Psychoanalysis Of Castiel and Hannah
Hannah and Castiel are my favorite characters, I’ve been writing about them for a very long time, and a lot of the time, my stories are a way for me to understand them better. These two characters are the characters I relate to the most for a lot of reasons. Mainly because I think that if they weren’t angels, they would both be on the autism spectrum, so I relate to them on a personal level because I am autistic too.
Hannah is a character that not a lot of people like in the show. She’s unpopular with a lot of fans, and they seem quick to condemn her for her flaws, but to me, she is one of the most misunderstood characters. She did have character flaws and strengths; she was one of the more developed supporting characters on the show. And she complimented Castiel’s personality in many ways.
At the most basic level, Hannah is an angel’s angel. She is bound by heaven’s laws, and she has a strong sense of duty, responsibility, and regulations. For her, everything has its place, and it’s hard for her to understand when people stray from that. She values harmony and order and structure. So the concept of free will was hard for her to wrap her mind around, at least at first.
But at the same time, Hannah is unusual in that, unlike other angels, she seems to have emotions. She is very empathetic. And she doesn’t always understand feelings, how they work inside of her. Often times, she struggles with intense emotions, which causes her to be impulsive and to lash out when she feels she, or someone she cares about, is being slighted or taunted.
Hannah was quick to react with anger to Tessa taunting her, to Metatron teasing her, she did provoke Adina into an altercation, and I feel it’s because she doesn’t always handle these sort of emotions well, she acts out what she feels.
Hannah admired Castiel from the beginning. While other angels blamed him for the fall, Hannah seemed drawn to him as soon as she encountered him, and it didn’t matter to her the reputation he has in heaven. And I think this is an essential strength for Hannah. That even though she values order and rules, she is also somewhat open-minded. She strives to understand things, and Castiel, a rebel, represents everything she’s been taught was wrong. Yet she trusts him anyway.
When she learns about Castiel’s stolen grace, she walked out on him, and a lot of fans seem to get on her case for that, but think of it from her point of view. Stealing another angel’s grace is a pretty abhorrent thing; such a violent act isn’t something Hannah is too familiar with. It goes against everything she’s been taught. And Castiel was someone she admired, she chose to follow despite the chaos he seems to represent, and then to discover what he did, she probably felt betrayed, and she struggled with these feelings of hurt.
But here’s the thing. Hannah has this inherent need to understand. In many ways, she shares that intellectual curiosity with Castiel. If she didn’t, she never would have gone down to that jail cell to talk with Castiel and Gadreel. She wouldn’t have been there if she didn’t want to understand. And as soon as she did understand, she was right back at Castiel’s side.
See, Hannah needs proof. She is an angel who values order, and if someone is to deviate from that order, she needs to understand why she needs proof of why this deviation is necessary. She is an independent thinker in that regard, which again sets her apart from other angels. She is more than just a mindless drone, and I think Castiel sensed that in her, that she has the potential to be more than that.
Also, I don’t think people understand and recall that Hannah endured some trauma. She is a soldier of heaven. And unlike Castiel, she has never been to Earth before the fall. The fall must have been absolutely traumatizing for her. So suddenly fall from heaven, to be on this strange world with all of these strange humans, struggling to find her way in it all. And then, she is tortured by Gadreel.
There is some debate over what happened in that warehouse, but the facts are that Gadreel killed all the angels Hannah was with, and he beat her. When Castiel found her, she was beaten, shaking; she couldn’t even open her eye. She seems to have put up a struggle, but whatever happened, she was in bad condition, and she was left in a room full of dead angels. Angels she probably had to watch be brutally murdered. And at the same time, Metatron had ordered Gadreel to leave one angel alive, and he chose Hannah. Did he pick her at random, was she just the one who fought the hardest, or maybe even he saw something in her. Something valuable.
When Hannah started working on Earth with Castiel, it was clear how quickly she began to evolve. She went from being an angel’s angel who found things like stolen angel grace to be abhorrent, to actually wanting to make deals with Metatron to save Castiel of his fate, a fate that most angels would think he deserved. Including himself, and we will get to Castiel’s issues later.
