pondstiel:

I’m the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition.

Castiel has a sense of self. All the angels do.

Funny, isn’t that?

If God wanted an army, He could have made mindless, loyal drones. Copies of copies, serving His cause with no hesitation, no thought. Maximum righteous efficiency.

Instead, His soldiers have names. They have personalities and thoughts and talents.

It’s no wonder some rebelled. It’s no wonder some continued to carry out His work. By giving them agency, He gave them choice. Angels aren’t as restricted as they think. They are agents of fate acting out of pure, unadulterated free will.

I suspect the whole ‘emotionless marble statue’ shtick was something that Michael and Raphael cooked up to brainwash the younger angels after Lucifer fell and Gabriel ran off, as a way to maintain order (read: control) in the Host.  Michael may even have bought into the idea that that’s what angels should be, perfect unquestioning servants of God; it’s what he seemed to aspire to himself.  I don’t think Raphael really bought into it, but he followed Michael’s lead until Michael was conveniently removed from play by others.

Following that tangent, it’s funny how Raphael started out saying ‘We must retrieve Michael and Lucifer from Hell and restart the Apocalypse!’ but when he found out Purgatory was about to be cracked, he changed his tune to ‘If anyone’s going to be the new God, it’s me.’