“There’s no place, I can be, Since I’ve found Serenity. And you can’t take the sky from me.”
Hallmark announced the perfect gift for the Browncoat in your life. Starting October 6, you can buy the Keepsake Ornament of the transport ship Serenity from Firefly. The ornament will be battery operated to light up and will be a perfect addition to any collection. You can order yours here.
Firefly was a Joss Whedon show set 500 years after Earth was no more. It followed Captain Mal Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) and his crew aboard the ship Serenity as they traveled the galaxy transporting legal and… sometimes illegal goods. The show was on air for one 14-episode season (2002-2003) before it was canceled but would later be wrapped up in a 2005 movie titled Serenity. Though the show’s lifespan was short, it continues to live on through its many, many fans.
Welcome to part two of our Louden Swain series! We’re posting a series of articles leading up to the release of Louden Swain’s new acoustic album, “Splitting the Seams”, on October 26! In the first part of our series, fans shared with us their favorite songs from the band and why they loved them.
In this second part, fans share their favorite lyrics from the bands songs and why they mean so much to them. Read the second part below!
Lindsey (@lindseyiam): “I have quite a few favourite Louden Swain lyrics, but some of my top ones are, ‘I know there was a time before you, but for the life of me I can’t recall’, ‘Loving like thunderstorms’, ‘Something’s so inviting first thing in the morning. I’m as equally frightened by the end of the day’.”
Amanda (@BandagedLetdown): “My favorite Louden Swain lyric is ‘The less I look the more I see it,’ because I related to those words. I was able to connect them to a family situation I was going through at the time I first heard the song, and it became almost a lifeline for me. I eventually got it tattooed on my left forearm when I turned 18, and it will always be one of my favorite tattoos.”
Sam (@honeybeemish): “‘Just because I’m sad don’t mean that I’m unhappy’ from ‘Like The Heart Goes’. I, like others, suffer from negative thoughts which seem to occur more often than not. That lyric in particular is validating in the sense that even if I’m sad I can still be happy with the way things are. Sadness doesn’t define me; it is simply a part of me.”
Helen (@mywaywardsonsuk): “’Just because I’m sad, don’t mean that I’m unhappy’. It’s from ‘Like The Heart Goes’ and the first time I heard that line it felt like it was about me. I’ve struggled with depression for the majority of my adult life and I’ve always tried hard to not let it define me. There have of course been moments when I’ve not been able to keep to that but this lyric reminds me that that there can still be happiness found. I love the line so much that I asked Rob to write it out for me and I have it tattooed on my arm so I can see it every day as a reminder.”
Muriel (@housecatsswain): “I realized I could allow myself to be sad about things, that it was not a bad thing.”
Charlotte (@Charlot74714899): “’I can’t hide behind your preconceived notions of who you think I should be, Hold my tongue if you have a vice, If you press hard enough I might try to play nice,’ It’s literally my motto, to remind me each day that I am the only me and as a wise woman once said, ‘What other people think of me is none of my business.'”
Emma (@simplyreflected): “’I can’t hide behind your preconceived notions of who you think I should be’ from the song ‘Downtown Letdown’ because to me that represents someone who is trying to figure out or who has already figured out who they are and doesn’t want to be something that someone else wants.”
Erika (@soliloquywriter): “I suffer from domestic violence induced PTSD, and I don’t feel like I am a very strong person, I feel weak and insignificant and completely unworthy of love. Listening to ‘Numb’ however, I feel like someone out there gets me, understands what a day in my life looks like, the hollow mediocrity I feel constantly; yet how fervently I pray that God notices me just long enough to listen to my one small daily prayer. I don’t need much in this life, I’m not looking for fame, or fortune aplenty, just for someone to see me, and to understand.”
Kari (@kariface27): My favorite lyric is ‘For a mitten girl she fits like a glove’. Being from Michigan, I always use my hand to show where I am from. I’m just in a mitten state of mind!”
Finn (@againsthewave_): “‘It’s no big mystery that we’re a bunch of freaks who hold up empty hands’ from ‘CA Nation’. It reminds me of the community that has built up around the band, and how many friends that have always felt just like me, outcasts, have come together.”
Aileen (@fandomfreak221b): “‘Life is profound, be who you want to be. It’s no big mystery that we’re a bunch of freaks.’ Those lyrics really stuck with me because I used to struggle with trying to be someone other people wanted me to be. Now, I’m free to be who I want to be and I don’t care if people don’t like it or think I’m weird. I don’t exactly keep my weirdness a secret!”
Gisselle (@lopezado8696): “‘And I think I will rise… I will rise up’ from Louden Swain’s ‘Downtown Letdown’. I experienced a lot of panic attacks throughout college, and the severity of them reached an all-time high during my junior year. I remember hearing this lyric as I was listening to Louden Swain and latching onto it during moments of overwhelming doubt and internal terror, and tried to associate myself with that simple message.”
Emma (@simplyreflected): “’And I think I will rise. I will rise up’ from the song ‘Downtown Letdown’ because it reminds me of a Phoenix rising from the ashes and the idea of just rising above all the bad.”
Katie (@katmgc): “I have many favorite lyrics, but this is the one I choose for my Swain tattoo. I made a big change in my life that wasn’t easy, but was necessary for my own happiness. I broke free of a situation that caused me a deep depression in favor of what I hope is the right path for me and my life. I always imagine a Phoenix when I hear these lyrics. Phoenixes are born from ashes and I sometimes feel like I burned my whole life down to start again.”
Judy (@JayeEmm): “‘The moon is mine and I’ve had enough/I think I will rise, I will rise up’ – To me it’s this perfect sort of battle cry, from the beginning of the song talking about feeling really low – but then, in the end, refusing to give up.”
