Fan Video of the Week: Supernatural Reflections 14.20 “Moriah”

Well, there’s only one explanation. Obviously I’m a god… I’m definitely a god. A cruel, cruel, capricious god. – Chuck Shurley, 4.18 “The Monster at the End of This Book”

God Was Never On Your Side by Motörhead

Motörhead were an English rock band formed in June 1975 by bassist, singer, and songwriter Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister, who was the sole constant member, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. The band are often considered a precursor to the new wave of British heavy metal, which re-energised heavy metal in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Though several guitarists and drummers have played in Motörhead, most of their best-selling albums and singles feature the work of Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor on drums and “Fast” Eddie Clarke on guitars.Motörhead were an English rock band formed in June 1975 by bassist, singer, and songwriter Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister, who was the sole constant member, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. The band are often considered a precursor to the new wave of British heavy metal, which re-energised heavy metal in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Though several guitarists and drummers have played in Motörhead, most of their best-selling albums and singles feature the work of Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor on drums and “Fast” Eddie Clarke on guitars.

Motörhead released 22 studio albums, 10 live recordings, 12 compilation albums, and five EPs over a career spanning 40 years. Usually a power trio, they had particular success in the early 1980s with several successful singles in the UK Top 40 chart. The albums Overkill, Bomber, Ace of Spades, and particularly the live album No Sleep ’til Hammersmith cemented Motörhead’s reputation as a top-tier rock band. The band are ranked number 26 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock. As of 2016, they have sold more than 15 million albums worldwide.

Motörhead are typically classified as heavy metal, and their fusion of punk rock into the genre helped to pioneer speed metal and thrash metal. Their lyrics typically covered such topics as war, good versus evil, abuse of power, promiscuous sex, substance abuse, and, most famously, gambling, the latter theme being the focus of their hit song “Ace of Spades”.

Motörhead has been credited with being part of and influencing numerous musical scenes, thrash metal and speed metal especially. From the mid-1970s onward, however, Lemmy insisted that they were a rock and roll band. He has said that they had more in common with punk bands, but with their own unique sound, Motörhead is embraced in both punk and metal scenes.

Lemmy died on 28 December 2015 from cardiac arrhythmia and congestive heart failure, after being diagnosed with prostate cancer. Drummer Mikkey Dee and guitarist Phil Campbell both confirmed that Motörhead would not continue as a band. By 2018, all three members of Motörhead’s classic line-up had died.

Music

Quotes

Chuck: You see, this is why people need to lie. It’s good. Keeps the peace, you know?
Castiel: Seems like an odd stance for… you.
Chuck: Is it? I’m a writer. Lying’s kinda what we do.

Sam: Do you watch us? When you’re not here, are — are you… watching us?
Chuck: Yeah. I mean, you’re my favorite show.

Chuck: Fine! That’s the way you want it? Story’s over. Welcome to The End.

Trivia and Minutiae 

Moriah is the mountainous region in the Book of Genesis where Abraham was to sacrifice his son Isaac to God.

Chuck: Okay, look. I get it. All right, I’m the deus from the machina, and you have questions. So, great. Go.
Deus Ex Machina literally translates as “God in the machine” and refers to a narrative device whereby there is an unexpected, and often contrived, resolution to a plot.

Castiel: What is that?Chuck: I’m thinking of calling it… the Equalizer! Or… the Hammurabi. No? All right, cool. That’s cool. Cool.
The Equalizer is a television series about a retired intelligence agent who uses his skills to help those in need. Hammurabi was the sixth king of the First Babylonian Dynasty, reigning from 1792 to 1750, BCE. He is known for codifying laws with an emphasis on the physical punishment of perpetrators of crimes, rather than the compensation of victims.

Chuck: Lookit, the — the — the gathering storm, the gun, the — the father killing his own son. This is Abraham and Isaac. This is epic!
The story of Abraham and Isaac is from the Hebrew Bible and features in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions. In the biblical narrative, God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, on Moriah. Abraham undertakes to do the deed, but is interrupted by an Angel. He then sees a ram caught in a bush and sacrifices it instead.

The climactic ending where the souls emerge from Hell and resume terrorizing people is reminiscent of the climactic scene from Ghost Busters where the Ecto Containment System is deactivated under the orders of EPA lawyer Walter Peck and the ghosts emerge from the Ghostbusters’ headquarters to terrorize New York City.

“Moriah” marks the third season finale where a door to Hell is opened in a cemetery following 2.22 All Hell Breaks Loose: Part Two and 5.22 Swan Song. The confrontation in the cemetery also recalls the climactic scene in “All Hell Breaks Loose: Part Two” where Dean aims a magical gun at an enemy.

The camera zooming in to Jack’s burned-out eye and revealing him in the Empty is similar to the reveal of Dean in Hell at the end of 3.16 No Rest for the Wicked.

During the closing scene, several ghosts previously defeated by the Winchesters appear including Constance Welch, Mary Worthington, and John Wayne Gacy.

References