Supernatural Meta
Oct. 20th, 2008 09:34 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
erdaI've been thinking about my new love, Supernatural, and particularly about Dean Winchester and his religious beliefs for some reason. This contains spoilers up to 4.05.
A/N : I’m not terribly interested in authorial intent here. I know there has been some discussion about the change in the order the Season Four episodes have been aired. I must say I’m glad they changed the order because it allows me to make up all sorts of stuff about Dean that wouldn’t have flown with the original order.
“… kind of like a mission from God." Dean says to Jamie in 4.05 (Monster Movie) Quite a journey he’s traveled since he stated in 2.13 (Houses of the Holy)-
“I believe in what I can see. Angels? I don’t think so. There’s no such thing.”
Dean probably would say he changed his mind due to the hard proof of being pulled from hell by an angel, and on the surface that seems to be the idea here, but is that really hard proof? Or is Dean, like most people, making up his mind based on things less tangible, and then looking around for evidence to support what he wants to believe?
Dean has argued that his lack of believe in a higher good is due to the failure of that higher good to intervene and stop the suffering of all the innocent people on earth, but Dean, like most people, I suspect, really hasn’t arrived at his religious beliefs due to some intellectual argument. His position is due to far more personal, emotional issues.
Clearly meeting Castiel did not immediately cause Dean to change his mind, as he restated his lack of faith repeatedly in 4.02 (Are you there, God?) First to Sam and Bobby in the panic room when he said “See, this is why I can't get behind God. If he doesn't exist, fine. Bad crap happens to good people. That's how it is. There's no rhyme or reason, just random, horrible, evil... I get it, okay. I can roll with that. But if he is out there, what's wrong with him? Where the hell is he while all these decent people are getting torn to shreds? How does he live with himself? You know, why doesn't he help?” and later to Castiel- “There were people getting torn to shreds down here! And by the way, while all this is going on, where the hell is your boss, huh? If there is a God?” When Castiel insists “There's a God. “ he replies, “I'm not convinced.” So what has finally convinced him?
“This is your problem Dean, you have no faith.” Castiel states in 4.01 (Lazarus Rising), and this is Dean’s central problem. He has no faith in God or his mission. Even after Castiel appears, Dean continues his doubting ways. It isn’t until his trip into the past that Dean changes.
All along Dean has been guided by his understanding of the events surrounding his mother’s death, and his idealized picture of her as the ultimate innocent. He believed that the story began that night in Sam’s nursery when their perfect life was ripped apart. But that was not the real beginning, as we are shown in the aptly titled 4.03 (In the Beginning.) the story of his family started long before his mother’s death, and Castiel sends him back to the beginning to help him understand this. Castiel sends Dean into the past to learn what happened to his brother, of course, but also to restore his faith in God.
Dean explicitly states the reason he lost his faith in 2.13 (Houses of the Holy), speaking about his mother and her belief in angels- “Well, what's to tell? She was wrong. There was nothing protecting her. There's no higher power, there's no God. I mean, there's just chaos, and violence, and random unpredictable evil that comes out of nowhere and rips you to shreds.” No wonder Dean has been so lost and battle weary. He’s believed for most of his life that there is no underlying purpose in what he is doing with his life.
Over and over Dean has tried to understand why God did not help his mother, the perfect innocent, and by extension, all the other innocents in the world. But his trip into the past showed him a different view of his mother, showed him her complicity in the events that followed, and made him consider for the first time that the picture is not as black and white as he thought. Dean had to actually witness the kiss between the yellow-eyed demon and his mother to understand her lack of innocence.
Dean still doesn’t completely understand God’s plan, but for the first time he is considering that his mother used her free will to bring about the downfall of their family, that she is not completely innocent, and that perhaps there are other things he doesn’t know or understand, that God maybe does work in mysterious ways. This opens the door for a radical change in his worldview, the possibility of embracing faith without complete understanding, and allows him to accept the possibility of a truly purpose driven life for himself. This restoration of faith may be the main reason Castiel sent him into the past, as he will need this faith in order to embrace the Christ-like role he seems chosen to play in the coming battle.
