Supernatural Season 7 - my 2p worth
Hi all, I'm still alive! I'm gradually catching up with people via the odd comment here and there, although I haven't yet had time to get into the massive backlog of fic I've missed.
In the meantime, I've been watching and musing on what's happened so far in Season 7 of Supernatural. My thoughts are under the cut - there are spoilers for everything that's aired so far (up to 7.09) and speculation beyond that. But no future spoilers, and I'm avoiding them, so please if you do comment, keep it spoiler-free!
x-posting this to dean_sam and possibly spn_heavymeta
First of all, please bear with me. I don’t tend to go in for this kind of direct analysis - I prefer to do it through fic, and I am in the middle of one at the moment. But I’m seeing so much consternation about where S7 is at, and where it’s headed, that I thought I’d chuck my hat in the ring with a few thoughts.
. I’m completely unspoiled, but my feeling is that Bobby is dead. (Partly because the hat thing would be pretty lame if he wasn’t, but mostly...) I announced out of the blue after 7.08, to my admittedly rather uninterested OH, that Bobby was going to die, and soon. He had to, because it fit the pattern so neatly - the only thing Dean had left to care about.
. I see what’s happening at the moment as the dismantling of Dean, and more and more I see this as a deliberate strategy by the Leviathan. They’ve been proved to be intelligent, highly strategic creatures, and they have a fair amount of information at their disposal through ‘memory downloads’ - from Cas himself, who had the ‘profound bond’ with Dean and was apt to underestimate or downplay Sam’s role in comparison; from Bobby, who said explicitly that Dean was his favourite; from Dean, who has himself firmly cast in the role of protector. Sam is a slightly different case - I’d be curious as to how much they could get from him, given his current mental state, and this may prove to be a crucial point in their ultimate defeat. Either way, easily enough to come to the conclusion that Dean is the one to target (whether this was the right conclusion remains to be seen), and that the way to do this is through his (extended) family and his desperation to be needed.
. The Leviathan, to date, have removed from Dean: Cas (albeit through Cas’ own actions); Bobby’s house (the only actual building that Dean might have called home); the Impala; the lifestyle he has been brought up in (fake IDs, motels, all the trappings that would give him a sense of the familiar - and we’ve seen how badly he’s responding to the conditions he’s living in now); and now, the biggest body-blow of all, and delivered at a point where Dean was already in a state of near-collapse - Bobby. All Dean has left now is - say it with me - Sam.
. But. Sam, as things stand, seems not to need the protection and support that his brother lives to provide. He did say, at the end of 7.08, that of course he needs Dean watching his back, but then immediately followed up by suggesting that Dean could take some well-earned ‘me-time’. Sam, who doesn’t really get the magnitude of the importance of Dean’s protective role (for Dean’s own state of mind), is genuinely doing his level best to make Dean’s life a little easier by standing on his own feet and dealing so competently with some extremely difficult issues, and deserves nothing but applause for his stance. It’s not his fault that this could be the thing that undoes Dean once and for all.
. So, for now, Dean has absolutely nothing. No family - given that the Sam he has is not the Sammy he needs - no home, no life, no purpose, no motivation. I’d say there’s a genuine chance of him attempting suicide in one form or another in the pretty near future - although I’m not entirely sure what the legal position is on CW shows airing suicidal themes. In any case, clearly this can’t happen, or not successfully anyway, so something is going to have to give.
. Best guess at this point? Sam having some sort of psychotic breakdown, the Lucifer hallucinations becoming uncontrollable, and Sam being dependent on Dean again. And/or Death stepping in to give Dean something of a motivational talking to (probably in the form of threats). But again, I am unspoiled, so this is all speculation. Also, given that we’re only at ep 9, I’m sure the writers have a few curveballs for us. (I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see a great big RESET button at some point whereby Bobby, and possibly even Cas, can be restored. This may or may not involve God.)
In conclusion, I’m extremely worried about certain aspects of Show right now, not least Dean’s continuing well-being (Dean’s issues are, without putting a fine point on it, somewhat trigger-y for me on a personal level, and I have a certain amount of emotional investment in him coming through this). BUT, if there’s one thing I’ve taught myself over the last 6 and a bit seasons, it’s not to panic or jump to conclusions mid-season. It’s not always the easiest thing, but I am gradually learning to have faith in the writers - they know and love these characters as well as I do, and I’m fairly sure that it’ll all come good in the end (for a value where ‘good’ does not necessarily equal ‘happy’!)
