Sigh.
So, I have some things to say about last night's SPN. (I would also like to mention, just for the sake of not always being Ranty McRantypants, that I really enjoyed last week's episode.)
This week, I had some issues.
I found the A plot really gross and disturbing, so I really don't want to go into that, except to say that I hope that somewhere off-screen, Sam and Dean went to Michelle and explained to her what to tell her kid when the kid starts getting hungry for a side of beef.
But it was the Sam-and-Dean stuff that really bothered me. I just… I love Dean, okay? I adore him. And he's kind of a dick and he has never been big with tact and that's just who he is, but that first scene with Sam in the motel room? That's the first time in the entire series that I have really, truly disliked him. Dean, YOU DO NOT PUNCH YOUR BROTHER IN THE FACE. TWICE. YOU ASSHOLE. I don't care that he lied to you, I don't care that you're afraid for him, YOU DO NOT DO THAT. Or you at least TALK to him first, and ATTEMPT to get his side of the story. (I know that they're big, strong, physical boys. I know that Sam can take it. But the fact remains that we have-at least as far as I can recall-never ONCE seen Sam hit Dean, and while Dean has hit Sam a couple of times, the first time was in "Asylum" and there were mitigating circumstances, and the second time was in early S2 and it was a big huge road-sign that Dean was NOT OKAY. This? Was just assholish. Especially because Sam DOESN'T HIT HIM BACK. Which is maybe supposed to be a sign that Sam doesn't think it's a big deal, but… I think it's a big deal.)
And it's not just the punching, it's that… okay, at the beginning of S2, when Dean was acting irrational and violent, and keeping secrets, Sam tried to get him to talk about it, tried to help (and, by the way, Sam was taking the punches there, not doling them out). But Dean just comes out with guns blazing, yelling about how wrong and fucked-up Sam is and how GOD thinks he's wrong. And I know that Dean is scared for Sam, and I know he's always been very dogmatic and right-and-wrong in his views and Sam has always been more willing (maybe by necessity) to see the shades of gray, but that intractability is not the most flattering character trait ever and this is SAM, okay? This is his BROTHER. And yes, Sam has changed since Dean's death, but… I really don’t think this is "Mystery Spot" Sam, even. I actually really don't see anything wrong with what Sam's doing at this point. I mean, yes, the source of his powers is demonic, and yes, he's getting Ruby's help (though at this point, Dean knows way less about "Cas" than Sam knows about Ruby), but as far as I can tell, he's helping people. And as he pointed out later in the episode: he's an adult. It's not like he's not questioning what he's doing, not keeping an eye out for warning signs. I would actually venture to say that no one is more freaked out about Sam going evil than Sam is. In fact, he's so freaked out about it that he made Dean promise to kill him if he did. But he DOES have these powers, and there has never been any indication in the show that the kids who have these powers must inevitably go evil, so I actually don't see why, Sam being an extremely intelligent, rational adult with very nearly as much experience with the supernatural as Dean has, he shouldn't use the resources at his disposal to help people, as long as he's being careful (and I DO think he's being careful-he didn't use his powers to pick the lock in the closet, he did it the old-fashioned way; he seems to be keeping a pretty tight rein on what he's doing). I mean, guns are dangerous, too, you know? So I am having a really hard time understanding where Dean's coming from with the "if I didn't know you, I'd hunt you" part. I would think that if they heard about someone who could exorcise demons with his brain, they might go check it out, but they wouldn't just kill the guy outright. That makes no sense to me. And again, Dean's always been of the hunters-good-supernatural-evil persuasion, but given all he's been through, he should really know better by now, and… this is SAM! Don't you give your brother a tiny bit of credit?
And yeah, Sam lied to Dean and that sucked, but given Dean's reaction (which was predictable in nature if not necessarily in degree), I can't really blame him.
I don't know. I guess I just feel like Sam is going through something major here, and Dean's blunt-object approach is really, really, REALLY not helping. And I know that Dean has his own issues (he doesn't know what's going on with Sam so he's not sure he can help, he's worried that Sam doesn't need him anymore), but he's all Sam has, and I want him to get the fuck over his issues and HELP, and not reinforce Sam's fears about how fucked up he is, and not try to fix everything with denial, and especially not lay the guilt trip on Sam about "family first" when DEAN was the one who went haring off to condemn his brother without question on the word of someone he has no real reason to trust.
I'm glad they had that argument by the roadside, because at least Sam got to explain his point of view a bit, and I liked that they at least left the door open that Jack could've overcome his urges if things had gone differently (though of course Sam and Dean don't know that). I really do think the show is trying to make us see both sides… I'm just having a very hard time seeing Dean's side right now. I mean, I see it, I just think his way of dealing with it is incredibly shitty, and I expect better from him. I love you, Dean! Don't be an asshole!
Whew. Okay. I feel a little better now.
On the plus side: I loved their conversation about Mary. And I loved Dean's delight in the whole "long pig" thing. HEE. And the part about how Sam loves research (TRUE FACT). And Sam's little woobie FAAAAACE.
And thank you to anonymous_sibyl for recognizing that Michelle was the actress who played Juliet in S2 of Slings and Arrows-I KNEW I knew her, but I couldn’t place her! She's beeeeyoootiful. *dreamy sigh*
Anyway. The show is trying to present both sides of this issue, I think, and I appreciate that. I just think they could go about it much better, in a way that doesn't make me dislike Dean. And while this show has never been subtle, they've always been so good at continuity with characters and relationships, and that's what I'm afraid they're losing their grasp on. I'm just cautious, in the way you are when it seems like a show you love might be on its way to becoming a show you don't love, and that's always hard, y'know? Here's hoping.
