#aucas

For @castielzine project.

I thought I should edit this and add a little intro. This post is a chronology that is mostly about how Dean has felt as a witness to Cas’ fall, up to the point we meet AUCas.  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Angels, they don’t care. I think maybe they just don’t have the equipment to care. Seems like when they try, it just breaks them apart. - Dean Winchester, 7X21 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dean did not realize it here, but he would become the cause by which Cas would direct his steps, the reason for Cas’ fall, and the love of Cas’ life. (4X21)

The next GIF was just after a Cas reprogramming. It had become clear to Heaven that Cas was being swayed by Dean. Oh, this scene just breaks my heart, how dead Cas looked in his eyes. This also reiterated that Cas had been serving/following Dean specifically. (4X20)

Dean was the reason that Cas rebelled, to the point Cas killed his own and was hunted. This speech from Cas was sobering, but in the next episode we were blessed with “Free to be You and Me”, one of the most Destiel-heavy episodes to date. (5x02 for GIF)

But then Dean was sent to the future and the illusion of happy-Destiel in 5x03 was shattered. It was there that Dean witnessed, with his own eyes, just how slippery the slope was if Cas continued to follow him. Cas’ only reason for staying at Camp Chitaqua was Dean. Cas didn’t agree with Dean’s plan, not one bit. But where Dean would go, Cas would follow. 

And that’s what FutureDean meant by, “Me and him, it’s a pretty messed up situation we got going...” in which the camera pans over to focus on Cas. It was to emphasize that the only reason Cas was there was for FutureDean. Their relationship had become warped and unbalanced. Cas was willing to give everything, and FutureDean was willing to take it all because he was blinded with rage and revenge, and that didn’t sit well with our Dean at all. (5x04)

And it was why, when Dean returned to his own timeline, that he implored Cas to not change. What he meant was that he didn’t want Cas to become broken and addicted and suicidal for Dean’s cause. He didn’t want Cas to follow a version of himself that would allow Cas to die for his own revenge. (5x04)

But the wheels were already set in motion. Cas was already changed, so Dean’s remark only served to further Cas' resolve in following him and in continuing to rebel against heaven. And Cas’ cause, that he fully served, was Dean. The reprogramming to make him otherwise just wouldn’t stick, no matter how many times the angels tried to change Cas back. (7x21)

Dean learned here that it was when Cas first laid a hand on him, to rescue him from hell, was when Cas first became lost. The guilt and shame Dean must have felt, even though being saved by Cas wasn’t exactly his choice. And so here in 7X21, Cas was very unwell and unstable. Dean believed that Cas was this broken angel because of him. (7x21)

Even though he saw that Cas was willing to follow him in Endverse, to death, Dean seemed surprised that Cas was still willing to follow him after all they’d gone through since season five. One would think that all of the betrayal, and catastrophe--and the fact that Cas was currently mentally unstable because of the Winchesters--would be enough for Cas to throw up his hands and say, “I’m done with you.” But no matter what happened, Cas would go... and he’d do his best. (7x23)

Purgatory was pure. It gave Dean clarity and this is when he knew, without doubt, that he needed Cas, come what may. He even told Cas this: “I need you”. And not just to fight battles, but because Dean finally had someone in his life who cared for him unconditionally, and that he cared for unconditionally right back. He wanted them to go home, together. (8x07)

Purgatory was also a time when Cas didn’t come when Dean called (”I prayed to you, Cas, every night.”--“I know.”--“You knew and you..?”). Cas chose to not follow Dean out of there because Cas was beginning to feel like he did everything wrong and only got his loved ones hurt. And this rejection hurt Dean. It hurt him so badly that Dean couldn’t comprehend it. His mind had to compensate for the rejection by creating an alternate scenario to explain why Cas stayed behind in Purgatory instead of going with him. Cas had stayed because he wanted to serve penance for the terrible things he’d done, things that he had claimed were for Dean: “I‘m doing this for you, Dean. I’m doing this because of you.” (quote from 6x20; gif from 8x07)

Heaven continued to be frustrated by Cas’ rebellion in regard to Dean, to the point that Cas was reprogrammed--yet again--and this time he was set to kill. Because they knew that Cas would defer to Dean before Cas listened to them. This is how much Cas served Dean. But even their programming wasn’t enough. Dean’s love confession broke through the mind control. Afterward, Cas would once again disappear and it would seem, to Dean, that Cas was back to serving Heaven (ugh, he wasn’t Dean). (8x17)

But if we fast forward through a lot more misunderstanding, Metatron confirmed that Cas had been under the guise of following Heaven but all of his choices were for Dean. You know, in case it wasn’t clear enough already because viewers hadn’t been paying attention. (9x23)

Cas continued to lose his grace through season ten, and became possessed by Lucifer through most of season eleven. At the season eleven finale, Dean was on a kamikaze mission to annihilate Amara and Cas offered himself to Dean once again: where Dean would go, Cas would follow, even to death. But Dean finally put his foot down. He couldn’t be the reason Cas died, not like Endverse. Instead, Dean imparted a new cause for Cas to serve, and he asked Cas to watch over Sam. (11X23)

Cas was downright depressed and downtrodden in season twelve. He felt weak and useless. He reasoned within himself that if he couldn’t serve Dean then Dean would no longer need him. Cas put his all into trying to be useful and it nearly killed him. Cas wanted to impart final words, to finally say how much the Winchesters meant to him, and it was here that Dean was reminded, again, just how much Cas had changed because of knowing him. Cas had never fully done what he was told (Naomi said as much in 8x21), but Dean was the point of no return for Cas. (12x12)

During season twelve, Cas found another cause to serve: Jack. This role was different from his role and relationship with Dean. This would become a parental role. One of the greatest things to happen this season, though, was for the brothers to see what could have been had they not been born, in a sorta “It’s a Wonderful Life” twist. They got to see the world they never saved. (12x23)

So imagine my utter disappointment when we finally meet AUCas and he is quickly ended before Dean gets a chance to see: a Cas that he never saved. 

