Burning S6 Questions: What In The World Happened To Sam’s Powers?
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As I may have hinted before, I have these little conversations with myself during the rare quiet times at my house. Like when I’m reading a great article posing the question about the diminishing appeal of superheroes on TV.  Here’s the bizarre inner conversation that followed:
Me: That’s why I love Supernatural. It’s just two ordinary guys taking on the world. They’re heroes just because they choose to fight and sacrifice their own well being in the process.  Â
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Other Me:Â Um, aren’t you forgetting, Sam has special powers. Â
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Me: Well, sure, sort of, they aren’t welcome powers. He doesn’t exactly use them a lot. Â
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Other Me: Why doesn’t he? Five seasons he had those abilities and now suddenly in season six they’ve been swept under the rug?
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Me:Â Erm…
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I’ve been going through season four lately (you all might notice a slowly improving season four photo gallery) and that was the one season where Sam freely let loose on the powers. Sure come season five he learned his lesson, but there were a couple of occasions where he had to use them anyway. We know from season four that drinking the demon blood only strengthened his abilities. He still had them when he wasn’t drinking blood. So why doesn’t he use them now? RoboSam wouldn’t have hesitated to use those powers.Â
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Here’s some of the theories that came up when I posed this question on Twitter last night:
- He no longer has them. He used up all the demon blood in his body while being Lucifer so maybe now he’s clean.Â
- It’s lazy writing. The writers just left it out because they don’t want write him with abilities anymore.Â
- Sam refused to flip on those switches like Ava and Jake. So he can’t turn them on.Â
- Yeah, what did happen to those powers? Now you have me wondering… Â
This is the fun part of Hellatus, the chance to burn the countless hours by speculating over dropped plotlines. What did happen to Sam’s powers?  If they were truly gone, why not spell that out in one of those heart-to-hearts with Dean?  It would have taken a couple of lines.  Here’s my theory. Just like in season three, they’re dormant. He doesn’t know how to trigger them. Someone will come along though and show him how.  That’s a possible future storyline for when the writers run out of ideas, like season eight or something like that. Â
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Now it’s your chance. What did happen to Sam’s powers? Will they return? Do you want to see them return ever?  Â
Alice Jester is the founder, editor-in-chief, head writer, programmer, web designer, site administrator, marketer, and moderator for The Winchester Family Business. She is a 30 year IT applications and database expert with a penchant for creative and freelance writing in her spare (ha!!) time. That’s on top of being a wife, mother of two active kids, and four loving (aka needy) pets.
I have been wondering about that too!
During Season 3, the dormant phase, Sam reached the conclusion that Azazel’s death meant the end of his abilities. He had no more visions, and didn’t move any objects. All the other known special children were dead, so there is no basis for comparison to see if all of them lost those abilities. The visions certainly seemed tied to Azazel. Maybe the initial demon blood “inoculation” created a tie to the demon that brought the powers to the surface when Azazel wanted them to emerge. He may have had more influence on their powers and their ability to use them than is known.
Before they died, Jake and Ava gave in to Azazel’s wishes, and showed at least as much control and strength as Sam did while he was drinking demon blood in early Season 4. It doesn’t appear that the two ‘dark side’ special children were drinking blood. Perhaps Azazel was supplying some of their power, like demons do for witches, through a demon blood link. Maybe when he died, a fresh supply of demon blood was needed because the powers were internalized and not being supported by someone outside.
Maybe I am retconning too furiously with that.
In Season 6, I wondered if soulless Sam didn’t have access to them because of his very soullessness. Maybe there is some connection between the spirit and the body that enables Sam to use those abilities.
Now that Sam has his soul back, I wouldn’t expect him to actively try his powers, because they have led to so much trouble in the past. I think he would deliberately avoid thinking along those lines.
However, Sam’s soul was in Hell a long time. There is a wall between the human part of his soul and the ‘other’ part, but that second half is still with him. If Sam had a little bit of demon in him, then I would expect him to be able to use his powers without drinking demon blood. His own blood would be at least a little tainted. He hasn’t faced demons since his soul was returned, so maybe the instinct to use his powers has yet to be triggered. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him raise his hand without thinking about it later in the Season, and cause something very dramatic to happen.
Follow-up question: what happens if Sam samples angel blood? Castiel had to use Dean’s blood for a spell earlier in the season because his own other-than-human blood wouldn’t work. So angels alter the blood of their vessels, too. Could Sam smite Raphael?
Very interesting points! I am also hoping that the soul connection is used with Sam’s power and angel blood.
I really think Sam’s powers are just dormant the way they were after Azazel died before he started drinking demon blood. I think Sam just realizes that’s a dark road with nothing good along the way. He is able to use his powers without demon blood but I’m sure it’s draining and might even bring back the craving.
Why didn’t RoboSam use the powers? We know that RoboSam’s brain worked extremely well because it didn’t give a second thought to emotion. So either RoboSam knew it was a bad idea to use his powers or he did use them but kept them a secret from Dean. He had a whole year to do whatever he wanted and so far we’ve seen that most of that was not good. It could be that he knew he had to hide his powers from Dean the same way he knew he had to act like a human around him.
Either way, it’s interesting to think about!
Also, MisterGlass I like where you’re going with this angel blood thing. I’m not sure if it would work the same way though. It seems like Sam has always been more associated with demonic forces while Dean has been associated with the heavenly forces. Not that I necessarily think Dean would have any powers if he drank angel blood but who knows!
