#I mean I went into s4 with plans to expand on two different metas and got zilch for both 😭

[dr-lizortecho]

okay, so like the Desert/Oasis/Ocean symbolism is driving me up a wall, cause like it exists in season four but half of the threads don’t carry through into an actual plot because how the narrative treated Max and Liz’s relationship. But mostly I’m just staring at that final 4x13 scene (not literally I’m not a masochist) and wanting to throw things cause if handled correctly it could have been a well structured piece of the symbolism

Like it could have been a pretty little scene of how Max was moving on from his set issues and fully committing to the Oasis that was their relationship, mirroring the shift Liz made at the end of season three when she moved fully into the Oasis symbolism as well. While also depicting how their relationship in more ways than one began in the desert and had finally grown out of those stages, towards marriage and building a family. But like… it doesn’t. Just like Max choosing to leave their bed (which I’ve discussed the Oasis symbolism there before) and go out into the desert -alone- to remove his powers, but in doing so finds himself sitting on a dock by a man made pond while he removes his powers… like so much opportunity tbh

[mittensmorgul]

I'm new to SPN and a friend turned me onto your wonderful blog. We were talking about the early seasons and imagining what characters whom we meet later on in the series were doing in their lives at the same timeframe before we meet them. For example, after John died and went to Hell, at what point do you think Heaven jumpstarted their paradise plan? Meaning parallel to what early season episodes do you think Castiel's garrison got the orders to rescue Dean from Hell instead of John?

Hi there! And WHEEE! Welcome! Glad to have you here! :)

I was almost positive I’d made a post at some point in the past laying out the timeline for all this sort of “pre-Canon” stuff, but I think I’m just conflating maybe 15 or 20 different posts I’ve made over the years into one giant lumpy mountain of how I understand the events leading up to the series, and have never actually typed it out this way specifically, so I’m gonna go ahead and give it a shot.

Sorry it took so long to get back to you, but this is gonna be An Undertaking, so here goes:

I think Heaven “jumpstarted their Paradise plan” LONG before John died and went to hell in 1.22. I mean… LOOOOOOONG before…

Granted, that’s all established through revelations made in later seasons, but it all works retroactively. I mean, even the revelations made up through s12 about Mary, revelations we got during the MoC era in s9 and s10, revelations about Chuck and Amara in s11… they all serve to stretch the root causes of the entire Apocalypse back to the beginnings of Creation.

I guess that’s taking it back a little too far for the purposes of your question, but it does serve as a barometer for just how vast the scope of these events really is in-universe. Let me try and scale it back to the Apocalypse itself, since that’s specifically what you’re asking about here.

We learn in the early seasons that the demons “have plans” for Sam. Vague, ominous plans.

We learn in s3 that they had plans for Dean, as well… sending him to Hell. Throughout s4 we learn bits and pieces of what the demons’ larger plans entail– that they intend to break Lucifer out of his cage. We also begin to learn that while many angels believe they’re working to STOP Lucifer from getting free, other angels WANT Lucifer to be freed (Uriel, Zachariah, et. al.). Then at the end of s4, oopsie, Sam accidentally breaks Lucifer out while believing he was doing the one thing that would PREVENT Lucifer from breaking out…

Enter the True Vessel storyline… because this is where we begin to understand just how far back the scheming of Heaven and Hell goes. GENERATIONS back from Sam, Dean, and John Winchester.

From 5.01:

Zachariah: What, you thought you could actually kill Lucifer? You simpering wad of insecurity and self-loathing? No. You’re just a human, Dean. And not much of one.Dean: What do you mean, I’m the sword?Zachariah: You’re Michael’s weapon. Or, rather, his… receptacle.Dean: I’m a vessel?Zachariah: You’re the vessel. Michael’s vessel.Dean: How? Why—why me?Zachariah: Because you’re chosen! It’s a great honor, Dean.Dean: Oh, yeah. Yeah, life as an angel condom. That’s real fun. I think I’ll pass, thanks.

