hall, is widely regarded as an essential encyclopedia of ancient occult and esoteric traditions such as alchemy, tarot, cryptology, mystery religions and ceremonial magic, among many other subjects.
- References the book "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" by Judy Blume.
- References the film, "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly", with Bobby's line being nearly Identical to Tuco's: "When you have to shoot, shoot, don't talk".
- The Ghost Twins are likely a reference to the twins from the 1980 film, The Shining. It may also be a reference to the urban legend of ghost twin girls that show up and ask people if they want to play with them.
Errors[]
- The iron chandelier Dean shot from the ceiling was circular, so since it came down directly on Meg Masters, she, as a ghost, should have remained trapped in its center until the spell was broken. Instead, she was still able move about freely and bedevil Bobby and the brothers.
Deaths[]
- Olivia Lowry
- Two unnamed ghosts (humans, mentioned only)
- Carl Bates (mentioned only)
- RC Adams (mentioned only)
- Jed
- Ghost twins
- Twins (Humans, mentioned only)
- Ghost Victor Henriksen
- Victor Henriksen (Human, mentioned only)
- Nancy Fitzgerald (mentioned only)
- Ghost Ronald Reznick
- Ronald Rezknick (Human, mentioned only)
- Ghost Meg Masters
- Meg Masters' sister (mentioned only)
- Meg Masters (Human, mentioned only)
Featured Music[]
- "Lonely is the Night" by Billy Squier
Quotes[]
- Dean: I'm trying to come up with a theory here, okay, work with me.
- Sam: Dean, we have a theory!
- Dean: Yeah, one with a little less fairy dust on it, please!
- Dean: I thought angels were supposed to be guardians. Fluffy wings, halos, you know... Michael Landon. Not dicks.
International Titles[]
- German: Die Zeugen (The Witnesses)
- Brazil: Alô! Deus Está? Aqui É o Dean Winchester (Hello! Is God there? Here is Dean Winchester)
- Hungarian: Isten szeme mindent lát (God can see everything)
- French: Anges et démons (Angels and demons)
- Polish: Jesteś tam, Boże? To ja, Dean (Are you there, God? It's me, Dean)
Gallery[]
External links[]
- "Supernatural: "Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean Winchester", IGN review.
- Supernatural: "Are You There God? It's Me, Dean Winchester" Review]", IGN review.