Sam's Anger
a little background:
When I was really, really little my favorite TV show was "The Incredible Hulk." Oh, I know. "Yak wig!" you may say, or "cheesy!", or "holy crap- look at those bell bottom pants on Banner!" and you'd be right on all counts. However, it appealed to me when I was 3 and 4, and watching it again now on DVD I find it hasn't lost any of its charm.
The thing about Banner of the tv show that distinguishes him from the Banner of the comics is the origin of his Hulk.
In the comics, Bruce Banner saves Rick Jones from a gamma bomb explosion by shoving him aside and taking the full brunt of the explosion- which causes him from then on to turn into the Hulk- first at night, and then later whenever he gets angry.
In the TV show, David Banner, a widower, is intentionally trying to figure out how people get increased strength in adrenaline-fueled extreme-stress scenarios. He's obsessed with this because he lost his wife in a car crash. He survived the impact of the crash, as did she, but he wasn't strong enough to pry off the car door and free her from the car which caught fire, exploded and killed her. David Banner, discovers that the increased strength he's searching for must stem from gamma radiation from solar flares (ahhh tv-logic, I love you), gives himself a massive overdose (due to poorly calibrated equipment), and bingo.
It's the origin in the TV show that struck me as so tragic. Here's this man who holds himself completely responsible for losing the most important person in his life because he wasn't strong enough to save them from a terrible event outside of his control. Drowning in guilt over the inability to save his wife, Banner curses himself by trying to correct his own perceived weakness. Now he has the strength he wished he'd had to save his wife, but little to no control over it. His anger is what fuels his strength, but it is also his greatest weakness.
Let's move on to my current favorite show, "Supernatural." I hear Sam Winchester has some anger issues too.
Sam, failure and control:
Sam spent most of his life having very little control over it.
He grew up in a family that had decided his role in life for him. Because of their father, he and Dean are hunters. There is no other option for them.
What Sam longs for most is what he can never have - a normal life. In "Dark Side of the Moon" we see that Sam's treasured memories include those where he found a temporary escape from his life as a hunter and pretended to be normal. Within his own family he's the outsider. He doesn't feel like he belongs because he doesn't want the life they've chosen for him.
Sam leaves for Stanford and has a taste of normal with Jessica. Sam has dreams forewarning him of danger. He dismisses them as just dreams because anything else would mean he isn't normal. Sam fails. Jessica dies.
After Jessica's death however, he abandons his attempt at a normal life and decides to go with Dean and hopes to avenge Jessica's death.
Of course it turns out Sam can't ever be normal. Not really. He learns that he was fed Azazel's blood as a baby. This of course makes him tainted and inhuman in his own mind- and it's even worse since the blood he was given was from the demon that killed his mother and Jessica.
Sam learns that Azazel wants him (or one of the other psychic kids) to lead his army. Sam shows mercy towards Jake instead of killing him while he had the chance. Jake turns on him. Sam fails. Sam dies.
Sam is brought back by Dean's sacrifice. Sam spends a year trying to figure out a way to save Dean. Sam heeds Dean's wishes and doesn't try to strengthen his powers. Sam fails. Dean dies.
With Dean gone, Sam no longer has a reason to try to stay human. Sam again opts for revenge- this time against Lilith and allies himself with Ruby. With her he learns his powers and gains an effective way to fight back against demons. He has power now and a small measure of control...at least where demons are concerned.
Dean is brought back- but not by Sam. As happy as Sam is to have Dean back, Dean's very presence is a constant reminder of Sam's failure to save him. The problem is, Sam and Dean can't go back to the way they were before Dean went to Hell. They are both irrevocably changed and no longer fit into their old roles.
Sam may have failed to save Dean but he is determined to avenge Dean's torment in Hell. Sam kills Alistair and clearly enjoys it. Of course he does- he's getting revenge and he's finally strong enough to kill a high level demon. Finally he has some control over their lives for a change.
The sad part is that if Sam had given in to his powers earlier in season 3 he could probably have prevented Dean's trip to Hell. Whether or not this is true -we can be sure it occurred to Sam. Sam doesn't want to give up his power because it is the only effective form of control he has had in his life.
Sam kills Lilith, thinking he's preventing Lucifer from rising, and instead learns he freed him. Again, Sam fails. Lucifer rises.
By season 5 Sam ( in his mind) has failed everyone. He ends up leaving hunting again, but this time not because he thinks he can have a normal life, but because he can't hunt effectively anymore without the control his powers gave him. He's lost faith in himself and he knows he's lost Dean's trust.
What's heartbreaking watching season 5 progress is that although Dean and Sam reunite, they're still broken. In fact they are breaking even more, bit by bit as the season progresses. By "Sam, Interrupted" Dean and Sam are in a very similar state of mind. Sure they may have very different coping mechanisms, but both of them are slowly losing faith in themselves. Dean admonishes himself for failing to save everyone. Sam admits he has deep-seated anger and fears he is losing control of it. Sam fails. Dean fails.
