Bardic’s Descant: 6:19 Mommy Dearest: I’m Building The Perfect Beast
Commentary and Meta Analysis
Okay, I will candidly admit: I did NOT see that one coming! I’m still not entirely sure how it arrived , I’m shaky on the divine metaphysics , but I’m dying to find out where it goes and how it came about in the first place. In this discussion, I’m going to explore where the Winchester brothers’ heads are; speculate about what’s going on with Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory; and look at the changes in Castiel.
I’m Getting A Little Sick And Tired Of The Greater Purposes
I think Dean’s reaction to Castiel trying to get him to forget about the young Silver brothers and concentrate on the bigger picture not only embodied Dean’s frustration, but also spoke to the desires of many fans to return to a simpler past.
In the beginning of the series, the Winchesters’ mission was simple and very personal: saving people, hunting things , the family business. It meant avenging their mother’s death and finding their father. Every battle was direct , find it, figure it out, kill it , and every victory brought the immediate satisfaction of saving someone or getting a step closer to the goal.
That started getting complicated very quickly as the brothers began to understand that something had been done to Sam when he was just a baby, but even then, the mission focus was simple: saving Sam. It was still personal and very immediate.
Things became much more complex as the whole apocalypse machinery ground into gear. The stakes and the mission kept getting bigger, the problems more impossible to face, and the personal emotional price ever higher, while the reward, if there was a reward, became increasingly more remote and theoretical. Saving the world really isn’t something we can get our minds around; it’s just too big and too impersonal. Saving a brother, saving a friend, hell, even saving a stranger is something we can understand and celebrate; we can see the results of what we’ve done right there in front of us. Saving the world, on the other hand; we just can’t see the whole world, not all at once, and not while also being able to see all the small-scale lives within it that make it matter.
Dean’s and Sam’s reactions to the orphaned Silver boys were prompted in large part by the Winchesters seeing themselves in the Silvers, remembering their own closeness as young boys in the back seat, but another piece of it was their desperate need , especially on Dean’s part , to see a clear victory they could understand, to be able to salvage these two young lives out of the massive ruin their own lives had become. They haven’t had a tangible, unalloyed victory in far too long; everything’s been tainted. Yes, they averted the apocalypse and Sam succeeded in defeating Lucifer, but the price they paid was far too dear for any of them to perceive it as a win. Yes, Sam now has his soul back and the brothers are emotionally and spiritually united to a glorious degree we haven’t seen in years, but that coexists with the specter of what will happen when that wall in Sam’s mind falls and plunges him into the fullness of his unendurable, unimaginable memories of Hell.
Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, the brothers believed in happy endings. Oh, not for themselves , Sam briefly entertained that hope with Jessica, but surrendered it long ago, and Dean has never had it , but at least for the people they constantly sacrificed themselves to save. Their justification and reward for the lives they led was seeing the people they’d helped survive; knowing through those people that they’d done something good and worthwhile, that their personal sacrifices had meaning. That satisfaction fed them from day to day even when they had no long-term hopes for themselves. They’ve been deprived of that solace for a long time now, so it was no wonder to me that they grasped it in both hands and held on to the moment when it came.
That moment turning to dust in their hands was bitter beyond words.
Supernatural has always been dark, but there were almost always at least glimmers of light and hope present. This noir season, despite all its humor, has just carried us and the Winchesters even further into the dark. Noir, indeed.
Every Soul, Mine
Eve’s explanation for why she was doing what she was doing was fascinating, but I’m still trying to get my head around it. It appears I got some of the concepts right in my earlier discussions about Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, and souls, but I still have a lot to learn!
We learned all the way back in The Third Man that souls had power. That power was what prompted Balthazar to make deals, buying souls in exchange for Heavenly weapons. In Family Matters, we discovered that , at least according to the alpha vampire , human souls went only to either Heaven or Hell, but monster souls all went to Purgatory.
I guessed at the time that since souls had power, whoever could control the souls in Purgatory would have access to a considerable power source, and speculated that snaring the power of those souls was not only Crowley’s game, but might be a rogue angel’s as well. Prior to My Heart Will Go On, however, I would never have guessed Castiel to be that kind of rogue.
