In the twentieth episode of the sixth season of Supernatural, Castiel reveals the mess he’s created over the course of the past season. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Supernatural.
Haha, remember when I complained about how hard it was to visualize the civil war in Heaven because we never saw it? HAHAH REMEMBER HOW I WASN’T EVEN REMOTELY READY FOR WHAT THIS EPISODE WOULD DO TO ME? Y’all, this is so great, a fantastic entry into this season. I certainly don’t hate season six at all, and I know that there were folks worried I’d just instantly turn against it. I mean, you have to remember that I don’t go through the same experience as folks who watch something in real time. There wasn’t a long summer break for me between seasons five and six; I didn’t read any of the behind-the-scenes info or interviews while watching this and I still don’t. I know now that there was a possibility that the show might have ended after season five, but I try to limit my exposure to any information outside of the canon specifically so I can experience the story itself. I want to discuss the merits and problems of a narrative without outside influences because I find it more rewarding in this context. Hell, I rarely even read fanfiction of a show I’m watching or a book I’m reading because I’m worried about how I’ll perceive things in the future.
This still feels like Supernatural to me, and while I certainly think there are issues this season that are unavoidable, it’s still the same show to me. So far. Is it as good as season five? Some times, yes, other times, no, but it’s in episodes like “The Man Who Would Be King” that we see the potential for this show to last a long, long time. This story dramatically pushes Castiel into the foreground, so much so that it felt like the first real chance to get an intimate look at his character. That’s intentional on the show’s part, since the entire episode is framed around Castiel praying to his father, begging God to give him a sign that he’s on the right path. That’s such a private moment for the show to give us, and it hints at the greater implications of this story. We’re given this glimpse because we need to understand why Castiel has made the choices he has. In that sense, isn’t the episode acting in a similar manner to Castiel? Castiel, by the end of “The Man Who Would Be King,” is desperate to make Dean understand why he’s agreed to a deal with Crowley, and that’s what this narrative does, too.
Teetering between the Winchesters’ and Bobby’s search for Crowley and the truth and flashbacks to explain Castiel’s role in the events of season six, “The Man Who Would Be King” provides us with some crucial insight to explain the devastating twist at the end of the previous episode. Castiel always knew that Crowley was still alive because he specifically conned the Winchesters and Bobby into believing he was dead. But if this episode had merely shown us Castiel’s con and focused purely on the shock value, I don’t think it would have been nearly as entertaining or fulfilling to watch.
For me, it’s Castiel’s sense of respect for Dean and how he ultimately makes the “wrong” choice because of it that is compelling to me. Castiel is deliberately an inhuman character, and he wouldn’t have worked in seasons four and five if he was just like everyone else. Sure, that’s played up for humor often, but it’s also a brilliant way to worldbuild. Castiel has helped us understand the true nature of angels: they’re goddamn jerks. And that inherent inability to empathize with humanity or see them as anything other than cannon fodder, collateral damage, or mere nuisances is intrinsic to angel culture. So how does Castiel come to see things differently?
Well, it’s undeniable at this point that this is because of Dean Winchester. Oh, holy Destiel, this episode so clearly begins to introduce this concept to us, and I can’t deny it. It’s right there. Like… I know it’s still a subtext and I’m not entertaining the notion that Destiel is canon in any way. (We’ll save the queerbaiting conversation for another day because I don’t think episode dabbles in that at all.) But goddamn, Castiel changed because of Dean Winchester. Dean was the one who taught Cas about freedom. While both the Winchesters were instrumental in averting the apocalypse – and this is a crucial detail, mind you – it’s Dean specifically who is more of the catalyst for Castiel’s own growth. Castiel gets his freedom from God and from the rigid world of the angels, and he doesn’t know what to do with it. He knows he has it, and he’s quick to utilize his freedom to fight Raphael, and he’s quickly shown that freedom doesn’t come without consequences.
