Let’s Discuss Supernatural “The Executioner’s Song” & Fan Video of the Week
aka Cain and Abel, story about two brothers, foreshadowing and the MOC
“8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.”While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
10 The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.”
– Genesis 4:8-10, New International Version (NIV)
The story of the MOC started long ago. The back story was a part of it all from the start. Now you are expecting I will tell you it all started from “First Born” when we first saw Cain and when he gave Dean the Mark Of Cain but I won’t. It all actually started from the pilot, from the two brothers who were destined to ride with one another. Their mythical and legendary tale would be entwined and added to the line of their ancestors, enriching it and their own.
In school I studied the Bible from archaeological and science points of view among my religion studies. In an essay, I combined the Arc of the Covenant story to Raiders of the Lost Arc movie. Only time I actually got an A+ from something at school. I followed the Arc’s trail to the last entry in the Bible and cross searched references/myths where the arc could be found in real world. With this topic I also searched the past – things that connect the MOC to the brothers’ lives. The leap came from season two with the episode “Houses of the Holy”. In one of the scenes, Sam points at the painting of Michael on the wall but he is actually also pointing at Dean. The gesture is a coincidence but in the later seasons it appeared to have been foreshadowing, like they are also talking about the Michael sword or the words of dream Demon!Dean in 3.10 “Dream a Little Dream of Me” “Demon!Dean: You can’t escape me, Dean. You’re gonna die. And this? This is what you’re gonna become!”
Sam: Father, that’s Michael, right?
Father Reynolds: That’s right. The archangel Michael, with the flaming sword. The fighter of demons, holy force against evil.
Sam: So they’re not really the Hallmark card version that everybody thinks? They’re fierce, right? Vigilant?
Father Reynolds: Well, I like to think of them as more loving than wrathful; but yes, a lot of Scripture paints angels as God’s warriors. ‘An angel of the Lord appeared to them, the glory of the Lord shone down upon them, and they were terrified.’ Luke 2:9.– 2.13 Houses of the Holy
Whether or not you are a believer, the Bible is good source material for mythical references and stories. The bond of these brothers is so great you can’t help but think how Lucifer’s and Michael’s, and Cain’s and Abel’s stories can be compared to the brothers’ story. I think it is a coincidence that Archangel Michael, Lucifer, Cain and Abel were mentioned during those earlier seasons but from the pilot to season 10 everything connects and the coincidence turned out to be something else (or the writers planned this all along and are brilliantly evil masterminds). That is why the MOC was so appealing for me. I like the stories, legends and examination of them. It was very interesting that these brothers whose lives pulled us in were also connected to real life material. The full story is about brothers after all (at the moment all six of them) and that these ordinary brothers, Sam and Dean, have a greater and larger story behind them.
Michael: Lucifer defied our father, and he betrayed me, but still, I don’t want this any more than you would want to kill Sam. You know, my brother… I practically raised him. I took care of him in a way most people could never understand, and I still love him. But I am going to kill him, because it is right, and I have to.
Dean: What, because God says so?
Michael: Yes. From the beginning, he knew this was how it was going to end.
Dean: And you’re just going to do whatever God says?
Michael: Yes, because I am a good son.Michael: It’s a bloodline.
Dean: A bloodline?
Michael: Stretching back to Cain and Abel. It’s in your blood, your father’s blood, your family’s blood.
Dean: Awesome. Six degrees of Heaven Bacon. What do you want with me?– 5.13 The Song Remains the Same
This also changed and broadened the story of Supernatural. The monsters, demons and angels were trying to control and rule Sam’s and Dean’s lives by telling them what they should do, and it all started from the man up top. If God presents himself ever on the show I hope Sam and Dean smack him right into his face (Chuck is not God in my mind) because he has literally screwed over their lives even before they were born. Mostly all of the supernatural beings in the show think people are nothing, i.e. inferior beings, so I am glad Sam and Dean show them what’s what. Kripke planned that the supernatural acts superior but the only things that are real are the humans of the story.
Gabriel: You do not know my family. What you guys call the apocalypse, I used to call Sunday dinner. That’s why there’s no stopping this, because this isn’t about a war. It’s about two brothers that loved each other and betrayed each other. You’d think you’d be able to relate.
Sam: What are you talking about?
Gabriel: You sorry sons of bitches. Why do you think you two are the vessels? Think about it. Michael, the big brother, loyal to an absent father, and Lucifer, the little brother, rebellious of Daddy’s plan. You were born to this, boys. It’s your destiny! It was always you! As it is in heaven, so it must be on earth. One brother has to kill the other.– 5.08 Changing Channels
It is no surprise that the story of Cain and Abel was connected too to the whole story. We can see the resemblance but the difference is that Sam and Dean chose another path in the end. They chose one another. They remained human and stayed with each other. They have not killed one another even though it has been hinted it is their destiny. They have kept their free will. How is the Supernatural story of Cain and Abel different from the real story? Like all stories, and as you can see in the references, all pieces are there just interpreted differently like some pieces in the origin story even are.
