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Episode Guide > Season 4, Episode 22

Supernatural: Lucifer Rising

 

Episode Score

 
9.0 Superb
1,180 votes

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Air Date

Thursday May 14, 2009

Production Code

3T7522

Episode Summary

As the Apocalypse approaches, Castiel and Zachariah inform Dean that his moment of glory draws nigh. Sam, disagreeing, goes with Ruby to take on Lilith.

Read Full Recap » (warning: possible spoilers!)
  •  
    10 Perfect

    An awesome season finale hide show

    Beautifully plotted, scripted, filmed and acted throughout, could not have asked for more from an episode. It hit just the right balance, tied up a few loose ends while opening up the story for the next season. Some wonderful moments - Bobby giving Dean a piece of his mind about family, Chuck putting his hand on Castiel's shoulder and then quickly taking it off again, and the burgers. Was there a hint that the burgers and the drinks were meant to be like a reverse version of the apple in the garden of Eden though, or was that just me? And the most hilarious use of the word 'sorry' I have ever seen on TV. Brilliant.

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  •  
    10 Perfect

    "He's coming...." hide show

    Last year's finale was beyond awesome, but it doesn't hold a candle to this one! Basically, everything that has happened over the course of the year has lead to this point. And what a thrill ride it was. But alas - it's far from over.....

    I'm sorry, but I just gotta get the mother of all shocks outta the way first. Ruby! Ruby, Ruby, Ruby. *sigh* Baby, you just so brilliantly played Sam and Dean - and us - like a Stradivarius, honey. All this time. All of what she has done from last year and this year was to lead to the rise of Lucifer himself. Yet it makes perfect sense, which is why it's so brilliant. I was right to be suspicious of her in the last episode: she DID have an agenda of her own! After all, uh...DEMON! So it shouldn't be any surprise, really. But let this be a lesson to Sam, especially given last ep's events about trust: NEVER trust a demon, no matter how good they may seem. Dean was right the whole time. But all this sheer cleverness is why I still love the girl. Damn, you just can't get much more better than this! Girl totally rocks...for an evil chick, that is. But, now she's gone. Dead at the hands of the ones she played the most. Poetic, and still nicely done as her story has apparently come to a close given the events here. R.I.P., Ruby, loved your terrific stage presence, but it's time to move on, sweetie.

    My second major shocker was the death of Lilith. Totally did not see that coming. Her death was the final seal, to result in Lucifer finally being freed upon the world. What's even scarier was that this cements Sam's destiny - which turned out to be evil after all. He was the one to kill Lilith, which would break the final seal, which is why Ruby groomed him to enhance his powers. But Dean will be the one to stop it, so it's just now starting to get great. Yay! Speaking of Dean, whoa! Dude's getting a little feisty with his angel pals. But it's understandable given the parameters of his dilemma. For starters, I guess he really did mean what he told Sam last week about no returning if he walked out the door. But he truly expresses remorse for it this week. But on the other hand he also has to deal with the apocalypse, in which Zachariah and Castiel are gearing him up for, so to speak. It's so touching, however, that even in the middle of all this end-of-the-world hooplah, add to that his friction with Sam, Dean still manages to put his feelings toward Sam first. And as for Zachariah, it was a little disturbing as to what was going on with him. We learn, through Zach, that the angels actually didn't want to stop the apocalypse from happening. For a while there it seemed as if Zach was teetering on the thin line between good and evil by the way he was talking. But he is an angel and we've now seen that angels don't always follow the "white, fluffy" rep they've been given. Take for instance Castiel. Once again he has rebelled against the garrison and helped Dean by deceiving Zachariah and sending Dean to Sam, which is what Zach warned Dean was "ill advised". Not only that, Cas apparently caused a disturbance in Chuck the Prophet's...well, prophecy...in assisting Dean's way to Sam, since Chuck said that this wasn't written. As a result, Castiel was left to fend off an advancing archangel while Dean was teleported (via Cas) to Sam. And since we don't get to see what happens with Cas and said archangel, I suppose this leaves us with our first cliffhanger for the season. It will be interesting to see what consequences Castiel will face after his latest disobedience here. And now that I think about it - what has/will become of Anna?

