Far Away Eyes’ Deeper Look Supernatural 11.13 “Love Hurts”
This is the first clear metaphor for how the heart is everything. The qareen is the one killing everyone in this episode, and yet it is as much the victim as those it slays. It is not the one doing this at its own behest. Instead, its heart is not its own. Its heart is being corrupted by this witch, Sonja, and her drive to punish cheating men—and the women who love them—for her own bitter and sick amusement. She is pouring her own heart’s desire into this creature, making it feel her hate and her need to see others suffer such horrible ends. The ripping out of the heart of the victims is the secondary layer of metaphor. As she possesses the qareen’s heart, the qareen will possess its victim’s hearts, corrupting them with their own desires and turning them into weaknesses against them.
Here, heartache can become quite literal and dangerously deadly. The heart’s secret desires are exposed and turned into weapons. The wife, Melissa, that started the curse here did so innocently. She didn’t realize that what she had done was evil. She had simply exposed her heart to Sonja, telling her about her cheating husband and her desperate desire to win him back. All she had done was love her husband “perhaps a little too much.” Sonja, looking for a victim to unleash her qareen on, convinces her to use the spell as a “love spell” and that it will make her husband want her again. She used that emotional confession—that heart to heart in her hair salon—as a deadly weapon.
As the Winchesters start to investigate what is happening and why—and as they get their hands on Sonja’s spell—they realize that this is a curse being passed around by a kiss. They realize that this curse will end with Melissa if they don’t do something about it. It started with her and it intends on ending with her. As her already dead husband returns in the form of the qareen to kill her, she rushes to the Winchesters to get their help and they have to act fast if they are to save her from a brutal death. Just as it seems the qareen will not be deterred from its target, Dean does something impulsive: he kisses her.
In so doing, Dean takes on the curse, directing it at himself. He will not stand by and allow this creature to kill Melissa. He won’t let her shoulder the burden. Even if she was the one that cast the original spell, it is still not her fault. She did not know. She did what she thought would bring her husband back, and she did it out of love. She didn’t cast this spell maliciously. She had been lied to and her heart’s desire had been twisted for Sonja’s amusement. Dean, then, sees it as saving her from this—his chance to uphold the “saving people” aspect of the motto.
But he’s also exposed his own heart—and the secrets that lie within.
Much like the qareen itself, Dean’s heart is not his own. It’s been taken and held captive by the Darkness since her release. Amara has determined that she should possess it and him. In so doing, she’s gripped his heart in her hand and crushed it. Whenever she is near, Dean finds it impossible to resist or to follow through with killing her. Her power, as God’s sister, is so great that it will make Dean waver and weaken just at the moment he would make his killing blow. This is her power. It is her doing. His heart’s desire—whatever it truly may be—is now masked by what the Darkness wants Dean to feel about her. Whenever they are in proximity of one another, she exerts this power over him, squeezing his heart no differently than the qareen does its victim’s as it rips their hearts out violently.
Dean’s actual heart may be in his chest, still beating and functioning as the physical organ it is, but it should by all rights be locked in a box just like the qareen’s.
This truth is thrust in Dean’s face now that he has the curse placed upon him. As they prepare to stop the qareen, they go to Sonja’s hair salon to find out where she’s keeping the heart and the rest of the spell ingredients. Sam searches upstairs while Dean searches downstairs—after he wins for the first time in show history, a game of rock paper scissors that is. When he thinks Sam has returned downstairs with something, he is stunned to find Amara walking through the plastic door flaps.
Except the figure before him is not Amara. This is the curse exposing his heart’s greatest secret. It is exposing his hidden desire. And yet, it is really only reflecting its truth that has now become Dean’s truth: that neither of their hearts are their own. Just as Sonja owns the qareen’s heart, Amara owns Dean’s. It is a fact that shakes Dean to his core. Whatever he may truly desire without her hold on him is unknown—but it is most certainly not Amara.
Since the qareen is not Amara, she does not hold the same sway over Dean. He doesn’t have to worry about hesitating in a struggle against it. He does not have to fight against emotional turmoil. Amara’s hold may be so strong as to influence what he sees in this creature, but it is not strong enough to keep him from fighting back against an imitation. The qareen may chase him around, trying to rip his heart out and collect his tribute to the curse, but that doesn’t mean it’ll win.
