Supernatural’s “O Brother Where Art Thou,” written by Eugenie Ross-Leming and Brad Buckner and directed by Robert Singer, is an intense, if at times disjointed and confusing, mid-season finale.
The episode opens in a park, where a preacher shares his message through a bullhorn. A now-adult Amara (Emily Swallow) listens, then disdainfully interrupts, “This is God you are speaking of? Do you really think he is watching?” The preacher assures that God is, but Amara doesn’t buy it, saying that she’s searched. The man cautions, “Stop right there, sister… beg for his forgiveness or face his terrible wrath.” It’s interesting that the preacher calls Amara “sister” here – in many denominations, believers would be “brothers and sisters.” But for Amara, she’s not only vehemently opposed to being included in that group, but she is the “sister” seeking revenge against her brother, “God.”
“Really – gets annoyed, does he?,” Amara asks. The preacher confirms – “only God is able to create the fearsome plague and destruction that all on earth must bow before.” “You mean something like this?,” Amara asks, turning the nearby fountain’s water to blood and calling forth storm clouds. “Is it you? Are you testing us?,” the preacher asks. Amara laughs. “God, you mean? No. But let’s just say he’s not the only game in town.” She calls down lighting strikes and kills everyone. As the clouds recede and the water returns to normal, the camera pans around at the burned bodies, zeroing in on a “The End is Near!” sign. “Oh, honey. You wish,” Amara says, in a comment that suggests much worse than God’s apocalypse is coming. “Well?,” she asks, looking to the sky. No one answers.
Post title card, Sam Winchester (Jared Padalecki) opens his eyes to find himself in the Cage with Lucifer. Sam is terrified, particularly when Lucifer cups his face. Sam wakes; he’s outside, and it’s daytime. “Is this really the answer? Is this what you want?,” he asks. Unlike Amara, Sam does get an answer: A nearby bush bursts into flame.
In the bunker’s research room, Sam attempts to convince his older brother Dean (Jensen Ackles). The camera angles give this scene a comical tone, creating a dissonance that undermines what should be a serious exchange. Dean says the plan is horrible, but Sam says they have no other options. He staunchly believes that God is communicating and wants him to meet with Lucifer. Dean calls Lucifer “the biggest monster ever hatched,” and Sam corrects him: “Lucifer was the biggest monster ever hatched until you and I hatched one even worse.” Dean has no answer to that.
Sam assures Dean with the revelation that in the vision, “Lucifer touches me, and I feel calm, like things will be alright.” Dean looks thoughtful but is still unconvinced. (Dean’s 
also reading an online article about deadly lightning strikes at a religious rally.) He questions why God would ask Sam to return to the Cage and the lack of proof “that any of this is actually real.” Sam offers the burning bush, “like in the bible,” as evidence. Dean still doesn’t buy it: “Maybe there is something to it all…and maybe there’s not.” Sam argues that Lucifer is the witness to how God ended the Darkness.
At this point, I expected at least a phone conversation, even one-sided, with Castiel (Misha Collins). After all, Castiel gripped Dean tight and saved him from perdition (S4) and retrieved Sam from the Cage (S6) – yet no mention is made of Cas, which makes no sense. There’s no way that Dean has forgotten what he went through to get Sam’s soul out of the Cage or what happened when Sam remembered his time in Hell and had to deal with all of that. Yet neither Dean nor Sam consults their friend and angelic ally to find out Castiel’s position on all of this? This yawning plot hole could house Sarlacci.
Instead of exercising common sense, the Winchesters meet with Crowley (Mark Sheppard) and talk strategy. Crowley is skeptical of Sam’s God connection, and Dean assures they’re only talking theoretically. Sam doesn’t look so sure. Crowley cautions, “The Cage is a can of worms you don’t want to open.” He says the conversation is over and prepares to teleport away. Dean reminds Crowley that the Darkness will “pound on everything and that includes you.” Sam mocks the demon for sucking up to Amara, and Dean adds, “That didn’t work out so well.” Their needling leads Crowley to retort, “Because she chose you. And you couldn’t control your girlfriend… why did she insist on sparing you? What is she to you?”
Sam is clearly surprised by what Crowley reveals. Does this increase Sam’s desperation to defeat the Darkness? Does Dean realize more fully that something is wrong with him when he’s in Amara’s presence? Dean classically deflects: “You want to know what she is…how about God’s sister?” Crowley appears flabbergasted that God has relatives and bemoans letting that “kind of leverage…slip away.” Dean redirects the conversation: Can Sam meet with Lucifer or not. Crowley says there may be a way to arrange a meeting without letting the devil out.
