Rewatch S1: Ep 07 to Ep 08

[hells_half_acre]

Because I was at a Christmas party last night until 4am, I slept until 3pm today. This means that I'm going to be up until godknows when tonight. I am wide awake and it is already 3:30am. Fun times! What's the perfect thing to do when wide awake and bored out of your tree? Watch Supernatural!

No general comments to make on these episodes, besides:

Comments

[mara_snh]

Hey, thanks for making me famous for 15 milliseconds :-)

Itsy-bitsy spoilers -- though jeez, people, if you haven't seen "A Very Supernatural Christmas" or "Playthings" yet, why are you even allowing yourselves to live? ;-)

I got another idea for a short fic when Dean was talking about John checking up on Sam in California. I know Dean was telling the truth, but it stuck me as a cool alternative to look at that scene like Dean was lying...like he was trying to get Sam to forgive their Dad, so he was telling him what he wanted to hear...and that maybe it was Dean who had checked up on Sam. Anyway, just a cool alternative, I thought. I do believe Dean though, because who knows how long John had known that Sam needed to be protected at all costs...it was probably why he was so hard on him, and Sam felt like he could do nothing right.

I thought from the very first time I saw this ep that Dean was lying, and that it was he (Dean), not their father who checked up on Sam periodically. It's his subtle hesitation that tipped me off. (Jensen is so good at conveying the most minute details of Dean's interior life.) This kind of thing seems in character for Big Brother Dean. I'm thinking of the flashback in "A Very Supernatural Christmas" in which young Dean lies to Sammy about their father having stopped in during Sam's nap to deliver Christmas on schedule. I think that's one of the ways in which he's interpreted "protect Sam" all his life. It's one of the first hints we get in the series that there's plenty of schmaltz under all that macho Marine Corps crap he puts out there most of the time. Hell, Sam even calls him on that in "Playthings" when he teases Dean about overcompensating for "looking the type" (gay) by being so butch. It's Dean's defense mechanism, just as the puppy-face schtick is Sam's.

[hells_half_acre]

Ah...so I wasn't the only one who had my doubts as to whether Dean was telling the truth. There totally was a hesitation, and you are right about there being a case for it in "A Very Supernatural Christmas."

I've just been thrown by Phantom Traveler, where buddy at the airline tells Sam that John went on and on about him...I mean, we all know that John loves Sam, and is sorry for kicking him out and such, but you can't deny that there's a distancing there...I won't go into detail, to avoid spoilers for S2...but I have a feeling that John may have just gone on about Sam in order to get on buddy's good-side - like, "hey, trust me, I have a son that's all respectable."

But yeah, I completely agree that lying to Sam about their Dad HAS fallen under the definition of "protect Sam" for Dean...or it's fallen under the definition of "keep the family together." In either case, you know that Dean would go to great lengths for either one, so he wouldn't think twice about lying.

I love schmaltzy Dean AND all that macho Marine Corps crap that he hides under! Like I said in my previous post: Very captivating character.

[mara_snh]

Good catch on "Phantom Traveler." Note Dean's reaction. Swallowing it with a smile, but not blinking much, if I recall correctly. You can bet all his teeth had a tight hold on each other there.

Yes, he is a very captivating character. I'm grateful that he's in the hands of such a good actor. Just think how easily he could otherwise have become a cliché.

[hells_half_acre]

Agreed! Jensen is fantastic, and I know from interviews with him that he is very protective of Dean...that he'll bring things up with the writers if he thinks that his lines aren't true to the character. At this point I really can't picture anyone else playing him as effectively.

[mara_snh]

Yes, I've seen (or was it read?) interviews with Kripke and others that Jensen is responsible for creating Dean as we know him, for perceiving all his potential for giving the Sam/Dean (and Sam/Dean/John) relationship the show's real tension and intrigue. That shouldn't be too surprising, of course; that's what actors are supposed to do, if they're allowed to, but can you honestly say most of them succeed as impressively as he has, even in top-notch productions?

I hope you've listened to Kripke's commentary on "What Is and What Should Never Be." He makes a point of mentioning Jensen's insightful contributions. They're subtle (that word again!) but I think that without them, the episode would have mostly fallen flat.

[hells_half_acre]

I haven't listened to the commentary on "What Is and What Should Never Be" yet! I look forward to it!

Man, the show wouldn't even be half as good without the richness of Jensen's portrayal of Dean. Jensen's really done an impressive job. He gets all my respect for it. Though, I should also give respect to the producers, writers, and directors, for giving him the freedom to flesh Dean out like that.

[mara_snh]

Oh yes, as in all things, if the elements don't fall together, nothing works. Almost everything about this show works so beautifully that it's almost as if someone sold his soul to th...

Oh. Sorry.

;-)