#I think the reference was from godstiel or Lucifer I can’t tell

[suncaptor]

s7 adoration

First off, one thing I love about it is the versatility of it. some of my favourite parts are the humour of it, and the balance to the horror of it. It does lean towards dark, and is certainly darker than the rest of the show, but that just makes the gravity of it all lift off so intense when there’s randomly then dick jokes and so forth. same goes for the characters in it with the themes.

I genuinely think that leviathans are one of the scariest and best villains on the show because of the reflection of psychological horror and the flip on the script of hunted/hunter.

That being said, I also think Dick Roman is a great villain for comedic reasons as well and genuinely find his dialogue memorable. So memorable, in fact, I made this uquiz.

I also think that it is the darkest season psychologically in supernatural, like it rings out nadir to me, yet at the same time, this is all canon dialogue. but also it is quite unseen, the depth of it, which is infuriating (and my main fix would it being from Sam’s perspective), but it makes it compelling to me too.

I actually really like having sodium borate being corrosive to leviathans

There’s a canonical bipolar main character who’s vital to the plot and who’s talented and who’s also part of the inner themed reflections of paranoia within without systems and being incapable of trust anything even your brain while still retaining that vitality.

The season starts out with perhaps one of my favourite arcs in the show, as well, which brings me great joy in all the dialogue while also introducing one of the other most compelling parts of the show (being godstiel then Sam’s PTSD hallucinations retrospectively).

Two of the three main writer’s I look to as the core of what I love about Supernatural are perhaps the strongest voices in the season (Sera Gamble and Ben Edlund) and I really actually love the addition of Robbie Thompson and think some of his episodes are top tier. I don’t like Adam Glass, Buckleming, or Robert Singer writing any of the episodes, and my fix to s7 would be deleting those episodes, and Dabb is on like, thin ice, but I do really like most of the writing and theming and all and am genuinely enjoying the individual episodes and think that tied with 2, 4, and 5 it’s got the best quality for being entertaining to me.

And when I was looking at favourite episodes in Kripke/Gamble era (which I generally vastly prefer), it had the most of top 30 (8), and 20% of the top 10. And of that, it would skew towards the top total.

While Hello Cruel World sets up the season’s intent extremely well, I think that Defending Your Life drives the points home about how this reflects onto Sam and Dean in regards of their own psychological issues and how it will then impact their actions, the conflict not at all then revolving around leviathans but the concept of monstrosity and mental illness. While the season is incredibly ableist constantly and with some writers it’s clear that it’s intentional and the characters and they treat Sam with respect, other times it’s clearly not. I still am obsessed with this because it is directly and not metaphorically addressing these issues even if poorly.

Slash Fiction has some of the most in character and pointed analysis in the show immediately, including this scene and actually references and uses the history of the characters and the show itself to be more horrifying.

How To Win Friends and Influence Monsters is just also the epitome of s7 in general, from Sam hallucinating Lucifer and saying he’s lucky and people have it worse, Dean at his nihilistic worst about to lose Bobby admit while high on a sandwich what it’s really about, the fact they didn’t ever want to shoot deer, and just iconic dialogue from everyone including our favourite Dick Roman and “bibbing” while also having Bobby see the plans building the tension of the overall arc in the season right before being shot.

And while Death’s Door is very painful for me to rewatch, it is also an astounding episode of television from the terror of going back to the origin “You can never go home” and the only genetic case of bullet to the head (generational trauma), the insight into the abuse, how it shaped all the memories proceeding it, how Bobby didn’t escape it or what it did to him, but he also never was anything like his deepest fears or his fathers, and also Bobby’s speech towards his father. I also think the way Sam and Dean respond is extremely well written and their grief is palpable.

We also then get these lovely random images I get to share here :) X, X, and X.

Repo Man I may have some criticisms about in terms of ableism and homophobia, but it is still one of the best, and most horrifying, episodes in the show. Both the mirrors and the revelations throughout the episode and the dark intoxicating obsession while also seeing Sam’s actual trauma in front of us… I feel like I could literally analyse this episode for years, it’s so rich and deep, as much of Edlund’s episodes are when he decides he wants to make something deep instead of comical.

that being said I think The Born Again Identity may be one of the best episodes in the entire show. I can’t rationalise this because it would take hours if you don’t like this episode we just have entirely different taste.

Though, outside of the actual episode writing, the way it opens with the surreality and mental deterioration is very important to me, and it’s just one of many aspects of this episode, but I feel like it may be less popular so I thought I’d say it.

Charlie’s first episode and actually having our first actually good fully fleshed out lgbt character genuinely changes something in me when I watch it like. It is so full of hope for me personally just because of how fun and deep it remains. We get to hear Dick Roman describe the spark in humanity he can’t replicate while also saying “Nothing’s safe. I like that.” (the thesis of the season). Donald Trump helped him get the leviathan tablet. We get the scene where Dean coaches Charlie through flirting with a man and also have her make Harry Potter references which I just personally find very funny to watch. And Charlie’s mere existence just makes me hope, like the way she is.

