Sam in S8 | A Short Reflection
Hi folks! I know it has been quiet around these parts lately, mainly because I spent most of my summer hiatus busy with non-SPN related stuff. However, these last couple of weeks, I have also been writing in fits and starts on my missing S8 reviews, and even though I am far from being finished with any of them, I still hope I get at least some of
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All in all, if Sam truly thought that Dean was dead, there was simply no reason for him to even try and look for his brother. After all, Sam knows for a fact that when Dean dies, he goes to heaven (Dark Side of the Moon). All he could do was to pick up the pieces of his life and try to move on.
I agree that this is probably what the writers were going for. But ... well, I still think it's shoddy and uninteresting. In Supernatural, saying someone is dead isn't very enlightening. They might be in heaven, hell or purgatory. Their souls might have been obliterated entirely. They might be a ghost. Given that there are other gods still extant, it's even possible that there are other places a soul might go.
And that's the thing. Yes, Dean went to heaven in Dark Side of the Moon, when it was advantageous for Yahweh and the angels (for different reasons) to send him there. He also went to hell when the terms of his deal demanded it. He came perilously close to becoming a ghost in In My Time of Dying. You could reasonably argue that ( ... )
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But ... well, I still think it's shoddy and uninteresting.
Don't get me wrong. I am not claiming this is a particularly good or interesting story. In fact, of all the possible narrative options the writers had at the end of S7 this is positively the worst they could have chosen. I was just tired of the accusation that Sam deliberately left Dean to rot in purgatory or did not look into his disappearance because he could not be bothered and saw his situation as a convenient way out of the life. I was also tired to read elaborate, long-winded explanations as to why Sam did not look for Dean that have little hold in the few facts that S8 canon actually gave us. In the end, I tried to find the version of Sam's story that was compliant with S8 canon and at least resembled a sensible Sam characterisation. Also, at the beginning of S8, I vehemently argued against the ( ... )
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Heaven isn't safe. Except now, suddenly, it is.
Well, let's face it, in the Supernatural universe the only real option for a soul to be at peace is complete obliteration. The ghostly realm, hell and heaven are just three different degrees of awful. Although I would argue that, if heaven were to be purged of its corrupt elements and if Sam and Dean's souls were to be left in peace in 'Winchesterland', heaven would at least present a viable option for the brothers' afterlife. Still, I agree that Carver & Co didn't really think this through in the context of the mythology. But well, what else is new. It's not like they did think many of the plots in S8 through with regards to past mythology.
But here - they don't say Sam knows Dean is in purgatory and has to decide what to do about it. They don't say Sam doesn't know where Dean is and has to decide what to do about that. They just treat 'dead' as a simple category, and Sam's 'failure' is in not realising Dean isn't ( ... )
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Thanks for the thoughts. I am actually quite confident that Carver knows what he's doing in S9. Doesn't mean it will be good or solid (as I am sure the writing will let it down), but I am hoping the intention, and therefore the heart, will be there.
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But for me it was quite a revelation to accept that Sam thought Dean was dead (it took me a long time to look at it this way). I mean, I don't buy it (no way would Sam accept that without seeing a body) but I have been able to move on a bit with that knowledge in mind (not happily mind. I essentially block out the first half of S8. Except for Benny...;D ( ... )
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ROFL me, too. Like you, I was ready to call it quits after Torn and Frayed, and then LARP happened and I got pulled in again, but those first 10 episodes of S8 did a huge damage to my investment in the show. The writing let the characters down so badly, I never thought it could happen like that with Supernatural. I had phases of discontent with the show before, but S8 really put those phases in perspective.
My faith in Carver isn't massive I have to say, I am just feeling more confident because the second half of the season worked for me much better and signalled that he still knows what makes the show tick.The second half of the season worked much better for me as well, but it still missed all the layers and nuances and continuity. I am also under the impression that it wasn't Carver who turned the season around, but Singer. There was such a clear break, tonally and narratively, between the first and the second half of the season, it seemed like the show switched showrunners mid-season. ( ... )
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I hear you! It's difficult to suddenly switch to casual viewing, after 8 years of looking at something with an analytical mind. Looking past the surface of Supernatural has been incredibly rewarding for so long, but lately it has become incredibly frustrating, and that puts a damper even on my casual enjoyment of the show.
I just started a S8 re-watch last night
How you can stomach a S8 rewatch so soon after the season finished, I will never know. I doubt I will rewatch the season any time soon, if ever.
it just occurred to me that perhaps it's not just a matter of my brain being too full but because canon no longer adheres to its own logic (ugh, Taxi Driver)That might very well be. You know, I really don't mind the occasional retcon or canon error. Given how complex and vast Supernatural canon is, I can't blame the writers for being forgetful of the details. However, an ( ... )
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There was such a clear break, tonally and narratively, between the first and the second half of the season, it seemed like the show switched showrunners mid-season. I think I read somewhere that Singer put his foot down, but I can't find the source at the moment.
I wouldn't be so certain that Singer is the one who should be credited. Apparently in a recent interview or convention (Francy mentioned it to me and I can't remember which) he stated he prefers season eight to season seven. He also took credit for the awful reconciliation process that occurred in Torn and Frayed. By the sounds of it Singer is just as much to blame for the mess that is season eight as Carver is.
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He also took credit for the awful reconciliation process that occurred in Torn and Frayed. prefers season eight to season seven. He also took credit for the awful reconciliation process that occurred in Torn and Frayed. By the sounds of it Singer is just as much to blame for the mess that is season eight as Carver is.Well, it really depends. I am not going to argue that the 'reconciliation' in Torn and Frayed was awful, but it was the starting point for Sam and Dean to get back on track. Maybe, if Carver had his way, the bickering and fighting and pettiness had continued. So, if Singer forced the 'reconciliation' - Torn and Frayed really doesn't deserve that name, though - so they could go back to Sam and Dean being actual brothers, he is to be credited for the sudden turnaround after all. But I guess we'll never know for sure. I'm ( ... )
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