This Whole Destiny Thing

So it's my turn to do a recap/review, and I figured I'd write something about whatever episode was scheduled for last night. Ha! I already reviewed it. So forget that.

Therefore, I'm going to blather a bit about this whole destiny thing, which is increasingly shown to be the underlying point of season 5.

We've been told since season 2 or 3 that it had to be Sam, it just always had to be Sam. Then, once the angels got involved, it wasn't just Sam, it was Sam and Dean. They're apparently descended from Cain and Abel...hmmm, that must mean, since the bloodline is suited for hosting angels, that Cain and Abel were designed to be vessels. Maybe not, maybe it's just a robust line. :) Anyway, the angels keep saying stuff like they knew that Sam and Dean would host Michael and Lucifer for millennia. Um...I don't think so.

For one thing, if that was true, why didn't Lucifer just tell Azazel to find Sam? He had him test babies, lots of babies. Azazel said he'd been working on his plan for generations (that might be a timeline glitch, if I'm remembering the date in the convent right). If it was always Sam, why bother marking and empowering all those kids, and orchestrating the "big fight"? Why be surprised that it was Jake, but accepting of it?

Then, once Azazel was dead, Ruby had to go through that whole manipulation thing to make sure Sam killed Lilith and broke the final seal, which, by the way, wouldn't have happened if Dean hadn't broken the first seal, which he wasn't supposed to do, it was supposed to be John, but he wouldn't break.

Now, they didn't ever say that Dean being the seal-breaker is connected to being a vessel for Michael, so maybe it's not significant that it was Dean instead of John. And it could be said that only the angels (including Lucifer) had any idea of the goals behind the manipulation, so that Alistair really didn't know what his job was intended to for.

But that brings me to the increasing revelations about the angels. We've seen them manipulate, and how good they are at it. At first, we even thought it was a good thing, when Zachariah convinced Dean to keep hunting. But the angels are working so damned hard to convince Dean, almost as hard as they've been working to orchestrate events (like using cherubs to force Mary and John to fall in love).

We've had three episodes show us, via time travel, that upcoming events are inevitable. But there are discrepancies. In "The End," Zachariah wanted to show Dean why he had to say yes. But in the future he took him to, the angels lost. If there's inevitability, how can that be changed? Then, in "The Song Remains the Same," Anna goes back to try to kill Mary so Sam is never born. The summary of that episode says the angels send her back, but they WANT Sam to be Lucifer's vessel. If Lucifer doesn't take Sam and fight Michael-in-Dean, the angels can't have their paradise.

So if Anna was let out for a purpose, why wasn't she indoctrinated into the destiny propaganda? If it's all planned and unchangeable, why do the angels have to work so hard to make Dean say yes? So it seems pretty clear that "Free Will is a Myth" is just a ploy by the angels. Kudos to them, though, for pushing it with such sincerity.

There are a couple of ways I can see this playing out:

1. Team Free Will Prevails
Big final battle, Sam and Dean never say yes, and together with all the parties they've introduced this season (like the AntiChrist and Gabriel), they defeat Lucifer AND the angels in their own way.

2. Team Destiny is Right
But only to a point. Sam and Dean say yes, and get vesselized, but with their own agenda and to their own ends, and they defeat Lucifer and Michael from within.

3. All the Teams Break Up and Reform in New and Exciting Ways
AKA, the Big Twisty Plot concept, where the writers in the room are far smarter together than any of us are individually, and they come up with some big awesome alternate scenario.

This post is brought to you by my frustration and annoyance every time someone says "Because it had to be you, Sam. It always had to be you."

So where do YOU stand on the whole destiny thing?

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All photos copyright The CW

Too Serious

The actual title of this post is "Are We Taking Supernatural Too Seriously, or Did the Show Just Get Too Serious?" but it was too long. :)

Before I launch into my topic, I want to clarify that "we" means all of fandom in a general sense, and doesn't mean anyone specifically. I'm amalgamating a lot of things I've read over the last several weeks, and I don't want any particular person to feel targeted.

For three seasons, I've loved Supernatural so much that watching one episode a week wasn't enough, and I've sought solidarity with fellow fans all over the Internet. The drawback is that when I adore an episode, then read several disappointed blogs about it. Man, do I deflate quickly.

This season is unique, and the complaints attack all aspects of the show. It's too dark--but it's always been billed as a weekly horror movie, and it started with the mother of an infant and a young child being burned alive on the ceiling. It's too light--how dare they match the AntiChrist with a fart joke? The mytharc is heavy, and difficult to get away from, which makes people complain that they want standalone episodes. Then we get standalone episodes, and they complain that it makes no sense to have one, don't they know there's an apocalypse going on?

What drove me to choose this topic this week was what I saw about the most recent episode, the name of which I will not type because I had the freakin' song stuck in my head for five days! My Internet trolling for Supernatural stuff is fairly limited nowadays, with about half a dozen sites and blogs on my list. I was kind of shocked to find universal displeasure with 5.06. The very same things people loved in "Mystery Spot," they hated in this episode. The combination of humor and pathos struck so many people wrong, and it baffles me.