Wow, what a great point! Why DIDN’T he use his powers?? Perhaps he didn’t feel like he needed them. Sam with his soul, used them because he thought he was doing a good thing. He wanted to avoid killing the host. Soulless Sam, I think he didn’t use it for a few reasons… A) he didn’t want the annoyance of an addiction. B) he was playing the facade that he had a soul. If he’d started with the blood, they would’ve been on his case. He might’ve blown his own cover. C) he probably didn’t care one way or the other about killing the hosts.
As far as the angel blood comments, I believe in the grand scheme of things, Sam and Dean will have to cancel each other out, if that makes any sense… I truly believe the writers have the end in mind, at all times. So I wouldn’t discount anything we see up to that point. Everything said and done in this series always ties in perfectly; it’s one of the reasons I love it so much, and keep on trusting in the writers (even after this season’s premiere, when I wanted to kill them.hahahaha)
I agree with you, Sofia.
MisterGlass,it would be interesting to know if Dean drank Angel blood would he have powers, too. Sam and Dean seem to be at times the opposite sides of a coin.
I hadn’t thought about Dean drinking the blood. That would be a kind of balance… or ‘narrative symmetry’.
Perhaps soulless!Sam didn’t use his powers because emotions seem to be the triggers to them. Soulless!Sam was emotionless, so…
Good question Alice and I have no idea . I have always found his powers written erratically maybe this is one of those moments?.
I think, come season 5, Sam learned his lesson with his powers and the demon blood–he continued to struggle with addiction and realized it’s something he would deal with the rest of his life. Souled!Sam, I think, doesn’t want to use the powers, knows the cost is too high both for himself and his loved ones.
But that leaves me wondering about Robo!Sam again. Was Robo!Sam also dealing with the demon blood addiction? I can’t see him really trying to suppress the urges, especially if he saw drinking the blood and having powers as being helpful on a hunt.
Then again, Sam tried to embrace his powers because he was exorcising demons while leaving hosts intact, something not possible with Ruby’s knife. Would Robo!Sam care about that? He never seemed the type to care about collateral damage. It seems like it would be a lot of extra work for Robo!Sam to harness his powers when the advantages would be minimal in his eyes.
I also think it’s probably significant that we haven’t seen much dealings with demons this season–Sam’s powers don’t have anything to do with monsters and that seems like what the Campbells focused on over the year Sam hunted with them, since Samuel was hunting Alphas for Crowley. Demons don’t really fit into that scheme, not giving Robo!Sam much opportunity to deal with the powers.
We never learned why Sam was able to lie to Veritas. Could it have been because of his psychic abilities? I’m going with RoboSam had them, but like a lot of things, kept them secret from Dean. We really don’t know what type of effect Hell had on Sam. Resouled Sam doesn’t remember much of his time as RoboSam yet, so he probably assumes they’re dormant. They haven’t run across any demons since Sam has been resouled.
Another possibility is that if Dean came back from Hell rehymenated, maybe Sam came back without having any trace of demon blood in him.
It is possible that Lucifer “healed” the demon blood part of Sam. Angels nearly instantly heal their vessels. Maybe the blood is all human now.
My post got lost, but the gist of it was that I hope those powers and blood drinking are gone for good.
I don’t want those boys to be superheroes, but human ones who fight against great odds and sometimes win and sometimes lose.
Ruby said he didn’t need the feather to fly and Ava and Jake said the switches just turn on in your head. Didn’t seem to be that way with Sam. He never tried to turn on his switches until being taught by Ruby.
If Soulless Sam had powers, wouldn’t he have used them? He had no conscience.
Perhaps the powers were burned away in the cage and his body wasn’t in it for very long anyway. Maybe it needed a whole Sam for his powers to return and he has had a lot to think about right now without worrying about that.
Perhaps if he sees Dean in peril in the future some of them may return, as that is how they began. (not his premonitions but the kinetic energy he projected)
Personally I hope they don’t return as I don’t want that type of angst back on the show.
I think that Purplehairedwonder’s got this one correct. RoboSam was working for demon Crowley in Season 6, and had no need to use the Hand of Ipecac. And I don’t think that reSouled Sam will ever attempt to go down that route again.
Regarding angel blood: Demon blood didn’t confer any special powers to those who drank it. It was the “feather” Ruby gave him to believe that he could fly. When the flesh-eating ghouls feasted on Sam’s demon-tainted blood in Jump the Shark, they gained no special powers from it (they just thought it tasted funny).
In a similar vein, I’m still wondering about Dean’s “genetic makeup” so to speak. He didn’t have to avert his eyes when Zacariah’s glory poured out of his dying vessel. He’s got to have some untapped power thing going on…
In reference to Scarlotti’s comment, I believe Ruby telling Sam he “didn’t need the feather to fly” was referring to her not being the one to make him do anything. He chose to drink the blood on his own.
Drinking demon blood did do something for his powers…hence why long after Ruby’s death, he drank all the gallons of blood to confront Lucifer. I think, perhaps, it is like a form of steroid for an existing, but unused power that lies mostly dormant within him. The demon blood acts as a catalyst.
And yeah, I believe Dean has some kind of angelic power that we just haven’t seen yet…and I really believe that, when it comes down to it, he and Sam with be each others saving grace in this entire matter…I can’t wait to see what the writers have in store for us 🙂
Regarding Zachariah’s death, I’m not sure that Dean (and Sam, who I believe was also conscious at the time) were really being exposed to Zachariah’s true, blinding form, just a flash. It may have been more like when the angels are banished, intense but not damaging.
