Truth or dare
OK, so I've finally got to watch this season SPN episode 6 'You Can't Handle The Truth' . It took me about two days in a row to put together a comprehensive response, so here's what I have to say.
Cut to avoid possible spoilers. Beware some leeeeeeengthy ramblings.
1. The episode as is.
I have to say, the execution appeared a bit schematic to me. As if the episode comprises a patchwork of mandatory (up to the point of being in-'verse cliche) plot elements and character interaction devices, in relatively mandatory succession:
Cue: Foreshadowing
Cue: MAJOR OMG-Sam-came-back-wrong Dean!Angst
Cue: Bobby's pep-talk
Cue: More OMGooooooodness-Sam-came-back-wrong Dean!Angst
Cue: Misplaced comic relief
Cue: Blood/gooore/eeeeeeeeeek
Cue: Castiel's veteran-syndrome-angst
Cue: More misplaced comic relief
Cue: Dean vs. Sam Aaaaaaaaaangst foreshadowing
Cue: More blood/gooore/eeeeeeeeeek
Cue: Ultimate Dean vs. Sam OMG-Sam!-you-came-back-wrong / OMG-Dean!-I-came-back-wrong-indeed aaaaaaaaaangst
Due to this not-so-seamless transition between narrative points the actual story, unfortunately, falls a bit flat, to my mind. It's difficult to invest into the individual tragedies of Veritas's victims, nor into the curious atrocity of Veritas-the-Goddess herself, for it becomes apparent fairly early on the supernatural-entity-of-the-week is only introduced as a gadget to set up the Grand Moment of Truth (pun certainly intended) between the Winchester boys.
That is not to say the said GMT was unjustified, given the previous episodes' worth of tension/suspense build-up, but once again, the main issue I have with the angsty aspect of this episode as well, is yet again - execution. Or more specifically, lack of subtlety in that department. Honestly, the two looks Dean gave Sam the previous episode (one in that back-street, right after having been force-fed vampire blood and one at the very end) spoke volumes more of Dean's inner torment over Sam's possibly 'altered' nature, than most of this episode's worth of verbose descriptions of the same feelings.
Seriously, I would've very much preferred to actually *witness* Dean freak out, unable to sleep, unwilling to literally turn his back to Sam, flinching from Sam's accidental touch, firsthand, than to hear it recounted to Bobby over the token phone. It all but wasn't up to the very last scene of this episode, that I managed to *believe* the intensity of Dean's turmoil and the depth of his rage/grief/horror, based on sheer performance. But more specifically on this later.
2. The key concept. Is not revolutionary innovative, but none the less gripping for what it's worth.
Tackled from the agnostic angle of the overall gnoseological paradigm (which the show, and yours truly, apparently, adheres to), Truth (or Ultimate/Universal Truth) as '*The* Shape of Things As They *Are*' is an ultimately abstract, ultimately detached, ultimately elusive, ultimately unattainable in all of its entirety, via cognitive mechanisms of human mind and/or spiritual practices, knowledge/information.
Hence, by extension, we all live in the world of lies. Or rather - 'not-quite-truths'. Even more specifically, not in the world of 'The Shape of Things As They Are', but in the world of 'The Shape of Things as they appear to be due to our cultural/social/linguistic/educational/religious/ethnic/gender/professional/etc. background/foreground' , 'The Shape of Things we are aware of', 'The Shape of things we wish they were', 'The Shape of things we believe them to be', 'The Shape of Things we feel them to be', 'The Shape of Things we tell/are told they are', 'The Shape of things we aspire for them to be', 'The Shape of Thing's we fear them to be', the list could go on forever. And the most exciting thing about it all is - there's *nothing wrong* about that. That's just the way human cognition works [Cf. F. Bacon, I. Kant, G. Hegel, or Plato, for that matter - the dudes knew a thing or two about gnoseological pushing onto ontological limits).
Besides, that is, by far, the only way our psyche can adequately process the incoming lifelong input of information without going into overload. Cue the episode in question title - 'You Can't Handle The Truth' . Talk about 'veritas curat'. Probably not so much.
