Deep Thoughts: SPN 4.21
So, as it turns out, my professor decided to take it easy on us, and I have a little extra time to spare before the dreaded Work Meeting of Unbelievable Boringness is upon me.
Spoilers below for: SPN 4.21, the most recent House, FNL S1, various books of the Tanakh and God knows what other random shit.
I think I blew off all my steam already, so I'm going to skip the teeth-grinding and go straight to the hurm.
The Lyrics
It's not IF, but WHEN the levee breaks.
Also: Cryin' won't help you, prayin' won't do you no good... So, if Dean had known the ep title, he probably coulda seen that twist coming. I'll get to you in a minute, Castiel.
The Addiction Storyline
I usually hate these with a passion. Because, really, they're all the same story and there's only three ways it can end: addiction and eventual drug-related death, recovery, or immediate death. Those are the options. Yawn. I've seen enough of that shit in real life, fuck you very much, Kripke. At the same time, I gave Sam's a chance because, hey, it's Supernatural.
The good parts were: it made Sam's rationalizing that much more pathetic. I need it now, but I can stop later. This is good, I need this to get by right now. That has a little more weight when you throw the Apocalypse into the balance. And it makes Ruby that much more evil, throwing in a little conniving drug-pushing, push pull, you know you want it, it's okay, it's not wrong, I'm really doing you a favor here. I think it's entirely possible that she's Lilith. When was the last time we saw her with black eyes? Anybody remember?
Related storylines:
Smash and steroids. I love Mama Smash, and that argument she and her son have just blows my mind. Smash: Mom, why did you do this to me? Why did you rat me out to Coach? You're going to ruin my career. Mama Smash: I only told him because I didn't want to think you'd be stupid enough to do this on your own. Boy, I am trying to save your life, here. Shut up and get smart.
House and Vicodin. House loves Vicodin. And up until recently, Vicodin has mostly loved House. He's made a few interesting efforts to give it up this season. One of which involved methadone--which made him stop breathing for a few minutes, but it made the pain stop. So it was worth it. Unfortunately, House discovered he was a better doctor with the pain than without it. And since his mind is all he has, he went back to Vicodin. This time, it looks like he's actually trying to kick it for good. Because he started seeing things. (see next section)
No, I'm not going to touch the Willow one. I don't need mental images of Sam up on the ceiling getting a happy from the light fantastic. Christ, I can already hear Dawn whining.
One last quibble with the script: Bobby worrying about the detox killing Sam. Really? Show has consistently sold us on the idea that these guys are the wrong side of the law, the side with shady bars and other illegal things. And Bobby, especially, has been portrayed as nobody's fool. So I take umbrage at the fact that a day or so of detox could kill Sam. I mean...it was bad. The hallucinations were bad, painful, the telekinetic seizures were actually kind of cool. But...okay, and again, a little too much experience with this sort of thing, but that was probably the cleanest detox I've ever seen. Whither the vomit? The diarrhea? The hysterical, wordless, drooling screams? Whither the self-justified pleadings? One little seizure and Bobby's calling it quits? I call bullshit, Sera Gamble. Your move.
The Christmas Ghosts
Ah, Dickens. That old canard. Was I the only one who thought immediately of Scrooge? Maybe not. I'm probably not even the only one who knows the Muppet version best. (No cheeses for us meeses!) Okay, so, I'm going to look at this Dickens style, where the messages were: This is who you were. It made you who you are. And, if you keep this up, this is what you're going to become.
Real quick, about John. I know he's not here because, hello, Denny Duquette probably pays better. BUT, I also think we've established, while torching Adam's corpse, that both Dean and Sam think that Sam and John are practically interchangeable now. Why would Sam want to talk to a mirror image?
Christmas Past: Sammy
There's little more meta then a character talking to himself. And Sammy wants to remind Sam of what they wanted: normal. Even if their evil was a normal kind of evil, taking revenge on a bully whose life was also crap--and liking it. Normal was the dream, Sammy says. Yeah well, that didn't work, Sam says. I LURVE the fact that Sammy brings up Jess. Don't be a douche, little Sammy says, do you think this is what Jessica wanted for you? Or was she really just a walking-talking-breathing-real-doll proof that You Succeeded at Normal? Cue: yellow eyes.
