Review | 8x10 | Torn and Frayed
Torn and Frayed, Jenny Klein’s first solo scrip for the show, not only brings the brothers’ ongoing conflict to a (temporary and uneasy) conclusion, but also seems to mark the end of Sam’s storyline with Amelia, at least for the time being. Additionally, the episode advances the mytharc by looking into Crowley and Naomi’s activities, and as was to be expected, they are up to no good. Overall, the episode suffers from the same problems as most other episodes this season, so I do not feel particularly enthusiastic about it, and I guess my review reflects that lack of enthusiasm. Sorry.
Dean: "You were gonna kill Benny. What was I supposed to do?"
Sam: "Is that what we are? You save a vampire by making me believe that the woman I love might be dead?"
To be honest, the opening scene between the brothers is a study in frustration for me. While I am glad that this time around the writers at least preserve emotional continuity from the previous episode and address the conflict between Sam and Dean right away, I find both brothers’ attitude quite irksome. I mean, Dean pointing out to Sam that he should have just trusted him about Benny is rather hypocritical, given that when Sam asked Dean to trust him about Amy back in The Girl Next Door, Dean lied to Sam’s face and turned around to kill Amy anyway. So, he really cannot take the moral high ground here and hold something against Sam that he was incapable of doing himself. Similarly, Sam pointing out to Dean that he simply cannot trust Benny and thus feels compelled to take action against him, mirrors Dean’s same argument about Amy in The Mentalists, and given how angry and hurt Sam had been when he found out that Dean had not trusted him about Amy, he really should not have such a hard time to understand that Dean feels just as frustrated that Sam does not trust him about Benny. It is just extremely frustrating to see Sam and Dean stubbornly argue from positions they should recognise as positions they criticised in the past. Again, the core of the argument is not about whether or not it is morally justified to kill Amy or Benny, it is about whether or not they are able to trust each other and respect each other’s judgment.
Sam and Dean’s lack of understanding for each other’s position is especially bothering in light of their individual histories. I find it unsettling that Dean shows so little regret about using Sam’s feelings for Amelia to lure him away from Benny. Dean of all people should know how terrifying a distress call from a loved one is in their world. Does he really not remember what he went through when he feared the worst had happened to Lisa and Ben in Let It Bleed? Putting Sam through that kind of emotional anguish was just plain cruel. As for Sam, his resentment of Benny has become entirely unreasonable at this point. I do think it was justified for Sam to become suspicious of Benny when people around him started to drop dead, and I also think it was understandable for Sam to react resentful when Dean used Benny to hurt him. However, to hold on to that resentment with no real evidence to back his position up is just immature. Sam of all people should know better than to condemn someone just on account of being a 'monster'. After all, he not only used to advocate for monsters all the time, but was also in Benny's position once. All in all, Sam and Dean both act like petty, petulant children in this scene, and I find that completely out of character at this point. At the beginning of the show, a childish temper tantrum from Sam would not necessarily have raised eyebrows, but post-S4 Sam has shown an ever-growing ability to act self-aware and mature, so his regressive behaviour here feels completely off to me. Similarly, Dean can be rude and even mean at times, but he usually does not act this callous and unsympathetic towards Sam. I do not like either of the brothers in this scene, and that does not happen very often, if ever.
Sam: "You saying that you want me to leave?"
Amelia: "I’m telling you that, if you stay, against everything I believe in, I would be with you. But if you leave, don’t come back. I can’t have you with one foot in my life and one foot out there doing whatever it is you do."
When Amelia walked back into Sam’s life at the end of Citizen Fang, I had high hopes that a present-day confrontation between her and Sam would reveal crucial differences between Sam and Amelia’s memories, thus not only resolving the odd consistency problems in Sam’s flashbacks, but also paying off all the subtle hints that Sam’s memories might not entirely be real. Instead Sam and Amelia’s story in Torn and Frayed devolves further into a shallow soap drama, as Amelia propositions Sam, beds him and then issues an ultimatum - stay or never come back. Putting aside the fact that I think it is out of character for Sam to sleep with a married woman - remember, in Hunted he dismissed Dean’s suggestion that he should sleep with Ava by pointing out that she is engaged - Amelia’s ultimatum creates no suspense at all, because Sam’s choice is never in question. Moreover, Sam’s 'dilemma' is not even emotionally compelling because Sam and Amelia’s love story was not given enough space to truly draw us in. Sure, we saw the beginnings of it - and credit where it is due, I think the writers handled the early stages of their relationship comparatively well - but it all ended before the relationship could develop into something deeper, something lasting; something that would explain why the short time he spent with Amelia impacted Sam so profoundly that he wanted to turn his life around.
