Final FantasyX has so many religious themes going on. Of course, that’s not surprising when you establish a world heavily ingrained with religion and base that religion on three very popular faiths and ways of life: Buddhism, Shintoism, and Catholicism. Sometimes, FFX feels as though it’s all over the place, as if the writers couldn’t figure out which religion should dominate. But for the most part, and excusing any plot holes, Yevon seems like a solid faith that I could see existing given certain circumstances.
But like with all things religious, an afterlife must exist, so it’s only natural that Final Fantasy X makes mention of the dead. In fact, if there’s one aspect more dominating than religion in the game, it would be how the dead affect the living. And also like with everything else involving this game and my over-thinking things, yes, I found some more plot holes.
So we have finally made it to the last episode of this… this. This episode is called “Ghosts of Mortis.” The previous episode is called “Altar of Mortis” because there was a sword from an altar of specialness. In case any of you don’t know, mortis is Latin. It means of death. Last episode, both Ahsoka and the Daughter died, though the Daughter is the only one who remains dead. But considering that of death is in the title of the episode again, it doesn’t surprise me that more people are going to die this time too.
Anyway, the fortune this episode:
He who seeks to control fate shall never find peace.
So the other day while I was thinking (a very dangerous thing to do), I realized that no one seemed religious in Harry Potter. Nobody ever mentioned going to church, or praying that Lord Voldemort didn’t come from the sky and strike them down, or anything like that. At first it didn’t really trouble me. After all HP was a fictitious story that took place in an imaginary world. And then I did a little more thinking and realized that it wasn’t an imaginary world at all. Rather, it was a world that was supposed to be the same as ours, except with a wizarding secret society. So why did the story make no reference to religion?
I suppose it was largely due to Rowling’s personal choices. She probably didn’t want to endorse one faith over another. But in difficult times (such as those Harry and his friends are experiencing), sometimes it’s very natural to turn to religion for help and guidance. Not to mention there is always a Christmas vacation, yet no one mentions coming back for Christmas dinner after church or anything like that. And there is zero mention of Judaism, Islam, or any other world religion.
While Rowling did not include any specificreligion/religious references (such as crosses or other symbols, or mention the religions of some of the students), she did put in subtle references. On his parents’ tombstone, Harry reads the quote “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death,” while on that of Dumbledore’s mother and sister, Harry reads, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” The second tombstone inscription is a direct quote of Jesus from Matthew 6:19, the first is from 1 Corinthians 15:26.
But this brings up the question: why are there cemeteries with tombstones with Bible passages on them if no one celebrates anything religious? Sounds awfully fishy to me…
The series’ preoccupation with death and whether there is life after is fascinating. Harry spends the entire seven books struggling with loss, of his parents, of Sirius, and in the final book of many more. When Sirius died in particular, Harry became very preoccupied with whether or not he was dead and if there was a way to get him back. And then there is our BFFL the resurrection stone, which can in fact bring people back from the dead (in a sense). Maybe this is my very little Catholic Sunday School talking, but I thought Jesus was the only one who could do that.
Anyway, when Harry collects all three hallows he becomes the Master of Death. Other than Lucifer in Supernatural (and I suppose Lucifer in general), I wasn’t aware anyone, much less a mortal being, COULD master death.
Which brings me to that scene in Harry’s head after he’s been killed where he’s talking to Dumbledore in King’s Cross Station. My guess is that is supposed to be some kind of Purgatory where you can decide where you want to go. Again, the Sunday School speaks and thinks where you end up is someone else’s job.
And the philosopher’s stone, and every spell. I mean, in all seriousness, if all I need to be Jesus is a wand and a spell book the entire religion thing is a little disenchanting if you are a wizard (no pun intended, and yes I am prepared to get in very big trouble for that last sentence). So what role does religion play if miracles are child’s play?
I can totally understand why Rowling wouldn’t write entirely about religion, she didn’t want to endorse one set of beliefs over another. And rereading this post right now it sounds very negative, which was not my intention. Rowling tried to insert a little religion in, but she didn’t want her beliefs to become too overbearing, which is why she has hardly spoken on the subject. And issues such as life after death are something we as individuals all struggle with. However, officially it’s a question that each religion has its own way of answering. And as nice as Rowling’s answers seem in The Deathly Hallows, it leaves some big questions still open.
If she had given her work a little more of a religious context as to how religion fit into the wizarding world then I probably wouldn’t have to talk about these things. But she didn’t so I went there.
