Threads: 9.03 “I’m No Angel”
Usually I take several days to think about a new episode before creating theories. I rewatch the show, read several reviews for explanations and insights, and I let time synthesize all the input. This week, however, I don’t have that luxury as Thursday I start my adventures with ChiCon (My second con. I’m hyper excited!). So I put my mind into overdrive Tuesday night (which is good for theories but bad for sleep) and came up with the following thoughts. I’m counting on you to toss them about a bit then I will rejoin the conversation sometime next week, after I have captured and written about as much ChiCon squee as I can.
Before I begin proposing the threads I detected in “I’m No Angel”, let me summarize the final threads that emerged from my questions and theories, and your comments, from 9.01 and 9.02. If an overall picture is going to eventually emerge from our musings, it is important to be reminded of where we were before we saw 9.03:
Is Ezekiel much more than he has yet said?
- Our discussion concluded that 1) angels cannot cross warding sigils either way, in or out, so Ezekiel was locked into Sam’s hospital room and weakened by the sigils; and 2) angels have to be in direct proximity of banishing sigils to be affected by them, so Ezekiel was safe behind a closed door. Ezekiel’s reactions to sigils were important because it adds weight to the belief that he is indeed an angel, not a demon as others have speculated.
- Why didn’t the first angel who attacked Dean recognize Ezekiel as an angel (9.01)? Is it because none of the angels can see inside vessels now, or is Ezekiel not who he says he is? Why didn’t Crowley recognize Ezekiel in the bunker (9.02)? Did the demon-cure make Crowley more human than demon? Was it because Sam was in control of his body in the bunker and demons can only see the entity who is in control of the vessel at the time? Was it again because Ezekiel is not who he says he is? We don’t yet have definitive confirmation of Ezekiel’s identity.
- Ezekiel’s confident actions and wise counsel to Dean (9.01 and 9.02) imply that he is much more than just a “soldier”. Also, we saw wings burn off the angels when they fell (8.23), and Hael said the angels had lost their wings (9.01), yet Ezekiel HAD wings (9.02)! They may have been broken and sparse, but he still had wings. Did he not fall the same as the other angels? I’ve seen theories that he might have already been on earth when Metatron’s spell was cast. Alternately, were his wings larger or stronger than most of the other angels? That would imply he was a higher order angel. Another theory proposed is that Ezekiel is God. While worth thinking about, I am holding on to the theory that “Ezekiel” is a powerful angel.
Is Ezekiel “blending” with Sam?
- To whom was Ezekiel referring when he said “But it is why I said yes” (9.02)? Did he mean when he answered Dean’s prayer, or when he agreed to possess and heal Sam? Alternately, he could be referring to when Sam said yes to Dean, implying that Ezekiel’s identity is already intermixing with Sam’s.
What happened to Jimmy Novak when Castiel became human?
- Robbie Thompson tweeted that “Jimmy’s gone. It’s just Cas now…[for] reasons”. Did Jimmy die one of the many times that Cas was killed ? (see a great examination of this question in Supernaturalwiki.com’s “Jimmy Novak” page.) In 4.20, Castiel warned Jimmy, “You won’t die or age. If this last year was painful for you, picture a hundred, a thousand more like it.” to which Jimmy replied “It doesn’t matter. You take me. Just take me.” so could he die? Alternately, if Jimmy is mysteriously just gone, does this “one human per vessel” precedent mean something for Ezekiel!Sam or for Castiel?
I should start my analysis of “I’m No Angel” by saying that I really enjoyed this episode (especially Sam’s pink shirt – loved it!). From the Twitter comments afterward, I know there is a lot to criticize, but I have to be honest and say that I felt it was slightly less intense than the past four or five episodes and I welcomed the relief. I HATED the ending, though. The look on Cas’ face broke my heart. Such immense emotion in a wordless expression! Really?! This secret is going to kick such a vulnerable friend to the curb? I understand why it had to be done for the season’s arc. Cas will learn what it is like for humans to have to fend for themselves when they leave the nest, plus it will allow two storylines to develop independently and give us a richer, fuller plot. STILL! UGH!
