Supernatural 5.6 Meta and Picspam Part 2
Part 1 is here.
Caveat lector: I am pro-pretty-much-everybody. Yes, even him. Especially him. I'm biased toward Dean, though, there's no point trying to deny it.
Caveat vector(?): I am still learning GIMP. Some of these shots turned out...odd, when I tried to brighten them. (Darn SPN and their super-dark, super-washed-out lighting, anyway.) But you can see their faces now, so I count it as a win.
All graphics are free to good homes, if you're crazy enough to want them. Just don't hotlink.
Spoil me and die.
Oh, this part. This is the controversial part, from what I've seen around fandom, particularly the Sam and Castiel interaction. So here, I'm going to point out a few things, and maybe then I'll talk about it more later, if I feel up to it.
Yes, I love Castiel. I will never pretend otherwise. I'm somewhat unreasonable about it, but I will try to explain myself, even if that ends up being impossible. I really don't mind spending hours just thinking about Castiel, honestly, so it's no hardship.
Castiel in this shot, and this scene...oh, he's so earnest. And so worried. And the first time I watched this scene the thought highest in my brain was, "Wow, he still cares that much about the other angels." They've abandoned him, but Castiel has in no way abandoned them. They're still his family and he's still loyal. Indeed, he may be the only loyal angel left in the universe. I find this endlessly endearing.
Yes, humanity means something to Castiel, and he sacrificed everything he had to protect the world, including (temporarily) his very life. But his highest priority is still protecting his brothers and sisters. Surely Dean and Sam could understand this. They've both shown willingness to let the rest of the world go down in flames in order to protect each other.
Note also that Castiel calls Jesse "it", and "thing" and "this child" (with heavy ironic emphasis). He doesn't see a little human boy. He sees a demonic creature capable of destroying everyone he cares about.
This is the perspective Castiel is bringing to this situation. I think it's important to understand that.
(I'll kind of floof over the part where he says that the Bible I believe in gets more wrong than it does right. I've already had to resign myself to the fact that the Supernatural God is not the God I know and love, so this is just another disappointment to add to the pile. I wish Kripke wouldn't throw it in my face, though. I know, I know, it's just a TV show drawing from Christian myth, not a statement of theology. It still saddens me if I think about it. Anyway.)
"You didn't."
Ouch.
But did you notice how long the pause was before Castiel said this? He thought about it. He thought about it long and hard. And he stared at Sam, and he remembered what had happened before. And he decided that he couldn't trust the decision-making skills of a young human. He could not stake the life of everyone he's known and loved for millennia on a gamble like that. Not when he's already seen how that turned out once.
Yes, the situations are not the same. Sam did not have the information he needed to make a good decision, not like he intends to give Jesse. He was manipulated and used, including by Castiel himself (after he had been hauled back to heaven and ever-so-gently persuaded that Zachariah's way was best). Sam thought he was saving the world and he was willing to sacrifice everything to do it, including his humanity.
It's my feeling that Castiel, still being new to the whole free-will thing, does not see the complexity of Sam's situation. To him, Sam last season had a very simple choice, the same as Castiel has always had--to obey or not to obey. Don't use your powers. Leave it alone. Let the angels handle it.
Sam chose disobedience. It turned out to be the wrong decision, even though it seemed right at the time. (I personally don't blame him for his decisions. I never have. The feelings of power and control, yeah, they were nice too. But I do believe that Sam's intentions were good, ultimately.)
Castiel also chose disobedience, eventually. Perhaps he's afraid that it will turn out to be wrong for him, too. It's cost him his place, his identity, his family, his freedom, many of his powers. It may ultimately cost him his life. And what has it accomplished? Nothing, in his eyes. Absolutely nothing.
I'm guessing that intentions, to Castiel, don't really carry a lot of weight. Results do. And the results of Sam's decisions? Baaaaad.
This whole "making choices" thing is somewhat problematic for our little angel.
None of this makes Castiel's actions in this episode right, just like none of the extenuating circumstances last season made Sam's decisions right. But I think they're understandable. All of them.