From 5.03:

Lucifer: Sam. My heart breaks for you. The weight on your shoulders, what you’ve done, what you still have to do. It is more than anyone could bear. If there was some other way… but there isn’t. I will never lie to you. I will never trick you. But you will say yes to me.|Sam: You’re wrong.Lucifer: I’m not. I think I know you better than you know yourself.Sam: Why me?Lucifer: Because it had to be you, Sam. It always had to be you.

They’re both “chosen.” Which leads one to believe that no matter what Alistair told Dean in 4.16 about John having been tortured and never breaking in Hell– that DEAN breaking in Hell was what “broke the first seal”– was ALWAYS the plan, from long before John sold his soul for Dean. It makes John’s deal just one more push for Dean to make the same deal for Sam at the end of s2.

Sort of reminiscent of what Zachariah told Adam in 5.18:

ZACHARIAH: Hey, don’t get me wrong. You’ve been a hell of a sport, really. Good stuff. But the thing is, you’re not so much the “chosen one” as you are…a clammy scrap of bait.ADAM: No…but what about the stuff that you said? I’m supposed to fight the devil.ZACHARIAH: Mmm, not so much. Hey, if it’s any consolation, you happen to be the illegitimate half-brother of the guy we do care about. That’s not bad, is it?ADAM: So you lied…about everything.ZACHARIAH: We didn’t lie. We just avoided certain truths to manipulate you.

(and can I tell you HOW USEFUL this one simple exchange is on a meta level? how many times the show has used this exact device in order to fill in blanks and expand past canon? because they use it A LOT)

So in this metaphor, John is in Adam’s position here… he was the clammy scrap of bait, the object lesson and role model for Dean (i.e. the guy they do care about).

We also get a good bit of exposition on this from Gabriel in 5.08:

GABRIEL: You do not know my family. What you guys call the apocalypse, I used to call Sunday dinner. That’s why there’s no stopping this, because this isn’t about a war. It’s about two brothers that loved each other and betrayed each other. You’d think you’d be able to relate.SAM: What are you talking about?GABRIEL: You sorry sons of bitches. Why do you think you two are the vessels? Think about it. Michael, the big brother, loyal to an absent father, and Lucifer, the little brother, rebellious of Daddy’s plan. You were born to this, boys. It’s your destiny! It was always you! As it is in heaven, so it must be on earth. One brother has to kill the other.DEAN: What the hell are you saying?GABRIEL: Why do you think I’ve always taken such an interest in you? Because from the moment Dad flipped on the lights around here, we knew it was all gonna end with you. Always.

They always knew it was gonna end with Sam and Dean Winchester.

Hence what the cupid told them in 5.14:

Cupid: Oh, mostly they don’t. You know, certain bloodlines, certain destinies. Oh, like yours.Sam: What?Cupid: Yeah, the union of John and Mary Winchester–Very big deal upstairs, top priority arrangement. Mm.Dean: Are you saying that you fixed-up our parents?Cupid: Well, not me, but… Yeah. Well, it wasn’t easy, either. Ooh, they couldn’t stand each other at first. But when we were done with them–Perfect couple.Dean: Perfect?Cupid: Yeah.Dean: They’re dead!Cupid: I’m sorry, but… the orders were very clear. You and Sam needed to be born. Your parents were just, uh…meant to be. A match made in Heaven- Heaven!