Season 7 is the first season Cas tells Sam and Dean he loves them.

And Kevin Tran is introduced, one of my favourite characters who also adds much to the season itself.

Reading is Fundamental is the episode that Kevin Tran is introduced, that we get to see more into Cas’s past through the ways in which is he more open in his altered mental state such as how he loved Neanderthal poetry and bees, Hester’s accusation towards Dean, more talk around the hell trauma transfer which intrigues me even if it also infuriates me, and Cas actually faces and reacting to what he’s done, even if in an altered state. There are countless reasons I love it.

Also, this may not be something someone who doesn’t ship destiel can see and leans much more subtextual, so ignore this part if you are bothered by those interpretations, but I think season 7 is when Dean realised he was in love with Cas and like I do have a lot of reasons for thinking this and find it just another layer of why seeing the psychology of the main characters is intriguing to me. I also then can do parallels throughout that reflect this grapping too. And it adds layers to how Dean finds him married then, maybe even add the demon he kissed.

And then, of course, is the matter of the trench coat.

this is very very limited, but I tried my best to be comprehensive of my highlights and reasons for loving season 7!

#s7 #spn #supernatural #incoherents #lists

[drsilverfish]

The Man Who Would Be King - Edlund’s Literary Allusion and 6x20

If you’ve not read Rudyard Kipling’s short story “The Man Who Would Be King” (1888) you can do so here:

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/8147/8147-h/8147-h.htm 

It’s a story about the wild adventures, utter folly, criminal chutzpah, catastrophic hubris and thus, inevitably gruesome downfall, of two itinerant British conmen on the Indian subcontinent, during the time of the British Empire. 

The short story was also made into a film, starring Michael Caine and Sean Connery (1975), which, given the two actors and the medium, ennobles the characters rather more than the original story did. 

Ben Edlund borrowed Kipling’s story title for his Cas-centric episode,  6x20 The Man Who Would Be King, and the original tale has some particular elements that resonate for the Supernatural episode:  

1) The power of an alliance between two men, to wind each other up towards great achievements/ great folly

2) The sheer hubristic (colonial) over-reach of their plans

3) The way the alliance is broken between them

The two men in Kipling’s story, Peachey Carnehan and Daniel Dravot, parallel Crowley and Castiel respectively (not exactly, but somewhat) in Edlund’s tale. 

Peachey and Daniel plan to trek to the remote (imaginary) kingdom of Kafiristan (adjacent to Afghanistan) and become Kings there. They sign a contract to back each other up in pursuit of their goal, and, in it, they swear off liquor and women the while (both being historical drunkards and dissolute con-artists).

This parallels what Crowley offers to Castiel - the defeat of Raphael and their own inaugurations as the new Devil and the new God respectively. 

CROWLEY: “I'm talking about Raphael's head on a pike. I'm talking about happy endings for all of us, with all possible entendres intended. Come on. Just a chat.”

Peachey and Daniel do become Kings. In fact, they become more than Kings, they become understood to be “Gods” amongst the locals in Kafiristan (Edlund, in choosing this literary reference, thus alludes to the developing Godstiel arc).  The two con-men do this by teaching a bastardized version of Freemasonry to the local priests. 

DRAVOT: “A god and a Grand-Master of the Craft am I, and a Lodge in the Third Degree I will open, and we’ll raise the head priests and the Chiefs of the villages!”

“‘It’s against all the law,’ I says {PEACHEY, narrating] ‘holding a Lodge without warrant from any one; and we never held office in any Lodge.’”

“‘It’s a master-stroke of policy,’ says Dravot. ‘It means running the country as easy as a four-wheeled bogy on a down grade. We can’t stop to inquire now, or they’ll turn against us.”

Similarly, we see Castiel being heralded as “God’s chosen” in Heaven by some of the angels:

RACHEL: “Castiel, we saw Lucifer destroy you.”

CASTIEL: “Well, I came back.”

RACHEL: “But Lucifer? Michael?”

CASTIEL: “They're gone.”

RACHEL: “It was God, wasn't it?”

CASTIEL: “No. It was the Winchesters. They brought down the Apocalypse.”

RACHEL: “But you beat the Archangels, Castiel. God brought you back. He chose you, Cas...To lead us.”

And we see Cas being seduced by Crowley into believing the same, in spite of his own better judgement.

CROWLEY: “You can save us, Castiel. God chose you to save us. And I think...Deep down...You know that...”

Back in Kipling’s tale, all goes well enough, until Daniel Dravot decides they are settled enough in their God-King positions, that he wishes to ask the locals for a wife:

“There’s another thing too,’ says Dravot, walking up and down. ‘The winter’s coming and these people won’t be giving much trouble, and if they do we can’t move about. I want a wife.’

“‘For Gord’s sake leave the women alone!’ I says [Peachey is narrating here]. ‘We’ve both got all the work we can, though I am a fool. Remember the Contrack, and keep clear o’ women.’