It’s pretty clear at first that Hannah doesn’t really trust humans. She doesn’t trust Sam or Dean, and she doesn’t think there’s much that can be learned from humanity. But Castiel shows her otherwise, and her fascination with humanity begins to grow. She realizes that there is something more about these creatures.
And as Hannah spends more time on Earth, her emotions and passions begin to grow. She doesn’t understand, and her feelings are a source of some internal conflict for her. Because as she sees Castiel deteriorate, as she grows to care for him, her emotions tend to get the best of her, compelling her to go against her own moral compass to save him. What she once thought was abhorrent, like making deals with Metatron, or even suggesting that Castiel steal more grace, suddenly become more acceptable to her in her desperation as she watches Castiel get weaker and weaker. And she struggles with this conflict.
Eventually, though she tries, her emotions turn to compassion for her own vessel. She gives up her vessel, leaving Castiel, and giving up the one thing she wanted.
Hannah was flawed; she struggled. But she was so brave, compassionate, etc. She was more than just some potential love interest for Cas. She was her own person. She was a leader, and even Metatron once commented that under Hannah’s leadership, heaven had never been so stable.
Hannah left her mark on Castiel. She inspired him to take an interest in his own vessel, and in Claire Novak. And although in the later seasons he and Hannah were at odds, he valued her. And I think he loved her; he was visibly affected by her death in season 11. Castiel believed in Hannah. Even when he was dying of his stolen grace, he believed she could take his place.
And now for Castiel. Castiel is a genuine angel, and he seems to be very rare as far as angels go. He cares deeply for humanity, but he also cares about heaven.
In many ways, Castiel and Hannah are very much alike, especially in the beginning. Castiel was an angel’s angel, he believed in obedience, but through his time with the Winchesters, he became the poster child for free will. He took a stand for freedom. Maybe he had it in him all along.
But his stand for freedom has cost him dearly. I think it’s important to understand that for Castiel, he is stuck in between two worlds. His friendship with Sam and Dean has kept him on Earth, but to think that he has turned his back on heaven is wrong. He still cares about angels. But his internal conflict is the fact that it’s hard for him to care for both angels and humans.
Maybe Castiel always was a rebel at heart. As Naomi calls him a ‘spanner in the works,’ he’s never truly done precisely what he’s told.
Castiel is very genuine, and he has always tried to do good. But he’s made mistakes. I think guilt is Castiel’s constant companion. He puts others before himself, not just because he’s brave, but also because he doesn’t seem to value himself and his own worth.
Castiel has some trauma that has never really been resolved. From standing against Raphael to the fall, guilt has been his constant companion. All he wanted to do was help heaven and help humanity; he couldn’t do both. He tried to teach the angels free will, and it cost him a massive civil war. He went too far, and it all went so wrong, with the leviathans and such.
And that was probably the beginning of Castiel’s feelings of self-loathing. He truly believes he doesn’t deserve salvation because of the things he did to other angels, and the things he did to the Winchesters. The guilt he feels is so enormous that he no longer seems to value his own life. He will fight for others, but not for himself.
As if the civil war with Raphael wasn’t terrible enough, Castiel was tricked into Metatron’s trap on the pretense that he would be helping angels. And that’s the thing about Castiel’s personality. He wants so desperately to help others that he tends to be easily led astray by other’s false promises. With the civil war, he thought he was helping angels by teaching them free will, by trying to give him the freedom he had found with the Winchesters. Here, he thought he was helping angels in attempting to bring them peace- Metatron’s peace, only to be duped again, which ended up causing even more angel deaths.
It’s just ironic that Castiel’s need to help angels is what has led to heaven’s present situation. He has been single-handedly responsible for the angels almost being extinct right now. From making deals with Crowley to making deals with Metatron, it’s all been about helping heaven, and it’s all gone so horribly wrong for him.
And now, Castiel is hated by his own kind, and I think that is a pain he has endured through the years, contributing to his depression. I think it hurts him very deeply because he still longs to be an angel. He wants to find acceptance.
