Kel’s Religious Meta Time
SPOILERS FOR 13x21 BEAT THE DEVIL
Hello yes, it’s time for more Religious Meta with Kel, from the same person who brought you the The Reverse Pietá, also entitled by @sugarspunsam as “Kel does it better than the entire Catholic Church part 2″
There are gifs and stills under here, so please be aware of not only spoilers for Beat the Devil, but also warnings for blood, death, violence, and religious themes and imagery.
Now, before I start though; to any of those whose read through The Reverse Pietá post, you’ll know what Mary and Jack to an extent was given several Christ, and to an extent, Christ’s Disciples, parallels in the last episode, and I have so many ideas with how we’re first given the scene of “and remake the world in my image” and of Lucifer on Heaven’s throne.
Now though! Onto Beat the Devil.
The first piece of imagery is when Sam, Dean, Mary, Castiel and Jack are surrounding the table, eating pizza and beer, reminiscent of The Last Supper before Jesus Christ was crucified.
I couldn’t find a gif of it, so this will have to do; however, at The Last Supper of Christ, He and his Disciples partake in bread and wine, also classed as the Body of Christ, which is why we drink wine whilst taking communion. Furthermore, the more modern on take of “bread and wine” is classically “pizza and beer.” Furthermore, on the topic of The Last Supper, “ The slain lamb, then said to have been sacrificed, was borne away to the appointed gathering place of those by whom it was to be eaten.” with the correlation to The Last Supper, this could also be a direct foreshadowing of Sam’s eventually death as a sacrifice to the two humans he saved by sacrificing himself to the vampires and thus consequent removal of his body into what should be his tomb if Lucifer hadn’t interfered.
We also have the imagery of devil’s horns, when Mary and Sam are talking in the hallway
Which could also be the foreshadowing that we were given in the promo before the episode, that Sam, Castiel and Dean would be “teaming up” with Lucifer to try and find a way into the Alt!World, something which could have been predictable due to how it’s been consistently emphasised that Gabriel was still so low on grace that he couldn’t heal a broken teapot, let alone his own broken heart. However, it could also be interconnected to the fact that it was Lucifer who dragged Sam “out of the darkness and into the light”, and furthermore, that it was in fact Mary who seemingly sees Lucifer step out of the darkness and into the light at the safety compound.
Furthermore, the direct correlation of when Sam gasp’s awake after his dream of them all being in the bunker of sitting down for a family meal - something that, canonically has never happened and feeds into Sam’s want for his family to be happy, health and together - is also related to when Sam is brought back to life alá The Rising of Lazarus, or, more probably The Resurrection of Christ after his Crucifixion, upon which I will expand upon later, further also giving it parallels to the Sam’s spontaneous resurrection in 11x17 Red Meat after another sacrifice by a Judas portrayal to save the rest of the company.
Leading on from that, the placement of Sam’s body on his bed after waking up from the nightmare is reminiscent of Christ on the Cross after his crucifixion.
With his arms spread wide, which seem to be a regular position for Sam especially in regards to the Christ archetype, and with his legs in the vague position of Christ’s when his ankles and feet were nailed to the cross. Furthermore, when crucified, Christ was pierced by a spear on his side, and “the wound spilled blood and water”. It’s been debated about what side that Christ was stabbed on, left or right, but in his imagery, Sam was stabbed on his right side I think.
Also leading up to the further crucifixion of Christ and the parallels to Sam is, how when stepping into the tunnel that will lead to the safety compound, he comes across a pool of dirtied water, illuminated in the sunlight falling into the tunnel, to which Sam is standing beneath and seemingly illuminated, which lead into the next part of the sequence.
After that, when the vampires attack Maggie and Sam is the one to save her, but unable to save himself; Matthew 27:42 “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him." to which Sam is promptly forced down on his knees in a way that gives thanks to crucifixion once more;
which happened to Christ when he was forced to bear his own cross to the hill upon they would crucify him on. After, whilst the vampires are feeding upon him, Sam calls Dean’s name, not once, but twice, which could also be reminiscent to Christ crying out Matthew 27:46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,[a] lema sabachthani?” meaning, “My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?” especially in relations to the fact that Dean was also cast into the Judas position last episode and that Sam has also been cast into a Judas role somewhat due to his perceived betrayal of allowing Lucifer to be near to Jack, never mind that he was coerced, with Lucifer once more taking away Sam’s consent and bodily autonomy.