Our mind is bound to compartmentalize the information flux and sort it according to the intricate, dynamic and finely tuned individual framework of aforementioned cultural/social/linguistic/ethnic/religious/gender/professional/etc. preconceptions, since they are the viable ground for learning. They are the basis of molding us into 'social animals', 'homines sapientes' or whatever. Incidentally, those preconceptions are also ways to veil/subvert/interpret/adapt the 'Ultimate Truth' a.k.a. 'The Shape of Things As They Are'. Filtered through the prism of those preconceptions, the Truth becomes an all but a paled, mutilated version of it's otherwise glorious, synthetic self. *The* Truth becomes *a* lie. Lies make us human. Lies make us true to ourselves.
That's what the Goddess Veritas, apparently, was hell-bent on tapping into. That is precisely why I do not prefer to perceive the 'truths', delivered by key and foil characters alike throughout this episode at face value as 'gospel truth'.
The most peculiar things that infallibly come up at my 'Theory of Verbal Communication' classes are usually that
a) the truth/lie spelled out is only as veritable as it's intent
b) it takes two to sell a lie
c) ditto for *a* truth
which eventually comes down to the fact that regardless of the (f)actual 'truthfulness' of the statement it takes the recipient's predisposition/eagerness to perceive it as either true or false in order to seal the communicative effect. In other words, Truth *has* to be believed, to be perceived as such. And so does Lie.
So, this brings us to the quite plausible supposition, that whatever 'truths' all 'victims' of Veritas's curse were 'forced' to hear throughout the episode, were not necessarily the 'Shape of Things As They Are', but more likely 'The Shape of Things they deep down believed them to be', or worse still 'The Shape of Things they deep down feared them to be': Jane's sense of worthlessness and overall loosership, the dentist's 'fatherly nightmare' of his teenage daughter having slept with (or was it raped by?) his friend of all people, Corey's cheating boyfriend-induced paranoia. And of course, Dean's many and varied, deliciously torturous self-worth, self-esteem, OMG-Sam-came-back-*very*-wrong, life-of-hunt vs. normal, family vs. Family (i.e. Sammy), brotherly love vs. duty (save Sammy or kill 'im if you can't) issues.
Let's not forget that to collect her due, Veritas was ultimately after deconstructing the very core of her hapless preys' personality, driving them to untimely, uncalled for demise, which in and of itself speaks of manipulation, from where I'm standing, anyway.
And since there's only one prey of Veritas the episode (and yours truly) was genuinely interested in, let's proceed with him.
3. Dean. Guess I'll have to keep saying this - the boy needs a hug. Even moreso, since he's, apparently being set up to face off whatever Sam is/has become, or even to confront Sam - all by himself this time around. He's shed the confines of his 'other' family (Lisa and Ben), for now, at least. Castiel is into his own thing and is willing to help figure Sam out (but more importantly - to deal with this 'different' Sam) in words only, so far. Bobby is a) being too pragmatic about the whole issue; b) not quite *there* for Dean and not quite on board with his apprehensions; c) made it clear two episodes prior Dean's 'whining' didn't agree with him well at all times. And Sam is not even aware of what the hell's wrong with him himself (unlike prior similar occasions when at least both boys knew what permutation of darkside!Sam they were dealing with).
That just leaves Dean one on one with what I think is his ultimate nightmare - that he won't be able and/or willing to love this 'other' Sam. Which state of mind immediately ensues both bone-deep terror (since his love for Sam is a fundamental part of who Dean is) and an equally profound preliminary guilt trip.
I quite enjoyed Bobby's little exercise in 'Occam's Razor' in this respect, suggesting that maybe 'The Shape of Things As They Seem' is not that dramatically different from the 'Shape of Things as They Are' - maybe it's indeed *just* Sam. Minus the vestiges of righteousness/idealism/compassion, plus the honed to perfection in the fires of Hell ruthlessness/self-absorption/single-mindedness. Maybe the Sam Dean's loved and cared for all his life has never actually been there. The kind of 'truth' Dean abhors to the point he's rather willing to assume his brother is still impersonating the Devil or anything equally frightful.
