Warning!!!! If you haven’t seen the latest episode of “Supernatural” and the preview for next week, do not read this! There is going to be plot-based speculation and discussion! You’ve been officially warned!
Well, hell. That was kind of a doozy, wasn’t it? There was a lot of information flying around, and I’m not sure that I processed it all yet. I think I’m going to need a rewatch to really get everything in order. But that can happen later. Who needs their facts straight to speculate about stuff? Not me!
What We Learned in “Family Matters”
We kind of learned a lot, didn’t we? I wasn’t expecting so much to be resolved so quickly. I thought the issue of who had Sam’s soul was going to get stretched out more. Color me pleasantly surprised! But yeah, we learned, in no particular order:
1. Sam has no soul. Cass confirmed it via his soul reading thing.
2. Samuel does have a soul. Also Cass confirmed.
3. Crowley pulled both Sam and Samuel back to earth and is in possession of Sam’s soul. (And high five to everyone who was with me on that theory!)
4. Purgatory exists, monsters go there when they die, and Crowley is trying to worm his way in.
5. Christian Campbell is a demon. In my mind, I was referring to him as “Holy Soup,” but now I guess he’s “Unholy Soup.”
6. Samuel is working for Crowley has his reasons why.
7. The alpha vampire has a mother.
8. The vampires, and other monsters, are building armies for a war.
I’m sure that I missed a lot of things here, but it’s getting late, and I’m tired, so we’ll go with these things for now. This week, I’m just going to go down the list here and hit upon each of these points a little bit because all of these answers just brought up more questions!
1. Sam has no soul.
Yeah, we knew this last week because the promo told us so. And then the episode preview clip basically showed the entire teaser where this was explained. So now the question is, how did Sam’s soul get separated from his body? Did he sell it? I don’t think he did. Did someone else sell it?
2. Samuel does have a soul.
I think Samuel made a deal with Crowley to get him and Sam out of their respective places, but he didn’t anticipate Crowley would keep Sam’s soul behind. Now he’s even more beholden. Can’t go against the demon that has your grandson’s soul!
3. Crowley pulled both Sam and Samuel back to earth and is in possession of Sam’s soul.
I want to know how he did this, and his little explanation of just “yeah, I’m the king of Hell now and I have the mojo” isn’t cutting it for me. I don’t buy it. He needed help somehow. Because if he’s so super powerful now, why does he need all this help rounding up creatures? Is he only that powerful in Hell? I think he worked a deal with an angel to get Samuel down from heaven somehow. I’m thinking Balthazar is the likely candidate there. Raphael seems too righteous to do something like that.
4. Purgatory exists, monsters go there when they die, and Crowley is trying to worm his way in.
Heaven and Hell are real in this show, so why not purgatory? I loved this reveal. This is where monsters go when they die, probably spirits, too. Fascinating! And the alpha vamp knows where it is, but he’s not telling. I’m betting that all alphas know where purgatory is, and that’s why Crowley wants them so badly. But none of them are telling, so he keeps having to round them up.
5. Christian Campbell is a demon.
When he died, I was like, “Okay, bye-bye. Too bad you didn’t get more flushed out, but you were kind of a dick, so good riddance.” And then when he came back to life and his eyes were black? That was awesome! I did not see that one coming. And as Jeannine pointed out in our post-episode chat, poor Sam because this means that he was friends with a demon yet again and didn’t know it. It’s a Brady situation all over again. And as she also pointed out, if Unholy Soup was possessed, how did he get into Dean’s house in the season premiere? That thing looked pretty anti-demon to me with the salt and the devil’s traps. I guess that explains his surly attitude toward Dean. I hope the real Christian is in there going, “hey, guys, I am not a total dick, I swear! Anyone? Bueller?”
6. Samuel is working for Crowley has his reasons why.
This was kind of a big reveal, no? Samuel is working for Crowley and dragged Sam and Dean down with him. As for his reasons, Alice and Jeannine proposed a really great theory in the Cbox tonight: Samuel is looking for John and Mary, and maybe his wife, too. Ash told us that John and Mary aren’t in heaven, or he can’t find them. So maybe they are in purgatory. Mary was a spirit after she died, so it seems likely that she could end up there. John crawled out of hell, but we don’t know where he ended up. I had always assumed he made his way to heaven, being a righteous man and all, but what if he didn’t? What if he went to purgatory instead? Maybe he is a soul in need of redemption and those also go to purgatory. At any rate, I like this idea. A lot. And maybe the boys can take a visit to purgatory and see their parents! Who doesn’t want Samantha Smith and Jeffrey Dean Morgan back?