When the qareen has been stopped and the witch, Sonja, lies dead, it allows the brothers to go back to their hotel room and pack up to leave for home once more. Dean has been so rattled by what happened. He knows now just how powerful Amara’s hold is on him and it frightens him. He isn’t in control of his own desire or his own heart. He knows that he’s no different than the monster they stopped tonight. He, too, has lost his heart. It is captive in its own lock box being held against its will so another being can try and extract something from him for her own gain.
Amara’s ambition and endgame still are not quite clear. What she needs Dean for in that scheme remains just as hidden. Amara has determined that she will collect from the elder Winchester at some point. She has told him that they are inevitable. She’s declared them destiny. And yet she’s had to do it by extracting the free will and the heart from Dean Winchester to do it.
The qareen had told him, “I can see inside your heart, feel the love you feel. Except, it’s cloaked in shame. When it comes to this, you can’t help yourself. So why fight it? Just give in.”
It is this statement, a parroting of Amara’s actual words, that strikes home hardest for Dean. He has felt shame for what he’s felt about Amara. He’s been twisted around and turned upside down by their encounters. They’ve left him so befuddled in the past that he’s been unable to form coherent thoughts or find the words himself to describe it. His conversation with Lucifer yielded the words—but the Devil himself had to feed them to him, even if he did appear to Dean as Castiel to do it. As much as Amara’s grip has cost him and holds his heart captive, it is Dean’s shame that may be the greater enslaver. He is so afraid and disgusted with himself for feeling these things that it makes him extremely vulnerable. It makes him vulnerable to this monster and it opens a gateway for Amara to dig deeper inside his heart and possess it all the more—all against his will.
And now Dean realizes just how costly her possession of his heart is truly becoming. It must mean that he’s weak. It must mean that he’s just as complicit as he sees the qareen. It means that he is someone that will commit evil in her name or become her slave willingly at some stage. He cannot stand against her and so he will become corrupted by her and do terrible things. If she truly is his hidden desire, that must mean that he wants to give in. After all, it’s what he saw in the curse. It’s what the qareen became as it went after him.
Dean, frightened by what it might mean and what might happen down the road when they finally can confront Amara, tells Sam, “Standing here right now? Every bone in my body wants to run her through, send her back to that hole she crawled out of. But when I’m near her—I don’t know—something happens. I can’t explain it. But to call it desire, love—it’s not that. I’m screwed, man. We want to kill the Darkness. We need to kill the Darkness. And I don’t think I can. I’m sorry to do that to you, you know? But when it comes down to it—,”
But Dean doesn’t have to do this alone. He isn’t standing against Amara by himself—just as he wasn’t facing the qareen and Sonja alone. Dean will have his brother with him every step of the way.
In the end, that may be Amara’s ultimate undoing.
Much as Sam had to cleanse his own heart when helping Eileen face down the banshee, he now has to help Dean do the same with Amara’s hold on his heart. It will take a lot to do it. He will have to remain patient. He will have to recognize what is his brother’s true heart and what is Amara’s tampering. Sam will have to fight hard to free his brother from her hold. Standing with his brother as he does here, however, is a powerful start. His steadfast loyalty to and belief in Dean will be an invaluable weapon against the Darkness—and will become a key component in their efforts to defeat her. It is the very thing that will allow Dean to break free, cleansing his heart of her terrible power.
For this particular case, Sam can clearly see that Melissa’s choice to use this spell was one made out of love. He doesn’t condemn her for what she’s done. This curse has already cost her everything and more. The husband she so desperately wanted back has been killed. Furthermore, now she has to endure the nightmare of seeing his very image used to commit evil against her. The love they must have shared at some point is further corrupted by the qareen’s violence attacks. Melissa didn’t mean for any of it to happen and yet she’s paying the ultimate price in losing him all over again. And so, Sam won’t judge her for her drive to use this spell. He gets it. This was a desperate act of a heartbroken woman who simply wanted what she once had back—her husband’s heart.
Instead, he sees Sonja’s corruption of the spell for what it is. This witch decided to play God with other people’s lives. Sonja preys upon vulnerable women—all under the guise of a hairdresser. She gets them to let their guard down and waits for them to confess—as Melissa did—about an unfaithful man. Once she has that trust, she can lure her victims in with her dark magic. Sonja lies, telling these women that it is a love spell. She convinces them to use it to save their relationships only to sit back and watch as the creature she forces to do her bidding kills each person off one by one. It is a terrible and underhanded thing to do—corrupting the hearts of everyone involved for her sick amusement. Therefore, Sam knows that Sonja is the real culprit. He knows that she twists people’s hearts against themselves. He knows that she holds a creature’s heart hostage to do the dirty work for her. Sam knows that what is happening here begins and ends with her.
