Good stuff. I also thought of Cas' "I don't think running will save you" line in 7.17 - he was saying it to a demon, but at the time I thought he was saying it almost as much to himself, referring to him as Emmanuel. It applies even more now, I think.
The line about Castiel not knowing what he was gonna do, "and isn't that amazing," was both really powerful and scary. For an angel to not follow plans and orders is huge, but at the same time Cas isn't really himself right now. He needs to face up to what he did so he can be the Winchesters' friend again, I think - so stuff can have meaning to him.
Errr, sorry for making this response so Cas-heavy - a great read overall :)
I think Cas is going to find eventually that trying to stay an observer only might be more difficult than he realizes. He still cares, and he's still willing to help Sam and Dean, just not fight the good fight with them right now. He still has some growing to do, but I think Castiel has put himself in a very isolated position at the moment -- not part of the garrison, not part of Team Free Will... that's eventually going to be a very lonely position to maintain. I think it's only a matter of time before Castiel won't be able to help himself and start checking in with Winchesters again. I dunno. I guess we'll see. We have season 8 to work with, after all. :)
Such an easy word to say. Not so easy to actually face. That requires looking in the mirror. It's far easier to look at the bees.
Oh, YES. He knows there are consequences to what he's done, but he can't cope with them (yet), so he avoids and deflects and hides in his dislike of conflict--but that is so very much *not* the way Dean and Sam have ever done things, or have ever seen as a valid way to behave. They--Dean in particular--value the ability to suck up trauma and regret and pain and *keep going*, and as long as Cas isn't doing that--as long as he's not actively owning his remorse and letting it shape his actions, as long as he's not *demonstrating* his contrition--he's lost to them.
They--Dean in particular--value the ability to suck up trauma and regret and pain and *keep going*, and as long as Cas isn't doing that--as long as he's not actively owning his remorse and letting it shape his actions, as long as he's not *demonstrating* his contrition--he's lost to them.
Yup. Hey, if a puny human can suck it up and keep trucking along, no matter how bad it's been at times, then surely an angel should be capable of doing the same. Dean defines a great part of his identity by his ability to keep moving along, especially. Not because it's so easy or pleasant. There are days he wishes he was dead. But he still gets the job done. If Castiel really were sorry, he'd be doing everything in his power to fix what's wrong, by the Winchester book. Castiel may have kept sending Dean back to start playing Sorry, but really he is the one back at Start; he's going to have to start at the very beginning to rebuild any meaningful trust again. Actions do speak louder than words for the Winchesters.
Dean and Sam are letting Castiel go despite how useful they think he could be because they recognize how damaged he is right now. Dean especially, feeling the guilt, anger and confusion over Castiel.
Oh, yeah; Dean's just realized that he helped break Cass and, being Dean, can't just shrug it aside.
That said, those scenes were wonderful and they did a great job with the character of Kevin and his and Dean's scenes went from hysterical "Is this a sex-torture dungeon?" to quiet as Dean tried to explain to Kevin- and himself- what was wrong with Cass.
That scene between Kevin and Dean was really great. We could see Dean sort of giving up on Castiel, in a way that made sense. Not because he's that angry or unforgiving, but because... he just doesn't know how to reach him right now.
You said everything I tried to articulate. I agree wholeheartedly.
Last week, Charlie volunteered to help take down Leviathans (I'm gonna find some way to redeem myself to you.), but she froze the moment she realized this was really happening. In the end, she took inspiration from Sam's pep talk about Hermione, and she managed to kick it in the ass. Face your fear. Sam would know - he froze too in 5x3. Too scared to fight. But making amends requires actual work. You can't just run away, seek oblivion, not in death (7x01 - I just want to make amends before I die), not in amnesia, not in insanity. That's easier than to stand up to your responsibility, button up the coat and fight. Dean was ready to start to forgive Castiel when he went to smite demons. But Cas regressed again. He doesn't want to fight, he wants to watch the bees.
-We've been through much together, you and I. I just wanted to say I'm sorry it ended like this. -"Sorry". It's Armageddon Cas, you need a bigger word than sorry!"(4x22
( ... )
I have hope Castiel will eventually be ready to face his demons and earn his redemption. He is pretty traumatized from everything he's been through this past year, so it may take a little while for him to come around. And honestly it would feel unrealistic for him to bounce back to normal too quickly or to mend fences with Dean overnight, but I have faith that our little nerdy angel dude will come to understand that redemption is about taking action, not just saying sorry.
Nice thoughtful reaction, and I agree with pretty much everything in it - even though in my own reaction I pretty much took the opposite reaction and saw it all from Cas' point of view, from Dean's failures of realisation and comprehension rather than from Cas' as you do here. :)
And that is what I love about the show. It is entirely possible to do both.
Yes, I love that there are multiple ways of viewing the same situation/relationship, different perspectives that create more than one approach to analyzing our show. Glad you enjoyed. :)
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The line about Castiel not knowing what he was gonna do, "and isn't that amazing," was both really powerful and scary. For an angel to not follow plans and orders is huge, but at the same time Cas isn't really himself right now. He needs to face up to what he did so he can be the Winchesters' friend again, I think - so stuff can have meaning to him.
Errr, sorry for making this response so Cas-heavy - a great read overall :)
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Oh, YES. He knows there are consequences to what he's done, but he can't cope with them (yet), so he avoids and deflects and hides in his dislike of conflict--but that is so very much *not* the way Dean and Sam have ever done things, or have ever seen as a valid way to behave. They--Dean in particular--value the ability to suck up trauma and regret and pain and *keep going*, and as long as Cas isn't doing that--as long as he's not actively owning his remorse and letting it shape his actions, as long as he's not *demonstrating* his contrition--he's lost to them.
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Yup. Hey, if a puny human can suck it up and keep trucking along, no matter how bad it's been at times, then surely an angel should be capable of doing the same. Dean defines a great part of his identity by his ability to keep moving along, especially. Not because it's so easy or pleasant. There are days he wishes he was dead. But he still gets the job done. If Castiel really were sorry, he'd be doing everything in his power to fix what's wrong, by the Winchester book. Castiel may have kept sending Dean back to start playing Sorry, but really he is the one back at Start; he's going to have to start at the very beginning to rebuild any meaningful trust again. Actions do speak louder than words for the Winchesters.
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Oh, yeah; Dean's just realized that he helped break Cass and, being Dean, can't just shrug it aside.
That said, those scenes were wonderful and they did a great job with the character of Kevin and his and Dean's scenes went from hysterical "Is this a sex-torture dungeon?" to quiet as Dean tried to explain to Kevin- and himself- what was wrong with Cass.
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Last week, Charlie volunteered to help take down Leviathans (I'm gonna find some way to redeem myself to you.), but she froze the moment she realized this was really happening. In the end, she took inspiration from Sam's pep talk about Hermione, and she managed to kick it in the ass. Face your fear. Sam would know - he froze too in 5x3. Too scared to fight. But making amends requires actual work. You can't just run away, seek oblivion, not in death (7x01 - I just want to make amends before I die), not in amnesia, not in insanity. That's easier than to stand up to your responsibility, button up the coat and fight. Dean was ready to start to forgive Castiel when he went to smite demons. But Cas regressed again. He doesn't want to fight, he wants to watch the bees.
-We've been through much together, you and I. I just wanted to say I'm sorry it ended like this.
-"Sorry". It's Armageddon Cas, you need a bigger word than sorry!"(4x22 ( ... )
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And that is what I love about the show. It is entirely possible to do both.
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