Episode Details

Supernatural Season 4, Episode 1, Lazarus Rising recap 😇 Dean claws his way out of his own grave, and we finally get some ANGEL ACTION: it's Castiel's very first appearance! Berly and LA pour a drink and dig into the season four premiere on Denim-wrapped Nightmares, a Supernatural rewatch podcast. New here? Welcome, hunters! Expect lore, gore, thirst, and zero filter.

Four months after the hellhounds tore him to ribbons, Dean wakes up in a pine box in Pontiac, Illinois, punches his way to the surface, and finds a mysterious red handprint burned into his shoulder. He was touched by an angel. (Not caressed. Not yet.) His reunions don't go smoothly: Bobby (Jim Beaver, the king of facial expressions) tries to kill him, and Sam (freshly bulked up, hello) tries to stab him. LA was NOT satisfied with the amount of brotherly hugging. And the girl in her underwear answering Sam's motel room door? That's Genevieve Padalecki's debut as the new Ruby.

Episode Highlights:

• Our very first listener review (thank you, Chels!) and brand-new merch
• A season three recap so well written we had to borrow it from the Super Wiki
• The tightest, squishiest dad hug in Bobby history
• The car of lies: everyone's keeping secrets from everyone
• Psychic Pamela Barnes (Traci Dinwiddie) lifting Bobby off the ground, getting flirty with Dean, and making Sam grin like a fool
• Us screaming because we thought Bobby's psychic friend was Missouri (Loretta Devine, come back!)
• Pamela seeing Castiel's true face and getting her eyes burned out. Kudos, special effects!
• The barn: lights exploding, bullets and knives doing nothing, and THOSE WINGS

Our verdict: the best character introduction in the series so far. Written by Eric Kripke and directed by the legendary Kim Manners, this premiere is a banger.

In the lore segment, we discover that biblical angels look nothing like the Hallmark cards: think loads of eyes, multiple faces, and absolutely no chubby cherub babies. Plus, we look at the archangels Michael and Gabriel and why most angel sightings in scripture start with someone being told not to be afraid.

"I'm the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition." – Castiel

Your turn, hunters: Where does Castiel's entrance rank among the best character intros in TV history? And be honest, who else was hoping for Missouri? Tell us in the Spotify comments, leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts (it's how new hunters find us), or send us fan mail. Bonus points for fandom fun facts we missed.

Sources:

• https://supernatural.fandom.com/wiki/Lazarus_Rising
• https://www.sevenwholedays.org/2011/09/29/angels-the-record/

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Denim-wrapped Nightmares is a Supernatural rewatch podcast hosted by Berly and LA, breaking down every episode of the Winchester saga with lore deep-dives plus cast and crew interviews. Special thanks to David Fesliyan and Fesliyan Studios.

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