Sam and Dean needed to be born, their parents needed to meet and fall in love. How many generations of their family had been set up by cupids in order to bring about this “destiny?” Because Michael gives some pretty chilling context on that one in 5.13:

DEAN: How’d you get in my dad, anyway?MICHAEL: I told him I could save his wife, and he said yes.DEAN: I guess they oversold me being your one and only vessel.MICHAEL: You’re my true vessel but not my only one.DEAN: What is that supposed to mean?MICHAEL: It’s a bloodline.DEAN: A bloodline?MICHAEL: Stretching back to Cain and Abel. It’s in your blood, your father’s blood, your family’s blood.

and after Michael and Dean debate about the nature of Destiny versus Free Will (guess which side of the argument Dean defends? And which side Michael inflexibly sticks to? Yeah… there’s reasons Dean will never say yes to him…):

MICHAEL: Think of a million random acts of chance that let John and Mary be born, to meet, to fall in love, to have the two of you. Think of the million random choices that you make, and yet how each and every one of them brings you closer to your destiny. Do you know why that is? Because it’s not random. It’s not chance. It’s a plan that is playing itself out perfectly. Free will’s an illusion, Dean. That’s why you’re going to say yes.

(reminder: Dean never said yes. Granted he almost did a few times, but Cas stopped him once and Sam stopped him the other time, so… that’s where free will conquered destiny)

(second reminder, this is also the episode that coined the phrase “Team Free Will,” which has recently become so important again toward the end of s12…)

So, yeah. In the context of the apocalypse, John had been a pawn in the machinations of Heaven and Hell, just as much as Mary had been. Just as much as Sam and Dean and Cas were… but it was all because they were all playing their roles in the “destiny” set out for them at the beginning of creation.

So, yeah… I think the plans were in place long before John made that deal in 1.22. The angels never had a plan to rescue John. He may have been adjacent to the guy they needed to Do The Thing, but he was definitely not the guy they needed to Do The Thing. Just like Adam serving as Michael’s vessel in 5.18 (BAIT!), and just like John having served as Michael’s vessel in 5.13 (LURE!).

I made a much shorter post recently *searches own blog for 20 minutes getting detoured down four blind alleys and a rabbit hole* that sort of touches on this as well that might be of interest to this discussion:

http://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/162876917140/so-do-you-think-that-the-demons-didnt-really-plan

I hope this helps! And I also feel like this post serves as an object lesson in understanding how all “retcons” aren’t terrible. Some retcons improve past canon to vast degrees. Because technically ALL of this is one huge retcon. And it’s beautiful! :P

ETA: This doesn’t even touch on the stuff we learned in s8, specifically 8.12 about Henry Winchester, how he disappeared from John’s life when he was a child, how Abaddon had nearly derailed these plans for the Apocalypse by messing with the fate of the True Vessels… how the Winchesters AND Campbells were always Men of Letters or Hunters, how they’d all had this long history of dealing with the supernatural, how they’d jumped through time on multiple occasions to interfere with the supernatural… I swear it all makes sense in my head, how this all connects up into a vast timeline stretching from Chuck locking Amara away at the beginning of creation, the choices made by Michael and Lucifer dealing with the earliest humans– and the choices made by Cain and Abel that set their family irrevocably on this path… How generations of their family had been manipulated or coerced into “playing their roles” to bring them all up to that moment when Dean broke the first seal in hell and Sam broke the last seal on Lucifer’s cage, and how they were then able to take that destiny and rip up the ending with the help of a fallen angel and an old drunk. :’) that’s honestly why I keep watching this show.

[hawthornewhisperer]

Hi! I'm new(ish) to the 100 fandom, and I was wondering if you know of metas on Bellamy and his journey of where he began and how far he's come? Thanks!

You know, I’m sure there are other metas out there, but I saw this and was like…man, that would be fun to write.  So you did not ask for this, but here, let’s have a Bellamy Blake Retrospective.  (Also hi, and welcome to the fandom!  If you’re interested you can search my blog for bellarke meta, bellamy meta, and the 100 meta because I write a lot about Bellamy and I’m bad at tagging consistently but those are the tags I most likely used.  And if anyone knows of other overarching Bellamy metas about his character so far, let me know!)

