Supernatural - Season 4, "Lucifer Rising" (22:33 - 27:00)

Well to start off I thought I'd analyse a scene from one of my favourite TV series.  While I like this show, and I had identified it as a good quality, well thought out series, I hadn't exactly realized how much detail was in one simple scene.

This is the scene in Lucifer Rising (4.22) in which Zachariah returns to the room where the angels have imprisoned Dean and proceeds to explain that it was their plan all along to allow the demons to release Lucifer and bring on the Apocalypse.


The beginning of the scene is very dynamic; In 11 seconds, there are 2 shot types, and the scene has alternated between them 4 times.  The moving camera accentuates the dynamism.
There's a focus-through from Dean to Zachariah who has suddenly appeared behind him; at this point, the rhythm of the scene slows, and the camera and movement becomes less dynamic, which allows us to concentrate on the dynamism of the narration.

When Zachariah moves to sit down, he unbuttons his suit coat; this represents the removal of a layer, from that point on he is going to start telling the truth.  What's more, he sits in front of a mirror.  On the other side of the room there is a second mirror, creating a "mise en abîme", a repetition of Zachariah's profile stretching into infinity.  This technique, while certainly aesthetically pleasing, has a second meaning: it's a symbolic representation of all the facets of Zachariah's personality, a concrete visualization of his hidden agenda.  His character has been manipulating things from the beginning, hidden behind different faces.  The music that starts up is empathetic, and we realize along with Dean that Zachariah has played him.

Mise en abîme

From that moment of realization, the colour very slowly begins to bleed from the picture, not nearly enough to render it black and white, but just enough that the previously warm, colourful room suddenly becomes cold and drab.  We go from believing that this room could be a part of Heaven to a room where you really don't want to be.  The room has effectively become a prison.  The orange/gold tones from the walls fade to a sort of eked out cream colour, and the flesh tones of Dean and Zachariah's faces have become a sickly grey.  It's as if the hope has bled out of the room with the colour, and Ackles' acting only enriches this point.

Before and after the colour bleed

Eyeline match between Dean and the paintings in the room; after Zachariah's revelation, they have suddenly changed from angelic paintings to demonic ones, most depicting the Apocalypse, obviously alluding to the conversation.  This reveal is accompanied by reaction music, sudden booms, to draw the spectator's attention to the fact that these paintings have changed.  It's enough to ask ourselves: have the paintings always been satanic, and Dean was seeing only what the angels wanted him to see, or have the paintings reacted to the situation?  As the room is an environment controlled by angels, therefore a mystical room, either explanation is perfectly plausible.
A painting depicting demons throwing humans off a cliff, dominating them appears behind Dean, and we have a close up of it, showing us humans killing humans alongside the demons as Zachariah says: "Paradise on Earth", which is a nice offbeat touch.  This painting alludes strongly to Zachariah's monologue, as he reveals that the humans will die in the ensuing war between Heaven and Hell.

The demonic paintings

When Zachariah gets up, on his left we notice a small chandelier that has only 2 candles (3 is slightly more common); perhaps it is a subtle reminder of the Devil's horns.  Zachariah also re-buttons his suit jacket and removes himself from the mirror with the "mise en abîme"; we no longer know if he's telling the truth or lying.  His ensuing speech is not to be trusted.

Zachariah re-buttoning his jacket and the two pronged chandelier to his left

Dean turns towards a statue of a sitting angel holding a trumpet to his lips.  The statue is carved from black stone, black being the colour of death, in European culture at least.  This statue has replaced that of a white stone statue of an angel that Dean smashed, so there's a nice duality to an earlier scene.  The statue is probably a representation of the angel Israfil, an Islamic angel who sits on a rock perpetually holding a trumpet to his lips, awaiting the God's signal to blow it.  When the trumpet blows, it will announce the Day of Resurrection. So this statue is probably a sign of the impending Apocalypse.  What's more, Zachariah's line: "you probably shouldn't try to bash my head in with that thing" reinforces the idea that this statue symbolizes death and violence.

Statue, most likely depicting Israfil

Next, we have a scene with both characters facing one another, a typically confrontational image.  Behind them is a painting of Michael killing Lucifer, running him through in fact.  Michael is very humanoid with a calm, serene expression, much like the one Zachariah is wearing, and Lucifer is depicted as a beast with a snarling visage, Dean's expression of anger echoing it.  What's more, Zachariah is placed on the same side as Michael, and Dean on the same side of Lucifer.  The view in profile makes Zachariah's height advantage even more noticeable.  Their position is not random; Zachariah standing facing Dean, echoing Michael behind him, clearly shows that it is he who dominates the situation.  He is in control, and is put in the position of power.  Dean meanwhile has been vanquished, and is in a much more vulnerable position; he is effectively trapped in this room, and Zachariah now holds the advantage.

The painting on the wall reflects the situation of the two characters

Finally, after Zachariah leaves, the scene ends with the camera panning up from the Devil towards Michael's face.  The painting not only accompanies the situation, but is  forewarning of what is to come; Dean shall have to defeat the Devil.  Although we do not know at this point in the series, the painting is even more revealing, as Dean can only defeat Lucifer if he becomes Michael's vessel, so Dean must become Michael, hence the focusing of the camera on Michael's face.


I do apologize for any misuse of cinematographic terminology in my analysis, I study cinema in France, so most of the terms I know are French.  I admit, I had to Google a few, so they may not be the correct or common terms.  Anyway, with that I end this analysis!  Boy that was fun!  :)