Anatomy of a Character | Sam Winchester [edit]

[joans_journal]

So, I rewatched S2 recently…and nothing beats it for me. For one, the boys are that their best. It’s before Dean decides he can’t trust Sam anymore. Before Sam tries to kill Dean. Before everything goes to shit

Comments

[jen_nsync_landl]

Hey, I'm in the midst of an SPN rewatch myself! :) Like you, I am a BIG S2 fan. S1 really hit its stride in that final arc, but S2 was stellar from start to finish. I also adore S3, although the fact that the clock is ticking on Dean makes that one more challenging to watch for me.

Reading your post, I immediately thought of what may just be my favorite SPN ep. of all, "Mystery Spot." That episode speaks VOLUMES to me about Sam's character development, especially after Dean goes to hell. We don't *see* that summer of Sam alone after S3, but in a way we do, thanks to "Mystery Spot." That is the perfect episode for me because A) it is beautifully poised in terms of the mythology of the early seasons (it starts off seeming like it will be a throw-away gag episode but then goes horribly, devastatingly serious), B) it is funny as heck ("Did I look cool?" "You peed yourself." *pause* "Of course I peed myself. Man gets hit by a car, do you think he has full control over his bladder? Come on!" LOL), and C) it is a precursor of Sam's detachment in S4. It is as if something *breaks* inside him, seeing Dean die over and over and then, just when he gets used to that, having Dean gone "for real." Amazing stuff, that.

I haven't felt the same about the show in S4 and S5. I didn't care much for the angel mythology (althought Misha Collins/Castiel is great). That being said, there have been some fabulous standalone episodes (the black and white episode from S4, for example - love it! And "Dr. McSexy" from S5. *snort*). But some of the magic is gone. It's as if the show lost that intimacy that made it so powerful in the first three seasons.

My delayed $.02! :)

[joans_journal]

Hey, I'm in the midst of an SPN rewatch myself! :) Like you, I am a BIG S2 fan. S1 really hit its stride in that final arc, but S2 was stellar from start to finish. I also adore S3, although the fact that the clock is ticking on Dean makes that one more challenging to watch for me.

Agreed. Poor Dean. Breaks me heart. But I love how valiantly -and ultimately unsuccessfully - Sam tries to save him.

Reading your post, I immediately thought of what may just be my favorite SPN ep. of all, "Mystery Spot." That episode speaks VOLUMES to me about Sam's character development, especially after Dean goes to hell. We don't *see* that summer of Sam alone after S3, but in a way we do, thanks to "Mystery Spot." That is the perfect episode for me because A) it is beautifully poised in terms of the mythology of the early seasons (it starts off seeming like it will be a throw-away gag episode but then goes horribly, devastatingly serious), B) it is funny as heck ("Did I look cool?" "You peed yourself." *pause* "Of course I peed myself. Man gets hit by a car, do you think he has full control over his bladder? Come on!" LOL), and C) it is a precursor of Sam's detachment in S4. It is as if something *breaks* inside him, seeing Dean die over and over and then, just when he gets used to that, having Dean gone "for real." Amazing stuff, that.

Nice observation and I agree. I do love that episode, too.

I haven't felt the same about the show in S4 and S5. I didn't care much for the angel mythology (althought Misha Collins/Castiel is great). That being said, there have been some fabulous standalone episodes (the black and white episode from S4, for example - love it! And "Dr. McSexy" from S5. *snort*). But some of the magic is gone. It's as if the show lost that intimacy that made it so powerful in the first three seasons.

I actually really like all the demon/God/Angel stuff. And of course, I love Dean and Cas's dynamic. Now, I'm not a Dean/Cas 'shipper, but I think that there's a lot of evidence to support that Cas is in love with Dean. It goes beyond subtle homoerotic subtext with them.

I hate season 4. The whole Sam getting addicted to demon blood thing was an awful, awful storyline. I despised Ruby 2.0, too.

I agree, though, that the show is not as good as it used to be. I'm watching S 6 right now, and it's okay, but it's strayed so far from it's original concept, you know? It WAS a genre horror show. Now, it's a ...fantasy hybrid.

So much as happened between the two boys that it seems impossible for them to ever go back to "the way they were." :sigh:

Like I said above, SPN is a show about two guys who love each other with a fierce, dangerous love. It will kill them in the end. It's about family and the drama that comes with that. It's about fathers and sons. The demons and the monsters are just for cinematic effect. They're in many ways metaphors for larger issues, like on Buffy What hooked me to the show in the first place was Dean and Sam's dynamic. Muddling that up with all this complex mythology and guest characters causes me to lose some interest in the series, I'll admit. Regardless, I will still want to see how it ends.

Thanks for commenting!