Belphegor
| |
| Name | Belphegor |
| Actor | Alexander Calvert |
| Dates | ???? – 2019 (killed by Castiel) |
| Location | Hell |
| Occupation | Demon |
| Episode(s) | 15.01 Back and to the Future 15.02 Raising Hell 15.03 The Rupture |
Look, I'm not some crossroads demon. I'm not even one of those black-eyed goons who crawled his way up here to eat, you know, virgins and puppies and virgin puppies. Look, downstairs I punch a clock. A soul comes in, I torment it, it's what I do.
– Belphegor, 15.01 Back and to the Future
History
Belphegor was an old demon, very proficient in spell work, who left Hell when Chuck opened all the doors. He described his life as a human as coming from a time where people were "ugly" and worshiped a giant rock that looked like a penis. As a demon, he was a self-described "clock puncher," and enjoyed his work tormenting the souls that entered Hell. Motivated by his desire for life in Hell to go back to how it was before the souls were released, after taking over Jack's corpse as a meatsuit, he offers his services to the Winchesters and Castiel.
Belphegor was also a fan of Dean Winchester's from when he spent his time in Hell and tortured under Alastair. He calls what Dean did "more than torture", telling him how he thought it was art.
While initially appearing to act as an ally to the Winchesters in stopping the ghost apocalypse caused by Chuck, it is revealed by the demon Ardat that Belphegor has spent centuries in Hell looking for a chance to seize power for himself. With all of the other leaders of Hell dead, Belphegor used the situation with the Hell ghosts to seize his chance. After his deception is exposed, Belphegor is smote by Castiel.
Characteristics
Despite being an old demon, Belphegor doesn't appear to be particularly powerful as he shows no exceptional powers of his own even after dropping his act. Aside from the basic powers of a demon, he is an expert in torture as it is his job in Hell and is proficient in spellwork. He is also telekinetic, able to fling Castiel out of Lilith's Chamber with a hand gesture after catching the angel by surprise. However, he appears to be rather weak when faced with enemies, trying to talk his way out of trouble with Constance Welch instead of fighting back against the ghost and being easily defeated by both Ardat and Castiel.
Personality
Belphegor displays a generally friendly and sarcastic demeanor, using the phrase "you know" a lot in conversation. He also appears to be somewhat pessimistic, stating that his spell only got the ghosts out of the bodies they were possessing for now and saying the same thing when the Winchesters comment that the ghostpocalypse appears to be confined to their immediate area. When Dean brings up finding a way to close the rift to Hell, he expresses pessimism on whether or not they actually can. His behavior tends to be obnoxious and annoying to those around him at times. Additionally, he appears to be somewhat impatient.
Despite his friendly demeanor, Belphegor has a sadistic side as shown by his enjoyment of torturing souls in Hell. He is a fan of Dean's, having seen Dean torturing souls in Hell with Alastair, calling Dean's work "art." When discovering a dead corpse, he smiles at it and rips out the dead man's heart to use it for a spell because he needed a fresh one. Due to his job, Belphegor is shown to generally be hated by the souls of Hell to the point that they will avoid him even after simply spotting the demon from the other side of a barrier. In return, Belphegor is shown to have a generally low opinion of the souls, calling Kevin Tran a "whiney millennial."
Belphegor appears to be something of a coward when faced with a situation out of his control. When threatened by Castiel, he replied with snark, but knew that the Winchesters and Castiel needed his help more than they wanted to kill him. However, when faced with the Woman in White Constance Welch, Belphegor attempted to lie and talk his way out of trouble rather than defending himself in any way against the ghost.
Belphegor is later revealed to be lying and manipulating the Winchesters and Castiel in order to gain power in Hell. According to Ardat, Belphegor spent centuries "bowing and scraping" to the other Rulers of Hell such as Lilith and Crowley while waiting for his own chance to take power. While Belphegor puts on an outwardly friendly demeanor, he is in reality pure evil with Ardat suggesting that he may be particularly bad when she asks Castiel "do you have any idea what he is?" Ardat indicates that if Belphegor came to power in Hell, he would reshape it in a particularly terrible way. When attacked by Castiel, the first person to suspect his true nature, Belphegor tries to pretend to be a suddenly resurrected Jack as a last resort as he is no match for the angel. However, Castiel easily sees through the lie which is rather transparent.
Episodes
15.01 Back and to the Future
With the Winchesters and Castiel trapped in a crypt, Belphegor makes his presence known by taking possession of Jack's lifeless, blinded body. As he tries to formally introduce himself, Castiel, angry that he is defiling Jack's body by possessing it, demands that he leave. Due to their desperate situation, Dean and Sam allow Belphegor to explain himself. He tells the Winchesters and Castiel that he wants the souls back in Hell as much as they do, and offers to get them out of the crypt by performing a spell using graveyard dirt and angel blood that blasts all the damned souls from their rotting meatsuits.
