Quick Reaction: 8x07 A Little Slice of Kevin
Let's just dive right in, shall we?
WILL NO ONE SAVE MY BABY ANGEL?!!?!
I can't even remember how this episode starts... I guess with the little boy being nabbed? Well screw talking about that... CROWLEY IS TORTURING MY BABY ANGEL!!! Oh god, the horror. I don't think you guys understand how much I love Samandriel. He's my little powerful ancient baby angel!! And if no one will think of him, think about poor little baby Alfie!! I don't even care that he cracked under pressure and told Crowley all the names of the prophets - SOMEONE NEEDS TO SAVE HIM! Oh god. It's horrible. And then when Crowley had deemed him to be telling the truth about the prophets, I thought for a horrible instant that Crowley was going to kill him - but no, he said to "put him on ice" - what does that mean? I THOUGHT it meant that Castiel or the Winchesters or SOMEONE might rescue him before the end of the episode, but no...no....the sadness.
My friend said that I should prepare myself for him being another Adam - just... another forgotten victim... so, I've decided that if no one will save Samandriel, then I'm totally shipping him with Adam. So, my new OTP for Supernatural until I say otherwise is Samandriel/Adam. I'll write stories about them where they meet on the celestial plane and they'll just hold each other and sob about how no one ever rescues them. :P
Okay, umm... I guess I should talk about the episode - which you know, actually had very little to do with Samandriel and all to do with another angel that other fans love as much as I love Samandriel... so, you know, I'll indulge them, I suppose...it's the least I can do.
So, what happens first? Do we see Kevin, or do we see Cas? I kind of forget. You know, maybe I should just discuss their story lines a little bit separately until they meet up. We'll start with Kevin.
I like seeing Kevin and his mother. Mrs. Tran... (do we know her first name?)... is kind of hilarious, though I know she had made a mistake when she said she had contacted a witch. But, ah well... It's nice to see that she's conscious and up and about, and being possessed by Crowley that one time hasn't damaged her beyond repair. You can sort of understand now why Kevin himself is such a moral bad-ass who can rise to the occasion.
As much of a moral guy that he is though - I have to say that I loved the little touch of Kevin watching the witch's ass as she walked away. It was a nice little touch.
When the witch did show up and immediately asked to use the washroom, well, yeah, that's a dead giveaway that she's up to something. :P And sure enough, she let the demons in... Crowley takes Kevin and leaves orders to kill Mrs. Tran...and yeah, with someone who can break someone's neck with a snap of his fingers, Crowley was making a very Bond-Villain mistake there.
Okay okay, so let's talk about Sam and Dean... and Cas. :)
Now I can't remember what the heck song was playing while Dean was driving down the road, but I remember at the time finding it kind of hilarious.
Anywho, he sees Purgatory!Cas walking at the side of the road on the way to Rufus' cabin, and promptly slams on the breaks and reverses - only to find that Cas isn't there. SPOOKY. Is Dean insane? He probably feels it.
I like Sam's attempted "You look like you've seen a ghost" only he stops and admits that Dean would actually be stoked if he saw a ghost. Haha, oh Winchesters. But Dean brushes it off and listens as Sam explains about the missing people and the freak weather. Demonic omens for sure - which counts towards the hunt that Sam is ACTUALLY one. His one last hurrah (isn't that what the YED was supposed to be?)... so they go off to investigate...
I loved them interviewing the preschool lady, and Sam's little trick with saying the exorcism into the phone. That was cute.
But, that's not the main story here - back at the hotel room, Dean is laptopping it and Sam is sleeping. And my goodness, how is it possible for Sam to look that small and adorable while curled up in bed? He's gotta be bending the laws of physics somehow.
