Of Supernatural and Castiel

[switch842]

First, a couple quick bullet points:

I'm glad we finally have a resolution to the Lisa storyline. I like Lisa. I like Dean with Lisa. But it seemed like they kept wrapping up that story and then it would be back two weeks later. I wouldn't have minded if they'd found a way to keep Lisa around as a safe place for Dean. Either way, I'm happy to see that wrapped up.

Sam and his split personality thing. That was actually a really cool way to do that, I thought. And the bar chick? Totally Sam's inner Dean. For sure. And I ended up having a really cracked out dream about it. It was Jared, though, not Sam and there were LOTS of him. Instead of "killing" his other selves to get their souls out, he had to like, suck it out. So, Jared ended up basically making out with himself. A lot. It was hot, I'll admit. ;-)

Also glad that Crowley isn't dead. He's fantastic and I think he could be a very interesting addition to the storyline next season. Things are much more entertaining when it's not just black and white.

And now, the controversy: Castiel. It seems the fandom has erupted into a fervor over something we know nothing about. So, let's break down what we do know:
1) Castiel is now The All Powerful Cas.
2) Misha has been "demoted" back to recurring for Season 7.

Let's start with point 2. Misha was not a regular in season 4 or 5 and look how much Cas time we got then. I think more than we had in season 6 when he was made a regular. Also, there's more to recurring vs starring vs guest starring vs whatever than just screen time. Being a named regular, even if you're not in every episode, still requires much more time commitment than recurring or guest star. Given that Random Acts is kind of exploding and they have the Haiti stuff coming up and his new web series, it's possible that Misha himself actually requested to be downgraded if he wasn't going to be in every episode. Honestly, we'll never really know why or how this decision was made, but I don't think it's going to be as big an issue as everyone else thinks.

Now to point 1. Personally, I think this is a fantastic development. I still believe that before the series is over we will see Cas fall. Ever since the first hints of rebellion we got back in season 4, I firmly believe this is where Cas is going. And, well, the higher they rise, the harder they fall. I think this is just going to add a whole new level to this plot line and when he does fall for Dean? It's going to be spectacular.

Comments

[hsapiens.livejournal.com]

- I kept thinking they'd wrapped up the Lisa storyline only to have it resurrected so we could beat them up emotionally again. I didn't enjoy that part. I FAR preferred the adult, "we're going our separate ways" ending to having her agency removed but hey, it isn't Supernatural if I'm not squirming over its treatment of women. ;)

- LOVED the Sam portion of the finale but I wanted MOAR. There was this huge build-up to how awful it would be and...it fizzled. Kind of like the Apocalypse. This show has issues with follow-through, I think. But I loved what they did do with it and I loved seeing Erica in a different role from Eureka. Sorry she's dead in SPN as I'd love to have seen more of her.

- CROWLEY! Glad he's still around, too. Sheppard plays an awesome villain and I'm eager to have a clever adversary.

The Castiel drama, which I'm not wading into, is more than what you know. You're missing some pieces of the puzzle, mainly that those claiming to be "in the know" are saying that the plan was to kill Castiel in either the finale or the premiere of the next season. It's all innuendo and such but there's a little more to the freaking out. No clue if it's true or if they've stuck to that plan. Or, hey, maybe they're planning to kill Castiel and we'll have Jimmy from now on? I have no idea.

For what it's worth, I believe Misha was a series regular in Seasons 5 & 6.

[switch842.livejournal.com]

Ah... I did not see the stuff about Cas supposedly being killed off. OK. That does make a bit of a difference.

That just... I don't know. It doesn't make sense to me, really. They have to know how popular Cas (Misha) is. I mean, he was only supposed to stick around for 3 or 4 episodes and it's been 3 seasons now? And they want to kill him? Hm....

I was trying to remember if he was a regular in season 5, but couldn't. But, anyway. Official status really has very little to do with screentime in the long run.

*shrugs* Guess we'll just have to wait and see....

ETA: Random thought: If they do kill him in the premiere as is still supposedly possible, then what's the point? What's the point of making Cas this all powerful being if some random being can just step in and take him out?

[hsapiens.livejournal.com]

Agreed. I'm not going to freak out over things that haven't happened. I will love this twist if they deal with it next season but hate it if they kill him off early.

I agree that it makes no sense but I've noticed they have no idea what to do with Castiel. Before becoming God he was too powerful and they were always limiting his power (he's falling, Mom can apparently suppress him) in order to use him. I thought, honestly, they'd have him fall and then use him next season as a source of angel knowledge but not power. The God twist is intriguing and I hope like hell they're following through on it. (See my previous comment about dissatisfaction with their follow-through...)

You're right; official status has precious little to do with time onscreen. I was really hoping that Cas would become human and we'd get more Cas but I think Godhood, regardless of how quickly they kill him, will mean less time onscreen. Sadly. But maybe I'm wrong! They consistently surprise me and maybe they'll do it again.

[hsapiens.livejournal.com]

Just saw your ETA.

