Supernatural and Christ figures

[bellatemple]

This is clearly a sign that a) I should go to bed and b) I really probably shouldn't have just eaten three and a half bowls of corn pops. ;D

So. Supernatural has gotten pretty heavy with the religious imagery of late. The entire mytharc of demons and the latest revelation of the new "big bad" being named Lilith (I totally am not going into all that here, I think we all have our own ideas of what they may or may not be doing with that reference). The imagery is also all pretty heavily Christian, though the Koran has been brought in ("What Is and What Never Should Be" refers to the Koran several times), as well as Zoroastrianism, Judaism, and vague, not always terribly well represented references to any number of pagan traditions (don't get me started on the trickster, I could go on for hours). But with the many references to demons and hell, characters like Pastor Jim and Roy Le Grange and, of course, Mary Winchester and her assertion that "angels are watching over" Dean when he's little, not to mention, er, well, like, everything? Clearly, the primary source of dogma for the mytharc is Christian-based.

Which I'm also not going to get into, except to point out that it's there and use it as a basic jumping off point for the rest of this babble (and yes, it's definitely a babble, not an essay, since I'm not up to pretending to be that literary at nearly 1 in the morning).

Now, with all that Christian imagery and allusion, it's only natural that Supernatural is going to have a Christ figure.

You're all rolling your eyes now and going "um, duh, hello, look at your freaking icon, Bella, we all know this."

And I'm sure you all do. We are generally intelligent people, and it's not like the show's been particularly subtle on certain points.

Okay, so it's kind of like they're beating us over the head with the cross going "Sam is Jesus! Sam is Jesus! Well, the demon Jesus. But still! Christ figure!"

But bear with me for a moment here.

Now, a Christ figure, according to Wikipedia (yes, I'm referencing wiki, here, but, again, getting on towards 1 am over here and I'm stuffed uncomfortably full of sugary cereal and not really feeling up to ransacking my book shelves for my various, more reliable references, especially since I'm pretty sure I didn't actually keep my text books from "Jesus in Ancient and Modern Media", which is a shame, because I'd love to reread some of the apocryphal gospels, and I'm getting off point):

a literary technique that authors use to draw allusions between their characters and the bibilical Jesus Christ. More loosely, the Christ Figure is a spiritual or prophetic character who parallels Jesus, or other spiritual or prophetic figures.

Have allusions been drawn between Sam and Jesus? Uh, yeah, they definitely have. Wiki even gives us a list to work off of:

• performance of miracles -- Sam has prophetic visions and can move things with his mind, including a large cabinet in order to save Dean from being killed by Max (just to go with a specific example) in "Nighmare"
• manifestation of divine qualities -- how do we wanna define "divine qualities" here? Despite numerous fanfic efforts, Sam has yet to sprout angelic wings, but then, Jesus never did, either. This one's too ambiguous. Let's move on.
• healing others -- no healing touch from Sam yet, though he does get Dean to Le Grange in "Faith", which allows for Dean to be healed
• display loving kindness and forgiveness -- Sam is the first to decide that Lenore and her "family" can't be all bad in "Bloodlust", he frequently argues with Dean regarding whether or not to kill people (or used to), he forgives Dean quickly and easily for killing the body of an innocent man in "Devil's Trap", etc.
• fight for justice -- "Saving people, hunting things, the family business!"
• die and rise again -- Hellooooooo "All Hell Breaks Loose parts 1 & 2"

Well, that's all pretty straight forward, then. Sam's definitely a Christ figure. And in case all that's not clear enough for you, wiki goes on to say:

It is common to see Christ figures displayed in a manner suggestive of crucifixion as well

and, well. Just look at my icon. Not to mention the way he gets tied to the ground towards the end of "Dream a Little Dream of Me". Like I said, it's kind of like being bludgeoned with a crucifix.

But! Now that you're all really rolling your eyes and going "omg, we know, now you're doing the bludgeoning, why am I still reading this?" (are you still reading? I hope so, otherwise I'm just babbling at myself, which is almost as pathetic as babbling all this at my cat . . . which I sadly already did). Let's look at that list again, shall we? Only, this time, let's take a look at Dean:

• performance of miracles -- he built an EMF meter out of a walkman, does that count? . . . Okay, not so much
• manifestation of divine qualities -- he's heavenly hot! . . . Okay, again, not really getting anything here
• healing others -- no more than Sam does under his own power
• display loving kindness and forgiveness -- dude, Dean's practically a saint for having put up with John for most of his life. . . . Okay, so he's less obviously fitting this bill than early Sam, but he's becoming more and more the kindness guy now that Sam's trying to be all hardcore
• fight for justice -- I think Dean might fit this one even more than Sam does. Because while Sam was clearly from the start in the family business for matters of vengeance and getting answers, Dean's always been in it at least somewhat just to kill the evil shit and save good people. Sam is the vengeful force, Dean is the hand of justice, or something like that
• die and rise again -- if we count "Mystery Spot"? Dean totally has Sam beat.