But Dean sees Cas peering through the window like a creeper. Oh Cas. And he shuts the laptop and goes to stand there - but Cas is gone. It wakes Sam up though - and I actually was pretty amazed when Dean was honest. He actually tells Sam that he saw Cas... he tells Sam that he feels guilty for making it out when Cas didn't. This is like HUGE STUFF for Mr. Dean Winchester here people. He and Sam are actually conversing like two relatively healthy adults! (Also, Sam is just in a t-shirt and sleep-pants... can we have more conversations like this please?)
Sam chalks it up to survivors guilt messing with Dean's brain. You'd think that last year they would have learned from the whole Ghost!Bobby thing that if one of them is seeing a "deceased" loved one, then something is screwy...but apparently not.
But it turns out that CAS IS BACK! He does the ol' 'appear behind Dean while he's at the bathroom sink' trick. I kind of wish that they'd shown his actual reunion with Sam...but, you know, that's just because I love the word "Sassy" I guess, so I wanted that segment of fandom to be happy...plus, I was sure that THIS time Sam would actually hug him. But maybe not. There were no Dean and Cas hugs either...mainly, I think, because Dean was all freaking out about what this meant for to his various emotional issues.
Sam IS happy to see Cas though. Cas, meanwhile, can't remember how he got out of purgatory, and just wants to shower.
He also, apparently, hasn't been up to full strength...which makes me wonder if he's been following the Winchesters around invisible, or if he's been phasing in and out of reality...like, being in vessel form and then being a wavelength of celestial intent and then phasing back into vessel form. These are things we will never get an answer to.
He DOES regain the ability to magically clean his trench-coat, shave, and somehow conjure a suit and tie out of nothingness... something that seemingly all angels acquired the ability to do in S5.
Cas missed TV. Awww...
Also, it only occurred to me during the scene where Dean was listing the prophets and Castiel finished the list that Castiel has NO IDEA what's going on. He doesn't know about the whole "seal the gates forever" thing... or that Sam had quit hunting after he and Dean disappeared...or that Dean is all PTSD about everything.
Cas does mention though, that Kevin being awakened as a prophet means that Chuck is dead. I love how it's nearly FIVE YEARS LATER and they're only now realizing that Chuck is gone... oh god, there's little hope for Samandriel, is there?
(I still prefer to think that Chuck was a particular kind of prophet with a particular task...just think about how different his "gift" worked to Kevin's... and that after his role was complete, he ascended to heaven, as prophets do... and that you don't necessarily have to think of him as God if you don't want to.)
Anyway, let's talk about Kevin.
I like Kevin...I kind of think that he was trying to stall Crowley as much as he could... but it's not like he knew his mother was still alive, or that Sam and Dean were coming, so he didn't have THAT much hope...so yeah, losing a finger is pretty bad...but he still reads that tablet as slowly as possible.
We didn't hear the whole note from Metatron. I REALLY want to know what the whole note said - because it was the last one Metatron wrote, and then it sounded like Metatron may have GONE somewhere... where? Do you think Metatron is somewhere on earth? It seemed to be a farewell note...so do you think he became human? But that would have happened centuries ago... so....maybe he's reborn again and again? Or...something else? I'm super intrigued now, but the only people who know are Crowley and Kevin and Kevin didn't say, damn it. Maybe it's nothing...but somehow I doubt that. Why include a P.S. from Metatron if it's not important. It couldn't possibly be just so that Crowley could learn that there's more than two tablets...I mean, no offense to anyone, but in my opinion, any idiot could have figured out that there's more than two tablets. There's probably a tablet on every single one of God's creations...humans, monsters, demons, angels...
Okay, back to Mrs. Tran. Mrs. Tran calls Sam. Yay! She's also managed to capture a demon and put him in her trunk...how she managed to do that, I don't know... she's a wizard.
So, off they go to rescue Kevin... (and I had hoped, Samandriel, but it appears that all my hopes were for naught.)