Melissa is heartbroken as they discover just what has happened—and how the witch crafted her spell. She says, “God. I killed Dan and Stacey.”
Sam gently tells a distraught Melissa, “ You didn’t kill anyone. This is all on that witch.”
He also can see that his brother is teetering dangerously over an edge. His shock and exasperation at Dean’s impulsive act taking on the curse says it all. He shouts at his brother, “Wait a second. You’re serious? You think it’s a good idea to give yourself a fatal curse? I’m just saying you don’t have to do this—be the guinea pig, the martyr, try and carry the weight by yourself, do this.”
Sam isn’t blind or oblivious to his brother’s obvious struggle. He’s been watching patiently and apprehensively throughout the season as they dig deeper into the Darkness and what she’s after. He’s observant enough to know that there’s something between his brother and Amara. It’s left Dean vulnerable—as he was facing the banshee—and so Sam is concerned when Dean chooses to take things like this new curse on alone. It risks too much.
And so, now Sam must do all he can to break this witch’s spell. They have little time to argue about Dean’s actions or methodology. If they don’t move fast, not only will Dean die, but so will Melissa. After that, the witch will find a way to move on quickly and start the process over again with a new victim. The Winchesters can’t allow that—and so they must fight through this first.
While Dean is trapped in the downstairs, playing a violent version of tag, Sam is confronting the witch and the qareen’s heart box. He will stop this—and he will save both his brother and Melissa all in one go. It wouldn’t do to save just Dean—not if Sam is truly committed to “saving people” in the motto. He must save both for this to have any real meaning. First, it means he’ll have successfully saved his brother from another curse, but it’ll also mean that he’s freed another person without sacrificing them in the process.
And it will irrefutably prove Lucifer wrong.
The box, unsurprisingly, is locked. It’ll take time—precious time—for Sam to unlock it. Even as quick as he is at lock-picking, it’s not fast enough to open it and stab the heart inside through. This leaves Sonja with a window of opportunity to attack Sam. He is the real threat to her. After all, Melissa is already marked for death and Dean is too busy playing duck duck goose in the basement. Sam is the only thing standing in her way to exacting death on her victims.
It’s telling that Sonja chooses to strangle Sam with magic rather than placing a similar curse on him. She could have had the curse transferred to Sam just as easily—all she’d need to do is have Melissa kiss Sam or vice versa. His heart would have been corrupted, then, just as everyone else’s in the episode. Instead, she chooses to face Sam head on, binding him into a salon chair and choking him with her powers.
Mostly she does this for expediency, but it also may be due to the fact that Sam’s heart wasn’t vulnerable. After his ordeal with Lucifer and being forced to face his own heartbreak head on, Sam has already cleansed that portion of his heart. The vulnerability that Melissa carries—desiring a husband who no longer wanted her—and Dean’s coerced bond with Amara does not apply to Sam. Cursing Sam wouldn’t necessarily work the same way, and so Sonja must get rid of him quickly.
The scuffle, however, doesn’t go her way. Once Melissa reveals herself, she distracts Sonja just enough. It allows Sam to shoot her, ending her threat.
Once her threat is over, Sam goes back to the heart inside the box. All it’ll take is to slice it open and it’ll be over. By destroying the heart it stops the qareen and it’ll release his brother—and Melissa—from the curse. The action here, however, will have reverberations that go far beyond this singular moment. Sam’s action may be a foreshadow of a final showdown between the Winchesters and Amara. He may be the one that strikes her down and therefore releases his brother’s heart.
And yet, the best way for Sam to do that comes long before that showdown. After all, Sam knows his brother struggles with the hold Amara holds on him—even if he doesn’t know the full truth of it yet.
Once the brothers are back in the hotel room, Sam does not judge his brother. He is patient and understanding as Dean opens up about what he’s experiencing. He listens empathetically as Dean tells him just what he saw with the qareen and is fretting about what it might mean. He knows just what Dean’s telling himself. The words he feeds—weak, complicit, evil—are all ones he knows his brother thinks endlessly but will not necessarily voice.
Sam simply tells Dean, “Dean, do you honestly think you ever had a choice in the matter? She’s the sister of God. And for some reason she picked you, and that sucks, but if you think I’m gonna blame you or judge you, I’m not.”