“Castiel: You know, I’ve…I’ve been here for a very long time. And I remember many things. I remember being at a shoreline, watching a little grey fish heave itself up on the beach and an older brother saying, “don’t step on that fish, Castiel. Big plans for that fish.” I remember the Tower of Babel…All 37 feet of it, which I suppose was impressive at the time. And when it fell, they howled ‘divine wrath’. But come on – dried dung can only be stacked so high. I remember Cain and Abel…David and Goliath…Sodom and Gomorrah.” 6.20 The Man Who Would Be King
So, let’s move on to Cain and Abel’s original story mixed with Supernatural differences. They were still the sons of Adam and Eve. Cain became the first murderer, the father of murder, when he tried to prevent Abel from going to hell by killing him. Lucifer tried to corrupt Abel so Cain made a deal instead that Abel’s soul would go to heaven and his would go to hell. Lucifer agreed if Cain would do the deed himself. Cain did it with the jawbone of a donkey that then became the First Blade. Cain was marked with a brand that, combined with the blade, gave him supernatural powers. It was also a lock and a key to the Darkness which Lucifer out of spite probably gave away to Cain. It was a gift from his father but he might not have known it was a curse that big. Or did he?
Cain: Abel wasn’t talking to God. He was talking to Lucifer. Lucifer was gonna make my brother into his pet, I couldn’t bear to watch him be corrupted, so I offered a deal — Abel’s soul in Heaven for my soul in Hell. Lucifer accepted… as long as I was the one who sent Abel to Heaven. So, I killed him. Became a soldier of Hell — a knight.”
– 9.11 “First Born”
Cain didn’t want to live as a killer so he tried to kill himself. I don’t know if it was with the blade or what but he couldn’t die and he was turned into a demon. He was now the first knight of hell. He was the leader who created and trained more knights who destroyed and killed everything in their path on Earth. His “right hand” was Abaddon. Cain stopped his ways when he found his love Collette because he promised her, but the knights tried to get him back by killing the woman he loved. He slaughtered all of them except one – Abaddon.
Mark lore and the effects of it are not totally out in the open, but Cain meeting Dean and sharing the mark with him felt very personal. The mark corrupts and was more of a disease because of the entity it held in (the Darkness). Cain did not know that. Only God and Death probably did. The mark was attached to the Cain and Abel lore and it made me wonder what was true and what was not. Seems to me that not even Cain knew the real deal about the MOC.
Both Sam and Dean fit in some sense to be both Cain and Abel. They are both from the same bloodline. I felt also that Cain was a father figure to Dean that again died and left him. When Cain said “You’re welcome, my son.” shivers ran through my spine. Dean could understand his choices just because he saw himself in Cain. Then he made a mistake while he was trying to save his brother too.
The threat of the Cain and Abel story was there because I combined everything I saw in the earlier seasons and about the other stories together. The past was the warning sign. Cain’s words were the warning sign. Dean killing people that were not supernatural was a sign. Of course when Dean heard the “false prophecy” he did everything he could to do the opposite, to not take those steps Cain said he would. Of course it wouldn’t happen if he didn’t kill Crowley and Castiel right? Except that focusing on just the order of the list made Dean loose sight that “Whatever you do, you will always end up here. Whatever choices you make, whatever details you alter, we will always end up—here” like Lucifer said. Well, he did and I was not sure what the outcome would be. I kept my fingers crossed the show would not go there because I would have been a blabbering smush on the floor. Sam and Dean were just like Abel and Cain through the whole story. Sam tried to keep Dean safe by making a deal with the evil “queen” to save his brother from the mark. Dean turned into Cain when he was making a deal with Death that demanded him to take Sam’s life.
Original lore:
Cain and Abel (Hebrew: הֶבֶל ,קַיִן Qayin, Heḇel) were, according to the Book of Genesis, two sons of Adam and Eve. Cain is described as a crop farmer and his younger brother Abel as a shepherd. Cain was the first human born and Abel was the first human to die. Cain committed the first murder by killing his brother. Interpretations of Genesis 4 by ancient and modern commentators have typically assumed that the motives were jealousy and anger.In the Cain and Abel story found in the Quran, the text refers to them simply as the sons of Adam.
Pseudo-Philo, a Jewish work of the first century CE, narrates that Cain murdered his brother at the age of 15. After escaping to the Land of Nod, Cain gave birth to four sons: Enoch, Olad, Lizpha and Fosal; and two daughters: Citha and Maac. Cain died at the age of 730, leaving his corrupt descendants spreading evil on earth. According to the Book of Jubilees, Cain murdered his brother with a stone. Afterwards, Cain was killed by the same instrument he used against his brother; his house fell on him and he was killed by its stones. A heavenly law was cited after the narrative of Cain’s death saying: “With the instrument with which a man kills his neighbour with the same shall he be killed ; after the manner that he wounded him, in like manner shall they deal with him.
A Talmudic tradition says that after Cain had murdered his brother, God made a horn grow on his head (see the mark of Cain). Later, Cain was killed at the hands of his great grandson Lamech, who mistook him for a wild beast.
A millennia-old explanation for Cain being capable of murder is that he may have been the offspring of a fallen angel or Satan himself, rather than being from Adam.
Many people have been confused about the facts of the MOC so I tried to write a short summary about it. You have seen some of the quotes too that explain a few things. Retracing the timeline of who had the Mark:
The First Blade was useless without the MOC so Cain tested Dean to see if he is worthy, i.e. a killer like him, but Cain might have seen himself in Dean even more. Cain shared the MOC with Dean (he had it still when he fought the demons in the end. It was seen on his arm) and the deal was for Dean to kill him with the blade because he couldn’t do it himself. Cain said that the Blade could not be destroyed.
The MOC made Dean irritated, on edge, more cold but the spiral got worse when he held and killed the first time with the blade. If he didn’t kill he got sick and eventually he would die. A human is not strong enough for the power of the blade. The MOC/The Darkness lock and key vessel needed to be supernatural because a human vessel would die.
