The River Shall End At Its Source: Amara and Mary, The Story Became the Story

Amara:

“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.”

I’ve said elsewhere that flowers are used in Supernatural as a means of hinting at secrets, at things that are yet to be revealed. Early in the story of Supernatural, flowers were strongly associated with Mary. She often wore pink or white or blue.

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?

Throughout season 9 and 10, we saw frequent visual motifs and narrative references to journeys. We had boats, airplanes, and cars, as well as stars and maps by which to guide them.

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.

A Purple Point of View: The Story became the story

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)

I’ve said before that flowers in Supernatural hint at secrets, at things yet to be revealed.

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.

yaelstiel:

Sam’s room in 10×17

Things I love about Sam’s Room:

1. He’s so tall his foot hangs over his bed.

2. There’s nothing of substance showing on the outside. Everything of meaning is under a tight lid.

Source: yaelstiel

Visual Motifs: Journey to the source, we’ve been at this crossroads before

I thought it was curious that a crossroads demon showed up in this episode about demon deals and the road that leads you to becoming a demon.

All Hell Breaks Loose II: the RED v The Red-Headed Demon

And then more and more references to Dean’s initial demon deal (his father’s son) and the effect it had on his humanity cropped up.

All Hell Breaks Loose II: "It’s a fire sale, and everything must go.“

Executioner’s Song: "It’s a fire sale, and everyone must go.”

Long Distance Call: “I’m scared, Sam” Executioner’s Song: “I’m scared, Sam”

No Rest for the Wicked: “If we go down then, we go down swinging.”

Halt & Catch Fire: “And when all is said and done, I’ll go down swinging.”

No Rest for the Wicked v Executioner’s Song

On the Head of a Pin: "You ask me to open that door and walk through it, you will not like what walks out.“

Executioner’s Song: "Plus, I need you three out here total out whatever comes out of there. And I’m serious. I mean whatever comes out. ”

Alistair and Cain taking credit for what they’ve passed on to Dean.

On the Head of a Pin: “I carved you into a new animal, Dean. There is no going back”

Executioner’s Song: “At a loss for words, my son?”

The setting of the confrontation: note the two sources of light and devil’s trap

On the Head of a Pin v Executioner’s Song

All reinforcing that Dean’s execution of Cain can only take him further down that journey of losing his humanity.

justanotheridijiton:

So, get this: the Winchesters forgot that yarrow is used in summoning spells.

Does Mommy Dearest not want the Winchesters playing with her Fergus?

Yeah, I was wondering about this connection. Was it a purposeful call-back? Or if Adam Glass – who I understand admits he has not watched the first 5 seasons – didn’t know about the connection between yellow yarrow and demon summoning and deals.

If it was purposeful, then, yeah, I can definitely see a connection being drawn between deals-demons and witches-deals, and all associated with Rowena.

Source: justanotheridijiton

Season 8, the Magnolia season

larinah:

The episode “Goodbye Stranger” got me thinking. That fabulous old Supertramp song was featured in a scene of the movie “Magnolia”. Like I said in this post many of the themes of the movie are very similar to the long-running themes of Supernatural. I rewatched the movie last night and I realized it’s more than that. I think the entirety of season 8 has been pulling elements from the movie.

Here are the similar elements I saw:

-Every scene in movie has flowers or pictures of flowers in it. I think every episode of season 8 has a theosophical symbol in it. (I’m not positive about that as I didn’t notice until halfway through the season that there were many shots that lingered just a little too long on a symbol, I’ll have to go back and watch the first five or six episodes to be sure.) We’ve had the pin of the werewolf professor in “Bitten”, the Men of Letters aquarian star symbol, the tree symbol that showed up on the doomed LARPers, the symbol on the bar the witches frequent and on and on.

-In the first episode of the season we saw a mysterious hooded man outside Sam and Amelia’s house and still haven’t gotten any confirmation as to whom that was. In the movie there is a man wearing a hooded coat who we only ever see from behind. He’s referred to as “the Worm” and he’s guilty of a murder another woman has been arrested for committing.

-In the movie there is a super-smart child who is often pictured surrounded by books and is being pressured to perform well on a game-show by his father. He’s also a prophet who many people think represents Moses. In season 8, we have advanced-placement prophet Kevin Tran who is being pressured to read the word of the Lord.

-There are repeated references to Freemasonry in the movie, from symbols in the background to a character quoting their greeting as stated in Kipling’s “the Man Who Would Be King”. In season 8, we were presented with the Men of Letters, which appears to be very similar to the Masons as secret societies. (Also, as stated above, there are many theosophical symbols placed around the background of season 8.)

-People have made connections between the title of the movie and the word “Magonia” which has been described as a “purgatory in the sky to which creatures and objects inexplicably disappear and then occasionally fall back to earth”. Cas was in purgatory and then inexplicably reappeared. We know (or assume) that Naomi got him out, but to Dean and Sam this has been a mystery for most of the season. (If you’ve seen the movie, you know some things inexplicably fall from the sky. So help me, if the Colt shows back up, I’m gonna scream!!)

-There is also a movie called “Magonia” which is about a less-than-fully-sane father telling his son stories where all the characters curiously resemble people living near the father. In season 8, we’ve seen many instances of recasting of actors from prior seasons in different roles, nearly every episode.