7. The alpha vampire has a mother.
Of all the things we learned tonight, this is one of the most intriguing for me. Who made the alpha? Sticking with Christian mythology, I’m going to say it was Eve. When she bit that apple, this is what happened. She gave birth to a race of monsters as an added punishment. Not literally gave birth but figuratively; her giving in to temptation twisted earth’s beautiful creatures into something ugly. Learning the identity of the alpha mother is something I am really looking forward to. And speaking of the alpha, wasn’t that guy incredibly awesome? Man, he was such a good bad guy. I really hope we see him again.
8. The vampires, and other monsters, are building armies for a war.
Okay, confirmation that the armies are being built for war, which is usually what you build an army for. But who are they planning to fight? Humans and hunters on earth, other monsters, Crowley and his invading forces in purgatory? What? I think it’s purgatory. They’re massing on earth because that’s where they are born, and then they’re going to die and go to purgatory to be reborn and fight against Crowley there. Because it doesn’t seem like they have any love for demons and Crowley, so they sure won’t want him getting all up in their faces.
Coda: Why a soulless Sam could be a good thing for the brothers in the long run.
Don’t get me wrong. I want Sam to have his soul back for sure, and it’s awful that he’s now going through life as a giant zombie, basically. But this could end up being a good thing for them. Now Sam and Dean are going to be fighting on the same side, together, against Crowley. Because of course Dean said “yes” about being with Sam, reservations and all. He wants that outcome. Yeah, it’s not going to be easy. There’s going to be a lot of angst and tension along the way, and probably some steps backwards. But they’re always better when they can work together against a common foe. Plus, you know it’s going to be an amazing reunion when Sam finally does get his soul back. So Sam and Dean are going to work together, Dean will be uncomfortable about it, he’ll have to help Sam not fly too far off the reservation. He’ll probably make jokes about Sam being soulless to mask how freaked out he really is about the whole thing, but they’ll muddle through it somehow because they always do. And then they’ll find a way to get Sam’s soul back together, and they’ll go do it. I’m really looking forward to seeing Sam whole again.
Okay, that was a lot of stuff to cover and a lot of rambling about. What do you think is going on now? Did those answers just give you more questions? I’m really excited to see how these things will all play out. Tell me what you think!
Okay. Tonight, this show officially moved in very treacherous territory, imo.
Crowley pulled Sam out. Plus, he has his soul. None of this adds up. The last time anyone tried to spring someone from that cage it took all the forces of hell millennia of planning, and breaking 66 seals, the first being a righteous man breaking in hell, the last being the death of the first demon. The archangels are far more powerful than Crowley (Raphael>Lilith (MAETB) Lilith>Crowley), and they can’t break into the cage. The first demon is dead. RETCON to break in now?
Sam keeps saying he woke up in a field. And yet we saw him appear under a streetlight after the bulb blew out. As light bulbs appear to be safe in Sam’s presence now, something of great power pulled him out. I ain’t buying what Crowley’s selling.
For whatever that’s worth, I really hope he has Sam’s soul and they get it back next week. I love this show, have done for years. Objectively, I can say this season has been creatively strong. But as a fan? This doesn’t feel like Supernatural, because HALF THE FUCKING CAST IS MISSING. Kudos to Padalecki for his performance, but dammit, this show doesn’t work without BOTH brothers. Watching not!Sam has ceased to being entertaining and has just become painful.
#5-I was ready to beat Christian when he made that crack about Lisa. Grr. But now we know he’s a demon that whole time? Makes me like him more, but how did Cas not notice when the demon came in the room? If I remember correctly, when Cas and Uriel came after Anna, they recognized Ruby for what she was “that stain†immediately. And her eyes went all black, like she couldn’t hide from them. I’ll be honest, I’m a bit miffed about this.
#6- Oh Oh?? I do! I want to see JDM back! Oh, and Samantha to. Papa?? I’m with ya’ll on the probability of them being in purgatory. Missouri Mosely said that Mary’s spirit had cancelled itself out against the poltergeist. So I’m rather for her spirit being in purgatory instead of forever gone. And John, well, it’d be nice just to see him again period!