Now, I think Sam and Amelia’s relationship had the potential to be something real, and I never minded that they do not have much chemistry, because their relationship was never about sexual attraction for me, but about the emotional connection between two damaged souls. I also never minded their awkwardness around each other, because they both felt obviously out of their depth in their relationship, so it made sense that not everything just fell into place with this couple. I actually liked that about them. I really loved the depth of Sam and Amelia’s relationship as depicted in Southern Comfort, and I just wished the writers would have taken their story further in that direction, instead of drifting off into a corny love triangle with the presumed-dead husband and thus killing every potential the story ever had. Ultimately, Sam’s storyline with Amelia was simply meaningless filler material, as nothing really came from it - other than a lot of unanswered questions, that is. I mean, why was Sam so oddly evasive when Dean asked him about his past year at the beginning of the season? Why do we see Sam leaving Amelia in the middle of the night in the season opener, but in the middle of the day in Sam’s memory in Citizen Fang? Who was watching Sam when he left Amelia’s house in the season opener? It all remains annoyingly unexplained.
Anyway, it seems that this was the last we have seen of the storyline between Amelia and Sam and maybe even of Sam’s past year as a whole, and I have to say that this is probably Sam’s worst storyline in the entire show. I find it especially alarming that the writers do such a poor job at highlighting the character’s motivations. I mean, if we look at Sam’s story as presented so far, we have little actual insight into what drives his actions. Let’s see, when Dean disappears, Sam is unable to cope with the loss in a level-headed manner and just runs, doing god-knows-what for several months. Now, given that this is a radical deviation from Sam’s usual reaction to Dean vanishing (or getting hurt or dying), one would expect that the writers would take the time to carefully lay out the emotional journey that motivates Sam to forego his search for his brother. However, instead of exploring Sam’s state of mind in the immediate aftermath of Dean’s disappearance and tying his restrained reaction now to his out-of-control reaction when Dean went to hell in S3/4, the writers simply skip this crucial time in Sam’s story. Then Sam meets Amelia, an apparently life-changing experience that rekindles a long lost desire for normality in Sam, but instead of exploring in depth how being with Amelia changes Sam’s outlook on life, their storyline drifts off into a cheap soap drama just as their relationship starts to take off. Finally, Sam reunites with Dean, and what should have followed is a careful exploration of how being with Dean, how being back on the job, eventually allows Sam to reconnect with his former life, but instead he recommits himself to said life just as randomly as he had dropped out of it. It is all rather frustrating.
Dean: "I’m just tired of all the fighting. And, you know, maybe I’m a little bit jealous. I could never separate myself from the job like you could. Hell, maybe it’s time for at least one of us to be happy."
Sam: "You being such a big hugger and all. She does make me happy. And she could be waiting for me if I went back. I’d be a very lucky man if she was. But now, with everything staring down at us, with all that’s left to be done - I don’t know."
I admit, I have rather mixed feelings about the final conversation between the brothers. On the one hand, I do like the mature tone of Sam and Dean’s conversation; it is a welcomed change from their childish behaviour in the opening scene. I also love the way they animatedly start to discuss Castiel’s odd behaviour, before it suddenly seems to occur to them that, technically, they are still fighting and should not feel so comfortable with each other. As someone who had quite a few problems connecting with Dean all season long, I am also glad that Dean’s demeanour in their final scene allowed me to overcome my feelings of estrangement from the character. It warms my heart that Dean offers to let Sam go without resentment and puts his little brother’s happiness first, instead of trying to tie him to a life he hates and dismissing his choices. That feels more like the Dean I know and love. ♥ On the other hand, I am not quite sure what to make of Sam’s decision to put the mission before his desire to build a life with Amelia. The thing is, in Heartache Sam had already agreed to stay with Dean until the gates of hell are closed, and the only difference between then and now is his level of dedication. I just do not see why Sam would suddenly feel more invested in their current mission than a couple of weeks ago.
I really need Sam to have a valid reason to recommit himself to his life with Dean other than a vague sense of obligation. Sam always had that sense of obligation; he knows the kind of responsibility that comes with their knowledge of the supernatural. However, he also knows that he can expect more from life than just duty and sacrifice. Sam’s arguments from the beginning of the season are just as valid now as they have been a couple of weeks ago and, if anything, being back on the job should have reinforced Sam’s position. Hunting still cost him everyone he ever loved and will most likely end in their early, violent death. It is also still true that they have earned some peace and happiness in their lives, and that there are other hunters out there who can do the job just fine. So, what changed his mind? The answer to that question is really crucial to Sam’s story this season, because it should end the whole hunting versus a normal life debate once and for all. As I already pointed out in my review to Heartache, digging that old point of conflict up again will only make sense if they add something new to it, and so far I see nothing that would have justified a rehash of that worn-out theme. Ultimately, Sam ends up in the exact same place as he was before Dean went to purgatory. So, essentially, it looks like the old argument was just dredged up for the sake of creating conflict; it is the worst kind of recycling of old storylines.