This week, I had some issues.
I found the A plot really gross and disturbing, so I really don't want to go into that, except to say that I hope that somewhere off-screen, Sam and Dean went to Michelle and explained to her what to tell her kid when the kid starts getting hungry for a side of beef.
But it was the Sam-and-Dean stuff that really bothered me. I just… I love Dean, okay? I adore him. And he's kind of a dick and he has never been big with tact and that's just who he is, but that first scene with Sam in the motel room? That's the first time in the entire series that I have really, truly disliked him. Dean, YOU DO NOT PUNCH YOUR BROTHER IN THE FACE. TWICE. YOU ASSHOLE. I don't care that he lied to you, I don't care that you're afraid for him, YOU DO NOT DO THAT. Or you at least TALK to him first, and ATTEMPT to get his side of the story. (I know that they're big, strong, physical boys. I know that Sam can take it. But the fact remains that we have-at least as far as I can recall-never ONCE seen Sam hit Dean, and while Dean has hit Sam a couple of times, the first time was in "Asylum" and there were mitigating circumstances, and the second time was in early S2 and it was a big huge road-sign that Dean was NOT OKAY. This? Was just assholish. Especially because Sam DOESN'T HIT HIM BACK. Which is maybe supposed to be a sign that Sam doesn't think it's a big deal, but… I think it's a big deal.)
And it's not just the punching, it's that… okay, at the beginning of S2, when Dean was acting irrational and violent, and keeping secrets, Sam tried to get him to talk about it, tried to help (and, by the way, Sam was taking the punches there, not doling them out). But Dean just comes out with guns blazing, yelling about how wrong and fucked-up Sam is and how GOD thinks he's wrong. And I know that Dean is scared for Sam, and I know he's always been very dogmatic and right-and-wrong in his views and Sam has always been more willing (maybe by necessity) to see the shades of gray, but that intractability is not the most flattering character trait ever and this is SAM, okay? This is his BROTHER. And yes, Sam has changed since Dean's death, but… I really don’t think this is "Mystery Spot" Sam, even. I actually really don't see anything wrong with what Sam's doing at this point. I mean, yes, the source of his powers is demonic, and yes, he's getting Ruby's help (though at this point, Dean knows way less about "Cas" than Sam knows about Ruby), but as far as I can tell, he's helping people. And as he pointed out later in the episode: he's an adult. It's not like he's not questioning what he's doing, not keeping an eye out for warning signs. I would actually venture to say that no one is more freaked out about Sam going evil than Sam is. In fact, he's so freaked out about it that he made Dean promise to kill him if he did. But he DOES have these powers, and there has never been any indication in the show that the kids who have these powers must inevitably go evil, so I actually don't see why, Sam being an extremely intelligent, rational adult with very nearly as much experience with the supernatural as Dean has, he shouldn't use the resources at his disposal to help people, as long as he's being careful (and I DO think he's being careful-he didn't use his powers to pick the lock in the closet, he did it the old-fashioned way; he seems to be keeping a pretty tight rein on what he's doing). I mean, guns are dangerous, too, you know? So I am having a really hard time understanding where Dean's coming from with the "if I didn't know you, I'd hunt you" part. I would think that if they heard about someone who could exorcise demons with his brain, they might go check it out, but they wouldn't just kill the guy outright. That makes no sense to me. And again, Dean's always been of the hunters-good-supernatural-evil persuasion, but given all he's been through, he should really know better by now, and… this is SAM! Don't you give your brother a tiny bit of credit?
And yeah, Sam lied to Dean and that sucked, but given Dean's reaction (which was predictable in nature if not necessarily in degree), I can't really blame him.
I don't know. I guess I just feel like Sam is going through something major here, and Dean's blunt-object approach is really, really, REALLY not helping. And I know that Dean has his own issues (he doesn't know what's going on with Sam so he's not sure he can help, he's worried that Sam doesn't need him anymore), but he's all Sam has, and I want him to get the fuck over his issues and HELP, and not reinforce Sam's fears about how fucked up he is, and not try to fix everything with denial, and especially not lay the guilt trip on Sam about "family first" when DEAN was the one who went haring off to condemn his brother without question on the word of someone he has no real reason to trust.
I'm glad they had that argument by the roadside, because at least Sam got to explain his point of view a bit, and I liked that they at least left the door open that Jack could've overcome his urges if things had gone differently (though of course Sam and Dean don't know that). I really do think the show is trying to make us see both sides… I'm just having a very hard time seeing Dean's side right now. I mean, I see it, I just think his way of dealing with it is incredibly shitty, and I expect better from him. I love you, Dean! Don't be an asshole!
Whew. Okay. I feel a little better now.
On the plus side: I loved their conversation about Mary. And I loved Dean's delight in the whole "long pig" thing. HEE. And the part about how Sam loves research (TRUE FACT). And Sam's little woobie FAAAAACE.
And thank you to anonymous_sibyl for recognizing that Michelle was the actress who played Juliet in S2 of Slings and Arrows-I KNEW I knew her, but I couldn’t place her! She's beeeeyoootiful. *dreamy sigh*
Anyway. The show is trying to present both sides of this issue, I think, and I appreciate that. I just think they could go about it much better, in a way that doesn't make me dislike Dean. And while this show has never been subtle, they've always been so good at continuity with characters and relationships, and that's what I'm afraid they're losing their grasp on. I'm just cautious, in the way you are when it seems like a show you love might be on its way to becoming a show you don't love, and that's always hard, y'know? Here's hoping.