So I wonder if we're taking the show too seriously. Have we lost touch with our overwhelming love because of that love? Most TV shows I watch are just surface enjoyment. I like them or I don't, and I don't spend a lot of time discussing them or even thinking about them afterward. Supernatural is, and always has been, different, but in sharing viewpoints, are we destroying our ability to just watch and enjoy? It seems we're always digging so deep we can't help but find dissatisfaction.

Perhaps the fault lies not with us, but with the show's writers. Maybe Kripke's taken a turn so serious it departs too far from the show's core and renders us unable to connect with the things we loved, even when they're present. But is it even possible to contemplate that? Because it's just as likely that if season 4 hadn't gone down the road it had, if they'd just continued with everything the way it was in seasons one and two, we'd have been unhappy with its lack of maturity and evolution. Few things that stay the same satisfy us for very long.

Another possibility is that our rabidity may have simply run its course. Passion, by its very nature, can only be sustained for so long.

I know there are individuals who have loved every minute of season 5, and some who have hated every minute, so my thoughts here aren't valid on that level--maybe not even on a global level. But I'm interested to hear what you all have to say. What is your temperature reading of the fandom as a whole, and how do you feel about it?

Things That Would be Worse Than Bad Supernatural

A little while ago, we talked a little bit about the possibility of a season six without Eric Kripke. Many people would rather have no SPN than bad SPN, but I thought there are some things that could be worse:

1. Jared and Jensen in other jobs…that film in Vancouver.

2. Jared on a show like According to Jim.

3. Jensen on a generic crime drama.

4. J&J never get another real gig, just spend all their time traveling around to Supernatural conventions, becoming a better-looking but even more pathetic version of the Galaxy Quest crew.

5. Jensen joins Star Trek. I couldn't imagine Jensen in that world. Then I pictured him in uniform. At attention. And...um...yeah, never mind.

~~~~~~~~
Okay, so...I'm not very good at this. That was all I could come up with.

So then I thought, well, I'm in the minority, but I'd be okay with Kripke-less writers and half-hearted stars. I don't think the show would stray too far from what makes it so compelling for me. But what would make the show too horrible to watch?

1. They replace Sam and Dean.

2. They bring back Bela (that's a bone for the Bela-haters--I liked her).

3. The boys decide they're tired of traveling, sell the Impala, and settle down with the 90210 kids.

4. To nail ghosts in a daycare center, they pose as teachers. ... Wait, that could be funny.

5. They do an episode where the "fight" is cringing in an attic spraying fire at bees while the fastest night in history passes.

~~~~~~~~
The thing is...

First, we don't get to say "stop now, the show's on top, it can't possibly be as good next year." So that leaves us to either watch it or not. Secondly, we can't know what a season six would be like. What if Sera Gamble gets promoted to showrunner? Doesn't she do much of that already? She oversees the writing and seems to be of like mind with Kripke.

