Pondering Castiel...

[ash48]

Castiel is complex. I had no idea. I admit to never really connecting to him as a character. I've tried to but I've always got the feeling that they've just tried to fit him in somehow. Work him in because he's a fan favourite. Find reasons for him to be around. Most of the time, when he's on the screen, I kinda glaze over (*ack! don't hate me

Comments

[counteragent]

Yeah. Castiel is a character I like a lot better in fic because usually an author pciks a direction for his character and sticks with it. I feel like I've seen three or dour very distinct castiels in fic/vids. I like all of them, but they ate not the same character!

[ash48]

Ah yes - I think you hit the nail on the head re the "different" Castiel's in vids and fics. I think the trouble with vidding him is which Cas to choose. Which aspects to focus on...

xx

[ancastar]

Castiel, for me (and yes, I know there are many out there who utterly adore him--so I'm sure to annoy some folks with this comment) is a character who served a certain purpose in the bigger storyline, but whose time is now over.

I've never really connected to the character and I really, really liked better when he was more mysterious, powerful and morally ambiguous. I'm not a fan of "angel as sidekick."

I will fully admit, there were some episodes where he had a line or a moment that really worked for me. But overall I'm kind of bummed he'll be back next year. There's no purpose for it. The Apocalypse has been averted. I'm pretty sure an angel has more to do than hang with the Winchesters.

[ash48]

Yeah - I think I'm pretty much with you on this. And it's the "angel as a sidekick" that I'm having trouble with in the vid. His moral ambiguity is the most interesting to me, but in S5 he seems to have lost that. He appears more as a help to the boys - though he does have moments of trying to find his own answers.

And yes - if he's back as an angel with full powers I'm sure he has better things to do than hang around the boys. Though - that might be the point. Maybe he doesn't have anything else to do. I've always wondered if Cas is their "personal" guardian angel. The one on their shoulders as it were. That might explain why he's always around them...

*huggles hun* I need to chat about this so I can form some sort of "picture" .. so thanks! :D

[ash48]

Hey hun! Nothing shallow about liking Cas. I suppose it's like any part of the show. Some peeps like and some peeps don't so much. I think he is definitely an interesting character. He's just never done a whole lot for me. Though, I know more about him now than I've ever done. :)

And yes, it would make more sense to me if Jimmy was dead. I'm not sure I think the idea of a host being alive will possessed, by either an angel or a demon.

And thanks for the Jimmy vid rec. She makes awesome vids yeah?

And the vid is finally getting a bit of structure. Though I'm tackling S5 Cas now and that ain't so easy...

*smish*

[yourlibrarian]

For some reason his character arc is less clear to me in S5 (maybe more research is required).

I think that has more to do with the writing!

How is that body constantly resurrected? (that's a damn stupid question I know!)

No, not really, as I expect the answer to this will be equally as important for Sam's return. We know Dean's body was simply restored with the soul brought out of hell, but yes, Castiel was blown apart twice making the restoration a bit more problematic.

Also, as Cas becomes more "human" is that Jimmy leaking out in some way? Or just Cas taking on human traits?We know angels can read minds, and certainly Castiel could tap into Jimmy's mind and memory at any time to learn about things he doesn't know. I think this does explain the way he's able to navigate around humans surprisingly well and yet can still seem baffled by things (there's a difference in knowing "how" to do something without really understanding "why" it is done.) It seems to me a byproduct of this would be that Castiel becomes more like Jimmy,

[ash48]

I think that has more to do with the writing!

Ahh. I wondered that. I was thinking I was missing some major character moment, but I think I have all the important ones... (I hope!)

In other words, SPN has been really vague and contradictory about how any of this works.

Well, again that's good because I've read some stuff trying to make some sense of all that and really if show hasn't been clear then it's not just me.. *g*

Where he's been since though, who knows?

Yeah, that's the thing. Watching that scene again Raphael was full of threat and I thought that if he had escaped he would have made is presence known somehow. I think that might jut be another one of those loose ends.

Thanks for this. I was almost going to PM you to have a little brainstorm, but I thought of posting here instead. The vid is progressing - but I kinda hit a little stumbling block with S5 Cas.

But I think I might be ready to tackle it now.. *G*

xx

[yourlibrarian]

I don't know if you've seen this story, but I found the take on Castiel (and Sam's view of him) interesting:

http://unoshot.livejournal.com/2406.html

[ash48]

Thanks. I notice there's a podfic - so I'll take a listen.
:D

[phx69]

I will admit I am not a Cas fan. I would have been happy with him being dead at the end of the season but mostly because of his attitude and behavior towards Sam especially in season 4. I get that Dean was Cas's task and all but when it started to feel like Sam was being relegated to the backseat both in the series and most especially the fandom, to Cas, I found it hard to like him. And his betrayal to Dean by letting Sam out of the panic room? talk about another unresolved line.

I did like him more in Season 5 because there was more interaction between him and BOTH the brothers, plus him staking a claim to Sam as his friend went a long way. But then I was bothered by Cas's lack of concern about Sam being in hell at the end of season 5, instead Cas was jubilient that he got to go back to heaven. I was expecting some sympathy or show of emotion that he had lost a good friend, particularly in light of Dean's anger and grief. Or maybe Cas felt Sam being in hell was fitting. I dunno...

[ash48]

Yeah - I've always had trouble warming to Cas. I did prefer it when he was working with both of the brothers and I like that he stood up to Lucifer to say "You are not taking Sam Winchester". But I find him a difficult to understand - in terms of his motivations. I get that he enjoys the Winchesters' friendship and has perhaps learned from them. Maybe he is still developing his "emotions" so doesn't feel grief the same way humans do? Maybe that's why he didn't show sorrow at the end of S5. Or maybe they still just don't really know what to do with him. Dean needed healing, so it was easy to have Cas return...

*shrugs* I dunno either..

Thanks for sharing though hun. I'm making a Cas vid (for a friend) and I'm trying to get my head around him.
xx