SPN 11.09 O Brother, Where Art Thou?
SPN 11.09 O Brother, Where Art Thou?
It's hard to fight an enemy who has outposts in your head.
-- Sally Kempton
Destiny. Faith. Hope. It's been a theme in the past, and its claws come outstretched to shred the calm of the present. Things thought to be over and done with coming back with vengeance.
Once upon a time Sam was the Boy with the Demon Blood. The man who looked for some kind of sign or evidence that he wasn't cursed, doomed to be a puppet of the biggest monster of all out there: Lucifer. The master of the lie. The fallen angel who carries one helluva grudge against the individuals responsible for his current confinement. He had a masterplan to remake the world in his own vision - and he failed. Thanks to the Winchesters. But now there's a new chance to restart the game, cracks for him to exploit once again. Sam is his in, because he has vulnerabilities to exploit. Starting with faith and hope.
Going back years, when things were less about having to save the world, and more about saving people, hunting things, Sam revealed the faith that makes up part of his mindset.
Dean: I mean, what's next, are you going to start praying every day?
Sam: I do.
Dean: What?
Sam: I do pray every day. I have for a long time.
Dean: So. What makes you think you saw a, uh, angel?
Sam: It just, it appeared before me and I just, this feeling washed over me, you know? Like, like peace. Like grace. (2.13)
A long time ago Sam had been a man of prayer and faith. He lost a lot of that thanks to the manipulations he was put through by various demons, Lucifer, and the various losses he has suffered, but that faith never completely went away. That ability to want to believe, to have faith that there was some kind of greater power out there that could respond to a plea for help. With the release of the Darkness, we once again saw him dusting off his faith, reaching out for some help, some sign of hope or direction for what to do next.
Sam: Hell I don't even know you're out there, but if you are, and if you can hear me, I-we need your help God. We need to know there's hope, we need a sign. (11.02)
He thought he got a response. A couple different visions all seeming to lead him to one thing: back to the horror of facing Lucifer in the Cage.
Sam: Listen, in the vision, Lucifer touches me and I feel calm, like things will be all right.
So he buckled up his courage and faced his greatest nightmare, meeting up with Lucifer to see if there were any answers to be found there. He thought he was careful about his approach, taking all possible precautions. He even flat-out refused to do things Lucifer's proposed way.
Lucifer: So, have you thought about it, Sam? Do I have an invitation to look forward to?
Sam: No. I won’t do it. There has to be another way.
Sam thought he had one Ace in the Hole - God's protection or backing on this enterprise to gain some help or useful information from Lucifer. Only to find out how cleverly Lucifer had played him.
Lucifer: You see Sam, when the Darkness descended the impact on Hell was massive. The Cage was damaged and through the fissures I was able to reach out. It wasn’t God inside your head Sam. It was me. So you see, he’s not with you. He’s never been with you. It was always just me. So I guess I am your only hope.
Sam: It’s never going to happen.
There are one or two small glimmers of consideration still in play, details Lucifer would happily drown out of Sam's mind if possible. Sam needs to give Lucifer his permission. That Yes, that invitation to possess him. The connection does have limits, and possibly can be turned around on Lucifer if Sam can figure out a way to keep himself intact and not give in to hopelessness.
Oh brother, where are thou, indeed?
Wait, which brother are we talking about again? The absent Dean? The unseen Michael -- last seen also falling down into the Cage with Lucifer?
There's been talk of the absent God and caged Lucifer, there's been angels of the grunt-level status worrying about the failing leadership in Heaven and talking about what needs to be done... and no real leader to step in and fill the void. Hmm. I don't want to speculate too far down this path, because frankly I'm not sure the focus is going to allow for yet another high-level player entering the storyline, at least not this season, although I don't completely rule it out.
What about angelic help coming from a little closer to home? Where is Castiel in all this mess? He's got his hands on the demon tablet, and I imagine there might be some interesting source material on Hell and maybe even the Cage.
Of course, to complicate things, Sam is not the only one with a gigantic target on his back by a creature itching to re-write Destiny under her own terms.
Sam: You know Lucifer was the biggest monster ever hatched, until you and I hatched one that’s even worse.