Dean was killed by the angel blade and he was resurrected to a half demon/ half human knight of hell by the combined forces of the MOC and the Blade. Sam used the purified blood cure to reset Dean to human. This erases the influence of the Blade because the demon goes dormant so Dean doesn’t become sick if he doesn’t use the blade because he is not fully human. The MOC continues to amp up everything and makes Dean more violent. He kills more people. As the MOC was shared it didn’t matter that Dean lost it when he turned into a teen as Cain still had it. The space time continuum also to be considered, Dean would get the mark back when he reached the age when he got it. MOC was “dormant“ and would have appeared back.
Next crucial turn was when Cain appeared and Dean knew he would need to kill him. Evidence that the MOC was “shared” (not given away) was that Cain was amped up and could use the blade still. He could be killed with the blade. But Cain only knew the Abel/Cain part of the story and not the rest (about the Darkness). So Cain was killed and we can assume the MOC vanished from his arm. After that it was all downhill for Dean.
Then Dean finds out the whole story from Death. Lucifer gave away/shared the MOC originally (it actually doesn’t really matter which one it is because in “Brother’s Keeper” it would have been released from him too!). The MOC was different for Lucifer because Lucifer added his own spice to the story for Cain and Abel. That story we don’t fully know. Lucifer didn’t need the blade but Cain did and that was Lucifer’s doing. God didn’t care about transferring the MOC to Cain because the lock and key was still safe with Cain that couldn’t be killed and later, he just stopped caring all in all and split from heaven.
Death said that the bearer of the MOC couldn’t be killed but because Death is old and wise and he sees the bigger picture he probably meant that Dean couldn’t be killed because the Darkness would be released aka it would be VERY very bad thing if Dean was killed as Death could kill anything so it makes sense.
In short that is my take about the MOC.
I will miss Cain. Omundson made it feel like the character had always been there and that we got more episodes than only two with him. His charisma can bring down the house and it only got higher when he had Cain’s complex character to act. I am glad we got him as long as we did but still I wish that he would have not died. As to the rest of the story, it still continues. The Darkness was revealed to the lore and we move on. It made the lore of the Winchesters even richer and gave a surprising twist to the stories about Lucifer and Cain and Abel. I am actually glad that there are still things that come as a surprise not only to the brothers but also to everyone else. In the end, biblical brothers and the MOC proved for us that both Sam and Dean are and always will be their brother’s keeper.
The Hammer’s Coming Down by Nickelback
Nickelback is a Canadian rock band formed in 1995 in Hanna, Alberta. The band is composed of guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, guitarist, keyboardist and backing vocalist Ryan Peake, bassist Mike Kroeger, and drummer Daniel Adair. The band went through a few drummer changes between 1995 and 2005, achieving its current form when Adair replaced drummer Ryan Vikedal.
Nickelback is one of the most commercially successful Canadian groups, having sold more than 50 million albums worldwide and ranking as the eleventh best-selling music act, and the second best-selling foreign act in the U.S. of the 2000s, behind The Beatles. Billboard ranks them the most successful rock group of the decade; their song “How You Remind Me” was listed as the best-selling rock song of the decade and the fourth best-selling of the decade. They were listed number seven on the Billboard top artist of the decade, with four albums listed on the Billboard top albums of the decade.
Here is the second video. Enjoy!
Quotes:
Cain: From your fate. Has it never occurred to you? Have you never mused upon the fact that you’re living my life in reverse? My story began when I killed my brother, and that’s where your story inevitably will end.
Dean:No. Never.
Cain:It’s called the Mark of Cain for a reason! First … first, you’d kill Crowley. There’d be some strange, mixed feelings on that one, but you’d have your reason. You’d get it done, no remorse. And then you’d kill the angel, Castiel. Now, that one … that I suspect would hurt something awful. And then! Then would come the murder you’d never survive, the one that would finally turn you into as much of a savage as it did me.
Dean:No.
Cain: Your brother, Sam. The only thing standing between you and that destiny is this Blade. You’re welcome, my son.Death: Creatio ex nihilo — God created the earth out of nothing — or so your Sunday-school teacher would have you believe.
Dean: What, so Genesis is a lie, eh?Shocker.
Death: Before there was light, before there was God and the archangels, there wasn’t nothing.There was the Darkness, a horribly destructive, amoral force that was beaten back by God and his archangels in a terrible war. God locked the Darkness away where it could do no harm, and he created a Mark that would serve as both lock and key, which he entrusted to his most valued Lieutenant, Lucifer. But the Mark began to assert its own will, revealed itself as a curse, and began to corrupt. Lucifer became jealous of man. God banished Lucifer to Hell.Lucifer passed the Mark to Cain, who passed the Mark to you, the proverbial finger in the dike.
References:
en.wikipedia.org
biblegateway.com
azlyrics.com
supernaturalwiki.com
I hope you enjoyed the lengthy article and that it raised some questions for you. If you would like to check it out, I also made a fan video about the MOC and you can view it here: Mark of Cain – Dean Winchester / Supernatural (S9).
What additional thoughts did this article give you? Were the videos spot on or did you find one of your own? If Abel would have appeared during the MOC story, who would you have liked to be cast to play him? Share in the comments below!
That was a great article Lilah. I can tell you put in a lot of time and research into it. It is very interesting how you took biblical lore and wove it in with Supernatural lore. Excellent videos as well, including the one you did yourself! Thank you.