In a lot of respects, Bellamy Blake in 101 is nothing like he is as of 403.  For one thing, his hair is a lot better now, and for another thing they seem to have settled on some consistent character beats instead of “idk, reckless bad guy?”  Overall, I’d say there’s two facets of his personality that the show is interested in exploring, one internal and one external, and they touch on each theme in each season although they tend to switch back and forth between which one gets the main spotlight.  Internally, it’s guilt: how does he cope with the things he’s done?  How does he reconcile his sins with who he wants to be?  Externally, it’s protecting those he loves: how far is too far?  Does that limit exist?

There’s also a character trait that has existed since the pilot but that went dormant for a bit before resurfacing in season four: unflinching acceptance of the end.  The line of his from the pilot that I am finding myself remembering a lot now that s4 is airing is if the air is toxic, we’re all dead anyway.  Clarke wants to come up with a plan, but Bellamy surveys the options– open the door and die quickly, stay inside and die slowly– and chooses immediate death.  It’s a dark moment, but it tells us a lot about him right off the bat.  

If I go episode by episode we will be here all damn day, so I’m going to talk about him in terms of season-long arcs.  Season One Bellamy was about his external “protective” quality and learning to expand his mission from “protect Octavia” to “protect the delinquents” with a couple of side quests into “forgiveness, is it for you?” and “wow Clarke’s hair is really pretty.” 

The moment I want to bring your attention to is when Bellamy offered himself in place of Jasper, because not only was that our official confirmation that Bellamy has decided he’ll die for any of those kids (not just Octavia), but because it highlights something @metastation made me think about recently, which is that Bellamy sees his own life as a tool.  He will do whatever it takes to keep them alive, and if that means dying, he’ll fucking do it.  He was willing to die for Jasper in season one, just like he was willing to go on a suicide mission for the remaining delinquents in season two.  He was originally ready to die for Octavia by getting on the dropship (remember: no one but Abby believed the ground was actually survivable) and by the end of the season, he’s ready to die for Jasper-- someone he suggested mercy killing at the start of it.

We also examine Bellamy’s guilt, mostly in relation to the culling, although that is not the prominent focus of the season.  We learn that Bellamy sees himself as someone who hurts people and doesn’t deserve peace, and we see that the rebel in the first few episodes was really a facade.  We find out that he feels each death deeply, and that he regrets the monster he thinks he has to be in order to protect people.  (Notably, however, he regrets being that monster but he doesn’t reject being that monster outright, a character beat that they bring back in season three).

Season two is mostly an internal/guilt season for Bellamy, although you could argue that he tried to include the Mount Weather Resistance under his protection but ultimately he failed.  It is treated as a given in season two that he will protect his people, and having to choose to sacrifice the Mount Weather Resistance is framed as sad but understandable (and directly linked to Octavia).  But what Bellamy’s season two arc is really about is him trying to atone for the sins he committed during season one (the culling) by saving as many damn people as possible.  He’s again willing to use his life as a bargaining chip, but it’s more than just the Mount Weather suicide mission– it’s going after Finn when he’s tied up by Tristan, it’s going against Kane to try and find the rest of the delinquents, it’s going down the mountain to save Mel, it’s trying to save Finn from the grounders, and it’s the Mount Weather suicide mission.  Season two takes a thread that was established in season one– Bellamy will die for his people– and tries to tease it out as far as it will go, but it’s not really about broadening the definition of “people.”  It’s about exploring the extent to which he is willing to risk his life in order to atone for what he’s done.

And then, season three shows up.  And look, I suspect once this series is complete season three is basically gonna be my gasleak season where I pretend it doesn’t exist, because the show attempted to do some things with Bellamy’s character but for various reasons (mostly: editing choices and what I suspect was a hastily redone storyline to account for various behind-the-scenes things) none of it landed.  However, we can say that while season two was a deep exploration of Bellamy’s guilt and the extent to which he’ll take it, season three was an exploration of his protective nature and the extent to which he would take that.  And apparently: he’ll take that as far as it fucking goes.  

