S05.E02: Good God, Y'All

[DittyDotDot]

Sam and Dean goes to the aid of some old friends when a town is overrun by demons.

 

I rather enjoy this episode and always wonder why was this not the premiere? Cass, Bobby, Ellen, Jo and Rufus ...I like it when the band gets together. Plus, that Spirit In The Sky sequence was a thing of beauty. I'm still interested in the horsemen, all these years later, even though I'm underwhelmed about the Lord Of The Rings aspect. I also like the tension between Sam and Dean here and it seems perfectly fitting to where the characters are at.

 

Overall, this is a good solid episode that I enjoy seeing.

[Demented Daisy]

This is a bittersweet episode for me to re-watch.  Mainly because the Winchesters actually had allies that interacted with each other.  

These days, you won't see Charlie, Garth, Kevin, Mrs. Tran, and Sheriff Jody  (or any combination thereof) in the same episode.  Which, IMO, is a shame.

[mertensia]

I adore this episode though I always do wonder how War was going to drive his Mustang away since the bridge was destroyed.

They had SmartDean and Rufus and Ellen and Jo and I'm going to Hell because I always giggle when Dean tells the priest that yeah sorry the Apocalypse is upon us. Sorry God's keeping you in the dark.

[AwesomO4000]

The "survivor game" made me realize that I neglected to comment on this episode, so decided I should/would.

 

I agree with all of the good mentioned above - especially the "Spirit in the Sky" scene, the believable Sam/Dean tension (thought it seemed just a little over-angsty to me at times), and Sam's conclusion at the end - good for Sam. However, I wasn't really impressed with War and I didn't agree with his "power" speech he gave Sam. I won't repeat my discussion from the "survivor game" thread, but suffice it to say, I just didn't see the evidence of Sam supposedly wanting to be "more powerful than everybody." Even Sera's own episode "All Helll..., Pt 1 seemed to contradict this as did most of what Sam did in season 4 (his suicide mission certainly seemed to contradict this). If War had talked about Sam wanting control over his own life and his destiny, I would've been on board. Even wanting to feel powerful in general, but more powerful than everybody - I'm just not seeing it. Just the everyday Sam and Dean dynamic where Sam default is when he feels most comfortable deferring to Dean's judgment doesn't fit. So bah on the whole concept, character, and execution of War... definitely to me the least interesting and least worthy of the four horsemen.

 

I did love me some Rufus though and always did appreciate Sera creating him and fleshing him out as a character.

Edited October 9, 2014 by AwesomO4000

[SueB]

I with the rest on the Spirit In The Sky use. Those two walking down Main Street armed and dangerous-- pretty hot to be honest. Reminds me of how BadAss they really are.

I also agree Sam just wants to be in control of Sam. He's never been into the world domination plans. And of course, Warr! ..what is it good for? Had that war worm since I got into the thread.

Edited October 11, 2014 by SueB

[DittyDotDot]

And of course, Warr! ..what is it good for? Had that war worm since I got into the thread.

 

Hee! I'm so disappointed in myself that I didn't think of this.

 

I think War was just being the typical villainous monster they like to highlight on this show. All talk and most of it wrong or missing the actual point. Then the Winchesters come in and show them how wrong they are. So, yeah, I believe that Sam was struggling with the after effects of the demon blood addiction, but I never once believed that War's words about Sam wanting world domination were true.

[GirlyGeek]

Good solid episode.  Love that there weren't demons there at all- just people.  Glad they didn't spend too much time whinging about the humans they'd killed... that gets old.
The ensemble cast was used really well- totally happy with how the characters flowed.

 

I really liked the scene with Dean and Castiel.  Castiel needs Dean's amulet and Dean is not happy about it.  Whatever is going on with him and Sam, that amulet was representing better times and Dean didn't want to let it go.  awwww

 

I agree that War overreached a bit with Sam wanting power.  Though

maybe it was part of the horse men's plans, to keep feeding into Sam's (the vessel's) head that he needed power, needed the blood.  Though I'm probably giving the show too much credit lol

 

The tension between the boys was great here.  I loved seeing Dean stop, just before running out after Sammy like he normally would, and take a a breather and make a plan.  Less anxious 'save sammy at all costs' and more 'these people need us and sam can handle himself for now'.  Which is nice to see.

