Supernatural meta -- Sam's girls: werewolves, rebels, detectives (and a gutsy secretary from Peoria)
So last week in the wake of "Roadkill," I couldn't resist meta on Dean & girls.
Now it's Sam's turn.
This weekend I really need to do my taxes, but talking about Sam & girls is so much more fun, don't you agree?
Spoilers through SPN 2x17, "Heart."
After "Heart" it's hard to resist the same treatment for Sam, because, well. You saw the episode. If "Roadkill" is Dean keeping a supernatural woman at arm's length, "Heart" is Sam letting one get very close. In "Roadkill" and "Heart," a woman who seems to be ordinary turns out to be supernatural and turns out to be antagonist.
Sam's categories fall pretty much the same way as Dean's, but I'm using slightly different terms because the way Sam interacts with women is different than how Dean does. Approaching this as a long-time Dean girl, I gotta say, Sam is so much more cuddly and is better boyfriend material. He's at ease with women, he can accept their kindnesses, he seems very aware of their emotions and if it's someone available to him, their attractiveness. Actually, he seems more aware than Dean in that area; ironically, while Dean makes no secret of his sexual interest, he also keeps his emotions in tight control. Sam telegraphs like crazy. Dean lets them in only so far; Sam opens all the doors. That's true for most characters regardless of gender, but Sam seems to have a particularly good rapport with women.
Sam's categories:
1. antagonists
2. moms, sisters, and mentors
3. girlfriends (that's the category where I make the most distinction between Sam and Dean)
Right from the beginning, the show shows Sam with a girlfriend who sets the tone for the kinds of girls Sam is interested in romantically, and is also second only to Mary in importance to the show. Jessica's death propels Sam on his quest, and becomes a symbol for for grief and loss and of his need for vengeance. But before we talk about her, the courageous art dealer from New Paltz, and the cute, unfazeable secretary from Peoria, let's talk about ghosts, werewolves, vampires, and a girl named Meg.
Antagonists
During the pilot episode, Sam goes up against a female antagonist. In the Dean essay I mentioned that supernatural chicks seem to dig Dean. Well, they seem to dig Sam, too -- the Woman in White tries to tempt and seduce Sam, part of the pattern she's trapped in as a ghost. She's literally all over him. Although Sam and the ghost don't exactly get a chance to chat much, Sam exhibits sympathy for the grieving widower. He solves the ghost story by solving the emotional puzzle.
Meg and Madison start as girlfriend types and turn out to be antagonists. Sam's initial reactions to them, however, fits the precedent of how Sam acts with (potential) girlfriends. He's sympathetic, connects with them easily, doesn't hide that he likes their company, but gets awkward and fumbling and indirect about making a move and sometimes needs Dean to give him a shove. Both Meg and Madison turn out to be supernatural in nature, and both are taken over by something they can't control. Meg -- who isn't really the person Meg until she's dying -- is controlled by a demon. Madison's controlled by her werewolf transformations, but unlike Meg, she is herself in between and has no awareness of what she's doing. Although the exorcism leaves Meg's body vulnerable, and ultimately kills her, right before her death she seems grateful that Sam and Dean set her free. Madison begs Sam to shoot her with a silver bullet, saying she doesn't want to kill anyone else, and doesn't want to live that way. Sam and Madison seem comfortable together, they talk, and Sam relates to her, in fact seems to identify with her feeling that she needs to take control of her life. But while Sam's clearly attracted to her, he doesn't make a move until towards the end of the episode. (And when Sam Winchester finally makes a move...he makes a move. *g*)
Molly in "Roadkill" falls into the sister category, or just person-in-peril. Sam, as we find out, already knows she's a ghost. But this doesn't stop him from acting sympathetic towards her, trying to make her understand the nature of ghosts in the hopes of convincing her to move on voluntarily. Sam seems to make little distinction between person and ghost; he treats Molly as he would treat any guest character. She's in distress and he wants to help. She is what they hunt, but Sam seems to be able to see beyond that and responds to her personality apart from her ghostliness. Sam's identification with people with supernatural abilities has not very much to do with gender and more to do with needing hope that he himself is not going to turn into something evil, even though he has a supernatural nature. As with Molly, he also identifies with Madison, seeing someone being controlled by their supernatural nature and turning into something not themselves. Which is what happened to Meg, too. With Madison, Sam cares about the human part of her. He sleeps with her before he learns the werewolf cure didn't take, but knowing she was recently a werewolf. Maddie the person overshadows Maddie the werewolf, at least until it becomes clear she's still an immediate danger.