Though not going back as far as Sam's faith and Destiny outposts in his own mind, Dean opened the door a little while back to the Darkness getting her hooks into his mind beginning when he took on the Mark of Cain back in First Born.
Dean: First time I touched that Blade... I knew. I knew that I wouldn't be stopped. I knew I would take down Abaddon and anything else if I had to. And it wasn't a hero thing. You know, it wasn't... It was just calm. I knew. (9.21)
That feeling of calm or peace, that sense of certainty. It was a moment of faith, of sorts, for Dean. Not faith in a higher power per se, but in a certain desired outcome. Belief in his ability to create that outcome... with strings attached.
Dean: The Mark. It's making me into something I don't want to be.
Crowley: Listen to me, Dean Winchester. What you're feeling right now is not death, it's life. A new kind of life. Open your eyes Dean, see what I see, feel what I feel. Let's go take a howl at that moon. (9.23)
I find the parallel of feelings to be interesting. The peace, the sense of calm. If Sam said yes to Lucifer, he would be giving up his identity to him. Dean's brief sojourn as a demon, fully under the influence of the Mark and First Blade... being asked to see and feel what a soul turned to pure black feels like.
He took that walk, had his humanity restored, and still the question of feelings continue to be a detail in play. The Mark didn't relinquish its grasp on him, continuing to twist at his mind and trying to turn him into something he didn't want to be.
Amara continues her campaign, trying to find Dean's buttons to gain his full cooperation, get his approval and consent for her plans.
Just as Sam's conversation with Lucifer ultimately revealed Lucifer's agenda - not an ally but still and forever the enemy, so too Dean's conversation with Amara shed some more light on her agenda.
Amara: You misunderstand my purpose on earth.
Dean: What do I misunderstand the people that you butchered in the park or that church?
Amara: I had to get his attention.
Dean: His?
Amara: God. I tried praying, calling out in need. He ignored me. He forced my hand. I had no other reason to harm his chosen. My issue is with my brother, not his creation.
Dean: ... Whatever. That mess is your mess. It’s between you two. You’re taking people’s lives. You’re taking their souls.
Amara: I consumed their souls. They aren’t gone. They’re a part of me and, in that way, they live forever.
Amara: What if there were no rules? No pain. No prayer. Just bliss. That feeling that you have when you’re with me. For everyone. Forever.
Revenge against God on the one hand, but no overt malice toward the people on earth. Just... useful pawns and food for her to consume. She promises a feeling of bliss... with strings attached. I'm seeing a pattern here. I'll make you feel good, all you have to do is give up everything. Or in her own words:
Dean: What is it exactly that you want? When you make the world of bliss and peace, what’s in it for you?
Amara: What I deserve.
Dean: Which is?
Amara: Everything.
Dean: Everything?
Amara: I was the beginning and I will be the end. I will be all that there is.
One doesn't need to be maliciously evil to pose a danger to the world. All it takes is a different viewpoint and the power to enforce it.
Dean: What was that?
Amara: The future. The inevitable result of our first meeting. What you’ve been feeling since that moment. What we both felt. That we’re bonded. You’re the one who set me free.
Dean: No. That was an accident.
Amara: It was destiny. You bore the Mark. I am the original Mark. You and I will be together.
Dean: No. No, that’s not going to happen.
Amara: It’s so simple Dean. We will become one. Why wouldn’t you want that?
Bonds that go both ways. Amara first looked as though she was simply going to consume Dean's soul, then switched to locking lips with him instead. Dropped the "D" word on him. Bonded through the Mark.
Unlike Lucifer's manipulations, Amara is direct with Dean, although she does hold back a little. She believes what she is saying, and that their bond goes both ways. She first opens the conversation with him by relocating them to a scenic, peaceful place removed from people, bustle or distractions. She shows off to Dean by killing those three angels each with a different method of disposal. She relocated Dean back to a place of safety when it appeared that she was finally getting some kind of response from God. Above and outside the sexual component, she truly feels something for Dean, and finds herself unable to harm him.
For the moment.
