Lord knows what I’m gonna start thinking up when I watch this extra #sinners content 😅

#6 (cont.)

Stack mentioned his father usually beat instead of Smoke but that he “didn’t mean it” — meaning he likely carried a level of guilt and loss around his mother dying while giving birth to him.

#6 Stack’s father likely abused him out of resentment

Mary tells the story of how Stacks mother died during pregnancy giving birth to him.

#5 Pullman porter / Oakland connection

Oakland was a significant base of operations and beyond being a massive opportunity for upward mobility — the Oakland Pullman porters are the first to unionize.

#4 VULTURES
They’re present and foreshadow throughout the film, subtle but they’re there. They’re closest to Stack, one even trails the Klansman sheriff. They could be over the mill juke because it was a slaughterhouse or they could be foreshadowing

#3 (cont.) his awareness of his brother’s potentially less pious ways, could explain an added layer of fear Jed holds for his son Sammie

#3 Jed still holds memories of his brother close

Preacherboy’s guitar is actually Jed’s brother/ S&S’s father’s who had a reputation of being “evil”. Jed likely knew it was his brothers and it’s strategically placed it against the table stating ‘In Remembrance of Me’

#2: Preacherboy’s guitar juxtaposed against the cross

In the opening scene with his father we see Preacherboy’s hold on the guitar inch towards the cross in the background but never actually makes contact with it…which potentially foreshadows his struggle to balance “the church” vs his own “light”

The first shot we see of evil with red eyes, then we see in the sky the sun with an optical reflection that also looks like two eyes— but not red almost in the same exact framed position. This transitions to Preacherboy heading to church after battling the “devil”. 🤔

And for Sammie after defeating Remick it was the man dressed in white with a white horse waiting outside the church…as a signifier that Sammie earned the blessing to let a light shine that is a gift of healing to his people.

And as after any successful biblical battle, the victors are usually engaging with a spirit that is cloaked in white with their ultimate reward. For Smoke it was Annie cand their baby cloaked in white. She calls him by his birth name, which is biblical as a call to shed his human form of “Smoke”

Which perfectly leads up to the moment we see Mary running down the road in the post credit scene. She’s definitely running with Stack or plans to reunite with him whether we see him in that moment or not.

Meaning Stack likely *helped move* Smoke into position by speed or flying so he could stealthily get behind Remick at the right moment. Just like when Stack passed Smoke the knife to stab the snake, he carried Smoke to the pond, stake in hand at the ready to kill Remick.

So! Sammy’s back is to the juke, the other vampires, and the struggle his cousins are having. But the amount of time and speed required for Smoke to save Sammy, as banged up as he was *without Remick or other vampires seeing him* would require super human speed & stealth beyond Smoke’s army training

What Stack also accomplishes intended or not, is avoiding committing the same sin as Cain, by killing his brother. He spares his brother and is leaving judgment to God.

Annie’s mojo bag might’ve been doing extra work to disrupt Remick realizing this pact or Remick may have been so fixated and overwhelmed with Sammy and the pain of getting his skull sliced he didn’t realize what was going on.

Which is key because in Vampire lore it is common for the lead vampire to have whatever intimate/sexual bond with anyone in their brood they wish. Meaning Stack would have to accept Remick taking Mary as he wished— not likely. Stack probably still held rage that Remick turned her.

I think that Smoke convinced Stack that if he let him live, he not only has to protect Sammy — he has to help Smoke Kill Remick. What good is promising to protect Sammy, if in that moment Remick is about to turn him? And what good is being a vampire if another white man rules Stack *and* Mary

So let’s go to the mid-credit scene: I don’t think Smoke simply made a pact for Stack to protect Sammy. I think he made a larger proposition: remember Smoke is a master negotiator like his brother (I.e. his conversation with the little girl outside Bo and Grace’s store)