Who are the people that are praying to angels that bother you, Morgana?

However, as far as real life goes, just google pray to angels, and you'll get information like this:

Q:I'm not sure I understand praying to angels for support. Unlike saints, who are part of the Body of Christ, angels have a different nature. Can you help me with the teachings on this and where they originated?

A: The angels are spiritual beings who have a free will and an intellect that is far superior to ours. The evil ones dwell in hell; the holy ones dwell in heaven and are therefore considered to be saints. Whoever is in heaven is a saint. God uses angels as messengers, guardians, and all-around helpers to us—as well as to reflect his glory. In Tobit 12:12, the Archangel Raphael said to Tobias, "So now when you and Sarah prayed, it was I who brought and read the record of your prayer before the glory of the Lord, and likewise whenever you would bury the dead." In Tobit 12:14-16, we read, "And at the same time God sent me to heal you and Sarah your daughter-in-law. I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who stand ready and enter before the glory of the Lord. The two of them were shaken; they fell face down, for they were afraid." For more, see the Catholic Encyclopedia entry on angels at www.newadvent.org.

So it's not semantics at all. You seem to have been raised in a sect of Christianity that doesn't, but that still leaves room for plenty of variety.

This episode did nothing to allay my irritation at how they've written Sam, and I'm guessing we get full vaseline-cam flashbacks to Sam's idyll next week (ugh, but maybe some explanation of the throughline--I don't mind him being happy, but if he's truly truly miserable hunting, if it's absolutely not a choice he'd make on his own, how is this Team Free Will? How can I keep enjoying watching him and be a Samgirl?)

However, Kevin was cool, his mother was funny and cool, and as a Destiel shipper the only thing more I could have asked for would be bodily fluid--there's enough foundation there to build on for chapters and chapters--tomes, even.

I wonder--do you figure demons can't get rid of the tattoos? Otherwise they're not much use. But if they have to convince a third party to remove them...not that many people like demons...it may be a reasonable deterrent. Certainly better than nothing.

Sneak peek

You seem to have been raised in a sect of Christianity that doesn't

I was raised in a sect that included Tobit as a book of apocrypha, but let's not get into an extended theological discussion here, as that's not what I intended.

What I was aiming towards in a clumsy way was that I thought neither of the guys even belived in angels (although we know that Sam said he had been praying his whole life) until Dean was rescued by Castiel. After that point the only "good" angel they knew was Castiel, every other angel they met was a massively arrogant "dick with wings," as Dean said. And once Show got past the first few delicious episodes where Castiel was presented as a mysterious Other with rockstar presence and mystical powers, he turned into an ally/friend (although an unpredictable one). The character that Castiel became doesn't seem like the 'object of worship' who'd be receiving prayers.

As I said, I'm just quibbling over the use of the word "prayer" which is something that caught my attention in a show that has a hazy relationship with religion at best.

do you figure demons can't get rid of the tattoos? Otherwise they're not much use. But if they have to convince a third party to remove them

Once they inhabit someone they then have all that person's memories, right? So now Crowley knows where to find the Winchesters' tats, if he didn't before.

I don't know if the tats were supposed to be hidden--otherwise, try the sole of a foot or the inside of your upper arm or a buttcheek or something. Makes the reveal...different, but I didn't think that was an issue.

I guess I don't get the prayer thing. People pray to angels, that's established in the real world as a thing, and Dean and Sam characterise their onesided "please give me help, angel Castiel" thoughts as prayers, and so would a lot of people. It's not an act of faith in the divine, but it fits some of the criteria. I don't understand why it's an issue.

And, lord, the casual use of it in that particular exchange, where Dean who has no faith and can barely ask for help and has no friends--for him to say that? Pow,, ,right in my feels.

One of the signals to back button out of a fic is the attribution of Castiel as Dean's angel. So the bit where Benny called Cas Dean's angel I had to la la and stress to myself that it's just shorthand for "the one you were referring to" and not the shippy thing. Because, ick.