This is the type of statement that Sam needed to make here more than ever. It is the very thing his brother needed to hear. If Dean has any hope of cleansing his heart of Amara’s hold—either before or after they manage to defeat her—he will need to hear truths like this from his brother. Sam knows this as he’s been in similar situations with Lucifer and Azazel. He understands how Dean feels about this and what it might mean about himself if he can’t resist. After all, Sam’s had the same thoughts and feelings about himself in the past. He’s been there. He understands.
And so, when Dean tells him the truth that he can’t follow through when the time comes—that he might not be able to kill Amara even though that’s exactly what they intend to do, Sam simply says, “I got it, Dean.”
Sure, he means that he understands Dean’s darkest confession, but he also means that he has his brother’s back and he will stand with him against this. If need be, he’s “got it,” and he’ll do what must be done to free his brother from the Darkness—and in so doing perhaps the world.
The heart is everything. For the Winchesters, that heart is their brotherly bond. It is the ability they share in standing with one another, facing things like Amara down as a unit, and committing to “saving people, hunting things, family business” that is the heart of everything they do.
In the end, that’s exactly what will allow them to free Dean’s heart—making it his own again.
Thank you FarAwayEyes for your review. Every time I read a review on the WFB for this episode I have to watch it again. You all bring such great insight in your analysis. I loved this episode the first time I watched it and even more the second time. And now knowing which scenes were improvised by the J’s just adds to the mystery of the season. I agree that it seems that Sam is being set up to either save or sacrifice his brother in order to save Dean and or everyone else. I loved that Sam was aware of Dean’s struggle and he was just waiting patiently (something that fans weren’t doing as well 🙂 ) for him to open up about his struggles. I think this episode may have set up the second half of the season more so than the other two or three so far. I still am holding out that not-John wasn’t a vision from Lucifer and was telling Sam the truth. It will take both brothers to defeat the Darkness. I am really loving this season.
And it was interesting in one scene as Dean was entering the motel room the sound of “the train” was very loud. When Dean was opening up to Sam the train was very soft in the background. I am not sure what the significance is yet of the train whistle but I do find it intriguing.
Thanks for the comment.
I’m glad you liked this one. I’m glad you find new angles to approach the episode through this.
I think it’s awesome that the Js improvised some of those great moments. It’s classic them and it fits Sam and Dean so well. I’m so glad they left those moments in the final cut of the episode, too.
I think Sam’s been watching his brother closely since Dean first admitted what the Darkness so I remained rather patient with Sam not pressing the issue and Dean not necessarily running to tell Sam every detail along the way. Frankly, the way I’ve seen Dean played this season I get the sense that Dean just doesn’t know what to say or think about Amara’s influences on him. He doesn’t like it, but he doesn’t really have language or a name for it. So how is it he can run to Sam to say something when he himself doesn’t know how to quantify it? His admittance here made that statement, I thought. I’m glad he did and that Sam simply told him that he gets it. That was key for me.
As for the train, I did hear that. I don’t know if it is tied to those moments or if they just left a train horn really loud in there for a different reason. I live by a train, so trains are pure background noise to me most of the time. I’ll have to ponder that.
Thanks again.
Count me in on having heard the train whistle — in more than one episode. Now I know they film BY the train tracks some time, and Lord knows if you grow up in the Mid-West or Great Plains, you hear them all the time…..but I think it’s on purpose. I don’t recall ever hearing the train whistle so much as this season.
So Cheryl we are back to our trains. Its funny you know they would just cut them out if they didn’t won’t them in the show ?? Is that correct they can while putting the scenes together take them out.
So they must be there for a reason. I f memory serves me we had a train whistle right up till Lucifer was released then it went silent for 2 or 3 episodes ? Whether it just didn’t suit that scenario could be the reason But now its back So if the train whistles where a warning of the coming of Lucifer The Big Bad who could they be warning us is coming next ???
Also as always Far Away Eyes as usual you put your heart (no pun intended) and soul into your reviews. I metioned to you last time you must feel so emotionally drained after writing these reveiws.
This is – for me – a very, very emotional season the rebuilding of a brothers relationship after many yrs of fighting and anger losing their way and mis trust in each other. It has taken everything they’ve had to get to this point/ both emotionally and physically and the J’s have portrayed it beautifully Its amazing how they can to a point shut of at the end of filming.
