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  Warning: Spoiler alert.

I guess to me it was always obvious that Castiel at some point like all the other angels had an expiration date. There is only so many things you can do with the angel character and it seemed that SPN was going to have to move onward and forward to other storylines and other things and with that they would have had to say good bye to the Angels that which were always temporary. Anna, Zachariah, Uriel, Gabriel, Lucifer, Micheal, all these angels that were around in seasons 4 and 5 are gone now. Castiel is the last one left. Why is it that surprising that he would leave the SPN realm just like his other brethren?

I know Castiel is popular but does that mean that story should suffer by trying to find ways to keep him on the show even when the audience knows that he has already surved his usefulness and is now just on as a token extra for cameo appearances in less then half the season?

Cas' purpose and storyline has always been centered around the Angel/Apocalypse arcs which has spanned three seasons now. How many of those can there be? How long can the writers justify Cas being in the show when the show begins to move away from those premises and storylines? Are we really going to see Castiel hunting every day run of the mill monsters continuously in the upcoming seasons, considering SPN has a few seasons left in it.

There comes a point where Cas' status as an Angel just becomes a huge problem and ends up destroying story. He makes Sam and Dean useless.

He knows everything, can do everything, and can accomplish virtually any task in a matter of seconds. As a result it hurts the story and makes possible drama nonexistent. He becomes a plot tool to move things along and just makes both Dean and Sam look inefficient. Cas has basically made Dean and Sam useless in season 6 so much to the extent that Dean and Sam were used purely as a distraction in episodes like 6.16 (The French Mistake), 6.17 (My Heart Will Go On) and 6.22 (The Man Who Knew Too Much) where most of the action happened either off screen or the brothers were barely apart of the main action of the story.

To be honest Castiel as a character in terms of purpose was wearing thin as early as season 5. He never really did do much of anything. Yeah he searched for God failed and then what? Wondered around drunk for several other episodes until Sam and Dean decided to do something? It's obvious that the writers didn't know what to do with him in the context of season 5 and so he just became a glorified day player while Sam and Dean fought each other and tried to find ways to defeat Lucifer.

Which gives another problem concerning Castiel, Castiel was dis-empowered in season 5 to give there a greater sense of urgency to the show where Cas couldn't jump in and easily save the day like he did before. However this also showed us another problem with his character. Without his powers storywise he is useless.

Look no further then the episode The End, Free To Be You and Me, I Believe That Children Are Our Future, Changing Channels and Swan Song. He was constantly made the butt monkey in these episodes where he was clearly outmatched by Gabriel, Lucifer, Jesse and Raphael. He couldn't actually do much of anything in any of the situations and mostly just stood on the sidelines getting his butt handed to him episode after episode stating the obvious to Sam and Dean. This was when he was an Angel on a reduced income. So what would be the point of him being on in a reduced capacity as a human as some fans are proposing? He would likely be even less useful then he was in season 5.

His value to the team and to the show has always been his Angel status, so why would he be needed in a world with no Angels? Or when Angels are being phased out of SPN?

It's difficult to have Cas continue onwards without that story and context. Which is why I believe they added new Angel characters in season 6 that they killed off quite quickly.

This doesn't mean I don't like Castiel. It just means that I don't see the point of using him if he is not needed in the story. It made sense in context in season 4 to have Cas be a huge part of the story because Castiel was one of many and he had a purpose in stopping Lucifer. More over there were many of them and Castiel wasn't the only super powered Angel. There were many. There was Anna, Uriel, Gabriel, Lucifer, Micheal, Zachariah and others who were also important to story and made the plot seem fuller.

However without Angels who are more powerful then Castiel you don't need him in terms of story and I think we started seeing that problem in season 6 which is why most of his story happened off screen and was more or less unreleated to the Winchestes storylines around Sam's soul, Lisa/Ben, Samuel, Crowley and Mother.

Season 6 was basically the question of what can we have Cas do? How can we make him fit? And we found out that he had to be made evil in order for him to have a story which I understand actually. It makes sense considering Castiel in season 6 was one of the most powerful beings in the universe.

I know many of the Supernatural writers are getting flack for this change of character but honestly what were they supposed to do to keep Castiel apart of SPN? What more could they have done with his character that fits with the landscape of the story? How many Angel civil wars are there going to be? How many time are we going to hear the names Lucifer and Micheal threatening to come out of the cage?

