The RMS Titanic, or simply the Titanic, was a luxurious British ocean liner that sank on April 15, 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. The ship has been referenced at various points in Supernatural and was featured prominently in the plot of the Season 6 episode "My Heart Will Go On".
History[]
The name Titanic derives from the Titans of Greek mythology. Built by the Harland & Wolff shipbuilding company in Belfast, Ireland, in what was then the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Titanic was the second of the three Olympic-class ocean liners owned by the White Star Line, which included her two sister ships, the RMS Olympic and the HMHS Britannic. As her name indicated, the Titanic was the biggest ship in the world upon entering service and was claimed by her builders to be "practically unsinkable".
Titanic's maiden voyage began on April 10, 1912. Some of the most prominent people of the day booked a trip aboard the ship, most of whom were traveling in the First and Second Classes. Among them were the American millionaire John Jacob Astor IV and his wife, Madeleine Force Astor (who at the time was pregnant with their son John Jacob Astor VI), industrialist Benjamin Guggenheim, painter and sculptor Francis Davis Millet, silent film actress Dorothy Gibson, journalist and fashion buyer Edith Rosenbaum, Macy's owner Isidor Straus and his wife, Ida, and socialite Margaret "Molly" Brown. The ship's passengers also consisted of hundreds of emigrants from the British Isles, Scandinavia, and other countries in Europe who were seeking a new life in the United States and Canada, with their trips booked mainly on the Third Class.
At 11:40 PM (23:40) on April 14, lookouts in the crow's nest spotted an iceberg. The ship turned to the left to avoid a head-on collision but it was already too late, and her starboard side scraped against the iceberg, puncturing the hull. While the Titanic could have stayed afloat if only four of her water-tight compartments were flooded, six were compromised, dooming the ship. There were not enough lifeboats for the reported 2,224 people on board and the crew wasn't properly trained on filling them to full capacity, leading to some boats being released barely halfway full. As a result, only 706 people survived while over 1,500 passengers and crew members died, making the Titanic's sinking one of the deadliest non-military maritime disasters in modern history. The ship herself broke in half and sank to the bottom of the North Atlantic by 2:20 AM on April 15. The survivors were eventually retrieved by the RMS Carpathia responding to the distress signal and were brought to New York City on the evening of April 18 after a difficult voyage through pack ice, fog, thunderstorms and rough seas.
The news of the disaster shocked the world and sparked widespread outrage over the poor safety protocols (especially the inadequate number of lifeboats), lax regulations, and the unequal treatment of third-class passengers (who made up the bulk of the death toll) during the evacuation. Subsequent inquiries in both the United States and Britain led to major changes in maritime regulations to implement new safety measures, such as ensuring enough lifeboats were provided, that safety training drills were properly carried out, and that radio equipment on passenger ships was manned around the clock (as the Titanic crew had missed other ships' warnings about icebergs in the area). The Titanic herself became an enduring icon in popular culture, spawning numerous books, movies (most famously one directed by James Cameron and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet that was released in 1997), songs, poems, merchandise, and works of art, as well as being referenced by name in many different forms of media.
Salvation[]
Balthazar as first mate I.P. Freeley on the RMS Titanic.
The Titanic was saved by Balthazar under orders from Castiel. This was done to bolster the number of souls to help them combat Raphael during the civil war in Heaven. Balthazar masqueraded as the first mate under the alias I.P. Freeley and "spotted" the iceberg just in time to avoid the fatal collision, though it was still considered a close call.
Castiel and Balthazar's actions resulted in the creation of a new timeline. The Titanic's altered fate led to the survival of those that had originally died, as well as the births of their descendants, including Anne Whitting and Shawn Russo. It also caused other changes in history, such as Cuba becoming a capitalist country open to tourism. The Titanic herself meanwhile faded into obscurity over the years since she never became a historical landmark without the disaster and other cruise ships more impressive would eventually overshadow her. The alteration of events also led to Ellen Harvelle being wed to Bobby Singer, with Jo as his stepdaughter, as well as the Winchesters owning a Mustang instead of the Impala. The 1997 James Cameron film was never made and the song "My Heart Will Go On" also ceased to exist, with its singer Celine Dion being nothing more than a lounge singer in Quebec. It also led to Ellen and Jo surviving the Apocalypse instead of being killed by Meg Masters.
This angered the Fates, who were already not happy about the Winchesters thwarting the Apocalypse. Atropos, the youngest sister, began to kill the descendants of the Titanic passengers, amounting to over 50,000 people who wouldn't have otherwise existed, with freak accidents. Sam and Dean investigate the "freak accidents" and discover the victims' connection to the Titanic and Balthazar's involvement when they find a photo of him alongside the rest of the Titanic's crew. When they interrogate him about this, Balthazar tells them he saved the ship because he hated the 1997 James Cameron film and the song made for it (given Balthazar's indulgence in human culture, it's likely there is some kernel of truth to this claim). The Winchesters and the angels attempted to stop Atropos, but after a stalemate, Castiel is ultimately forced to order Balthazar to correct the flow of events by sinking the Titanic again.
Appearances[]
- Season 1
- Provenance (news article)
- Season 5
- 99 Problems (mentioned only)
- Season 6
- My Heart Will Go On (photograph)
References in other episodes[]
- Provenance
- While researching the Merchant family, Sam and Dean are shown a newspaper article by the owner of a secondhand bookshop. The article on the Merchant family is on the front page. The lead story is: "New Titanic Sinks, 1304 People Go To Watery Graves: Only 866 saved from 2,170 Aboard Liner Which Collides With Iceberg. Disaster Proves To Be the Greatest in Marine History of the World."
- Heaven and Hell
- When Dean and Anna make love, in the back of the Impala. The final shot of the scene is of a hand being placed on the steamed up window, reminiscent of the iconic scene from the 1997 Titanic fim when Jack and Rose make love in the back of a car in storage.
- 99 Problems
- Dean refers to the angels as the ones having the only lifeboats on the Titanic.