I found it really compelling, if all the more tragic, the way Dean virtually cried out for help through this entire episode - to Bobby and Castiel (even to Lisa in a certain way) - and was all but grasping for straws to confirm his suspicions that Sam is 'supernaturally' not alright, as opposed to being a 'natural' cold-hearted, cold-blooded jerk.
I've already elaborated earlier on that I do have certain issues with the overtly 'tell-heavy' as opposed to 'show-heavy' mode the episode adopted to depict that particular turmoil of Dean's, but the closing scenes (beginning with Veritas's impromptu interrogation of Dean) pretty much won me over - an intense and painful wrap-up of Dean's most fundamental fears, delivered with trademark stoic rue, heartbreaking all the more for it. I really enjoyed that Dean admitted his longing for a semblance of normal to be true, but being unable to embrace himself as someone capable to fare within the realm of normal civilian life, deeming himself a 'killer', rather than a 'father'. That is not to say I think he is indeed inapt to be a family-man, or that he is truly happier on the road hunting and 'cutting throats' alongside his brother, than holding a barbeque in his backyard, but I do believe this season is intended to explore that unless Dean manages a break-through in sorting out his issues of self-worth, the nature of his purpose in life (other than the 'Obi Van Kenobi' to his prodigy 'Anakin Skywalker' of a brother) and getting a firm grip on his apprehensions (that his brother might be/already is a monster, that his life of hunt will come abanging on Lisa's doorstep, that he's worse fit to be a parent than John frakking Winchester himself) - he won't be able to accept, let alone enjoy, *any* brand of happiness.
That said, another point I found fitting about Dean 's 'confessions' was the fact that Dean believed (at least that far) Sam to be turning into him. Or the version of him that could be taking after their father: single-minded, obsessed with hunt, grab any means to an end regardless of to what extend the loved ones get hurt in the process. Emulating his father and following into his father's footsteps has always been instrumental to deriving Dean's most sensitive inner issues of insecurity and 'identity theft', and the previous couple of episodes demonstrated that apart from loosing his own sense of self within John's larger than life personality, Dean is also scared out of his wits to visit John's trademark shortcomings and flaws on the ones he's grown to hold most dear - Lisa and Ben. And now we see that ultimately Dean arrived at the assumption, that he might be visiting those very shortcomings on his brother as well, for they are not his father's any more, but his very own. Which is a very sad place for Dean to be, however briefly, I must say. For Dean, who's very idea of happiness had for a longest while been 'the little brother looking up to him in every respect' to realize that the said brother finally *having become* 'just like him' is the an utter monstrosity to contemplate - that's just painful to watch. And for the record, I personally don't think Sam had been *truly* acting 'like Dean' all that much so far (he's rather been acting 'like Sam', as ever), but that definitely didin't prevent Dean from believing it to be the culprit of the problem. And we've fairly agreed by now that truth is for the most part what one makes of it. For Dean - the idea of Sam possibly becoming him was *true* at that point and hence, so was the hurt it ensued.
Speaking of hurt, I did immensely enjoy the very last scene of Dean beating the crap out of Sam. And not 'cause I'm a violence freak (I'm not!), but because it was a single bit of very raw, very complicated, and very believable emotion captured: Dean was giving in to all the pain, and fear, and frustration, and white-hot rage (not only at this Sam 2.0, but, probably at God and Lucifer, and the angels, and demons, and Cain and Abel, and all the Powers That Be, and destiny or whatever, that let him and his brother come to this, made them go through that much, loose that much of themselves along the way) he'd probably held bottled up ever since Sam made the fatal leap into the Pit a year ago, maybe longer. I'd say - about frakking time!
Besides, it occurred to me at some point, that via such violent outburst Dean could be (if all but subconsciously) attempting to evoke feedback rage/anger in Sam, thus bringing his brother to feel *something*, at least. For it's not only the warm and fuzzy things, like love and compassion, that manifest our humanity, but the nasty stuff as well - anger, jealousy, hatred, fear. Deep down Dean might presume that if Sam can't bother to feel human by caring about his brother, maybe Sam'd reach out to his crippled ability to feel by getting angry/hurting Dean. Poor, dear, lovely, wonderful Dean...