I personally can't cut off my nose to spite my face and say I wouldn't watch it, at least to find out how they do.

~~~~~~~~
Now it's your turn. Tell us what you think:

a. would be worse than bad SPN

and

b. would render SPN too bad to watch.

No More Blues Brothers

Not too long ago, it occurred to me how comfortable the boys have become in suits. And that made me think of how the episodes now compare to previous seasons. Let us count the ways the Winchester Brothers have changed (or not) in four years...

The Suits

Remember in "Phantom Traveler," they came out of a shop looking like the Blues Brothers in cheap black suits? Dean complained about that, and walked like the whole thing itched.

Contrast that with "Jump the Shark," when the bartender took him for a cop or fed right from the get-go. Both boys have a couple of suits stuffed in their duffels now, and not only don't hesitate to pull them out for a pretext, but wear them as if they were born to do so.



Yum.

Their pretexting (cover stories) have gotten slicker, though Dean does still like to use the rocker names, and they even have backup for their covers (ref. Bobby in "Sex and Violence" with his wall of agency phones).



The brotherly comfort level has changed, too, but it's come full circle. In season one they had the same goal but different motivations. They butted heads because of it, and their methods often grated on each other. They held things back from each other, too, especially after Dad died.

When Dean saved Sammy and consigned himself to hell, they came together in a new way. They relied on each other more, and even though it wasn't all smooth sailing, they were closer to partners (at least at times) than they ever had been before.

But now they've come to the joining of the mobius strip (like "full circle" but twisted away from how it started), and they're once again keeping things from each other, with different motivations taking them toward the same goal.

Whew. Got dark for a moment there. Let's lighten it up.

Every Season Has Its...

Ghost Episode(s)
Spirits manifest in different ways in the Supernatural universe. Ghosts are a classic staple, and they use them extensively.

Season 1: A dead boy gets revenge from his watery grave, a dead woman gets revenge from reflective surfaces, a dead priest gets revenge through his hook... And just to be a little different, a dead mother gets revenge on a poltergeist who dares to go after her sons.

Season 2: The ghost was good! The drug addict one, anyway. The HH Wells one was the epitome of bad. *shudder* The little girl ghost was just as vengeful/angry as any have been, but we got to see her as a normal person, and the resolution in that episode didn't come, for once, from the boys. (Aside: That ep provided one of my all-time favorite quotes, "Dude! You're not gonna poke her with a stick!" and the drunken exchange.) They took things even further with a ghost who didn't know she was a ghost, a bunch of celebrity ghosts being controlled by a vengeful writer, and one applying her own brand of justice to prison inmates in death as she had in life.

Whew. I never realized just how hard they ply the revenge theme in this show!

Truncated Season 3 only hit the ghost episodes twice, with a girl who wasn't actually dead and a lonely, creepy guy who was incidental to the real purpose of the show: bringing back the Ghostfacers!

By Season 4, they've really run out the genre. We saw some spirits conjured by Lilith (out for revenge) and the "Whoops! We're not really ghosts!" episode, also dealing with revenge. There were 3 other ghost episodes so far this season, but I've rattled on long enough. I'm kind of shocked there were so many, and used in so many different ways. Kudos to the writers for their creativity.


Every Season Also Has Its...

Faith Episode

Imagined dialogue in the writer's room while breaking episodes:


Season one: "Let's explore how ephemeral yet powerful faith can be, especially in desperate circumstances."

Season two: "Faith was so much fun last year, we should explore it again. Dean is a non-believer, but Sam believes wholeheartedly. Won't it be cool if they both have good reason to feel the way they do, and it's the same reason?"

Season three: "Dean's going to hell and we're sitting on our asses with this strike. Let's just hold off until season 4."

Season four: "Eh, what the hell. Let's stop pussyfootin' and just go all the way."



Then there's the...

Flashback or Alternate Reality Episode

1.18, Wee!Dean rebels against his tedious, self-sacrificing role taking care of Sammy, and almost lets him get taken by a striga.

Michael: You said you're a big brother?
Dean Winchester: Yeah.
Michael: You'd take care of your little brother? You'd do anything for him?
Dean Winchester: [in a very heartfelt way] Yeah, I would.

2.20, A djinn gives Dean everything he thinks he wants, but it turns out to be...flawed.

Dean Winchester: Bitch.
Sam Winchester: What're you calling me a bitch for?

3.8, more Dean taking care of Sam, this time giving him girl presents and getting his necklace in return--something he almost never takes off.

Dean Winchester: Remember that wreath dad brought home that one year?
Sam Winchester: You mean the one he stole from, like, a liquor store?
Dean Winchester: Yeah, it was a bunch of empty beer cans.
[laughs]
Dean Winchester: That thing was great.

Season 4 goes all out, with TWO flashback episodes AND an alternate reality:

4.3, in which Our Hero learns his mother was a Hunter.

Young Mary Winchester: I want a family. I want to be safe... You know what the worst thing is I can think of, the very worst thing? It's for my children raised into this like I was.

4.13, in which Our Other Hero recalls high school and kicks some bully ass.



and finally, 4.17, where they put Sam in a snug, short-sleeved polo shirt and crammed his gigantic bulk into a cubicle a quarter of the size of a normal one, and...

I'm sorry, I don't remember anything else.



This is getting really super long, so let me rush through my other thoughts.

Meta Episode

How much fun are "Hollywood Babylon" and "The Monster at the End of this Book"? The links will take you to the lists on the Supernatural Wiki of all the little self-referential things they tucked into the scripts.

You Think You Know All About X, But...Episode

Some redundancy here, but we have:

"The Benders" — "Dude, they're just people."

"The Usual Suspects" — Ghost who's actually being helpful

"Roadkill" — Ghost who doesn't know it

"Sin City" — Demons are actually kinda a lot like humans

"Lazarus Rising" — ANGELS, baby!

"Wishful Thinking" — Existential teddy bear

"Jump the Shark" — Ghouls. Whoa.

How Dare They Introduce Women Episodes

Cassie — everyone hated her (well, I didn't, but I seem to be the only one)

Jo — everyone hated her (probably wouldn't have if we'd been told she was a little sister type, which is how it came out, instead of love interest)

Ruby — everyone hated her (until we got a new Ruby, then everyone loved Katie better)

Bela — see Monday's post

I had intentions of talking about growth (Jared got...what's a word for "bigger than gigantic"?...and became a tremendous actor along the way; Bobby's influence on their lives increased; etc.) and the things that have remained constant (John's influence on their lives, Dean's beauty and heartbreaking pain, etc.), but obviously, I've gone on way too long already. So I'll just leave you with something new at YouTube.

