Recap and Review
Supernatural 11:6 “Our Little World”
“Our Little World”, written by Robert Berens and directed by John F. Showalter, was an amazing mytharc episode that effortlessly brought us up to date on the story arcs of Amara, Crowley, Castiel, Metatron, Dean and Sam. We also received confirmation of the major mytharc threads of the season: Amara the wronged woman on a revenge tour of creation because she was betrayed by her closest family, Crowley still desperate for human connection and prizing that over anything to do with Hell, Castiel finally embracing the existential crisis that has been brewing since he became disillusioned by God and heaven, Metatron ever the disgusting and manipulative cad waxing philosophically about mirrors for creation, Sam riddled with guilt and grappling with his visions as to how to defeat the Darkness, and Dean hiding the truth about his bond with Amara from himself and his compatriots despite being visibly drawn to her and absolutely manic about finding and resuing her from Crowley’s patriarchal clutches. All of the actors were outstanding and Berens et al. slyly included some tantalizing hints about each character’s arc.
It was obvious that Amara was a God level being since her introduction as a baby being protected from killer zombies by Dean, much like Jesus was protected from Herod’ s killers after his birth by Joseph and Mary fleeing to Egypt. In addition, her appearances have been festooned with imagery associated with Christianity and Creation. It was also obvious that Amara was a wronged woman betrayed by God, waiting until she was powerful enough to obtain her revenge. This was suggested by her dialogue in “The Bad Seed ” and subtextually using the monster of the week cases in “Baby” and “Thin Lizzie”.
In “Baby” a wife sacrifices her husband literally when he refuses to join her new monster family and Daddy Ghoulpire is creating a family to fight Amara much like God used his creations to fight her. In “Thin Lizzie” we have two wronged women gaining their revenge through violence. As I noted in my review of the episode, Lizzie Borden is believed to have taken out her anger on her father and step-mother using an axe; theories suggest the father was favoring his new wife’s family financially as well as Lizzie being the victim of physical and sexual abuse.
Sidney ‘s story is obvious because she tells us why she snapped. She is the victim of child abuse and abandonment and kills people who have wronged her as well as the lousy parents of her babysitting charge.
Wronged women seeking revenge. Betrayal by family. Sacrificing your old family for your new family. This is Amara’s story and it calls into question the official story about the Darkness and whether God the Creator, a neglectful and absent Father is really the good guy. It’s no accident that the stained glass window in Amara’s room depicts two men (angels?) and an attack dog attacking a prone woman.
In “Our Little World” Amara explains her plans to Dean without subterfuge or fanfare: “It’s been great seeing you again, Dean, but it’s time for me to go. There’s a whole world out there for me to explore, and I can practically taste it. Soon, I’ll be strong enough to do what I came here to do….Settle an old score… the oldest score”.
Amara wants revenge against God. She’s mad as hell and going to do something about it. She’s not evil. She’s not kill crazy. She only takes souls when she needs them and she leaves the victims alive. She didn’t kill Crowley despite the fact that she was angry at him. She didn’t kill Dean despite his attempt to attack her. She didn’t kill Sam despite the fact that Dean’s bond to her wavered when she threw Sam across the room. There’s no question that she is dangerous. She requires soul energy to grow into her full power. She’s the most powerful player in the universe and she’s mad.
She also tells Dean that their bond affects her too and she doesn’t understand it”: “Tell me, what is happening here between us? You save me, I save you. What? You were the first thing I saw when I was freed, and it had been so long. Maybe that’s it… my first experience of his creation. You can’t help but represent that for me… the sweet triumph and the even sweeter folly of what he’s wrought.There’s no fighting it. I’m fascinated”.
I still think that Amara is meant to be a feminist character, a wronged woman who is taking control after being used , abused, controlled, abandoned and imprisoned by men, and underestimated. We see her anger at Crowley grow when he tries to control her and lock her up in his fortress to protect her. This interpretation of Amara’s story is reinforced by the episode’s title “Our Little World”. Our Little World is a song sung by the imprisoned Rapunzel in the
Stephen Sondheim musical “Into the,Woods” (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Into_the_Woods). In the musical poor Rapunzel is driven mad by her confinement. Obviously the episode title and Crowley’s imprisonment of Amara mirrors her treatment by God.
