This
morning I was watching this wonderful Destiel fanvid by @1940sdeancas and
I had an epiphany. I’ve watched the video several times, but I’d never realized
something. In meta I’ve written before, I’ve mentioned that in season 8
(8×17 to be more specific), TBPT asked a question. The question was for Cas,
but Cas didn’t know the answer to that question, so the audience was supposed
to fill the gap. I’m talking about this question:
Cas had
been brainwashed into killing thousands of Deans. However, when the moment for
Cas to kill the real Dean came, he couldn’t. That was the episode where we got Dean’s
epic words:
“Cas, we’re family. We need
you. I need you.”
When Cas dropped the blade, touched the angel tablet, and
recovered full control of his mind, Dean asked him the reason for his breaking
the connection with Naomy. Cas’ answer was that he didn’t know. I’m fairly sure
that the night 8×17 aired, many viewers yelled “YOU!!” to their television when
Dean asked that question. It was obvious that Dean was the reason Cas was able
to break the connection, but that was subtext. The text was plain and simple: “I
don’t know.”
In this
post about Destiel over the course of the seasons, I explained how I understood
the fact that Cas answered that way in season 8. I said this:
“I don’t think Cas understood what kind of love
he felt for Dean. That’s why he couldn’t answer the “what broke the connection”
question. HE DIDN’T KNOW. He had to be human to be able to understand that he
can love his brothers and sisters, humanity, Sam and Dean, but each love is
different.”
When was
Cas human? In season 9. What happened in season 9? We were given the answer to
the “what broke the connection” question, but it stayed in the realm of
subtext. In season 9, Cas was given the order to kill Dean again. This time,
however, he was not being mind-controlled. The only thing was that he was
risking his credibility with the angels. He had to choose between his family
(Heaven) and Dean. It wasn’t even a matter of choosing between the angels and
the Winchesters. NOPE. Hannah stated it clearly when she told Cas, “Don’t lose
[our trust] over one man.”
And what happened? One more time Cas couldn’t kill
Dean. One more time there was something that broke whatever connection that
remained between Cas and Heaven. Two seasons, one after the other. In season 8
Cas didn’t know that Dean was the one who broke the connection, but in season 9
he knew, because Cas himself made the conscious decision to choose Dean. Maybe
his decision was unconscious in season 8, but that wasn’t the case in season 9.
Things didn’t
end there, though. TPTB asked a question purposely in 8×17, and they were the
ones who answered it in 9×22. Metatron has been a meta character from the
start. Every time he says something, it’s like listening to the writers speak
directly to the audience. What did the writers tell us? That Castiel’s weakness
had been revealed.
Metatron said that
Cas was in love with humanity, but one episode later, he corrected himself:
When season
9 ended, it was clear that everything Cas does is about saving Dean
Winchester. It’s not about humanity. In fact, season 10 proved that humanity
was not relevant if it meant hurting Dean. Why couldn’t Cas simply kill Dean? I
mean, controlled by the Mark of Cain, Dean was well on his way to become the
father of murder, but Cas told him that he was going to be the one who would
watch Dean murder the world (10×22). Where was Cas’ love for humanity? Cas was willing to
let Dean live even if it meant innocent people would die. Metatron got it right:
IT WAS ALL ABOUT SAVING ONE HUMAN.
So, if Metatron got that bit right, I wonder if he also got right the part where he
said that Cas’ weakness was that he was in love.
If we
follow that line of thought, then… What broke the connection in 8×17? The
obvious answer was and has always been Dean, but not only that. What broke the connection was that
Castiel, angel of the Lord, was and still is in love with Dean Humanity Winchester.
The
question from season 8 was already answered and some people missed it. Wait for
seasons 11 and 12 to answer the other questions TPTB have asked regarding
Castiel 1) who is he (10×18) and as what he wants to live, man or angel (9×06).
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