[quote]Regarding Zachariah’s death, I’m not sure that Dean (and Sam, who I believe was also conscious at the time) were really being exposed to Zachariah’s true, blinding form, just a flash. It may have been more like when the angels are banished, intense but not damaging.[/quote]
I agree. When I think about that episode where Zach tricked them into the storage building, and Cas showed up and started killing the angels that were with Zach, that ‘light flash’ didn’t seem to affect any of them either.
Are we forgetting that both Sam and Dean were present when Lilith died and Lucifer rose? They both saw the blinding light, before they were pulled out of there and onto the plane. Both of them have seen angels in their true form. I seem to remember Cas saying he expected Dean to be able to understand him when they first met, and was surprised that he didn’t. My theory on this is that they are both vessels, and seeing (or killing?) angels doesn’t seem to be a problem for them.
My belief on the demon blood, is that Sam needed it to taint his vessel for Lucifer, not to enhance his powers. Ruby used demon blood to control Sam, since it was an addiction. I believe that’s why the YED dropped blood into his mouth in the first place.
I think Robo!Sam would have used the powers if he had access to them, he seemed to take the easiest road to his desired goal.
I think they real truth is we don’t know because Sam doesn’t know. When were we ever ahead of the boys in finding stuff out?
Interesting. I did like the S1 – S2 vision episodes with Sam but we realised this was tied into the yellow eyed demon.
I think all the ‘chosen kids’ [b]had active powers without the demon blood but they only worked when the YED was alive [/b] (like a psychic link)
At the end of S3, it came clear that Sam’s powers were dormant and in S4 Ruby brought them out, however at the end of S4 it came clear that the only way he could access them was by drinking demon blood.
In Episode 2, S5, Sam Says ‘ I just wish I could do what I did before’ and Dean says ‘what, when you were Jumped up on demon blood’. This makes it sound like he cannot access his powers without the demon blood.
However, it would be nice if he could. Perhaps Ruby did know how he could train to use his powers without the blood but Ruby needed his loyalty and knew that if she has told him, he wouldn’t have needed her anymore (just a thought)as:
Aat the end of S4, Ruby does day [b]‘you had it in you this whole time, Dumbo’ that wasn’t ever explained….[/b] I think perhaps the writers liked the detox storyline and demon blood was a good way to go but I do wish they made it that the demon blood only increased his powers and strength and wasn’t the root.
Sam knows that Dean is freaked out about his powers so even if he knew that he could access them without the demon blood, (maybe doesn’t know how), perhaps he wouldn’t want to tell Dean unless of course he needed them.
I guess Sam remembers what Dean said ‘it will get dark, and darker and who knows where it will end’ perhaps he knows that if he uses his power the ‘bad Sam’ will come out. His inner monster, the one thing he is scared that he can’t control. However he controlled Lucifer so I think his demonic side will be easy.
I think Robosam couldn’t tap into his demonic side as its Sam’s soul that has the power. Evan though it’s his body that has the demon blood. In ‘be my valentine episode, the horseman said ‘it’s the soul that has the hunger’ or something along them lines.
A theory from when Sam was in the pit. I believe that perhaps the king of hell was Sam, that Lucifer finally turned him after years of torture. His vessell being the front man/soul/demon of hell. Thats why DEATH said to both of them, don’t scratch the wall, you won’t like what you will find… the more he remembers, the more demonic side of him we will see
Okay, I am a big fan and perhaps think about this programme way too much but I like this site, being about to put all my thoughts down.
I think you’re onto something here! Remember though, in “Death Takes A Holiday” Sam had no powers when he was just a spirit. He needed the demon blood. So, maybe the requirement is body AND soul together. I really do wonder now if re-souled Sam would go there if pushed. Of course he would!
My interpretation of Ruby’s “feather to fly” comment is similar to Xenascully’s below.
The “feather” was Ruby and her interaction with Sam. She appeared to be guiding Sam’s choices, but in fact he was making all the wrong decisions on his own, with very little prompting.
The actual use of the powers may still be tied to the blood.
I Totally agree with you MisterGlass. Ruby was referring to his decision making. That it was in fact Sam’s destiny to be the vessel predetermined due to his faults of pride and self righteous behavior. Which of course he and Dean also changed just by being themselves (the Impala evoking the memories of the lifelong familial bond that they shared) and thus, stopping the Apocalypse.
on a side note, there’s an ep coming up called “The Man Who Would Be King”. That makes me think it’ll be Sam-centric. 🙂 Though a lot of others think it’ll have something to do with Crowley…who is said to be returning at some point for an episode, though I think it’ll be more for a flashback or for the time-travel wild west episode coming up…
I believe that’s the episode Ben Edlund is writing and directing. If that’s the case, it’s sure to be an interesting one.
I agree with May that in S1-S2 the powers were related to YED. In Season 3-5 Sam needed the demon blood to aczess the powers and control them.
“The feder” in my understanding was Ruby she pushed Sam to the decisions he made.
Hi Alice
A great question to ponder.
At the beginning of season 6 I had wondered about the powers and if they would reappear. I would of thought for sure Soulless Sam would have used them to his advantage if he had them.
When there was no mentioning of them I just figured that when Sam and Lucifer fell into the pit, Lucifer removed every ounce of demonic powers and blood from Sam when leaving his vessel. I would imagine Lucifer would have wanted Sam as weak and vulnerable as possible to make his torture and revenge more fulfilling.
However it will be interesting to see if they do get mentioned or resurface.
