#divinity vs matter

FICTION BECOMES YOU (Is that a Misery thing?)

The brothers were written as God's way of dealing with his own issues with his beloved other half – The Darkness. But when I say “Brothers” I mean not only Sam and Dean: Before them there were Michael & Lucifer (and I would also suggest that the discrepancy presented through the seasons regarding who is the older brother and who is the younger may actually suggest they are a set of twins, foils, literally, figuratively and in any other way, and thus – stand first and foremost on equal grounds); Cain and Abel – whose story was altered by Lucifer's intervention – be it Chuck's intent or not – and Finally – Dean & Sam themselves.

There is actually one more couple I could think of who weren't mentioned but may have just been another set of Chuck's machination: Adam and Eve. The show obviously shied away from this parallel, but it did parallel Dean and Sam with their own parents. It's not that far fetched and I'll explain my reasoning later on.

In various myths of creations, in all cultures – pagan and monotheistic alike – the duality and the fraternity of two entities that are also a couple is very common: Morduch and Tiamat, Isis and Osiris and you google it. Morduch and Tiamat are especially interesting in this regard – since Tiamat is water and skies and the Primordial Goddess of Chaos – she is defeated by Morduch – who is the God of the Land - and thus earth is created. Well you get the picture.

My point is, Dean and Sam (notice I'm flipping the order of the names on purpose) are the last link in a series of sets, and in Chuck's perspective – they are his best and most enjoyable ones. In a very convoluted, subversive Supernatural-esque way – they are also unkillable to a certain degree – they have a free will too strong, and Chuck can't seem to bend them to his own will. Dean and Sam won't kill each other under no circumstances. And this drives Chuck towards madness.

The thing about free will and godly intent is that – as a Jewish saying goes - “everything is predestined, but permission is granted” - means God will not bend free will. He will give you all the roads less traveled, all the hints and clues and goading, but you are still free to choose. Also he knows what you may choose, unless you choose otherwise. It's a paradox of sorts, and that is exactly the point.

With Michael and Lucifer Chuck sought to have his own story under control. But Lucifer wouldn't comply. Lucifer, the Light Bringer, is actually a Chuck parallel. Chuck, too, had to have his own way. Michael, forever loyal to the order of things – just like The Darkness is – followed orders. And thus, Lucifer, cursed with the mark that held the Darkness (about that later on, too) - fell. My sympathy for the Devil in this case is that – Lucifer showed great free will (in the Supernatural mythology, by that point Lucifer was the carrier of The Mark, but I would give him the benefit of the doubt and allow Lucifer act on his accord regarding the rebellion). Lucifer's free will is immense: He had an actual, personal opinion, while it was an unfathomable notion to any other angel at the time. Lucifer sought the love and approval of his absent father – who was eternally immersed in his work. When he couldn't achieve that – he rebelled. Interesting to think of that in regards of young and willful Sam. Pride – was also a trait Lucifer and Sam shared. Sam had the audacity to step out, and he acted upon his free will. He rebelled. Sam, too, was “marked”, but was that the Demon Blood in him, or was it his free will? God's hypocrisy is also very apparent in this – angels are not to have free will, as it is not meant for them. Yet, they are capable, and are punished for acting upon it, be it benevolent or malevolent.

Adam and Eve followed. There are actually two separate tales in the bible regarding the emergence of mankind: The first depicts Adam and Eve as made equal and in God's image. The second one – tells the story that features the rib. Canonization of the bible by men preferred to emphasize the later – out of obvious reasons. Yet if you look closely and read carefully – the first one is still there. What is interesting about this duality is the idea of Nature vs. Nurture emerging: the Nature of Adam and Eve is equal. But the nurture – societal tale – is not. This is interesting especially in regards of Dean and Sam here – their predestined nature was neutral - a big brother. A younger brother. Just another family. But God's machinations, Azazel's plan (remember free will?) and the angels all together – created a “rib”: The story diverted, in a way that Dean not only fulfilled the role of a brother, but also acted as the mother, the father and anything else in between in a way – Sam grew out from under Dean's wing – from his rib, to be at his side. The roads all together lead to a situation, in which, by the time Mark Of Cain came up, Sam was not just the Abel of the story, But also the Colette. This toppled the story over, and prevented the ending Chuck was constructing.

Also, Adam Milligan was a reenactment of Seth – the third brother of Cain and Abel. Seth was born to replace the brother that died, and this is literally his only predestination. Within the show, Adam Milligan ends up as Michael's vessel, but if we go back, and think about god's great plan – it is most likely he would've thought of a backup for Lucifer's vessel – since the trait of pride and rebellion would've been the vessel's predisposition. Azazel had similar thought's actually. See my Azazel meta for more musings.