Besides, that scene was a nice symbolic cry out, to my mind, to the end of both season 4 and season 5 - whence we had Sam beating the living hell out of Dean, once on his own accord (albeit high on demon blood) and once impersonating Lucifer. On both prior occasions it came down to the 'magic of epic brotherly love' to reconnect with the 'real Sam' underneath the demonic shroud. I wonder if that is going to be the case this season as well.
I also can't but wonder if, maybe, Dean's capacity for love (love for Sam) is being put to a test, for some reason. Or if, maybe, the ball is rolling down the road it was kicked off of by sheer power of Dean's loyalty and devotion to Sam the previous season - to the cosmic, possibly lethal, confrontation between the two brothers, because 'it was always meant to be'.
Jupiter knows, I wouldn't want it to turn out that way, but in any case, even if we are to witness Sam's excruciatingly rediscovered soul ascend to Heaven, eventually, swathed in the blaze of celestial glory, or drop back into the fires of Hell before the season's final credits roll off, I certainly hope it happens no sooner than the guy pays some coherent and eloquent homage to the wonder and force of Dean's love for him.
That said, I do honestly wish both Winchester boys as well as their 'epic love' make it through the season intact, if for no other reason than Dean's sake. The guy quite possibly won't survive having to hate his brother alongside probably having to off him for the greater-good-of-the-year.
4. Dean/Lisa. What can I say? My heart went out to both of them this episode (given, I've been fully on board this ship ever since 'The kids are alright').
I can totally see where Lisa is coming from choosing to call it *off* off with Dean after what transpired the previous episode. Yes, Lisa is in the know that there's more to the darkness than meets the eye, but, quite possibly, the incident with changelings was her one and only exposure to it. And she wasn't even on site when most of the 'monster' stuff took place. Whatever else the Winchester boys had to deal with, she'd been probably only clued in quite superfluously by Dean, if at all - he taught her to handle the gun, but it never really panned out, so she doesn't have much of a reference pattern as to what to make of your... mmm.. husband(???) showing up in your bedroom upon having been turned a vampire, nearly assaulting your child and not being willing to explain himself afterwards. And I'm not even sure Dean had opened his cards enough as to what *truly* happened to Sam a year ago. Lisa knew Dean's brother died, but, most likely, didn't exactly know *how*. She realized Dean was in pain and did expect him to have issues (she told as much), but Dean had never opened up enough to make it at least marginally apparent how to best help him cope, preferring to 'bury it all in', hit the bottle and play house. So she opted to go along with what the man she loves appeared to want, or chose to make-believe he wanted - be it 'living a normal life' or 'going back on the road'. She took him in and was ready to let him go - if that would help him deal with his issues. What she wasn't eager to do - was to stand by and watch the issues get the better of Dean, or let her own sanity alongside her son's be tangled into the mix. And it was not an easy step on her part, nor was it painless - the look on her face as she hung up on Dean revealed as much, but that was, by far, the wisest thing she could offer him at the moment. There are indeed paths one has to travel on their own, in order to pull it together, get a grip on one's inner demons (figuratively speaking), let go of destructive obsessions and emerge a stronger and more integral person from the endeavor. Their phone exchange actually rang to me almost a rip-off from a different show (then again, many a thing do, these days, he-he!): "I understand, Lee, that's why I'm leaving".
For Dean's sake, I do very much hope Lisa will be still out there willing to greet him on the opposite side of the journey it looks like he's about to take this season. A journey to consciously embrace himself as deserving of happiness and willing to do a hell of a lot of inner improvement to make that happiness work for him and all those involved.
And oh, Dean... Lisa and Ben have always been somewhat of a symbol for him, I guess. A corporeal embodiment of something to look forward to, beyond the hunt, of something to fight for, of a sanctuary and a way to soothe the ever burning pain, of a life and normalcy, and security he craves but is forced to abandon (or never even consider) due to the impossible circumstances he and Sam are living through. I do believe Dean loves them dearly (on a certain level no less dearly, than he loves Sam), but above all - Dean *needs* both Lisa and Ben. To stay anchored in ways Sam could never keep him anchored. I found the little episode when Dean almost dials Lisa once Bobby is unwilling to share Dean's suspicions concerning Sam most touching. Dean instinctively goes to Lisa when he's lost.
