"Grace in the Machine" (Special Edition) - To What Extent Does Muscle Memory Affect Angels?
As a quick note, this is not very well structured by my standards. I mostly wrote this since I havenât seen anyone else address it 8/4/13 edit: I just found andythanfictionâs meta on aspects of this which is here . My thoughts ramble a bit. After the SDCC 2013 spoilers that Cas will experience sex in some way it had been weighting somewhat on my mind, so I thought Iâd throw this out there. If anything this piece illustrates just how much we donât know and how there are many interpretations of Casâ sexuality that are valid. Here goes.
Muscle memory (and the organ transplant re-memory phenomenon) has long been something that has intrigued me. In this meta I would like to discuss how it may affect angels in vessels. Does it have an influence on things like sexuality? An angelâs personality? Pop culture knowledge? Where does the line between angel and vessel lie? And how can you tell?
Basic knowledge of how I view angel construct is helpful, but I donât think necessary to read this. The short version is that I believe angel construct includes a soul that is exposed through grace decay over time and that only thorough its exposure do angels experience true free will and emotions.
"When we demons possess a human, we invade all of them, their â uh â their muscles, their bones, their brains. I canât help but wonder if it isnât the same for angels." - The Demon Viggo to Samandriel 8.10
I canât help but wonder either. As Samandriel is tortured by demons the text indicates that angelic possession definitely encompasses the brain, but the rest is unclear. Since demonic possession is a mockery of angelic possession by ignoring the request for permission to share the skin, it would stand to reason that âYes" this is the case.
"Just relax, Castiel. Let your vessel do what you know deep down is the right thing." - Naomi to Castiel 8.17
We know of two clear times that Castiel has been âreprogrammed". One is in season four, the other is in season eight. There is a key difference between the two, one was done with a vessel, one without. Castielâs reprogramming solely through his angelic body in season four does not last long. He is able to âthrow it" and chose to rebel two episodes later (which arguably translates to maybe 2-3 weeks in canon). There is no clear indication as to the exact nature of Casâ reprogramming in season four. This is not the case in season eight. The angel Naomi âconditions" Cas to kill Dean in an extended effort over several months to destroy his âweakness" (his inability to put Heavenâs wishes in front of Dean Winchesterâs well being) - not only through Casâ angelic construct, but his vessel construct as well.
We are drawn to this phenomenon of muscle memory in the episode prior with the character Prometheus. He fights like a trained warrior despite having no knowledge of fighting due to memory loss. There is even a text reference to Jason Bourne from the movie The Bourne Identity where another amnesiac showcases skilled âreactionary" fighting skills despite memory loss. These fighting skills are the result of years of muscle memory that prevails even in the absence of brain memory. For Cas in season eight, this âmuscle memory" training amounts to conditioning him within his vessel for months to kill Dean upwards of over a thousand times. This programming is ultimately unsuccessful (in the sense that Cas doesnât actually strike the final blow), but not in the sense that Cas fails to start the dance, proving that while muscle memory is strong (and yes, affects angels), will is ultimately stronger.
Now letâs take a look at previous examples of muscle memory.
"Itâs my vesselâ Jimmy. His, uh, appetite for red meat has been touched by Famineâs effect" - Castiel to Dean 5.14
This is an example of when a vesselâs desires can override an angelâs ability to use it. Under the effect of Famine Castiel is unable to attack Famine and instead is profoundly effected by his vesselâs desire for the taste of food. It is unclear whether this is a direct result of the vesselâs desires or the soulâs (the machine or the power source), but since Cas says, âItâs my vessel" Iâm more inclined to believe itâs just that. When Jimmy Novakâs âaccustomed to eating lots of red meat" meatsuit went months without food, in the face of Famine, itâs the vesselâs desire, not the soul of Jimmy Novak which performed the override on Castielâs will. Compared to season 8, Castiel is not able in this instance to âthrow it off". Jimmy Novak had been arguably eating meat for decades, which I imagine is a little harder to override in a loss of agency than a couple of months of conditioning to kill someone. Now, granted, eating the meat wasnât Cas himself putting Deanâs life directly in danger per se, as opposed to Cas himself beating the hell out of Dean, but it certainly was adding to the possibility of it when Casâ inaction resulted in demons attacking the Winchesters.