Adam ending up as Michael's vessel was one of the first chinks in God's plan. Dean and Sam had it their way, as did the angels and the demons. And God liked that story, he really did. But he was not satisfied. His characters surprised him. But they were also disobedient.

While Sam is the one who is constantly defined by his eternal faith (which is kinda proudfull on its own), he himself feels “unclean” and  “unworthy”. Yet as long as he has Dean – he would have enough “Faith” for them both. In many ways, Sam's path to godhood was well paved from the start: he is the Saint, the Sacrificial Body, the one to take upon himself the sins of others. Many times he is the Jesus, the Messiah. Sam mourns the few even if he saved the most. He is the God humanity would've wanted – the God who is on the side of humanity, the God we deserve.

Dean, on the other hand, is The Righteous Man, the one to call the shots, most of the time, the one to be right about many things again and again. And this is not about doing the right thing, it's about being right about the nature of the thing. He basically embodies naked truth, a chaotic, primordial truth. In other words, if Sam is conscience, compassion and forgiveness – Dean is raw judgement, truths and facts (in fact, “Dean” in Hebrew – and thus in the bible – means “judgement”). They both comprise together flesh and spirit – body and Soul. Of course, this is not cut and dry, and their traits crisscross between them throughout the story.

When Dean took upon himself The Mark Of Cain, he became the carrier of The Darkness. He was the body that released her, he became the mother of The Darkness on the earthly plain. Darkness is matter and nothingness. God – is creation, spirit, soul. He en-souls earth with life. The Darkness is very much a mother earth figure, the material from which creation could happen. Sam is what gives Dean his motivation, his life. Without Sam, Dean is a sorrowful walking corpse. Without Dean, Sam is a soulless shell of a human being, vicious and remorseless. They keep each other human, sane.

The Mark in itself, embodied the rage of an entity trapped for eons. It drives the host mad with basic carnal desire and strips it of all its virtues. Demon!Dean embodies this. It's a cry for help. Amara screaming for freedom. In a way it is somewhat of an allegory to pagan beliefs and old faiths screaming in agony as Christianity crashes and tramples them. It manifests as this natural catastrophe of sorts, cruel and unpredictable. After all, vices are born from desires being locked away and ignored.

SAM AS THE CREATOR; JACK'S FREE WILL

God may have created all things, but his prime virtue is giving choice, and presenting his creations with numerous paths. Sam is this. Jack was born predominantly an evil creature (which is not entirely true – Lucifer was an archangel first, Satan – later. In closer look, he embodies free will and the freedom of thought). Dean was right about Jack being dangerous, about him bringing discord and hurt. But Sam was the one to insist on the fact that Jack is part human, and he has as equal chance at goodness. As much as Castiel was to be the one to raise Jack and influence him, he ended up being the one to insure his corporeal emergence of all things. This is in itself a beautiful thought: Castiel “fall” is about becoming less of a wavelength of celestial intent and more and more of a human being. His pull towards Dean, which is undeniable, in my opinion, is his longing to become a whole complete creature – by defending Kelly till the very end and ensuring the birth of humanity, Castiel embodies a very corporeal form of evolution.

But it is Sam who molds Jack the most: He gives him CHOICE. Dean, with time, comes to terms with Jack and who he is and may be. In this metaphor – Sam is God, Dean is The Darkness and Jack – is humanity and creation. Jack may bring discord and hurt, but as well may bring joy and hope. Jack in his turn invokes himself a guiding figure: Castiel, who is there to be by his side, an actual, real and corporeal guardian angel. He is the godfather figure, in this metaphor. The faith humans put in whatever there is other then God; a set of rules, a spiritual guide. It's beautiful on it own: Sam is to give Jack choice, but the angel – is the one to grace Jack with conscience.

“I AM TIRED”; DEAN'S SOLACE IS AMARA'S WISH

When the line “there will be peace when you are done” is ever uttered, we must recall a very specific thing: While Sam, as a Messiah figure, rises his head again and again, Dean is the one to repeat how tired he is. To actually be frustrated at having to save everybody. To be running on fumes. Time and time again, it comes up – he is torn between the duty and the longing for quite, and to close his eyes. He is a death seeker. Sam is forever hopeful, and hope is the last to die, if Sam's hope runs out – everything falls apart – Dean will shoot himself (Croatoan) or worse. When Amara came to Dean in a shroud of blackness, she offered him to be one with her. To receive an eternal rest. It reminded me of Jewish burial: the body is thoroughly cleaned and wrapped in white shrouds, then lowered into a hole in the ground. No coffins – you are to become one with the earth. Your soul is to depart and to be placed with all the rest of the souls in the “bundle of lives”. Amara goes on and says that the souls she consumed live inside her, and are at peace. And Dean is tempted, he is pulled towards her and her words. But he can never rest, for there is work to be done. He is cursed to feel responsible.