But back to the "D" word - oh brother. Heh - maybe I should say: wrong brother to use that word with. Dean might feel all kinds of conflicted and even protective feelings for her, he might be made to feel whatever peace or calm she can make him feel by the power of her mere presence or touch, but his beliefs about Destiny are well established.
Their conversation was interrupted before Dean could finish this conversation and answer her question: why wouldn't you want [what she is offering]?
He didn't get to give her a repeat of his words from several years ago on a very similar topic.
Castiel: What is so worth saving? I see nothing but pain here. I see inside you. I see your guilt, your anger, confusion. In paradise, all is forgiven. You'll be at peace. Even with Sam.
Dean: You can take your peace... and shove it up your lily-white ass. 'Cause I'll take the pain and the guilt. I'll even take Sam as is. It's a lot better than being some Stepford bitch in paradise. (4.22)
I hope I get to revisit this quote again. Or at least have Dean and Amara revisit this conversation again, to a proper close.
In the meantime, we did see that those outposts in the mind go both ways for Dean and Amara.
Crowley: She chose you. And you couldn’t control your girlfriend. What happened in that room? Why did she insist on sparing you? What is she to you?
Amara: I like it here, with you. I haven't felt this peaceful in a long, long time. (11.01)
While I find it slightly disconcerting -- and morbidly amusing -- that Dean's got himself a connection that hits both skeevy and scary notes, the imbalance of pure power gives a considerable edge to Amara at the moment.
Lucifer: Now that sis is here, God’s not the only circus in town.
Sam: Is she equal to him in power?
Lucifer: Raw power? Sure. But she’s got none of the experience.
Amara was tricked into being locked up the first time around. Now she's directly calling out challenges to God, eager for a showdown. And she has a vulnerability of her own - protective feelings for one human who happens to oppose her agenda.
Maybe that's the silver lining of hope.
Of course, first we have to wait to find out the results of her open challenge to God, and whether Lucifer has his claws into Sam as deeply as he thinks, or if there's a missing brother that's going to provide some kind of help getting out of the trap Lucifer set for Sam.
As deeply as the enemy has outposts in their minds, the bond of family has always proven stronger in the end.
Okay, January, I'm ready for the next episode. Like.... really. Now would be fine, no need for a hellatus.
It's hard to fight an enemy who has outposts in your head.
-- Sally Kempton
Destiny. Faith. Hope. It's been a theme in the past, and its claws come outstretched to shred the calm of the present. Things thought to be over and done with coming back with vengeance.
Once upon a time Sam was the Boy with the Demon Blood. The man who looked for some kind of sign or evidence that he wasn't cursed, doomed to be a puppet of the biggest monster of all out there: Lucifer. The master of the lie. The fallen angel who carries one helluva grudge against the individuals responsible for his current confinement. He had a masterplan to remake the world in his own vision - and he failed. Thanks to the Winchesters. But now there's a new chance to restart the game, cracks for him to exploit once again. Sam is his in, because he has vulnerabilities to exploit. Starting with faith and hope.
Going back years, when things were less about having to save the world, and more about saving people, hunting things, Sam revealed the faith that makes up part of his mindset.
Dean: I mean, what's next, are you going to start praying every day?
Sam: I do.
Dean: What?
Sam: I do pray every day. I have for a long time.
Dean: So. What makes you think you saw a, uh, angel?
Sam: It just, it appeared before me and I just, this feeling washed over me, you know? Like, like peace. Like grace. (2.13)
A long time ago Sam had been a man of prayer and faith. He lost a lot of that thanks to the manipulations he was put through by various demons, Lucifer, and the various losses he has suffered, but that faith never completely went away. That ability to want to believe, to have faith that there was some kind of greater power out there that could respond to a plea for help. With the release of the Darkness, we once again saw him dusting off his faith, reaching out for some help, some sign of hope or direction for what to do next.
Sam: Hell I don't even know you're out there, but if you are, and if you can hear me, I-we need your help God. We need to know there's hope, we need a sign. (11.02)
He thought he got a response. A couple different visions all seeming to lead him to one thing: back to the horror of facing Lucifer in the Cage.
Sam: Listen, in the vision, Lucifer touches me and I feel calm, like things will be all right.
