#s14 speculation

I personally, thoroughly enjoyed tonight's episode. But what happened during the teaser for next week's episode, is what really grinds my gears.

"You're dead to me."

Those words were spoken, from Dean to Cas.

"You're dead to me."

Those words came from the man who has intensively mourned over this angel, several times, who in angels he has lost and regained his faith over, the angel they, no, he needs.

This angel, who when trying to remember himself he repeatedly reffered to as his, "best friend."

This angel who, "gave up an entire army for one guy," that one guy, being him, of course.

The angel who has literally went to hell and back for him.

The angel he wouldn't dare attempt to leave purgatory without.

The angel his subconscious would rather have him believe he failed, than accept that he didn't want to leave with him.

The angel he forces to binge watch old cowboy movies with him in their spare time, knowing damn well he has more than enough culture downloaded onto his system.

The writers would like to have us believe that this angel is now dead to him, presumably because of a mistake that Jack made.

But it doesn't matter why, because that doesn't make it right. I don't think I've ever heard Dean say something more out of character than this, and I refuse to believe that he would ever say, think, feel, or believe that.

Tagging those interested: @evvvissticante @verobatto-angelxhunter @metafest

Spoilers below:

Disclaimer: The following is nothing more than my speculation/optimistic hope/projection-of-what-I-want for the rest of the season.

So with the combination of the trailer for 14x14 and the release of new episode titles, there’s been a lot of fear that Jack will go darkside. I’ve seen lots of posts freaking out about it. I’m freaking out too. This is something I DO. NOT. WANT.

But honestly? I think he will.

Just...not how we think.

Let’s examine evidence:

Even before the season started, I thought they would be killing Jack. At first I figured he would be a victim of Michael’s brutality, but then his magical consumption kicked in and I and everyone realized he would die of that.

Sure enough, midseason we got a cliffhanger episode of Jack collapsing, and the following trailer showed him going on a bucket-list trip. The next episode just cemented that he was a goner.

BUT...he came back! This is IMPORTANT! Trailers never give us the full story.

The trailer for the episode where Jack actually died didn’t show Jack at all. The trailer for the 300th gave no mention of John whatsoever.

For this trailer for the next ep, Ouruboros, they’re showing us things that will keep us worried. The way everyone spent weeks worrying about Jack after he coughed blood. The way they ended 14x06 with Jack unconscious and bloody. This time we see Jack exclaiming “I’m the son of Lucifer!” and doing something nefarious to Rowena.

So is he going to go evil? Yeah, probably.

But is that the extent of the story? No.

I was expecting this last year—for Jack to go off the rails, to become too drunk with his power, to become unreasonable. To an extent, we got that with him in the apocalypse world planning to kill Michael. This year, we have the added bonus of Jack’s power coming at the cost of his soul.

I...kind of like it. It’s a meaty setup. There’s potential for some good storytelling here, if it’s played right. I don’t mind Jack going down a dark path. As long as he doesn’t stay there.

And I don’t think he will.

Why not? A few reasons.

First of all, Cas’s deal with the Empty. He promised to go along with the Empty whenever he was happy. Since Supernatural is incapable of keeping a plotline dormant and waiting for more than a season, that’s likely coming to bite him sooner than later. Even if they defeat Michael (which I’m assuming will be what kicks off his deal) Cas wouldn’t be truly happy if his surrogate son is either evil, dead, or rotting in a box.

Which brings me to my next big point: the ep titles. IMDb has released several new ep titles, and at least one is cause for concern. Pay attention to ep 307, which is the penultimate episode of the season. (14x19)

Jack in the Box.

We’ve established Chekhov’s Box with Dean building it for himself. Even if he’s decided not to use it, that huge plot point which took up two whole episodes, is not going to disappear. It’s likely someone will end up in it. I’m rooting for Nick, but that title is teasing someone else.

Do I think Jack is going in the Ma’lak Box? Not permanently. Something that big wouldn’t be spoiled in an episode title. (Of course, the title could also be referring to the scary toy that pops up out of nowhere, terrifying children and adults alike. An evil Jack could easily fit this description.)

Now, I wouldn’t put it past the writers to play with timelines, but I wanna point out that Lily Sunder lived for a century doing soul magic, and a tiny sliver of her soul still remained when she died. (Her personality, despite a diminished soul, was arguably unaffected.) Unless Jack is doing heavyweight crap like pulling his father back from nothingness every week, he shouldn’t be losing his soul yet. Also, becoming soulless would put a full stop to his abilities, so...

So am I worried? Of course. I like Jack as the pure good bean who looks up to Sam and loves his little found family. It would be a depressing slap in the face to see all of that thrown away.

So, I keep seeing people online talking about their theories as to why Jack's become ill, and I want to try to explain what I think is going on, since some people seem to be forgetting key pieces here.

Jack is a nephilim, not an angel

When Cas had his grace stolen, he became human, but he didn't become sick(until he stole someone else's grace, but that's a post for later). This is because Cas is occupying a vessel, that's not his true physical form. Jimmys' body is not dependant on Cas' grace, it is still(even after all that's happened) technically a human body.

Jack's body is his true form. His DNA is half angelic and half human, every cell in his body needs his grace to function properly, because it's not fully human.

When Lucifer stole Jack's grace, he essentially took away his regenerative abilities. His body is trying to heal and replace cells as they die(like a normal human body does everyday), but because he's now without his grace, so are his new cells, and that might mean they're not compatible with his old ones, so his body's rejecting them, like a failing transplant, and so his body is deteriorating.

As to how his grace can be supposedly restored, I'm going study a bit more and then I'll post my thoughts on that as well, but I just wanted share my thoughts on this part of his situation because I've seen some people being really dismissive and saying things like he's got 'angel cancer or something'(which is really insensitive)

I love you, Anon. I’d sign this petition. I can’t bring myself to expect anything to come of Sam’s declaration in the first episode (especially considering that episode two, as per SPN’s usual soul-crushing standards, is written by Bucklemming). Still, I love this idea and it would be such an amazing opportunity for TPTB to bring back powers!Sam.