In the third episode of the ninth season of Supernatural, Castiel learns how to adapt to his new circumstances. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Supernatural.
Trigger Warning: For talk of consent (relating to both possession and sex) and discussion of homelessness.Â
Well, shit.
Bartholomew
So, I don’t think Bartholomew is the big bad for this season; I’m still thinking that Metatron ultimately will be. I mean, what’s he up to up in Heaven? Just enjoying the time by himself? He’s too powerful to ignore. Bartholomew can organize and creepily smile at people, but what’s his power? He manipulates Reverend Buddy Boyle in this episode, using the man’s faith to make it easier for the angels to find vessels. But what else? I suppose there’s a strength in numbers, which makes me think that ultimately, Bartholomew will be disposable. He’s a temporary conflict.
Still, he’s a roadblock, one that Dean and Cas need to overcome. Well, and Sam? That’s complicated. I’ll talk about Sam in a bit. But the point is that the angels are getting more brutal and gutsy in their attempt to find vessels and locate Castiel. Reapers make a return here, used by the angels to track down Cas, and it’s… sort of interesting? I still think that Castiel’s personal journey is a whole lot more entertaining than the cat-and-mouse game of this season. The same goes for what’s happening to Sam. All the interpersonal stuff? It’s way better written than the arc itself. I suppose that could come from a narrow view of the whole story, and I’m always willing to admit that the way I watch television means that I might have a short-sighted opinion of a story. I ACCEPT THAT THIS IS POSSIBLE. So my issue here is that I feel like this arc about the angels is wandering without any specific direction. SO FAR. The angels want to kill Castiel because they’re pissed. I get that. But… then what? What comes after that? I don’t see how the show can keep that specific arc going for 20 more episodes. What do the angels want aside from revenge?
Sam
It’s really hard to analyze Sam’s role in this season because of Ezekiel’s presence within him. I still can’t tell how much of an influence the angel has on him. We know that his physical health has improved unbelievably since the premiere, but is his emotional happiness tied to that, too? I don’t know! And I’m getting more and more upset about what Dean is allowing to happen here because it’s getting so much worse. From the blocks in Sam’s memory to the lies stacked on top of lies, Dean is only making matters worse for the inevitable moment when Sam finds out. Which is not to say that Dean should care about this only because of the possible negative reaction. This isn’t about him in the end. Yes, he had good intentions. He wanted to save his brother’s life.
But what happens when those good intentions don’t mean anything anymore? Sam was willing to sacrifice himself last season because he was so convinced he was a disappointment to Dean and everyone around him. He could not see beyond his mistakes or beyond all the lies he had told to protect himself or avoid embarrassment. So how does Dean think Sam will react when he learns what is really happening? How can Dean justify trusting an angel he only knew for a few hours?
I hope that Ezekiel’s endgame is positive, but who knows at this point? I don’t even know what the angels as a whole want, you know? Ezekiel resurrects Castiel, and that’s something he chose, so… maybe Cas has a purpose for him??? I DON’T GET IT.
Castiel
There will come a day when I’ll feel comfortable enough to talk about what it was like for me to be homeless. There were two major periods of it – once in high school and once after I dropped out of college – and the experiences play a huge part in who I am today. At the same time, I have very little in my life that I’ve not shared with THE ENTIRE INTERNET, so a part of my is still clinging to certain traumatic periods of my life until I find the right way to talk about them. (I do want to; I think it’ll be cathartic.)
I mention this not because I have a desire to be coy about myself, but so that you understand my mindset going into this story. For a show that has only used homeless people as set pieces, I was actually surprised at how touching and caring Castiel’s story was because… well, there are a lot of things that you go through when you find yourself homeless that are in “I’m No Angel.†So this is a case of writers using a marginalized experience to build a metaphor for a character while still keeping those marginalized people as part of the story. Because Cas is homeless, and he’s powerless. He has to learn about how human bodies behave in our world, and that means it’s going to be intensely uncomfortable. He can no longer zap around the world to communicate. He can’t avoid sleep; he can’t eat just for the sake it; he can’t treat hydration like a silly human behavior.
I’m not saying that what we get here is perfect representation. At the end of the episode, Cas isn’t homeless. (Well, he might be, actually. Depends on where Dean sends him.) It was a brief trek through this world, but I did appreciate that the show didn’t do this callously. They don’t make any of these homeless people the butt of a joke, and they use Castiel to address hunger, loneliness, and other emotional and physical issues that you only go through when you don’t have a roof over your head.
In hindsight, that should have told me that April was not who she said she was. While the kindness of strangers (often those who understand what it’s like to be down on your luck or without a home) plays a huge part in surviving these kind of situations, I was struck by how odd and unbelievable it was that April would not only take Castiel home, but then seduce him. Like… there’s a clear stigma around being homeless, and I thought it was callous that they suddenly ignored that. Were they trying to say that Castiel was better than the other homeless people???
Well, it was all a deception on April’s part so that she could get Castiel in a vulnerable state for the angels. Which brings up a whole separate issue: Does Castiel’s consent count if April had sex with him in order to manipulate and trap him??? My gut says no, since Cas didn’t know what was at stake here, and if he knew she was a reaper, I don’t think he would have consented. But the show completely washes over this, portraying his first sexual encounter as a hilarious victory for him, and it’s just so uncomfortable. Perhaps this should have been addressed??? Granted, I get that it’s uncomfortable and extremely complicated, but it’s still weird as hell.
Anyway, so what’s next? April seemed mighty surprised that Castiel genuinely did not know what Metatron had planned. Will that change how the angels view Castiel? Probably not. And where will Dean send Cas now that Ezekiel has given his ultimatum??? CAS’S FACE WAS TOO HEARTBROKEN AT THE END THERE, Y’ALL. Like… what the hell, who said that was okay??? That, and Dean’s face when he realized Cas was dead… also not at all appropriate. I AM BUT ONE PERSON. WON’T YOU THINK OF ME, SUPERNATURAL???
The video for “I’m No Angel†can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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