Meta: in which I write words about this show I kinda like
So, let’s meta a little, if you agree. I don’t have any revolutionary ideas or even overly interesting ones; I mostly write to sort out my own thoughts. I could as well be thinking out loud - well, except that it results in written words and you won’t hear the sound of my voice, of course.
Warning: Expressing meta thoughts in English is difficult for me. Please be indulgent.
There’ve always been a lot of talk about Sam and Dean’s relationship, because it’s kinda why we’re all here, isn’t it? Lately, I have been seeing a lot of freaking about it, which made me have some thoughts myself, and… here I am.
If we are talking about sibling relationship, I want to begin by talking about one I know even better than the Winchester’s: my relationship with my own siblings (I do think it’s interesting to see how people’s sibling relationships, or lack of it, have an influence over the way they relate to the brothers… but I won’t talk too long about my life, don’t worry). I have two younger siblings, a brother and a sister - for the sake of shortness let’s call them Bro and Sis. I’m 23, almost 24, Bro has just turned 20 and Sis is 171/2 - I think our ages are relevant because they make us close from Sam and Dean’s age gap.
The key to sibling relationship is that brothers and sisters are forced on us. We have to share a house with them for a number of years (sometimes a room), our toys, our parents, our lives, and for best or for worst they will remain linked to us in some indefinable way even if we stop talking to them. I have been blessed in that department. My siblings are both shaping to be smart, funny, interesting people. When I compare us to the other sibling relationships I have been able to observe over the years, I conclude that we have always been pretty close, all things considered, but of course there have been ups and downs - the last years have been definitely “up.”
Since last SPN episode there have been some fingers pointing at Dean, reproaching him to wish for a brother who share his tastes (in music, cars), who is “more like him” and therefore not to appreciate Sam for who he is. My argument will be: and what is wrong with that? Sis and I are very close, despite the six-year age gap, and I can’t deny that we having a lot of shared tastes really helps (though there are things she likes that I don’t care for and vice-versa, of course). Bro and I are less close, though we have been roommates for more than a year, now (I’m writing right now to the sound of him singing while making us dinner), and we are closer in age; we are more different in the things we love. It doesn’t mean I love him less, or that we don’t share about the things we love: I let him talk about video games, he lets me talk about fanfic. But, yeah, the difference is there; being able to exchange about things we both love is bringing Sis and I closer.
Sam and Dean are even more forced on each other than ordinary siblings, and the circumstances of their lives oblige them to spend almost all their time together. They have one big thing in common, which is their job, but lately it has not been something that brings them a lot of joy. Having very few subjects of interest in common must make them long for someone else than their brother. And that’s exactly what they do.
Last episode has often been compared to “Sex and Violence” in which the Siren lures Dean under the disguise of the “ideal” little brother. Nick the Siren loves the same kind of music, the same kind of car than Dean does. But that’s only the shallow part - in the end I think that the important thing is what Nick says, that Dean wants a brother he can trust. When that episode aired I read in some reviews that the conclusion we could draw from it was that Dean wants a brother who is his carbon copy and agrees with him in everything, but it’s not the impression I got from it. Nick (before we knew he was the Siren) didn’t look like someone who didn’t have a mind of his own, in my opinion. In last episode, we see again that Gary shares Dean’s tastes, but again I thought that it was only superficial elements. Let’s not forget that if his tastes in music and car make Gary closer to Dean, his encyclopedic knowledge, language abilities and love of research make him closer to Sam. I think the point was more to show that the current situation they’re in keep the brothers from enjoying each other’s company, but if we decide to make of Gary Dean’s “ideal” little brother anyway, he’s still a hell of a lot like Sam (but maybe like a younger and happier Sam). In both episodes discussed, we have glimpses of Dean’s fantasy for a brother. It is someone with whom he could share his love for things that make him happy, as I do with my own sister.
Dean isn’t the only one to have a fantasy version of his brother. Sam’s has a very controversial name: Ruby. Ruby, who goes through a complete personality change in order to get closer to Sam. Sam himself admits in 4.09 that Ruby said the things Dean would have said, and no one denies that without her Sam wouldn’t have survived to his brother’s death. But Ruby isn’t exactly like Dean, she is Dean’s improved version, and therefore cast light on how Sam would want his brother to be: he wants him to support him in all his choices, and accept him exactly the way he is, with his powers and the demon blood in his veins. I personally thinks that Sam’s fear that his brother is disgusted by him because of what Azazel did to him is mostly imaginary, but that Dean is still a little freaked out by Sam’s abilities. Ruby, though, is a demon, so a little demon blood won’t freak her out - in that way, she is more like Sam than Dean is.
The point to all this rambling in badly written English isn’t to say that Sam and Dean are bad, bad brothers, or that one is worse than the other in that regard. They both wish their brother to be a little more like them, to be a little different from who they actually are. There is nothing wrong with that, and I can perfectly understand it (see the boring part about my own life). And to reference one last time to last episode, when in the end Sam asks Dean to turn down the music, and Dean rolls his eyes and says “Welcome back, Kotter,” I didn’t see that as a way to express that he regrets having Sam back with him - if it had been the point, I think we would have had something more like Dean looking angstily through the Impala’s window. It was just a brother thing to say.