Both Castiels were right: they were the same. They both didn’t do as they were told, and had to be reset by Heaven again and again. Both of them were different from their angel brethren. But they weren’t completely the same because where they began to differ was September 18, 2009. Dean. AUCas never found his Dean/humanity and thus was twisted into a corrupt, broken, wingless, twitchy and evil torture device for Michael. AUCas didn’t get away from Heaven or Heaven’s control. He was likely severely tortured and brainwashed into submission. 

Dean could have benefited from seeing AUCas:

to see what becomes of a Cas that is never changed by Dean/humanity

to realize that a changed Cas is not a broken, lost Cas

to let go of the guilt that the things that happen to Cas, as Cas lives his life, aren’t Dean’s fault just because they’re in each other’s lives

and to understand that the moment that Cas saved him from hell was also the moment that Dean, in turn, saved Cas 

Because Cas wasn’t lost when he laid a hand on Dean in hell.

Cas was saved.

*rubs hands together manically* I wanted to share my theories on WHO DIED: AUCas or our Cas? And also explain why I think we had an imposter (AUCas) for a good chunk of the episode.  It helps to read along as you watch, especially as my technically challenged self can’t get pics/gifs on here for some odd reason. But anyway, I’m going to go through each Cas scene to discuss his behavior. And then give some ideas on how they’ve left it open for EITHER an alternate universe Cas OR our Cas to have been the one who died at the end. There’s no right or wrong answer because none of us actually knows. I’m no expert but this is fun and we have all summer to speculate. So let’s get started!

