Latest theories & speculations (post 7x17 edition)
So lets talk about Hallucifer and his apparent transfer to Castiel for a second, shall we?
As was discussed over here, etoile444 purplehrdwonder and yours truly all think that there's a distinct possibility Sam wasn't just hallucinating Lucifer, but that Lucifer was actually tormenting Sam from the Cage.
I want to try to gather all the supporting evidence together here, but if I've left anything out, tell me and I'll add it.
•First off - waaaaay back in 5x03 Castiel said, "There's, well, almost an open phone line between a vessel and his angel. One just has to know how to." This has to be doubly true in Sam's case. He's Lucifer's true vessel and he said "yes," and he spent enough time with Lucifer to last multiple life-times. I have no doubt Lucifer knows how to dial.
•in 7x15 we've got this scene:
Click to viewLucifer comments, "He said shut up to me!" after Sam leaves. Why? He shouldn't manifest for anyone but Sam if he's all in his head, right? Now I know you could attribute this to sloppy writing, but this ep was Edlund's and he generally does things with intent.
•Castiel specifically said he couldn't heal Sam, he couldn't rebuild the wall, but that he could "get Sam back on his feet." I took this to mean Sam's Hell memories are still in Sam's head - they aren't going anywhere. Which brings us to:
•Why would Castiel have the same hallucination as Sam? It makes no sense, unless it isn't a hallucination at all. There's no reason for Castiel to see Lucifer specifically.Think of everything Castiel did before he went into the lake? There would be far more twisted, horrible and relevant things for him to see than his brother. This is the most compelling evidence, I think (that and the fact that we've got confirmation Pellegrino will make another appearance this season).
• As purplehrdwonder pointed out here, it was Castiel who retrieved (some of) Sam from the Cage in the first place. This might have some relevance as well. Possibly contact with the Cage itself had some effect.
•Meg is interested in Castiel as an ally because he can be a powerful weapon sure, but remember she was also a Lucifer-loyalist. She could be sticking with Castiel to be closer to Lucifer. (She wouldn't have attempted to do this with Sam because he would have likely killed her).
additions!
• from purplehrdwonder : Lucifer said a lot of things that were just mean and, if it were an internal voice of Sam's manifested as Lucifer, would read as out of character to me--like calling the serial killer in "Repo Man" a "chubby chaser."
• from auntmo9 After Cas made the "shift" or transfer, Lucifer acknowledged Cas as his brother. If Cas had just transferred Sam's memories and/or hallucinations out of Sam and into his own mind, how can a hallucination know where it is or who it is talking to?
What else have I missed?