SPN 12x08 “Lotus” Mature Thoughts

SPN 12x08 “Lotus” Mature Thoughts

The mid season finale of Supernatural was IMO unsatisfying. The narrative was incoherent and inconsistent which lead to utter confusion. Personally I don't know if SPN produced such episode on purpose, or not. Though I assume because of conspicuous editing and acting, further the use of in film usual symbols and signs, that there could be a reason behind the shown gobbledegook.

The continuity of awkwardness...

As a nerd of course I need reason and logic to comprehend why the shown episode couldn't evoke any emotional respond. Just by saying “bad writing” won't simply explain the nudging question why the SPN screen writers Buckner and Ross-Leming AGAIN, delivered this season such an awkward and bizzare episode. Remember episode 12x02 “Mama Mia”, also written by Buckner and Ross-Leming, and remember how disturbing this episode was? Correct, now I have written an extensive analysis (X) of this episode trying to prove my thesis, namely that the British MoL are still manipulating Sam's perception through black magic, and thereby are using Sam like a Manchurian candidate, to gain access to the US hunter community and further thereby collect their wanted information. The reason why I took my time to analyze both episodes, namely episode 12x01”Be Calm and Carry On” and 12x02 “Mamma Mia”, was because of the very obvious, blunt contradiction and obvious unfamiliar behavior of Sam and Dean. Further to show what we had seen, wasn't just happening by chance and bad writing, but that there was more to the eye that could be seen. And now again we are confronted in the episode “Lotus” with the same blunt unfamiliar confusing awkwardness as before, so oddly enough there is a continuity in the awkwardness, hence this circumstance can't be a coincident.

LOTUS

What an odd title for a 'Supernatural' episode, normally the used title would be a pop culture or literature reference, something modern to which the audience could automatically relate to. Now of course it could have been taken from Dean's plan to “Impeach LOTUS and find Rosemary's Baby“.

But as some of you out there know, there is also a plant named lotus. Hmm...therefor one could also question, what's so special with this shrubby plant of the genus Lotus and what does this Water Lilly have in common with Lucifer and the British MoL? I mean lets not forget these antagonist are the dominant and driving figures of the mid season finale.

Well you would be surprised, they truly have something in common, namely the altering of perception.

Now have you ever heard of the lotus-eaters also referred to as the lotophagi or lotophaguses? In Greek mythology the lotus-eaters were a race of people living on an island dominated by lotus plants. The lotus fruits and flowers were the primary food of the island and were narcotic, causing the people to sleep in peaceful state of dreamy and contented forgetfulness.

    c. 1901 illustration to the poem by W. E. F. Britten

     

Hence the Lotus fruit alters perception, like the British MoL did with Sam through the use of hallucinogenic drugs (magic) and thereby altered Sam's reality and Lucifer appearing as an Angel of Light and thereby altering his victims perception to gain their trust. But that's not all, the Lotus has also a symbolic meaning. In ancient Egypt the flower symbolized “rebirth”, and this also correlates with the shown narrative of Lucifer having an earthly human baby. Now by knowing the unknown 'hidden' symbolism and meaning of the given title “Lotus” the confusion aka lack of clearness gets a little bit clearer and comprehensible.

“All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.”

Edgar Allan Poe

… a dream within a dream, thank you Mr. Poe, because precisely this is my thesis of what the story arch of season 12 could be, namely by braking Sam's mind in episode 2x02 “Mama Mia” the British MoL created a highly sophisticated hallucinogenic magical dream world. I mean lets not forget the major question, namely why were the British MoL investing time and energy in torturing and interrogating Sam? Than they just let him go, in the belief that all was just a misunderstanding and overreaction of Lady Bevelle. And the only reaction of the viewers was to say “bad writing”, oh come on, seriously?

Further why I assume this all to be a dream in a dream is the contradicting and inconsistent use of the supernatural in the show 'Supernatural' furthermore the obvious dumbing down of the major protagonist Sam and Dean and of the supernatural creatures such as the angel Castiel and the demon Crowley.

For example why didn't Sam and Dean just summon Lucifer? Remember in the old days they summoned all kind of archangels and even Death. Now oddly enough some wonna be satanist moron was able to summon Satan. But not the Winchesters?

  Remember these morons in "Rock Never Dies"?

Or when they were like cute secretaries researching on their laptops in the BUNKER(!) how to get to the possessed president, now what was utterly wrong with this scene? Correct, they are sitting literally in a bunker filled with highly potent occult literature! Books filled with tons of high magic spell's for the use of summoning, deception, manipulation, hence mind bending techniques! Interesting enough this most surreal scene correlates with what Tony Bevelle said to Dean in episode 12x02 “Mamma Mia”, Lady TB: “Gentlemen. So, to recap -- you live in the Men of Letters bunker, awash in the world's greatest collection of occult knowledge, and yet you know nothing." 

Or why are the angel Castiel and the demon Crowley portrayed like comedian figures, but than not? Their actions seem contradicting, on the one hand the angel and demon act like supernatural entities, than not, than a little bit, or not. It's like trying to square the circle. For example the angel Castiel can't sense Lucifer, but can receive “angel radio”? Okay, put into relation, Castiel the angel can't in any ways sense Lucifer/Satan the father of lies and destruction, a chaotic celestial being, a powerful seraph who absolutely and utterly hates mankind, who is full of utter rage (which is BTW spiritual energy), BUT can sense, because of angel radio, when Satan's corrupt sperm hits the human female's ovum?