I agree there's no point to it but then I'd ask what was the point of:

- The Campbells?
- Mom?
- The repeated warnings from Death himself that Sam's wall had to be maintained at all costs?
- Dean is Michael's vessel?
- Raising Lucifer but never seeing him do anything evil?

I agree it is pointless to raise him to God only to kill him off. But it wouldn't be the first odd ending to a promising and interesting storyline. I hope hope hope that they decide to keep Misha -- or even that all the rumor-mongering is, in fact, wrong.

[switch842.livejournal.com]

This is all very true. It seems as the mythology has become more complicated there is a tendency to kind of rush things through. But then they draw out the most inane things (Sam's hell personality split vs Lisa & Ben). I'm getting more confused as the seasons go on....

[caritas2008.livejournal.com]

you forgot the whole Baltazar weapons plot which is something the writers also seem to have forgot

[switch842.livejournal.com]

Yes. There is that random plot, too...

[hsapiens.livejournal.com]

DOH! You're right -- I did! That should have been far more important in the final story. Are the monster souls necessary when you have Heavenly weapons?

There were just so many dropped storylines this season that it's hard to keep them all in mind.

[verdande-mi.livejournal.com]

I’ve just been a lurker around here so far, but here are my two cents. I’m not too worried about Misha not being a regular next season; I’m just glad he’s still around; I was worried he wouldn’t be. Haven’t really noticed a great change from recurring to regular and I hope I won’t when it’s reversed.

I didn’t see the whole God thing coming, and I had hope for something different, but I think it’s a great twist and I’m looking forward to seeing how this will play out next season. I hope in the end he does fall, and that we see him redeemed for his deal with the devil as Dean and Sam has been in the past.

And I can’t wait to see what Castiel’s plans for Crowley are! Whatever they are, I’m sure they will be amazing. It was great to see these two characters interact this season, and I’m all for more in the next.

It’s nice to read something other than negative opinions; there seems to be a lot of it floating around concerning this season. I for one really enjoyed it and can’t wait to continue the journey come autumn.

Oh, and Sam and his split personality scenes were pure perfection.

[switch842.livejournal.com]

I did not see the God twist coming at all. It's definitely a very interesting character development.

Cas' plans for Crowley cannot include anything good, that's for sure.

[jessm78.livejournal.com]

I'm with you. I liked Lisa as well as her and Dean together, but I'm glad they finally wrapped that up. It seemed like they were dragging it out, looking like it was going to end and then just going back to it.

OMG, bar chick as Sam's inner Dean! I love that - and I can really see it! Hah, that's an awesome dream :)

I was happy to see Crowley escape and get to live another day.

Wow, fandom has been in a real fervor over this whole thing with Cas. Not that I didn't expect it. The funny thing about the "recurring" status for Misha is that Jim Beaver was never a regular - he was basically always recurring. Yet he's been in a lot of episodes the past few seasons. And I agree that it's quite likely Misha might have asked to be downgraded seeing as how busy he's been with those projects.

I really do think they are leading up to something big with that development. I would be surprised if this series ended without seeing him fall. I'm really looking forward to seeing where it's going to end up.

[switch842.livejournal.com]

Yup. Jim has never been a regular. It's actually come up quite a bit in Glee fandom recently when it was announced that Darren was not going to be a regular like we all thought and the producers had basically said earlier this year. But a lot of people in the know have been speaking up about how that doesn't mean we'll be getting less just because they're not a regular blah blah blah. It really all does come down to the contract and what the different statuses mean in terms of freedom for the actor. So, yeah...

I'm really, really interested to see what happens with Cas. And until whatever is going to happen actually happens on screen, I'm not going to waste my time worrying about it.

[regann]

I'm one of those up in arms fans lol. Let me explain our issues:

1. CW lied at the upfronts just DAYS BEFORE the finale and listed Misha as a regular for S7. It gave many of us a false sense of security since they waited until after the finale to announce his demotion. Point of fact; I would've skipped the finale myself.

sorry for the comment fail, I'm on my phone lol

[regann]

2. Ausiello/TV Line floated a blind item about a month or so ago that a fan favorite was gonna be killed off in the finale or premiere and fans would go nuts. Since he hasn't revealed this yet, one assumes the death is still to come. I haven't seen any other shows that fit the profile better than SPN/Misha. My theory at this point (with Gamble's interview about how next season Dean&Sam will be like Butch and Sundance) is that Cas will go boom and litter the earth with purgatory monsters.

3. In her interview after the finale, Sera flatly refused to confirm if Misha would be around after the finale saying it would reveal too much about the premiere. Since everyone was expecting him to hang around, I feel like the only reasons she wouldn't allay fan fears is because she thinks she's bring clever (no!) or there will actually be no Misha.

Re: sorry for the comment fail, I'm on my phone lol

[switch842.livejournal.com]

Ah, OK. I guess I did not have all the information I thought I did. That is sounding rather ominous....

Re: sorry for the comment fail, I'm on my phone lol

[regann]

Yeah, not saying we're 100% right but we're not just crazy people either. There are some reasons we are nervous.