Friday, December 4, 2009

Supernatural and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

Because I'm an English major and I couldn't stop myself:

So I got an update from spoilertv.com about a casting call for Supernatural 5x15, called "My Bloody Valentine." The title itself promises awesomeness, (unlike Jensen Ackles movie of the same name, lol), so here's the call:

[FAMINE] 50 to 80 years old... He is one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. He is withered, weak, raspy. This character is a creepy and destructive old man filled with a voracious hunger...GUEST STAR (29)

[CUPID] 30s to 40s, doughy, out of shape, naked, his humorously loving character greets everyone with enormous bear hugs that almost break their ribs. He is overflowing with love and positivity to an almost humorous and narcotic degree (think Will Farrell in "ELF" sptv050769)...GUEST STAR (17)

So I read that and was like, "Yay, cupid! That'll be so funny! And omg yay, another horsemen! Exciting! Wait, Famine? I didn't know that was one. What was the first one again?" And so I was like okay, I'll just look them up really quick! So I went to wikipedia and I found so much, I don't even know where to begin.

Okay, so the first one we met was War, which I remember now. His horse is red and his equipment is a sword. His power is said to be "To take peace from the earth, and make men kill each other. To kill with the sword." Ouch. That sucks.

The second one we've sort of kind of met was Death. His horse is pale or pale green, and his equipment is a scythe. His job is: "Followed by Hades kills with the scythe, with famine, disease, and the beasts of the earth. " Which explains why we haven't seen him yet because dang, that sounds scary and awesome and the kind of reveal you want to save for it's own episode. Anyways, the only question I had about that is whether or not Hades is the same as Lucifer. Apparently christian theology isn't exactly clear on that. I don't think so because Lucifer is already there, and he's released later in Revelations if I remember correctly. Also, apparently Hades is often substituted with Death or the Abode of Death, so I'm thinking Hades basically just means Hell.

Okay so now in episode 15 apparently we're meeting Famine. His horse is black and his equipment is a balancing scale. His power is "To bring famine. To kill with hunger." Which holy CRAP, also really really sucks!

So I am straight up freaking out because all I can think is how the HELL are we supposed to beat all these?? And I haven't even read the fourth one! Then I read it. And oh boy.

The fourth horsemen is Pestilience, also known as Conquest. He rides a white horse and his equipment is a crown and a bow. He's also apparently the first one out of the gate when they're released by the Lamb after the Seven Seals are broken. He's said to "To go forth in conquest, and to conquer." Ummmm, is it just me, or does that sound like not scary or evil at all? So then I kept reading and apparently, I'm observant, because there's a whole debate about whether or not this horsemen is evil or righteous.

Argument for evil: The other three horsemen represent evil, destructive forces, and given the unified way in which all four are introduced and described, it may be most likely that the first horseman is correspondingly evil. The German Stuttgarter Erklärungsbibelcasts him as civil war and internal strife. One interpretation--which was held by evangelist Billy Graham--casts the rider of the white horse as the Antichrist, or a representation of false prophets, citing differences between the white horse in Revelation 6 and Jesus on the white Horse in Revelation 19. Revelation 19 Jesus has many crowns, but in Revelation 6 the rider has one.

Argument for good: Irenaeus, an influential Christian theologian of the second century, was among the first to interpret this horseman as Christ himself, his white horse representing the successful spread of the gospel. Various scholars have since supported this theory, citing the later appearance, in Revelation 19, of Christ mounted on a white horse, appearing as The Word of God. Furthermore, earlier in the New Testament, the Book of Mark indicates that the advance of the gospel may indeed precede and foretell the apocalypse. The color white also tends to represent righteousness in the Bible, and Christ is in other instances portrayed as a conqueror. However, opposing interpretations argue that the first of the four horsemen is probably not the horseman of Revelation 19. They are described in significantly different ways, and Christ's role as the Lamb who opens the seven seals makes it unlikely that he would also be one of the forces released by the seals.

Besides Christ, the horseman could represent the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was understood to have come upon the Apostles at Pentecost after Jesus' departure from earth. The appearance of the Lamb in Revelation 5 shows the triumphant arrival of Jesus in heaven, and the white horseman could represent the sending of the Holy Spirit by Jesus and the advance of the gospel of Jesus Christ.


SO RIGHT?!?! How cool is all that??? I'm just so excited, I feel like this could be so freaking epic. I don't know what's going to happen but I have to say that I feel like there's a lot of bad right now on the show, and Sam and Dean could use someone on their side. This sounds like a perfect opportunity for that.

1 comment:

  1. I always forget that famine is black and death is greenish (I prefer the "grey" interpretation). Mix 'em up every time. :-/ Ah, and that would be because Revelations usually describes Death as riding a "pale" horse, which is confusing. Just looked it up.

    Honestly, I flip back and forth on whether or not any of the horsemen are evil. They are the worst in us personified and given super-strength. And I thought in the original version, it was NOT Satan setting them loose on the world, but Jesus. They are more like dark, unyielding judgment and justice than evil... Though having them guided by the wrong hand (as Supernatural has done) could mean they are being USED for evil - not just to punish the wicked, but to destroy everyone and everything.

    But hey, it's been a long time since I read Revelations.

    It would be nice to have someone on our side, though. Even a Horseman.

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