And for you opening your heart so much to a show you love, and after many disappointments, trust and beleive in again, shows in your writing. All I wish to say is we still have alot of episodes to go so PLEASE don’t end up in a emotional pool because I for one will be drowning with you Thank you and Keep Fighting Love Jen ( Sorry if I read you wrong / I know I am emotionally all over the place personnal problems at home. Maybe I see whats really not there)
Thanks for the comment.
I’m seriously going to pay way more attention to trains now. Seriously. Though I’d never even know if it was in Show or in real life cause the train is that loud around here.
I’m glad you liked this take on this one. I think I spend more time thinking and pondering it over to find a theme than anything else, really. It’s emotional when I’m watching, but when I sit back and write I’m really falling back into my college training for better or worse. I had a professor that had us write reaction papers for everything we read, so that’s kinda where my style comes from, I guess. This episode seemed to build on “Into the Mystic” in ways that “Don’t Forget About Me” didn’t, and when I kinda started bridging those two together it just made sense. I was totally enamored with the visuals of hearts and the a heart in a box and how the creature was just as much held hostage by this witch as Dean was by Amara. It all fell into place after that. I’m glad you connected with it in many ways. I did feel emotional watching Sam and Dean’s closing conversation, though.
I do feel like the brothers are building on a lot of things here. It’s been a great season for that and I hope we’ll see that continue as we push further into the back half of this season.
Thanks again.
I love your analysis of this episode FAE. Every note rings true. This episode continues the theme from Into The Mystic of following your heart’s desire, raising the question of who it is that Dean is pining for. I was particularly struck by this comment of yours:
[quote]Sam’s action may be a foreshadow of a final showdown between the Winchesters and Amara. He may be the one that strikes her down and therefore releases his brother’s heart.[/quote]
But I keep changing my mind about how the season’s Amara plot will/should be resolved. On the one hand, I like your idea that this episode foreshadows a climax in which Sam strikes down Amara. But on the other hand, after watching Into the Mystic I felt that the one who is truly in Dean’s heart is Sam. As he stated in Sacrifice and has showed time and again there is nobody he puts before Sam. I therefore like the idea that his love for Sam enables Dean to break Amara’s hold on him, perhaps in a scenario in which Amara is threatening Sam. We have seen little hints that this might be the case. A third scenario is that Sam agrees to allow Dean to sacrifice himself to defeat Amara and/or Lucifer in order to save the world, but at the cost of the one who is foremost in his heart. There are so many ways this plot could unfold, and I change my mind almost daily about which outcome is preferable. 🙂 But for now, I like your hypothesis that Sam’s actions will free Dean from Amara’s influence. It would be a fitting ending to a season in which we have witnessed wonderful growth and development by Sam. He has been so smart and measured, with a newfound self-confidence. In many ways, he seems to be in the role of older brother this season and it is satisfying to see Dean largely accept him in that role. It would therefore be immensely satisfying to see this culminate in in a situation in which Sam saves Dean.
Thanks for the comment.
I’m glad you liked this take and that it built on the “Into the Mystic” themes.
I think Sam could save Dean any number of ways, including the idea that his place in Dean’s heart and mind may be the thing that breaks Amara’s bond and allows Dean to make that move. It’ll be interesting to see if Sam is the one to strike her down or if they’ll do it together. Any number of things could happen here and I think it’ll be intriguing to see how this plays out. Amara has gone after Sam once before, even if it was to simply him off and throw him against a wall. And when she did, Dean was able to break her hold enough to reach as he should. But it’s hard to say how this will develop.
As for John’s appearance, I’d like to think it was more real than what Lucifer was doing with other images. It’ll be interesting to see if they do return to that. I hope they do.
Thanks again.
[quote] think Sam could save Dean any number of ways, including the idea that his place in Dean’s heart and mind may be the thing that breaks Amara’s bond and allows Dean to make that move. It’ll be interesting to see if Sam is the one to strike her down or if they’ll do it together[/quote]
I, too am hoping they do it together based on Sam’s ability to break through to Dean and crash Amara’s hold. With that said; I think one of the boys is going to end up in the big empty. It is too big of an issue to ignore – introduced by Death at the end of last season as a place where Dean would be sent not to hurt anyone and by Billie this season. Billie is also a wild card. She let Castiel in to hell apparently without batting an eye- she may have been in on the whole Lucifer/ Rowena scam.
[quote]As for John’s appearance, I’d like to think it was more real than what Lucifer was doing with other images.[/quote] I am holding out that the vision of young John was not Lucifer. I want Sam to have some response from God for his faith. If it really was Lucifer then I would say that vision was misleading and a waste.