In a truly outstanding VFX scene, we see the Cage, suspended in hell. Lucifer (Mark Pelligrino) looks back at the camera. I really like this scene’s aesthetic, as well as the implication that Lucifer is listening and knows what’s happening topside.
Crowley, like Dean, understands that “if Sam enters the Cage, he’s gone – and yes, it’s on my bucket list, but now’s not the time to be selfish.” Crowley offers a secure, neutralized place, but he says that while he can handle transport, he needs a way to open it. Dean complains, “Don’t you have a key?” Crowley retorts, “It was sealed by God himself. Of course I don’t have a key.” Does no one remember “Swan Song” (5×22) – horsemen’s rings, spell, etc.? God didn’t seal the Cage then; Sam did. At this point, I wondered if the Show had fallen into an Alternate Universe and that would be the midseason reveal. (No such luck – at least so far.) Crowley muses that he believes that the divine mysteries of the Cage, the needed warding, and so on can be found in The Book of the Damned. Um… what?
The scene changes to the interior of a church, and there are beautiful shots of its iconography. The reverend greets those in the pews, including Amara. In a ridiculous turn of events, the entity who so blithely confronted and murdered the religious people gathered in the opening scene now asks, “Are you in charge here? I’m looking for God…I need an actual meeting, in a room.” The reverend tells her she’s in the right place: “This is his house, and the way to reach him is through prayer.”
Amara looks skeptical but folds her perfectly manicured nails and prays – for a second. She announces it’s not working, but the reverend assures her that God hears all prayers because “he promised.” “You have seen him, then,” she says, looking eager. The reverend says, no, and when she learns that only “dead people” see God, she asks, “…And this makes sense to billions of you?” The reverend amicably confirms, “It is the nature of faith.” He pulls out a bible and speaks of how “it’s all here… his perfect plan for us.” Amara calls the plan “manipulation…you don’t know what he is like, at all.” The reverend answers, “God is the light, and it is the light that vanquishes the darkness.” Amara watches the man walk away; she looks appalled. On its own, this scene is significant; however, it makes little sense coming after the bloodbath of the opening scene. Is it possible that the scenes were re-ordered?
Considering how Crowley’s pursuit of Rowena (Ruth Connell) has been depicted in the season to this point, it’s miraculous that his minions manage to capture her offscreen so quickly. She’s brought before Crowley in chains. Rowena threatens his destruction, and Crowley calls her a “lying bitch.” (I am so tired of Crowley’s mommy issues, by the way. Can he get some hell-appointed therapy and just move on already?)
The Winchesters come into the room, and Rowena groans: “Oh you’re not handing me over to them…they’re your enemies as well.” Dean responds, “We’re all enemies… we got bigger fish to fry. Then we can go back to killing each other.” Rowena understands immediately that this is about the backlash of the Mark’s removal. She rightly wants to know what happens to her afterwards and questions if she can trust any of them. The foreshadowing in this scene is glaring: Crowley answers, “None of us [know if we can trust each other]. It’s a devil’s bargain.”
“The Bad Seed” (11×3), also written by Ross-Leming and Buckner, had a seemingly random encounter between a disgruntled angel and demon in a bar. Here, we see that storyline briefly picked up as the angel is recruiting. “It’s a time for all angels to pull together…and show the big bosses how to save heaven.” They talk about the Darkness, though earlier in the season it was made clear that the angels didn’t know much of anything about the Darkness. “We stand united, and we move now,” Daniel declares. Can they move to limbo? Because I don’t care about the labor politics of disgruntled angels at all.
Sam, Dean, and Crowley catch Rowena up; she’s excited that the Darkness is God’s sister and says that she needs the codex and codebreaker to decrypt the book. Sam agrees, but she’ll get “limited access – supervised.” Her interest piques at learning the “original dark prince” is in the Cage. Practically giddy, Rowena agrees. “Let’s get to it then, lads.”
The quiet and beautiful church is now the site of a mass killing. Amara didn’t find her faith or hope as Castiel did in “I’m No Angel” (9×3). The sanctuary is destroyed, and dead bodies litter the floor. She sucks the preacher’s soul out. She looks around the room and yells, “Do you see what’s happening? All your favorites. All your chosen. They are suffering. Show yourself,” she screams. For me, Amara’s anger at being ignored and the resulting tantrum overshadow any terror she might inspire.
