annundriel | Supernatural Season Finale

Current Mood: blah

Entry tags:

tv:c:supernatural

Supernatural Season Finale

This is a little bit, hmm, half-assed? No, that's not quite right. It's not as good as it could be and I've only seen the episodes once (so it's starting to slip). I'm never really going to get down the things I want to say in the exact way I want to say them, but I'm tired of not posting about it, so.

Supernatural – “Let It Bleed” & “The Man Who Knew Too Much”

I have complicated feelings. I liked the episodes, but I’m upset about what happened in the end. I can see how Castiel got to that point, but I’m unhappy that they went there. I’m unhappy they had to go there, but I can see how and why.

I wish they hadn’t, but I’m not without hope for season seven.

I simply…do not see Dean giving up on Castiel so easily. He cares too much, Castiel is too important to him, for Dean to throw it in without a fight. And I am hoping—hoping—that since the show has been about falling and redeeming, Castiel will get his chance as well.

I know a big part of the fear for next season is the fact that Misha isn’t a regular anymore. Considering how much they used him this year? That makes sense. Jim’s not a regular and he’s on the show all the time. As for any comments coming out of interviews or cons, I’m reserving judgment and trying to look at this the same way I look at anything spoiler-shaped: we don’t have the whole story, we’re just getting a snippet, things may not sound the way we think they do.

Could I be wrong? Hell yeah. But I’d rather have something to cling to for a bit than spend the summer fretting.

I actually really enjoyed “Let It Bleed,” which was surprising. I thought it was going to be an agonizing hour until the finale, but it wasn’t. In fact, I liked it more than “The Man Who Knew Too Much.” I loved the stuff with Castiel and Castiel and Dean. And Castiel and Sam, even though they didn’t really have much of a scene together. Sam tried. Sam doubted Cas before Dean did, and Sam was willing to try. Of course, then Sam went and stabbed Castiel in the back…

And how about Dean’s face at that point, huh? Terrified of Castiel and still shocked and horrified and waiting for him to go supernova and die.

Augh. See? Dean has to try. Has to. How can he not?

Plus, if he’d just realize that he had a part to play in helping Castiel down that road…Don’t they owe it to Castiel to help him out? I don’t think it’s their fault entirely that things played out the way they finally did. I’ve been saying before that I don’t see Castiel as evil—still don’t—nor do I see his decisions as evil. He made bad choices. But they were the choices he thought were best at the time. He didn’t make them maliciously. (Yeah, yeah, road to hell is paved with good intentions.)

So while I am, hmm, annoyed that Dean and Sam spent a great deal of time using Castiel and then kicking him out of the club, Castiel’s choices were no one’s but his own. Could this ending have been prevented if the Winchesters had been a little more, idk, up for hashing things out? Conversation? Real dialog? Sure, probably. Other options may have presented themselves. But they weren’t and Castiel didn’t always go to them and now here we are.

Point being I don’t blame anyone. Everyone fucked something up somewhere. Now if they could just fix it.

Also, um. How come Bobby works with Crowley and it’s all, “Oh, gross, Bobby. Did you kiss him?” and Castiel works with Crowley and it’s all, “OH NOES YOU ARE EVIL AND HAVE BETRAYED US FOREVER WOE IS US”?

I’m just saying.

Anyway. Castiel knocked the wall down in Sam's head to keep Sam and Dean out of the way. He said he'd fix him after. But, I don't know. Sam seemed mostly all right to me? Was it just something we didn't get to see, or is Sam stronger than they--Castiel, Dean, Death--were assuming? Is this going to continue to play a part next season?

Ah, next season.

Really, I am trying to stay positive about what's coming. No matter what sort of information we're getting from the show, I'm sure they're not giving us the whole picture. This is why I dislike spoilers so much. At least, spoilers that come out ahead of time. It's only part of the story, never all of it, and fans can kind of go crazy with speculation. Good or bad. So. I am trying to remain positive. I'm hoping they go for redemption without destruction.

I will admit, though, that the end of the season broke my heart. I immediately texted Natasha that I was freaking out because that just...that wasn't Castiel. I mean, I can see all the steps they took to get him there, but it wasn't Cas.

Which now makes me think about Angel and the whole Fred/Illyria thing and, god. I loved Fred, but not like I love Castiel.

And, yeah, okay, I wish it hadn't happened. But this isn't a choice that I made, so it isn't something I can take back. I found the day or two after I kept obsessing about it like it was (I have a bad habit with that), but that isn't going to change what happened. It happened. It's over. That's the story they told.

