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gwaevalarinThe more hate I see towards Naomi, the more protective I get of her. And because I've seen a lot of hate lately, she now gets her own character analysis post.
Has Naomi done horrible things? Yes, no doubt about that. Is she a sweet, innocent angel - pardon the pun - who would never hurt a fly? No, we can certainly rule that out.
No matter why she did it, manipulating Castiel, having him kill Samandriel, those things are, if at all, certainly not easily excused. But before we condemn her as Evil, can we please take a closer look at her first, and try to understand her reasons, her motivations, her side of the story?
8x07 A Little Slice Of Kevin
We first meet Naomi when she brings Castiel to her. She is sitting in a mostly white, sterile office, grey suit, hair in a bun, seemingly perfectly composed and in control of the situation. But if you watch her closely over the next few episodes, it soon becomes clear that it's just an act. Underneath, she is anything but calm and in control. We will get to that.
Her voice, when she greets Castiel is perfectly calm. Not warm, but polite, and not unfriendly.
I think this is the first time they meet. Even though Castiel will forget the encounter as soon as he is back on Earth, he remembers Naomi, and at least most of their meetings, whenever he is back in her office.
When Castiel asks her where he is, she replies with "You're home, Castiel."
I think "home" is a very import word here. Not 'back in Heaven'. Home. His home, her home.
Does she choose this word just to gain Castiel's trust? I doubt it. We will see in a moment that there is no need. He has to do what she tells him to, and she makes it no secret. So why go through the trouble of manipulating him in subtle ways?
She introduces herself, and we learn that her "office" lies in a part of Heaven few have ever seen. How long it has been there, how long Naomi has known and been part of it, we don't know.
Naomi tells Castiel that they rescued her. Several angels made their way into Purgatory to bring Castiel back. Some died on this mission. Again, I think her choice of the word "rescue" is very telling because it makes the whole mission about Castiel himself, not the use he can be to her. It wasn't entirely selfless, though. She wants something in return, repayment.
It's almost a mirror to season 4, when you think about it. Back then, the angels rescued Dean from Hell, and expected his cooperation in return. Now they rescued Castiel from Purgatory, and more or less expect the same.
When she asks about Sam and Dean, it's the first time there is true authority in her voice. She is not asking, she is demanding. In the same way I assume (some of) his superiors back in the old days may have. And Castiel can't resist the command, and gives her the cliffs notes of everything he knows. Obviously she has some kind of power over him, power that may or may not be natural. I'm not sure if Castiel is confused that he can't keep himself from telling a superior, or that he can't keep from telling Naomi, who he doesn't acknowledge as his superior.
While Castiel tells Naomi about the prophet and the tablet, we get a first small glimpse of what is really going on in her head. She looks concerned.
Then she tells him the rules, and she is still very polite and calm about it: Castiel is to keep an eye on the Winchesters, report back to her, but he won't remember their encounters. When he says no, she just smiles because they both know he doesn't have a choice. I think it's that smile that originally had me turned against her. And of everything we have seen of her so far, it is the moment I like least.
This entire part is extremely problematic. I don't think anyone will argue with that:
She doesn't give Castiel a choice. When she gives an order, he has to obey. We've seen that when she asked him about the Winchesters. And on top of that she doesn't even allow him to remember that he is working for her. So in this moment she takes all of his agency away from him, and I hate that, and no reasons she has will ever make that okay.
Still, after everything we've seen of her to this point, I can't help wondering why she instantly went for such extreme measures. She never tried asking him for his cooperation, which, had he agreed, would have made her life a lot easier. So I assume she knew he would say no, and she considers her mission important enough to justify this course of action. Or she doesn't trust him, even if he had agreed. Considering his rebellious history, that isn't entirely unreasonable.
I, personally, can't shake the idea that she is trying to countersteer his instincts as the Winchesters' guardians, that she knows are rooted too deeply to overcome them any other way. That doesn't make the situation any better, maybe a little different, but certainly not better (and it's too close to head canon territory to count as a proper canon interpretation anyway). But it's my explanation for how Naomi knew for sure that Castiel would never agree. So it was this path, or nothing.
