If you want something done right...
Mar. 21st, 2013 03:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gwaevalarinCastiel and Naomi
Oh, Naomi, how can you be so right and so, so wrong at the same time?
I'm sort of liveblogging this part, so I may ask questions that get answered later:
Naomi has a training centre? I wonder if it is part of the super secret part of Heaven, and/or if it is where all angels are/used to be trained when the need arises.
Also, her "Everything is back in order." has me even more convinced that she basically wants Heaven to go back to the way it used to be before the war. Oh, honey. I understand. But not like this.
Cas is pretty much fully aware of (most of) what is going on whenever he is in Naomi's office, right? At least the part where she gives him orders? Yet still he actually asks her what she wants him to say to the Winchesters.
I think I've talked about this before: Whenever Castiel is in Naomi's office, the situation doesn't seem as dark and threatening as it very obviously is.
Naomi is controlling him, she takes his agency away, and that is utterly and entirely unacceptable.
But when I look at their scenes together out of context, when I look at how Castiel gives his input, and how Naomi listens, even though she will always make the final decision. When he asks her if he has to kill Meg, and obviously argues his case at least partly because he doesn't want to for personal reasons.
It feels... honest. Though as soon as he leaves, it's obviously not. It's just getting easy to forget because there isn't even much of a visible sign anymore that he forgets. I'm so conflicted about this.
Another thing is that Castiel almost reminds me of his season 4 self, and I consider that a good thing at this point. When the demon comments that she thought angels were supposed to be the good cops, I half expected him to reply with something along the lines of: "Read the Bible. Angels are warriors of God. I'm a soldier."
My favourite moment is probably the short look that passes between Castiel and Naomi during the interrogation, when they realise their lie will be uncovered. I don't think you understand how much I wish that Cas worked for her by his own free choice. Why could you not give him that choice, Naomi? Why can't the circumstances be different? They could make such a fantastic team. I want to know Naomi's reasons. I want to know why she is so convinced that she has to choose this path.
I'm a little confused: When they found the crypt, Castiel went to Naomi to tell her, she didn't bring him to her. How did he decide that if he doesn't even know she exists when he's not there? And again, it feels more like a working together, than like Naomi is forcing him.
Castiel's request that Dean hand him the angel tablet - the tablet about him and his siblings, that cam do God knows what to them - so he can take it to Heaven is entirely reasonable. This tablet should be theirs and no one elses. And so is Naomi's fear. And her reasons. Excuse you, but she is actually trying to protect her home and her family against a threat thay may quite possibly mean their total destruction. On this, I'm completely on her side. I don't care if I'm not supposed to.
It's starting to become perfectly clear to me now, too, what and why she did what she did to Castiel. In a way, she only wanted him free of the Winchesters, and back home. And I understand. And yes, I even agree. Not like this, not with her methods. Still, now more than ever: I'm on your side, Naomi. I finally want him free of them too. But there has to be another way to do this. A better way. Let's find a better way, okay? Let's not give up on him.
I'm sorry, how am I supposed to feel about all this, when, despite everything, all I see is Naomi treating Castiel better, and valuing his opinion higher than the Winchesters have in a very long time? In her own, misguided way, she actually cares about him, not his use.
It's a relief when Castiel says that he doesn't only need to protect the tablet from Naomi but also from Dean. Because yes, that is something you most defintely should if you still want a home and a family to return to some day.
I don't think protecting it from Naomi is necessary. Protecting himself from her, yes. Protecting the tablet, no. Her scene with Crowley makes it clear that protecting it - mostly from him - is what she wants. It's Heaven vs. Hell once again, and Heaven is weakend. And that Naomi and Crowley may have a history doesn't make her more untrustworthy and shady to me, sorry. Also, see Naomi, you now have Castiel as the guardian of the tablet, and you didn't exactly have to force him to take that job. Can you learn from that, please?