As to what they're going to tell? Well. That'll come. And I'll deal with it when it does.

Otherwise, the episode has prompted some interesting discussion regarding God/gods with my mom. Particularly the idea that only God and humans can create life. Angels and demons can't. They can twist it or restore it, but they can't create it.

Mom is also waiting for God to show up and be like, "Oh for fuck's sake, kids, I leave you alone for an hour and this is what you do?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

My feelings about the season as a whole basically boil down to the fact that had too much going on with no central theme to tie all together and the simple fact that making Cas the Big Bad was the writers' plan so that was going to happen whether or not it made sense to his character.

I mean maybe if I had seen some gradual build up but from what I saw? No. Made no sense to me at all.

Also, um. How come Bobby works with Crowley and it’s all, “Oh, gross, Bobby. Did you kiss him?” and Castiel works with Crowley and it’s all, “OH NOES YOU ARE EVIL AND HAVE BETRAYED US FOREVER WOE IS US”?

I’m just saying.

You and me both. Favoritism maybe? Plus, I don't understand how Dean kept saying Cas was family YET one mistake and he's kicked out?! Really?!

This from the guy who broke in Hell and Sam who released Lucifer from his Cafe AND drank demon blood? Yeah. They have no room to talk.

Not to mention hypocritical since they all done it with Crowley (not like that but you know..)

And while I was angry at what they did to Cas, I can see the story potential IF done well.

I don't have high hopes for S7 but who knows?

...making Cas the Big Bad was the writers' plan so that was going to happen whether or not it made sense to his character.

While I agree that it doesn't make sense to the character, I can see--because of 6.20--how Castiel got from where he was at the beginning of the season to where we see him at the end. And though I really do not want Castiel to be bad, I can understand how he got to this point.

What happened with Castiel this season is essentially what happened with Sam and the demon blood in season four. I'd very much like to see that parallel carried out into season seven. Otherwise I'm trying to reserve judgment until the show comes back.

Amen to your statement! Yeah, I sat there staring at the ending and blinked...blinked some more thinking to myself, "WTF?! That's not my Cas!!!" I can see the road they traveled and I have my feelings about how it went down. In one of Misha's interviews, he even mentioned how Sam and Dean kept using Cas throughout the season and I felt bad for Cas (especially that one episode where Cas sent the boys back in time-Western..I can't remember the title!), here Cas was injured, and Dean didn't even look concerned but wanted to go back?! That was like a punch in the gut for me...I thought it was selfish. I agree with you about how Bobby had worked with Crowley and it seemed to have been minimized and when Cas did, they crucified him. Geez, both Sam and Dean worked with demons in the past...they just seemed to have held Cas to such higher standards and never gave him a chance....but I am hopeful and hanging on to that hope, that Dean will not give up on Cas and that he will remember all that Cas has done. That is what makes Dean, Dean. I know they have a long road ahead but I hope their relationship will be mended...their chemistry returned. I was in the minority in some of the other places I had visited as many wanted Cas to be gone from the show, but, I love Cas in the show. I love Dean. I will, like you, hang onto that hope this summer...and hug Cas in the mean time! He sure looks like he needed it...

....but I am hopeful and hanging on to that hope, that Dean will not give up on Cas and that he will remember all that Cas has done. That is what makes Dean, Dean.

Yes, this. Dean's not the sort of person to just let someone he cares about go without a fight. (Even if he was very stubborn when it came to listening to Castiel. They both were.) I'm hoping there's just too much between them for it to be so easily ended.

I simply…do not see Dean giving up on Castiel so easily. He cares too much, Castiel is too important to him, for Dean to throw it in without a fight

Juxtapose that with how they portrayed Dean in 6.20, with Castiel himself commenting that the hardest thing was watching Dean fighting so hard to stay loyal even when every instinct was telling him otherwise, and Dean's obvious relief when he thought Castiel had proved Sam and Bobby wrong before Cas opened his big stupid mouth and fucked things up. That was Dean caring, and fighting, and not giving up.

But the writers obviously had their end game, which was Castiel going dark side, and I swear I could almost SEE their brains smoking as they went into overdrive trying to figure out how that could ever happen when Dean has always been able to reach out to Cas when it mattered and convince him to stay by his side and fight the good fight, no matter how suicidal or impossible that fight would be.