Dean calls Sam from the crime scene at the church and apologizes for sticking him with “witch duty.” Sam confirms that everything they needed is in The Book of the Damned. Dean reports that he thinks Amara committed the massacre, and Sam observes, “She’s going to pass the point we can deal with her.” In hindsight, I suppose this line is meant to underscore a growing desperation on Sam’s part, but it’s lost in the quickly moving scene. Dean objects – again – to this entire plan and makes Sam promise to not do anything until Dean returns. Sam agrees; the two hang up; and poor decisions immediately follow.
Rowena, who has the best lines in this episode, taunts Sam about his “bloodthirsty brother” and complains that they’re supposed to be partners in this “holy war against Amara and yet [she holds up her shackled wrists] trussed like a chicken.” Sam asks, “Do I look crazy?” “Well, you do have unresolved issues with your domineering older brother and the abandonment by your father.” Sam tells her to get back to work, and Rowena laughs.
Rowena reads the manuscripts for maybe a second before exclaiming. “What now?,” Sam demands. Rowena announces she’s found what they’re looking at. “Summon Fergus and tell him to bring a handcart…We are going to hell,” Rowena says.
Dean comes out of the church and freezes; it’s clear he senses something, and we hear a low buzz, like white noise, blocking the sounds of the park. He’s walking through a nearby park, still clearly in thrall to something or someone. He orders a hot dog, and his phone rings. It’s Sam, but he hesitates to accept the call. He turns and sees Amara. Dean approaches her, pocketing his phone while it’s still ringing.
When Dean doesn’t answer Sam’s call, Rowena prods at his promise to not do anything without Dean there. “I promised Lincoln a fun night at the theatre. Things change. It’s now or never.” Sam looks uncertain and pockets his phone. Why does this episode portray Sam as this vulnerable and gullible? He’s so easily manipulated in this episode that it makes me uncomfortable.
Amara tells Dean, “You felt my presence. That’s why you came here.” She touches his arm and smiles, transporting them to the middle of nowhere. Dean observes, “You grew up….So this is you now?” Amara answers, “At least for today.”
Crowely leads Rowena and Sam through limbo. Rowena taunts him about his “flop sweat,” but Crowley tells her to “can it…you have no idea what you’re tampering with, what Lucifer’s capable of.” Both Crowley and Sam are somber and sober. Rowena, on the other hand, is very chipper: “Well, dear,” she responds, “if you can’t stand the heat, get out of Hell.”
While Rowena wards the limbo Cage, Crowley and Sam exchange barbs. She casts a spell, activating the warding and calling a wall of fire. A very pleased Rowena then “takes a crack at that Cage.” Sam and Crowley watch warily. “It begins,” Crowley observes.
Topside, Amara tells Dean, “You misunderstand my purpose on earth.” She claims that she’s simply trying to get God’s attention, but he’s ignoring her. “He forced my hand. I had no other reason to harm his chosen. My issue is with my brother, not his creation.” It seems pretty clear that Amara is lying to Dean, and whatever her “truth,” her attempt to cultivate sympathy eerily echoes Lucifer’s, and I simply don’t believe her. Dean thankfully doesn’t either.
“Whatever the deal is…that mess is your mess. It’s between you two…you’re taking people’s lives; you’re taking their souls.” Amara corrects Dean: “I consumed their souls,” she explains. “They’re a part of me. And in that way, they live forever.” By correcting Dean’s interpretation of her behavior, Amara codes her actions – but is she coding them as “good” (I would argue she is) or is this an attempt to depict her as “amoral”? In general, Amara’s characterization and subsequent motives seem trapped by the very system this character it could/should subvert.
In limbo, the flames around the cage rise, and Sam steps away. Lucifer greets “my old friend Crowley,” who responds, “A mere acolyte, carrying your torch.” Lucifer replies, “You’re too kind – to yourself. What do you want of me?” Rowena, enraptured, watches as Crowley looks over at Sam. Lucifer’s happiness is evident: “Sam Winchester, my old roomie. Hug it out?” This line, delivered in the face of Sam’s clear unease and terror at being in the presence of his former torturer, is disturbing.