Amara’s physical telekinesis attack on Crowley starts because Amara desires to protect Dean. However, her anger quickly turns the attack into a thorough beat down and complete humiliation of Crowley as well as a clear demonstration of her superiority. The actress does an excellent job of conveying Amara’s anger and disdain for Crowley’s patriarchal treatment of her, telling him, “I’ve decided I don’t need your protection, and I certainly don’t need your captivity.”
Come on folks. She’s the princess locked away for her own protection and most likely the princess sent away because she was a either threat to King God or dismissive of his patriarchal tendencies too.
The concept of patriarchal protection and ownership of women is also conveyed in Crowley’s dialogue framing him as a male protector concerned with preserving Amara’s “virginity”, which after all is typically why a Princess is placed in a tower without access in the first place. Crowley attacks Dean saying: “My girl’s growing up. Should have known it wouldn’t be long before the boys came sniffing around”.
Crowley is so protective of his little Amara that he decides he can finally kill his favorite human Dean. He admits that he could never do it before and invokes both fatherhood and their bromance before brandishing Dean’s demon knife and moving in presumably for the kill. Of course Amara intervenes before Crowley’s decision Is fait accompli. She saves Dean, hurts Crowley badly and forces him to grant Dean safe passage or else. Crowley is stunned, the poor
lonely bloke.
Dean being neither sexist or an idiot tells Crowley that he’s an Idiot if he thinks he can control Amara in a derisive tone: What do you want with her, Crowley? What, you think you can use her, control her? You’re an idiot”. Ha! And last season he was Idiotic enough to think he could control Dean. Crowley’s human need for connection post cure is so sincere. He’s more interested in parenting Amara than running Hell, sneaking in some pop psychology reading on how to talk to teens. Yes he’s still Crowley, and he’s still the bloody King of Hell and he’s still a demon looking to benefit himself… There is just something truly bpoignant about his attempts at creating a family.
I am extremely curious as to why he was willing to give up Dean and the Bromance for Amara. Not even his actual mother took precedence over the Bromance. He wasn’t protected Amara from Dean the Hunter either. He saw Dean’s response to Amara in “Form and Void” and knew that Dean cannot kill her. I am going to guess it was jealousy over their bond because he failed at forming the bond he wanted with either one of them. Poor humanized Crowley grappling with the green eyed monster. I adore post-cure Crowley.
Speaking of characters who are looking to benefit themselves… Metatron the big bad behind the curtain is currently working as a freelance video paparazzi exploiting human death and violence for his personal gain. Castiel catches up to him stealing from a man who is near death without mercy or remorse. His manipulation du jour is to play the pitiful human which works although his goading leads to Castiel beating him into traction, followed by Castiel leaving
without taking him prisoner..it’s win-win for me. I don’t think I can take having Metatron locked in the bunker all season.
During their encounter he tells Castiel all he knows about the Darkness. It’s behind the curtain Intel and different from the fairytale the rest of the SPNverse knows about the big bad Darkness.
Amara is God’s only kin, his sister whom he betrayed and sacrificed in order to create the world. I was expecting her to be God’s co-creator and consort; however having them be siblings works extremely well with the Mark’s Cain and Abel backstory.
Did anyone else notice that the stained glass outside her locked door, an obvious metaphor for the Mark being her locked door for millennia, is a scene of Cain killing Abel. Cain killing Abel to stop him from being tricked by Lucifer is the human equivalent of what God did to Amara.
Neither trusted their sibling enough to allow them the freedom to chose. Both thought that betraying their sibling was just. No wonder Amara is enamored with Dean “I will never kill my brother” Winchester. Dean’s refusal to kill Sam is one of the main tenets of the Winchester Gospels. His loyalty to Sam has earned him a supernatural bro squad including Castiel, Benny and Crowley.
And it was the pivotal act that changed the outcome in “Swan Song.” The story laid down by God did not include Dean Winchester’s refusal to play the game or Dean inspiring Castiel to switch allegiances (A pivotal plot point in ” The Monster at the End of This Book” is Castiel telling Dean how to protect Sam from Lilith; Dean then changes the story by showing up at Chuck’s to Chuck’s surprise.), and it certainly did not include Dean showing up at Stull. We all know that Dean showing up full of love for Sam despite certain death is what triggered Sam’s memories causing Lucifer to lose control of his vessel.
God may talk a good game about free will in theory but I am starting to doubt his sincerity, at least since Metatron’s introduction. At best God’s idea about free will is a form of sadism. No wonder Metatron decided to start screwing with Team Free Will and Dean Winchester. Dean is the personification of free will thwarting God’s plan.