April (@AprilVian): “There are so many that I relate to, if I have to choose just one I think I would go with ‘The moon is mine and I’ve had enough, I think I will rise, I rise up’. It helps me remember that even on the worse day, I will come out the other side.”
Sarah (@SharksandSwain): “’The moon is mine and I’ve had enough, I think I will rise, I will rise up’. I’ve always had an affinity for the moon and things related to it, so I instantly loved it when I heard ‘Downtown Letdown’. It makes me feel like I can overcome anything, no matter how much my depression tries to drag me down. And to make it even more special…I once asked Rob to write out a Swain lyric he thought would be good for me and that’s the line he chose. Like…of all the lyrics he could’ve chosen, he went with my favorite. I don’t know if he knew it was my fave or it was just by chance, but either way, that line means the world to me. I even got ‘I will rise up’ with a scene inspired by DTLD as my first ever tattoo.”
Karyl (@karylannegeary): “‘I think I will rise’. I have it tattooed, along with a semicolon, on my right forearm for the semicolon project. I’ve lost way too many friends to suicide and have struggled with depression as well. Also, as a queer woman in a society that seems to increasingly try to pass laws against my protection and against my existence, the line has even more meaning. The idea that it’s rough right now, and people will try and change me, but if I keep walking eventually I can lift my head and find the strength to rise, is so important.”
Tiffany (@Tiffany Shope1): “’The moon is mine and I’ve had enough. But I think I will rise, I will rise up’. I was feeling really depressed one day and ‘Downtown Letdown’ came on. And that lyric just made everything in my head click. They were EXACTLY the right words at EXACTLY the right time sang by EXACTLY the right person. I realized I could continue to be sad and ‘woe is me’ OR I could actively work to improve my circumstances and change the things that were making me miserable. And every time I’m feeling down or think that the changes I am making are too hard, I can put on that song and know that I am stronger than I give myself credit for.”
Emily (fiveafterseven): “‘Pain is on the outside you will not let it in’. I want to focus less on my mistakes and embarrassing moments and the people who’ve hurt me and more on acceptance and strength and growth. It’s something I’m working on.”
Lori (@SPNZookeeper): “One of them is ‘I find my voice and sing it from the rooftops’. It reminds me a lot of myself and my journey of finding my own voice. I’ve always loved music, singing and playing guitar, but up until 3 years ago I’d never sung in front of anyone, it was through listening to Louden Swain that I found the courage to finally show everyone my voice. And once I found my voice, I sang from the rooftops, and I’ve not stopped since!”
Sam (@SwainerSam): “‘I find my voice and sing it from the rooftops’ I’ve always been a musical person but it wasn’t until Swain came into my life that I felt the need to sing and play music and share it with people, they helped me find my voice and sing it from the rooftops. I even got those lyrics tattooed and to this day they still bring tears to my eyes.”
Jenna (@sushiswain): “I’ve always been drawn to ‘life is profound, be who you want to be’ from ‘CA Nation’. It reminds me that, no matter how crazy and confusing and sometimes hard life can be, I have the power to be exactly who I want to be anyway. I got the lyric tattooed in Rob’s handwriting in May 2016, so it’s always close to my heart (literally!).”
Sara (@altsunthinkable): “‘I’m packin’ only love down this one-way road’. It’s kind of become my mantra, a reminder of how I want to live my life. Take the love with me. I can’t go back and change anything so take the love with me and leave the rest behind.”
Brittany (@tasteofmyhominy): “‘I’m packin’ only love down this one-way road’ from ‘Real Life’. None of us have an easy ride in life. For a long time, I’ve hardened myself with each wrong that has been done against me as a means of protecting myself from being hurt further in the future. But that is so not the answer! I’m only passing this way once and I can choose spread love to others as I go or hate. I choose to love as much as I am capable of. I often repeat the lyric to myself as a sort of mantra when I’m faced with a choice between love or fear and it’s made a difference.”
MaryJane (@12TimeTraveler): “The line ‘I’m packing only love down this One-Way Road’. Really spoke to me. As I was first listening to Louden Swain, I was also just leaving a very hard core and controlling religion. I found myself angry all the time. Angry over what I’d missed out on, angry over what I’d been told to believe in. How I’d been treated. Just so much anger. I could feel it starting to change me in the way that anger does but I couldn’t seem to shake it. Along with that I also felt the loss of that strong religious moral code and was struggling to form my own moral compass. So the idea of ‘packing only love down this one-way road’ really helped me form my own moral compass and let go of all the anger. This life only goes one way. If I drag anger along with me, it’s going to be a harder road.”
Emma (@simplyreflected): ‘I’m still alive and I’m still trying’ from the song ‘Reunion’ because I suffer from depression and to me it means everyday I wake up, it means that I fought another day and that today I can say that I’m still alive and I’m still trying and I’m still fighting.”
Trish @SwainerGirl): “There’s so many fantastic ones that really speak to me. But along the lines of the last answer, this particular lyric from ‘Leg Up’ has really spoken to me over the last year. ‘Close your eyes, let go of the hurt inside’.
Jess (@JessHawden): “My favourite lyrics are ‘And you close your eyes, let go of the hurt inside’ from ‘Leg Up’. In times of sadness I think of this lyric and it allows me to take a moment to breathe and take stock of my thoughts and feelings. It gives me the time I need to get my thoughts together enough to know which path to go forward with. During times of anger or frustration it reminds me that holding on to those feelings does not benefit you and only hurts you further by keeping hold of them.”
