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SPN 7.01 Meet the New Boss
Sorry this is so late. The last two weeks for me in RL have been... kicking me in me bum.
How can the world be more simple, and yet more complex?
... The world is governed by power. It may be the power of gold, of chaos, of weapons in the hands of trained men, even of love, or of words well-spoken. The simplicity is that power governs. The complexity is that no man, no group of men, can possibly track all the sources of power and their impacts. Power is like chaos - while it can be used for good or evil at the moment, it is essentially unpredictible over time.
I would ask that you remember that while fear motivates most men far more than hope or justice, fear seldom sets their feet to moving forward. One can paralyze one's opponents with fear, but one must stand forth to lead.... My blessing and my curse, alas, are the the same. Go forth and do great deeds. You may succeed, you may not. But a life lived in betrayal of what one is cannot be considered a life lived, and already you have lived more of a life than most twice your years.
... Do men make the times, or times the man?
-- L.E. Modesitt, Jr.
And so this new season begins. A brand new, very scary power enters the playing field.
War of the Worlds: Monster vs Human vs Demon vs Angel
Briefly looking back at the slow building of revealing the stakes and what's in play, what led to this new power player entering the game?
Exile on Main Street (6.01) introduced the idea that change was afoot.
Samuel: What ever it goes way past a couple of Djinn acting off. Nocturnals attacking in broad daylight, werewolves out on the half moon. Creatures we've never seen before; we don't even know what they are. I'm knee deep in half-eaten human hearts and exsanguinated ten year olds, and it's all making me...uneasy.
Samuel: Well, I'm pretty sure it's not a myth now... We think it may have been an Alpha... Like all monsters come from somewhere, right?
The concept of Alphas, the origin of each species, jumped up on the table. Leading to the next reveal:
Dean: What happens if Raphael wins? What does he want?
Castiel: What he's always wanted. To end the story the way it was written.
Dean: You mean the Apocalypse? The one we derailed?
Castiel: Yes, that one. Raphael wants to put it back on the rails. (6.03)
Castiel isn't Raphael, but he shared something in common with him. He wanted to win, to set the rails' path his way. He figured he represented a new way, a better way, for angels to meet their future. And what did he get for his troubles?
Once upon a time...
there was power.
Once upon a time Dean had to but ask, and Castiel was bending over backwards to fulfill his requests and demands.
Once upon a time Dean was bending over backwards to give Castiel the benefit of the doubt.
But that was then. What about now?
Power. What is power, really?
Castiel: Stop [bowing]. What's the point if you don't mean it? You fear me. Not love, not respect, just fear.
What a brave little ant you are. You know you're powerless, you wouldn't dare move against me again. That would be pointless.
Mutant!Angel!Castiel viewed power in terms of ability of brute force. In terms of inspiring fear to force compliance.
But there was one element of power he was denied, and that he kept seeking, feeling its absence because it was a form of power he had traded away in his seeming upgrade:
Loyalty, belief in, love.
Castiel: I need to see the Senator.
Aide: Regarding?
Castiel: Abuse of power.
Aide: Excuse me?
Castiel: I am not petty. I'm punishing a woman who causes poverty and despair in my name. I put your needs first, don't you understand? All of you -- I am a better God than my Father. How can I make you understand?
So much power at his fingertips, but so powerless to invoke the one response he hoped for.
So much power contained inside himself, but it was eating him up, snarling for control. He didn't understand all the sources of power in play, couldn't control them all. And eventually, he couldn't maintain. He didn't have the power he thought he had.
As if Death's own words on the subject didn't echo a chilling judgment of his own on the situation.
Death: Please, Cas. I know God, and you, sir, are no God.
Not God, not so powerful as he thought, not in control, not able to carry through on his intentions, not Cas anymore.
It's not so much fun playing God when no-one will play along with you.
Wrecking the natural order is not quite such fun when you have to mop up the mess, is it? (6.11)
What about the less obvious power in play?
Death: I warned you about those souls how long ago? Long enough to stop that fool, and here we are again with your little planet on the edge of immolation.
Dean: Well, I'm sorry, alright? I've been trying to save this planet so maybe you should find somebody better to tip off.
Death: Your only hope is to have him return it all to Purgatory, quickly.
Sam: We need a door.
Death: You have everything you need, at that lab. Get him to return there and compel him to give up the power.
Dean: Compel?
Death: Figure it out.
Don't thank me. Clean up your mess.
Seems like Dean is always the guy designated to clean up the mess. Even if it is not really his own mess. The bitch of it is... he cares. About the people. This world surviving. And so ultimately... fairness doesn't matter.
