Supernatural Stairs: Are they the new bridge?
Quick note: I am unspoiled past 5.03 Free to Be You and Me. I want to stay that way and enjoy allowing the show to reveal what they want when they want.
I’m still on the alert for the bridge motif that has been used so effectively – particularly in season four. In fact, we got a beautiful example of a collapsed bridge in the new season’s second episode. However, there was also a dramatic streetside flight of stairs in 5.01 Sympathy for the Devil that I found visually striking. It was shown in three separate scenes. It was introduced by following Sam all the way as he descended.
What’s at the bottom of those stairs? Dean. He’s waiting in the week’s motel room (which itself has two levels). They are also framed in the shot of Bobby arriving in the Impala and parking in the street at the bottom of the stairs.
We aren’t done with them until we see Sam walking off to do more research after confessing to Bobby and getting that harsh reaction.
5.02 Good God, Y’All! blocks out multiple scenes so that they occur on stairs. Ellen leads the boys down to her group of refugees. (This is immediately after pausing at the top of the stairs for Ellen to hug and slap Dean.)
The boys stop on the lower run to argue about whether Sam should go along to further explore the demon infested town.
Then the boys sit shoulder to shoulder on a lone step surveying the base camp. Their conversation includes Sam telling Dean he wished he could still save people. Dean is jumping on the idea that Sam meant being high on demon blood when the conversation is interrupted by Ellen. (From here, they head back out to the foot of the stairs where a frustrated Sam gets around to shoving his brother.)
That was enough to tease me into promising myself a more thorough posting about stairs if they showed up in a third straight episode. So…. because they did, here I am. 5.03 Free to Be You and Me was more subtle about their use and likely wouldn’t have set off pings except that I was on the lookout for stairs. Three distinct sets of stairs are included in the episode.
First, Agents Alonzo Mosely and Eddie Moscone introduce themselves at the foot of a flight of stairs. (Off topic, but hurray! for the Midnight Run shout out. And, I’ll admit to being pleased that Dean saved Jack Walsh and Jonathan Mardukas to use with Sam someday.)
They go on to interview the deputy, and throughout, those stairs will be framed in the space between the two of them.
Later we catch up to Dean and Castiel squatting in an empty house. It’s bare bones and distinguished by not much more than a picture window and stairs leading down to the doorway.
Dean insists on giving Castiel a final night of iniquity. When they make their hasty exit from the brothel, it’s obvious they’ve hustled down a staircase ending just inside the back door.
Near episode’s end, Dean and Castiel enter the abandoned house and Raphael’s appearance illuminates the scene and highlights the staircase.
That’s up to date with stairs in season five so far. It’s early going yet, so it remains to be seen if they’ll continue using the motif. So far, they seem to be focused mainly (not exclusively) on heading or being downstairs. Are there any likely messages we can draw from it? Do we want to see the boys turn around and move up the stairs? I’ve decided I’d love an episode set in a lighthouse and watching the boys climb spiral stairs.
Like other recurring visuals, I believe it’s worth exploring the traditional understandings. The definition of stairs that pleased me the most included this bit:
a construction designed to bridge a large vertical distance by dividing it into smaller vertical distances, called steps.
The idea of stairs as a bridge can tie it to the symbolism for both in dreams. Dream interpretation for stairs varies but seems to generally be concerned with changes – including changes in consciousness.
One idiom I can think of is how “I fell down some stairs” is almost always considered a flimsy excuse for injuries sustained through embarrassing or shameful circumstances. (Fight Club makes use of this and reminds me of my theory that Dean’s time in hell led to dissociation.)
I can’t be the only one hoping against hope we’ll get to listen to Led Zeppelin along with Dean at some point before the show completes its run. I’d absolutely love to see how the production would incorporate “Stairway to Heaven.”
…sometimes words have two meanings.
Yes, there are two paths you can go by
But in the long run
There’s still time to change the road you’re on.
My word, even the backmasking controversy could be tied to the two-way nature of stairs, couldn’t it? (Hasn’t it been a treat to have the music make such a strong return at the beginning of season five?)
