I was struck by the similarity between the windows in the old distillery and the wheelwright’s workshop. Colorful in the distillery, black and white where the angels have taken Cas to torture him and mess with his programming. Reminds me of the punchcard-esque motif in Naomi’s office.
We know from the psychic in 10×17 that Cas’s very nature is colors. The angel minions’ black and white ties (rather similar to the stunt demons’), the windows, and the black hood all emphasize that they’ll be attempting yet another assault on Cas in the name of punishment and correction.
Also look at those old caged halo lights in the background – they’ve been associated with him for a looong time. Especially to symbolise when he’s trapped and controlled: 4×21 was huge on them.
“Strong, attractive, stylish, and multicultural this name is also the Esperanto form of Mary… But Amara is also a Sanskrit name meaning immortal and a Mongolian name meaning peaceful, and is the Italian word for bitter (same root as Maryam and Miriam) occasionally used as a first name in the Latin countries.”
Over the first few seasons the secrets of just how Mary was the source of the Winchester family’s narrative was revealed. She was revered mother, lost wife, hunter, and daughter. She was both loved partner and abandoned wife. She was the first to set off the chain of Winchester sacrificial deals. She was trained to be a hunter but desired only a safe and normal life. The audience’s and her sons’ perception of her changed over time as her story was revealed.
And here we have Amara, drawn into clear parallel with Mary by both her name and the visual motifs surrounding her.
Amara, too, is a woman of mystery and her story is a matter of perception, reinforced by both her forceful rejection of Death’s point of view and the distinctly purple tint (Purple is perception).
Here, now we have Amara, whose name has many meanings. She is immortal. She is peaceful. She is bitter. And she is Mary.
What is the aim of drawing these parallels between Amara and Mary, then?
Now, however, we seem to have come to a “stop.” The end of the road.
When asked how to get rid of The Mark, the scribe of God said, “The river shall end at its source.” Have we reached the source? The end of the journey?
Mary was the “source” of the Winchester pain and dysfunctional patterns. Is the Darkness then the “source?” Did all things begin with her? And to end we have to return to her?
Why do the people the Darkness touches have an expiry date? Within hours, they die. If they are driven to “infect” others, why then do they die within hours.
I have to wonder if they are being called “home.” The darkness is calling what is hers home to her? She existed before God and Death. God said let there be Light, and the Darkness was banished.
Is the Darkness the source of humanity’s souls? Did God plunder her power and use it to create humanity, and then put her behind a lock that engenders bitterness at unfairness of your treatment and the belief that you have the right to claim others’ lives? A lock that is fed by the splitting of another’s soul from their body?
If so, then I predict that the story of the Darkness, her sacrifice, and her bond with Dean will parallel Sam and Dean’s desire to sacrifice everything to save the other. At some point, because of his bond with the Darkness, will have to directly choose between Amara and Sam. At some point, Sam’s tendency to sacrifice himself will be brought into parallel with the Darkness’ sacrifice to preserve humanity. And so, I predict that story of the Darkness will be the vehicle by which the Winchesters examine their dysfunctional patterns that have their source in Mary.
The Darkness personified is distinctly purple. Contrast Sam’s POV inside the Darkness versus Dean’s in the opening scenes of Out of the Darkness, Into the Fire.
Supernatural makes vigorous use of visual imagery, including thematic use of color. Purple didn’t show up often in the early seasons, but it’s use has become more and more marked.
Here we have the infamous purple nurples in Tall Tales. If ever there was an episode about the power of point of view, this one was it. Was Starla “just trying to keep her liquor down?” Or was she a “class act?” I supposed it depends on who’s telling the story.
In Season 9′s Bad Boys, “the story became the story.” First love’s kiss or just another “bad boy?” “Delinquent” or a young boy desperate to feed his little brother? What was the story? Dean was away on a hunt?
And then we have Season 10′s Fan Fiction, in which “I have my story and you have yours.”
Sam takes a very purple point of view looking at his newly returned brother in Paper Moon. Everything’s all right here, right? We’re back to normal? Two brothers kicking back and enjoying the life?
But sometimes what we see is an illusion. A figment of magic and willful perception. (Executioner’s Song)
So, what is being hidden here? What is yet to be revealed?
The story became the story, a tale told by Death. The victor gets to tell the tale. But what story might the vanquished tell if she were given a voice again?
Pie is love.
No Exit:
Exit signs have been used to hint at a character’s death before. I first noticed them in Season 2, In My Time of Dying, hinting at the fact that Dean was between worlds. His death loomed behind him. So did it appear behind Dean off and on early in Season 10, after his death and resurrection.
Now, here they are again, looming behind Sam presaging his sacrifice and imminent death in Season 11.1.
I’ve seen a lot of curious people wanting to dive into classical music but don’t know where to start, so I have written out a list of pieces to listen to depending on mood. I’ve only put out a few, but please add more if you want to. hope this helps y’all out. 🙂
a lot of these pieces apply in multiple categories, but I sorted them by which I think they match the most. have fun exploring classical music!
also, thank you to viola-ology and iwillsavemyworld for adding on! if you would like to add on your own suggestions, please reblog and add on or message me so I can give you credit for the suggestion!
“and if you really just hate classical music in general:
Have people been talking about this and I missed it?
I was just trawling through 10×23 for some stills, and this caught my eye, and somehow I totally missed it before?
Just so we’re clear THERE’S AN ANGELLY-LOOKING THING COMING OUT OF THE DARKNESS. I don’t know what it means. But if anyone knows of any meta/discussions/ideas about this, can you send them my way? Because now I’m really curious!
I keep thinking about Pandora’s box. How the curious opened the box and let evil of all kinds into the world, and hope lay at the bottom of the box.
Hope is the Thing with Feathers
Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune without the words, And never stops at all,
And sweetest in the gale is heard; And sore must be the storm That could abash the little bird That kept so many warm.
I’ve heard it in the chillest land And on the strangest sea; Yet, never, in extremity, It asked a crumb of me.
Hearseeno 