Metatron looks especially pained when he divulges the ugly story of God betraying his sister. It’s a strange delivery considering the angel claims to worship the big dude. The performance renders this bit of dialogue into a confession.
Am I the only one who thinks that Metatron will eventually be outed as God. He knows too much. He’s too successful at long-term manipulation. He’s too good at reading what is inside everyone’s heart and knows exactly how to push every character’s buttons to achieve his desired outcome. Metatron’s long-range plan has resulted in diminishing Castiel as a deus ex machina for Dean; temporarily fractured the brothers’ relationship sending Dean into a downward spiral of self-loathing which resulted in Dean sacrificing himself for the greater good; causing Sam to be angry at Dean, then guilty, then angry and finally desperate and guilty because Dean saved his life again and was at risk for becoming a demon; and of course desperate Sam trying to do a big save to fix Dean and his guilt in one fell swoop released the Darkness.
Metatron since meeting the Winchesters had deliberately manipulated Team Free Will in order to recreate the Apocalypse. He says as much in “Meta Fiction” by burning the Winchester Gospels. He engineered a return to character arcs and character tropes that lead to the Darkness being released and will lead to Lucifer’s release too. It’s brilliant and diabolical. Who else but God would care this much that Team Free Will changed His pre-ordained story. Why else did
Metatron stab Dean through the heart with such glee in “Do You Believe in Miracles?”. Dean’s heart stopped the Apocalypse, that’s why.
Once you accept that God is enough of a control freak to lock away his sister, enough of a disloyal ass to sacrifice her and a genius at manipulating that story… Well who else can he be but Metatron.
My God! Besides engineering the story to undo to the Winchester Gospels, Metatron is obsessed with the act of creation, and with creating new realities and worlds. He was introduced in an episode called “The Great Escapist”. God has been missing for millenia. He is the representation of the Word of God on this plane causing Sam to resonate. Why would the guy that took mere transcription have this power. Only God would have this power because “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1 ).
Metatron manifests in God’s Prophet Kevin in “The Great Escapist” without asking for permission or entering Kevin in the usually way. He’s just there saving the day, completelyunaffected by Crowley’s angel warding. He explains his extraordinary abilities away by claiming that his role in transcribing God’s Word gives him power over it. This makes no sense because only God should manifest powers because of the Word. The Word Is God.
He is obsessed with human stories; “(It) was your storytelling. That is the true flower of free will. At least as you’ve mastered it so far. When you create stories, you become gods, of tiny, intricate dimensions unto themselves”.
Metatron has granted immortality to the native American tribe that sees to his needs. One suspects that only God can grant immortality to mankind, since he took it away after Adam and Eve exercised free will and ate of the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. No mere angel should be able to grant immortality.
He’s not only immune to a circle of burning holy oil and the usual bane of angels, he snaps his fingers and it disappears (“Meta Fiction”) despite the Wichesters successfully using holy oil to trap the archangel Gabriel (“Changing Channels”) and the angel Gadreel in the very same episode. These are all big clues folks.
Then of course there is everything he does in “Do You Believe in Miracles?” to announce his location on Earth to Dean. He actually outs Himself as God throughout most of the episode, knowing full well that no one will buy it.
Gadreel may believe that Metatron has somehow derived power from the Angel Tablet to make him a veritable God, a tablet written to benefit mankind, because it is the Word of God and Metatron may cop to that later in the episode, however, this seems like a red herring to me and it certainly doesn’t make sense. Certainly the tablet is lit up under Metatron’s typewriter but it’s as if Metatron is affecting it much like Sam resonated in his presence and much like,Dean’s amulet was,supposed to glow in his presence. “In the beginning was theWord, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1 ). This Bible quote makes more sense than Metatron somehow using the tablet for an unintended purpose to become God.
When the Angel wearing a scarf confronts Metatron and calls him a power hungry abomination, the people defend him by calling him first a “Miracle Worker” and then “Messiah”, the latter earns a “Better” from Metatron. The Christian use of “Messiah” is exclusive to Jesus, the earthly manifestation of God the Father. Castiel says that Metatron “is the reason for all of our suffering.” He’s referring to the angels falling of course but the statement also holds true for God as well because the angels suffered without him and eventually lost hope or went mad from their grief. If the angel storylines has taught me anything it is that they need a leader to have purpose because they truly lack free will.