I am quite sympathetic to the writers on this problem. There was no where else for them to go really.

I am going to say an unpopular opinion. Well this whole thing may be unpopular so I might as well go all out right?

I think it's fair for the writers to say that they are done with Angels after Castiel at this point. We already had 3 seasons full of them. Angels are always going to be important but the focus on them has made Sam and Dean useless in their own show and isn't the reason this show is still on and has been on for now 7 seasons because people want to watch Sam and Dean? You know the leads of the show? Am I alone in thinking that?

Now I am going to answer the question of if Castiel stays on the show in the same capacity for the next season. Well the answer to that is story will stagnate and there will be no consequences anymore for anything in SPN universe.

Cas has the ability to warp time, erase memories and bring back people from the dead. He can pretty much do everything with a snap of his fingers. Demons die easily to the point where they are just flies, we saw how Castiel disposed of Crowley's minions. There is no monster that Castiel can't kill. So why do Dean and Sam even hunt anymore? Why do Sam and Dean even matter then if Castiel can do their job within 2 point five seconds or less?

That's why I see value in the redundant argument where the writers are concerned. Yes I understand Cas is really really really super popular but is he really more important then the show? More important than the story? More important then Sam and Dean? I personally don't think so and I would like for the story to move beyond Angel politics and Apocalypses.

It's time to move on. Should we continuously have an Apocalypse story forever? We had one season set up the Apocalypse (s4), we had another about the duration of the Apocalypse (s5) and we also had a season dealing with the after effects of the Apocalypse (s6). Surely it can be put to rest now?

To wrap up my points:

1. He is an Angel

That has always been what Castiel was first and foremost. He has bigger things to do then be around Sam and Dean all day. He likely has Angel duties that are a bigger deal and we saw that in s6.

His Angel status makes him bigger then Sam and Dean which causes a problem when Sam and Dean are supposed to be the focus of the show. That when we get problems like the ones in episode 6.16 and 6.17 where Sam and Dean are used as peons, as tools for a war much larger then them.

Cas position is a hard one and that is always difficult for a show to maintain when a character has that much power and is that important. Especially when the show can't support it for a long period. It would be the same as Death being a character on SPN. How long could that last until it would end up getting old? Castiel is essential as powerful (even more now) as Lucifer and Micheal. Which leads me to the next point how many Angel storylines can there be at this point?

I am hearing a lot of fans saying they want the show to be different and innovative. Well how can the show be new and interesting if we just continue to see Angel storylines over and over again consisting about the same war, and about the same problems that have been the basis of the last three seasons?

How many times are we going to have to hear the words Lucifer and Apocalypse in the same sentence if something doesn't go right and the Angel's get restless? At some point the story is going to have to move beyond Angels. The story moved past Azazel, moved past Lilith, moved past Lucifer, and now it is time to move past Angel dominated stories with the loss of all the major Angels except Castiel.

I think it's a question of usefulness at this point, and while Cas is popular is his Angel identity at this point really useful in the story? I personally don't see it. But maybe I am wrong.

2. He isn't Human

Kind of goes along with my point above. So if Cas loses his angel powers then what significance would he hold to story? I mean if we reduce Cas of his angel powers isn't he essentially just Jimmy? Except not?

What would be the point of Cas living as a human? Especially if Jimmy is still within him. Wouldn't the noble thing for Cas to do would be to leave and let Jimmy go back to his family. Why would Castiel still be on earth if he stopped the Apocalypse (which was his main reason for finding Jimmy) and stopped Raphael from recommitting to it? Do we really want to see a former Angel riding around in the back of the Impala with a gun hunting the way Sam and Dean do? Is that even who Castiel is? Wouldn't that equally be a perversion of the character that happened in 6.22?

This is what I mean when I say that Castiel is an angel and that's the problem. His identity is very much tied to that and that kind of complicates future storylines for him within the show. It's virtually the same problem the writers had for Bela and Ruby just on a grander scale because they were less popular. They didn't know what to do with them after a certain point and they ended their stories.

I don't think it's anything personal to Misha or even to the character. It just seems that they have run out of story to tell for Cas and I can understand the writers view on that. It's a criticism that has been noted by this very same fandom and even certain Cas fans who wanted a larger story for him.