“‘The Contrack only lasted till such time as we was Kings; and Kings we have been these months past,’ says Dravot, weighing his crown in his hand. ‘You go get a wife too, Peachey — a nice, strappin’, plump girl that’ll keep you warm in the winter. They’re prettier than English girls, and we can take the pick of ’em. Boil ’em once or twice in hot water, and they’ll come as fair as chicken and ham.’”

This element of the narrative is paralleled in Edlund’s riff on Kipling by Castiel’s concern for the Winchesters, and for Dean in particular (who, in this parallel is equivalent to Dravot’s “wife”). 

CROWLEY: “The point is...You're distracted, and that makes me nervous.”

CASTIEL: “I am holding up my end.”

CROWLEY: “Ah, yes. But is that all you're holding? See...the stench of that Impala's all over your overcoat, Angel. I thought we'd agreed - no more nights out with the boys.”

The wife Dravot insists on being given, is so terrified of being married to a God that, in her wedding finery, she bites him when he tries to kiss her. This draws blood, alerting the locals to the fact that Dravot and Peachey are in fact not Gods, but mere mortals (who can bleed). Dravot is then executed by the now thoroughly rebellious locals, by being cast into a deep mountain gulley from a rope bridge (a symbolic fall from great heights) whilst Peachey is crucified by pine trees, but survives, and is thus set loose to beg his way back to India and tell his tale.

Crowley and Castiel’s alliance is likewise, eventually, blown apart by (in subtext) a “love interest” - Castiel’s complex, continuing care for the Winchesters in the midst of his betrayal of them. 

CASTIEL (to Crowley): “I'm only gonna say this once. If you touch a hair on their heads, I will tear it all down. Our arrangement -- everything. I'm still an Angel, and I will bury you.” 

But the significance of the “love interest”? 

Well, in Kipling’s world of men, she is a possession, a gift to be given, the cause of the breach of contract between the two con-artist “God-Kings”, someone who weeps but who is given no lines, “...covered with silver and turquoises, but white as death”. 

In Edlund’s story, because the (subtextual) “love interest” is also a man  (SPN also being a world, predominantly of men) he is someone with far more agency. 

And so, in 6x20, we get a final confrontation, a final emblem of mourning, not between Castiel and Crowley (Dravot and Peachey) but between Castiel and his “love interest”, at the end of the episode:

DEAN: “How'd you get in here?”

CASTIEL: “The angel-proofing Bobby put up on the house -- he got a few things wrong.”

DEAN: “Well, it's too bad we got to angel-proof in the first place, isn't it? Why are you here?”

CASTIEL: “I want you to understand.”

DEAN: “Oh, believe me, I get it. Blah, blah, Raphael, right?”

CASTIEL: “I'm doing this for you, Dean. I'm doing this because of you.”

DEAN: “Because of me. Yeah. You got to be kidding me.”

CASTIEL: “You're the one who taught me that freedom and free will --”

In Kipling’s tale, we have a bromance and a (fatal) love-story between Peachey and Dravot. Peachey emerges broken from their time in Kafiristan as (temporary) “God-Kings”, bearing the wizened, severed head of his nemesis and friend, Dravot. 

But in Edlund’s tale, we have a love-triangle. The threads of which, eventually play out over a much longer SPN arc, leading to Crowley’s “summer of love” in S10 with Demon!Dean and thus, to Crowley’s, inevitable, demise. Because, as lain down here so beautifully in 6x20, it’s abundantly clear that Crowley is the third wheel. And, despite the betrayals, the “affairs” with Crowley, it is the angel and the man who belong together.   

#Supernatural #SPN meta #6x20 #The Man Who Would Be King #Destiel #Drowley #Still subtext #But subtext IS part of narrative #Rudyard Kipling #Metanarrative #Ben Edlund #Literary allusion #Meta

[nerdylittleshit]

Thoughts about Spn 14x19

SPOILERS AHEAD!

Sooo. A bit later than usual, but I’ve been busy these past days and I’m not that excited about the current direction Supernatural is heading at, so watching the new episode was not on top of my do to list. Overall I liked the episode and it reminded me a lot of the Godstiel-arc. Jack continues to be an interesting antagonist and I’m curious to see what the show will do with him in next week’s season finale, though I try to keep my expectations low (yes, Mary’s death still leaves a very bitter taste in my mouth).

Without further ado let’s take a closer look.

When is a monster not a monster? Oh, when you love it.

In a show that is all about saving people and hunting things the big question is: is Jack people or things? Can he still be saved or is Bobby right when he says Jack is a monster who no longer knows right from wrong.

We start the episode with Mary’s memorial ceremony, which for one thing shows us that there are a couple of AU hunters left, but also the legacy Mary left behind. That she was family not just to her sons but to all those people. And as Dean reminds us, that Mary was more than just a mother, that in the time they had together her sons had the chance to get to know her as a person. And looking back the past seasons and the way Mary was portrayed this is what the show did as well: making her more than just a mother. Instead she became a wonderfully complex layered female character, that not everyone could always agree on, ironically because they allowed her to become more than just a mom and to make mistakes as well. I’m still angry about the decision to kill her off, especially as it seems they only did it to develop the current plot into a certain direction and they no longer had any idea what to do with her character, after her arc with Bobby was completely dropped and instead we were told that being reunited with John is what makes her complete. Somehow I don’t see her returning and if so it would feel cheap and it still pains me that we are going to end this show the way it started: with a dead mother.

