4x20: The show that wasn't The Show
Was that just a weird plot loop for the sake of a plot loop or was the Castiel-Jimmy plot just 40 minutes of screen filler because Kripke and Co. didn't want Sam sucking demon blood and walking around looking like he'd gorged himself at a carne cruda buffet for the entire episode?
I don't know, guys. Having an ENTIRE episode where Castiel disappears, get a God spanking, and ends up back in his vessel with a change of heart just seemed really weird at the point in the season. That whole plot point could've been dealt with as a subplot and taken maybe 5 minutes of screen time: Cas is MIA and the boys need him, Sam and Dean give this thought and furrow their brows while furthering the main plot and somehow getting themselves out of a demon pickle without the help of their resident angel, then Cas shows up at the end and we have our reveal. Ta da. *jazz hands* But instead we were treated to an eyeful of Castiel (which is fine) and a dead end backstory and family and bit and pieces of what I consider to be a much more interesting and compelling story (Sam and Dean's) shoved into the corners. I'm confused as to why Kripke and Carver assumed we'd care about how and why Castiel came to be in his vessel in lieu of Sam and Dean's current story, especially when the brother's situation had so much potential for some juicy storytelling and some serious characterization. OK, maybe the whole "it's in your blood" thing is going to be an angelic counterpoint to demon blood sharing and power transferral as well as catapult us into a Castiel-centric subplot for S5, but, IMHO, this is not the time to spend an entire episode on Castiel's vessel. This is the end of the season! We should be ramping up for the finale where questions need to be answered and plots tied up. The momentum should be building, not stagnating.
So Sam is just an addict. And it seems from "TMatEotB" that he's doing "it" because he wants revenge. I get that; it makes sense. Rash, vengeful Sam isn't something new. We saw snippets/hints of this way back in "Salvation" when Dean had to physically restrain Sam, keeping him from running back into Rosie's nursery to confront the YED. So more than anything, what we're seeing now (the reversal) is an amplification of formerly repressed parts of Sam's personality that's crowding out other facets of himself he no longer has the luxury to afford (S1-bleeding-heart Sam), a internal characterization "flip" so to speak. But isn't there more? I'm having a hard time believing that Sam, who has been a walking complex contradiction since day one, would have ONLY ONE reason to kill LIlith and resort to such desperate and extreme measures as drinking demon blood. What happened to the Sam in "CAiaD" who seemed to want a happy ending for him and Dean, for them to have a chance to grow old with the war over and Lilith gone? What happened to S2 Sam and "I'm gonna save you, Dean" (has it been discussed if Dean's soul would go back to Hell if/when he dies for good?). I understand that since "MM" (S3) Sam has decided that he needs to "become Dean" but I'm finding it hard to believe that Sam could just wholesale adopt this black and white/good and evil view and simultaneously reject 20-odd years of his own thinking. Questioning things, seeing the intricacies of the situation, empathizing, challenging the staus quo, pushing against seemingly iron clad rule of the establishment, that's WHO SAM IS. That's what always distinguished him from John and Dean. So now having this Sam who gives ultimatiums and seems to have lost his ability to see the grey alternatives has me scratching my head. It's not that I think his character can't or shouldn't change or that he shouldn't become more like Dean, it's just the extent of his character reversal seems unnecessarily extreme. Can't we get a tempered version of new and old Sam? :(
And I probably should just stop this post here, but since my wheels of confusion are already in motion...
I can't remember the last time I actually cringed (in a bad way) and covered my eyes during SPN. I've been cheerleading for brother vs. brother and darkish!Sam since S2, and I don't have a problem with the demon blood sharing or scenes of Sam sucking on Ruby's arm, but Sam and his bloody face was just too much for me. I could only think "vampire" and then "Sam's the monster that Gordon was so hell bent on killing". It just felt ... not right to me for reasons I can't express. But maybe the whole point behind being so graphic was to make the audience feel uncomfortable? I don't know. It's a fine line between showing character evolution and accidentally committing character assassination.
Perhaps all of this really stems from the fact I really want to know what's going on in Sam's head once and for all. And this entire episode devoted to a minor character and his seemingly inconsequential backstory (minus the "it's in your blood thing") slightly frustrates me when we could've been getting stories that would've allow us to see what's going on with Sam and his addiction. Then maybe we (I) would better understand why he's saying and doing what he's saying and doing so we're (I'm) not left wearing my bhuz face.
