Red Demons and Yellow Psychics: Color Associations and Their Role in SPN's Visual Language Part II
Continued from this post because I apparently have issues with verboseness.
KICK ‘EM TO THE CURB: OUTLIERS AND MY ATTEMPT AT BUTT COVERING
Before I continue, I have to say I’m not suggesting that the appearance of a single yellow or red prop definitely proves Sam’s going to have a vision or a demon is incognito, but the repeated and consistent use of red/yellow or yellow in an episode and/or associated with a character seems to follow a “demon beware” or Sam-related pattern. But like with all things there are deviations where red and yellow do appear conspicuously even though the demons and Sam’s abilities are lying low. One example of this is the elusive red/yellow/blue color combination that characterizes “DitW” (1x03), “ELaC” (2x02), “Hell House” (1x17) “Something Wicked” (1x18), and “HotH” (2x13) and is also present in “Home” and “Simon Says”. This color combination is confusing to me and is probably a meta of its own if anyone figures it out what it means (if it means anything).
sadelyrate and I have been knocking our heads together and we have bruises. ;) Because I’m a nerd and apparently have too much time on my hands, I made a table of episodes with curious color combinations that also demonstrates the extent of my OCD.
EPISODE COLOR TABLE OF EXTREME DORKINESS
Demons Present
Psychic Ability Displayed By
Dominant Color(s)
1x01 the pilot
X
red/yellow
1x03 DitW
Lucas
red/yellow/blue
1x04 PT
X
red/yellow
1x09 Home
Sam/Missouri
red/yellow/blue
1x11 Scarecrow
X
none
1x14 Nightmare
Sam
yellow
1x16 Shadow
X
red/yellow
1x17 Hell House
red/yellow/blue
1x18 SW
red/yellow/blue
1x21 Salvation
X
Sam
red/yellow
1x22 Devil’s Trap
X
red/yellow
2x01 IMToD
X
none
2x02 EVaC
red/yellow/blue
2x05 Simon Said
Sam/Andy/Ansem
red/yellow/blue
2x08 Crossroad Blues
X
red/yellow
2x09 Croatoan
X
Sam
red/yellow
2x10 Hunted
Ava
blue
2x13 HotH
red/yellow/blue
2x14 BUaBS
X
red/yellow
2x21 AHBL-1
X
Andy/Ava/Jake
red/yellow
2x21 AHBL-2
X
Ava/Jake
red/yellow
3x01 TM7
X
red/yellow
Now onto the fun part…
BUT WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN? SPECULATIONS ABOUT DEMON MAKING AND THE BOY KING’S FUTURE
This is the part where I jump off the springboard and land face first into the pool of murky, slightly scary, squee-inducing S3 speculations. Fetch your goggles and swimming caps because it’s going to be messy. ;P
You’ve probably noticed that the amount of yellow associated with Sam has increased through S1 and S2. It seems Kripke is working in progressive steps (with yellow in particular as well as the rose motif), moving the visual aspects of the show forward with considerable effort along with the narrative. I’ve wondered if this evolution is just a passive product of the evolving mytharc or if it serves a greater purpose.
Could these visual clues be a method of foreshadowing?
Note that yellow is half of the yellow/red demon color combination and all characters directly associated with yellow (Meg!demon, the YED, Jake, Greed!demon), except for Sam, were demons or went bad. *big eyes*
Perhaps, like Kripke increasing the amount of yellow related to Sam as his psychic powers grow and the PsyKid plot is revealed bit by bit, the creation of a demon is done in progressive steps. Some ingested demon blood here, a flash of yellow irises there, sprinkle in some angry, irrational behavior and unexplainable feelings of rage and hate, agitate and alienate, threaten the person of choice by harming and killing the ones they love, back them into a corner and push them into making a choice, and, voila, permanent yellow eyes. A new YED is made. And what if throughout this process the visual story parallels this transformation as it did with Meg!demon and the YED? The character is surrounded by yellow props and set pieces and occasionally dressed in pale yellow, then gradually everything is changed to yellows and thinly veiled reds (pinks and maroons), and then to yellow with some red or red with some yellow, and finally to bright (sulfur) yellow and blood red. Add some conspicuous red backlighting, pile red and yellow props around them, back them with flame or make them wear blinding yellow contacts, and you get a Kripke character of malicious intent.
Caps 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, and 40.
Oh, Sam! *clings*
Which brings me to what I think is one of the big burning questions for S3: How are demons “made”? Were they once human or something from the realm of the supernatural such as fallen angels? Could demon-blood-fed Psykids be demon precursors? If so, are they turned by an external force, is it simply destiny, or do they choose their path? Are “deals” involved?