If you have made it to the end, you are a very brave person. *hands cookies*
Warning: Expressing meta thoughts in English is difficult for me. Please be indulgent.
There’ve always been a lot of talk about Sam and Dean’s relationship, because it’s kinda why we’re all here, isn’t it? Lately, I have been seeing a lot of freaking about it, which made me have some thoughts myself, and… here I am.
If we are talking about sibling relationship, I want to begin by talking about one I know even better than the Winchester’s: my relationship with my own siblings (I do think it’s interesting to see how people’s sibling relationships, or lack of it, have an influence over the way they relate to the brothers… but I won’t talk too long about my life, don’t worry). I have two younger siblings, a brother and a sister - for the sake of shortness let’s call them Bro and Sis. I’m 23, almost 24, Bro has just turned 20 and Sis is 171/2 - I think our ages are relevant because they make us close from Sam and Dean’s age gap.
The key to sibling relationship is that brothers and sisters are forced on us. We have to share a house with them for a number of years (sometimes a room), our toys, our parents, our lives, and for best or for worst they will remain linked to us in some indefinable way even if we stop talking to them. I have been blessed in that department. My siblings are both shaping to be smart, funny, interesting people. When I compare us to the other sibling relationships I have been able to observe over the years, I conclude that we have always been pretty close, all things considered, but of course there have been ups and downs - the last years have been definitely “up.”
Since last SPN episode there have been some fingers pointing at Dean, reproaching him to wish for a brother who share his tastes (in music, cars), who is “more like him” and therefore not to appreciate Sam for who he is. My argument will be: and what is wrong with that? Sis and I are very close, despite the six-year age gap, and I can’t deny that we having a lot of shared tastes really helps (though there are things she likes that I don’t care for and vice-versa, of course). Bro and I are less close, though we have been roommates for more than a year, now (I’m writing right now to the sound of him singing while making us dinner), and we are closer in age; we are more different in the things we love. It doesn’t mean I love him less, or that we don’t share about the things we love: I let him talk about video games, he lets me talk about fanfic. But, yeah, the difference is there; being able to exchange about things we both love is bringing Sis and I closer.
Sam and Dean are even more forced on each other than ordinary siblings, and the circumstances of their lives oblige them to spend almost all their time together. They have one big thing in common, which is their job, but lately it has not been something that brings them a lot of joy. Having very few subjects of interest in common must make them long for someone else than their brother. And that’s exactly what they do.
Last episode has often been compared to “Sex and Violence” in which the Siren lures Dean under the disguise of the “ideal” little brother. Nick the Siren loves the same kind of music, the same kind of car than Dean does. But that’s only the shallow part - in the end I think that the important thing is what Nick says, that Dean wants a brother he can trust. When that episode aired I read in some reviews that the conclusion we could draw from it was that Dean wants a brother who is his carbon copy and agrees with him in everything, but it’s not the impression I got from it. Nick (before we knew he was the Siren) didn’t look like someone who didn’t have a mind of his own, in my opinion. In last episode, we see again that Gary shares Dean’s tastes, but again I thought that it was only superficial elements. Let’s not forget that if his tastes in music and car make Gary closer to Dean, his encyclopedic knowledge, language abilities and love of research make him closer to Sam. I think the point was more to show that the current situation they’re in keep the brothers from enjoying each other’s company, but if we decide to make of Gary Dean’s “ideal” little brother anyway, he’s still a hell of a lot like Sam (but maybe like a younger and happier Sam). In both episodes discussed, we have glimpses of Dean’s fantasy for a brother. It is someone with whom he could share his love for things that make him happy, as I do with my own sister.
Dean isn’t the only one to have a fantasy version of his brother. Sam’s has a very controversial name: Ruby. Ruby, who goes through a complete personality change in order to get closer to Sam. Sam himself admits in 4.09 that Ruby said the things Dean would have said, and no one denies that without her Sam wouldn’t have survived to his brother’s death. But Ruby isn’t exactly like Dean, she is Dean’s improved version, and therefore cast light on how Sam would want his brother to be: he wants him to support him in all his choices, and accept him exactly the way he is, with his powers and the demon blood in his veins. I personally thinks that Sam’s fear that his brother is disgusted by him because of what Azazel did to him is mostly imaginary, but that Dean is still a little freaked out by Sam’s abilities. Ruby, though, is a demon, so a little demon blood won’t freak her out - in that way, she is more like Sam than Dean is.
The point to all this rambling in badly written English isn’t to say that Sam and Dean are bad, bad brothers, or that one is worse than the other in that regard. They both wish their brother to be a little more like them, to be a little different from who they actually are. There is nothing wrong with that, and I can perfectly understand it (see the boring part about my own life). And to reference one last time to last episode, when in the end Sam asks Dean to turn down the music, and Dean rolls his eyes and says “Welcome back, Kotter,” I didn’t see that as a way to express that he regrets having Sam back with him - if it had been the point, I think we would have had something more like Dean looking angstily through the Impala’s window. It was just a brother thing to say.
If you have made it to the end, you are a very brave person. *hands cookies*