So what would be enough to make Dean of all people give up on Castiel?
Think about where last season ended. We have had time to process and settle down from where 6.22 ended. Dean has not. The action picks up immediately where it left off.
Dean: Please. I've lost Lisa, lost Ben, and now I've lost Sam. Don't make me lose you too. (6.22)
Dean can and has temporarily given up on the ones he loves before. When it got really really bad, when he had been rejected on seemingly all fronts -- his response was to give up and reject in return.
Dean: I tried to help [Sam], but... look what happened.
Bobby: So try again.
Dean: It's too late.
Bobby: There's no such thing.
Dean: No, damnit! No. I gotta face the facts. (4.22)
He's in a similar headspace now. He tried reaching out to Castiel, and got rejected (from his perspective). There's evidence pouring in on massive scale that Cas is gone without any hope of returning to the guy they once knew. And Dean's got enough on his plate without adding trying to salvage a Castiel who evidences no desire to be "saved". He feels powerless there, without any lingering influence over Castiel. So he focuses on what he feels he might be able to do.
Dean: I'm gonna fix this car. Because that's what I can do. I can work on her 'til she's mint. And when Sam wakes up, no matter what shape he's in, we'll glue him back together too.
Dean: Look at our lives. How many more hits can we take? ... We never catch a break, so why would we this time? I'm not dumb. Not going to get my hopes up just to get kicked in the daddy pills again.
Dean is not a saint, last time I checked. He is human, he has limits. He has had the responsibility for making things right, for Sam, for the world, placed on his shoulders time and time again, and it's not fair. And sometimes... it is just too much. For the moment. He also has a history of picking up that baton every time it is asked of him, of not knowing when to quit. These are not irreconciliable differences. They are manifestations of being a fallable human.
Power isn't just physical force/ability. Sometimes it is being needed. And when Castiel ASKS for help (thanks to Sam's intercession acting as intermediary), Dean is immediately on board. The need to help is a powerful force for Dean. And for Cas... the need for acceptance and redemption. Dean wields the power of influence without realizing how deeply it goes. Sam lies to him to try to give him a break, protect him from yet more weight of worry and sense of responsibility. Castiel started down his slippery slope because he was trying to protect Dean, give him a break from all the angelic Apocalyptic crapstorm he was stilll paying the price for from Round 1. And Castiel's reaction, even after disavowing any lingering affection for his human pets, to Dean giving Death the order to kill Castiel... deep down there was a part of Castiel that still desperately wanted his approval, his acceptance, his respect. That is a form of power.
Death was right when he told Dean "you have everything you need."
Dean has a loyal brother backing him up, helping provide a balancing view/counterviewpoint when things just look overwhelming; he has a connection with Death that -- if he were anyone else, he'd probably be dead. Instead, he is given the assignment of cleaning up the mess that's currently out of the bag because Death believes he CAN do it. He has experience and the ability to survive the impossible.
Take the absurdity of the scene when he appears to be held hostage at gunpoint by the householders when caught breaking and entering to get the crystalized lightening bolt.
Dean: Hi. Uhh. I don't want to hurt you. Really.
Doctor: I'm the one with the firearm, son.
Dean: I get that.
One would think that the guy with the pointed gun was the one with the power, right?
Castiel overestimated his own power, Dean underestimates his power.
Unfortunately, actions have consequences and the Winchesters just went from having to worry about an unleashed Mutant!Angel taking out his Daddy issues on the world, to a brank spanking new Big Bad. Things just keep going from bad to worse, right?
Eve: I'm older than you, Castiel. I know what makes angels tick. Long as I'm around, consider yourself unplugged. (6.19)
The Leviathan. Older than souls. This is an entirely new breed of clever, poisonous monsters laughing in triumph at sneaking their way loose. So what exactly are the Winchesters facing now?
The same thing they have always faced.
Dean: You're not fooling me, you know that? With this sympathy for the Devil crap. I know what you are.
Lucifer: What am I?
Dean: You're the same thing, only bigger. The same brand of cockroach I've been squashing my whole life. An ugly, evil, belly to the ground supernatural piece of crap. The only difference between them and you, is the size of your ego. (5.04)
Same shit, different day.
One version of power vs another. One could say... monster vs. hunter.... or monster vs. monster. Depends on your definitions, I suppose. Back to that flexible definition of power. Let's be real -- power isn't solely about ability. It is about ability and belief and promise -- and redemption of promise.
I would like to point out one trump card in the pack. Call it the Joker.
