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mittensmorgul · 6 years

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This may seem like an odd question, but how do you think destiel originated in the narrative? Was it always written in? Or do you think it was the chemistry between misha and jensen that instigated it? (Or maybe some other reason...?) I'm kind of curious how Jensen, a seriously good actor, would let the "eyesex" we see just happen accidentally... There had to be some level of intentionality in the early seasons, right? Idk, im sure there's a lot we cant know there, but im curious what you think

Hi there! And first off, I think I need to stamp a big flashing disclaimer label at the top of this one, because I see a lot of well-intentioned but often cringingly misinformed or outright stabs in the dark or assumptions presented as “obvious fact,” and heck...

I am not affiliated with the staff of the show. I don’t know what the inside of any of the writers’ or showrunners’ heads look like, you know? All I know is what I’ve heard from their own mouths over the years, which I’ve tried to piece together logically. I’m not here to present this as some sort of “document of absolute, unassailable fact,” but “this is what logic would lead me to believe personally.”

But there are some important facts to bear in mind while asking oneself how destiel came to be, and how (and why) it evolved.

First off, there’s this assumption which is arguably incorrect that Kripke began Supernatural from the pilot episode with some Grand Vision of a complete five season arc. And he himself has made numerous statements invalidating that belief. We know for a fact that his “original vision” for the show boiled down to “star wars in truck stop america” where two plucky ghost hunters drove around confronting urban legends and myths that were real in their universe. I mean, just look at the first half of s1. It’s all MotW style episodes that lay out the groundwork of the universe’s mythology.

At the start of the series, Demons were so far above the Winchesters’ pay grade, and Kripke joked about how he would never introduce Angels as part of that universe. It was a running theme in the writers’ room from the start of the series. No angels.

And then the writers’ strike happened, leaving them with a truncated s3 and no room to write themselves out of the corner they’d backed themselves into. Dean landed in Hell, and Kripke relented, with “okay, angels, but only if they’re dicks.”

I think it was likely only part of the way into s4 where Kripke stopped fearing that they might or might not get a renewal for s5 when he set about the whole Apocalypse Arc, with 5.22 as a theoretical end of the series. He has said this himself, that it was Misha joining the show that finally gave him a little breathing room to plan for the future of the series in this way.

And remember also that Misha was originally only scripted and contracted to appear in three episodes. At the beginning of s4, even Kripke hadn’t planned out the fate of his universe beyond that.

So while viewers saw 4.01 and the barn scene and immediately began shipping the thing, because that’s what shippers do, I don’t believe that Castiel was (even in Kripke’s wildest imagination) scripted to take on such a large role in canon.

So while Shipper Zero (waves hi at @k-vichan) was already making a case for destiel, Kripke was still focused on making the ratings to even THINK about planning a two season arc to stop the apocalypse. It just so happened that Castiel-- a character that Kripke had never intended to write (NO ANGELS!)-- became the hook on which his vision for the theoretical end run of his little series hung.

From his first appearance, it was clear that Castiel’s closest tie was with Dean. He pulled Dean out of Hell, and as we see unfold over the course of s4, Cas had been charged by Heaven to essentially shepherd Dean through all the necessary paces to make sure that Heaven’s will was served. Even Cas had been misled on what Heaven’s true objectives were, leading to that HUGE moment in 4.22 where Cas was forced to choose a side, and because of Dean’s influence, he rejected Heaven and chose Humanity.

Now, I don’t believe that was written as some sort of great romantic gesture, you know? Because we all know that despite what Dean and Cas struggle through together over the rest of s5, Cas’s duty returns to Heaven as soon as the apocalypse is thwarted. If Kripke’s “original vision” for the end of s5 had stood as the series end, that would’ve been the last time that Dean ever saw Cas. So... not exactly the stuff of shipper dreams, you know?

But Kripke passed the reins to Sera Gamble and s6 marched onward. The intent was to write Castiel out permanently, and thanks to Ben Edlund and 6.20 for giving Cas a voice before his inevitable demise, we end up with this bit of canonical personal betrayal and heartbreak between Dean and Cas.

Granted, going in to s6, Gamble was planning for and writing a single season arc, because she no longer had that assumption of continuing past s6. I think a lot of the romantic tropey stuff in s6 only slipped in because there was the belief at the time that a) Castiel wasn’t intended to survive the season and this is all swell but it’s never going to amount to anything but Manpain for Dean, and b) there was no guarantee they’d even be picked up for s7 to have to deal with the consequences of these choices anyway.

but then... whoopsie... they had s7 to deal with. Including spiraling ratings. By 7.17 when Cas miraculously came back, I think they’d sort of written themselves into this particular corner. Yeah, choices were made in how Cas’s return happened, but after 15 episodes of Dean mourning Cas (and Bobby, and pretty much everything else in his life up to and including Sam by 7.17), the one thing he got back first was Cas. And Cas was the key to beginning to rebuild Dean’s entire life, starting with Sam. And yet... in the same breath Cas returned Sam to him, Cas also disappeared into his own head. He was RIGHT THERE, but he had nothing else to give to Dean right then. All of that led into the buildup to s8, and I think that was really the point at which the narrative began treating Dean and Cas’s relationship as something different, and something more serious.

I’ve been watching early s8 for the last two days, and here’s a little snippet from my angst-ridden chat with lizbob this morning:

mittensmorgulI hate this. Cas, confused: So you think this was your fault?I.e. the moment when it stopped being just Dean and Cas preventing themselves from finishing a conversation, and the narrative itself took over preventing them from finishing a conversation.

mittensmorgulIt may have begun because it was starting to get implausible that they were just that stubborn about talking to one another honestly and openly, but whoopsie that actually made their relationship issues structural to the narrative

elizabethrobertajonesYeah, Ms Tran is like HEY HOW DAREYOU CAN'T FINISH A CONVERSATIONBEEP BEEP

mittensmorguland then in a few more minutes it's Interrupting Moose's turn

elizabethrobertajonesknock knock

elizabethrobertajoneswho's the-INTERRUPTING MOOSE

mittensmorguloh noooooo... go away mooseman! STOP INTERRUPTING.NO SAM, THEY ARE VERY NOT OKAY

elizabethrobertajones:

And their issues went from being a sort of sidebar to the actual narrative structure of the series and became inextricably linked with the larger narrative.

So, fun as it is to go back through the entire series and look for all the destiel along the way, I think that’s most likely when it became a factor that drove the plot, rather than something secondary to the main plot, at least from a structural perspective.

And now, after s13 and going into s14, their relationship and feelings toward one another have become foundational to the actual cosmic structure in their universe. Dean’s grief was powerful enough for Jack to ride across dimensions into the Empty, where even God was unable to tread? Yeah, that’s cosmic. And now Cas is in a similar position dealing with a cosmic, interdimensional dilemma focused on Dean. I mean... it’s literally the foundation of the narrative structure of s13 and s14. Not only are the writers taking their relationship seriously, they’re using it to support the rest of the narrative.

I think this is kinda what you asked, at least? I’ve been typing for a really long time now. D:

#destiel #the scheherazade of supernatural #how the heck to i even tag this otherwise? D:#Anonymous

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