It still doesn't explain why she considered it a valid choice. What is so important that she felt that the ends justify the means? We don't know. But we will at least get a little glimpse of what is going on in Naomi's head in the next few episodes. A glimpse that makes me believe that, despite all this and how clearly wrong it is, she may still be redeemable.
8x08 Hunteri Heroici
Castiel and Naomi only have a brief encounter in this episode. She intervenes just as Castiel makes the decision to return to Heaven.
She greets him in the same calm and friendly manner, and with a smile. Her "And no." before he can even tell her about her plans almost carries a hint of "I'm sorry, but it's just not possible. Not yet."
She says she won't allow his return to Heaven, but when he tries to argue with her, she doesn't cut him off. She let's him talk, and she listens, head tilted slightly. His opinion does matter to her, even when it doesn't change her mind. The obvious, huge issue of her manipulation aside, there is nothing cruel or threatening about the way she treats him here. She is in charge, and no means no, but that doesn't mean that she doesn't understand. She seems almost sympathetic, when she nods after he tells her that he wants, needs to return to make things right. She even assures him that he is redeeming himself, by doing his duty.
She insists that they play by her rules, and doesn't give Castiel any choice. But she truly seems to believe that this is the right way, that she is helping him, and that he will grow to understand at some point. Maybe she is trying to return to the old ways. Maybe she has come to the conclusion that they all were better off without free will. After all, what did it bring them but pain and death? I'm not sure she even really understands what it is she is trying to take back away from him, and how important it has become to Castiel.
Looking at only this scene, and completely ignoring the context, I actually kind of like the thought that this is what things used to be like. Obedience, yes, but that doesn't mean you cannot speak your mind to some extend, and it doesn't mean there is no room for sympathy and affection. There is plenty of room, actually, when no one ever doubts or questions an order or rank, when there is no envy, no selfish ambition. Don't forget that obedience isn't somehing angels had to learn. It wasn't drilled into them. It is (or was at least) part of their very nature. There is hardly any need for what we would call authority. Orders can be whispered with love when there is no doubt that everyone will still follow them without question.
And then there is this small but so important moment. The one that made me stop and reconsider my opinion about Naomi.
"Then what should I do."
"What do you want to do?"
Has anyone else on the show ever asked Castiel what he wants? All this fight for free will, and judging from the look on his face, having someone ask him what he wants to do, is completely foreign to him. I don't think he has ever even thought about it, caught up in wars, and his search for redemption, and the needs of others.
And Naomi, of all people, is the first one to confront him with this questions. What do you want.
Strange, isn't it? From the angel who forces him to obey her orders, and took his choice away? Not necessarily. Obedience doesn't mean that you don't have your moments to yourself where you can do what you desire. He is not allowed to return to Heaven, but otherwise she doesn't have a mission for him right now. His time is his, and she is gently pushing him to make it his time. And when he decides to stay in the retirement home, that isn't anything she forced him to do. It is his choice. And it might be the first one he truly made for himself in his entire time on the show.
8x10 Torn and Frayed
The next time Naomi brings Castiel to her office, she is agitated. She has just received Samandriel's distess call. She remains standing, her voice isn't as calm and even as it usually is. It's shaking. And when she talks about Samandriel II see worry in her face. I don't doubt that she is worried about the information he may leak to their enemies, but she seems worried for Samandriel as well. She calls him by his name too. Not 'one of ours' or something along those lines, which would have been sufficient. She knows his name, and she treats him as a person, not as someone who is replacable like you'd expect from someone as coldhearted and evil as large parts of the fandom like to make her out to be.
She mentions Crowley, and this time she and Castiel are on the same page. She still gives him the order to find Samandriel and bring him home - again the use of the word "home". It gives off this sense of back to the safety of his family. But maybe that's just me. - but there is no resistance from Castiel this time. He is eager to help, and suddenly there is this air of working together. Naomi trusts Castiel's judgement, tells him to take whatever he needs, lets him approach it in whatever way he believes is best. She only has one condition: No one can know that she is involved.
