Castiel

I'm the one who gripped you tight, and raised you from perdition. – Castiel to Dean, 4.01 Lazarus Rising

Castiel is the Angel who rescued Dean from Hell, according to Castiel on a command from God. His handprint is burnt into Dean's arm.

His true voice is piercing to the human ear and only certain people can hear him properly this way or so he claims, and looking on his true visage will burn a human's eyes from their head, as Pamela Barnes found when she tried to summon him in a seance. It will also burn the eyes of humans possessed by demons as shown in the diner scene when Sam is attacked by a blind demon. When he meets Dean he is inside the body of a man he says "prayed for it".

He often appears with Uriel, who appears to be junior to him. In the past Anna Milton, in her angelic state, was his superior.

Misha Collins who plays Castiel reports that "Kripke wanted to base the look of the character on the comic book character ‘Constantine’" Source. There was great secrecy around the introduction of the character. When the role was being cast it was advertised as being for a demon. It was only at the audition that Misha found out Castiel was an Angel.

4.01 Lazarus Rising

Castiel tries to 'speak' to Dean after his resurrection, but all Dean hear's is a piercing sound. When Pamela Barnes conducts a seance to reveal the being who saved Dean, Castiel warns her off, but she persists and is blinded when she encounters him. Again, while Dean is alone in the hotel room in Pontiac, Castiel tries to speak to Dean, but his 'voice' shatters all the glass in the room and makes Dean's ears bleed.

Dean is intent on summoning Castiel, and so he and Bobby prepare an empty warehouse with protective sigils and symbols and Bobby performs a summoning ritual. When Castiel appears, Bobby and Dean shoot him with rock salt to no effect. Dean stabs Castiel with Ruby's Knife, also to no avail. Castiel causes Bobby to pass out and then reveals to Dean that he is an angel, who saved him from Hell on God's command. "I gripped you tight and raised you from perdition." He tells Dean that God "has work for him."

4.02 Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean Winchester

Castiel appears to Dean in Bobby's kitchen, and confirmed that the spirits who attacked them were Witnesses. He tells Dean that their summoning by Lilith broke the first of The 66 Seals , and that when the last one is broken Lucifer will be freed.

Misha Collin plays Castiel in Season 4

4.03 In The Beginning

Castiel sends Dean back 1973 to meet his parents when they were young. The purpose of this was to find out the truth of what happened with Mary Winchester and Azazel, but still have no idea what Azazel's endgame is. He then tells Dean that Sam is headed down a dangerous road and that if Dean doesn't stop him, the angels will.

4.07 It's The Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester

Dean and Sam return to their motel room to find Castiel and Uriel waiting. Sam is thrilled to meet Castiel. Castiel's reponse is to acknowledge Sam as the the 'boy with the demon blood' and say that he is glad Sam is no longer using his powers. Castiel reveals they found a hex bag, which would've killed the boys, secreted in the room and that the raising of Samhain by the witch will break another of The 66 Seals. He advises Sam and Dean to leave town, because he and Uriel are going to destroy it. Sam and Dean argue that they can find and kill the witch and stop the summoning of Samhain. Later Uriel expresses his contempt for humans and tries to persuade Castiel that they should destroy the town anyway. Castiel reminds him that Dean was saved because he has 'potential', and reminds Uriel that they must follow their 'true orders'. After Sma has sued his powers to send Samhain to Hell, Castiel apepars to dean. He reveales that their true orders were to follow whatever Dean decided to do, as a test under battlefield conditions. Dean, thinking he's failed, asserts that he'd make the same decisions all over again if he had to, because of what he and Sam have saved. Castiel confides that he was praying Dean would choose as he did, and also that he has questions and doubts about the plan from Heaven. He warns that in the coming months, there will be more hard decisions for Dean -- and the angel does not envy him that.

4.09 I Know What You Did Last Summer

Castiel appears with Uriel to kill Anna at the end of the episode.

4.10 Heaven And Hell

Castiel and Uriel appear and demand that Sam and Dean hand over Anna, with Castiel announcing, "We're here for Anna...she has to die." Uriel states that Anna is not as innocent as she appears. The boys protest but the angels attack. Suddenly a bright light engulfs them and the angels are repelled and disappear. The boys go to the room where Anna was hiding, and find that she has used her blood to draw sigils on a mirror and use some spell against the angels.

Uriel and Castiel reappear from being banished later to take Anna. Dean's choice is revealed: either Anna dies - or Sam. As the angels are about to take her, an injured Ruby appears with Alastair. The demons and angels confront each other and another fight ensues. During the confrontation Castiel faces off with Alastair, landing several blows and tries to cast the demon back into the Pit. It proves ineffective and Alastair pins Castiel to the ground, strangles him and starts a demonic chant. Castiel is saved from Alastair's grip when Dean hits the demon across the back with a tire iron and distracts him from Castiel.

During the fight Anna steals her Grace from Uriel and becomes an angel again. During the process, Alastair disappears. Uriel and Castiel leave, and we find out that it was Sam's plan all along to bring the demons and angels together to get them to fight each other.

Castiel in lore

According to "Dictionary of Angels: Including the Fallen Angels", Castiel is an Angel Of Thursday in the occult lore. This may be a reference to the fact that Supernatural airs on a Thursday night on The CW.

Castiel in fandom

• spn_castiel - Castiel group on LJ
• fromperdition - LJ fan community dedicated to Castiel
• deancastiel LJ community to the relationship between Castiel and Dean