META: 'Not Normal. Safe.' - Why S8!Sam Makes Sense in Context of his History & in Relation to Dean

[zimshan]

My God, metas for shows with eight seasons are EXHAUSTING. I believe this is why I haven't gotten an SPN meta done since last fall. This was an extra hard one for me to write up, because it was based on an initial feeling, one that I was not expecting to get from the premiere. And one that I felt the need to work out exactly WHY that was. So cue

Comments

[counteragent]

I was fast because your post made so much sense. :) If it had been all muddy and contradictory I would have been slower (and probably not commented, heh).

Ooh, good point, and I agree. Before Season 8 began, I would have said that Sam has shown much more character growth overall than Dean, who tends to just vibrate on one plane--better and worse at times, but essentially the same (he's still all "I'M A KILLER and I CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS" which is pretty much where he was in S1--not that I'm complaining. I like Dean the way he is, and I don't mind that he tends to respond to Sam as a character trait). But I'm never sure how much of Sam's growth is fanon and how much is canon, given how much fic I read and how little (comparative) story time he gets.

Again, I'm not sure if your smart take = the take of the writers. And even if it does, I don't know if they have the gumption and finesse to tell it. And even if they do(!) I'm not sure fandom has the patience, the interest, and the faith to hear that story told. A lot of people have already thrown in the towel, because of lack of one of the three.