Supernatural

Welcome back, Winchesters!!

It’s great to have several of us watching at icine.  I started the thread for season five – mostly because I wanted to hold editing rights on that first post. We’ve already been through a couple subtitles. And, I want the ability to keep up with links and make the first post a sort of index.

There are a couple ideas about the episode that I haven’t seen others writing about. First, I’m already on the lookout for whether stairs become a recurring motif this season. They certainly recurred within the episode.

Sam was shown walking all the way down a long flight out on the street (apparently from an elevated train?) on his way to join Dean in the week’s motel.

Bobby arrives in the Impala and parks next to the foot as well.

Then we get one more extended shot of Sam framed with the stairs behind him as he leaves the motel when (demon!)Bobby cuts Sam out after his confession of responsibility for starting the apocalypse.

I’m remembering noticing when Sam was thrown downstairs by Alastair in 4.10 Heaven and Hell and thinking then about how often the boys refer to Hell as “downstairs.” Could this be a metaphor for Sam’s descent into Hell (making himself a monster) in order to reach a Dean who’s not entirely aware of how trapped he still is?

I’m not exactly comfortable with Becky, the fanfic writer. I can’t fault her enthusiasm, though, that’s for sure. And I loved that Sam has an (apparently) human fan at last.  She reminded me of Anna’s instant liking for THE Dean in 4.09 I Know What You Did Last Summer especially when she displayed markedly less appreciation for the brother.

I also flashed onto Gert from 3.06 Red Sky at Morning with her insistence on touching the very firm Sam. I liked the parallel of Becky’s palm over Sam’s heart being repeated by Castiel doing the same to carve protection into Sam’s and Dean’s ribs. I’m choosing to notice that he took care of both boys that way without discussion and simultaneously. Castiel can act as a connection between the two while they are figuring out where they stand with each other.

Certainly, I’m thrilled with another explicit layer to the authoring of the boys’ story. Supposedly, the prophet Chuck records the official version (the gospel) of events (including some selective editing). But that isn’t necessarily the final word. Others are capable of filling in the cracks with complete fictions. The next step is for the boys to realize and take conscious control of that power. There has already been Castiel’s assertion to Chuck in 4.22 Lucifer Rising that “We’re making it up as we go.” In Sympathy, we get Dean admitting he doesn’t have a plan yet for beating the angels and demons, but he’ll come up with something.

I’m remembering Sam taking charge of Jeremy’s dream in 3.10 Dream a Little Dream of Me. Jeremy saw himself as a god in the dream and was surprised that Sam was able to take control. I wonder if that is worth remembering when watching Castiel and Zachariah dance around how it was the boys were put on the plane and how Castiel himself was restored.  Neither of them say “God” and I wonder if there’s another omnipotent entity emerging. The boys themselves? Of course, the whole  idea of dreaming being celebrated by Meg and explicitly deemed real by Lucifer is only going to reinforce my theories about alternate perceptions of reality being in play.

I’m less happy about another canonization of the idea of incest since the same authorial expansions could have been accomplished with a reference to the more legitimate fanfic out there. I have to cling to the idea that the continued references are a way for processing the idea of the brothers crawling around in each other’s psyches. I sure hope it’s not being brought up in the belief there’s anything funny about it. Ditto on praying  that we won’t eventually be asked to acknowledge incest as an element in their actual history.

The distance between the boys is heartbreaking. Sam spending the episode  trying to initiate a conversation with Dean and the repeated avoidances by Dean had me flashing back to 2.02 Everybody Loves a Clown. It’s good that Dean was able to verbalize his disillusionment with Sam at this episode’s end. Sam seemed surprised to find out that setting the apocalypse in motion is less of a problem for Dean than the breakdown of trust when Sam chose to stick with Ruby.

So, Sam finds out he needs to earn back his brother’s trust. When I wonder if that’s possible and how it can best be accomplished, I realized I’ve already asked myself these same questions about our boys. (The exciting part of this realization for me is how well it carries on what I saw as a season four theme of the boys practically exchanging positions with each other.) In 2.20 What Is and What Should Never Be, the wish-verse is set up so Dean is the  black sheep. He’s earned his brother’s mistrust. I was fully convinced then (and now) that Dean would be able to make things right between him and Sam if he had chosen to stay in the wish-dream. I believe it will take time and patience and over-correction particularly since they are now facing a darker, more serious version of that estrangement, but I know I’m not the only one who won’t relax until the boys manage to put themselves back together again.

Tags: 5.01 Sympathy for the Devil, dreams, speculation, stairs, visuals