Ok, I’m with you on this Sam Soulless could be a good thing. But I’m seriously broken hearted about the soul still being in the cage?! Considering that a soul is what goes to heaven or hell, it was Dean’s soul being tortured and torturing in hell, this means that Sam is in AGONY. All this time. A year. Still. It is quickly becoming my desperate wish that when soul and body are reunited, his memory of that time will remain in hell.
Oh, and just a thought/theory on who else might give them an assist. It’s a long shot, but I’m thinking that Meg just might hate Crowley enough to work against him. Even if it means getting Sam’s soul out of hell. After all, Crowley was her own kind and helped to lock her master back in the cage. It’s a difficult fit considering the history between her and the Winchesters, but they might be desperate and she has shown a tendency to not always follow the company line. For instance, she went after Sam in S2, tempting/trying to get Dean to kill him. And she had known a lot about YEDs plans for Sam, but she followed her own want of revenge. I don’t know, maybe.
Just finished watching and WOW! I say it again! WOW! WOW!
I am unable to get any coherent thoughts together. Still dwelling on the happy feeling. What happy feeling? The end of course. To me it is like starting team free will all over again. Yippeah!
And I kind of lost it there for a little while after Dean’s answer where he thinks monsters go once they killed. LEGOLAND! That is extremly scary since it is less than an hours drive from my place and I took my kids there when they were little. Are they somehow possesed now too? Or monsters?
Was able to follow it for a little while until Dean asked what Samuel sold his soul for and one of his picks being hair? Gosh did I laugh.
For any speculations I will have to rewatch and come back later though.
The Alpha vamp said “Everyone has their mothers” For some reason that made me think of the little girls in Dean’s trippy dream.
Why do you hate Legos, Deutschland? Triple A+ for the whole ‘you bet purgatory’s real, kid’ gig. Go, Dante, go.
Everyone knows Soulless Sam is a cheap ploy to write in more angst with the built-in excuse of it not *really* being Sam.
“Now, that’s sarcasm!”
“Well, DUH.”
I’m with you, Pittsburgh, no way in hell Crowley has the juice to pull suckers out on his own. Unless being King of Hell gets you a nifty scepter with all kinds of fantastical D&D powers. +4 rod of de-hotboxing.
Re: Eve, heh heh, that’s what popped in my noodle, too.
Definitely requires a rewatch.
I’ve gotta second Yvonne on the demon radar thing. Castiel is the de facto King of Heaven, even more powerful than way back when, so he should have figured that out yesterday. Maybe Parker Lewis had a magic coin in his pocket.
Oh, and supreme job on the Alpha vamp, actor whose name escapes me. Hope any future Alphas are as cool as this cat.
3. Crowley pulled both Sam and Samuel back to earth and is in possession of Sam’s soul. (And high five to everyone who was with me on that theory!)
I think this is maybe 50/50. Crowley may have pulled Sam and Samuel back, but he may also be aware that they are back and that Sam doesn’t have a soul and since no one else is stepping up to the plate and taking credit, Crowley is using the situation to his advantage to get Dean and Sam to do what he wants.
As for Christian mythology, it says Lilith was created first, rejected Adam and she is the mother of all the monsters, not Eve. In which case Sam killed the monsters’ mommy. OOPS!
I don’t think Samuel sold his soul BTW. I think he was in heaven and got pulled down however and that Mary is what is being used by Crowley to control him. First I’m not sure dead souls can make deals. Second real Samuel did not impress me as the deal making kind. Third, Samuel now acts as if he is being controlled. Bobby didn’t act controlled, Dean didn’t act controlled, Evan didn’t act controlled and even Bella, who was evil, spent most of her deal acting on her own, trying to find something to buy her way out.
I, personally, am very wary to take everything we learned in this episode at face value. As soon as the scene with Crowley started playing out, all I could think of was when Sam kept Dean from torching Crowley’s bones and how that would have resolved all their problems way back then (although creating possible complications with finding Sam’s soul without being able to question Crowley). And when Sam pulled the gun on Gramps, my “something is not as it seems” radar went off again. I could be totally off base with that, but I still wonder if we can believe everything Sam is saying right now. Everything is so dang uncomfortable!!!
All this speculation about Crowley got me thinking……have we ever seen his eyes change? He keeps claiming he’s a demon, just like our Archangel Gabriel claimed for so long he was a Trickster….could he actually be something else? Could Crowley be an angel in disguise?
But, I also think there may be something to the speculation about him and Balthazar being in cahoots, cause if Crowley is 100% demon, I don’t think he could have gotten Samuel out of Heaven. I don’t care if he is the King of Hell with go faster racing stripes.