    Gotta comment on my man Bobby. Dude just more and more awesome every time he's on the tube. You can tell he really loves Dean and Sam, and will do anything to protect them, even if it means going against what they stand for. His remarks to Dean about John were slaps to the face, but true nonetheless. Dean IS a better man than John was, and to agree with Bobby, John was a bit of a coward. Look at everything that happened with John's son Adam a few eps back, for example. Bobby knows that Dean's love for Sam will overcome in the end. And sure enough....

    By the episode's end, Sam must feel like the world's biggest sucker. Suddenly, everything he's fought so hard for that he thought was for the greater good all came crashing down on him in a steaming pile of badness. At least now, after he and Dean exchanged 11th hour apologies, they can both begin to heal and move on since the worst of their own fights have hit and run, but now face the greatest threat of all: Lucifer is rising......

    And they're gonna need to keep each others' backs for this one, for sure!

    Bits and Pieces:
    - That was so funny of Zachariah offering Dean pleasures such as the cheeseburgers and beer, and Ginger and Mary Ann from "Gilligan's Island".
    - It was pretty wild, but cool, to see Azazel return - if only in flashbacks - to explain his part in the apocalypse by breaking the seal of killing those nuns. Poor nuns, though.
    - I don't know why, but it really got to me when Sam and Ruby kidnapped that possessed nurse from last week's ep - the baby eater/Lilith servant - knowing that Sam was ultimately gonna drink from her once she revealed Lilith's location.

    Once again, for the 4th year in a row, a perfect 10 finale to end what was yet another excellent season. With the arrival of Lucifer and everything else that hangs in the balance, I absolutely cannot wait for season 5.

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  •  
    10 Perfect

    It will be a hard time for the writers, to go out of this predicament. hide show

    Warning: some things could be a spoiler. Ok, here we go. It will be hard to explain how to face the principal demon, and no have even a scratch; the argument was excellent, principally how to explain the participation of the all crew, specially Ruby, was an excellent episode. I think it will be hard to go out of the point when the brothers face, finally, Lucifer; its going to be a hell ride or simply another filling cap...we have to see this. But at the end, it acomplish the goal, entertaintment. I think the series go up and down some times but in all picture, the series are one of the best out there.

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  •  
    10 Perfect

    sam and dean last chance to stop Lucifer. hide show

    The end is near, its sam and dean last chance to stop lucifer from rising. I thought this episode was very well done I believe its probably the best season finaly so far. it kept you on the edge of your seat wanting more. even if you has never seen this serias once you watch this episode you would be hooked. its scary supenceful and funny all in one. I cant wait for season 5 i wondering what sam and dean is going to do to save the world. I believe this was the best season to date and this episode is one of the reasons for it.

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  •  
    10 Perfect

    [Dean & Sam] vs [Lucifer & Michael] ;), two brothers, one father each. I thought I might give you some tips on how Season 5 might turn out, with Lucifer Rising and all that. There's a catch here, and plenty of clues. hide show

    Ever since Castiel was introduced, Supernatural's pretty much taken stuff out of both Christian and Islamic mythology, with the Apocalypse, God and the Angels, to go with the already introduced Demons. Now the brothers have finally realized why Sam was chosen by Azazel in the first place.

    The way the Angels and the Apocalypse are, aren't completely accurate to the Bible or Quran, but it's based on it. So seeing as Lucifer is obviously coming out of the beam of light at the end of the episode, there's some stuff you should know that relates to all that mythology about the Apocalypse that's there...

    I'm guessing that the Archangel protecting "The Prophet Chuck", is the Archangel Michael, and he's the one that's descending to Castiel on this episode. According to mythology, he's the "commander" of the Army of God. In other words, the most hardass Angel of em all. All except Lucifer. Lucifer is the most powerful and the sexiest Archangel of all of them. But he defied his Father, God, a long time ago by not showing respect to Humans. For this reason he was banished. Apparently Archangel Michael fought him and eventually imprisoned Lucifer in Hell.

    Now here's where it gets interesting...

    Archangel Lucifer is Archangel Michael's older BROTHER! (I don't think he's gonna be called "Satan" in this series, because the name's one-sided, it never mentioned 'the devil', just "Lucifer". It might even be the unchanged Archangel that's being freed from imprisonment, see when Lucifer's portal opens in the end, it looks like the light seen from an Angel in their real form. The noise when it opens is almost the same as when the Archangel is descending to help Chuck ;]).

