Immediately before Dean's confrontation with the reaper came that exchange between the brothers:
DEAN You know if Roy woulda picked Layla instead of me she’d be healed right now. And if she’s not healed tonight she’s gunna die in a coupla months. SAM What’s happening to her is horrible. But what are you gunna do? Let somebody else die to save her?
I believe when Dean realized that "someone" was him, that's exactly what he did. To me, his self-sacrifice is the logical conclusion of that conversation in the car, and that's why the writers included it - so we would know that's what he was doing.
> I think it's more about being brave, even though he's clearly frightened.
Like they say, you can't be brave unless you're frightened :)
Perhaps the visual image of the brothers' unity as they climbed into the car after Sue Ann's death was meant to be the conclusion of their storyline, but it's true we seem to be having a run of episodes that are more Deancentric. We get a run of Samcentric episodes later in the season though, so perhaps it balances out. If there had been a final conversation between them, what would you have wanted them to say?
Next after the break will be Route 666. I'm a bit nervous about that one since it seemed to spark some controversy in fandom, but it had a few interesting moments :) I'm also starting to think about whether I want to continue these recaps into season 2, which is why getting feedback is so important to me. Thanks so much for your feedback and support, and for taking the time to discuss the episodes with me. It means a lot to me :)))
Dean is talking about what would've happened if Roy picked Layla instead of him. Of course, it would mean some other innocent person would've died, and Dean wouldn't have been ok with that, either. Sam is reminding Dean about the consequences, both then and now.
Dean didn't have a way to sacrifice himself for Layla. Sue Ann is the one who decided to trade Dean's life for Layla's. He had no choice when the reaper appeared. He stayed there and faced his fate. Running would've been pointless. Now, he could’ve thought “well, I’m going to die now anyway, but at least Layla gets to live”, but he isn’t able to do any active thing that would involve a sacrifice. He can’t offer himself to the reaper, because the reaper will take him no matter what.
In the comment below, you said this...
I believe Dean was chosen, not just to live but to stop Sue Ann.
Yes! That was the goal, to stop Sue Ann. To prevent other innocent people from dying. If Dean somehow had a way to sacrifice himself so Layla could live, he would be supporting Sue Ann's actions, instead of trying to stop her. I can't see him doing that. The message I get from this ep is that Dean is meant to live.
It’s Sam who saves Dean’s life twice in this ep, but it’s Layla and her storyline that gets all the attention at the end. I get that Dean cares about her and it is sad that she’s going to die. But she’s also someone he hardly knows, and probably never saw or heard from again. She doesn’t hold the same level of importance to Dean, as Sam does. I can’t see Dean wanting to give up his life for her, and making her more important to him than Sam is.
There’s a journey here, that started when Sam tried to kill Dean in Asylum, then left him Scarecrow, only to turn around and rush back to save Dean. And now in Faith, he saves Dean’s life again. Faith is where we should’ve had some payoff for this storyline, but we don’t. Even though it’s a Dean-centric episode, they still could’ve ended the ep with a brother moment. I liked the visual of the brother's unity, but I wanted something more.
Please, please continue your recaps! It's ok, we can all have different opinions about eps (like Route 666). I find it interesting to hear different takes on things. And season 2 is my favorite, so I'm especially looking forward to that.
And it's ok that we see the "Dean sacrifice" thing differently.
> There’s a journey here, that started when Sam tried to kill Dean in Asylum, then left him Scarecrow, only to turn around and rush back to save Dean. And now in Faith, he saves Dean’s life again. Faith is where we should’ve had some payoff for this storyline, but we don’t.
Yes, I can see what you mean, and I agree. You've also made me think about something that happens next episode (written by the dreaded Buckleming!) that I've always hated, and in the light of your comments, now I'm even more POd about it, but we'll doubtless talk more about that after the break :)
Thanks again, so much for your feedback. It's really good to know there's someone keen for me to go on to season 2. There are some really excellent, important episodes from that season I'd really like to talk about :)))
DEAN
You know if Roy woulda picked Layla instead of me she’d be healed right now. And if she’s not healed tonight she’s gunna die in a coupla months.
SAM
What’s happening to her is horrible. But what are you gunna do? Let somebody else die to save her?
I believe when Dean realized that "someone" was him, that's exactly what he did. To me, his self-sacrifice is the logical conclusion of that conversation in the car, and that's why the writers included it - so we would know that's what he was doing.
> I think it's more about being brave, even though he's clearly frightened.
Like they say, you can't be brave unless you're frightened :)
Perhaps the visual image of the brothers' unity as they climbed into the car after Sue Ann's death was meant to be the conclusion of their storyline, but it's true we seem to be having a run of episodes that are more Deancentric. We get a run of Samcentric episodes later in the season though, so perhaps it balances out. If there had been a final conversation between them, what would you have wanted them to say?
Next after the break will be Route 666. I'm a bit nervous about that one since it seemed to spark some controversy in fandom, but it had a few interesting moments :) I'm also starting to think about whether I want to continue these recaps into season 2, which is why getting feedback is so important to me. Thanks so much for your feedback and support, and for taking the time to discuss the episodes with me. It means a lot to me :)))
Reply
Dean didn't have a way to sacrifice himself for Layla. Sue Ann is the one who decided to trade Dean's life for Layla's. He had no choice when the reaper appeared. He stayed there and faced his fate. Running would've been pointless.
Now, he could’ve thought “well, I’m going to die now anyway, but at least Layla gets to live”, but he isn’t able to do any active thing that would involve a sacrifice. He can’t offer himself to the reaper, because the reaper will take him no matter what.
In the comment below, you said this...
I believe Dean was chosen, not just to live but to stop Sue Ann.
Yes! That was the goal, to stop Sue Ann. To prevent other innocent people from dying. If Dean somehow had a way to sacrifice himself so Layla could live, he would be supporting Sue Ann's actions, instead of trying to stop her. I can't see him doing that. The message I get from this ep is that Dean is meant to live.
It’s Sam who saves Dean’s life twice in this ep, but it’s Layla and her storyline that gets all the attention at the end. I get that Dean cares about her and it is sad that she’s going to die. But she’s also someone he hardly knows, and probably never saw or heard from again. She doesn’t hold the same level of importance to Dean, as Sam does. I can’t see Dean wanting to give up his life for her, and making her more important to him than Sam is.
There’s a journey here, that started when Sam tried to kill Dean in Asylum, then left him Scarecrow, only to turn around and rush back to save Dean. And now in Faith, he saves Dean’s life again. Faith is where we should’ve had some payoff for this storyline, but we don’t. Even though it’s a Dean-centric episode, they still could’ve ended the ep with a brother moment. I liked the visual of the brother's unity, but I wanted something more.
Please, please continue your recaps! It's ok, we can all have different opinions about eps (like Route 666). I find it interesting to hear different takes on things. And season 2 is my favorite, so I'm especially looking forward to that.
And it's ok that we see the "Dean sacrifice" thing differently.
Reply
Yes, I can see what you mean, and I agree. You've also made me think about something that happens next episode (written by the dreaded Buckleming!) that I've always hated, and in the light of your comments, now I'm even more POd about it, but we'll doubtless talk more about that after the break :)
Thanks again, so much for your feedback. It's really good to know there's someone keen for me to go on to season 2. There are some really excellent, important episodes from that season I'd really like to talk about :)))
Reply
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