[rue721]

I love Rufus, and how he gives approximately 0.5 fucks. He thinks he's in a fight to the death with possessed!Dean, Dean finally manages to convince him that instead of mass demonic possession, they're right facing the Apocalypse (so, no big deal, right?), and after all that ridiculously epic life-and-death bullshit, his way of letting Dean know that they're not going to kill each other after all is to say, "you figure that out yourself, genius?" Rufus is such an old codger. Cracks me up.

 

A lot of this episode is really fun. I like the atmosphere in the town, I like the fights/action, I like seeing Rufus, I like seeing Ellen and Jo. Seeing Jo and Rufus working together was fun. They were pretty scary in that scene when they pour salt down Sam's throat and try to exorcise him. They seemed so professional and brutally efficient somehow. (I guess a point of this episode was to show how all of the hunters are used to being perpetually at war? This was basically just "same shit, different day" for them, even though the townspeople were crying and praying and just generally a mess).

 

A nice touch imo was that when Ellen has to convince Jo she's not a demon, she starts out with, "Now you listen up, Joanna Beth Harvelle..." Uh-oh, she's using the whole name. Jo had better be careful :P. I really wanted to see more of them hunting together (though I guess that's still to come). I still can't even really wrap my head around how a mother/daughter hunting team would work. OMG the idea of hunting monsters with my mother...rme. NO WAY. That would be hilarious. She would be such a ginormous pain.

 

I also agree Sam just wants to be in control of Sam. He's never been into the world domination plans.

 

IA with your whole post, SueB, and definitely with this part. Sam has never cared about world domination afaik, and he's not even a control freak to the extent that Dean is. I mean, he doesn't even bother taking the Impala at the end of this episode. Someone who doesn't even say yes to taking possession of the Extremely Symbolic Car probably is probably not someone fixated on being top dog, js. I think that War was just messing with him. Sam thinks his sin is pride, so War kept talking about how prideful Sam is, and turning Sam against himself.

 

It's weird to me that Dean just bought Sam's self-accusatory speech at the end of the episode. I guess he's still pissed about Ruby and the Apocalypse or something. Personally, I was rolling my eyes and thinking that Sam needed to stop martyring himself. I couldn't believe that Dean's response was that Sam really should go because he's distracting Dean and slowing him down. So after training and hunting for something like fifteen years total, Sam is still more trouble than he's worth in a fight? That's ridiculous. That Dean would say that and then Sam would just nod (instead of demanding some credit where credit's due, which you'd think he would feel comfortable doing in a conversation *with his brother*) and go off to hitchhike...Man, I thought that was terrible. The whole scene was terrible imo and I hated that resolution.

[AwesomO4000]

It's weird to me that Dean just bought Sam's self-accusatory speech at the end of the episode. I guess he's still pissed about Ruby and the Apocalypse or something. Personally, I was rolling my eyes and thinking that Sam needed to stop martyring himself. I couldn't believe that Dean's response was that Sam really should go because he's distracting Dean and slowing him down. So after training and hunting for something like fifteen years total, Sam is still more trouble than he's worth in a fight? That's ridiculous. That Dean would say that and then Sam would just nod (instead of demanding some credit where credit's due, which you'd think he would feel comfortable doing in a conversation *with his brother*) and go off to hitchhike...Man, I thought that was terrible. The whole scene was terrible imo and I hated that resolution.

 

I was okay with it, because actually they were both in that spot still at this point. Sam was still very much down on himself, uncertain, and thrown for a loop by War. Dean wasn't in any mood to disagree with him at that point and just wanted a break from Sam and having to be worried about him (as you point out in your comments on the "Free To Be..." thread.)

 

Sam wouldn't be ready to demand credit where credit was due until "Fallen Idols."

[ohjoy]

I watched this episode again last week and was struck by something for (maybe) the first time. I don't know how much this factors into Sam's assessment of his judgment capabilities or his belief in what War is telling him at that point, but it finally occurred to me that it was a very good thing that Sam did not give into his temptation to drink the blood of the demons that he killed in the store when he and Dean separated. Not just for the sake of his own willpower, but especially because since War was just messing with everybody, those weren't demons. He would have been drinking human blood. (Although I guess he probably would have figured out what was going on in the town much sooner if he had.)

[AwesomO4000]

(Although I guess he probably would have figured out what was going on in the town much sooner if he had.)

 

Heh. yes, and I've used that before on another board as an (admittedly minor) example of Sam's sometimes bad luck even when he does the right thing, because ironically if he had done the wrong thing here, he would've realized what was going on sooner.

 

I guess  no one said that doing the right thing is always easy.