Sam gets to use a demon bomb! That was super cool. I wonder if the Winchester's will have they usual "somehow always have ingredients on hand" luck with these demon bombs, or if they really will be a rare weapon. One thing I love about Supernatural is that (for the most part) the characters actually do "level-up" over the years. (RPG fans know what I'm talking about here.)
Sam rescues the would-be prophets. I guess I didn't talk about them very much... um, I'll do that now. I like the whole "Are you an alien?" thing that they did with Crowley...because it's true. If people are actually applying modern urban legends to the circumstances they are in, the more popular explanation these days is aliens, not demons. Also, that German-looking dude was very German-looking, my god. He could have played Wolfenstein in the live-action movie. (Have they done that one yet? "Ach! Mein Leben!"....no one knows what I'm talking about, do they? Early 90s video-game jokes? Bueller?)
Anyway, um, two of the would-be prophets ARE killed, and that poor kid is probably traumatized beyond belief...but I like how Sam runs in and sees all the blood and is like "Ah damn it" and then everyone was just hiding behind the table.
Meanwhile, Dean's lock-picking skills are rusty, so Cas zaps his way in there and confronts Crowley all by his lonesome.
Okay...so, ONE thing that kind of pisses me off...and I'm sure a few of you will see this coming...but it kind of annoys me that they've just dropped the entire "Sam's damaged soul" storyline. Sam doesn't have any repercussions because Castiel took them - Castiel doesn't have any repercussions because for some reason purgatory cured him. It just...really annoys me. I'm not saying that I wanted Sam or Cas to stay insane...I'm just saying that it would have been as easy as Sam or Cas LEARNING TO DEAL. Even if they reduced it down to the occasional nightmare, I'd be happier than them just dropping the storyline completely. Hell, even if they had some sort of deus-ex-machina come down and partially rebuild the wall or something...just, ugh. I guess this isn't a complaint about this episode though, it's a complaint about S7. Sorry...sorry... I really do try to keep this journal positive, so I'll stop talking now and focus back on this episode.
I like the standoff between Crowley and Cas. I like that we got to see Cas' wing again and that "Look how bright I am" show of power thing that he does. That being said, no special effect of Cas' wings as ever looked as cool as the very first time we saw them. They were blurrier this time around...though, maybe that was part of the point, Cas IS still healing after all.
Cas breaks the tablet in two - meaning that the Winchesters have half and Crowley has half...and if the tablet reads top to bottom left to right (like for some reason I assume it does - even though I have absolutely nothing to base that one), then that means that the Winchesters could possibly have the chapter on sealing the hell gates and possibly the P.S. from Metatron...but I guess we'll have to wait and see. Like I said, I have absolutely no way of knowing how that tablet reads, so it could be that neither one of them has anything decipherable.
Okay, now let's talk about Dean's issues. I admit, I was wrong about why Cas was left behind in purgatory. Part of me really did want it to be Dean' fault, that Dean had been the one to make a moral mistake this time around...but, I suppose this serves me right for being so petty, because I mainly just wanted that so that all the high-horse "Dean can do no wrong" Dean!girls would have something to choke on. Like I said, petty.
And I feel doubly bad about wanting that because that's what Dean thought too - that somehow he had failed Cas. That this was another one of his "I always let down the people I love" moments...and well, that's just horribly heartbreaking. And he was a bit cold with Cas when Cas came back, because he probably expected Cas to be mad at him for failing or something. Oh Dean...
Turns out though, that Cas WANTED to stay back. He wanted to be punished for his sins, and purgatory was a good place to be punished. It makes a LOT of character sense when you think about it. In S7, he was horrified to find that he was still alive because he "deserved to die" and then he took on Sam's hell-scars and was HAPPY to be crazy, to the point where I think he was subconsciously PLAYING crazy, because being crazy was a punishment...it was a very SUITABLE punishment, because he had made Sam crazy. Of course, that didn't really work, because the cage-damage was SAM'S atonement, not Castiel's...and I think Cas realized this when he got to purgatory....
