Easily the breakout character from Supernatural, Castiel was upgraded to a main character after fans responded positively to his characterization. Despite being an angel, Castiel had his fair share of flaws that, combined with his strong points, made him a highly layered character.
Due to this, Supernatural fans love dissecting Castiel’s characterization to see just what made him tick and where he could have been better as a person. With the series having ended, there’s enough knowledge about Castiel for a definite assessment of what his best traits were, as well as how he had some significant gaps in personality.
10 Worst: Taking Dean's Insults
For all the Destiel talk amongst fans, there’s no doubt that Dean didn’t treat Castiel very well. Some of the blame lies on Castiel as well, seeing as he developed the habit of letting all of Dean’s insults slide while keeping most of his retorts to himself.
The downside to this was that Castiel ended up being bossed around by Dean, with the latter routinely taking his anger out on Castiel, who simply took it. By the final seasons, Castiel resorted to making himself Dean’s punching bag rather than argue with him.
9 Best: Challenging Heaven's Orders
As revealed by Bobby in the series finale, Castiel was resurrected by Jack and helped make the new Heaven. It had started from his inclination to challenge the orders from Heaven, which turned out to be corrupted and for the disadvantage of mankind.
While he had issues with going against orders initially, Castiel later developed a sterner backbone and frequently argued where he felt things were wrong. Had it not been for this trait, then the evil angels would never have been stopped, since Castiel was the main person who stood in their way.
8 Worst: Not Developing His Fighting Skills
Castiel had intrinsic powers that he was too comfortable with, so much so that he had a very difficult time against powerful enemies. That’s because Castiel didn’t take time to actually hone his skills, instead always hoping the angel blade would work to his benefit.
The result was that just about every enemy made short work of Castiel, with one instance where he was beaten up by a human Men of Letters member despite him and Dean having a two-on-one advantage on her. Considering weaker angels like Uriel developed themselves so well that they could beat Castiel, it’s clear the latter just didn’t like to put the effort into this area.
7 Best: Finding A Way Around Every Problem
It’s interesting how Castiel wasn’t exactly the most positive person out there, yet had the knack to find solutions to most problems. These include things like regaining his grace, curing Sam’s insanity, and even finding a way to God.
The Winchesters could always rely on Castiel to carry out whatever tasks they required of him, as Castiel didn’t waver whenever he had a goal in mind. Even if he didn’t like a plan, he still went ahead with it and got the job done.
6 Worst: Losing Focus Of His Intentions
Castiel becoming a villain in Season 6 remains one of the most hated storylines on Supernatural. However, it did align with his characterization, as Castiel usually lost focus of what he intended to do during the process of achieving it.
He wanted to stop the apocalypse from beginning again, yet triggered a civil war as a result. He wanted to close the gates of Heaven to get the angels to become a family again, only to end up expelling all of them to Earth. The issue is that Castiel didn’t think over the details of his goals, which usually had far greater repercussions than he realized.
5 Best: Valuing His Friends Above All Else
No matter how many times he might have been at odds with the Winchesters, Castiel never plotted against them or betrayed them. His loyalty to them was so great that fans began shipping Castiel with both Sam and Dean. He didn’t just stand by them, but saw the brothers’ best qualities.
Castiel understood Sam’s pain of carrying the burden of his experiences in Lucifer’s cage and assured him that Sam made up for his mistake of starting the apocalypse. Castiel’s parting with Dean helped the latter realize that he was driven by love, as Castiel saw good in him that even Dean didn’t see in himself.
4 Worst: Hiding Things He Shouldn't Be
When looking at Castiel’s mistakes, the bulk of them have to do with making the wrong decisions. These all took place when he became secretive, as hiding things he should’ve told Dean and Sam led to the situation escalating beyond control.
The worst instance of this was when he didn’t tell the brothers of his deal with Crowley for Purgatory, which led to their estrangement and Castiel’s evil turn. Castiel hiding Jack’s soulless state also resulted in Mary’s death, something that Dean held against Castiel for the entire final season and caused their friendship to end for some time.
3 Best: Being Objective Where Others Aren't
Although he was accused of being uncompassionate, Castiel actually looked at things objectively where the Winchesters were too emotional. He realized that Dean was becoming corrupted by the Mark of Cain and wanted to deal with it, only for the brothers to pretend that Dean could handle it, with the latter then becoming a demon as a result.
Castiel was the only one who saw through Belphegor’s facade of wanting to help the Winchesters, but the boys argued that they could use the demon’s influence. It turned out Belphegor would’ve become the next ruler of Hell had Castiel not taken him out. Castiel’s objectivity was a great asset, which the Winchesters, unfortunately, didn’t appreciate.
2 Worst: Not Believing In Himself
For all his strong points, Castiel continued to focus on his weaknesses. This was to the point where he made a deal with the Empty to take him instead of Jack due to Castiel’s belief that he had no other purpose in life.
He also had the habit of placing too much faith in others -- whether it was the ultimately villainous God, Heaven, or the Winchesters -- rather than himself, since he couldn’t fathom that he could make a difference on his own. This contributed to his self-sacrificing nature rather than empowering him with the knowledge that he was worth something.
1 Best: Making Up For It When He's Wrong
Not only did Castiel admit when he was in the wrong, he went the extra mile to make up for it. This was something the Winchesters were horrible at, as they never truly apologized to those they’d wrong. On the other hand, Castiel would carry the burden on him until he was forgiven.
He did so with Sam, taking his visions of Lucifer after being the one to destroy the wall in his mind that had been containing the devil. Castiel went all the way to Heaven to ensure Mary was at peace after her death, hoping to assure the brothers that their mother’s death wasn’t a lost cause. In the end, Castiel was someone who always sought to redeem himself.
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February 04, 2021 at 06:30AM
