Castiel

[oselle]

Posting a pic of Misha Collins in a sarong yesterday led to a lengthy conversation with insight2 that included a link to aesc's monumental Casifesto, which I'm sure some of you have read, but I had not.

I loved the Casifesto but I was getting a little hot under the collar while reading it, because it demonstrated something I've believed for a long time -- that Castiel is one of the things SPN really got right. From how the character was envisioned to the casting of the pitch-perfect Misha Collins to the way the character was allowed to develop, they really got it right.

So now, of course, they're going to flush it.

Of course, I don't know what they're planning to do with Castiel. I actually don't think they're going to kill him off, but I do think they may either keep him around for some occasional guest appearances (less than Bobby but more than, say, Rufus). Guessing aside, it's a fact that Misha's no longer a regular cast member; it's also a fact that Sera Gamble's reaction to any potential backlash from the diminishing of Castiel's role boiled down to a shrug and a not-very-promising promise of "stories that are fresh" and not "redundant."

Because I suppose that finding a continuing role for one of the best characters they ever managed to create would just be "redundant."

I am of two minds about this. On the one hand, I'd rather they write Castiel out if they don't know what to do with him.

On the other hand -- why don't they know what to do with him? Are they really so lacking in imagination that the emergence of this wonderful character -- that they themselves created -- has become nothing but a burdensome complication? Something to be disposed of?

Reading the Casifesto, I realized that Castiel is the only character on the show who's had a genuine, meaningful arc. Sam was supposed to have an arc, but for the past few years he's just wavered back and forth between various degrees of corruption and self-pity, coming out more or less blameless and unaltered when it's all over. I love Dean to pieces but in spite of how much Jensen has to offer, the character has unwisely been held back from any significant change, other than becoming more melancholy and self-loathing.

The show's most exciting character arc to date has belonged to Castiel. He went from being the completely faithful servant of an unseen God, to being an apostate who used his newfound sense of self-determination first to help avert the apocalypse and then to wage civil war in heaven, ultimately at great cost to himself. And of course, along the way, he fell in love, lost his faith, lost his grace, and discovered the value of free will, both his own and all of mankind's. Castiel's been a busy guy the past few years.

I don't think you can underestimate how much this has to do with Misha Collins. I remember reading that initially, Misha was only signed on for the first half of Season 4 -- if Misha hadn't brought so much to the show, Castiel probably would have disappeared a long time ago. Just as Jensen elevated Dean way above his original "sidekick" status, Misha poured such life into this character that I suspect it was his performance that influenced and steered the writing, not the other way around.

And therein lies the problem, I think. Misha was too good for his own good. With his help, the character grew into something the writers couldn't manage or imagine, and they literally don't know what to do with him. And so they have declared him "redundant."

Part of me thinks that it's a writer's prerogative to stay true to the original vision. Severus Snape became a wildly popular character in the Harry Potter books, but he wound up having little to do with the ultimate showdown, and I think many readers were disappointed by the skimpiness of his backstory. But while J.K. Rowling could (and maybe should) have realized how much potential Snape had from the start, his importance was most likely not part of her original vision and so she was wise not to enlarge his role suddenly just because he had become popular. A writer risks throwing herself completely off course if she responds to reader influence that way.

In SPN's case, though, I really don't know how much "vision" there is. It's such a work in progress and honestly, they usually don't know until spring of each year if there's even going to be more story to tell. That means the story is fluid, it has the ability to shift and change course with each new season, and even midseason -- so when these writers decide that they have to fade Castiel out, it's not because Castiel was never part of some nonexistent vision, but because they're creatively tapped out. And frankly, the word "lazy" comes to mind. Altogether, SPN has to have -- what? -- nearly a dozen writers and producers? And none of them could take up the challenge to work with a character who had evolved from the ground up into one of the very best on the show? One of the things -- one of the few things -- they've really gotten right all these years?

It's a shame. It is really a shame.

Comments

[kinkthatwinked.livejournal.com]

I have a theory, one that pisses me off: the writers saw Castiel as such a secondary, throwaway character that all the major, life-altering curveballs they threw at him was basically just them pissing around. Sure, we’ll break his faith in God, push him into turning his back on all his brethren, strip him of his powers or give him unlimited power on a whim, why not? It’s not like the writers really have to deal with the repercussions, he’s not one of the ‘main’ characters.

Sam and Dean, however, are the show’s constant, and I fear the writers have taken that word a little too literally: they must always remain the same ‘ol boys that the fans fell in love with in season one. Tortured Sam must always be tottering on the edge of evil but never falling over, and Dean must forever be his endearingly loyal, self-sacrificing, self-loathing, lame joke-cracking sidekick. You’re right, they really wouldn’t know how to write Sam truly embracing his nature or Dean coming into his own – probably why Sam’s psychic powers have once again conveniently disappeared.

Is it any wonder that the writers obviously have no idea how to bring the Winchesters back to some true solidarity after the season four fallout? There’s no way a writer could without having the characters change and mature, and possibly have the relationship dynamic itself change as well.

Christ, take a moment to imagine how much John Winchester would have been dumbed down if he’d lived and been left in these writers’ hands. Maybe killing Cas off is for the best, before they fuck it up.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

the writers saw Castiel as such a secondary, throwaway character that all the major, life-altering curveballs they threw at him was basically just them pissing around.

I don't think they were pissing around, but I do think that all of those things happened to Castiel because they were focused on turning him into an ally for Sam and Dean -- and they didn't really notice that all the while he was turning into a powerful character in his own right.

There’s no way a writer could without having the characters change and mature, and possibly have the relationship dynamic itself change as well.

I think they also have a fear of letting the show take itself too seriously. It's as if they think the only alternative to being tongue-in-cheek is wallowing in angst, so they'll dish out some angst and then defuse it with humor or whitewashing and I've always, always thought that this weakens the show. They can't tackle the stories they seem to want to tackle if they don't take them seriously.

Maybe killing Cas off is for the best, before they fuck it up.

That's really the only positive I can see to getting rid of Castiel or reducing his role. And it's really a rock-and-a-hard-place kind of positive.