Last night was unexpectedly busy...
...but I wasn't going to make the same mistake twice. I made sure I could see Supernatural.
I missed out on praising 4.12, which was a good episode because:
1) Sam spoke and walked around and interacted with people and even took a step forward in the plot.
2) I heart Barry Bostwick and his hair was hysterical!
3) I heart magicians. Sammy, you and I went through the same phase, and both of us still keep one eye on the magician scene, so we know about douchebags like Criss Angel.
4) Dean didn't cry.
However, 4.12 was not a great episode. It was just a welcome break from the OMG CRAP that they'd been hitting us with.
Now. 4.13. GREAT episode. Why?
Well, it was nice to see aspects of Sam's childhood that actually led to the split. We'd seen the wee little Sammy learning about the big bads in the world, and learning that Dean was the only person in the whole world he could trust, but tearful Sammy's lack of faith in his father didn't adequately explain why he abandonned Dean, too.
This, though? Gave us a damn fine glimpse. How?
Well, I mean, Sam went to college to be a lawyer, right? He still wanted to fight evil, which is still the family business, no? But the difference wasn't, I think, that he could stay in one place, or pretend to be normal, I think Sammy was genuinely more effected by the evils of humanity. Maybe growing up knowing monsters were real changed his perception, but the first thing tiny!Sammy does in his new school is defend the nerd, and beat up the bully. The ultimate goal of grown up Sammy was probably to be a criminal prosecutor to defend the meek and punish the attacker.
It wasn't that Sam was afraid, or even that he didn't want to "save people" and "hunt things." I think Sam felt that werewolves and so on were simply the wrong monsters that needed slaying. The perks of being able to stay in one place and make his money honestly were just that, perks. It might explain why Sam didn't have a harder time adjusting to losing that dream. Same basic principles, just less perks.
ANYWAY, this episode also confirmed to me that Sam is, essentially, a gay character. I'm not saying he's gay and in love with Dean, or whatever. I'm saying they might as well stop bothering to right female love interests for Sam because the character, as they have written him, is gay. He has a remarkably low libido for a strapping, attractive twenty-something, he can't really connect with women and when he does he's traumatized, and his most passionate bonds are usually with men.
In this ep, he's supposed to be a fourteen year old boy and the two people he fixates on is another boy, and a male teacher. Hey, you know I could say I did the same thing in high school, but you know what? I'm bisexual. So. Just everything I've seen, including teenage Sam, reads so strongly gay. If you disagree, ask me questions, I'm drawing ablank but I know I've got good arguments.
Moving on. Teen!Dean's character and actor was a bit meh, but I did like that they showed that Dean used sex as a way of affirming his low self-esteem. Because I like that a lot better than, "Dean's just a big old man slut." It helps explain some things to me. Like why he'd go on a pussy bender after selling his soul, and why he slept with whatsherface in Monster Movie when his soul was apparently irrevocably broken.
So. Yes. I liked the characterization in this ep, it made sense, it explained things. I wasn't so enthralled with the Monster of the Week or his doings, and I'm eternally sad that Chubby!Girl (who was quite lovely) and Geek!Boy will spend the rest of their lives in institutions for being possessed. But I guess I'm not supposed to think about that.
I missed out on praising 4.12, which was a good episode because:
1) Sam spoke and walked around and interacted with people and even took a step forward in the plot.
2) I heart Barry Bostwick and his hair was hysterical!
3) I heart magicians. Sammy, you and I went through the same phase, and both of us still keep one eye on the magician scene, so we know about douchebags like Criss Angel.
4) Dean didn't cry.
However, 4.12 was not a great episode. It was just a welcome break from the OMG CRAP that they'd been hitting us with.
Now. 4.13. GREAT episode. Why?
Well, it was nice to see aspects of Sam's childhood that actually led to the split. We'd seen the wee little Sammy learning about the big bads in the world, and learning that Dean was the only person in the whole world he could trust, but tearful Sammy's lack of faith in his father didn't adequately explain why he abandonned Dean, too.
This, though? Gave us a damn fine glimpse. How?
Well, I mean, Sam went to college to be a lawyer, right? He still wanted to fight evil, which is still the family business, no? But the difference wasn't, I think, that he could stay in one place, or pretend to be normal, I think Sammy was genuinely more effected by the evils of humanity. Maybe growing up knowing monsters were real changed his perception, but the first thing tiny!Sammy does in his new school is defend the nerd, and beat up the bully. The ultimate goal of grown up Sammy was probably to be a criminal prosecutor to defend the meek and punish the attacker.
It wasn't that Sam was afraid, or even that he didn't want to "save people" and "hunt things." I think Sam felt that werewolves and so on were simply the wrong monsters that needed slaying. The perks of being able to stay in one place and make his money honestly were just that, perks. It might explain why Sam didn't have a harder time adjusting to losing that dream. Same basic principles, just less perks.
ANYWAY, this episode also confirmed to me that Sam is, essentially, a gay character. I'm not saying he's gay and in love with Dean, or whatever. I'm saying they might as well stop bothering to right female love interests for Sam because the character, as they have written him, is gay. He has a remarkably low libido for a strapping, attractive twenty-something, he can't really connect with women and when he does he's traumatized, and his most passionate bonds are usually with men.
In this ep, he's supposed to be a fourteen year old boy and the two people he fixates on is another boy, and a male teacher. Hey, you know I could say I did the same thing in high school, but you know what? I'm bisexual. So. Just everything I've seen, including teenage Sam, reads so strongly gay. If you disagree, ask me questions, I'm drawing ablank but I know I've got good arguments.
Moving on. Teen!Dean's character and actor was a bit meh, but I did like that they showed that Dean used sex as a way of affirming his low self-esteem. Because I like that a lot better than, "Dean's just a big old man slut." It helps explain some things to me. Like why he'd go on a pussy bender after selling his soul, and why he slept with whatsherface in Monster Movie when his soul was apparently irrevocably broken.
So. Yes. I liked the characterization in this ep, it made sense, it explained things. I wasn't so enthralled with the Monster of the Week or his doings, and I'm eternally sad that Chubby!Girl (who was quite lovely) and Geek!Boy will spend the rest of their lives in institutions for being possessed. But I guess I'm not supposed to think about that.