hi shal i think maybe you talked about this before in a post, but could you say a little more about why rowena let michael in? It's a little confusing to me how he says of course he had no intentions of honoring his word, and how she knew that???
Me frantically realizing it's #SamwenaWednesday and I've done nothing to celebrate so I dig through looking for this ask specifically.
This is the scene from 14x14:
Sam: Rowena never would have let you in. Rowena/Michael: She didn't want to say yes, but... EARLIER: Michael: Hello, Rowena. This is all in your mind. Rowena: You're not Dean. Michael: I was for a while. But it didn't work out. It was him, not me. And now I'm looking for a new home. Rowena: A-And you think -- Michael: If you say yes, I'll make you this promise -- I'll leave you alive. Rowena (evenly, goading): I'll live either way. Michael: Excuse me? Rowena: Fate says Sam Winchester's going to off me, which makes dinners a bit awkward, but does give one a certain sense of security. So whilst I'm flattered, I think we can both do better. Michael: Fine. Then how about this -- I'll leave you alive, find another host, and then I'll kill every one of the people in this bunker, everyone you care about. And you do care about them, no matter what you tell them, no matter what you tell yourself. So say yes. Choice is yours. Rowena/Michael: I had no intention of keeping my word, but I think she knew that. If only Dean had used that coffin when he had the chance.
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DANGER TO OTHERS
Rowena knows that there are several attractive vessels in the vicinity: Michael could take Dean again, Sam, Cas, or even Jack. Despite their bravado, it's fairly easy to get TFW into a chokehold where they say yes to save a loved one. (Like how in 11x10, despite Sam's "feisty" comment, Lucifer is seconds putting "the "real" pressure on Dean, that is, until Cas body-slams Lucifer.)
The AU hunters are ALSO vulnerable to this pressure. They're easy to corner here. They'll likely say yes if their friends and loved ones are threatened. (And they'd prooooobably start exploding left and right as Michael moved through their fragile bodies unsuccessfully.)
Could she try an angel-banishing sigil? Maybe. But Michael's already cornered her in her mind. If he moved on, could she do a banishing in time, before the bodies started dropping?
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HERO INSTINCT
Rowena/Michael: Oh. Please. She's much sturdier than she looks. Must be the hundreds of years of magic.
Rowena knows Michael won't keep his word: that is, he's going to kill her. Like how Lucifer immediately killed her for her loyalty in season 11.
So here, it's not self-preservation that's driving her. It's her newly blossomed hero instinct. Rowena is powerful and she knows it. Her body is sturdy, honed by magic. She likes to think her will—her belief in magic—has become damn near unshakeable.
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And— last time she tangled with an archangel, she froze, and that haunts her. So maybe she wants to redeem herself, not just in her personal relationships, but to herself:
LUCIFER: Oh. I mean, I even wanted you to put up a fight. I wanted a little bit of a tussle, but...you froze. [Rowena is obviously distressed, forced to listen and relive those terrible memories.] LUCIFER (seeing her distress): You choked. So I choked ya. What was that like, burning to death? You know, I can’t get that smell out of my nose, that ashy reek of burnt up ginger ass! (laughing)
Here, Rowena resolves not to choke. She's the best they've got. Maybe she can do it: hold off Michael the way Dean did.
Maybe she can be their hero. THE hero. For once.
Alas.
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EDIT: Do you guys remember how pleased she was to be the hero to the AU hunters? I mean in in 14x07, we got this: Jack's "You saved all of us from Apocalypse World." And her little pleased, "Well. That's true." She was preening!
