Shades and echos - Angels and demons on your shoulder
blackjedii's post on visual callbacks in Free to Be You and Me got me to thinking. We're seeing a lot of parallels being drawn between characters and events in Season 5. With Episode 5.03, I'm beginning to see a new parallel emerging, and it's starting to freak me out a little.
So, we're seeing parallels being drawn between John, Bobby, and Nick in their trauma and changed lives, as well as (blackcat333_99) Dean and Sam and (rogueslayer452 ) their journey to free themselves from their past, (karenmiller ) Dean and Castiel and (blahbaby ) their journey to find their absent fathers, and (yourlibrarian ) Sam and Castiel and their role in starting the Apocalypse.
When blackjedii pointed out the Virgin Mary and flowers seen prior to Castiel and Dean's first meeting with Raphael...
Just prior to Dean and Castiel's first confrontation with Raphael's host, Free to Be You and Me
... it brought to mind a couple of images from Free to Be You and Me that seemed to draw a parallel between Dean's current journey and the road that Sam traveled in Season 3.
Take a look at these images, keeping in mind that flowers in Supernatural's visual vocabulary tend to be used to draw attention to things that are hidden and yet to be revealed.
Free to Be You and Me
The Kids Are Alright
That "bed" of fake flowers is a pretty distinctive feature. It seems to be a callback to Season 3.
Remember who showed up?
Free to Be You and Me
The Kids are Alright
Well, well, well.
And then there's this:
Sympathy for the Devil
Magnificent Seven
Dean relies on angelic spell work despite his mistrust of all things angelic, Sympathy for the Devil
Sam's hexbags and his reliance on demonic spell work despite his mistrust of all things demonic, Sympathy for the Devil
This parallel was pointed out in blacklid 's wildly entertaining and insightful review of Sympathy for the Devil (Chuck's poor little toaster! My eyes! The horror! The horror! It never hurt anyone. *sobs*)
I've been reading a few fans commenting that Castiel feels a bit out of character in Free to Be You and Me. I agree, it seems to be a pretty significant shift in characterization. You know what it reminds me of? It reminds me of the reaction I had to the kinder and gentler Ruby we saw at the beginning of Season 4. Remember how out of character she felt, and how we were wondering if it was Genvieve's acting, or poor continuity of characterization, or the writing jumped too far ahead in Ruby's character arc and left us behind? Later it was revealed that Ruby had changed her tack with Sam, and that's why we weren't seeing quite the hard-edge and snark that we had come to expect after Katie Cassidy's Ruby.
"But today you're my little bitch." A bad-ass Castiel? Free to Be You and Me
"But he is your brother and I'm not going to come between you." A kinder and gentler Ruby? Lazarus Rising
Then there's this:
Dean enjoys Castiel's easy companionship, "It's been a long time since I've laughed that hard." Free to Be You and Me
Siren!Nick appeals to Dean by giving him easy companionship and a mirror image of himself, Sex and Violence
Castiel mirrors Dean's growling voice and fronting with bravado - "I'm here, Raphael. Come and get me, you little bastard"
Fallen angel on Dean's shoulder, Free to Be You and Me
"That little fallen angel on your shoulder," Sin City
"fallen angel" parallel courtesy of ladylothwen
Why is this parallel being drawn between Castiel and Ruby? And if mirrors are used to reveal the truth behind things and flowers hint at secrets, then what is being foreshadowed here?
All of a sudden I don't trust Castiel quite so much.
Just what is Castiel's motivation? Is he truly a free agent? Or is Castiel, like Ruby before him, working deep undercover, playing the long game? No angel but Zachariah aware of his mission to gain Dean's trust and lead down a path he would not otherwise choose, just as no demon but Lilith knew of Ruby's role?
Nothing good happens when Sam and Dean are separated, right? Is Sam and Dean's separation being exploited yet again, just as their separation was exploited in Season 3 and 4? Dean is absolutely emotionally exhausted. He has nothing left to give and has lost his foundation with Sam out of the picture much like Sam responded to Dean's death. Is substitute-Sam!Castiel stepping into the void to seduce Dean just as Sam was seduced by substitute-Dean!Ruby? Is Castiel playing on Dean's need for companionship, someone who values what he is, and someone to take care of, just like Ruby played on Sam's need for power to combat his helplessness in the face of the effects of being tainted on himself and others around him?
And, more importantly, will I survive until the end of the season to find out? *g* I'm not so sure anymore.