Loyalty of Darkness
Joining the Pro-Lucifer campaign, the demons had to be aware that they might be killed by hunters, specifically the Winchesters, as those had very personal reasons to fight them. True, the threats they faced were not imprisonment, at least not in a human police-force way, but they were in danger of being exorcised back to hell (and probably being asked unpleasant questions there, their answering supported by the use of some equally unpleasant knives), in danger of the other demons that wanted to keep Lucifer where he was. Angels that favoured the Apocalypse were, just as demons, in danger of being killed by those that still fought for God or brainwashed and/or tortured in ‘bible camp’.
Can we say then, that Meg, Ruby or Zachariah were courageous? They were clearly aware of the risks and dangers inherent in their actions. They were, in part, afraid. They worked through that fear and carried out their tasks. For all practical purposes – these demons displayed courage in their actions. They had the support of their co-perpetrators, belong to a group and that gave them the stamina to go through with their plans.
It’s a very human necessity, too. We, as part of a social context, need the security of belonging to a group. Knowing we can turn to someone for support, comfort, encouragement. We need a group to individually identify with, especially when we face difficult or dangerous situations. Family. Colleagues. A circle of friends.
When a nation goes to war, the national identity becomes essentially important. We are Americans. We are British. We are French. It’s the ‘We’ that’s necessary. Even tourists tend to mix with ‘their own’. They hear their own language somewhere and establish contact.
Groups in conflict, however, often become extremely polarized of each other. There is a ubiquitous inclination to find improved appreciation of the characteristics of the ‘in-group’ and to depreciate the members of the ‘out-group’. They (the out-group) are the enemy, bereft of positive traits, to put it in simple terms. Recognizing positive virtues in the out-group is not what those belonging to the ‘in-group’ are shaped to do in times of conflict.
The definitions of ‘in-group’ and ‘out-group’ are based on point of view. Polarized of each other. Demons in favour of Lucifer vs. demons against his rising. Angels in favour of the Apocalypse vs. humans protecting their planet, etc.
We’ve learned that the demons trying to bring back Lucifer considered themselves as soldiers engaged in a global war. As it is common with war, atrocities and casualties resulting from violent actions might have been seen as regrettable by the perpetrators (demons considered as pawns were not the priority, neither were humans), but necessary.
Terrorists often view themselves in a similar way. This understanding does not, of course, legitimize their cause or methods, but it does offer a window into their psychology and motivation. In many ways, a terrorist’s psychology is similar to the one shown by fighters in other conflicts. Being aware of such similarities makes it possible to understand that terrorists can display virtues (as well as vices) related to those of other combatants. Former terrorists, when asked what they missed about their lives as active members of such groups, often spoke of the closeness they felt with their group members, the notion of a shared risk and a common purpose.
In Collins’ ‘Killing Rage’ a former IRA member describes: ‘I felt myself part of a large family whose members had powerful emotional links to each other. The idea of turning my back on the IRA had become as repugnant to me as turning my back on my own children.’ In De Cataldo-Neuburger and Valentini’s ‘Women and Terrorism’ a female former Italian terrorist recalled: ‘(I miss) the collectivity. The group supported you. However, in the armed struggle one could only discuss particular events. You could not bring your feelings into it. It was not enjoyable being in the armed struggle. It was our duty.’ They view themselves, very often, not as criminals but rather as soldiers or warriors.
So did the demons we’ve met in this show. So did the angels in favour of Lucifer. We find an intriguing example of that in the discussion of Uriel and Castiel in On the Head of a Pin:
URIEL: Alastair should never have been taken alive. Really inconvenient, Cas. Yes, I did turn the screw a little. Alastair should have killed Dean and escaped, and you should have gone on happily scapegoating the demons.
CASTIEL: For the murders of our kin?
URIEL: Not murders, Castiel. No. My work is conversion. How long have we waited here? How long have we played this game by rules that make no sense?
CASTIEL: It is our father’s world, Uriel.
URIEL: Our father? He stopped being that, if he ever was, the moment he created them. Humanity, his favorites. This whining, puking larva.