I suppose the phrase is useful in navigating fics where Gabriel is parceled out to Sam in some sort of even stevens dynamic...

I thought season 6 pretty firmly established that with Cas' cellphone gone to cellphone heaven, prayer was the only way to reach him?

I thought the setup for the ep was a bit weak. Mom is bait, surrounded by demons waiting for Kevin to come to her. Kevin's plan: go to her, fall into trap, or escape and on the run from demons. Dean's plan: get the tablet, banish all demons, Kevin's mom as bait no longer an issue. The sitch as posited was that Kevin's mom was not in immediate danger, and was just the honeytrap who would be around as long as it took for Kevin to cave and go to her.

If it were set up differently, say, Crowley gets a message throught that if Kevin doesn't come, Mom is dead, then I could see them having to deal with that situation stat. But that's not how it was presented, and so makes no sense to me that Dean caved, or that Sam was rooting for that plan.

Also, now I don't know what this means, but Dean calling Kevin's mom Tiger Mom? made me do a double take. Was it a racial slur or stereotype? A Cougar reference? And why was the ep named same? And why wasn't Kevin twitching as well?

ION: CAS!!!

In shallow news: nummy bearded Cas! With a The End seeming personality minus the hedonism. I like the blending.

I'm wondering what makes Benny different, and what made him care for Dean to the point that he went all BFF on Dean's ex-BF with the offensive grilling session (you know, the "I don't know you, but I'm mad at you cuz you hurt my bud/secret crush".

Also, now I don't know what this means, but Dean calling Kevin's mom Tiger Mom?

I may be completely wrong, but I thought it was a reference to Amy Chua's book that got so much publicity and caused so much controversy.

I have no idea why Dean's mind would go there, but that's where mine went.

It's not an act of faith in the divine, but it fits some of the criteria. I don't understand why it's an issue.

See, shouldn't a prayer be an act of faith in the divine? Otherwise what's the point? Anyway, I've been thinking, and I think my other problem with the praying to Castiel is the way that Castiel's character has evolved.... he's frequently been used as the butt of the joke and comic relief, and from a personal standpoint that's not how I prefer to see my angels. Also from a personal perspective, I can't imagine ever, ever taking any entity to whom I pray to a whorehouse to get laid. Or sit in a room with them and watch porn. So I suppose me and Show will have a YMMV difference of opinion on the subject, that's all. Obviously other people will have other points of view.

I have no idea what year it is now in SPN-land, maybe he read it during the fight against the leviathans (maybe Bobby had it kicking around?).

But, I hope it's that. Makes me feel better about the comment and title, and reinforces Dean's hidden reader (after the whole Lovecraft debacle).

I kinda liked that the teaser wasn't crucial to the plot, only tangential, but that it still had it's resolution. Was sad to see Kevin's mom (I really should learn her name) end up catatonic, but I suppose being possessed by Crowley is a mite different than the average demon possession (which would still be traumatic, but she just had so much spark that I'd think she'd be one of the strong ones to come through okay -if it had been a non-red-eye, which, nice to have that tidbit finally!)

Cheerios: so, if Cas is trying to stay one step ahead of the Leviathans, why is he in a known location? And if he's heard everyone of Dean's prayers, and therefore that Dean is on his way to him (my assumption being that the subsequent prayers would be "your skinny ass better be there when I get there!").

Also, are the leviathans after Cas ones that never got out of Purgatory in the first place, or, well . . . no, that must be that, since no leviathan was actually killed on earth, right? Just disabled with the decapitation? So, not pissed that they got sent back, but that they weren't among those who escaped? Unless he's referring to Dick Roman, who is the only I can think of that got sent back.

You don't have to have read the book to know Tiger Mommy. It was all over gawker and that level of "news" coverage. I certainly haven't read any of the books, but I've seen much discussion of the phenomenon, and defense of such mothers, etc.

Comatose? Are you assuming Kevin carried her out of there?

Do you think that Cas was deliberately or carelessly in a "known location"? Someone knew where he was, but that someone may or may not have included leviathan. It's not like there was a neon sign, or anything.