Do I really need to explain why death is important to religion? Life, death, and the afterlife are key parts of any religion. That mysterious force that is death has perplexed humanity for… well, ever. Why do some people die while others live? And what part does God have in it all? Well, let’s look at my three favorite examples of Death as he/she is often personified in pop culture.
The portrayal of Death in Supernatural is one of my favorites. Despite looking completely normal, if a bit skeletal, Death is clearly a wholly other being of great power. When Dean Winchester first meets Death it becomes very clear fighting Death will not be plausible. That becomes even more obvious when Dean actually talks to Death. Death describes how he is so powerful that to him Dean appears like nothing more than an ameba and even describes Lucifer, arguably one of the most powerful angels in exist as “a bratty child.” But Death’s power becomes even more obvious when he talks about God. He describes himself as being as old as God, maybe even older. He furthermore explains how in the end even God will die and he’ll reap God. And though it’s never shown in the TV series, it is implied that Death talks to God and knows where God is—God has been notably absent in the show. Death, like God, sees the big picture and understands how the world works. Because of his power and his ability to understand seemingly everything, Death appears as this indifferent larger-than-life figure.
Death spares Chicago because he likes the pizza, he pulls Sam’s soul from hell, but refuses to do the same for Adam, and seems to only do this because he wants something from Dean. The only person that Death seems particularly fond is actually God. When Dean, Sam, and Bobby bind Death to them in order to kill Castiel, who proclaimed himself god, Death doesn’t understand that they want him to kill the Castiel god and thinks that they want him to kill the God. Death tries to stall. He lies and says that he can’t, and when Castiel shows up calling himself god Death makes fun of him, calling him a “mutated angel” and says, “I know God, and you sir, are no God.”
I think the Death of Supernatural is portrayed as he is because he is based on humanity’s own feelings about death. Death is the awe-inspiring, impartial, unfeeling force in the universe, but for those of us with some spirituality we also have a sense that Death is apart of something greater and more important. In this respect, Death in Supernatural is portrayed extremely well.
Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways…
I’m not ashamed to say that Good Omens is perhaps my all time favorite novels with one of my all time favorite portrayals of Death, or I guess for these purposes we should call him DEATH. In this portrayal, DEATH is not impartial. DEATH is excited for the end of the world. It is described by him and the other horseman as waiting for Christmas or your birthday. At the end of the novel, the antichrist Adam faces down DEATH because he doesn’t want the world to end. DEATH wants the world to end and tries to convince Adam to follow along with his nature, but when Adam and his friends defeat the other horseman, DEATH grudgingly concedes that the apocalypse cannot continue, but makes of point of saying that he is not defeated.
BUT I, he said, AM NOT LIKE THEM. I AM AZRAEL, CREATED TO BE CREATION’S SHADOW. YOU CANNOT DESTROY ME. THAT WOULD DESTROY THE WORLD.
The heat of their stare faded. Adam scratched his nose.
“Oh, I don’t know,” he said. “There might be a way.” He grinned back.
DEATH himself cannot be defeated and even the other horsemen seem to continue to exist in some form, but Adam implies that perhaps there is a way. I think this might be implying the idea that Christ defeats it in the act of his crucifixion and resurrection, or even the obvious fact that if DEATH does go through with the apocalypse there will either be Hell on earth or Heaven on earth, meaning that DEATH would no longer need to exist. In enacting the apocalypse, DEATH would actually be killing himself.
Neil Gaiman apparently owns my soul because he has another portrayal of Death that is my absolute favorite. Death in the Sandman Comics is very different for several reasons. First, unlike most portrayals of Death, this Death is a woman, shown as being a young attractive goth chick. She is also very different in the way that she functions. This Death is not distant, impartial, uncaring; she is invested in the world. She adds the spark of life to all babies when they are born and remembers them all, calling them by name when they die. She enjoys life and enjoys humanity and the many other creatures that inhabit the Sandman universe. She is often seen giving advice to her brother Dream and genuinely seems to care about everyone.
This Death is clearly a benevolent and caring one who understands the importance of Death, while understanding the fear and misunderstanding of Death that comes from those finite beings that can’t see the larger picture.
I hope all this talk about Death hasn’t depressed anyone. Personally, I find it extremely hopeful. This makes me think that though we humans fear our own death, we fear the death of everything just as much, while at the same time many people long for the end of days. Weird, right?