[ETA: Thank you to musesfool for pointing out I skipped Lenore. *facepalm*]
With Lenore the vampire, the show raises the question of nature vs. nurture, whether someone can overcome their darker impulses. Lenore is an interesting flip of the usual pattern with the female antagonists. She starts as antagonist -- kidnapping Sam to make a point -- and then turns out to be a non-threat. Bloodlust may be the turning point for Sam in questioning the nature of what his family has always hunted -- his ability to relate to Molly in "Roadkill" later on perhaps was set up by Bloodlust. Because when Sam first meets Lenore, he's resentful at being kidnapped, angry, and distrustful -- which hey, is understandable for anyone in that situation. He listens to what she has to say but is still distrustful, and seems surprised when Lenore lets him go. When Gordon tortures Lenore, Sam steps forward to defend her, he's not comfortable with it at all -- but then, even Dean is unsettled by it.
Although there's some nice chemistry between them, Sam shows no romantic interest in Lenore. He shows a great deal of care when he picks her up from the chair and carries her out of the cabin. In that moment she's not a vampire, but a suffering girl. Particularly because this is after Sam sees Lenore conquer her blood-drinking impulses.
As with the other female antagonists, Sam has reasons to relate to Lenore and personally identify with her, but since Bloodlust is early season two, he doesn't know that yet. Sam hasn't yet been confronted with the later revelations about his own nature and that of the other psychic kids. But with Lenore, we see the beginnings of what comes later.]
Sam's ability to identify and sympathize at first seems part of his search for "normal"--he loves his father and brother but wants others in his life as well. Maybe having been sheltered by John and Dean gave Sam the luxury of being more open and trusting, while his father and brother were perpetually on guard. Eventually that reaching out becomes about his fears about his own supernatural nature as well, needing to find others who overcame something dark about themselves.
Moms, sisters, and mentors
The three stand-out characters here are Missouri, Diana, and Ellen. Of the three, Missouri is the most mom-like. Her pity for Sam is in stark contrast to her sharpness with Dean. But it is true that Sam can accept that kindness and coddling and pity; Dean would hate it. Sam doesn't seem embarrassed by Missouri's sympathy, but grateful for it, and he asks Missouri for advice. He seems to be able to lean into that sympathy. While we know how much Dean loves Sam, and we think Sam knows it, and Dean has been Sam's nurturer, parent, and protector their whole lives, Sam doesn't get that kind of overt kindness from Dean. In Dean's case, the kindnesses are all under the surface, very present, but restrained and hidden behind a veneer. Sam offers open sympathy and kind words, seems to sometimes need it in return. Ellen's mom and mentor, and Sam also takes refuge at the Roadhouse during "Hunted." While Dean doesn't sass Missouri, he does talk back to Ellen (Dean respects Missouri as someone who knew him as a child; Ellen's a stranger who he thinks hasn't earned the right to mother them and meddle). Sam seems at all times respectful. For both boys, Ellen seems to work better than Missouri in the mom role. Even though Missouri's kindness to Sam was nice, Ellen offers sympathy without treating him like a child, and is sympathetic towards Dean without any of the sentiment he can't handle.