I think that in Castiel’s current mindset, and especially after the fall, he has been depressed- even somewhat suicidal- for a very long time. And I think that is the basis for why he felt uncomfortable with Hannah’s interest in him. Throughout the first few episodes of season 10, Hannah literally begged Castiel to take care of himself. And he shot her down each and every time.
I think Castiel brushed Hannah’s attempts to care for him away because he was uncomfortable with the notion that anyone valued him. Castiel loves the Winchesters, they are his family, but he knows full well that when it comes right down to it, they would pick each other over him no matter what.
And here is this other person, another angel no less, who is literally willing to risk the world by letting Metatron free to save him. This just does not compute with him. That someone would be that desperate for him to stay alive, he’s not used to it.
The Winchesters have both made some pretty potentially world-ending decisions to save each other, but here Hannah is, wanting to do this for Castiel, and at this point, Castiel doesn’t care about his own life.
And I think Hannah’s death probably reinforced it to Castiel that he was of no value to anyone. Even though she literally died fighting at his side. Castiel is so damaged emotionally and mentally, that when we fast forward to the last couple seasons, his deal with the empty just reinforces that.
Castiel loves Jack. Jack is the one thing that made him happy; after a long line of devastating losses, he finally has his one happy thing, which is why it was a no brainer that he would make a deal with the empty to save Jack. But it goes deeper than that. It’s not just that Castiel loves Jack and would put him before himself, it’s also that he values himself so little, and has felt that way for so long, that sacrificing himself for others is almost second nature to him. He is almost eager for a chance to die for someone else.
Castiel is such a kind, genuine person, and he deserves someone who would show him the devotion that he would bestow on them. After everything he’s gone through, after everything he’s endured, he still has this insatiable need to help others, whether it be angels or humans. The Winchesters taught him everything about free will, sacrifice, and standing for what’s right, and it’s cost him so much, but it’s made him stronger, it’s made him a better angel. But I think he really needs a chance to be redeemed. He needs to have one thing in his life succeed.
Castiel and Hannah are so perfect for each other. Through Hannah, Castiel could have learned to value himself. And though Castiel, Hannah could learn to discover her own humanity and embrace the passions that she has within her. They would have been an epic power couple together. They compliment one another so well. They are equals. Neither one overpowers the other. They are both independent thinkers; they are both so strong and brave.
This is why I value these two characters and why I write about them. A lot of this psychoanalysis forms the basis in all my stories. I like to pick about both characters from their relationship with one another to their relationship with humans, other angels, demons, etc.
When I write about Hanstiel Squared, and there are four angels instead of just two, I am still learning how to work out the kinks in those relationships, but I think when it comes to Hannah and Hana (male Hannah, face claim Lee Majdoub), Hannah takes the role of the provider. She is the leader. She is level headed, and her relationship with Castiel is about a long-enduring love that grows stronger as time goes on.
Meanwhile, Hana shares many of Hannah’s personality traits, but he is more spontaneous. He embraces emotions a little easier than she does. He’s playful and patient. He’s the entertainer of the bunch. He’s the listener; he’s extremely patient.
Hannah is the steadfast, devoted, compassionate lover while Hana is the patient, spontaneous, fun-loving lover.
When it comes to the two Castiels, there’s Castiel, and there’s Castielle (female Castielle, face claim Jessa Danielson), Castielle still carries the same need to help others that Castiel does. She suffers from the same guilt that he does, but it comes out as a shy, more withdrawn version of Castiel. She tends to doubt herself, is unsure of herself, afraid of making a mistake. And she has more of a desire to be loved and to seek love.
Castielle sees beauty. She is artistic, creative, and she likes to make people happy by making the world around them beautiful. She loves to nurture, which is something she and Castiel definitely share.
Castiel is the protector; he puts himself at risk to keep those that he loves save. Hannah is the provider, honed with a logical, reasonable outlook, Hana is the listener, and Castielle is the creator and the nurturer.
So that is my analysis. Whether its just Hanstiel or its Hanstiel squared, this is the basic framework for my stories. I love to dig into Cas and Hannah’s psyches, figure out what makes them tick. And as an angsty, dark fic writer, I do enjoy playing their flaws against them. I put them through hell often.