Death.
Dean: God? You’ll reap God?
Death: Oh yes. God will die too, Dean. (5.21)
Everyone. No matter who or how powerful. No exceptions. Right?
Tessa: It's not permanent.
Death: She's right. Nothing lasts forever. Well, I do. (6.11)
Does size really matter that much, in the end? We can talk about power, we can talk about personalities, we can talk about who was right or wrong... and there is nothing wrong with that. Good questions raised and discussed. But I would just point the spotlight at the elephant in the room. Its color seems to be an unavoidable neon. Power. Multiple sources. Mutated angel. Death. Leviathan. Those protozoa-like humans.
Fate, destiny, free-will.
Walk in my shoes for a day.
Exception to the rule.
New era.
We have our Chekov's guns introduced.
Chekhov's gun No 1: Dean's comment about how they are always screwed over.
Chekhov's gun No 2: Death did not kill Dean for temporarily binding him despite being annoyed by that tactic, despite Dean even telling him to get someone better to take over the job of saving the planet. He stuck with his original horse in the race, despite Dean and Sam being "an affront to the balance of the universe" causing (directly or indirectly) "disruption on a global scale." Because it's a bigger picture than that for him.
Death: This is one little planet in one tiny solar system in a galaxy that’s barely out of its diapers. I’m old, Dean. Very old. (5.21)
Older than the Leviathan, even. But Death has made it clear that he doesn't want to clean this mess up, he wants the humans to save themselves, and specifically the people who played a part in making this mess to clean it up. Team Free Will.
Chekhov's gun No 3: Castiel's promise to Dean to make it up to him. As discussed above, power comes in many forms. Is Cas really dead? I have my doubts. And on this show... when has death really been more than a speedbump, anyway?
At any rate, Dean has the power of support coming from his brother -- he is not in this fight to save the world (again) by himself.
And Sam has the power of support in dealing with his psych issues/collateral damage from Castiel busting down the wall in his mind, putting him at the mercy of all his memories of being trapped in the Cage. He's not alone, his brother is there for him, ready to help in any way he can.
Their world just got more simple, and yet more complex, all in one blow.
Hmm. This season is going to be a bumpy ride, and I cannot wait!!!
Now I'm off to FINALLY catch up on everyone else's reactions... :)
Sorry this is so late. The last two weeks for me in RL have been... kicking me in me bum.
How can the world be more simple, and yet more complex?
... The world is governed by power. It may be the power of gold, of chaos, of weapons in the hands of trained men, even of love, or of words well-spoken. The simplicity is that power governs. The complexity is that no man, no group of men, can possibly track all the sources of power and their impacts. Power is like chaos - while it can be used for good or evil at the moment, it is essentially unpredictible over time.
I would ask that you remember that while fear motivates most men far more than hope or justice, fear seldom sets their feet to moving forward. One can paralyze one's opponents with fear, but one must stand forth to lead.... My blessing and my curse, alas, are the the same. Go forth and do great deeds. You may succeed, you may not. But a life lived in betrayal of what one is cannot be considered a life lived, and already you have lived more of a life than most twice your years.
... Do men make the times, or times the man?
-- L.E. Modesitt, Jr.
And so this new season begins. A brand new, very scary power enters the playing field.
War of the Worlds: Monster vs Human vs Demon vs Angel
Briefly looking back at the slow building of revealing the stakes and what's in play, what led to this new power player entering the game?
Exile on Main Street (6.01) introduced the idea that change was afoot.
Samuel: What ever it goes way past a couple of Djinn acting off. Nocturnals attacking in broad daylight, werewolves out on the half moon. Creatures we've never seen before; we don't even know what they are. I'm knee deep in half-eaten human hearts and exsanguinated ten year olds, and it's all making me...uneasy.
Samuel: Well, I'm pretty sure it's not a myth now... We think it may have been an Alpha... Like all monsters come from somewhere, right?
The concept of Alphas, the origin of each species, jumped up on the table. Leading to the next reveal:
Dean: What happens if Raphael wins? What does he want?
Castiel: What he's always wanted. To end the story the way it was written.
Dean: You mean the Apocalypse? The one we derailed?
Castiel: Yes, that one. Raphael wants to put it back on the rails. (6.03)
Castiel isn't Raphael, but he shared something in common with him. He wanted to win, to set the rails' path his way. He figured he represented a new way, a better way, for angels to meet their future. And what did he get for his troubles?
Once upon a time...
there was power.
Once upon a time Dean had to but ask, and Castiel was bending over backwards to fulfill his requests and demands.
