SPN 8x10: Torn and Frayed
8x10: “Torn and Frayed”:
I liked this episode insofar as I’m pleased that the boys are back together and have more or less made up. I didn’t enjoy the numerous torture scenes, and I’m disappointed but not surprised by the supposed end of Samelia (although I have little doubt that she’ll be back at some point to either be (a) used as a plot device to drive another wedge between the boys or (b) fridged to cement Sam’s place on the hunting bandwagon; woe). I have many thoughts, so I’ll split them up by each boy’s storyline…
Sam:
Can we all just take a minute to appreciate Liane Balaban’s face because my god, her face when she saw the empty house. IT NEEDS TO BE APPRECIATED. *cue the sound of my heart shattering into a million pieces*
Also, she is gorgeous. Not that I ever thought she wasn’t pretty, but I never had any strong feelings on her physicality one way or the other until last night’s episode when I just kept thinking, you look like an angel, the Hallmark kind, not the SPN kind.
I can’t decide how I feel about how abruptly their storyline ended. On the one hand, the idea of them just saying ‘fuck it’ and running off together seemed very simplistic after the Don angst in the previous episode. On the other hand, I kind of like it because, well, I’m sure that’s what happens in real life in these sorts of situations? It’s a spur-of-the-moment sort of decision? And that fits with how uncharacteristically (and adorably) happy Amelia seemed in the moment (since happy does not seem to be her default...).
I also can’t decide quite how I feel about Sam’s decision. I mean, ultimately I’m glad he made the choice he did because I watch this show through a Dean’n’Sam lens and if the boys aren’t together, I’m not a happy camper, but from a purely Sam lens? Ordinarily I would have expected more agonizing from him over the decision, especially since by his own admission, he loves her and this isn’t just a fleeting crush. I was about to say “and especially since Dean was sort of encouraging him,” but actually, I think Sam might have chosen Amelia if Dean were being a prick about it (which is not to say that I think there was any sort of reverse psychology on Dean’s part, but I think if he had been anti-Amelia, it would have goaded Sam into choosing her).
What sells his decision for me is the fact that Sam makes it after they realize there’s something wrong with Cas, and I love that. Looking at this fandom from the outside, it would be easy to assume that Destiel is the only Winchester/Cas relationship, but Sam loves Cas, too, and I love when the show gives us their friendship (now why didn’t it show us the conversation where Cas convinced Sam to come back!).
So even though I want both boys to have White Picket Fence endings and it seems like Sam might have been able to have that with Amelia…I’m on board with Sam’s decision because of how it was motivated by helping Cas.
Regarding Amelia, I super hope that she lives and is happy. I was heartened when she said she ‘was loved by a good man’ or whatever that line was. I was worried that Don/Amelia would end up being an abusive trainwreck, but she seemed to be telling the truth when she said she was content? I hope that is indeed the case.
My last note regarding Sam’s storyline- how wonderful is the continuity of this show regarding Jessica? It’s been over 7 years (9 in the verse?) since she died, and the show still reminds us that Sam loved her. Their brief interactions before she was fridged don’t give the ship much to go on, but the consistent callbacks to it make me buy and appreciate that relationship (and Jessica herself) so much more than I would otherwise. I can’t help comparing it to how BtVS never mentioned Jesse again after the pilot, even though he was supposedly Xander and Willow’s best friend. I don’t know how many things you can say SPN does better than BtVS, but making a five-minute pilot character matter is one of them.
Cas:
I felt wibbly when he was terrified and flashing back to Naomi’s head-drilling, but otherwise, I’m quite enjoying his storyline (relatively speaking, anyway, since my usual attitude toward Cas is apathy). Well, I’m not pleased with the plot itself because I’m so over characters being controlled and made to do terrible things (eurgh, I don’t want to deal with next season’s angst when Cas feels guilt for what he couldn’t help), but I like its execution so far. I am side-eying the new angel world-building, though…
Dean:
Not the best for last, but he’s still my boy. I lovelovelovelovelove that he chose Sam over Benny. I don’t think the way he handled it was fair to Benny (my heart broke a little during that scene, NGL), but judging from Sam’s reaction to Benny earlier in the episode, I don’t think it could have gone any other way. Even more than I think we’ll see Amelia again, I think Benny will be back, probably as a bad guy. When that happens, I just hope it doesn’t drive a wedge between the brothers.
(On that note, who else is concerned by the possibility that if they reconciled mid-season, there will be an Even Bigger Fight before season’s end? MY FRAGILE HEART CANNOT HANDLE THAT. And if they resolve an Even Bigger Fight by having Dean one of the brothers die for the other in the finale in A Cliched All-Encompassing Moment of Absolution, I WILL BE MOST DISPLEASED.)
I liked a lot of the Dean moments in the episode. I like that he tried to make things right with Sam in the beginning (not that it was much of an effort, and Sam was certainly right to ditch him, but hey, I’ll take what I can get). I like that he asked about Mrs. Tran and looked concerned that Kevin had ditched her. I like that he was “on the Amelia bandwagon” (and I think that was supposed to be a result of his conversation about Mrs. Tran?), and I love that he said he was a little jealous. I’m not sure how true that was (part of me thinks S8!Dean is too far gone to ever have that White Picket Fence ending, but I have not seen all of S8 and most of S7- hence my frequent hedging when opining on characterization), but I’d like to think that he’s still wistful about the possibility, even if he thinks it will never, ever happen.
The only thing that upset me was the very last shot when Sam smiled a little and Dean very definitely didn’t. He looked cold and distant, and Sam’s face fell, and goddammit, my heart.
And that right there is the difference between Sam and Dean. Sam’s a glass half-full kind of guy. I’m not necessarily saying he’s an optimist, but he leans that way on the spectrum, especially when compared to Dean, who is the quintessential pessimist by this point.
Sam has just as much reason, if not more, arguably, to be as depressed as Dean because while Dean lost his friend, Sam gave his up the woman he loved. But Sam’s still going to put a brave face on and smile, albeit sadly, at his brother, because they've finally reconciled.
Dean, on the other hand, can’t see the forest for the trees. Instead of focusing on the good stuff, the fact that he and Sam are together again, all he can think about (presumably) is the fact that he ~lost Benny. It doesn’t mean that he doesn’t appreciate Sam’s presence, deep down, but he doesn’t have the empathy to show that, to meet Sam halfway and smile in return.
I hate it, but I also get it. I consciously try to be more optimistic these days, but I’ve been a pessimist my whole life. I understand why Dean is so remote in that last scene because I’m that way a lot, too- one bad thing at the end can ruin a whole pile of good things that came before. This episode itself is an example- I loved most of the brothers’ interaction but felt horribly depressed afterward just because of the note on which it ended.
So while Dean’s coldness in the last scene made me want to curl into a fetal position and weep, I get it (I get most of what he does, TBH, even the stuff I don’t like). I really liked the majority of the character interactions in this episode, and I’m choosing to be optimistic that Dean’s behavior and the brothers’ relationship will continue to improve.
And if not, I still have my White Picket Fence Dean/Bela & Sam/Genevieve head!canon, complete now with casting for Dean/Bela!children. Bwahaha!