What an exciting episode!
Oh Yea – Purgatory would be a great way to re-introduce John and Mary Winchester!
Also, I would think that Mary and Samuel’s wife Deanna would be pretty big bargaining chips against Samuel, so, Crowley might have access to them somehow. Maybe they are in Purgatory and the deal is Crowley sends them on to Heaven? I’m looking forward to the answers!
Agreed! The idea of Purgatory would be a plausible explanation for where all of the spirits & ghosts & monsters (& maybe dead demons & angels too) end up after being extinguished from earth.
I think it could only be the souls of Mary & Deanna that would be precious enough to Samuel to get him to make the arrangement with Crowley. Or maybe Sam’s soul is in the deal too.
Mark Sheppard’s name was not in the opening credits, so that was a big surprise to see Crowley! I’m not sure how he could have the mojo to get Sam’s body out of the box, when it was so hard for Azazel & Lilith to do it, & still leave Lucifer & Michael in there.
And yes, is Sam’s soul suffering all that torment? That is horrid to contemplate! And what about Adam???
So when did Christian get possessed? The Campbell’s certainly should have been better prepared with anti-possession tattoos, etc. I still wonder how Bobby managed to get possessed too. Can the King of Hell override anti-possession gear?
The alpha vamp was great. I think that actor was also a Cylon model on Battlestar Galactica.
I was thrilled to see the guys together at the end! They have a mission that will take both of them to accomplish! They are far from being okay with each other yet, but they can at least be united in a common goal, & the rest will follow.
I just can’t buy it that Crowley pulled Sam’s body from hell or Samuel from heaven all by himself. I think he is lying. After all, as said in “Weekend at Bobby’s” he is just another nasty spirit. Also, in season 4 it was said that ONLY an angel could pull you out of the hotbox. Ruby claimed it was not possible for any demon she knew of to be able to accomplish that. Crowley could be in cahoots with an angel (Raphael? Gabriel?). Or, are they just (the writers) ignoring past canon established on the show?
Remember the street light that shattered when Sam appeared outside of Lisa’s house in Swan Song? Only angels have shattered the lights (Cas in Lazarus Rising and Anna, after she got her grace back). I’m not claiming Sam is an angel, but that whoever placed him there was.
Intereting comment by Tigershire is that we have yet to see Crowley’s eyes change. What colour would they be if they did? Black (common demon), red (crossroad’s demon), yellow (extra powerful demon), or white (supreme demon)?
😮
I still am unable to trust robo/Sam and can’t forget this year’s motto. Trust No One!
Longing for when the REAL Sammy is returned to Dean. This is tearing me apart like it has the brothers. They used to have good drama without Sam being EEEEVILLL! Please bring back emo ‘loving his brother’ Sammy soon! :cry::
‘a deal is a deal’ :that sentence now takes a whole new meaning.
I liked that they did not drag out the whole ‘who has Sam’s soul’ longer than this one episode. That is why previews can be tricky. We all saw the preview last week about Cas telling them that Sam didn’t have a soul, and we were wondering how could they just tell us that. Well that was the first scene of this week’s episode and then we got the answers right away. Good job Sera and Co. 🙂
I enjoyed this episode. When Dean told Sam to just go back to Gramps, I was like ‘here we go again’. Then when even Gramps didn’t want Sam, and Sam broke into the car and started messing with the laptop, I thought that Sam was going to go off on his own. Then SAM GOT INTO THE IMPALA. 😀 😀 😀 Enough said. 😀 😀
Even though Sam doesn’t have a soul, he is better with Dean. Dean prevented Sam from shooting Gramps, and Sam did as Dean said.
We should all pat ourselves on the back, we knew that Crowley was involved and that Gramps and Co were shady.
Demon!Christian. 😀 I think that Gramps may have fixed all the devil traps in Lisa and Dean’s house to allow the demon to enter.
people, Dean and Sam are working together (at least this week). 😀
“Then SAM GOT INTO THE IMPALA.” Did you see the glint in Dean’s eye? He was PLEASED to see Sam back. A little surprised, but definitely pleased.
But I have to confess that the episode with Crowley’s bones makes me uncomfortable. Why would Sam, who was ready to shoot his own granfather, want to spare Crowley because “a deal is a deal”? I don’t like it. I don’t want to believe that Sam is in that with Crowley in some way. The promo for next episode isn’t very auspicious either. Doubt leads to betrayal? Whose betrayal? Not Sam again, please! Now Dean’s “philosophical” question comes to my mind: Is he even Sam? Is he? Is there anything of Sam in that body? I want to see how the writers deal with that issue.