CASTIEL: Are you trying to convert me?
URIEL: I wanted you to join me. And I still do. With you, we can be powerful enough to—
CASTIEL: To…
URIEL: To raise our brother.
CASTIEL: Lucifer.
URIEL: You do remember him? How strong he was? How beautiful? And he didn’t bow to humanity. He was punished for defending us. Now, if you want to believe in something, Cas, believe in him.
CASTIEL: Lucifer is not God.
URIEL: God isn’t God anymore. He doesn’t care what we do. I am proof of that.
CASTIEL: But this? What were you gonna do, Uriel? Were you gonna kill the whole garrison?
URIEL: I only killed the ones who said no. Others have joined me, Cas. Now, please, brother, don’t fight me. Help me. Help me spread the word. Help me bring on the apocalypse. All you have to do is be unafraid.
CASTIEL: For the first time in a long time, I am. You can’t win, Uriel. I still serve God.
URIEL: You haven’t even met the man. There is no will. No wrath. No God.
Uriel believed to belong to a celestial ‘in-group’, the one with the righteous cause, the one that was determined to establish a kind of rightful order in heaven, because they felt deserted by God. He was a part of Heaven’s terrorist group, the one that tried with all determination possible to bring about the Apocalypse and wasn’t hesitating to the demons’ efforts for their cause. Because, basically, their cause was more or less the same.
Their group was not only one of minor angels, no, arch angels were a part of it, too. A fact that appalled Castiel who didn’t belong to that group anymore. ‘Dean, they don’t tell me much’, he replied to a devastated Dean in the same episode. Castiel was excluded. He missed the sense of belonging (but he didn’t join the rebelling apocalyptic angels to establish that sense of belonging, a heroic act, I’d say).
Can we speak of courage or loyalty, then, in terms of terrorist angels or demons? If we look at their actions with a neutral eye (and I know how difficult that is), we see evidence that we can. Undertaking a violent life of danger and high-risk endeavor needs courage. And it requires loyalty.
The demons and angels in question knew who they fought against, even against God, and they had to rely on each other were they to succeed. They needed to be willing to sacrifice themselves in the course of it. And they were, just as our Winchester brothers were ready to do that to save the world.
From real life accounts of terrorists we can assume that they are aware of the risks, they experience fear in the face of the dangers and are still able to continue with their mission. This undoubtedly fits many definitions of courage.
The problem is: in this context a positive virtue is shown to achieve an immoral and dishonourable end. However, segmenting courage into single elements such as knowledge of fear, awareness of risk or persistence in the face of danger does not say anything about good or evil.
When we look at the actions of demons and angels in this show we find very human traits behind them. Even angels that should be free of such human emotions as greed, envy or anger display those en masse. They act, just as demons do, cruelly or gently (several times Ruby saved Sam’s life, Meg showed her love and care for ‘her father’ Lucifer), they act stupidly or intelligently. And they can be daring or spineless.
We might perceive the actions of demons and angels as manifestations of evil, but it would be a one-sided perception and in all likelihood ill-judged. They act with a background we need to understand. I’d like to see the Winchesters and all the hunters, for that matter, to try to understand the other side, too, so that in the future (that will surely hold horrific ordeals for them, just as the past has) they might be better prepared to fight back or to prevent being caught by surprise.
We, as very human viewers, socialized in the world we live in and raised to certain moral standards, will not be inclined to recognize admirable traits in the ‘bad guys’’ actions, just as we wouldn’t in the actions of terrorists. We do not consider that their actions might also be acts of personal courage.
The Spartan King Agesilaus II once said ‘Courage is of no value unless accompanied by justice.’ And ‘If I have done any noble action, that is a sufficient memorial; if I have done nothing noble, all the statues in the world will not preserve my memory’.
I was very impressed by these words, and I think them true. But, again, justice and nobility are depending on point of view and the society we live in.
I don’t think the metaphor I described here was intended by the writers (well, we don’t know), but to my mind it can be read like an allegory to our modern world and the secret undercover groups that seek to alter the world with violence.