SCENE ONE: First, can I say how poignant to have the cottage by the water. Cas has been likened to a fish metaphorically (often a fish out of water, or a fish that wants to fly). We find Cas staring over the water in contemplation, pondering who he is and who he will be. The previous episode, titled “Who We Are,” was all about who the Winchesters are (they “kick it in the ass”) so it’s safe to assume that we will find out “Who He Is” soon enough (angel or a man). Castiel’s behavior in the beginning of 12x23 “All Along the Watchtower” was very typical behavior for him, though I would go so far as to say he was exceptionally docile and calm. We see his paternal side. He is devoted to the unborn child. This is his “Messiah” (Misha stated that Cas has a cult-like devotion to Jack). He saw a vision of the future and has faith again. If we take it back a little further to the last time we saw him, Cas was gentle, even after killing Dagon. His soft, “You’re hurt” and concern for Dean was a major highlight. They paused on that moment and let us get a good, long look at the fact that Castiel wasn’t on a rampage to keep Jack safe. He still cared about Dean. I believe he only put them to sleep so he could get a head start and get away to get his “baby god” and Kelly to safety. There was NO anger, NO malice. Just calm and peace. So we see that he is still in that same mind-frame at the opening of 12X23. (Also, I didn’t see any glowing yellow when he put Sam and Dean down - we only see it when he takes out Dagon and then when he heals Dean later in this episode, which I’ll mention again later.) Cas is helping Kelly build baby furniture and buying truckloads of diapers (oops, think you may have wasted money on those, Cas), reading more pregnancy and baby books than what is normal. He wants to get something right for once and is committed to Jack. Castiel gives two contradictory statements to Kelly in an attempt to comfort her: “I will give my life for your son.” “I will raise your son.” Are there two Castiels and one will give up his life, and the other raise Jack? It was odd to have this oxymoron, back-to-back, with barely a breath between the statements. Kelly doesn’t bat an eye. She says, “I know,” as she has said before (i.e. back in 12X19 when she stole the Impala, Cas said he wish he had her faith and she said, “You will,” with absolute conviction).  We don’t know her full vision. Did she see Cas dying and coming back to raise her son? SCENE TWO: After the diaper run Kelly has a contraction and releases some of Jack’s power which causes a rift that leads to an alternate universe (AU). Cas practically carries her into the house and gets Kelly tucked away to bed. He’s being so tender. A note on his behavior here is that he’s communicative, he’s confident, he makes eye contact, he’s not afraid to reach out a gentle hand to help Kelly. He is not confused, not angry, not scared nor fearful. SCENE THREE: We get precious head-tilt, confused puppy Cas coming out of the cottage to investigate the rift. Again he exudes confidence as he strolls up to the rift. When he enters the AU he looks disturbed but not terrified. A temptor demon comes after him, complete with horns (THANK YOU DABB - finally some creepy demons - they can have so much fun with AU’s). First, Cas doesn’t fight? The demon gets a punch in, Cas goes down and puts up his arms defensively. Is he weak again? Before the power-up from Jack in 12X19 when Cas killed Dagon, he was very human-like and didn’t use his powers. Has he already reverted back to that? Did whatever ‘grace juice’ he had get used up in 12X19 to kill Dagon? Remember, no yellow glow when he put Sam and Dean down, and I’ll mention Dean’s healing this episode in a bit. We didn’t see who Cas saw. He said, “You?” and it cut away. We do not see what goes on with that mystery man and we do not see our Cas return to our universe. Was it AUBobby? Was it AUCas? I know we see AUBobby later but that doesn’t mean that is who Cas met. Cas is the intruder in this world. People there have a right to be suspicious, call in reinforcements and may even keep him prisoner especially when there’s a “peaches and cream” world on the other end of the rift. Desperate times, desperate measures. SCENE FOUR: Kelly is going into labor and calling out to Cas for help. He appears behind her and grabs her shoulder (um, hello, anyone notice it is the “wrong shoulder” as he often touches people on their left shoulder) somewhat aggressively, IMO. Was there a need to touch her? Was there a need to touch her in that manner? Probably not. A soft, “I’m right here” would have sufficed. But here’s the thing: I think he touched her to read her mind or to connect in some way to understand what is going on with Jack. This is when things get freaky and I will refer to him as AUCas for a bit because I DO NOT THINK THAT IS OUR CAS. My husband disagrees with me and it’s been a friendly dispute between us since the finale aired, ha! But this is my post so we’re going with my opinion, not his. Of course Cas doesn’t want to tell Kelly, “Well your unborn baby-man ripped a hole to another universe and I was hanging out with a guy who just shot a horned demon that punched my lights out.” So when she asks where he was, because he is often nearby, he says he was nowhere. His eyes are shifty and he appears to be at unrest, compared to earlier when he was at rest. We can argue that is because he just got back from an AU. Did it shake his faith? I have a hard time believing that billion-year-old Cas would be shook to such a degree by an AU. He knows there are AUs out there.  It would make sense that any unrest is due to an imposter coming into an unknown place, with limited information, nervous to being found out. Kelly has a contraction and Cas touches that shoulder again (wrong shoulder), lights flicker, he appears terrified. Gone is the Cas that is trying to be strong for her, the one who is confident in what will happen (because he had a vision of the future, y’all). I get the impression that this Cas doesn’t know what is going on. He allows Kelly to cling to him as he looks around, scared. I don’t know but I hardly think our Cas would act SO disturbed over flickering lights. We have to assume that our Cas knows things will get weird and Biblical when a spawn of Satan is born. SCENE FIVE: This is the scene that throws me for a loop with my AUCas idea. The only way it works is if AUCas can read minds. It is now evening. AUCas had put Kelly to bed as she labors and he’s acting a little “off”. He sits down and she takes his hand. He gives her this tight, forced smile. He tries to console her and calls contractions “pressure waves” which isn’t actually a common word in Western medicine regarding childbirth. Yes, some midwives, doulas, etc. use that phrase but the more common phrase would be to call them contractions, especially in television. Why spend several precious seconds on the use of a lesser known phrasing for labor pains? Even Kelly is asking what that means and Cas mentions taking doula classes. When did he do that? He hasn’t left Kelly’s side. He tacks on that he