-In the movie, reality is in question because it has decayed in the characters memories. They’re not quite sure if things in the past really happened or not and some of them have created different versions of the past from what ultimately is the truth. Dean did this with his memories of leaving Cas in Purgatory. Some people also thought that Dean’s defense of his father was odd considering that he seemed to be acknowledging that his father certainly had his faults earlier.

-In the movie, a line from the book “The Natural History of Nonsense”, which debunks superstitious belief and paranormal activity, is quoted twice. The line is “We might be through with the past, but the past is not through with us.” In season 8, we saw Sam and Dean’s paternal grandfather show up out of their motel closet (sort of like dropping inexplicably out of the sky) and completely change their knowledge of what happened in their own pasts. They had written the guy off as having abandoned their father, but instead it turns out he saves them.

-The movie pits children (some of them now grown-up, but still in the children’s camp) against adults. The kids have been compared to the Israelites and the adults to the Egyptians. All the children have been abused (physically or psychologically) or neglected by their parents, especially their fathers, and those who have grown up are miserable because of their fathers’ past deeds. Even the non-parents look down on and ignore the wisdom of the children. At one point a character says “It’s dangerous to confuse children with angels” to which one of the grown up children yells that it is not a dangerous thing to do. (Jim Beaver happens to be sitting at the bar in this scene, by the way. Also, this is the setting where “Goodbye Stranger” is playing on the jukebox.) The whole run of Supernatural has dealt with father/child issues, but I think this season they’re also dealing with the slave/master issue much like the Israelite/Egyptian theme. The humans want the supernatural entities to leave them alone…to let them go. That’s what closing the gates of both Heaven and Hell presumably means to the people.

-At the end of the movie Aimee Mann’s “Save Me” plays. The lyrics to that song are a perfect representation of Sam and Amelia’s relationship.

There were a few other little odd and ends I noticed, but this is already pretty long so I’ll stop here. Magnolia is a fabulous movie and I highly recommend it if you haven’t seen it, though boy oh boy is it loaded with profanity! This season has many little puzzles and possible mis-directs and red herrings just like the movie. It’s narrated by Ricky Jay, who is noted for his mastery of slight-of-hand. I’m really interested to see if that’s what Carver has been up to as well.

ETA after season 8 finale: The bar scene in Sacrifice is very reminiscent of the bar scenes in Magnolia, and the angels falling from the sky as a climax mirrors the frogs falling from the sky in Magnolia. Also, Crowley saying that he didn’t know where to begin asking for forgiveness and Sam confessing that his biggest sin was repeatedly letting Dean down were very much like the death-bed confession of the dying father admitting that he failed his wife and son.

“So help me, if the Colt shows back up, I’m gonna scream!!”

Okay, I gotta ask for more about what you’re thinking. Funny you would say that, because I’ve been wondering when THIS will come into play:

Samuel Colt’s journal:

Samuel Colt’s weapon: The Colt

and: Cole T.

Visual motifs and narrative themes: Leaving the Family Home

Throughout season 9 and 10, we’ve had maps, stars to guide our journey, and means of travel. Just recently we got the hint of the destination. The journey ends at the source.

At the same time, we’ve had stories of young women embarking on journeys of self-determination and self-discovery. Charlie, Alexis Anne, Kate, and Claire, they’re turning their backs on their pasts, taking control, and making themselves anew.

it was their pasts that formed them. People they loved. Traumas they endured. These were the source. Out of their experiences came both the good and the bad. Both the Good!Charlie and the Bad!Charlie with an “anti-authority disorder.”

Charlie’s journey took her back to the source of her duality. In search of the source, Bad!Charlie invaded and destroyed homes.

Until the journey lead her the person who caused the trauma, who broke her home.

He had his own duality. He was both a creator and breaker of homes. He built and he destroyed.

Charlie found a way to integrate that duality. She confronted the source of the duality, accepted it for what it was, and forgave herself. She made peace with what it made her.

All this foreshadowing, and we even have Crowley directly confronting his own less than stellar parent. "I don’t eat and you don’t cook.“ His experiences set him off on the journey of his own duality: The Kind of Hell and the feeling addicted demon who was abandoned to a work house and only wants to be loved.

And if the foreshadowing of Dean’s need to go back to the source of his own duality, both the good and the bad, wasn’t enough, we’ve been given a visual hint. Here we have a incongruous, nicely lit and centrally located orange flower both at Rowena’s introduction and during Dean’s story about who John was as a father.

I’ve written before about the use of flowers to hint of secrets, things yet to be revealed. It’s rare to see orange flowers on Supernatural. Someday I’ll actually finish my meta on the use of the color orange. Here I’ll only say that we’ve most often seen it during themes of temptation, the effects of staring into the abyss for too long when fighting monsters make us monstrous.

Visual Motifs: Trapped by the lies we tell

Here, in Russell Wellington, we have a character who has tried to put his ugly past behind him. Like Celeste Middleton, he’s split himself in two. He’s hidden away the monster, but the duality remains.

It can be seen in an office split between stark black and white. Symbols of wealth, prosperity and recognition housed alongside alcohol and cars.

It can be seen in a handshake between figures in dark and light hovering just over his shoulder.

He is a man who builds homes. He’s created his own environment. He lives in a cage of his own making. We can see it in the bars that shutter him in.

Charlie, too, has found a way into the cage.

But also a way out, busting through the bars. Wellington and Middleton – both city names. The town of Welling and the town of Middle. Russell chose the path to rejecting his duality. It did not end well for him. Celeste accepted a middle way. She accepted her duality and forgave herself. She destroyed the cage and found a way out.