I’m not certain I fully understand what’s going on, but it strikes me that, in the beginning, all human souls may have been intended for Heaven. I also wonder when, in Supernatural‘s cosmology, God created Hell; whether God conceived of it at the very beginning as the ultimate repository for the souls of free-willed humans who chose not to follow God, or whether it didn’t come to be until God needed a place to exile his rebellious angel Lucifer and the human souls he’d warped into the first demons, as we learned from Ruby’s version of demon Sunday school in When The Levee Breaks. And I wonder if Purgatory and the concept of monsters as challenges for humanity to face was part of God’s original plan for the natural order of things, or only came about after Eve , whether she was part of God’s intentional creation, a rebellious thing like Lucifer, an independent god, or a force like Death , began transforming humans into monsters and thus diverting their souls from both Heaven and Hell. I suspect any of the latter three rather than the first, if only because Eve , with her ability to transform any individual human into a monster and destine them for Purgatory , utterly overrides and dispenses with humanity and free will even more than a demon possessing a human does.
This all makes me wonder why God created humans in the first place, and why he apparently preferred them to and valued them above angels. Given Eve’s comment about souls being fuel, little nuclear reactors that when combined produce the sun, I wonder whether the ultimate purpose of creating humans may have been to power Heaven, setting up a self-replicating engine that freed God to move on to other things. Wouldn’t it be ironic , especially for Zachariah and the other angels who chose deliberately to bring about the apocalypse , if all that Heavenly power angels can draw on and channel is generated by the presence of human souls dwelling in and generating bliss in Heaven, and relies on the steady arrival of more souls to replace the power being consumed? If human souls reliving their bliss power Heaven and angels, then I would guess that human souls in torment in Hell provide the power for all we’ve seen demons and Lucifer able to do.
Wow.
This was a very enjoyable – and insightful article. 🙂
Just let me add a few quick thoughts.
[b]Why didn’t Eve simply turn the brothers and Bobby and have done, rather than trying to persuade them to cooperate with her?[/b]
I suspect that the Winchester brothers and Bobby would have been better hunters if they were not tampered with (i.e. turned); and perhaps Eve thought so as well. This could have been important since Crowley was (in her view) difficult to find.
I think the bigger gap in logic (as another writer has pointed out) is why didn’t Eve simply summon Crowley the way Bobby did in “Weekend at Bobby’s”, or procured someone to do it, instead of trying to get hunters (or “turned” hunters”) to get Crowley ?
[b]So how did Dean not get infected from his contact with Ed’s blood?[/b]
Perhaps the consumed ash had something to do with it (if he had ingested it by then) ? No idea really.
[b](T)he script’s blatant fan service to slash fandom.[/b]
While I did feel a bit uncomfortable with the “slashy” bits, I do think that they were fine (i.e not overdone), and if truth be told, a little funny (even with the discomfort) – they were at most one or two throw away inconsequential lines. And if those few lines help to generate more viewership for Supernatural …
A quick thought about Crowley’s fake death in “Caged Heat”. Why was Megan able to detect it at that time ?
Also, Megan would have presumably known that Crowley wasn’t really dead at some point in time thereafter – why didn’t she attempt to reestablish her alliance with the Winchester brothers after “Caged Heat” ?
Thanks – and I’m glad you enjoyed the piece, because I definitely had fun writing it!
I could see the brothers possibly being better hunters with all their human instincts intact; let’s say that’s why Eve left them human. Keeping them human definitely works for me! 🙂
On the question of why Eve didn’t just summon Crowley, or have someone do it; I don’t think we’ve ever been given a solid reason to believe, in [i]Supernatural[/i], that summoning a demon forcibly compels it to appear, at least not if it’s a really powerful one. I’m guessing that, for the top echelon of demons, it’s not a compulsion so much as it is an invitation, with the demon able to choose whether to pick up the phone or not. (And I wonder whether that may also apply to angels; whether the reason Rachel wasn’t already visible and present in the warehouse to which she summoned Castiel in [i]Frontierland[/i] was simply because she didn’t want him to know she was the one who summoned him, and spiked his curiosity by popping out to make him answer the call to the seemingly empty warehouse in order to learn who had called him.) If that’s the case, then Azazel, Ruby, and Crowley chose to respond when they were called because they wanted to, not because they absolutely had to; and I could see that being the case every time, given the nature and timing of their various summonses. I could also see Crowley being able to take a peek at the setup and deciding not to answer if Mommy Dearest was in the neighborhood.