Glad you liked it! All this has been on my mind the first time they introduced the angels and Cain to the story. It is no surprise as Supernatural uses every supernatural, mythical and religion based material in their story and I do mean everything. They also do make their own twists in these “monsters” and stories and I like it. If we would know everything beforehand it would be rather boring now wouldn’t it? I truly do enjoy the fact that Sam and Dean still don’t know all and that we learn it with them. I mean they are probably the most knowledge equipped hunters on the face of the earth and the other hunters can’t even dream of what Sam and Dean knows.
Thank you for checking out the MOC video too! 🙂
– Lilah
Excellent article that goes way, way back.
I stumbled across this on Tumblr and I wonder what you can make of it
and if you think it will have a bearing on future episodes:
“Therefore — [b]anyone who kills Cain will be avenged seven-fold[/b],”
and God placed a mark upon Cain, so that all who find him would not kill him. (Genesis 4:13-15)
You are right that Supernatural takes great liberties with the original Biblical stories
but it is still really interesting to follow the inspiration and development as you have outlined it here.
Thank you for an interesting and informed read.
Thank you for the compliment!
[quote]”Therefore — anyone who kills Cain will be avenged seven-fold,”[/quote]
I forgot about this! Don’t know how it does work because of the Supernatural twist to the biblical lore because they didn’t really tackle it on the show but on the other hand originally if you killed Cain that would mean the Darkness would be set free. We don’t know how bad that is but it could be seen as a seven-fold punishment. We know that it is not good what ever it is. Also as the mark could also be shared it is a predicament but on the other hand that could also be the part of the seven-fold as the bearer need to have gotten the mark before killing Cain. There plays along that the bearer of the mark can’t be killed with nothing other than the First Blade and the FB can be used by a person only that has the mark. This probably came to effect after Lucifer gave the mark away. It also makes sure that there is always a person that has the mark unless it is tricked away like Rowena did with the spell.
That is how I think the seven-fold fits to the story even if it is not directly said. 🙂
– Lilah
Excellent analysis! Really interesting discussion.
Like you, I’m of the impression that most of the early years were a bit of dumb luck on laying a good foundation. But I also believe Carver and Dabb (who I think has a lot of influence on the mythology) have plumbed those past episodes and used current episodes to payoff things that weren’t actually foreshadowed but provided open doors. Ever since S5 we had the Cain vs Able specter. But I think the way they twisted the traditional stories into a unique SPN version was fascinating. I generally agree with most of your interpretation. For instance, I think you are right that he was avoiding BOTH Crowley and Cas to avoid killing Sam. I also think that the full burden of the Mark was not on him until he killed Cain. I believe Cain is dead (which I think you do as well). I don’t know when Carver came up with The Darkness – it’s a little out of left field (with no specific foreshadowing) but by giving the Mark a “personality” (“It wants me to kill.”) I think it’s not a complete stretch.
One of the complicating factors is the “reliability” of each of the entities who speak. Lucifer is known as The Deceiver. But he usually lies with the truth (or at least his truth). It’s very clever and I think Supernatural did an excellent job of making that an aspect of his personality. So… how much of what he told Cain was deception and how much was straightforward? For example, if Hell already existed (so that it was a threat to Able), then why would Lucifer have any business arranging a deal to send a soul to Heaven. Could he actually DO that? Technically, maybe he knew that if Abel committed suicide, that would draw him to Hell but if Cain murdered him…that would make Abel and innocent and he’d likely go to Heaven. So… he told the truth to Cain when he made the Deal from a certain point of view (Obi-Wan shout out!). The result would be the same but it wasn’t ACTUALLY Lucifer’s doing. It was the actions of the humans that dictated what would happen. OTOH, how would Lucifer convince Abel, who was making offerings to God, be able to convince Abel to follow him? To either swear allegiance to him or potentially commit suicide. Somehow I just feel like Cain was duped in the deal. And I don’t know if he ever found out.
Then there’s Death. Who I adore, BTW. And isn’t THAT a weird statement. Anyway, Death says he and God argue who came first and that he would reap God. Well, if Death historically has any one flaw it’s his Pride. So… was he telling the truth on this or is this what he believes but may or maynot actually be true? I did find Death encouraging Dean to kill Sammy to be somewhat suspicious. Why force Dean to do it? He killed some dude in Chicago just by brushing off the lint on his coat. Why the scythe and why Dean? Regardless, my point is that I do believe only God and Death knew about the Darkness/Mark (what with the Archangels dead or in a cage). But did he tell Dean everything on only what he wanted Dean to know. IDK. I’ve always thought he had a soft spot for Dean so I’m inclined to say he told the truth… but he’s no dummy…he’d do what he thought he should. Death seems to keep his own counsel.
I will quibble with your analysis on a couple of points. For the sake of discussion, I’ll put them out here to see what others think:
The timeline for creation is a bit fuzzy. For the purpose of this discussion I’m going to put the events in the following sequence:
1. God and Death exist. Who came first is not clear. But I’ll put them as two sides of the same coin – creation and elimination. God seems much more powerful than Death IMO. The Darkness also exists. I don’t know if it’s before/after God/Death but it seems less focused than either of those two entities.
2. God created the Archangels (hence, he is their ‘father)
3. God & Archangels take down The Darkness and it’s Lock and Key on Lucifer’s arm.
4. The Universe (SPN-version) is created with at least three planes of existence. Heaven, Hell, Earth. At some point the Fairy Realm is created but I’m gonna say it may have been later than these initial events. Seems God was more whimsical when he created the Fairy Realm.