I wonder who it is she's so desperate to hide herself and Heaven from. The Winchesters? Crowley? Someone else entirely? It's hard to say. But it's important to her.
Before we actually see Naomi again, we get flashes of her when Castiel cowers in the floor. They seem to be memories, and both the pictures as well as Castiel's reaction make it perfectly clear that something horribly bad is happening. Do we know anything about the what and why? About what triggered them? Not really. We don't even know if they really are memories. If they are even real. We know nothing. Except that it's something very, very bad, and traumatic, and that Naomi seems to be behind it. Or at least involved. Other than that, I got nothing.
I couldn't bring myself to rewatch all of this next part, so I'm partially working from memory and with a transcript here. Aplogies if I missed any details because of that:
I never understood what having Samandriel killed after he was free from Crowley was supposed to achieve. If you look at it emotionless, wouldn't it make more sense to bring him back to Heaven and interogate him to find out exactly what he told Crowley? And then reeducate him, punish him, or whatever Naomi might feel appropriate?
And why was Samandriel suddenly so panicked about the idea to return to Naomi? He was the one who specifically turned to her for help. What changed?
Listen closely to what he tells Castiel. When Castiel says he will bring Samandriel back to Heaven, Samandriel says he can't. Not 'please don't' but 'you can't'. And when Castiel doesn't understand why, he starts talking about the things he told Crowley, about how Crowley had him under control and got to secrets Samandriel wasn't even aware of. Secrets about Heaven and Naomi. With no word does he say that he is afraid of Naomi.
Yes, it seems likely that he is afraid to return because when Crowley got the secrets out of Samandriel, Sama learned them too. And he suddenly remembers his encounters with Naomi, remembers everything Naomi had him forget, therefore making him a threat to her, and she decided to have him killed to protect her secrets.
I admit that this is the more obvious, and probably more likely scenario, but there is another possibility:
What if Crowley was one step ahead of them? What if Naomi didn't have Samandriel killed because he had given Crowley information and she wanted him punished, or becaue he knew her secrets, but because he was under Crowley's control? What if Crowley had already dug so deep that he could control Samandriel in a similar way Naomi is controlling Castiel, against his will and without his knowledge? What if she knew that letting Samandriel return to Heaven alive was like handing the front door key over to Crowley?
And what if Samandriel wasn't afraid of returning home because he'd have to face Naomi, but because he was still, if barely, aware that this would make him Heaven's downfall?
What did his "they are controlling us" mean? Who are 'they', who is 'us'?
They, Naomi and someone who works with her? Someone who is controlling angels including Naomi? Or maybe Crowley and his demons?
Us, him and Castiel? Him and Naomi? All the angels?
But back to Naomi herself:
When she interferes she is desperate, for one reason or another. For the first time, she is physically threatening Castiel, standing over him and looking down. Screaming, scared. But the moment he is gone, her shoulders sag, and she looks sad and tired when she stares at the empty space where Castiel had just been.
She also looks like she is literally fading away. Now, I've heard that this wasn't intentional. But that seems a weird mistake by the lighing department.
When it's over and Cas return she has her composure back, but it's obvious now that it's only a mask, never was anything else. Her lie is just as obvious. Whatever Samandriel gave Crowley, that damage was already done. Nothing could undo it.
She brings up the angel tablet, and how it needs to be protected at all cost, and I believe her that this part is true, and at the very least one of her concerns. When Castiel doesn't understand how a tablet can be worth more than the life of one of their brothers she says something I think is very important:
"If the demon tablet can seal demons in Hell, what do you think the angel tablet can do to us?"
It doesn't explains why she had Samandriel killed, but it is a valid point. This tablet is a threat to Heaven and all the angels. And protecting it is crucial. If it falls into the wrong hands, Heaven may be defenseless.
Nothing else that Naomi says gets us any further in understanding what is really going on. Again, she does not want her involvement known. We already know that is important to her.