Metatron is also omniscient in “Do,You Believe in Miracles?”. He knows Dean is coming and he knows that Gadreel and Castiel are in heaven trying to destroy the tablet. Only God is truly omniscient. We know it’s not because he wrote the characters’stories because he was unable to simply write tHe story he wanted in “Stairway to Heaven” despite having the angel tablet. He was shown course correcting until the episode ended with Cas abandoned by his brethren with Metatron as the angels chosen leader and The object of Dean’s hatred and ire.
Metatron agrees that he’s a fake after Dean trash talks him and his attempts at playing God. It’sa lengthy conversation which I won’t repeat here. Three things stood out in my opinion. First, Dean points out that Metatron has folks killing in his name in less than a day. Hmmm… that sounds like God to me. Second, Dean’s criticism of Metatron sounds a lot like what he probablywould say to God. I think Dean would happily gank God and call it a good day. Finally, Metatron knows what Castiel and Gadreel are up to in heaven. If his power was because of the tablet wouldn’t he race off to preserve it and save killing Dean for another day.
Metatron tells Dean that he’s powered by the Word of God before killing him. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1 ). I have repeated it thrice because it is one of the most famous phrases of the Bible and too well known for the writers to throw around the phrase Word of God lightly. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” (John 1:14). This sounds a lot like Metatron my friends.
The Faux Native American symbol for “Messenger” associated with Metatron in the “Great Escapist” is a hexagon within a triangle within a circle, with three bisecting equidiatant circles atthe circle’s perimeter. Both the three-sided triangle and the three circles represent the trinity in Christian symbology. The six-sided hexagon is a reference to creation because “six is the number of creation, and perfection, symbolizing divine power, majesty, wisdom, love, mercy, and justice.” (George Ferguson, Signs and Symbols in Christian Art, 1954.). A single circle representsGod (http://www.umich.edu/~umfandsf/symbolismproject/symbolism.html/C/circle.html). In other words the show went out of their way to scream that Metatron is really God substantially whilst introducing him as God’s scribe, a mere angel and a messenger. One of the functions of a Messiah is to deliver God’s message to the people.
If these weren’t enough clues to satisfy you doubters we have some goodies in this episode as well. For instance, why is Metatron hanging in Omaha, Nebraska, the same state in which Amara was born just a couple of hours away. It’s a huge coincidence.
Metatron is introduced beneath a glowing neon cross as if the show is screaming at us “Here He is”. He refers to himself as “Daddy” as in “Daddy’s got to eat”. Likewise Amara says “I’m a growing girl. I need to eat. ThIs is the first instance of mirroring between Metatron and God’s sister in this episode, introduced to connect these two characters in our minds Later on the show cuts frantically between Amara telling Dean of her grievance with God and Metatron confessing God’s betrayal of his sister. The effect is to connect both of these characters together and to that horrible backstory. It’s very effective and almost makes it seem as if they are talking to each other.
Metatron tells the dying man who asks for his help; “You know, there was a time I could have brought you back from the brink with a snap of my fingers… Not that I would have. But I’m not that guy anymore. I can’t save you”. And then Castiel does exactly that; he saves him in the way we have seen all angels heal and resurrect. They use their grace in close proximity to their current Lazurus project. But not Metatron apparently.
What is with Metatron manifesting in a prophet without securing a “Yes” from Kevin that we and Crowley hear or visibly entering Kevin once the go-ahead is secured. What’s with all of the finger-snapping to do things that other angels require grace and a laying on of hands to do. We have seen archangels smite their lesser brethren’s vessels with a finger-snap and we have seenMichael erase sigils with a wave of his hand (“The Song Remains the Same”). Metatron
however is in a league of his own… he’s kind of, sort of as powerful as God would be… and Amara at full power presumably… unless he’s playing the sniveling human fool. In fact Metatronlater tells Castiel, “The truth… ha… it’d make the Bible thumper heads explode. I mean, they want their God to be a…a f… finger-snapping, all-powerful creator, you know…” Hrumpf. God the Father is the finger-snapper in this family and not his angels.
Metatron is still obsessed with creating reality. He tells Castiel that “Religion is dead! The novel? Deader. You think I’m ashamed for dealing in fleeting visual sensation, in .gif-length glimpses ofhorror, waste, and degradation?! No! just caught up with the times. Reality is the great literature of our era, and I am out there, on the streets, every single night, capturing it! I am reality’s author”. I AM REALITY’S AUTHOR!!! That has to be God talking. If humans create fake realities in literature then it is God that is the author of the real thing. Only God as Metatron would talk about religion being dead in the same breathe as literature and scripted reality television. It makes sense that GOd the creator would be obsessed with the act of creation; he sacrificed his sister for it after all.
