[Meta] We're all wrong about the Mark of Cain
Fandom got used to calling Dean moc!Dean lately and explaining his actions as "the effects of the mark". We were never told what the mark's effect actually is on Dean or anyone else for that matter, we're just assuming and dubbing it as a new version of Dean.
But what if we've got it all wrong? What if we haven't actually seen the effect of the mark yet?
Some thoughts on S9, Dean, Sam, Abaddon's role in the season, and - right, there's the Mark of Cain. References up to 9.22 Stairway to Heaven.
While reading raloria's reaction to 9.22 I thought of something that I almost took for granted until then. raloria was referring to Dean telling Cas he's got a cult running and considering Cas actually sent the suicidal angels on their mission:
"But he [Dean] does have a point…but no way would Cas advocate action like what this angel did. And the fact that Dean can't see that??? Gotta be the MoC effecting him." "
She's not the only one of course. We all assume Dean's actions are connected to the mark since he got it, and calling it moc!Dean.
Thing is, Dean started acting like this even before he had the mark.
He was lying to Sam from the beginning of this season; while you can argue his reasons (and I actually tend to understand his actions) and that it's certainly not the first time he lied to Sam in order to protect him, it's probably the longest and the worst lie with the worst consequences. He also kicks Cas out, starts working with Crowley and never stops to consider actually getting the mark.
Cain warns him -- "Yes. But you have to know with the mark comes a great burden. Some would call it a great cost."
But he doesn't care: "Yeah, well, spare me the warning label. You had me at "kill the bitch".
But Dean doesn't just do it to 'kill the bitch'. I wasn't disappointed when Dean killed Abaddon before the finale in an anti-climactic fight because Abaddon was never the point of this season. For the viewers she was just a plot tool to get Dean to where he is now; for Dean, she's an excuse.
Dean's reaction to Cain's warning and all his actions up until that point are very Dean but also very moc!Dean: reckless, on edge, angry, almost unstoppable scary BAMF with a nothing-to-lose attitude. It escalated since, but is it really the mark? Or just Dean?
To me it seems like his behavior is driven from guilt and loss of faith. He's feeling guilty for Kevin's death; for letting Gadreel possessing Sam and lying; for kicking Cas out and abandoning him; for almost losing Charlie. But guilt isn't new to Dean. What's new is the way he lost his faith in what they do, in doing more good than bad. This particular quote from the end of 9.10 Road Trip sums it up:
"Come on man, can’t you see, I’m poison. People get close to me they get killed, or worse. I tell myself I help more people than I hurt and I tell myself that I’m doing it all for the right reasons and I believe that. But I can’t -- I won’t drag anyone anybody into the muck with me - not anymore."
The way he says it and the way it's phrased on how he keeps telling himself stuff like he needs a constant reminder, like he needs to say it to convince himself he believes it sounds like the opposite.
When Sam uses it against him in 9.13 The Purge, that's when he's really starting to lose it:
"And that is the problem. You think you’re my savior, my brother, the hero. You swoop in and even when you mess up you think what you’re doing is worth it because you’ve convinced yourself you’re doing more good than bad... but you’re not. [..]"
Dean is quick to reply on auto pilot: "Are you kidding me? You and me, fighting the good fight together."
Still trying to convince himself, but maybe feeling Sam is right about everything and hearing it said out loud is what finally breaks him.
From that point on the farther Dean and Sam go, the more isolated Dean gets, the more "moc!Dean" we see.
Sure, the blade has its addictive effect, but is the mark actually effecting Dean while not using the blade, besides the need to have it and the urge to kill while holding it?
What if we haven't seen the mark's 'great burden' or 'cost' Cain was talking about yet?
This is only a theory of course, and I don't have an idea of what the true cost of the mark might be, but I like this idea because I'd hate to see a 'magic solution', meaning getting Dean back to normal by removing the mark. Dean's got plenty of issues to deal with, Sam got his death wish and they both seem to have lost the will to keep fighting or the faith in what they do.
