Happy TG!
Thanksgiving at my sister's was very nice. The food came out great, and we spent the day watching the entire original Star Wars trilogy, plus the first few eps of Firefly. That is how you do it, all I gotta say. :)
To everytone on my flist: I'm thankful for you more than may be apparent. May you survive the holiday season intact and make it to an auspicious New Year. ♥
SPN-related: I haven't been doing ep reactions lately, and that will probably result in more meta down the line. To start with, here are some thoughts on Ruby and on the storyarcs of the last two seasons. (Remember, I criticize because I care!)
So, I have this sneaking suspicion that Ruby was in large part designed to be a sexual partner for Sam. I know, it's ridiculous (ridiculous, I say!), and probably mean and sexist to think so. But it's not based on dislike--only on my perception that she hasn't made any important difference to the plot or mytharc, even one-and-a-half seasons since she was introduced.
I'm not trying to bash her or rain on anyone's parade here. If you like her, great. You're getting something that I'm not, and that's how fandom goes, and I'm happy you enjoy her. And if you feel like it, maybe please tell me why? In the meantime, I'm going to make my case... which is not so much about Ruby as it is about the writers and their storytelling.
Ruby's Contribution to the Mytharc/Plot
Rereading, I think it sounds like I'm down on the show and down on Ruby, and I guess I sort of am in a way. In terms of pacing and making use of characters to advance the plot(s), the show has been disappointing:
- Sam feels under-developed;
- Sam and Dean act more like an old married couple than two men in the midst of a growing and at times difficult relationship (too much fanservice, maybe?);
- the Big Bad/main antagonist is too vaguely defined (who/what is Lillith? why does she have white eyes? why does she want to free Lucifer? what exactly will happen when Lucifer is freed? what the hell was Azazel's motivation?);
- and the recurring characters, with the exception of Bobby and the angels ('50s rock band?), have tended to be sexy distractions of little matter to the mytharc and minimal impact on Sam and Dean's personal journeys.
That said?
- Dean continues to fascinate;
- the angels are intense and provide Sam and Dean with the continuing opportunity to grapple with big questions and to confront their own ethics, values and loyalties;
- Castiel is dreamy;
- and we seem to be building up to something that might actually pay off (I don't know what that is, but I'm dying to find out!).
Plus, individual episodes always bring squee-worthy stuff, even when they're self-indulgent, and JA and JP still bring it home every time. SPN is still my main squeeze even tho' I cheat with SGA and am currently making out with a set of '50s and '60s sci-fi B-movies.
In my ideal world, SPN would have retained the sensibilities of S1 as it moved through the major plot points of the seasons that followed.
- Instead of trying to develop parts of the hunting world that were ultimately superfluous to the story--the Roadhouse and its denizens, Bela--we would have maintained a tight focus on Sam and Dean and their road trip.
- We'd have found a more accessible entrance to Sam's psyche and seen him grow along with Dean.
- We'd have downplayed the "war" that took place S3, because it was under-whelming, choosing instead to simply have Sam and Dean fight more demons in MotW eps.
- We'd have offered Raelle Tucker a fortune to stay and keep us from veering into melodrama when a delicate touch was necessary.
- We'd have kept offering one-shot women chars like the ones in S1.
- We'd have been more sensitive to criticism of the treatment of characters of color.
- We'd have banned the creative team from the Internet, and possibly even from cons and the like. (Sorry!!! I love almost everything that comes out their appearances too, but the more isolated from fandom the creative team is, the better they'll be at their jobs. We'd get a purer product if we had less influence.)
- We'd have integrated Lillith more into the main storyline instead of keeping her hovering at the edges.
- We'd have been a little more daring.
It's all about the lists. Anyway, what do you guys think?
To everytone on my flist: I'm thankful for you more than may be apparent. May you survive the holiday season intact and make it to an auspicious New Year. ♥
SPN-related: I haven't been doing ep reactions lately, and that will probably result in more meta down the line. To start with, here are some thoughts on Ruby and on the storyarcs of the last two seasons. (Remember, I criticize because I care!)