In "The Usual Suspects," Diana's initial interaction with Sam is neither nurturing nor unkind. She's a detective who has Sam's file, and thinks that means she understands Sam's family and life. She offers to help him, but it could to be part of her interrogation technique. Whether Diana genuinely thinks Sam is the innocent swept along by his criminal brother and father, or if she's trying to figure out if Sam or Dean is the mastermind, isn't clear either. She does seem to be genuinely interested in helping him, if only because that means keeping one less young person from being a criminal. Sam keeps his doors shut with her. He's respectful, but she's establishment, an "official," and Sam keeps her warily at bay. The dynamic between them changes once Dean convinces her that the supernatural threat is real, and she's a target. Diana's a poised, experienced detective, but when they start investigating the ghost, Sam becomes the authority and her protector. The "detective" part isn't relevant to him; she's another person trying, like he is, to track down a ghost and end the solve the deaths. She's definitely "mentor" or even just "ally," not a mother-figure, although she does try to look after the boys in the end, helping them escape and giving them advice. In this case, though, seeing past the roles isn't confined only to Sam. To Dean, she's a person-in-peril; he doesn't give a hang if she's a cop, as far as he's concerned she's about to stumble blindly into the world of the supernatural, and he's going to try to save her.
As for the girls-in-peril who aren't in the "potential girlfriend" category, Sam already knew Becky in "Skin" from Stanford; he treats her as a sister. He's protective of Kat in "Asylum," though he doesn't interact with her much. Sam's intuition comes into play again here. He figures out the ghosts aren't malevolent and urgest Kat to stay calm and let them speak to her. With the mother in "Playthings," Sam shows a lot of respectful concern. He saves her life and the life of her child. Because of Sam's fears of what he's turning into and recent events, when she hugs him at the end, Sam seems uncharacteristically surprised and hesitant. He acts like he thinks he doesn't deserve the hug. It's sort of a Dean type behavior, only less startled, more sad. Sam usually doesn't seem to have trouble accepting hugs (see Becky).
Then there's Mary's ghost in "Home" (I really should have talked about that in the Dean essay too). In "Home," not knowing who the flamey spirit is, Dean treats her as he would any ghost he perceived as a threat to him or Sam. It's Sam who recognizes their mother, before she changes form and appears as herself (Sam's recognition maybe even is the trigger that lets her do this). Aside from that, Sam and Dean seem to react the same way: completely stunned and teary eyed at the sight of her. (Nevermind for now the distinction in how she reacts to each of them.)
Girlfriends
Supportive, confident, and obviously adoring of and adored by Sam, when Jess dies burning on the ceiling, you know without having to see the rest of the series that her loss is going to crush him. Dean says she's out of Sam's league, but looking at the other women Sam's become involved with, she seems just his type. The nature of Sam's grief in early season one tells the whole story -- this was a strong, well-balanced, long-term relationship and Jess was maybe one thing that kept him on an even keel. He also feels guilt for her death, since he didn't tell her about what his family does. His very last sight of her is a vision -- hallucination or ghost -- of Jess in a white dress, giving him a goodbye look. She looks serene, if sad. Jess was as an anchor for him.
Sarah, the art dealer in "Provenance," like Jess, is also outspoken and confident. She doesn't run at the prospect of the supernatural. (There's also the girl in Hookman, but the connection didn't seem to be all that serious, more of a flirtation. She wasn't Sam's usual type; she seems to be making some attempt at being her own person, but mostly comes across as sweet and timid.) Madison is a similar personality to Sarah, self-possessed, with a sense of humor. Meg, or at least the persona the demon uses to reel in Sam, is also an independent thinker, a free spirit, and smart-mouthed. She tells Sam she's rebelling against her family's expectations. This turns out to be both lie and truth. She dutifully follows The Demon's orders in "Scarecrow," but in season two, in "Born Under a Bad Sign," she rebels for real, ignoring The Demon's plans for her own vengeance against Dean. In "Hunted," it's the girl who does the saving: Ava has a vision of Sam's death and though he's a complete stranger to him, she goes to warn him. Like Sarah, Ava exhibits bravery and a willingness to stick her neck out during the supernatural investigation. Sarah goes with Sam to the house where the haunted painting is, and Ava helps Sam steal confidential medical files. Neither seems particularly thrown by the weirdness of Sam. In fact it's Ava who initially protests to Sam that she's not crazy or on drugs. As he is with Sarah, Sam is protective of Ava. At the end of "Provenance," Sam (with some nudging from Dean) works up the courage to kiss Sarah goodbye, and it's a fairly happy ending. At the end of "Hunted," Sam and Dean return to Ava's house to find her fiance dead and Ava gone, with sulfur on the window sill. They're almost sure this is the same demon who killed Jessica. She was engaged, which puts her in the "don't touch" category, but Sam seemed to like her a lot all the same, and she seemed intrigued by him. Sam's concern about Ava makes it clear she isn't just another person-in-peril to him.