She asks for Samandriel's body to find out how deep Crowley got. That makes sense if she wants to know how much Crowley knows. It makes sense if she wants to know how exactly Crowley managed to get him under his control in my less likely theory. It makes sense if she only has a scientific interest, and if she secretely wants to mourn the loss of another angel. Just because she gave the order to kill, doesn't mean she never cared, though I'm sure she would never openly admit it.
In the end, we still know so very little about Naomi, her motivation, her goals.
We know that some of her methods are unacceptable. But what does she actually want? What is she hiding and why?
Right now I see three possibilities, and even those are vague:
1) She may be doing it all for her own gain. Power, dominion over Heaven. That's the worst case scenario. I very much doubt it, though. She doesn't strike me as the type, not underneath her mask. She is too desperate, too afraid. I don't believe she wants to be in the situation she's found hersef in. But for some reason she can't get out. Possibly because no one else will make the tough decisions that she believes have to be made. Which brings me to:
2) She is trying to protect Heaven and the angels. This seems the most likely scenario to me, and the one best backed up by canon at this point. The end still doesn't justify the means, no matter how bad things look. But this won't make her any worse than most other characters on the show (including the main characters), so this is a scenario where I will probably be able to forgive her, and even feel for her.
3) Just like she manipulates Cas, she herself is forced/threatened/manipulated. By Metatron? By Leviathans (where have they disappeared to, anyway)? If that's the case, did she try to resist? Did she stand any chance? Are they threatening her or someone/something she loves? Are they threatening Heave, which would bring us right back to a desperate attempt to keep her home safe.
There is, of course, always the possibility that she isn't really an angel. I doubt that. The way she talks about Heaven and the angels, as home, and us seems genuine to me. I'm also pretty sure Castiel would be able to tell.
I don't know where Naomi's storyline will lead, but every path comes with so many questions that I can't possibly condemn her at this point. Until I know more, I will give her the benefit of the doubt. And when the time comes, and we know everything, I will decide for myself whether I consider her redeemable. Based on what I know about Naomi and her goals, not on how the show tells me I should feel about her. This show and I have a habit of not agreeing on this sort of thing, so I like to make up my own mind.
Has Naomi done horrible things? Yes, no doubt about that. Is she a sweet, innocent angel - pardon the pun - who would never hurt a fly? No, we can certainly rule that out.
No matter why she did it, manipulating Castiel, having him kill Samandriel, those things are, if at all, certainly not easily excused. But before we condemn her as Evil, can we please take a closer look at her first, and try to understand her reasons, her motivations, her side of the story?
8x07 A Little Slice Of Kevin
We first meet Naomi when she brings Castiel to her. She is sitting in a mostly white, sterile office, grey suit, hair in a bun, seemingly perfectly composed and in control of the situation. But if you watch her closely over the next few episodes, it soon becomes clear that it's just an act. Underneath, she is anything but calm and in control. We will get to that.
Her voice, when she greets Castiel is perfectly calm. Not warm, but polite, and not unfriendly.
I think this is the first time they meet. Even though Castiel will forget the encounter as soon as he is back on Earth, he remembers Naomi, and at least most of their meetings, whenever he is back in her office.
When Castiel asks her where he is, she replies with "You're home, Castiel."
I think "home" is a very import word here. Not 'back in Heaven'. Home. His home, her home.
Does she choose this word just to gain Castiel's trust? I doubt it. We will see in a moment that there is no need. He has to do what she tells him to, and she makes it no secret. So why go through the trouble of manipulating him in subtle ways?
She introduces herself, and we learn that her "office" lies in a part of Heaven few have ever seen. How long it has been there, how long Naomi has known and been part of it, we don't know.
Naomi tells Castiel that they rescued her. Several angels made their way into Purgatory to bring Castiel back. Some died on this mission. Again, I think her choice of the word "rescue" is very telling because it makes the whole mission about Castiel himself, not the use he can be to her. It wasn't entirely selfless, though. She wants something in return, repayment.
It's almost a mirror to season 4, when you think about it. Back then, the angels rescued Dean from Hell, and expected his cooperation in return. Now they rescued Castiel from Purgatory, and more or less expect the same.
