Azazel (Supernatural)

Plot

Azazel first appears in the pilot episode, with flashbacks and time travel detailing his background later. He is one of the four Princes of Hell, alongside Ramiel, Asmodeus, and Dagon, and the most devoted to Lucifer. His earliest chronological depiction occurs in the fourth season finale, 'Lucifer Rising,' where he locates the doorway to Lucifer's prison in 1972. Lucifer tasks him with freeing the demon Lilith from Hell—needed to break the 66 seals holding Lucifer captive—and finding a 'special child.

He encounters Mary Campbell, future mother of protagonists Sam and Dean Winchester. Possessing her father, he kills her mother and stabs himself to kill his host. Mary's fiancé, John Winchester, is the next victim; Azazel offers to resurrect John in exchange for a child he can use. Mary reluctantly agrees.

In 1983, Mary discovers Azazel feeding his blood to baby Sam; the demon pins her to the ceiling, slashes her stomach, and causes her to burst into flames. Her death drives John to hunt Azazel and train Sam and Dean. As revealed in 'Swan Song,' Azazel sends demons to possess important people in Sam's life, manipulating him. Sam leaves hunting for college, but Azazel orders the assassination of Sam's girlfriend Jessica Moore, prompting Sam's return.

Characterization

Actor Fredric Lehne described Azazel as 'an angry soul,' believing the character's denial of Heaven and goodness translates into anger and vengeance. The demon possesses a sense of humor and takes pleasure in seeing people suffer, particularly psychological pain. Lehne explained that Azazel gets off on the power of turning people to his will, which is why he favored Sam as a potential leader: Sam had the 'sweetest' heart and was most desirable for corrupting. The character's ultimate motivation is to free Lucifer from Hell. Co-executive producer Ben Edlund viewed Azazel as part of 'a little cult of demonic true believers' encompassing many important demon characters.

Development

For Azazel's first full appearance in 'Devil's Trap,' writers initially could not decide which Winchester to have the demon possess. Jeffrey Dean Morgan's busy schedule made them choose to have John kidnapped and possessed, absent from much of the episode. Series creator Eric Kripke noted that from a storytelling perspective, it had to be that Sam and Dean find both their father and Azazel at the same time in the same body. Writers modeled Azazel's personality after Al Pacino's demonic humor in The Devil's Advocate but gave Morgan free rein over mannerisms, directing him only to 'be different from John.'

Morgan changed his voice and mimicked Jack Nicholson's speech pattern from The Shining. This 'Nicholson-esque quality' continued with Fredric Lehne, who was offered the role without an audition. Lehne avoided copying Morgan's portrayal but noted the writing lends itself to a certain way. His initial appearance in the second season premiere was intended as a one-time deal, but show runners kept him for the season finale.

Despite the character's death, Lehne returned as a hallucination in the sixth season premiere. A dream sequence in 'All Hell Breaks Loose' hints at Mary Winchester's connection to Azazel; writers intended to address this in season three but pushed it to season four due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. Kripke asked Mitch Pileggi to enact this revelation; Pileggi emulated Lehne's performance while putting his own spin on it.

Reception

Azazel received universal praise from critics and fans. In a BuddyTV poll, fans voted him the best villain of the series, winning with 75% of the votes; the second-highest percentage was 9% for Alastair. Viewers wrote that without Azazel there would be no reason for the boys to hunt, calling him the 'oldest arch nemesis' and a 'classic supernatural badass.' Karla Peterson of The San Diego Union-Tribune and Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune felt Jeffrey Dean Morgan gave his best and most believable performance of the season in 'Devil's Trap,' with Ryan noting he was 'really on fire' in that scene.

Diana Steenbergen of IGN found him 'menacing, with his low voice and the cruel words' and enjoyed the sadistic humor that makes the character 'more sinister,' though she believed Azazel having a family was an unnecessary parallel. Brian Tallerico of UGO suggested the series should follow a format of different recurring villains each season. Tina Charles of TV Guide was happy to see Fredric Lehne return as 'appropriately creepy' in 'All Hell Breaks Loose,' saying the scare factor went up.

Tom Burns of UGO deemed Lehne's scenes 'damn near riveting,' and Brett Love of TV Squad described him as 'a perfect evil menace.' Steenbergen deemed Lehne's performance 'charismatic and quietly sadistic without being overdone' but was happy to see the character die, as it frees the show from bogging down and opens new plot opportunities.