The Sam Question

Last week, MJ asked the question of season six, namely what's up with the Campbells?

A tie-in question, and one perhaps far more important, is what's up with Sam?

After two episodes, I have to admit, I'm not sure. In the first episode, he was—as we said over and over LOL—cold and smug and dismissive and not at all like our Sammy.

In the second episode, he was more on his own, and less weird. He and Dean interacted a little more normally. In fact, when faced with something he couldn't handle, he automatically looked up to his big brother for help. And Dean, of course, leaped right in (okay, after some resistance).

But then they went back to the Campbells, and Sam seemed all too willing to defer to them. In a slightly less creepy way, but...

Why would Sam join them instead of hunting on his own?
I can actually think of some reasons for this. On the one hand, he was on his own for six months when the Trickster made him think Dean was dead, and again when Dean was in Hell, and you'd think he'd prefer it that way. On the other hand, all his other hunting experience—a lifetime of it—has been with someone else. Dad, and Dean, and Ruby. He may hate being alone now, especially after he decided to leave Dean alone, and welcomed companionship, people who are "like him." And supposed family to boot. He was trying to fill the void.

Why would the Campbells want Sam along?
So maybe we can buy why Sam wants to be with the Campbells, but why would they want him? Those people who claim to be cousins are too young to have known Samuel/Grandpa before YED killed him. If they'd been raised in the life, why would they suddenly follow him? Hunters are loners for the most part, that's well established. Whoops, I'm delving too far back into the damned Campbells question. Back to Sam, who freed Lucifer and came back from the cage. Why wouldn't they assume he was still possessed or something and try to kill him? Why wouldn't they hate him for unleashing so much onto the world and making their jobs and lives harder?

Why did Sam reveal himself to Dean?
If Sam truly thought Dean was better off thinking him dead and staying out of the life, he could have stayed that way. He could have killed the djinn, rescued Dean, and hidden or left so Dean never knew he was there. Or he could have sent Bobby to protect Dean and Lisa and Ben, or even just the Campbells. Yeah, Dean would have found out sooner or later, but there were ways Sam could have achieved his stated ends without revealing himself to Dean.

Is it really Sam?
This is the biggest, most disturbing question. I want it to not be Sam. I mean, the smugness during the hug was too reminiscent of Lucifer. I don't want him to just be changed by his possession or his time in the cage or his new life. Change is inevitable, and I don't mind it—but I don't want him to change like this. If it's not Sam, who could it be?

If it's really Sam, what else could be going on?
My favorite theory is that he's either under the Campbells' thumb somehow, or suspicious of them and scared so that he needs his brother. His oddness would be because of that fear, and the agenda he's trying to hide. But I'm sure there are a bunch of other things that could be going on. What's your favorite theory?

Thoughts?

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

Urban Legends

One of the things I loved about Supernatural is the way the boys investigated urban legends. (I’m one who prefers the stand-alone episodes, though I know the show wouldn’t be the same without the myth-arc.) I loved the Bloody Mary episode, the Hookman, the Woman in White.

I know the boys have bigger fish to fry right now, but here are some cases I would love to see them on.

La Bruja Lechuza is a Mexican legend. She is a witch who comes to a house in the form of a giant owl-type bird, to take away someone who is close to death. Some of my students claim to have seen her, and are terrified of her. I would love to see the boys come to town (how about a San Antonio set show? Hmm?) and hunt her down, only to find out she isn’t what they believe her to be?

The Jersey Devil is another interesting urban legend, but from what I’ve seen, it doesn’t do much, like a chupacabra. It just eats livestock and freaks people out. Still, I have faith Kripke could make it a fun monster-of-the-week.

A haunted lighthouse would make a good setting for an episode. Maybe set during a hurricane or something…definitely with a love interest.

New Orleans…something in the cemeteries. I know, cliché, but again, I have faith in Kripke. Wouldn’t it be cool to see the boys vs. a voodoo priestess? Or working side by side with one?

But my number one wish for a setting is Stull Cemetery in Lawrence, Kansas. (I wonder if this doesn’t tie in to Mary’s family’s careers as hunters.) Supposedly, Satan can manifest there, and does on Halloween. His only son is rumored to be buried there, and when Pope John Paul II flew across the country, he had his plane avoid Kansas. Weird, huh? It’s said to be a devil’s gate, which I know we’ve done, but how cool would it be to have it in a real place? They could even go up against a group of Satan worshipers or something.

What stories would you like to see the boys tackle?