While it would be easier to remove the mark and get the boys relationship back on track for next season, I would prefer to see them find their faith once again in fighting the good fight, in each other and in the family business; Saving people, hunting things.
But what if we've got it all wrong? What if we haven't actually seen the effect of the mark yet?
Some thoughts on S9, Dean, Sam, Abaddon's role in the season, and - right, there's the Mark of Cain. References up to 9.22 Stairway to Heaven.
While reading raloria's reaction to 9.22 I thought of something that I almost took for granted until then. raloria was referring to Dean telling Cas he's got a cult running and considering Cas actually sent the suicidal angels on their mission:
"But he [Dean] does have a point…but no way would Cas advocate action like what this angel did. And the fact that Dean can't see that??? Gotta be the MoC effecting him." "
She's not the only one of course. We all assume Dean's actions are connected to the mark since he got it, and calling it moc!Dean.
Thing is, Dean started acting like this even before he had the mark.
He was lying to Sam from the beginning of this season; while you can argue his reasons (and I actually tend to understand his actions) and that it's certainly not the first time he lied to Sam in order to protect him, it's probably the longest and the worst lie with the worst consequences. He also kicks Cas out, starts working with Crowley and never stops to consider actually getting the mark.
Cain warns him -- "Yes. But you have to know with the mark comes a great burden. Some would call it a great cost."
But he doesn't care: "Yeah, well, spare me the warning label. You had me at "kill the bitch".
But Dean doesn't just do it to 'kill the bitch'. I wasn't disappointed when Dean killed Abaddon before the finale in an anti-climactic fight because Abaddon was never the point of this season. For the viewers she was just a plot tool to get Dean to where he is now; for Dean, she's an excuse.
Dean's reaction to Cain's warning and all his actions up until that point are very Dean but also very moc!Dean: reckless, on edge, angry, almost unstoppable scary BAMF with a nothing-to-lose attitude. It escalated since, but is it really the mark? Or just Dean?
To me it seems like his behavior is driven from guilt and loss of faith. He's feeling guilty for Kevin's death; for letting Gadreel possessing Sam and lying; for kicking Cas out and abandoning him; for almost losing Charlie. But guilt isn't new to Dean. What's new is the way he lost his faith in what they do, in doing more good than bad. This particular quote from the end of 9.10 Road Trip sums it up:
"Come on man, can’t you see, I’m poison. People get close to me they get killed, or worse. I tell myself I help more people than I hurt and I tell myself that I’m doing it all for the right reasons and I believe that. But I can’t -- I won’t drag anyone anybody into the muck with me - not anymore."
The way he says it and the way it's phrased on how he keeps telling himself stuff like he needs a constant reminder, like he needs to say it to convince himself he believes it sounds like the opposite.
When Sam uses it against him in 9.13 The Purge, that's when he's really starting to lose it:
"And that is the problem. You think you’re my savior, my brother, the hero. You swoop in and even when you mess up you think what you’re doing is worth it because you’ve convinced yourself you’re doing more good than bad... but you’re not. [..]"
Dean is quick to reply on auto pilot: "Are you kidding me? You and me, fighting the good fight together."
Still trying to convince himself, but maybe feeling Sam is right about everything and hearing it said out loud is what finally breaks him.
From that point on the farther Dean and Sam go, the more isolated Dean gets, the more "moc!Dean" we see.
Sure, the blade has its addictive effect, but is the mark actually effecting Dean while not using the blade, besides the need to have it and the urge to kill while holding it?
What if we haven't seen the mark's 'great burden' or 'cost' Cain was talking about yet?
This is only a theory of course, and I don't have an idea of what the true cost of the mark might be, but I like this idea because I'd hate to see a 'magic solution', meaning getting Dean back to normal by removing the mark. Dean's got plenty of issues to deal with, Sam got his death wish and they both seem to have lost the will to keep fighting or the faith in what they do.
While it would be easier to remove the mark and get the boys relationship back on track for next season, I would prefer to see them find their faith once again in fighting the good fight, in each other and in the family business; Saving people, hunting things.