Further, when only focusing on the bunker scenes, they 'feel' and 'look' odd, untypical for the show. The one scene ends with Sam saying “Plan C?” and the camera than turns to Castiel showing him dramatically at loss. Editing / cut. The next scene we see they are still at the bunker and Castiel is serving coffee, thereby he receives angel radio, the brothers get to him, the angel than reveals, even for Castiel in a awkward scripted manner, what he had 'heard' and than the brothers, when hearing the news, over react actively stunned. The whole scene in it's drama looked effectively like a Telenovela. The script, the camera close ups and the obvious over acting, all together seem to be like “Changing Channels”. What are we watching? Angelos TV, capitulo 666 “El Diabolo!”? 

    "Lucifer is dating?"

Back to the brothers and the British MoL, the peak of awkwardness. Why did Sam call the BMoL? There was no motive for such action. Since episode two “Mamma Mia” the BMoL were only once mentioned but than shoved under the rug. Further objectively Sam didn't need the BMoL, a) he had the knowledge of the Bunker and b) he has Dean, an angel and demon on his side. The only explanation could be, he is still under their spell.

Another conspicuousness, the brothers were portrayed in this episode like gophers. In general the known and famous familiar interaction was utterly missing. They were on scene but actually not.

Or the entrance of Mr. Ketch onto the scene was a 1:1 remake of Dean's appearance onto the Stull cemetery at “Swan Song”.

But the most disturbing and awkward scene was Mr. Ketch's monolog. Seriously what he said was utter bull shit.

Namely on the one hand Mr. Ketch colorfully elucidates towards the brothers that he and the BMoL are only in the USA to help the US hunter community in their effort in fighting the 'monsters'. Now on the other hand we viewers know what this truly means, i.e episode 12x04 'American Nightmare' killing off the young psychic Magda. Further he says the BMoL are not following the Winchesters, but we viewers again know it's the opposite, remember the scene in 12x03 “the Foundry” where Dean is admiring a motorcycle, well this was Mr. Ketch his bike. So it is very obvious that Mr. Ketch is deliberately lying or deceiving the Winchesters. Therefor his remark that Sam through his (disconnected) call had triggered the BMoL to follow the brothers, is just plainly false. Further Sam called the BMoL when he was at the bunker, so Mr. Ketch must have already been near or by the bunker in Lebanon, from where he had than directly followed the brothers to Indianapolis. Furthermore how did Mr. Ketch know Deans admiration for the grenade launcher, it would only make sense if Mr. Ketch was present during the Winchester their “Thule” hunt (episode 12x05).

Than Mr. Ketch says something very significant, namely how the British MoL have “spent years blending sorcery and technology.” Precisely here the brothers ears should have prickled by such nonsense. Plainly said, sorcery is nothing other than the use of magical powers that are obtained through evil spirits. Hence black magic. So Mr. Ketch literally said the BMoL have just only up dated their black magic powers. And the thereby used 'technology' is actually irrelevant, well actually technology contradicts magic. Hence magic is based on metaphysics (supernatural) and technology is based on materialism (natural). Further changing a vampires DNA is in broader sense an alchemical process and has nothing to do with sorcery. And exorcisms are the opposite of sorcery, namely the expulsion or attempted expulsion of a supposed evil spirit from a person or place.

Now I don't know if Mr. Ketch has absolutely no clue of what he is talking about, or if he is only fooling / deceiving the brothers. Again altering perception. Bothersome though is, the Winchesters and the angel should have noticed the fallacies. And this brings me to another point, namely how does it come that he coincidentally has a 'devise' in the trunk, that oddly enough fits the needs of the brothers? Just take a look at the case in the pristine trunk. There are only two items, and just by chance one of the two items fits the needs of a non existing plan?

Despite the obvious contradicting monolog of Mr. Ketch, the editing was quite eyeopening. It was suddenly at night. NOTICE: the BMoL Bazooka rescue scene happened during the day at broad daylight! And now they, Sam, Dean, Castiel and Mr. Ketch, are in the woods, at the middle of the night. Than the next scene it's daytime. This is an obvious brake, a deliberate editing of the temporal continuity. Like in episode 12x02 “Mamma Mia” where the same obvious editing was made. So it seems, what we are perceiving isn't actually what is happening. No wonder confusion is the name of the game. This could also explain the contradicting / confusing(?) narrative in the shown scene. 

 

               Day & Night

Now there were more obvious contradicting and incoherent scenes in the episode, but to mention them all would bust the post. But if you want to know which ones I mean, just ask. All in all I'm not quite sure if these contradictions were made deliberately or are truly just 'bad writing'. But I tend to the former, because in the end we still don't know what this seasons major story arch is.

Lets not forget confusion is still the name of the game....or are we only being deliberately distracted? Because oddly enough the synonym of confusion is distraction. And the definition of distraction is according to Wikipedia “...the process of diverting the attention of an individual or group from the desired area of focus and thereby blocking or diminishing the reception of desired information.”. This leads us however to the use of distraction or misdirection in magic, because as we know the British MoL are masters of black magic. In his influential and scholarly The Encyclopedia of Magic and Magicians, pg. 232, copyright 1988, author T.A. Waters wrote, "Misdirection is the cornerstone of nearly all successful magic; without it, even the most skilled Sleight of Hand or mechanical device is unlikely to create an illusion of real magic."

And creating an illusion of real magic is nothing other than the re-framing or manipulation of perception.

And precisely this is what we got, namely an episode full of misdirections. And the major reason why I deliberately ignored the Lucifer scenes, they were in the end irrelevant. The Lucifer scenes IMO were the distraction. And according to Wikipedia distraction is nothing other than “ ...the process of diverting the attention of an individual or group from the desired area of focus and thereby blocking or diminishing the reception of desired information.”

In the end it could be all or nothing....