Bardic’s Descant: 6:19 Mommy Dearest: I’m Building The Perfect Beast
Even if this vision is remotely close to accurate, I still can’t figure out how power already in one repository or another could be diverted. Eve’s plan as she described it here was to steal a march on both Heaven and Hell by grabbing every current and future soul for Purgatory by turning every single human into a monster, and that idea, I can grasp. Her ability to pull that off would have made her more powerful than either side. From what we’ve learned, angels couldn’t pull souls into Heaven, nor could demons drag them to Hell; either side could kill a human, but the ultimate destination of that human soul , unless God directly intervened, as he did with Sam , was predicated on human choice either to do good or yield to temptation. Eve’s ability simply to transform people willy-nilly into monsters, however, would have removed free will and choice from the equation entirely. Monsters, we’re told, wind up in Purgatory because of their very nature, apparently without regard for whether they behaved as monsters or tried , as Lenore did , to resist. Were Eve able to do what she claimed, and if souls do indeed power their destinations, she eventually could have destroyed both Heaven and Hell by cutting off their future power source, once the power of their existing supply of souls already there was exhausted. And even before that drain was complete, her connection to that sheer number of souls, far outstripping all the ones already in either Heaven or Hell, would likely have made Eve stronger than any angel or any demon, even the king of Hell.
The thing I’m not at all clear on is what benefit Crowley was pursuing in torturing monsters to obtain information on the location of Purgatory, unless it would be possible to transfer souls currently in Purgatory , and presumably providing power to Eve , out of it, either to Heaven or Hell. Crowley being able to find Purgatory wouldn’t prevent monster souls from going there, unless he was able somehow to block the entrance and force souls away. Contemplating that gives me the same headache I always get when the show refers to Heaven, Hell, or Purgatory as places with physical locations relative to Earth. Presumably we’ll learn more soon.
I do wonder whether there’s a way to reverse a human having been turned into a monster, in order to negate the hold of Purgatory on the soul and reclaim the human power of free-willed choice, leading to an end in a different place. Castiel was able to do it for Dean in the diner, to cleanse him of the Jefferson Starship taint while Dean was still alive, and Samuel Campbell’s cure for vampirism had similarly been able to work on Dean before he fed as a vampire in Live Free Or Twi-Hard; the question for me is whether later cures might also exist to expunge the monster mark. If that is the case, and if monster souls could be turned back into human ones even after death and be redirected to their proper heavenly or damned destination, then seizing control of Purgatory and re-purposing the souls inside could dramatically affect the divine and demonic balance of power.
There’s A Greater Purpose Here
All this season, we’ve seen a very changed Castiel, one willing to do previously inconceivable things in pursuit of his goal. His journey this season reminds me strongly of Sam’s journey in seasons three through most of five, with his focus on the big picture blinding him to the truth and importance of the dark details and leading him to tell himself over and over again that the end must justify the means. And it reminds me of Dean’s choice at the end of season two, when he sold his soul in his conviction that Sam being alive was worth the price of Hell.
Castiel did conceal the truth in the past, most particularly when he was operating under orders. Witness, for example, that he concealed the truth of the angels’ orders in It’s The Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester until after the fact; apparently never disclosed that he released Sam in When The Levee Breaks; and hid the truth about Dean’s destined role in prophecy until Dean himself asked directly in On The Head Of A Pin.
Once Castiel struck out determinedly on his own when he helped Dean escape the beautiful room in Lucifer Rising, however, he seemed to adopt an honesty policy , at least up until Dean spent a year offline and Sam came back soulless. In that time, he’s done things even he wouldn’t have imagined before, including torturing an innocent boy (The Third Man); deliberately using the Winchesters, without their knowledge, as decoys (The French Mistake); and changing history to create added souls wholesale purely to gain power (My Heart Will Go On).
In this episode, we learned Castiel faked Crowley’s death in Caged Heat. We still don’t know how much else he’s faked along the way to cover up his cooperation with Crowley, but even the bare fact of that cooperation is pretty damning, and really explains what was behind Rachel’s attack in Frontierland. Castiel cooperating with the current lord of Hell would appear to be the essence of his “dirty little secret,” as Rachel put it, and if that doesn’t justify her attack on him, nothing would. Discovering that your heavenly commander is in cahoots with the current King of Hell would definitely be disconcerting to the loyal forces of Heaven, to say the least.