In “Do He Believe in Miracles?” Castiel blames Metatron for the angels’ sorrow. In this episode Metatron tells Castiel that he knows he blames him for his problems. And then Metatron goads Castiel into beating him up by calling him scared, a wuss, and finally mad; “You’re not scared. You’re mad. And I get it. I mean, it must suck being everyone’s tool, manipulated and used by the angels, by your enemies… by your friends. Who do you have to thank for how angry you are, how lost?… You’re welcome”. I maintain that taking blame for Castiel’s existential dilemma which truly began in season 5 when Castiel despaired after failing to find God is tantamount to him saying dude I am God, He who abandoned you and prolongs your eternal suffering with punishment ressurections; kneel before me and despair.
Metatron’s smile as he delivers that last line tells us that the beating is exactly what he wanted Castiel to do. It’s almost as if he knows Castiel was paralyzed with fear and remorse reliving the recent violent horrors of himself beating other angels and Dean when influenced by Rowena’s spell and Dean beating him to near death when he had the Mark. Both relate to Castiel’s role in releasing the Darkness. Castiel is as horrified as Sam about what they have unleashed in their thoughtless desperatIon to “save” Dean.
Of course Cas believes that the pathetic human act is when Metatron is attempting to Manipulate him. We know better because we see the smile and we remember Metatron goading Dean into beating him in “The Hunter Games”. The pathetic human act is just the icing on a brilliant performance.
There’s a beautiful shot of Castiel framed behind the architecture as if he’s trapped or imprisoned perhaps Indicating that he’s spider in Metatron’s web of manipulation. Even when Castiel thinks he’s won, for instance reclaiming his grace in “The Inside Man” or destroying the angel tablet in “Do You Believe in Miracles?” Metatron never acts like he’s lost the game. One suspects that the angel tablet wasn’t that important to him and he,seems to enjoy causing a character to lose control. I think it suited his purposes for Castiel to regain his grace at about that point in the story, just like it suited him for Dean to come a knocking with a killer death wish.
Dean has come a knocking to God’s sister. He breaks into Amara’s room like a knight in shining armor from a fairy tale. He’s been a bit manic about finding her in this episode and downright scary once he learns that Crowley has her. His lean, mean Dean was in full force when he brutally stabs the demon assassin. I was surprised that he didn’t throw out a “Bitch, look at me” per “Alex, Annie, Alexis, Ann” when he was badass killer Dean with the Mark of Cain.
He tells Sam that they need to go now clearly chafing at the thought of Crowley with Amara. Ostensibly he wants to rush to her side to kill her but really he needs to see her and protect her from Crowley. And he’s very defensive whenever he is questioned about killing her, fearing that Sam and Castiel know his little secret. Jensen does a,fantastic job of conveying the conflict within Dean.
He’s strangely apologetic about coming to Amara, almost ashamed really. Jensen plays Dean as enraptured and in awe in the classical sense. Amara plays it sexually which is unsettling because sheis still a child. The two stand close together in profile suggesting the prelude to a kiss. It is an erotically charged tableau, reminiscent of Dean’s frequent flashbacks to their first meeting in “Our of the Darkness, Into the Fire”. Some fire. He’s a hunk of burning love and she’s hot for teacher and teacher I mean Dean.
We learn that Amara is as surprised by their bond as Dean and is equally affected by it. Dean seems stunned by this admission, her, her protection of him, his need to protect her, his inability to kill her and the creepy romance factor. He’s pretty much dumbstruck by her until Amara threatens Sam.
I think there’s a hint about Dean’s potential role in the mythic beyond the fact that he, our virile manifestation of the divine, affects Amara as profoundly as she affects him. The stained glass outside of Amara’s locked door depicts the scene of Cain killing Abel, signifying that Dean can retake the Mark to relock the door that keeps Amara from God’s creation by committing fratricide just like Cain the previous Mark holder did before him.
Dean doesn’t realize this yet, although he is now pretty sure that he cannot kill Amara. He can’t even bring himself to get stabby with her despite having brought a blade that he has no expectation of being fatal to a being as powerful as God.. And he knows he’s feeling something akin to love, lust, admiration and worship.