That said, and despite all the issues between the brothers, I’m finding this season much more interesting than Season 5. So much food for thought. I’m proud of Sera!
AndreaW, I agree, I hope that Sera and Co, did not put Sam and Dean back together, just to tear them apart with a betrayal on Sam’s part.
I think that Crowley took Sam’s soul, whether than Sam giving it freely.
Maybe Sam had an idea that Crowley was responsible in his getting out of the cage, that is why he didn’t let Dean burn Crowley’s bones, but now he is ready to get rid of Crowley once he gets his soul back.
“For whatever that’s worth, I really hope he has Sam’s soul and they get it back next week.”
Unfortunately, I doubt it’ll be that easy. Still, it’s a good thing that Crowley already got Sam’s soul out of the cage… that’s one hurdle they won’t have to get over in order to get it back.
But ultimately, I don’t think they’re getting it back til the latter half of the season, unless Gamble and company intend to carry the second half of the season on the strength of the alpha storyline. Which they probably could, actually.
excellent theorys.. But I have a question
Does anyone knows how Sam could untied himself without any effort?
Did you see Dean’s face when Sam untied himself?
Quick thoughts (and they will be quick…)
Man, so much good! I love the way this show is like a slow striptease, not revealing too much to ruin things but revealing just enough to make you want more.
Castiel, awww, every time I see you I just want to tickle you under the chin. Though, can you give me a reason why you decided against knocking Sam out before you did the angelic cavity search?
Deano, my love, there is no one you won’t piss off. In this episode alone, you’ve ticked off an angel, family, a demon, the king of hell, an alpha, more family. It’s a gift, and one you use well, fair play to you.
Now, at this stage it’s a pretty safe bet that if Sam likes you there’s a 99.9% chance you’re either (a) a demon (b) about to be killed by a demon or (c) are buddies with a demon.
Sam, you might smell cold but you look damn hot so it kinda equals out. (Your eyebrows are beyond pornographic at this stage…) Though you really need to get one of those ‘I lost my soul, ask me how’ t-shirts because people don’t seem that keen on keeping it a secret.
I’m thinking Samuel made a deal for Mary. We really don’t know enough about Deanna to care if she comes back or not. I don’t think it’ll be John either (though I’d sell my own freaking soul to see it). If, (IF) this is the case, does that mean the circle is complete? Mary sells Sams soul for John, John sells his soul for Dean, Dean sells his soul for Sam, Sam (I guess you could say) sells his soul for humanity, and finally, Samuel sells Sams soul for Mary?
Crowley…. Um, I already said I didn’t think Crowley had Sam’s soul (though let it be noted I’ve been wrong with EVERY single theory I’ve had so far). For one thing, logistics and time. The last time the cage was opened it took generations, the breaking of 66 seals and heaven and hell working together. Now, Crowley can just jump on down, on his own, and drag out a physical body in a day or two. I mean, what the hell? Plus, given the part he played in putting Lucifer in the cage, I’d say he wouldn’t want to be within 5mn miles of Lucifers cage.
And how’d he have access to Samuel in heaven? Are there no ‘demon alert’ sirens in heaven?
To all future Alphas (point to Alpha Vamp): That’s how you do it. Him, I’d soil my armour over. Crowley, not so much. I just keep thinking ‘You manky Scots git’ whenever I see him. (I now want to see a fight between the killer bunny and a vampire..)
The bloody ambiguity at the end there. ‘You with me, Dean?’ and no answer. Are we once again meant to question Sam here?
Question, Alpha vamp said ‘When we freaks die, where do we go?’ did he mean Sam too? So, is Sam now destined for Purgatory? In light of who could be in Purgatory, that could be interesting.
There were so many but my line of the day, ‘You’re not going to hold me, Dean. Not here, not in the panic room, not anywhere. You’re stuck with the soulless guy so deal with it’. I don’t know if it was the words themselves, what they implied or the weariness of the delivery but LOVE IT!!
Show… Me likey. Me definitely likey.
Question: Do we know for sure that Gramps was in Heaven?
Was that mentioned in ‘Exile’? ‘Cause if he was in Hell, then it would have been no biggie for Crowley to set him free.
