#Castiel critical

[watching-sam-and-dean-again]

Watching a reactor on YouTube who just got to Season 4: Lazarus Rising, and I’m so annoyed by the amount of comments with people saying things like, "this is when the series REALLY starts" and "Seasons 1-3 were the prologue, now The Story begins" and "I’ve been waiting for you to meet my favorite character!"

First, I will never be able to understand Castiel being someone's legitimate favorite character. I just don’t get it. He starts off as a massive dick, becomes an ally, uses and betrays both brothers a number of times, rarely takes full responsibility for his actions, and ends up as a totally different and neutered version of himself. But this guy is your favorite!? The only reason I think a large number of fans who love him do is because he comes in the gate treating Sam like crap and he becomes a simp for Dean (or they are shippers). Also, if someone is a more casual fan, I can see enjoying Cass because he’s quirky and he mostly stands up for the Winchesters, but if someone is a big fan of the brothers, Cass makes their lives harder a lot of the time. Also, I’m coming to really hate the fact that the dude is always in a trench coat. How am I supposed to take a character seriously who is essentially like an unchanging cartoon character come to life? Anyway, despite how it might sound from my ranting, I actually do think people are allowed to love whatever character they want, but it just doesn’t compute for me personally that it’s Cass as he is on screen (not in someone’s head).

Next, the idea of people calling the first three seasons "The Prologue" to supernatural is offensive to me personally (well, not offensive but it’s dumb as hell). A prologue is used to give some important background that should be known for you to better understand the main story, but it happened before, or doesn’t quite fit into, the main narrative. I’m sorry, but the first three seasons of Supernatural are the foundation that everything builds off of, and maybe I’m splitting hairs here, but it’s not just the set up to the Real Story. The Real Story of Supernatural has always been and will always be "the epic love story of Sam and Dean," not the angel crap. Calling the basis of the whole show the prologue has an implied message that it’s not as important as, or connected to the rest of the story. Again, people are allowed to have their own opinions about what they enjoy in media, but this idea that what came before Season 4 wasn’t as important as the rest of the show is actually bad media literacy, especially when you consider how much retconning and inconsistency later seasons have (*cough* John Winchester, for exapmle). The early seasons are Supernatural at its most pure, and if you don’t like or care about Sam and Dean's story, what are you doing here?

I was going to go on by listing all of the important things that we learn about Sam and Dean's characters and relationship in the first three seasons, but honesty, I’m tired. If you’re reading my post, I’m sure you already know. True fans of the show, even if seasons 1 to 3 aren’t their favorite, know how important these seasons are. Frankly, if someone claims that they don’t matter as much as the later season, then I’m going to assume that they are probably a heller (and I’m probably right), thus their opinions on the show don’t matter.

Speaking of Hellers, they are the Jehovah’s Witnesses of fandom. They descend on your doorstep (YouTube video, blog post, etc), uninvited and unwelcome, to make you uncomfortable by forcing their literature (head-canons and subtext) on you in a vain attempt to make you convert to their twisted version of a cult religion (Destiel). Some get indoctrinated into their cult, others consider them a joke, and yet others are driven to madness by the constant hounding of the hellers. I wish they would just stay in their lane and let people come to their own conclusions about the show and the characters, but they try to gatekeep the fandom experience by jumping on anyone new and telling them how they are the "most popular ship" and that supernatural queerbaits, but Dean and Cass are still totes husbands, and there is some other guy there, too but Sam is just some jerk who isn’t as important as Wuwu Dean and their Little Meow Meow Cass. If somone actually sees and enjoys Destiel on their own, great, good for them; they’ll find the blogs and groups who love it too. Hellers don’t need to try actively recruiting people. It’s all just a numbers gone to them. We have the most fanfic (um, yes, because the show doesn’t deliver what you want), we are the most popular ship (sure, because the other main ship is brothers which squicks some people out, and because you crucify anyone who admits to being a Wincest shipper), and they tell the stupidest lies (the show shifts away from being about the brothers, and focusses more on Dean and Cass' "relationship," and Sam isn’t as important to the story later). I wish they would just stay in their own sandbox and not come pee in everyone else's. Cult like behavior in action.