took them online. Again, he’s holding her hand here and perhaps reading someone’s mind is easier, quicker when he is physically in contact with a person. Could he be gleaning information from Kelly? This woman is devoted to her baby just as much as Cas. I would assume she’s read up on childbirth in preparation, even if this isn’t normal circumstances. I can just see her thinking, “When did he go to doula classes, unless he took them online?” and then he smiles and says he took them online. That’s how mind reading can work, or how I envision it. He pulls away, dropping her hand unceremoniously, and goes to the window. His concern isn’t focused on Kelly and Jack, as it had been in the opening scenes of this episode. He peers down at the rift and glares at it in this way that appears to be hatred and we get this deep, eery music right at that exact same moment. It is very, very ominous. Where does Cas’ loyalty lie? After speaking with Kelly, he glares at he rift and we get creepy music. Yeah, totally doesn’t add to his creepy factor at the moment (#sarcasm). SCENE SIX: Kelly has a strong contraction and needs reassurance. Cas is sitting further down the bed, keeping his body held in tight, not touching Kelly. She has to reach out to him. What happened to those doula classes? Let me tell you a little bit about doulas. They are there to support a laboring woman by providing her with comfort measures, such as touch, massage, offering water, etc. Cas sitting there practically curled into himself isn’t comforting to her. She’s dying in order to bring forth life. She’s terrified! She wants him to remind her of why she’s going through with all of this. She wants him to remind her of the vision. He hesitates and seems to be trying to piece together a suffice answer, almost as though he’s trying to read her mind about what she’d like to hear, or what she remembers him telling her, so he can give her that.  This wouldn’t be the first time he’s telling her about it. At the end of 12X19 she asks what he saw, he says, “I saw the future,” before they drive off and I’m sure he filled her in on more. While he’s stuttering and trying to tell her the vision, we get a flashback from 12X19 when Jack gave Cas power via Kelly’s touch (interesting that the same hands are joined here as he has this flashback, as though he’s pulling it from Kelly’s memories). Could that flashback have actually been from Kelly and he was watching her memory? I think it is plausible. And the entire time he’s talking I’m thinking of AUCas wanting paradise for HIS universe, where there is no war, no hate, no want. He looks wistful. If I was from an apocalyptic world, I’d love to know there’s a savior that could fix it and make it paradise. He suddenly looks hopeful after this exchange, almost like it is the first time he’s seeing such a vision. Now he’d be getting her thoughts on the vision, not Cas’, so he still doesn’t appear to jump on the Baby Jack Cult wagon, but he likes the idea of Jack’s power to bring good. “I saw a world that this child, your child, will create.” When the Impala rolls up he looks around the room like, “What is that sound?” and he appears scared. This is the moment that made me sit up. Our Cas knows the sound of the Impala. He would’ve gone out to greet the brothers. He may have been resigned that they found them, but not angry (think: 12x19 when they found him with the Colt). What do we see? We see AUCas pull his angel blade and tentatively walk down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs he is about to go to the wrong direction, as if he doesn’t know the layout of the house. Here’s another moment where he trips me up because he does recognize Dean quickly. It’s like they gave us a ton of OOC stuff and then a few little bits of our Cas in there to confuse us. If he was reading Kelly’s mind, perhaps he can and does do the same with the Winchesters. He doesn’t touch them but I wonder if touch only makes it easier/quicker.  What I believe is that he must have gathered intel from our Cas before stepping into our universe. He could have quickly read our Cas’ mind for the highlight reel and thus would recognize the Winchesters on sight, even if he didn’t know the sound of their car. This would also explain him knowing that the Winchesters saved their world from the apocalypse, but more on that in a sec. He says “Dean?” in a very angry, offended tone. Some people think that is because he is mad they found him. Some would take the argument further and say he’s influenced by Jack. But look at the last interactions between Cas and the brothers in 12x19. It was gentle. It was soft. It was “I don’t want to hurt you; I just want to keep baby safe.” There was no animosity, there was no anger. In fact, the beginning of 12x23 our Cas was still very calm and relaxed. So why the anger now? Why the unrest? Because this is AUCas and he’s gun-shy and nervous about being found out before getting away with whatever he’s doing in our universe. Sam, “Is this place warded?” Cas: “Heavily.” Being a celestial or supernatural being (still not exactly sure if AUCas is Cas from another reality or someone else who is able to take on his appearance) he would be able to know the place was warded without needing to read minds. He begins to breathe heavier, his eyes are shifty, he is fumbling for words. He is completely out-of-character for the mild-mannered Castiel from earlier in the episode and 12X19. Dean asks, “Heavy enough to stop Lucifer?” Cas blinks and takes a few steps forward, and in complete shock bellows, “Lucifer?” We could argue that if this was our Cas that he’d be upset to find Lucifer wasn’t locked up or dead. But our Cas is in hiding. He knows Princes of Hell and others are after them. He shouldn’t be shocked that the father of the child is trying everything to break out and get to his son. I’m sure it has crossed his mind as a possibility. When he says it, he says it as though he cannot believe Lucifer is alive and roams the earth. The reaction isn’t in line with our Cas, who may be upset but not completely in shock. No, I see our Cas maybe squinting in frustration and then barking orders on how to keep everyone safe. Dean has been his priority for years and now he is also devoted to Jack. He still would want to keep all of the Winchesters safe and Jack safe. I’m not getting “I want to protect all of you” vibes from this Cas. Mary mentions that Lucifer could have been following them and Cas starts to say he doesn’t understand. Then he asks why they’re even there. I’m pretty sure our Cas would KNOW why they were there - Lucifer is out and coming for his son. Sam gives him a scolding for taking off and lets him know that they’re not okay with him running off again (so much like the leader he is now and so much like a brother). Sam moves to stand behind Cas and Cas follows his movements slightly, tilting his head, and he’s still breathing a little heavy. It’s like he’s listening and trying to piece together what everyone is saying. He doesn’t defend leaving, he doesn’t relent and say, “Okay we’ll work together”. He says nothing. He just blinks and seems