Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies
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Cecil: Old Woman Josie, out near the Car Lot, says the Angels revealed themselves to her . . . said they helped her with various household chores. One of them changed a lightbulb for her – the porch light. (“Pilot” 01:28) Again, the consistency of their fondness and protective feelings over Josie suggests that they may have in fact been sent to earth in order to protect her. (See Fig. 6) In the episode “Station Management”, for instance, Cecil reports “Creeping Fear” coming to Night Vale and affecting every citizen except Josie, “presumable because of her angelic protection” (07:45). However, because of the mysterious aspect of the narrative, the audience clearly has no way of identifying the true intentions of these angels. Thus, it is difficult to tell whether they are in fact helping Josie or taking advantage of her. Therefore, it is at first impossible to determine whether the stereotypical conception of the guardian angels has been truly subverted in this case. Moreover, while Erika – which is what all the angels are called here – are quite clearly heavily involved in Josie’s life, they do not usually interfere when it comes to the bigger things that are happening in Night Vale (and there are many every day), which suggest they do not serve as a catalyst either. All of this, however, changes in episodes 49 and 50, when Erika to everyone’s surprise decide to fight alongside Night Vale citizens in a revolution against the evil corporation StrexCorp, which has occupied and controlled the town, enslaving its citizens. In these episodes, Erika help destroy StrexCorp with the help of a masked desert army of giants that have entered the town through a series of magical doors: “Dana: Night Vale, stay safe! Stay home and do not get caught in the dangerous crossfire. The desert army and the angels, they are here to save us.” (“Old Oak Doors Part B” 15:55) Furthermore, After StrexCorp is overthrown, another surprise follows when it is revealed that Erika purchased all StrexCorp’s former premises: Cecil: A very wealthy-looking and mostly nude being named Erika, who introduced themselves as… you know, an angel, or whatever, then wrote a check to purchase StrexCorp . . . It is not yet known what the angels will do with the vast corporation they now own, and I think – at last – we are ourselves. We are Night Vale once again. (31:56) Again, although it is initially difficult to determine what the angels’ motivations were for helping Night Vale in this case, it can still be said that while they were originally introduced as mere guardian angels who did not intervene in any major way, they turned out to have the most pivotal role in the most important storyline of the podcast. Moreover, thanks to the contrast between their original apathy and disinterest and their sudden involvement, it can also be said that Erika became an important catalyst for the story, as they inspired the rest of the citizens to fight against StrexCorp and start a revolution. In short, their joining in on the rebellion against StrexCorp and the following purchase the company transformed the town of Night Vale for the better. In addition, this transformative influence of Erika then continues after the revolution, though not in such a positive way anymore. In episode 74, “Civic Changes”, Cecil reveals that as StrexCorp had been the main employer in Night Vale and the neighbouring town of Desert Bluffs, after the angels shut down all of StrexCorp’s operations, so many people lost their jobs that it actually made a difference in the economy:
In the following episode, Cecil again confirms this by mentioning Erika in connection with this economic crisis: Cecil: The not-at-all-angels closed down almost every Strex office, and laid off (or, as they put it, “liberated”) all former Strex employees, and at this point are mostly liquidating Strex resources in order to fund operas here in Night Vale. (“Through the Narrow Place” 07:39) Therefore, it can be said that although in the past Erika’s angelic interference has been seen as positive, their laying off of workers of the former StrexCorp corporation also shows their ignorance towards their protégés, which can be, in this case, considered the whole town of Night Vale. A much clearer example of this kind of shameless angelic interference can be found in the comedy TV series Angel From Hell (2016). In its first episode, the angel Amy (Jane Lynch) admits to her protégé Allison that although she knows that as her guardian angel, her work is supposed to be mainly consisting of observing and sometimes “nudging people in the right direction”, and that guardian angels are never supposed to directly influence their protégé’s life, she does not want to obey these rules: Amy: Technically we’re never supposed to intervene in human’s life. Allison: Is that some kind of an angel rule?