I do have a couple of personal connections I made while thinking hard about stairs over the past week. (These are almost guaranteed to mean nothing to anyone else.) I remember playing “Button, button, who’s got the button?” with my brothers on our family home’s stairs. We moved up or down a stair as a way of keeping score on correctly guessing which hand was hiding the button. Winning happened when you reached the top landing and you got to take over the job of hiding the button. Also, I remember reading a young adult novel by William Sleator titled House of Stairs. It involved several teenagers trapped in a torturous psychological experiment when they are placed in an environment of nothing but stairs.
BACK TO THE SHOW! Stairs didn’t show up in season five without precedent. They can be traced back further in the series. The boys often euphemistically refer to Hell as “downstairs.” I remember noting that fact back in 4.09 I Know What You Did Last Summer when Alastair telekinetically threw Sam down the church’s attic stairs after Sam’s first attempt to challenge him failed.
What else? We got a scene in 2.13 Houses of the Holy of the boys exiting the church and descending the stairs outside with the priest and pausing to talk.
Too many houses to sort out have had porches with stairs leading to them. I will however mention that in 4.20 The Rapture, Jimmy’s possession by Castiel took place outside his home and with the porch stairs behind him.
Later, after he releases Sam from demon blood detox in 4.21 When the Levee Breaks, Castiel is shown lurking under the stairs to Bobby’s panic room.
The boys hide from the djinn behind stairs in 2.20 What is and What Should Never Be.
Here’s early hero Sam in 1.09 Home when he’s carrying two siblings downstairs to safety.
Which further reminds me of the occasional fire escapes the boys made use of – notably when all three Winchesters escaped in 1.22 Devil’s Trap.
I could go on….. I hope others will point out scenes with stairs that they found memorable. I’ll close for now with the best stairs scene Supernatural may have ever given us.
2.01 In My Time of Dying
Screencaps were snagged from oxoniensis, marishna, and potthead at rawr-caps- with thanks!
27 Sep 2009 12:04 am robin 8 comments
Ooooh! I was noticing the stairs too! In season 1 there were lots of stairs that I remember — Scarecrow, Nightmare, in the Pilot, Mary is on the stairs when she realizes it wasn’t John in the nursery w/Sam, — so far S5 is giving off a very strong S1 vibe to me.
in the Pilot, Mary is on the stairs when she realizes it wasn’t John in the nursery w/Sam
Of course!! Thank you so much for that. It was a glaring omission on my part.
I’m glad to know others are noticing the stairs. For me, S5 is giving off an ‘every season’ vibe. *g* I have begun wondering if the boys reunion – because they must reunite – might play out as an echo or reflection of when they met up in the pilot.
Also, I remember reading a young adult novel by William Sleator titled House of Stairs. It involved several teenagers trapped in a torturous psychological experiment when they are placed in an environment of nothing but stairs.
*blink* I READ that book. It really stuck with me, too. *shiver*
Really interesting stuff, Robin. Yeah, like you, I’m not exactly sure what to make of it yet.
I also agree about the “every season” vibe of Season 5. I don’t recall seeing quite so many “shout out”‘s to previous thematic elements before. Certainly appropriate given that we’re bringing multiple story arcs to a head, here.
*blink* I READ that book. It really stuck with me, too. *shiver*
That’s too funny. I’m trying to decide if I need to get hold of it again to reread now that it’s popped back into my brain.
Yeah, like you, I’m not exactly sure what to make of it yet.
I also agree about the “every season” vibe of Season 5. I don’t recall seeing quite so many “shout out”’s to previous thematic elements before. Certainly appropriate given that we’re bringing multiple story arcs to a head, here.
The increase (in frequency and/or in intensity, I wonder?) of the callbacks you and others are noticing warms my heart. I catch some of them on a subconscious level and it helps to have others articulating the specifics.
We’ve seen echoing and loops in individual episodes of the show. What explanations has the show offered for that kind of phenomenon?? I think the answer to that is vital.
Oh, I *love* this! I noticed the excess use of stairs in production sorta off-handedly the other day and thought it was curious but I didn’t think too much more about it. It seems significant that last year’s visual motif was a bridge, which emphasizes distance and gaps between land, mirroring the brothers distance. Whereas the stairs to me are more of an image of bridging a gap, and finding understanding. Coming down from one level to meet another in the eye, for one common goal. It’s very interesting.
