9.17 ep reaction/review

[ash48]

This is a little later than usual. I watched the episode and then had to go out (argh...on a show night!). I had lots of thoughts about it and I wanted to make some gifs and use some caps, so I waited until I could gather that altogether.

Comments

[de_nugis]

I'm ever more behind on canon, but there has been some interesting back and forth about the soullessness thing here:

http://why-this-kolaveri-machi.tumblr.com/post/80871212173/its-a-noble-calling-isnt-it

and here (I'm the anon -- I can see the day coming when I will cave and get a Tumblr)

http://why-this-kolaveri-machi.tumblr.com/post/80875628474/and-for-sam-being-split-at-a-fundamental-level-is-not

I've also seen it suggested that because of what he saw as the set patterns of What One Does, soulless!Sam channeled his aggression into hunting. And Sam has always had a tendency to interpret his anger into more abstract goals, revenge quests, for instance. I think that kind of functionality/structuring of the self did very much survive in soulless!Sam.

[ash48]

Thanks for the links. I'll check them about. :)

For me it wasn't that Sam was different to those in this episode (I appreciate that Sam would be different to any normal person), it was that Sam figured out that they were soulless based on his past experience - which was different. But I can hand wave and accept that Sam could see something in them that he saw in himself when he was soulless. It just seemed like a stretch to me...

[counteragent]

A HUGE stretch. LOLplot in this episode. Also, Sam dealing with a town of soulless people should have had more emotional resonance than a "huh" or two. Heh.

[quickreaver]

Yeah, I thought it was a bit of a leap too, but we didn't see ALL of what Soulless!Sam did in that year. His first few spins around the block might've been gratuitous id before he got bored or annoyed, and leveled out into hunting. Bah, who knows.

[ash48]

Oh and tumblr....slippery slope my friend...;)

[quickreaver]

*snert* YEAH.

[de_nugis]

I see there are people (like you) who seem to be able to be on Tumblr without being consumed by People Being Wrong on the Internet. But I fear I would not be one of them. I fear I might starve and dehydrate at me keyboard, unable to walk away from explaining the Truth About Sam As I See It.

It's better not to go there. And yet. There are truths. About Sam.

[ash48]

I avoid tags. That seems to be one of the keys - and pick the people you follow very carefully. It took a while for me to figure that out. I got rid of anyone who posted stuff I didn't want to see. Now I mostly see positive posts. Every now and then I venture into tags to see what people are saying. I promise myself not to respond if I see things that are "wrong" - which can be VERY difficult.

And yet. There are truths. About Sam.

Oh indeed! Something I battle with all the time. Especially recently.