A/N : I’m not terribly interested in authorial intent here. I know there has been some discussion about the change in the order the Season Four episodes have been aired. I must say I’m glad they changed the order because it allows me to make up all sorts of stuff about Dean that wouldn’t have flown with the original order.
“… kind of like a mission from God." Dean says to Jamie in 4.05 (Monster Movie) Quite a journey he’s traveled since he stated in 2.13 (Houses of the Holy)-
“I believe in what I can see. Angels? I don’t think so. There’s no such thing.”
Dean probably would say he changed his mind due to the hard proof of being pulled from hell by an angel, and on the surface that seems to be the idea here, but is that really hard proof? Or is Dean, like most people, making up his mind based on things less tangible, and then looking around for evidence to support what he wants to believe?
Dean has argued that his lack of believe in a higher good is due to the failure of that higher good to intervene and stop the suffering of all the innocent people on earth, but Dean, like most people, I suspect, really hasn’t arrived at his religious beliefs due to some intellectual argument. His position is due to far more personal, emotional issues.
Clearly meeting Castiel did not immediately cause Dean to change his mind, as he restated his lack of faith repeatedly in 4.02 (Are you there, God?) First to Sam and Bobby in the panic room when he said “See, this is why I can't get behind God. If he doesn't exist, fine. Bad crap happens to good people. That's how it is. There's no rhyme or reason, just random, horrible, evil... I get it, okay. I can roll with that. But if he is out there, what's wrong with him? Where the hell is he while all these decent people are getting torn to shreds? How does he live with himself? You know, why doesn't he help?” and later to Castiel- “There were people getting torn to shreds down here! And by the way, while all this is going on, where the hell is your boss, huh? If there is a God?” When Castiel insists “There's a God. “ he replies, “I'm not convinced.” So what has finally convinced him?
“This is your problem Dean, you have no faith.” Castiel states in 4.01 (Lazarus Rising), and this is Dean’s central problem. He has no faith in God or his mission. Even after Castiel appears, Dean continues his doubting ways. It isn’t until his trip into the past that Dean changes.
All along Dean has been guided by his understanding of the events surrounding his mother’s death, and his idealized picture of her as the ultimate innocent. He believed that the story began that night in Sam’s nursery when their perfect life was ripped apart. But that was not the real beginning, as we are shown in the aptly titled 4.03 (In the Beginning.) the story of his family started long before his mother’s death, and Castiel sends him back to the beginning to help him understand this. Castiel sends Dean into the past to learn what happened to his brother, of course, but also to restore his faith in God.
Dean explicitly states the reason he lost his faith in 2.13 (Houses of the Holy), speaking about his mother and her belief in angels- “Well, what's to tell? She was wrong. There was nothing protecting her. There's no higher power, there's no God. I mean, there's just chaos, and violence, and random unpredictable evil that comes out of nowhere and rips you to shreds.” No wonder Dean has been so lost and battle weary. He’s believed for most of his life that there is no underlying purpose in what he is doing with his life.
Over and over Dean has tried to understand why God did not help his mother, the perfect innocent, and by extension, all the other innocents in the world. But his trip into the past showed him a different view of his mother, showed him her complicity in the events that followed, and made him consider for the first time that the picture is not as black and white as he thought. Dean had to actually witness the kiss between the yellow-eyed demon and his mother to understand her lack of innocence.
Dean still doesn’t completely understand God’s plan, but for the first time he is considering that his mother used her free will to bring about the downfall of their family, that she is not completely innocent, and that perhaps there are other things he doesn’t know or understand, that God maybe does work in mysterious ways. This opens the door for a radical change in his worldview, the possibility of embracing faith without complete understanding, and allows him to accept the possibility of a truly purpose driven life for himself. This restoration of faith may be the main reason Castiel sent him into the past, as he will need this faith in order to embrace the Christ-like role he seems chosen to play in the coming battle.