This, I fear, is the ultimate flaw in the Supernatural universe as constructed. If demons have the ability to make a deal with anybody, with no reasonableness limitations, how is it that a thirteen year old boy from Hoboken is not currently Emperor of the Universe, ritually beheading his sadistic gym teacher daily, and the polygynous husband of ten different Hollywood starlets?

teenagers anywhere in that 12-18 range. LIFE or DEATH. They'd sell their soul for a better car

• cough* Gunn. *cough*

Yeah, I think most teens (and especially preteens) are not quite as precocious as our Jilli.

The red eyes on Bela's demon confused me, too, because red eyes are a crossroads demon thing. But ... she was on a swing set, and she certainly wasn't shown summoning one.

how is it that a thirteen year old boy from Hoboken is not currently Emperor of the Universe, ritually beheading his sadistic gym teacher daily, and the polygynous husband of ten different Hollywood starlets?

Because he won't do anything that could be useful to a demon in the years between 13 and 23?

Wildly speculating on Lillith's purpose here, but I'd guess that trying to take Dean's soul was 1) a fun way to piss off the YED, before he sadly went tits up, 2) a way to drive Sam toward some crazy behavior which would make him easier to take out, and 3) the feather in the cap of getting another Winchester in Hell.

As for Bela, she's certainly no slouch when it comes to the supernatural... perhaps having her running around as a chaotic neutral wildcard was an entertaining notion.

It is possible that on the whole we're looking too hard for pragmatic, sensible motivations and not giving enough credit to demons' demonstrated sadistic delight in fucking with people.

I mean, compare and contrast the demons' actions here and the Devil's on Reaper. The Devil totally gets a kick out of fucking with people. There's no hidden agenda there. He always knows there's a catch, and that's the joy of it.

I would think that unless the demons were actively sought out to make a deal by normal random people (looking to become awesome blues guitarists) that the demons see who have a path that would involve them in the supernatural and seek to divert them, thwart their path, and gain their souls in the bargain. Basically taking them out of the running and rid themselves of a potential enemy.

It is possible that on the whole we're looking too hard for pragmatic, sensible motivations and not giving enough credit to demons' demonstrated sadistic delight in fucking with people.

Yes, this. I mean, I have no trouble believing the demons in this verse would lack the kind of code that would prevent them from giving a contract to a fourteen-year-old, for one.

Because he won't do anything that could be useful to a demon in the years between 13 and 23?

I have no trouble believing the demons in this verse would lack the kind of code that would prevent them from giving a contract to a fourteen-year-old, for one.

No, no, no. This is not my point. My point is not "How cruel/unhelpful to let a teenager sign a contract of this nature!" my point is "If teenagers are signing contracts of this nature, then the universe should be considerably different and a billion times more melodramatic than it actually is."

(Bear in mind that we have canonical evidence from season 2 that not all those who make demon deals end up doing anything magically significant -- unless being an architect, a doctor, a husband, or a painter is magically significant.)

Where are the unicorns? Where the purple sparkly eyes, the flowing red locks? Why is George Clooney not married a thousand times over? Why do boarding schools still have parietal rules? Why do you need to show ID when buying wine coolers?

If demons are signing contracts with teenagers this world over, they must be signing contracts with the most boring, staid, pantywaist teenagers in the history of the universe. Given that demons are evil and want to fuck with people; and given that teenagers are dumb enough to be fucked with liberally; and given that demons seem to have very little bar to their ability to seek out candidates for fuckery... why does it seem that the only person who has made a deal with a demon is George Will?

(Or whoever it is who is delighting in the incredible boringness and length of the democratic nomination process. Surely that's got to be demonic influence.)

If demons are signing contracts with teenagers this world over, they must be signing contracts with the most boring, staid, pantywaist teenagers in the history of the universe.

This is a very good point.