Sandra (@PoptartSwain): “‘And you close your eyes, Let go of the hurt inside”. Whenever I feel anxious, sad or angry about something ‘Leg Up’ pops into my mind and I literally close my eyes, take a deep breath and hear Rob’s voice in my head. That’s when I know that everything will be okay.”
Paige (@lightinmychest): “‘Close your eyes, let go of the hurt inside’. After my mom passed away last November, this particular lyric from ‘Leg Up’ really helped me get through that time.”
Stacy (@LoveandSwain): “‘As the final credits start to fade, I wouldn’t take back a single frame’. I’m at a point where I can just very much relate to those lyrics. My childhood wasn’t the greatest, but looking back I wouldn’t change a single thing.
Kim (@KimSaysSmile): “It is really hard to pick just one favorite lyric. I love ‘As the final credits start to fade I wouldn’t take back a single frame’. Life is good, bad, sad, etc but when it comes down to it, my experiences made me who I am and I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Shannon (@reelnerdy): “’But as the final credits start to fade I wouldn’t take back a single frame’ because it’s a great reminder that our story is ours and no matter what happens it’s made us who we are. I agree that I wouldn’t take back a single frame either because I’m the captain of my story.”
Mary (@pare6386): “As for the lyrics, ‘I often think of my life as one big movie, a two buck matinee of one of the greats. The main character is just so captivating, I just worry I’m the only one in the seat. But as the final credits start to fade, I wouldn’t take back a single frame,’ resonates with me. As someone who has anxiety and depression, often times you feel worthless, and question every decision you’ve ever made (at least I do), and sometimes I feel like I watch my life go by as I haven’t done things as conventionally as some of my peers and I have traveled most of my life alone. However, at the end of the day when I look at my life, my mistakes were opportunities for me to grow, I have had some amazing opportunities and incredible experiences. I believe every single step I have taken has led me to this place in my life and while it is far from perfect, I wouldn’t take any of it back as it made me who I am and I still have so much adventure left in me.”
Laurie (@LauriePriemen): “Probably ‘She waits for you’. That line basically summarizes what the story is all about, not only the events but also the emotions of the people involved in it. Much like ‘Medicated’, it’s drawn from personal experience and that speaks to me more than anything else.”
Chris (@Chris_afec): “‘I’m the captain of my story’ – it’s powerful, and empowering, and beautiful.”
Beth (@comet9443):“‘I’m the captain of my story, but I’m looking for a mate’. It describes so perfectly where I am right now. It made me realize I’m not alone but that others want that perfect balance in a relationship.”
Amanda (@AmandaC0124): “One that really resonated with me was ‘I’m the captain of my story’. Growing up I always had an issue with my self esteem and self doubt in myself and when I heard that verse it really opened my eyes. Nobody tells us how to live our lives, only us and the only person telling us no is our own minds.”
Elise (@broadwayswain): “My favorite Louden Swain lyric is ‘I’m the captain of my story’ from ‘Amazing’. Sometimes life brings you down and sends you to a different unfamiliar path. This happened to me two years ago when I failed out of a nursing course. It completely changed my plans of graduating within four years with all of my friends, and I got stuck to finishing in five years. I felt behind, incompetent, and scared. When this happened, my parents always say to me ‘you’re the captain of your own soul, someone can change the course of your life but no one can change the way you handle it but yourself’. That’s when I corrected them saying ‘I’m the captain of my story’. That’s why that lyric means so much to me because I can take what life gives me, but it’s up to me to determine how to handle it. I want to handle it in a way where I can feel confident and trust in myself to come up with a good outcome.”
Dean (@chucksvessel): “‘I’m the captain of my story’ cause everyone tries to tell me what to be but I’m in control of what I do and what I become.”
Em (@invisible_heir): “‘I’ve been walking ’round with my head hanging down and I really don’t think that I should” is kind of a reminder to myself that I have no reason to feel guilty or ashamed of the person that I am. It helps me to remember to keep my head up no matter if I meet people’s expectations or not.”
Veronica (@veronica_bum): “‘I try to think about tomorrow, but I can’t forget today’ from ‘St. Louis’. It reminds me to not let life get me all worked up and to be in the moment.”
Niki (@darlingniki): “My favorite lyric is from ‘Angela’, ‘this mortality it seethes’. I just feel that sometimes it feels harder to keep fighting and holding on than it would be to give up. Making my life the way it is now was painful but worth it… and I just relate to it.”
Brandy (@horrorlovingirl): “‘I’m frank about the story, but not about the pain’ from ‘Leg Up’. Those ten words sum me up as a person. I will tell you the story, the facts, about the places and the people. The parts that hurt? I keep those until I find my own way to let go.”
Tiffany (@TiffIsWayward): “’I’m frank about the story, but not about the pain’ from Leg Up. I had been listening to this song for months before this lyric even registered with me, and when I heard it for the first time I was just kind of…floored. Yes. This is me, I thought. I spend a lot of time on social media trying to raise awareness about Type 1 Diabetes having had it for 21 years now. I share a lot of facts and even some of my struggles, but I don’t typically let people see how it can affect me physically, mentally, and emotionally. Rob just has an uncanny way to be able to write in his lyrics exactly what I’m feeling but don’t know how to say.”
Scout (@scoutstiel): “There’s something really special about select members of an audience yelling the ‘SO CAPTIVATING’ echo at incredibly wild decibels and with little to no sing-song quality during live performances of ‘Amazing’ that makes me love that lyric specifically.”