We see everyone affected by Mary’s death grief in a different way: Bobby wants to kill the one responsible for her death, Sam wants to talk about her, whereas Dean pretends to be ok, until he is on his own and breaks down crying (I’m Dean). And then we have Jack who sees Mary’s death as something abstract. Of course by the time he returns to Sam and Dean Dumah has already manipulated him, so him referring to Mary’s death as an accident is just repeating what Dumah said. Dumah gives him the redemption he so desperately needs by telling him he can still be good, he can still make it up to Sam and Dean. She saw the immense power Jack has and that he no longer has a human moral code to guide him, so she used him for her own purposes. But the question remains if Jack honestly regrets Mary’s death or if he is just fearful of how his family will react to him now.

In his desperation Jack reaches out to his mother, symbolically his human side, but the only answer he gets is hallucinating Lucifer, presenting his dark side. Lucifer voices out every dark thought Jack has ever had. I don’t think Jack is evil, but he is not good either. He is an empty vessel, looking for guidance, with way too much power at his hands.

A lot of Jack’s story reminded me of the Godstiel-arc. Both start to punish people who are in their eyes non-believers. Both think that what they do is right and just. The difference is that Cas acted on his own, whereas Jack was manipulated by Dumah to do those things. Cas was filled with souls, whereas Jack is missing his soul. Both times it is Sam who reaches out to them, who believes that perhaps they can be saved. Both times it is Dean who is the hardliner, but who is also unable to kill the family that hurt him. In both cases, Godstiel and now Jack, the opponent was too powerfull to be killed, but I think symbolically it also means Dean can’t do it. Despite everything Dean loved Cas, he now loves Jack, so he locks them up, the way he could never kill Sam. Cas and Sam both believe in Jack, that he can be saved, because they became monsters as well. They did horrible things (and even Jack knows that they made mistakes) but they always believed that they could redeem themselves, so now they put the same trust in Jack.

I don’t think that Dean’s decision was unreasonable. Jack is incredible powerful and has no longer a moral code to guide him. The reason Dean started to trust Jack was because he saw something good in him. But the entire conversation Jack had with Sam and Dean proves what Dean fears the most: that Jack can no longer tell right from wrong. A huge kudos to Jared, Jensen and Alex for acting this scene so brilliant. The way Dean had to restrain himself, how heartbroken Sam was knowing he had to lie to Jack, and Jack, oblivious to all of that, because he can no longer tell if someone lies to him, if someone tries to manipulate him. He still wants to do good, but the question is if he wants to do good because it is the right thing or because he wants to go back to the way things were, where his family still loved and trusted him?

In the end Jack is a monster that has been made. As Dumah reminded Cas Jack gave his soul in an act of goodness. If he now turns against Sam, Dean and Cas, if he becomes the monster they initially feared he could be, it is because they treated him like a monster, like a thing that has to be locked away instead of someone worth saving.

Some other things:

The way I remember angel lore human can’t simply become angels. We know human souls can be twisted to become demons, but here they are seemingly upgraded. I wonder if we will see those human-angels again and what effect it will have on them and the consequences of it.

Dumah treated Mary and John, therefore Cas’s family, and got killed. Big mistake.

Deans says that the stuff Ketch left behind is not too bad, talking about the alcohol, but I thought there was some deeper meaning as well. Ketch was a Men of Letter and he would have handled the situation with Jack the way Dean did. He left behind his own imprint on Dean.

#supernatural #spn 14x19 #jack in the box #spn meta #my meta #spoilers

[nightingalefeminist]

Supernatural ask meme by funnycas

Favorite male character - CAS (my baby angel)

Favorite female character - Charlie!

Favorite actor - Jensen Ackles

Favorite actress - hmm not sure

Favorite episode - any of the meta ones where they poke fun of the show or its fanfiction

Favorite quote - when they’re standing over the confederate soldiers grave and Garth says “shouldn’t we say something” and my FAV quote in the whole show is when Dean says “WE WON!”

Favorite season - The one where Cas shows up

OTP - this should be of no surprise to anyone: DESTIEL

NOTP - Cas and Hannah (F*ck that shit)

BROTP - Dean and Benny

Favorite demon - The King of Hell himself

Favorite angel - uhh refer to question 1

Favorite monster - Tessa the reaper

How did I discovered Supernatural? - this god forsaken site

Have I ever been to a con? - no but I’d love to see a panel!

Make me choose between two characters - I never get these...

Make me choose between two ships - “......”

Top 5 characters - Cas, Dean, Sam, Charlie, and Bobby

Top 5 ships - I don’t have that many ships for the show

Top 5 angels - most angels are assholes with wings. Cas or bust!