Being in trapped in purgatory with monsters is a very fitting punishment for an angel that through his own arrogance unleashed the monsters of purgatory on the world.
And he shows this to Dean, who had simply been remembering things the way he "needed to" ... which makes me wonder if now instead of feeding into Dean's "I fail everyone I love" issue, instead Castiel is feeding into Dean's "everyone I love abandons me" issue.... Dean's a tricky monkey to work around, emotionally speaking.
ETA: I gotta say though I LOVE the fact that Cas called Dean out on the whole "not everything is your responsibility" thing...mainly, because YES! But also because I think it really feeds into the theme of Free Will and Sam's line in 8x01 about whether Dean thought it was just for him. If Dean thinks that everything is his responsibility, it not only places him under an unnecessary burden, but it also negates everyone else's free will. Cas CHOSE to stay back, and yet Dean assumed that it was due to a failure on Dean's part. I think it also ties in to the whole Sam-quitting-hunting thing, because PostCage!Sam, I think, has accepted the fact that the world isn't his responsibility anymore. He can still choose to save it, but he can also choose to let other people save it... and I don't think Dean has reached that point yet. He still needs to be burdened by purpose in order to feel like he belongs, even though it inevitably leads to him feeling like a failure and losing everyone he loves.
(I will also say that between Dean and Cas' two main conversations in this episode - Destiel fans should be VERY happy. Destiel fans always annoyed me because they really um...stretched things to an insane level... like, some of the theories and interpretations were so out there that they were annoying [like conspiracy theorists trying to convince me that the president was actually a space-lizard or something]. There was just always a higher level of crazy in that part of the fandom...there still is, I guess, but with this new season, I actually see the destiel ship as blatant enough that the fans of it don't bug me as much, if that makes any sense. It probably doesn't, and I've probably just offended like, half of you, but whatever. I'm just saying that I totally agree with what Misha said at the latest Con...that they don't have to openly state it for it to be canon. And, it's also getting to the point where Cas has fallen far enough and matured as a character enough, that the ship doesn't actually squick me anymore. Though, for those of you who really hate destiel, don't worry - I'm still a gen-girl when it comes to SPN. I get my slash from my other fandoms.)
So, Sam sends the Trans off to be protected by Garth. I kind of want to see that crew, I gotta say. Though, part of me worries that the Trans are going to end up getting Garth killed. I do love the fact that Sam and Dean trust Garth's skills enough to ask him to watch over the Trans. Also, it lends more to the notion that Garth is taking over Bobby's role in Hunting Society, because before when Sam and Dean needed to protect someone, they always brought them to Bobby's. It makes me wonder if Garth is currently building a panic room somewhere. :P
Meanwhile, Cas is zapped back to Heaven. Where we meet Naomi. I'm not sure how I feel about this storyline... Naomi kind of smacks of Zachariah to me. I just don't trust her. Furthermore, it seems that Castiel actually can't hold his tongue around her...because she doesn't seem at all worried about his refusal to report back to her. Also, she's powerful enough to erase Cas' memories of each encounter and then send him back in such a way that his absence goes unnoticed.
Apparently, I am informed, Naomi is played by Amanda Tapping...which filled everyone else in the room with glee, but filled me with "*Who? *shrug*" So, um, yay Amanda Tapping? I'm sure she's a great actress from...uh...Stargate? Yeah, Stargate. It still doesn't mean that she reminds me less of Zachariah or that I trust her anymore. I don't trust her at all. You know what would make me trust her? IF SHE RESCUED MY BABY ANGEL!! WON'T SOMEONE THINK OF THE BABY ANGELS*?!
*I recognize that Samandriel is not actually a baby, he only looks like one... but I don't care.
So, Cas jumps in the backseat and it's OFF TO SEE THE WORLD!
Man, good myth-arc episode with LOTS of stuff going on.
As usual, let me know you're own thoughts (or point out what I missed) in comments!