Tim The Enchanter, since you mentioned the “I lost my soul” t-shirts, it came to my mind the famous Bad Day in Black Rock scene when Sammy lost his shoe. Try to imagine him saying “I lost my soul” instead. 😆
Hey Ard, wonderful recap, especially since I know what time I went to bed after talking with you and Alice, and you wrote this after that. And I thought I was a night owl. 😀
The irreverent part of me would love Eve to be the mother of all monsters. But I just don’t agree (as you knew I wouldn’t 😉 ). That honor would make more sense going to Lilith, but I don’t think it’s her either. I’d love to see a separate pantheon be behind them actually.
I’ve thought about this some more and I’m pretty darn sure Crowley does not have the juice to pull Sam from the cage or Samuel from heaven. However, the person I think he’s working for does. Being addicted to spoilers that I am, I saw someone in a pic recently that I don’t think we were supposed to see but makes a ton of sense would have the ability to pull both Sam and Samuel and be able to separate Sam from his soul too. Their motives though is what I’m unsure of. But I wouldn’t put it past Crowley to be running his own agenda at the same time.
Yeah, that was very cryptic wasn’t it. Sorry about that. But I don’t want to ruin anything for folks who like to be surprised.
As for Samuel’s reasons for working for Crowley, I think Mary is in Purgatory. There were hints during the ep: how Samuel sees Mary in Gwen, Samuel’s stressing family on several occasions, and the vamp saying that Purgatory is where supernatural creatures go. We know Ash couldn’t find Mary in heaven and if she was in hell I don’t think any demon would’ve been able to keep quiet about that. They would’ve enjoyed rubbing it in too much. She was also a ghost at one point, thus a supernatural creature. I think Samuel would do anything to save his little girl. I think John’s there too but I doubt Samuel would care about that so much. However, what we know about John, I wouldn’t put it past him to ditch heaven once he realized what was going on and going all special ops into Purgatory to rescue Mary.
As for Sam, goodness how can Dean trust him at all? He doesn’t feel anything but he fakes it pretty darn well. It’s as if he’s following a set of responses he thinks should happen. Cause and effect. Its what he thinks people would expect to be the right reaction to a situation but not a genuine one. He’s depending on his memory of emotions and feelings and though it seems to work most of the time, when it does fails him, it fails him spectacularly. When Dean confronted him on another lie, Sam didn’t even blink. He wasn’t sorry or guilty. No regret for what he did. His reasons were sound as far as he was concerned. Dean can demand honesty until he’s blue in the face but Sam will continue to hide things if he thinks it’s logically sound to do so. It makes me so sad and I can’t wait for Sam to get his soul back because the current state of affairs for these two is worse than when he was running around with Ruby in season 4.
All-in-all, I’m loving this new season though. It’s different from what we’ve seen in the past. It’s most definitely darker. My heart breaks at every ep but at the same time I’m glued to the screen until the very end. I love the unfolding mysteries that has us all talking at the end of every episode. But at the same time, they haven’t forgotten the past five seasons either. What seems off at first, I firmly believe will be explained. I don’t think they’re forgetting what’s come in the past and in actuality are explaining some of the unanswered questions. I have faith in the writers. They have so rarely failed us and I look forward to seeing what new twist they’re going throw at us next. Round and round and round we go on the tilt-o-whirl called Supernatural.
I’ve been trying to stay away from discussion and commentary for most of this season, taking a little hiatus from just about all things Supernatural – except for the actual watching of course – but this episode was so WHOA that I simply had to head over here and check out what was being said.
You have some interesting theories here, Ardeospina. I agree, the alpha having a mother (or some variation thereof) is a huge reveal. It’s great that Supernatural is tackling that chicken/egg question when it comes to all the evil beings floating around the Supernatural universe. I’m not sure about the Eve theory – but mostly that’s because my gut (feminist) reaction to the Eve being the mother of sin in Christian mythology is to be 100% opposed on all fronts. I’m definately curious as to where this is going to go though.
Regarding Crowley, Sam and Samuel – I don’t know if I think that Crowley made a deal with Samuel pre-resurrection, though there is definatley something happening now. My personal theory (and forgive me if someone has already stated this in the comments, I only did a cursory read through) is that Crowly yanked out Sam and the who/where/how/when of Samuel ties back into the civil war going on in Heaven. Powerful though he may be, Crowley isn’t a celestial being who could waltz into Heaven and pluck a soul from the clouds. However, an angel could carry out that bidding for him. Further, I believe the armies that are being gathered by the Alpha’s and Cas’ issues in Heaven will all culminate in something together.