So we had a sudden character shift with Dean. Part of it I believe, because this is a Dean post Sam betraying him, and there's only so much of that the man can take. But I still think even then, Dean was going to reach out, and he and Cas were going to have another of their epic showdown moments where Castiel would come around.

Cue Crowley trolling and taking Lisa and Ben away. No matter how much that wasn't directly Castiel's fault, Dean could only see that indirectly, Cas making the choices he had, had led to it. And at that point he was not in an emotionally healthy place where he could see sense anyway.

He did still reach out. At the very end, he tried one more time, even though by then it was too late. I don't think Castiel was right in assuming Dean was only saying what he did because he was scared. Of course he was scared, but he was also scared for Castiel, and he meant every word he said. He would have taken Castiel in, and figured out how to save him from what he'd done to himself, and shit would've been awkward for a while, but he would've forgiven him just like he eventually forgave Sam, because he tends to forget it in the moment, but he always eventually remembers that family is more important than anything.

Writer machinations, man. :C

Also, um. How come Bobby works with Crowley and it’s all, “Oh, gross, Bobby. Did you kiss him?” and Castiel works with Crowley and it’s all, “OH NOES YOU ARE EVIL AND HAVE BETRAYED US FOREVER WOE IS US”?

I honestly think this is at least in part because the writers are never REALLY interested in going in depth with anything having to do with Bobby. They love him, they know we love him, and they'll throw us bones here and there, but we were never going to see a huge emotional reaction to his deal with Crowley they way we did with Castiel.

The other part is that I think the situation was wholly different. Bobby made a deal more like Dean's deal -- sacrifice himself, however temporarily, to help save his family. And that was at a time when they'd at least grudgingly accepted that they had to work with the demon.

Castiel chose to get in bed with Crowley. Not just give up something of himself to get something in return, but actively work with him and involve himself in shit Dean could never understand, all in the name of a goal Dean couldn't get behind. I liken Castiel's situation much more to Sam working with Ruby in season four.

Hence we saw a very similar reaction from Dean. Dean was ready to call Sam a monster and tell him they'd be done if he kept on down that road, no matter how much it obviously killed him to do it. And when Sam still chose his work with Ruby over listening to Dean, Dean couldn't really forgive him for that for how long? Not until he saw what the rift might result in, in The End.

To Dean, it was this all over again with Castiel. Cas didn't come to Dean when he should have (Sam knew Dean wouldn't understand, Cas knew Dean wouldn't understand; Sam called Dean too weak, Cas said he couldn't burden Dean with that, wow parallels), and when Dean eventually found out anyway, Cas wouldn't stop, just like Sam wouldn't stop, and when the chips were down and Dean begged and demanded Cas just STOP, Cas didn't.

But the writers obviously had their end game, which was Castiel going dark side, and I swear I could almost SEE their brains smoking as they went into overdrive trying to figure out how that could ever happen when Dean has always been able to reach out to Cas when it mattered and convince him to stay by his side and fight the good fight, no matter how suicidal or impossible that fight would be.

I've been thinking about this a lot, because I can see how Castiel got to where he did, and I think you've managed to find where my issue is with the season. Because Dean was trying so hard to be loyal and he was relieved and then as soon as it turns out to be true, he doesn't try to fight it or save Castiel or listen, he basically goes, "Well. Okay then." And while he eventually reached that point with Sam in season four, I think this happened much too quickly.

God, I'm hoping that changes.

I don't think Castiel was right in assuming Dean was only saying what he did because he was scared. Of course he was scared, but he was also scared for Castiel, and he meant every word he said.

I...agree and disagree. I think Castiel was partially right. It's like suddenly being faced with a loaded gun. You're afraid that it might go off, on accident or on purpose. I do think you're right about him being scared for Castiel though. He was definitely trying to talk him back, give him that connection to find his way down again.

Castiel's situation is very much like Sam working with Ruby in season four, and I'm very much hoping that they'll continue that parallel into season seven and things will work out. Though I do think Castiel was also making sacrifices for family. It's like the end of season five when Castiel went back to Heaven even though they'd all been dicks to him. He's seen Dean and Sam treat each other horribly time and again and still go back to each other. Because that's what family does. Castiel is trying, on a very grand scale, to save his family. (Even if that means exploding a few of them, apparently.)

(deleted comment)

it all does remind one of Fred/Illyria transformation.

