Sympathy for the Devil
So much to TALK about in this ep, dayum. ::glee:: I can't get all of it into this first reaction post, so trying to touch on a few highlights. Whole frigging' ep was a highlight, though. Uhhhh.
Okay, quick and dirty. The plane thing was freaky. CHUCK, and that molar in his hair was just glorious. HEEE. Zachariah, and Dean and the banishing-whatever thing that was AWESOME.
The Bobby stuff is all so hurty for me -- didn't see the possession, although in retro I kinda wonder about my thinking, "WOW, Bobby, that was HARSH." But didn't see the possession coming. Ah, there's Meg again. Only she'll be shopping for different outfits, I guess. That's cool.
BOBBY.
SWORD. (we'll come back to that.)
CASTIEL.
Rib-carving. OW.
BOBBY. I guess Bobby... is not going to be so mobile this season. ::sigh:: No healing for him. Aw man.
ENDING. The conversation that kinda had to happen. We'll come back to this, too.
The concept of Dean as vessel has a ton of congruity to it. It felt highly organic to me, both in the A-ha sense of grokking what role he has in the overlying mythos, but far moreso because this is all about balance, and knowing that Lucifer needed a vessel, and of course Castiel HAS a vessel (many questions on that score, like, Hey, Cas, missing a molar? and so on) -- it makes sense that Michael -- whose name has not, I don't think, really been played with much (if at all?) before now (?) -- would also require one. Consent required, on both sides, also very balanced.
There's a track on the Constantine soundtrack called "The Balance," and I think that movie played very well with this essential idea -- but of course SPN has, always, as well -- black-and-white vs. shades of gray; right vs. wrong; good vs. evil; and increasingly, heaven vs. hell. To each thing there is an antithesis. Michael is Lucifer's antithesis, and both require vessels, blah blah. I realize, all quite obvious, just yammering.
(innie_darling and I watched together, and she asked a question I haven't been able to stop thinking about. Since we know that capacity for vesselhood is consanguinous, could Sam at some point step up to the plate? My immediate reaction was to bring up two problems with that: first, that Sam is no longer in the running because essentially he and Dean are NOT consanguinous, thanks to the demon blood; and second, that it kinda messes up this balance that gives them both specific AND meaningful roles to play in the mythos. It's been cited in the past that Dean as Sam's conscience, essentially, was perhaps HIS role to play, or part of it, but we know that it didn't work -- Dean was NOT enough to keep Sam on the better path. Nor was he necessarily enough to bring him BACK to it; that was realization, foremost. Illumination, if you will.
(But now I'm -- shit, I had an idea and lost it. Will continue, and hope it reoccurs to me.)
Anyway. My second longer ramble: Sam's comeuppance.
As much as it hurt to listen to what Dean said, it is, of course, inevitable and necessary. They sure as hell (erm) WON'T ever be on the same page again without some agonizing truths first. I feel for Dean, truly, but it's Sam who fascinates me here. Mostly because I feel we now have a true, clear sense of Sam's personality type.
A long time ago I know I read something that went into detail about a specific type of action -- and I believe that it was bundled with a whole personality type that at least in my somewhat faulty memory suited Sam very well. The action, or behavior, goes like this: Someone does a very bad thing. The action isn't really important at the moment; what matters is the response to that action. Heartfelt apology -- and I do mean heartfelt. This person really, really wishes they hadn't done it. Wishes they could undo it, make it right again.
Now the interesting part is this. Well, twofold, really. First is the question: Does the person feel bad for doing what they did? Or do they feel bad because someone they value KNOWS they did it? It's a fine distinction, but important.
Here's the second distinction: Does the person feel that an apology should make it okay again?
Sam has revealed something really important about himself here, something that isn't flattering, no, but it's enlightening. Sam has given what amounts to a child's reaction. "But I said I was SORRY." If he is forgiven, all is well. The striking point is this: It is not the act that is regretted, but the lack of forgiveness FOR that act.