I asked for more Sam-and-Castiel interaction and I got it, and I'm glad. Even though it was tense, painful, even though it makes Sam look like the shot above. (Awww, puppy. :( ♥) Dean and Castiel started out antagonistic, too. I hope Sam and Castiel eventually grow to be buddies just like they did.
Dean's so disappointed in them both. It's like Sam and John all over again, and once again Dean cares for them both and understands them both and just quietly stands by, choosing not to participate.
It's clear later, though, that he's on Sam's side in this one.
Sam's little "DAMMIT!" was exactly like the one in 4.16 after Uriel and Castiel whisked his brother away. ♥ :( ♥ :( ♥ Those angels just won't stop messing with him.
This is the demon-killing knife, isn't it? Did he STEAL it from Sam and Dean? Oh, Cas, you sneaky little bastard.
Yeah, honey, your "I won't hurt you" speech needs some work. Not real convincing, there.
And Castiel putting THIS look on the face of a little kid? OWMYHEARTWHYDOYOUDOOOOOOTHISTOMEOOWWWWW.
He's so regretful here. Despite all his efforts to see Jesse as demonspawn, reprehensible, evil, unredeemable, Castiel sees the little boy, too.
Uriel wouldn't. Zachariah wouldn't. Castiel has a lot to learn, but Sam and Dean are definitely rubbing off on him.
It doesn't stay his hand, though.
Sam and Dean changed out of their suits before rushing over here all frantic-like. So what, they got cleaned up and had some pizza and watched the Simpsons, and then they lazing around the motel room cleaning the weapons, and then one of them went, "Hey, where's Ruby's knife?" and then they looked at each other all wide-eyed, and then they tore over to Jesse's house already knowing what they'd find? I bet it was something like that.
Poor little anti-christ. He's so shaken up by his ordeal. Though I'd love to know what thought process led to...
Wow, I'd rather this guy with the knife were a little resin/metal statue for Dean to carry gently in his hand with one palm cupped beneath it just in case it falls.
Deans cares so much. It's adorable.
(BTW, the Cas-statue reminded me of the little figures my friends who are even geekier than me use to play tabletop war games, and those are usually made of die-cast metal and hand-painted. Just thought I'd mention, since there's been some discussion.)
Ugh, you see what I mean about the weirdness? I think this one actually looks better desaturated.
(At least it was better than the original, though. Which was this:)
Yeah.
Anyway. I thought it was really sweet of Dean to try to put a positive spin on things for little Jesse. What he said was true, in a way. From a certain point of view. Way to Obi-Wan it up, Dean.
(Also, tahirire and I were totally going on way back at the beginning about how Bobby was totally either Professor X or Oracle now and how that was completely and utterly AWESOME, so I adored this bit with every pulse of my geeky little heart.)
Yes, he is beautiful. But you don't get say that, you stain. ::fumes::
I hate this demon so much.
I love Sam's earnestness. I think I might have a thing about earnestness.
And total yayness for Jesse making the right choice. I hope he doesn't get hurt in the course of events. I hope he doesn't get twisted.
Aw, Dean, your "I've just been beat up and almost choked to death by a demon and I'd really sort of like to pass out now" face is...actually very amusing to me. I'm sorry.
Hee! I love how careful Dean is to be absolutely truthful now.
"He was just confused."
Yeah.
I like, here, how Sam and Dean have made Jesse taller than them, giving him the power and the control. The choice.
Hee! too at Sam's very much LACK of gentleness in handling the Cas-figure. :D
Yay Castiel back to normal! He looks rather relieved that Jesse is away and he doesn't have to kill him anymore.
This is where I was going to write some more meta, but I've already been working on this post for two hours. Maybe later, then.
Aaaaaannnnddd... The boys wish that John had lied to them. At least a little bit. Guess they already forgot what happened to Adam.
And again, I wonder how they would react if they saw another kid, another set of siblings, living through the childhood they had.