5. God creates the Leviathan. Decides it’s a bad idea and creates Purgatory to hold them. He sticks them in there and tries again.
6. God creates the Angels. The Archangels are older, more powerful. These guys are not as clever (because it didn’t work out so well with those Leviathans). God emphasizes obedience.
7. Over time, the Darkness TURNS the Mark into a curse. I don’t think it started off intending to be a curse, but the force of the destruction of The Darkness fouled the Mark into a curse (based on how Death described it).
8. Lucifer objects to Humans because they are flawed and not powerful. Humans, as originally created, are mortal, have Free Will, and have a part of God’s image (the soul). Which makes them both less powerful than Angels but more valuable in God’s eyes. He grabs Metatron out of the steno pool and starts creating tablets and other mechanisms to protect humans. He charges the Angels with protecting mankind
9. He shoves Lucifer and his buddies who think like him out of Heaven and Gadreel goes on sentry duty.
10. Lucifer knows those humans are flawed and to prove his point, he talks his way past Gadreel and he tricks Eve and Adam. God gets pissed off, and banishes him and his buddies who think like him out of every plane except Hell. BUT IT CAN’T BE THE CAGE YET because somehow Lucifer is still free to roam around and cause trouble.
11. Here’s where it gets tricky. The timing between Cain and Lilith. In some historical writings, Lilith was Adam’s first wife and so she may have not been in the garden after she was rejected by Adam. This is a real stretch but I think Dabb/Carver had something like this in mind. It stands to reason that since Cain MARRIES someone who is not his sister, there were other humans beside Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel. Maybe they were beta-humans or just other humans who didn’t get the whole soul/Free Will deal until after Adam and Eve were sent to earth. Very fuzzy. Anyway… for purposes of my discussion, I’m presuming that humans exist in parallel and that Lilith died of natural causes (or eaten by something… but not murder) and went to Hell. Lucifer twists her soul into a demon and voila! First Demon. This entire logic requires humans to live naturally a long time in order for their to be enough demons that they later, when Cain becomes a Knight, there’s a reason for a hierarchy.
12. Lucifer chats up Abel who is starting to fall for his logic. Cain steps in and makes his “deal” to become a Knight. He commits the first murder. The Mark drives him nuts until he commits suicide with the First Blade. He resurrects as a Knight of Hell and starts centuries of mayhem.
13. God has Micheal take on Lucifer and stick his Archangelic-butt in a cage so he can stop causing so much trouble. Micheal does. For some Byzantine reason there are 666 seals placed on the cage but if Lucifer can get 66 open, he can get out. Lucifer starts plotting.
14. God decides to take a walk-about. He’s pretty bummed out at this point that murder is in the world and with his Free Will rule, he can’t really stop things from getting ugly. He doesn’t want to watch.
Which leads me to the following quibbles:
1) You’ve indicated God doesn’t care. I’d say that God probably has to live by his own rules so he’s letting Free Will play out. If he starts fixing one thing…then he has to fix like EVERYTHING and that’s not the point of Free Will. So…he takes a walkabout on the Earth for a few millennia because he likes interacting with the people one on one.
2) I don’t think Death COULD kill Dean. I think God imbued the wearer with his personal protection and despite what Death boasts – God wins in the power equation. Death can be summoned. Death can be bound. Apparently Death can be killed. No one can apparently summon God. And he could hide from Sam and Dean in plain sight based on what he told Joshua to tell them.
3) I think Death MAY have been a bit peeved at the Winchester boys and possibly God. So he told Dean the truth, about the Mark holding back the Darkness, but I think he might have been punishing BOTH Sam and Dean a bit by making Dean kill Sam. Yes, Sam is problematic but he wasn’t wearing the Mark. So… unless he’s got some God-class protection going, I think Death wanted to punish both Sam and Dean for all the disruption to the natural order they’d wrought. After all, he bailed them out a few times but he’s always cleaning up their mess (per Death’s Door). And then Dean called to pull his butt out of another mess. I think he wanted a little payback. Plus, if Sam was dead, Dean would have no longing to come back. And yes, finally, it prevents Sam from causing mischief (or so he thought, he forgot Cas would do what Sam asked and enable Rowena to cause the mischief).
So.. little quibbles with a long-assed lead-up.
As for the videos? Loved them. I like yours as well (why did you hide it with text only…hmmm…it was just as good). I will admit my very favorite Mark of Cain video is Worthy by volta1228
[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcC01yJivmU[/video]
Thanks for the discussion topic!
Thank you for the long comment! Wow, You really put a great timeline for what was happening and liked your chosen video. That is one of my favorites too! 🙂
So, here’s for your quibbles:
[quote]1) You’ve indicated God doesn’t care. I’d say that God probably has to live by his own rules so he’s letting Free Will play out. If he starts fixing one thing…then he has to fix like EVERYTHING and that’s not the point of Free Will. So…he takes a walkabout on the Earth for a few millennia because he likes interacting with the people one on one.[/quote]
This makes sense and I need to be honest. I do follow it by Joshua saying that God left the building and how the Winchester’s see it. That he doesn’t care and abandoned people. BUT! We really haven’t heard it from him and his side of the story so I can see how what you wrote is possible. Just the good way to see this situation. And it is also true that fixing one thing would make everyone think that he/she should be a fixer-upper for everything.