And we have to wait two weeks for the next episode :(
WILL NO ONE SAVE MY BABY ANGEL?!!?!
I can't even remember how this episode starts... I guess with the little boy being nabbed? Well screw talking about that... CROWLEY IS TORTURING MY BABY ANGEL!!! Oh god, the horror. I don't think you guys understand how much I love Samandriel. He's my little powerful ancient baby angel!! And if no one will think of him, think about poor little baby Alfie!! I don't even care that he cracked under pressure and told Crowley all the names of the prophets - SOMEONE NEEDS TO SAVE HIM! Oh god. It's horrible. And then when Crowley had deemed him to be telling the truth about the prophets, I thought for a horrible instant that Crowley was going to kill him - but no, he said to "put him on ice" - what does that mean? I THOUGHT it meant that Castiel or the Winchesters or SOMEONE might rescue him before the end of the episode, but no...no....the sadness.
My friend said that I should prepare myself for him being another Adam - just... another forgotten victim... so, I've decided that if no one will save Samandriel, then I'm totally shipping him with Adam. So, my new OTP for Supernatural until I say otherwise is Samandriel/Adam. I'll write stories about them where they meet on the celestial plane and they'll just hold each other and sob about how no one ever rescues them. :P
Okay, umm... I guess I should talk about the episode - which you know, actually had very little to do with Samandriel and all to do with another angel that other fans love as much as I love Samandriel... so, you know, I'll indulge them, I suppose...it's the least I can do.
So, what happens first? Do we see Kevin, or do we see Cas? I kind of forget. You know, maybe I should just discuss their story lines a little bit separately until they meet up. We'll start with Kevin.
I like seeing Kevin and his mother. Mrs. Tran... (do we know her first name?)... is kind of hilarious, though I know she had made a mistake when she said she had contacted a witch. But, ah well... It's nice to see that she's conscious and up and about, and being possessed by Crowley that one time hasn't damaged her beyond repair. You can sort of understand now why Kevin himself is such a moral bad-ass who can rise to the occasion.
As much of a moral guy that he is though - I have to say that I loved the little touch of Kevin watching the witch's ass as she walked away. It was a nice little touch.
When the witch did show up and immediately asked to use the washroom, well, yeah, that's a dead giveaway that she's up to something. :P And sure enough, she let the demons in... Crowley takes Kevin and leaves orders to kill Mrs. Tran...and yeah, with someone who can break someone's neck with a snap of his fingers, Crowley was making a very Bond-Villain mistake there.
Okay okay, so let's talk about Sam and Dean... and Cas. :)
Now I can't remember what the heck song was playing while Dean was driving down the road, but I remember at the time finding it kind of hilarious.
Anywho, he sees Purgatory!Cas walking at the side of the road on the way to Rufus' cabin, and promptly slams on the breaks and reverses - only to find that Cas isn't there. SPOOKY. Is Dean insane? He probably feels it.
I like Sam's attempted "You look like you've seen a ghost" only he stops and admits that Dean would actually be stoked if he saw a ghost. Haha, oh Winchesters. But Dean brushes it off and listens as Sam explains about the missing people and the freak weather. Demonic omens for sure - which counts towards the hunt that Sam is ACTUALLY one. His one last hurrah (isn't that what the YED was supposed to be?)... so they go off to investigate...
I loved them interviewing the preschool lady, and Sam's little trick with saying the exorcism into the phone. That was cute.
But, that's not the main story here - back at the hotel room, Dean is laptopping it and Sam is sleeping. And my goodness, how is it possible for Sam to look that small and adorable while curled up in bed? He's gotta be bending the laws of physics somehow.