Sam identifies strongly with the girls he's attracted to: Sarah overcoming her fear of loss, Ava's psychic abilities, Madison taking control of her life, Meg rebelling against her family. Alas, we don't know what it was about Jessica that Sam identified with particularly but I'll bet there was something.
The series as a whole, and the Pilot episode, starts with Mary in flashbacks, but the Pilot episode and present day story begins with Jessica, and her death propels Sam into hunting with Dean, just as Mary's death propelled the boys' father into hunting. Supernatural forces took away Sam's mother, Jessica, Ava, and Madison. In Jessica's case, Sam helplessly watched her die; in Ava's, he arrived too late to do anything; with Madison, he was forced to kill her. (We don't know if Sam and Sarah have stayed in touch; I'll assume the path of least angstiness and guess that they have, long distance friendship with potential benefits). It took a lot of season one for Sam to be able to seriously think about a romantic interest after Jessica, but he didn't become locked away from people, generally, just at the prospect of romance. By the end of season one and now well along in season two, Sam's open to romantic love. But then Madison happens, and it leaves me wondering how that will affect Sam's ability to open his doors wide and let people, romantically or otherwise, in.
At the end of "Heart," Sam takes on a role Dean has always aggressively reserved for himself, and protect Sam from: killer. Although Sam's bond with Madison isn't comparable to his closeness with Jess, the circumstances of her death are still traumatic. Sadly, it seems likely Sam could retreat the way he did in season one. Whether it'll impact how he interacts with people generally, or just with romantic prospects, who knows. Sam opens all the doors and by now he must be wary of what that lets in.
Or maybe he'll keep the doors open anyway.
Next: yep, the one about John Winchester. Which will be all of one paragraph long, since we don't have a lot of canon to work with. Damn.
[ETA: while we're, nothing to do with the essay, but marinarusalka pointed me to E!s save one show campaign. Go vote to save SPN!
Now it's Sam's turn.
This weekend I really need to do my taxes, but talking about Sam & girls is so much more fun, don't you agree?
Spoilers through SPN 2x17, "Heart."
After "Heart" it's hard to resist the same treatment for Sam, because, well. You saw the episode. If "Roadkill" is Dean keeping a supernatural woman at arm's length, "Heart" is Sam letting one get very close. In "Roadkill" and "Heart," a woman who seems to be ordinary turns out to be supernatural and turns out to be antagonist.
Sam's categories fall pretty much the same way as Dean's, but I'm using slightly different terms because the way Sam interacts with women is different than how Dean does. Approaching this as a long-time Dean girl, I gotta say, Sam is so much more cuddly and is better boyfriend material. He's at ease with women, he can accept their kindnesses, he seems very aware of their emotions and if it's someone available to him, their attractiveness. Actually, he seems more aware than Dean in that area; ironically, while Dean makes no secret of his sexual interest, he also keeps his emotions in tight control. Sam telegraphs like crazy. Dean lets them in only so far; Sam opens all the doors. That's true for most characters regardless of gender, but Sam seems to have a particularly good rapport with women.
Sam's categories:
1. antagonists
2. moms, sisters, and mentors
3. girlfriends (that's the category where I make the most distinction between Sam and Dean)
Right from the beginning, the show shows Sam with a girlfriend who sets the tone for the kinds of girls Sam is interested in romantically, and is also second only to Mary in importance to the show. Jessica's death propels Sam on his quest, and becomes a symbol for for grief and loss and of his need for vengeance. But before we talk about her, the courageous art dealer from New Paltz, and the cute, unfazeable secretary from Peoria, let's talk about ghosts, werewolves, vampires, and a girl named Meg.