When she asks about Sam and Dean, it's the first time there is true authority in her voice. She is not asking, she is demanding. In the same way I assume (some of) his superiors back in the old days may have. And Castiel can't resist the command, and gives her the cliffs notes of everything he knows. Obviously she has some kind of power over him, power that may or may not be natural. I'm not sure if Castiel is confused that he can't keep himself from telling a superior, or that he can't keep from telling Naomi, who he doesn't acknowledge as his superior.
While Castiel tells Naomi about the prophet and the tablet, we get a first small glimpse of what is really going on in her head. She looks concerned.
Then she tells him the rules, and she is still very polite and calm about it: Castiel is to keep an eye on the Winchesters, report back to her, but he won't remember their encounters. When he says no, she just smiles because they both know he doesn't have a choice. I think it's that smile that originally had me turned against her. And of everything we have seen of her so far, it is the moment I like least.
This entire part is extremely problematic. I don't think anyone will argue with that:
She doesn't give Castiel a choice. When she gives an order, he has to obey. We've seen that when she asked him about the Winchesters. And on top of that she doesn't even allow him to remember that he is working for her. So in this moment she takes all of his agency away from him, and I hate that, and no reasons she has will ever make that okay.
Still, after everything we've seen of her to this point, I can't help wondering why she instantly went for such extreme measures. She never tried asking him for his cooperation, which, had he agreed, would have made her life a lot easier. So I assume she knew he would say no, and she considers her mission important enough to justify this course of action. Or she doesn't trust him, even if he had agreed. Considering his rebellious history, that isn't entirely unreasonable.
I, personally, can't shake the idea that she is trying to countersteer his instincts as the Winchesters' guardians, that she knows are rooted too deeply to overcome them any other way. That doesn't make the situation any better, maybe a little different, but certainly not better (and it's too close to head canon territory to count as a proper canon interpretation anyway). But it's my explanation for how Naomi knew for sure that Castiel would never agree. So it was this path, or nothing.
It still doesn't explain why she considered it a valid choice. What is so important that she felt that the ends justify the means? We don't know. But we will at least get a little glimpse of what is going on in Naomi's head in the next few episodes. A glimpse that makes me believe that, despite all this and how clearly wrong it is, she may still be redeemable.
8x08 Hunteri Heroici
Castiel and Naomi only have a brief encounter in this episode. She intervenes just as Castiel makes the decision to return to Heaven.
She greets him in the same calm and friendly manner, and with a smile. Her "And no." before he can even tell her about her plans almost carries a hint of "I'm sorry, but it's just not possible. Not yet."
She says she won't allow his return to Heaven, but when he tries to argue with her, she doesn't cut him off. She let's him talk, and she listens, head tilted slightly. His opinion does matter to her, even when it doesn't change her mind. The obvious, huge issue of her manipulation aside, there is nothing cruel or threatening about the way she treats him here. She is in charge, and no means no, but that doesn't mean that she doesn't understand. She seems almost sympathetic, when she nods after he tells her that he wants, needs to return to make things right. She even assures him that he is redeeming himself, by doing his duty.
She insists that they play by her rules, and doesn't give Castiel any choice. But she truly seems to believe that this is the right way, that she is helping him, and that he will grow to understand at some point. Maybe she is trying to return to the old ways. Maybe she has come to the conclusion that they all were better off without free will. After all, what did it bring them but pain and death? I'm not sure she even really understands what it is she is trying to take back away from him, and how important it has become to Castiel.
Looking at only this scene, and completely ignoring the context, I actually kind of like the thought that this is what things used to be like. Obedience, yes, but that doesn't mean you cannot speak your mind to some extend, and it doesn't mean there is no room for sympathy and affection. There is plenty of room, actually, when no one ever doubts or questions an order or rank, when there is no envy, no selfish ambition. Don't forget that obedience isn't somehing angels had to learn. It wasn't drilled into them. It is (or was at least) part of their very nature. There is hardly any need for what we would call authority. Orders can be whispered with love when there is no doubt that everyone will still follow them without question.