Hi Karen,
that´s the best explantion I have read about the powers. That would work for me.
Alice, this is a fascinating question and a central one, since the theme of Sam’s powers has been such an important thread throughout more than one season. Personally, I miss that storyline. I liked it a lot.
And I can’t get Ruby’s ‘You didn’t need the feather to fly’ out of my head. I like Mister Glass’ theory, it’s interesting, but on the other hand I can’t believe that something that was installed in Sam while he was a baby, to grow to full force as a young adult, would be lost just like that.
There’s a point, however, that perhaps there was connection needed between Azazel and his ‘children’, for the powers to work.
If the connection was only between Azazel and Sam, probably the powers would have disappeared forever.
But then he was able to re-ignite them with other demon blood, Ruby, the nurse, other demons he fed on (and looking very sexy doing so. Sorry, folks, I have a soft spot for vampires, and Sam very much resembled one of the finest kind here).
So, I’d go – the root is still there, it just needs to be watered.
A part of the inner lore of the show has been that Sam was ‘different’, in part demon. It served as a parallel to outcasts of our society, just as the vampire metaphor does, and since he stills feels on the outside (in terms of his need to make amends for the horrific deeds he committed while being without soul), it would serve as a mirror and metaphor to bring that storyline back.
Let’s not forget that Sam has been dead before (All Hell Breaks Loose), and we don’t really know for sure where he was (I know they told us that both Winchesters had been to heaven before and not remembered, but would a soul tinted with demon blood be able to enter heaven at all? What if he has been to hell, and just doesn’t remember?)
Since the show has followed closely Luke Skywalker’s path to the dark side of the force within Sam’s character, I think if Sam started training to use his psychic abilities, he would find them still there. He would have to learn to control them, like a Jedi does.
In accordance to what May says – I’d say that Sam was [i]made [/i] to believe he needed blood to trigger his abilities, but in truth doesn’t need it. And I love Karen’s take, that everything was stripped from Sam while in the pit. would be fascinating to see how that took place (and how Sam feels about it, if that’s the case).
Ah, it’s a mind-cracker, really. Personally I would love the powers to return, but can’t think of a decent storyline as for the why and how. Then again, it would not be a story of two ordinary guys. Well, it doesn’t have to be, since the two of them are nor ordinary by far, nor are their lives. It would add a spicy twist.
At least I hope for an explanation as to why the powers are gone now. But I am in favour of bringing them back! I believe the root is still there, as I said above. We don’t know about the right trigger, yet. And, if I am lucky, there will be one.
Thanks for bringing this matter up, Alice. Love, Jas
Hi Jas,
OT when please turned Luke Skywalker to the dark side? He sure war tempered but didn´t give in (sorry big Star Wars Fan)
Of course you’re right, Junkerin, I didn’t express myself clear enough, I guess.
Being a Star Wars fan, too, I understand you want an explanation 😉 .
Luke was tempted to turn dark side and gave in for only a soft moment in Return of the Jedi, when he attacked his father to protect his sister (when Vader uttered the provocation that if he, Luke, won’t turn dark side, then Leia might).
For me, Sam did a similar thing. He never turned dark side in the sense of being completely and utterly convinced of wanting to be ‘evil’. He didn’t want to become a demon in whatever sense, but he was ready to succumb to the demon power in order to save those he loved.
I believe that Luke had probably done the same thing, just as his father, while he was still Anakin, did to save Padme.
Luke was in danger of turning to the dark side of the force to secure the safety and lives of his friends. To my mind, Sam was on a very similar path. using dark power (aggression, for instance, just like Like did), but not succumbing entirely to it. Just because he might have done evil things (a view I never entirely shared) those didn’t make him evil.
does that long winded answer help you?
Cheers, Jas
Yes thank you.
We´ve to meet some day 😀
Beeing a Star Wars and a Supernatural Fan 😆
I do hope the abilites are addressed again at some point. They have been such a big part of Sam and personally I am of those who think he was born with them.It would be disapponting for them to disappear without at least being touched upon again even if it is only a scene .
I gave one theory on the special kids in my original post, and it is the best I have at present.
I think when Lucifer needs his anger because it makes it that much easier to control Sam if he can channel that anger toward some common foe. Sam was very common in using his powers on some occasions. Zen-like, almost.
It is an interesting theory that the demon blood strengthens his body so he can channel the powers. That is possible, but the other special children used their powers without any visible sign of stress, and did not appear to be taking blood. I still think the demon blood is at least partly a power source.
They did have visible signs of stress. Or at least Ava did. It hurt her to call forth that demon. Sorry, I’m blanking on what the actual type of demon it was. But you could tell it caused some pain.
I agree. And I recall that in “Dark side of the moon” Sam’s blood was still “tainted”, still he went to Heaven when he was shot. Naturally and spontaneously, and not because of some plot or deal. So I suppose that, if not for some deal or other specifical choice, Sam and Dean would go to Heaven when they die. So I suppose that, in AHBL Sam went to heaven, but he didn’t remember (at the time the wrters weren’t thinking of Heaven and God and angels at all).
Hi Yume,I’m very much at odds with the idea of free will. As much as I would like to hold to it, just as you describe – I don’t know what we actually are allowed to decide and what is decided the moment we are born.
True, the choices we make define our path, that’s true, but when I am born a white person (for example) just wishing to be someone else doesn’t change the colour of my skin.
We learn things about life in childhood, values that make us tick and keep us going, what we in my line of work call imprinting, the development of schemas that define our personality, the things that we believe important and unchangeable and we live by those, more or less.
