Very disorganized thoughts on SPN 5.03
Raphael: God is dead!
Me: How postmodern of you.
And that's all I have to say on that.
No, I lied.
I (and anyone with eyes, they weren't subtle about it) am seeing a parallel here. Triple parallel, actually.
Parallel Numero Uno: Chastity's father runs off suddenly, no word, no nothing. She doesn't know that it's because he hates his job at the post office (I can't help but think there must be symbolism in "the post office" that I'm not catching, btw, so if you guys did, tell me). She's forced to carry on without him, and doesn't do such a fantastic job of it, poor, pretty girl.
Parallel Numero Dos: The angels' Father runs off suddenly, no word, no nothing. They don't know if he's alive, but they're forced to carry on his work in his absence. Uncertain of how to run the world without him, they start the apocalypse in an effort to just finish up the whole messy business.
Parallel Numero Tres: First season. Sam and Dean's father runs off suddenly, no word, no nothing. So they go looking for him, while carrying on his work as best they can, using his book *coughhackcough* as a guide. And when the time is right, he shows himself again.
In conclusion: God is so not dead.
(The parallel with Chastity is interesting, at least in a metatextual way. In reference to prostitution, Dean says, "The whole business runs off of absent fathers." Is the show hinting that all "iniquity" is a result of God's absence? Also, I was cracking up at the fact that her name is Chastity. Very ironic, Show. Have a cookie.)
By the way. Cas, if you can look soulfully into my eyes and tell me what I need to hear to heal my aching soul, I will totally have sex with you. Actually, I'll have sex with you anyway--you wouldn't even have to pay me--but I definitely wouldn't start screaming about whatever it is that comes out of your clueless, kissable mouth. Just saying. Besides, the look on your face was like a claustrophobic who'd gotten stuck in the dryer. I think that's funny.
A Few Castiel-Related Notes
Here's another thing. Cas says, "I've never had the occasion," as his excuse for still being a virgin. Which brings the obvious question: How have you never had occasion, you hot, hot dork of an angel you? Are angels blind, seriously? Angels have sex? Like, it's possible? They aren't just "Ken dolls", like Dean said? That... really screws with most of my ideas of angels. But maybe that passing comment could be a setup for introducing the story of the Nephilim later on, that'd be cool.
One more thing: Cas is such a horrible, horrible liar. But then, I was composing an entire rant during the hiatus, in reply to that part of fandom which thought that Cas just manipulating Dean--like Ruby, only for Dean--and my point was basically that Cas is not capable of manipulation. I'm glad to see myself vindicated. :)
On Cas swearing: It struck me a little off, I must say. It's like they were trying to make him more badass--he wasn't very, in this episode, after the police station and that stuff with the "whorehouse"--and it just kind of hit a sour note, along with most of the confrontation scene with Raphael. One of the few sour notes in the whole episode, so really, I ain't complaining. I suppose I would've liked to see it handled a little differently, though. My feelings here are roughly analogous to my feelings toward his haircut. *scowls at Cas's haircut*
Anyway, I could accept that Lucifer raised Castiel. It's fairly probable, and Lucifer would probably be happy to take the credit anyway, so we won't know for sure until God himself clears it up for us. Either way, who raised Sam and Dean onto the plane? (Btw, I still maintain that was The Rapture, and thus it amuses me endlessly.) It clearly doesn't profit Lucifer, who was gonna take his vessel right then and there. ("Take his vessel"--rape undertones, anyone?) The angels didn't do it. I'm gonna assume it was God because I want it to be God, however, it could also have been the Trickster or something similar. It's definitely not beyond that guy to stick the brothers on an airplane at an opportune moment, though I'm not sure I think he would've stuck his neck out for them at that time.
Okay, I have to say this. When Cas is "dialing Raphael's number"? That. I. I. *brain shuts down* Guh. So sexy. So if, like me, you wonder what strangely demonic language that was, I am here to tell you that it was Enochian, the language of the angels. Same language as the symbols he carved into the brothers' ribs. Yeah. I, uh... I'll be in my bunk.