Because in order to stop the 200+ demons roaming around, it helps to know as much about them as possible, including their origins (enter Bobby’s books of awesomeness). Everyone knows if you can stop something from being created, you have a better chance at eradicating that something once and for all, especially if you have a knife of inordinate power, a pair of four-inch high-heel boots, and can selectively move in slow motion XD!
Recall that Jake’s eyes flashed yellow in “AHBL-2” after agreeing to the YED’s plan. And even though there were no yellow eyes involved, Ansem and Ava referred to giving into their powers or opening themselves up. This all seems to suggest that there’s some element of choice involved in going darkside. Don’t forget that modern storytelling relies on the fact that a story’s ending must be logical, feel inevitable, and be born out of the protagonist’s choices (I’m sure there are exceptions to this, but I’m a scientist, not an English major). Also notice that in “AHBL-2” Jake’s eyes momentarily flashed yellow instead of remaining permanently yellow like the YED’s. Perhaps YEDs are created in a step-wise manner and the degree to which their eyes remain yellow reflects their stage of development.
Oh, Sam! *clings*
So this plants the idea that Sam might have some important choices to make in S3 (darkside or not?), choices that will affect his future and probably Dean’s. Perhaps a soul swapping deal to save Dean? Using past PsyKid stories as a predictor, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Sam might be a tiny bit “evil” this season. And if so, I think we’ll see him paired with yellow and red. But time will only tell as the nature of his “half humanness” and the consequences of the demon blood flowing through his veins become known.
THE FINAL WORD ON PART I and II (FINALLY)
Kripke uses red and yellow to denote danger, impending “evil”, and visually represent demons. Yellow is linked to Sam and his psychic abilities. In most cases, these colors seem to compliment the narrative, as a character’s story develops or their motivation is revealed the use of these colors changes. By noticing when and how this occurs, color can be used as a predictor for unrevealed character motivation and story direction.
Considering that S2’s plot points pivoted around demons and developing psychic abilities and in acknowledgement of Kripke and his continuity genius, I’d like to point out that S2’s title card was red and yellow flame. Awesome! Judging by S3’s devil’s trap and demon smoke title card, we’ll be seeing more red and yellow this season and hopefully be getting more than just glimpses at the back story connecting the demon and the psychic story threads hidden behind Kripke’s Master Plan Curtain. Go Kripke, you crazy kid genius. Go S3. Go show!
Cap 41.
If this floated your boat at all, more metas like this by other thinky brains can be found at
spnematography.
OMG. This was long. *dies*
KICK ‘EM TO THE CURB: OUTLIERS AND MY ATTEMPT AT BUTT COVERING
Before I continue, I have to say I’m not suggesting that the appearance of a single yellow or red prop definitely proves Sam’s going to have a vision or a demon is incognito, but the repeated and consistent use of red/yellow or yellow in an episode and/or associated with a character seems to follow a “demon beware” or Sam-related pattern. But like with all things there are deviations where red and yellow do appear conspicuously even though the demons and Sam’s abilities are lying low. One example of this is the elusive red/yellow/blue color combination that characterizes “DitW” (1x03), “ELaC” (2x02), “Hell House” (1x17) “Something Wicked” (1x18), and “HotH” (2x13) and is also present in “Home” and “Simon Says”. This color combination is confusing to me and is probably a meta of its own if anyone figures it out what it means (if it means anything).
sadelyrate and I have been knocking our heads together and we have bruises. ;) Because I’m a nerd and apparently have too much time on my hands, I made a table of episodes with curious color combinations that also demonstrates the extent of my OCD.
EPISODE COLOR TABLE OF EXTREME DORKINESS
Demons Present
Psychic Ability Displayed By
Dominant Color(s)
1x01 the pilot
X
red/yellow
1x03 DitW
Lucas
red/yellow/blue
1x04 PT
X
red/yellow
1x09 Home
Sam/Missouri
red/yellow/blue
1x11 Scarecrow
X
none
1x14 Nightmare
Sam
yellow
1x16 Shadow
X
red/yellow
1x17 Hell House
red/yellow/blue
1x18 SW
red/yellow/blue
1x21 Salvation
X
Sam
red/yellow
1x22 Devil’s Trap
X
red/yellow
2x01 IMToD
X
none
2x02 EVaC
red/yellow/blue
2x05 Simon Said
Sam/Andy/Ansem
red/yellow/blue
2x08 Crossroad Blues
X
red/yellow
2x09 Croatoan
X
Sam
red/yellow
2x10 Hunted
Ava
blue
2x13 HotH
red/yellow/blue
2x14 BUaBS
X
red/yellow
2x21 AHBL-1
X
Andy/Ava/Jake
red/yellow
2x21 AHBL-2
X
Ava/Jake
red/yellow
3x01 TM7
X
red/yellow
Now onto the fun part…
BUT WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN? SPECULATIONS ABOUT DEMON MAKING AND THE BOY KING’S FUTURE
This is the part where I jump off the springboard and land face first into the pool of murky, slightly scary, squee-inducing S3 speculations. Fetch your goggles and swimming caps because it’s going to be messy. ;P
You’ve probably noticed that the amount of yellow associated with Sam has increased through S1 and S2. It seems Kripke is working in progressive steps (with yellow in particular as well as the rose motif), moving the visual aspects of the show forward with considerable effort along with the narrative. I’ve wondered if this evolution is just a passive product of the evolving mytharc or if it serves a greater purpose.