Once upon a time Dean was bending over backwards to give Castiel the benefit of the doubt.
But that was then. What about now?
Power. What is power, really?
Castiel: Stop [bowing]. What's the point if you don't mean it? You fear me. Not love, not respect, just fear.
What a brave little ant you are. You know you're powerless, you wouldn't dare move against me again. That would be pointless.
Mutant!Angel!Castiel viewed power in terms of ability of brute force. In terms of inspiring fear to force compliance.
But there was one element of power he was denied, and that he kept seeking, feeling its absence because it was a form of power he had traded away in his seeming upgrade:
Loyalty, belief in, love.
Castiel: I need to see the Senator.
Aide: Regarding?
Castiel: Abuse of power.
Aide: Excuse me?
Castiel: I am not petty. I'm punishing a woman who causes poverty and despair in my name. I put your needs first, don't you understand? All of you -- I am a better God than my Father. How can I make you understand?
So much power at his fingertips, but so powerless to invoke the one response he hoped for.
So much power contained inside himself, but it was eating him up, snarling for control. He didn't understand all the sources of power in play, couldn't control them all. And eventually, he couldn't maintain. He didn't have the power he thought he had.
As if Death's own words on the subject didn't echo a chilling judgment of his own on the situation.
Death: Please, Cas. I know God, and you, sir, are no God.
Not God, not so powerful as he thought, not in control, not able to carry through on his intentions, not Cas anymore.
It's not so much fun playing God when no-one will play along with you.
Wrecking the natural order is not quite such fun when you have to mop up the mess, is it? (6.11)
What about the less obvious power in play?
Death: I warned you about those souls how long ago? Long enough to stop that fool, and here we are again with your little planet on the edge of immolation.
Dean: Well, I'm sorry, alright? I've been trying to save this planet so maybe you should find somebody better to tip off.
Death: Your only hope is to have him return it all to Purgatory, quickly.
Sam: We need a door.
Death: You have everything you need, at that lab. Get him to return there and compel him to give up the power.
Dean: Compel?
Death: Figure it out.
Don't thank me. Clean up your mess.
Seems like Dean is always the guy designated to clean up the mess. Even if it is not really his own mess. The bitch of it is... he cares. About the people. This world surviving. And so ultimately... fairness doesn't matter.
So what would be enough to make Dean of all people give up on Castiel?
Think about where last season ended. We have had time to process and settle down from where 6.22 ended. Dean has not. The action picks up immediately where it left off.
Dean: Please. I've lost Lisa, lost Ben, and now I've lost Sam. Don't make me lose you too. (6.22)
Dean can and has temporarily given up on the ones he loves before. When it got really really bad, when he had been rejected on seemingly all fronts -- his response was to give up and reject in return.
Dean: I tried to help [Sam], but... look what happened.
Bobby: So try again.
Dean: It's too late.
Bobby: There's no such thing.
Dean: No, damnit! No. I gotta face the facts. (4.22)
He's in a similar headspace now. He tried reaching out to Castiel, and got rejected (from his perspective). There's evidence pouring in on massive scale that Cas is gone without any hope of returning to the guy they once knew. And Dean's got enough on his plate without adding trying to salvage a Castiel who evidences no desire to be "saved". He feels powerless there, without any lingering influence over Castiel. So he focuses on what he feels he might be able to do.
Dean: I'm gonna fix this car. Because that's what I can do. I can work on her 'til she's mint. And when Sam wakes up, no matter what shape he's in, we'll glue him back together too.
Dean: Look at our lives. How many more hits can we take? ... We never catch a break, so why would we this time? I'm not dumb. Not going to get my hopes up just to get kicked in the daddy pills again.
Dean is not a saint, last time I checked. He is human, he has limits. He has had the responsibility for making things right, for Sam, for the world, placed on his shoulders time and time again, and it's not fair. And sometimes... it is just too much. For the moment. He also has a history of picking up that baton every time it is asked of him, of not knowing when to quit. These are not irreconciliable differences. They are manifestations of being a fallable human.
Power isn't just physical force/ability. Sometimes it is being needed. And when Castiel ASKS for help (thanks to Sam's intercession acting as intermediary), Dean is immediately on board. The need to help is a powerful force for Dean. And for Cas... the need for acceptance and redemption. Dean wields the power of influence without realizing how deeply it goes. Sam lies to him to try to give him a break, protect him from yet more weight of worry and sense of responsibility. Castiel started down his slippery slope because he was trying to protect Dean, give him a break from all the angelic Apocalyptic crapstorm he was stilll paying the price for from Round 1. And Castiel's reaction, even after disavowing any lingering affection for his human pets, to Dean giving Death the order to kill Castiel... deep down there was a part of Castiel that still desperately wanted his approval, his acceptance, his respect. That is a form of power.
