Fluffy White Feathers and Divine Eyes: Hunters and the Absentee Higher Power

[bowtrunckle]

Meta-ish blabber lurks below the cut.

Wow, it’s been a long time since I’ve posted meta. First I want to say that

Comments

[lemmealone]

I do love how Kripke has deliberately driven home the ultimate isolation for hunters (and by extension highlighting the unique importance of the Winchester brothers' relationship). They are isolated from family (often due to violent death), society (because of percieved criminal and antisocial behaviour), to a large extent from each other (because of paranoia and the fact that for the most part they aren't terribly nice people) and, as we see driven home again and again, they are isolated from the ultimate expression of what they're supposedly fighting for - the Judeo-Christian embodiment of Good.

In Faith and HotH in particular, God is shown to be absent and his agents fraudulent - any possible proof of divine existence is thrown into doubt and the of the two charcters who have expressed overt Faith, one is dead from his own blessed weapon and the other is creepy nuts and also dead.

I do think, in addition to the underlying theme of hunters-as-agents-of-God, there is also the running message being pushed over and over that these people are alone in this fight. They're so alone, and then here's these brothers who cling to each other above all else and that makes them different. All they have is each other, and it's going to save them.

IMO. *g*

[lemmealone]

of the two charcters who have expressed overt Faith, one is dead from his own blessed weapon and the other is creepy nuts and also dead.

*facepalm*

'Good' characters, I mean. And three of them, since God didn't show up for Layla, either.

[bowtrunckle]

I see from a subsequent comment that you recc'ed this meta. Thank you! *glee*

[bowtrunckle]

the ultimate isolation for hunters

Yes, excellent point. :) This is a meta-worthy topic for sure! It's interesting to me because the isolation, which is a result of their chosen hunter lifestyle, is mostly self-imposed. Isolation from the deceased can't be helped (heh ... OK it's SPN so maybe I can but life/death deals with demons don't seem to be a regular thing), but how one deals with a loved one's death is a choice (i.e. cut yourself off and go hunter rogue or open up and heal with the help of friends/family). Hunting seems to push people to the fringes of society, but note that Bobby has a legit day job and home base location, presumably he'd have non-hunting aquaintances. Also Steve Wendell had a pretty nice and permanent-looking house. William Harvell also seemed to have a foot in the regular society door as he had Ellen (a non-hunter) and Jo to hold down the fort and keep him grounded. It seems that John, Sam, and Dean might tend to linger on isolated-wanderlust side of the hunting spectrum. But anyway, I totally agree with you about this and about hunters alienating themselves from other hunters to some degree (minus Sam and Dean).

I had a whole other part of this meta about hunters and their resemblance to those with religious standing (dare I say saints?). I blabbed about the tendancy toward self-sacrifice in all parts of their lives, including denying themselves (purposefully or subconsciously because hunters are so damaged) entry to "regular" society. This sounds similar to your isolation train of thought. :)

they are isolated from the ultimate expression of what they're supposedly fighting for - the Judeo-Christian embodiment of Good.

Ironic, isn't it? *grins* It's also ironic that Sam, the half demon, is a hunter on the side of "good", but in some hunting purist circles I'm sure he'd be considered an outsider. Poor kid, he just doesn't fit in anywhere. :(

God is shown to be absent and his agents fraudulent

Yes. *nods*

I think Sam's S2-destiny/S3-choice reversal was a by-product of what happened in "HotH". It also seems like S3 is about Sam empowerment, so him chucking his emo!destiny hat compliments this nicely.

And I'll go all science dork and say the absence of evidence (i.e. God) doesn't necessarily prove or disprove anything, just that there's nothing to draw upon to make firm conclusions. But it makes me wonder if there is a God in the SPNverse if he has just turned a blind eye. I mean, seriously, where did Molly and Papa W. go in those blinding flashes of white light at the end of "Roadkill" and "AHBL-2"? And Mary blew her spirit self up in a mass of flames ... did she go somewhere? *ponders*

They're so alone, and then here's these brothers who cling to each other above all else and that makes them different. All they have is each other, and it's going to save them.

So beautifully said. Amen. :)

Thanks for dropping by and stirring up lots of questions.