Of course, that’s what this whole journey is about, isn’t it? Castiel is now horrified by the consequences of his actions, but he’s learning that this reaction alone doesn’t change circumstances. No, far from it; everything is still UTTER GARBAGE. That’s not to say I don’t sympathize with Castiel’s predicament. “The Man Who Would Be King” properly shows us the choices that Castiel was left with in the aftermath of the aversion of the apocalypse. His fellow angels, convinced that God had resurrected Castiel in order for him to become their leader, were eager to follow him. However, just because the angels were now free from God doesn’t mean that any of them were any better equipped to deal with that freedom. That’s why it was so easy for Raphael to step into the power vacuum left behind. He knew, better than Castiel did, that angels would not be ready for a massive, existence-altering change.
So, there’s Castiel’s first choice: submit to Raphael or fight him and most certainly die. Castiel is so certain throughout all of this that everything is hopelessly complicated, but when you break it down, it’s really not. The ramifications of his choices are definitely complex, but the choices themselves are not. I think Crowley, always eager to get what he wants, tried to make Castiel believe that there were other options besides submit or die. He muddied the waters, which is utterly unsurprising because he’s a demon. That’s what he does. His manipulation of Castiel here is unreal to watch because to us, it’s plain as day. It’s obvious that he was appealing to Castiel’s pride while they were down in Hell, and it’s obvious that he knew just the right things to say to convince Cas to work with him to locate purgatory and pilfer the souls that remained there. And shit, it’s obvious that Crowley lending Castiel those souls was part of his continued manipulation. He knew that Castiel couldn’t resist that kind of power, especially once he saw how it leveled the playing field between him and Raphael.
I don’t know what the endgame here is, though. The souls would help Crowley stay in control of Hell, but it’s not like we have any reason to trust him at this point. Who’s to say he’ll stop at that? But if Castiel has control of tens of millions of souls, is he just going to kill Raphael, or is he also going to have to eliminate all of Raphael’s devotees, too? What happens if he’s successful???
Okay, those are clearly questions for another time. I’m not going to get answers soon. But I wanted to focus on Dean here at the end because his part in this story is critical. The writers are clever to allow us to see this from multiple angles because it sets up the inevitable heartbreak. Given the end of “Mommie Dearest,” we know Castiel was lying, and it was also certain that eventually, Bobby, Sam, and Dean would discover the truth. What I wasn’t ready to witness was Dean throwing himself in front of Castiel to defend him, to demonstrate his loyalty, to point out how many times Castiel has done incredible things for them all. OH NO, DEAN, YOU SHOULD STOP DOING THAT. It made watching the realization so much worse. I didn’t even need Castiel’s voiceover narration to confirm that moment. I saw it plain as day.
Of course, since this is Dean Winchester we’re talking about, that means he’s got to be a little hypocritical in his reaction. Like… didn’t you spend a good part of this season working for Crowley, too? It was similar to his reaction to Sam lying to him earlier this season. I get it, and I don’t think he’s unwarranted in feeling so betrayed. By all means, IT’S TERRIBLE. But Dean doesn’t often consider the conditions or situations that might lead a person to make the decisions they do. Which is the point! If Dean wasn’t like that, then you wouldn’t get that scene near the end of “The Man Who Would Be King” where Castiel tries to get Dean to understand what he’s doing and why he’s doing it. It’s all for Dean and because of Dean. (Holy Destiel, seriously. It’s right there.) But I don’t think there was ever a chance for Castiel to make things right. I think that at that point, he’d already decided he was going to continue pursuing purgatory; all he needed was Dean on his side, and I bet he knew deep down that Dean would never agree to that.
I also imagine that deep down, he knew that God wouldn’t answer him. Castiel was just looking for yet another reason to distance himself from the choice he’d made, and it was probably easy to blame it on God’s absence. But the truth is that Castiel chose this all by himself. That’s the point of free will, isn’t?
The video for “The Man Who Would Be King” can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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