I think in some ways the set-up for this season is absolutely brilliant as an enactment of fundamental problems, though I think they've gone darker than they are going to be willing to face the consequences of. Dean, because of his childhood, defines himself as a protector, primarily of Sam, and has trouble perceiving others as autonomous, independent subjects because of this. Sam, because of his childhood, has difficulty forming a self in the context of his family, and simultaneously has his selfhood under various forms of supernatural siege. And now they've brought that together: Dean has literally acted to erase and displace parts of Sam, selling out Sam's status as subject to preserve Sam as protected object; Sam's family is now the source of supernatural alteration, the two forces pressuring him have made an alliance.
But the writers just aren't good enough. They run the gamut from mediocre to awful, the day-to-day character notes read like a Powerpoint presentations, and I think they are going to flub the implications of the season's premise in a way that's likely to be not just disappointing but profoundly squicky to me.
I'm a weird mix of appalled fascination, tedium, and sickened anticipation at this point.
And now they've brought that together: Dean has literally acted to erase and displace parts of Sam, selling out Sam's status as subject to preserve Sam as protected object; Sam's family is now the source of supernatural alteration, the two forces pressuring him have made an alliance.
Well, yeah. That sounds wonderful. And if I could convince myself that they were actually telling a story like that, and it was going to lead to character development and meaningful change and some sort of exploration of how relationships (broken or otherwise) work, I'd probably be engrossed. I just ... can't.
It's not just a matter of them flubbing the implications - although I think you're probably right about that - it's that I seriously doubt they are even aware of most of them. They are honestly questioning how much of Sam's state of mind is due to Ezekiel's influence. They are aware that Dean repeatedly makes bad decisions regarding Sam. But the idea that any of this is meaningfully connected to their upbringing or the trauma they've suffered or how badly they've both been manipulated or their individual character flaws? I just don't see it. It just ... is what it is. Mostly a prelude to angst that will probably be resolved by shouting and hugging.
But the writers just aren't good enough. They run the gamut from mediocre to awful, the day-to-day character notes read like a Powerpoint presentations, and I think they are going to flub the implications of the season's premise in a way that's likely to be not just disappointing but profoundly squicky to me.
I'm a weird mix of appalled fascination, tedium, and sickened anticipation at this point.
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Well, yeah. That sounds wonderful. And if I could convince myself that they were actually telling a story like that, and it was going to lead to character development and meaningful change and some sort of exploration of how relationships (broken or otherwise) work, I'd probably be engrossed. I just ... can't.
It's not just a matter of them flubbing the implications - although I think you're probably right about that - it's that I seriously doubt they are even aware of most of them. They are honestly questioning how much of Sam's state of mind is due to Ezekiel's influence. They are aware that Dean repeatedly makes bad decisions regarding Sam. But the idea that any of this is meaningfully connected to their upbringing or the trauma they've suffered or how badly they've both been manipulated or their individual character flaws? I just don't see it. It just ... is what it is. Mostly a prelude to angst that will probably be resolved by shouting and hugging.
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