My problem with the whole situation is simply that I don’t understand what Crowley could have offered Castiel that could possibly have offset who and what he is , unless, perhaps, Castiel, by losing ground to Raphael in his civil war for Heaven, either was or faced being cut off from accessing the power of Heaven by Raphael in much the same way he, as a rebel, had been cut off from it throughout season five by Zachariah. Were he either deprived of heavenly strength or threatened with losing it again when he needed it most, I could see Castiel, in desperation, partnering with Crowley in the search for Purgatory to gain the power of other souls to use in his war to regain Heaven and prevent Raphael from reinstating the apocalypse and destroying the world. That’s pretty much the only idea I can come up with that seems able to explain the partnership. I don’t for a moment believe that Castiel ever intended to do evil or to benefit a demon or Hell, but I could see him , like Sam and Dean before him , being seduced into wrong and horrible choices by thinking it was the only way to succeed in doing the right thing and achieving a good and necessary end.
Even before he rebelled, we knew foot-soldier angel Castiel was never a combat match for the very top echelon of demons; just recall how easily Alistair wiped the floor with him in On The Head Of A Pin, for example. Similarly, he knew he didn’t stand a chance going up against an archangel, as he did in Lucifer Rising and again in Swan Song. Still, he returned, in his own words, new and improved at the end of Swan Song, able to heal Dean and bring Bobby back to life with a mere touch, and set off on his attempt to be the new sheriff in town bringing order back to Heaven. He had obviously been reconnected to the power of Heaven , probably, as he had guessed, by God , and even been given an upgrade, perhaps to archangel levels.
Still, as I ruminated in My Heart Will Go On and Frontierland, I wonder just how well-defined his mission was in his own mind. Restoring order to Heaven and getting angels back on God’s program would have required some thought about what that program really entailed in a timeline that had departed from the certainty of prophecy and the presence of God. Against his likely uncertainty and vague sense of doing what was right, Raphael could have offered the other angels a much more defined and familiar program, if he were indeed advocating a return to a worldview dominated by scripture and an apocalyptic vision angels had long believed in and accepted. I could see Castiel losing ground and losing followers, but being unwilling either to concede defeat or to give up his convictions. And I could see him, in refusing to lose his position and with it, the world, believing that accepting anything that staved off the apocalypse was worth doing. When you can’t afford to fail, doing the unthinkable in order to win suddenly becomes not just thinkable, but apparently vital.
The road to Hell really is paved with good intentions; Dean and Sam have both learned that, to their cost. If I’m right, I fear Castiel may now be realizing the truth of that in his own heart.
Wow.
This was a very enjoyable – and insightful article. 🙂
Just let me add a few quick thoughts.
[b]Why didn’t Eve simply turn the brothers and Bobby and have done, rather than trying to persuade them to cooperate with her?[/b]
I suspect that the Winchester brothers and Bobby would have been better hunters if they were not tampered with (i.e. turned); and perhaps Eve thought so as well. This could have been important since Crowley was (in her view) difficult to find.
I think the bigger gap in logic (as another writer has pointed out) is why didn’t Eve simply summon Crowley the way Bobby did in “Weekend at Bobby’s”, or procured someone to do it, instead of trying to get hunters (or “turned” hunters”) to get Crowley ?
[b]So how did Dean not get infected from his contact with Ed’s blood?[/b]
Perhaps the consumed ash had something to do with it (if he had ingested it by then) ? No idea really.
[b](T)he script’s blatant fan service to slash fandom.[/b]
While I did feel a bit uncomfortable with the “slashy” bits, I do think that they were fine (i.e not overdone), and if truth be told, a little funny (even with the discomfort) – they were at most one or two throw away inconsequential lines. And if those few lines help to generate more viewership for Supernatural …
A quick thought about Crowley’s fake death in “Caged Heat”. Why was Megan able to detect it at that time ?
Also, Megan would have presumably known that Crowley wasn’t really dead at some point in time thereafter – why didn’t she attempt to reestablish her alliance with the Winchester brothers after “Caged Heat” ?
Thanks – and I’m glad you enjoyed the piece, because I definitely had fun writing it!