[GirlyGeek]

Not much to add here- still agree with my last re-watch post ? Good solid episode  

But, can I just say that Dean putting together that the red Mustang belonged to War... was edging on almost being a Mulder Leap of Logic. Or am I missing something? Lol

[catrox14]

23 hours ago, GirlyGeek said:

Not much to add here- still agree with my last re-watch post ? Good solid episode  

But, can I just say that Dean putting together that the red Mustang belonged to War... was edging on almost being a Mulder Leap of Logic. Or am I missing something? Lol

Dean's smart. He figured out the Zorastrian symbols from blood stains in s1. 

Dean asked the Pastor which horseman rode the Red Horse and the Pastor said War. Dean remember the red mustang because it's a beautiful car that he admired. Mustang = Red Horse. I don't think that was much of a leap for Dean in that situation. 

[pixelcat]

I always think of this cover, and if Death can drive a pale limo, War can have a cherry Mustang :)

Agree with @catrox14 on this!

Edited September 21, 2016 by pixelcat

[GirlyGeek]

9 hours ago, catrox14 said:

Dean's smart. He figured out the Zorastrian symbols from blood stains in s1. 

Oh I know he's smart, just seemed like a big leap to me.
and the Zoroastrian symbols in that episode is another example of a big leap that made no sense, lol.  There were a dozen different ways those bloodstains could have been connected and a dozen different shapes ;)

Since the show doesn't always let Dean be the smart guy he is, I'll give it to him though

Edited September 21, 2016 by GirlyGeek

[catrox14]

Just now, GirlyGeek said:

Oh I know he's smart, just seemed like a big leap to me.
and the Zoroastrian symbols in that episode is another example of a big leap that made no sense, lol

I'm really curious why either is a leap. 

By the time we get here 3 or 4 years later, we know that Dean is a reader, made an emf detector out of a walkman, rebuilt the Impala and remembers sigils pretty easily. He hunts ghosts, monsters and demons so he already has to see what most humans don't/can't/won't see. He's an out of the box thinker IMO so him equating the Red Mustang to the Red Horse seems right in line with how Dean thinks.  He's got an inventive mind IMO.

[DittyDotDot]

I agree @GirlyGeek, it's kinda a leap for me too. BTW, I think the leap isn't that War would drive a red car rather than ride a red horse, but that that specific red car belonged to War as opposed to any other person who lived in that town. Dean's really good at connecting the dots, but, same with the Zoratrian symbol, there's really not a clear pattern here, IMO. 

It reminds me of an episode of Sherlock where Sherlock says he knows the owner of a cell phone has some disease that makes one's hands shake simply because there are scratch marks on the phone next to where you'd plug in the charger. I looked over at my phone and said, "Maybe he's just prone to plugging it in in the dark like I am... ." 

Edited September 22, 2016 by DittyDotDot

[Myrelle]

Dean is very visual. It's one of his greatest strengths as an investigator/hunter, IMO. He would see a pattern in the blood stains more easily than others might; he would remember the red mustang for the same reason. I think there was even a line in one episode(Jump the Shark, I think) in which he even said "nobody has my eyes..." while scanning a room.  

I bet he's a whiz at word searches, too. ;-)

[DittyDotDot]

I don't doubt Dean is a whiz at most puzzles, I've always said Dean is a natural problem solver. I'm just not sure he had enough pieces to be able to solve this puzzle. I think Dean made a big assumption since that car could've belonged to anyone--red Mustangs really aren't all that rare--it just happened to be an assumption that panned out. I'm cool with that, myself, but it doesn't make it any less of an assumption, IMO.

[GirlyGeek]

Agree DDD.  And with the Zoroastrian symbol, it's not like Dean knew the symbol from memory and saw it in the blood spatter.  He connected the dots and then they looked it up and figured out it was a symbol.  But the blood spatter could have been connected a million different ways, so it was just a leap.

doesn't make Dean any less smart.  He does see things and make connections.  Just MHO that in these instances it was more of a leap/lazy writing tool

[catrox14]

I'm not trying to beat a dead horse here (heh) but Dean didn't jump to a conclusion out of the blue. He was sussing it out all along. His instincts told him this wasn't a straight forward thing. 