Furthermore, when we see of Sam’s dead body, very much in correlation to how Sam was framed in the panic room in season 4 when he was detoxing, Sam’s dead body is lying there, still, after being dragged through a cave, that was his tomb and lying somewhere where a halo was given to him, illuminated and shadowed in turns
Never mind the fact that when Sam is lying there, he does so in another classically Christ pose; arms outstretched, legs bent, never mind the circling halo on the floor and then the flash light illuminating him from somewhat above.
After, we see the resurrection of Sam by Lucifer, alá The Rising of Christ, since it apparently takes two days to get to Dayton, where the compound was, and Sam must have been dead perhaps day, or even half. Thus giving us the three days of resurrection that Christ was afforded. I failed geography. You can probably tell.
Furthermore, after his consequent resurrection at the hands of Lucifer, the blood splatter on Sam’s face is remarkably reminiscent to 11x02, where he was infected by Amara’s darkness creatures.
Which gives credence to the fact that Sam still think’s he’s unpure, especially with the darkness only having been beaten by being “biblically cleansed” by holy fire, especially owing to the fact that
Furthermore, in relation to how Lucifer phrases, “out of the darkness and into the light” could also be connected to how Lucifer has risen Sam, and that, back in season 5, Sam was told “and I’ll just bring you back,” after saying “I will kill myself before I let you in,” and with Lucifer, in 13x21 saying “that I was the one who brought you back to life, that I was the one who lifted you from darkness and into the light”, which could be a metaphor for how Christ after he’d died, was said to have ascended and preached to the captives of hell, showing the inversion of Sam’s Christ parallels after he’d been resurrected, not by God, but by the Devil.
However, Lucifer saying “lifted you from darkness and into the light”, could also be connected to “The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up” (Matthew 4:16), especially in regards to Lucifer’s delusions of trying to “remake the world in my image”, alongside with "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12).
Furthermore, with the bells of the compound ringing, could also be comparable to the bells that the disciples rang; “ But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe” (John 20:24,25).
This could be with Castiel in the place of Thomas, who became a doubter and completely ceased his work for God, which could be a metaphor for how Castiel seems to be returning to his season 4 more ruthless angelic roots, and thus feeling guilt over the fact that it was him who guilted and manipulated Sam into “teaming up with Lucifer”, with Dean in the place of Peter, for whom the bells seemed to have stopped ringing for and he denied that he knew Christ, which could be a deeper metaphor for how Dean became silenced in the wake of Sam’s death, alongside Jack as John, to whom was the youngest at The Last Supper and who lent against the breast of Christ, alluding to Sam and Jack’s close father-son like relationship, alongside the fact that John never believed that Jesus was truly gone and whom always rang the Bells of Heaven for.
Carrying on, you also have the appearance of Sam at the compound, from which he emerged from a tomb like hut, giving credence to the fact that Sam has been given Christ and inverted Christ parallels, especially in regards to the fact that Sam has been coerced into working with Lucifer, the Devil and his repetitive abuser. Furthermore, you also have Mary, Jack, Castiel and Dean lining up before him to “witness” his return. “What things?” he asked. “About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21 but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place.” (Luke 24:19).
Which further plays into The Shame of Sam, giving a reversal of the Witnesses; “He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things." (Luke 24:44-48) which play into the reversal of Christ appearing to the witnesses, due to Sam’s resurrection and consequent appearing to his chosen witnesses, with shame and guilt, fearing that he has betrayed them, with the Alt!World being an apt metaphor for Jerusalem and the Canon!World being Nazareth, especially in regards to “and the repentance for forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem”, which could be that people are going to once more blame Sam for working with Lucifer, and thus have his sins spread to Jerusalem, considering the inversion of Christ, or that the Alt!world is to be doomed by The Raising of Sam and the appearance of Lucifer.
Tagging: @sugarspunsam @smolstiel @mooningsammy @incestmurderbros @unforgvnsam @bitter-ishsweet @julia-sets @magnoliasam @always-keep-writing @interstellarstorms