Okay, deep breaths. I’m grad I got that one off of my chest, but my blog is getting very ranty. I’m going to try make sure my next post is a positive one.

Happy weekend everyone!

[rewatching-sam-and-dean]

I’ll preface this by saying people can certainly enjoy whatever moments they want on a show. But, that being said …

The moments hellers cheer/brag about getting on SPN, claiming they are “romantic” or “subtext” mostly happen in bad seasons, are rip-offs of something that already happened between Sam and Dean, or are lame and/or out of character.

Just from the samples I’ve seen floating around on here today:

Dean keeping Cas’ trench coat and apparently transferring it between cars - First, I liked this type of gesture better when it was Sam wearing the Samulet until Dean was brought back from hell in Season 4. Second, the trench coat makes Cas feel like a cartoon character so I can’t take it seriously. Third, Jensen and Misha themselves have literally laughed about this moment, and Jensen tried to talk Singer out of including it, because it’s OOC and lame. (Also, Season 7).

The mixed tape - I’ve already written a whole post about this. It’s not inherently romantic, and there is no way Dean made it fresh for Cas. It was obviously an old tape he’d made for himself and gave to his friend; a nice gesture but nothing romantic. (Season 12.)

Dean giving Castiel a “Cowboy Outfit” - Again, I liked it better when Sam and Dean did it first. Also, the clothes Dean gave Sam actually looked good on him. He gave Cas a lame straw hat that looks deeply stupid with a trench coat. Again, Castiel is like a cartoon character (or the jester), not to be taken seriously. (Season 13, the AU nightmare, Colonsl Sanders season.)

The Dean Cave having two chairs - The chairs (and open beers) were obviously intended for Dean and Sam NOT Dean and Cass. Why the hell would Dean run and get Sam to show him the room he set up for himself and Cass? Even when Dean talks about relaxing and taking “we time,” it’s not with Cas. (Season 13, though I like the Dean Cave, it’s just not about Cas).

Again, like what you like, but these “wins” are lame at best.

[the-gray-ghosty]

Also on this track, now i'm thinking about how castiel LET himself be possessed by lucifer, BRINGING LUCIFER INTO THE WORLD, after Sam sacrificed himseld and was tortured for hundreds(?) of years in the cage. Not to mention the r*pe jokes that lucifer/hallucifer kept making at sam, it's horrible that castiel let him into the world and I think that dean and sam should NOT have forgiven him for it.

[fandom-hoarder]

While my brainrot is on the topic of Cas crit:

His WILLFUL IGNORANCE during his "Heaven Trials" with Metatron. Sam is over there being purged from the inside out, Dean is fucking praying for him to survive, and Castiel what? Doesn't stop to think how weird it is the Heaven Trials don't do the same to him? Why? Because Sam deserves it? Because Castiel needs to stain his Grace with horrible acts? As if Castiel hasnt already committed sins to stain his Grace? As if Castiel shouldn't logically suffer the same way as Sam for committing these Trials?

[demonic-ninja-cat]

New Anti-Hunter SPN Discord Server!

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Are you someone who likes SPN but hates Hunters/the concept of Hunting?

Do you think that their mass-murdering of Monsters is wrong? Do you hate how the show and the fandom always push them as "good/heroic"? Do you think that Jacob Pond should have been allowed to get revenge on Dean for killing his mother? Do you want to do an SPN rp where the Hunters aren't glorified for once?

If your answer to any of these is "yes", then you've come to the right place! SPN: The Real Monsters (18+) is, to my knowledge, the only Anti-Hunter SPN rp server on Discord!

We offer the ability to rp SPN without dealing with Hunters/Hunting being glorified, and without Supernaturals/Monsters being demonized and treated like shit! We also offer OOC channels to talk with like-minded people about SPN and other topics, share pictures and memes, and more!