The next instance we have of muscle memory overriding an angelâs use of it is more subjective and debatable.
It occurs when Cas watches porn and gets a boner (and I only use this as an example because of what happens later in this episode that layers onto this). Itâs worth noting here that Jimmy Novak is most likely heterosexual (being that he is religious and has a family, though even this isnât a guarantee, only a very likely guess). This means his meatsuit is âconditioned" to experience arousal from heterosexual stimuli like the porn that Cas is watching, which is most likely of the heterosexual variety based on pronouns. From here we get into a grayer area. Does a humanâs sexuality lie in their soulâs desires or their meatsuitâs? Iâm more inclined to say itâs the soulâs desires that âconditions" the skin, but it could be argued the other way easily enough I suppose. No matter how we slice it, muscle memory is in play (the character Willow in Buffy had a similar instance of this in the episode âTabula Rasa").
Now, angels are inherently sexless. We know this because Dean has called them âjunkless" on multiple occasions without any correction by them. Whether they perceive gender amongst themselves in this case is irrelevant. We are just talking about sex organs in this instance. So how does angelic possession account for this? If there is any part of the human body that conceivably runs on âmuscle memory auto-pilot" for angels the sex organs would be it since there is no angelic body construct equivalent to supply in that area for the possession process.
This is also the first time sexuality is associated with Cas in the text. We all know that he started to have sex at the request of Dean but didnât get anywhere in âFree to be you and me". Within said episode there is no indication of any actually physical arousal on Casâ part, only social awkwardness and a lack of knowledge concerning what is âappropriate conversation" during sexual encounters, a point that also carries into this episode.
In "Caged Heat" Cas, in heterosexually oriented skin, sees heterosexual porn and his body responds. With only this as evidence, it can be argued either way whether or not this is all Casâ responses or his skinâs âauto-pilot" responses. But later, when he and the Wincesters are trapped with Meg, the text pushes us a bit further one way than the other. When Meg kisses Castiel (and likely gropes him) he at first only looks at her expressionless, then he turns her, pushes her against the wall and kisses her quite passionately, but itâs his reaction afterwards that gives the most insight. Cas looks at Dean rather confused, shaking his head like he isnât quite sure what happened. "I learned that from the pizza man," Cas tells them, despite getting Jimmyâs sexual memory download which would most certainly include kissing. This says that Casâ response here is most likely a direct result of the visual stimuli and subsequent physical turn on he experienced earlier.
DEAN: âWell, sheâs smart, Iâll give her that. I was gonna kill her, too. [to Cas] âCourse, Iâd have given you an hour with her first."
CASTIEL: "Why would I want that?"
This could indicate that Castiel either A.) Doesnât understand what Dean is suggesting (which doesnât include a pop culture reference) or B.) That he himself doesnât express a desire to have sex with her. Castielâs comment in 8.17 that the pizza man was a good memory still doesnât indicate which this is, only that sexual desire is a good memory for Cas. It does nothing to suggest the mechanics in which the experience came about.
Switching gears from sexuality, letâs look at some other examples of muscle memory, specifically the episode "The Bourne-Again Identity".
Again, the title immediately calls to a man with memory loss with muscle memory at play.
Dean requests Cas tell him how he meets his wife Daphne. âOh, itâs aâŠstrange story. You may not like it," Cas tells him. This is a strange thing to say to someone you have no memory of. Who doesnât like strange stories? Somehow, Cas knows that Dean may not like this story. "A few months ago, she was hiking by the river, and I wandered into her path, drenched and confused, and⊠unclothed. I had no memory. She said⊠God wanted her to find me." Now, letâs be honest, this story isnât THAT strange, but there are two major points to it. Cas is found naked by a woman and apparently God wanted him to be found. Now, it could be either one of these that Cas thinks Dean would not like, knowing Deanâs âGod is a douchebag" stance, and considering Deanâs reaction to meeting Daphne earlier. Dealerâs choice. One is through muscle memory, the other is a deduction based on Deanâs earlier reaction to his wife and subsequent question: "So, Daphne â is that, uh, your wife?" when he already knew the answer.