Obviously, this episode was full of threads that I believe we can “unravel” almost immediately. First, Bartholomew was tiresome. Already. I believe they were going for a Crowley-type dictator image, mirroring last season’s “Taxi Driver” conversation in Crowley’s office between Crowley and his minions when he was threatening them to find the other half of the tablet. Instead of Crowley coming to mind, however, I was reminded of Raphael. So I accept that Bartholomew is an angel, is power or revenge driven and that he will be the nemesis for the first half of the season at least. Beyond that, I don’t think the details of his backstory (whether he was Naomi’s protégé for example) affect our theories about Ezekiel (more on this later).
Secondly, I am not concerned that the reapers’ canon got a little confused (well, not concerned from the standpoint of collecting threads). Before this episode, I never thought of reapers as angels. In fact, Supernaturalwiki.com defines them as serving Death and not aligned with Heaven or Hell. There is, however, the saying “angels of death”. Crowley killed Ajay with an angel blade and Ajay emitted white light at the point of death so those two events were consistent with angels (Taxi Driver was penned by the same writers as 9.03). April also talked about possession when she said, “[she] didn’t mind me entering her one bit”, so was April supposed to be an angel that thwarted Castiel’s angel warding, or a reaper that is not deterred by angel warding (“new sheriff in town…hired a bunch of us”) but for some reason needed a vessel? I believe there is more evidence that she was an angel, but I don’t think it is relevant. I am certain several other reviewers who are annoyed by canon blips will spend some time trying to sort this out, but I personally attribute this canon confusion or inconsistency to convenience writing rather than threads that are significant to the season’s myth arc, so I am going to leave the whole mess alone.
As far as Castiel’s plight, I loved hearing his side of the story, even if it was relayed to a being that ended up dead only a few minutes later. At least his confession satisfied the question I posed after 9.01 on how Castiel viewed his situation and why he was not defending himself more vehemently. I am very, very curious about Jared’s live tweet, though:
““Castiel: A lot to being human”. Hmmm….Anybody catch any subliminal hints?…”
I just don’t have any idea to what he is referring!! Frustrating! Any ideas?
I was also intrigued by Castiel’s speculation to April that maybe he had to be kept alive or the angel banishing spell could not be broken. Did he honestly believe this was a possibility or was he saying anything to keep April from killing him? Once he verbalized the idea of his continued importance to the spell I have to admit I thought it was plausible for a moment or two. Then I remembered that Metatron expected that as a human, Castiel would die one day and he was not troubled by it at all. Once a spell is cast, I don’t think it’s “ingredients” are monitored for all time. Still, if we can’t disprove Cas’ speculation, I think it is worth tracking. Do you agree?
Ironically, most of my thread detection was about Ezekiel, though, not Castiel (considering this episode was mostly about Castiel). The first action I found significant was that Ezekiel was moved to heal Castiel even without Dean asking him to. I thought Ezekiel’s facial expressions and actions spoke volumes as to his innate goodness. He felt sorrow at Cas’ death and enough compassion to sacrifice some of his much needed power reserves to heal Cas versus himself. I expressed last week that I believe Ezekiel has good intention at this point in his possession, and I saw this as another confirmation of his goodness. Do you agree? Am I wearing rose-colored glasses? I did think of another motivation for Zeke’s actions, though, which I explain below.
Which brings me to the jump-off-my-couch, HUGE line of dialog that I believe was clear foreshadowing. It came at the end of the episode from Ezekiel’s ultimatum to Dean.
Ezekiel: “[Castiel] will bring the angels down on all of us. Bartholomew is massing a force. We cannot stand an incursion. Castiel is in danger and if he is here I am in danger. If he stays, I am afraid I will have no choice but to leave. I am sorry.”
To me, Ezekiel’s reaction showed the fear of a major player in this saga being detected, not some random, dime-a-dozen soldier angel afraid for his life. My suspicion that this line was important was validated when Jared live tweeted:
“Ezekiel?!?! Why the ultimatum?!!!”
