SUPERNATURAL THINK TANK - Thoughts and Theories on the Supernatural Season 11 Midseason finale - "O Brother Where Art Thou?"

- by Anna

This was for the most part a very intense and exciting episode.  Jared and Mark were a sheer delight to watch together. That loud crack you might have heard while watching this episode, was in fact my heart breaking for Sam.  Sam ever so faithful, believing that God was truly sending him visions only to find out that it's been Lucifer all along......or was it?

This episode raised more questions than it answered and left my head spinning while my heart in fact was breaking....it's always these types of episodes that raise so many questions, which is both frustrating and intense and exciting all at once.

Amara is clearly manipulative.  She's trying to give off the impression that she was done wrong, and the killing she's doing now is necessary and something she is forced to do.  Nobody is forcing Amara to kill innocents out of spite. I feel it's very one sided on her part.  We only have one side of the story as God has been seemingly absent and he is being blamed for the bad behaviour of others.  Does that sound familiar at all?   As I listened to Amara's speech to Dean something occurred to me, could this have been the same exact speech Amara gave to Lucifer?  Amara said she was bonded with Dean because he bore the mark and she was the original mark.  Amara said she was the original mark.  As the story goes that we got, God locked Amara away and entrusted Lucifer with the mark, which was a lock and key.  We also learnt that Lucifer was corrupted, became jealous and then wouldn't bow down to humans as God demanded.  Lucifer defied God and was thus punished, banished to the cage.  What if that's not exactly the way it happened?  Amara/the Darkenss is the one who corrupted the mark in the first place.  So what if the speech Amara gave to Dean was the very speech Amara gave to Lucifer?  He bore the mark, she corrupted the mark and thus were bonded.  What if her plan for Lucifer was the same plan she has for Dean, to become one...What if God banished Lucifer, not because Lucifer wouldn't bow down to humans, but because Amara was going to become one with Lucifer and if that happened she would've destroyed all God created.  So what if keeping Lucifer in the cage had everything to do with saving the world and less to do with punishing him?  Notice both Amara and Lucifer were locked away and kept apart. Has anyone noticed how very much alike Amara and Lucifer really are?  Amara and Lucifer have basically given Dean the same speech about being the victim of God.  Both Amara and Lucifer describe themselves as being betrayed by their siblings.  Both Amara and Lucifer use manipulation as a way to corrupt.  Both Amara and Lucifer ultimately want to destroy everything around them until it's basically just them.  God created Heaven for humans, a paradise and salvation for human souls.  Amara just wants to consume all souls.  She gives Dean a whole lot of malarkey about the souls being forever through her, but in reality souls that are consumed by Amara end up in darkness where as souls that end up in heaven live in peace and light.  We've seen Show's heaven and it's a good place to be.