I too think that one of the motivations for Samuel are Mary and Deanna. Not sure where John would fall on Samuel’s metre of importance – though I wonder if Samuel knows the kind of hunter John became in wake of Mary’s death? A scene feature hunter-John and Samuel – that’d be awesome. Good catch on the as yet unravelled thread about John and Mary not being in Heaven – I’d forgotten about that until you mentioned it.
Overall, I have to say I am really enjoying this season. It feels much more steady than season 5 (not that I didn’t love Season 5 of course) – but I feel we’re more organic to Supernatural this season, if that makes any sense. The end of this episode was quite a tease – dump all that information on us and then end, leaving us drooling for more? Classic Supernatural. The exchange between Sam and Dean was great – I thought it particularly interesting the way Sam was framed by the light as he was asking Dean if he was with him.
The boys did a great job in this episode. Jared is really selling robo!Sam well. And I like that while Dean is clearly pissed off, it’s a more proactive anger that is motivating him to take the lead, as opposed to a depressed Dean whom we’ve seen more of in recent seasons. Also, it was a very moving moment between Dean and Samuel at the end, before Sam raised his gun and Dean lowered it for him. What a great family moment for the scrapbooks!
Okay – I’m going back to my cave now. See you all in January!
Everyone else has covered it all – Great episode!! Loved it all. Legoland? Ha!
However – I’m struggling with Christian is a demon and has been for a long time – watching Samuel for Crowley. How did he really get into Dean & Lisa’s house then with all the demon traps and salt? How did Castiel not see through him when he stepped into the room to check on Samuel? He & Uriel saw Ruby for what she was immediately. The alpha vamp saw that Sam had no soul but didn’t notice that Christian was a demon?? All a bit too neat for me.
Otherwise – fabulous!
This season has me so worked up. I love it!
First, I take just about everything Crowley says to be a lie or a twisted truth. So, he may know where Sam’s soul is, but I really doubt he was able to get him out of Hell.
What I find a little puzzling is Dean’s attitude towards Sam. Now that he knows that Sam’s soul is gone, I would expect him to show a bit more compassion. Isn’t that what big brother Dean would have done? Naturally, Sam is not going to be acting like himself, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t still Dean’s brother. The promo for the next episode even has Dean telling Sam to “stop pretending” to be his brother. Any theories? Is Dean just having trouble coping or are we going to suddenly discover that Sam isn’t really Sam?
Not that I’m a total believer that Crowley yanked Samuel from heaven, we have seen in the past that demons can work such things. After all, when Dean made the crossroads deal, Sam got yanked back from SOMEWHERE, and I’m assuming heaven.
So the precedent is set. Maybe he doesn’t have the juice, but there may be rules/laws/whatever in place for him to have access.
Oh, Yvonne, you may be on to something there. When John was talking to Azazel in In My Time of Dying, Azazel said he couldn’t save Dean, but knew who could. So right there, as powerful as Azazel was, soul retrieval was not in his job description.
So perhaps back then Azazel was talking to Crowley?? At that point in the show, Dean’s soul could likely be destined for Heaven…
Actually, that kinda makes sense now, why the Reapers won’t tell you anything about the other side. Reapers just move your soul to the next plane…which could easily be Hell or Purgatory too. Dean was resisting Tessa as it was, how much you think he would resist a Reaper if he new his soul was destined for Hell?
My my my … I must say that I just can’t get enough of this season. There are SO MANY things in the up coming episodes that are going to be positively awesome!!
And whats with the next episode? Dean looks almost like an assassin up on the building with a sniper rifle? Since that epi is “All Dogs go to Heaven” how much you wanna bet he’s fixing to trank the Alpha Werewolf?
Anywho – Crowley pulled Sam and Grandpa Creepy out? No way. Demons lie. He’s merely using it to get Dean and Sam get him the Alpha’s so he can try to find Purgatory. The real question here is WHY does he want to find it? Better real estate? Not buying that either.
Try this theory on for size:
1. How do we know that those were actually Crowley’s bones the boys let him take from the cemetery? Oooo the plot thickens. Cause seriously, Terminator Sam and There’s Always Plan B Dean would NEVER have let something that important slip through their fingers (Bobby would have/should have told them to keep a few pieces for a rainy day right?)