Jared is such a TEASE! He clearly was implying that this was important!! Oddly, the scene reminded me of the Terminator series of movies, in which saving John took priority over everything else because he was the key to restoring the world. Why did my mind relate that very old reference to this situation?? I’ve thought of two possibilities:
- Ezekiel is Metatron. Think about it. WHY wouldn’t Metatron also have been cast out of heaven by his spell? Was there an “except reader” clause in the spell? I know he expected that he would be alone in heaven, but he is an angel and if the spell banished ALL angels, maybe he got surprised and tossed to Earth too. IF that happened, it would be immensely logical to try to align himself with the Winchesters. He knows how resourceful they are. He could keep an eye on them. This whole theory came to mind first because of Ezekiel’s reaction to Castiel’s death. I believe Metatron would feel badly if Castiel died within a few weeks of becoming human. After all, Metatron wanted to hear Castiel’s life story. Secondly, when Ezekiel said “I am in danger” it occurred to me that Metatron would have more reason to fear detection than any other angel, maybe even Castiel. I heard real terror in Ezekiel’s voice when he imagined that he would be found. Metatron was cunning enough to think of using Sam as a place to hide, yet enough of a coward to panic at any possibility of being found. After all, he hid from Naomi for centuries by hiding behind the Native Americans and anonymously reading books. Metatron would also know how to manipulate Dean. Pulling the “Sam or Cas” ultimatum was blatant blackmail.
- Second possibility: Ezekiel is a very powerful angel that really can defeat Bartholomew and lead the other angels back to heaven, but only if he remains undetected long enough to heal. He truly is good, but believes the bigger picture is more important than either Sam or Cas or Dean. He doesn’t hold any ill will to any of them and doesn’t really want to have to sacrifice either Sam or Cas, but believes neither of them is as important to the cause as he is. Again, the “Terminator/John” reference of the leader that needs to hide from the enemies (Bartholomew) until he is strong enough to defeat them. Ezekiel’s language of “massing a force” and “incursion” also reflected a military tactical analysis. I just sensed so much more was at stake than his self-preservation when he panicked at the idea of Castiel being a beacon for detection. I honestly believe Ezekiel would have evacuated Sam’s vessel if Dean chose to let Cas stay, i.e. I don’t think it was a hollow ultimatum. He displayed a “live to fight another day” mentality here. WHY was it so eminently important that Ezekiel not be found, though?? I have been totally convinced of his strength of character by the way that both Jared and Tahmoh did/are portraying him. Is Ezekiel a master manipulator who knows that Dean will protect Sammy at all costs and thus Sam is the safest place to be in the whole world (giving credence to the Metatron theory), or is Ezekiel’s safety simply more important than anything else (which strengthens the powerful angel theory)? A powerful angel would also account for him retaining some wings. I will admit that I still believe in Ezekiel. I look at Jared’s facial expressions and voice inflections as Ezekiel and I am putty. I am betting that Zeke is important in a good way.
Spoiler Alert this paragraph only: I read a comment from Jared that he is purposely portraying Ezekiel as getting more human with each interaction. He said he spoke to the producers about it and they agreed. Metatron would know what it is to be human. An angel that usually resided in heaven would not. This bolsters my confidence in my theory that Ezekiel is someone we haven’t met before.
Either theory would be plausible from a casting standpoint. Both Tahmoh Penikett and Curtis Armstrong are established, strong actors that I believe would be cast for more than a few short appearances. I firmly believe we will see both of them reprise their angel roles. What I can’t tell yet is when or under what circumstances.
I simply haven’t had enough time to think through these two possibilities. I’m sure it will all become more clear in a few days and I will think of several more reasons both pro and con for both arguments. I leave that to your capable imaginations for now. See you in a few days.
- I’m the Co-Editor-in-Chief, Social Media Manager (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram), Live Tweet Moderator, reviewer and feature writer for The Winchester Family Business. Before joining the Supernatural Family, I worked for 22 years at a global consulting firm, but after years of long hours, high pressure and rigorous demands, I quit corporate life to raise my children. After my first Supernatural convention, I was driven to share my shock and awe in a two-part essay that The WFB was brave enough to post, and my second life calling, that of being a writer, began. My first published book, Fan Phenomena: The Twilight Saga was released in late 2016. Please share in my cross-fandom excitement by following its Facebook page @FanPhenomenaTwilight and my personal Twitter account @LSAngel2. You can read about this whole miraculous transition in my chapter in Family Don’t End With Blood, published in May 2017.