So he buckled up his courage and faced his greatest nightmare, meeting up with Lucifer to see if there were any answers to be found there. He thought he was careful about his approach, taking all possible precautions. He even flat-out refused to do things Lucifer's proposed way.
Lucifer: So, have you thought about it, Sam? Do I have an invitation to look forward to?
Sam: No. I won’t do it. There has to be another way.
Sam thought he had one Ace in the Hole - God's protection or backing on this enterprise to gain some help or useful information from Lucifer. Only to find out how cleverly Lucifer had played him.
Lucifer: You see Sam, when the Darkness descended the impact on Hell was massive. The Cage was damaged and through the fissures I was able to reach out. It wasn’t God inside your head Sam. It was me. So you see, he’s not with you. He’s never been with you. It was always just me. So I guess I am your only hope.
Sam: It’s never going to happen.
There are one or two small glimmers of consideration still in play, details Lucifer would happily drown out of Sam's mind if possible. Sam needs to give Lucifer his permission. That Yes, that invitation to possess him. The connection does have limits, and possibly can be turned around on Lucifer if Sam can figure out a way to keep himself intact and not give in to hopelessness.
Oh brother, where are thou, indeed?
Wait, which brother are we talking about again? The absent Dean? The unseen Michael -- last seen also falling down into the Cage with Lucifer?
There's been talk of the absent God and caged Lucifer, there's been angels of the grunt-level status worrying about the failing leadership in Heaven and talking about what needs to be done... and no real leader to step in and fill the void. Hmm. I don't want to speculate too far down this path, because frankly I'm not sure the focus is going to allow for yet another high-level player entering the storyline, at least not this season, although I don't completely rule it out.
What about angelic help coming from a little closer to home? Where is Castiel in all this mess? He's got his hands on the demon tablet, and I imagine there might be some interesting source material on Hell and maybe even the Cage.
Of course, to complicate things, Sam is not the only one with a gigantic target on his back by a creature itching to re-write Destiny under her own terms.
Sam: You know Lucifer was the biggest monster ever hatched, until you and I hatched one that’s even worse.
Though not going back as far as Sam's faith and Destiny outposts in his own mind, Dean opened the door a little while back to the Darkness getting her hooks into his mind beginning when he took on the Mark of Cain back in First Born.
Dean: First time I touched that Blade... I knew. I knew that I wouldn't be stopped. I knew I would take down Abaddon and anything else if I had to. And it wasn't a hero thing. You know, it wasn't... It was just calm. I knew. (9.21)
That feeling of calm or peace, that sense of certainty. It was a moment of faith, of sorts, for Dean. Not faith in a higher power per se, but in a certain desired outcome. Belief in his ability to create that outcome... with strings attached.
Dean: The Mark. It's making me into something I don't want to be.
Crowley: Listen to me, Dean Winchester. What you're feeling right now is not death, it's life. A new kind of life. Open your eyes Dean, see what I see, feel what I feel. Let's go take a howl at that moon. (9.23)
I find the parallel of feelings to be interesting. The peace, the sense of calm. If Sam said yes to Lucifer, he would be giving up his identity to him. Dean's brief sojourn as a demon, fully under the influence of the Mark and First Blade... being asked to see and feel what a soul turned to pure black feels like.
He took that walk, had his humanity restored, and still the question of feelings continue to be a detail in play. The Mark didn't relinquish its grasp on him, continuing to twist at his mind and trying to turn him into something he didn't want to be.
Amara continues her campaign, trying to find Dean's buttons to gain his full cooperation, get his approval and consent for her plans.
Just as Sam's conversation with Lucifer ultimately revealed Lucifer's agenda - not an ally but still and forever the enemy, so too Dean's conversation with Amara shed some more light on her agenda.
Amara: You misunderstand my purpose on earth.
Dean: What do I misunderstand the people that you butchered in the park or that church?
Amara: I had to get his attention.
Dean: His?
Amara: God. I tried praying, calling out in need. He ignored me. He forced my hand. I had no other reason to harm his chosen. My issue is with my brother, not his creation.
Dean: ... Whatever. That mess is your mess. It’s between you two. You’re taking people’s lives. You’re taking their souls.