Feel free to add stuff in the comments that I missed, or correct me if you think I'm wrong!

The Road So Far

This post contains mild spoilers of the level of short episode descriptions/titles, as well as wild speculation.

The countdown has begun. Starting next week, we have four episodes remaining. I can't believe we're this far along already, that the season is almost over. It feels like it just started.



I had a need to kind of coalesce the season, condense it into its essence. I intended to rewatch the whole season again before I wrote this, but of course it's not summer so I didn't have time. So instead of doing a one-line recap of each episode, I'll explore the season's main parts.

Dean
In many ways, this has been Dean's season. When the show was conceived, Sam was the focus, the hero, but immediately the brothers became intertwined and inseparable (in a metaphysical rather than physical sense). When a guy gets dragged from hell by an angel, though, he tends to become the center of attention.

Poor Dean has really struggled this year, and he still can't catch a break. Being selected by the angels seemed to indicate he was special, but Dean just felt like a tool for dicks...until he found out he was the first seal and therefore is destined to be the one to stop Lucifer from rising. Just a little pressure there.

In the meantime, he's struggled with finding out that his mother was not only a hunter, but the reason Sam got marked, she got killed, and they wound up on the path they did. Sam's marking has led to his use of this suspicious demon power. Dean still doesn't know the extent of Sam's secrets, and it's tearing him apart. If he can't save his brother, how can he save the world?

Sam
Sam may not have the heavy storyline this year, but it's not like it's light, either. With Dean gone, he turned to what he knew and what he had in order to keep hunting and to try to track and kill Lilith to punish her for taking his brother. He hasn't adjusted all that well to being in charge and then having that taken from him. He also sees himself as his brother's protector--maybe he truly believes Dean was damaged in hell and left something behind, but I think he's trying to justify his need to run things now, or at least to not be run by Dean, as well as trying to do for Dean what Dean has done for him for so long.

Certainly, once we got past all the hints of what he's chosen to do and found out what he was really doing (i.e., drinking demon blood to turbo-boost his demon-fed powers to better defeat his enemy), his storyline expanded.



The Angels
The whole angel thing delights me to no end, because it fits my own logic. If there is a God, he made humanity in his image, and we're inquisitive children. God also made angels, and angels are rebellious teenagers (ref. fall of Lucifer). So that makes God a parent, and any of us who have or are parents know that we're not infallible. So God's not infallible.

So why wouldn't angels make mistakes, too? They can crave something they can't have and make bad decisions and question themselves and their father. Faith doesn't have to be about God. In fact, it usually isn't, or if it is, God's mostly a filter. Faith and belief are about ourselves and each other, and in that context, the angels in Supernatural aren't that different from humans except for the PHENOMENAL COSMIC POWERS (but no iiiiitty bitty living space).

Essentially, the humans and the angels are fighting the same internal battles as well as the same external one, with often oppositional methods.

The Big Plan
Seasons 1 and 2 had the same Big Bad: the Yellow-Eyed Demon, later known to be Azazel. Season 3's Big Bad wasn't known for much of the (truncated) season, but when Lilith appeared, she was truly scary. So it's been interesting that she remains TBB in season 4 without showing up for 18 weeks. Of course, Alistair was a pretty good fill-in, if only for his effect on Dean.

It's still a bit fuzzy whether Azazel/YED and Lilith were after the same thing, if he worked for her, or if she just took over the plan once he was gone. Said plan is to break 66 of the 600 or so seals that exist to keep Lucifer imprisoned, which, once broken, will allow him to roam free and bring hell to earth.

The first seal was for a righteous man to spill blood in hell. Alistair explained that John was to be the righteous man, but he held strong. That's got to be devastating to Dean, but John had at least one thing, maybe two, that Dean didn't have. One is his sons. A father who would go to hell to save his son's life has a sphere of love that will give him strength. The other is experience and knowledge. I think he probably knew the scripture or lore that described the breaking of the first seal, and knew if he gave in, he was condemning his sons to the same fate he suffered. That's powerful motivation, even for 100 years.



The Future
We've got three parties that seem to know the future. The Prophet Chuck, who saw something really bad but is being prevented from telling Dean and Sam what it was. I'm latching on to the nuances in Chuck's writing of his visions. His interpretations of events aren't always what happens.

Zachariah, a powerful angel, seems to know what Chuck saw, so he has some prescience, too. How firm the future is, how unchangeable, is one of the big questions of the season, stemming from Dean's trip back to his parents' younger days. My interpretation of Zachariah's hold on Chuck is that it is fluid, and he believes the boys expectations will affect outcomes in a negative way, so he doesn't want them to expect what's coming.

And finally, high level demons like Lilith apparently can see or sense the future, too, because she claims to know she won't survive the war. Not news to Sam, who is of course bound and determined to take her out, even if he goes with her. But how much does she see? Can she only see what pertains to her? Again, fluidity seems to be a factor, because she offered to stop her quest, which would mean the war would cease and she wouldn't die, presumably.



NOW
Is it me, or is there an awful lot to happen and be answered in just four episodes? Next week we meet the third Winchester brother (and apparently never see him again, so that's why I think he's the "person close to the Winchesters" who is going to die). Then we learn about the man Castiel is possessing. Neither of those premises seems to lend itself too well to progressing the main storyarc, but then, I didn't think the meta episode would when I first heard about it, or the Prius-driving, latte-sipping Dean episode, either, and both did a great job of doing so.

The final two episodes are just starting to be talked about, and I haven't been seeking info. But they're called "When the Levee Breaks" and "Lucifer Rising," which inspires all kinds of fear. And questions:

1. Is Lucifer going to make it to earth?

2. If he does, will season 5 be about putting him back?

3. If he doesn't, what will happen in season 5? (Killer robots, supposedly.)

4. Are Sam and Dean going to take the final step that makes them mortal enemies?

5. If so, will season 5 be about them being apart?

6. If so, is Kripke insane, or just ensuring we'll hate the show by the end of season 5 so no one will try to tempt him to come back for a season 6?

Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your personal viewpoint, we'll know many of these answers in five short weeks.