If all of this sounds good to you, then come join us now, and fight back against the Hunters today!

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

[fratricideknight]

Hi! (It's me again back to bother you with more spn questions) Are there any characters from spn that you didn't like that much or thought were overrated?

hello, beloved!! you aren't bothering me; i love your asks!

honestly, these days, i'm pretty chill regarding characters. i very rarely hate characters, i mostly just appreciate them for what they have to offer. i have favourites, of course, but i generally just accept characters as they are (and lament lost potential lol). so, i'm going to turn the question around and talk about how i think sam is massively overhated and underrated (only in the online fandom though; i'm pretty sure this isn't the case with the general audience). warning for an oncoming rant!

certain individuals' dislike of sam is at once incomprehensible to me and completely predictable. because i don’t understand how anyone could come to the logical conclusion that sam is boring, but i’m not at all surprised. i’m not saying they’re necessarily similar characters, but it’s kind of like people calling steve rogers from the mcu "bland" (my mcu knowledge is rusty forgive me if i say something stupid). like, no, you just hate optimists and nice people? you don’t have to like him, but don’t act like it’s not just a personal preference. funny thing is, sam and steve have something similar going on in their stories. both are good people who try to make the best of their circumstances: sam tries to use his demon blood “curse” for something good; steve tries to remain a force of good in a corrupt, grey world. and that’s interesting as hell!! unfortunately, both will always be overshadowed because they’re not smart-mouthed assholes (even though sam is sassy…) who default to treating people dickishly. and, worst of all, neither of them consider decapitation a good time and therefore cannot fulfil edgelord fantasies

ah yes, sam – no killing others (before resurrection in s2) even if it causes problems, monsters can be good and sexually attractive, veggie bacon but demon blood is acceptable on occasion, using evil powers for good, vessel of Satan who prays to God every day – winchester is uninteresting and boring, but a violent pessimist with daddy issues who kills monsters to unleash ✨️ the darkness inside ✨️ and a celestial being who doesn’t understand human customs or emotions or free will but comes to fight on the side of humanity are ground-breaking. i love dean and i like cas – i think they’re good, and i'm not saying this to throw hate at them – but acting like they’re amazing while sam sucks is just… really? people, regarding every form of media – music, films, books etc. etc. – conflate “shallow” with “not dark,” and i’m so tired of it

i have absolutely no issue with people preferring other characters for whatever reasons, or even for no real reason at all, but outright calling sam boring??! speaking on him with utterly tragically bad takes in an attempt to denigrate his name and proving only that you don't understand him at all?!? you are all tasteless imbeciles and should be ashamed of yourselves

[jellybracelet]

The issues I have with Castiel are the reasons other people love him. He's too poor meow meow all the time and it pisses me off. His simpy swag is too much for me

[laf-outloud]

It's so weird, since i started the show i agreed with Sam, always, in all conflicts i supported him vs Dean, i even trusted Ruby till the end (i was naive lol), i thought "so what if he's drinking demon blood, he's doing it to save people, he's not evil". I even agreed with him when he didn't look for Dean in purgatory, because i thought he had a mental breakdown and just couldn't do it (especially after his hallucinations in season 7). Basically, i understand Sam, i love Sam and i agree with Sam, i'm very much like him. But Dean is my favorite character 😁 I can't help it, i feel about him what Sam feels about him i guess. Dean is Sam's favorite character too i bet 😏

I don't think it's weird! But isn't it interesting how television works? LOL! You can relate to a character, but prefer another.

Example: I can relate to early-season, socially awkward Castiel, but I prefer Sam as a character. (I would have preferred Cass left the series much earlier than he did because he caused so many problems for Sam and Dean.)

What I really appreciate about what you shared is that you did it in a way of expressing your opinion without trying to force your opinion on someone else who might not feel the same way. I feel like a portion of SPN fans don't seem to understand that concept, so thank you, my Dean-girl anon!