Or, it could be something completely different … let me go away and think for a while!
Heh: I also like your explanation for Dean avoiding infection from touching the blood with his finger. Let’s call him temporarily inoculated! *grin*
On the slashiness, I’ll admit I chuckled a little for Cass appearing immediately behind Dean on the “not living in my ass” line, but there was still a lot of fatigue in my reaction to the humor, especially by the time we got around to the “ointment” lines. Slash is just such an easy target for cheap laughs; I’m tired of it, if only because it’s so very vocal.
On Crowley’s fake death – I don’t think Meg did detect it. She had wanted Crowley to die for having betrayed Lucifer; all I saw on her face in [i]Caged Heat[/i] was pleasure for Crowley being destroyed, followed by determination to escape. As for why she didn’t get in touch with the Winchesters when she learned Crowley was actually alive, well; there really was no love lost there. I think Meg was perfectly well aware that both Sam and Dean meant to kill her after she took down Crowley, so teaming with them again wouldn’t have been in the cards unless she could have seen some way to protect herself from them in the process.
I strongly suspect we’ve going to see Meg again someday, if only because she has to be in the forefront of the opposition to Crowley in Hell. But when, where, and doing what – I haven’t a clue!
Thanks again for engaging, especially since I’ve been notoriously absent from the dialogue thing. Glad to be back!!
[quote]Given Eve’s comment about souls being fuel, little nuclear reactors that when combined produce the sun, I wonder whether the ultimate purpose of creating humans may have been to power Heaven, setting up a self-replicating engine that freed God to move on to other things. Wouldn’t it be ironic – especially for Zachariah and the other angels who chose deliberately to bring about the apocalypse – if all that Heavenly power angels can draw on and channel is generated by the presence of human souls dwelling in and generating bliss in Heaven, and relies on the steady arrival of more souls to replace the power being consumed? If human souls reliving their bliss power Heaven and angels, then I would guess that human souls in torment in Hell provide the power for all we’ve seen demons and Lucifer able to do.[/quote]
Interesting that you say that because I believe Cas wants these souls only because he knows they are the only way he can heal himself and his fellow angels. Didn’t he tell Dean once that their “numbers are not unlimited” If they are wounded in battle, siphoning a human soul might be the only way to save them. I think he might be doing what ever it takes to keep what few angels he has on his side alive. Also, I don’t believe for an instant that he is doing this for evil purposes. Misguided maybe, but not evil. Perhaps in his mind the end justifies the means. If this is the only way he can win the war then, he’s gonna do what he thinks he has to do even if it means hooking up with Crowley and stretching the boundaries of his ethics.
Learning to do questionable things out of desperation, even for all the right reasons, would certainly be something he would have picked up hanging around the Winchesters all this time. Too bad he didn’t pick up that those decisions usually don’t end well.
I hope we get definitive answers tomorrow night and I hope that one of them isn’t that Cas is their new enemy. It will break my heart if that is the case.
Another great review Bardic.
Oooh; nice thought on Castiel seeking souls because siphoning power could save angels who otherwise would die. Me likey!
I’m both impatient for and afraid of tomorrow night; what lines will we learn Castiel had already crossed? And is one of them his Rubicon, that can’t be crossed back again, to change his fate?
I would hate to see Dean so badly hurt by this surprise and this betrayal that he would consider Castiel beyond the pale. Dean found forgiveness for Sam, even after expressing extreme reservations about and distrust of him at the end of [i]Sympathy For The Devil[/i]; I hope he can do the same for Castiel, and not reject him out of hand in the first blush of discovering how far he has fallen.
Is it Friday yet?