Good review FAE. [quote]The heart is everything. For the Winchesters, that heart is their brotherly bond.[/quote] It truly is and that is why I think Lucifer was maniplulating Sam when he tried to convince Sam he was weak for doing everything to save Dean from The MOC. Also this last conversation between the brothers was epic and ground breaking- it exemplified the heart being their bond.
Love your review FAE. I totally agree with all of it. 🙂
I don’t know if it’s been the same for you, but this is the second episode in a row now that I’ve felt the presence of a fallen character. Last week it was Bobby and this week…..Mary Winchester. If one were to think Mary to be missing from Supernatural, I’d say the contrary, that she is ever present in Sam Winchester. I’ve always felt her presence in Sam, don’t get me wrong, but I really felt it in this one. As I watched Dean finally come clean to Sam
My post disappeared. I don’t know what happened, but it totally disappeared. :o:
I think I shall begin again. Loved your review as always and couldn’t agree with you more. 😉
Again, as I started to say above, this is the second episode in a row now that I’ve felt the presence of a fallen character. Last week it was Bobby and this week…..Mary Winchester. If one were to think Mary to be missing from Supernatural, I’d say the contrary, that she is ever present in Sam Winchester. I’ve always felt her presence in Sam, don’t get me wrong, but I really felt it in this one. As I watched Dean finally come clean to Sam
Sugarhi, I think the same happened again and from the same spot as earlier.
– Lilah
Thanks for the comment.
I’m glad you enjoyed this look at this episode.
I think it’s intriguing that you’ve felt a presence of an absent character. I think that’s very possible that there’s hints of that. When we look at Jody and her connection to the boys, it was originally through Bobby, so that makes sense. I think it’s possible that Sam has taken on a bit of his mother here, too, but it’ll be intriguing to see if any of that bears out as we get into the later episodes. I’ll be curious to see who is actually brought back and who is felt but not seen.
Thanks again.
Now wouldn’t that be a scene; Sam vs Amara. It’d be nice to see Amara take notice of Sam! Regardless my bet is we’ll be seeing Luci in the finale. Maybe even Micheal 😮
Anyway, thanks for the review. Always a great read ;D
Thanks for the comment.
I’m not sure just how this showdown is going to take place. I think Amara will have to take notice of Sam on some level. Not sure that it’ll work to her advantge, but she’ll have to take some notice. As for Lucifer and Michael, I’ll be curious to see how they factor certainly.
Thanks again.
I always look forward to your essays on the new episodes, and this one didn’t disappoint. Your words about Sam were very illuminating.
Thanks for the comment.
I’m glad you enjoyed the look at this one and thought my analysis of Sam had some thought provoking moments. I hope you’ll like the rest of my reviews the remainder of the season!
Thanks again
SPOT. ON.
Those were the words in my head as I read your essay. There has been so much complex layering this year. And Dean’s heart being controlled by Amara is exactly what I thought.
Little things to consider:
– Dean was trying to fill a void again. His commitment to Unattached Drifters’ Christmas not only on Valentine’s Day but also going back for seconds in a new state shows a more active Dean than he’s been since demonhood. And it WAS reckless (yet heroic) to take on the curse. On the one hand, it’s a classic Dean move, OTOH I trust Sam’s judgement about it. A distraught Dean is a reckless Dean. Sam knows it, we know it, heck…. Dean probably knows it too.
– I found Emily Swallows performance as Not!Amara to be very good. It was evident she was NOT Amara. She had the cryptic way of speaking but her heart (!) just wasn’t in it. It was a parody. I thought Emily did a good job of being “off”. Which is saying a lot for a character we really haven’t had much time with.
As for who takes out Amara or the particulars of how it’s done, I’ll offer an alternative: she’s not going to be killed. She’ll either be put back into a box or converted somehow. I think if God wanted her dead, he could have done it. BUT if you look at another layer to this story: the parallels between siblings …. I think we may end up heading to a “familial love conquers all” end but in a different way. Not kill or be killed.
I too am loving this season. It’s very complex IMO and I can’t wait week to week to get more pieces of the puzzle.
Thanks for the comment.
I’ve thought that Amara’s been controlling Dean since day one. She’s been trying so hard to make him feel what she wants him to feel and can do so when they’re near one another, but really she has to work hard at it and that should really concern her if you ask me. She shouldn’t have to work that hard at it if she’s that powerful. Makes you wonder just what her objective is in it.
