User:Ophois/alastair
Plot
Alastair is the white-eyed torturer of souls in Hell; he is described by the character Ruby as "Picasso with a razor". When Dean Winchester is sent to Hell at the end of the third season, he is tortured daily by Alastair, who stops only when he eventually convinces Dean to torture other souls himself. In the fourth season premiere, Dean is rescued from Hell off-screen by angels, who claim to want his assistance in stopping the demon Lilith from breaking the mystical seals on Lucifer's prison.
Alastair debuts on-screen in the episode "I Know What You Did Last Summer", possessing a pediatrician portrayed by Mark Rolston. He seeks to capture Anna Milton, a fallen angel who can hear the conversations of other angels. Dean Winchester and his brother Sam interfere, but Alastair is shown to be highly resistant to Sam's demonic abilities and to Ruby's demon-killing knife. The brothers nevertheless escape with Anna. Alastair is later tricked by the Winchesters into a confrontation with the angels Castiel and Uriel. He proves to be more powerful, but his host is destroyed in the blast generated by Anna being restored to her angelic true form.
He returns in "Death Takes a Holiday", seeking to kill Reapers to break another seal. He now inhabits a man portrayed by Andrew Wheeler, but a confrontation with Sam forces him to switch to a host portrayed by Christopher Heyerdahl. Though Alastair places sigils preventing angels from interfering, he is stopped by the Winchesters and captured by Castiel. Dean tortures him on Castiel's orders in "On The Head Of A Pin" for information about a string of angel murders. Having no knowledge of that, the demon instead reveals that Dean's decision to torture souls in Hell broke the first seal. Uriel, who committed the angel murders because he wants Lucifer freed, later secretly releases Alastair with the hope that he will kill the Winchesters. Alastair incapacitates Dean and begins to exorcise Castiel to Heaven, but is killed by Sam's growing demonic abilities.
Characterization
The original breakdown released to the media described Alastair as a "calm and composed demon with a placid smile that belies his simmering sadism and evil. He's one of the top demons in Hell. He’s electrifyingly powerful".[1] Writer Sera Gamble supported this characterization by explaining that he, unlike other demons who have no experience with angels, is "exceptionally old and powerful, so he knows a trick or two".[2] Likewise, Rolston called him the "John Gotti of demons".[3]
Regarding Alastair's relationship with Dean, Rolston found the demon to be a "mentor" who "really took Dean under [his] wing".[3][3] The actor explained, "I wanted him to be something great. When he split, you feel kind of spurned or left out of the loop. Even though I exact a beating on him in my first episode because he did me wrong, in the second one, I'm hoping he might come back into the fold."[4] Gamble noted that this relationship helps reveal the "pertinent details of Dean's Hell story".[5] Although Alastair works with Lilith, Gamble feels he would "rather be back in Hell, sticking bamboo shoots under fingernails", than starting the apocalypse. "He's not a politician. He's a torture artist," Gamble elaborated, "and he'd just as soon stick with what he loves. He's only topside because duty calls."[2]
Development
Actor Mark Rolston had previously auditioned for the series, joking that "maybe they were just saving me for this particular role because he was so wicked!". The idea that a "badass demon" could be possessing an ordinary man helped inspire the voice he developed the character around. Rolston described it as "particular, odd, and [sometimes] wicked, but at the same time, very believable".[6] The actor also collaborated with the hairdresser to create a "weird style that looked normal and bookish".[3] Director J. Miller Tobin gave Rolston free rein over the character in "Heaven and Hell", but did "[reel him] back on occasion".[3] Rolston thoroughly enjoyed his time on the series, explaining, "Actors that play bad guys get to explore the other side of their personalities, things that you wouldn't normally have the opportunity or inclination to do."[7] In particular, he loved the character's "big run of juicy dialogue", which was "quite a bit to sink your teeth into".[7]
Although Christopher Heyerdahl auditioned without having seen Rolston's episodes, his eventual viewing of those "fantastic" performances "made [him] even more excited" to portray the character. To honor Rolston's take on Alastair, Heyerdahl developed what he describes as a "a lovely three-way between what Mark had done, my own vision of the character, and the way director Steve Boyum played with the nuances".[7]
Reception
http://www.ign.com/articles/2008/11/14/supernatural-i-know-what-you-did-last-summer-review Diana Steenbergen, IGN Mark Rolston's Alastair is a formidable new foe and I am interested to see what they have in store for us with his character, a demon immune to Sam's power and Ruby's knife, and who Dean recognizes from his time in hell.
http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/supernatural-2008/episode-9-season-4/i-know-what-you-did-last-summer/192272 Tina Charles, TV Guide Alistair: He was only on briefly, but he was a force to be reckoned with, wasn't he? I mean, he sent Sam flying and crashing. He beat the crap out of Dean. And when he asked Dean if he recognized him and Dean did, man was that awesome. He also stole something precious from the brothers (the knife). Here's to hoping Mark Rolston is around for a while.
In a poll conducted by BuddyTV, fans voted Alastair as one of the series' top villains.[8]
- ^ http://insidetv.ew.com/2008/10/20/mark-rolston-jo/
- ^ a b http://www.tvguide.com/News/Supernatural-Questions-Answered-1001976.aspx
- ^ a b c d e Hell Breaks Loose, by Bryan Cairns, p.60
- ^ Hell Breaks Loose, by Bryan Cairns, p.63
- ^ http://www.tvguide.com/News/Supernatural-Questions-Answered-1002240.aspx
- ^ Hell Breaks Loose, by Bryan Cairns, p.59
- ^ a b c Knight, p.140
- ^ http://www.buddytv.com/articles/supernatural/supernatural-fans-name-azazel-27831.aspx