rambly comment meta

[fannishliss]

MY RESPONSE TO 4.17,
WITH LINGERING RESPONSES TO 4.16,
AND EVEN 4.15!
AND THE BRILLIANCE OF SAM IN S4 IN GENERAL.

This is a lot of different trains of thought, drawn from my comments to lots of folks' awesome meta posts -- so sorry if it's a bit of a ramble!  I'm trying to talk about Sam and his motivations in recent episodes, and how much I love him in s4.

As a starryeyed deangrrl, s4 has convinced me wholeheartedly to love Sam.

His arc this season follows perfectly from the Sammy we first came to know and love in Mystery Spot -- this really is the hunter Sam becomes.  Remember Jus in Bello, how Sam watched and protected Dean, after he finally understood how breakable his invincible big brother could be.

S4 brings all that into play, and more.   What's at stake in this season is the Hunter Sam will become, and whether Dean will ever see himself as a Hero again.

Sam loves Dean so much, and this whole season has been about his struggle to reconcile the conflicting things he sees Dean needing from him, while at the same time trying to realize who he himself has become: he needs to be a listening ear (because if he speaks sympathetically, Dean perceives him as patronizing);  and he needs to protect Dean, who really has been weakened by his ordeal, yet Dean still wants to see himself as the big brother (not that great a basis for a partnership  especially since Sam really is quite a powerful hunter on his own) -- and Sam has access to a great deal of power, which Dean's Angel allies threaten them about using-- but Sam feels that he has no real choice about whether or not to use the power, because not just Dean but the world is at stake.  This is all above board text for s4-- it's the best material Sam's EVER HAD.   In addition,  Jared's acting has just EXPLODED ever since late s3.  I LOVE HIM TO PIECES.  His Face in s4!  so expressive!  I truly think that by giving him fewer lines, he is acting more!!!  The incredible Sam of the Siren ep, the torture ep, and the office ep -- all the same Sam,  all ultimately driven by love of Dean -- even the siren ep, which shows him trying to differentiate himself from Dean, trying to get the respect as a Hunter he deserves from Dean.

The only thing I am not on board with is Sam's lying -- tho I guess if I were deliberately drinking demon blood, I would probably NOT TELL DEAN.   Dean could have a Real Problem with Sammy blackening his own eyes to gain more power -- especially when Dean so horribly fears the blackness from cropping up in his own.

In 4.16 we saw  Sam and Dean have different reactions to the Angels' attempts to get info out of Alistair -- (and of course, we learned that the plan to torture Alistair was cooked up by Uriel to let Alistair escape and get rid of Dean -- the unworthy human who is worming into Castiel's affections, and the one could ultimately stop Lucifer's rise;  also, Uriel thought Alistair should've been killed instead of captured, so if he died in the escape attempt, no big deal to Uriel). 

I think that viewers saw different things in Jared and Jensen's remarkably nuanced portrayals of Sam and Dean, but I'll just go on the record:

--To me, as Dean tortured Alistair, he was Extremely Reluctant and did not enjoy it (tho, as a torture tactic, he verbally claimed that he did) -- to me, you could see very clearly that he did not enjoy what he was doing, though he did make the experience very intimate with Alistair, I guess because that's how Alistair would've taught him to do it in Hell.   With his body language, he was trying to prove to Alistair that he was committed to the torture.  Alistair, of course, didn't buy it. Who knows Dean better than he did?   I'd like to make clear that I read Dean as going into the torture room against his better judgment, his stated opposition, and his attempts to leave, and I think that when he did go in, he did not expect to ever come back out as Dean Winchester --but as the demon he was becoming in Hell. His participation was coerced.

--and, to me, Sam really did enjoy killing Alistair.  It's a mirror of what he wants most now:  Lilith's head on a platter, bloody.  As Tahirire recently said very astutely, instead of Sad, Sam has chosen Bloody --leaving Dean, I guess, to choose Sad, tho Sam would prefer him to Get Angry.

So I do have some lingering qualms about Sam and his "no holds barred" approach to the Apocalypse.  He has decided that he'll do Whatever it Takes to kill Lilith, save the world and save Dean, and I always think "whatever it takes" is a bad idea. The best thing about Sam's actions in 5.16 was how clearly they demonstrate that Sam is committed to his course of action. From my pov, I'm all about the LOVE between samndean, so I want to see what that love will make them do -- whether it's something good or something crazy. For me, Sam in this episode was so DECISIVE and POWERFUL that it was thrilling to watch. Clearly, he powered up and charged to the rescue to SAVE DEAN, not to do the Angels' job for them (but Sam does want that information about who can kill Angels, because that's an important strategic piece of information.) I also love his interaction with Castiel all "Miracle. Now!!!"

