So in this post on dialogue in 10x15, I talked over briefly about the idea of cures and cure rituals in terms of Cole in 10x15 vs. Dean in 10x03, and since watching 10x16 I’m noticing a pattern emerging for our characters. This tends to involve three perceived solutions to a problem: a false cure, a real cure, and death as the inevitable alternative.
For example, in 10x15 Cole’s false cure is electrocution which does not get rid of the khan worm as he and Dean anticipate. When faced with the realisation that there may be no cure, Cole tells Dean that the only option will be to kill him rather than let him become a monster - but he is saved by the discovery of the real cure which is the ‘sweating it out’ method we see in the lodge. Speaking across the season on Cole’s personal journey, this translates into his determination to gain revenge for his father’s death (his false cure), his request for death when Dean beats him in their showdown, and finally the personal peace he gains in 10x15 by understanding and accepting the situation that led to his father’s death in the first place. This is ever so wonderfully embodied in Cole’s tattoo ‘Strength to Change’.
10x16 Paint it Black poses other examples of these three ‘cures’ within the characters of Isabella and Sister Mathias (and Dean as well but I have more to say on him so he can wait for now).
When Isabella is rejected by Piero, it breaks her completely. She stops eating and sleeping, twisted into an unrecognisable shadow of her former self (so many Deanmon parallels here). To try and ‘cure’ her from her grief, Isabella’s father strips her of her possessions and forces her into joining a convent, committing her to a completely different way of life. But as Isabella says to Sister Mathias, she finds no peace in God and her grief turns into rage – as a result of which, she kills Piero and is tried and burned at the stake for witchcraft. As it turns out, even death cannot bring her peace and it is only in the destruction of her painting (the symbol of her love for Piero) that finally sends her soul to heaven.
There are couple of things I want to talk about concerning this, but first I want to discuss the symbolism of burning.
People (mostly women) who were convicted of witchcraft back in the day were burned at the stake because it was seen as a way to purify their evil souls. This is something that has been often carried over to Supernatural’s universe in terms of vanquishing monsters, most notably in the ‘salt and burn’ technique.
Aside from this, the symbol of burning has been seen a few times in season 10 so far - and it tends to be directly linked with purification:
When asked if he’s okay, Dean describes the blood cure ritual of 10x03 as feeling as if he’s drowning in his own sweat whilst his blood boils. It doesn’t involve fire physically, but the idea of burning is definitely there. Additionally we have the holy water, which burns demons when they come into contact with it.
Extra side note: Sam describes the cure as:
“This is me, yanking your lame ass out of the fire.”
There’s also the religious aspect to this cure, the purified blood and the Latin, but this has since proved to be only temporary cure as Dean continues to struggle. It may have changed Dean’s physical state but did little to help the bigger problem of the Mark itself and Dean’s ever-present self-doubt. You could say that in this instance, God/religion has proved useless in helping Dean.
In this same episode one of Crowley’s demons pours holy oil over himself and then sets himself on fire in protest. This isn’t necessarily a ‘cure’ for the demon (though it could be seen as a release from a life of servitude he hates) but I thought the connection between burning, religion and purification was pretty interesting.
In 10x12 we also have an example of an actual witch being brutally burned alive by Dean, poetic justice considering her favourite pastime.
As I mentioned earlier Cole’s cure in 10x15 also involves a burning of sorts, the image of the roaring fire is very prevalent throughout the entire sweat lodge scene – so again fire is linked with purification.
Another good example is Castiel, who in season 10 is ever under the threat of ‘burning out’ - dying. He is running on a temporary cure, stolen grace, but it will not be permanent. Castiel needs to stop ignoring his own problem, stop refusing help, and willingly find his proper cure (like Sister Mathias – and Dean, but we’ll get to him in due time). This will probably be soon considering the released synopsis for 10x18 Book of the Damned. There’s also the connection that has been established between Castiel and the sun - a burning star - which I go over briefly in this post.
Isabella is particularly interesting because she goes through the burning cure twice. The first time is meant to purify her soul, but it only succeeds in making her spirit restless and angry. The second time involves her being forced to let go of what is tying her to Earth: the painting, a combination of her flesh, bone and blood. The very image itself is a representation of her ultimate love for Piero, the life she so desperately wanted but could never have.
What’s also interesting about finding a way to get rid of Isabella’s spirit is Dean’s insistence that the journal is the source of the problem, despite Sam’s hesitation and the fact that he himself can only assume burning the journal will work. The journal like the portrait is a symbol of Isabella’s life, only this one tells a very different and more harrowing tale. It speaks the truth of her suffering, and I would argue that the journal itself is part of the reason why Isabella couldn’t move on after Piero. Thus, you would expect that by burning the journal, it would metaphorically allow Isabella to let go of all her hatred and anger. But it isn’t – the journal instead provides the real answer the boys need to stop Isabella, the real cure. Perhaps then Dean’s desire to burn the journal vs. Sam wanting to keep it relates to their own situation: Dean has given up all hope on finding a cure for himself whilst Sam insists that they will indeed find one.