I could see the brothers possibly being better hunters with all their human instincts intact; let’s say that’s why Eve left them human. Keeping them human definitely works for me! 🙂
On the question of why Eve didn’t just summon Crowley, or have someone do it; I don’t think we’ve ever been given a solid reason to believe, in [i]Supernatural[/i], that summoning a demon forcibly compels it to appear, at least not if it’s a really powerful one. I’m guessing that, for the top echelon of demons, it’s not a compulsion so much as it is an invitation, with the demon able to choose whether to pick up the phone or not. (And I wonder whether that may also apply to angels; whether the reason Rachel wasn’t already visible and present in the warehouse to which she summoned Castiel in [i]Frontierland[/i] was simply because she didn’t want him to know she was the one who summoned him, and spiked his curiosity by popping out to make him answer the call to the seemingly empty warehouse in order to learn who had called him.) If that’s the case, then Azazel, Ruby, and Crowley chose to respond when they were called because they wanted to, not because they absolutely had to; and I could see that being the case every time, given the nature and timing of their various summonses. I could also see Crowley being able to take a peek at the setup and deciding not to answer if Mommy Dearest was in the neighborhood.
Or, it could be something completely different … let me go away and think for a while!
Heh: I also like your explanation for Dean avoiding infection from touching the blood with his finger. Let’s call him temporarily inoculated! *grin*
On the slashiness, I’ll admit I chuckled a little for Cass appearing immediately behind Dean on the “not living in my ass” line, but there was still a lot of fatigue in my reaction to the humor, especially by the time we got around to the “ointment” lines. Slash is just such an easy target for cheap laughs; I’m tired of it, if only because it’s so very vocal.
On Crowley’s fake death – I don’t think Meg did detect it. She had wanted Crowley to die for having betrayed Lucifer; all I saw on her face in [i]Caged Heat[/i] was pleasure for Crowley being destroyed, followed by determination to escape. As for why she didn’t get in touch with the Winchesters when she learned Crowley was actually alive, well; there really was no love lost there. I think Meg was perfectly well aware that both Sam and Dean meant to kill her after she took down Crowley, so teaming with them again wouldn’t have been in the cards unless she could have seen some way to protect herself from them in the process.
I strongly suspect we’ve going to see Meg again someday, if only because she has to be in the forefront of the opposition to Crowley in Hell. But when, where, and doing what – I haven’t a clue!
Thanks again for engaging, especially since I’ve been notoriously absent from the dialogue thing. Glad to be back!!
[quote]Given Eve’s comment about souls being fuel, little nuclear reactors that when combined produce the sun, I wonder whether the ultimate purpose of creating humans may have been to power Heaven, setting up a self-replicating engine that freed God to move on to other things. Wouldn’t it be ironic – especially for Zachariah and the other angels who chose deliberately to bring about the apocalypse – if all that Heavenly power angels can draw on and channel is generated by the presence of human souls dwelling in and generating bliss in Heaven, and relies on the steady arrival of more souls to replace the power being consumed? If human souls reliving their bliss power Heaven and angels, then I would guess that human souls in torment in Hell provide the power for all we’ve seen demons and Lucifer able to do.[/quote]
Interesting that you say that because I believe Cas wants these souls only because he knows they are the only way he can heal himself and his fellow angels. Didn’t he tell Dean once that their “numbers are not unlimited” If they are wounded in battle, siphoning a human soul might be the only way to save them. I think he might be doing what ever it takes to keep what few angels he has on his side alive. Also, I don’t believe for an instant that he is doing this for evil purposes. Misguided maybe, but not evil. Perhaps in his mind the end justifies the means. If this is the only way he can win the war then, he’s gonna do what he thinks he has to do even if it means hooking up with Crowley and stretching the boundaries of his ethics.
Learning to do questionable things out of desperation, even for all the right reasons, would certainly be something he would have picked up hanging around the Winchesters all this time. Too bad he didn’t pick up that those decisions usually don’t end well.
I hope we get definitive answers tomorrow night and I hope that one of them isn’t that Cas is their new enemy. It will break my heart if that is the case.
Another great review Bardic.
Oooh; nice thought on Castiel seeking souls because siphoning power could save angels who otherwise would die. Me likey!
I’m both impatient for and afraid of tomorrow night; what lines will we learn Castiel had already crossed? And is one of them his Rubicon, that can’t be crossed back again, to change his fate?
