Could Nazi Castiel Have Played A Greater Role As Leader of The Thule?

Over the last few months I’ve started to look at Supernatural Season 13 the same way a chef looks at a stew. You can throw any number of ingredients into the pot and each one will add to the overall flavor of the dish. In many ways, this is what Eric Kripke did with the first season of the show. Throw in a ghost here, one tablespoon of Wendigo, a dash of Reaper, simmer for 22 episodes and serve over a plate of “Bad Moon Rising.”

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But any chef knows that a good stew has one main ingredient which the rest of the additions complement. In Season 1 it was the hunt for Yellow Eyes. In Season 13 it was the development of Jack as a character and his potential dalliance with the dark side. But no matter how solid your primary ingredient is, you cannot throw in an old shoe, a handful of dead wasps, and a diseased pigeon into the pot and expect your restaurant to win a Michelin Star.

One exceptionally execrable element that many fans found hard to swallow was the portrayal of Apocalypse World Castiel. Armed with a pseudo German accent, a bum eye, and manic facial twitch worth of a cocaine addicted senior broker during Regan Era Wall Street, he was a character with immense potential that sadly amounted to little more than a fun moment for actor Misha Collins. For many, this version of the beloved character was seen as the moment when someone mistook the pot of stew for a slop trough, and proceeded to empty the contents of their bladder into the boiling mess, more commonly referred to as “taking the piss.”

Looking back at that episode, it is hard not to feel like everyone involved in that scene mistook the soup de jour for a lavatory. But negative attitudes surrounding poor choices are not what I want to talk about today. Instead, let’s make like a climate change denier standing on a hot tar blacktop in the dead of an Arizona summer; ignore the glaringly obvious problem and come up with our own reality instead.

The sad truth of the matter is that Nazi Castiel was pointless. Another example of what I lovingly call “Skittle Syndrome,” where something is fun, tasty, and colorful, but completely lacking in substance. See Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 or Thor: Ragnorok. While Season 13 had a terminal case of the disease, that doesn’t mean that this idea was inherently bad. An inherently bad idea was portraying Hitler as a flamboyant, washed up jazzercise instructor.

So if Nazi Cas was not that bad an idea, what could have been done differently with this same concept? What if Apocalypse Castiel really was a Nazi in Apocalypse World? What if his vessel, Jimmy Novak, was a member of The Thule to boot? Could the Thule have played a larger role in coming of the Apocalypse? Could there have been stronger narrative parallels between what Castiel became in our Prime world and what he might have become without the Winchester’s influence? A living mirror of Jack’s own journey?

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During the first year of Andrew Dabb’s run, he was determined to wrap up many loose plot threads left by previous show runners. One of these was the Thule: A shadowy, relentless, and brutal sect of history’s most infamous villains. The Thule possessed more potential and intrigue than many other concepts in Supernatural’s recent years. Despite a lack of screen time, they captured fan interest overnight. But how could we honestly believe that Sam and Dean would be able to take on a threat that spanned the globe and multiple generations of secret society interwoven within the very fabric of our modern world? By simply fighting fire with fire of course.

With the introduction of the British Chapter of the Men of Letters, we had the perfect conduit to deliver a tense geo-political invisible war within the very heart of the Supernatural universe. One side, the British Men of Letters. Armed with advanced technology and an entire squadron of James Bond level elite troops the BMOL would have had the firepower and the intelligence to aid Sam and Dean in their fight against an oppressive global regime. On the other side, The Thule, wielding dark magic and necromantic powers never before seen in human hands, and an un-killable, unrelenting, unshakable organization who would hardly scoff at using others to advance their own goals. Other forces like monsters to swell their ranks perhaps? Hunters vs Monsters with the flags of the BMOL and the Thule respectively.

That sounds like quite the setup for a new showrunners first season behind the wheel. We have effectively set up a multiple season long threat, complete with testing allegiances, new faces, and new foes all in one swoop. Additionally, the hunt for Kelly Kline and the Nephilim baby she was carrying could have been the focal point. How do the brothers save this innocent woman from the evil of the Thule, and the uncaring, nearly inhuman nature of the BMOL’s stance that the individual is nothing but a pawn, happily sacrificed for the greater good?

And even if they save Kelly, how does this seemingly eternal conflict, this supernatural remnant of World War II ever truly come to an end? When we look to our history books, we can see that a new, unspeakably powerful weapon must be brought to the table. Oh why hello Jack, I didn’t see you there behind Castiels trench coat.

With the introduction of Jack in season 13 we have that weapon. Power that can change the very fabric of the universe is now up for grabs, and whomever controls Jack, controls the world. Or should I say worlds? If Apocalypse world is the Prime world we know, with the only difference being the absence of Sam and Dean, then the Thule exist in this world as well. With the multiple different parties all vying to control the boy would have been perfectly in line with the events of the season. The Winchesters would still be torn between the grief from the loss of Crowley, Castiel, and their mother, yet also tasked with protecting this immensely powerful person from those who would use his powers for evil.

In this scenario we also have an overarching plot and threat from the previous season, and a ticking clock element with two groups of the Thule attempting to learn how to travel between worlds. And while the BMOL would certainly try to stop them, could they themselves be trusted? This would force the brothers to learn how to travel between worlds, not simply for the chance at rescuing their mom, but to save the multiverse and possibly the very fabric of reality as a whole.

This would give us multiple ways between the realities without requiring the egregious return of Gabriel and the lackluster use of Asmodeous, while achieving the same thematic result. But how does Michael fit into all of this? The exact same way. While the Thule want to rule the world, it isn’t impossible to think that they would make powerful allies any way they could. AU Thule would want Michael as protection and perhaps even feign subjugation. Prime world Thule would look to ally with a new and powerful player in their unending war.

As we come to season 14, rather than have Michael suddenly show an interest in science and genetic engineering, it would have made perfect sense for The Thule to discover a way to enhance their monster army with the use of his otherworldly Archangel grace. In exchange, he allows them to control what parts of the planet he does not turn into a wasteland. This keeps them in the role they have always thrived in; working in the shadows, playing the long game for their true goal.

Throughout all of this, we could have AU Castiel, an angel that possessed one of the Thule higher-ups, working in tandem and acting as a mediator for both the Thule, and for Michael, much like the real Castiel was a middle man for the Winchesters and Heaven. While his performance might need to be a bit more subdued, the idea of Jack being torn between two interpretations of the Angel Castiel is, and what he could have become had he given into power and the capacity for evil in us all is truly exciting. Especially with Jacks death being reversible, so long as someone taught them the secret behind necromancy…

While this was a bit of fun speculation, it was simply my own personal take on a bit of personal fan fiction. Since the absolute abortion of an ending that was The Thule “master plan” in Season 12,  the idea of the Thule has become one of the most painful concepts to revisit to in subsequent viewings of the show. But perhaps it is not all over. Perhaps we will see another sad victim burst into flames in that trademark Thule manner. Perhaps they are licking their wounds and regrouping? We know this shadow cult is still alive in some parts of Europe, so they are not completely dead. Not yet anyway. And when you have the power of necromancy, is that really much of an obstacle?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fp2B_duOsKg