I like the very last scene. Naomi seems disappointed, almost hurt. That's good. She needs to realise her mistakes. Because I believe if she truly does understand where she went wrong, and learns from it, she could actually turn into a good leader. And Cas takes his own path, protecting not just a stone, but his home. There is still hope for Heaven. And the names of Heaven's hope are both, Castiel and Naomi.
Castiel and Meg
Cas and Meg romantically still doesn't make much sense to me, and after 7x17/7x21 I don't think I could ever be entirely comfortable with it - though this episode kinda convinced me that she didn't take advantage of him when he was helpless, and that's certainly a relief. But it wasn't as OOC and pointless this episode as it was in Caged Heat. They do have a history now, after all. And they were actually kind of cure together. I also guess, it at least makes some sense considering that, when he had and still has no one left, she was at least there. She was the only one who did not just leave him behind, and while I don't believe that there are any actual deeper feelings there, I can believe that Cas feels at least grateful. And most importantly, she put a hint of a smile on his face, because she actually treats him like a person. I can hardly remember the last time I've seen Castiel with something close to a genuine smile. So, considering it's in the past now anyway, and I don't have to worry about any possible issues, I'll take it.
Meg
Another character needlessly screwed over and killed.
I never actually 'liked' Meg, but I respected her. She was a survivor. And though she may have been evil to the core, she never claimed to be anything else. And that's why I have issues with the way she went out. Her sacrifice wasn't necessary. Some characters don't need to be redeemed. Some characters don't need to show a selfless moment to be good characters. I respected her, because she always was her smarky, selfish, demonic self. And now the show took that away from her in her last moment. She didn't deserve that.
She was also the one recurring character who managed to survive from season 1 all the way to season 8, and I realise now, that I wanted her to make it to the end of the show, and carry on beyond that. Survive, be selfish, only look out for herself. Because that was who she was, and it was okay for her to be that way.
And that's the way I prefer to remember her, and I think that Meg I might actually miss.
Edit: Crowley mentions his and Naomi's time in Mesopotamia. Crowley died in the late 1600s. Might this be the season when we find out that Crowley is a lot older than we thought? I'll just say fallen angel theory.
Oh, Naomi, how can you be so right and so, so wrong at the same time?
I'm sort of liveblogging this part, so I may ask questions that get answered later:
Naomi has a training centre? I wonder if it is part of the super secret part of Heaven, and/or if it is where all angels are/used to be trained when the need arises.
Also, her "Everything is back in order." has me even more convinced that she basically wants Heaven to go back to the way it used to be before the war. Oh, honey. I understand. But not like this.
Cas is pretty much fully aware of (most of) what is going on whenever he is in Naomi's office, right? At least the part where she gives him orders? Yet still he actually asks her what she wants him to say to the Winchesters.
I think I've talked about this before: Whenever Castiel is in Naomi's office, the situation doesn't seem as dark and threatening as it very obviously is.
Naomi is controlling him, she takes his agency away, and that is utterly and entirely unacceptable.
But when I look at their scenes together out of context, when I look at how Castiel gives his input, and how Naomi listens, even though she will always make the final decision. When he asks her if he has to kill Meg, and obviously argues his case at least partly because he doesn't want to for personal reasons.
It feels... honest. Though as soon as he leaves, it's obviously not. It's just getting easy to forget because there isn't even much of a visible sign anymore that he forgets. I'm so conflicted about this.
Another thing is that Castiel almost reminds me of his season 4 self, and I consider that a good thing at this point. When the demon comments that she thought angels were supposed to be the good cops, I half expected him to reply with something along the lines of: "Read the Bible. Angels are warriors of God. I'm a soldier."
My favourite moment is probably the short look that passes between Castiel and Naomi during the interrogation, when they realise their lie will be uncovered. I don't think you understand how much I wish that Cas worked for her by his own free choice. Why could you not give him that choice, Naomi? Why can't the circumstances be different? They could make such a fantastic team. I want to know Naomi's reasons. I want to know why she is so convinced that she has to choose this path.