It’s tempting to frame Dean’s reaction as one of religious passion. Christians describe their overwhelming feelings when in the presence of the divine as passion or ecstasy. However both the writing and the acting suggest that Dean and Amara are experiencing a profoundly romantic and erotic longing for each other that defies logic. From Amara’s coos and sexy whispers, to Dean’s silent expressions of love and lust, to the final scenes of Amara strutting downthe street to Urge Overkill’s Girl You’ll Be a Woman Soon. Rest assured that Dean is all sorts of uncomfortable too about holding her as a baby and being hit upon by sexy teenaged jail bait that wants to eat him up metaphorically speaking and has the power and proclivity to eat his soul literally and destroy his body without touching him.
She’s fascinated with him. He’s fascinated with her. Fans are retching about consent issues and the hint of pedophilia… except Dean isn’t the one doing the grooming. I am intrigued by what is going on between them and why/how it happened. The show better provide some resolution after dropping this bomb. Have we ever seen Dean this flustered. Have we ever seen Dean unable to assume his bravado of snark or killer swagger against a formidable adversary. When has he ever apologized to the monster for doing his job as a Hunter. Color me and Dean utterly gobsmacked.
And to support my interpretation that Dean can reclaim the Mark through fratricide, Sam is shown prostrate on his hands and knees like a sacrificial lamb, crippled by his vision in front of the Cain killing Abel window as if he was struck down himself. Sam also is featured in front of a stained glass panel that appears to depict animal husbandry which is Abel’s chosen profession. Finally we have the ongoing parallel to Abel’s story of Sam thinking that his visions are from God when the viewer andDean knows they are not; it is patently clear that the visions are from Lucifer.
I don’t think that Dean will kill Sam to save the world from the Darkness. He didn’t in “My Brother’s Keeper”, the title referencing Cain’s lie to God about killing Abel, when he was hopped up with the Mark of Cain’s killl ust mojo. He didn’t kill Sam after John’s deathbed request. He didn’t kill Sam according to heaven’s plans or when he was soulless. The glue that holds the Winchester’s story together is Dean’s love for Sam and his refusal to kill him or let him die. He always finds another way.
And after seeing his reaction to Amara, he’s not going to want to lock her up. Dean has no love for God and he’s,becoming increasingly sympathetic to Amara and her story. He’s derisive to Crowley because Crowley wanted to control her. He’s protective of her because of the bond, and he’s asking her questions which she freely answers. They are developing a relationship that grows with each encounter.
My guess is that Dean’s influence on Amara will temper her anger and help her to understand the value of all of humanity. Or he plays her knight in shining armor again and gank’s God and all is good.
Isn’t it nice to see Sam lasting an entire fight without being knocked out. I am also pleased that Sam is sticking to his redemption arc and his decision to reinvest in the family business of saving people first and foremost whilst still hunting things. He resorts to killing a demon only when his life is at stake and he’s absolutely right; saving two out of three meatsuits ain’t bad.
Poor Sam. His final vision was a doozie and unmistakable in its intent. Sam finally realizes what his visions are telling him. It scares him to his core, so much so that he completely misses the fact that Dean is acting very strange. Castiel notices that there’s something about Dean but he’s also angry about his meeting with Metatron and the fact that Dean is chastising him for letting Metatron go. Metatron may be “in traction” but he got what he wanted; Castiel let him go out of guilt for having blood on his hands yet again. Sam and Castiel often have parallel character arcs although Castiel’s storylines are usually a season or two later than Sam’s. I have a feeling then that this will be Castiel’s season to resort to desperate measures to fix his latest mistakes, although after this episode the way this will play out remains unclear.
This episode was once again peppered with small spots of illumination within areas of darkness andlots of foliage and flowers. These are visual markers for Amara’s presence.
Thanks to Supernatural.wiki for pointing out that the flowered wallpaper in the Winchesters’ current hotel room is the same paper as in “Changing Channels”, the episode in which the archangel Gabriel was revealed to be posing as the Trickster God. I think this might be absly reference that God is posing as an angel in a vice versa scenario.
Amara taking control of her life is another example of girl power in a season shaping up to be about girls fighting to regain power when the bonds that restrain them are loosened. Teenagers running amuck is another roundhouse theme. If only Dean rode in on a motorcycle! Of course a classes muscle car isn’t bad at all.