Top 5 demons - Crowley & Meg are it

Top 5 monsters - Reapers, vampires, werewolves, jinni, and shapeshifters

Favorite fanfic - anything with a Destiel tbh

Most hated character - Metatron

Favorite villain - Yellow eyes

Character I think I’m more alike - probably Sam

Dream crossover - Supernatural and Buffy the vampire slayer

Character death that I’m not over yet - Kevin Tran

Most layered character - Crowley

Character I have a crush on - Charlie

Actor/Actress I have a crush on - Misha

Scariest moment - like actually scary? or like I didn’t want to know the outcome of something? 

Favorite moment - when Dean tells Cas that they’re better all together

Funniest moment - anything meta

Saddest moment - I think we all know the saddest moment (for me)...

Most beautiful scene - when Bobby got to go to heaven

Unanswered questions - what?

Couple I’d like to become canon - Destiel... don’t even try to tell me that they (producers) didn’t intend their lingering stares to just be ‘bros being bros’

Actor/Actress I’d like to see on the show - idk

Do I own anything related to the show? - a mug that says “team free will”

Do I have any tattoos related to the show? - no

Most boring plotline? - the Leviathans

My less favorite season - all the ones before Cas

Most well done character death - Jo & Ellen

Most well done character development - Dean’s

Character I wish I could bring back - Kevin Tran

One thing I really hope to happen - That you-know-who comes back somehow

Favorite relationship - stop asking this question I’ve answered it

Top 3 crack ships - what?

Characters I wish they’ve met - Bobby and Metatron (FIGHT)

Demon!Dean or MoC!Dean? - I hate demon Dean it’s his depression and self-hatred in literal form and I’m NOT ok with it

Soulless!Sam or BoyKing!Sam? - BoyKing

Jimmy Novak or Emmanuel? - not sure...

Godstiel or Casifer? - I can’t even with either of these...

Crowley or Lucifer? - Crowley

Did I joined tumblr because of the show? - no other way around

Did I watched the show because of tumblr? - YES

What characters from other shows I’d like to see on Supernatural? - Buffy and gang

Do I still like the show? - Absolutely

Did Supernatural really ruined my social life? - no I never had one anyway

Is my blog just about Supernatural? - No

Do I have cast members I don’t really like? - Not really

Characters that deserved better - Cas

Am I excited for the new season? - That depends *coughs at producers*

Early seasons or the recent ones? - Middle ones

Top 10 Supernatural blogs on tumblr that I really love - I’m not sure I follow that many

5 things I love most about (insert character’s name here) Cas: seriousness, dry sense of humor, naivety, faith in humankind, wings

Human!Cas or Angel!Cas? - Angel (with his wings)

Who I’d like to play human!impala? - omg

Did Supernatural changed my life in any way? - it got me interested in sagas again (shows and books) so yeah I guess

#supernatural #supernatural meme #long post #opt #destiel #cas x dean #dean x cas

[tinkdw]

Cas’ agency in season 12 and why it is important for his endgame arc

I know there have been many posts especially yesterday from all sides explaining POV’s on why Cas is brainwashed or not and what this means, even though we all I think end up with the same speculation for season 13, it’s from a different starting point, which I think is interesting.

My POV is that Cas has his own agency in season 12 regarding Jack and that this is crucial to his endgame arc, that this is what we have already seen with choices and a relapse to old ways / call back to earlier character traits through Sam and Dean that then led to their own endgame arcs.

Sam and Dean have, e.g. season 8 and 9 ‘relapsed’ and gone back to old ways, mirroring themselves in earlier seasons, making mistakes around toxic codependency and self worth and the outcomes have been that these choices exactly led them into their new chapter and towards their endgame. I believe this is exactly what is happening here with Cas.

The pattern is: 1. call-back to prior negative behaviour 2. leads to making a bad decision  3. leads to death 4. leads to cementing the behaviour as negative, therefore subsequent character development into their endgame arc and happier selves

Hence the links in season 12, especially towards the end to seasons 4 and 6 in terms of why Cas makes these choices and why this is therefore important.

x

I’m tagging @amwritingmeta and @margarittet and @super-sootica as we have chatted a lot about this recently and some of these concepts are an amalgamation of all our thoughts…so I’m not alone in this. 

 It totally fits for me that Cas is making his own choice in season 12 to look for Paradise and have faith in Jack (he firstly had faith in God, then Dean and now Jack, finally he has to learn to have faith in himself), because it is the relapse /call back / exposition to how far he has come from the start that his character needs in order to move forwards, that we have already seen with Sam in accepting the trials / being codependent on Dean in season 8 (and 10) and more obviously Dean being codependent on Sam and accepting the Mark in season 9, directly leading to their development arcs, e.g. Dean who has just come out the other side thanks to MoC/Darkness/Mary which all stem from this moment of relapse and Sam’s has also developed in season 11 and 12, leading them to having their better relationship and making good choices and WINNING re: Mary and the BMoL.

This relapse by Cas to his old ways is a clear parallel of their stories, of their call back moments and subsequent development, as Cas’ arc often comes a little after theirs and therefore it doesn’t make sense if it is NOT his choice. 

