I know that there were many, greatly differentiating opinions about this episode. I also know that some took it to mean that their ship had sunk, or that their favorite character had lost all of their personality, or that the show was going to go in an awful direction.
I, however, feel differently.
I thought this episode was simply brilliant. Instead of having Castiel be a bumbling, idiotic fool (like I feared he would be), he was a slightly socially awkward yet strong but confused person who had his eyes peeled for danger. He knew how people needed to eat, to sleep, to go to the bathroom, to brush their teeth. His only problem was getting used to doing those things.
This episode portrayed Cas as being lost, but still having his wits about him. He is now prone to many new emotions, such as a stronger feeling of lust. It is canon on the show that angels are sexual beings; Cas’ deeply passionate kiss with Meg and subsequent affirmation to her invitation of sex solidified that fact. We have, so far, not been given any reason to believe Cas WOULDN’T be attracted to men; the only two women he’s been attracted to thus far each had individual traits that drew him. One had large breasts, which is, of course, a common attribute that arouses men, and the other was the first person to be truly kind to him. Not just nice, but warm and loving and caring. He has had no opportunity yet to experience sexual attraction to men, so we have no validation of whether it’s there or not. It could be, and I, personally, am believing it is.
Now, the sex scene between Cas and April was necessary for two reasons. The first was to blatantly show Cas losing his virginity; though it has been implied before that he understands sexual relations, this is canonizing that so that there is no further discussion. The second was for her to gain his trust. I’ve seen people arguing that she could have made him trust her in other ways, such as just being nice to him. However, this would not have been sufficient. He has already dealt with angels who wanted to kill him (or perform other sorts of bad things on him) pretending to be nice to him, and he would not have let the angel blade escape from his grasp, no matter how nice she was or where he was sleeping. Because he had taken his clothes off and trusted her completely, he let the angel blade escape his notice for some time; enough time for her to retrieve it. Also, her being displayed as a romantic interest and then being flipped around to reveal her true personality was more heartbreaking than her just being a nice friend. It was a splash of cold water to Cas’ face; he now knows to trust absolutely NO ONE, not even people kissing him. I’m also assuming that because he had feelings for her, he did not put up much of a struggle when she tied him to the chair; had she just been a friend, he would hav fought harder.
Onto the other aspects: I am greatly enjoying the prospect of Bartholomew as one of the new villains, along with Abaddon and others, of course. I am, however, quite curious about his intentions. Does he just wish to torture Cas? Or does he want more information? It’s all a bit unclear at the moment, but I’m sure it will all be revealed soon.
Sam and Dean were, as always, great. I very much enjoyed them visiting all the places Cas had gone, and slowly piecing together where he was at the moment. And, of course, Jared Padalecki’s acting in his transformations from Sam to Ezekiel and back should win him an award.
Jensen Ackles was incredibly moving in his acting when Dean realized that Cas was dead. I’ve noticed (and others have as well) that, every time Cas dies, Dean is getting gradually more and more upset. This is the second time he’s had to deal with Cas’ death up close and personal (rather than the first two times when Cas died quickly or off screen). Each time he gets more and more desperate and alarmed, and this one was the biggest reaction of all.
I’m very happy that Ezekiel went ahead and healed Cas without Dean saying anything, even though it probably drained much of his energy. In fact, I even understand why he wants Cas to leave the bunker. Cas IS a threat to Sam and Dean, and to himself, considering that Abaddon and the demons are after the Winchesters (though they don’t know the location of the bunker, it’s better safe than sorry). Dean was NOT choosing between Sam and Cas; he was choosing between safety and danger. All the angels and all the demons want to kill Team Free Will, so it’s better to stay split up at the moment – especially since it has been shown that Cas can now hold his own in a fight, and he is no longer naive when it comes to trust. Hopefully, they’ll soon devise a plan to be able to stick together, but for now, Dean will just have to send Cas on his way. I’m expecting him to set Cas up somewhere, though; tell him to go from point A to B and they will all meet up later. I’ll be upset if he just sends him out blindly.
I also would like to address the tweets that Chad Kennedy (a Warner Brothers executive, if I’m correct in my sources) sent out. He stated that it is not their intention for the main characters to be bi, and once people started getting upset, he then said that anything was possible on the show, and that if it fit the story, he’d support canon Destiel. I do NOT think that this states Destiel will never be canon. I believe that it may go there, or it may not; it depends on many things, and it is a valid option for the show that they are considering. It will probably help if Destiel fans win more polls, or show our support (KINDLY) for Destiel on social media websites, even more than we’ve already been doing. Also, Carver and Singer, so far, have not said a word on the topic in a long time. It still may be canon, or it may not be; the decision is up in the air at the moment. The show is going to continue for at least another year; things can change.
The Professional Fanwarrior 