And thanks for the praise!
Thanks for another wonderfully written and insightful review!
I am also worried about what Cas is up to working with Crowley. Also a bit concerned about the “nothing” that Sam tried to dismiss at the end-was it really nothing or some memory/crack?
When we were discussing this episode, a friend of mine brought up one of the early season 6 promos – “Trust No One”. Looks like another layer of meaning has been added to that one.
Thanks, m’dear – glad you enjoyed!
Sam seems to have been remembering more little snatches, as indicated by his discovery of the Campbell family library in [i]Frontierland[/i]. What’s really not clear is how much he’s indicating to Dean and Bobby about [u]remembering[/u] rather than [u]deducing[/u]: if he’s pretending deduction to explain things he’s actually recalling, it’s going to be a rude awakening for his brother and Bobby.
I am [i]so[/i] afraid of what remains of this season; I know it will break my heart.
This summer is going to be one hell of a hellacious hiatus …
Oh, such a good review, especially on your thoughts about the storylines and meaning and purpose of souls. Unfortunately, as you say, it’s too big, too impersonal to the brothers, and I gave up even thinking about it all a long time ago. Mostly, I think, the bigness has put a stop to character focus for the brothers. Sure, they get screen time, but the story isn’t focused on them, IMO.
I’m glad you gave Adam Glass and John Showalter credit. For the first time this season, I felt Mr. Glass gave us Old Dean back…loved the appearance of reckless, simple and effective, have a Plan B Dean after such a long time…and I appreciated that. His portrayal of the brothers was perfect and enjoyable. And, you know what? I’ve always liked the locker room humor for our tough, blue collar, fringe of society guys.
Loved the Dean’s reflection in the glass of the interrogation room, and the mirror shots in the car. I’ve always liked John Showalter’s work.
I love Mark Sheppard and, yes, what professionalism. The only thing with Crowley this season is that instead of an adorable rat fenemy, he is now just a rat. Boo hoo. I hope he doesn’t become a Bela, with no redeeming qualities. I kind of liked the adorable rat. Killing Crowley off way back was good, because I did not like the show having Sam/Dean working for him. It just seemed so wrong for Dean, and made him look dumb in that he worked for Crowley for months without thinking of hunting up Death sooner. Crowley returning now, I feel, once and for all takes death off the table for any character, demon, monster, or angel. It’s a twist that I fear will weaken any suspense in further seasons. I mean, we already knew death was off the table for the brothers, which takes a lot of the suspense out of the show period, but now everyone and everything is fair game. I’m not sure I like that move, despite my pleasure of not having Mark gone from the show.
Let me just say that I loved this episode and anything I have said is nitpicky and didn’t take anything away from how much I enjoyed it.
Season-wise, though, I still do not see the brother’s investment in the mytharc and various stories. Why did Eve want the Winchesters specifically to work for her? Why did Death want the brothers working for him? Why does Cas feel a need to lie to the brothers about what he is doing in Heaven? Why was Dean left out of the picture for a year? Why were the Campbells brought into it? Why did Crowley make them his attack puppets (when he had legions of demons to do his work)? Why was Sam resurrected w/o a soul and why did he hook up wit the Campbells? I’m just not seeing what investment the brothers have in the saving of the world business? Because the world would be lost if Cas loses? Not personal enough for me. I guess that puts me in the ‘I’m getting tired of all the greater purposes’ camp, yet am so happy to have enjoyed everything in the episode.
I love that this show makes me actually think about what I believe Heaven & Hell & Purgatory to be, & what really is a soul & its purpose, & what is the meaning of all this (I only wish my philosophy classes back in college could have been so interesting!). Fascinating stuff!
However, what I really enjoy are the personal things, the relationships among this small group of characters that I’ve grown to love so fiercely. Boy, did my heart ache for Sam & Dean when they realized that they hadn’t saved the Silver brothers. I am also cringing at how devastated Dean will be to learn of Castiel’s “dirty little secret”. I still can’t figure what Castiel’s motivation for working with Crowley truly is. I hope we find out tonight.
As always, this was a wonderful & thought-provoking review!