Demons have their own subterranean society, somewhere down in the pit of Hell, and since many of them strive to escape to the surface, we can assume it’s a cruel dictatorship, not a place even a demon likes to stay. Isn’t it understandable that they would form some kind of terrorist groups to fight against the presumed injustice down there? The angels are in a similar position. With God being God knows where anarchy had taken over and, naturally, rebellious parts formed a sub-society of fighters to bring on the Apocalypse. And we don’t know, yet, what the war in Heaven, that has been hinted at several times now, is really about. But, so we have been promised, we will learn about it. And then, in all likelihood, the point of view I am offering here, will be broadened according to the world of Supernatural.
Very insightful article, Jas. I often felt the way Hell vs. Heaven war is depicted in the show as heavily influenced by the present geopolitical situation. The fact itself that Heavenly hyerarchy is depicted like a very tight military organization, with the inevitable trail of “minor evil vs. major good”, “collateral damages”, “ends vs. means” and “legitimate war” issues, was for me a clear indication that pointed in that direction. As much as the way demons seem to be organized is similar to terroristic or guerrilla cells scattered through the whole world, often merged with the humans by taking their bodies as vessels, with scarce communications between them or with the “brain” of the operation, if not for occasional “calls home” like the ones performed by Meg.
It’s interesting, though (and, I think, very daring) that, unlike in our world, [u]both [/u]parts are depicted in the show as “evil”, i.e. essentially against humankind and humanity. What indeed labels (in the show) the parts in this war is the way they feel towards humans. LIke Dean said to Castiel in 4×22, “Destiny, God’s plan… It’s all a bunch of lies… People. Families. That’s real”
Obviously, like you pointed out, this is a matter of point of view: with us being humans, it is expected we feel as “good” what act in favor of humankind and “human” values. But when the parts in the war are [u]all [/u]human (like in the “terror war”, though we often are inclined to forget that) the lines are WAY more blurred. Hence the need to deprivy the enemy of his “humanity”, make him a “monster”, in a way, or to simplify his reality, his psychology, to draw clear lines even where there are nones.
A way that much resemble to hunters’ way in dealing with supernatural creatures, a way that Dean often displayed along the years. A way that was defied by the “freak” that was Sam. I often wonder if Dean would really and wholly accept (or has accepted) Sam’s “freak-ness” (i.e. his being not totally human, with Azazel’s blood and all), and if that would influence his view about monsters in general.
About the problem of courage and loyalty: I never had a problem to admit these qualities being present in the “bad guys”. Nazis officers were often highly loyal, and kamikaze terrorists are often as scared as their victims, but they hold on to their faith of doing “the right thing”, and sacrifice themselves for the cause exactly as soldiers do. But in these cases I often recall Paul’s says: “If I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.”
Courage and loyalty [u]are [/u]values, but they are among the most elementary ones. They are often based on the need of belonging and the fear to be alone. The same needs and fears that can bring perfectly sane and caring and kind people to do horrible things to other people just to feel part of a “group” (as can be seen in group rapes, or in soldiers torturing prisoners or even other soldiers). “Human” values are something more, and are what can label courage and loyalty as “good” or “evil”: above all what and who (and [u]how many[/u] “whos”) you are willing to sacrifice along yourself for the cause. Anytime the “cause” becomes more important than the human beings involved in it (on one part or the other), then that cause can’t be labeled as “good” anymore.
Hi Jas,
Very thoughtful, insightful article. I think it’s really important that we look at the motivations of “the other side”. But, as you rightly pointed out, it often makes us uncomfortable. If we stop to consider that they might have attributes like courage or loyalty, it’s harder to see the lines between Us and Them.
Hello Brynhild, Heide, CalifornianLeslie and PragmaticDreamer, thank you all for your kind and elaborate comments.
This working week is extremely busy, so please forgive me for not answering your comments like I usually do. I barely have time to concentrate on anything else right now.
Thank you so much! Your thoughtful words are highly appreciated.
Love, Jas