Vera (@raths_kitten): “’Why does it rhyme? Does it always have to fit in a box?’ really resonates with me. I hate labels and I never really fit in any of them. I feel like the lyrics question the structures we’re forced into. Do I really have to fit in a box? Do I have to choose a label? Am I not an individual who is able to break rules? And is it more important that something rhymes/is pretty/symmetrical or does the message matter more?”
Lynette (@LynetteParki): “My favorite lyric is ‘I’m up against the wave’ from ‘Wave’. I strongly identify with the imagery that life quite often feels like you are being pelted with waves that want to slow you down and drag you under. The waves make life difficult but they are not impassable.”
Maranda (@maranda_martin): “I have a rediscovered love for the lyric ‘Singin’ cuz that’s how we get by’ from ‘CA Nation’. Music is literally how I get by. It’s how I get through my best and worst times. I was driving on a nice day a couple weeks ago and that song came on shuffle and the lyric came up and everything in that moment was perfect.”
Angélique (@Angie_Voyage): “‘Because I’m a sinner don’t mean I’m not a saint’ from ‘Like the heart Goes’. Because it’s simple and yet powerful.”
Rachael (@NessaNight): “My favorite lyric is from ‘Cigarette’. ‘This may be your chance, so don’t think twice’ because I have a tendency to overthink things.”
Sarah (@WyldeFandom): “The lyric that I think of right away is ‘now I lay you down buried in the ground, but I carry on ’cause I must be strong’ from the song ‘Too Far Away’ that will be on the new acoustic album. As soon as I heard those words I couldn’t stop the tears from happening, it took me right back to when I lost my father. During his wake, I kept myself together by saying that I have to carry on and I must be strong. It took me back to that moment where I was taking care of my mom and everyone else.”
Kelli (@klairermusic1): “‘I may be crazy at least I’m medicated’. I’m not 100% sure why it is my favorite honestly. I enjoy ‘Medicated’ and I get a chuckle during the chorus every time, so maybe that is why.”
Holly (@AccioAwesome): “I got a tattoo of it! It was a rough time in my life where I felt very directionless and lost. But holding on to sentiments like this made me remember life could be worth it even when you feel worthless.”
Shaena (@StartoftheAct): “There are a lot of lyrics I like but I really like ‘I look like a dog, but I’m all cat inside. I dress like a slob’ from ‘Overachiever’. I always liked this lyrics and thought that it was funny.”
Jennifer (@macd1982): “My top one is ‘It’s not fair, but fairness is overrated’ (from She Waits) because I feel like it’s my personal mantra sometimes. I have some physical issues that I’ve been dealing with for most of my life and it’s very easy to get bogged down with asking ‘why me?’. Something about that lyric just grabbed me and I feel like (for me) it’s saying ‘it’s not fair, but you have to deal with it anyways and in doing so it makes you stronger’ – it actually gives me hope.”
Natasha (@NatashaCole): “‘I’m happy, and lonely, and free’, from ‘Like the Heart Goes’ just because it describes my life currently. There’s always a Swain lyric perfect for something going on in life or to describe a feeling you are having.”
Judith (@LAgirlHD): “‘Never meet again, Never speak again, maybe in another life, maybe, we could have been‘. I think we all meet that random person in our life on a random occasion where that lyric just fits cause we didn’t made a move. At least i did.”
Michelle (@lydrewsmom): “’There’s one life I’ve ever known, much I’ve changed but not outgrown’ has always struck a chord with me.”
Just when we thought we couldn’t possibly love Misha Collins more, he goes and does this.
Back in July at Creation’s Chicago Supernatural convention, Collins said during his panel that he bought a star for the Supernatural family and that he would post the coordinates for all of us so we could see for ourselves. Last night, he finally did that.
As if buying a star for the Supernatural family isn’t sweet enough, his message had fans everywhere tearing up.
If you ever doubt you have a place in the universe, it's at Pegasus RA 21h 36m 27.82s D 13°7’ (RA 21h 36m 27.82s D 13°6’ 34.06”, to be exact).
I had a star named for the #SPNFamily just in case you forget—& so whenever you look up at the night sky, you'll know you're not alone. pic.twitter.com/4MaMeHWIHE
The timing of Collins purchasing the star is perfect, considering Collins is celebrating ten years of his character, Castiel, being on Supernatural this month. You can check out the first post in our series honoring Castiel here, and in the meantime, never forget Misha Collins bought you a place in the universe.
Over the last decade, Sam and Dean Winchester’s family has expanded to include a number of people, and we’ve watched many characters come along who have made it clear what the show is all about: family.
One of these characters is the angel Castiel, who has undoubtedly carved his way into the Winchester family and into our hearts.
Photo credit: The CW
Castiel, played by Misha Collins, made his entrance in Season 4 of Supernatural, all the way back on September 18, 2008. Since then, he has become not only an integral part of Sam and Dean’s family, but of Supernatural itself. We’ve watched him try to figure out humanity as an angel, we’ve seen him struggle as one of us when he fell, we’ve reacted when his good intentions turned all kinds of bad when he became a God and when he let the Devil in, and we’ve all collectively shed tears when he was killed off (again, and again, and again, and again…) only to be brought back to fight beside Sam and Dean where he belongs.
To celebrate ten years of our favorite angel, we are going to be posting an article a day leading up to Castiel’s ten-year anniversary on Supernatural on September 18, 2018. Each article will focus on five big moments Castiel had in each of the ten seasons he has been a part of the show, and we’ll end on the anniversary itself with an ode to Castiel.
Today’s post will focus on Season 4, so strap in and get ready for a trip down memory lane as we look back to the very first moments Castiel stole our hearts.