The final scene of Sam and Dean sharing a beer and a meal should be reassuring in its familiarity, and yet the moment holds nothing of the usual comfort or ease because, ultimately, their reunion is owed to a sense of obligation rather than to mutual love and understanding. They do not choose to be with each other, instead they are forced together for the sake of the mission - and it shows. They both look resigned rather than happy, and I find it depressing that their reunion does not feel much better than their separation. In the past, conflicts between the brothers at least had a pay-off that made all the misery worthwhile, so I feel cheated out of my reward. And worst of all, the past ten episodes have given us no compelling reason as to why Sam and Dean’s brotherhood devolved from an affectionate, caring relationship into something this messy and miserable in such a short time. My only hope is that from here on out, Sam and Dean can finally grow past their differences (again), but given that the writers could not be bothered with an actual reconciliation process between Dean and Castiel and just returned their relationship to its pre-S6 status quo without so much as a clarifying conversation between the characters, I am not sure we should expect a meaningful reconciliation process between Sam and Dean either.
Dean: "Listen, Benny, everything you’ve done for me, I will never forget. But this is it."
Benny: "End of the line?"
Dean: "End of the line."
I know a lot of fans feel that Dean’s decision to cut Benny loose signals his compliance with Sam’s ultimatum at the beginning of the episode, a compliance rooted in Dean’s emotional dependency on Sam, but to me Dean’s decision does not come across as an attempt to appease Sam at all. Sam had already agreed to stay, regardless of Dean’s relationship with Benny, when Dean makes his phone call to break things with Benny off. So, at that point, there is really no reason for Dean to cut ties with the vampire for Sam's sake. Moreover, his earlier conversation with Kevin, where the younger man told him that he separated from his mother because he cannot afford the distraction at the moment, clearly made an impact on Dean, and I think that resonates in his decision to distance himself from Benny as well. After all, even though Dean clearly cares about Benny, he cannot just drop everything and race across the country every time Benny feels he is slipping. Dean told Sam that he has to be either both feet in or both feet out of the job, and I think he simply follows his own advice here. That is not to say that Dean’s decision is entirely unrelated to Sam. After all, he and Sam just made the first tentative step towards reconciliation, and I am sure Dean feels things will go more smoothly with Benny out of the picture for a while, but it does not appear to be his main motivation.
As for Dean’s supposed co-dependence: I think the fact that Dean walks out on Sam, as well as his adamant refusal to accept Sam back into the team, illustrate that he is not as emotionally dependent on his brother as he used to. If he had really been desperate to keep Sam with him at all costs, he would have complied with Sam’s ultimatum right away, but he chose to stand by Benny instead. Sure, Dean is angry and hurt by Sam’s behaviour, but compared to other instances where he and Sam went separate ways - like in Free To Be You and Me, for example, where he was clearly miserable without Sam - Dean seems to be doing just fine without his brother now. And I think part of that is owed to the fact that he spent a full year 'hunting' without Sam in purgatory; he knows that he can do it. So, all that further plays into my impression that Dean's 'break-up' with Benny has nothing to do with a desire to appease Sam. All told, I think that Dean, just like Sam, makes the decision to drop an important relationship in his life out of obligation to the mission rather than for his brother.
Having said all that, I still think Dean’s decision to cut Benny out of his life in this manner is just as contrived as many other character decisions this season. Yes, Dean is dedicated to the job, but he is also dedicated to his family, and Benny clearly made that status, so I find it difficult to believe that Dean would just abandon his friend like that. Ultimately, Dean’s decision comes off as a purely plot driven development that sets the stage for a tragic conclusion to Benny’s story later in the season. I have little doubt that Dean’s rejection will give Benny the final push to fall off the wagon, as Benny has made it quite clear that his emotional connections to Dean and Elisabeth have been keeping him on the straight and narrow these last couple of weeks. Now that he lost both of them in quick succession, it will only be a matter of time until he starts feeding again. Of course, Dean will feel responsible for Benny’s relapse, and since the writers like to torture their characters, Dean will probably be forced to hunt Benny down and kill him, which will throw him right back into a state of depression - and, just like Sam, Dean will be exactly where was before he went to purgatory. I admit, I find it rather troublesome that the writers apparently set the whole storyline between Dean and Benny up just to have something to take away from Dean again.
