Supernatural, Heroes, and more
It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester
Spoilers and commentary below the cut:
- Okay, so. Reasons why sometimes I like watching my TV after everyone else has had a chance to see it first when I have to download it? I get warned before watching someone eat razor blades and I can skip the scene. Yes, I'm a wimp, we know this, lets move on.
- Dean wants to come back as a cheerleader. Good to know, where's the fic, people? Come on, he's just setting it up for you--easy pitch!
- Oh my God. I MEAN UM. Oh bless. Sammy the Angel Fanboy. I bet he apologizes for the next three times he sees Castiel, just for pulling the gun, AND taking the lord's name in vain. You're a good boy, Sam Winchester.
- And how much do I love Dean... I don't even know what to call it. He may not have faith, precisely, but by fuck, he's going to protect Sam's. Even in the face of cranky angels.
- (I kind of really love Castiel. I mean, I know I'm not alone here, but dude.)
- SAM SOMETIMES YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO YOUR BIG BROTHER. Also, WHAT HAVE PET AND I TALKED TO YOU ABOUT WHEN IT COMES TO SEPARATING? WHY DO YOU BOYS NOT LISTEN? D BAD BOYS. DO WE HAVE TO HANDCUFF YOU TOGETHER? Ooh, that might be hot.
- Sam, you make me WORRY. And you make Dean worry too, and Castiel is gonna SCOLD.
- Good angel, bad angel. It's like a cop show.
- And how much do I love that even though what Sam did scares the fuck out of him? Dean backs him to Castiel. 'Cause it's his Sam, and 'cause Dean is right. Those lives saved mean something.
- Did I mention that I really like Castiel?
And now, it's time for some General thinky-thoughts on Supernatural... actually, not just Supernatural. Supernatural, Heroes, and just... Jay-fannishness.
I love my shows. No seriously, I kinda really love my shows. I know that other people have found stuff they like better, or found stuff about the show that they don't like, or that bugs them, or that seriously offends them, and... I don't know. I get what people are saying, and yet... I kind of really don't. And then I end up feeling like I'm a bad fan, or a stupid fan, or that I'm interrogating the show from the wrong perspective if I don't see what other people see, or feel what other people feel, and that kind of... doesn't sit well with me.
I'm sure that there are people who are going to disagree with me big time on this, but I think that when we read a book, or see a play, or a movie, or a TV show, we bring our own stuff with us. It's why no two people watch the same show, and why one person can think that the Tempest is a work of literary art, and another person can think that it's annoying and insipid and how can the man who created Katherine and Juliet and Portia have created Miranda? Who's right? Who's wrong? Maybe it's both of us.
I'm West Coast Canadian, and my experience watching media is not necessarily going to be the same as someone from the deep south, or from the UK, or from even the Eastern side of my country. Maybe it's my privilege talking, maybe it's the theatre girl in me, maybe I like complicated characters who fuck up, and aren't perfect. Maybe part of it is where I can see the bigger hand of the network stepping in and saying 'no, we're not going to let you go there', when a character doesn't go as far or a storyline doesn't detail something as explicitly as I/other fans would like.
Case in point--Willow in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Do I think Joss Whedon doesn't know the difference between a lesbian and someone who's bisexual? Of course he does. Do I think that all the viewers of UPN (at the time) were as ready to go along with that? Nope. Big nope. So, okay. He had to bend, and it upset people who felt it was a slap in the face to the Willow/Oz relationship, but sometimes you have to read between the lines and see the creator's intention behind the network.
So, I'm going to keep watching Supernatural and Heroes. I'm going to be okay with Dean being a bit of a prick at times (okay, a lot) because I think that it's true to character, and because the creators give us character development along with that. A few seasons ago, would Dean have been encouraging Sam to keep his faith, and believe what he believes? Probably not.
And I'm gonna be okay with Dean disliking witches and calling them names that maybe are (okay, I'm not gonna even sugar coat it--they are misogynistic) because you know what? Our world kind of sucks sometimes, and those are the words that are available. It's like writing het and f/f--the words you've got at your disposal sometimes kind of suck, but they're what they are, so you make the best of it because we don't have the luxury of inventing a brand new language.
Except on Firefly. It worked there.
And I'm going to keep enjoying Heroes, and I'm going to stop letting other people's expectations of what the show should be affect my enjoyment of it. Am I saying that if you don't like it, you shouldn't complain, or you shouldn't stop watching it? No. That's not for me to say, and no two of us see exactly the same show. But it's allowed for me to like it. And I'm going to stop feeling like that's not okay.