~~~~~~~~~
Your turn. What details did I leave out that are particularly important? Where do you think we're going? Are you excited, sad, apprehensive, or all of the above? Sound off in the comments! First-time commenters especially encouraged!

Religion and the Winchesters

For all the talk of hell and demons on the show, God hasn’t come into play in the lives of the Winchesters until Dean’s return from hell. Sure, they use the accoutrements of faith, particularly holy water and the rosary, but how much do they believe? I thought you couldn’t create holy water unless your faith was strong. I guess their faith is more geared toward it working against the demons, since they’re able to create holy water all the time.

(What is Kripke’s religious background? Anyone know?)

We don’t see much of John’s faith, and we know Dean doesn’t believe as early as “Faith,” one of my favorite episodes. Sam is the one who drags Dean to the preacher. Yes, Sam is desperate for anything to help his brother, but he also believes it will work.

When they discover the healing is supernatural, Dean’s faith is not strengthened. The one thing that DOES make Dean change his mind is seeing the Faith of…oh, man….Layla? Lola? Lila? He offers to pray for her. I wonder if he does. And if he does….what does that mean?

We learn in “Houses of the Holy” that Sam prays every day. Dean absolutely does not believe in angels because every night his mother told him angels were watching over him. Because she died so violently, he no longer believed angels were watching over him.

NOW I wonder if she knew what she was talking about. Have angels been watching over Dean all this time?

Dean felt justified at the end of “Houses of the Holy” and Sam’s belief was shaken. Dean didn’t like that, either. I love this show’s use of those shades of gray. Dean’s belief seems to be if God exists, why does all this bad happen? Why do demons wander the earth, destroying families, leaving children to be raised as he and Sam were raised?

Sam’s faith must extend from the opposite end of the spectrum. If there is evil, good must exist.

We see the faith, or lack of faith, in other characters, too. Tessa the Reaper tells Dean there is no happy place. Anna questioned her faith and lost her grace. Uriel turned his back on God to raise his brother Lucifer. Castiel is questioning his own heretofore unshakeable faith.

Now they have proof God exists, only no one knows his purpose. In the world of Kripke, God seems even more distant than He might in our world. Where is He while Lilith is trying to raise Lucifer? Is He so confident in his angels’ ability to defeat her? Is He testing humanity through the Winchesters? Why have only five angels seen Him?

The more I learn about the Supernatural God, the more I tend to take Dean’s side.

We know there is a hell. We know Reapers take souls, but where? Where did the boy from “Death Takes a Holiday” go when Tessa embraced him, if there is no happy place?

Here’s a question that occurred to me when I was writing this. Where did Sam’s soul go when he died? True, he wasn’t dead as long as Dean, but was he walking the earth? Why doesn’t he remember?

Brother vs. Brother

It started in the pilot.

Sam wakes up in the middle of the night, hearing an intruder in the house. He engages him, they fight, and I'm hooked. Passion ignited.

That "fight" scene did more than grab me (and many other fans). It grounded the boys' relationship, in a way. They were pretty evenly matched in that fight. Sure, Dean was holding back because he knew it was Sam, but Sam wasn't swinging to kill, either, just subdue. One got the upper hand, then the other, and such has been their relationship ever since.

For three seasons, Dean's role as protector and leader was undisrupted. He saved Sam from possession, from death, from the Yellow-Eyed Demon, even sacrificed himself to keep Sam safe. But all along, Sam has matured (in most ways) and learned how to lead, himself. He exerted some control when he saved Dean from Gordon and later killed Gordon with his bare hands. At the end of season 3, when they were going after Lilith and trying to save Dean from Hell, Sam pushed harder and harder to influence their course of action. He learned things about himself, and was forced to go out on his own when the Trickster killed Dean "for good."

And then he was alone. Dean's influence could never disappear, but when he was in Hell, Sam made all the decisions. He made his own choices, and explored every facet of his identity, including the part manifested by the demon blood forced on him when he was six months old.

You can't go back after that, and I knew the brotherly dynamics would change. Dean had missed four months, and his time in Hell would have permanent effects. Sam wouldn't be subverted to his brother's will anymore.