[rewatching-sam-and-dean]

No but, for real. Castiel was a bit of a dick, but he was still better in the earlier seasons. He also learns to care about Sam for himself: “nothing is worth losing you.” The way they come full circle to caring about each other is honestly a better story to me than alies who keep betraying each other and calling each other best friends while also showing nearly constant distrust or frustration with each other (Dean and Castiel).

Castiel “You didn’t” rant below.

One thing here I will never get over is when Castiel says, “You didn’t." He is so so sanctimonious here and he literally wrong. No one ever “laid it all out” for Sam. They didn’t tell him what drinking demon blood or killing Lilith would lead to; the angels only told him “don’t” and “you’re an abomination” Why would he be inclined to listen to them when they shit on him constantly. Also, the angels, including Castiel himself, knew what they were doing when they pit the brothers against each other, and set one up as the saviour and the other up as the abomination. So, Castiel is both wrong and hypocritical in what he’s saying here. He is part of why Sam didn’t know the full picture and part of why he was able to let the devil out.

But, I guess it’s okay because he’s going to go on to cause serious problems for the rest of the series (including letting the devil out of the cage on purpose). 🙄 And he won’t always take full responsibility for his mistakes either.

what is his problem 😭

[wilsonthemoose]

Cas. Friend. Buddy. Pal. This is the kind of thinking we were looking for about 2 and a half seasons ago.

[watching-sam-and-dean-again]

Season 7: Deaths Door

So, I’m watching a reactor who just got to this episode. Yes, this is another post based around reaction videos. No it’s not the same one I wrote about last time (if I have any followers who keep track). Yes, I have a reactors on the go currently, and sadly, two of them are on seasons I don’t like much (Season 7 and Season 15), so it’s a bit rough going right now.

Anyway, I think the episode where Bobby dies is a good one, though it is definitely sad. There are quite a few moments that really stand out for me. First, Dean punching the glass when the organ donor guy comes to talk to him while Bobby is still alive is really impactful. You understand and empathize with Dean so hard in that moment, and I think he showed unusual restraint in punching the glass rather than the man. My guy, what the hell are you doing asking someone about organs while their loved one is fighting for their life? Next, Sam pressing on his palm while he tries to wrestle with the reality of Bobby dying is heartbreaking to me. I think this is a moment that some people miss, but it hurts so much while it reminds me that Sam, while he mostly looks okay on the outside, is still dealing with the aftermath of his soul being locked in the cage with Lucifer for 180 years. The guy is struggling with reality on a daily basis, thinks he doesn’t have it so bad just because others experience "worse," and is now losing his surrogate dad. Finally, Bobby's memories of the boys being just totally average little moments of them acting like typical brothers is very wholesome. Though, I enjoy all of Bobby’s memories (Rufus!) and what they show us about Bobby. Really good episode overall.

Now, here is where my … problem (I guess I’ll go with that term) comes in. I like this reactor because they are entertaining, and they tend to try look at things from both brothers' points of view most of the time, but they said two things that irked me a bit while watching the episode, especially because they seem to be opinions shared by a lot of viewers. Obviously opinions are going to be subjective, so I don’t think this reactor is being unfair. I just don’t fully agree. First, they said that they feel especially bad for Dean in this episode because he has been through so much. Second, they suggest that Bobby's death might be harder on the boys because Bobby was more of a father to them than John was.

Please see my thought under the cut

So, tackling the first idea, I don’t object to feeling bad for Dean this season or the idea that he has been through too mich. At all. I object to the implied idea that he has somehow been through more or worse than Sam at this point in the show, and thus deserves more sympathy. Excuse me, but, what!? Let’s not delve all the way back through their history because that could go on forever, instead let’s just look at Season 6 and Season 7 (up to this point).

Let’s start with Dean. He experienced the pain of having a soulless Sam back, who didn’t particularly care about him. This is essentially one of his worst nightmares, so I understand him reeling from this for a while. He gained and lost a family, and picked up a heap more loss and guilt to deal with from leaving them. He was betrayed by his "best friend," who also hurt his brother just to stop Dean from interfering with his purgatory plan. He has to "deal with" Sam suffering from hallucinations. He broke a leg. He’s had to temporarily give up his baby. And now Bobby, his surrogate dad, is dying. These are all very hard things, and I truly feel bad for Dean having to go through them, but he’s also done things to add to his own misery this season, like kill Amy and lie to Sam about it and drink his face off instead of coping with his depression and guilt. Dean is his own worst enemy, and it sometimes affects the empathy I have for him.

