a response to responses to criticisms of Dean throughout S9
In numerous meta communities, I've seen conversations of S9 which strike me as incomplete about some very important dimensions to the season, and I'd like to respond.
( cut for abuse triggers; discusses through the most recent episode )
( cut for abuse triggers; discusses through the most recent episode )
I've been utterly disgusted with Dean's very *character* since he's gotten back from Purgatory, really. He's hard and unyielding, unteachable and selfish, but he doesn't *look* like any of those things until you delve under the surface of his behavior.
I'm LOVING it, tbqh. Because it's such a ruthless deconstruction of a lot of the stuff most viewers were willing to let slide, or at least give him the benefit of the doubt on, pre-Purgatory and especially during those first few seasons. Like, was the YOU DIDN'T LOOK FOR ME WHO CARES ABOUT YOUR YEAR-LONG NERVOUS BREAKDOWN HOW DARE YOU NOT RIP THE WORLD APART FOR MEEEE of S8 really all that different from the "Sam, you're so SELFISH to have abandoned us for college" of S1? Is the use of an angel to control Sam's mind all that different from the use of a different angel to control Lisa's and Ben's minds? Is his literal dehumanization of Sam, this merging Sam into a being that could well be dependent on angelic grace for the rest of its (super?)natural life, really all that different from the "you're a monster" dehumanization of S4? IMO, no. But Dean's grown just enough that there's some self-doubt starting to crack through, and it's making everything so much more interesting.
Guilt and fear of what Sam would do if/when he found out.
Yes! And fear of losing his I'm The Good Brother hold over Sam - and to be fair, fear of what "Zeke" might do to Sam or to Dean himself if Dean put a toe out of line.
If Sam's even there anymore.
I'm fairly certain he is, but this'll change him - whatever aftereffects of Gadreel as much as the psychological wounds of realizing just what Dean's been doing to him.
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But yes, exactly this--I remember being appalled when Dean had Cas mindwipe Lisa and Ben--as if that would help them at all if demons came calling. If anything, Dean should have had Cas wipe *his* mind so they wouldn't be important to him, or something, but nooooo... I digress. Dean's selfishness is practically preternatural, if you will. Pathological. And other words beginning with 'p.'
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But like...that's what makes it good writing, IMO? Because in real life...people do stupid things in an irrational universe, or at least, a universe full of other irrational people doing stupid things. We make bad decisions; we get scared and pretend we aren't; we find ourselves in abusive relationships and convince ourselves that it's ~love.
In okay writing, characters might do one or two of those things once, then they have a Very Special Moment about it and move on. Good writers who love their characters, though, let those characters act like real people, who are stuck in patterns and backslide and sometimes have a hard time facing their own motivations and pain. I would stack Dean up, characterization-wise, with just about any of the ~~critically acclaimed~~ antiheroes out there. tbqh he's a hell of a lot more interesting than Walter White. (SHOTS FIRED!) It takes a lot of nerve - and yes, a lot of confidence in the characters and story - to take the risk of being honest about a relationship or character, warts and all. I'm frequently infuriated, and from time to time flat-out triggered, by Dean's behavior. And that, from a writing perspective, is AWESOME.
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