Hi! I was just wondering..where do you think Cas was last episode? Off on a solo hunt? Also, have they forgotten about the “heaven is dying” thing, or do you think it will be addressed after this “Jack is dying” business? Because it seems like kind of a big deal..Anyway, you’re awesome!
I honestly and firmly believe that Cas was in the Bunker the whole time. And if no explanation was offered from Yockey - you know, STEVE YOCKEY - about Cas then that’s because there really is none needed, and he was chilling in the library or snuggled up in Dean’s bed or SOMETHING off-screen to the point that there was no conversation about it because between scenes Dean could wander over to him like heeeey so I’m taking the kid for a hunt don’tmakeabigdealofithemademe okay bye and then Cas smiles to himself like awww they’re bonding and Dean already out the door throws a middle finger up in Cas’s direction knowing he’s smiling at that, and that’s that for Cas in the episode.
At this point Cas really does call the Bunker home and treat it as his home base, and if the plot isn’t calling for him to be elsewhere, then that’s where he will be. With nothing in the plot suggesting he had any side missions, Yockey knew that Cas would be at home, and it wasn’t like Cas was unmentioned, he just wasn’t located. And, again, this is Yockey, who played such a big role in 12x10 alone in establishing that Cas firmly treats the Bunker like home, as well as making one of the largest steps ever made to rehabilitate Cas after Dean was grumpy with him to end the episode on a note of emotionally allowing him to relax into being home as well as just using the Bunker as a base. He’s actively worked on the Cas Project so he knows what he’s about, even when he’s leaving gaps, is what I’m saying. I trust him to imply without words that Cas is at home, so this has been a non-issue for me because of the really specifically vague way he was brought up this episode.
He’s probably also like 2 rooms away when Jack collapses, and tbh Buckleming are so bad at accounting for Cas I pretty much expect him to just be there in the open without comment on where he was before, especially as there’s no current plot reason for him to BE anywhere else, and so we can carry on assuming that - if not I’ll adapt to it, but right now where we are is pretty comfortably and permissively giving us the assumption Cas is just chilling in the next room, and because this is Yockey, who has written Cas love letters, I know he’s not being erased or diminished and the show isn’t on its bullshit (that I absolutely acknowledge and grump about that it can and will do) because this level of detail is down to the discretion of each writer per episode, especially when it isn’t plot relevant. Snymelo sent him to Jerusalem or something back in 10x13. Yockey shrugs like, idk, maybe Dean needs carbs after the work out he and Cas had and you can’t prove anything.
Re: Heaven, they definitely haven’t forgotten :) In 14x01 with Michael and Anael they exchanged comments about how few angels were left and he even pointedly left her alive so the total number of angels remains the same. The fact he had to turn to monsters is in itself an ongoing statement about how few angels there are in this world, that he can’t summon his expected army from them and if he did he’d find them weak and mutilated and unable to fly, let alone rain down fiery wrath from above like he was used to. Again, in an ongoing way it’s more implicit a commentary on Heaven than something they’re telling us over and over but it’s very much the basis for everything we’ve seen so far and the shape the season is taking.
Ironically with Michael around, Heaven is probably a little more stable as there’s an archangel out in the world, and one option to fix everyone’s problems is to permanently imprison him in Heaven - I mean honestly now that Lucifer is out of the picture as well, cage-break the original Michael and throw him in Heaven jail as well - and let them be eternal batteries for Heaven.
Since we haven’t seen a plot thing about someone killing off like, 5/10 of the remaining angels, we haven’t kicked off ghostpocalypse yet but like the threat with the Empty back in 11x02 when Dabb first made little prods for creative control (seriously, watch 11x01 and 11x02 back to back paying attention to what Carver and Dabb both contribute to the future of the show - it’s probably only got more ridiculous since I last did it >.>) and how that took two full seasons to show up again in 13x04, Ghostpocalypse is very much something they can seed for later, as maybe even a consequence for dealing with Michael, very much in the way of if he kills a bunch of angels so it’s only him and Cas left, then he gets killed, POP goes the cork and you got yourself an 8x23 parallel seasonal cliffhanger :P
I think it’s a back pocket idea for now, anyhow, and something they can either fix without us seeing the result of it or invoke for a next season mytharc, but all they need to do in the meantime is play on the fact there’s only 11 angels out there and leave us all suitably low-key horrified about what next for that universe as long as they like. :D