to be piecing together the whole story because he’s from an alternate universe and most likely only has fragments. Dean assures him that they’ll work through their crap (squee! He’s so in love with Cas that he’s already forgiven Cas for putting them to sleep and ready to move on to the forgetting). He asks where Kelly is at. Cas says Kelly can’t be moved and he rolls his eyes when we hear her pain. His concern now seems to be more about one of his biggest enemies being hot on their tail and now he is annoyed that they can’t run because of Kelly’s labor. Mary says she’ll go check on Kelly and Cas also follows her movements, seeming to listen and observe her. Maybe trying to pick up some thoughts? Our Cas normally keeps strict eye contact and communication with just Dean. Following Sam’s and Mary’s movements like that seemed very out-of-character for him. I liken it to a dog trying to pick up a scent. Remember when Bobby and the Winchesters trapped Cas in the ring fire in The Man Who Would be King (6X20)? Cas had gone behind their back and betrayed them. But he didn’t just stand silently. He gave his defense, he maintained eye contact with Dean –almost– the entire time. He wasn’t sniffing around Bobby and Sam as they moved around the circle to figure them out. Cas asks, “How much time do we have?” and he’s breathless again. Perhaps trying to read minds in a world that isn’t his own saps his energy a bit? He’s not breathless like he’s scared here. He’s breathless like it’s physically difficult. Dean: “If he shows, can you flame on again?” Cas is silent, seems to not understand.  Dean: “Can you torch Lucifer like you torched Dagon?” Cas: “I don’t know. That wasn’t me. That was the child. And if you hadn’t noticed, he’s a little busy.” Back the truck up. In 12X19 when Cas was asked what happened he said, “It was me. But it was also…” and then looks to Kelly’s baby bump. Now, all of a sudden, it wasn’t him? Oh that’s right, because it’s AUCas. I also suspect he gathered a little intel before assuming our Cas’ identity. That intel would include the Winchesters and information surrounding Jack because those would most likely be top priority in our Cas’ mind (re: 7X17 Born Again Identity; his first memories that return are of Dean). He was silent after Dean asked him if he could “flame on again” but when he mentioned Dagon, Cas most likely recalled Kelly’s memory of Cas killing Dagon. Of course AUCas doesn’t have ALL the details because otherwise AUCas wouldn’t have given Jack all the credit. It isn’t about getting credit. No, this was the writers putting a little hint in there that things aren’t adding up. They can word things so many ways and they want you to hear this Cas say it wasn’t him, when we know canonically by our Cas that it WAS a joint effort. This isn’t a continuity error. It’s a clue. Dean groans in pain. Cas sighs deeply and ROLLS HIS EYES. He says, “Here, Dean.” He proceeds to, at arm’s length, boop Dean on the forehead. Contrast this with 12X19 again, where Cas notices Dean is injured on his own and then softly said, “You’re hurt.” He stepped in close and proceeded to softly, slowly, gently lay an entire hand against Dean’s arm, fingers touching and forming a circle (I won’t get into circle symbolism here but it’s worth mentioning because it’s beautiful). I get the impression that AUCas isn’t a Dean-fan. He must sense the longing and feelings coming off of Dean and is confused, maybe disturbed by them, if not our Cas. If he did gather intel from Cas’ memories he may not understand why Cas would be devoted to Dean after all they have been through, even though they’ve both been in positions that betrayed the other. But he knows Lucifer is coming and he’ll take help if help is there therefore he heals Dean so he’s in better fighting shape. This AUCas listens a lot because he is unfamiliar with our world, so he’s going to put up with the Winchesters to meet his end goal.  We see Dean’s injuries glow a little here when he is healed. AUCas could have yellow grace/power (like an archangel; archangels can also change their appearance) or he could have absorbed power from Jack as Kelly labored because we’ve seen her giving off the power during contractions. Even if we don’t see it, doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen (I believe Dean said as much to his brother once-upon-a-time when Gadreel possessed Sam - that just because we don’t see it, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen). Again, we’re not given full details or full scenes. A lot is happening that we don’t see. For now, all we know is that Dean’s injuries glowed as they were healed. Again, another hint that something isn’t right and I think they want us to believe it was Jack’s power, when in actuality it may just be AUCas on his own. Sam “Logic” Winchester wants to check warding and this strikes a chord of fear in AUCas. He sounds a little desperate when he tells him to not go out back because he doesn’t want them to find the rift. We may assume that that is just our Cas wanting to protect the Winchesters from the rift but he seems anything but protective. I think it was more, “I don’t want to get caught. They may figure out I’m an impostor.” He hesitates to tell them what it is and resigns himself to explaining that it is a “tear in space and time”. He doesn’t catch on to Dean’s Narnia crack. “Wait, like Narnia?” Dean asks. “No. No, through there it’s Earth but different. It’s an alternate reality,” Cas replies without hesitancy. Normally our Cas would have given Dean a look, a head tilt, a squint, and/or sassed him, about the Narnia reference (Metatron gave Cas pop culture knowledge). I could see our Cas being exasperated with Dean making movie references at a serious time like this. Instead this AUCas doesn’t catch on and doesn’t hesitate to respond. He assumes Dean is talking about a specific, real world called Narnia and instead of thinking too hard on it, just says “No,” and explains it’s a different Earth. This wasn’t our Cas not getting a joke. It was AUCas not understanding our universe, where, for all he knows, has a real place called Narnia. Even better is when Sam starts talking about “Bizarro World” (aka 6x15 “The French Mistake”). The brothers take a few jabs at it and AUCas slowly turns and looks at them like “WTF are you talking about?” He says nothing, just stares at them with an odd expression like he’s still trying to figure things out. The expression there was so comically NOT like our Cas that it only further solidifies my stance that we have an impostor among us. Sam asks how the rift got there. AUCas says that “the child” coming forth is causing it. Let’s hit the pause button again. We now know that the unborn man-baby has a name: Jack. We know that our Cas is devoted to Jack. There’s a degree of detachment with AUCas and constantly calling Jack “the child” instead of by name. Unpause. Then comes the big question: “What is on the other side?” Cas’ reply was unsettling: “You don’t wanna know.” He says it like he’s reliving (bad) memories in his mind. He says it like someone that has lived there and lived through it. He does not say it as someone who just visited for a few minutes or as someone who wants to protect the brothers from it. He seems reluctant to want to return but if he has some of our Cas’ memories then he knows the brothers will want to take a stroll through and so he says nothing and they go. He puts up zero argument. SCENE SEVEN: Once there Cas gives a speech about the world being locked in eternal conflict between heaven and hell, with few humans remaining. Sam wants to know how he knows and Cas puases and then says, “A friend told me” while he blinks, looks over to his right and then up. This is a sign of deception/lying. Let’s be clear, AUBobby wouldn’t be OUR Cas’ friend. They’d only just met. Just because he looks like our Bobby doesn’t mean he IS anything like our Bobby. But AUCas working with AUBobby definitely could be friends or cohorts.  