Christmas Present: Mary
Who better to represent Sam's current opinion of himself than someone he NEVER REALLY KNEW. Mary was just a saintly 'mom' figure in his childhood. In Home, he got the mysterious apology, and Mary became more interesting. In AHBL, she became even more than that. And, in 4.03, we got the full story. Sam's subconscious wants Mary to tell him that what he's doing is right, that it's PRACTICAL, that it's just. And you want to know why? Because Sam, consciously, looks back at Mary and thinks You did this to me. You did this to me, and you want to tell me this wasn't the plan? You did this to me and you meant it. Thus, detox!Mary reinforces this for him: this was how it was meant to be. The creepiest thing detox!Mary says, though, is about Dean's weakness. One of the scariest things about addiction is how the addict is pretty damn sure that, not only is he smarter than you, he's smart enough to think himself out of this. Thus, Sam's pretty sure he's stronger than Dean. Because, if he weren't, Sam might have to lend some credence to Dean's fear.
Christmas Future: Dean
Oh cold, cold, rigid, dreadful Death, set up thine altar here, and dress it with such terrors as thou hast at thy command: for this is thy dominion! But of the loved, revered, and honoured head, thou canst not turn one hair to thy dread purposes, or make one feature odious. It is not that the hand is heavy and will fall down when released; it is not that the heart and pulse are still; but that the hand was open, generous, and true; the heart brave, warm, and tender; and the pulse a man’s. Strike, Shadow, strike! And see his good deeds springing from the wound, to sow the world with life immortal!
Anyway, what Scrooge finds out is that he's rich, but he's dead, his belongings and his body mean nothing, and nobody cared enough to mourn for him. Enter: Dean. And the gist is that Sam should know better, that he started this for Dean, but he kept it up for his own ends. And that he's going to end up dead, or dead to Dean. Scrooge is ready to change. He begs for the chance to do it. Sam? Not so much.
Related Storylines: House. Over the last few episodes, it's become apparent that House is hallucinating, and it's not sleep deprivation. House will try anything but giving up Vicodin, including putting himself into an insulin coma to rule out psychosis. (I'm not a doctor, but based on how fast Wilson hauled ass out of that cafeteria, that has to be bad). But, after experiencing the world's creepiest hallucination (and I mean that having seen Rescue Me and BSG), House realizes it's the Vicodin or his job. And he needs the Vicodin, but he loves his job. So he turns himself over to the TLC of Cuddy. His detox was also extremely sanitized, but he walked away from it clean. Scrooge did it, House did it, but they had to choose it. This principals also falls under Boring Addiction Storylines.
Also, I think House is far more self-aware that Sam. God love Sam, but he can hardly see past his adorable button nose sometimes. Do you know what Leoben would say to Sam, if Leoben saw this episode? That you learned the wrong lesson.
The Adversary
So when I saw Castiel under the stairs, I said the same thing when Nate started growing a pair: "Look who just got interesting!" Because, really, doubting angels aren't nearly as fun as scary as fuck angels following God's orders. And I think, while some of the mythos is New Testament, the Supernatural God (thus far) appears to be mostly the Hebrew (Old Testament) variety. Using evil to further God's ends? Even if it means the destruction of thousands of lives? See Exodus, hardening Pharaoh's heart. Sending angels to get their hands dirty? See Plague, 10th. You know, the one where the Angel of Death is dispatched to collect the souls of all the first born.
And, at the risk of pulling my pants down and exposing my fanon to the world: in Judaic tradition (not canon) there is an evil Angel of Death. And his name is Samael. Guess who the good one is? It's Gabriel.
*koff* Okay. Where was I, then. Right. Castiel. Angels get sent to do a lot of dirty business, like the Sodom and Gomorrah thing. They have free will, but they do follow orders. Because they, like Castiel, understand that God is not fluffy, Monty Python, beard in the clouds guy. He's scary. Your sons offer alien fire, and he incinerates them while you watch. Angels, like the rest of us, make their choices and take their chances. And that sounds a little bleak, but...dude, we just watched an Angel of the Lord send Sam running back for another round at the blood bar.