In that context, I have to say that I am growing really tired of the same old pattern of Sam and Dean losing everyone they care about. There is really no compelling internal reason why Sam and Dean cannot have friends and family outside of those who are directly linked to their mission, like Bobby or Castiel, at this point in the story. Why is it that Sam and Dean have to once again sacrifice everything to see their current mission through on their own? Closing the gates of hell and (possibly) heaven is not about Sam and Dean; it is about the future welfare of humanity. So, why do they not rally their forces? Why do they not mobilise the hunters’ community? Surely, every hunter worth their salt would gladly throw in their weight in order to keep angels and demons from wreaking any further havoc upon humanity. Plus, Sam and Dean, as well as all the other hunters, touched the lives of hundreds of normal people who are now aware of the supernatural. I am sure many of them would be willing to help out as much as they can. This could be a story of humanity fighting back under the leadership of Sam and Dean Winchester; it could be a story of hope instead of misery, and I would love to watch that.
What else is noteworthy:
(1) I admit, even the emotional distance provided by the winter hiatus did nothing to diminish my frustration with the fact that the writers simply forewent an active reconciliation process between Castiel and Dean, so watching their amicable teamwork in Torn and Frayed was just another source of annoyance for me. Still, there are a couple of Castiel moments that I really like. Firstly, I really enjoyed that moment at the beginning of the episode where Castiel heals the crying baby. I like that Castiel found his own way of doing penance, a way that is not only more constructive than locking himself away in purgatory to endure his punishment, but also more suited to his personality than following in Sam and Dean’s footsteps and become a hunter. Secondly, I love that Castiel pays no heed to Dean’s protestations and fetches Sam to join the team, and since I wanted to tell Sam and Dean to 'stow their crap' myself throughout the episode, I was glad Castiel did it for me. And, last but not least, I actually felt some sympathy for Castiel’s plight in the episode. The fact that Naomi’s mind control forces Castiel to repeat the very acts he so desperately tries to atone for is rather tragic.
(2) Supernatural is a horror show, so a certain amount of guts and gore is par for the course, and generally I do not mind that. Sometimes gory scenes even serve a purpose; they can serve to remind us that, yes, monsters need to be stopped because they do unspeakable things to innocent people. However, these last couple of seasons, the show seems to revel in gratuitous torture scenes, and I am really getting tired of it. Maybe the writers think torture scenes make the show edgier or bolder, but when used this excessively, they are just sensational and/or bad taste. Do we really need half a dozen scenes of Viggor and Crowley torturing Samandriel in a forty minute episode? Okay, demons are evil; they like torture. We got that memo five seasons ago; we do not need constant reminders.
(3) I know I say this after every mytharc heavy episode, but it hits me every time anew just how dull and uninspired the mytharc is this season. Is it really supposed to be some kind of shocking reveal to us that there is an angel tablet as well? It has always been quite predictable that closing the gates of heaven would follow closing the gates of hell at some point. It has also been clear that the angels would react just as displeased about the prospect of being cut off from earth as the demons are, thus once again putting humanity smack in the middle of the self-interests of heaven and hell. The question is, why should I care about any of it? The mytharc needs to be rooted in something tangible, in something personal, in order for me to become invested. I mean, throughout the first five seasons I cared about what the angels and demons were up to, because their every action was centred on our beloved heroes. At present, however, Sam and Dean simply have no personal stakes in the mission of closing the gates of heaven and hell, and so neither have I. Maybe the mytharc is more interesting for fans of Castiel and/or Kevin, as the angels (Naomi) and demons (Crowley), respectively, focus their attention on them, but for me that is just a giant neon sign pointing to the fact that Sam and Dean have become entirely incidental to the mytharc.
In conclusion: Just like most episodes this season, Torn and Frayed suffers from characterisation problems for Sam and Dean, a boring mytharc-centred plot and un-engaging secondary characters and thus leaves me rather dissatisfied. However, now that both Dean’s purgatory storyline and Sam’s storyline with Amelia seem to have come to an end - unfortunately both storylines turned out to be little more than filler material - and the conflict between the brothers has been put aside for the time being, I hope things will take a turn for the better. At this point, I just want to forget the first half of the season ever happened, and I will gladly accept a lack of continuity, if we get a couple of simple monster-of-the-week episodes in which the brothers actually get along and, you know, save some people and hunt some things.
So, here’s the thing, folks: Over the course of the past ten episodes, watching (and reviewing) Supernatural has become somewhat of a chore, and I often find myself putting it off, because I don’t want to spend my weekend miserable and in rant-mode. At the moment, I hardly recognise the characters I loved so unconditionally these past seven years, and if S8 does not improve quickly, I may have to let the show go, if only to preserve my love for Sam and Dean before this season is able to annihilate it. So, I will see how it goes the next couple of episodes, but it is possible that, at some point, I will not continue to review this season. Let’s hope it doesn’t get that far, but I thought you should know, just in case my reviews suddenly stop coming.