    =D So yeah, they're brothers just like Sam and Dean. The rest really should be self-explanatory. Notice how the relationship between Sam and Dean in Season 4 was very 'Heaven and Hell'-like, how Dean (generally thought of as the badass) seems to side with Castiel and the Angels, and Sam veers more towards Hell with his trust of Ruby and his demon-blood powers? Dean makes remarks that Sam's turned into a "monster", and that Sam always disobeyed their dad's orders. Dean always follows without question, while Sam tends to disobey a lot. Sam's been 'chosen' by Azazel for something and he's falling more and more into his fate. He seemed to be becoming more and more demonic. Dean and Sam eventually fought each other in "When The Levee Breaks". ...These are similar to the tensions between Michael and Lucifer, and their dad: God.

    You know what I think? There's gonna be two pairs of brothers in Season 5: Sam and Dean, with the new pair Lucifer and Michael. This would make sense as to why this sorta 'heaven' and 'angels' stuff was thrown into the series. Sam and Dean somehow see themselves in the fact that Michael and Lucifer fight each other, with their FATHER who seems to be somewhere far away (ring any bells??).=P

    At the very end of the episode, Sam stops Dean from running as Lucifer is rising. When you literally see an Angel, your eyes burn out, so what the hell? I think there's a clue here. We already know that Sam's not JUST chosen to kill Lilith, but somehow LEAD the Apocalypse. Sam stays where he is. Lucifer has probably chosen Sam's body to possess! I doubt they'd get a new actor for this guy. After that, different events would occur, and somehow Dean will be possessed by Archangel Michael (Dean was 'chosen' by the Angels to be the one to kill Lucifer)!

    Think about it... it makes so much sense ;P.

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Episode Cast and Crew

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  • International Airdates:
    UK: June 21, 2009 on ITV2
    Denmark: July 7, 2009 on TV3
    Norway: August 20, 2009, on FEM
    Portugal: September 14, 2009, on AXN (Double episode)
    Sweden: November 8, 2009 on Kanal 5
    Spain: February 1, 2010 on AXN
    Germany: February 8, 2010 on Sky Cinema Hits []
  • The show ends with the closing executive producer credits black on a white screen. []
  • Injoke: Father Lehne, Azazel's host, is named after actor Frederic Lehne, who played the character in his previous appearances. []
More Notes
  • Dean: I'm not sure if he's my brother any more. If he ever was.
    Bobby: You stupid stupid son of a bitch! Well boo hoo. I am so sorry your feelings are hurt... princess! Are you under the impression that family's supposed to make you feel good? Make you an apple pie, maybe? They're supposed to make you miserable! That's why they're family. []
  • Zachariah: Try a burger. They're your favorite. From that seaside shack in Delaware. You were eleven, I think.
    Dean: I'm not hungry.
    Zachariah: No? How about Ginger from Season 2 of Gilligan's Island? You've do have a thing for her, don't you?
    Dean: Tempting. Weird.
    Zachariah: We'll throw in Mary Ann for free.
    Dean: No, no. []
  • Dean: I need you to take me to see Sam.
    Castiel: Why?
    Dean: There's something I have to talk to him about.
    Castiel: What's that?
    Dean: The BM I took this morning. What's it to you? Make it snappy. []
More Quotes
  • Ruby: Pack up Nurse Betty and hit the road.
    Referencing the 2000 movie Nurse Betty starring Renée Zellweger as a waitress who sees her husband killed and starts believing she's really the nurse in her favorite daytime soap opera. []
  • Dean: Let's bail on the Holodeck, okay?
    Referencing the Holodeck from Star Trek The Next Generation, Star Trek Voyager and Star Trek Deep Space Nine. The Holodeck is a virtual world that is created and programmed by computer and is nearly indistinguishable from reality. []
  • Dean: Well, how about this? The Suite Life of Zach and Cas?
    Referencing the Disney sitcom The Suite Life of Zack and Cody (2005-08), which stars Cole and Dylan Sprouse as twins who live at the Tipton Hotel with their mother Carey, who sings at the hotel for a living. Although the original show was canceled, it spawned a spinoff, The Suite Life on Deck, which features the same basic cast on an ocean liner. []
More Allusions
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