Comments | fanspired: Things I Love About SPN Season 1: Bloody Mary (Part 2 of 2)

fanspired

Things I Love About SPN Season 1: Bloody Mary (Part 2 of 2)

Mar 26, 2021 12:19

Continued from Part 1

( Read more... )

episode rewatch, alpha/omega, status and role reversals, psychodrama, everything's a weapon, bullying, practical mechanics of hunting, john, season 1, magical realism, discussion, psychosis and nightmare, dean, sam's powers, family dynnamics, unreliable narrators, soundtrack, smart dean/strong sam, the dysfunctional family, sam, authenticity, fandom, supernatural, bloody mary, the woman in white

Comments 10

dizzojay March 30 2021, 19:48:08 UTC

It's a big question, isn't it; is the brothers' relationship psychologically abusive? Well, it's certainly not healthy, and there's been a lot lying, secrecy, blackmail and seriously screwed-up stuff going on between them, so I guess it depends on your definition of abusive. I think in these early episodes, Sam and Dean were getting used to being brothers again, and getting to know each other again because Sam had doubtless done a fair bit of growing at Stanford (emotionally and intellectually rather than physically - although he probably did some of that too!) Dean, on the other hand was living in John's shadow and probably hadn't had the chance or the freedom to do any growing at all in that period, so it was probably a very different dynamic to what they had known. So I would say, if there was any abusive behaviour, it didn't come from a bad place; just a confused, emotionally stunted place ( ... )

fanspired April 1 2021, 03:12:15 UTC

I saw a video on facebook the other day of Joseph Campbell discussing Wolfram and the concepts of black and white, and how every action has both light and dark consequences. I'm sure Kripke had this firmly in mind since Black and White vs grey areas are such a recurrent theme in the show. (Even the ending of Swan Song is open to two completely opposed readings: one a traditional positive interpretation of the hero myth, the other a tragedy that deconstructs it.) The same can apply to Sam and Dean's relationship: they are both necessary and destructive to each other; they are each the other's Heaven, and Hell. I definitely agree about the changed dynamic at the start of season one (and during the course of each season it changes again, of course). It's a good observation that Dean hasn't grown in Sam's absence (there's a part of him that never matures until the end of s5). Meanwhile Sam's growth and experience has closed the practical age gap between them (but then different gaps continue to open and close for different reasons). They' ( ... )

dragonardhill July 12 2021, 01:50:14 UTC

Thank you for giving me a reason to watch this episode yet again. It truly is a favorite! I remember thinking at the time how ironic that this episode, only five into the show, had a monster named Mary and wondering if we were to make a connection that the much loved Winchester matriarch was maybe not as saintly as presented.

I haven’t seen *The Grudge* and am laughing at all the things you point out that are directly from the two horror movies. I did recognize the scene where Bloody Mary climbs out of the mirror from The Ring but most others went over my head lol.

Interesting the different thoughts on Dean’s bloody eyes and that the show kept that mystery. I actually thought immediately when watching that Dean did in fact blame himself for not only Jessica’s death but also for the “death” of Sam’s dreams of a safe, normal life.

fanspired July 13 2021, 07:35:52 UTC

Great observation about Mary. The episodes share a number of common themes: women in white, adultery, secrets etc. One can't help feeling that some kind of parallel is being consciously drawn.

Thank you so much for all your comments! I'm really enjoying this opportunity to discuss all the rich details in these early episodes. I'm working on Skin at the moment, a psychologically fascinating episode! Hopefully I'll be posting something on that soon. I hope you'll enjoy re-watching it with me :)

fanspired July 25 2021, 05:42:58 UTC

Just letting you know, in case you're ready for more, the first part of my Skin review is up now: https://fanspired.livejournal.com/134364.html

:)

dragonardhill July 31 2021, 02:23:02 UTC

Yay! Headed over to read it now.

casey28 September 12 2021, 20:49:18 UTC

Looking at the Dean quote "So wherever the mirror goes, that's where Mary goes?" reminds me of the line from Mary had a Little Lamb...
"And everywhere that Mary went, the lamb was sure to go."

I'm not sure about Dean being part of the Charlie/boyfriend, Sam/Jessica parallel, how it fits in.

I prefer shorter fight scenes. Also, I don't care for the type of filming with all the tight shots of a fight where you can barely see what's going on.

OMG, that's so true! I'd be clutching my eyes if they were bleeding, not doing what they did in this ep.

Yes, Sam's performance as reflection!Sam was great! I loved the reveal, hearing it directly from this other version of Sam.

Sam didn't know how Dean would react if he told him his secret, so he kept it hidden. I have a feeling that he would've told him if he wasn't worried about that.

In episode 18, “Something Wicked”, we learn that young Dean left baby Sam alone and Sam was attacked by the shtriga while he was gone. I’m sure that, where Sam’s concerned, almost dying is a grey ( ... )

fanspired September 20 2021, 07:03:47 UTC

Great observation about Mary had a little lamb! I wonder if the writers did that consciously. I wouldn't put it past them :)

What I'm suggesting about the Charlie confession scene is that there might possibly be two separate parallels being suggested: Charlie's guilt about her boyfriend mirrors Sam's guilt about Jessica, but Charlie's relationship with her boyfriend might more readily mirror Sam's relationship with Dean. I acknowledge though that this never occurred to me when I watched the episode for the first time; it was only something that occurred to me later when I started watching it through the lens of later seasons. Mind you, as early as season 2 there were episodes that more obviously highlighted the abusive potential in Sam and Dean's relationship. In "Simon Said" for example, Andy Gallagher and Ansem Weems are an obvious analogue for Sam and Dean ( ... )

masja_17 January 22 2022, 15:24:23 UTC

It's kind of interesting that, I guess Kripke himself introduced the "gay thing". And this filming should've still been before the first episode aired?

Or did you prefer the earlier more measured approach to violence?
Yes! I definitely do! Long fight scenes are just boring and as you said doesn't bring the story forward.

Love your recaps!

fanspired January 23 2022, 06:27:43 UTC

I'm not really up on exactly when filming takes place, but I think you're probably right and this episode would have been filmed, and certainly written, before the show started airing. So, yes, wincest themes began in the show and inspired the fanfic; not the other way around. The showmakers were following a long tradition of incestuous themes in the horror genre and they knew exactly what they were doing. They're being quite disingenuous when they pretend they don't know where the fans got it from, but I think they do that to avoid trouble with the network and its more conservative sponsors.

I'm so glad you agree with me about the fight scenes :)))