Dean: "You were gonna kill Benny. What was I supposed to do?"
Sam: "Is that what we are? You save a vampire by making me believe that the woman I love might be dead?"
To be honest, the opening scene between the brothers is a study in frustration for me. While I am glad that this time around the writers at least preserve emotional continuity from the previous episode and address the conflict between Sam and Dean right away, I find both brothers’ attitude quite irksome. I mean, Dean pointing out to Sam that he should have just trusted him about Benny is rather hypocritical, given that when Sam asked Dean to trust him about Amy back in The Girl Next Door, Dean lied to Sam’s face and turned around to kill Amy anyway. So, he really cannot take the moral high ground here and hold something against Sam that he was incapable of doing himself. Similarly, Sam pointing out to Dean that he simply cannot trust Benny and thus feels compelled to take action against him, mirrors Dean’s same argument about Amy in The Mentalists, and given how angry and hurt Sam had been when he found out that Dean had not trusted him about Amy, he really should not have such a hard time to understand that Dean feels just as frustrated that Sam does not trust him about Benny. It is just extremely frustrating to see Sam and Dean stubbornly argue from positions they should recognise as positions they criticised in the past. Again, the core of the argument is not about whether or not it is morally justified to kill Amy or Benny, it is about whether or not they are able to trust each other and respect each other’s judgment.
Sam and Dean’s lack of understanding for each other’s position is especially bothering in light of their individual histories. I find it unsettling that Dean shows so little regret about using Sam’s feelings for Amelia to lure him away from Benny. Dean of all people should know how terrifying a distress call from a loved one is in their world. Does he really not remember what he went through when he feared the worst had happened to Lisa and Ben in Let It Bleed? Putting Sam through that kind of emotional anguish was just plain cruel. As for Sam, his resentment of Benny has become entirely unreasonable at this point. I do think it was justified for Sam to become suspicious of Benny when people around him started to drop dead, and I also think it was understandable for Sam to react resentful when Dean used Benny to hurt him. However, to hold on to that resentment with no real evidence to back his position up is just immature. Sam of all people should know better than to condemn someone just on account of being a 'monster'. After all, he not only used to advocate for monsters all the time, but was also in Benny's position once. All in all, Sam and Dean both act like petty, petulant children in this scene, and I find that completely out of character at this point. At the beginning of the show, a childish temper tantrum from Sam would not necessarily have raised eyebrows, but post-S4 Sam has shown an ever-growing ability to act self-aware and mature, so his regressive behaviour here feels completely off to me. Similarly, Dean can be rude and even mean at times, but he usually does not act this callous and unsympathetic towards Sam. I do not like either of the brothers in this scene, and that does not happen very often, if ever.
Sam: "You saying that you want me to leave?"
Amelia: "I’m telling you that, if you stay, against everything I believe in, I would be with you. But if you leave, don’t come back. I can’t have you with one foot in my life and one foot out there doing whatever it is you do."
When Amelia walked back into Sam’s life at the end of Citizen Fang, I had high hopes that a present-day confrontation between her and Sam would reveal crucial differences between Sam and Amelia’s memories, thus not only resolving the odd consistency problems in Sam’s flashbacks, but also paying off all the subtle hints that Sam’s memories might not entirely be real. Instead Sam and Amelia’s story in Torn and Frayed devolves further into a shallow soap drama, as Amelia propositions Sam, beds him and then issues an ultimatum - stay or never come back. Putting aside the fact that I think it is out of character for Sam to sleep with a married woman - remember, in Hunted he dismissed Dean’s suggestion that he should sleep with Ava by pointing out that she is engaged - Amelia’s ultimatum creates no suspense at all, because Sam’s choice is never in question. Moreover, Sam’s 'dilemma' is not even emotionally compelling because Sam and Amelia’s love story was not given enough space to truly draw us in. Sure, we saw the beginnings of it - and credit where it is due, I think the writers handled the early stages of their relationship comparatively well - but it all ended before the relationship could develop into something deeper, something lasting; something that would explain why the short time he spent with Amelia impacted Sam so profoundly that he wanted to turn his life around.
