SPN 6x20
Wow.
I love the inherent narrative contradictions in this episode. On the one hand, everything is filtered through Castiel's perceptions, and he's an unreliable narrator (as Crowley takes pains to tell us, in several different ways, by pointing out how messed up Castiel is). On the other, we see just how perceptive he is about so much the world around him - particularly Dean, and the moment when he lost Dean's trust - and how intensely, sadly naive he still is about humans. He's learning, because he knows when to lie to protect his secrets - but he also doesn't quite make the correct connections on things. He should have known Sam would be horrified that it was Castiel who lifted him out of hell, because of everything Sam went through, and the consequences of Castiel's colossal mistake re Sam's soul.
Those contradictions really made this episode powerful, for me. I feel like all this time, they've been building up to this - that every bit of groundwork laid for Castiel's character has culminated in him being this flawed, imperfect, conflicted, frequently wrong, wayward soldier who isn't sure of his path anymore. So, so amazing.
Castiel RAISED SAM FROM HELL. He went back into Hell for him!!! The idea that Cas was standing there watching Sam the first time we saw him stalking Dean is so, so cool. *g* And it further carries out, very explicitly, that the road to hell is paved with good intentions and ends badly; he wanted to do good, and instead did something dreadful by mistake. Castiel watched the Winchesters make their deal-making-and-breaking mistakes for years, and saw the consequences of them play out -- and then went and made the same kind of bargain himself. AND THAT IS HOW YOU KNOW HE IS WORTHY OF BEING A WINCHESTER. He's just as screwed up as they are. He's fit to be their patron saint.
Which brings me to, wow, Dean and Castiel. I mean, Bobby/Sam/Dean against Castiel, all of them not wanting to believe it but increasingly suspicious, was fantastic. But Dean? Wow. The way Castiel was watching him, was focused on him (THAT MOMENT WHERE HE DESCRIBED DEAN'S LOYALTY, HIS FACE); the kinds of sacrifices he's made for Dean, and the choices he's fallen prey to. When he says he did it for Dean, he really means, he did it for Dean. Listen, there's not much subtext to Castiel's feelings for Dean; it's screaming neon text. And then Dean took the leap off the cliff, and didn't just tell Cas he was family, he told him he thinks of Castiel as a brother. I know wank is going to break out all over fandom about that for various reasons, but you know, I think on multiple levels, that's one of the most awesome things to ever happen on this show. I don't think Dean has actually displayed the canon level of attachment to Castiel that would support that declaration (even the show has made a big recent point of how Dean and Sam call Castiel in demanding and non-reciprocal ways all the time), but now it's layered into the tapestry. Whatever is coming next, it's going to be even more painful, and you know what? Dean's already gone through his full share of family-related angst. So has Sam, who said he would die for Cas. It's going to be ugly.
I was really struck by how desperate Castiel was in his web of lies, and how he asked over and over for guidance, and didn't receive it. I think, actually, that Crowley is partly right, and Castiel isn't realizing what this means. Castiel is his own sign. God gave the angels free will. Now they have to take the torment and devastation that comes along with being an agent of your own destiny, and they aren't equipped. As Raphael said, angels know how to obey and follow. Breaking that mold requires mistakes and heartbreak, and Castiel is leading the way. Down the wrong path? Maybe. I have no idea where this is all going to end up. ETA: But wherever it's going, I'm betting Castiel's remark to Dean that there's nothing he can do, that he's just a man, is some kind of foreshadowing. Don't know what kind, yet. But that was a ridiculous thing for Castiel to say, given that he knows what the Winchesters are capable of. All the emphasis on pride and hubris...and you know what pride precedes. *g*
There's probably so much more to say, but I need to process this episode more, and see it again. Loved Crowley so much - I always do! - and his Beetlejuician waiting lines in Hell. *g* Loved seeing the original flavor Raphael again!!! Also, ELLSWORTH. Ahahaha, that is the second recent Deadwood joke involving Jim Beaver, and I fully approve. :D And I liked the reveal about Castiel's favored place in Heaven; it actually made me tear up a little.
Man, that was some excellent TV. Some other posts that have great stuff about this episode: zimshan discusses briefly how the entire episode is a theologic political color meta; ash48 talks about how the episode is a heavily stylized noir piece.