#truly going to just be like fine. Sam has trauma around Nick's face. sort of deal.

[neven-ebrez]

This might have been asked already, especially since I've been busy and unable to keep up as well this season with the episodes (and in turn fandom discussions in order to avoid spoilers), but I finally finished the recent episode and wanted to know: in your opinion, do you think there's anything to Jack seeing hallucinations of Lucifer while he's soulless compared to Sam seeing hallucinations of Lucifer after he got his soul back? Or do you think it's just that he affected them both so much?

Well. I don’t think Jack is actually soulless, so this changes how I’d approach discussing this topic. I know other people do see him as soulless but this is honestly not the face of someone who doesn’t care or is putting on a show (like Sam was in early S6). All 14x18 Jack was genuinely desperate to bring her back and he had her in his thoughts for what she’d done for him over their time together. The show shows us this in flashbacks not once, but twice.

Jack has said pretty clearly that whatever he feels, that it isn’t nothing (like it is for soulless things). It’s something. A different sort of something, but definitely not nothing. I think if Jack were truly soulless then he’d be in systematic existence failure, much like he was without his grace. He’s not, so all we really have is a lot of character opinions over Jack’s situation, fan guesses at what the show is establishing as nephilim canon and really no real clarification here. It’s frustrating and weird, but I think it’s by design.

I think, therefore, that Jack in S14 and Sam in S7 are probably only similarly related situations and that while Jack is definitely mirroring “the story of Sam” from that period in a limited capacity, that they are really completely different situations. I think it’d be more accurate to say that Jack’s current situation is actually closer to Sam from S9 when Sam was possessed by Gadreel. So I feel it’s more accurate to say Jack’s going through the worst of Sam’s S7 and S9 experiences at the same time here. I think the same wording for S7 is even used, a fractured existence. Lucifer, for Sam then, wasn’t actually Lucifer. I think that’s important to remember. The hallucination of Lucifer was merely Sam’s body trying to make sense of his soul damage, all the fractures, the trauma. That’s what I see with Jack now mostly.

Jack ingesting Michael tho. That’s like Gadreel’s possession when Gadreel was “fixing” Sam’s trial damage. Trauma fixing trauma essentially. Michael, similarly, ends up “fixing” Jack’s “damage”. Unlike with Sam/Gadreel tho, Jack can’t exactly eject whatever it is of Michael he’s taken in and then be fine using his powers (which Jack relies on heavily, seeing them as part of himself). In many ways, it’s trauma that has simply become him. The show hasn’t been very clear in this regard, but that’s the predominate vibe I personally get. When Jack took in Michael, he permanently became something else. Jack didn’t start hallucinating Lucifer when he ate Michael tho, he started doing that once he had his weird angelic ringing freak out about the morality of killing Nick against Mary’s disproval. That was the trigger.

It’s hard to tell if we are looking at coincidence here or not tho. Speculating on this matter doesn’t seem like a good exercise imo because the show is being purposefully obscure here by design I feel, because I believe Michael’s ongoing involvement is the most likely finale twist at this point, moreso than Lucifer’s ongoing foreshadowed involvement in taking on Jack as his new vessel. Still regretting not getting to post my 14x13 finale spec. *sigh*

Basically, I think the hallucinations of Lucifer are a manipulation of Michael, who is using Dean’s memories of things to fuel all his fabrications. First for Dean’s prison and now for Jack’s torment and systematic manipulation of not only Jack, but everyone around him. 14x10’s words of torment and doubt to Jack focused on his belonging. Lucifer’s in 14x18 did much the same thing. Basically, “You can’t trust them anymore,” and “You don’t belong there anymore.” Like Cas, Jack is desperate to belong and have family. When Sam (as Gadreel) killed Kevin, he had extreme guilt but he made his way back from it. Kevin was a lot like a son to them. Jack could still make his way back here from accidentally killing Mary (especially if he was triggered into doing it by Michael). It’d take time, a lot of it, but he could do it. Cas attacked Sam and made his way back. It’s not impossible.

So whatever is manipulating Jack with the Lucifer hallucination (and I think it’s Michael so hard that I honestly am having trouble here wording that as speculation instead of something more definitive), their goal is to avoid this and make Jack doubt he can. It (Michael) will probably cause another “accident” once Jack returns to the bunker and this is what will make the Winchester put him in the drama coffin™ because they’ll be scared and need time to discuss options, none of which are good. Jack then will probably summon Lucifer from the Empty to help him escape the drama coffin™ and then finally that’ll be (Jack’s grace, which Lucifer has) the final thing left that Michael needs to face God to try and kill him.

I realize this devolved into speculation. Sorry about that. To stay on point, I’ll go back to what I said a few paragraphs ago. Jack’s current situation is best described as a blend of Sam’s from both S7 and S9.