Now let's get to Sam and his visions. I still think God is involved with Sam's visions.   I'm inclined to believe that Lucifer is lying to Sam, manipulating him once again. I still do not believe that Luci sent Sam those visions.  I'm not buying the cage was damaged and I can see and hear through the cracks story, because if that were the case, then I would think that Michael would be doing the same thing. Michael is an arch angel.  Sam is part of the Winchester bloodline, so I believe it's just as possible that Michael could have used Sam as a vessel, therefore, Michael can connect psychically to Sam whether or not he was his true vessel. Michael being stuck in the cage with Luci, and being an archangel in such close proximity to Luci, would most likely know if Luci were in fact sending false messages and if that were the case, I would think Michael would warn Sam or at the very most find a way to warn Dean.  I'm just not buying into the whole ...break in the dam story.  I think Lucifer is manipulating Sam and messing with him in order to break his spirit and take away his faith, as I'm sure he's attempted to before when Sam's soul was stuck in the cage.  Think about it. When Sam was outside the cage, Luci told Sam he had to allow him to be his vessel, as it's the word of God, in hopes that Sam's faith in God would trump all. That didn't work and still Lucifer tried to get Sam to be his vessel once again, that he was his only hope.  It wasn't until Lucifer noticed the faulty warding and summoned Sam to the cage that he changed his tune and told Sam that he was the one who gave him the visions.  To me it felt like Lucifer simply seized an opportunity given him.  Lucifer has to know that Dean will come to rescue Sam.  He knows he only has a certain amount of time to work on Sam.  Sam won't say yes, but that doesn't mean Luci won't do everything to try to break Sam, most importantly, breaking Sam's spirit and causing Sam to lose his faith.  Sam's faith could very well be how he's endured and survived hell for all those years.  Luci knows that as long as he has Sam he has leverage with Dean....but it's more....if Luci can break Sam's spirit and take away his faith, then Sam may very well be unable to beat the darkness.  If my theory is correct, then the one thing Luci would want is to reunite with the D.  So yes,  I think, as Crowley had done back in S6, Luci is taking credit for something he didn't do.  He's using God's absence to his advantage.  After watching twice now, it's obvious to me that Rowena purposely messed around with the warding.  When Rowena found out who was in the cage, she was giddy like a school girl. She actually laughed out loud at the deliciousness of this situation and how she would use it to her advantage.  Rowena definitely wanted some payback and this was her chance.  Rowena isn't all about the petty though, she has her own agenda and I think, as Crowley tried to do with Amara, I think Rowena is attempting with Luci.  Rowena isn't that much a fool, of course she didn't mess up the spell to the point that Luci can escape.  She did however, mess up the warding enough to allow Luci to bring Sam to him, inside the cage.  Rowena trapping Sam in the cage is nothing but beneficial for her.  Sam either is mentally destroyed by Lucifer, which leaves only one Winchester left as a burden, or the Winchesters follow their normal MO and Dean makes a deal to get Sam out, which most likely would involve Luci's release.  Rowena would then take full credit for that and thus try to get into Luci's good graces.  Rowena has the Book of the Damned, the codex and knows a hell of a lot of spells.  Imagine with Luci released the spells she can unleash on him and bind him to her....much like the spell Luci used to bind Death to him.  The power Rowena could amass if Luci were free?........Seemed to me that both Luci and Rowena have their own agenda.

I don't see Sam in the cage very long. I think Dean will rescue him in episode 10...but unfortunately for Sam(being hellatus and all, what will only be a short time will feel like, oh I don't know, 6 weeks...LOL) The question is though, will Sam be the only one who leaves that cage or will Luci be let out as well?  If Luci is set free then why would God send Sam those visions in the first place?  If God put Lucifer in the cage, why would he want him out now, especially if Amara would still have a hold on Lucifer as she did once before? I have a theory on this. I was thinking that Luci might actually have an important role to play here.  I still believe that the only people who can stop the D are Sam and Dean.  Dean cannot stop the Darkness with this hold she has over him because of the mark. With Lucifer free, the first bearer of the mark, the one who was the first to be corrupted, possibly the one who was originally supposed to become one with Amara...then I think it's possible that Amara will be drawn to him, thus breaking the hold she has over Dean.  Dean cannot defeat the darkness if he is bonded to her.  With Luci free, the bond is broken and Sam and Dean will be able to defeat the Darkness.....and since neither the Darkness or Luci can be destroyed.....they must be contained....and I think the one place that can contain them both, where nothing ever comes back from...is the Empty.  I think God's plan is to have Sam and Dean banish both Amara and Luci in the Empty.  I think God is around and has been helping them, even if they are unaware of it.   I also don' t think that Luci will break Sam or take his faith away.  I do think at some point in the series, Sam will meet God and he will get a big thank you.

All in all, some pretty good stuff for the most part.  I've even managed to get excited by the notion that I could be right in my speculation regarding Amara....and just that alone fills me with a more positive vibe concerning her.  Even though I find her pretty much nothing more than a spoilt child and a manipulative liar.....at least I can bask in the possibility that she and Luci will reunite and cause some real havoc....and Dean can be free of her hold and he can actually do his job and he and Sam can get rid of this brat.

You know a friend of mine's husband had a theory that the hot dog vendor was actually God....and I kind of think he might be right.  I think that Dean was in pretty deep doo doo at that moment, and those dark clouds came just in the nick of time.....God knows what Amara wants of Dean and knew she would send Dean to safety....pretty convenient that he ended up right where he started.....I think God protected Dean....now Dean is going to save his brother.....it's all going to work out.....and I still think God helps a little here and there just to make sure it does.

On that note.......so looking forward to Jan 20.....it's going to be intense....

Before I sign off....just want to praise Jared for an incredibly heartbreaking performance and praise Mark P for his portrayal of Lucifer. They have a great chemistry and really bring an intensity to their roles.  It's a pleasure to see Mark again.  He owns the role of Luci for sure.

Thanks for reading....Happy Holidays to All.

-Anna