Next time on Oh, My Pop Culture Jesus: The End is Here
Women often get screwed when it comes to being a Christ figure. Sure, if I was watching a movie about the actual historical person of Christ I would be a bit confused if Jesus was cast as a woman, but a Christ figure is just that, a figure. I don’t think anyone but perhaps crazed religious extremists would protest Aslan being a lioness instead of a lion, but alas, Christ was a man so I don’t blame anyone for constantly casting Christ figures as male. There is no harm in that and completely understandable. It does, however, leave another divine role open to women, one that doesn’t have a gender.
It’s been said that portrayals of God are often a white male. While this may be true in religious iconography, I don’t know if it’s fair to say the same about pop culture. In recent years, God has on occasion been black and even a woman once or twice; so pop culture has been branching out. Before that, while God was occasionally a white male, for the most part God was a disembodied voice or hand (think Monty Python or The Ten Commandments). Many times, God wouldn’t appear at all but would be an unseen, unknowable force, seemingly moving the events of the story (think Good Omens).
Women have been portrayed as God a few times, but for the most part we get what I call “a taste of the divine.” Women get an opportunity to touch or commune with the divine, but they don’t stay that way and often return to their normal human states after.
Rose Tyler of Dr. Who goes through one such touch with the divine in the season finale of Dr. Who in 2005 when she absorbs the heart of the Tardis.
To give you a bit of background I have only just finished watching the episodes of Dr. Who with the 9th Doctor. So if there is later information that I do not mention it’s because I’m not aware of it.
Anyway, Rose absorbs the heart of the Tardis and promptly becomes a conduit for God. Rose looks into the time vortex, which the Doctor explains that no one is supposed to see. He further tells her that if she doesn’t stop she’ll burn. This is very reflected of instances in the Old Testament where someone encounters God and is changed by or even dies by it. In this way, the Tardis appears much like the Arc of the Covenant, which the ancient Jews believed was the seat of the God. God is physically present in the Arc and anyone who looks upon or touches it that is not supposed to dies. The Doctor warns Rose that she is not meant to see the time vortex and is worried that Rose will burn up, but Rose manages to hold on long enough to destroy false gods (the Dalek emperor) and resurrect the dead.
Rose Tyler: I want you safe, my Doctor. Protected from the false God.
Emperor Dalek: You cannot hurt me. I am immortal.
Rose Tyler: You are tiny. I can see the whole of time and space, every single atom of your existence, and I divide them. Everything must come to dust. All things, everything dies.
This quote 1) shows Rose’s ability to see all things the way many imagine God. She sees the big picture. 2) Rose destroys a false God, which is a theme often depicted in theBible. In the final line, Rose actually discusses the creation of all things reflecting Genesis 3:19. “…for you are dust and to dust you will return.”
Finally, Rose restores life to those who have died and, despite the Doctor’s begging, seems unwilling to let the power go. Though it doesn’t seem to be because she is power hungry, but rather she doesn’t want to let go of this connection. Many Catholic and Orthodox saints who have claimed to experience the power of God describe it as touching ecstasy. Rose seems only able to let go after the Doctor describes his own experience feeling what Rose does. (And for those of you wondering, yes, the Doctor is something of a God figure too. I’ll get to him later.)
In the end, Rose let’s go of the power and remembers nothing, again implying that the power and awe of this divinity is too great for human Rose to comprehend. Well, not without dying anyway.
Buffy is another character that touches the divine and is even something of a Christ figure. Yes, Buffy dies to save the whole world and then rises from the dead, but I hope that last week’s talk on Christ figures has made you realize there is more to Christ figures then simple resurrection. After all, Spike died and rose again, but we’d hardly call him a Christ figure. Let’s call Buffy a pseudo-Christ figure, though Buffy does have her own touches with the divine. In the finale of season four, Buffy faces off against the Frankenstein-like monster Adam. Adam may be my absolute least favorite Buffy villain, but how Buffy defeats him is probably the coolest. Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Giles realize that the only way to stop him is to use a Sumerian enjoining spell to combine their power.
It’s worth mentioning here that Buffy, unlike most other fantasy/horror shows, draws on the Judeo-Christian tradition notably less. But let’s break this little spell down. It’s Sumerian, one of the first and greatest human civilizations. One could argue humanity started there—creation started there. Who creates? That’s right, God. Buffy does combine with Willow, Xander, and Giles, and Joss Whedon has even mentioned that this was to show the power and closeness of their relationship. One tradition in ancient Jewish and Christian culture was that God’s body was comprised of all people. In this way, God was all races, all genders. In other words, God was everything and humans were all just a tiny piece of God. Buffy and her Scooby Gang enjoining, in their combined strength, could be viewed as a larger piece of God.
