SDCC 2012 | Jensen interview
Jul. 16th, 2012 01:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
galatheaI just saw this Jensen interview from SDCC, where he talks about Dean’s unforgiving attitude towards Castiel, and it resonated deeply with my own take on the Dean-Castiel relationship, so I was delighted to see Jensen’s similar thoughts on the subject. I wrote up a transcript of it. No worries, there are no spoilers for S8.
Question: "Why has Dean such a hard time forgiving Cas, whereas he forgave Sam for a similar betrayal?"
Jensen: "I think the easy answer is blood; the easy answer is family. Even though, if there was a family in this show, it would include Bobby, it would include Cas. It would include these kind of broken, war-torn heroes that we’ve come to know. Bobby even has that famous line, you know, family doesn’t just end with blood. But I think the short answer is, he (Sam) is his brother, and there might be grudges held between them, but at the end of the day that’s the closest he has to a companion – and has had as a companion for many years. I think with Cas, it’s unnatural. He’s an angel, he’s not human. I think that Dean relating to somebody like that is tricky. You know, it’s related to monsters, related to anything supernatural. His brother is flesh and blood, it’s tangible, and he can touch that."
There are two things I love about Jensen’s answer. Firstly, I love that he refers to Sam as Dean’s companion. I think it’s a wonderful word for everything Sam encompasses for Dean – not just a brother, not just a hunting partner, but someone who accompanies him through this life, a constant, something solid. ♥ Secondly, I love that Jensen points out Dean’s difficulties to relate to someone who is not human. It’s something I feel has always been a factor in Dean’s relationship with Castiel, and for me Dean’s various attempts to 'humanise' the angel speak volumes about his comfort-level (or lack thereof) where his friendship with him is concerned. Dean’s deeply ingrained mistrust and hatred of the supernatural affected even his relationship with Sam at times, so I think it’s natural that he has a hard time looking past Castiel’s otherworldly nature. Now, for Dean to overcome these feeling to form a friendship with Castiel in the first place is remarkable in itself though and should not be underestimated, I just don’t think it could ever be on the same level as his relationship with Sam (or Bobby, for that matter). And that's especially true ever since Castiel betrayed him, because basically the angel proved Dean's every negative preconception about supernatural creatures right.
Question: "Why has Dean such a hard time forgiving Cas, whereas he forgave Sam for a similar betrayal?"
Jensen: "I think the easy answer is blood; the easy answer is family. Even though, if there was a family in this show, it would include Bobby, it would include Cas. It would include these kind of broken, war-torn heroes that we’ve come to know. Bobby even has that famous line, you know, family doesn’t just end with blood. But I think the short answer is, he (Sam) is his brother, and there might be grudges held between them, but at the end of the day that’s the closest he has to a companion – and has had as a companion for many years. I think with Cas, it’s unnatural. He’s an angel, he’s not human. I think that Dean relating to somebody like that is tricky. You know, it’s related to monsters, related to anything supernatural. His brother is flesh and blood, it’s tangible, and he can touch that."
There are two things I love about Jensen’s answer. Firstly, I love that he refers to Sam as Dean’s companion. I think it’s a wonderful word for everything Sam encompasses for Dean – not just a brother, not just a hunting partner, but someone who accompanies him through this life, a constant, something solid. ♥ Secondly, I love that Jensen points out Dean’s difficulties to relate to someone who is not human. It’s something I feel has always been a factor in Dean’s relationship with Castiel, and for me Dean’s various attempts to 'humanise' the angel speak volumes about his comfort-level (or lack thereof) where his friendship with him is concerned. Dean’s deeply ingrained mistrust and hatred of the supernatural affected even his relationship with Sam at times, so I think it’s natural that he has a hard time looking past Castiel’s otherworldly nature. Now, for Dean to overcome these feeling to form a friendship with Castiel in the first place is remarkable in itself though and should not be underestimated, I just don’t think it could ever be on the same level as his relationship with Sam (or Bobby, for that matter). And that's especially true ever since Castiel betrayed him, because basically the angel proved Dean's every negative preconception about supernatural creatures right.