Now, I think Sam and Amelia’s relationship had the potential to be something real, and I never minded that they do not have much chemistry, because their relationship was never about sexual attraction for me, but about the emotional connection between two damaged souls. I also never minded their awkwardness around each other, because they both felt obviously out of their depth in their relationship, so it made sense that not everything just fell into place with this couple. I actually liked that about them. I really loved the depth of Sam and Amelia’s relationship as depicted in Southern Comfort, and I just wished the writers would have taken their story further in that direction, instead of drifting off into a corny love triangle with the presumed-dead husband and thus killing every potential the story ever had. Ultimately, Sam’s storyline with Amelia was simply meaningless filler material, as nothing really came from it - other than a lot of unanswered questions, that is. I mean, why was Sam so oddly evasive when Dean asked him about his past year at the beginning of the season? Why do we see Sam leaving Amelia in the middle of the night in the season opener, but in the middle of the day in Sam’s memory in Citizen Fang? Who was watching Sam when he left Amelia’s house in the season opener? It all remains annoyingly unexplained.
Anyway, it seems that this was the last we have seen of the storyline between Amelia and Sam and maybe even of Sam’s past year as a whole, and I have to say that this is probably Sam’s worst storyline in the entire show. I find it especially alarming that the writers do such a poor job at highlighting the character’s motivations. I mean, if we look at Sam’s story as presented so far, we have little actual insight into what drives his actions. Let’s see, when Dean disappears, Sam is unable to cope with the loss in a level-headed manner and just runs, doing god-knows-what for several months. Now, given that this is a radical deviation from Sam’s usual reaction to Dean vanishing (or getting hurt or dying), one would expect that the writers would take the time to carefully lay out the emotional journey that motivates Sam to forego his search for his brother. However, instead of exploring Sam’s state of mind in the immediate aftermath of Dean’s disappearance and tying his restrained reaction now to his out-of-control reaction when Dean went to hell in S3/4, the writers simply skip this crucial time in Sam’s story. Then Sam meets Amelia, an apparently life-changing experience that rekindles a long lost desire for normality in Sam, but instead of exploring in depth how being with Amelia changes Sam’s outlook on life, their storyline drifts off into a cheap soap drama just as their relationship starts to take off. Finally, Sam reunites with Dean, and what should have followed is a careful exploration of how being with Dean, how being back on the job, eventually allows Sam to reconnect with his former life, but instead he recommits himself to said life just as randomly as he had dropped out of it. It is all rather frustrating.
Dean: "I’m just tired of all the fighting. And, you know, maybe I’m a little bit jealous. I could never separate myself from the job like you could. Hell, maybe it’s time for at least one of us to be happy."
Sam: "You being such a big hugger and all. She does make me happy. And she could be waiting for me if I went back. I’d be a very lucky man if she was. But now, with everything staring down at us, with all that’s left to be done - I don’t know."
I admit, I have rather mixed feelings about the final conversation between the brothers. On the one hand, I do like the mature tone of Sam and Dean’s conversation; it is a welcomed change from their childish behaviour in the opening scene. I also love the way they animatedly start to discuss Castiel’s odd behaviour, before it suddenly seems to occur to them that, technically, they are still fighting and should not feel so comfortable with each other. As someone who had quite a few problems connecting with Dean all season long, I am also glad that Dean’s demeanour in their final scene allowed me to overcome my feelings of estrangement from the character. It warms my heart that Dean offers to let Sam go without resentment and puts his little brother’s happiness first, instead of trying to tie him to a life he hates and dismissing his choices. That feels more like the Dean I know and love. ♥ On the other hand, I am not quite sure what to make of Sam’s decision to put the mission before his desire to build a life with Amelia. The thing is, in Heartache Sam had already agreed to stay with Dean until the gates of hell are closed, and the only difference between then and now is his level of dedication. I just do not see why Sam would suddenly feel more invested in their current mission than a couple of weeks ago.
I really need Sam to have a valid reason to recommit himself to his life with Dean other than a vague sense of obligation. Sam always had that sense of obligation; he knows the kind of responsibility that comes with their knowledge of the supernatural. However, he also knows that he can expect more from life than just duty and sacrifice. Sam’s arguments from the beginning of the season are just as valid now as they have been a couple of weeks ago and, if anything, being back on the job should have reinforced Sam’s position. Hunting still cost him everyone he ever loved and will most likely end in their early, violent death. It is also still true that they have earned some peace and happiness in their lives, and that there are other hunters out there who can do the job just fine. So, what changed his mind? The answer to that question is really crucial to Sam’s story this season, because it should end the whole hunting versus a normal life debate once and for all. As I already pointed out in my review to Heartache, digging that old point of conflict up again will only make sense if they add something new to it, and so far I see nothing that would have justified a rehash of that worn-out theme. Ultimately, Sam ends up in the exact same place as he was before Dean went to purgatory. So, essentially, it looks like the old argument was just dredged up for the sake of creating conflict; it is the worst kind of recycling of old storylines.