In some ways, I was right. I mean, Dean does still get to choose the music in the Impala. But Sam doesn't listen to him anymore, especially when his reasons are "Because I said so!" But I hoped their partnership would grow stronger, that they could see each other more as equals. That their fight against a common enemy would be enough to help them overcome the adjustment to the changes.

But Kripke doesn't play that way.

It starts out simple, and gets more and more complex the more detail you add:

Sam works with a demon. He has demon powers, and that's bad.

Dean works with an angel. Angels work for God, so that's good.

But the demon has a good goal, ridding the earth of one of the worst demons in existence. Her motives are suspicious and likely selfish. She manipulates to get her way.

The angels have a good goal, stopping that same really bad demon from freeing Lucifer and bringing hell to earth, but they don't seem to care how many people die to stop that from happening. They, too, manipulate to get their way.

Sam's powers enable him to save people while killing demons. Dean equates "demon" with "evil" and can't seem to unbend even a little. So Sam has stopped trying to make him understand. That opens a rift between them, one that gets wider and wider the more he lies. It was worsened by Dean lying, too, about Hell, but Dean's lies were internal and didn't affect others (so far!). And he came clean. He opened up to Sam, who didn't offer any support or commiseration for the pain Dean's been suffering. Is Sam too wrapped up in his own issues, or did Dean's confession change how Sam feels about him? Or does he just feel inadequate and therefore does nothing?

The angels, and Dean, and now Pam have all told Sam that he does not have the right idea, using his powers, that he's going down an unknown path they all fear. But Sam's intentions have always been noble. Even though he has a need for personal revenge, and his own pain to exorcise (hee--get it?), his goal, getting rid of Lilith, is consistent with the rest of their lives. Saving people, hunting things. Evil things.

Until "Sex and Violence," I could envision a path where the brothers were at personal odds but still had the same goals, the same core values, the same basic way of looking at things. They could continue down the road side by side, or fighting back to back, with nothing in the world more important or more valued than each other.

But then, under the siren's spell, Sam said some horrible things, things he really seems to believe, despite his repeated assertion that he didn't mean them. He has decided his powers, his history, elevates him above others. In "Death Takes a Holiday" he said the rules don't apply to "us," not just himself, but the fact that he's including Dean in the "specialness" doesn't help. It's not that he's wrong, on the face of it. They are different. They've escaped death, and Hell, and all manner of bad things. At this point, they've probably defeated more and worse things than any hunter on earth, which would put them at the top of the game.

But Sam now seems to be equating "different" with "better." He acts superior toward
demons, angels, and Dean alike. His disillusionment with the angels and his fear of the future have brought him to a dangerous place. A Spider-Man place*, a test that I think he's going to fail, devastatingly.

Since early in season 4, many people have predicted a "brother against brother" showdown. I've fought the idea not just because I hate it, but because I didn't think the events, early on, necessarily supported it. The complexity of the influences (good demon, bad angel) didn't pit the brothers against each other, and they had, and still have, the same goal.

My position is getting harder to hold onto, now that Sam is lying to little boy ghosts as well as his brother, and he seems to care less and less about the people than about winning the battle. Now that Dean seems to be letting Sam's attitude and his words sever the ties he has knotted so tightly in the past.

In season one's episode "Scarecrow," Dean leaves Sam on the side of the road. Their needs were at odds then, but it never felt like they were truly ready to cut each other off. If something similar happened now, I don't think it would be so easy to overcome. They've damaged each other, and been damaged by outside sources, and the bond that would hold them through anything is far more tenuous.

What's coming, though? Speculation is really difficult when we don't know if this war will continue into season 5, if we avoid any spoilers or pretend we didn't hear anything about the season finale. And the external framework still makes it really hard to envision Sam and Dean truly fighting each other, as themselves and not some monster's plaything.




Still, every episode, every moment of character development, seems to be leading us to that end. I'm kind of resigned to facing it, but I cling to the belief that Kripke and Co. know--they have to know, how can they not know?--that breaking the brothers the wrong way will break his show completely, so whatever they do to them in the end, they'll fix. I am, of course, fully invested in the ride.

