hello, i was wondering, if cas can sense longing, how come he didn't know dean was still alive after the soul bomb didn;t go off?
Hello,Nonnie! To answer your question, first I have to remind everyone that thelonging retcon was introduced in 10x10, an episode written by Buckleming. Thosewriters are not exactly famous for being careful with established canon, and that’s something we need to keep in mind.
The longingthing has never been mentioned after season 10 –though it was highly implied insubtext in 11x21 (another ep written by Buckleming). In that ep, Amara putLucifer to sleep (for lack of a better word), and only then could she pick upon the longing Dean was feeling for Cas, the longing that took her to Dean despitebeing unable to find him before.
Otherwriters haven’t used the longing retcon, but everyone in the fandom accepted itas a new piece of canon and ran with it as the best way to explain how Casalways found Dean in season 8.
The thingis that what Buckleming explained and what the fandom has accepted as canonmight not be exactly the same.
I have seen people who think that Cas ispermanently feeling Dean’s longing. It sounds poetic and romantic, I know; Idon’t mind that in fanfic, but what Cas said about it in 10x10 was a littledifferent.
CLAIRE: [ToCas] How the hell did you find me?
CASTIEL: Angelsare able to find those who pray to them.
CLAIRE: Pray?Oh believe me, I gave up praying a long time ago.
CASTIEL: Well,itdoesn’t have to be a formal prayer. I could pick up on a – a longing…Perhaps you wanted to tell me something?
The way Iunderstand it is like the kind of conversation you have in your mind when you’retalking to someone as if they were present. In Claire’s case, it might havebeen something like: “Stupid Castiel, I hate your guts, but I guess you’reright and I should try to do things a little bit different.”
In Dean’scase in 11x21, it must have been something like: “Dammit, Cas, where are you?What else can I do to find you?” (I mean, look at Dean’s face seconds before Amara talked to him)
I don’tthink we’re talking about a completely unconscious feeling but an unconscious prayer, or atleast that’s how Cas described it: “Angels are able to find those who pray tothem. […] It doesn’t have to be a formal prayer.”
In 11x23,when the soul bomb didn’t go off, it’s very unlikely that Dean washaving an unconscious conversation with Cas in his mind. He was dealing with Chuck and hissister, he was worried about Earth once Chuck decided to leave again, and thenhe was kind of lost, trying to find signal for his phone.
Maybe he would havestarted thinking about Cas the moment he realized he was lost if he hadn’t heard a woman asking for help -a woman that turned out to be his mother, who had been dead for morethan 30 years.
Once he sawMary, I’m sure any possibility of Dean thinking about Castiel vanished. That’swhy Cas didn’t feel any longing.
Again, Ilike the fandom’s interpretation of the longing retcon when it’s used in fanfiction,but sometimes that interpretation doesn’t make much sense in canon.
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