The Supernatural season 10 winter premiere introduced a new mythological element to the series. Dean’s quest to rid himself of the deadly Mark of Cain led the brothers and Cas to Metatron. While the Scribe of God wasn’t particularly helpful, he did offer one clue to the cure before being escorted back to Heaven’s prison by Cas.
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Metatron told Dean that the First Blade is important and that “The river ends at the stream.” That cryptic sentence resonated with Dean, though he has no idea what it means. Nor do we, and that’s half the fun of Supernatural. The show doesn’t do anything by accident, so it’s safe to assume that the message will play an important role in the rest of season 10.
Here are three possible theories on the meaning of the phrase and what it could tell us about the endgame of Supernatural season 10.
Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden
Since the Mark originated with Cain, “the source” could refer to the beginning of mankind and evil itself, which would take us all the way back to the Garden of Eden. The Garden is where everything began, the literal source, with the famous apple to provided original sin. If the Mark of Cain represents evil, then that tree could be the source of it. Since we’ve already met Cain, it’s not so crazy to imagine that Adam or Even, Cain’s parents, could play a role in the series and become important figures in ending Dean’s curse.
John and Mary Winchester
It’s also possible that “the source” refers specifically to Dean, in which case we’re talking about his parents, John and Mary. A lot of season 10 has been spent bringing back old family members (Castiel’s daughter, Crowley’s mother, even the random reference to Sam and Dean’s half-brother Adam during the 200th episode musical).
Maybe all of that is simply foreshadowing a return for Sam and Dean’s deceased parents in some way, shape or form. They are certainly the source of Dean’s river and have played crucial roles in the mythology of the series, whether it involved time travel or the present.
Killing Sam
“The source” could also be the origin of the Mark of Cain and the First Blade itself, which bodes very poorly for Sam. Lucifer tried to make Abel his pet, but Cain stopped him. He made a deal with Lucifer to send his brother’s soul to Heaven, and in exchange Cain’s soul was sent to Hell, making him a demon and the first Knight of Hell. However, to seal the deal, Cain had to kill his brother Abel using the First Blade.
History has a way of repeating itself, so it’s entirely possible that in order to end the curse, Dean could have to kill his own brother just like Cain did. The Winchesters have already died so many times already that it’s not so far-fetched to believe killing Sam is the only way to cure Dean. Although that Adam reference in the musical could provide a loophole and maybe Dean would only have to get him out of the cage and kill him instead.
“The source” could be anything. The source of evil, the source of Cain, the source of the Mark, the source of Dean. That’s the genius of the phrase, and the maddening part of Supernatural. For now, all we have to do is speculate wildly on what it could mean and see if we’re right, because I am quite confident that, before season 10 is over, we’ll know exactly what Metatron meant by “The river ends at the source,” and it won’t be good.
Supernatural airs Tuesdays at 9pm on the CW.
(Image courtesy of the CW)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