Your turn! What do you think of the inevitability of a brother-vs.-brother showdown, and how do you think it will manifest? (Speculation only, let's avoid spoilers!)

~~~~~~~~
*With great power comes great responsibility.

Jump the Shark

Remember before season 3, when it Bela and Ruby were announced? If you're at all tapped into "the fandom," you saw the uproar it caused. People were afraid they'd be love interests, or riding around in the back of the Impala, or something.

Then there was the synopsis of "The Kids Are Alright," the episode where Dean wondered briefly if he had a son. Same uproar. People were afraid a kid would interfere with the hunting, or he'd be riding around in the back of the Impala, or something.

In the case of the son, the episode was excellent--the way it was handled fit perfectly into the structure of the show. Since Ruby and Bela were recurring characters, that was a little tougher. Many people hated them--the acting, the characterization, the way they...

...messed with the brothers.



I think that's the element that drives this outcry every single time. The fans fear any development that would interfere with the brotherly dynamic, and the central conceit of the show--two guys on a road trip to fight evil.

Which brings us to this season's uproar.

STOP READING HERE IF YOU DON'T WANT SPOILERS. I MEAN IT. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED. (ALSO, AVOID THE COMMENTS.)

It all started back on January 5, when Kristin of E! Online posted this teaser about Jeffrey Dean Morgan's character, John Winchester:

"Turns out, Jeffrey may be a daddy to a secret son on a certain show, and this certain show will be changed forever because of this upcoming plot twist."

In the comments trail of that post, once someone said flat out that it could mean a third Winchester brother, all hell broke loose. Furor may have continued in certain forums, but for the most part, people blew it off as "TV-reporter hype" where she planted seeds that don't connect to reality.

On January 14, in Mega Buzz by Matt Mitovich et al (of TV Guide.com), we got the following bit:

I heard a rumor that Supernatural is adding a new lead — and it's a long-lost Winchester brother?! Please say this is just a rumor! — Jessica M.

MATT: Consider the CW forewarned (literally, by yours truly) that Supernatural would be playing with hellfire if they went this route. Asked to address this near-sacrilegious buzz, series creator Eric Kripke will only say, "Stay tuned." Sources, meanwhile, tell me that whatever the truth is here, it's going to make for a very interesting story arc.

On February 9, Kristin confirmed the casting of Jake Abel as an 18-year-old, third Winchester brother for the episode airing on April 23. This was also reported on many other TV sites, apparently first by TV Guide, but this was the one I saw. There were details that made it harder to blow off, and also turned up the lamenting. It's a one-time casting, the brother won't be seen again. It's the result of an affair, and John knew about him.

I personally have never thought about, worried over, and feared a spoiler as much as I have this one.

If this is exactly as described, I think it will take a lot to make the fandom accept it. Some will probably not buy that John would have been unfaithful to Mary's memory a mere 7 years after her death, not when he was still totally obsessed 22 years later. Others, who are more pragmatic, will admit it's unrealistic that he didn't sleep with other women during those years.

Personally, I think I could handle the boys finding out they had a brother in a focused sense, but not a global one. The emotions of them meeting, etc., would be well done, I have no doubt, especially because it seems likely Adam would be in danger and Sam and Dean have to save him. But after that, what? If the stories are right, we don't have to worry about the whole "back seat of the Impala" thing. But Sam and Dean wouldn't leave him behind, unprotected and alone. Of course, he could have a good family situation, but still. I'm sure Lilith and Alistair would love to have something to use against the boys, and do they really need more conflict? The show is loaded already, and the specter of brother versus brother is more than enough, in my opinion, without making it a triangle.

This could be a "trick," like The Trickster or the djinn, with an alternate reality or something like that. When the first rumors surfaced, this was what most of us figured. We trust Kripke and Co., especially this season, because even though there have been a few standalone episodes we didn't care for, and some chemistry and acting issues in some we loved, the road they've been taking us down has been marvelous, even if we hate every step of the way.

But even the most beloved showrunners/creators can misstep. Is this one going to be Kripke's? All we can do is wait until April 23 and judge for ourselves. In the meantime, Kripke did do an interview here that doesn't really tell us anything but is pretty funny.

So what do you think is going to happen? What does this mean for the brothers and for the show going into season 5? Weigh in in the comments!

Dean's Hell

In Supernatural’s season 3 finale, “No Rest for the Wicked,” the unthinkable happened. Dean was dragged by hellhounds into hell, where we saw him suspended by hooks and chains, bellowing for his brother. *sob*



Over the course of season 4, we've learned a little bit about what happened while he was there.

WARNING: Spoilers for season 4!!!!

First, we heard screams and saw images of blood and flame, but Dean denied remembering what he'd been through.

Then we learned that four months in hell is more like 40 years. That hurt, because we can't imagine enduring something for that long (and, of course, it hurts because we love him!). Many fans have wondered why he's not so much more screwed up than he already is, and we wondered that even without knowing what he did for all that time away.

At the end of “Heaven and Hell” (4.10) Dean told Sam that for 30 years, Dean resisted Alistair's pitch for him to step off the torture rack and take over the whip. For 30 years, he was flayed alive, torn to shreds, probably by some of the demons who'd previously taunted him about doing just that. But finally, eventually, he couldn't take it anymore and he stepped down. And he started delivering the torture himself.

Honestly, I could relate. When I was in labor with Number One, I was so freakin' determined not to take ANY drugs. The nurse kept offering them, cajoling me, telling me it was okay to take something, it didn't mean I was weak, etc., etc. Finally, just to shut her up, I agreed. They checked me and I was 8 cm dilated, but before I could say "Wait! I can handle the rest!" they'd injected me with the evil Stadol.