With Sam – he learned to be different. Though he wasn’t able to put a finger on it while he was young, the discovery of the demon blood feeding confirmed his notion. That’s a part he will never be able to take out of his system, I believe – the idea of being different.
I’m not sure that my comment is completely contradictory in the regard you mention. I think free will comes into play when he has to decide whether he wants to use what’s (probably) within him or not.
You choose the manner in which you play the deck of cards you are dealt with. I think that’s the free will issue, not necessarily re-define one’s personality, as that is, partly, difficult or plain not possible, depending on age and life events (personality/character can change under severe trauma, for instance).
Am I being of any help? 🙂 Jas
I think Sam had two ways to access his powers ( if they are the product of demon blood )1)to flip the switch and 2)to drink demon blood.To flip the switch means to align with demons in thought and actions wherein you don’t think of helping but destroying and essentially are a demon but with a permanent meat suit.By drinking demon blood he did not give to the darkness i.e he did not start thinking like Ava and Jake when they flipped the switch but could access such control for a short amount of time which depended on the amount of blood he drank.For me the feather was the switch. Ruby was a demon and when she said that i think she meant that after flipping and if he had flipped it he would have lost his humanity ..and she did not really care what really would happen to him as her only goal was to play her part in rising Lucifer. What i want to say is that he had the feather but as Ruby pointed out but he did not use it(switch)…
You see, Yume, we don’t differ that much in our opionions, as I do agree with a lot you say here! 😉
Oops, but I think you might have misunderstood me a bit. I never said that Sam was doomed and therefore was not allowed to enter heaven, I just wonder – what if he was not allowed to enter heaven because of the demon blood in his system. I would love to know where he has been during those days in All Hell Breaks Loose. Somehow, in the twisted world of Supernatural, I wouldn’t be surprised to find that he has paid Hell a visit (and I think Brynhild is right – back then the writers probably didn’t know yet about the direction the whole story would take, or at least not the details).
It would indeed be a shattering idea altogether if Sam had been condemned to hell because of the blood and that all his good deeds counted for nothing.
I don’t want to believe that, as I am a big fan of redemption, and I do believe that every person should be given a chance to redeem themselves.
I hope to yet encounter God in a way (hello Chuck!). I’m not sure where the supernatural Universe is heading in that department. It looks like God is gone, doesn’t it?
But then – within almost all the mythology creatures of God (e.g. angels) draw their powers, their inspiration from the source which is divine, therefore I am tempted to believe that God is still somewhere, as without him the angels et al might not have a source to draw their strength from.
It might be far fetched. It is twisted, Supernatural’s view of the world, and I think pretty much everythingis possible.
Best, Jas
Uhm, I for one don’t believe there is something like “good” power (if not God’s power, if you like). We have a plethora of examples that when you give someone the power over someone else or over something, almost ever it turns out that power is just this: a drug. You end up thinking that because you have the power, you MUST use the power to make things go as you like.
This is particularly true for “supernatural” powers, i.e. the powers that go beyond the human nature, “far from normal, from human”, like Dean said. Because that kind of powers shortens in a dramatic way the distance between the thought and the action: they take away the struggle, the fatigue, the hard work, the hard choices, the time for doubting and rethinking that are needed to realize your projects, dreams, intentions or goals. You get used to have it easy, straight and immediately. And if you do that often enough, you can get (and almost ever will get) tyrannical, self-centered (you can be self-centered even when doing things for other people), proud, arrogant.
That’s why I usually don’t buy the stories about magic and magicians (Harry Potter included) and think that the best lesson you can learn about your “magic” o supernatural or extraordinary powers is not how to use or “control” them, but how NOT to use them. Luke Skywalker himself in the end refused to use his jedi powers to fight against his father and the Emperor (just like Obi-Wan did when confronted by Darth Vader).
When I started to watch Supernatural, one of the things that appealed me the most, was that the boys fought evil in a very “material” way: guns, rifles, machetes, even bare hands, if needed. No magic, no super-powers, no some sort of “supersayan” or “mystical” thing. Even when they performed exsorcisms and enchantments, it wasn’t from some sort of “inner energy” or stuff like that, but just an ancient and well-used ritual, a lore of old, something “external” to the boys themselves. In a way, I found that to be very… refreshing. I was sick and tired of wizards, witches, superheroes, “chosen ones” and alike. I wanted “human” heroes: people who fought evil armed just of their strenght, heart, courage, brain and brawn… and maybe some good weapons, if needed. I needed to believe that “simple” human beings could fight “against good, evil, angels, demons, destiny and God himself”. And while Dean and Sam are not exactly “ordinary” people, they were also not really “extraordinary”.
It was ok for me tht Sam could have visions: they could be “sent” to him in some way, it didn’t mean that he was “special”. But when his telekinetic powers popped up I went “hu-ho”. I feared I was going to witness ANOTHER story about a “chosen one”. And it was, indeed. But they got to not push me away because they made it clear from the start that this was not a blessing, but a confusing, alarming, scary, upsetting, huge blow coming from the above on two brothers already severely tried by life. So Sam’s powers were not the “solution”: they were instead the (THE) problem.
And I liked that relationship dynamic between the “abnormal” brother and the “normal” one: it added to the drama of the situation, it fleshed out more the characters, it built up layers to their personality and relationship. So Sam carried on the weight of being “different” (and in a way feeling guilty for that) and Dean the weight of being “an ordinary guy” in an extraordinary situation.