Season 4, Episode 1 – “Lazarus Rising”
Season 4 begins with Dean Winchester waking up buried in the ground, oddly no longer in Hell where we saw him at the end of Season 3. Dean has no idea how he got out, and the only clue he has is a red handprint burned directly onto his shoulder. As the episode progresses, something tries and fails to communicate with Dean, only ever managing to shatter glass and Dean’s eardrums. After visiting with their psychic friend Pamela, Sam and Dean discover the creature that rescued Dean from hell is extremely powerful, and most importantly, that his name is Castiel. Needing more information, Dean and Bobby decide to try a summoning spell to come face-to-face with him.
Cue (in my opinion) the single best entrance of any character in the entirety of Supernatural.
Castiel wandered into that barn wearing his signature trench coat and blue tie and had sparks literally flying while he took a dozen bullets to the chest without even flinching. That spurred Dean to ask who the hell he was, and Castiel to reply with one of his most famous lines to date, “I’m the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition.” The very first thing Dean did was stab Castiel through the chest with Ruby’s knife, which also had no effect on him. Castiel puts Bobby to sleep with a touch of two fingers to his forehead and tells Dean they need to talk. Not surprisingly, Dean has some questions, and doesn’t exactly buy it when Castiel tells him he’s an angel. Castiel uses a flash of lightening to show off the shadow of his wings on the barn wall behind him, proving that he’s an angel. The episode ends after Castiel tells Dean that God has work for him, and that sets the entire fourth season rolling.
Castiel’s entrance was not our first glimpse of an angel, but he was the first angel we knew was an angel. (The Trickster debuted in Season 2, but wasn’t revealed as the archangel Gabriel until Season 5.) His entrance here only gave a clue to the powers angels might possess: immunity to bullets and knives, the ability to put people to sleep with a touch of his fingers, raising people from hell, flying, and possessing people. Angels have played a critical part in the series ever since, and it all began with this episode and the introduction of Castiel.
Season 4, Episode 7 – “It’s The Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester”
Several things happen in this episode to make it significant in our look back at Castiel. For one, this episode marks the first time Sam comes face-to-face with the angel. Although considerably better than Dean and Castiel’s initial meeting, Castiel makes things a little awkward when he first refers to Sam as “the boy with the demon blood.” He shows up in Sam and Dean’s hotel room to tell them about a witch who’s going to attempt to break another one of the 66 seals required to free Lucifer. He advises Sam and Dean to leave the town entirely because he and Uriel plan to destroy it in order to take out the witches.
Both Dean and Sam are horrified at the thought, and when Castiel says they don’t have a choice, Dean argues, saying, “Of course you have a choice. Come on, what, you’ve never questioned a crap order? What are you, both just a couple of hammers?” Dean makes a case for him and Sam to hunt and kill the witch so Castiel and Uriel don’t have to kill an entire town’s worth of people, and Castiel ultimately decides to give them a chance.
After Sam uses his powers to kill the witches, Castiel appears next to Dean on a park bench. He reveals that their actual orders were not to stop the witch, but to do whatever Dean told them to do. It was a test to see how Dean would perform under “battlefield conditions.” Dean thinks he failed the test and begins to defend himself, telling Castiel he would do the exact same thing over again if he had the chance.
In this scene, Castiel shares that he isn’t what Dean thinks he is. He hoped Dean would choose to save the people in the town because he believes his father’s creations are works of art. He also makes a confession to Dean for the first time. “I’m not ‘a hammer,’ as you say. I have questions. I have doubts. I don’t know what is right and what is wrong anymore.” In the episodes leading up to this, Castiel has seemed so sure of his orders, so sure of his purpose, and admitting his doubt is a pivotal moment for the season and his character. Not only did he admit something personal to Dean in this exchange, he also showed compassion for the first time when he told him, “In the coming months you will have more decisions to make. I don’t envy the weight that is on your shoulders, Dean. I truly don’t.”
Season 4, Episode 16 – “On the Head of a Pin”
This episode starts off with Castiel finding a fellow angel dead. He and Uriel then appear in the Winchesters’ hotel, explaining that the torturing skills Dean learned in Hell are required in order to persuade Alastair to divulge which demon is killing the angels. Dean adamantly refuses, but Castiel and Uriel take him to where Alastair is being held anyway. Dean tries to reason with Castiel, but once the two of them are alone, Castiel confides that he has been put under Uriel’s authority because his superiors believe he has become too close to the humans in his charge. He explains he doesn’t want Dean to do this, but he needs to.
Dean reluctantly tortures Alastair to try to get information out of him, but in a surprise twist, Alastair shares something Dean wasn’t asking for. He says Dean agreeing to torture souls in Hell was how the very first of the 66 seals was broken. Dean says he doesn’t buy it and continues with the torturing, but ultimately the devil’s trap keeping Alastair in place fails, and Dean is gravely injured by him. Thanks to the powers he has from drinking demon blood, Sam’s able to overpower and then kill Alastair after he insists it’s not a demon killing the angels. Dean’s brought to the hospital, and we see Castiel return to the scene of Alastair’s death, eventually figuring out that it was Uriel who broke the devil’s trap and who is also responsible for the angels’ deaths. Uriel is killed and Castiel visits Dean in the hospital.
This scene is one of the few times we see Dean completely let down his guard and allow himself to be vulnerable with Castiel. He asks if what Alastair said about him breaking the very first seal is true, and Castiel confirms that it is, explaining that once the angels realized Alastair had him, they laid siege to Hell and tried to get to him, but failed to make it in time.
Of course, Dean blames himself for giving in, but Castiel tells Dean, “It’s not blame that falls on you, Dean, it’s fate. The righteous man who begins it is the only one who can finish it. You have to stop it.” And with that, we finally learn the true reason why Castiel has been sent to earth to watch over Dean. Dean is the righteous man, the only one who has it in him to stop the apocalypse, and it’s Castiel’s job to make sure he succeeds.