Huh. So it seems like I only write episode reaction posts that are disapproving now. Just to set the record straight I've been loving the last episodes. I thought "Head of a Pin", "The Monster at the End...", and "Jump the Shark" were terrific. I hope the last episodes of the season echo those instead of whatever it was I watched tonight.
I don't know, guys. Having an ENTIRE episode where Castiel disappears, get a God spanking, and ends up back in his vessel with a change of heart just seemed really weird at the point in the season. That whole plot point could've been dealt with as a subplot and taken maybe 5 minutes of screen time: Cas is MIA and the boys need him, Sam and Dean give this thought and furrow their brows while furthering the main plot and somehow getting themselves out of a demon pickle without the help of their resident angel, then Cas shows up at the end and we have our reveal. Ta da. *jazz hands* But instead we were treated to an eyeful of Castiel (which is fine) and a dead end backstory and family and bit and pieces of what I consider to be a much more interesting and compelling story (Sam and Dean's) shoved into the corners. I'm confused as to why Kripke and Carver assumed we'd care about how and why Castiel came to be in his vessel in lieu of Sam and Dean's current story, especially when the brother's situation had so much potential for some juicy storytelling and some serious characterization. OK, maybe the whole "it's in your blood" thing is going to be an angelic counterpoint to demon blood sharing and power transferral as well as catapult us into a Castiel-centric subplot for S5, but, IMHO, this is not the time to spend an entire episode on Castiel's vessel. This is the end of the season! We should be ramping up for the finale where questions need to be answered and plots tied up. The momentum should be building, not stagnating.
So Sam is just an addict. And it seems from "TMatEotB" that he's doing "it" because he wants revenge. I get that; it makes sense. Rash, vengeful Sam isn't something new. We saw snippets/hints of this way back in "Salvation" when Dean had to physically restrain Sam, keeping him from running back into Rosie's nursery to confront the YED. So more than anything, what we're seeing now (the reversal) is an amplification of formerly repressed parts of Sam's personality that's crowding out other facets of himself he no longer has the luxury to afford (S1-bleeding-heart Sam), a internal characterization "flip" so to speak. But isn't there more? I'm having a hard time believing that Sam, who has been a walking complex contradiction since day one, would have ONLY ONE reason to kill LIlith and resort to such desperate and extreme measures as drinking demon blood. What happened to the Sam in "CAiaD" who seemed to want a happy ending for him and Dean, for them to have a chance to grow old with the war over and Lilith gone? What happened to S2 Sam and "I'm gonna save you, Dean" (has it been discussed if Dean's soul would go back to Hell if/when he dies for good?). I understand that since "MM" (S3) Sam has decided that he needs to "become Dean" but I'm finding it hard to believe that Sam could just wholesale adopt this black and white/good and evil view and simultaneously reject 20-odd years of his own thinking. Questioning things, seeing the intricacies of the situation, empathizing, challenging the staus quo, pushing against seemingly iron clad rule of the establishment, that's WHO SAM IS. That's what always distinguished him from John and Dean. So now having this Sam who gives ultimatiums and seems to have lost his ability to see the grey alternatives has me scratching my head. It's not that I think his character can't or shouldn't change or that he shouldn't become more like Dean, it's just the extent of his character reversal seems unnecessarily extreme. Can't we get a tempered version of new and old Sam? :(
And I probably should just stop this post here, but since my wheels of confusion are already in motion...
I can't remember the last time I actually cringed (in a bad way) and covered my eyes during SPN. I've been cheerleading for brother vs. brother and darkish!Sam since S2, and I don't have a problem with the demon blood sharing or scenes of Sam sucking on Ruby's arm, but Sam and his bloody face was just too much for me. I could only think "vampire" and then "Sam's the monster that Gordon was so hell bent on killing". It just felt ... not right to me for reasons I can't express. But maybe the whole point behind being so graphic was to make the audience feel uncomfortable? I don't know. It's a fine line between showing character evolution and accidentally committing character assassination.
Perhaps all of this really stems from the fact I really want to know what's going on in Sam's head once and for all. And this entire episode devoted to a minor character and his seemingly inconsequential backstory (minus the "it's in your blood thing") slightly frustrates me when we could've been getting stories that would've allow us to see what's going on with Sam and his addiction. Then maybe we (I) would better understand why he's saying and doing what he's saying and doing so we're (I'm) not left wearing my bhuz face.
Huh. So it seems like I only write episode reaction posts that are disapproving now. Just to set the record straight I've been loving the last episodes. I thought "Head of a Pin", "The Monster at the End...", and "Jump the Shark" were terrific. I hope the last episodes of the season echo those instead of whatever it was I watched tonight.