Sadism (a.k.a. “Upping the Stakes”): The Heart of Every Drama
I’ve had a primitive incarnation of this meta, which was supposed to be the twin of this meta, festering on my hard drive for years. Because we’re encroaching on the end of yet another season, I thought it would be fun to dust it off and finish it. The original premise (from early S3 … doh!) was about upping the stakes in fiction and how SPN does
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I also felt that I "still have a hard time with that episode" with Jesse the anti-christ as well.
On one hand, they had to kill the child because he was going to be used by Lucifer, and he is so powerful that he can take out all the angels with a single word, on the other hand, neither angels nor demons can track this child because he is so powerful that he can shield himself from them ...??? Does not compute. Illogical. Illogical.
I really got the feeling that the entire episode was a set up so that Dean could say this in the ending.
"I'm starting to get why parents lie to their kids. You want them to believe that the worst thing out there is mixing Pop Rocks and Coke-protect them from the real evil. You want them going to bed feeling safe. If that means lying to them, so be it. The more I think about it...the more I wish Dad had lied to us. "
Which was beautiful but didn't justify throwing in Jesse mish-mash into the plotline where he sat, unable to be digested into the main canon plotline. The thing is that they've made it too easy to make an anti-christ according to Castiel, mix half human, half-demon and presto. If the formula is that simple, first, why just stop at Jesse? Second, what'd you get if you mix half human with half angel? (Which has been hinted at re Novak and Winchester bloodlines) Again, absolutely fascinating possibilities a la x-men and mutants but one that is largely ignored by the show.
For example, the hint from Cupid re match-making of John and Mary implies that there has to be *something special* about the Campbell bloodline not just the Winchester line but the show never picked this up! This kind of sloppy plotting drives me nuts. And as for Jesse, again, in order to get an anti-christ of the kind of power level he's supposed to represent, I'd have imagined a more potent cocktail for his heritage, which could have been possible if his mother was also of the 'angelic' bloodline but since this was never referred to and the specific formula was half human and half demon, not really likely.
Imagine if the show had put a bit of time and thought into the bloodline premise - which was sufficiently hinted at to develop my theories - to establish that the consequences of the angelic bloodline is that it increases the efficiency of the 'power conduit' effect of the host body/soul, enabling the angels to manifest their powers to maximum effect. Think nitro boost. Winchesters are special because they descend from 2, not just one bloodline so they provide the 'purest' mix - hence Adam is a lower class vessel since he has a different mother and therefore is only descended from 1 bloodline. (this is my theory only since the Campbell side has not yet been verified)
The whole 'falling from grace' is a metaphor for the process by which the angel is shut out from one or more dimension of existence. The 'grace' of Anna for example is her 'key' to her angelic dimension and as long as it was 'removed' from her, she was stuck in her mortal shell. Whereas, Lucifer lost his 'grace' thereby being shut out of Earth (and hell) all together, until Sam killed Lilith, the spilling of the demon blood at the gateway served to *grease* a pathway for Lucifer to Earth via hell - and therefore he requires constant, enormous amounts of demon blood to keep this doorway open (as most demons aren't as puissant as Lilith - which would explain Crowley's reluctance to join Lucifer because if any demon's smart enough to have figured this out, or at least suspect it, he is).
Whew. I've been brewing that little theory for a while but this is the first comprehensive attempt. Thank you for your positive feedback re my first comment, you really inspired this. ^^
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