It also therefore makes sense that he dies because of it, in order to start his new chapter and grow into his endgame as they have. It all fits and makes sense to me.

Cas in season 6

Cas was not wrong in season 6. Cas was not wrong to want to stop the second apocalypse. We just had 2 whole seasons of desperately trying to stop apocalypse 1. What WAS wrong was his desire to protect the boys and act as their guardian Angel rather than working alongside them on equal footing, then the lack of communication and the boys lack of trust in HIM at the end. That is what led to the Leviathans being released, but Cas was not wrong to want to stop Raphael and it was Dean’s lack of trust in him and Sam stabbing him in the back that led to the issues moving forwards. 

For me it’s extremely important that Cas here in season 12 is acting like old Cas in season 6, that he has had character development for sure, but not completely, to the end, because he is not fully cooked yet. 

If Cas IS getting character development to the point that he isn’t old Cas anymore then why does he seem depressed and listless all season, and last season, why did he die if he is growing and already nearing his final form? Dying is a “punishment” / “new beginning” and we have seen in s12 that he still doesn’t think he belongs and needs to be the boys guardian angel even though he says they are family, he doesn’t act like they are equal, he still is trying to be their babysitter, as Dean tries to point out, but it’s too little too late. Cas still hasn’t fully learned his lesson (partly because Dean has not been totally honest with him but mostly because of his own issues) and he needs this catalytic moment of realisation, just as Sam and Dean have had. 

Cas was right to want to stop Raphael. BUT he went about it in the wrong way, trying to protect the boys and keep them out of it (exactly like s12). Then when he did need their backing towards the end of the season (12x19 waves hello to 6x20 and 6x22) they didn’t trust him and his plan. They did not stand behind him the “one time he asked”. They said No. It was the lack of family backing that was the issue in s6 and led to the leviathans being freed.

For me, if they had stood behind him then that wouldn’t have happened as Cas literallly said “you’re not my family Dean” when he decided to keep the Leviathans inside him in 6x22 and became Godstiel, after he told Dean he WAS his family in trying to get them to work together in 6x21. This is a clear link between the two - that it is Dean’s lack of support in 6x21 that led him to keeping the Leviathan inside him and of course Sam literally stabs him in the back, you cannot get more of a metaphorical stabbing in the back than that!

CASTIEL: I thought you said that we were like family. Well I think that too. Shouldn’t trust run both ways? DEAN: Cas, I just can’t… CASTIEL: Dean, I do everything that you ask. I always come when you call, and I am your friend. Still, despite your lack of faith in me, and now your threats, I just saved you, yet again. Has anyone but your closest kin ever done more for you? All I ask is this one thing. DEAN: Trust your plan to pop Purgatory? CASTIEL: I’ve earned that, Dean. Then of course Dean doesn’t.

Which leads to:

It seems clear to me that he would have sent the Leviathans back at Dean’s suggestion IF Dean had supported him in 6x22. That is the link there, purposefully made. They wouldn’t have been able to hang on as it was so early on. I’m not saying it is Dean’s fault, it’s just a running theme that when TFW don’t work together and support each other they end up with bad things happening. I wrote about this earlier this week.

If you look at every season of SPN it’s when the characters work together that they win and when they don’t that they lose… it’s a running theme.

Relapses and references to earlier seasons’ characteristics are expositions of how they have changed and are what lead to all of TFW’s growth and getting their endgame arc.

Sam and Dean themselves have gone through this which is why I think it is relevant to Cas now, who usually follows their arcs a little time afterwards.

Sam and Dean have had lots of character development but then still made “bad choices” because of relapses back to their old toxically codependent and lack of self worth ways in recent years (I’m thinking 8x23, 9x11 and 10x23 for example) but which then led to their final endgame arc to become their best selves. So, given that Cas’ arc usually follows theirs, this makes sense to me that in season 12 Cas relapses back to old ways here and the season 6 link is for me absolutely clear all season, culminating in the season end which directly mirrors season 6. 

In season 8 Sam was exaggeratedly toxically jealous of Benny, tried to escape the life and Dean and Sam were toxically codependent on each other (relapse and reference to earlier seasons) and they ended up “losing” and Sam nearly dying (mirroring Cas’ death). 

In season 8/9 Dean was toxically codependent on Sam again and had so much lack of self worth that he took on the Mark with no question (similar to Cas/Lucifer) and again, they ended up “losing” in 8x23 and 9x23, with Dean’s death in 9x23 (mirroring Cas’ death).

BUT!

Sam then grew thanks to the subsequent Gadreel arc (and IMO is still ongoing) and Dean has had such huge growth due to the subsequent MoC/Darkness/Mary arc which we have banged on about all season, how in 10x16 Dean now realises thanks to the Mark that he wants more from life and deserves more, how Amara and Mary have led to his final push of self worth / self acceptance arc, culminating in 12x22.

So their relapses / call backs to earlier selves have led to their endgame arc...