And then there is this small but so important moment. The one that made me stop and reconsider my opinion about Naomi.
"Then what should I do."
"What do you want to do?"
Has anyone else on the show ever asked Castiel what he wants? All this fight for free will, and judging from the look on his face, having someone ask him what he wants to do, is completely foreign to him. I don't think he has ever even thought about it, caught up in wars, and his search for redemption, and the needs of others.
And Naomi, of all people, is the first one to confront him with this questions. What do you want.
Strange, isn't it? From the angel who forces him to obey her orders, and took his choice away? Not necessarily. Obedience doesn't mean that you don't have your moments to yourself where you can do what you desire. He is not allowed to return to Heaven, but otherwise she doesn't have a mission for him right now. His time is his, and she is gently pushing him to make it his time. And when he decides to stay in the retirement home, that isn't anything she forced him to do. It is his choice. And it might be the first one he truly made for himself in his entire time on the show.
8x10 Torn and Frayed
The next time Naomi brings Castiel to her office, she is agitated. She has just received Samandriel's distess call. She remains standing, her voice isn't as calm and even as it usually is. It's shaking. And when she talks about Samandriel II see worry in her face. I don't doubt that she is worried about the information he may leak to their enemies, but she seems worried for Samandriel as well. She calls him by his name too. Not 'one of ours' or something along those lines, which would have been sufficient. She knows his name, and she treats him as a person, not as someone who is replacable like you'd expect from someone as coldhearted and evil as large parts of the fandom like to make her out to be.
She mentions Crowley, and this time she and Castiel are on the same page. She still gives him the order to find Samandriel and bring him home - again the use of the word "home". It gives off this sense of back to the safety of his family. But maybe that's just me. - but there is no resistance from Castiel this time. He is eager to help, and suddenly there is this air of working together. Naomi trusts Castiel's judgement, tells him to take whatever he needs, lets him approach it in whatever way he believes is best. She only has one condition: No one can know that she is involved.
I wonder who it is she's so desperate to hide herself and Heaven from. The Winchesters? Crowley? Someone else entirely? It's hard to say. But it's important to her.
Before we actually see Naomi again, we get flashes of her when Castiel cowers in the floor. They seem to be memories, and both the pictures as well as Castiel's reaction make it perfectly clear that something horribly bad is happening. Do we know anything about the what and why? About what triggered them? Not really. We don't even know if they really are memories. If they are even real. We know nothing. Except that it's something very, very bad, and traumatic, and that Naomi seems to be behind it. Or at least involved. Other than that, I got nothing.
I couldn't bring myself to rewatch all of this next part, so I'm partially working from memory and with a transcript here. Aplogies if I missed any details because of that:
I never understood what having Samandriel killed after he was free from Crowley was supposed to achieve. If you look at it emotionless, wouldn't it make more sense to bring him back to Heaven and interogate him to find out exactly what he told Crowley? And then reeducate him, punish him, or whatever Naomi might feel appropriate?
And why was Samandriel suddenly so panicked about the idea to return to Naomi? He was the one who specifically turned to her for help. What changed?
Listen closely to what he tells Castiel. When Castiel says he will bring Samandriel back to Heaven, Samandriel says he can't. Not 'please don't' but 'you can't'. And when Castiel doesn't understand why, he starts talking about the things he told Crowley, about how Crowley had him under control and got to secrets Samandriel wasn't even aware of. Secrets about Heaven and Naomi. With no word does he say that he is afraid of Naomi.
Yes, it seems likely that he is afraid to return because when Crowley got the secrets out of Samandriel, Sama learned them too. And he suddenly remembers his encounters with Naomi, remembers everything Naomi had him forget, therefore making him a threat to her, and she decided to have him killed to protect her secrets.