Winchester v. Winchester
Well, they've been setting this fight up since the pilot, haven't they? I mean, it ended with Dean on his back, Sam on top--just like the one in the Palo Alto apartment. Only this time, Sam might have actually tried to kill his brother. I think we moved past the 'just making a point' gesture.
Also: Tonight, the part of John Winchester will be played by...what's this? DEAN Winchester. They both thought they could leverage the threat of losing family against Sammy's desire to do his own thing (good or bad). And they always lose. Sam does not defer.
Tomorrow night, there's definitely going to be music. I promise. Because of this song and this season. I have a bunch of other songs, too, but this one...gut song. Every time. It's also on my Epic Lymond Playlist, but it certainly works here, too. And, yes, I think Dean is Cain. At least here. I dunno. It varies. And that's the beauty of the song in my (addled) mind.
Cain Said to Abel by Bloc Party
Cain said to Abel:
"Brother, I've been bad,
Killed a fleet of angels
With my bare hands"
Cain said to Abel:
"Brother I've been bad,
And I can't find my glasses."
This self-obsessed sinner,
I hear he loves to drink.
This self-obsessed sinner,
I hear he loves a fight.
Success has been cruel.
This year has been hard,
Falling out of love
With the one thing I had loathed.
(Chorus)
Discipline, discipline, disappearing,
Echoing, echoing, exiting,
Disappearing, discipline, disappearing,
Nothing there, nothing works, nothing matters,
Every time, every time, I look over,
Everything, everyone, every time,
Family, family, shredded by
Liberty, liberty, literally.
You can be, you can be, you can see,
Eventually, literally, instantly,
History, history disappearing,
Echoing, echoing, exiting,
You look up, you look over, you can see it,
Disappearing, disappearing instantly,
Literally, literally, telling them,
They'll be different,
They'll be special.
They'll be better.
Right?
NO SPOILERS IN THE COMMENTS. NOT EVEN FOR NEXT WEEK'S PROMO'S. PLEASE.
And, please, point out all the typos I'm positive I've missed. I probably won't get to them until tomorrow evening, but please point out my inadequacies before then.
Spoilers below for: SPN 4.21, the most recent House, FNL S1, various books of the Tanakh and God knows what other random shit.
I think I blew off all my steam already, so I'm going to skip the teeth-grinding and go straight to the hurm.
The Lyrics
It's not IF, but WHEN the levee breaks.
Also: Cryin' won't help you, prayin' won't do you no good... So, if Dean had known the ep title, he probably coulda seen that twist coming. I'll get to you in a minute, Castiel.
The Addiction Storyline
I usually hate these with a passion. Because, really, they're all the same story and there's only three ways it can end: addiction and eventual drug-related death, recovery, or immediate death. Those are the options. Yawn. I've seen enough of that shit in real life, fuck you very much, Kripke. At the same time, I gave Sam's a chance because, hey, it's Supernatural.
The good parts were: it made Sam's rationalizing that much more pathetic. I need it now, but I can stop later. This is good, I need this to get by right now. That has a little more weight when you throw the Apocalypse into the balance. And it makes Ruby that much more evil, throwing in a little conniving drug-pushing, push pull, you know you want it, it's okay, it's not wrong, I'm really doing you a favor here. I think it's entirely possible that she's Lilith. When was the last time we saw her with black eyes? Anybody remember?
Related storylines:
Smash and steroids. I love Mama Smash, and that argument she and her son have just blows my mind. Smash: Mom, why did you do this to me? Why did you rat me out to Coach? You're going to ruin my career. Mama Smash: I only told him because I didn't want to think you'd be stupid enough to do this on your own. Boy, I am trying to save your life, here. Shut up and get smart.
House and Vicodin. House loves Vicodin. And up until recently, Vicodin has mostly loved House. He's made a few interesting efforts to give it up this season. One of which involved methadone--which made him stop breathing for a few minutes, but it made the pain stop. So it was worth it. Unfortunately, House discovered he was a better doctor with the pain than without it. And since his mind is all he has, he went back to Vicodin. This time, it looks like he's actually trying to kick it for good. Because he started seeing things. (see next section)
No, I'm not going to touch the Willow one. I don't need mental images of Sam up on the ceiling getting a happy from the light fantastic. Christ, I can already hear Dawn whining.