Sam, loss and anger:
Sam's anger stems from loss. Loss of innocence, loss of a normal life, loss of mother, father, brother and finally loss of self.
When Sam loses Dean in Mystery Spot he knows how to get Dean back. Sam becoms single-minded, beyond obsessive and seems almost devoid of emotion until he catches up with the Trickster (in the form of Bobby). Sam's facade cracks and his emotions start pouring out. First of these is his anger. He is willing to kill an innocent person for just a chance at getting Dean back. Yet when he finally confronts the Trickster, his anger gives way to sorrow. Sam doesn't know how to go on without Dean, he refuses to.
The Trickster sends them back and Sam has a few more months before he loses Dean to Hell. This time however, there is no hope for a reset; there is no way to get Dean out of Hell, so Sam can't lock his emotions up again. He drowns in his sorrow until Ruby offers him revenge. Now Sam turns to his anger and channels it into his quest to kill Lilith. The problem is, after Dean's return...Sam is still angry. He's angry because he wasn't the one to save Dean, he's angry because Lilith is still alive, he's angry because he has this incredible power but if Dean finds out about it he'll hate him, he's angry because Dean found out about his power and is freaked out by it, he's angry because Dean won't let him out of the panic room so he can kill Lilith, he's angry because Dean thinks he's a monster, he's angry because he IS a monster.
Sam kills Lilith in righteous anger, certain that he's saving the world. Her death frees Lucifer and Sam has doomed everyone.
Sam has lost Dean's trust. Sam hasn't lost his power, but he's lost the ability to rationalize using it. What he hasn't lost, is his anger.
Why does Lucifer want Sam angry?
It seems fairly clear that the demon blood made Sam's anger management issues even worse. I don't think it is a coincidence that Lucifer needs Sam angry, and that he wants Sam drinking demon blood.
It does seem that anger and Sam's powers go hand in hand. Does his anger help him focus his power? Does it make his powers stronger? Or is it possible that anger just makes Sam more likely to lose his self-control?
Perhaps Lucifer knows that if Sam is angry enough Sam will be even more suitable as a vessel. If so, then why? If Sam's anger is crucial to Lucifer's plans then we know that the demon in "Swap Meat" was wrong about Gary being able to give consent to Lucifer while in Sam's body.
Furthermore, this implies to me that Sam's soul will remain intact if Lucifer does take Sam as a vessel, which is very interesting indeed.
Share your thoughts!
When I was really, really little my favorite TV show was "The Incredible Hulk." Oh, I know. "Yak wig!" you may say, or "cheesy!", or "holy crap- look at those bell bottom pants on Banner!" and you'd be right on all counts. However, it appealed to me when I was 3 and 4, and watching it again now on DVD I find it hasn't lost any of its charm.
The thing about Banner of the tv show that distinguishes him from the Banner of the comics is the origin of his Hulk.
In the comics, Bruce Banner saves Rick Jones from a gamma bomb explosion by shoving him aside and taking the full brunt of the explosion- which causes him from then on to turn into the Hulk- first at night, and then later whenever he gets angry.
In the TV show, David Banner, a widower, is intentionally trying to figure out how people get increased strength in adrenaline-fueled extreme-stress scenarios. He's obsessed with this because he lost his wife in a car crash. He survived the impact of the crash, as did she, but he wasn't strong enough to pry off the car door and free her from the car which caught fire, exploded and killed her. David Banner, discovers that the increased strength he's searching for must stem from gamma radiation from solar flares (ahhh tv-logic, I love you), gives himself a massive overdose (due to poorly calibrated equipment), and bingo.
It's the origin in the TV show that struck me as so tragic. Here's this man who holds himself completely responsible for losing the most important person in his life because he wasn't strong enough to save them from a terrible event outside of his control. Drowning in guilt over the inability to save his wife, Banner curses himself by trying to correct his own perceived weakness. Now he has the strength he wished he'd had to save his wife, but little to no control over it. His anger is what fuels his strength, but it is also his greatest weakness.
Let's move on to my current favorite show, "Supernatural." I hear Sam Winchester has some anger issues too.
Sam, failure and control:
Sam spent most of his life having very little control over it.
He grew up in a family that had decided his role in life for him. Because of their father, he and Dean are hunters. There is no other option for them.
What Sam longs for most is what he can never have - a normal life. In "Dark Side of the Moon" we see that Sam's treasured memories include those where he found a temporary escape from his life as a hunter and pretended to be normal. Within his own family he's the outsider. He doesn't feel like he belongs because he doesn't want the life they've chosen for him.
Sam leaves for Stanford and has a taste of normal with Jessica. Sam has dreams forewarning him of danger. He dismisses them as just dreams because anything else would mean he isn't normal. Sam fails. Jessica dies.
After Jessica's death however, he abandons his attempt at a normal life and decides to go with Dean and hopes to avenge Jessica's death.
