Episode Reaction Post - SPN 5x22 - Swan Song.
Swan Song is one of those episodes that stays with you long after you've seen it. You can't just shake it off and go on with your usual business, because it just drags you right back and sinks its claws into you. That fact alone impressed the hell out of me, because in my opinion this is what a good story / tv episode does: for good or bad - it touches you and Swan Song definitely left a lasting impression on me.
A looong, rambly semi-spontaneous reaction post (including discussion of the use of colors and music, family, the brothers as siblings and as individuals), combined with wild speculations on anything from the pilot to crazy guesses about season 6 is behind the cut.
Now before I go and sink my teeth into other people's episode reaction, I first need to get my own thoughts in order lest I let myself be influenced before I can form a coherent thought. And Swan Song definitely left me slightly incoherent.
First of all - I really, really loved the episode. Yes, it tore my heart out, threw it in the dirt, ripped it into tiny, little pieces and then, in the final minute - it handed me a scrap of sello-tape to fix it up with again. Apart from this very emotional reaction I was, for the first time, immensely impressed with the actors. They've always been good in my opinion but right here Jensen and Jared were outstanding.
Swan Song is built up in a very clever way, putting Chuck's narration which maintains a light tone despite the increasingly dramatic content, in stark contrast to the Winchesters' story which starts out dark and ends up...darker. By putting these seemingly contrasting strands of story right next to each other, the difference becomes even more jarring and the darkness the Winchesters are steering into becomes even darker. Very clever, show.
Speaking of light and dark, please note the use of colors and music during Chuck's narration (starting out bright and ending up muted as we end up in his dimly-lit apartment). The same goes for the Winchesters. Dark, muted colors (in great contrast with the red of the blood whenever it flows) seem to follow their story - except for the final confrontation between Samnifer and Adamichael which takes place in bright daylight. Additionally, Def Leppard's 'Rock of Ages' (especially the funny beginning of the song) once again creates a jarring contrast to what I've come to expect. Not subtle music to increase tension before the epic fight but more like a musical intrusion that feels a little forced. A little desperate, to be honest. Just like Dean's intrusion between the opponents. So either the show is using music to underline their plot or I read way too much into this. Nevertheless, I might get back to that later on. For now, these are merely observations.
Which brings us back to Chuck, who is kind enough to work both as a character in the story as well as addressing the audience directly which, for once, works really well in my opinion. Now, apart from being a great character who finally lets on that he knows a whole lot more about the Winchester brothers than he ever admitted (Does anybody else find it weird that the brothers go star-gazing? For hours? I half expected him to say they start cuddling, too.), he also gives his interpretation of what their story, encompassing all from the first season to the present, is all about: family. And this is exactly the point where I start nagging. I beg to differ. While a great part of it is indeed about family, I feel that Swan Song in particular made it evident that family is too loose a word. 'Family' by now has become a lot of people - Bobby, who has really come into his role as a surrogate father to both boys (symbolically when Sam says "Yes, Sir." - Reminds us of the way the boys were with John, doesn't it?), Cas who defies description but thankfully remains his awesome, slightly confused self or Adam who...I really can't relate to. Frankly put, he feels like a mere plot device to me.
But back to the topic of family being too much of a generalization. In my opinion it's about Sam and Dean. It's always been about them and the way they influence each other. From the very beginning both were almost defining themselves by what they are to each other. Almost every big thing each of them did, is influenced by either Sam or Dean. Swan Song showed impressively how not even a life-long influence by demons - not even the devil himself - can ultimately come between them. And this is exactly the reason why I absolutely loved this episode - hurt and all. It's the one episode where it becomes clear that the brothers' relationship which was left so severely damaged after season 4 has not only been mended - it has become stronger than ever before. They trust each other more than before and have both grown from boys, doing what their daddy orders them to into men who know their weaknesses far too well but ultimately do what they think is right. Team Free Will, indeed.
Finally, because I've always had a weakness for everybody's favorite fallen demon-boy, I must address Sam. After all, how could I not after Swan Song?
A great arc in Sam's life has come to an end. He has come from struggling against the life-style as a hunter to embracing it - or perhaps rather accepting that he has no other choice. Making Dean (the most important person in the world to him) promise to go get his 'apple pie'-life (Direct quote from the pilot? I believe Dean said something about "I hope your apple pie is freaking worth it.") indicates that this is still Sam's ideal but he has come to understand that he can't have it. It has a nice irony to see Dean being more or less forced into it and I assume we will learn in season 6 that despite his best intentions, Sam can't force Dean into happiness. One would think that Sam has learned his lesson about good intentions after the fiasco with Ruby.