“I’m a little in the Dark about this meeting,” Lucifer says. “Am I up for parole?” Meanwhile, Rowena fangirls over Lucy, musing, “He’s so alpha, isn’t he? Probably not relationship material, though.” Crowley tells her she’s drooling.
Sam tells Lucifer about the latest crisis, but when Lucifer asks “However did [her release] happen,” Sam deflects: “Point is, she poses a threat to all that exists, including you.” Lucifer wants to know where God is, and Sam says that there are “..no current indications of his presence.” However, God’s answered Sam’s prayers. “Did he now? And what was Dad’s suggestion?,” Lucy asks. “To seek out you,” Sam answers. Lucifer laughs.
Amara is still trying to convince Dean that she is not to be feared. She speaks of God’s propaganda and that “He was so threatened by me, fearful that I would make a more perfect creation than he.” As she steps past Dean, he swallows hard. Dean appears threatened and fearful too. Amara says that God exiled her, erased her, promised the fearful safety if they adored him; “His way or the highway.” Dean says, “Some people find comfort in that – Golden Rule, Brother’s Keeper. It is his universe, his rules.” Amara asks, “What if there were no rules, no pain, no prayer, just bliss. That feeling that you have when you’re with me, for everyone, forever.” The closer Amara gets, the more nervous Dean looks.
“Thin Lizzie” (11×5) established that Amara makes her victims feel blissful, and for some, like Sydney, taking their souls takes away their pain. Dean has always carried more than his fair share of pain, and now, post-demonhood, he has even more baggage. How compelling must the bliss – the white noise that we hear – feel to him? Is this why Dean acts bespelled when he’s around Amara?
While the Darkness tempts Dean in the wilderness, the Devil tempts Sam in limbo. Lucifer admits he helped God seal up the Darkness “all those years ago” and remembers that Amara is “prone to tantrums.”
In the middle of Sam and Lucifer talking, we get a Crowley and Rowena scene. They cannot hear the conversation, and Crowley worries aloud, “Surely Sam knows better than to cut some sort of deal.” “You know, Fergus, sometimes striking a deal, even a painful one, may be the only option,” Rowena answers. Crowley asks about the deal she put out on him, and Rowena replies, “It’s not easy being a parent, knowing when to hug your child, when to kill them.” It’s a quippy exchange, indicative of their relationship, but this episode has no room for throwaway lines (though, considering what happens moments later, perhaps they’re not throwaway after all.)
Lucifer tells Sam that Amara is equal to God in raw power but lacks experience. “God is a master strategist,” Lucifer says; it almost seems that he looks through the bars at Rowena as he speaks. He shares the reveal that everyone but Sam expected: He wants a vessel “who’s strong enough to hold me, handy, and available now. Catch my drift?”
Dean asks what Amara will get from this world of “bliss.” She answers, “What I deserve… everything. I was the beginning, and I will be the end. I will be all that there is.” Dean points out “that would make you God.” Amara disagrees. “No, God was the light. I am the dark.” Dean’s had his back to Amara as he listened, and he surreptitiously pulls out a knife (Just a regular knife? Dean, why weren’t you carrying an angel blade at least?) Dean wants to know what will happen when Amara is “all that there is.” She deflects, “That’s all you need to know for now.” He turns and stabs her in the stomach; the knife blade shatters.
Amara’s puzzled: “You had to know that was pointless. I know that you’re a warrior and your instinct is to resist. But I can’t be resisted.” She steps close, puts her hands on his face and opens her mouth to suck out his soul. For a paralyzing second, I waited for her to take Dean’s soul or reveal that she’d already siphoned some of it away, but nothing happens. She looks surprised and then kisses him.
In limbo, Lucifer continues tempting Sam, who expresses surprise at Lucifer’s request for his body/vessel. When Sam calls him crazy, Lucifer points out, “You have been working with Crowley – you passed certifiable three off ramps ago.” He says he’s ready to help, if Sam will only help him.
Dean pulls away from Amara and looks disturbed and upset. “What was that?,” he asks. “The future. The inevitable result of our first meeting… that we’re bonded. You’re the one who set me free,” Amara says. Dean disagrees: “That was an accident.” “It was destiny,” Amara says. “You bore the Mark; I am the original Mark. You and I will be together.” Dean says, “No. That’s not going to happen.” “It’s so simple, Dean. We will become one. Why wouldn’t you want that?”
