I hate this so much for many reasons, but I think you're wrong about Bal's death not having an impact on Castiel's storyline. It DID have an impact... it was just a non-impact. His death was the way it was PRECISELY to show that Castiel felt nothing about it, to show Cas had cut himself off from everyone he cared about, everyone who cared about HIM, in order to focus on his mission. It was to show how far Cas had fallen, how far the misunderstandings and miscommunications had pushed him.
Was it too far?
Maybe.
But it's there and we have to deal with it now :( So I will forever believe Bal WAS being somewhat heroic in that scene. He was being heroic JUST BY BEING THERE. Because when he gave Sam and Dean the adress of where Cas would be he was SCARED AND ASHAMED. He made a point of saying they were 'betraying a friend' (shame) and that the friend was 'very powerful' (fear). So when he answered Cas' call later I can't help but think he must have at least suspected that Cas had found him out, and then when Cas talked about learning of a traitor... Bal could have run. But it's my headcanon that he knew he'd been discovered, knew Cas was going to misunderstand, but he stayed with Cas ANYWAY even though he was afraid, he stayed to let Cas dish out whatever punishment he thought he had to, even death, because in the end Castiel always had little old Bal, even if Cas didn't know it :(
It might not have been an epicly heroic death, like Gabriel's. But Balthazar wasn't a hero, and that was what I loved about him. He was self-serving and selfish, with just a SHRED of decency under it all. So it never bothered me that he went to Sam and Dean behind Cas' back. Balthazar learned about humanity and human ways in secret and through deception, so it makes sense to me that he would first and foremost use subterfuge as a means of helping save Castiel from himself and from taking on Purgatory - an honest confrontation with Cas wouldn't have seemed viable to Bal, who has always achieved his aims via sneakier means.
So, where was I? Yes, Bal's death wasn't heroic, but neither was his character, so while it was a painful and heartbreaking death, I don't think it was entirely unfitting...
The one thing to DO agree with you on though is - why no wings? That would have been the PERFECT conclusion to his death, the perfect poignant image to close his storyline on. Why weren't they there? ...is it because...because his storyline is NOT closed? I'm scared to think it cos it seems too much like wishful thinking but...?
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Date: 2011-08-06 10:21 am (UTC)I hate this so much for many reasons, but I think you're wrong about Bal's death not having an impact on Castiel's storyline. It DID have an impact... it was just a non-impact. His death was the way it was PRECISELY to show that Castiel felt nothing about it, to show Cas had cut himself off from everyone he cared about, everyone who cared about HIM, in order to focus on his mission. It was to show how far Cas had fallen, how far the misunderstandings and miscommunications had pushed him.
Was it too far?
Maybe.
But it's there and we have to deal with it now :( So I will forever believe Bal WAS being somewhat heroic in that scene. He was being heroic JUST BY BEING THERE. Because when he gave Sam and Dean the adress of where Cas would be he was SCARED AND ASHAMED. He made a point of saying they were 'betraying a friend' (shame) and that the friend was 'very powerful' (fear). So when he answered Cas' call later I can't help but think he must have at least suspected that Cas had found him out, and then when Cas talked about learning of a traitor... Bal could have run. But it's my headcanon that he knew he'd been discovered, knew Cas was going to misunderstand, but he stayed with Cas ANYWAY even though he was afraid, he stayed to let Cas dish out whatever punishment he thought he had to, even death, because in the end Castiel always had little old Bal, even if Cas didn't know it :(
It might not have been an epicly heroic death, like Gabriel's. But Balthazar wasn't a hero, and that was what I loved about him. He was self-serving and selfish, with just a SHRED of decency under it all. So it never bothered me that he went to Sam and Dean behind Cas' back. Balthazar learned about humanity and human ways in secret and through deception, so it makes sense to me that he would first and foremost use subterfuge as a means of helping save Castiel from himself and from taking on Purgatory - an honest confrontation with Cas wouldn't have seemed viable to Bal, who has always achieved his aims via sneakier means.
So, where was I? Yes, Bal's death wasn't heroic, but neither was his character, so while it was a painful and heartbreaking death, I don't think it was entirely unfitting...
The one thing to DO agree with you on though is - why no wings? That would have been the PERFECT conclusion to his death, the perfect poignant image to close his storyline on. Why weren't they there? ...is it because...because his storyline is NOT closed? I'm scared to think it cos it seems too much like wishful thinking but...?