4.02 Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean Winchester

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4-02 Are you there God.jpg
Title Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean Winchester
Episode # Season 4, Episode 2
First aired September 25, 2008
Directed by Phil Sgriccia
Written by Teleplay:
Sera Gamble
Story:
Sera Gamble
Lou Bollo
On IMDB Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean Winchester
Outline The ghosts of people hunters failed to save are returning to kill them.
Monster Vengeful Spirits
Timeline September 22nd - 24th, 2008
Location(s) Sioux Falls, South Dakota
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Synopsis

At Bobby's place, 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 has a special interest in him. They agree to research angels, with Dean sending Sam out to get him some pie. While he's 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. She tells him he should be afraid too.

When Sam returns, sans pie, Bobby tells Sam that they are heading out to check on a hunter friend of his, Olivia Lowry; he has been calling her about angels, but 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 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 down 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, completely 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 they encounter the spirit of Ronald Resnick, 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; he sends Sam upstairs to get a hex box and Dean to the kitchen to get ingredients. 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 tells Dean that Lilith cast a spell that released the Witnesses. He explains that this is the first of sixty six seals that, if all broken, will release Lucifer, and this is why angels have returned to Earth. He also says that some of the Angels died in battle that week. The next morning, Dean asks Sam if he believes in the Devil.

Characters

Definitions

Music

  • "Lonely Is the Night" by Billy Squier
(plays during recap of previous events)

Quotes

Dean: Don't you think that if angels were real, that some hunter somewhere would have seen one... at some point... ever?
Bobby: I got stacks of lore -- Biblical, pre-Biblical. Some of it's in damn cuneiform. It all says an angel can snatch a soul from the Pit.
Sam: Okay, look. I know you're not all choirboy about this stuff, but this is becoming less and less about faith and more and more about proof.

Dean: Proof?
Sam: Yes.

Dean: Proof that there's a God out there that actually gives a crap about me personally? I'm sorry, but I'm not buying it.
Ruby: Sam, they're angels. I'm a demon. They're not gonna care if I'm being helpful. They smite first, and then they ask questions later.

Sam: What do you know about them?

Ruby: Not much. I've never met one, and I don't really want to. All I know is that they scare the holy hell out of me. Watch yourself, Sam.
Dean: Well, we thought --

Meg: No, you didn't think! I kept waiting, praying! I was trapped in there screaming at you! 'Just help me, please!' You're supposed to help people, Dean. Why didn't you help me?
Dean: I'm sorry.

Meg: Stop saying you're sorry!
Dean: See, this is why I can't get behind God.

Sam: What are you talking about?
Dean: If he doesn't exist, fine. Bad crap happens to good people. That's how it is. There's no rhyme or reason -- just random, horrible, evil -- I get it, okay. I can roll with that. But if he is out there, what's wrong with him? Where the hell is he while all these decent people are getting torn to shreds? How does he live with himself? You know, why doesn't he help?

Bobby: I ain't touching this one with a 10-foot pole.
Dean: Apocalypse? The Apocalypse, Apocalypse? The Four Horsemen, pestilence, $5-a-gallon-gas apocalypse?
Henriksen: Over 45 minutes. Lilith said she wanted to have some fun. The secretary was first. Remember her? Nancy, the virgin. Lilith filleted Nancy's skin off piece by piece. Right in front of us, made us watch. Nancy never stopped screaming.
Castiel: Read the Bible. Angels are warriors of God. I'm a soldier.

Dean: Yeah? Then, why didn't you fight?

Castiel: I'm not here to perch on your shoulder. We had larger concerns.
Castiel: Three days ago, you thought there was no such thing as me. Why do you think we're here walking among you now for the first time in 2,000 years?
Dean: To stop Lucifer.

Trivia & References

The title of the episode, "Are You There God? It's Me, Dean Winchester," is a reference to Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume. Published in 1970, it followed a young girl’s exploration of her spirituality, as she also deals with the other matters of adolescence like getting her period and her search for identity. The title may also be in reference to the cartoon The Venture Bros. season 1 episode 9 "Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean", an obvious reference to the work cited above. The Venture Bros. is also a show that Ben Edlund has contributed scripts to.
The book Olivia has fallen asleep reading is Manly P. Hall's The Secret Teachings of All Ages, an 'encyclopedia of ancient mythology, ritual, symbolism, and the arcane mysteries of the ages' written in 1928.
Dean: Look, all I know is that I was not groped by an angel.
This is a reference to the series Touched by an Angel, where angels are sent by God to help people solve their problems.
Sam: A demon who's immune to salt rounds and devil's traps... and Ruby's knife? Dean, Lilith is scared of that thing!
"Castiel was established to be truly unaffected by rock salt, devil's traps, and also Ruby's knife, as he is an angel."
The poster of the woman on the wall in Bobby's panic room is of Bo Derek from the 1979 movie 10.
Dean suggests they go and visit the Grand Canyon, the Star Trek Experience (which actually closed permanently 3 weeks prior to the date this episode is set on), and the Bunny Ranch (a famous brothel in Nevada).
The Rise of the Witnesses takes inspiration from the Biblical story in Revelation 11 called "The Two Witnesses" where God gave The Witnesses their powers and allowed them to remain on Earth for 1,260 days.
Bobby: If you're going to shoot, shoot! Don't talk!
This is a quote from the spaghetti Western The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
Dean: I thought angels were supposed to be guardians. Fluffy wings, halos -- you know, Michael Landon. Not dicks.
In the television series Highway to Heaven, Michael Landon played angel Jonathan Smith who was sent to Earth where he teamed up with cop Mark Gordon in order to help people.
Castiel: The Rising of the Witnesses is one of the 66 seals.

Dean: Okay. I'm guessing that's not a show at SeaWorld.

SeaWorld is an American animal theme park that features shows and zoological displays with an array of different marine animals. Dean is referencing the fact that the word "seals" is a homonym.

Minutiae

Bobby's panic room is iron coated with salt and protected by a devil's trap.
Dean: Apocalypse? The apocalypse, apocalypse? The four horsemen, pestilence, $5-a-gallon-gas apocalypse?
Although this was an off-hand joke in 2008 when this episode aired, this line turned out to be quite prophetic. In 2022, gas prices in America jumped to $5-a-gallon after oil supply from Russia was cut off, a result of their invasion of Ukraine.
Bobby has a hex box in an upstairs linen closet. In the kitchen, the cutlery drawer has a false bottom which contains hemlock, opium, and wormwood.
The grimoire Bobby reads from is written in Syriac script.
Castiel says twenty other hunters were killed by the Witnesses and six angels died in other battles occurring simultaneously involving the aforementioned 66 seals.
According to Castiel, the episode takes place three days after he raised Dean from Hell.

Sides, Scripts & Transcripts

Promotion



Episode Meta

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