Now, let’s look at Sam. Since Season 6, Sam has to come to terms with the fact that while he was soulless he did absolutely terrible things, things that he has to now remember and live with, even though in his normal state he never would have done them. He was also betrayed by Cas. First, Cas brought him back soulless, and while I don’t think he knew what exactly was wrong with Sam, he knew something was off and then proceeded to ignore Sam when he reached out to him about it. Then, he betrayed him by breaking his hell-wall just to distract Dean; he risked destroying Sam's mind entirely just to get Dean out of his way. Now, Sam is the one who is actually suffering from hallucinations, which have never gone away up to this point, rather he just learns to distinguish them from reality and go about his business. The show doesn’t remind us of this constantly, so I kind of understand audiences not actively thinking about this. Still, what Sam is experiencing in Season 7 is horrific. On top of all this, he’s worrying about Dean because of his drinking and depression. And now he too is losing Bobby, and he didn’t even have a sweet one-on-one memory to fall back on with Bobby unless he did and it just wasn’t significant enough for Bobby to remember. While Cas' betrayal probably hurt Dean more because Cas was closer to him at this point, what he did still has to hurt Sam, too; it even made him wonder if Cas brought him back soulless on purpose.

Now, my whole point with this is not that people should feel worse for Sam than Dean, but that it seems crazy to me to feel more empathy for Dean than Sam at this point. Dean has to worry about Sam's mental state, but Sam is the one living it. Meanwhile, Sam is worried about Dean's mental state, which is poor partially because of what’s happening with Sam these codependent boys have both been through way too much in the last Season and a half alone. Just because Sam isn’t as demonstrative with his emotions as Dean a lot of the time doesn’t mean he isn’t also in pain. So, I empathize strong,y with both of them in this situation of losing Bobby on top of everything else.

Finally, the idea that Bobby is Sam and Dean "real" dad is one I always take issue with. John is not perfect by any means, but he did love his sons. He literally sold his soul to save Dean. This is not nothing. Dean has fond memories of him, and Sam had a nice moment with him and laughed with him in "Dead Man's Blood." When John first sees his boys after months (years for Sam) apart, he hugs them both. This is not a dad who doesn’t love his kids. His harshness was a result of fear for the boys most of the time, not unlike how Dean treated Ben when he was worried about him and Lisa at the end of Season 6. I’m not saying this is right, or that he couldn’t be too harsh, but they are living extraordinary experiences. John raised his kids like soldiers, but if he hadn’t they’d probably have died sooner. And the fact that they called him Sir, didn’t mean that he was only a Drill Sargent to them. Moreover, even though John made a ton of mistakes, his death was absolutely devastating for both Sam and Dean. Bobby on the other hand, may have "adopted two boys" in his heart, but he wasn’t perfect either. He’s been harsh with both of them at times, sometimes fairly, other times not as fairly, and he clearly has a favorite, which isn’t ideal in a father figure. Yes, he brought Dean to play catch, but an uncle might do that too, and did he ever do something like that for Sam? I like Bobby, I really do, and I think he’s a good surrogate but he is not their "real" dad, either. And while a terrible blow, I don’t think his death has equal impact on the boys to John’s.

Anyway, that’s it on this one. Thanks for reading, if you made it this far.

What are your thought any of this?

[rewatching-sam-and-dean]

Oh, how I hate Destiel, let me count the ways

Let me preface my rant by noting that I know none of these ideas are new, but I just have to get it off my chest because it’s annoying me today. (I may delete this later, but I need to say it somewhere for now.)

1) The hardcore shippers are insufferable and entitled. They also act like shipping two fictional characters is activism and throw around "homophobe" at anyone who doesn’t love their ship. It’s gross.