But Dean sees Cas peering through the window like a creeper. Oh Cas. And he shuts the laptop and goes to stand there - but Cas is gone. It wakes Sam up though - and I actually was pretty amazed when Dean was honest. He actually tells Sam that he saw Cas... he tells Sam that he feels guilty for making it out when Cas didn't. This is like HUGE STUFF for Mr. Dean Winchester here people. He and Sam are actually conversing like two relatively healthy adults! (Also, Sam is just in a t-shirt and sleep-pants... can we have more conversations like this please?)
Sam chalks it up to survivors guilt messing with Dean's brain. You'd think that last year they would have learned from the whole Ghost!Bobby thing that if one of them is seeing a "deceased" loved one, then something is screwy...but apparently not.
But it turns out that CAS IS BACK! He does the ol' 'appear behind Dean while he's at the bathroom sink' trick. I kind of wish that they'd shown his actual reunion with Sam...but, you know, that's just because I love the word "Sassy" I guess, so I wanted that segment of fandom to be happy...plus, I was sure that THIS time Sam would actually hug him. But maybe not. There were no Dean and Cas hugs either...mainly, I think, because Dean was all freaking out about what this meant for to his various emotional issues.
Sam IS happy to see Cas though. Cas, meanwhile, can't remember how he got out of purgatory, and just wants to shower.
He also, apparently, hasn't been up to full strength...which makes me wonder if he's been following the Winchesters around invisible, or if he's been phasing in and out of reality...like, being in vessel form and then being a wavelength of celestial intent and then phasing back into vessel form. These are things we will never get an answer to.
He DOES regain the ability to magically clean his trench-coat, shave, and somehow conjure a suit and tie out of nothingness... something that seemingly all angels acquired the ability to do in S5.
Cas missed TV. Awww...
Also, it only occurred to me during the scene where Dean was listing the prophets and Castiel finished the list that Castiel has NO IDEA what's going on. He doesn't know about the whole "seal the gates forever" thing... or that Sam had quit hunting after he and Dean disappeared...or that Dean is all PTSD about everything.
Cas does mention though, that Kevin being awakened as a prophet means that Chuck is dead. I love how it's nearly FIVE YEARS LATER and they're only now realizing that Chuck is gone... oh god, there's little hope for Samandriel, is there?
(I still prefer to think that Chuck was a particular kind of prophet with a particular task...just think about how different his "gift" worked to Kevin's... and that after his role was complete, he ascended to heaven, as prophets do... and that you don't necessarily have to think of him as God if you don't want to.)
Anyway, let's talk about Kevin.
I like Kevin...I kind of think that he was trying to stall Crowley as much as he could... but it's not like he knew his mother was still alive, or that Sam and Dean were coming, so he didn't have THAT much hope...so yeah, losing a finger is pretty bad...but he still reads that tablet as slowly as possible.
We didn't hear the whole note from Metatron. I REALLY want to know what the whole note said - because it was the last one Metatron wrote, and then it sounded like Metatron may have GONE somewhere... where? Do you think Metatron is somewhere on earth? It seemed to be a farewell note...so do you think he became human? But that would have happened centuries ago... so....maybe he's reborn again and again? Or...something else? I'm super intrigued now, but the only people who know are Crowley and Kevin and Kevin didn't say, damn it. Maybe it's nothing...but somehow I doubt that. Why include a P.S. from Metatron if it's not important. It couldn't possibly be just so that Crowley could learn that there's more than two tablets...I mean, no offense to anyone, but in my opinion, any idiot could have figured out that there's more than two tablets. There's probably a tablet on every single one of God's creations...humans, monsters, demons, angels...
Okay, back to Mrs. Tran. Mrs. Tran calls Sam. Yay! She's also managed to capture a demon and put him in her trunk...how she managed to do that, I don't know... she's a wizard.
So, off they go to rescue Kevin... (and I had hoped, Samandriel, but it appears that all my hopes were for naught.)
Sam gets to use a demon bomb! That was super cool. I wonder if the Winchester's will have they usual "somehow always have ingredients on hand" luck with these demon bombs, or if they really will be a rare weapon. One thing I love about Supernatural is that (for the most part) the characters actually do "level-up" over the years. (RPG fans know what I'm talking about here.)