But I have to go to Huntington to play D&D now. Please do talk amongst yourselves.
Caveat lector: I am pro-pretty-much-everybody. Yes, even him. Especially him. I'm biased toward Dean, though, there's no point trying to deny it.
Caveat vector(?): I am still learning GIMP. Some of these shots turned out...odd, when I tried to brighten them. (Darn SPN and their super-dark, super-washed-out lighting, anyway.) But you can see their faces now, so I count it as a win.
All graphics are free to good homes, if you're crazy enough to want them. Just don't hotlink.
Spoil me and die.
Oh, this part. This is the controversial part, from what I've seen around fandom, particularly the Sam and Castiel interaction. So here, I'm going to point out a few things, and maybe then I'll talk about it more later, if I feel up to it.
Yes, I love Castiel. I will never pretend otherwise. I'm somewhat unreasonable about it, but I will try to explain myself, even if that ends up being impossible. I really don't mind spending hours just thinking about Castiel, honestly, so it's no hardship.
Castiel in this shot, and this scene...oh, he's so earnest. And so worried. And the first time I watched this scene the thought highest in my brain was, "Wow, he still cares that much about the other angels." They've abandoned him, but Castiel has in no way abandoned them. They're still his family and he's still loyal. Indeed, he may be the only loyal angel left in the universe. I find this endlessly endearing.
Yes, humanity means something to Castiel, and he sacrificed everything he had to protect the world, including (temporarily) his very life. But his highest priority is still protecting his brothers and sisters. Surely Dean and Sam could understand this. They've both shown willingness to let the rest of the world go down in flames in order to protect each other.
Note also that Castiel calls Jesse "it", and "thing" and "this child" (with heavy ironic emphasis). He doesn't see a little human boy. He sees a demonic creature capable of destroying everyone he cares about.
This is the perspective Castiel is bringing to this situation. I think it's important to understand that.
(I'll kind of floof over the part where he says that the Bible I believe in gets more wrong than it does right. I've already had to resign myself to the fact that the Supernatural God is not the God I know and love, so this is just another disappointment to add to the pile. I wish Kripke wouldn't throw it in my face, though. I know, I know, it's just a TV show drawing from Christian myth, not a statement of theology. It still saddens me if I think about it. Anyway.)
"You didn't."
Ouch.
But did you notice how long the pause was before Castiel said this? He thought about it. He thought about it long and hard. And he stared at Sam, and he remembered what had happened before. And he decided that he couldn't trust the decision-making skills of a young human. He could not stake the life of everyone he's known and loved for millennia on a gamble like that. Not when he's already seen how that turned out once.
Yes, the situations are not the same. Sam did not have the information he needed to make a good decision, not like he intends to give Jesse. He was manipulated and used, including by Castiel himself (after he had been hauled back to heaven and ever-so-gently persuaded that Zachariah's way was best). Sam thought he was saving the world and he was willing to sacrifice everything to do it, including his humanity.
It's my feeling that Castiel, still being new to the whole free-will thing, does not see the complexity of Sam's situation. To him, Sam last season had a very simple choice, the same as Castiel has always had--to obey or not to obey. Don't use your powers. Leave it alone. Let the angels handle it.
Sam chose disobedience. It turned out to be the wrong decision, even though it seemed right at the time. (I personally don't blame him for his decisions. I never have. The feelings of power and control, yeah, they were nice too. But I do believe that Sam's intentions were good, ultimately.)
Castiel also chose disobedience, eventually. Perhaps he's afraid that it will turn out to be wrong for him, too. It's cost him his place, his identity, his family, his freedom, many of his powers. It may ultimately cost him his life. And what has it accomplished? Nothing, in his eyes. Absolutely nothing.
I'm guessing that intentions, to Castiel, don't really carry a lot of weight. Results do. And the results of Sam's decisions? Baaaaad.
This whole "making choices" thing is somewhat problematic for our little angel.
None of this makes Castiel's actions in this episode right, just like none of the extenuating circumstances last season made Sam's decisions right. But I think they're understandable. All of them.