A Few Dean-Related Notes
Now, to address Dean's comments to Cas near the end. I expect fandom is messily exploding while I am utterly oblivious due to a certain amount of distance between myself and the internet this weekend. I can't say that I'm disappointed at missing the probable!wank, but while I can't verify that it's actually there, here are my thoughts on it:
Dean is trying to say that he doesn't miss Sam. That's a load of denial. Sure, his family has pulled him into a lot of shit, and if I were him I'd feel myself slowly becoming cynical and tired of it all--which is what's happened. But he loves Sam still. Sam has always been his best friend, and Dean's never wanted anything more than just to keep Sam with him. There's never been anyone like Sam in his life, and never will be. But that's part of the problem; Dean has never had any real, close friends other than Sam. That's been fine before, but since the start of season 4, suddenly Sam has Problems, and has become so very distant from him. I think much of the reason Dean went to Anna the way he did is that he needed to talk to someone, to feel close to someone, even if it wasn't Sam. Anna had that aura; she could be trusted. In hindsight, I suppose it's not surprising he fell into her arms the way he did. But now Anna's gone (it was never a relationship meant to last more than a firefly's flash anyway), and the events since then have only widened the distance between the brothers, to the point where Dean can't see a way to bridge it. He hurts. He needs, not therapy, but company. And he's realizing that maybe Castiel could provide that--maybe Castiel would be willing, and maybe Dean wouldn't mind. It's good for Dean to not be alone, same way I was gonna be boiling mad if they let Sam go off alone (they did, and yes, I'm livid). I don't want Dean to turn into the hunter we saw at the beginning of the ep, and if hanging out with Castiel helps that, I'm good.
(Granted, it may be that the friendship element of Sam and Dean's relationship never comes back entirely. That would be sad. Still, it wouldn't be because Castiel intervened. It was building, ever since Dead came back from hell.)
That's why I think it makes sense, in-show. Here's why I don't think it messes up the relationship between the brothers:
Dean needs a friend. Sure, he had Sam, but Sam is also his brother. And trust me, siblings can be your best friends, but they're still your siblings first, even in normal families. For the Winchesters, family is so overwhelmingly important that there's no way Sam and Dean could keep the fact that they're brothers from informing their relationship. A brother!friend is good, but Dean doesn't need that right now. It's too much responsibility now, taking care of his brother, and he's too tired and too broken to take it on. He just needs a friend, someone outside of his family (Bobby, Ellen and Jo don't count, you know that), and there's no way Sam could give him that. Castiel can. Think of it this way: If Dean goes to horrible lengths to help and save Cas, it's because he wants to, not because he's family and Dean has to. That's worth a lot. My point is, I think his friendship with Castiel is valuable in and of itself, not simply as a replacement for Sam. Dean's thought for so long that family was all he needed, that Sam was the only real friend and companion he needed. Now, all of a sudden, he's realizing that he's got things with Castiel that he never had with Sam. That's okay. There are a lot of things he's had with Sam that he'll never have with Castiel. Apples and oranges.
Aside: Now, show? Eventually, I need Sam and Cas to be friends. You can continue having pretty much nothing between them for the time being (they ignore each other anytime they're onscreen together!), but by the end they need to be BFFs too. You see, I have these threesome fantasies, and on a show like this you really can't introduce a third main character and not have the other two share. Come on, show! I ship Sam/Castiel, so give me some canon!
Some other observations on Dean: At the beginning, Dean is cuttingly sarcastic and constantly pushing Cas away. Don't think I don't see it, Dean! Then, Dean is essentially doing the cheer up/take care of you thing for Cas that he used to do for Sam. That's half cute, and half really sad, because I realized that he hasn't done that since Hell. :(
A Few Sam-Related Notes
So. Re: Sam as Lucifer's vessel.
This backs up my theory that the Winchesters are vessels, though if they got it from one or both parents, I don't know. I still kinda wonder about the John connection. If John was supposed to be the righteous man, does that mean he had vessel potential too? Was it supposed to be John versus Sam? That would've been... so different. And honestly, I think it's gonna turn out better this way than it would've if it'd gone that way, so I'm good there. Still. If being vessel to Lucifer or Michael leaves you as a vegetable, then I am so not down with this particular epic destiny playing out. This is a line, Kripke! Don't you dare cross it! (A moment's clarification: I saw the Dean/Michael versus Sam/Lucifer thing coming all the way at the beginning of season 4--though the vessel thing is a surprise--and it actually made me abandon the show for some time, that's how much I dreaded it. I have since seen the light, and learned to trust in Kripke, but this is still a soft sensitive spot for me.)