We caught a glimpse in the preview of Sam saying something like he didn't blame Dean for not trusting him, he didn't trust himself. This is the more evolved Sam, the more adult Sam with more self-awareness. But BOTH Sams here are honest. There is a big part of Sam that IS still Dean's little brother, who still wants his hero/parental figure to say, "All is well." It's a childish wish, a selfish wish -- if Dean would just SAY it's okay, then it's okay, no matter what else.
What fascinates me -- well, at least part of it -- is that in neither of these threads of thought is it ever clear that Sam is really sorry.
(Please don't hit me. I am not sure the show is going to this psychologically deep a place, and I honestly think Sam is very sorry. Bringing on the apocalypse ain't like breaking your grandmother's vase; I really, really don't think he's glad he did it, okay?)
But this interests me, deeply, and for my own money it brings Sam forward as a REAL character in ways he hasn't always been, before. There is a...forward-stage part of Sam that needs Dean's forgiveness, that feels that with that, all will be well, yes. But there is another part, an adult part, that realizes it won't make a lick of difference.
And we've barely even met that Sam. He's brand-new. That's the Sam that will finally be able to see what brought him to this pass. That forgiveness isn't what he needs, at all. That growth is. Change. Sam needs to grow, and Dean's stilted, broken speech has been the key to unlock Sam's capacity to grow.
I find that absolutely the most exciting thing about this episode. Because when all's said and done, you can keep all your angels and demons. I'm in it for the boys, and Sam's been stuck in old ways and patterns of thinking since the pilot. Now it is time for him to set aside childish things and become the man he's always been meant to be. It's one hell -- hah -- of a crucible, but I can't wait to see who he becomes now.
Also, I want him and Dean NOT to split up, for Cas to show up and reveal that he's a total kick-ass archangel now, and while I'm at it I want a pony. With spots.
I think a couple of those will probably happen, and I'm definitely not looking for barn space just yet.
(Never recaptured whatever it was I was thinking earlier. Hopefully I will sometime.)
Okay, quick and dirty. The plane thing was freaky. CHUCK, and that molar in his hair was just glorious. HEEE. Zachariah, and Dean and the banishing-whatever thing that was AWESOME.
The Bobby stuff is all so hurty for me -- didn't see the possession, although in retro I kinda wonder about my thinking, "WOW, Bobby, that was HARSH." But didn't see the possession coming. Ah, there's Meg again. Only she'll be shopping for different outfits, I guess. That's cool.
BOBBY.
SWORD. (we'll come back to that.)
CASTIEL.
Rib-carving. OW.
BOBBY. I guess Bobby... is not going to be so mobile this season. ::sigh:: No healing for him. Aw man.
ENDING. The conversation that kinda had to happen. We'll come back to this, too.
The concept of Dean as vessel has a ton of congruity to it. It felt highly organic to me, both in the A-ha sense of grokking what role he has in the overlying mythos, but far moreso because this is all about balance, and knowing that Lucifer needed a vessel, and of course Castiel HAS a vessel (many questions on that score, like, Hey, Cas, missing a molar? and so on) -- it makes sense that Michael -- whose name has not, I don't think, really been played with much (if at all?) before now (?) -- would also require one. Consent required, on both sides, also very balanced.
There's a track on the Constantine soundtrack called "The Balance," and I think that movie played very well with this essential idea -- but of course SPN has, always, as well -- black-and-white vs. shades of gray; right vs. wrong; good vs. evil; and increasingly, heaven vs. hell. To each thing there is an antithesis. Michael is Lucifer's antithesis, and both require vessels, blah blah. I realize, all quite obvious, just yammering.