Could these visual clues be a method of foreshadowing?
Note that yellow is half of the yellow/red demon color combination and all characters directly associated with yellow (Meg!demon, the YED, Jake, Greed!demon), except for Sam, were demons or went bad. *big eyes*
Perhaps, like Kripke increasing the amount of yellow related to Sam as his psychic powers grow and the PsyKid plot is revealed bit by bit, the creation of a demon is done in progressive steps. Some ingested demon blood here, a flash of yellow irises there, sprinkle in some angry, irrational behavior and unexplainable feelings of rage and hate, agitate and alienate, threaten the person of choice by harming and killing the ones they love, back them into a corner and push them into making a choice, and, voila, permanent yellow eyes. A new YED is made. And what if throughout this process the visual story parallels this transformation as it did with Meg!demon and the YED? The character is surrounded by yellow props and set pieces and occasionally dressed in pale yellow, then gradually everything is changed to yellows and thinly veiled reds (pinks and maroons), and then to yellow with some red or red with some yellow, and finally to bright (sulfur) yellow and blood red. Add some conspicuous red backlighting, pile red and yellow props around them, back them with flame or make them wear blinding yellow contacts, and you get a Kripke character of malicious intent.
Caps 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, and 40.
Oh, Sam! *clings*
Which brings me to what I think is one of the big burning questions for S3: How are demons “made”? Were they once human or something from the realm of the supernatural such as fallen angels? Could demon-blood-fed Psykids be demon precursors? If so, are they turned by an external force, is it simply destiny, or do they choose their path? Are “deals” involved?
Because in order to stop the 200+ demons roaming around, it helps to know as much about them as possible, including their origins (enter Bobby’s books of awesomeness). Everyone knows if you can stop something from being created, you have a better chance at eradicating that something once and for all, especially if you have a knife of inordinate power, a pair of four-inch high-heel boots, and can selectively move in slow motion XD!
Recall that Jake’s eyes flashed yellow in “AHBL-2” after agreeing to the YED’s plan. And even though there were no yellow eyes involved, Ansem and Ava referred to giving into their powers or opening themselves up. This all seems to suggest that there’s some element of choice involved in going darkside. Don’t forget that modern storytelling relies on the fact that a story’s ending must be logical, feel inevitable, and be born out of the protagonist’s choices (I’m sure there are exceptions to this, but I’m a scientist, not an English major). Also notice that in “AHBL-2” Jake’s eyes momentarily flashed yellow instead of remaining permanently yellow like the YED’s. Perhaps YEDs are created in a step-wise manner and the degree to which their eyes remain yellow reflects their stage of development.
Oh, Sam! *clings*
So this plants the idea that Sam might have some important choices to make in S3 (darkside or not?), choices that will affect his future and probably Dean’s. Perhaps a soul swapping deal to save Dean? Using past PsyKid stories as a predictor, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Sam might be a tiny bit “evil” this season. And if so, I think we’ll see him paired with yellow and red. But time will only tell as the nature of his “half humanness” and the consequences of the demon blood flowing through his veins become known.
THE FINAL WORD ON PART I and II (FINALLY)
Kripke uses red and yellow to denote danger, impending “evil”, and visually represent demons. Yellow is linked to Sam and his psychic abilities. In most cases, these colors seem to compliment the narrative, as a character’s story develops or their motivation is revealed the use of these colors changes. By noticing when and how this occurs, color can be used as a predictor for unrevealed character motivation and story direction.
Considering that S2’s plot points pivoted around demons and developing psychic abilities and in acknowledgement of Kripke and his continuity genius, I’d like to point out that S2’s title card was red and yellow flame. Awesome! Judging by S3’s devil’s trap and demon smoke title card, we’ll be seeing more red and yellow this season and hopefully be getting more than just glimpses at the back story connecting the demon and the psychic story threads hidden behind Kripke’s Master Plan Curtain. Go Kripke, you crazy kid genius. Go S3. Go show!
Cap 41.
If this floated your boat at all, more metas like this by other thinky brains can be found at
spnematography.
OMG. This was long. *dies*