The entire scene where Cas smites the demons outside the mental hospital is a shining example of muscle memory, since Cas has no idea how to âsmite" until heâs actually doing it. This highly physical (energy wise) act is what ultimately jars Castielâs memory. It breaks through whatever barrier there was preventing his memories of being an angel from being remembered.
Another example of muscle memory that isnât specifically related to angels comes early in season eight with âHeartache" and is based on the real life phenomenon of "memories, personalities, and cravings being passed through organ transplants". Now, throughout season eight there are no less than four very distinctive cases of muscle memory/re-memory showcased. Two of these are major plot points with angels (one with Cas specifically), concerning how they operate. The case with Cas marks the second (arguably third) time Cas acts under his vesselâs âpre-programming/re-programming" and not his own agency. This, I think, is why it is so important for season nine to explore every aspect of Casâ human desires (especially sexual ones since his only real text sexual experience could have been the result of his meatsuitâs muscle memory and not any real desire from Cas himself).
How muscle memory affects angels is just one of many reasons why I have been so reluctant to head canon Casâ self-perceived sexuality for myself. That, and the fact that Castiel himself seems to scoff at the human sexuality labeling system as we understand it. The text for me offers way too many interpretations without enough evidence to support one more than another, which is why so many Destiel shippers are nervous about how the show will address it. Because of this, many are likely (some already) going to be disappointed.
Things we know about Cas and sexuality:
He can experience sexual desire based on heterosexual stimuli and counts it as a good memory
He finds sex boring with no definite experience under his own agency to back such a thing up (whether he had sex with Daphne is very much up for debate considering how they touched one another in 7.17)
The thought of having sex with a stranger at the insistance of Dean makes him nervous
The complexities of language while engaging in sex confuse him. Saying âI love you" (which the 6.10 porn implies, but could very well be a conclusion Cas makes) while striking someone rear confuses (annoys?) him, despite the fact that he has surely over the course of thousands of years witnessed such behavior many times while humans engaged in sex. This does not necessarily mean he associates sex with love, but rather illustrates his lack of understanding (and labeling) of the complexity of human sexual encounters. âItâs very complex".
"I thought youâd gotten over trying to label me," to Deanâs question of âAre you a hippie?" in 5.04 further showcases Casâ desire for simplicity in complex human social/sexual structures. (Please note Iâm reluctant to include endverse!Cas in any discussions of Casâ sexuality since that âtimeline/projection" takes into account things any number of vast experiences for Cas that do not come to pass which may have influenced him sexually).
He is infamously âutterly indifferent to sexual orientation". This could mean as a human labeling system (again), as a human concept, or concerning him, himself. It could mean all these things or a few. Take your pick.
Thatâs it really. Which isnât a lot. He could be asexual homoromantic, heterosexual biromantic, a bisexual demisexual, the list could literally go on and on here. This is why Iâve always kept an open mind and hope others can too. There just isnât enough evidence to call anything in anyway. The fact that his one experience with sexual desire is a good memory for him (I really donât think Naomi was âcontrolling" him to say this either) and that he has a love of Dean are really the only things that we can say are certain.
Whatever the case, I think the show has pointed out muscle memory a lot this past season for some reason and that it is important that Cas learn through experience what his self-perceived sexuality is, among other things. Iâm very excited that the show intends to show us much of this tactical journey since most of the things we associate with Cas can be written off as âvessel" things (his love of burgers, knowledge of pop culture phrases, etc). Iâve said multiple times now that I believe Cas is home alone in Jimmy Novakâs skin through my various angel construct metas and I hope the text makes this clear one way or another next season (because it is likely my entire head canon is wrong), regardless of how muscle memory of said skin may still have an effect on Castiel. There is so much to be excited about here for Cas fans. Iâll say it again. Thank you Jeremy Carver.