Angelic Parallels in Heaven and Hell: Thoughts on Castiel and Sam in 4.10

[chasingtides]

So I re-watched Heaven and Hell tonight. (Oh, and my father thinks that Anna is a weak, poorly written, whiny milksop. My mother likes Castiel.)

Hey, Castiel, can you get more passive? Seriously. Even when Alistair is attacking you or Uriel is being a jackass, Castiel is immensely passive.

Actually, Castiel and Sam act pretty similarly in this episode. Until Dean is threatened, neither of them do anything. Uriel and Dean act similarly - they are both verbally violent and take physical action.

What does it mean, other than my amusement at watching Uriel call Dean a monkey and Dean call Uriel junkless? (I do like it when Dean calls Uriel junkless.) I'm not entirely sure.

Sam is, by the presence of his demon blood and his faith, in a gray area. He believes that there are better things in this world (see Houses of the Holy, 2.13). He wants the angels to be the angels of his faith (see It's The Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester, 4.07). The angels, however, don't seem to be terribly pleased with Sam, despite the fact that he actually believes in them. He didn't need to see them or their wings - he knew that they were real, needed them to be real, in a way that was never true for Dean. And yet, he is the so-called Boy King - the poisoned human with the demonic powers. He is torn between using his powers for good and following the apparent will of God. What about the people who will die, he asks himself in 4.07, what about the people he can save?

Castiel, too, is in a strange place. He is angel who loves his Father and his Father's creations (4.07). However, unlike Uriel, his violent and shoot-first-ask-later counterpart, has his doubts. He wants to save, to love, to let live. He is a soldier, but he, as best he can, cares. When he and Uriel encounter Anna in Heaven and Hell (4.10), he tells he that he is sorry. She tells him he is not. In 4.07, he appears to have doubts.

Neither Sam nor Castiel take action in the same way Dean and Uriel do in 4.10. In the first scene, in the encounter in the shack, Dean and Uriel go at it like angry cats, but both Sam and Castiel hang back. Castiel turns away from Uriel and looks down. When Uriel attacks Ruby, Sam - whom we know know was in some kind of sexual relationship with her - hangs back, while Dean goes after Uriel. Dean and Uriel fight physically. Sam turns to Castiel and begs him to stop. Castiel pulls his sleepy-time fingers and removes Sam from the situation in a most nonviolent way.

Again, at the end of the episode, when the angels, demons, and Winchesters meet in the barn, both Sam and Castiel hang back. They don't fight. They are passive. Dean and Uriel both attack and fight like the soldiers that they are.

I am not sure what this means. But I do think that the parallels (Uriel:Dean, Castiel:Sam) are interesting. I think Castiel's character is evolving. I don't think he's as simple as Anna made angels out to be - he is very clearly thinking differently from Uriel in this episode. I don't think he's falling, but he and Uriel are behaving very differently and possibly toward different ends.

Comments

[jameserin.livejournal.com]

this is of no importance whatsoever, but i always thought that dean called uriel "junkless" because he said "you're junkless down there, right? like a ken-doll" earlier in the episode. which is why i found "oh, it looks over to me, junkless(chuckless, maybe?)" so amusing at the end.

i love dean so much. <3 haha.

[chasingtides.livejournal.com]

I thought it was Juggles. It might be Chuckles. I will have to rewatch that scene after the Daily Show. (I can't bear to watch that whole episode again. Anna is such a milksop. I can't deal with her. If she comes back I'm hoping she either has a stronger character or stronger actress, as I'm not sure which is the problem.)

[jameserin.livejournal.com]

i'm thinking that maybe she'll come back in a dream dean is having? maybe? haha.

(ps - i am only using this icon so that i can objectify the gay man's mouth. i am so wrong. *g*)

[samidha.livejournal.com]

Dude, yes, it is definitely junkless. At least, that actually makes sense in context (Ken).

[chasingtides.livejournal.com]

Well, he does call him "Junkless, like a Ken doll." But later, when Uriel is threatening him, I think he calls him Juggles.

[tahirire.livejournal.com]

It IS junkless! Why does everyone doubt me!?

[jameserin.livejournal.com]

it's hard to tell, what with dean's voice and all - but that's what i thought it was. *nod*

[tahirire.livejournal.com]

What does it mean, other than my amusement at watching Uriel call Dean a monkey and Dean call Uriel juggles?

*giggles* It's 'junkless'. But either way ... hee.

And also, I agree. I was mildly shocked that it was Dean who stepped up to help Ruby and not Sam, but thinking about it, it made sense. Sam doesn't love Ruby. He uses her as he needs her help, and he trusts her enough to let her be that help, but in the end, she's a demon to him. Sam, whether he would admit it or not, really wants the angel's approval. He always wants to talk first anyway, but here, I think he hesitates because he equates helping Ruby with damning himself.

Dean, on the other hand, is in such a place of guilt and self-loathing right now. He doesn't think he deserved to get saved, so if he pisses them off, really things just go back to how they were supposed to be. Also, Dean has just thanked Ruby for saving Sam, and as we've seen in the past, Dean is loyal to people he feels he owes a debt to, no matter who it is, or how much danger helping them puts him in.

Wow, that was long. Hi.

[chasingtides.livejournal.com]

JUGGLES. I am so checking this when I get back to my external.

I love Dean, but I do wish he cared about himself as much as Sam does. I mean, faith =/ self-esteem, but Dean, even after he knows the angels saved him on purpose, doesn't think he ought to be saved. Oh, Dean.

[tahirire.livejournal.com]

I second your "Oh, Dean" and I raise you a *wibble*

And it's totally Junkless.

[jameserin.livejournal.com]

you don't know me, but i just wanted to say that i agree with this comment.