One last quibble with the script: Bobby worrying about the detox killing Sam. Really? Show has consistently sold us on the idea that these guys are the wrong side of the law, the side with shady bars and other illegal things. And Bobby, especially, has been portrayed as nobody's fool. So I take umbrage at the fact that a day or so of detox could kill Sam. I mean...it was bad. The hallucinations were bad, painful, the telekinetic seizures were actually kind of cool. But...okay, and again, a little too much experience with this sort of thing, but that was probably the cleanest detox I've ever seen. Whither the vomit? The diarrhea? The hysterical, wordless, drooling screams? Whither the self-justified pleadings? One little seizure and Bobby's calling it quits? I call bullshit, Sera Gamble. Your move.
The Christmas Ghosts
Ah, Dickens. That old canard. Was I the only one who thought immediately of Scrooge? Maybe not. I'm probably not even the only one who knows the Muppet version best. (No cheeses for us meeses!) Okay, so, I'm going to look at this Dickens style, where the messages were: This is who you were. It made you who you are. And, if you keep this up, this is what you're going to become.
Real quick, about John. I know he's not here because, hello, Denny Duquette probably pays better. BUT, I also think we've established, while torching Adam's corpse, that both Dean and Sam think that Sam and John are practically interchangeable now. Why would Sam want to talk to a mirror image?
Christmas Past: Sammy
There's little more meta then a character talking to himself. And Sammy wants to remind Sam of what they wanted: normal. Even if their evil was a normal kind of evil, taking revenge on a bully whose life was also crap--and liking it. Normal was the dream, Sammy says. Yeah well, that didn't work, Sam says. I LURVE the fact that Sammy brings up Jess. Don't be a douche, little Sammy says, do you think this is what Jessica wanted for you? Or was she really just a walking-talking-breathing-real-doll proof that You Succeeded at Normal? Cue: yellow eyes.
Christmas Present: Mary
Who better to represent Sam's current opinion of himself than someone he NEVER REALLY KNEW. Mary was just a saintly 'mom' figure in his childhood. In Home, he got the mysterious apology, and Mary became more interesting. In AHBL, she became even more than that. And, in 4.03, we got the full story. Sam's subconscious wants Mary to tell him that what he's doing is right, that it's PRACTICAL, that it's just. And you want to know why? Because Sam, consciously, looks back at Mary and thinks You did this to me. You did this to me, and you want to tell me this wasn't the plan? You did this to me and you meant it. Thus, detox!Mary reinforces this for him: this was how it was meant to be. The creepiest thing detox!Mary says, though, is about Dean's weakness. One of the scariest things about addiction is how the addict is pretty damn sure that, not only is he smarter than you, he's smart enough to think himself out of this. Thus, Sam's pretty sure he's stronger than Dean. Because, if he weren't, Sam might have to lend some credence to Dean's fear.
Christmas Future: Dean
Oh cold, cold, rigid, dreadful Death, set up thine altar here, and dress it with such terrors as thou hast at thy command: for this is thy dominion! But of the loved, revered, and honoured head, thou canst not turn one hair to thy dread purposes, or make one feature odious. It is not that the hand is heavy and will fall down when released; it is not that the heart and pulse are still; but that the hand was open, generous, and true; the heart brave, warm, and tender; and the pulse a man’s. Strike, Shadow, strike! And see his good deeds springing from the wound, to sow the world with life immortal!
Anyway, what Scrooge finds out is that he's rich, but he's dead, his belongings and his body mean nothing, and nobody cared enough to mourn for him. Enter: Dean. And the gist is that Sam should know better, that he started this for Dean, but he kept it up for his own ends. And that he's going to end up dead, or dead to Dean. Scrooge is ready to change. He begs for the chance to do it. Sam? Not so much.