IMO, the writing was pretty tight on this episode and didn't require leaps of logic by anyone in the episode, Sera Gamble set up Chekhov's 65 Mustang Fastback (which is not a common model. Ford produced about 75K vs 500K coupes) when Dean sees it in the first act when they arrive in this hamlet where the other cars are turned over minivans, an old beater and trucks. Dean took a good long look at that car and even whistled at it. Given that Dean knows a lot about cars it seems reasonable to me that he realized that particular model Mustang was uncommon car to see in 2010 thus he took more note of it than he would another car.  Dean even said if he was War that's how he would roll.  

spoilers for s5 and s10 and beyond

Spoiler

It would be interesting if Dean had become Death after killing him and he's rolling around in his Black Impala as his "horse".  Maybe that could still happen. 

To me, Dean connecting the unconnected about the car is completely believable, maybe even more than him remembering to look in the Book of Revelation but I can accept that as well given his crash course in s4 with the Apocalypse and angels.

I wish War had stuck around a bit longer mostly because I LOVE Titus Welliver. I would have liked to have  a Jacob and the Man in Black (LOST reference) reunion via Lucifer and War at some point.  Oh well.

[DittyDotDot]

The only problem with what's under that spoiler tag is,

Spoiler

Death rides a pale horse.

;)

[catrox14]

30 minutes ago, DittyDotDot said:

The only problem with what's under that spoiler tag is,

  Reveal hidden contents

Death rides a pale horse.

;)

Spoiler

Well an impala is not a horse either, soo.... Death was a horseman but would new Death have to also be a horseman? Even if Dean was a horseman he's gonna do shit his own way.

[Hanahope]

Hah, first Jacob from Lost, now the Smoke Monster.

not sure why death is slumming in a small town, but interesting execution, wondering at first who was the real demon.  

Nice to see some old characters again.

Sad to see the boys split up at the end, but I'm sure one will come running to save the other at some point.

[bettername2come]

I like the creepy blood and heartbeat opening of this season. It's not too overdone (I'm looking at you flash metallic openings). Oh, Dean. Offering to give Bobby a back rub. Judging by his "well, then what?" to Sam he was only partially joking. The sigils on their ribs look really cool. I appreciate that we actually got to see what they look like. I find the God-seeking amulet unbelievable. Aw, Dean doesn't want him to lose the Samulet. "When you find God, tell him to send legs!" I laughed too hard at that. I love "Spirit in the Sky." Ellen! Throwing holy water in Dean's face! These are a few of my favorite things. And a hug! And a slap! And Dean calling her "ma'am." I love Dean showing respect to older people who deserve it. It's been a week, Sam. I don't blame Sam for not knowing if he can trust you now. I did not remember how disturbing Rufus pouring salt down Sam's throat is. "My daughter may be an idiot, but she's not stupid." Why do I love that line? I like the priest who learns it's the apocalypse. Rufus and Jo working together is nice. I like seeing odd pair-ups. Nice trick with cutting off War's fingers. Why's Sam always getting blood on his face? Dean can make Lord of the Rings references? Aw that beautiful cinematography in the final scene. Dean offers Sam the car!  That always says so much to me. Like, Dean's point is that he can't trust Sam, but he still is willing to let him go on with his life with the object Dean values most. That above anything else proves that Dean isn't angry with his brother. I always think it's strange that people actually pick up this lumbering, giant hitchhiker. Like, just how powerful are Sam's puppy dog eyes?

[RulerofallIsurvey]

On 7/2/2017 at 0:11 AM, bettername2come said:

Like, just how powerful are Sam's puppy dog eyes?

Let's face it: he wouldn't have needed the demon blood last season if he'd only learned to harness the power of his puppy dog eyes!

Edited July 4, 2017 by RulerofallIsurvey

[RulerofallIsurvey]

Seems ridiculous for Bobby to be blaming Cas for him being in a wheelchair.  How did Bobby get possessed in the first place?  No anti-possession tattoo?  Cas killed those two angels at the storage unit after Lucifer had already been released, so him saying 'he lost everything for Dean and they failed' is either premature or too late.  

Why do these towns only have one road in or out and it's always over a bridge?  Note to self: never go to a place that doesn't have more than one entrance/exit.  I liked how 'Spirit In The Sky' transitioned from episode music to the car radio.  Damn, Sam - could you be any slower getting those canisters of salt off the shelf?  Why does it have to be rock salt?  Does regular table salt work too?  Why wasn't he taking them both?  With those big old hands, he grab half a dozen at once easy.  Don't know why Sam didn't ping that the 'demons' at the store didn't spark out.