2. I stand by my original theory that Sam and Crowley have something going on between the two of them. Maybe Sam gave up his soul on purpose guys. I mean, would you want to feel anything after being where he’s been? Without emotions Sam feels that he’s a better person, stronger, capable of being a super hunter like his brother. If he gets his emotions back (insert soul here) then Sam’s very likely to break because of all that has happened to him would wash over him like a tidal wave.
Tim the Enchanter is so right – I want a T’Shirt that says “I lost my Soul to [insert name here], ask me how” with either Misha, Jared, Jensen, Chuck, Ash or Bobby on it. Or maybe one of each LMAO that was just brilliant!
Oh and Jeannine you can’t drop a hint like you did without expounding on it somehow girl!! Where’d you see the pic, what website was it on, when did you see it, who was it of, and did you sell something (souls are in season I hear) to find that pic let us know .. geez we wouldn’t be here speculating if we didn’t want teazers /wink hahahaha ..
My fav line from this epi –
“You seem a bit scrawnier than I thought you’d be.”
“My real form is as tall as the Empire State Building”
Oh Cas .. you light my imagination on FIRE baby .. !!
Just had a theory. Maybe Crowley was able to seperate Sam and Lucifer before the cage closed. That could mean that Sams soul is not in the cage but that Crowley is hidding it somewhere.
As for Crowley’s bones maybe the boys tricked him and they gave up those bones so relatively easily because they weren’t really Crowley’s. Maybe they dug his up before and put them away for save keeping (never know if they could come in handy one day) and then they just put someoneelses bones in his grave. And they just put a show on so he would really believe they are his. Think this could be a nice twist.
For the first time I did listen to the winchester radio pot cast. Guy Bee, the director of Familiy Matters, was on and he did have a lot to say. One thing was that it was Mark Sheppards idea that he will not be mentioned in the opening credits he wanted his appearance to be a big surprise.
Guy Bee also revealed that a lot of Castiels and Alpha Vamps remarks are hints for the future. So my guess is that sooner or later there will be lots of angels fighting over purgatory.
A bit of the “Adam and Lilith Mythology” that can be dug up from the internet. 😛
“The origin of Lilith traces back to Judaic mythology. The Alphabet of Ben-Sira, written sometime between the 8th and 11th centuries, is one such medieval reference.
In it Lilith is described as the first woman created by God, and Adam’s first wife. However Lilith refused to assume a subservient role to Adam, instead seeing herself as his equal …
In response Lilith invoked the name of God and took off into the air, leaving the Garden of Eden and deserting Adam. She settled near the Red Sea, where she mated with demons and gave birth to countless Lilim (her offspring—also considered demons).
Adam asked God to return Lilith to him, and three Angels were sent to retrieve her. The Angels threatened to kill one hundred of Lilith’s demonic children each day that she did not return, to which she countered that she and her children would forever prey upon the descendants of Adam. They eventually struck a bargain in which Lilith would spare any child that was under the protection of the Angels. However she would still not return to Adam.”
Does this sound like part of the inspiration for the Alphas ?
(1) Yeah, Lilith could be considered the First Feminist–so, I guess that makes her a candidate for evil in some patriarchal religions.(Sorry, couldn’t resist that.) But it is possible SPN will use Eve or Lilith as the Mother of All Monsters since it is following Judeo-Christian beliefs…
(2) What about the idea of God setting Sam and Grandpa on Earth? The end of SPN5, if you believe that Chuck was really God, seemed to show that God did care about the world–He just had His own agenda about teaching His angelic Sons about Loving one another and all creation, as well as teaching Humanity about human and divine free will (What? God has Free will, too, you know.)
So, maybe it was Him who got the guys out because He saw the problems looming again. I mean, Heaven and Earth would need to align in order to fight/redeem evil.
(3) You know, SPN hasn’t touched yet much on this part of its mythology (w/c it dropped on us in S4): the Winchester line goes beck to Cain’s and Abel’s lines w/c is why it was important to pick Sam and Dean for the fight betw Luci and Mike…Well, that one was solved by the human brothers teaching the angelic ones about love conquering all.
But what about that part of Castiel’s meat puppet? Jimmy Novac and his daughter came from a special line, too. Was that dropped or will it play in S6? (You know, after Abel died, Eve and Adam had Seth.)
Thanks much to Areodespina and to all for their ideas!
This is such a good site to come to for great reviews and great commentary from everyone. Loved this episode. There are some great ideas stated giving me lots to consider. To make any comments that haven’t been stated I need to watch epi many more times there was so much info & reveals.
I loved the brothers back hunting together. It feels like S1 again yet so very very different.