I liked also that Sam’s powers were marked clearly as “dangerous”, if not outright “evil”. I liked how in S4 the story showed his slow but constant progression from the use of his power to “save the victim” to the use of them to get sheer revenge and destroying demons without care for the human host. Because this is what I think about “power”, this is what I think power can do to the ones too eager to use it.
So I, for one, don’t want to see these powers resurface. At the moment I don’t want something getting in the way of the brothers rebuiliding their relationship and trust toward each other. I agree that the issue have to be dealt with. They have to explain us something about them being “dormant” or forever gone or whatever. It was too an important issue in the past for the brothers never bringing up the matter again. And I don’t mind if they add up some “spice” to the story. Just… not now. In the future, maybe in Season 7.
Sweet ‘nitpicker’, please look again – not saying that Sam [i]was [/i] doomed, just wondering [i]if [/i] he was because of the demon blood in his system… 😉
I, for one, am looking forward to see where this show will dare to go.
Love Jas
Don’t worry. We are in agreement. you are probably just at the end of a long week, don’t worry.
Sleep it all off, dear. ;-), I’ll do the same, hell and heaven know I need it, 😆 love, Jas
In regards to Sam being tainted and doomed possibly, (not being able to get into Heaven) because of the demon blood…
Technically, the demon blood is part of his BODY, not his soul. And lets not forget that he did, in fact, go to Heaven with Dean after they were shot in the hotel room. In fact, according to Ash, they’d been there quite often.
You got a point here!
Still, the drama loving part of my mind would love to have Sam not being allowed to enter heaven. I know, I’m mean… poor Sammy… 🙂 I love my boy, I do….
Okay, before I start talking more rubbish fluently now, I’d better head to bed.
Cheers, Jas
I have a different theory. Remember when Cas yanked Dean out of Hell? He was brought back brand new–as if reborn. Maybe when Crowley yanked Sam’s body out of Hell, he came back brand new, too. Since YED gave him blood AFTER he was born, then if he came back reborn all the blood taint would be gone, too, just like Dean’s scars.
writinginsecret–great point! Because technically his entire being went down there..not just his soul. Which, honestly, I’ve still been trying to figure out lol
And that’s also a mind-boggler: What happens to the body in hell?
I mean, the ‘normal’ way to visit Hell would be: you die, then your soul enters Hell. The body stays in the earth, rotting. (‘Oh, dear, the first worm…’)
In SwanSong, both, Sam and Adam, fell into the cage that undoubtedly is located in Hell. What happened to their bodies?
When Sam was brought back – did he have to undergo some sort of procedure (hello Dr Frankenstein) to make him look alive and healthy? Even if it was only a couple of days, the body will have begun to decompose.
And still the question remains – to what purpose was Sam brought back, exactly? I don’t think catching-Alphas would suffice for someone to go through all the trouble of breaking into the cage.
gosh, is the hiatus over, yet?
Off to breakfast, Jas
This has actually made me wonder, looking at the progression of the storyline, where his visions went. Specifically, if his powers never really left, he started drinking demon blood to reactivate them, why no visions? He didn’t have demon exorcising powers before. So if the demon blood was a tool to awaken dormant powers, why didn’t the visions return? And even if the demon blood was a trick to get Sam or his mind, or however you want to put it, to reawaken the powers, the question still stands. Where are the visions?
Jas, now that I think about it, robo-sam said he just ‘woke up in the field the next minute’. perhaps his body didn’t really stay in hell long enough for anything to happen, before crowley dragged him out…
chandra, his visions seemed to solely be linked to the other ‘children’ like him. im hoping he’ll encounter more like that, actually…but idk that they’re actually ‘active’ anymore, since the YED is dead.
I don’t think solely. The vision in Home wasn’t related to any other psychic children. Neither was the one in Croatoan (was that the name of the episode? I can’t remember.). The one with the Croatoan virus could be said to be linked to YED still, I guess. But Home?
Although I do agree that it would be cool to see more, I can’t think of how they’d fit it into the storyline. Maybe season 7? 🙂
[quote]I don’t think solely. The vision in Home wasn’t related to any other psychic children. Neither was the one in Croatoan (was that the name of the episode? I can’t remember.). The one with the Croatoan virus could be said to be linked to YED still, I guess. But Home?
Although I do agree that it would be cool to see more, I can’t think of how they’d fit it into the storyline. Maybe season 7? :)[/quote]
Home was related in some fashion to his mother, and Missouri– I think maybe that connection helped.
Croatoan was the name, btw, and I think it was because it was Dean that was the focus of that vision, that he had it. I think his demon-blood connection to the “other children like him” somehow also allows him a certain connection to his family when it’s necessary. I’d at least like to see that aspect explored a bit more. :)Although I do agree that it would be cool to see more, I can’t think of how they’d fit it into the storyline. Maybe season 7? 🙂
-Xenascully
I see your point. But it just makes me think he could have the visions without them being related to other psychic children. Maybe that’s just because I’m stubborn lol.
Yeah, me too, hehehe ;). And who knows how many others there are? And if YED had a YED brother who did the same thing with another generation of kids…That could open up a whole other storyline hahaha. Thank GOD for fanfiction! ROFL! I’m getting all kinds of nice ideas now… 😉
That could be really cool, except didn’t they say that the only reason he did it was to free Lucifer? So I guess they’d need another reason for someone to do it again. I’m trying to think of one, but I got nothing. Although I CAN think of lots of powers they hadn’t touched on yet.