So, I have this sneaking suspicion that Ruby was in large part designed to be a sexual partner for Sam. I know, it's ridiculous (ridiculous, I say!), and probably mean and sexist to think so. But it's not based on dislike--only on my perception that she hasn't made any important difference to the plot or mytharc, even one-and-a-half seasons since she was introduced.
I'm not trying to bash her or rain on anyone's parade here. If you like her, great. You're getting something that I'm not, and that's how fandom goes, and I'm happy you enjoy her. And if you feel like it, maybe please tell me why? In the meantime, I'm going to make my case... which is not so much about Ruby as it is about the writers and their storytelling.
Ruby's Contribution to the Mytharc/Plot
- Demon Ex Machina - She comes in and saves Sam and/or Dean from certain doom. I'm not crazy about this function because in practice it tends to make the boys look a little inept. Even if it didn't... it's still not necessary. Without her, the boys would get by, somehow.
- Prometheus/Expositer - (Is expositer a word? Someone who provides exposition?) She tells Sam and Dean (and by proxy, us) stuff. Off the top of my head, she's told Sam he can develop his powers (something he already knew), she's told Dean he'll become a demon in Hell (something he could have learned in an any number of ways without her), she's told them when Lillith is coming to town (something they'd already kind of figured out when a demon army stormed the police department...).
The main problem here is, if she's there to develop the mytharc, then it seems like her character would be able to provide a lot more background and intel than she already has. Dean and Sam would have a TON of info on Lillith, demonology, witchcraft, how to construct a Colt, how to fight the war, etc. It occurs to me that Sam and Dean would have demanded particulars on all sorts of things, and if she were really an ally, then she would have provided as much as possible. Maybe this has happened behind the scenes, but I kind of doubt it. Sam and Dean still appear to be largely clueless about too much of what's going on. This aspect of Ruby's use on the show is probably a casualty of the slooooooooooow reaveal storytelling strategy of the writers.
- Source of Conflict Between Sam and Dean - Totally ineffective. The most she gets them to do is squabble a little bit.
Sam: Ruby says--
Dean: Sam! Ruby's a lying demon bitch! You shouldn't believe a thing she says!
Sam: But Dean, she saved [my/your/our] live[s]! Why would she do that?
Dean: She's just using you!
Sam: Fine. Whatever.
Dean: I mean it, Sam.
Sam: Okay. (goes off and does what he wants anyway, without any serious repercussions when Dean OMG finds out)
Over and over again. Even when Dean learns she helped Sam develop his powers, and we got a cool crash-and-bang fight scene where Dean starts packing and knocks Sam around a little, even that fizzles out. The very next scene is the two of them in the car, on their way to another case.
What I'm saying is, if she's there to cause problems between Sam and Dean, let her cause some real problems! Show Sam having to actually choose between her and his brother. Show Dean actually leaving because of her. Or deciding to take her out for Sam's sake. A season and a half of bickering followed by an apology to Ruby from Dean? Not dramatic. Not compelling. Pretty much pointless.
- Obi-Wan to Sam's Luke Skywalker - Meh. The other special children honed their powers on their own. Motivated by Dean's deal and later by his death, Sam should be more than capable of doing the same.
- Sam's Reason For Living During Summer Hiatus - Um. No. Sam's reason for living after Dean's death: Finding a way to save Dean from Hell/bring him back to life. Barring that, revenge on Lillith. In the Epic Love Story of Sam and Dean, Sam does not get to even begin to move on in the months Dean is dead. Dean does not climb out of his grave to find an emotionally balanced younger brother hanging out with his girlfriend, ordering pizza. It's not dramatic or interesting. It makes Sam look shallow.
And it makes Dean look a little unnecessary... in that the world has gone on without him and his return is unremarked-on by Sam after that initial hug. Everything's back to usual, Sam kicks out the girl and replaces her with Dean, and life goes on some more. There's no sense of Sam having lost the most important person in his life, lived in emotional agony for four months and then miraculously regained that missing part of himself. Nine episodes later we get a few flashbacks and a sex-scene. Not that the flashbacks didn't show Sam in deep distress, and not that they didn't hint at more. But come on.