Is the suggestion here that Amara cannot just take Dean’s soul, that she has to have his permission, so she switches gears and kisses him instead? Is his soul already missing? (I think Cas would’ve noticed that, though.) Or has the all-powerful, primordial Darkness “fallen” for Dean? For now, the kiss seems to confirm a creeptastic intent in the narrative of their last interaction (11×6). And, regardless of the rationale, I don’t like that Dean is under her control when she kisses him; it’s very Kilgravian and reeks of dubious consent. Truly, the entire episode is problematic in its handling of Amara’s manipulation of Dean and Lucifer’s of Sam; both situations are sexualized and disturbing. If the Show isn’t aware of this and doing something with it long-term, then it’s normalizing rape and assault in a way that makes me distinctly uncomfortable.
Before Dean can tell Amara why he doesn’t want to “become one,” the now-united and apparently now winged (when did that happen?) angels appear. They threaten Amara, telling her that all of the angels of heaven will come together to smite her with a single blow. (So, Daniel’s efforts to recruit the masses worked miracle quick, didn’t they?) Dean tells them to “dial it down” because if she dies, “a whole bunch of people are going to die.” But — who is going to die? If the Darkness is destroyed, doesn’t that save a lot of people? What is Dean doing? Nothing about this makes sense to me.
The angels disregard Dean’s warning, saying sacrifice is necessary. Amara then turns on the angels, killing each one. “What have you done?,” Dean asks her. Lightning fills the sky. “It’s coming,” Dean says. “They will smite you.” Amara answers, “Maybe now, he’ll hear me.” She looks at Dean with something like regret – he looks completely confused – and sends him away. Amara stands, arms outstretched, as a pillar of fire and lightning descends. It seems to destroy her, and the ground she was standing on.
Dean finds himself back in the park; no one notices that he disappeared or reappeared.
Sam is experiencing his own temptation: How badly does he want to absolve himself of the guilt he’s carrying? Is it enough to extend an invitation to Lucifer? Sam answers, “No. I won’t do it. There has to be another way.” There is, in fact. The warding on the cage fades away. Crowley looks surprised; Rowena does not. “Why did the warding fail? What’s happening?,” Crowley asks. Rowena answers, “Follow me, Fergus.” Crowley listens to his mother.
Suddenly, Sam is in the cage. “Together again?,” Lucifer asks. “Did you miss me? Bet you did.” Sam shuts his eyes and takes a deep breath. “I have to say, your’e extraordinarily calm given the circumstances.” Sam answers that things are going as God told him. He just has “to go with it and play my hand.”
Lucifer decides it’s time to show his hand: “If it was God doing the talking…” Sam looks horrified. The release of the Darkness damaged the Cage, allowing Lucifer to communicate through the fissures. “He’s not with you. He’s never been with you. It’s always been just me….I guess I am your only hope.” At this point, Sam is crying. “It’s never going to happen,” he reiterates. “Well… settle in there, buddy. Hey, roomie – upper bunk, lower bunk, or do you want to share?” Padalecki conveys Sam’s terror disturbingly well here.
“O Brother Where Art Thou” ends there, and frankly, even after rewatch, I can’t say that I enjoy this episode. There are mythology tidbits that I might be excited about if past canon were respected and narrative cohesion maintained: Where is Castiel? Where is Michael? Why is there no mention of Dean and Sam’s half-brother Adam? (Even if his soul is in heaven, Michael is presumably still in his meatsuit.) I’m disturbed by Amara’s effect on Dean and horrified by Sam’s situation: His torture, which included assault and rape at Lucifer’s hands, is a dark undercurrent in canon anyway. To put him back in that situation, and then to include jokes about his discomfort, about his trauma, bothers me to no end. Dean and Sam may be fictional characters, but their stories – like all media – set precedents. Consider that Amara says that she consumes souls, taking them into herself so that they live forever; stories work much like this, becoming a part of readers and viewers and impacting how we internalize and replicate our understanding(s) of the world. In that vein, can Supernatural please stop normalizing sexualized violence? There really are other ways to tell dramatic and suspenseful stories; I promise.
Supernatural is on hiatus until January 20, when it returns with “The Devil In The Details,” which picks up right where “O Brother Where Art Thou” leaves off. What did you think of the mid-season finale? Please share thoughts and speculations in the comments below.
Also, for any who are interested, I’ll be participating in a mid-season Supernatural roundtable for The Geekiary. I’ll tweet a link after it’s published.