Which brings me neatly to my next point, and one of the other things wiki helpfully points out for us:

Christ figures are often martyrs, sacrificing themselves for causes larger than themselves. In postmodern literature, the resurrection theme is often abandoned, leaving us with the image of a martyr sacrificing himself for a greater good.

Once again, hellooooo "All Hell Breaks Loose parts 1 & 2". Dean sold his soul, thereby sacrificing himself, to resurrect Sam, who is if nothing else, Dean's "greater good". He pretty clearly considers Sam to be more important -- in the fight against evil as well as just as a person in general -- than Dean himself is. Sam is pretty much Dean's religion, and Dean willingly sentenced himself to an eternity in hell in order to make sure Sam could keep going. Definitely martyr qualities, there.

Now, that's not to say that Sam hasn't had his martyr moments. He declares outright in "Bloody Mary" that he's willing to die for Dean, and he certainly shows himself willing in "Playthings" that he's willing to die to save the world -- his "greater good" -- though he's trying to put Dean into the position of Pontius Pilate, there, as the fall guy who has to carry out the execution.

Nice, Sam. Really.

That being said, Sam's actual death isn't a sacrifice. It's a surprise and an accident. He let's Jake go (a delightful bit of evidence of him "display[ing] loving kindness and forgiveness", and but I don't think it ever entered his mind that Jake wouldn't stay down, or that he'd come after him with a knife after he showed him mercy. Part of the whole Christ thing is that he let's Pilate and the Pharisees crucify him. He makes no move to escape but just accepts his fate. Sam didn't do that, as much as he begged Dean to do it, for him. Dean's eventual, potential death to fulfill the deal is far more sacrificial than Sam being stabbed with the knife.

Plus, well. Dean sacrifices all the time. He's built his entire life and personality around it. He sacrificed his childhood for Sam and John, sacrifices his personal safety and comfort on a daily basis for people he's never even met, and until season 2, he doesn't complain. Sam's the one who's not willing to put his personal desires, vendettas, and quests aside for the "greater good"; he runs away to Stanford, rejoins the hunt in order to find his father and kill his girlfriend's killer, leaves Dean mid-hunt in "Scarecrow" to try and track John down. Now, I'm not trying to say that Sam never sacrifices anything, that'd be foolish. He's sacrificing his entire moral code this season in order to try and become what he thinks he needs to in order to keep fighting the good fight. But sacrifice isn't built into her personality the way it is into Dean's.

Of course, as I said above, Dean's perfectly happy about his sacrificing until season 2, when John throws a monkey wrench into the gears by doing the sacrificing in order to save Dean. Dean's world is turned upside down. Dammit, he's the martyr in this story, not his father! Turn on the angst machines! The season, for Dean's character growth, becomes a long, drawn out 40 days in the desert as he is tempted by any number of forces to turn from the path of "give self to save Sam" that he's always followed. Everything from all the signs pointing at Sam's head reading "dude, potential anti-christ, kill him already", which Dean steadfastly ignores, to the djinn in "What Is and What Never Should Be", all trying to steer him off the course of "saving people, hunting things, the family business" and "save Sam or die trying". And Dean just keeps on trucking along, sacrificing himself all along the way.

Only, you know, now he angsts about it. *pats poor wibbly Dean* And it all comes to a head with the deal, yadda yadda.

And then, oh, then. In "Dream a Little Dream", we have the icing on the freaking cake. Dean vs. Dean, the Winchester Gesthemane (there's no wiki article on Gesthemane, and I wasn't able to find a satisfactory link to replace it). And really, "My father was an obsessed bastard" might as well be "Father why have you forsaken me?"

So, when you get right down to it, which one is really the Christ figure of this tale? Let's recap:

• Sam:
  • performs miracles via visions, telekinesis, etc.
  • enables the healing of Dean to keep him from death
  • shows kindness and mercy (until recently)
  • fights to save people (vengefully)
  • dead and risen again, and not due to a time loophole
  • gets beaten up in "crucifixion" positions a lot
  • is referred to as the anti-christ (what? That totally counts)
• Dean:
  • shows kindness and mercy (especially recently, in comparison to Sam)
  • fights to save people (justice-oriented)
  • dead and risen multiple times (through a time loophole)
  • sacrifices himself for his perceived greater good
  • gets stuck up against a wall with his arms out almost as much as Sam, but not quite in such an obvious manner

So. How can we conclude, then? Both have points in their favor and points against them. Or perhaps I'm looking at this the wrong way. After all, Sam and Dean are, by their very nature, complimentary characters. Where one falls down, the other picks up, and vice versa.

So perhaps the Christ figure we're looking for here isn't Sam or Dean, but Sam and Dean. By themselves, powerless. Together? Divine.

. . . not dirty.

And, okay, I just spent almost an hour on that. Which is more time than I spent on several of my essays in college. But, hey. Just wait until I get my thoughts organized for that "unreliable narrators and Supernatural episode 3x11" spiel I've had in mind. . . .