Fighting Fate

            Initially, it seemed like "Occurrence at Owl Creek" and the supernatural episode couldn't be further apart. Peyton Farquhar was a believable character from mildly well-known short story, while Sam and Dean were straightforward almost cliché' characters who existed in the televised universe of happy endings. In Peyton's case he imagined a believable escape from his doom, only to be cut short by the reality of his situation, his hanging.  Dean and Sam on the other hand were confronted with fate forced upon them, not imagined up. They proceeded to fight against it and take legitimate action to avoid dire consequences. 

However both plots cover the same battle fought in the Greek epics; the fight against the fates. This age old tale is interpreted in two different ways by these two stories. In the Occurrence at Owl Creek, Peyton is just a pawn in the game of fates. He was manipulated by a soldier to try to burn the stockade down, and his only way to fight his very near death is limited to imagining how he may escape. In Supernatural, Sam and Dean attempt to avoid the prophesy by purposefully selecting the toreador motel, and trying to park the car. Unfortunately, they were not able to avoid the fate, but Dean is able to solve the problem by himself and bring everyone back from the brink of destruction. 

Supernatural's ending represents the way we want to see fate and our ability to manipulate it. Being raised in a country that prides itself on its freedom, America's pop-culture loves to believe that everyday people can overcome massive odds and prophesied problems using their own brains and brawn. The reality however, is more like Peyton's, in that in many situations their own fate is out of their hands. The best thing people in dire situations can do is wish for a once in a million chance occurrence to get them out of trouble. Maybe the lie in this situation is the one sent out by pop-culture; that we can break past fate and impending doom to do anything no matter the situation.