In comparison to Isabella’s forced ‘cure’, Sister Mathias chooses willingly to go to God, to leave one life and enter a completely different one. She whole-heartedly abandons her previous painful life and takes on a mission with a higher purpose – something that is allowing her to live in peace.
(All this talk of peace has just suddenly reminded me of Dean’s words to Corey’s husband Andrew in 10x13, that he can either choose ‘pain or peace’. Hmm… another interesting parallel and also another example of a soul who willingly gives up one painful life, lets go of their anger and moves on peacefully. Also consider how the husband doesn’t visually burn up, he just fades away).
Moving on, if we’re talking about cures, it’s apparently not just about committing to a physical or spiritual cure – it’s about the characters believing in themselves and their own ability to let themselves be healed. Isabella could not find peace in God like Sister Mathias, she could not let go of Piero, could not abandon revenge like Andrew, or find ‘strength to change’ like Cole.
Within the context of 10x16, this all ties in ever so beautifully with Dean’s confessional scene.
Here, Dean chooses to talk to the priest about the things that are really affecting him – he didn’t have to, he could have just done as the priest said and left the confessional, after all, the only purpose of going to confession in the first place was to try and draw out Isabella. But he doesn’t.
After the fake confession, the priest first suggests in a bored tone that Dean:
“As penance, you shall say five Hail Marys, two Our Fathers, and reflect on your transgression”.
(Aside: can that be seen as also a reference to John and Mary?)
Here, the priest is offering Dean a simple, easy but only temporary cure, something that will only technically absolve him of his sins. And judging by the priest’s tone, he believes that Dean (like Frank) will just take the easy option and leave. But instead of just letting it be like that, the priest then suggests that Dean ought to try some serious soul-searching if he truly wishes to change.
“One would hope some inner exploration might occur. Prayers are just the beginning to some serious soul searching”.
By telling him that the simple cure won’t be enough to truly heal him, Dean decides to put his faith in a complete stranger, someone connected to a God and heaven he is incredibly skeptical towards, and he opens up. Again, we’re being shown a false cure vs. a real but much more personal and difficult cure.
Additionally, the idea of cures/purification is again brought up when Dean refers to his confession in terms of cleansing twice:
“I’m here to clean house.”
“I need to clean up my act.”
Linking back to Isabella, the priest and the confession becomes Dean’s version of the journal. He, like the journal, provides a private space in which Dean can reveal his true feelings, without fear of judgement. Additionally both Dean’s confession and Isabella’s life story as they are told go from a sort of sugar-coated false version to the sadder and more destructive real version. The journal also offers a temporary relief for Isabella as she tells it things she cannot tell anyone else. But the difference is that Isabella’s journal could not offer advice back, could not tell her that she needed to let go of Piero or help her on a true path towards peace.
In season 10, Dean has gone from one false cure to another: the blood cure in 10x03, to the self-imposed healthy lifestyle cure in 10x11 (something Dean notably doesn’t want to do and hates doing), to the de-aging spell in 10x12.
Hell, he even asks Cas in 10x09 to knife him, smite him or throw him into the freaking sun. This is not only another example of death being suggested as the only perceived solution to the issue at hand, but also reiterates the idea of burning and being burned in penance for sins.
But like the Hail Marys and the Our Fathers, these haven’t and will never remove the source of the problem, they are only his false cures. The true healing can only come with Dean being able to let go and move on - Dean fears that God doesn’t believe in him anymore, but what he really needs is to be able to believe in himself. This whole confession speaks of a fear to even entertain the belief that there is hope still in Dean’s life. It’s as if to voice these thoughts out loud, outside of the private confessional booth, is to risk having it all ripped away. That’s what Dean said in 10x13 - he can’t keep waking up with hope only to have it torn down, so it’s better not to hope at all and he resigns himself to death.
This is something that desperately needs to change, and I’m beginning to fear that Sam and Cas will also only be able to find another false cure (especially if it’s from Rowena) if they continue to fail in trying to convince Dean that he does deserve to live, to have hope. Dammit Dean.
New Herpes Cure Claim: Even Some TV Stations Fell For It
New Herpes Cure Claim: Even Some TV Stations Fell For It
The Internet is full of Herpes cure claims. They post ads , web pages, fake review sites, YouTube videos and a constant stream of press releases. Unfortunately, every now and then, even a few TV stations and newspapers forget to check their facts and end up publishing this garbage.
Enter “Dr. Christine Buehler”, her mentor “Dr. Languin” and their “Erase Herpes” book. Just recently, whoever is…
