Review | 9x08 | Rock and A Hard Place

[galathea_snb]

Rock and A Hard Place by Jenny Klein is one of those episodes, where I find one half of the story immensely enjoyable, while the other half is a constant source of frustration for me. In this particular case, the frustration part mostly pertains to Dean’s characterisation, which I feel is rather poor and does the character a huge disservice; the

Comments

[spnmonster]

Yeah, whatever it was they were trying to do with Dean in this it didn't work. I thought of a parallel with Cara Roberts too, but the way it was played didn't come off that way. Like, maybe Dean is disconnected from Sam, so he was seeking connection. I don't know. He's so long out of practice with women and that wasn't a hook up situation, so it all came off as crass. I wonder too if it wasn't a poke at fan culture. With Suzie being a Casa Erotica star and Dean's obvious awkward creepy fanboy behavior, I kind of thought it was to get fans to see the ugliness of that aspect of the fandom. Jensen, in particular, likes to mimic fans who behave poorly and there's sometimes an edge of ridicule in it, so I think maybe that's where it might have been coming from. One the other hand, it worked for Dean, so ...

I absolutely love Jody. She's smart, resourceful, tough. She has a good backstory and history with the boys, and isn't just there to be saved or for romantic angst. Like you, I love that she is Sam's friend. They have a nice, easy relationship. She's kind of almost the mom/big sister that he never had.

I'm wondering what you thought of the mid-season finale and hope to see a review soon?

[galathea_snb]

I wonder too if it wasn't a poke at fan culture.
I wished I could see Dean's behaviour towards Suzie in a more favourable (meta) light, but unfortunately it just reads like poor characterisation to me. It also falls into a certain pattern of Dean characterisation that has become more and more pronounced ever since Carver took over the reigns, namely a characterisation that depicts Dean as increasingly mean, manipulative and/or controlling. The current team of writers just doesn't seem to grasp the nuances in Dean's characters that always made him such a compelling and sympathetic figure. :(

She's kind of almost the mom/big sister that he never had.
Exactly. I like that Sam tends to connect with motherly types like Jody or Ellen or Missouri, while Dean usually gravitates towards older men of authority like Bobby or Frank or Eliot Ness. It is a natural expression of their different needs due to their childhood memories/experiences, and I am happy that, in this at least, the writers are fairly consistent with their characterisation.

I'm wondering what you thought of the mid-season finale and hope to see a review soon?
I was ill and bedridden these past two weeks, so I was unable to write a review yet. But I am on the road to recovery now, and I hope I'll get it out before I take off for the holidays. :)

[spnmonster]

The current team of writers just doesn't seem to grasp the nuances in Dean's characters that always made him such a compelling and sympathetic figure.

I agree completely. Don't get me wrong, I do think that Dean can be manipulative and controlling to some extent, but he was never mean, and the current writing team doesn't balance his weaknesses with his strengths.

I've always liked both boys and was a big fan of the brother bond, but it's becoming harder all the time.

[galathea_snb]

I've always liked both boys and was a big fan of the brother bond, but it's becoming harder all the time.
Yeah, I've always been somewhat of a Sam!girl, but I love Dean dearly and usually both characters together are more interesting to me than either one of them alone or with others. But Dean's characterisation in S8/9 has been awful, and I am at the point where I want Sam to take off with Jody and get a restraining order against Dean - so the writers are obviously doing something very, very wrong. I just feel they have no real understanding of what makes the characters tick and what the fans like about their relationship.

[spnmonster]

I've always been a little more partial to Sam as well. I relate to him as the younger sibling, more rebellious, etc., but I love Dean because, well, big bro.

I can understand the desire for Sam to get away from Dean, but I still don't. I want an angry Sam who will knock some sense into Dean. I mean, seriously knock some sense into him and then forgive him because that's what Sam does.

I know a lot of fans are concerned that Dean will just slip back into his old ways if Sam forgives him, but I wonder. This time it's his actions that have caused him to lose Sam. He seriously has no one to blame but himself, so I think that will make a difference. I hope so anyway because Carver needs to write them out of this annoying loop of lies and betrayal and Sam being addicted/sick/possessed and caregiver Dean. It's become a crutch for the writers, and it hasn't interested me since Sam got his soul back.

[galathea_snb]

I want an angry Sam who will knock some sense into Dean.
My biggest fear is that since they already played fake!angry!Sam via Gadreel in Holy Terror, they'll approach the actual confrontation between Sam and Dean in a completely different manner. I tell you, if Sam is all understanding and forgiveness, I am going to throw things at my TV.

This time it's his actions that have caused him to lose Sam. He seriously has no one to blame but himself, so I think that will make a difference.
Well, from your moth to the writers' ears. I would be willing to forgive a lot if this whole storyline would finally break Dean out of his bad habits or at least would allow him to take a long hard look at his choices and what motivates them. Dean desperately needs some character development, but I don't trust these writers to actually give it to him.

[spnmonster]

I have the same misgivings that you do regarding this plotline. Despite last season's assurances of character growth from Carver, this season doesn't indicate that anything has changed.

I wonder though if part of Dean's decision to trick Sam into accepting Gadreel didn't have as much to do with his guilt because Sam was in that position because of him in the first place than just an inability to live without him. I can follow a line of thinking that if he hadn't been so hard on Sam regarding not looking for him and where they were mid-season, then Sam wouldn't have insisted on taking on the trials. It would have been him to die in the trials because he believes that Sam would have let him -- I'm not so sure about that, but what I think isn't the issue. Dean believes he would have closed the gates of hell and died, and Sam could have gone back to Amelia and had that normal life.

I don't know. Maybe Dean's motivations aren't as simple and "selfish" as we think. Of course, that doesn't make what he did right. The problem is that Carver is doing a piss poor job of showing the characters' motivations -- Sam in S8 and Dean now. We have to read between the lines and fill in the blanks. So, I'm wondering if Dean's focus on the bunker as home isn't Dean trying to give Sam what he thinks he deserves -- "Look, Sammy, you want a home, here, I'm giving you a home." If I look at it that way, it's much less selfish and sadder tbh because Dean has fucked himself over so badly.

[galathea_snb]

I wonder though if part of Dean's decision to trick Sam into accepting Gadreel didn't have as much to do with his guilt because Sam was in that position because of him in the first place
Oh, I very much believe that to be true. In the church, Sam left Dean with no doubt that Dean's mistrust facilitated Sam's breakdown, and I think Dean's guilty conscience affected his choice to allow Gadreel to possess Sam. But that still makes it a selfish choice on his part. He couldn't live with the knowledge of being partially responsible for Sam's condition (and his resulting death), and that played into his motivation to do anything to save Sam. I don't think Dean's motivations are simple at all, but I do think they are mainly selfish and have little to do with Sam himself. :)

The problem is that Carver is doing a piss poor job of showing the characters' motivations
Yeah, no kidding! This show used to excel at character continuity and character exploration, but ever since Carver took over, the characters are all over the map and there is no direct line of cause-and-effect anymore. S8 has been absolutely terrible in that regard, not only for Sam and the whole 'he didn't look for Dean' issue, but also for Dean. I mean, Dean came back from purgatory a changed man, but instead of carefully mapping the characters’ emotional development during the year he spent in purgatory, the writers filled his flashbacks with meaningless action. And even when the writers gave us something resembling motivation, it was usually undermined or refuted in the next episode. Carver's carelessness with the characters infuriates me the most, to be honest. I could probably live with all the canon problems and the repetitive storytelling, if he would treat the characters better. But as it is, I feel he is slowly but surely destroying the characters I hold dear, and that just kills me. :(