As has been demonstrated here, Amy can be considered another depiction of an angel who is subverting the “guardian angel” trope by disobeying her orders. Quite clearly, Amy does not agree with any of the rules, as she decides to meet with Allison in person and force her way into her life in order to give her advice. This interference ends up directly influencing on Allison’s life – with sometimes positive and sometimes negative results, both of which additionally have the potential to transform Allison’s life for both better or worse. Overall, based on these examples, it can be said that the stereotypical understanding of the “guardian angel” trope tends to be most often subverted in two significant ways: One, the relationship between the guardian angel and the human is compromised by the angel acting for its own benefit instead of focusing on its protégé, meaning the angel has an ulterior motive, which he often achieves through deceit, trickery, and lying. Two, the guardian angel’s interference serves as a transformative tool (or a catalyst), which can directly influence the protégé or even the whole story, transforming it for either the better or worse. Both of these features can be identified with the trickster archetype. First, the trickster’s ability to lie and deceive is in fact one of his core characteristics, as no trickster would be able to “trick” anyone without lying. According to Hyde, the distinction between regular lying and trickster’s way of deceiving someone is crucial, as trickster’s lie is always connected to creativity: “Trickster isn’t a run-of-the-mill liar and thief. When he lies and steals, it isn’t so much to get away with something or get rich as to disturb the established categories of truth and property and, by so doing, open the road to possible new worlds.” (Hyde 13) Hyde also highlights the importance of the connection between lie and creativity by claiming that trickster “is master of the kind of creative deception that, according to a long tradition, is a prerequisite of art.” (17) Correspondingly, the guardian angels’ deceitfulness often has a creative aspect to them. The angel Gadreel in Supernatural, for example, manages to trick Dean into tricking Sam to let him possess his body in order to heal him even though the healing itself is not the angel’s ultimate goal. Similarly, in Drop Dead Diva, the angel Fred uses Jane in order to get together with Stacey, while all the while she thinks that he is taking care of her. In addition, Jackson talks about the importance of the connection of deceit and the trickster’s transformative nature: [Trickster] is the bringer of significant transformations, an agent of the creator in some stories, a necessary catalyst. In others he’s the bringer of ruin, deceitful and conniving, a turncoat, or devil in disguise. He shifts shapes, illustrates survival through clever adaptation, sometimes exhibiting extreme foolishness. He is the cause of chaos where things go wrong, and also can be the source of benevolence, helping humanity. (Jackson 9) To put it in different words, the trickster’s ability to lie and deceive can be crucial to his ability to influence certain situations, people’s opinions, or even create something new that might help humans. Similarly, Hyde mentions the trickster’s ability to create order by creating chaos (or dirt), and vice-versa: “. . . Dirt is always a by-product of creating order. Where there is dirt, there is always a system of some kind, and rules about dirt are meant to preserve it.” (Hyde 176) This is, for instance, visible in the example of Erika in Welcome to Night Vale as while the angels function as a catalyst for a revolution against an evil corporation, their involvement in this matter ultimately results in loss of jobs and economic crisis of the town. The opposite example can then be found in the case of Supernatural’s angel Gadreel, who tries to deceive the Winchester brothers to help himself, but ultimately ends up saving their lives. In a nutshell, the fact that the guardian angels depicted in recent American narratives are often portrayed as deceitful and selfish can be seen as a subversion of the stereotypical image of guardian angels as inherently selfless and exclusively devoted to their protégés. Additionally, the trickster’s ability to lie and deceive goes hand in hand with his ability to function as a catalyst, which disrupts the stereotypical notion that guardian angels are banned from directly interfering in their protégé’s business unless they are told to by God. All in all, it can be said that the archetypal merger has managed to transform American guardian angels into more sophisticated and approachable characters. 3.3. The Fallen Heroes Though a lot has been said in regard to the stereotypical conception of inherent goodness and selflessness of angels, the truth is that while this goodness may be considered the backbone of angelic mythology by some, the Scriptures also speak of “bad” angels. The Book of Enoch, for example, speaks of the angels known as “Watchers” (Section I, 1:5), who decided to leave heaven and live on earth among humans in order to procreate with their women, which was, of course, forbidden. The Scriptures also speak of demons, who are supposedly of the same origin as angels. “For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment” (2 Peter 2:4) In actuality, the only difference between angels and demons seems to be the fact that demons willingly chose evil over good. Correspondingly, Jones says that “in the Middle Ages, Christians felt it was very important to be clear that demons have once been good angels and had fallen through their own free will” (Jones 113), “free will” being the key point here. Simply put, if reduced to a stereotypical image, angels are nearly exclusively portrayed as inherently good. Furthermore, if they are not good, then they are at least morally unambiguous (either good or bad). In other words, if they choose the evil