Antagonists
During the pilot episode, Sam goes up against a female antagonist. In the Dean essay I mentioned that supernatural chicks seem to dig Dean. Well, they seem to dig Sam, too -- the Woman in White tries to tempt and seduce Sam, part of the pattern she's trapped in as a ghost. She's literally all over him. Although Sam and the ghost don't exactly get a chance to chat much, Sam exhibits sympathy for the grieving widower. He solves the ghost story by solving the emotional puzzle.
Meg and Madison start as girlfriend types and turn out to be antagonists. Sam's initial reactions to them, however, fits the precedent of how Sam acts with (potential) girlfriends. He's sympathetic, connects with them easily, doesn't hide that he likes their company, but gets awkward and fumbling and indirect about making a move and sometimes needs Dean to give him a shove. Both Meg and Madison turn out to be supernatural in nature, and both are taken over by something they can't control. Meg -- who isn't really the person Meg until she's dying -- is controlled by a demon. Madison's controlled by her werewolf transformations, but unlike Meg, she is herself in between and has no awareness of what she's doing. Although the exorcism leaves Meg's body vulnerable, and ultimately kills her, right before her death she seems grateful that Sam and Dean set her free. Madison begs Sam to shoot her with a silver bullet, saying she doesn't want to kill anyone else, and doesn't want to live that way. Sam and Madison seem comfortable together, they talk, and Sam relates to her, in fact seems to identify with her feeling that she needs to take control of her life. But while Sam's clearly attracted to her, he doesn't make a move until towards the end of the episode. (And when Sam Winchester finally makes a move...he makes a move. *g*)
Molly in "Roadkill" falls into the sister category, or just person-in-peril. Sam, as we find out, already knows she's a ghost. But this doesn't stop him from acting sympathetic towards her, trying to make her understand the nature of ghosts in the hopes of convincing her to move on voluntarily. Sam seems to make little distinction between person and ghost; he treats Molly as he would treat any guest character. She's in distress and he wants to help. She is what they hunt, but Sam seems to be able to see beyond that and responds to her personality apart from her ghostliness. Sam's identification with people with supernatural abilities has not very much to do with gender and more to do with needing hope that he himself is not going to turn into something evil, even though he has a supernatural nature. As with Molly, he also identifies with Madison, seeing someone being controlled by their supernatural nature and turning into something not themselves. Which is what happened to Meg, too. With Madison, Sam cares about the human part of her. He sleeps with her before he learns the werewolf cure didn't take, but knowing she was recently a werewolf. Maddie the person overshadows Maddie the werewolf, at least until it becomes clear she's still an immediate danger.
[ETA: Thank you to musesfool for pointing out I skipped Lenore. *facepalm*]
With Lenore the vampire, the show raises the question of nature vs. nurture, whether someone can overcome their darker impulses. Lenore is an interesting flip of the usual pattern with the female antagonists. She starts as antagonist -- kidnapping Sam to make a point -- and then turns out to be a non-threat. Bloodlust may be the turning point for Sam in questioning the nature of what his family has always hunted -- his ability to relate to Molly in "Roadkill" later on perhaps was set up by Bloodlust. Because when Sam first meets Lenore, he's resentful at being kidnapped, angry, and distrustful -- which hey, is understandable for anyone in that situation. He listens to what she has to say but is still distrustful, and seems surprised when Lenore lets him go. When Gordon tortures Lenore, Sam steps forward to defend her, he's not comfortable with it at all -- but then, even Dean is unsettled by it.
Although there's some nice chemistry between them, Sam shows no romantic interest in Lenore. He shows a great deal of care when he picks her up from the chair and carries her out of the cabin. In that moment she's not a vampire, but a suffering girl. Particularly because this is after Sam sees Lenore conquer her blood-drinking impulses.
As with the other female antagonists, Sam has reasons to relate to Lenore and personally identify with her, but since Bloodlust is early season two, he doesn't know that yet. Sam hasn't yet been confronted with the later revelations about his own nature and that of the other psychic kids. But with Lenore, we see the beginnings of what comes later.]
Sam's ability to identify and sympathize at first seems part of his search for "normal"--he loves his father and brother but wants others in his life as well. Maybe having been sheltered by John and Dean gave Sam the luxury of being more open and trusting, while his father and brother were perpetually on guard. Eventually that reaching out becomes about his fears about his own supernatural nature as well, needing to find others who overcame something dark about themselves.