Well yeah, that was his original intention. BUT, that doesn’t mean the powers all went away just because it failed. I’m wondering, and hoping, that there will be something else that hasn’t emerged yet. I’m surprised there hasn’t been another “moving” incident, like when Sam envisioned Dean’s death and he made the cabinet move from in front of the closet.
I’m disappointed they never had another “moving” incident!! Telekinesis rocks. I’d love it if Sam had it, even if it was spotty and didn’t always work. In fact, that might be better, cuz it wouldn’t be too good if suddenly Sam could stop everything that came at him with no effort. But throw it in sometimes, it would be awesome!
I know, right?! Like, not Neo from the Matrix or anything lolol– but when there’s an intense moment and it’s absolutely necessary! It’s usually emotion-based, right?
Exactly! You get a high charged scene, some big bad, the boys are in trouble and BAM! Sam telekinesis! It’ll be great!
my fanfiction senses are tingling…hehehe
Haha, if you write it, can I read it?
Absolutely not. ROFL jk well duh of COURSE you can :p That’s kinda the point lolol. You can find me on fanfiction.net and Facebook under Xenascully. I’ve got a couple SPN fics up right now…But most of what I have is NCIS. I did a series of NCIS/SPN crossovers lol But right now I’m working on an SPN solo fic called Riding Out the Storm. It was gonna be something short and sweet for a friend for her birthday, but it’s taken on a life of its own. Lots of hurt!Sam ahead hehe. I did a hurt!Dean for another friend’s bday–but it was a one-shot hehe. If you ‘like’ my FB page, you’ll be able to see when I start this one we’re talking about lol. Otherwise, idk how I’d get a hold of you to let you know. hehehe
Lol I guess I should’ve asked if you do post somewhere first. I’ll look for you on facebook. 🙂
Late again, but with so many fantastic theories on here, is it okay if I jump in?
Sam and his powers intrigue me, they always have. Not that the whole psychic thing is in itself strange, because SPN has established that psychic ability isn’t necessarily a big deal, but because we have no idea just how far these psychic abilities can go. Given that we’ve only ever really seen them in spurts, we’ve never been able to explore how wide ranging they actually could be.
First things first, I think Sam was born with basic psychic ability, same as Missouri and Pamela (and I’d imagine countless other nameless, faceless psychics out there). YED didn’t [i]give[/i] Sam this ability. The same applies to the other special children. With or without the demon blood, Andy would still have been empathic, Ava psychic, Jake overly strong etc. After all, baby Rose showed psychic abilities before YED visited.
The blood drinking as babies merely linked the special children to YED. It was a tagging system, a way to be able to call them all together when the time came, a way for other demons to know that these kids were off limits and it also served to someway make YED vaguely familiar to the kids.
Subconsciously, Sam’s natural psychic ability was developing into something needed by his family in order to survive. I feel had Mary not died and were it not for the total immersion into the hunting lifestyle, Sam’s psychic visions might have utilised themselves in another way that best served the family’s needs at the time (if Sam’s family were fishermen, Sam visions would be about weather patterns etc).
Point is, Sam’s psychic ability manifested in a way that was needed, visions about YED. He’d spent his life surrounded by demons; it makes sense (to me) that he would be more attuned to them. I don’t think this was YEDs plan. I doubt he would want the Winchesters to have a way of tracking him as it would put him in danger, would it not?
Sam’s visions helped his family, the same way that Sam’s psychic ability translated to telekinesis when Dean was in danger (in Nightmare).
After YED’s death, while the visions of him stopped, Sam’s psychic ability did not die with him. The natural ability merely lay dormant until such time as there was overwhelming stress and need in Sam’s life, namely Dean’s death and Sam’s utter helplessness in getting his brother out of hell.
On the exorcising ability, I don’t think drinking blood was the reason Sam could exorcise demons. Ruby’s ‘feather to fly’ comment aside, I think this was Sam’s dormant ability waking up and materialising in a way that was needed [i]now[/i], killing demons. Given the hostility between Sam and demons and the redundancy he felt at their hands, it doesn’t strike me as surprising that the third time Sam’s psychic ability came to light it was in relation to something more empowering.
I don’t feel Sam needed the blood to exorcise the demons but he needed the blood as an excuse as to why he can do what he can do. For someone as reserved as Sam, I don’t think he’d want to acknowledge that he can kill demons with his mind, no demon blood required. By using external causes such as the blood, he is able to argue with himself that this (ability to exorcise) is not because of something he is, but because of something he has done. By bringing in these external factors on which to blame them, he is, in part, absolving himself of what he is naturally capable of doing.
I think Ruby was yanking Sams chain about the blood because I no longer believe her main aim was breaking the final seal. Given that Heaven, hunters and parts of hell were after her, Lilith was dying with or without Sam.
I feel Ruby’s main role was much more important, to prepare Sam to be Lucifer’s vessel and for that, Sam needed to start drinking blood. We heard Nick was chugging gallons of the stuff when Lucifer was in him but that wasn’t enough, Nick was falling apart. But by having Sam gradually drink more and more blood, it became part of him, so that when he did take the big hit, his tolerance would have grown and his body would be ready for it.
It’s the same as training for a marathon. If you’ve never trained before, there’s no point running 10 miles every day for the week prior to the race, you need to do one mile four times a week and gradually build it up for 12 months so that you’ll be in peak condition the day of the race. By having Sam space out the blood drinking and going little and often to gradually drinking more (and Sam went from licking Ruby’s arm, to drinking from a bottle, to sucking a neck to draining a number of demons dry), the demon blood was infused IN Sam at the time of breaking the final seal, making him in prime condition to house Lucifer. (Had Nick been drinking demon blood for a time prior to saying yes, odds are he’d have been a much stronger vessel.)