Sam rescues the would-be prophets. I guess I didn't talk about them very much... um, I'll do that now. I like the whole "Are you an alien?" thing that they did with Crowley...because it's true. If people are actually applying modern urban legends to the circumstances they are in, the more popular explanation these days is aliens, not demons. Also, that German-looking dude was very German-looking, my god. He could have played Wolfenstein in the live-action movie. (Have they done that one yet? "Ach! Mein Leben!"....no one knows what I'm talking about, do they? Early 90s video-game jokes? Bueller?)
Anyway, um, two of the would-be prophets ARE killed, and that poor kid is probably traumatized beyond belief...but I like how Sam runs in and sees all the blood and is like "Ah damn it" and then everyone was just hiding behind the table.
Meanwhile, Dean's lock-picking skills are rusty, so Cas zaps his way in there and confronts Crowley all by his lonesome.
Okay...so, ONE thing that kind of pisses me off...and I'm sure a few of you will see this coming...but it kind of annoys me that they've just dropped the entire "Sam's damaged soul" storyline. Sam doesn't have any repercussions because Castiel took them - Castiel doesn't have any repercussions because for some reason purgatory cured him. It just...really annoys me. I'm not saying that I wanted Sam or Cas to stay insane...I'm just saying that it would have been as easy as Sam or Cas LEARNING TO DEAL. Even if they reduced it down to the occasional nightmare, I'd be happier than them just dropping the storyline completely. Hell, even if they had some sort of deus-ex-machina come down and partially rebuild the wall or something...just, ugh. I guess this isn't a complaint about this episode though, it's a complaint about S7. Sorry...sorry... I really do try to keep this journal positive, so I'll stop talking now and focus back on this episode.
I like the standoff between Crowley and Cas. I like that we got to see Cas' wing again and that "Look how bright I am" show of power thing that he does. That being said, no special effect of Cas' wings as ever looked as cool as the very first time we saw them. They were blurrier this time around...though, maybe that was part of the point, Cas IS still healing after all.
Cas breaks the tablet in two - meaning that the Winchesters have half and Crowley has half...and if the tablet reads top to bottom left to right (like for some reason I assume it does - even though I have absolutely nothing to base that one), then that means that the Winchesters could possibly have the chapter on sealing the hell gates and possibly the P.S. from Metatron...but I guess we'll have to wait and see. Like I said, I have absolutely no way of knowing how that tablet reads, so it could be that neither one of them has anything decipherable.
Okay, now let's talk about Dean's issues. I admit, I was wrong about why Cas was left behind in purgatory. Part of me really did want it to be Dean' fault, that Dean had been the one to make a moral mistake this time around...but, I suppose this serves me right for being so petty, because I mainly just wanted that so that all the high-horse "Dean can do no wrong" Dean!girls would have something to choke on. Like I said, petty.
And I feel doubly bad about wanting that because that's what Dean thought too - that somehow he had failed Cas. That this was another one of his "I always let down the people I love" moments...and well, that's just horribly heartbreaking. And he was a bit cold with Cas when Cas came back, because he probably expected Cas to be mad at him for failing or something. Oh Dean...
Turns out though, that Cas WANTED to stay back. He wanted to be punished for his sins, and purgatory was a good place to be punished. It makes a LOT of character sense when you think about it. In S7, he was horrified to find that he was still alive because he "deserved to die" and then he took on Sam's hell-scars and was HAPPY to be crazy, to the point where I think he was subconsciously PLAYING crazy, because being crazy was a punishment...it was a very SUITABLE punishment, because he had made Sam crazy. Of course, that didn't really work, because the cage-damage was SAM'S atonement, not Castiel's...and I think Cas realized this when he got to purgatory....