In fact, the same things happen to Buffy as they did Rose. Buffy glows, especially her eyes, she turns death to life by turning Adam’s bullets into doves (Holy Spirit symbolism… maybe?), and seems to see the same bigger picture that Rose did.
Adam: How can you…?
UberBuffy: You can never hope to grasp the source of our power. But yours is right here.
She then proceeds to destroy the false god Adam, who was going to destroy humans by creating a new race of composite monsters, by removing his power source.
So these are some women who have communed with God and been a part of God, but hey, sometimes those women don’t need to commune with God, because they are God.
In the movie The Fifth Element, Leeloo is created by the Mondoshawns, a race of aliens, to defeat evil when combined with four elemental stones, thus obviously, making Leeloo the fifth one. Leeloo is created perfect and often called the Supreme Being. As a feminist, I always got a kick out of this movie, because of the constant assertion from people that don’t know Leeloo assuming the Supreme Being was a man. There is definitely a very obvious commentary here about female empowerment and God as feminine by the creators.
From a theological perspective, however, as much as I love this movie it can be damn well confusing. The religion in this movie is all over the place. Leeloo is created by these other aliens, yet she is the Supreme Being. Are those aliens gods? To create a Supreme Being you would assume they’d have to be. Or are they creating a body for God to inhabit in the same way that the Virgin Mary said yes and allowed God to be born through her. Furthermore, the idea that Leeloo could not defeat evil (evil here being this giant intelligent dark planet which only has the intent to destroy) without the stones (the four elements) limits her Godlike powers. If she is the Supreme Being couldn’t she just defeat the evil anyway? She doesn’t seem that powerful either. She has one fight scene in the whole movie, is later saved by Bruce Willis’s character, and then after realizing he loves her, saves the world, because love is worth protecting even if humanity tends to screw up. She defeats evil with the light of creation, but seems to have little to no control over it and it takes everything out of her.
The priest who is with Leeloo seems like he is part of another sect of Christianity. He makes the sign of the cross and still refers to a God or Lord throughout the movie, but calls Leeloo the Supreme Being and guides her through our world. Leeloo never has a big picture moment. In fact, she seems to know nothing about the world and spends a large chunking of the movie going through human history on the computer.
At this point, I have to conclude, that despite Leeloo and others constant assertions that Leeloo is the Supreme Being, she’s not, not really. I’m guessing more a super-powered human used, once again, as a conduit for the divine with the help of the stones. She may be perfect, but really she’s a perfect vessel, not God. This does not make me think this movie is any less awesome or any less a feminist narrative. It has its problems, but doesn’t everything. Leeloo may not be God, but she is still worth watching.
There is one female character that I know with absolute certainty is God.
God in Dogma is a woman. That’s just fact. It’s clear this God can take other vessels, but God’s actual gender in this movie is spelled out as being female. While that’s not theologically accurate because God has no gender and every gender at the same time, it is a refreshing change of pace. This God is completely and utterly powerful, awe-inspiring, but yet funny and relatable. She has a sense of humor about Her creations and Her plans, while still being powerful enough to see the bigger and to have greater plans in the first place.
It endlessly annoys me that a movie most Christian groups heavily criticized actually has an awesome portrayal of the feminine God and asks good theological questions. Dogma was a great movie about God and faith. You should keep an open mind and watch it.
I suppose now you all want me to talk about the male portrayals of God. Well, I need a break from God right now. What? Talking about God is hard. God is unknowable, after all. So what can we talk about next week if not God? It has to be something big, something that connects all people no matter what religion or philosophy. Hmm… oh, I know! The one thing all people fear to some extent.
Next time on Oh, My Pop Culture Jesus: O Death!
Tune in next week and—die! Uh… I mean get some religion…
Fanfiction! The world of fanfiction is a pretty strange and varied place. I can’t think of any other place on the internet where I can find stories about sweet fluffy domestic schmoop and the very next story I scroll to will be about hardcore porn complete with bloodletting and bondage. Hey, whatever floats your boat; I’m not trying to judge here.
The only judgment I am making is whether or not a fic is good. What makes a fic good? Well, your qualifications may differ from mine, but here are what I would consider a couple standards for what makes a fic good.