Season 4, Episode 18 – “The Monster At The End Of This Book”
Sam and Dean have discovered Chuck Shurley, an author who has written detailed books about the Winchesters’ lives. Everything Chuck has written so far has come true, so when Chuck says Sam will have an encounter with Lilith, Dean is scared for Sam and threatens Chuck with bodily harm, pinning him against a wall. Castiel appears, telling them all that Chuck is actually a prophet, and he’s writing the word of God, earning himself the protection of angels if he’s put in danger. Castiel confirms that what Chuck has written about Lilith and Sam will happen.
Later that night, still frightened for Sam’s well-being, Dean prays to Castiel for the first time. Castiel is pleased, telling him that prayer is a sign of faith. Dean asks for Castiel’s help to get Sam away from Lilith, but Castiel refuses, saying that it’s a prophecy and he can’t interfere. Dean’s anger intensifies, and he tells Castiel if he won’t help him with Sam, then Castiel had better not bother coming to him the next time he needs help.
Visibly distressed by Dean speaking to him so harshly, Castiel subtly reminds Dean why he can’t help.
CASTIEL:
If anything threatens a prophet, anything at all, an archangel will appear to destroy that threat. Archangels are fierce. They’re absolute. They’re heaven’s most terrifying weapon.
DEAN:
And these archangels, they’re tied to prophets?
CASTIEL:
Yes.
DEAN:
So if a prophet was in the same room as a demon –
CASTIEL:
Then the most fearsome wrath of heaven would rain down on that demon.
This is immensely significant, because this is the first time onscreen that Castiel goes against direct orders to help the Winchesters. He has talked about having doubts, how he doesn’t know what is right and what is wrong anymore, but in this moment, he comes to the decision that Sam and Dean’s well-being is more important than a prophecy coming to be, and that’s huge.
Season 4, Episode 22 – “Lucifer Rising”
After Dean swears allegiance to God and the angels, Castiel and Zachariah have Dean held captive in Heaven’s “Green Room” waiting for the apocalypse to approach. Dean asks to see Sam, but all of the exits in the room are sealed to keep Dean and Sam away from one another. Once Zachariah reveals the angels’ true plan – to allow the apocalypse to happen in order to purge the world of humans – Castiel appears and apologizes to Dean for deceiving him.
Dean’s understandably upset, and he lashes out violently at Castiel, punching him and yelling at him, demanding to know if he’s really going to just let everybody burn. Castiel replies, “What is so worth saving? I see nothing but pain here. I see inside you. I see your guilt, your anger, confusion. In paradise, all is forgiven. You’ll be at peace. Even with Sam.” Dean tells him he can take his peace and shove it, that he would rather be alive and take all of the pain and guilt over being in “paradise.” He tells Castiel that he knows he was going to help him before and begs him to do it again. Castiel asks what Dean would have him do, and Dean tells him he just needs to get to Sam. Castiel is, once again, visibly pained, but tells Dean he can’t do that because all of them will be hunted and killed anyway. Dean tells him he won’t help then he’s done with this conversation and done with him, and Castiel flies away.
Time passes while Dean paces, trying to figure out how to escape and save the world, when Castiel suddenly reappears. He covers Dean’s mouth, pulls a knife, and silently urges Dean to be quiet. Dean agrees with a nod of his head, and Castiel draws the blade across his own forearm and begins to paint a symbol with his blood on the wall behind them. Zachariah appears to stop him, but Castiel bangs his hand to the wall and banishes Zachariah with the sigil he drew.
Once Dean and Castiel are alone, the real truth finally comes out: Lilith isn’t going to break the final seal, Lilith is the final seal. If Sam kills her, Lucifer will be released and the apocalypse begins. Knowing that Sam is out there trying to kill her but not sure where they are exactly, Castiel flies Dean to Chuck’s house to get the location from him. Castiel threatens him to get the information, and once Chuck tells them where Sam and Lilith are, an archangel descends to protect Chuck. Castiel says he’ll hold them all off, and sacrifices himself after he sends Dean to the church to stop Sam.
This is a paramount moment for Castiel, because he actively went against Zachariah to help thwart God’s plan to begin the apocalypse. He has worked behind their backs before, but this was the incipient moment where Castiel stood up to them and took his place on the Winchesters’ side, even knowing there would be no going back from this for him. He already knew if he sided with the Winchesters and tried to help them that they would be hunted and killed, but he did it anyway. This was the inaugural moment Castiel made the choice to serve Dean and Sam Winchester before his superiors, and we all know by now it was the first of many times he’s made that choice.
Looking back at these five massive moments for Castiel in his very first season on Supernatural, it’s easy to see why the character who was originally only written into three episodes has made it past his hundredth. Castiel brought a new, exciting dynamic to Supernatural in Season 4, and still continues to do so ten seasons later.
Check back tomorrow for our second post in our series celebrating ten years of Castiel on Supernatural where we look back at five of Castiel’s biggest moments in Season 5.
If we missed any of what you think were Castiel’s most significant moments in Season 4, sound off in the comments!
A lot goes into making a television show. From the actors to the gaffers to the editors, every show is a ship, and every ship needs a captain. That captain is often called a showrunner, and one of genre television’s most successful is Sera Gamble.
Sera’s Hollywood career began in reality television but quickly moved to genre when she became a writer and script editor for Supernatural. Since then, she has gone on to not only become showrunner of Supernatural, but also of SyFy’s The Magicians and is now executive producing Lifetime’s new drama, You, based on the book series by Caroline Kepnes.