2) Dean and Castiel claim to be best friends while treating each other like crap a lot of the time. Cass in particular lies to and goes behind Dean's back often, while Dean is often borderline hostile with Castiel.

3) Castiel is in a stolen body. He forced Jimmy to agree to be possessed so his daughter wouldn’t have to be his vessel. So, in early, days there is no consent here. Later, Castiel is basically a parasite living off of a dead body.

4) Dean literally says Cass is like a brother to him, thus he’s not attracted to him. (He also says Castiel is like a talking dog and a baby in a trench coat. Not sexy.)

5) Dean is straight. No matter how much "bi lighting" Dean stands in or how much cake he eats, his own words and actions show he is not attracted to men.

6) Castiel broke Sam's hell wall, making him go insane and almost killing him in the long-run, just to distract and worry Dean, and I will never get over it. He doesn’t deserve Dean after doing this. And he doesn’t deserve to be in the same "family group" as Sam.

7) Angels are generally portrayed as lacking the depth of emotion that humans have, or a consistent sexual drive when they have their grace. Thus, I don’t believe he even has the capacity to be "in love" with or "attracted to" Dean.

8) Castiel takes very little responsibility for his own actions and often blames Sam for things that are partially, or entirely, his own fault. (Apocalypse #1, letting Lucifer out of the cage, etc.) This isn’t strictly ship-related but it makes me dislike him as a character and want him around both brothers less.

9) Almost every "subtext" clue that destiel shippers claim "proves" their ship has a corresponding, or greater, equivalent that would support Wincest. In short, if one thinks Destiel is real because of tiny little clues (despite Dean being straight) then they can’t rightly say Wincest doesn’t exist in the show because there is way more "subtext," and text, to support it (despite the brothers being … brothers).

10) Sam and Dean's insane relationship renders all ships outside of them pointless. I don’t ship Wincest, but it also doesn’t really bug me because they are fictional characters. I love the show strictly FOR the brothers" relationship. They love each other more than anyone else, and that what makes the show compelling.

Bonus:

[fandom-hoarder]

it frustrates me especially because the issue of consent never comes up re: Jimmy's corpse. Like, my read of canon is that Jimmy has been in heaven since Lucifer blew him up in Swan Song. So then did Chuck "gift" Jimmy's vessel to Castiel forevermore when he's resurrected? Are we to read Jimmy's sacrifice of his vessel for the sake of Claire...as an eternal consent?

it ever hit you out of nowhere that castiel is living in a dead guy's body and the show just does not care. it does not care. jimmy novak might as well not exist the moment he or claire is out of sight. cas stole a guy's body and his face and his life, and we can't ever talk about it or discuss it in detail because of how fucking horrifying it is that sam and dean's best friend just walks around in a dead guy suit. there's not even a human soul in there anymore. it's just a corpse. stone-cold body snatcher indeed.

[lukas-dusk]

Castiel : So.

Castiel : I'm in love.

Castiel : with Dean.

Sam :

Castiel : I'm in love with Dean.

Sam : Our Dean?

Castiel : Yes.

Castiel : Thoughts?

Sam : And prayers your gonna need them.

[fandom-hoarder]

I actually like s13 Castiel.

UNTIL:

It was the worst possible violation.

Oh was it? Was it really, Cas? Was it a VIOLATION?? When you told Lucifer yes despite Sam saying no, and then every time Dean and Sam gave you an opportunity to kick Lucifer out you said, 'Nah, I'm'a keep him, thanks'???? Did WE really let Lucifer out? Or did YOU? 🤬

[strawlessandbraless]

Dean and Cas should have gotten to poke fun at Sam’s career choice more often. When Cas is annoyed, his response is always ‘ok law boy’ with an eye roll. Anytime Sam utters ‘so get this’, Dean and Cas rush to be the first to object. Dean threatens to sue Sam anytime he interrupts his alone time with Cas. The party city wig was actually one of those white British judge wigs.