That said, It's not necessarily the case that Sam's actions in 4.16 were ethical.

To me it seems like Supernatural as a series has been about exploring the nature of monstrosity-- if your life is all about killing monsters, you need to be ok with killing monsters. right? It happened pretty early on in the series that Sam actually convinced Dean that not everything they kill, kneejerk, is actually a monster deserving to die -- like when Dean joins up with Gordon to KILL ALL VAMPIRES, then we meet the extremely sympathetic and ethical Lenore; or when we meet Roadkill Girl, a ghost that is not just someone they lead into the light, but someone we care about, largely thanks to Sam's sympathetic response. Or the demon in Bartender Girl, that Dean was having a good talk with about Hell and about what Demons hope for.

So I actually do have an uncomfortable response when I see Sammy kill Alistair, and positively get off on it. It bothers me, because it's juxtaposed with Dean's explicit non-consent to what the Angels asked of him. You see Dean pick up the knife, and you see him totally obscured by shadows. For me, in s3 when Dean began to fear going to Hell, it wasn't the loss of self per se --Dean actually welcomed the thought of oblivion -- it was being made into a demon, a thing of Evil. What Sam shows me in this episode is that he WILL do what he said before he WOULDN'T --- like, i don't care if he drinks Ruby's blood -- I think she's been a great ally. But when he does, it's not an ACCIDENT. :)

I'd like to see a discussion of the Ethics of how Sam killed Alistair. To me, he enjoyed it a little too much for it to be justified under Jus in Bello, the rules of war -- but that's not fair, because Alistair is really too powerful not to kill if you get the chance, and clearly he's pure evil! -- but see? the Ethics of it. It BOTHERS me, and it's too ethically complicated for me to wrap my head around.  I believe in redemption -- so I never want the chance for redemption to be taken away from anyone -- even someone defined as pure evil -- and murder kind of does that, doesn't it?

Still, Tahiri posted a great meta about Sam vs the Dark Side, leading me to wonder:  does spn ever allude to "the Force?"  I think so.  In s4,  we hear a great deal of "trust your instincts."  I think that by following their instincts, the boys will be doing the right thing (and instincts are surely one thing the Angels don't have). Now problematically, I think Sam's instinct is NOT to trust Ruby, and NOT to want the powerups. I agree that so far Sam and Ruby have both used their power strategically and for the side of Good. And I certainly agree that Sam's primary motivation throughout s4 is his love for Dean and his urge to protect Dean and fight for Dean's ultimate safety -- EVEN if it alienates Dean from him. (Which is sad but Noble of Sam)

There is one  thing that often leads to the dark side, and that is, Fear of Death. Or, as I once framed a paper title (not that I ever wrote it!) : "Victor, Vader, Voldemort -- How the Fear of Death corrupts the Byronic Hero." (Btw, the Byronic Hero is the "superior man" who is set apart from Humanity by his tragic destiny, so yeah, that's Sam in a nutshell -- and "Victor" is V. Frankenstein, not Henriksen--too bad!).  You'll notice how the demons screwing with the Winchesters have preyed upon the fear of death since Mary set everything in motion by bringing back John according to the terms of Azazel's deal. Then John sold HIS soul to bring back Dean. Then Dean sold HIS soul to bring back Sam. Now what is Sam doing to keep Dean safe? Well, he's drinking Ruby's blood -- which ok whatever, it's freely given -- but if Sam has decided he'll do ANYTHING to keep Dean safe, that could be a Problem. I think Dean could have a Real Problem with Sammy blackening his own eyes to gain more power -- esp. when Dean so horribly fears the blackness from cropping up in his own.

I'm not trying to say that Sam shouldn't "be afraid" of Dean dying--fear is something we all face -- or that Sam should just "let Dean go" but I don't think he can safely ACT on that fear alone.... it's led to Evil for the Winchesters time after time. He might need to be Prepared to let Dean go. 

