Spn 4x01 - Tumblr Posts
Love loses
"To save Dean Winchester. That was your ultimate goal, right?"
He saved him.
Best. Entrance. Ever.
I've never seen this character's introduction bettered on a TV show, and I've rarely seen it equalled in a big budget movie.
What an incredible scene: Castiel completely knocks Dean off balance (knocking Bobby out cold without batting an eyelid) and takes the audience with him. Shot, attacked from behind, stabbed in the chest - Castiel doesn't even flinch.
We've been set up during the episode for some terrifying new monster, something scarier than yellow-eyed Azazel that has even sassy demons looking for a bolthole; that blinds a psychic who takes an unguarded peek at it; that's capable of pulling Dean's soul out of Hell and reanimating his dead body, yet leaves him to crawl desperately out of his own shallow grave in the middle of nowhere, scared out of his mind.
I can't actually get my head around where Supernatural would've ended up story-wise if Misha Collins hadn't sold this performance so hard that you can feel Castiel's inhumanity from the first shot. Like that insightful post I reblogged a few days ago said, he's full uncanny valley here.
You can feel Dean reeling from it, see how scared he is, but of course he shoots his mouth off and ups the ante, demanding proof and giving the scary unblinking angel lip and refusing to be cowed. Of course he does.
"Who are you?" "Castiel" ↳ 4.01 - LAZARUS RISING
Destiel 15x18 = queerbaiting y / n?
No... not to me. It hit me as tragedy. Proper, capital-T, heroic tragedy.
It's just as much queer love if it's lacking the happily-ever-after. Or if it's unresolved, whether Dean reciprocates or not, and if it's agony to watch it unfold because they're good people who deserve happiness and all the love and never catch a break. It's unfair. It's hard to watch. It hurts because I feel their pain.
I thought it was a beautiful scene, very real, and totally in keeping for stubborn-ass-there's-no-other-way-Cas to quietly save it all up for the worst possible moment to say 'I love you' to a man ill-equipped to hear it - and use that opportunity, his last precious moments with the man he loves, his last moments of a life he's come to cherish, to completely reshape how Dean sees himself by tearfully telling him why he's beautiful. That his imperfect example and loving spirit redeemed an angel.
I live for drama/acting that can hurt me this badly.
(Crying now.)
just. the contrast between cas first communicating with dean in such a deafening, piercing way and. the complete and utter silence that lingers after he speaks his last words to him.
Happy birthday Castiel. You rocked an awful lot of socks that day.
I didn't watch Supernatural until this year and I spent all that time avoiding plot-significant spoilers like the plague, but two got through to me in real time in my other-fandoms bubble: 15x18 in 2020 when fandom convulsed in agony... and this unbelievably iconic 4x01 entrance back in 2008, when fandom gasped, then squeed its panties off at the smokin' chemistry of this scene. Spot the common denominator. ;)
Few scenes make fandom history all on their own, but this one did. Like... WOW, Supernatural. And this performance did. Like, wow, Misha Collins (and the genuinely-startled-looking Jensen Ackles oozing the "what the fuck?!" vibe of a lifetime!)
16 years ago today Supernatural peaked with the most iconic introduction in the history of television
Happy Sweet Sixteen to Castiel, the only character ever
(Whilst exploding and being showered in sparks.)
he walked into set with sex hair, a knock-off constantine cosplay, the most perplexing vocal choices of all time and the most intense homoerotic stare to ever be levelled at another man
SUPERNATURAL ✙ 4.01 LAZARUS RISING – aired on September 18th, 2008
» best viewed in dark mode!
happy lazarus rising to all who celebrate