Season three was also about the limits to his protective nature and his inability to broaden his definition of “my people” to include the grounders as a whole.  At the end of season three we see this shifting, but it’s mostly left for season four to do the heavy lifting on that front.  Season three also saw Bellamy resuming the mantle of monster that he tried so hard to shed in season one.  He never wanted to hurt anyone-- not Jaha, not the people in the culling, not even Lincoln-- but he did because he thought he had to.  The massacre in season three was, I suspect, a continuation of that; Bellamy kills people because he thinks it’s necessary, not because he enjoys it.  It ties back to who we are and who we need to survive are two very different things, because who he is is actually someone who loves his people deeply and regrets every violent thing he’s ever done, but who he needs to be is a monster who will kill the army at their doorstep to keep his people safe.  Not all of this really came through in the text, but I’m confident that this was roughly what they were going for with Bellamy’s character.

So now we’re into season four, and I think we’re going to be doing a reprise of his season two character beats where the internal focus takes precedence.   We’ve had Kane straight out tell Bellamy how to handle his guilt, and when Jaha asked how many do you have to save to satisfy your guilt you could practically see Bellamy thinking “literally all of them.”  We’re on another atonement journey, I suspect, and I don’t think we’ve seen the last of his regret.

We also had him sacrificing the lives of possibly 400 of his own people in order to save 25 slaves, most of whom were grounders. I suspect they’re expanding his definition of “my people” to “literally everyone left on the planet,” but we’re also only three episodes in so it’s hard to judge an entire season’s arc based on that.  Still, I’m guessing that while this thread will be important it will be secondary to his guilt and quest for redemption.  (You could probably also argue that season four is going to be about both those elements of his personality, but again, we’re only three episodes in so it’s tough to say at this point.)

However, I want to bring this back around full circle and remind you guys of his line in the pilot: if the air is toxic, we’re all dead anyway.  While he’s changed in so many ways (and got rid of that hair gel, thank god), Bellamy is still the man he was in the pilot– if death is coming, he sees no point in messing around and trying to delay it by a few hours.  And you guys, Bellamy doesn’t think they can survive this.  That’s why he was willing to blow up the hydrogenerator; none of those people are going to survive anyway, so he might as well get a few home to their families while he still can.  Death is coming; why fight it?

But you know what’s different?  In the pilot, Clarke wanted to come up with a plan because any plan, no matter how ridiculous, is better than just opening the doors and dying because that’s how she handles uncertainty– with charts and graphs and maps and strategy.  Bellamy overrules her in that episode and opens the door because fuck it, what’s the difference between dying now and dying of dehydration in three days?  But now, he’s going along with her plan.  He’s taking a trip to Farm Station to get a hydrogenerator he secretly believes they won’t ever need to use and he’s agreeing to let Clarke put him on a list of people she wants to save.  He still thinks death is inevitable, but he’s no longer the callous guard from the pilot, opening the dropship door against her advice.  He knows that in order to keep going, Clarke needs a plan.  He knows that if she stops and just accepts that the end is coming she’ll crumple, and he doesn’t want that for her.  (I’d say this applies to all his people in general because he doesn’t want to see anyone hurt, but it is particularly painful for him to see Clarke in any sort of distress so she’s the main focus for his “yeah, we’re definitely gonna live yep yep yep this is totally survivable” charade.)

So when you shove everything else his character has gone through aside– the grounder attack in season one, pulling the lever at Mount Weather in season two, losing Gina and being estranged from his sister in season three– this is what his character boils down to, and this is how he’s changed.  When he arrived on the ground he was ready to die and he didn’t really care about anyone who wasn’t Octavia.  He was kind of a dick to the woman who wanted a plan to save everyone because he saw no point in a charade and also those other lives weren’t his problem.  He’s still ready to die, but now his love stretches to encompass hundreds of people.  And when it comes the woman who wants a plan to save everyone, no matter how desperate it is, he’s willing to go to whatever length it takes to keep her going– even if in the end, he still believes they’re all going to die.