In relation to why Sam doesn’t exorcise the crap out of demons during season 6? Anytime we’ve seen Sam use his powers willingly (i.e. when he wasn’t in training) it’s been out of necessity. He’s had to do it in order to ensure his or Deans survival (e.g. with Samhain and Famines minions). He rarely exorcised for the sake of it.
Given that Sam was soulless for most of season 6, I wouldn’t expect him to have used his powers. He’s been cold, calm and logical the entire time so I don’t see him caring enough about anything to need to exorcise. Also, given his new found tendency to shoot first, I don’t see him having ever got into a situation where he was about to die at a demons hand. Since he got his soul back, there haven’t been any demons around so no need to exorcise.
Finally, it might be a case that the remnants of Sammy in Soulless Sam might associate exorcising demons with the Cage and that’s one place even Soulless Sam doesn’t care to visit again!
It’d be interesting to see what would happen now if either Dean or Bobby were in danger from a demon, ala MBV, how Sam (and the show) would react. Would he draw on the powers that (I believe) are inherently there or has Sam now got a huge mental block in place about these powers?
Strangely, if the situations were reversed (i.e. Dean was the one with the exorcising ability) I don’t think Dean would need the extra spur (of blood) to use them. I think he’d take them for what they are, a weapon, and use them accordingly. (He was prepared to use his body as a weapon by saying yes to Michael.) I wonder how Dean would react to another hunter (who wasn’t his baby brother) exorcising demons in such a way. Would he see him as a weapon or as a threat?
I also don’t think Lucifer could, or would, remove Sam’s powers. I think he’d like them to serve as a reminder to Sam as to what he ‘is’, something other than human. I think Lucifer would get a kick out of Sam believing he belonged in hell; it’d be much easier for him to go into a self-righteous monologue this way. I feel that Lucifer would get off on the idea that while Sam is powerful, and as was mentioned above, might be (or have the ability to be) the King of Hell, he’s still not more powerful than Lucifer.
Luci wouldn’t get any particular joy out of Sam if he were a mere minion. From Lucifers POV, Sam having these powers puts him above the level of the hairless apes, but Lucifer is still stronger than him. Also, as a source of pride, I don’t think Lucifer would be on board with the whole idea of being bested by a mere human, not if he could help it.
However, one of the main reasons I feel that Lucifer didn’t/couldn’t take Sam’s powers is because they are not his to take. The psychic ability, and as a consequence the powers, are as much a part of Sam as puppy eyes and shaggy hair.
Do I think we’ll see the powers again? While I would love to, I don’t think we will. Not because I think they’re not there but because from a writing point of view, reusing past material is never a good idea. It’d be like taking ten steps backwards in terms of story progression.
That being said, if an episode ended with Sam closing his eyes and raising his hand, I’d be very, very excited…..
I think that the reason Sam has not used his powers, or even knows that he still has them, is because he has not come in contact with demon blood. I don’t think he killed any demons while he was RoboSam but since he wasn’t really Sam, it didn’t count. Sam has to kill a demon and smell the blood in order for his addition to be activated again.
What surprises me is that Dean hasn’t mentioned it. One would think that he would want to know. Maybe he’s afraid to ask. Oh, I just thought of something. Maybe RoboSam did use those powers and Grand Pa was referring to it when he said Sam did much worse than he imagined.It’s also possible that RoboSam didn’t get addicted because he wasn’t human and didn’t react the same way as Sam. Just a thought.
Tim the enchanter, you came late but gave the best and simple explanation. It makes sense that for a guy who would not like to be the different one would be comfortable in assuming that his powers are a product of the demon blood rather than being inherent.Also when ever Sam had visions everyone around him reacted with trepidation and it might have contributed to his refusal to accept that the powers might be his own.Dean i think at the beginning will accept them as weapons but gradually when he sees what happened to other children would have ceased to use it.But then again when i think that Dean was more Black and white at that time i don’t know how his reaction would have been after seeing other children and especially metamorphosis.The reason why i wonder is because he showed belief that sam would not turn bad but his own self worth would be grossly underestimated by him even if sam told him otherwise..
I thought that the reason tha Sam does not have is powers anymore is because, like Dean after his resurection, his body is brand new. Sam was not born with powers, he was infected with them by YED. So if Dean was re-hymenated when he returned from hell it could be assumed that Sam came back in a body clean of demon blood.
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a demon is a human soul that has been damaged and twisted by hell. When azazel gave him the demon blood, it affected his soul and gave him those powers. So, when sam didn’t have a soul, it isn’t the BODY that is addicted. If robo sam doesn’t have the addiction, than he wouldn’t have any reason to drink the demon blood. Without his soul, sam probably doesn’t even have those powers at all!
Why don’t they just ask Cas? Wasn’t he able to sense the demon blood in Sam. He’s the one who said “Ah, yes, the boy with the demon blood” when he first met Sam as thought he could literally smell the blood in him. Maybe Cas’s ability to sense the demon blood is gone now too, along with Sam’s powers. :-*
I thought that the trials had purified Sam. As to his powers before the trials, maybe his time in the cage burned away the powers or Sam has chosen to submerge them. As Ruby 1 told Sam in S3 his powers were dormant not gone.
I hope we are going to get just Sam from now on.