[quote]2) I don’t think Death COULD kill Dean. I think God imbued the wearer with his personal protection and despite what Death boasts – God wins in the power equation. Death can be summoned. Death can be bound. Apparently Death can be killed. No one can apparently summon God. And he could hide from Sam and Dean in plain sight based on what he told Joshua to tell them.[/quote]
So, are you saying if there is ONLY ONE mark bearer left the bearer can’t be killed at all? Of course there is no other to use the blade and using it to kill himself doesn’t work. Hmm, so maybe all these roads just leads to the simple fact that “The bearer can’t be killed” Then Death couldn’t do it either. It would seem like God would have protected the wearer then.
[quote]3) I think Death MAY have been a bit peeved at the Winchester boys and possibly God. So he told Dean the truth, about the Mark holding back the Darkness, but I think he might have been punishing BOTH Sam and Dean a bit by making Dean kill Sam. Yes, Sam is problematic but he wasn’t wearing the Mark. So… unless he’s got some God-class protection going, I think Death wanted to punish both Sam and Dean for all the disruption to the natural order they’d wrought. After all, he bailed them out a few times but he’s always cleaning up their mess (per Death’s Door). And then Dean called to pull his butt out of another mess. I think he wanted a little payback. Plus, if Sam was dead, Dean would have no longing to come back. And yes, finally, it prevents Sam from causing mischief (or so he thought, he forgot Cas would do what Sam asked and enable Rowena to cause the mischief).[/quote]
Oh, I do think Death was annoyed. It started when they failed to prevent Cas to release the Leviathans. Then that Dean snatched Sam away when he was trying to collect him. In Death’s eyes Sam was finally doing the natural order way. And then Dean took on the mark making him immortal and coming to be a great threat to natural order. So, yes, I think he was trying to teach the boys a lesson, but in doing so he underestimated how they feel towards one another. Maybe he thought because of the mark Dean would finally do it. To kill Sam.
Glad you liked the video that I made and enjoyed the article. 🙂
– Lilah
[b] I think Death wanted to punish both Sam and Dean for all the disruption to the natural order they’d wrought.[/b]
I don’t remember when Sam disrupted the natural order after Death personally came for him out of the deep respect? And Death said that Sam had the right to choose to go with him, or go with “Dean”. So what happened after that which possibly could change Death’s mind? The “grudge” against Winchesters doesn’t seem logical. There should be something else. Either some kind of a test or Death really knew that Sam was able to free Dean both from the Mark and from the place where Death would put him, exactly as he knew that Sam would defeat Lucifer:
DEATH No. No plan. Not yet. Your brother. He’s the one that can stop Lucifer. The only one.
DEAN What, you think —
DEATH I know.
So I think either a test or Death was honest. No grudge to the “annoying protozoa” he took so much interest in.
I get what you’re saying, but he seemed a bit peeved to me. He said Sam “stood him up”, which IA with your interpretation that he left it up to Sam. But he still said it. And he leaned on Dean REALLY hard at the end there (calling his current existence a stain on his family). As for admiring Sam and saying “well played” when he was about to die, that doesn’t mean that he still doesn’t have some irritation over Sam’s actions. Look at Mystery Spot — he talked Gabriel into reversing 6 months! I bet that pissed off Death. So I guess I have no problem with him both admiring the Winchesters and also wanting to take them out. They’ve been useful but also troublesome. And Sam was not very respectful of Death as he argued in the cantina with Dean. Dean started out pretty respectful of Death, right up until Dean killed him.
I really didn’t understand the video. Dean’s darkest side which he hates and is afraid of is shown here as something to be proud of and admired at. Was it sarcasm? I’m sorry I don’t want to offend anybody, but I really don’t understand.
No offense taken. I just think it’s a gorgeously edited video with fantastic word overlays. And I found it tragic, which is consistent with Dean’s character — he’s a hero but he’s a tragic hero IMO.
Oh, yeah, I understand. I also think that this aspect of his character is tragic, and hopefully to be overcome eventually. But the words overlays seemed a bit off to me. Too much admiration at things which are not to be admired at. The video itself is gorgeous, though, I agree.
I saw the video telling in short the story what Dean has gone through and how he in the end turned to demon. It also presented different sides of him. Mostly the video was really dark that mirrors well Dean’s thoughts most of the time. That is my take on it. 🙂
– Lilah
That timeline blew my mind. Well done!
I look at it kind of differently. I always believed that the orders that sam and dean be born was in fact a directive from God, thus disproving the notion that God gave up and doesnt care. God being all knowing, as depicted on our show, wouldve foreseen what was to come. In my opinion, the specific orders from heaven to ensure the birth of the winchesters, is in fact God showing the world how much he cares. I dont imagine it came as a surprise to God the failings of his children…sam and dean have always been proof of that. All that we have seen to be so called prophecy, did not come from God. It came from his children, who took it upon themselves to define what god wanted. But sam and dean indicate to me that what Gods children ordained gods prophecy…..wasnt. The apocalypse, the leviathans…thwarted by sam and dean. Even the so called cain and abel prophecy is nothing more, it seems to me, than to have been decided, not by God , but by his children…his children who keep failing him…and yet we have two human brothers, Gods specific creation, who do not fail in Gods eyes. Sam and dean who through love for each other always find a way to save the world. Even during Deans darkest hours, where it looked like all would be lost, facing the same test that cain faced with abel, dean did not succumb and love prevailed.