These relapses (and they have to be out of choice) therefore are key moments where the characters subsequently realise their error, the call back shows how far they have come and this relapse is so frustrating to watch but it is necessary for them to realise that this is not what they want, this is not who they are anymore, they then start a new chapter of development that leads to their endgame.

It’s the trope when a character sleeps with their ex towards the end of a movie, the relapse then makes them realise that this is not who they are anymore or what they want. It then leads into their endgame arc.

Cas in season 12

This is why I think it IS Cas’ choice in 12x19 and he has his own agency, because Cas is right about Jack being good in the same way he was right about needing to stop Raphael and the second apocalypse, but the way he goes about it is old Cas style, it’s his call back moment. He didn't work alongside the boys, he kept trying to be their guardian Angel and trying to protect them rather than work alongside them. Meanwhile Dean hasn't learned to be honest with his feelings yet etc. though he was so nearly there, the mixtape, telling him he’s not their babysitter.... so close.

THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT NEED TO CHANGE FOR CAS’ ENDGAME AND HAVE THEREFORE BEEN SHOWN AS BEING THE THINGS THAT NEED ADDRESSING BY THIS CHOICE.

Jack will I believe end up being a force for good and Cas is right here, just as he was right to stop Raphael. BUT the issue is when one or multiple of them make decisions for the others or work without them even if it’s out of a desire to protect - they need to work as a team and allow the others to have equal footing and equal choices and trust and until they do that they won’t win. Like s5 and s11 and… that’s when they won.

So, why did Cas “accept” paradise? Have faith in Jack? (Which we know are seen as bad things in SPN and seem to send him back to s4 - a relapse).

A. I don’t think this is necessarily what Jack has planned for Earth or that he sees this as a negative thing or that he can't be convinced not to do it or even that Cas really necessarily did see this, as @super-sootica says, what exactly was he supposed to say to a dying woman who did believe her son would bring the world to it’s feet... but that’s another story. Paradise - it’s a call back to what Angels and Cas used to think was a good thing and to be aimed for.

B. I think this is exactly the same as Sam and Dean’s relapses, the call backs to earlier character traits as mentioned earlier for Sam and Dean which then led to their new chapter, development and endgame, with both of them dying to boot. OK Sam didn't actually quite die, but basically he wanted to die and would have died but Dean / Gadreel ‘saved’ him, Dean also died and was ‘saved’ by becoming a demon then saved by Cas and Sam, it’s a clear parallel for me of:

call-back to prior behaviour bad decision => death => subsequent character development.

This is Cas’ “dark night of the soul” moment as @amwritingmeta says, which is exactly why this is brought up because we all associate paradise with s4 Cas and brainwashed Angels, will lead him through the outcome (Jack) to get to his endgame.

So for me, it fits the pattern of the show with the “dark” relapse moment, out of choice, leading to their development arc with what comes from it (eg. Gadreel for Sam, Amara for Dean and now Jack for Cas) and their happy endgame.

#castiel #cas winchester #supernatural #supernatural meta #season 13 speculation #season 6 v season 12 #brainwashing #jack the nephilim #narrative parallels and tropes are a thing

[nerdylittleshit]

Thoughts about Spn 12x19

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

First of all TRIGGERWARNING FOR A GRAHPIC DEPICTION OF SUICIDE! If you are sensitive to see such content skip the first minutes until 5:30 (basically what happens is Dagon keeping Kelly as a prisoner, telling her again that she will die and that her son will kill the world. Devasted Kelly kills herself in order to prevent this from happen). The suicide is mentioned again later in dialogue, but I consider this less problematic than actually showing it.

Overall I really liked the episode, mostly because it was Cas-centric. And as many others speculated before this episode was all about Cas future, while 12x10 was about his past and 12x12 about the present. I liked the directing, Amanda Tapping gave us some great shots (though I still think you don’t have to show a suicide simply because it is a trigger to many folks). I am really curious now where the nephilim story is headed and I wasn’t before. They definitely took a spin on it that makes it more ambigious and will now be a huge part of Cas’s fate as well, so we will see.

Speaking off.

Castiel

Even though the episode is titled “The Future” Castiel reminded me a lot of the past, namely season 6 and 8, with him ignoring the Winchesters and going behind their backs in order to do what he thinks is the right thing. The reason he is doing it is because he thinks he fails at everything and that as well is nothing new. Cas is depressed and commits acts out of desperation since... I dunno, season 8? The difference is that in the past he tried to fix heaven and redeem himself as an angel. Now he tries to redeem himself to his family, the Winchesters. The episode made a point to confirm again what he said in 12x12: Sam and Dean are his family now. He corrects Kelvin that what he is doing is for them, not heaven and later when he tells Kelly that he betrayed his friends he adds the word “family” as well, as though he still gets used to this idea. The problem of course is that for Sam and Dean there is no need for Cas to prove himself to them. What they want is to have him around and be honest with him. What Cas sees as his failures is stuff Sam and Dean never blamed Cas for.

