Holy crap.

[caranfindel]

Okay, so check this out...

Guys? This painting in the background? Of a severed head that resembles Sam Winchester? I don't think it's a coincidence.



I am unspoiled so if you already know what's going to happen, don't tell me.

(Screams silently)

ETA... Okay, it looks a hell of a lot like Sam on my phone, but I accept now that it's Medusa. Y'all are so calm and sane and shit. :-) I still want to call it foreshadowing.

Comments

[fannishliss.livejournal.com]

I agree with Ash48 about the choice of painting being deliberate.

Here's a short stab at analysis:

Medusa was a Gorgon. According to Ovid, she and her sisters were beautiful. She was raped by Poseidon and Athena turned her hideous so that people turned to stone when they saw her. Theseus got a special shield from Athena so he could view her in a mirror to kill her by beheading. Then, he carried her head as a weapon before giving it to Athena to place on her shield.
--http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medusa

So part of the myth is about power, and powerful artifacts, and who has the power. In one way, being Medusa is a curse -- but in another way, no one can rape you if you can turn them to stone. Medusa is considered a symbol of women's rage.

The painting really drew my eye in the episode and I've been pondering it for a while. Of all Cuthbert's paintings, it's the one that was most prominent.

So, most obviously, Cuthbert surrounded himself with weapons -- and got beheaded. He also was super creepy and pretty much demonstrated his willingness to rape Dean. And Dean was in fact the face of rage in this ep.

What's interesting is that it was Sam framed by the Medusa -- not Dean. Perhaps it's a way of showing that Sam is not unaffected by what's done to Dean.

I think too, it's just about the First Blade. The weapon they are trying to use is incredibly dangerous. It's an instrument of rage. It may deal out destruction that is unearned -- like Athena turning Medusa into a monster -- was that to punish her or protect her? Will having the Mark of Cain be a protection, or is it making Dean a monster?

Yeah, I absolutely think they deliberately used that painting and intended all these overtones. Set Design is one of the most intentional aspects of SPN!! It's NEVER a coincidence!!