Amara: I consumed their souls. They aren’t gone. They’re a part of me and, in that way, they live forever.
Amara: What if there were no rules? No pain. No prayer. Just bliss. That feeling that you have when you’re with me. For everyone. Forever.
Revenge against God on the one hand, but no overt malice toward the people on earth. Just... useful pawns and food for her to consume. She promises a feeling of bliss... with strings attached. I'm seeing a pattern here. I'll make you feel good, all you have to do is give up everything. Or in her own words:
Dean: What is it exactly that you want? When you make the world of bliss and peace, what’s in it for you?
Amara: What I deserve.
Dean: Which is?
Amara: Everything.
Dean: Everything?
Amara: I was the beginning and I will be the end. I will be all that there is.
One doesn't need to be maliciously evil to pose a danger to the world. All it takes is a different viewpoint and the power to enforce it.
Dean: What was that?
Amara: The future. The inevitable result of our first meeting. What you’ve been feeling since that moment. What we both felt. That we’re bonded. You’re the one who set me free.
Dean: No. That was an accident.
Amara: It was destiny. You bore the Mark. I am the original Mark. You and I will be together.
Dean: No. No, that’s not going to happen.
Amara: It’s so simple Dean. We will become one. Why wouldn’t you want that?
Bonds that go both ways. Amara first looked as though she was simply going to consume Dean's soul, then switched to locking lips with him instead. Dropped the "D" word on him. Bonded through the Mark.
Unlike Lucifer's manipulations, Amara is direct with Dean, although she does hold back a little. She believes what she is saying, and that their bond goes both ways. She first opens the conversation with him by relocating them to a scenic, peaceful place removed from people, bustle or distractions. She shows off to Dean by killing those three angels each with a different method of disposal. She relocated Dean back to a place of safety when it appeared that she was finally getting some kind of response from God. Above and outside the sexual component, she truly feels something for Dean, and finds herself unable to harm him.
For the moment.
But back to the "D" word - oh brother. Heh - maybe I should say: wrong brother to use that word with. Dean might feel all kinds of conflicted and even protective feelings for her, he might be made to feel whatever peace or calm she can make him feel by the power of her mere presence or touch, but his beliefs about Destiny are well established.
Their conversation was interrupted before Dean could finish this conversation and answer her question: why wouldn't you want [what she is offering]?
He didn't get to give her a repeat of his words from several years ago on a very similar topic.
Castiel: What is so worth saving? I see nothing but pain here. I see inside you. I see your guilt, your anger, confusion. In paradise, all is forgiven. You'll be at peace. Even with Sam.
Dean: You can take your peace... and shove it up your lily-white ass. 'Cause I'll take the pain and the guilt. I'll even take Sam as is. It's a lot better than being some Stepford bitch in paradise. (4.22)
I hope I get to revisit this quote again. Or at least have Dean and Amara revisit this conversation again, to a proper close.
In the meantime, we did see that those outposts in the mind go both ways for Dean and Amara.
Crowley: She chose you. And you couldn’t control your girlfriend. What happened in that room? Why did she insist on sparing you? What is she to you?
Amara: I like it here, with you. I haven't felt this peaceful in a long, long time. (11.01)
While I find it slightly disconcerting -- and morbidly amusing -- that Dean's got himself a connection that hits both skeevy and scary notes, the imbalance of pure power gives a considerable edge to Amara at the moment.
Lucifer: Now that sis is here, God’s not the only circus in town.
Sam: Is she equal to him in power?
Lucifer: Raw power? Sure. But she’s got none of the experience.
Amara was tricked into being locked up the first time around. Now she's directly calling out challenges to God, eager for a showdown. And she has a vulnerability of her own - protective feelings for one human who happens to oppose her agenda.
Maybe that's the silver lining of hope.
Of course, first we have to wait to find out the results of her open challenge to God, and whether Lucifer has his claws into Sam as deeply as he thinks, or if there's a missing brother that's going to provide some kind of help getting out of the trap Lucifer set for Sam.
As deeply as the enemy has outposts in their minds, the bond of family has always proven stronger in the end.
Okay, January, I'm ready for the next episode. Like.... really. Now would be fine, no need for a hellatus.