"It's not funny, Dean, to watch you died at least 105 times and I am not able to reap... not once!"
"I apologize for that."
I had an epiphany after watching Appointment in Samarra. The theme of unnatural events causing a disruption to the balance of the universe got me thinking about the storyarc. I thought instead of writing an episode review, I am going to share with you my theory on Death and his role on the show.
Supernatural's take on Death is a very interesting one. The writers have given Death a personality. He is not a hooded mysterious scary old man. In fact he is not scary at all. He has one job to do, and one job only. If God is at the starting point of human lives, then Death is on the other end of our lives, waiting to collect our souls when our time is up. It's a simple equation. There shouldn't be any complication. It is like a waterfall model -- you born, you live, you die. It is a natural progression. God and Death book-end our lives.
You are not supposed to cheat Death. But what if something happens to you? What if there is some sort of intervention and you no longer live as a human?
In the event of a supernatural situation occurred, say, when a vampire turned a human into one of their kind as depicted in Dead Man's Blood or Live Free or Twi-Hard, this normal human being became immortal. One less 'human soul' for Death to collect. And according to the Alpha in Live Free or Twi-Hard, when their kind died, they'd go to Purgatory.
Another example. In All Dogs Go to Heaven, skinwalkers infiltrated into ordinary families. On the Alpha's signal, they would turn their human families into their skinwalkers simultaneously. This would be the fastest way to build an army. Many normal human lives would be altered, possibly without their souls intact after they're turned. Death's list is just getting shorter.
Let's take a look at Dean and Sam. How many times have they died and be brought back to life by either demons, angels or God? As a result of this, I believe Death is getting a bit frustrated. While we think it's funny to watch Dean died like at least 105 times in an episode alone, may be Death doesn't find it funny at all.
The numbers of lives by God created should equal to the numbers of souls collected by Death. What happen if it doesn't equate? What's Death's view on it? If I am Death, I will be saying: "Hang on a second here, I'm supposed to take X number of souls, you supernatural creatures caused all these disruptions and ruined my job!' Death can't be out of job, right? How many human souls have Death lost due to any kind of supernatural intervention?
As we have seen in season 6 so far, things are getting bit out of hand. Why are the Alphas of different supernatural kinds so desperate for building their armies fast? Why are monsters acting off-pattern? They are fighting for domination and survival.
Do monsters have souls? I guess not, that's why they are called monsters, right? And their kind only have one place to go after they die -- Purgatory. I think Death is only limited to reap human souls, he doesn't have the ability to reap monsters simply because they are soulless.
My theory is that Death has an important part to play in the season half of season 6. I think he is attempting to get rid of the existence of all supernatural creatures on earth. He is going to end this disruption to the balance of the universe. He wants things to return to balance.
How is Dean & Sam going to play a role in this scheme of things? Dean and Sam are great hunters, they are valuable assets. If Death's power is limited to human souls, then he needs good hunters like Dean and Sam to eliminate monsters and helped maintaining the natural order. Unlike the angel Balthazar who has his own agenda and clearly doing something dodgy, Death's intention is clear. Death's purpose is simple -- to reap human souls.
Death wants Dean to keep digging about this soul thing. He wants Dean to discover something himself, whatever they might be. He wants Dean to understand something. Death is teaching Dean a lesson. This lesson starts with retrieving Sam's soul from hell. Death warns Dean about the success rate of putting a wall in Sam's mind. Once Sam starts scratching, he will break and he will die. And when Sam dies (again), I think this will be the end of the series. Because I think Death will have the balance returns by then, he will demonstrate this natural order to Dean by taking Sam with him for good. Dean and Sam must learn when you're dead, you should stay dead. When you are human, you should die human.
I am sure there are a lot of holes in my theory. Let me know what you think and how do you see the role of Death in the rest of the season. I just think that he is not a support act and after watching Appointment in Samarra, I am convinced he has a very important role to play.
Appointment in Samarra was a great great episode! It was written by Sera Gamble and Robert Singer, directed by Mark Rohl.
Death: You and your brother keep coming back. You're an affront to the balance of the universe, and you cause disruption on a global scale.
Dean: I apologize for that.
Death: But you have use. Right now you're digging at something, intrepid detective. I want you to keep digging, Dean.
Dean: So you just gonna be cryptic or...?
Death: It's about the souls. You'll understand when you need to.
Everything is dust in the wind.