In this three part series, Nerds and Beyond sits down with Sera to discuss her career, her latest project, You, and what to expect on season 4 of The Magicians. Make sure to follow @nerdsandbeyond on Twitter to catch each installment.
In part one, we discuss how Sera got to be a showrunner, what the job entails, her time on Supernatural, and the power of fandom. Check it out below!
Nerds and Beyond: What exactly does it mean to be a showrunner?
Sera Gamble: Often times, showrunners start as staff writers, and then as we gain more and more responsibility, we’re producing the shows that we’re writing. A showrunner’s job is kind of in the name – they run the show. It’s everything from writing the scripts all the way to what the cut looks like before it airs. These are stories that are being told over a long period of time so you really need to have someone in charge that understands the story that you’re telling and who can keep an eye on all of the component parts. N&B: How did you get involved in the television industry?
SG: Uh, I went on reality TV. (laughs) I was a actor and a screenwriter and was writing with a partner named Raelle Tucker who is also a showrunner now. We were just trying to get our foot in the door and were advised by people who were a little bit further on in the industry that we should at least start to put our scripts in competitions. We had a couple of scripts and we put them in a couple competitions. One of the competitions was Project Greenlight, which was in its second season on HBO at the time. We lost, but happily, because we got an agent out of the experience. She said to us, “as you are developing features, which take a long time, why don’t you think about writing some television specs so that we can see if we can staff you and you can have gainful employment.” She also had the suspicion we were well suited to that world. So really it was a practical decision in that moment, but as soon as I started working in TV I realized that this is a good home for me and my personality is well suited to the pace of TV and the collaboration, so it worked out.
N&B: What is the hardest decision you have had to make as showrunner and how do you handle making those decisions?
SG: The most important decision that you start with is always casting. Who plays the role makes all the difference in the world. I mean, think of any of your favorite shows and then imagine other people in those roles. So you hope all of the people involved in casting have equally fantastic instincts about the characters and the story.
Making the kind of TV shows I’ve had the good fortune to be a part of in the last few years, these are not the kind of shows that are so massive and have such rarified budgets that they’re practically feature films. We’re making television in the trenches. Our budgets are modest and our timelines are tight. I love creating in a space like that. I love collaborating in a space like that where our resources are precious and we have to tell the absolute best story we can and there’s no room for bloat anywhere. But that does mean that everyday we have to “kill our darlings.” If there’s something we love, but it’s expensive and it’s not absolutely necessary, it will die a very quick death. (laughs)
I want to stress – it’s really good for the stories. It’s really good everyday to have to sit down and ask yourself, “Why are we telling this story? Why are we doing this scene? Why does it have to be here? Why do all of these people need to be in the scene?” For The Magicians, it’s often, “Do we really need this magical creature and how much do we need to see of it?” and for You it was a lot of, “We are shooting in NYC, that is a complicated beautiful difficult place to shoot. We really have to maximize scope when we have it.” That’s really what it feels like to produce a show.
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
N&B: One of the shows you were a showrunner for was Supernatural. What was it like stepping into that role on the show?
SG: It was such a huge opportunity. Making that step up into from being an executive producer who is essentially the #2 on a TV show to the #1 spot is a hard transition to make. For really good reasons, studios don’t just let anyone run a show. They really have to know that you’re not going to crash the giant ship, because they are spending tens of millions of dollars in a very short period of time. They really need to know that you understand the job and that, in not so many words, you’re not going to f*ck it up.
When the opportunity was presented to me by Eric Kripke, who was leaving the show, to step into his role, (as much as anyone can step into a role previously inhabited by the creator) I knew in that moment he was giving me an opportunity to really change the course of my career. If I said yes, I knew if I could pull it off I would have credibility to say, “This is a show I want to create and I’m prepared to run it myself.” I took it really, really seriously from the beginning. This is a show that has survived so many years because it has a really intense, really dedicated fandom. And we have always taken that really seriously. I wanted to do right by the people who had been watching the show and who kind of saved it from cancellation every year for the first four seasons. I wanted to try to continue in the footsteps of Eric in that I wanted to honor his vision for the show and what his priorities were in storytelling, which were something I had internalized by working alongside him everyday for four or five years.
N&B: Do you have a favorite episode from the seasons you were showrunner of?
SG: There were a lot that were such a pleasure. Ben Edlund wrote that incredibly meta episode “The French Mistake” where the boys are blasted into a place where Jared and Jensen are actors playing Sam and Dean, and that one was a delight from start to finish. In terms of getting to write some of the story myself, I had a particularly strong attachment to the episode where Bobby singer gets shot. That was one that really meant a lot to me. I really enjoyed working with Jim Beaver and I knew this was a part of the story that was meaningful and that we didn’t want to just toss it off. It was an opportunity to do something really fun and different with the storytelling. And everybody’s performances in that episode were tremendous, so that’s one I was really proud of.
N&B: That was the first episode I really cried at the first time watching the show.
SG: Can I be honest? I love making people cry. (laughs) I mean, not in real life, only with scripts. But I love watching TV, and feeling moved and kind of misting up. If I’m sitting next to someone I have to fake like I’m not about to cry (laughs) And I love doing it to other people to.
N&B: Do you have any favorite moments from the set when you were showrunning?