Right? Ugh. On the one hand, I kind of ended up loving that storyline. On the other? SO SO SAD. :(

you are right, all we can do is watch and hope. it's not officially our story to tell. but it's so hard to see them twist characters so badly like they did in this last episode.

Well, it's not our story to tell at all? We get to watch and then write about it, but at the end of the day, the writers are gonna do what the writers are gonna do. Which can make watching it difficult when they do things we don't like or find upsetting, but what can you do?

The review did help me, thanks. I'm happy that reading it helped you. :) I'm still hoping things work out in season seven.

::hugs::

I simply…do not see Dean giving up on Castiel so easily. He cares too much, Castiel is too important to him, for Dean to throw it in without a fight. And I am hoping—hoping—that since the show has been about falling and redeeming, Castiel will get his chance as well.

This is where I am with it and like you, I can't spend the hiatus agonizing over another possibility. Another possibility makes to little sense and is too WTF to me to even parse it -- I see Dean how I see him and see Cas the way I see him and it's moot. Dean won't give up on Castiel.

I agree with a lot of what you're saying, especially that Sam and Dean messed it up towards Castiel, but Castiel made all his own decisions and Sam and Dean didn't cause this, it was everyone's issues compounding everyone else's. The prevailing wind viewpoint among Castiel fans seems to be that the Winchesters betrayed Castiel -- but I'm watching a different version of the show with a different version of Sam and Dean and Castiel. I feel terrible for Cas and understand why he did what he did and this isn't a situation where the word "evil" is operative for me at all, it's heartbreaking. It's in fact the nature of Castiel's culpability that puts this big lump in my throat over how much "family" Castiel has become, part of the chain from John to Dean to Sam to Bobby.

The prevailing wind viewpoint among Castiel fans seems to be that the Winchesters betrayed Castiel -- but I'm watching a different version of the show with a different version of Sam and Dean and Castiel.

I don't get it. Nothing was one-sided. They all made their mistakes, which fed into other mistakes.

I feel terrible for Cas and understand why he did what he did and this isn't a situation where the word "evil" is operative for me at all, it's heartbreaking. It's in fact the nature of Castiel's culpability that puts this big lump in my throat over how much "family" Castiel has become, part of the chain from John to Dean to Sam to Bobby.

And that, there, brought that lump to my throat again, because it really wasn't evil. And it really isn't evil. Castiel was trying so hard to do what was and he just...got lost. Led astray. My greatest hope is that his family finds a way to get him back.

The thing that annoys me most about the finale is that I really can't decide whether or not I like it until I know where they're going with it next season! I mean, I live in hope, but that's a long time to defer judgment.

Yes! This, too. Depending on how things go in season seven, I think I'll end up either loving it or hating it. Right now I can like it, but yeah. That could easily change.

Yep. Pretty much my feelings. I have hope. I can't see Dean or Sam just giving up on Castiel. I can see Dean being mad, and maybe 'saying' he's given up but when it really comes down to it -- no he hasn't.

As for Misha not being a regular, Jim Beaver isn't either and he was in only one less episode than Misha from what I've seen people saying this year. So what is the difference really going to be? If want to use Misha they will -- and Sera's mentioned Sam and Dean's capicity for forgiveness and redemption, she's mentioned exploring Castiel's God-dom. There will be Angels. I don't see there being no Castiel in what she is saying.

Whatever happens will happen. But until it happens not much use in worrying.

I can see Dean being mad, and maybe 'saying' he's given up but when it really comes down to it -- no he hasn't.

Yes. Dean can get very angry, for good and bad reasons, and--just like the rest of us--says and does things he might not mean. Or that he means at the time, but that won't hold up once he's gotten over his anger. Like the end of this season? I could see him giving up or just deciding Cas is bad because he's hurt and angry but never really thinking he'd have to go through with anything.

If that makes any convoluted sense?

I'm just really hoping they'll do justice to the storyline and the characters. Really. I mean, sure there are some things I'd like to see happen, but like you said...until it happens not much use in worrying.

:)

I just wanted to say thank you for posted these "thoughts from episodes" for all the episodes. I like to read reactions and yours always present a new look on things (at least for me).

<3 YOU'RE AWESOME <3

Hee! You're welcome! Thanks for reading them. They definitely help me sort out at least some of my feelings about the episodes and the characters. I'm glad they've been interesting (I hope) reading. :D

Thank you, bb! YOU ARE TOO. <333

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Supernatural Season Finale

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject