leave. Castiel brands the Winchesters with sigils that will protect them from angelic detection and warns them that Lucifer is close to gaining a vessel. Before leaving, Castiel confirms that he was dead, but refuses to tell them how he came back to life. At the same time, Lucifer visits a man named Nick who recently lost his wife and child. After tormenting him with hallucinations, Lucifer visits Nick in the form of his dead wife and convinces Nick to allow Lucifer to possess him. After the encounter with Zachariah, the Winchesters visit Bobby who survives his wounds but is left paralyzed from the waist down. Dean gives a rallying speech about fighting both the forces of Heaven and Hell to stop the Apocalypse but privately admits to Sam it was only just for Bobby's benefit. Sam choosing Ruby over Dean has also damaged Dean's trust in his brother and he doesn't know how to get over it. Reception Viewers The episode was watched by 3.40 million viewers. This was a 17% increase in viewership from the fourth season finale, which was watched by 2.89 million viewers but a 15% decrease from the previous season premiere, which was watched by 3.96 million viewers. Critical reviews "Sympathy for the Devil" received universal acclaim. Diana Steenbergen of IGN gave the episode an "amazing" 9.0 out of 10 and wrote, "It is not just the words however, it is the way they are delivered perfectly by each character that makes the script work as well as it does. Supernatural is blessed with great comic timing and deadpan delivery from both Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki, but the real scene stealer in that department is Rob Benedict as Chuck Shurley. I love how after picking a bloody molar out of his hair he feels the need to share that he is having a 'really stressful day.' His chagrin at being forced to reach out to one of his fans is classic, and I appreciate the fact that the show is continuing what they started last season with their own special way of acknowledging and lovingly poking fun at their own fans through the fans of Chuck. That girl's reaction to meeting the real Sam and Dean is hilarious." The A.V. Club's Zack Handlen gave the episode a "B+" grade and wrote, "One of the best parts about last season was that it got complex