[tahirire.livejournal.com]

Oh! Well, thank you! :-)

[threecatmama.livejournal.com]

tahirire, I think you've got that down perfectly. Sam is quite passive unless Dean is threatened and he is all about talking and reasoning. And I see lots of self-loathing in Dean. He's still in that suicidal mode from season 3, but for different reasons.

[summersiren.livejournal.com]

Yeah I thought in that episode, Sam and Castiel are kind of alike, as well as Dean and Uriel are alike in how they deal with issues and situations.

[rugbybaby.livejournal.com]

I really have nothing to add. I totally agree. Uriel and Dean are the more... hmm. Act first, think later (if at all). They both say they're doing it for the greater good, or at least I'd imagine that's the defense we'd get. Sam and Castiel seem like wild cards, for lack of a better term. Sam's supposed to be the leader of an army of Hell, and Castiel's supposed to be an emotionless angel who doesn't second-guess his orders.

I LOVE THIS STUFF, ESSENTIALLY. I love fiddling with angels and the dichotomy of Heaven and Hell, to a certain extent. As long as it's not umm, done badly. I hope Castiel doesn't 'fall'. Also yeah, please don't sit there while Alistair pwns you. That's all I ask. First time we see you in a fight and you're down for the count in three seconds. Powerful demon, I know, but really.

And for having nothing new to add, I write two paragraphs. I am a liar.

[mimblexwimble.livejournal.com]

I agree completely. I've been thinking about this ever since Castiel confessed that he wasn't a "hammer". It reminded me of Sam saying that he just didn't have blind faith in John, that he needed to know what was going on and if it was the right thing to do. Very similar, those two.

I don't know the proper Biblical version, but wasn't Lucifer somewhat jealous of Adam? Which is why he refused to bow to a "man" - he thought he was superior to him? I wonder if Dean and Uriel have something of that sort going - perhaps Uriel hates Dean because he's just a man, yet he was chosen to do something great.

Anyway, great meta. :) Just to add to tahrire's post somewhere up above, I'm a Sam!girl AND a Dean!girl (LOL) and I like both Castiel AND Uriel. Weird, huh? :p Though, Uriel is a SOB, most of the time. Especially since he threatened to kill Sam. NEVER FORGIVE! :p

[tahirire.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, nice point, both about Sam re: John and also Uriel's hate of Dean. *applauds*

[jya-bd-cp-ttgb.livejournal.com]

"Oh, it looks over to me Junkless."

According to the captioning, it's definitely Junkless both times in Heaven and Hell - the dream, and after the fight.

On that whole wimpy Castiel thing? He was walking like a newborn in Lazarus. I don't think he's been in his meatsuit often enough to be able to fight - like climbing out of bed after being in a coma for a year.

[chasingtides.livejournal.com]

Yes, rewatching with headphones and without background noise proved it to be junkless. I want to see more nicknames for Uriel in the future though. Way to dis archangels, Dean.

That's an interesting take on Castiel. I had never thought of it that way. I now have mental images of Uriel taking his meatsuit boxing and things to get ready to work it and fight while Castiel hovers around, refusing to possess his meatsuit any longer than absolutely necessary.

[makishef.livejournal.com]

I haven't been able to stomach much meta on this episode, since I wasn't a big fan of it, but I do like this quite a lot. I had noticed the parallels between Dean and Uriel but not Sam and Castiel, so thank you!

Dean and Uriel are both very aggressive, soldier-ly, and according to Sam, total dicks, haha. I hope this means in the future that they will show Uriel's capability as a strategist, too (a la Dean in Jus in Belo), because I really love seeing the writers take on that dimension of the "soldier" traits, instead of leaving it at "act now, follow orders, think later."

I also love the comparison of Sam to Castiel; it's like they both innately have faith, want to believe, but it isn't in their natures to go around blindly hoping, either. I have seen meta comparing Castiel to a Christ figure -- which I disagree with, if only because he is not human and therefore incapable of making that sacrifice BUT -- I wonder if it's because his character so closely parallels Sam, who I think is kind of straddling the line of Christ/Antichrist figure (will his powers save or doom us all, etc., which totally sounds like a bad comic book ending, followed by "find out in our next exciting volume!"). Though I guess the argument could be made that Dean, too, has had his Christ figure moments, particularly this season AND NOW I AM BABBLING, UGH.

I have other THINGS but now I feel I've taken up too much of your time with my rambling, so, uh, thank you for the post and the thinkythoughts it inspired!

[chasingtides.livejournal.com]

I am happy I gave you thinkythoughts!

(And I really hate this episode. I don't think I've disliked an episode so much since Route 666. And I can't figure out if it's because Anna was so poorly written or if the actress was a bad actress, but I spent most of the time going, "Well, kill her already. It's not like she's doing anything and if she's going to get you killed, cut her loose. This is a war!")

[dawnie1970.livejournal.com]

Uriel:Dean, Castiel:Sam

Very nice. Me likey.

[mtee.livejournal.com]

I have always liked Uriel -- and feel he is behaving exactly as "lore" says -- he is the righteous angel -- sword in hand -- "He "stands at the Gate of Eden with a fiery sword,"[2] or as the angel who "watches over thunder and terror."[3] In the Apocalypse of Peter he appears as the Angel of Repentance, who is graphically represented as being as pitiless as any demon" (from wikipedia)

He and Dean definitely have common traits. I like how you pointed that at in their actions.

Interesting thoughts -- thank you.

[zed-pm.livejournal.com]

Hm. This is interesting. I didn't watch this ep properly enough the first time to really notice. But, you're right. There is definitely more to them than Anna.

[caruso.livejournal.com]

(Uriel:Dean, Castiel:Sam)

Yes, yes. I agree with you 100%.

And I always thought Dean said Chuckles. Ha.