Be that as it may, Sam gets his redemption. After his fall to the very bottom, being forced to face all the ugliness and nastiness inside of him (and here I believe this is not demon-induced but rather a very human aspect of his character brought to light), he has taken full responsibility for his actions. He was the one who got Lucifer out, he was the one who got him back in again. He messed up and cleaned the mess up. And most importantly? He did it on his own - where of course it needs to be mentioned that it was his love for his big brother Dean (who cared enough for Sam to attempt to reach him through the devil's influence - something that has previously been unheard of in the Supernatural-universe) that ultimately gave Sam the strength to defy the devil's influence and pay the price for falling from grace before. In a way, this is why I liked the fact that Sam did indeed go down into the cage and not get miraculously saved.
So basically what happened in Swan Song was that the Winchester brothers become closer than ever before and Sam is redeemed, kicking the devil's behind in the process. Niiiice.
So. Sammy grabs Adamichael and pulls him, along with Lucifer into the cage / hole / whatever we like to call it. The ground closes, the apocalypse is averted (for now). Those are the facts we can works with. Furthermore we see Sam's body appear outside of Lisa's house where Dean is making an attempt to get into his apple-pie-life. A lightbulb goes out and Sam's body is watching his brother, wearing a serious or blank expression.
Naturally, this leaves me with the question: What the hell happened?
We have learned several things from Dean's time back in hell. Time doesn't necessarily flow the same way down there as it does on Earth, so there's really no telling for sure how long Sam was down there (personally, I assume he has been away for a long time - not unlike Dean and John before). It seems to be evident that he landed in the cage, along with the devil and Adamichael, though, so I will be working with this assumption for the moment. Let's go through some theories here.
a) Sam himself is back and has acquired some new level of control on his demonic abilities. - Possible, i.e. if Adamichael's presence has had some influence on the trap, allowing Sam to escape or get dragged out (the same could go for Lucifer, of course. If the trap had been compromised by Adamichael's presence, then he could have escaped, too). Also, if it were really Sam then I wonder why he uses the powers he has come to see as evil so freely, almost leisurely, and why there is no emotion on his face.
b) Sam is back, his body being occupied by Lucifer: Working on the assumption presented in a) this would be a likely scenario, explaining both the lack of expression on his face as well as the use of the demon powers.
c) Sam is back, his body being occupied by Michael: Assuming that Sam, Mr. Research, has done his homework and trapped the devil, it would make sense for him to come back as Michael's vessel. Surely Michael wouldn't want to stay trapped (or even won't stay trapped as we can't say whether or not the trap holds all angels or just the devil). Having redeemed himself, Michael might have lost any inhibitions to take Sam as a vessel since he (Sam) is from the correct bloodline, after all - as the angels seemed so fond to remind Dean. Being taken as Michael's vessel would also explain the lack of expression as well as the powers as zapping lightbulbs is definitely something we've seen angels do as well.
So...basically these are some very random thoughts, put together in a (hopefully) understandable form as they formed a big, fat chaos in my head before. What do you think?
A looong, rambly semi-spontaneous reaction post (including discussion of the use of colors and music, family, the brothers as siblings and as individuals), combined with wild speculations on anything from the pilot to crazy guesses about season 6 is behind the cut.
Now before I go and sink my teeth into other people's episode reaction, I first need to get my own thoughts in order lest I let myself be influenced before I can form a coherent thought. And Swan Song definitely left me slightly incoherent.
First of all - I really, really loved the episode. Yes, it tore my heart out, threw it in the dirt, ripped it into tiny, little pieces and then, in the final minute - it handed me a scrap of sello-tape to fix it up with again. Apart from this very emotional reaction I was, for the first time, immensely impressed with the actors. They've always been good in my opinion but right here Jensen and Jared were outstanding.
Swan Song is built up in a very clever way, putting Chuck's narration which maintains a light tone despite the increasingly dramatic content, in stark contrast to the Winchesters' story which starts out dark and ends up...darker. By putting these seemingly contrasting strands of story right next to each other, the difference becomes even more jarring and the darkness the Winchesters are steering into becomes even darker. Very clever, show.
Speaking of light and dark, please note the use of colors and music during Chuck's narration (starting out bright and ending up muted as we end up in his dimly-lit apartment). The same goes for the Winchesters. Dark, muted colors (in great contrast with the red of the blood whenever it flows) seem to follow their story - except for the final confrontation between Samnifer and Adamichael which takes place in bright daylight. Additionally, Def Leppard's 'Rock of Ages' (especially the funny beginning of the song) once again creates a jarring contrast to what I've come to expect. Not subtle music to increase tension before the epic fight but more like a musical intrusion that feels a little forced. A little desperate, to be honest. Just like Dean's intrusion between the opponents. So either the show is using music to underline their plot or I read way too much into this. Nevertheless, I might get back to that later on. For now, these are merely observations.