I think God has always known that the darkness would be released..and if one examines how it happened, i dont see it as the fault of sam and dean…this path started long ago with the angels and how they failed, not only their father but each other….once again it will be two humans that will fight, most likely by uniting old enemies along with them….this evil….maybe thats what god wanted, his children united, acting like a family, fighting together….like the winchesters always have…..after all arent the books written by chuck known as the winchester gospel;)
Im not sure death is dead. It wasnt the same scythe from two min to midnight….and the whole killing of sam made no sense….i think death was part of the test….one that dean passed……but time will tell with this theory
I really like your thinking here.
I like your thinking and can see it go either way. I guess I am more cynical because of the world the Winchesters live in. Usually everything supernatural are “dicks” on the show so I don’t see God to be cuddly either even if he did help the Winchesters earlier. Although I like this thinking because then I can think that Chuck was God and I wouldn’t totally recent him from messing everything up. Holding up on the FREE WILL and letting people take care of their own stuff sounds pretty good for me.
And about Death. I think he could only see Sam and Dean messing up the natural order together again if he had tossed Dean to another planet or Dean doing something similar. So him ordering Dean to kill Sam was not surprise for me. 🙂
– Lilah
Hi Lilah. I really enjoyed your article. Like you, I have always loved the ways in which the Winchesters tie into the supernatural world. Their story was greatly enriched by the revelations that they descended from Cain and Abel’s bloodline, that they were destined to be the true vessels of Michael and Lucifer, and that their brotherly relationship even mirrored that of those Archangels in many ways. I also agree with SueB that God does care about humans, but that the price/blessing of being human is free will and control of your own destiny. The more God intervenes in our affairs, the more we resemble the puppet-like angels with their blind obedience to heaven, and their seeming inability or even unwillingness to think for themselves. I also like SueB’s idea that God views humans as more valuable precisely because they think for themselves, and are not ruled by the notion of their supposed “destiny.” Similarly, I share Sugarhi’s view that God cares about the Winchesters and that the directive that they be born might have even come from him. After all, the naked cupid did say that the order came from very high up! And IMO it is extremely telling that God/Chuck took such an active interest in the Winchesters. I do think Chuck is God, or at the very least his proxy on earth, and it was inevitable that the Supernatural novels would come to the brothers’ attention and lead them to Chuck, who proceeded to help them out in various ways. Moreover, it makes sense that God would especially favor the brothers because they are the very paragons of free will in all its glory.
With all that said, I still think the MOC story is muddled. I like your efforts to find coherence and consistency in the MOC story, Lilah, but there are still some huge gaps and contradictions. I like the idea that it started out as the lock and key for the Darkness, bestowed on God’s most trusted Lieutenant, Lucifer. It also seems plausible that a primal force as strong as the D would work its will on the MOC, turning it into a curse that corrupted the bearer. But why would this curse be able to be shared? If Lucy could share it with Cain, presumably to corrupt his soul, and Cain could share it with Dean, why didn’t Lucy and Cain share it with legions of humans, ensuring their corruption and inevitable transformation into demons? I could see why Cain eventually did transfer it to Dean. Cain had been in “remission” from the MOC due to his love for Colette, so it made sense that he might want to complete his redemption by having MOC Dean eventually kill him with the First Blade. But that raises another question: if the MOC was crafted by God himself, how was Lucy able to designate the First Blade as the only item that could kill a bearer of the MOC? Even more nonsensically, how was some random mystic nun able to create a spell that would rid any bearer of the MOC, a curse that predated humans?
Bottom line, I love much of the lore surrounding Cain and Abel and Lucifer and the Darkness, and I think Season 11 has enormous potential. And I know TPTB will never spell out the interrelations of all of this lore, dotting every i and crossing every t. They primarily want to tell a great story, and maybe they figure the fans won’t get so far down in the weeds on all of the underlying mythology (boy are they wrong about that!). But the MOC has been a pivotal factor in over 33 episodes and counting, so a little bit of clarification would be welcome. To me, anyway.:)
[quote]With all that said, I still think the MOC story is muddled. I like your efforts to find coherence and consistency in the MOC story, Lilah, but there are still some huge gaps and contradictions. I like the idea that it started out as the lock and key for the Darkness, bestowed on God’s most trusted Lieutenant, Lucifer. It also seems plausible that a primal force as strong as the D would work its will on the MOC, turning it into a curse that corrupted the bearer. But why would this curse be able to be shared? If Lucy could share it with Cain, presumably to corrupt his soul, and Cain could share it with Dean, why didn’t Lucy and Cain share it with legions of humans, ensuring their corruption and inevitable transformation into demons? I could see why Cain eventually did transfer it to Dean. Cain had been in “remission” from the MOC due to his love for Colette, so it made sense that he might want to complete his redemption by having MOC Dean eventually kill him with the First Blade. But that raises another question: if the MOC was crafted by God himself, how was Lucy able to designate the First Blade as the only item that could kill a bearer of the MOC? Even more nonsensically, how was some random mystic nun able to create a spell that would rid any bearer of the MOC, a curse that predated humans?
