Supernatural S05E02 - Good God, Y'all

Review

Castiel has decided that the Winchesters have no hope of ganking Lucifer, they simply lack the gas, but he knows someone who can, God! Hence everyone's favourite Angel is on a quest to track down the elusive divine being who has apparently left the building. Naturally the Winchester Bros aren't going to be sitting down gathering moss, they receive a call from Rufus Turner who is having problems with a whole bunch of demons raising hell in a small town.

The Winchesters immediately set sail for River Pass Colorado, where they discover a war zone as surviving humans battle the demon possessed. But is everything as it seems? The Bros meet up with some old friends, and discover that Lucifer has brought a friend to the party in the form of War, one of the Four Riders of the Apocalypse. It's Winchesters versus biblical omens, can Sam and Dean defeat one of the harbingers of the Christian apocalypse?

Interesting start to the episode with confirmation that Bobby is confined to a wheel chair after the latest demonic intervention session. Castiel proves not to have the firepower to heal, and more importantly points out his own resurrection and the Winchesters being pulled from Lucifer rising was down to the Divine ones' actions. Seems Castiel is now committed to tracking down the elusive deity in order to restore balance to Heaven and also to put Lucifer's shenanigans back in their box. Bobby of course is less than impressed and shows he has yet to come to terms with his condition. All of this happens in a sort of prologue prior to the main show which goes down in River Pass.

Great segway into River Pass with Norman Greenbaum's Spirit In The Sky playing on an abandoned car's stereo. I was actually digging the whole Winchesters on patrol through an apparently deserted town, and was just waiting on some demonic action going down. The Winchesters meet up with Ellen Harvelle, who gives them the skinny on what is apparently going down, and leads the Bros to a group of survivors holed up in the local church. Later Sam meets up with Ellen's daughter Jo and Rufus - the hunter who initially called in the troops. Rufus and Jo are now apparently possessed, though there's a twist coming there that proves to be pretty devious, as in hell yeah!

I might have my wires crossed here but I think we haven't caught up with Ellen and Jo, presumed deceased in the attack on the Roadhouse, for well over a season. It was great having the gals back on board, with the added tensions they bring to the table. In one of those nice touches that the Supernatural writers spring on us viewers Ellen and Jo are on opposing sides, which reflects their real life tensions and conflicts. I saw exactly what the writers were doing, and to be honest underlined the development as pretty kick arse.

A Winchester split, didn't see that plot device happening yet again!

For those still rocking to last season's Sam developments the dude still looks to be having problems with demon blood longings, something that is bound to have repercussions if Dean discovers he still has the need. Sam looks longingly at blood after ganking a couple of demons in a convenience store, Jared Padalecki (Sam Winchester) really nails the desperation his character is feeling. For mine this was an excellent insertion, okay it may have detoured from the main plot flow, but it maintains the cohesion between seasons, the Producers are not allowing Sam to be suddenly cured of his addiction, he's still fighting it and experiencing all the longings that go with giving up a habit.

Okay slight problem with the episode and it's all to do with the concluding scene and the ad nausea separation of the Winchester Bros for various emo reasons. The concept has been done to death, no pun intended, by season five so I was slightly irritated to see Sera Gamble going to the hoary old gambit yet again. Yes we know Sam is all emo and needs a cup of cement and we know Dean is all about family, can we get beyond this particular plot device and try something new!

For those wanting to know how the episode rocks you get plenty of action scenes and "demonic" possession, though the whole demon thing has by this stage completely lost its inherent horror angles as the Hell born hordes are now just another monster to be overcome by team Winchester. Still some pretty good firefights, a nod I guess to the Croatoan episode and a new evil force for our boys to lock horns with. You don't get any more biblical than taking on the four Horseman of the apocalypse, bodes well with three others yet to enter the fray.

As previously mentioned Norman Greenbaum's Spirit In The Sky was well used, and certainly brought a smile to my face, talk about underlining the new direction Castiel is taking in the show. We also get Foreigner's Long, Long Way From Home, which I guess gives us a decent enough dose of mullet rock this episode.

Excellent second episode, and nice to see Supernatural regulars being reprised, which kept my attention from first frame to last. Plenty of action, some developments that hold a lot of promise, offset by yet another Winchester breakup. An episode for fans that don't overly groove to the horror elements of other episodes, and one that non fans can check out to see if the show is worth their attention. Good God, Y'all continues the good start to season five, and has the added bonus of adding some more plot threads to follow.