Long beforeTitus Welliverthrilled viewers as Detective Harry Bosch onBosch, he was a character actor who played parts in a plethora of films and television shows. FromLostandDeadwoodtoSons of AnarchyandThe X-Files, Welliver made his mark on the television industry, often playing villainous roles. But do you remember the time Welliver was onSupernatural? Yes, the paranormal horror series that starredJared PadaleckiandJensen Acklesas Sam and Dean Winchester once pitted the pair of monster hunters against a well-cast Welliver, who showed up in the fifth season episode “Good God, Y’All.” There’s more to this episode than meets the eye, andthe entire thing hinges together on Welliver’s flawless performance as the biblical Horseman of War.
Supernatural
Two brothers follow their father’s footsteps as hunters, fighting evil supernatural beings of many kinds, including monsters, demons, and gods that roam the earth.
“Good God, Y’All” Brought Titus Welliver on Board as the First Horseman: War
The second episode of Season 5 kicks off with Sam and Dean being sent to River Pass, Coloradoafter Bobby (Jim Beaver) receives a distress call from his old hunting buddy, Rufus Turner (Steven Williams). Turns out, the entire town is infested by demons, and Rufus has been leading a resistance group against the black-eyed evil spirits. When the brothers arrive,they’re greeted by Ellen Harvelle(Samantha Ferris), whom they haven’t seen sincethe show’s second season finale. Ellen sends the boys back out to get guns, ammo, and salt to repel demons, only for Sam to get into an altercation with a band of them. Returning to the church where the survivors are hunting out, the Winchesters teach the townsfolk, including a man named Rodger (Welliver), how to defend themselves.
As Sam and Ellen go out in search of others, they’re ambushed by Rufus andEllen’s daughter, Jo(Alona Tal). Ellen escapes, but Sam is captured, giving Roger — who has somehow found his way into the other camp — the chance to reveal himself to Sam as War, as in the first of the Four Horsemen. Of course, instead of riding in on a literal red horse, he drives a red Mustang. It turns out there are no demons in River Pass at all. Rather,the Horseman of War is manipulating the townsfolk into killing each other. Through War’s power, everyone is hallucinating the demonic plague, resulting in mass amounts of bloodshed. As Sam learns this, Dean and Ellen come up with the answer themselves, relating it to Revelation 8:10 and the appearance of the star Wormwood, which poisoned the town’s water supply. But after War/Rodger makes the survivors think Dean and Ellen are demons, they’re forced to flee.
Dean and Ellen meet up with Rufus and Jo, and after a quick tussle with one another, they all recognize that they’ve been deceived. Teaming up, the hunters take back control of River Pass as they dodge the angry townsfolk trying to kill them.Sam and Dean confront War, cutting off the Horseman’s ring—the source of his power—and he vanishes into thin air. Once War is defeated for good, the town returns to normal. Everyone mourns over their actions, and the hunters leave River Pass for good. Afterward, Sam and Dean go their separate ways after the fallout from Season 4 and the previous episode (though we know that won’t last terribly long).
Titus Welliver Is One of the Few ‘Supernatural’ Villains Still out There
Though he doesn’t have a considerable amount of screen time in “Good God, Y’All,” Titus Welliver’s performance here works perfectly for this story. As War, he pretends to be a human, Rodger, who is just as scared as everyone else. At first, we don’t suspect Rodger to be anything more than he initially claims. The way Welliver plays him, he’s simply a grieving widower who watched his wife’s eyes turn black before she attacked him with a brick. The truth is thatWar was playing the Winchesters as excellently as the actor plays his part in the episode. It’s his in-universe acting tactics (inciting both sides of the conflict) that turned the town into a warzone, and theBoschstar looks as cool as ever as he grins at the madness that ensues.
When Welliver reveals himself as War, the fearful, glasses-wearing citizen shifts instantly into a confident supervillain with a penchant for disaster. Credit is due toSera Gamble, who penned this episode, as well as Welliver for pulling this off so smoothly, and it’s here that the cleverly titled “Good God, Y’All” (you know, after theEdwin Starrsong) takes a sharp turn.War is perhaps one of the most dangerousvillains in all ofSupernaturalbecause, with the use of his ring, he has the potential to cause more conflict and chaos than anyone at this point in the series, save maybe the Devil himself. The way he carries himself (as if he’s well above Sam and the rest of humanity) embodies the concept of war so perfectly and further emphasizes how powerless humanity really is against such reckless hate.
“You can’t kill war, kiddos,” the Horseman teases just before Sam and Dean remove his jewelry. As if he had never been there in the first place, Was vanishes, a trick his brother Pestilence (Matt Frewer) would pull later on in “Two Minutes to Midnight.” As one of the most powerful entities in theSupernaturaluniverse,it seems like a mistake for the Winchesters to let him gowithout consequence. As it stands,the Horseman of War is one of the few major antagonists (despite appearing only in a single episode) whoisn’tkilled outrightby either Sam, Dean, or Castiel (Misha Collins). However, in “The Devil You Know,” the demon Brady (Eric Johnson) reveals that both War and Famine (James Otis), who had likewise been defeated, are nothing to worry about after the loss of their rings.
This ‘Supernatural’ Episode Thrives on Chaos — and Sets up Season 5’s Climactic End
What makes an episode like “Good God, Y’All” so meaningful is the active chaos that ensues because of it. The town of River Pass feels like a post-apocalyptic wasteland, and the season-long theme ofthe biblical Apocalypseis felt here for the first time. Future episodes such as “The End” and “Abandon All Hope” would echo this idea, but it starts here. After all, series creatorEric Kripke intended forSeason 5 to be the climactic finale forSupernatural, with the season-ender “Swan Song” wrapping up the completed five-season story arc he’d planned. Of course,Supernaturalcontinued for ten more seasons, with each one getting progressively more convoluted. Sure, there are some gems there, but Season 5 would’ve been a high note to end on. It’s no wonderKripke plans to endThe Boyswith its fifth season.
“Good God, Y’All” is a thrilling apocalyptic adventure that takes the brothers Winchester to some of their darkest points yet. The addition of Titus Welliver as the Horseman of War is only a bonus, as he “sits back and watches the show.” It’s funny that someone who would become such a high-profile actor due toBoschand the sequel seriesBosch: Legacywould find his way toSupernaturalfor this one-off, but when watching him perform, it feels right. MinusJulian Richings, who played the Horseman of Death,Welliver is perhaps the most notable of the Four Horsemen. He’s sharp, quick on his feet, and eager for bloodshed in a way that his “brothers” were not, and it’s only because of the Winchesters that his plan is foiled at all. Deceiving hunters is no easy game, but having deceived a handful of the best makes War one of the best baddies inSupernatural’s earliest years. It’s just too bad Titus Welliver couldn’t have returned as the villain for more.
Supernaturalis available for streaming on Netflix in the U.S.
Watch on Netflix