Driving back to the Bunker, Belpehgor reveals that 2-3 billion souls escaped from Hell. As they are currently unable to close the rift, he suggests that containing the souls is their best option, offering to perform a spell that would act as a mile-wide salt circle around Harlan, Kansas that would keep any ghosts from getting in or out.
In Harlan, Belphegor and Dean remain downtown to collect the ingredients for the spell, while Sam and Castiel help evacuate the citizens. After getting a bag of rock salt, Dean and Belephegor prepare to go to the morgue to retrieve a heart for the spell. The two are diverted when they overhear the Woman in White killing the Harlan sheriff. Finding his body, Belphegor removes his heart, and as Dean alerts Belphegor that they need to leave, Constance Welch appears and attacks them. Dean is able to temporarily banish her with iron, allowing Belphegor enough time to perform the spell, creating a barrier around Harlan to keep any ghosts from getting in or out.
15.02 Raising Hell
As Belphegor and Dean patrol the streets of Harlan, Belphegor points out an escape attempt from a spirit -- Francis Tumblety -- whom Dean shoots with rock salt.
The next day Sam meets up with Dean and Belpheghor in the quarantine zone, where they find two people standing in the middle of the street. When Sam tells them they need to go back to the school, ectoplasm begins running down their faces. Francis Tumblety appears and demands the warding be shut down, but he is forced to flee with the sudden arrival of Arthur Ketch.
Back at the school, Belphegor tells everyone that all is quiet, which he assumes means that the ghosts are up to something. He introduces himself to Ketch, who had believed Belphegor to be Jack. Ketch then tells everyone that he got an assignment from a female demon named Ardat to eliminate Belphegor, who claimed that Belphegor is a threat to humanity. Seeing that the demon is not a threat at the moment, Ketch puts this task aside.
While Sam and Dean are patrolling the quarantine zone, Belphegor suddenly appears behind them. After hearing that the warding is failing, Belphegor tells the Winchesters that it would happen, that he'd assumed they would have cleaned things up by now, and that he can't charge it back up. After learning of their intent to send Kevin Tran to Heaven, Belphegor shuts them down, revealing that since Kevin has been to Hell, he can't enter Heaven without God's blessing.
Belphegor is able to temporarily weaken the warding enough for Kevin to be let out. After releasing Kevin, as they look on at the spirits flooding out Hell, Belphegor notes to the Winchesters and Rowena that once his spell shuts down, they will be overrun.
15.03 The Rupture
After Rowena's spell to power up the warding around Harlan fails, Belphegor leaves the crypt and is pursued by Castiel, who finds him standing at the rupture to Hell, where he tells Castiel he has an idea. Back in the crypt, Belphegor tells the Winchesters and Rowena about Lilith's Crook -- a horn created by Lilith to call any of Hell's creatures that are on earth and draw them back to Hell. The crook had been sealed away in Lilith's Chamber, and with all the doors now open Belphegor believed he would be able to find it and call back all the souls. Belphegor asks for protection venturing into Hell; Dean volunteers Castiel, much to the angel's chagrin.
Standing at the rupture, Belphegor tells Castiel he may die or even get trapped in Hell, then mocks him, saying that it doesn't seem like Sam or Dean would really care. As he's wondering how they can get down, Castiel simply pushes Belphegor into the Pit and follows suit.
Belphegor and Castiel make it safely to Lilith's Chamber. They find a demon, Malfayan, ransacking the room, whom Castiel kills. Searching the room, Belphegor finds a box holding the crook. Castiel recites the song of praise to Lucifer that is adorned around the box in Enochian script. When nothing happens, Belphegor suggests he sing the verses.
Once the box is opened, Castiel is about to hand the horn to Belphegor, when Ardat attacks him and knocks him down. She stares at Belphegor and begins to beat him. When Castiel intervenes, Ardat tries to warn him that Belphegor has always wanted the throne to Hell, but she is stabbed in the back and killed before she could continue her warning. With the crook in hand, Belphegor sends Castiel flying out of the room and reveals that the crook is also a siphon, with which he plans to absorb all the souls and make himself like a god. As Belphegor blows the horn, it causes a great sound wave to hit Castiel as the souls begin flooding back into Hell. Castiel fights his way through the wave, and is able to knock Belphegor down. As Castiel begins punching Belphegor again and again, Belphegor attempts to manipulate Castiel, claiming to be Jack. Angry, Castiel uses considerable power to smite Belphegor, which renders him a burned-out husk and destroys the crook.
Belphegor in Lore
Belphegor is one of the seven Princes of Hell, and tied to the deadly sin of Sloth. Belphegor is also thought to seduce people through helping them making discoveries and inventions as a means to make them rich and sow discord among men as a "disputer."
He is also considered to be associated with licentiousness and orgies, and in the past was worshiped in the form of a phallus.
Trivia
- The character was dubbed Demon Jack by fans.
- There is an Austrian extreme metal band called Belphegor.