The final scene of Sam and Dean sharing a beer and a meal should be reassuring in its familiarity, and yet the moment holds nothing of the usual comfort or ease because, ultimately, their reunion is owed to a sense of obligation rather than to mutual love and understanding. They do not choose to be with each other, instead they are forced together for the sake of the mission - and it shows. They both look resigned rather than happy, and I find it depressing that their reunion does not feel much better than their separation. In the past, conflicts between the brothers at least had a pay-off that made all the misery worthwhile, so I feel cheated out of my reward. And worst of all, the past ten episodes have given us no compelling reason as to why Sam and Dean’s brotherhood devolved from an affectionate, caring relationship into something this messy and miserable in such a short time. My only hope is that from here on out, Sam and Dean can finally grow past their differences (again), but given that the writers could not be bothered with an actual reconciliation process between Dean and Castiel and just returned their relationship to its pre-S6 status quo without so much as a clarifying conversation between the characters, I am not sure we should expect a meaningful reconciliation process between Sam and Dean either.
Dean: "Listen, Benny, everything you’ve done for me, I will never forget. But this is it."
Benny: "End of the line?"
Dean: "End of the line."
I know a lot of fans feel that Dean’s decision to cut Benny loose signals his compliance with Sam’s ultimatum at the beginning of the episode, a compliance rooted in Dean’s emotional dependency on Sam, but to me Dean’s decision does not come across as an attempt to appease Sam at all. Sam had already agreed to stay, regardless of Dean’s relationship with Benny, when Dean makes his phone call to break things with Benny off. So, at that point, there is really no reason for Dean to cut ties with the vampire for Sam's sake. Moreover, his earlier conversation with Kevin, where the younger man told him that he separated from his mother because he cannot afford the distraction at the moment, clearly made an impact on Dean, and I think that resonates in his decision to distance himself from Benny as well. After all, even though Dean clearly cares about Benny, he cannot just drop everything and race across the country every time Benny feels he is slipping. Dean told Sam that he has to be either both feet in or both feet out of the job, and I think he simply follows his own advice here. That is not to say that Dean’s decision is entirely unrelated to Sam. After all, he and Sam just made the first tentative step towards reconciliation, and I am sure Dean feels things will go more smoothly with Benny out of the picture for a while, but it does not appear to be his main motivation.
As for Dean’s supposed co-dependence: I think the fact that Dean walks out on Sam, as well as his adamant refusal to accept Sam back into the team, illustrate that he is not as emotionally dependent on his brother as he used to. If he had really been desperate to keep Sam with him at all costs, he would have complied with Sam’s ultimatum right away, but he chose to stand by Benny instead. Sure, Dean is angry and hurt by Sam’s behaviour, but compared to other instances where he and Sam went separate ways - like in Free To Be You and Me, for example, where he was clearly miserable without Sam - Dean seems to be doing just fine without his brother now. And I think part of that is owed to the fact that he spent a full year 'hunting' without Sam in purgatory; he knows that he can do it. So, all that further plays into my impression that Dean's 'break-up' with Benny has nothing to do with a desire to appease Sam. All told, I think that Dean, just like Sam, makes the decision to drop an important relationship in his life out of obligation to the mission rather than for his brother.
Having said all that, I still think Dean’s decision to cut Benny out of his life in this manner is just as contrived as many other character decisions this season. Yes, Dean is dedicated to the job, but he is also dedicated to his family, and Benny clearly made that status, so I find it difficult to believe that Dean would just abandon his friend like that. Ultimately, Dean’s decision comes off as a purely plot driven development that sets the stage for a tragic conclusion to Benny’s story later in the season. I have little doubt that Dean’s rejection will give Benny the final push to fall off the wagon, as Benny has made it quite clear that his emotional connections to Dean and Elisabeth have been keeping him on the straight and narrow these last couple of weeks. Now that he lost both of them in quick succession, it will only be a matter of time until he starts feeding again. Of course, Dean will feel responsible for Benny’s relapse, and since the writers like to torture their characters, Dean will probably be forced to hunt Benny down and kill him, which will throw him right back into a state of depression - and, just like Sam, Dean will be exactly where was before he went to purgatory. I admit, I find it rather troublesome that the writers apparently set the whole storyline between Dean and Benny up just to have something to take away from Dean again.