What’s more, the whole time I’m reading this, the #1 stairs instance I’m remembering is the PILOT. Dean and Sam’s FIRST conversation, their first attempt to bridge a gap after years of separation, happened on the stairs! Which is interesting not only in the bridging a gap/finding understanding kinda way, but also, in light of the fact you bring here, that stairs in dreams allude to changes. Oh jeeze, just popping into my head now, but the most iconic image of the series, Little Dean carrying baby Sammy down the steps and out the door!
It’s really interesting that all these instances, as you noted, are walking downstairs or the boys already downstairs. I’m not sure if it’s just an optimum visual thing or what, but considering the whole series downward spiraling for Dean and Sam (not many would disagree with the idea that they’ve about hit rock bottom right now), it’s definitely a wonder when we’ll see an upstairs ascendancy soon!
I also can’t help but notice, your stairs moments you picked from other seasons were during faith driven episodes. About finding John, or talking about faith and God. Interesting as it turns out this season Cas is on a mission to find God. Ascendancy is after all the first thing i think of when I think of steps, what is at the top, what is it that they lead to, and what higher level could the show possible look at other than God.
Thanks for putting this together, it’s given much food for thought. I too I’m going to look forward to seeing the boys finally climbing *up* those steps!
zimshan: the whole time I’m reading this, the #1 stairs instance I’m remembering is the PILOT. Dean and Sam’s FIRST conversation, their first attempt to bridge a gap after years of separation, happened on the stairs! Which is interesting not only in the bridging a gap/finding understanding kinda way, but also, in light of the fact you bring here, that stairs in dreams allude to changes. Oh jeeze, just popping into my head now, but the most iconic image of the series, Little Dean carrying baby Sammy down the steps and out the door!
I promise you all, I’ve watched the Pilot episode more than any other — literally in double digits. So, I’m downright embarrassed at having to be reminded about all the stairs in it. Because, of course!, having at least three stairs moments in the first five minutes of the show could work to indicate the separations that life altering event caused for this family. (Goodness, even the Woman in White’s children were waiting for her at the top of stairs, weren’t they?!)
It’s really interesting that all these instances, as you noted, are walking downstairs or the boys already downstairs.
It works well for reinforcing my theory that there was truth in Alastair claiming Dean left something of himself in hell. I’d be disappointed if Sam didn’t find a way to follow his brother downstairs – even if that meant making himself into a monster.
(Oh!! Is there room to think about the elevator in 4.17 It’s a Terrible Life in this discussion? Or the time they skipped the stairs and took the window in 4.09 I Know What You Did Last Summer?)
I also can’t help but notice, your stairs moments you picked from other seasons were during faith driven episodes. About finding John, or talking about faith and God. Interesting as it turns out this season Cas is on a mission to find God. Ascendancy is after all the first thing i think of when I think of steps, what is at the top, what is it that they lead to, and what higher level could the show possible look at other than God.
That wasn’t actually done consciously. I went for the scenes/eps where I could still see the stairs in my mind’s eye. Either it was something recent or the stairs themselves were dramatic or the situation was.
The hard part of trying to do something with this idea is that stairs are rather easy to take for granted. They must be tempting for the production to use just for the aesthetic variety they provide – no extra meaning needed. So, it’s more than possible I’m stretching it to get excited about looking for subtext in them. But, season five’s stairs have felt different. It’s as if we are supposed to notice them. I’m glad to be getting confirmation that it wasn’t just me….
Very insightful meta. Sam and Dean are constantly going up and down with their feelings and relationships, just like a staircase.
“Stairway to Heaven” is one of my all-time favorite songs, and I sure wish they would give SUPERNATURAL permission to use it. Doesn’t it seem as if, all their lives, Sam and Dean have been trying to buy the stairway to heaven, but evil forces always push them in the other direction?
I’m a sappy soul who believes strongly that love conquers all. I suspect that, once the Winchester brothers reunite, together and better than ever, there won’t be an angel, demon or even Lucifer himself left standing under the onslaught of the love between Sam and Dean.
Love, Robin
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Robin:I suspect that, once the Winchester brothers reunite, together and better than ever, there won’t be an angel, demon or even Lucifer himself left standing under the onslaught of the love between Sam and Dean.
I am counting on it!!