Crowley Was 'Dead' Long Before He Died, and SPN Writers Are to Blame
Crowley has been a fan favourite ever since he first appeared in season five of Supernatural. So much so, that he holds the distinction of being the most recurring demon in the series.
He may be a villain most of the time, but he does it so well, with dark humour and swift delivery, perfectly portrayed by English actor, Mark Sheppard. Even when he is working on the same side as the Winchester brothers, he remains suitably mean and snarky, which just fits him so perfectly.
He ultimately met his demise by his own hand in the season 12 finale, to finally get his vengeance on Lucifer, who fans will remember, was the one he hated above all others. But some people feel that Crowley's character had been dying a slow death long before this happened. And one of those people is Mark Sheppard himself.
The feeling is that his decline commenced in season 10. We all appreciated a more humanised Crowley in season 9, but from season 10, he was almost too human. Fans feel that the writers almost forgot he was Crowley at times, which harmed his character.
Viewers have also pointed out that season 10 was the beginning of Crowley starting to make foolish choices. He had always been supremely intelligent, focused, and one step ahead of everyone else. From season 10, he became stupider. And on many occasions, he appeared in scenes without even speaking or doing anything, being no more than part of the background.
This is not the Crowley fans knew and loved.
They missed the demon that was the centre of attention in every single scene in which he appeared. The one that stole the show and made everyone take notice of him the second he appeared. Fans very much feel that the writers were slowly killing Crowley as they wanted him gone. Or simply ran out of ideas for him.
At least, that's what Mark Sheppard thinks. During a fan Q&A at the 2018 Canadian Fan Expo, he compared the experience of his last two seasons on the show to "treading water".
"There's been a problem since Season 10, which is, 'I'm not really doing anything, guys.' They actually forgot they wrote me into the final scene of season 10," he admitted. "They had no idea because there's no dialogue for me at all… for a few seasons, I think I was just treading water to see what they were gonna do."
Yet, despite all, the love for Crowley remains. Some fans have commented that even with the decline, Crowley remained their favourite character on the show. Because he is Crowley. And that is something that none of the writers could ever take away from him, no matter what.