Nightsky – I believe the reference to
““Castiel: A lot to being human”. Hmmm….Anybody catch any subliminal hints?…”
was a shout out to Jeremy Carver’s last job as executive producer on a show called “Being Human” – it runs/ran on the SyFy network.
#1 njspnfan Of course! I watch it all the time! Thanks!
Wow, two very intriguing possibilities Nightsky! At first I thought yes, yes on the first possibility because why wouldn’t Metatron have been cast out with the other angels. His own spell back firing on him! But I have to say I find the second possibility a more exciting idea.
[quote]Wow, two very intriguing possibilities Nightsky! At first I thought yes, yes on the first possibility because why wouldn’t Metatron have been cast out with the other angels. His own spell back firing on him! But I have to say I find the second possibility a more exciting idea.[/quote]
I don’t think Zeke is Metatron; Metatron was the scribe of God, after all, and would be well versed in spells, the tablets, etc. But you’re right, Zeke isn’t what he first appeared to be – still think he’s one of the good ones, though.
Nightsky, I am all for Metatron theory – what a twist! Congratulations! Sadly, it’s hardly probable that your theory will be embodied. I’m afraid the writers will finally go with something more ordinary. There is hope yet. 🙂
Ah, feels!This expression in Cas’s eyes as he realizes that he’s unwelcome, Sam’s sudden transformations – and Dean! I beg to disagree with you on this one point – the episode was intensely emotional. This not-very-much-loved duo of writers is obviously not as good as Carver whose episode was just a masterpiece imo, but they managed to give the actors plenty of meaty material to play with. And there’s such a lot of room for speculations and theories hence a lot of good read!
[quote]I was also intrigued by Castiel’s speculation to April that maybe he had to be kept alive or the angel banishing spell could not be broken. Did he honestly believe this was a possibility or was he saying anything to keep April from killing him? Once he verbalized the idea of his continued importance to the spell I have to admit I thought it was plausible for a moment or two. Then I remembered that Metatron expected that as a human, Castiel would die one day and he was not troubled by it at all. Once a spell is cast, I don’t think it’s “ingredients” are monitored for all time. Still, if we can’t disprove Cas’ speculation, I think it is worth tracking. Do you agree?[/quote]
I don’t think Metatron would be worried about Cas dying. My guess is that if Cas dies as a human then he will come to heaven as a human. The real danger to Metatron’s plan would be Cas finding a way to reacquire his grace while still alive. That might break the spell. If we go back to Faith, the spell holding the Reaper was broken when the altar was overturned. So spells can be reversed when their components are broken or removed.
I think you’re taking the “angels lost their wings” too literally. I’m sure some angels (possibly weaker, lower class ones) completely lost their wings in the fall, but others – like Ezekiel – may have just had their wings burned/mangled. The wings are still lost, they are pretty much useless vestigial limbs now.
Carver has said that they plan on dealing with Metatron and his lonely Heaven, in the second half of the season, so him hiding on Earth as Ezekiel is very unlikely.
I agree with Mick, I believe they can’t teleport so they “lost their wings” we saw their wings burning at the end of Sacrifice, so I believe they are damaged but still there.
Reapers…We’ve been told a lot about angels and demons, but not a lot about reapers. I was confused because I thought the reaper that was following the Winchesters was in fact a reaper and then he had that white light when they were cutting him and then killed him. I then then April was an angel (she could do the hand trick by flinging them against the walls) and she also had the white light when Dean killed her..So I decided that since Death is the Angel of Death, he has his own “angel faction” which is made up of reapers. 🙂
Zeke…I love this guy. I really hope he is a good guy and wants to help the Winchesters and is not using them just so he can have a strong vessel. I don’t think he’s Metatron, I don’t think he’s Lucifer. I believe he is Ezekiel but we just have to come to know him better.
I just wish Dean would tell Sam the truth and Cas and they could make it work (but I guess that wouldn’t make for very good tv, so they have to have their problems before they reach a solution. My hope is Sam some how finds out, but understands and accepts Zeke until he is done healing him and himself. It would be pretty awesome if Sam was getting his ass kicked and then is all “Zeke come on down, it’s your turn on Kick some Demon/Angel ass!” lol I didn’t sleep much last night..Can ya tell?