In that context, I have to say that I am growing really tired of the same old pattern of Sam and Dean losing everyone they care about. There is really no compelling internal reason why Sam and Dean cannot have friends and family outside of those who are directly linked to their mission, like Bobby or Castiel, at this point in the story. Why is it that Sam and Dean have to once again sacrifice everything to see their current mission through on their own? Closing the gates of hell and (possibly) heaven is not about Sam and Dean; it is about the future welfare of humanity. So, why do they not rally their forces? Why do they not mobilise the hunters’ community? Surely, every hunter worth their salt would gladly throw in their weight in order to keep angels and demons from wreaking any further havoc upon humanity. Plus, Sam and Dean, as well as all the other hunters, touched the lives of hundreds of normal people who are now aware of the supernatural. I am sure many of them would be willing to help out as much as they can. This could be a story of humanity fighting back under the leadership of Sam and Dean Winchester; it could be a story of hope instead of misery, and I would love to watch that.
What else is noteworthy:
(1) I admit, even the emotional distance provided by the winter hiatus did nothing to diminish my frustration with the fact that the writers simply forewent an active reconciliation process between Castiel and Dean, so watching their amicable teamwork in Torn and Frayed was just another source of annoyance for me. Still, there are a couple of Castiel moments that I really like. Firstly, I really enjoyed that moment at the beginning of the episode where Castiel heals the crying baby. I like that Castiel found his own way of doing penance, a way that is not only more constructive than locking himself away in purgatory to endure his punishment, but also more suited to his personality than following in Sam and Dean’s footsteps and become a hunter. Secondly, I love that Castiel pays no heed to Dean’s protestations and fetches Sam to join the team, and since I wanted to tell Sam and Dean to 'stow their crap' myself throughout the episode, I was glad Castiel did it for me. And, last but not least, I actually felt some sympathy for Castiel’s plight in the episode. The fact that Naomi’s mind control forces Castiel to repeat the very acts he so desperately tries to atone for is rather tragic.
(2) Supernatural is a horror show, so a certain amount of guts and gore is par for the course, and generally I do not mind that. Sometimes gory scenes even serve a purpose; they can serve to remind us that, yes, monsters need to be stopped because they do unspeakable things to innocent people. However, these last couple of seasons, the show seems to revel in gratuitous torture scenes, and I am really getting tired of it. Maybe the writers think torture scenes make the show edgier or bolder, but when used this excessively, they are just sensational and/or bad taste. Do we really need half a dozen scenes of Viggor and Crowley torturing Samandriel in a forty minute episode? Okay, demons are evil; they like torture. We got that memo five seasons ago; we do not need constant reminders.
(3) I know I say this after every mytharc heavy episode, but it hits me every time anew just how dull and uninspired the mytharc is this season. Is it really supposed to be some kind of shocking reveal to us that there is an angel tablet as well? It has always been quite predictable that closing the gates of heaven would follow closing the gates of hell at some point. It has also been clear that the angels would react just as displeased about the prospect of being cut off from earth as the demons are, thus once again putting humanity smack in the middle of the self-interests of heaven and hell. The question is, why should I care about any of it? The mytharc needs to be rooted in something tangible, in something personal, in order for me to become invested. I mean, throughout the first five seasons I cared about what the angels and demons were up to, because their every action was centred on our beloved heroes. At present, however, Sam and Dean simply have no personal stakes in the mission of closing the gates of heaven and hell, and so neither have I. Maybe the mytharc is more interesting for fans of Castiel and/or Kevin, as the angels (Naomi) and demons (Crowley), respectively, focus their attention on them, but for me that is just a giant neon sign pointing to the fact that Sam and Dean have become entirely incidental to the mytharc.
In conclusion: Just like most episodes this season, Torn and Frayed suffers from characterisation problems for Sam and Dean, a boring mytharc-centred plot and un-engaging secondary characters and thus leaves me rather dissatisfied. However, now that both Dean’s purgatory storyline and Sam’s storyline with Amelia seem to have come to an end - unfortunately both storylines turned out to be little more than filler material - and the conflict between the brothers has been put aside for the time being, I hope things will take a turn for the better. At this point, I just want to forget the first half of the season ever happened, and I will gladly accept a lack of continuity, if we get a couple of simple monster-of-the-week episodes in which the brothers actually get along and, you know, save some people and hunt some things.
So, here’s the thing, folks: Over the course of the past ten episodes, watching (and reviewing) Supernatural has become somewhat of a chore, and I often find myself putting it off, because I don’t want to spend my weekend miserable and in rant-mode. At the moment, I hardly recognise the characters I loved so unconditionally these past seven years, and if S8 does not improve quickly, I may have to let the show go, if only to preserve my love for Sam and Dean before this season is able to annihilate it. So, I will see how it goes the next couple of episodes, but it is possible that, at some point, I will not continue to review this season. Let’s hope it doesn’t get that far, but I thought you should know, just in case my reviews suddenly stop coming.