Related Storylines: House. Over the last few episodes, it's become apparent that House is hallucinating, and it's not sleep deprivation. House will try anything but giving up Vicodin, including putting himself into an insulin coma to rule out psychosis. (I'm not a doctor, but based on how fast Wilson hauled ass out of that cafeteria, that has to be bad). But, after experiencing the world's creepiest hallucination (and I mean that having seen Rescue Me and BSG), House realizes it's the Vicodin or his job. And he needs the Vicodin, but he loves his job. So he turns himself over to the TLC of Cuddy. His detox was also extremely sanitized, but he walked away from it clean. Scrooge did it, House did it, but they had to choose it. This principals also falls under Boring Addiction Storylines.
Also, I think House is far more self-aware that Sam. God love Sam, but he can hardly see past his adorable button nose sometimes. Do you know what Leoben would say to Sam, if Leoben saw this episode? That you learned the wrong lesson.
The Adversary
So when I saw Castiel under the stairs, I said the same thing when Nate started growing a pair: "Look who just got interesting!" Because, really, doubting angels aren't nearly as fun as scary as fuck angels following God's orders. And I think, while some of the mythos is New Testament, the Supernatural God (thus far) appears to be mostly the Hebrew (Old Testament) variety. Using evil to further God's ends? Even if it means the destruction of thousands of lives? See Exodus, hardening Pharaoh's heart. Sending angels to get their hands dirty? See Plague, 10th. You know, the one where the Angel of Death is dispatched to collect the souls of all the first born.
And, at the risk of pulling my pants down and exposing my fanon to the world: in Judaic tradition (not canon) there is an evil Angel of Death. And his name is Samael. Guess who the good one is? It's Gabriel.
*koff* Okay. Where was I, then. Right. Castiel. Angels get sent to do a lot of dirty business, like the Sodom and Gomorrah thing. They have free will, but they do follow orders. Because they, like Castiel, understand that God is not fluffy, Monty Python, beard in the clouds guy. He's scary. Your sons offer alien fire, and he incinerates them while you watch. Angels, like the rest of us, make their choices and take their chances. And that sounds a little bleak, but...dude, we just watched an Angel of the Lord send Sam running back for another round at the blood bar.
Winchester v. Winchester
Well, they've been setting this fight up since the pilot, haven't they? I mean, it ended with Dean on his back, Sam on top--just like the one in the Palo Alto apartment. Only this time, Sam might have actually tried to kill his brother. I think we moved past the 'just making a point' gesture.
Also: Tonight, the part of John Winchester will be played by...what's this? DEAN Winchester. They both thought they could leverage the threat of losing family against Sammy's desire to do his own thing (good or bad). And they always lose. Sam does not defer.
Tomorrow night, there's definitely going to be music. I promise. Because of this song and this season. I have a bunch of other songs, too, but this one...gut song. Every time. It's also on my Epic Lymond Playlist, but it certainly works here, too. And, yes, I think Dean is Cain. At least here. I dunno. It varies. And that's the beauty of the song in my (addled) mind.
Cain Said to Abel by Bloc Party
Cain said to Abel:
"Brother, I've been bad,
Killed a fleet of angels
With my bare hands"
Cain said to Abel:
"Brother I've been bad,
And I can't find my glasses."
This self-obsessed sinner,
I hear he loves to drink.
This self-obsessed sinner,
I hear he loves a fight.
Success has been cruel.
This year has been hard,
Falling out of love
With the one thing I had loathed.
(Chorus)
Discipline, discipline, disappearing,
Echoing, echoing, exiting,
Disappearing, discipline, disappearing,
Nothing there, nothing works, nothing matters,
Every time, every time, I look over,
Everything, everyone, every time,
Family, family, shredded by
Liberty, liberty, literally.
You can be, you can be, you can see,
Eventually, literally, instantly,
History, history disappearing,
Echoing, echoing, exiting,
You look up, you look over, you can see it,
Disappearing, disappearing instantly,
Literally, literally, telling them,
They'll be different,
They'll be special.
They'll be better.
Right?
NO SPOILERS IN THE COMMENTS. NOT EVEN FOR NEXT WEEK'S PROMO'S. PLEASE.
And, please, point out all the typos I'm positive I've missed. I probably won't get to them until tomorrow evening, but please point out my inadequacies before then.