Death was right when he told Dean "you have everything you need."
Dean has a loyal brother backing him up, helping provide a balancing view/counterviewpoint when things just look overwhelming; he has a connection with Death that -- if he were anyone else, he'd probably be dead. Instead, he is given the assignment of cleaning up the mess that's currently out of the bag because Death believes he CAN do it. He has experience and the ability to survive the impossible.
Take the absurdity of the scene when he appears to be held hostage at gunpoint by the householders when caught breaking and entering to get the crystalized lightening bolt.
Dean: Hi. Uhh. I don't want to hurt you. Really.
Doctor: I'm the one with the firearm, son.
Dean: I get that.
One would think that the guy with the pointed gun was the one with the power, right?
Castiel overestimated his own power, Dean underestimates his power.
Unfortunately, actions have consequences and the Winchesters just went from having to worry about an unleashed Mutant!Angel taking out his Daddy issues on the world, to a brank spanking new Big Bad. Things just keep going from bad to worse, right?
Eve: I'm older than you, Castiel. I know what makes angels tick. Long as I'm around, consider yourself unplugged. (6.19)
The Leviathan. Older than souls. This is an entirely new breed of clever, poisonous monsters laughing in triumph at sneaking their way loose. So what exactly are the Winchesters facing now?
The same thing they have always faced.
Dean: You're not fooling me, you know that? With this sympathy for the Devil crap. I know what you are.
Lucifer: What am I?
Dean: You're the same thing, only bigger. The same brand of cockroach I've been squashing my whole life. An ugly, evil, belly to the ground supernatural piece of crap. The only difference between them and you, is the size of your ego. (5.04)
Same shit, different day.
One version of power vs another. One could say... monster vs. hunter.... or monster vs. monster. Depends on your definitions, I suppose. Back to that flexible definition of power. Let's be real -- power isn't solely about ability. It is about ability and belief and promise -- and redemption of promise.
I would like to point out one trump card in the pack. Call it the Joker.
Death.
Dean: God? You’ll reap God?
Death: Oh yes. God will die too, Dean. (5.21)
Everyone. No matter who or how powerful. No exceptions. Right?
Tessa: It's not permanent.
Death: She's right. Nothing lasts forever. Well, I do. (6.11)
Does size really matter that much, in the end? We can talk about power, we can talk about personalities, we can talk about who was right or wrong... and there is nothing wrong with that. Good questions raised and discussed. But I would just point the spotlight at the elephant in the room. Its color seems to be an unavoidable neon. Power. Multiple sources. Mutated angel. Death. Leviathan. Those protozoa-like humans.
Fate, destiny, free-will.
Walk in my shoes for a day.
Exception to the rule.
New era.
We have our Chekov's guns introduced.
Chekhov's gun No 1: Dean's comment about how they are always screwed over.
Chekhov's gun No 2: Death did not kill Dean for temporarily binding him despite being annoyed by that tactic, despite Dean even telling him to get someone better to take over the job of saving the planet. He stuck with his original horse in the race, despite Dean and Sam being "an affront to the balance of the universe" causing (directly or indirectly) "disruption on a global scale." Because it's a bigger picture than that for him.
Death: This is one little planet in one tiny solar system in a galaxy that’s barely out of its diapers. I’m old, Dean. Very old. (5.21)
Older than the Leviathan, even. But Death has made it clear that he doesn't want to clean this mess up, he wants the humans to save themselves, and specifically the people who played a part in making this mess to clean it up. Team Free Will.
Chekhov's gun No 3: Castiel's promise to Dean to make it up to him. As discussed above, power comes in many forms. Is Cas really dead? I have my doubts. And on this show... when has death really been more than a speedbump, anyway?
At any rate, Dean has the power of support coming from his brother -- he is not in this fight to save the world (again) by himself.
And Sam has the power of support in dealing with his psych issues/collateral damage from Castiel busting down the wall in his mind, putting him at the mercy of all his memories of being trapped in the Cage. He's not alone, his brother is there for him, ready to help in any way he can.
Their world just got more simple, and yet more complex, all in one blow.
Hmm. This season is going to be a bumpy ride, and I cannot wait!!!
Now I'm off to FINALLY catch up on everyone else's reactions... :)