I asked for more Sam-and-Castiel interaction and I got it, and I'm glad. Even though it was tense, painful, even though it makes Sam look like the shot above. (Awww, puppy. :( ♥) Dean and Castiel started out antagonistic, too. I hope Sam and Castiel eventually grow to be buddies just like they did.
Dean's so disappointed in them both. It's like Sam and John all over again, and once again Dean cares for them both and understands them both and just quietly stands by, choosing not to participate.
It's clear later, though, that he's on Sam's side in this one.
Sam's little "DAMMIT!" was exactly like the one in 4.16 after Uriel and Castiel whisked his brother away. ♥ :( ♥ :( ♥ Those angels just won't stop messing with him.
This is the demon-killing knife, isn't it? Did he STEAL it from Sam and Dean? Oh, Cas, you sneaky little bastard.
Yeah, honey, your "I won't hurt you" speech needs some work. Not real convincing, there.
And Castiel putting THIS look on the face of a little kid? OWMYHEARTWHYDOYOUDOOOOOOTHISTOMEOOWWWWW.
He's so regretful here. Despite all his efforts to see Jesse as demonspawn, reprehensible, evil, unredeemable, Castiel sees the little boy, too.
Uriel wouldn't. Zachariah wouldn't. Castiel has a lot to learn, but Sam and Dean are definitely rubbing off on him.
It doesn't stay his hand, though.
Sam and Dean changed out of their suits before rushing over here all frantic-like. So what, they got cleaned up and had some pizza and watched the Simpsons, and then they lazing around the motel room cleaning the weapons, and then one of them went, "Hey, where's Ruby's knife?" and then they looked at each other all wide-eyed, and then they tore over to Jesse's house already knowing what they'd find? I bet it was something like that.
Poor little anti-christ. He's so shaken up by his ordeal. Though I'd love to know what thought process led to...
Wow, I'd rather this guy with the knife were a little resin/metal statue for Dean to carry gently in his hand with one palm cupped beneath it just in case it falls.
Deans cares so much. It's adorable.
(BTW, the Cas-statue reminded me of the little figures my friends who are even geekier than me use to play tabletop war games, and those are usually made of die-cast metal and hand-painted. Just thought I'd mention, since there's been some discussion.)
Ugh, you see what I mean about the weirdness? I think this one actually looks better desaturated.
(At least it was better than the original, though. Which was this:)
Yeah.
Anyway. I thought it was really sweet of Dean to try to put a positive spin on things for little Jesse. What he said was true, in a way. From a certain point of view. Way to Obi-Wan it up, Dean.
(Also, tahirire and I were totally going on way back at the beginning about how Bobby was totally either Professor X or Oracle now and how that was completely and utterly AWESOME, so I adored this bit with every pulse of my geeky little heart.)
Yes, he is beautiful. But you don't get say that, you stain. ::fumes::
I hate this demon so much.
I love Sam's earnestness. I think I might have a thing about earnestness.
And total yayness for Jesse making the right choice. I hope he doesn't get hurt in the course of events. I hope he doesn't get twisted.
Aw, Dean, your "I've just been beat up and almost choked to death by a demon and I'd really sort of like to pass out now" face is...actually very amusing to me. I'm sorry.
Hee! I love how careful Dean is to be absolutely truthful now.
"He was just confused."
Yeah.
I like, here, how Sam and Dean have made Jesse taller than them, giving him the power and the control. The choice.
Hee! too at Sam's very much LACK of gentleness in handling the Cas-figure. :D
Yay Castiel back to normal! He looks rather relieved that Jesse is away and he doesn't have to kill him anymore.
This is where I was going to write some more meta, but I've already been working on this post for two hours. Maybe later, then.
Aaaaaannnnddd... The boys wish that John had lied to them. At least a little bit. Guess they already forgot what happened to Adam.
And again, I wonder how they would react if they saw another kid, another set of siblings, living through the childhood they had.
But I have to go to Huntington to play D&D now. Please do talk amongst yourselves.