- Well written, meaning pretty decent spelling and grammar. Perfection is not required, but any errors in the fic shouldn’t be bad enough to seriously distract the reader from the story.
- Characters should be in character, meaning the characters should act like the characters from the book or show they come from. This does not apply to original characters or canon characters that are barely in the book or show.
- The story should be interesting. Obviously this last one is subjective, but hey, I am picking the fic here!
So with these criteria in mind, let’s talk about a fic that I think follows these rules.
Cross-overs, they're kind of like that.
Training Day by quirkysmuse is a crossover fic, meaning it takes two different fandoms and puts them together to make one cohesive story. Crossovers are notoriously hard to write. People try, oh boy do they try, but Ash Catchem hanging with Harry Potter never really seems believable even in a fanfic, but pick the right fandoms and get the right author and you have a potentially great fic. Training Day is that fic!
Training Day was written for a crossover challenge. It pairs Heroes and Supernatural together pretty seamlessly, making it seem as if the two universes were always meant to exist together.
The story takes place after Adam Monroe’s death in season three of Heroes. Adam finds himself suddenly in a restaurant taking to Tessa, a reaper from Supernatural. Tessa explains that after several reapers were killed (in season four of Supernatural) Death needed some new reapers and Adam has been hand picked to be the newest reaper.
The rest of the fic depicts Adam learning to be a reaper, eventually culminating in Adam having to once again face his nemesis Hiro, while he is having a near death experience.
Probably one of the things I like best about this fic is that the story fits exceedingly well into both canons of each show. The author explains why Adam is meeting Tessa and then even uses the flow of that story to explain why Adam appears during Hiro’s near death experience in the actual show. Instead of Adam appearing because of some fever dream Hiro is having while near death, Adam appears because he is actually a reaper and it’s his job. Awesome, and a great way to tie in the two universes as well as connect the fic back to canon.
Adam is perfectly in character and so is Tessa. Though to be fair, she isn’t really in Supernatural enough for me to really say much about her character, but Tessa acts like a reaper. She’s methodical, distant, but at the same time compassionate to those she is reaping. As distant as she is toward Adam throughout the fic, she also seems to develop a fondness toward him, making their interactions believable and, dare I say, sweet near the end.
It’s a great fic and the winner of the crossover challenge it was written for. Go read it and you’ll understand why.
Season seven of Supernatural is officially here and excited fans want to know: is the premiere of season seven any good?
WARNING: MASSIVE SPOILERS BELOW!!!!
The first episode of Supernatural season seven premiered this past Friday and fans have been online talking about it ever sense. What’s the consensus? Well, while browsing the web I saw a lot of hatred for Sera Gamble, the episode’s writer and executive producer, mostly coming from Destiel fans, but also from general fans of the show. The reason for this anger seemed to be Dean’s reaction to Castiel’s dip into the evil pool.
Everyone stay calm and trust in Chuck
The battle cry from the fans seems to be: DEAN’S OUT OF CHARACTER! Though, this cry is followed closely by: BRING BACK CASTIEL!
But we’ll get back to both points later.
Overall, fans seemed to enjoy Death, Crowley, and Bobby’s characterization and reappearance throughout the episode. With this I have to agree, especially with Death, who fit in with the plot so perfectly it almost makes me think they had this episode planed since season five. It’s a testament to good writing.
Then we have Sammy, who is going crazy. This had me proclaiming, “Sammy’s in
Crazy!
trouble again, must be Tuesday.” I don’t mean that the show is becoming predictable necessarily; the Winchester boys are always in trouble and if Sammy came back from Hell without any consequences I would have to cry bullshit, but it might be nice at some point for the boys to deal with their problems in a way that wasn’t always lying and trying to protect the other from their problems. Though, I will admit that Sam’s reasoning of wanting to give Dean one small break from everything else was a really legit and in character reason for Sam to still be lying to Dean, despite how well that has worked in the past.
Sam's here for you Cas.
Another aspect of the episode I really loved was Sammy being the one not to give up on Castiel, instead of Dean. Yes, Dean and Castiel have always been closer than Sam and Castiel; they “have a profound bond” after all, but Sam and Castiel can relate to each other better in this instance. Sam’s good intentions lead him to being addicted to demon blood and starting the apocalypse. Castiel’s need to protect the Winchesters and make things in heaven better lead him to becoming addicted to the power the souls of purgatory offered him and caused him to unleash the Leviathans. The correlation between the two characters is easy to see and I certainly hope that this is something the writers focus on more as the series progresses.