This is, possibly, the most pivotal point in Sam's life. Without Dean, he embraces the powers that he's always resisted, uncaring whether they are good or evil. He disregards Dean's "dying wish" and sets out on a quest to destroy the demon who has killed his brother. Also, he sees a summer movie and installs an iPod in the car.
WTF, writers? W.T.F.
So many missed opportunities. That's not to say it's "Ruby's fault." No, I blame middling storytellers. But Ruby's role in all this? Just another way they diluted a plotline that could have been epic.
- Girlfriend - I really wonder about Sera Gamble sometimes. The lengths she went to get Sam some demon sexin' are just.... I don't even know. No, I really don't know why it was necessary to get Sam naked with Ruby. It didn't look like "healing" sex, though the implication is that their new relationship saved Sam's life by... I dunno... taking the edge off Sam's rage? It's not particularly clear what was special about their relationship that made him decide to live. The hotness factor, I'm sorry to say, doesn't make up for lack of depth.
- ???? - Possibly, Ruby's big reason for being is waiting in the wings. The way the pacing has been over the last few seasons, it wouldn't be a surprise if that were so. I do feel there's something yet unrevealed about her, something that's been foreshadowed or hinted at, and I hope that's not just me projecting. She's been an under-utilised, mainly pointless character so far, but in my little world, writers don't introduce recurring chars for the hell of it, or to provide a cool knife, or to look good doing a karate move. (Sorry, I'm toeing the line of bashing. I'll stop.)
Rereading, I think it sounds like I'm down on the show and down on Ruby, and I guess I sort of am in a way. In terms of pacing and making use of characters to advance the plot(s), the show has been disappointing:
- Sam feels under-developed;
- Sam and Dean act more like an old married couple than two men in the midst of a growing and at times difficult relationship (too much fanservice, maybe?);
- the Big Bad/main antagonist is too vaguely defined (who/what is Lillith? why does she have white eyes? why does she want to free Lucifer? what exactly will happen when Lucifer is freed? what the hell was Azazel's motivation?);
- and the recurring characters, with the exception of Bobby and the angels ('50s rock band?), have tended to be sexy distractions of little matter to the mytharc and minimal impact on Sam and Dean's personal journeys.
That said?
- Dean continues to fascinate;
- the angels are intense and provide Sam and Dean with the continuing opportunity to grapple with big questions and to confront their own ethics, values and loyalties;
- Castiel is dreamy;
- and we seem to be building up to something that might actually pay off (I don't know what that is, but I'm dying to find out!).
Plus, individual episodes always bring squee-worthy stuff, even when they're self-indulgent, and JA and JP still bring it home every time. SPN is still my main squeeze even tho' I cheat with SGA and am currently making out with a set of '50s and '60s sci-fi B-movies.
In my ideal world, SPN would have retained the sensibilities of S1 as it moved through the major plot points of the seasons that followed.
- Instead of trying to develop parts of the hunting world that were ultimately superfluous to the story--the Roadhouse and its denizens, Bela--we would have maintained a tight focus on Sam and Dean and their road trip.
- We'd have found a more accessible entrance to Sam's psyche and seen him grow along with Dean.
- We'd have downplayed the "war" that took place S3, because it was under-whelming, choosing instead to simply have Sam and Dean fight more demons in MotW eps.
- We'd have offered Raelle Tucker a fortune to stay and keep us from veering into melodrama when a delicate touch was necessary.
- We'd have kept offering one-shot women chars like the ones in S1.
- We'd have been more sensitive to criticism of the treatment of characters of color.
- We'd have banned the creative team from the Internet, and possibly even from cons and the like. (Sorry!!! I love almost everything that comes out their appearances too, but the more isolated from fandom the creative team is, the better they'll be at their jobs. We'd get a purer product if we had less influence.)
- We'd have integrated Lillith more into the main storyline instead of keeping her hovering at the edges.
- We'd have been a little more daring.
It's all about the lists. Anyway, what do you guys think?