Moms, sisters, and mentors
The three stand-out characters here are Missouri, Diana, and Ellen. Of the three, Missouri is the most mom-like. Her pity for Sam is in stark contrast to her sharpness with Dean. But it is true that Sam can accept that kindness and coddling and pity; Dean would hate it. Sam doesn't seem embarrassed by Missouri's sympathy, but grateful for it, and he asks Missouri for advice. He seems to be able to lean into that sympathy. While we know how much Dean loves Sam, and we think Sam knows it, and Dean has been Sam's nurturer, parent, and protector their whole lives, Sam doesn't get that kind of overt kindness from Dean. In Dean's case, the kindnesses are all under the surface, very present, but restrained and hidden behind a veneer. Sam offers open sympathy and kind words, seems to sometimes need it in return. Ellen's mom and mentor, and Sam also takes refuge at the Roadhouse during "Hunted." While Dean doesn't sass Missouri, he does talk back to Ellen (Dean respects Missouri as someone who knew him as a child; Ellen's a stranger who he thinks hasn't earned the right to mother them and meddle). Sam seems at all times respectful. For both boys, Ellen seems to work better than Missouri in the mom role. Even though Missouri's kindness to Sam was nice, Ellen offers sympathy without treating him like a child, and is sympathetic towards Dean without any of the sentiment he can't handle.
In "The Usual Suspects," Diana's initial interaction with Sam is neither nurturing nor unkind. She's a detective who has Sam's file, and thinks that means she understands Sam's family and life. She offers to help him, but it could to be part of her interrogation technique. Whether Diana genuinely thinks Sam is the innocent swept along by his criminal brother and father, or if she's trying to figure out if Sam or Dean is the mastermind, isn't clear either. She does seem to be genuinely interested in helping him, if only because that means keeping one less young person from being a criminal. Sam keeps his doors shut with her. He's respectful, but she's establishment, an "official," and Sam keeps her warily at bay. The dynamic between them changes once Dean convinces her that the supernatural threat is real, and she's a target. Diana's a poised, experienced detective, but when they start investigating the ghost, Sam becomes the authority and her protector. The "detective" part isn't relevant to him; she's another person trying, like he is, to track down a ghost and end the solve the deaths. She's definitely "mentor" or even just "ally," not a mother-figure, although she does try to look after the boys in the end, helping them escape and giving them advice. In this case, though, seeing past the roles isn't confined only to Sam. To Dean, she's a person-in-peril; he doesn't give a hang if she's a cop, as far as he's concerned she's about to stumble blindly into the world of the supernatural, and he's going to try to save her.
As for the girls-in-peril who aren't in the "potential girlfriend" category, Sam already knew Becky in "Skin" from Stanford; he treats her as a sister. He's protective of Kat in "Asylum," though he doesn't interact with her much. Sam's intuition comes into play again here. He figures out the ghosts aren't malevolent and urgest Kat to stay calm and let them speak to her. With the mother in "Playthings," Sam shows a lot of respectful concern. He saves her life and the life of her child. Because of Sam's fears of what he's turning into and recent events, when she hugs him at the end, Sam seems uncharacteristically surprised and hesitant. He acts like he thinks he doesn't deserve the hug. It's sort of a Dean type behavior, only less startled, more sad. Sam usually doesn't seem to have trouble accepting hugs (see Becky).
Then there's Mary's ghost in "Home" (I really should have talked about that in the Dean essay too). In "Home," not knowing who the flamey spirit is, Dean treats her as he would any ghost he perceived as a threat to him or Sam. It's Sam who recognizes their mother, before she changes form and appears as herself (Sam's recognition maybe even is the trigger that lets her do this). Aside from that, Sam and Dean seem to react the same way: completely stunned and teary eyed at the sight of her. (Nevermind for now the distinction in how she reacts to each of them.)