(innie_darling and I watched together, and she asked a question I haven't been able to stop thinking about. Since we know that capacity for vesselhood is consanguinous, could Sam at some point step up to the plate? My immediate reaction was to bring up two problems with that: first, that Sam is no longer in the running because essentially he and Dean are NOT consanguinous, thanks to the demon blood; and second, that it kinda messes up this balance that gives them both specific AND meaningful roles to play in the mythos. It's been cited in the past that Dean as Sam's conscience, essentially, was perhaps HIS role to play, or part of it, but we know that it didn't work -- Dean was NOT enough to keep Sam on the better path. Nor was he necessarily enough to bring him BACK to it; that was realization, foremost. Illumination, if you will.
(But now I'm -- shit, I had an idea and lost it. Will continue, and hope it reoccurs to me.)
Anyway. My second longer ramble: Sam's comeuppance.
As much as it hurt to listen to what Dean said, it is, of course, inevitable and necessary. They sure as hell (erm) WON'T ever be on the same page again without some agonizing truths first. I feel for Dean, truly, but it's Sam who fascinates me here. Mostly because I feel we now have a true, clear sense of Sam's personality type.
A long time ago I know I read something that went into detail about a specific type of action -- and I believe that it was bundled with a whole personality type that at least in my somewhat faulty memory suited Sam very well. The action, or behavior, goes like this: Someone does a very bad thing. The action isn't really important at the moment; what matters is the response to that action. Heartfelt apology -- and I do mean heartfelt. This person really, really wishes they hadn't done it. Wishes they could undo it, make it right again.
Now the interesting part is this. Well, twofold, really. First is the question: Does the person feel bad for doing what they did? Or do they feel bad because someone they value KNOWS they did it? It's a fine distinction, but important.
Here's the second distinction: Does the person feel that an apology should make it okay again?
Sam has revealed something really important about himself here, something that isn't flattering, no, but it's enlightening. Sam has given what amounts to a child's reaction. "But I said I was SORRY." If he is forgiven, all is well. The striking point is this: It is not the act that is regretted, but the lack of forgiveness FOR that act.
We caught a glimpse in the preview of Sam saying something like he didn't blame Dean for not trusting him, he didn't trust himself. This is the more evolved Sam, the more adult Sam with more self-awareness. But BOTH Sams here are honest. There is a big part of Sam that IS still Dean's little brother, who still wants his hero/parental figure to say, "All is well." It's a childish wish, a selfish wish -- if Dean would just SAY it's okay, then it's okay, no matter what else.
What fascinates me -- well, at least part of it -- is that in neither of these threads of thought is it ever clear that Sam is really sorry.
(Please don't hit me. I am not sure the show is going to this psychologically deep a place, and I honestly think Sam is very sorry. Bringing on the apocalypse ain't like breaking your grandmother's vase; I really, really don't think he's glad he did it, okay?)
But this interests me, deeply, and for my own money it brings Sam forward as a REAL character in ways he hasn't always been, before. There is a...forward-stage part of Sam that needs Dean's forgiveness, that feels that with that, all will be well, yes. But there is another part, an adult part, that realizes it won't make a lick of difference.
And we've barely even met that Sam. He's brand-new. That's the Sam that will finally be able to see what brought him to this pass. That forgiveness isn't what he needs, at all. That growth is. Change. Sam needs to grow, and Dean's stilted, broken speech has been the key to unlock Sam's capacity to grow.
I find that absolutely the most exciting thing about this episode. Because when all's said and done, you can keep all your angels and demons. I'm in it for the boys, and Sam's been stuck in old ways and patterns of thinking since the pilot. Now it is time for him to set aside childish things and become the man he's always been meant to be. It's one hell -- hah -- of a crucible, but I can't wait to see who he becomes now.
Also, I want him and Dean NOT to split up, for Cas to show up and reveal that he's a total kick-ass archangel now, and while I'm at it I want a pony. With spots.
I think a couple of those will probably happen, and I'm definitely not looking for barn space just yet.
(Never recaptured whatever it was I was thinking earlier. Hopefully I will sometime.)