Sam and Dean's conversation about the existence of angels is insightful. While Sam is willing to believe that angels are real due to the amount of lore on them, Dean refuses saying, " I believe in what I can see... But in all this time I have never seen anything that looks like an angel. And don't you think that if they existed that we would have crossed paths with them? Or at least know someone that crossed paths with them? No. This is a, a demon or a spirit." As Sam points out, this is somewhat ironic, considering that they hunt creatures which most people have not seen and as a result don't believe in, despite that they are in fact, very real.
After realizing that Gloria was speaking literally about Carl Gully being guilty to his 'deepest foundations', the brother's investigate a storm cellar on the property and discover human bones. The sign the angel gave Gloria is an inflatable Christmas decoration of an angel. Once again, when investigating the home of the second victim, Frank, they find dozens of emails to a thirteen year old girl whom he was arranging to meet. Likewise, the sign outside of Frank's house is a statue of an angel. The connection between the two victims was that both were church-goers of the parish "Our Lady of the Angels".
When Sam and Dean visit the parish, they speak to Father Reynolds under the premise of joining the congregation. Father Reynolds says that he has been praying for deliverance due to the amount of bloodshed in the neighbourhood. His views on angels are accurate in what the Catholic faith believes. He tells Sam and Dean that these people are 'misguided souls' and that an angel of God would never incite people to murder. Upon thanking Father Reynolds for his time, Dean notices a small tribute at the bottom of the church steps. Father Reynolds tells them that another priest at the parish, Father Gregory was killed on the steps 2 months previous.
This information is all Dean needs to prove that they are hunting a vengeful spirit instead of an angel. Sam is still reluctant and so they agree to do a seance for Father Gregory, in order to speak with his ghost. However, upon visiting Father Gregory's grave, Sam himself receives a vision from the so-called angel. Later, after collecting all the materials for the seance, Sam receives his sign from the angel, and sees the man he has been sent to stop. Dean locks Sam out of the Impala and drives off after the man. Sam then goes back to Father Gregory's grave and performs the seance, just as Father Reynold's catches him in the act. This was somewhat of a funny scene, as Sam struggled to explain to the priest what he was doing. Luckily though, Father Gregory's spirit appears and Sam at once realizes that it was him and not an angel who was appearing to people. Both the Father and Sam have to convince Father Gregory that he is not an angel. Then, Father Reynolds performs his last rights so that his spirit can be put to rest.Meanwhile Dean is following the man in his car. The man picks up a girl who he then attempts to rape, and Dean intervenes before any harm can come to her. After saving the girl and telling her to call 911, Dean chases after the man in his car, only for him to get into an accident and subsequently die.
The ending scene is probably the most important of the entire episode, as it ties in themes about Sam's destiny, and also demonstrates how Dean's views on angels have changed throughout his experiences on the case. Sam reveals that he wanted to believe in angels because that would have meant there was some supernatural being watching over him that could prevent him from 'turning dark-side'. While Dean acknowledges that it obviously wasn't an angel telling people to kill, what he tells Sam shows that his beliefs are starting to change:
"The way he died, if I hadn't seen it with my own two eyes I never would have believed it. I mean ... I don't know what to call it... Maybe. God's will?"Overall, the episode was very important in terms of character development. It is interesting for the audience to play with the idea that Sam himself could become villainous, when he is always so willing to do what he believes is the right thing. The emphasis here, is on what Sam believes constitutes a righteous action. These are questions that the audience is also left with: is it right to kill another person if that person will end up doing wrong? Interestingly enough, Dean advocates for watching the man that Sam is assigned to kill, instead of agreeing with his brother about killing him upfront. This is a parallel to Sam's own situation, as he is prophesied to become a bad person that could potentially harm others.
Dean doesn't feel the same need for a belief in a higher power, as he wants to think that his role in Sam's life will be enough to keep his brother good. This is clearly shown after Sam confesses that he is scared of the amount of evil in the world and Dean replies with, "Yeah, well, don't worry about that. All right? I'm watching out for you." Dean also reveals that their mother, Mary, was religious herself. He tells Sam that before she put him to bed every night, she would say that angels were watching over him. This is part of Dean's argument that angel's do not exist- if they did, then no harm would have come to Mary. It is easy to identify with Dean's beliefs once we as the audience understand this.
Details
Episode Writer: Sera Gamble
Episode Director: Kim Manners
Air Date: February 1, 2007
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