Of course it turns out Sam can't ever be normal. Not really. He learns that he was fed Azazel's blood as a baby. This of course makes him tainted and inhuman in his own mind- and it's even worse since the blood he was given was from the demon that killed his mother and Jessica.
Sam learns that Azazel wants him (or one of the other psychic kids) to lead his army. Sam shows mercy towards Jake instead of killing him while he had the chance. Jake turns on him. Sam fails. Sam dies.
Sam is brought back by Dean's sacrifice. Sam spends a year trying to figure out a way to save Dean. Sam heeds Dean's wishes and doesn't try to strengthen his powers. Sam fails. Dean dies.
With Dean gone, Sam no longer has a reason to try to stay human. Sam again opts for revenge- this time against Lilith and allies himself with Ruby. With her he learns his powers and gains an effective way to fight back against demons. He has power now and a small measure of control...at least where demons are concerned.
Dean is brought back- but not by Sam. As happy as Sam is to have Dean back, Dean's very presence is a constant reminder of Sam's failure to save him. The problem is, Sam and Dean can't go back to the way they were before Dean went to Hell. They are both irrevocably changed and no longer fit into their old roles.
Sam may have failed to save Dean but he is determined to avenge Dean's torment in Hell. Sam kills Alistair and clearly enjoys it. Of course he does- he's getting revenge and he's finally strong enough to kill a high level demon. Finally he has some control over their lives for a change.
The sad part is that if Sam had given in to his powers earlier in season 3 he could probably have prevented Dean's trip to Hell. Whether or not this is true -we can be sure it occurred to Sam. Sam doesn't want to give up his power because it is the only effective form of control he has had in his life.
Sam kills Lilith, thinking he's preventing Lucifer from rising, and instead learns he freed him. Again, Sam fails. Lucifer rises.
By season 5 Sam ( in his mind) has failed everyone. He ends up leaving hunting again, but this time not because he thinks he can have a normal life, but because he can't hunt effectively anymore without the control his powers gave him. He's lost faith in himself and he knows he's lost Dean's trust.
What's heartbreaking watching season 5 progress is that although Dean and Sam reunite, they're still broken. In fact they are breaking even more, bit by bit as the season progresses. By "Sam, Interrupted" Dean and Sam are in a very similar state of mind. Sure they may have very different coping mechanisms, but both of them are slowly losing faith in themselves. Dean admonishes himself for failing to save everyone. Sam admits he has deep-seated anger and fears he is losing control of it. Sam fails. Dean fails.
Sam, loss and anger:
Sam's anger stems from loss. Loss of innocence, loss of a normal life, loss of mother, father, brother and finally loss of self.
When Sam loses Dean in Mystery Spot he knows how to get Dean back. Sam becoms single-minded, beyond obsessive and seems almost devoid of emotion until he catches up with the Trickster (in the form of Bobby). Sam's facade cracks and his emotions start pouring out. First of these is his anger. He is willing to kill an innocent person for just a chance at getting Dean back. Yet when he finally confronts the Trickster, his anger gives way to sorrow. Sam doesn't know how to go on without Dean, he refuses to.
The Trickster sends them back and Sam has a few more months before he loses Dean to Hell. This time however, there is no hope for a reset; there is no way to get Dean out of Hell, so Sam can't lock his emotions up again. He drowns in his sorrow until Ruby offers him revenge. Now Sam turns to his anger and channels it into his quest to kill Lilith. The problem is, after Dean's return...Sam is still angry. He's angry because he wasn't the one to save Dean, he's angry because Lilith is still alive, he's angry because he has this incredible power but if Dean finds out about it he'll hate him, he's angry because Dean found out about his power and is freaked out by it, he's angry because Dean won't let him out of the panic room so he can kill Lilith, he's angry because Dean thinks he's a monster, he's angry because he IS a monster.
Sam kills Lilith in righteous anger, certain that he's saving the world. Her death frees Lucifer and Sam has doomed everyone.
Sam has lost Dean's trust. Sam hasn't lost his power, but he's lost the ability to rationalize using it. What he hasn't lost, is his anger.
Why does Lucifer want Sam angry?
It seems fairly clear that the demon blood made Sam's anger management issues even worse. I don't think it is a coincidence that Lucifer needs Sam angry, and that he wants Sam drinking demon blood.
It does seem that anger and Sam's powers go hand in hand. Does his anger help him focus his power? Does it make his powers stronger? Or is it possible that anger just makes Sam more likely to lose his self-control?
Perhaps Lucifer knows that if Sam is angry enough Sam will be even more suitable as a vessel. If so, then why? If Sam's anger is crucial to Lucifer's plans then we know that the demon in "Swap Meat" was wrong about Gary being able to give consent to Lucifer while in Sam's body.
Furthermore, this implies to me that Sam's soul will remain intact if Lucifer does take Sam as a vessel, which is very interesting indeed.
Share your thoughts!