Still, as Tahiri points out, it's not really the fear of Death per se for Sam anymore, because Sam's fear for Dean is much more specific and is grounded not in speculation but in knowledge.   I'm trying to wrap my mind around  the ramifications of Dean's death, not just for Sammy, but for Everything (!).
Sam is terrified, grieving, guilt-stricken and furious. Sam tries to sell soul, is refused. Sam begins to train. Sam can't bring Dean back.
Meanwhile Dean is in Hell.  Dean is tortured.
Sometime along in here, the Angels begin to take action.
Dean gets off the rack and begins to torture others. The first seal is broken, triggering the countdown to the Apocalypse.
Dean is raised. Sam and Dean are reunited.
Dean is destined to "stop it."  Sam, on and off, continues to train.
Dean tortures again.  Sam kills Alistair.
Sam and Dean recommit to being hunters.  That brings us to now.

Looking at what transpired in this way, Dean's death is the catalyst for several important events -- Sam trains, Sam learns to kill demons, and Sam and Dean recommit to being hunters. Also, the Angels are brought out of their long wait and begin to walk the earth again, and those sympathetic to Lucifer begin to take sides.

I guess this is a longwinded way of saying that Dean's death and sojourn in Hell -- the Apocalypse that he started and is intended to finish -- may all be part of a bigger plan--perhaps to winnow those Angels like Uriel (who are still sympathetic to Lucifer) from the ranks of Heaven -- and maybe even to give a demon like Ruby a way to earn her way out?

It wouldn't be the first time a righteous man has suffered for the redemption of others.

I think it's also important that Sam's deal was refused by the demons. Of all the Winchesters, he's not beholden to Hell-- Ruby's blood is a gift freely given -- as far as we know. When Anna met Ruby she was initially horrified by her demonic nature, but then modified her opinion. ... The Angels need to be able to actually see Sam, past the demon blood.  As I mentioned to beckaandzac,  the Angels have an ENORMOUS BLIND SPOT when it comes to Sam.  They're prejudiced against him -- to the extent that when Angel Z forehead tapped Dean I was like "oh, those bastards! they're just gonna let Sam shake off the Angel Amnesia all on his own!!"  They look at him and they're blinded to his potential by the taint of the demon blood -- I'm sure to them, it is blatantly apparent and almost too hideous to tolerate --  Imagine if you could see the true visage of Azazel, and then that Horror is swimming all around and throughout the person you're looking at -- like Dean's nightmare image of Sam from Yellow Fever, but a thousand times worse.

So all Sam's desperation while Dean was dead -- tho born out by the terrible things that were happening to Dean in Hell -- didn't do him any good -- except that he began to train with Ruby -- and he has now taken out a very powerful white-eyed demon (incidentally, Dean's torturer).

Despite Angel Z's disregard of Sam (which I'm sure the Angels will learn to regret), I loved 4.17 for how the boys recognized that their lives should be entwined -- and I hope Dean will remember how sincere Sam was. it's the ANTI-SIREN. :)

One MORE THING!  remember Tessa's warning!  Dean needs to "trust his instinct about the nasty things that lay in wait." Angel Z is all relax, it is your destiny!! pish.  It was a wonderful peptalk and very bootstrappy in a way that activates Dean, but I DON'T TRUST THE HIGHER ANGELS.  They  will do whatever to achieve their end.

BEFORE I CLOSE I JUST NEED TO RANT A BIT about Angel Z and Dean's so called "whining."

 All the fans who were all "Dean should be way more traumatized than he is if he remembers Hell"  then flipped over to " Get over it and stop whining."  WHAT?????  I ACTUALLY THINK DEAN HAS DONE AMAZINGLY WELL.  I DON'T BLAME HIM FOR HAVING A HARD TIME WITH HIS LIFE.  IN AUGUST, HE WAS SPENDING TEN YEARS TORTURING UNDER ALISTAIR'S "KIND" INSTRUCTION.  Yeah, that's nothing to whine about. WTF?!?!  and he just had to DO IT AGAIN, to the very real risk of HIS IMMORTAL SOUL, which he now has complete knowledge of HOW VERY FRAGILE THAT SOUL CAN BE!!!!!  Please just give Dean the respect he deserves.

DEAN AND SAMMY ARE TWO HALVES OF THE SAME HERO.  THEY WILL GET THERE TOGETHER.   Please try to love them both in the different ways they inspire!

"We were friends.  Brothers, really."
Not big brother, little brother -- Just Brothers. And this will be their reward. 
 All comments are appreciated and answered thoughtfully!!