Spoilers and commentary below the cut:
- Okay, so. Reasons why sometimes I like watching my TV after everyone else has had a chance to see it first when I have to download it? I get warned before watching someone eat razor blades and I can skip the scene. Yes, I'm a wimp, we know this, lets move on.
- Dean wants to come back as a cheerleader. Good to know, where's the fic, people? Come on, he's just setting it up for you--easy pitch!
- Oh my God. I MEAN UM. Oh bless. Sammy the Angel Fanboy. I bet he apologizes for the next three times he sees Castiel, just for pulling the gun, AND taking the lord's name in vain. You're a good boy, Sam Winchester.
- And how much do I love Dean... I don't even know what to call it. He may not have faith, precisely, but by fuck, he's going to protect Sam's. Even in the face of cranky angels.
- (I kind of really love Castiel. I mean, I know I'm not alone here, but dude.)
- SAM SOMETIMES YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO YOUR BIG BROTHER. Also, WHAT HAVE PET AND I TALKED TO YOU ABOUT WHEN IT COMES TO SEPARATING? WHY DO YOU BOYS NOT LISTEN? D BAD BOYS. DO WE HAVE TO HANDCUFF YOU TOGETHER? Ooh, that might be hot.
- Sam, you make me WORRY. And you make Dean worry too, and Castiel is gonna SCOLD.
- Good angel, bad angel. It's like a cop show.
- And how much do I love that even though what Sam did scares the fuck out of him? Dean backs him to Castiel. 'Cause it's his Sam, and 'cause Dean is right. Those lives saved mean something.
- Did I mention that I really like Castiel?
And now, it's time for some General thinky-thoughts on Supernatural... actually, not just Supernatural. Supernatural, Heroes, and just... Jay-fannishness.
I love my shows. No seriously, I kinda really love my shows. I know that other people have found stuff they like better, or found stuff about the show that they don't like, or that bugs them, or that seriously offends them, and... I don't know. I get what people are saying, and yet... I kind of really don't. And then I end up feeling like I'm a bad fan, or a stupid fan, or that I'm interrogating the show from the wrong perspective if I don't see what other people see, or feel what other people feel, and that kind of... doesn't sit well with me.
I'm sure that there are people who are going to disagree with me big time on this, but I think that when we read a book, or see a play, or a movie, or a TV show, we bring our own stuff with us. It's why no two people watch the same show, and why one person can think that the Tempest is a work of literary art, and another person can think that it's annoying and insipid and how can the man who created Katherine and Juliet and Portia have created Miranda? Who's right? Who's wrong? Maybe it's both of us.
I'm West Coast Canadian, and my experience watching media is not necessarily going to be the same as someone from the deep south, or from the UK, or from even the Eastern side of my country. Maybe it's my privilege talking, maybe it's the theatre girl in me, maybe I like complicated characters who fuck up, and aren't perfect. Maybe part of it is where I can see the bigger hand of the network stepping in and saying 'no, we're not going to let you go there', when a character doesn't go as far or a storyline doesn't detail something as explicitly as I/other fans would like.
Case in point--Willow in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Do I think Joss Whedon doesn't know the difference between a lesbian and someone who's bisexual? Of course he does. Do I think that all the viewers of UPN (at the time) were as ready to go along with that? Nope. Big nope. So, okay. He had to bend, and it upset people who felt it was a slap in the face to the Willow/Oz relationship, but sometimes you have to read between the lines and see the creator's intention behind the network.
So, I'm going to keep watching Supernatural and Heroes. I'm going to be okay with Dean being a bit of a prick at times (okay, a lot) because I think that it's true to character, and because the creators give us character development along with that. A few seasons ago, would Dean have been encouraging Sam to keep his faith, and believe what he believes? Probably not.
And I'm gonna be okay with Dean disliking witches and calling them names that maybe are (okay, I'm not gonna even sugar coat it--they are misogynistic) because you know what? Our world kind of sucks sometimes, and those are the words that are available. It's like writing het and f/f--the words you've got at your disposal sometimes kind of suck, but they're what they are, so you make the best of it because we don't have the luxury of inventing a brand new language.
Except on Firefly. It worked there.
And I'm going to keep enjoying Heroes, and I'm going to stop letting other people's expectations of what the show should be affect my enjoyment of it. Am I saying that if you don't like it, you shouldn't complain, or you shouldn't stop watching it? No. That's not for me to say, and no two of us see exactly the same show. But it's allowed for me to like it. And I'm going to stop feeling like that's not okay.