Now, I don't really approve of Sam/Lucifer *DISAPPROVAL* but I gotta say, if you're gonna do it, this is the way to do it. Subtle, sneaky, and so, so horrible for Sam, in the end. (I do love how this show puts in slash while cleverly disguising it as not-slash. And slash undertones. All over the place with the slash undertones. I'm looking at you, Cas, Dean.) It wasn't violent, that's why it was so confusing, but the undertones were there, in Lucifer's gentle, passive denial of Sam's personal power in his own life. It was the sense of inevitability that made it so scary. He took away Sam's power to choose, not only what he wants to do or what he wants to happen, but who and what he wants to be, and what part he wants to play in this war. He couldn't even choose to take his own life, the last choice available to him. It's not that there would be violence, if he fought. It's that his fighting would make no difference. Forget "rape/non-con undertones", this is threatened rape, straight up, even without all the subtext in "you'll let me in". They just took most of the sex out, for the sake of canon. But the fact of it is still there, and it scares the hell out of me. This is the sort of stuff that gave me nightmares as a kid. Damnit, Sam, go someplace safe. Don't let him find you. :(
(P.S. There's probably a lot of Sam/Lucifer rapefic popping up too, along with the wank and whatnot. I just want you to know that, while I'm curious to know if it's there and if there's much of it, you probably shouldn't rec any to me, considering my somewhat fragile mental health at this point. Just saying. Rape ain't something I take lightly any more than addiction is.
P.P.S. I am resigned to the fact that Kripke is almost certainly going to drag me through a graphic depiction of Sam as Lucifer's vessel, and that I will squee and love it even as it horrifies me. Oh, Kripke.
P.P.P.S. There seems to be a trend of subtextual raping of Sam in this show. The main example I can think of is Sam with Ruby--which, while all good and well at the time, becomes far, far more disturbing in hindsight. The question of whether Sam was even capable of giving consent at the time was... well, questionable. Furthermore, he made it quite clear that he did not give consent, saying no, pushing her away, etc. And as for every time they had sex after that... well, we can assume that by then he was well and wholly addicted to the demon blood, which screws the question of consent all to hell anyway. Show, what is it with you and this, eh?)
Open Letter To Lucifer From Yours Truly
Dear Lucifer,
Screw you! Screw you and your horrible soft-spoken false sympathy! What were you really saying in that scene with Sam, eh? "Sorry, I wish there was another way to get what I want, but there isn't. Anyway, I don't care about your personal stake in this. I don't care if you consent, I don't even care if you agree with me on any level. You're gonna be my bitch vessel whether you like it or not." Not cool.
I'm sure they're gonna try to make you a sympathetic character at some point (or you'll try to make you a sympathetic character). After all, your only crime was that you loved God too much, right? You loved God too much to obey him, and so he threw you out. Actually you're a spiritual guy. At least you stuck around, at least you didn't set yourself up as a kind and loving Father while you let wars rage and people suffer. Well, when the time comes around that they start saying that, I'm gonna remind myself what Hell is like. And I'm gonna remind myself that you did that. You didn't have to. God didn't force you to, it's not a condition of your fall. That was all you.
Hatefully yours,
Pipes
P.S. If you touch Sam, you're dead. Actually, you touch anyone, you're dead. So just sit tight till they find a way to put you out of your misery, you poor sick turkey.
On another note, I'm gonna say that the hunters force-feeding Sam the demon blood may have been the most heart-stopping, "oh-no-you-did-not-just-go-there-Kripke" thing ever. Except for, well, everything. Still, I was about to freak out bad. And then I did, because the stuff with Lucifer happened. Show, seriously, is violating Sam just your kink or something?
Oi. I think this season is turning me into a Sam girl. I feel so disoriented. Oh, hey, by the way--around the time of 4.09, somebody wrote like three essays on what was going on with the characters at the time, including one in which she enumerated in strong terms why she felt that the sex between Sam and Ruby was rape, with Ruby being the guilty party. I kept looking for it while I was writing this, but I couldn't find it. Any idea where it would be? I already checked spn_heavymeta, it's not there. It was quite good though, as I remember, and it helped me solidify why it was that I couldn't make myself stop looking away from the screen during that scene.
One last thing:
Open Letter From Yours Truly To Lindsay
Dear Lindsay,
Lindsay, I must admit that I had my doubts at first, but I LOVE YOU PLEASE MARRY ME SAM! Seriously. You, woman, are perfect, and I now understand why they got a not-gorgeous actress to play you. They didn't want the fans jumping down their throats for putting in a Mary Sue, so they made it seem like Sam is totally out of your league. But you, girl? Can have Sam any time you want, as far as I'm concerned. Help yourself. Unless we have the Sam/Dean/Cas threesome vibes going on that I want, in which case you need to back off.
So much love,
Pipes
P.S. Poor Lindsay. Your life has suddenly become so surreal. My sympathy. *kisses* That's what you get for going for Sam, honey. Sorry. Hey, at least they didn't air the sex scene between you two--then you'd have to die. None of Sam's love interests survive.