[bettername2come]

On 7/3/2017 at 10:28 PM, RulerofallIsurvey said:

Why do these towns only have one road in or out and it's always over a bridge?  

Thank you! I rewatched "Monster at the End of this Book" over the weekend with my nephew and had the same complaint. Like...it's not an island. If leaving town is your only goal, you should be able to get out by going the opposite direction or traveling parallel until you get somewhere with a bridge.

[RulerofallIsurvey]

3 hours ago, bettername2come said:

Thank you! I rewatched "Monster at the End of this Book" over the weekend with my nephew and had the same complaint. Like...it's not an island. If leaving town is your only goal, you should be able to get out by going the opposite direction or traveling parallel until you get somewhere with a bridge.

Right?  Are these towns located in a box canyon or something?  And Sam and Dean were able to hike in with no one taking a single shot at them, but no one could hike out.  

[Iju]

On 9/22/2016 at 9:43 AM, DittyDotDot said:

It reminds me of an episode of Sherlock where Sherlock says he knows the owner of a cell phone has some disease that makes one's hands shake simply because there are scratch marks on the phone next to where you'd plug in the charger. I looked over at my phone and said, "Maybe he's just prone to plugging it in in the dark like I am... ." 

 

it wasn't a disease, he said the person was a drunkard ;) and sherlock wasn't pinpointing exactly what the person was, what he does it just make extremely consistent assumptions. a drunkard slipping and messing up their charger cord would make more sense than repeatedly trying to plug it in the dark. 

On 7/3/2017 at 10:28 PM, Runswithscissors said:

Seems ridiculous for Bobby to be blaming Cas for him being in a wheelchair.  How did Bobby get possessed in the first place?  No anti-possession tattoo?  Cas killed those two angels at the storage unit after Lucifer had already been released, so him saying 'he lost everything for Dean and they failed' is either premature or too late.  

i just took it that he was just pissed his legs weren't working and lashed out at anyone in anger.

----------

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY ELLEN!!! i finally get my wish! she such a strong woman and so beautiful, why didn't i notice how pretty her hair was before? i'm not too fond of jo but i'm sure as heck happy to see her alive (also @ dean's slightly surprised "Hi, Jo." and her reply back, does that mean anything? i hope not. i liked that she was the one woman (we know) that he didn't "do" because of convenience and how tired and out of it he was when he met her, and eventually she became a sort of almost little sister/platonic friend to him and the team.)

sam being a hunter again (drug store scene) was bada** and hot. wow didn't know how much i missed him in action instead of seeing him kill demons by a flick of his hand. kind of ironic how i find him cooler using his human powers than superhuman.

i don't think it's in sam's right to not only get angry at dean but push him because he can't get him to trust him when he wants to. for one thing dean had a whole punch of running emotions in that drug store and we could see him struggling to have faith in sam that he didn't do anything with the "demons", and secondly he looked so hurt when sam pushed him. even though i don't think it's in sam's right it's a really realistic response because it's the very annoying habit of my youngest sister. she thinks she can break people's trusts left and right and expects them to forgive and forget, then she gets super mad when we don't trust her immediately. it's not that simple. if i didn't know her in my life i would certainly be raging now on how impossible and unrealistic sam's expectations are, so there's that. again i admire how these two are written so much like human beings.

i liked the difference of how dean and sam found out the same villain. dean had to talk and think and do some more research as sam immediately knew who it was by a bunch of vague riddles and questions from war LOL. 

the shot when they are eating at the bench was so beautiful and peaceful. i wanted to be with them eating as well. mother was pissed when sam said that the boys should split up. what were her words exactly? "So you make the Apocalypse happen, and now you want me to face it alone?!?" lol.
i thought it was so kind dean to offer the impala to sam, but i must admit i thought he was kidding at first. when sam said no i half expected him to say "Oh, well that was a test. I would never give you the impala" or something like that.

anyways, i hope ellen wasn't some cameo and instead appears again bye

Edited March 29, 2018 by Iju

[The Companion]

So I am less mad at everyone in this episode because the trust issues and potential to slip back into addiction feel more authentic to me maybe? I don't know, the framework of the fracture in their relationship in this one works for me in a way the prior episode doesn't.  I don't buy War's take, but I do buy Dean's fear that he can't keep his brother from slipping back into old habits. 

I really enjoyed this one. The mystery of the demons that didn't act like demons. The claustrophobia of that church basement. It wasn't a complete departure from the ongoing story but it was nice to have something a little different. Also, I loved having Ellen/Jo back.