Bottom line, I love much of the lore surrounding Cain and Abel and Lucifer and the Darkness, and I think Season 11 has enormous potential. And I know TPTB will never spell out the interrelations of all of this lore, dotting every i and crossing every t. They primarily want to tell a great story, and maybe they figure the fans won’t get so far down in the weeds on all of the underlying mythology (boy are they wrong about that!). But the MOC has been a pivotal factor in over 33 episodes and counting, so a little bit of clarification would be welcome. To me, anyway.:)[/quote]
You made some good points so will try to tackle them here. In my view Lucifer gave the MOC away and Cain shared it. Lucifer gave it away to tick off “dad”. As he was gods most trusted lieutenants he must have known the mark is not a good thing. That he should guard it. But I think God did not tell them about that TD because I think it scares even him or he did what makes Lucifer’s act even more evil. I think all that was added to the MOC came from Lucifer spicing it up when he gave the mark away. Corrupting Cain with it and tying it up with the Cain and Abel story. Lucifer wanted to gave to whole thing away to Cain only but of course because Cain got to know that only the wearer of the MOC could use the blade and kill him when he was bad just because of that reason he didn’t want to share it. Why would he give that weapon to anyone that he could be killed? And “remission” Cain didn’t want to give it to others because it was a burden and great cost.
The nun is actually easy. Don’t know who or what but what they told the nun went totally bonkers aka making the book from her own skin. So she was likely possessed or she was getting intel from a higher being that messed her up completely. Either she got it from god or TD could get “the word” out to free it. What happened to the nun was not nice and it was more or less evil so I think TD got trough the barrier that way. So the spell actually does work if you think TD or someone worshiping it found out the cure just now or TD was only then able to get the word out about it being locked in a cage and all. 😉
– Lilah
[b]I like the idea that it started out as the lock and key for the Darkness, bestowed on God’s most trusted Lieutenant, Lucifer. It also seems plausible that a primal force as strong as the D would work its will on the MOC, turning it into a curse that corrupted the bearer.[/b]
Hi, samandean10. I greatly liked your comment, but as the matter of fact I greatly dislike this very idea expressed in the finale because it frees persons from responsibility for their actions and it completely undermines the idea of free will. Like “He would be good, but circumstances made him bad”. In such a way one can justify devil and all. 🙁 Pun intended.
Hi disgruntled. I actually agree with you on this, so I should have expressed my view more clearly. Certain circumstances and emotions, such as power, wealth, greed, etc, can be negative or corrupting influences, but they will affect different people differently. That the MOC was the cause of Lucifer’s corruption doesn’t necessarily imply that his corruption was inevitable and absolve him of any responsibility. I think Lucifer was predisposed to the feelings of anger and jealousy towards humans, and therefore was less willing or able to resist the influence of the MOC. Compare that to Cain’s experience with the MOC. He assumed the MOC in a laudable (but misguided) attempt to save Abel from damnation. He remained susceptible to feelings of love and compassion, which enabled him to resist the effects of the MOC for a long stretch of time. Unlike Lucifer, he experienced “remission” from the MOC. Dean, too, was able to resist the influence of the MOC to some degree, most notably in Brothers Keeper, because he CHOSE to resist. Moreover, Dean generally didn’t seem happy about the violence he unleashed under the MOC’s influence, while Lucifer reveled in it. So while the MOC might have precipitated Lucifer’s genocidal acts against mankind, it was his decision to fully submit to its corrupting effects. I think Sam expressed it best when he told Dean that maybe the power to defeat the MOC lay within Dean.
I can accept this interpretation. Like “everybody was taught to be a butcher, but why it’s you who became a top student?” (c)
[quote]What additional thoughts did this article give you? Were the videos spot on or did you find one of your own? If Abel would have appeared during the MOC story, who would you have liked to be cast to play him? Share in the comments below![/quote]
Very thoughtful article. I do agree with some that MOC could have been handled differently. Maybe a little better than it had. I really wish they would write a guide, a lore book for us to tell what is what. I mean can you imagine Sam’s and Dean’s notes or case file about the MOC? How they made sense of it all is a wonder or from those notes.
But moving on to your questions; “If Abel would have appeared during the MOC story, who would you have liked to be cast to play him?” I don’t know how they could have add Abel to the story but they should have. It would have made Sam more connected to the story. If I could choose anyone to play Abel I would have chosen Jared. I know, I know, that would be weird and too bias but it is my first choice. If Sam would have been the splitting image of Abel it would have brought more friction and have Cain some interest on Sam too. Maybe to want to kill him again when he relapsed. It would have been nice to hear Abel’s side on the story
My other choices are:
[img]http://images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/79/590x/secondary/72595.jpg[/img]
Benedict Cumberbatch
[img]https://shaunrobinsonphotography.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/christiancampbell1.jpg[/img]
Christian Campbell
[img]http://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/article9983462.ece/alternates/w620/v3v25784582.jpg[/img]
Kit Harington
To choose a character to play a brother that was acted by T. O. is hard. I mean he would have some big boots to fill. He should be as good and charismatic character that the story would be balanced. These are the first that came to mind.
Glad you liked the article. I like your choices for the actors to play Abel. Last two even look like Cain.
I have one that fits too with a grittier look, Jared Leto.
[img]http://escriturasmineiras.zip.net/images/JaredLeto3.jpg[/img]
– Lilah
I could totally see Christian Campbell being Abel…. he even looks a bit like Timothy Odmundsson. Not getting Abel’s side of thins was a huge missed opportunity IMO. But that would have fleshed out Sam’s side, given Sam someone to connect with or even cast Cain’s theory of the events leading up to Abel’s death into doubt. Can’t have that now can we?
I think they could have skipped few episode stories and change them to add Abel to the mytharc but that is already too late and water under the bridge. Missed oportunity for sure. Christian Campbell would be my first choice too. He has that something, something going on and he does look like Omundson. I do hope that season 11 brings something for all.