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In "The French Mistake", season 6, episode 15 of Supernatural, Sam and Dean are sent to an alternate reality where they are nothing more than actors; no magic, no angels, no hunting. Sound familiar? It's supposed to be our universe, I think.

The question is, does Balthazar create the universe, implying perhaps it's no different to the realities Gabriel created (which didn't exist before it was created) or did it exist before, implying there are extant multiple realities?

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Gabriel is a powerful archangel capable of creating what are more than illusions... his constructs are solid and can affect the real world in a lasting way. When he kills someone looking like the Ferigno Hulk or probes a frat boy, the person stays dead and the frat boy's butt really is sore. And, in the reality he creates for the Winchesters, it's completely real to them, though to those outside of it it may have only lasted a split second. When Dean dies, he really is dying and being resurrected once more (probably quickly enough that Dean doesn't end up in Heaven). But I do not think you'd call this construct a proper universe. The Bobby in that construct wasn't really Bobby, and all the other people present in it were most likely akin to props.

I come to that conclusion because no matter how powerful Gabriel is, Michael and the others would not sit around while he rewinds the clock every morning. Nor would they allow all the thousands of people who die during that Tuesday to be resurrected over and over. So there must have been limits, even if only imposed by his desire to keep a low profile.

However, it's less clear whether non-archangels have any power to create such constructs. Castiel has failed on several occasions to create such things though they could have been helpful to both himself and the Winchesters... and this is post-season-5 when he's at the peak of his power (well, at that point, anyway).

It seems really doubtful that Balthazar could create that universe, under any circumstances.

Personally, I don't consider that one canon considering how they broke the fourth wall for comedic purposes. But if you do consider it such, the power to create such parallel universes must rest only with the most powerful beings in Supernatural (God, Death, and perhaps God-Castiel).

Finally, I should add that the universe in question was not without magic entirely. It was just a very magic-poor universe. The angel (forget his name) was able to contact Raphael... a bum heard a voice coming from nowhere. According to standard physics, that's impossible. Implying that some limited (expensive?) magic was possible.

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    +1 | I thought they simply moved them into a nearby reality where the rules were slightly different and the show itself was exactly that, entertainment. Being a magical being like an Archangel should allow him to move between dimensional barriers without too much effort, even moving back and forth, through time, in those realities at will. Multi-universal theories imply that everything is true, somewhere. Perhaps Archangels have the enough omniscience to be able to find and reach places beyond the realm of modern science. Commented Aug 14, 2012 at 19:06
  • Yes, I assume Gabriel could move to another reality as well as Raphael did. And he might not lose his powers, supposing he selected carefully. But where is he going to find one reality where Tuesday repeats ad infinitum? The things that happened in the construct were too specific to be a random parallel universe that has just what he needs. They've hinted that Dean might have died several hundred/thousand times. Not all conceivable realities are true, just as not all valid chess board configurations are necessarily possible to arrive at.
    – John O
    Commented Aug 14, 2012 at 19:10
  • In regards to Castiel, there is a difference between having power and knowing how to use it. Isn't a considerable part of Castiel's character that he questions things (including himself) and doesn't really have blind faith like is expected of him? I've always seen him as an angel who wants to be human (behaviorally), and being imperfect in regards to the application of his holy powers would be a prime way of showing that.
    – Flater
    Commented Jul 28, 2017 at 8:22

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