a whole mess of orphaned heroes

[retro_eidas]

It just dawned on me that this article has as much to do with Castiel now (and most of the rest of the angels, minus Joshua maybe) as it does Dean and Sam (though Sam, at least, always had Dean). It was probably relevant the moment Castiel showed up, but 5x16 made it official. Team Free Will really are orphaned heroes lost in the wilderness. Though what must that be like for Castiel, to always have had (yet not at all, really) a Father, but never had a Mother?

And I WILL have a Who reaction post, maybe later tonight or tomorrow and I don't even care it's late as hell. Loved it! The bowing to the Grand Moff Overlord has commenced! I loved the implication of the chameleon nature of not only Prisoner Zero and the Doctor, but Amy of the many identities as well. Is she a cop? Is she a nun? Is she a nurse? Is she deliverer of kissograms? Is she a bride-to-be? Whose to say? They're all still getting that sorted out. Amy will probably be trying to get that sorted out all season.

Comments

[ibroketuesday.livejournal.com]

Though what must that be like for Castiel, to always have had (yet not at all, really) a Father, but never had a Mother?

Sam must sympathize. Absent father, no mother at all. I do wonder how Castiel was "raised". Did he bloom suddenly into existence fully mature, or did he have to grow up? Is a young angel different from an older angel? If angels do have some equivalent to a childhood (Michael did remark that he raised Lucifer), then who brought up Castiel?

[eido.livejournal.com]

Sam must sympathize. Absent father, no mother at all.

And Cas probably raised by siblings too.

Is a young angel different from an older angel? If angels do have some equivalent to a childhood (Michael did remark that he raised Lucifer)

Considering the drama they make about "big brother" Michael and "little brother" Lucifer? I'm guessing there is a difference.

then who brought up Castiel?

If angels are following the higher(highest?)-ups example? Best guess is the older members of the garrison raised the younger ones. Heh. Which would mean not only Michael & Lucifer reflect Dean & Sam, but possibly the entirety of Heaven. Or at least the warrior branch of it.

It would be interesting we found out Cas had his own Michael raising him or he'd been the Michael to any little bros that came along.

Though Dean's life sounds more like it's emulating Lucifer's, especially c/o spoilers. Dean getting beaten down by his brother(s)? Sam beat down Dean at the end of S4 too. Dean's also the one that, literally, went to Hell. Sam didn't send him there so to speak, but Dean was largely there because of him and John (and his own stupid decision and utter lack of self-worth obvs, but John can take a big chunk of the blame for that too. "I had the one job... and I screwed it up"). Wronged by beloved brother and daddy. Maybe the archangels are wooing the wrong bros?

[ibroketuesday.livejournal.com]

I like this idea, because it means that [warrior] angels, when young, are inculcated immediately into the military lifestyle, trained to obey, not to think, and to fight, not to feel, from the inception of their lives, bereft probably of any parental influence at all, except for the necessary socialization and training -- it's amazing Castiel has any sense of individuality at all, isn't it? Dean may have largely raised Sam, but he didn't raise Sam expressly to be a warrior, and Sam didn't even know about hunting until he was nine. Castiel would have been raised by a bevy of older brothers in proper military style. Also, contemplating baby!angel!Cas makes me melty.

Dean fits Lucifer and he also fits Michael; older brother, caretaker, "righteous" son, etc. He was also the obedient son to the father, the one who stuck around. And it's not like Michael, too, hasn't been screwed over by God! He's faultlessly loyal to someone who isn't even around!

[eido.livejournal.com]

Castiel would have been raised by a bevy of older brothers in proper military style.

Not just military but - barring Zachariah's and Gabriel's lasciviousness (ahem, not that that's unheard of with men of cloth, but this post isn't for ragging on Catholicism) - a military lifestyle mixed with monastery. Cas first came off not only like a soldier, but like someone who's lived in a monastery all their life sequestered from any real life and solely devoted to God (Agape love). All the spiritual, none of the natural. Making Castiel this intriguing (and incredibly tempting) mix of strong and fierce, but also innocent and naive (in one beautiful, Misha Collins-shaped package). He invokes that sinful want of dirtying him up, which not even Dean was (of course he wasn't) immune. Dean is like the personification of nature, the wild child orphan that was raised by wolves, while Cas is the prince up in the high tower surrounded by stringent order and dogma. If Dean is Tarzan, then Cas is Jane. LOL You so very desperately want these two to meet in the middle somewhere, but preferably in a place that welcomes both nature and spiritual. Y HALO EARTH!

That's why I wouldn't see Cas getting a ticket back up to Heaven at the end of S5 as a gift (unless it gets more balanced and less Matrix-like). It would seem more like a regression or a duty, not a reward. Because all that's real is in the chthonic, not the celestial, and real is what the heroes should be striving for.

Dean fits Lucifer and he also fits Michael; older brother, caretaker, "righteous" son, etc. He was also the obedient son to the father, the one who stuck around.

Except Dean's also now the one who goes on and on about "deadbeat dads" and Sam is the one with kind words and forgiving of John. But yes, Dean has aspects of both Lucifer and Michael, but is in the negative numbers on the self-interest scale. Which Lucifer and Michael (and most angels) have in truckloads.

Though I do think it's rather interesting, though the world in "The End" was horrific, the world was still there. There were still humans struggling in it and fighting, even if it may have been a lost cause. However, the world wasn't annihilated as Zachariah claimed it would be. Not to say Team Free Will should be throwing it in with the devil. The best option is if *both* factions were destroyed while humans stay standing. However, Lucifer does seem to have at least some interest in seeing the planet itself surviving. His situation would also be increasingly desperate if Michael manages to get himself a non-Dean meatsuit. He's the devil, but maybe he could possibly be negotiated with in a way that Zachariah and Heaven can't be? Not that this necessarily recommends him considering what he did with his free will (and what Anna ultimately did with hers), but he's also presumably the first angel to rebel against Heaven too.