I have the same theory…that Zeke is good, and he’s a powerful angel…i think he may be an archangel. I do believe he is literally a warrior of god…perhaps even
a general…i thought his fear was rational. I’m definitely leading towards him being the one who fights against Bart and metatron to get angels back home again. I just think as a good soldier of god he will do what it takes..whether dean likes it or not. I also feel quite confident that tahmoh will be back to reprise his role of Zeke. I can see him going into next season.
[quote]I have the same theory…that Zeke is good, and he’s a powerful angel…i think he may be an archangel. I do believe he is literally a warrior of god…perhaps even
a general…i thought his fear was rational. I’m definitely leading towards him being the one who fights against Bart and metatron to get angels back home again. I just think as a good soldier of god he will do what it takes..whether dean likes it or not. I also feel quite confident that tahmoh will be back to reprise his role of Zeke. I can see him going into next season.[/quote]
This is the angle I am leaning towards too nappi. I think it would be amazing though the parallels with Season 6 would be really strong – an angel using Sam as a pawn in the fight to win a battle for heaven? Dean trying to deal with a Sam who isn’t entirely Sam. I am a huge fan of Season 6 though so I am happy to go with that 😀
I do think though that Zeke’s main negative personality trait is going to turn out to be self preservation in whatever storyline comes up. Of course he could be a ‘great angel hero’ who thinks at he is the only one able to solve the problem, and a bit of collateral damage is just the price that needs to be paid.
That mindset has been shown by many of the characters over the seasons and working alone to that goal NEVER works out the way that the characters imagine it is going to. I can’t see this time being any different.
Really looking forward to seeing them work it out.
Thanks Nightsky. I love your theories. You make good arguments for Ezekiel being Metatron or a powerful angel. I tend toward powerful but not archangel or Metatron. Wasn’t Kevin vulnerable because there weren’t any more archangels to protect him?
Please, please let Zeke be good & not about winning at any cost. I love seeing those baby blues flash. I keep hearing the song Behind Blue Eyes: No one knows what it’s like to be the bad man. To be the sad man. Behind blue eyes.
mary9930 go to youtube type in Supernatural Behind Blue Eyes it is great in a emo hurty kind of way.
cheryl42 I found lots of videos under Supernatural Behind Blue Eyes. Was there a specific one you mean?
Maybe try Sam Winchester the one I am talking about is about Sam.
It is the Limp Bizkit version if that helps.
i just finished watching it again. i really was able to pay closer attention to the scene between dean and zeke. first off, i didn’t see this as a sinister threat. i feel that zeke is genuinely afraid of something. i got that he didn’t want to leave sam, but i felt he would have no choice to if cas stayed. dean asked zeke what are you afraid of, the angels? and zeke gave dean the sam face that sam gives when sam is keeping something from dean. so i started to wonder if maybe, at one point zeke and bart were allies, very close to ea. other. i’m also wondering if perhaps bart went darkside while zeke stayed truer to his mission to protect humans, and his faith/following of cas. what if zeke betrayed bart? kind of like a uriel/cas anna/cas thing. where they were once very close, maybe part of the same garrison, but ea. went their separate ways in what they believe in. maybe bart is trying to kill ezekiel and zeke was hiding out…once zeke got the call from dean winchester, well zeke, being hurt, could use his help. thus when he found out what dean wanted, he in essence has been given a safe place to be til he regains his strength. bart seems to want to create heaven on earth. zeke might want to keep to the angels true mission, protecting humans, being our guardians. zeke may have not even gotten hurt in the fall. he may have had a confrontation with bart on earth soon after they fell. bart all pissed off, wanting cas’s head on a plate and seeing fit to make earth his new domain to rule over. zeke, who wants to protect both human kind and cas because he believes in both of these things, might have tussled with bart and bart hurt zeke really bad. maybe bart thinks he killed zeke which is why he’s not mentioned going after him and is strictly focused on cas.
see here i am with another theory swimming in my head. don’t think me a liar…i’m still going with my new philosophy of not getting riled up til it’s necessary and not stressing….but these thoughts do tend to fly through my head… 😀
Thank you, Nightsky. I think you’re right about Zeke being a good guy, but I was thrown by his ultimation to Dean about Cas. I had a different take about what he meant, though. I immediately thought he meant he would leave and take Sam with him. After all, he still needs Sam to heal himself.
