Day 4: Angels, Part 3

That's right, folks! Angels are so important to Supernatural, Catholicism, and Judaism that they get three whole days! This blog is not just about what Supernatural borrows from each religion, now we go deeper into the analysis of why these angels were chosen and how they are used.

Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael are part of Judaism but are especially important to Catholicism since they are the only named angels in the Catholic Bible. I was raised Catholic, and these are the only three angel names I grew up knowing. Although some of the angels in Supernatural are named after other Biblical figures, these three angels are common enough to be known by a Christian audience. I believe this is why the trickster was chosen to be Gabriel- when his identity was revealed most people watching would immediately understand the significance of the name “Gabriel.”

Usually in Catholicism, the only “evil” angel is Lucifer, but in Supernatural most of the angels are out to destroy the world. The angels claim their intention is to end Earth to bring about Heaven, but the Winchesters, with Castiel, are fighting to save the lives of every human on the planet. Castiel becomes a rebellious angel, which to his brothers puts him on the same level as Lucifer. In Castiel’s attempt to save the world he is treated like the devil, literally.

Angels in Supernatural act as a big dysfunctional family in which God is their absent father. They bicker and fight, but their fights are large enough to threaten humanity. Gabriel fled heaven because of his bickering siblings. He tells the brothers “What you guys call the Apocalypse? I used to call Sunday dinner.” The angels all refer to God as dad or father, some sarcastically and some with love. The angels are not portrayed as perfect beings; many are corrupt or become corrupt without God to watch over their actions.

Castiel is pitted against the other angels. Cassiel is never mentioned in Catholicism, so in this way it is the Jewish angel against the Catholic angels (Metatron is not mentioned until after the apocalypse is prevented in season five). The Catholic angels fight to end the world and bring Heaven to earth as is predicted in the Christian Bible, but Castiel resists this idea and resists his brothers attempts to start the apocalypse. Since there is no Heaven or paradise for Judaism, it makes sense that the Jewish angel would not be fighting for the end of the world.

Another interesting observation is that the Catholic angels follow the hierarchy. Although God is missing, they still answer to the angels in the hierarchy that they are appointed to. In this case, Michael is the new boss. Castiel rebels against this hierarchy. He does not answer to his immediate superiors, and even ends up lighting Michael on fire to prevent the apocalypse.

In many ways the relationship between the Catholic angels and Jewish angels, specifically Castiel, could be interpreted in not as a battle between Catholics and Jews but they do highlight many differences in both practice and theology.