Now let’s get back to Dean, whose characterization is the reason most people are hating on Sera Gamble. Well, I’m going to defend Gamble because I actually thought the episode was very well written and that Dean’s characterization was pretty perfect in this episode for several reasons.
Dean’s been through a lot. He has dealt with a lot of betrayal and abandonment from the people he loves. Though his relationship with Castiel was shaky in the fourth season, throughout the fifth season Castiel was a constant support and ally. This remained true in the sixth season until the reveal that Castiel had betrayed them by working with Crowley and finally declaring himself God. Dean’s angry and hurt. Many comments online seem to imply that fans were annoyed that Dean was so angsty. Dean’s drinking and watching animated Asian porn isn’t exactly out of character for him. If Dean can’t actively do something, he drinks. It’s how this character copes and has been throughout the seasons.
Furthermore, many fans criticized Dean’s abandoning Castiel and simply wanting to kill him. I admit that at first I felt this was out of character. Dean always seems to never
Dean's not giving up on someone who looks at him like that.
give up on those he’s closest to, but after I thought about it I realized I was wrong. Dean almost abandons Sam in season four. It takes a verbal lashing from Bobby to knock some sense into him. In this episode, it’s Sammy who tries to reach past Dean’s feeling of hurt and betrayal to get him to help Castiel. Then there is the issue that what is happening to Castiel was not necessarily something Dean can fix. As stated in this very episode, what’s happening to Castiel and how to stop or fix isn’t in any book. There is nothing here for Sam and Dean to research. This is new and no one really knows how to fix it. If anything, Dean calling on Death to help kill Castiel makes sense for his character. If he can’t get Castiel back, then he won’t watch him turn into a monster, so death is really the only option left. Once that option is taken away and Dean thinks there is no hope he goes back to his old standby of drinking and watching porn. He even becomes angry at Castiel and blames him for everything, which is also something many fans criticized, but again fits his character. If he is angry at Castiel, that makes it easier for Dean to stop Castiel, as well as keeping him from blaming himself. Dean clearly still cares for Castiel. That is all the more evident at the end of the episode when he thinks Castiel is dead and again when Leviathan takes Castiel over completely. So to all the other Supernatural fans out there, give Sera Gamble a break. She knows Dean Winchester and she’s going to keep him in character, so don’t worry.
All hail Godstiel!
Next we have Castiel, and can I just geek out about what an amazing actor Misha Collins is for a second. As a friend of mine pointed out, Misha Collins has played, throughout the course of the show, Castiel, Jimmy Novak (Castiel’s host), 2014 dystopian future Castiel, Godstiel, and now the Leviathans, and he played them all well. Misha Collins is a beast! And now so is Castiel! No, seriously. Monsters called the Leviathans that God created at the beginning of the world now possess him. They were supposed to stay in Purgatory, but we all know how that played out. Many fans are freaking out because the Leviathan proclaimed that Castiel is dead. This may be a clever trick on the part of the writers, kill Castiel, but find a way to keep Misha Collins around, but I doubt that. The writers have already said at SDCC that the season was going to focus on redemption and Castiel has already promised Dean that he will redeem himself to him. It seems safe to say that Castiel isn’t going away just yet. Though I’m sad Castiel will probably be missing from the show for awhile, I am excited to see more of Leviathan, who seems like he will be both terrifying and hilarious.
So stay calm, Supernatural fans! Sam, Dean, and Castiel may die… a lot, but they always come back. I’m confident we’ll see Castiel again. In the meantime, let’s just enjoy Leviathan, Misha Collins’s amazing acting, and Sera Gamble’s awesome writing.
Final Fantasy X has so many religious themes going on. Of course, that’s not surprising when you establish a world heavily ingrained with religion and base that religion on three very popular faiths and ways of life: Buddhism, Shintoism, and Catholicism. Sometimes, FFX feels as though it’s all over the place, as if the writers couldn’t figure out which religion should dominate. But for the most part, and excusing any plot holes, Yevon seems like a solid faith that I could see existing given certain circumstances.
figure. Let’s call Buffy a pseudo-Christ figure, though Buffy does have her own touches with the divine. In the finale of season four, Buffy faces off against the Frankenstein-like monster Adam. Adam may be my absolute least favorite Buffy villain, but how Buffy defeats him is probably the coolest. Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Giles realize that the only way to stop him is to use a Sumerian enjoining spell to combine their power.