SG: It was a while ago, but I mean my favorite moments on any set are when you can really feel it when everyone is on the same page. Supernatural had early on set a bar where you don’t always want to go for the most straight forward way of telling especially an emotional story. So when you’re standing on a set and you have written something that is maybe a little bit complicated or unusual, and you watch the scene up on its feet, and watch everyone be on the same page, and felt the set get a little bit quiet because everyone is now paying attention, and they feel that something real is happening between the characters in that moment, that’s incredibly fulfilling. It’s a moment in the making of TV that feels a little bit like live theater to me. I hope that that feeling translates for viewers when they watch it at home, that there’s some kind of mystical feeling and you’re feeling a moment happen in real time.
Photo Credit: @seragamble on Instagram
N&B: You have worked on multiple science fiction/fantasy shows, which have brought you right up close with the world of fandom. What impact has fandom had on you and what impact do you think fandom has on people in general?
SG: There’s something about following the storyline of fantasy and science fiction storytelling that makes avid viewers want to talk to one another, and a community can form if you’re lucky and fortunate. We’re in a much more connected age than we were when I was a little kid and I was watching Star Trek reruns or Twin Peaks. Among my friends in real life, we would talk about episodes after we had watched them. There’s not much difference between me and the people in the audience at these conventions because I get very passionate about stories that I love and characters that I relate to. I’ve been doing Comic Con since the early days of Supernatural, and I love it. I feel like it’s my tribe. And Comic Con is good because it’s like the direct transmission. It’s that moment in the year where we’re all in the same place at the same time. For me, there’s no better feeling than to be in a room full of people who are unabashedly just embracing what they love.
N&B: Finally, what would your lightsaber color be?
SG: I want a magenta lightsaber because I want people to be really on the fence as to whether I’m evil, or just doing bad things for good reasons like Professor Snape. That’s kind of my vibe.
Stay tuned on Sunday, September 9 for Part Two of “Storytelling with Sera Gamble,” an in depth look at the new Lifetime series, You, premiering later that day on Lifetime at 10/9c.
This interview was edited for brevity and clarity.
Richard Speight Jr. announced that he’ll be directing on Lucifer! Rich had to cancel his appearance on hosting a bus tour of Cleveland in October as part of Creation Entertainment’s Supernatural conventions, and answered on Twitter that the reason for it was because he was working on the show Lucifer.
Rich has already directed two episodes of Supernatural for their upcoming 14th season, and according to his reply to a fan on Twitter this morning, he’ll be directing for Lucifer as well!
My sincerest apologies, but I will be working in LA. Blame @tomellis17 & @Ildymojo and the other fine folks who make #Lucifer. 😈
The People’s Choice Awards opened their voting today and features many categories, such as TV Star, Movie Star, and more.
Fan favorite Supernatural is one of 12 television shows nominated for “The Sci-Fi/Fantasy Show of 2018.”
Photo credit: People’s Choice Awards
Supernatural is up against Arrow, Black Lightning, Cloak and Dagger, Doctor Who, Marvel’s Jessica Jones, Marvel’s Luke Cage, Once Upon a Time, Shadowhunters, Supergirl, The Expanse and The Originals, so it definitely has some tough competition.
You can vote for who you want to win by posting on Facebook or RTing the show’s tweet in this thread on Twitter:
You can also go to the website here and sign up to vote in all categories.
You can vote up to 25 times per day, per category, per method.
Voting is open for ten days, from Sept. 5-14. Please note that Facebook and Twitter votes only count when the category hashtag and a corresponding nominee hashtag are used together in the same post.
The People’s Choice Awards will air on November 11 at 9p.m. ET/PT.
It has been 40 years since the DC film Superman: The Movie directed by Richard Donner flew into theaters in 1978. To celebrate, select theaters will show the film that started it all on Sunday, November 25. Ticket release dates and participating theater locations have yet to be released.
Superman: The Movie features Christopher Reeve as the Metropolis DC hero, the late Margot Kidder as reporter Lois Lane and Gene Hackman as the villain Lex Luther.
Natalie Dormer, best known for her roles in Game of Thrones and Hunger Games, is stepping into the Wizarding World this fall. She will be narrating Harry Potter: A History of Magic, the new audiobook due out October 4.
The non-fiction book is based on real world tales of magic throughout the centuries. It will highlight how these tales influenced the world of Harry Potter. Dormer will also be joined by some familiar faces, or should we say voices? Listeners will be treated to interviews with Harry Potter audiobook narrators Stephen Fry and Jim Dale, illustrators Olivia Lomenech Gill and Jim Kay, and curators from the US and UK Harry Potter: A History of Magic exhibition.
Topics range from potions to transfiguration spells, echoing the structure of a Hogwarts curriculum. Delve into the historical documents of well-known real world magic such as the Salem Witch Trials while discovering various ancient artifacts and spells.
Dormer teases the audiobook content in a recent promo saying, “a charm to make yourself invisible, tips on how to capture a basilisk and a crystal ball that belonged to a witch known as Smelly Nelly.”
Potter fans are in for a magical treat just in time for Halloween. Harry Potter: A History of Magic is available for preorder on Audible now.
The much awaited next series in the Doctor Who universe now has a release date! For those ready to meet the thirteenth doctor, you only have to wait one more month. Series 11 will debut in the US and UK on October 7. Check local listings for channels and specific times.
Only 32 more days until Jodie Whittaker graces our screens – what are you most excited for? Tell us in the comments down below.
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Laurie (@LauriePriemen): “Probably ‘She waits for you’. That line basically summarizes what the story is all about, not only the events but also the emotions of the people involved in it. Much like ‘Medicated’, it’s drawn from personal experience and that speaks to me more than anything else.”
Shaena (@StartoftheAct): “There are a lot of lyrics I like but I really like ‘I look like a dog, but I’m all cat inside. I dress like a slob’ from ‘Overachiever’. I always liked this lyrics and thought that it was funny.”