side, then that makes them inherently evil from then on (neither the Watchers nor Lucifer have ever become redeemed in the Scriptures). Given this idea, no angels can therefore exist on the verge of good and evil. In fact, according to Jones, even “Aquinas had rejected the idea of indifferent angels. There are good angels and bad angels, but angels do not sit on the fence.” (Jones 116) In a view of this, not even Lucifer, the chief demon, could be described as “on the fence” as he willingly chose to rebel against God and become evil. In many ways, this unambiguity as seen in the Scriptures has already started becoming blurred in the 18th century. For instance, the inherent goodness of angels has already been challenged in William Blake’s The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1790): “I have always found that Angels have the vanity to speak of themselves as the only wise; this they do with a confident insolence sprouting from systematic reasoning.” (Blake 21) Additionally, there is the case of the demon Mephistopheles from Christopher Marlowe’s The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, who is initially depicted as helpful, or even good, as he tries to warn Faustus against making deals with the Devil: “. . . O, Faustus, leave these frivolous demands, / Which strike a terror to my fainting soul!” (Marlowe 58) Furthermore, while angelic depiction from before the 1990s (e.g. Clarence from It’s a Wonderful Life, or the angel from The Littlest Angel) can predominantly be seen as perfect examples of inherent goodness, Blake’s and Marlowe’s subverted image of morally unambiguous angels has resurfaced in recent American popular narratives, transforming the angels into more elaborated characters, as it is often hard to determine which “side” they are on. Initially, it can be said that the rhetorics of The Prophecy certainly identify the Archangel Gabriel as evil – the main villain of the story. First off, he is directly antagonistic towards the main hero, Thomas, and he is also depicted doing multiple things which may be interpreted as evil or negative and he admits to doing so with pride: “Gabriel: I’m an angel. I kill firstborns on their momma’s watch. I turn cities in salt. I even, when I feel like it, rip the souls from little girls and from now till kingdom come the only thing you can count on is in your existence is never understanding why.” (1:06:57) At the same time, however, it is also made clear to the audience that Gabriel is only being mean out of frustration towards injustice in heaven. Specifically, the audience may feel empathy towards Gabriel and understanding of his motivations, which pushes him away from the inherently evil side: “Thomas: I know what it’s like to be ignored, pushed aside. I know your anger, Gabriel. I know what it’s like to lose your faith in the Word. I know.” (1:25:29) This estrangement from the inherently evil side does not automatically turn Gabriel into a good angel, though, as he still does bad things in the film. Thus, it can be said that he is morally ambiguous. In the film Dogma (1999), the angel Metatron (Alan Rickman) first appears to Bethany Sloane in a form of a burning fire while she is sleeping, prompting her to believe that he is an attacker, which is only emphasised when he transforms her baseball bat into a fish. Consequently, this initially makes him seem as a negative hero to the audience despite the fact that he is supposed to be “the voice of God” and therefore a positive character.
Furthermore, while he is portrayed as rude and grumpy, it is revealed that he has been sent to earth to actually help Bethany rather than hurt her. All in all, as Metatron’s whole characterisation can be described as ambiguous, especially at the beginning when the audience does not yet know why he has come to visit Bethany. In a similar manner, Supernatural’s angel Castiel can also be perceived as evil rather than good on several occasions. For instance, even before his first appearance in the episode 4x1 “Lazarus Rising” (before the Winchester brothers even discover that he is an angel), he is actually thought to be a demon or some evil monster. For instance, when the brothers ask a psychic to attempt to contact Castiel in the spirit world, her eyes get burned out of her skull (though she does not die). Similarly, when they encounter a demon in a diner later that day, they discover that demons are also scared of Castiel: “Dean: You're just as spooked as we are. And you're looking for answers. Well, maybe it was some turbo-charged spirit. Or Godzilla. Or some big bad boss demon . . . They're a lot stronger than you.” (27:10) Ultimately, it can be said that Castiel is being described as a morally ambiguous angel – on one hand he burns out an innocent woman's eyes out of her skull, which is bad, but on the other hand he raises Dean from the dead and demons are scared of him, which is good. (See Fig. 7) Furthermore, despite the fact that some of the “bad” things Castiel has done are clarified later on in the episode, the question whether doing them at all was morally right or wrong does not get, in fact, answered: Dean: Some angel you are. You burned that poor woman’s eyes! Castiel: I warned her not to spy on my true form. It can be… overwhelming to humans. (40:30) In other words, while burning the psychic’s eyes was not Castiel’s fault, his words still does not depict him as a completely positive character. In fact, it makes him seem ignorant and reckless, which only increases the level of ambiguity in connection to this character. Consequently, In the following episode Dean wonders about Castiel’s morality when he discovers that although he knew that the Winchester brothers were being attacked by a group of undead people (in an event known as “The Rising of the Witnesses”), he decided not to help:
Castiel’s answer then only supports the idea that the Supernatural writers were in fact trying to subvert the stereotypical image of angels as always being good and helpful, as he basically tells Dean that he is not there to be his personal helper. Correspondingly, when in episode “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester” Sam learns that Castiel and his friend, the angel Uriel, would rather destroy a whole town than risk a witch directly causing Lucifer’s return on earth, he is shocked: “Sam: No, you can’t do this, you’re angels, I mean aren’t you supposed to – you’re supposed to show mercy.” (18:11) Although Castiel and Dean become extremely close during the course of the next two seasons, Castiel’s status as a possible villain never quite goes away. In season six, Castiel causes monsters from Purgatory to escape on earth when he abuses his powers in order to become the new God. Prior to this – in episode 6x17 “My Heart Will Go On”, he decides to erase the sinking of the Titanic from history in order to harvest all of the souls of the people who then would not die. Ultimately, his plan is to use the souls in the heavenly civil war against the evil Archangel Raphael, which is seen as positive, however, his action also disrupts the balance of the universe, which results in many brutal deaths of all the descendants that should not have been born, which is clearly supposed to be perceived as negative. Similarly, in the currently ongoing season eleven, Castiel allows Lucifer to use his body as a vessel in order to help him escape from hell. However, the audience knows the whole time that he is only doing it because Lucifer is the only one who can defeat the Darkness (the main villain of the season) which also makes him a hero. All in all, in all these examples, the audience is simultaneously told that Castiel is only doing the bad things because he thinks they will lead to something good. This sort of characterisation can be seen as morally ambiguous. Furthermore, another character in Supernatural who believes she is doing the right thing, while all the while she is actually hurting people, is the angel Naomi (Amanda Tapping). Again, at the beginning, she seems to be the main villain of the season when she decides to brainwash Castiel into killing Dean Winchester in order to acquire a relique called “the Angel Tablet”, which can be used as a weapon against heaven. Although she is depicted on several occasions hurting Castiel – even drilling into his head in order to alter his behaviour – it is eventually revealed, that she has been trying to save heaven from being invaded by demons the whole time. Again, not even in her case can it be determined whether she was supposed to be good or a bad, which subverts the stereotypical conception of angels as inherently good (or evil) beings. Correspondingly, the angel Gadreel’s nature also remains ambiguous basically throughout his whole arc as the rhetorics of the show depict him in a positive light in one episode and then in a negative light in others. When it is first revealed that Gadreel’s name is not Ezekiel and that he is a fugitive from heaven who is using the Winchester brothers to hide from the other angels, the character is quite clearly being depicted as negative or even as a villain. However, in episode 9x9 “Holy Terror”, the audience starts receiving hints suggesting that Gadreel has actually been attempting to redeem himself: Metatron: Relax, I’m not here to out you. But I am curious, why [did you choose the name] Ezekiel? Gadreel: They say he is a good and honourable angel. Metatron: Everything that they say you are not. I see your point, Gadreel. Gadreel: The stories about me… they are not true! (13:34) Again, the suggestion that Gadreel wants to redeem himself and clear his name are obvious here, yet at this point the audience still cannot be sure whether this angel is good or evil. Not even after Gadreel dies by sacrificing his life for Castiel – which could be considered the ultimate act of good – is he established an inherently good angel, meaning he stays ambiguous even after his death and departure from the series. In Fallen (2006) it is established that there are three main kinds of angels. The Powers – God’s warrior soldiers who live in heaven, the Fallen – a group of angels who grew tired of heavenly wars and decided to stay on earth and live amongst humans (and breed with them), and the Nephilim – the impure children of angels and humans. In general, none of these groups can be considered inherently good or bad. Although the Fallen (as their name suggests) have been stripped of their angelic identity and hunted by the Powers for abandoning God, the series does not depict them as inherently bad. For instance, in “The Beginning” the fallen angel Ezekiel (Tom Skerritt) becomes friends with the main character and helps him discover his powers in order to save his family, which clearly portrays him as a good character, despite the fact that he is supposed to be seen as inherently evil since he is one of the Fallen. Conversely, while the Powers should be considered inherently good, the show puts them against the main hero, which makes the audience question their morality. Similarly to the angel Naomi in Supernatural, The Powers believe they are serving God, while all the while they are only serving themselves. According to the angel Ezekiel, they seek revelations from God, but he does not speak back. (See Fig. 8) Correspondingly, in Legion and its sequel Dominion, the two main angels are initially supposed to be each seen on the opposite end of the spectre. The Archangel Michael (Paul Bettany) is initially supposed to represent the fallen hero, and the angel Gabriel (Kevin Durand) is supposed to be believed to be acting according to God’s will. However, at the end of the film it is revealed that all the while, Michael was actually the one who was acting according to God’s will when he is resurrected after Gabriel kills him in a fight. (See Fig. 9) Therefore, their moral roles are suddenly flipped:
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