Ah, and here we get to the part on WHY I think AUCas is impersonating our beloved angel to begin with. His world is in war, an eternal celestial conflict, and now there is something from our universe wielding enough power to rip holes in space and time. Harnessing that power could help end the war. And after getting a vision of the future, it could mean paradise in his world. The brothers are not thrilled with the predicament of rips in space. I find it interesting that AUCas puts his back to Dean and actually reassures Sam by telling him that the child opened it so the child will be the one to close it.  AUCas seems to be ignoring Dean and talking to Sam more, too, overall. For those of us who really know our Cas, we know that Cas almost always speaks directly to and looks to Dean. That does not mean he never talks to Sam but he almost always comes right back to Dean. Weighing everything I’m watching, he does seem to be avoiding Dean. AUCas may be uncomfortable with Dean for reasons I outlined above: Dean loves Cas and angels can feel feelings/longing. It may disturb him. Dean makes a crack at him for having faith in an “unborn baby god” to which Cas rolls his eyes and says, “Yes.” Dean calls him a dumbass. Cas still has his back to Dean. Usually when our Cas is sassing Dean and they’re arguing, he still makes eye contact, even if to glare at him. Overanalyzing? Perhaps. But I believe the actors make very deliberate choices, down to micro-expressions and body language. Cas’ shortness with Dean and eye rolling seems to me that he’s responding more to the fact that this human is talking down to him than being defensive of his faith. Think back to 12x19 and how calmly, reverently Cas says he’s no longer lost and has faith again. This AUCas may only be echoing whatever memories he obtained from our Cas, but hell if he won’t at least try to sell the part. It just seems so forced and unnatural coming from his mouth. Who did our Cas see when he first came through the rift? Was it AUBobby? Or was it perhaps a celestial being (AUCas, another angel?), attracted to the power that ripped a hole in their world. With that power they could win the war and end the madness, so they hope. Desperation makes you do crazy things. (As an aside: I do think it was AUBobby that came upon our Cas - the boots and jacket sleeves from earlier seem to match what AUBobby is wearing.) AUBobby strolls up to meet them, Cas insists they don’t shoot. SCENE EIGHT: Sam is trying to say, “Hey, it’s us,” but AUBobby says their names don’t mean anything to him and again we have Cas turning to Sam to explain and reassure him. AUBobby goes into a spiel about John Winchester being dead forty years and Mary Campbell killed by Azazel ten years back. Sam asks, “What the hell is this?” because he is overwhelmed, and Cas gives Sam reassurance for the third time in mere moments. He tells him that it is a world where they were never born. Hello, is Dean even here?! He’s chopped liver, the third wheel, for once.   We could argue that there is animosity. That “married couple” tension that we saw back in 12x10 “Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets” but that is NOT the feel I’m getting. This isn’t a bickering couple. Dean is standing close to Cas and while he may have called him a dumbass, he isn’t making any otherwise snarky comments or giving him the third degree. Dean seems to be fine for the most part. Later Dean tells Sam, “Cas has faith in Lucifer’s child… I hope he is right.” Dean is at the point where he is happy to just have Cas near and they’ll figure the other stuff out, hope for the best, and keep chugging along. Dean is ready to forgive and move on. So no, this isn’t bickering couple behavior. This is AUCas deliberately avoiding Dean because they don’t actually have a ‘bond’ or history like Dean has with our Cas. And AUCas may feel Dean’s feelings but be extremely put off by them. And why would there be animosity anyway, if this was our Cas? Last time Cas saw Dean he gently healed him and gently put him to sleep so he could get Kelly to safety. There was peace, there was calm. What changed? Our Cas went through a rift and I don’t think he is the one who came back out. Hey, just speculating here. SCENE NINE: AUBobby starts telling us a tale. Alarms went off at his place to alert him of the rift. We see AUBobby walk between the guys and Cas stares off in the distance past AUBobby. Is he looking to be sure our Cas hasn’t escaped and making a run toward them? Perhaps. Perhaps not. He definitely keeps looking off that way, though. AUBobby mentions a temptor demon and Dean asks what it is and finally Cas addresses him to explain. But he keeps his eyes down, he maintains distance. AUBobby’s excuse for not killing Cas was “he looked different” and it just does not seem genuine, does it? Of course, our Cas wasn’t wearing baby ears on a necklace so that could be a legit reason. My feeling is that they don’t want to reveal that they have an AUCas and cause any red flags to go off with either of the brothers. AUCas quickly speaks up, keeping his eyes down and not looking at either brother now, to explain that he and AUBobby started talking about their two worlds. Ooh, subject change! Why so nervous AUCas? AUCas doesn’t bat an eye at AUBobby talking about killing angels. The moment Dean shows delight in angel killing bullets AUCas gives him another “WTF? Who are you?” look. It is the first time in a long while that he has looked at Dean. It isn’t the same look he gives Dean when Dean says something that irritates him. Let me repeat: he is NOT put off by AUBobby saying he kills angels but he IS put off by Dean being impressed by angel killing bullets. Our Cas knows Dean well enough that he would expect Dean to love cool and interesting weapons, even if it is to kill angel kind. This suggests that AUCas knows AUBobby, and trusts AUBobby, over Dean. AUCas doesn’t take offense to AUBobby’s “hobby and passion” in killing angels. It’s like it’s just normal news to him that he is used to.  