6.01 Exile on Main Street
I've watched Exile on Main Street twice, I know total geekdom, but I find myself to excited on the first go to pick up anything other than what is readily apparent on the first viewing. My own agendas often get in the way. Like when's Dean going to reunite with Sam? Why isn't there more Dean and Sam moments?
You get the idea.
I know a lot of people were upset about this episode, at least from what I've read of reviews.
I think so much of the time what I want in an episode and what is realistic are two very different things. I was only disappointed in the fact that this episode was completely done through Dean's point of view; his feelings and perceptions colored everything and I felt it put a certain spin on events.
So many times this show leaves Sam in the shadows as a viewer you are left piecing together what he might be thinking/feeling and how this is causing him to react. It happened again in this episode.
Many people are complaining that Sam came off cold or was being an ass.
I didn't see Sam as cold but emotionally disconnected from the people and situations around him, in this episode he goes through the motions but it's like he's not really feeling anything and he knows he's supposed to. His speech to Dean about letting Dean have a normal life because that's what Dean's always wanted points to the fact that Sam believes himself to be an albatross around Dean's neck. It's also the only time Sam shows something of a normal emotional reaction, this is also one of two times in this episode that Sam seems remotely at ease with his surroundings. I think this has to do with Dean and the Campbell clan oddly enough. Why Sam is comfortable around Dean (though the situation is awkward enough) is fairly obvious, Dean has always been Sam's moral compass, and his touchstone with humanity. The Campbells on the other hand puzzled me until I realized that they didn't know Sam before his descent so they are not judging him like Dean is doing through out this episode. They have nothing to go on but how Sam is now so he doesn't have to put a show on for them not like he's doing for Dean. Sam loves Dean (even Hell could erase that) and because of that he's trying to go through what he knows are the standard motions so that Dean doesn't see just how emotionally vacant he actually is. We see this emotional distance through out the episode, when Dean confronts Sam and Bobby about them keeping the fact that Sam has been alive for almost a year and the only thing that gets Sam to react is when he finds out Dean has been trying to bust him out.
I find it interesting that people just assume that Sam should pop out of Hell like nothing happened to him, Dean's soul went to Hell for four months/forty years, Sam fell body and soul into the deepest region of Hell with the Devil riding shot gun. (The assumption is made that just because for Dean 1 month =10 years the same would apply for Sam, I find it a flawed theory.)
I keep hearing how Sam was selfish for not telling Dean that he was alive, I didn't agree with the decision but I understood it wasn't out of spite but love (what little Sam is able to feel) that motivated Sam to make the decision to keep Dean out of the lifestyle that has killed them multiple times. Not some selfish whim.
As a fan I wanted more Sam and Dean moments, something more brotherly but as a person dealing with a distant sibling myself I also understand the difficulty and awkwardness that comes about with seeing one another after so long. I guess what I'm trying to say is that the episode was exactly as it should have been realistically. Dean has a new responsibility now with Lisa and Ben, he can't just look out for Sam anymore; Dean is in a position much like in season 5 where he has more to worry about than just his brother.
That said I'm anxious to see which direction this season takes.