I admit that this is the more obvious, and probably more likely scenario, but there is another possibility:
What if Crowley was one step ahead of them? What if Naomi didn't have Samandriel killed because he had given Crowley information and she wanted him punished, or becaue he knew her secrets, but because he was under Crowley's control? What if Crowley had already dug so deep that he could control Samandriel in a similar way Naomi is controlling Castiel, against his will and without his knowledge? What if she knew that letting Samandriel return to Heaven alive was like handing the front door key over to Crowley?
And what if Samandriel wasn't afraid of returning home because he'd have to face Naomi, but because he was still, if barely, aware that this would make him Heaven's downfall?
What did his "they are controlling us" mean? Who are 'they', who is 'us'?
They, Naomi and someone who works with her? Someone who is controlling angels including Naomi? Or maybe Crowley and his demons?
Us, him and Castiel? Him and Naomi? All the angels?
But back to Naomi herself:
When she interferes she is desperate, for one reason or another. For the first time, she is physically threatening Castiel, standing over him and looking down. Screaming, scared. But the moment he is gone, her shoulders sag, and she looks sad and tired when she stares at the empty space where Castiel had just been.
She also looks like she is literally fading away. Now, I've heard that this wasn't intentional. But that seems a weird mistake by the lighing department.
When it's over and Cas return she has her composure back, but it's obvious now that it's only a mask, never was anything else. Her lie is just as obvious. Whatever Samandriel gave Crowley, that damage was already done. Nothing could undo it.
She brings up the angel tablet, and how it needs to be protected at all cost, and I believe her that this part is true, and at the very least one of her concerns. When Castiel doesn't understand how a tablet can be worth more than the life of one of their brothers she says something I think is very important:
"If the demon tablet can seal demons in Hell, what do you think the angel tablet can do to us?"
It doesn't explains why she had Samandriel killed, but it is a valid point. This tablet is a threat to Heaven and all the angels. And protecting it is crucial. If it falls into the wrong hands, Heaven may be defenseless.
Nothing else that Naomi says gets us any further in understanding what is really going on. Again, she does not want her involvement known. We already know that is important to her.
She asks for Samandriel's body to find out how deep Crowley got. That makes sense if she wants to know how much Crowley knows. It makes sense if she wants to know how exactly Crowley managed to get him under his control in my less likely theory. It makes sense if she only has a scientific interest, and if she secretely wants to mourn the loss of another angel. Just because she gave the order to kill, doesn't mean she never cared, though I'm sure she would never openly admit it.
In the end, we still know so very little about Naomi, her motivation, her goals.
We know that some of her methods are unacceptable. But what does she actually want? What is she hiding and why?
Right now I see three possibilities, and even those are vague:
1) She may be doing it all for her own gain. Power, dominion over Heaven. That's the worst case scenario. I very much doubt it, though. She doesn't strike me as the type, not underneath her mask. She is too desperate, too afraid. I don't believe she wants to be in the situation she's found hersef in. But for some reason she can't get out. Possibly because no one else will make the tough decisions that she believes have to be made. Which brings me to:
2) She is trying to protect Heaven and the angels. This seems the most likely scenario to me, and the one best backed up by canon at this point. The end still doesn't justify the means, no matter how bad things look. But this won't make her any worse than most other characters on the show (including the main characters), so this is a scenario where I will probably be able to forgive her, and even feel for her.
3) Just like she manipulates Cas, she herself is forced/threatened/manipulated. By Metatron? By Leviathans (where have they disappeared to, anyway)? If that's the case, did she try to resist? Did she stand any chance? Are they threatening her or someone/something she loves? Are they threatening Heave, which would bring us right back to a desperate attempt to keep her home safe.
There is, of course, always the possibility that she isn't really an angel. I doubt that. The way she talks about Heaven and the angels, as home, and us seems genuine to me. I'm also pretty sure Castiel would be able to tell.
I don't know where Naomi's storyline will lead, but every path comes with so many questions that I can't possibly condemn her at this point. Until I know more, I will give her the benefit of the doubt. And when the time comes, and we know everything, I will decide for myself whether I consider her redeemable. Based on what I know about Naomi and her goals, not on how the show tells me I should feel about her. This show and I have a habit of not agreeing on this sort of thing, so I like to make up my own mind.
