keeping it simple for Sam
I wasn't a big fan of last week's episode, In the beginning, I found it kind of ham fisted and it gave me some real nerves about this week's episode and in general about the show heading for a downward spiral, a regression to season 3 type crapitude. I was greatly relieved that the writers lifted their game for this one, it turned out to be a pretty good episode. And really, it's solid ground when the relationship between the brothers comes to the fore, when there is some revealing and reacting. There was plenty of that in this ep and I enjoyed that there was direct and aggressive confrontation, that's always fun to watch.
But one of the problems I think the writers have, and that they seemed to have in spades last season, is that they don't quite have a handle on Sam's character, they're not sure who he is and how he ticks. In season 3 there was so much inconsistency in his personality that it was very off-putting. He was doing stuff and saying stuff that had me scratching my head.
This season (so far) they seem to have a direction for him, they've laid a foundation where he's not all good, not all bad, but understandable. And it's not perfect, he seems to be lacking in sensitivity toward Dean, which I find a little disturbing, I thought he would be more attentive, less distant, but that's okay, the writers have taken that course and it can be justified, I can buy that he hardened himself in the four months Dean was gone, became entirely self centred, and that he's struggling to reverse that.
I like being able to understand the underlying motivations for what occurs between the guys. Dean is pretty simple, there's a couple of key features to his personality that make him understandable in most situations. And I don't mean that he's predictable, it's just that I get him, I get where he's coming from. I want the same for Sam. I spent most of last season with no clue about how he would react to anything and it really annoyed me. I felt like he was too complex. This season, the writers have given us some hints about what makes Sam tick. I thought the fact that Sam is still looking for Lilith, even with Dean returned, was very telling, I interpreted that as a lingering rage about Dean going to hell, a need for revenge that has endured despite the return.
So I'm forming an opinion about Sam. I'm taking what the writers are giving and using that to figure him out. And I really want it to stay consistent because I've tried it before, tried to take the cues and form it into an understanding and it hasn't worked which frustrated me greatly.
Or maybe I'm just thick. lol. I don't know, could be. Maybe the problem lays in me and not the writing.