Girlfriends
Supportive, confident, and obviously adoring of and adored by Sam, when Jess dies burning on the ceiling, you know without having to see the rest of the series that her loss is going to crush him. Dean says she's out of Sam's league, but looking at the other women Sam's become involved with, she seems just his type. The nature of Sam's grief in early season one tells the whole story -- this was a strong, well-balanced, long-term relationship and Jess was maybe one thing that kept him on an even keel. He also feels guilt for her death, since he didn't tell her about what his family does. His very last sight of her is a vision -- hallucination or ghost -- of Jess in a white dress, giving him a goodbye look. She looks serene, if sad. Jess was as an anchor for him.
Sarah, the art dealer in "Provenance," like Jess, is also outspoken and confident. She doesn't run at the prospect of the supernatural. (There's also the girl in Hookman, but the connection didn't seem to be all that serious, more of a flirtation. She wasn't Sam's usual type; she seems to be making some attempt at being her own person, but mostly comes across as sweet and timid.) Madison is a similar personality to Sarah, self-possessed, with a sense of humor. Meg, or at least the persona the demon uses to reel in Sam, is also an independent thinker, a free spirit, and smart-mouthed. She tells Sam she's rebelling against her family's expectations. This turns out to be both lie and truth. She dutifully follows The Demon's orders in "Scarecrow," but in season two, in "Born Under a Bad Sign," she rebels for real, ignoring The Demon's plans for her own vengeance against Dean. In "Hunted," it's the girl who does the saving: Ava has a vision of Sam's death and though he's a complete stranger to him, she goes to warn him. Like Sarah, Ava exhibits bravery and a willingness to stick her neck out during the supernatural investigation. Sarah goes with Sam to the house where the haunted painting is, and Ava helps Sam steal confidential medical files. Neither seems particularly thrown by the weirdness of Sam. In fact it's Ava who initially protests to Sam that she's not crazy or on drugs. As he is with Sarah, Sam is protective of Ava. At the end of "Provenance," Sam (with some nudging from Dean) works up the courage to kiss Sarah goodbye, and it's a fairly happy ending. At the end of "Hunted," Sam and Dean return to Ava's house to find her fiance dead and Ava gone, with sulfur on the window sill. They're almost sure this is the same demon who killed Jessica. She was engaged, which puts her in the "don't touch" category, but Sam seemed to like her a lot all the same, and she seemed intrigued by him. Sam's concern about Ava makes it clear she isn't just another person-in-peril to him.
Sam identifies strongly with the girls he's attracted to: Sarah overcoming her fear of loss, Ava's psychic abilities, Madison taking control of her life, Meg rebelling against her family. Alas, we don't know what it was about Jessica that Sam identified with particularly but I'll bet there was something.
The series as a whole, and the Pilot episode, starts with Mary in flashbacks, but the Pilot episode and present day story begins with Jessica, and her death propels Sam into hunting with Dean, just as Mary's death propelled the boys' father into hunting. Supernatural forces took away Sam's mother, Jessica, Ava, and Madison. In Jessica's case, Sam helplessly watched her die; in Ava's, he arrived too late to do anything; with Madison, he was forced to kill her. (We don't know if Sam and Sarah have stayed in touch; I'll assume the path of least angstiness and guess that they have, long distance friendship with potential benefits). It took a lot of season one for Sam to be able to seriously think about a romantic interest after Jessica, but he didn't become locked away from people, generally, just at the prospect of romance. By the end of season one and now well along in season two, Sam's open to romantic love. But then Madison happens, and it leaves me wondering how that will affect Sam's ability to open his doors wide and let people, romantically or otherwise, in.
At the end of "Heart," Sam takes on a role Dean has always aggressively reserved for himself, and protect Sam from: killer. Although Sam's bond with Madison isn't comparable to his closeness with Jess, the circumstances of her death are still traumatic. Sadly, it seems likely Sam could retreat the way he did in season one. Whether it'll impact how he interacts with people generally, or just with romantic prospects, who knows. Sam opens all the doors and by now he must be wary of what that lets in.
Or maybe he'll keep the doors open anyway.
Next: yep, the one about John Winchester. Which will be all of one paragraph long, since we don't have a lot of canon to work with. Damn.
[ETA: while we're, nothing to do with the essay, but marinarusalka pointed me to E!s save one show campaign. Go vote to save SPN!