SPN thoughts on vessels and angels, and 100th episode celebration videos
Jensen singing at the 100th episode party ♥
Cast and crew of SPN thanking the fans (link via deirdre_c):
<3<3<3 Even when I'm feeling, uh, protective (ahaha, Jensen) of the show, I know how hard they work, this cast and crew are incredibly talented and I love their willingness to take chances, and this show has given me a crazy number of hours of happy, despite its shortcomings.
When you add in the warm-hearted, sweet, funny, crazy-in-the-best-way, talented people who are in my life because of the fandom for this show, and the fanworks, the whole thing isn't even quantifiable. ♥
Yeah, I'm sure I'll rant about the show again at some point. Enjoy the shmoop while it lasts. *G*
I rewatched 5x13. And am now wondering
Vessels
Michael tells Dean that he won't leave Dean brain fried and comatose after Dean says yes and he's done inhabiting him, and that he'll fix John's brain too, in addition to memory-wiping. Michael says he's not like his brothers. But is that a choice Michael can make? Or is Michael inherently different? In Free to Be, Castiel told Dean he'd wind up like Rafael's vessel only "much, much worse" -- presumably because Michael is more powerful than Rafael. We know Castiel is sometimes poorly informed, and not always in on the highest level sooper special angel secrets.
But was Castiel wrong? I love how Lucifer-ish Michael was here, how persuasive. Michael telling Dean that he'll make sure Dean goes through the experience with his sanity intact, it's hey, see, I'm not so bad, I'll look after you. Lucifer could easily take the same approach with Sam. Rafael didn't fix his vessel's mind, I wonder if he simply didn't care? It doesn't seem angel-like to care; Michael's USING that, or maybe he does feel differently about it.
That scene with Michael!John and Dean is possibly my most favorite part of the episode. Maybe. I can't choose, but wow, that was hard to look away from, and Matt Cohen really brings it.
Also, creeeeepy angel and his mind-wiping. Additional thought about the coda, was it Mary's subconscious latching onto something in a misguided way, or did Michael do even more of a number on her brain than I at first thought? Made her think of angels as benevolent. It would be like Michael to do that, possibly an attempt to have Dean grow up thinking kindly of him?
Anna, Castiel, and team Winchester
Speaking of angel behaviors, I've been thinking about Anna and Castiel (as I do). While I think some of the changes to Anna weren't all that organic and I'd rather they did better by her, I have a reading on what happened that feels like it fits.
Castiel was put in angel prison and tortured and emerged ready to play the heaven party line. Anna was put in angel prison and tortured and broke out, all defiant and determined to color outside the lines. Castiel's friendship with Dean was what let Dean get through to him and overcame Castiel's entrenched angel thinking. Anna has chosen team human, in general, but not specific humans in addition to that.
The episode didn't portray her as going dark side, or crazy (jokes about Glen Close aside). It's not that she's wrong -- even Sam thinks killing Sam might be an option, and he and Dean even discuss saying "yes." Anna's trying to save an entire planet of people. It's inherently noble, yet it's not, for lack of a better term, the "right" side, the side that cares about people in the specific instead of only in the abstract. If anything she went too sane.
(Interesting, Dean tries to get Mary to see the big picture in arguing why she should leave John but you get the sense that while she might try, and might actually leave, she'd always be tempted to damn the world to stay with him. Maybe she wouldn't be able to leave, any more than Dean can agree to killing Sam as an option. The big picture has never worked for the Winchesters).
In On the Head of a Pin, Anna presents her arguments to Castiel in abstract terms, "you think this is righteous" and she talks about free will, but she doesn't (as I recall) say stop this because look what it's doing to your friend. (I'm not retro hand-waving, I've thought this since last season). Her next brief appearance, she seems brittle, worried yet intensely focused on what's practical. She's chosen team free will, but a different division of team free will than team Winchester. This is a war with many, many fronts.
Castiel's now as insane as Sam and Dean. Because the whole planet is on the line, yet he tries to stop Anna, who has a plan that makes sense from a practical standpoint...but Castiel's not being practical. Because Sam's his friend, because he likes Dean. Because he didn't just choose team free will, and humanity in general, but team doing-crazy-shit-to-save-people-you-care-about.