The interaction between AUBobby and AUCas appear to be them “playing parts”. They seem to be very, very, very careful with what they say and how much they reveal. Things are not adding up in the scene with AUBobby. AUCas keeps sneaking these looks at him that I can’t quite decipher but I think they’re in cahoots together. I think they both knocked our Cas out and hid him and are trying to get at Jack’s power. We can assume that alternate realities have a lot of similarities, with few differences. In this reality, even though AUBobby is an angel killer, he could be working with the one angel that has a crack in his chassis. Just as our Dean hates all other angels except Cas. So AUCas could be an exception in that reality to the dicks-with-wings in the AU. Maybe he is AUBobby’s pet, or his hammer, or whatever. I digress…. And that is the last we see of AUBobby. He lets them use his gun and bullets in a later scene against Lucifer but we don’t see him again. Did he seek passage to our world? Is he holding our Cas hostage and needed to go back to keep an eye on him? I’m sure we’ll find out later. Perhaps he will be key in helping Mary return to our reality. SCENE TEN: We’re back in our universe and Cas comes to speak with Kelly. Interestingly Kelly doesn’t appear to want Mary to leave. Cas wasn’t being a very good doula earlier and had disappeared with the boys for an undetermined amount of time while in the AU. He left her and Jack unprotected. This is very different from our Cas who was fine with leaving the brothers at the end of 12X19 in order to keep Kelly safe. He could’ve let the brothers go to the AU alone to talk to AUBobby. But he didn’t. He left her. And I think even to Kelly he seems very different from the Cas from the beginning of the episode. Quick cut to the brothers but we come back to the bedroom scene. He seems much more our Cas here now. Getting used to his role, perhaps? He even gives her a comforting, paternal kiss to her forehead. And then his eyes get big and dopey and he says, “Remember: paradise.” Paradise seems like something AUCas and Kelly want. Why do I feel like our Cas had more to his vision than that?  Now I don’t think AUCas is cold. I think he is reassuring her because, like our Cas, he is different from the other angels (different enough that AUBobby most likely works with him and helps him making angel blade bullets?). There is goodness to him, it would seem. But rather than stay and protect her, he goes downstairs to work with the brothers. THE PLAN: trap Lucifer in the AU with a spell. The spell will seal the rift so it cannot be reopened. Bye sweet Crowley. You deserved to be loved. <3 SCENE ELEVEN: Lucifer comes upon the cottage and AUCas immediately strikes a defensive pose and drops his blade into his hand. Lucifer seems amused by that. We get a great camera shot of each of TFW’s face: Dean is angry, Cas is weighing Lucifer in his mind, Sam looks terrified but determined. AUCas says absolutely nothing. I would expect our Cas to have said… I don’t know… something. He was possessed by Lucifer at one point. This would be HIS brother, after all, if our Cas. Instead he glares and squints and weighs the situation. Lucifer knocks Cas out and the brothers run toward the rift to lure him into the trap. We get some humorous Lucifer one-liners in this scene but man, we’re going to be beyond pissed at Luci later. SCENE TWELVE: Cas comes through the rift with an angel blade drawn. What the hell are you doing, Cas?! Why are you running into the rift? AUCas knows the plan is to trap the guy so why’d he come through? Because AUCas doesn’t want another Lucifer in his world either. Perhaps he felt he could lure him to the AU where he wasn’t near Jack/Jack’s power and he’d have a fair chance of killing Lucifer. He ignores the protests from Dean because AUCas doesn’t give two cruds about the guy. We’ve already got enough evidence of that from earlier in the episode. Yes, he healed him, but even that was done seemingly out of obligation, so he had more soldiers on the ground, rather than with the concern we saw in 12X19. In 7X01 “Meet the New Boss” when Castiel is about to release the Leviathan back into Purgatory, he turns to Dean one last time and says he is sorry. Any time there is an instance where Dean and Cas will be separated, Cas does NOT just ignore Dean. I would expect our Cas to say something. Even if it is just to say one word: “Run!” He could walk and talk at the same time. But this wasn’t our Cas. This was AUCas and Lucifer is now in his world. He wants to take him out! He doesn’t want Lucifer to get his hands on Jack because AUCas wants to use Jack to win his world’s war but he also doesn’t want him in his world. Take another timeout and mention just how hoarse and distraught Dean is here, calling out to Cas. Sam grabs his brother immediately after Dean says the first, “Cas?” because Sam knows. Dean, of course, goes from confused as to why Cas is even there, to desperate in getting him to come back. Sam literally has to shove his brother through the rift. SOB SOB SOB! Yes, great parallel to when Dean dragged Sam away from Jess. Dean has lost Cas so many freaking times, and each time it gets worse. This was my favorite part of the episode, as heartbreaking as it was. Our Cas knows that an angel blade won’t hurt Lucifer, much less kill him. Even the Colt can’t kill him. AUCas must not know this because he is not acting like someone who knows how powerful Lucifer is, and he doesn’t act like someone who recalls being possessed by the guy and knows how ruthless he can be. He’s TOO confident. Lucifer lets him get a stab in (because he probably knows it’s AUCas and is amused by how confident he is being) and lets his eyes flash red, as if to taunt him and say, “Oh, you got me”. We don’t see what happens next but…….. Either Cas could have been killed. Here are two scenarios: 1). Our Cas got free and made a run for the rift. He may have even heard Dean desperately calling his name. He sees the impostor trying to stab Lucifer and get killed by Lucifer. He makes it through the rift, Lucifer follows, and kills our angel. 2). AUCas stabbed Lucifer and when it didn’t kill him, AUCas makes a run for the rift. Lucifer pulls the blade from his gut, follows and kills AUCas. Whichever Cas it was, he was out-of-breath as though he had been running. There was zero response time for him to say anything, to let us know which Cas it could be. He looks to Sam when Sam says his name and then he locks eyes on Dean before being stabbed through, or near, his heart. SOB! His wings looks burned and they don’t look full, which could mean it IS our Cas. But I also feel that shot was purposefully dark and difficult to see, so as not to give too much away. It could very well have been fuller, or even different kind of feathers, etc. What makes most sense? In a literal sense and to come full circle with Cas’ story, it would make sense for our Cas to have been killed. When Dean met him (4X01) he stabbed him in the chest/heart. I was freaking out, people. I was thinking that in order for that to come full circle, Dean would stab Cas (probably on accident) in the end. I’m relieved it was Lucifer. I’m relieved that Dean won’t have THAT guilt and pain in addition to his love’s death. Or as relieved as one can be when their favorite character is killed.