In that regard it is interesting to see the interactions of team free will and how different yet again Dean and Sam’s reactions are regarding Cas. (And speaking of team free will: I know this is a popular fandom term, but Dean said it once, 7 years ago in 5x13, and now he uses it again? Or does he think of them like this all the time?) Sam is just glad Cas is back, Dean is not. He is angry, he is pissed and just as in 12x10 he lets Cas know that his anger is born out of worry. Still, he tries to offer Cas an olive branch here, reminding him that they work better together. Just for Cas to leave again and on top of it, to steal the Colt. And sure, not good, but on the other side it gave us Dean slamming Cas into a wall and I myself will be forever gratefull for that scene.

I found the Cas/Kelly-dynamic interesting as well, and before anyone asks, I don’t think there was anything romantic about it. Cas wanted Sam and Dean out of the mission to spare them to kill an innocent woman, but of course in the end he couldn’t do it either. What a surprise.

If anything I think Cas saw himself in Kelly. First when she mentioned that she was desperate enough to kill herself. The pain on Cas’s face... takes one to know one. And then of course Kelly’s believe in a plan, in fate, in destiny. I think it is no coincidence Dean mentioned team free will again, because right now the conflict of season 5 (or rather the whole Kripke era) comes back again: fate vs free will. Cas is our poster boy for free will and he learned it the hard way. He tries to spare Kelly the pain to learn that there is no greater plan and that her human life doesn’t have any value to the forces of heaven and hell. He also offers her a painless death, which reminded me a bit of Dean offering the vampire in 12x14 a painless death. Also, the fact that no human can walk through the gates of heaven without dying... I think this might become relevant again in one way or another this season.

Kelly on the other hand... I think she already trusted Cas before her child gave her a vision of the future. He had the chance to kill her but he didn’t. He listened to her. He cares about her. And the moment Cas asked who is gonna take care of the child if Kelly dies I knew the answer. Real talk: if I had a child I would totally make Cas the godparent. Also “What would Cas do?” is a question I ask myself every day. I think Kelly’s trust in Cas was a reminder to the audience why we fell in love with this character in the first place: because he is the epitome of goodness and kindness. Kelly saw that. And I think her child somehow too. If this episode was about Cas’s future than it told us what Cas’s purpose on this world is: to save it. To make it a better place. (Which of course the Winchesters do as well, but in a different way) And maybe to guide Lucifer’s child to use his powers for something great. Because power itself is neither good or bad, only the ones who use it. And Kelly said herself, no one is born evil. Also:

The Nephilim

So how sure are we if this child is evil or not? So far we only know it wants to survive. Did he heal Kelly because he still needed her, as he is not ready yet to be born? Or did he heal his mother out of love? Was there ever a chance to kill this child? Would an abortion even have worked? Also, if nephilims are so powerfull why did Lucifer didn’t create on earlier?

Speaking off Lucifer: what is the plan here? He wants to rule over heaven, hell and everything in between with the power of his child? And as it seems the help of Dagon. I dunno if it was just me, but did it seem to anyone else that Dagon and Lucifer had a thing once? I can’t really picture Lucifer with anyone, especially not a demon, as he always looked down on them (well he looks down on everyone, so). He needed her to make sure Kelly is okay and of course to bring his child to him once it is born. But after that? And what was in for Dagon? Was it just that little power fantasy or more? And why did Lucifer had such power over her, when he was trapped in heaven and has no access to his powers? With her dead now we probably won’t get any more answers regarding their relationship.

The nephilim sure wasn’t a fan of Dagon. And that makes me wonder... of the child just wants to be born, he wouldn’t care about Dagon killing Cas or how Dagon treated Kelly as long as she was still alive. But the nephilim took care of both Kelly and Cas and killed the one thing that was a threat to both of them. He chooses his parents in a way. Now the question is if the child can really show the future. Kelly was so convinced she made sure her vision would happen, driving to the sandbox. And now I wonder what Cas saw. Or is the nephilim manipulating both of them? Remember how Sam thought he was talking to God in the beginning of season 11? Just to learn it was Lucifer all along. And Cas behaviour in the end of course gave me massive Godstiel vibes. We will see.

Some other things:

1. THE MIX TAPE!!!!!! You know who does mixtapes for each other? Boyfriends! This was right out of a fan fiction. And just “It’s a gift. you keep those”. Maybe I’m reading too much into this (arghhh who am I kidding here?) but it felt to me as if Dean was talking about something else as well. As if he wanted to say “I gave you my heart, you can’t give it back to me”.

2. Apparently Cas has a room in the bunker. *makesexictednoises*

3. Once again we are reminded that the Winchesters try to find a better way, that this is not the past repeating itself and even though we had a lot of references to past seasons the outcome might be different. And the grace extraction solution might became relevant again.

4. The Colt is gone for good. I’m not really surprised. It has always been too much of a deus ex machina, too good to be true. Not sure if it could have killed a nephilim but even if not every other hunt would have become way more easier and for this show more boring, so the thing had to go.

See you next week!

#supernatural #spn 12x19 #the future #spoilers #spn meta #my meta