4.20 The Rapture: Heaven, Hell, None Of That Matters
4.20 The Rapture: Heaven, Hell, None Of That Matters
Family man of God,
Jimmy gave to Castiel
More than just a host.
( Read the rest ... )
Family man of God,
Jimmy gave to Castiel
More than just a host.
( Read the rest ... )
The show has followed a far more traditional line in its approach to demons. In literature, from Faust through to the Winchesters and Bella, demons keep their bargains with humans: a human sells the demon his/her soul in return for the demon granting a wish. The demon does not take the human's soul and then renege on the deal. I'm reminded of the old saying that the Prince of Darkness is a gentleman (he honours a bargain.) But the angels don't keep their promises, unless there was a clause in Jimmy Novak's contract that said, "Oh, by the way, if Castiel's superiors ever haul him out of your body for discipline, all bets are off. Demons will be waiting to possess/murder your family." And Castiel's possession of Jimmy's young daughter? in "Lazarus Rising", Castiel told Dean that the devout man whose body he possessed had consented - even prayed for it. It's not possible to rationalize that a child like Claire could make such an informed decision. She was simply a convenient host for Castiel, who used her with no more concern than demons feel for the humans they possess. And if Jimmy had been too weak to beg Castiel to use him instead, the angel presumably would have continued to inhabit the child.
Yes, I realize that Kripke and Co. regard the angels in Supernatural as 'dicks'. But if this series is supposed to be building toward an apocalyptic clash of good and evil - how do we tell who the bad guys really are? Demons I get; it's Supernatural's angels I don't understand. I do enjoy your insightful reviews and will keep reading them even if I give up on the series, which seems to be heading down a road I don't care to follow.
Deb McFar (sorry - no LJ account)
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In any case, I can't speak on any of the other angels and vessels, but in the scene where Jimmy finally asks Castiel what he wants from him, they made it clear that what Castiel is telling Jimmy is not some happy propaganda. Jimmy looks disturbed and concerned, but after a lifetime of praying and wanting to serve God, he gave a resigned "yes" to Castiel. Which means to me, there could have been a no. As for Claire, she probably said yes to save her family. Is that a great choice? Probably not, but there it was. And even though Castiel came back to "relieve" Jimmy from duty, as a father, he wasn't going to let his daughter take his place and Castiel could have said no too.
Peace Love and Cheese
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I think that what Kripke is doing with the show is really designed to show that nothing is simple black and white, that the point where you're standing influences what part of the picture you see and your background affects how you perceive it. The show started as very black and white, but quickly developed more human depth and complexity, showing that things aren't always what they seem or what we expect. We met vampires who weren't monsters, and humans who were; we learned that most demons were once humans fallen to evil, and that angels hadn't had direct experience of humans since the time of Christ.
When you read about angels in the Bible, you find them with different missions. There are the messengers like Gabriel, the angels who came to the shepherds to announce the birth of Jesus, and the angel who appeared to the magi in a dream to warn them to take a different road home. There are the angels sent to test people's faith and the genuineness of their charity by coming in the guise of lowly travelers. And there are the warriors who barred the gates of Eden and who, in Revelation, destroy the seals and most of creation with them.
These Biblical images aren't the compassionate miracle workers of recent television shows or the guardian angels in whom children believe. These are beings of power and terror, whose appearance, when revealed in truth, partakes of the fear of the Lord. And even those acting simply as messengers don't necessarily have sweet good tidings to share. Think of the human message that Gabriel effectively bore to Mary: agree to being chosen, and you will be seen as a faithless woman who betrayed her husband by becoming pregnant before the wedding by someone else. Agree, and you will see your son murdered to be the redemption of others. Another feature of Biblical stories is that, while you can bargain with devils and demons, you can't bargain with God; you yield to him or you don't, but making deals isn't in it.
Angels in Supernatural are being depicted as not human, which tracks with their Biblical representation. They are also portrayed as individuals with more character than what Biblical stories convey, but I don't see that as a bad or repellent thing. Uriel was dismissive and even vicious toward humans, but we learned that Uriel was also falling, that he had become a supporter of Lucifer and thus represented not the viewpoint of Heaven, but of those who rebelled against Heaven and refused to yield to the creation of man. Zachariah appeared manipulative, but consider that his mission was to put Dean in a situation where he would understand his essential nature and draw strength from it to complete his tasks. Manipulative? Yes - but in a cause. Castiel expressed a lack of familiarity with humans, but steadily became humanized through his increasing contact with them, and especially with Dean; it would appear that he began to empathize too much, to the point where he began to put Dean's emotional well-being ahead of the mission. His compassion and appreciation for humanity, however, were always evident. Angels evidently have free will and the capacity to learn and choose; if they didn't, Lucifer would never have fallen. Castiel's situation suggests that angels, like humans, must walk a line between obedience to order and satisfying their own senses and desires. And while we might question Claire's ability, as a child, to make an informed decision to accept Castiel, I could accept her agreeing to host him in order to save her family.
I don't think that angels in Supernatural are universally regarded as "dicks." I do think that the show, seeing things through Sam's and Dean's eyes, says that they, as humans, don't always see the full picture or understand or appreciate why things are as they are, and react on the basis only of what they do perceive. But I would withhold judgment until we see the picture more fully and truly understand precisely where the battle lines are drawn.
I hope this helps!
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