I would hate to see Dean so badly hurt by this surprise and this betrayal that he would consider Castiel beyond the pale. Dean found forgiveness for Sam, even after expressing extreme reservations about and distrust of him at the end of [i]Sympathy For The Devil[/i]; I hope he can do the same for Castiel, and not reject him out of hand in the first blush of discovering how far he has fallen.
Is it Friday yet?
And thanks for the praise!
Thanks for another wonderfully written and insightful review!
I am also worried about what Cas is up to working with Crowley. Also a bit concerned about the “nothing” that Sam tried to dismiss at the end-was it really nothing or some memory/crack?
When we were discussing this episode, a friend of mine brought up one of the early season 6 promos – “Trust No One”. Looks like another layer of meaning has been added to that one.
Thanks, m’dear – glad you enjoyed!
Sam seems to have been remembering more little snatches, as indicated by his discovery of the Campbell family library in [i]Frontierland[/i]. What’s really not clear is how much he’s indicating to Dean and Bobby about [u]remembering[/u] rather than [u]deducing[/u]: if he’s pretending deduction to explain things he’s actually recalling, it’s going to be a rude awakening for his brother and Bobby.
I am [i]so[/i] afraid of what remains of this season; I know it will break my heart.
This summer is going to be one hell of a hellacious hiatus …
Oh, such a good review, especially on your thoughts about the storylines and meaning and purpose of souls. Unfortunately, as you say, it’s too big, too impersonal to the brothers, and I gave up even thinking about it all a long time ago. Mostly, I think, the bigness has put a stop to character focus for the brothers. Sure, they get screen time, but the story isn’t focused on them, IMO.
I’m glad you gave Adam Glass and John Showalter credit. For the first time this season, I felt Mr. Glass gave us Old Dean back…loved the appearance of reckless, simple and effective, have a Plan B Dean after such a long time…and I appreciated that. His portrayal of the brothers was perfect and enjoyable. And, you know what? I’ve always liked the locker room humor for our tough, blue collar, fringe of society guys.
Loved the Dean’s reflection in the glass of the interrogation room, and the mirror shots in the car. I’ve always liked John Showalter’s work.
I love Mark Sheppard and, yes, what professionalism. The only thing with Crowley this season is that instead of an adorable rat fenemy, he is now just a rat. Boo hoo. I hope he doesn’t become a Bela, with no redeeming qualities. I kind of liked the adorable rat. Killing Crowley off way back was good, because I did not like the show having Sam/Dean working for him. It just seemed so wrong for Dean, and made him look dumb in that he worked for Crowley for months without thinking of hunting up Death sooner. Crowley returning now, I feel, once and for all takes death off the table for any character, demon, monster, or angel. It’s a twist that I fear will weaken any suspense in further seasons. I mean, we already knew death was off the table for the brothers, which takes a lot of the suspense out of the show period, but now everyone and everything is fair game. I’m not sure I like that move, despite my pleasure of not having Mark gone from the show.
Let me just say that I loved this episode and anything I have said is nitpicky and didn’t take anything away from how much I enjoyed it.
Season-wise, though, I still do not see the brother’s investment in the mytharc and various stories. Why did Eve want the Winchesters specifically to work for her? Why did Death want the brothers working for him? Why does Cas feel a need to lie to the brothers about what he is doing in Heaven? Why was Dean left out of the picture for a year? Why were the Campbells brought into it? Why did Crowley make them his attack puppets (when he had legions of demons to do his work)? Why was Sam resurrected w/o a soul and why did he hook up wit the Campbells? I’m just not seeing what investment the brothers have in the saving of the world business? Because the world would be lost if Cas loses? Not personal enough for me. I guess that puts me in the ‘I’m getting tired of all the greater purposes’ camp, yet am so happy to have enjoyed everything in the episode.
I love that this show makes me actually think about what I believe Heaven & Hell & Purgatory to be, & what really is a soul & its purpose, & what is the meaning of all this (I only wish my philosophy classes back in college could have been so interesting!). Fascinating stuff!
However, what I really enjoy are the personal things, the relationships among this small group of characters that I’ve grown to love so fiercely. Boy, did my heart ache for Sam & Dean when they realized that they hadn’t saved the Silver brothers. I am also cringing at how devastated Dean will be to learn of Castiel’s “dirty little secret”. I still can’t figure what Castiel’s motivation for working with Crowley truly is. I hope we find out tonight.
As always, this was a wonderful & thought-provoking review!