One other thing that makes Dean and Amara compatible, is their choice of freedom: Amara, as a free entity (and I mean – free from any and all inhibitions) indulges in humane activities, rather then trying to, say, take over or plot further revenge. Dean, too, is actually a very carnal, tactile physical being. In many ways, Dean embraces humane vices, as things that just exist – he acknowledges the joys of flesh (even though it is not his primary longing), and that furthermore positions him as an earthly being of raw matter. He may be very judgmental of human choices but not of their cravings.

In the duality of Creation and Nothingness, we now enter the duality of Spiritual and Material. And from the point of view of religiousness – spirituality is the divine, while the carnal is regarded to as vein. In that parallel, The Darkness is all that is ungodly – it does not render it as void (that would be The Abyss – dubbed as The Empty on the show), but rather the foil of Spiritual Divinity: Flesh and Blood.

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To save humanity, our heroes need to stop the God That Has Gone Mad. But since he is woven into the fabric of creation, he cannot be killed – it will cause a great imbalance. Billie's reincarnation as Death could be a foreshadowing: maybe if a reaper is made in Death's image, and the human is made in God's image –  the human to annihilate God – will become him? Or, maybe the answer is The Darkness. But will Amara be willing to hurt her younger kin? Micheal turned on Lucifer at God's will. Cain killed Abel out of necessity (to save his soul); but Dean wouldn't kill Sam for neither of those reasons. He would have Sam corrupt or not but alive. Maybe a pair of soulmates are needed to complete this task – two humans who embody a bond on a metaphysical level, a strong enough bond to hold the balance of the universe with it.

In whatever scenario it goes down, at the end – no way God or The Darkness may exist without the other. A reincarnation of each of the entities would be needed to keep the universe on its feet. Since the idea of heroism has been presented – that would be the perfect heroic balanced act to put an end to the story: Sam taking God's place, and Dean becoming one with The Darkness. By becoming a corporeal manifestations of omnipotent entities, they have the power to save creation and maintain balance, while never loosing each other. Sam as the new God, is no more the writer, as much as he is An Archivist (A Men of Letters), Dean obtains inner peace within all the turmoil he is bound to carry throughout his life; to roam the earth and indulge in it, in its vices and virtues alike. God and The Darkness were never The Good and The bad, for Choice is both – but rather Spirit and Matter. The Darkness is an advocate of the Matter (as we actually get a glimpse of her, enjoying life among humans in the beginning of S15). God is the advocate of the spirit. Darkness!Dean may as well be that random entity that stirs things a certain way to its liking or approval. He may be the Judge and Executioner of those he deems unworthy of creation: him being fully responsible and overprotective of humanity being met with the power to intervene, would be a sight to behold.

And God!Sam? Will be there to answer your prayers and give you a long-time-coming guidance; an entity that advocates autonomy and free will, out of a sense of great purpose and love. An entity of eternal compassion and forgiveness. You can atone your sins before The Darkness, you may serve in Hell for your sins, but it is God's forgiveness you may need to enter Heaven. God!Sam and Darkness!Dean would care enough to negotiate with The Empty for all the souls there, to properly purge them, to give those souls new purpose, as part of creation, be it via reincarnation or raw energy. God!Sam may even remake Heaven in his image – where angels are working hard to help, to guide and protect, Castiel by his side above, Rowena bellow. Darkness!Dean would take it upon himself the cleansing of Purgatory, making it habitable for outcasts, for Darkness!Dean is the one to take in the most lost souls and finding them a place. The various creatures of nightmares and loss and pain would be slowly taken care of; one by one. A harmonious balanced creation may also mean that negativeness like ghosts are inevitable. But the way they are taken care of could be addressed by these newly formed prime entities, and it may be a better way.

But that's a whole other story.

...Oh and the Blackout? Is from Chuck's perspective. This is the ultimate Death of The Author, after all.

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On a personal note, after writing this out, I feel it is too cheery and is a happy ending with an actual stories that might follow and now I suspect that this theory won't hold on the show... Not enough peace.

I suspect Sam gives up his life to annihilate Chuck, and Dean commits suicide. Billie collects their souls, for keeps forever. That would be the other only way to stick it to God and obtain eternal peace. But. Who knows.

Or, S16 is a go for some strange reason, and Sam kills Chuck and takes over as God!Sam but is nowhere to be found, and Dean scouts the Earth and Hell and all of the Heavenly Host with his amulet around his neck hoping it will shine in the presence of God.