Wow, you bring up some very interesting points regarding Zeke. I do think he is more than your run-of-the-mill angel, but I don’t think he is Metatron. I have a feeling he had some sort or warding to keep himself in Heaven while all the angels fell.
Have fun at Chicon, I was at the one in Toronto and I had a blast.
I also detected fear in Zeke at the end of the ep, but was that fear of being found out by all the angels looking for Cas even through there is no safer place than the bunker, Cas or no Cas, or was it fear that Cas himself would see that he was in Sam? It seemed to me that Zeke took great pains to not reveal himself to Cas at any time. If they are ‘brothers in arms’ as claimed then why hide?
And just a totally random observation here: isn’t it nice to be discussing actual canon events as they unfold, trying to unravel the mysteries of the season rather than trying to explain canon or try to make OOC events make some kind of sense? **cough, not looking,cough**. Just sayin’. 8)
e, i think it’s the former and not the latter. i don’t believe that cas would be able to tell that zeke is in sam as he’s human now and doesn’t have any angel mojo left in him. in all honesty i don’t think that was the issue for zeke. he seemed to me to be specifically afraid of bartholomew. he mentioned his name to dean when talking about the incursion..he spoke like he knew from experience. i don’t think zeke is a bad guy. i do think zeke is keeping a secret from dean though. ironic huh…i just think he’s a runner. the question for me is why
Hi nappi,
I do like the theory that Zeke’s a good guy with a big secret and possibly a master plan whose running from Bartholomew until he’s strong enough to put his plan into motion. And I also like the idea that he’s a “the completion of the mission is paramount” kind of guy. I wonder though, if he might at some point consider Sam a necessary casualty to the completion of his cause and what Dean might end up being forced to to do about that? That might actually be kind of a nice tie in to the exploding vessel and Bart’s comment about necessary casualties. That would put Dean in a bad, but oh so interesting spot and end up pitting him against Ezekiel at some point. There are just so many ways that they could take this story that I think will ultimately work well and be satisfying. I can’t wait to see it unfold. Is it next week yet?
What if that spell didn’t just make Angels fall but also rise…From say a cage.
I don’t think zeke is Metatron or Lucifer. I do think he is powerful. I do think he is using Sam to heal himself and will heal Sam. He seems to be fixing him in multiple ways which is a bit Stepford of him. I think that his endgame has to do with Dean. he wants the favor. he healed Castiel because Dean was distraught. He’s bonding with Dean.
Jimmy is dead because he was badly wounded in that episode. that is why he became a forever vessel. jimmy agreed so his daughter wouldn’t be asked to serve. The comparison does show us that Zeke is very powerful. Jimmy was aware of Castiel using him. Zeke can hide himself from his vessel and erase the trauma. Michael is the only angel that has been shown to do that previously. if he is hiding as someone we’ve seen, that would be my guess. He is extremely focused on Dean.
Nice analysis, nightsky. I believe Zeke has more to him too. I think the 2nd theory comes closer to my thoughts though. I don’t think Zeke is evil. But as nappi, E and eilf were saying a soldier with a plan. I think his first needs a vessel to heal than then perhaps for something more. So I don’t think he will be relinquishing it easily, we Sam finds out. Sam could cast him out now because he was weak, but once he’s doing better I really don’t think it will be easy. And it you think about it we’ve never seen ANYONE cast someone one is possessing them out themselves. Only take control for brief periods. So maybe Sam and Zeke will end up fighting for control of Sam’s body. I still think if something like that happens Dean will volunteer to be the vessel instead. Or maybe I’m just pushing that idea because I love it.
The idea that all the angels in Heaven and on Earth could never get Dean to say yes, but that he would do it in a heartbeat to save his brother. AND that way Dean fan would finally get their wish of him playing an angel. I personally adored SS and loved the fact Dean beat them all as a human with the power of love. But for him to finally sacrifice his humanity to “save” Sam seems right.