In the meantime, I've been watching and musing on what's happened so far in Season 7 of Supernatural. My thoughts are under the cut - there are spoilers for everything that's aired so far (up to 7.09) and speculation beyond that. But no future spoilers, and I'm avoiding them, so please if you do comment, keep it spoiler-free!
x-posting this to dean_sam and possibly spn_heavymeta
First of all, please bear with me. I don’t tend to go in for this kind of direct analysis - I prefer to do it through fic, and I am in the middle of one at the moment. But I’m seeing so much consternation about where S7 is at, and where it’s headed, that I thought I’d chuck my hat in the ring with a few thoughts.
. I’m completely unspoiled, but my feeling is that Bobby is dead. (Partly because the hat thing would be pretty lame if he wasn’t, but mostly...) I announced out of the blue after 7.08, to my admittedly rather uninterested OH, that Bobby was going to die, and soon. He had to, because it fit the pattern so neatly - the only thing Dean had left to care about.
. I see what’s happening at the moment as the dismantling of Dean, and more and more I see this as a deliberate strategy by the Leviathan. They’ve been proved to be intelligent, highly strategic creatures, and they have a fair amount of information at their disposal through ‘memory downloads’ - from Cas himself, who had the ‘profound bond’ with Dean and was apt to underestimate or downplay Sam’s role in comparison; from Bobby, who said explicitly that Dean was his favourite; from Dean, who has himself firmly cast in the role of protector. Sam is a slightly different case - I’d be curious as to how much they could get from him, given his current mental state, and this may prove to be a crucial point in their ultimate defeat. Either way, easily enough to come to the conclusion that Dean is the one to target (whether this was the right conclusion remains to be seen), and that the way to do this is through his (extended) family and his desperation to be needed.
. The Leviathan, to date, have removed from Dean: Cas (albeit through Cas’ own actions); Bobby’s house (the only actual building that Dean might have called home); the Impala; the lifestyle he has been brought up in (fake IDs, motels, all the trappings that would give him a sense of the familiar - and we’ve seen how badly he’s responding to the conditions he’s living in now); and now, the biggest body-blow of all, and delivered at a point where Dean was already in a state of near-collapse - Bobby. All Dean has left now is - say it with me - Sam.
. But. Sam, as things stand, seems not to need the protection and support that his brother lives to provide. He did say, at the end of 7.08, that of course he needs Dean watching his back, but then immediately followed up by suggesting that Dean could take some well-earned ‘me-time’. Sam, who doesn’t really get the magnitude of the importance of Dean’s protective role (for Dean’s own state of mind), is genuinely doing his level best to make Dean’s life a little easier by standing on his own feet and dealing so competently with some extremely difficult issues, and deserves nothing but applause for his stance. It’s not his fault that this could be the thing that undoes Dean once and for all.
. So, for now, Dean has absolutely nothing. No family - given that the Sam he has is not the Sammy he needs - no home, no life, no purpose, no motivation. I’d say there’s a genuine chance of him attempting suicide in one form or another in the pretty near future - although I’m not entirely sure what the legal position is on CW shows airing suicidal themes. In any case, clearly this can’t happen, or not successfully anyway, so something is going to have to give.
. Best guess at this point? Sam having some sort of psychotic breakdown, the Lucifer hallucinations becoming uncontrollable, and Sam being dependent on Dean again. And/or Death stepping in to give Dean something of a motivational talking to (probably in the form of threats). But again, I am unspoiled, so this is all speculation. Also, given that we’re only at ep 9, I’m sure the writers have a few curveballs for us. (I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see a great big RESET button at some point whereby Bobby, and possibly even Cas, can be restored. This may or may not involve God.)
In conclusion, I’m extremely worried about certain aspects of Show right now, not least Dean’s continuing well-being (Dean’s issues are, without putting a fine point on it, somewhat trigger-y for me on a personal level, and I have a certain amount of emotional investment in him coming through this). BUT, if there’s one thing I’ve taught myself over the last 6 and a bit seasons, it’s not to panic or jump to conclusions mid-season. It’s not always the easiest thing, but I am gradually learning to have faith in the writers - they know and love these characters as well as I do, and I’m fairly sure that it’ll all come good in the end (for a value where ‘good’ does not necessarily equal ‘happy’!)