Being in trapped in purgatory with monsters is a very fitting punishment for an angel that through his own arrogance unleashed the monsters of purgatory on the world.
And he shows this to Dean, who had simply been remembering things the way he "needed to" ... which makes me wonder if now instead of feeding into Dean's "I fail everyone I love" issue, instead Castiel is feeding into Dean's "everyone I love abandons me" issue.... Dean's a tricky monkey to work around, emotionally speaking.
ETA: I gotta say though I LOVE the fact that Cas called Dean out on the whole "not everything is your responsibility" thing...mainly, because YES! But also because I think it really feeds into the theme of Free Will and Sam's line in 8x01 about whether Dean thought it was just for him. If Dean thinks that everything is his responsibility, it not only places him under an unnecessary burden, but it also negates everyone else's free will. Cas CHOSE to stay back, and yet Dean assumed that it was due to a failure on Dean's part. I think it also ties in to the whole Sam-quitting-hunting thing, because PostCage!Sam, I think, has accepted the fact that the world isn't his responsibility anymore. He can still choose to save it, but he can also choose to let other people save it... and I don't think Dean has reached that point yet. He still needs to be burdened by purpose in order to feel like he belongs, even though it inevitably leads to him feeling like a failure and losing everyone he loves.
(I will also say that between Dean and Cas' two main conversations in this episode - Destiel fans should be VERY happy. Destiel fans always annoyed me because they really um...stretched things to an insane level... like, some of the theories and interpretations were so out there that they were annoying [like conspiracy theorists trying to convince me that the president was actually a space-lizard or something]. There was just always a higher level of crazy in that part of the fandom...there still is, I guess, but with this new season, I actually see the destiel ship as blatant enough that the fans of it don't bug me as much, if that makes any sense. It probably doesn't, and I've probably just offended like, half of you, but whatever. I'm just saying that I totally agree with what Misha said at the latest Con...that they don't have to openly state it for it to be canon. And, it's also getting to the point where Cas has fallen far enough and matured as a character enough, that the ship doesn't actually squick me anymore. Though, for those of you who really hate destiel, don't worry - I'm still a gen-girl when it comes to SPN. I get my slash from my other fandoms.)
So, Sam sends the Trans off to be protected by Garth. I kind of want to see that crew, I gotta say. Though, part of me worries that the Trans are going to end up getting Garth killed. I do love the fact that Sam and Dean trust Garth's skills enough to ask him to watch over the Trans. Also, it lends more to the notion that Garth is taking over Bobby's role in Hunting Society, because before when Sam and Dean needed to protect someone, they always brought them to Bobby's. It makes me wonder if Garth is currently building a panic room somewhere. :P
Meanwhile, Cas is zapped back to Heaven. Where we meet Naomi. I'm not sure how I feel about this storyline... Naomi kind of smacks of Zachariah to me. I just don't trust her. Furthermore, it seems that Castiel actually can't hold his tongue around her...because she doesn't seem at all worried about his refusal to report back to her. Also, she's powerful enough to erase Cas' memories of each encounter and then send him back in such a way that his absence goes unnoticed.
Apparently, I am informed, Naomi is played by Amanda Tapping...which filled everyone else in the room with glee, but filled me with "*Who? *shrug*" So, um, yay Amanda Tapping? I'm sure she's a great actress from...uh...Stargate? Yeah, Stargate. It still doesn't mean that she reminds me less of Zachariah or that I trust her anymore. I don't trust her at all. You know what would make me trust her? IF SHE RESCUED MY BABY ANGEL!! WON'T SOMEONE THINK OF THE BABY ANGELS*?!
*I recognize that Samandriel is not actually a baby, he only looks like one... but I don't care.
So, Cas jumps in the backseat and it's OFF TO SEE THE WORLD!
Man, good myth-arc episode with LOTS of stuff going on.
As usual, let me know you're own thoughts (or point out what I missed) in comments!
And we have to wait two weeks for the next episode :(