Incidentally, it has been manifested early on, and sealed firmly in the previous episode that one of Dean's most deep-seated fears is to visit destruction onto Lisa and Ben due to who and what he is - a hunter. His mother died at the hands of a demon. So did Sam's fiancee. Dean has good reasons to suspect the Winchester men are not particularly good at protecting their women and children from supernatural harm. So, if Lisa is able to provide him with the comfort and security he needs, but he's unable to protect her and Ben (and Sam thrown into the mix as well) - then he's most likely undeserving and/or unworthy of whatever joys that comfort and security offer him. Cue - ISSUES, Lisa alluded to.
The main problem with Dean in this respect, to my mind, is that he's is currently completely convinced of deserving to be kicked to the curb due to his alleged screw-uppedness. Hence his overall lack of defensive stance while Lisa was telling him off. As if he were *anticipating* her to say exactly that (which, given the framework of the episode, was most likely the case altogether). It is incredibly poignant in and of itself. But still doen't change the fact that Dean has to sort through his compulsive issues of self-worth and many other insecurities in order to believe himself worthy and capable of 'normal' happiness.
5. Sam. I'm trying to stay unspoiled for now, so can only hypothesize here, but there're definetely things I wouldn't want Sammy to turn out to be (or would be rather frustrated if he eventually does):
Lucifer. - The Prince of Darkness having molded himself with Sam's personality to such an extend that the 'celestial GPS' are unable to detect him. Then again, there's still an off chance I might pull a Prophet Chuck and turn out right as to Sam's *being* the upgraded, anthropomorfic version of the actual 'Lucifer's Trap'. That would explain the stealth mode - Lucifer has never, in fact, escaped his confinement.
Michael. - The scenario in which Lucifer and Michael swapped vessels ones inside the Pit, for some reason, with Michael's new 'dress suit' - Sam - having been pulled back planetside (by God?) either to adhere to his own agenda of establishing Heaven on Earth and Sky, and Hell alike (by eliminating the Alpha's of every single demonic species there is), or to test Dean beyond conceivable limits and make him ultimately confront Lucifer, as it had been preordained to be all along.
God. - That would be tacky and Castiel would be disappointed. Ditto for yours truly.
Darth Vader. - A void corporeal vessel, the experience of Devil and Hell has burnt the fragile soul out of which. Or the mere walking shell of Sam, while his soul is still in the Pit. I can only hope it's Dean's near-death that rekindles the spiritual spark within Sam again, if we're indeed heading down that road.
What I would dearly wish Sam to pan out is - *just Sam*.
Which, of course, is seemingly not a probability anymore, due to Verita's declaration of Sam being apparently 'not human'. Which, in it's turn is supposedly confirmed by Sam's ability to lie Truth in the face, so to say and steer clear of her spell.
But being 'not human' does not necessarily tantamount to not being 'a human being', does it? Veritas managed to force all her victims connect to their innermost fears. And Sam has admitted he can't feel any. That could've helped him withstand the 'veritaserum'. What he endured in the Trap might have left him 'emotionally challenged' - a common occasion with war veterans or combat-zone survivors, for example - but not 'metaphysically' altered into an otherworldly entity per se. And the journey to rediscover Sam's humanity (with Dean's help, one would assume) would prove a lot more compelling and credible that way, let alone a nice change of pace (if for no other reason than we've done the monster!Sam stint more than once through the show, so far). Oh well, at least I can entertain the hope until proved wrong by the show narrative.
6. Randomettes.
- Bobby's confession that Dean is his favorite, but Sam's a better hunter made me smirk. Talk about ego-busting for poor li'l Dean. But it's still about time someone 'in the business' took to caring for him regardless of his hunting merits.
- Dean and Castiel's interaction was equally enjoyable - intense and strained, and heartfelt nonetheless. I quite like this dark!Castiel, struggling with something big from without as well as from within. He wants to be there for Dean, but quite probably, may not believe he can, or should. Which brings us back to the assumption Dean is embarking upon a lone-man-quest to figure out 'The Shape of Things As They Are'.