I think Dean likes to blow of steam and escape and there’s certainly elements of him trying to fill a void. It’s either filing a void or trying to push out the powerful grasp Amara is trying to enforce. His reckless behavior falls right in line with that, too. And it’ all a red flag to Sam. Sam knows that his brother gets like that when he’s scared or feels overwhelmed or cornered. I think it’s one reason why he was so angry in the moment but patient when Dean finally unloaded his confession.
I also was really impressed with Swallow’s ability to show an imitation Amara that truly felt like a fake. It was in such nuance and little ways she gestured or looked at Dean or said her lines that it worked so well. She really made it clear before Dean even said she was fake that this was not even remotely close to Amara’s true hold. That was really what sold me on those scenes was her acting against Jensen and how their chemistry shifted just that little bit.
I don’t know if Amara has to die. I do think she has to be removed as a threat. I think Lucifer will also be a threat that they must address. Hell, they may have the two of them duke it out and kill each other for them! (I doubt that is how it’ll happen by any means.) It’ll be intriguing to see just how they stop her and what methods and end results it brings.
Thanks again.
As I watched Dean finally come clean to Sam , I was in awe once again of Sam’s patience, faith and unconditional love for his brother, which is really unequivocal to a mother’s love. ? I don’t have to go on and on regarding this scene, it was the best part of the episode. It was really just a simple reminder to all of us that Dean didn’t bear the only “parental” role. Sam has always been a “mother” to Dean as much as Dean was a “father” to Sam. I was reminded of that after watching Sam listen to Dean. He wasn’t surprised at what he had to say, he’d already known. Sam was just biding his time being patient.
He knew his brother needed time and he didn’t push. Sam also said everything Dean needed to hear. No blame. No shame, nothing but complete understanding. Dean isn’t weak or complacent. He’s not evil. He’s dealing with God’s freaking sister and really has no choice, a pawn…as Sam would know, for he was in the same position. Sam voiced what we all know. This was Dean’s confessional and as with Sam he shared his shame and guilt and they both responded in a way to ease ea. other of the burden they carried. It was beautiful to watch.
Did anyone else feel the winds of change for the boys? I feel a tint of hope for the Winchesters. 🙂
Sam was angry with Dean for kissing Melissa and I got why. While on the surface it seemed a heroic move, looking deeper as Sam did, we see once again Dean’s martyrdom didn’t really solve the dilemma, it just created a new one. This really has been a problem in the past, Dean acting before thinking. It’s how he got into this pickle in the first place, taking the mark without consideration of consequences. I think what Sam is saying here is that acting without always thinking isn’t necessarily the best action to take even if one might think so at the time. Sam knows from experience. I think Sam’s reaction to Dean taking the curse made sense. IMHO Sam’s anger also stems from the notion of there have being another way for Dean to help without sacrifice…which gives me hope for the future.
Sam will be taking the wheel now, but what I felt to be so significant is how it played out. Dean has always trusted Sam but I felt it so obvious here. Dean willingly relinquished control to Sam as opposed to Sam taking control as he did with the trials. HOLY HELL if that’s not character growth. LOL Not only do I have faith in Sam but so does Dean as we’ve pretty much seen since the first ep of the season. I believe Sam to be more than capable of taking the reins. He’s smart/analytical, he’s learned from past mistakes, he’s ready to die and watch those he loves die, but I don’t believe that it means it has to come to that. Sam is forewarned now, he can better prepare, he can use his knowledge to their advantage and find a way to stop the D without necessarily having to sacrifice either one of them. Sam, after all, has been Mr. Plan B of late and this alone gives me hope.
Lastly we have what will go down to be the most famous of the ROCK PAPER SCISSORS battle between Sam and Dean. I found the entire scene to be metaphorical for Dean’s growth/change. For the last ten years, well more actually, Dean has always lost to Sam in this little battle. Dean always doing the same thing, over and over and in doing so, always losing. This time Dean changed. He took a different approach and he didn’t lose, he in fact finally won. I really believe that RPS is symbolic of Dean’s character growth.
I really think that the boys can handle what’s to come. Sam might have to handle Amara, but let’s not think for a moment that Dean has no significant role to play here. Lucifer is out there as well. The boys most definitely have a full plate, but like I said, there’s a change in the air folks. I have much hope that the Winchesters will once again be successful, in a way that doesn’t end up necessarily through sacrifice.