I'm a little confused: When they found the crypt, Castiel went to Naomi to tell her, she didn't bring him to her. How did he decide that if he doesn't even know she exists when he's not there? And again, it feels more like a working together, than like Naomi is forcing him.
Castiel's request that Dean hand him the angel tablet - the tablet about him and his siblings, that cam do God knows what to them - so he can take it to Heaven is entirely reasonable. This tablet should be theirs and no one elses. And so is Naomi's fear. And her reasons. Excuse you, but she is actually trying to protect her home and her family against a threat thay may quite possibly mean their total destruction. On this, I'm completely on her side. I don't care if I'm not supposed to.
It's starting to become perfectly clear to me now, too, what and why she did what she did to Castiel. In a way, she only wanted him free of the Winchesters, and back home. And I understand. And yes, I even agree. Not like this, not with her methods. Still, now more than ever: I'm on your side, Naomi. I finally want him free of them too. But there has to be another way to do this. A better way. Let's find a better way, okay? Let's not give up on him.
I'm sorry, how am I supposed to feel about all this, when, despite everything, all I see is Naomi treating Castiel better, and valuing his opinion higher than the Winchesters have in a very long time? In her own, misguided way, she actually cares about him, not his use.
It's a relief when Castiel says that he doesn't only need to protect the tablet from Naomi but also from Dean. Because yes, that is something you most defintely should if you still want a home and a family to return to some day.
I don't think protecting it from Naomi is necessary. Protecting himself from her, yes. Protecting the tablet, no. Her scene with Crowley makes it clear that protecting it - mostly from him - is what she wants. It's Heaven vs. Hell once again, and Heaven is weakend. And that Naomi and Crowley may have a history doesn't make her more untrustworthy and shady to me, sorry. Also, see Naomi, you now have Castiel as the guardian of the tablet, and you didn't exactly have to force him to take that job. Can you learn from that, please?
I like the very last scene. Naomi seems disappointed, almost hurt. That's good. She needs to realise her mistakes. Because I believe if she truly does understand where she went wrong, and learns from it, she could actually turn into a good leader. And Cas takes his own path, protecting not just a stone, but his home. There is still hope for Heaven. And the names of Heaven's hope are both, Castiel and Naomi.
Castiel and Meg
Cas and Meg romantically still doesn't make much sense to me, and after 7x17/7x21 I don't think I could ever be entirely comfortable with it - though this episode kinda convinced me that she didn't take advantage of him when he was helpless, and that's certainly a relief. But it wasn't as OOC and pointless this episode as it was in Caged Heat. They do have a history now, after all. And they were actually kind of cure together. I also guess, it at least makes some sense considering that, when he had and still has no one left, she was at least there. She was the only one who did not just leave him behind, and while I don't believe that there are any actual deeper feelings there, I can believe that Cas feels at least grateful. And most importantly, she put a hint of a smile on his face, because she actually treats him like a person. I can hardly remember the last time I've seen Castiel with something close to a genuine smile. So, considering it's in the past now anyway, and I don't have to worry about any possible issues, I'll take it.
Meg
Another character needlessly screwed over and killed.
I never actually 'liked' Meg, but I respected her. She was a survivor. And though she may have been evil to the core, she never claimed to be anything else. And that's why I have issues with the way she went out. Her sacrifice wasn't necessary. Some characters don't need to be redeemed. Some characters don't need to show a selfless moment to be good characters. I respected her, because she always was her smarky, selfish, demonic self. And now the show took that away from her in her last moment. She didn't deserve that.
She was also the one recurring character who managed to survive from season 1 all the way to season 8, and I realise now, that I wanted her to make it to the end of the show, and carry on beyond that. Survive, be selfish, only look out for herself. Because that was who she was, and it was okay for her to be that way.
And that's the way I prefer to remember her, and I think that Meg I might actually miss.
Edit: Crowley mentions his and Naomi's time in Mesopotamia. Crowley died in the late 1600s. Might this be the season when we find out that Crowley is a lot older than we thought? I'll just say fallen angel theory.