Okay, not exactly the same thing, but still. I can understand how difficult it is to resist someone who won't leave you alone, especially when what they're offering will give you relief from unending pain.

Dean told Sam that he had a giant hole in him, that how he felt was unbearable. Then in “Family Remains” (4.11), he admitted that it wasn't just that he'd tortured souls, or that he'd traded them for himself. It was that he'd liked it. Giving pain eased his, and he reveled in the pleasure of it. I think we pretty much agree that he’s not just referring to the physical pain of being flayed to the bone, but the emotional pain he’s harbored all his life, especially the last few years.

On the surface, his revelation is disturbing. We all want Dean to be heroic and stronger than typical people. We want him to do no wrong, to be able to endure and rise above. Most of all, we want him to not suffer, especially at his own hand.

Since his return, there have been references to Dean being a “dick.” Of course, the fandom was in an uproar over that, but he really is. *ducks rotten tomatoes* Let's look at episode 1.1, "Pilot." Dean breaks into his brother's house, fights him instead of just saying "Hey, it's me," and ogles his girlfriend. He sleeps with truck stop waitresses with questionable rashes, yells at fat kids (and pounds them with dodge balls), steals, cheats, hustles...and, while justified, he spent a lot of time whining about how much he's given up for this family! *foot stomp* He's very much a dick.

Obviously, that's not all Dean is. Those things are all pretty inconsequential in the face of how many lives he's saved and the sacrifices he's made for his brother. It's very easy to overlook them, especially when you love someone like we love him.

Those things don’t make Dean “belong” in hell. But because of them, I don't think his response to hell is out of character.

Have you ever been really, really mad about something, and slammed a door or whipped a hairbrush against the wall? Do you remember how good it felt to lash out, to release the frustration and pain? If the hairbrush broke, or it hit someone walking by the door you just flung the brush through, you probably felt immediately remorseful, maybe even disgusted with yourself.

Dean has had a lifetime of that kind of emotion. He never got over his mother's death, never got what he needed from his dad, never found a home, a place to belong, meaning to his life beyond protecting Sam. Add to that 30 years of being flayed alive, probably mentally and emotionally as well as physically, and yes, it makes absolutely perfect sense that he'd enjoy dishing it out for once. Not to mention that once he stopped at the end of each day, the pain probably returned, ensuring he’d continue his job the next day.

Others, including my brilliant Sisters here, have pointed out that Dean doesn't realize that he wasn't unique. What he was going through was how humans become demons. Hell (in this world) takes the worst of humanity and compresses it, twists it, hardens it until, for the most part, all the good is wrung out. (Ruby and Casey seem to be either exceptions or evidence that the good can still exist, even when overly influenced by the bad--but that's another topic.)

Now Dean's home. He can look at what he did with a "normal" perspective, not from within the rage and pain. He hates it, and has probably latched on to it as yet another reason he's not worthy, to take some responsibility off his shoulders (because it's hard to overcome that self-hate and "become" worthy). He said he didn't care who was in front of him, but now, at least, he has to. He can’t assume they deserved it. He knows better than anyone that some souls don't. Some did deals, some even for noble reasons, and wound up down there anyway.

But whether the people deserved it isn't relevant. The real issue is how much more it punished Dean to deliver torture than to take it. Remember John? Who was in hell for 100 years? I bet Dean has thought about that a lot since he got back, and what his father endured, and maybe at whose hand.

Dean went to hell because he thought his brother was more important than he was. That self-loathing would have festered and been fed while in hell, which is as much, if not more, about internal pain as external. Shredding a person's psyche is essential to turning them into a demon, a creature of evil. Physical pain can be mentally escaped, but not mental pain. So Dean can't look outward and say, "Okay, I was being used, and those people probably deserved it, mostly." He can only look inward and see the horror. That's part of his torture, and I'm sure Alistair takes great pride in the fact that Dean brought it out with him. Part of the insidiousness of hell is that if you escape physically, whether as human or as demon, you house it inside you, perhaps forever.

So what does that mean for Dean? He's afraid his death will send him back to hell. He might even think that being in hell made him deserve to be there, kind of like how people who go to jail often become worse criminals. He's tried to fill the hole in him created by the torture he induced, but after saving the family in “Family Remains” (and failing to save the uncle), decided he never can. He's resigned to being damaged and wounded forever.

A lot of people have said they can't believe Dean can heal from this. That it's too much. And certainly, we know that in real life, there are people who've succumbed to the horrors of war or truly horrendous circumstances, abuse and torture and pain and disgusting things, and turned into horrible things themselves.

But we've also all read about, or maybe even know, people who've gone through hell on earth and not only survived, but gone on to thrive. People who've found meaning and happiness, self-forgiveness and love. I believe it's possible.

On the other hand, people who thrive are removed from whatever they endured. They've found a peaceful place, in some way. In the context of the show, Dean can't ever escape what he knows. Even if he created a cocoon, found a place the evil could never penetrate, he would still know it was out there, would still know there was one less person fighting it. So that peace may not ever be something he can attain without divine intervention.

Who knows which way the writers intend to take it? Even if I weren’t so totally possessed by this show, I’d be in it to the end, just to find out.

I know there are many brilliant points I failed to make here, so please jump into the comments with your own thoughts, disagreements, etc.!