“Dean has always trusted Sam”
I have to disagree with this. He most decidedly did not trust Sam in S4, S5, S6 Whole seasons of Dean not trusting Sam. In Dean’s own words.
Let me clarify. I’m all too well aware of Dean’s trust issues during those seasons. As a matter of fact, Sam had rightly noted…it’s not that you don’t trust me, it’s that you can only trust you. While not trusting sam for different reasons during those seasons you mentioned, it was never really mistrust in Sam’s capability as a hunter. In clip show, as sick as Sam was, Dean flat out told that priest that he had no doubts in Sam’s ability to complete the trials. So, while I do agree that Dean didn’t always trust in Sam’s decisions….like trusting ruby, or not trusting in Sam’s decision to let Amy live….I really cannot recall a time when Dean didn’t trust in Sam as a capable hunter able to handle whatever came his way. Seems to me that we finally have a case where Dean doesn’t trust in himself. He does in fact have faith in Sam, not only in his ability as a hunter, but finally the steadfast faith in knowing how much Sam loves him.
I’m not so sure I agree. Remember in Sacrifice when Dean told Castiel “if anyone needs a chaperone while doing the heavy lifting, it’s Sam”? I think Dean trusts Sam now, but I don’t think that’s always been the case.
I felt that comment to Cas wasn’t that Dean didn’t trust Sam’s ability to finish the trials, but at this point Sam was so sick he didn’t want Sam to do it alone….just in case something happened. As it happened . something did….and Sam, sick as he was, still managed to stop Abbadon and continue with the trials. I didn’t think Sam should be left either..i thought he was so sick that just having dean there in case made me feel better, even though i never doubted for a sec that sam would get the job done.
Thanks for the comment.
I really enjoyed that closing conversation that they had for sure. Honest Winchesters are powerful Winchesters. I think there’s certainly a shift taking place as Dean is telling Sam this as they go along. Sure, he’s had this feeling and bond thing with Amara for awhile—and he may have told Lucifer/Castiel they’d keep it quiet for a time—but he needed to think and comprehend it on some level before he could even talk about it with Sam. That Sam understood that and waited for Dean to come to him is just as profound. It could have gone as their other discussions have in the past with one shouting in anger and accusing, but it didn’t. Sam let Dean tell him what he felt/knew and then decided they’d face it together as it comes. That was amazing.
And yes, Sam did see what Dean did and I think you’re right. Dean did create a new problem to a point. They could have protected Melissa without one of them being cursed. It could have been resolved differently without that danger to them most certainly, and I got the sense that Sam wanted to convey that to Dean not just for this case in question but for all of their struggles to come against the Darkness. He doesn’t want Dean to dig deeper into trouble than he already is. I don’t know if it means Sam will take the wheel or total charge. That can lead to the same problem in reverse in some cases—where rather than seeing Dean as equal or capable in this situation he could do what he’s accused Dean of doing to him so many times in the past. I think Sam will want Dean to be by his side and fight with him and while at times he may take the lead, he’ll most certainly want Dean to be fighting for himself and their brotherhood rather than Sam doing it for him. He may be the one that stops Amara or delivers a killing blow, but Dean will have to do just as much if they’re truly going to succeed, I think. That’s just my take on their relationship thus far this season. They’ve handed off the lead between the two of them a couple times, so hopefully we’ll continue to see that as we go along.
Thanks again.
I just realized reading your comment that Casifer has no idea that Dean has come clean with Sam regarding Amara…I wonder how that might end up playing out. Will Casifer try to use that “secret info” to his advantage? Once the boys realise he’s not Cas will they be able to trick Casifer by turning that back against him?
That’s a great question. Dean HAD told Casifer to keep it all hush hush until they knew more. Now he’s unloaded it on Sam and Casifer can’t really hold that as leverage really. I wonder just what he’ll try to do or how that’ll play out in the long run. If he tries to drop that “bomb” he’s going to be sorely mistaken.
I mentioned in the other thread that I think the person who appeared in Sams “John vision” was Gabriel. Sam with Deans help figured out that the man at the counter was the Trickster and again saw through the Bobby ruse. Also in the episode with the Gods he helped the boys with the info about the cage. Gabriel knows the Winchesters -their beliefs and love for each other and what they did to stop the Apocolypse the last time. It makes sense that he would tell them that only they can stop it. So not God, Death, John, Lucifer or Michael. The Archangel Gabriel.