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Demon Blood: A Comprehensive Analysis

So, I’ve been thinking about the narrative role of demon blood and what it actually does for a while now. I decided to write an analysis of it to see what would come up, and fell down a rabbit hole that I really didn’t expect to face.

What is demon blood?

This question, which is the most basic start that you can have, is actually a lot more complex than you might think. On the surface, demon blood is just what it sounds like: the blood of a demon. But it’s actually more complicated than that.

Because the demon blood that’s being consumed here isn’t actually demon blood. Most of the demons in the show don’t have physical bodies: instead, they interact with the world by possessing other bodies, usually human. So the blood being gathered from these bodies is actually human blood that’s been demonified, and not blood straight from the demon. I think that’s an important distinction, and adds another layer of questions about demon blood: it clearly changes human bodies physiologically, so how long does this change last? Does possession physically change people in any other way? Does it still work if the person is dead?

And that’s not to get into the fact that demons were also once human, so we’re getting human blood mixed with influence that was once human, making its consumption a lot more vampiric than I expected.

What are the impacts of demon blood?

Based on the above, we actually have three categories of demon blood influence: infected, consumed, and possessed. All three of these categories are affected by the blood in different ways.

The infected is comprised of the group that we know as the special children: the people who were fed demon blood as infants. This group were affected by the demon blood in a very distinct way: presumably they didn’t feel any effects for exactly twenty one and a half years, and this timeline remained largely consistent. After this, the effects that kick in seem largely random and disjointed: they all develop powers, but these powers are not unified nor are they consistent, and neither is the level of control each individual has on the powers. Some develop mind control, some psychic visions, others a death touch, and this process doesn’t seem connected to anything particular. They are also immunized from demon born illnesses, indicating that their blood was physiologically changed by infection.

The consumed are those who have willingly chosen to drink demon blood as adults. We have a relatively small sample size for this: we only see any in depth information on its influence with Sam. Our other confirmed person in this group is Nick-as-possessed-by-Lucifer, and while this is unconfirmed I’ve always believed that Ava consumed it prior to her reunion with Sam in 2x21. This group, unlike the previous one, have pretty consistent reactions: they gain strength, psychic abilities, and some level of control over demons. This is of course largely based on Sam’s reactions, as Nick’s are unknown and Ava’s are unconfirmed. However, Nick’s situation is slightly more complex (as it is a human body consuming demonified human blood while possessed by an angel) so the effects here are probably impacted by this.

The possessed are those human bodies that have been possessed by demons. Since it is confirmed that their blood and therefore body is physiologically changed by the possession, it’s important to note what happens to these bodies when possessed. They receive enhanced strength and psychic abilities (like the consumed group), but they don’t seem to be able to control demons, and instead have more generic psychic abilities. They also aren’t slowed down by death: the bodies can still move and function even if they have broken down. This implies they are powered by demonic energy, explaining the need for the blood changes. They don’t seem to keep these powers after demons leave their body, which implies the change is temporary. However, we don’t know if they are affected in any way after this.

How does this play a role in the narrative?

I’m using this section to basically talk through what I’ve described above, and try to figure out how demon blood actually works based on this.

The BMOL

I think the inclusion of the BMOL as paranormal experts that are well versed in Winchester history is significant when it comes to demon blood. That is, in their total and complete lack of interest in demon blood and it’s effects on the body. As to why, I think there are several explanations:

1. They don’t know about it. Possible, but based on their depth of knowledge about Sam and Dean (they knew about Ruby, for example) I highly doubt it. So, they know it exists and that it impacts humans. Why don’t they care to find out?

2. They’ve tested it out and it is dangerous to them. They know about it’s addictive properties and potential side effects and decided it was too dangerous for them to use, or even weaponize others to use. Also possible, but I don’t believe so because they are desperate enough for power to build an army of demon blood infected or consumed people, and are self confident enough to believe they can contain them.

3. They’ve tested it out and it doesn’t work for them. This has several implications: that a) consumed and infected demon blood doesn’t have an impact or the average person. Maybe they follow a specific order (for example, you need to have been infected as a child in order for demon blood to affect you), or maybe you have to be born with an ingrained ability to be affected by demon blood. They had a range of child soldiers to test on, so my guess is they might have tried to infect kids with it to see if they are affected and came up short. So, this implies there are very specific rules to be followed vis a vis demon blood or that only certain people will be affected by it. Of course, everyone is affected by being possessed, so the first point may be more accurate here.

The Vessels

Now, we come to the question of demon blood and vessels. That is, a question that’s been bugging me from the start: why is it that Lucifer’s vessels need to consume demon blood, but Michael’s vessels don’t? Let’s talk through several options.

