Castiel

By now the season premiere has been shown and many will have either watched it, taped it or watched via internet.I had hoped to have this posted prior to premiere but I don't think it will have affected or changed my opinion about why Castiel appeals to me as a character.The world Eric Kripke has created within Supernatural does not allow for much hope.How can it?The whole concept centres around two brothers travelling the byways and back roads of America seeking out supernatural monsters to kill and ghosts to lay to rest.



They have been raised in an environment of paranoid isolation within a community that is, by the mere fact they hunt the supernatural and paranormal of our world, isolated from the accepted world.Kripke's world is the antithesis of all documentaries, dramas and docu-dramas that seek out the supernatural as something to be embraced as, ultimately, a positive experience.




The only positive embracing the Supernatural of the Winchester world do is when they grab a human for dinner or haunt their victims to suicide and/or madness.I don't think any person rescued by Dean and Sam would view their experience as having been a 'positive' supernatural interaction.



While there are many other isolated communities, militia and sects in existence that might mirror aspects of the Hunting community.None are as fragmented as the Hunting community.With the exception of Ellen and Jo Harville, later Lee and Kristy Chambers and of course the Campbell Clan, the Winchesters are the only hunters for whom Hunting is a Family Business.



All other hunters that we have met become hunters because they were dragged into the reality of the supernatural by personal tragedies rather than the supernatural being an accepted daily part of their lives.



There are few common junctions within this world.The Roadhouse and Singer Salvage are the only two we have physically seen onscreen.Even assuming there exist other Roadhouses or 'Co-ordinators' the only ones we've been allowed to meet are the Harville's and Bobby.



This is Dean and Sam's world.Claustrophobic, myopic and nigh on impossible to escape completely once you are aware of the reality of all those things that go 'bump' in the night (and quite a few that go 'bump' during daylight).



By the time we come to season three's finale we know it will take a miracle to rescue Dean from Hell.



Enter Castiel, angel of the Lord, a warrior of God, a powerful supernatural being who is absolute in what he stands for and what his duty is.



We are given a character that represents something sorely lacking in the Winchester world.A character that brings to both Winchesters a much needed feeling of trust, of an expectation and desire to find good within themselves and each other.A character that represents hope amongst the bleak and bloody world of Supernatural.



It is my personal view that Castiel remains a character of hope within the Supernatural world.



While seasons four and five focused upon the positive and good hope can bring to a person, season six can be viewed as an exercise in showing that misplaced ego and false hope can undo a man (or in this case, angel).That "absolute power corrupts absolutely".Season seven continued exploring the fallout of false hope but in the second half of the season it also showed us how one can regain hope.How one can begin to gain redemption.



I doubt I will ever totally forgive Sera Gamble for the decisions regarding Castiel taken in season six or seven but with the advantage of lapsed time and distance I believe I'm more objective.



This past season has been good for Castiel's character.The insanity of his false divinity, purgatory ripped away.And when not at the mercy of Naomi and later Metatron's manipulation, Castiel was able to return to a semblance of what we originally saw.An angel of the Lord, trying with each small kindness to atone for his past choices and bring a little good, a little hope to those humans he helped.



We come now to season nine and I expect, I hope, that Jeremy Carver will continue use Castiel's story as a way of showing that not everything within the Supernatural world need be bleak and bloody and dark.That there are good things about becoming human for an angel and that in turn Castiel's coping with mortality will bring strength and much needed hope to Dean and Sam.
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