But if we’re going for metaphorical then it won’t matter which Cas was stabbed. The point is that the “old Cas” and all the old ways of doing things are now dead. Just as Dean got to use that grenade launcher and blow down the walls of his repressed and suppressed emotions, so Cas will die to the self-hate, negativity and stoic angel emotional-constipation. Regardless of which, our Cas needs to stop riding the middle between angel and man (Dean made a comment to Sam to “pick a side” and stop riding down the middle and I believe that is going to be a HUGE theme for S13!Cas). I want Cas to choose one way or another. I don’t want it to be forced upon him (Metatron stealing his grace forced him to be human; Crowley killing an angel and giving Cas the grace forced him to be partly angel again, etc.). And I believe with his literary, metaphorical death he will end up choosing humanity and become human of his own free will. Free will is the most important part of that. He needs to choose it. Whatever happens, it will be full of angst. We keep saying “Poor Cas, leave him alone” but good grief… poor Dean! He has continually had everything ripped away from him. Crowley is dead. He was their ally and as much as they don’t want to admit, a part of TFW and the Winchester clan. Cas is dead. Mary is trapped in a freaking alternate universe.  Who do I think got stabbed? I think that the writers want our Cas and Dean separated for a bit of time. I think that AUCas got killed. I think that AUCas will be revived at some point and will be very OOC compared to our Cas. He may even reveal at some point that he is an impostor, or be found out. He will try to work with Jack because AUCas will want to fix his reality. Which means he will have a reason and purpose for wanting to get a rift opened back up to his world, and will pull a lot of strings to make it happen. I think our Cas is in the AU and will be found. He will be key in helping Mary. Mary needs an ally over there. She may seek out or find AUBobby, find our Cas, and they may all work together to get the rift open on their end. Also, who else thinks Mary may have gotten some Jack juice when he was born and she got thrown to the ground? Would be cool and certainly help her get away from Lucifer. Also, I do NOT see a trench-coat clad body when Lucifer and Mary fall through the rift. I still see the same bodies as before lying around. Could be there is a body but the camera didn’t span in that direction (hinting AUCas was killed by Lucifer) OR it means AUCas is the one that went back to our world and got stabbed, and our Cas is still a prisoner somewhere. To have it be our Cas that got killed is repetitive. It’s time for something new. I love the twist of having had a switch and we actually have an AU character. Especially an AU character that doesn’t have the Winchesters in his world, specifically Dean. Dean ‘Humanity’ Winchester. Perhaps Dean will help AUCas in ways he helped our Cas - free will. And then, of course, we’ll do the switch back and get OUR Cas back, send AUCas back to his realm to fix it. Ultimately, we WILL get our Cas back. They’re not going to throw away 8 years of character development for a copy. It will not be right away. We’re talking mid-season or toward the end, IMO. MY FINAL THOUGHTS: Dabb said “But I will say this: It’s by far the most meta finale we’ve ever done,” so I don’t think it’s as cut-and-dry as having been our Castiel the entire time. I think a couple of Switcheroos are definitely in the realm of possibility. Misha told us to pay attention to how Cas acts after being revived. Will that Cas be intent on staying by Jack but obsessed with getting that rift open again because he’s from that world and he wants Jack to go and fix it - so he and his world can have paradise? Or will it be OUR Cas who wakes up and is acting “reset” again, maybe amnesia? YAWN. Been there, done that. No, I think it’ll be a unique twist and we’ll get that if AUCas is the one in our world. I expect to get flashbacks of what happened in 12X23, which would be a throwback to S8 Purgatory flashbacks. We are deliberately given big gaps this finale and I hope we’re clued in. I don’t expect to know right away which Cas we have. I don’t expect them to reveal a second Cas in the AU right away. I do expect the Cas in our world (whichever he may be) to be revived and be acting…. different. On a different topic, I do hope Cas isn’t revived right away. I really feel like Mourning!Dean is an important part of the story, especially for the Destiel (which I DO believe will become canon, but more toward mid-to-end season). The mourning will be so different from the other times he has mourned. I fully expect a complete shutdown (broken, given up). Poor Dean! I even wonder if he won’t bother trying to get the rift open again until it is perhaps found out that his Cas is over there. No offense to Mary, but Dean may think she’s as good as dead with Lucifer being right there, but the moment he thinks Cas could be alive… that rift is getting opened again, come hell or high water. Some people speculate the mixtape will be a clue on which Cas we have, something personal and private between him and Dean (think back to 5X04 “The End” when Future!Dean asked Dean to tell him something only he would know). To recap: -we started off with our Cas; devoted to baby, soft, sweet, calm -last we saw Cas he used Nephil power to kill Dagon BUT he does not defend himself or kill the tempter demon because he burned up the power on Dagon. -we don’t see our Cas return from rift -the Cas we see after the visit to AU is way OOC, though he has some limited knowledge -AUCas could have gotten some intel via our Cas and/or via reading minds -his power also glows yellow; maybe an archangel? Archangels can change their appearance -he flubbed the plan to trap Lucifer by storming in and trying to kill him with ineffective weapon -a Cas got stabbed through the heart and killed (parallel to 4X01)

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