1. They don’t need to consume blood, and Lucifer set this whole thing up as psychological warfare on Sam. The demon blood arc in season 4 broke Sam very effectively in a way that nothing else did, and was a blow to his sense of self and confidence that lasted the rest of his life. It left him vulnerable, and perhaps this vulnerability was necessary in order to make him say yes. This plan was eons in the making, and it’s possible that the thought was Lucifer’s vessel needed to be broken down to consider a yes, while Michael’s (the supposed good guy) wouldn’t require as much time and effort. It also could be an ego move by Lucifer (my vessels need to be strong, etc) as Michael doesn’t seem to eat away at his vessels, and Lucifer and Michael are both archangels with similar powers and abilities.

2. Lucifer is made from different stuff than Michael and needs the blood to keep his vessels alive. While these two are almost identical when it comes to powers and abilities, there is one thing that potentially changed Lucifer into something a bit different than Michael: the Mark of Cain. The Mark of Cain acted as a bit of a possession, in a way: a piece of magic that influenced a person’s actions and behaviors and gave them extra powers. Almost like a cross between demon blood consumption and demon possession. So, what if some influence of that remained behind? What if Lucifer’s powers and being was affected by carrying the mark, necessitating stronger vessels to be able to hold him?

The Special Children

Now we come to the question of the special children: why them? Why were they chosen? Why did they develop powers in the way they did? And how much did Azazel know?

1. They were chosen at random. If we take the show at face value, Azazel and co. were boppin around America making deals with whoever they could find and building a network of special kids off of this. This theory assumes that the infection process with demon blood is not targeted and could be successful in anybody, despite any abilities they may have. It also assumes that the powers the special children receive are more or less randomized. This scenario also assumes Azazel was not in on any of the apocalypse stuff and was simply told to find the strongest possible option with a strong hint towards Sam.

2. They were of significant parentage. Here, we’re working under the assumption that Azazel sought out specific bloodlines in order to infect them with demon blood. These bloodlines and families would have been known to be able to handle the demon blood, so this assumes that the powers were something that could be unlocked by being infected with demon blood, and that the blood would not work on anyone without these family ties. This would mean Azazel was privy to a bit more, including the fact that a bloodline is an important element to the vessel-finding mission.

3. The demons were on a deadline. Here, the very specific schedule is taken into consideration: why twenty one and a half years exactly? In this scenario, demons are well aware of how long it takes the infected to activate for whatever reason, so they specifically seek out children that would come of age in their abilities during that specific period. This theory could work for either of the above options (infected demon blood either being inclusive or exclusive about who it effects) and would take into account why the timeline for this process was so specific.

4. They were already known to have abilities. This theory fully relies on the fact that demon blood infection would not work on people without powers. In this scenario, Azazel would seek out families known to already have powers (through some sixth sense), and the blood was meant not to give them powers but to tie their powers to a specific demon. So the infection is more like a binding placed on their powers, explaining why infected power versus consumed power is so different. If both are derived from demons, why are their impacts so different? This scenario explains it that their infected powers are their own, while their consumed powers are mainly borrowed from or connected to demonic influences.

Uncategorized Stray Thoughts

1. The Cain bloodline connection might be significant. I discussed the mark of Cain as it pertained to Lucifer above, but it’s important to note that Sam and Dean are in canon descended from Cain (so is everyone else if you go by theology, but we’ll ignore that). This means that they might have elements of the mark of Cain in their bloodline. Therefore, this may be how they were identified as the true vessels, and also why Sam would’ve been singled out by Azazel.

2. What happens to demon blood after death? Does it lose its abilities? Are possessed dead bodies (who have no blood flow) able to power up people? We don’t know for sure, but Sam provides some interesting cases here. For one, it’s implied that demon blood addiction can be removed from your body (god does this to Sam in season 4) but we don’t know if this means that the blood itself is gone from his being. We also don’t know if the potency of his blood is gone when he dies, therefore explaining why he seems to lose his powers at the end of season 2. This makes Azazel’s “He’s not 100% pure Sam” more fascinating, as it’s implied that this might be the first time since sam was six months that he wasn’t infected by demon blood. So in a way he might be different from the Sam we’ve known up to this point.

3. I’d just like to touch on an element of possessed abilities via demon blood very quickly. The very concept of demon-as-corrupted-human is interesting especially when you look at demon dean as a case study. He may be the only demon who has retained his original body, and still has the demon powers even though there is no possession actually involved. So what makes a person a “demon” must be in itself an infection, some sort of specific physiological change that delineates the difference between human and demon. And do you know what caused this change in Dean? The mark of Cain. We also go back to the mark of Cain.

#supernatural #supernatural meta #oh bestie delicious and fascinating #your azazel takes probably make more sense in universe than my pet theory lmao #ana spneveryseason u are so SMORT ily

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