Which brings us back to Chuck, who is kind enough to work both as a character in the story as well as addressing the audience directly which, for once, works really well in my opinion. Now, apart from being a great character who finally lets on that he knows a whole lot more about the Winchester brothers than he ever admitted (Does anybody else find it weird that the brothers go star-gazing? For hours? I half expected him to say they start cuddling, too.), he also gives his interpretation of what their story, encompassing all from the first season to the present, is all about: family. And this is exactly the point where I start nagging. I beg to differ. While a great part of it is indeed about family, I feel that Swan Song in particular made it evident that family is too loose a word. 'Family' by now has become a lot of people - Bobby, who has really come into his role as a surrogate father to both boys (symbolically when Sam says "Yes, Sir." - Reminds us of the way the boys were with John, doesn't it?), Cas who defies description but thankfully remains his awesome, slightly confused self or Adam who...I really can't relate to. Frankly put, he feels like a mere plot device to me.
But back to the topic of family being too much of a generalization. In my opinion it's about Sam and Dean. It's always been about them and the way they influence each other. From the very beginning both were almost defining themselves by what they are to each other. Almost every big thing each of them did, is influenced by either Sam or Dean. Swan Song showed impressively how not even a life-long influence by demons - not even the devil himself - can ultimately come between them. And this is exactly the reason why I absolutely loved this episode - hurt and all. It's the one episode where it becomes clear that the brothers' relationship which was left so severely damaged after season 4 has not only been mended - it has become stronger than ever before. They trust each other more than before and have both grown from boys, doing what their daddy orders them to into men who know their weaknesses far too well but ultimately do what they think is right. Team Free Will, indeed.
Finally, because I've always had a weakness for everybody's favorite fallen demon-boy, I must address Sam. After all, how could I not after Swan Song?
A great arc in Sam's life has come to an end. He has come from struggling against the life-style as a hunter to embracing it - or perhaps rather accepting that he has no other choice. Making Dean (the most important person in the world to him) promise to go get his 'apple pie'-life (Direct quote from the pilot? I believe Dean said something about "I hope your apple pie is freaking worth it.") indicates that this is still Sam's ideal but he has come to understand that he can't have it. It has a nice irony to see Dean being more or less forced into it and I assume we will learn in season 6 that despite his best intentions, Sam can't force Dean into happiness. One would think that Sam has learned his lesson about good intentions after the fiasco with Ruby.
Be that as it may, Sam gets his redemption. After his fall to the very bottom, being forced to face all the ugliness and nastiness inside of him (and here I believe this is not demon-induced but rather a very human aspect of his character brought to light), he has taken full responsibility for his actions. He was the one who got Lucifer out, he was the one who got him back in again. He messed up and cleaned the mess up. And most importantly? He did it on his own - where of course it needs to be mentioned that it was his love for his big brother Dean (who cared enough for Sam to attempt to reach him through the devil's influence - something that has previously been unheard of in the Supernatural-universe) that ultimately gave Sam the strength to defy the devil's influence and pay the price for falling from grace before. In a way, this is why I liked the fact that Sam did indeed go down into the cage and not get miraculously saved.
So basically what happened in Swan Song was that the Winchester brothers become closer than ever before and Sam is redeemed, kicking the devil's behind in the process. Niiiice.
So. Sammy grabs Adamichael and pulls him, along with Lucifer into the cage / hole / whatever we like to call it. The ground closes, the apocalypse is averted (for now). Those are the facts we can works with. Furthermore we see Sam's body appear outside of Lisa's house where Dean is making an attempt to get into his apple-pie-life. A lightbulb goes out and Sam's body is watching his brother, wearing a serious or blank expression.
Naturally, this leaves me with the question: What the hell happened?
We have learned several things from Dean's time back in hell. Time doesn't necessarily flow the same way down there as it does on Earth, so there's really no telling for sure how long Sam was down there (personally, I assume he has been away for a long time - not unlike Dean and John before). It seems to be evident that he landed in the cage, along with the devil and Adamichael, though, so I will be working with this assumption for the moment. Let's go through some theories here.
a) Sam himself is back and has acquired some new level of control on his demonic abilities. - Possible, i.e. if Adamichael's presence has had some influence on the trap, allowing Sam to escape or get dragged out (the same could go for Lucifer, of course. If the trap had been compromised by Adamichael's presence, then he could have escaped, too). Also, if it were really Sam then I wonder why he uses the powers he has come to see as evil so freely, almost leisurely, and why there is no emotion on his face.
b) Sam is back, his body being occupied by Lucifer: Working on the assumption presented in a) this would be a likely scenario, explaining both the lack of expression on his face as well as the use of the demon powers.
c) Sam is back, his body being occupied by Michael: Assuming that Sam, Mr. Research, has done his homework and trapped the devil, it would make sense for him to come back as Michael's vessel. Surely Michael wouldn't want to stay trapped (or even won't stay trapped as we can't say whether or not the trap holds all angels or just the devil). Having redeemed himself, Michael might have lost any inhibitions to take Sam as a vessel since he (Sam) is from the correct bloodline, after all - as the angels seemed so fond to remind Dean. Being taken as Michael's vessel would also explain the lack of expression as well as the powers as zapping lightbulbs is definitely something we've seen angels do as well.
So...basically these are some very random thoughts, put together in a (hopefully) understandable form as they formed a big, fat chaos in my head before. What do you think?