My two cents.

Date: 2011-08-14 05:55 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] payperv-iew.livejournal.com
I kind of agree, even though I love Cas. In fact, I think keeping him on for so long has actually ruined him. I hated his stint as the bad guy this season, and I think the only way they could have justified, and realistically kept him on for an extended period of time, is if he'd fallen. While I hope Misha continues to make the odd guest appearance, and doesn't completely disappear like JDM did... I don't like what they turned him into to keep him around.

Date: 2011-08-14 06:27 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] isoughtyouout.livejournal.com
I respected the character a lot more in season 4 when I found that he worked with story to push our characters forward. But as of the last two seasons I just don't see the point of him. It's like he is just staying on because he is well liked. Which is fine for the odd appearance as you have said I have no problems with fan favorites being in an episode every now and again. But he needed to be used sparingly and he wasn't.

He has had no story for the better part of two seasons just thinnly veiled excuses written to justify his airtime but most of the time he was just used as a tool to save Sam and Dean or to explain something that they likely could have done on their own with Bobbie's help. It bothers me that he has just been hanging in the background doing nothing.

Now the writers have given him story this season and well it's not the kind of story fans wanted for him which is understandable but what else were they supposed to do? Have him on in the same diminished capacity doing nothing like the past two seasons? How is that really any better? Because the character is 'on the good side'? Fans would have complained regardless with him not having story and because he was taken off as a starring character. Which to be honest he never should have really been anyway. He usually was only in 10 episodes a season which is less then half a season. Why would SPN pay him for all the 22 episodes if he wasn't going to be in them? And keep in mind they did that for two years already. He was getting paid for episodes he wasn't even in? Surely the SPN budget could have been better applied then that.

I don't know how I feel about fallen Cas or Human Cas because I don't feel that is the character. Why do fans want him to be human just so he can stay on and hunt Winchester style? How is that better then Castiel going darkside? Isn't that just as out of character? That's not Castiel anymore then this version of Castiel is. I don't like it personally. I'd much rather have Castiel let Jimmy go and go to heaven and do good up there then have him on earth just to keep him on and be a third wheel and have him in the back of the Impala shooting things like Sam and Dean do.



Date: 2011-08-14 06:56 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] payperv-iew.livejournal.com
Oh no, I wouldn't want him to hunt with them, and I don't think he would've meant to fall, more of a gradual slip. That's where it seemed he was headed in season 4 and some of 5. But if he fell, he wouldn't be very happy about it, and I don't think he'd want to be around Dean, the reason he started to question things, very much. I kind of hoped he'd fall and become bitter, maybe start hunting with someone else and call the Winchester's (read:guest star) when HE needed help, because realistically it'd take him a while to get into things, but he's way too stubborn to not try and fight evil. Also, it'd be an interesting character development for Dean, who would feel shitty about it... I don't know.

Anyways, I totally agree with you. I don't understand why they've kept him on in the capacity he's been in for so long, because he really isn't furthering plot, and he's kind of a cheating tool for the writers. And his relationship with Dean, which was why I think everyone liked him, has become... well it's kind of just a face-value thing now. And they skewed Cas out of character a lot after his first season and a half. Mostly, I'm glad someone pointed out that just because he's leaving, it isn't a bad thing. Also, where the crap could they go with him after the season finale?! There is nothing to do with that plot line. I feel like the writers kind of wrote themselves into a corner with that one, and I really wish they hadn't.

Date: 2011-08-14 07:18 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] isoughtyouout.livejournal.com
I agree with you a lot. I don't think him leaving is necessarily a bad thing, I think as you said above him being kept on did more damage to his character then him not being on. He could have just as easily left the Winchesters after s4 done some angel stuff undercover and check in every now and again for an episode or two per season and have virtually the same effect he has had over the course of three seasons. But fans wanted more of him and this is what we ended up getting. A character who is beyond their means. I feel like Castiel was written into a corner as soon as they made him a starring role in season 5. I honestly don't think fan reaction has done the character much favor had he been a 6 episode role like he was supposed to be he would have gotten a truly heroic send off being one of the warriors who fought against Lucifer, Uriel and the corrupted angels which would be so much better then what he is and will be this upcoming season.

Thanks for leaving your comment by the way. It was great discussing this with you! :)

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