blackcat333_99 ([info]blackcat333_99) wrote,
@ 2009-04-24 15:55:00
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Current mood: contemplative
Entry tags:spn

SPN 4.19 Jump the Shark

We’ve hit that final stretch of episodes leading to the finale that each season I try to dial back on my analysis and just watch it all happen, since things usually are so interconnected for the last bit.

So, this is me, trying to just go into “take it all in and wait to see things play out” mode.

Right. I sorta have this problem about shutting up on my show, however, so already breaking my resolve a little, we have this week’s new factoids to play with.

Adam and John tell us much about Sam and Dean and where their heads are at these days.

You are what you eat.

Monsters.
You use that word a lot, Sam. I don’t think you know what it means… Our father was a monster – why? Because of what he ate? He never hurt anyone, Sam. Living, anyway.
No. He was no monster. But the thing that killed him was. A monster named John Winchester.

The boys have re-examined their perception of the word “monster” many times throughout the series. This season Sam in particular has been struggling a bit with his definition, and how it’s shifted. Become personal in new ways. And yet looking back at the reverse mirror from 2.03 – actions vs. species being judged. You are what you eat. These monsters were killing people now. Then again, Sam’s actions that he’s been hiding from Dean: drinking demon blood. It’s not about what’s already inside Sam, it’s about what he the person is DOING. Keep asking that question, Sam. Self-doubt is what helps keep a person honest. It’s when you stop asking (stop caring) that you’re really in trouble.

Because:

Hey, why not move on to fresher game?

Monsters escalate. Going off the Sam mirror again – what started out as monsters in name only became monsters in truth. And now I’m getting even more worried for our boy.

Still, there is twisted reassuring message to the picture: the family united theme. And how “difficult” it ended up being for bro and sis to divide up the boys. “United we stand…”

What about those philosophical/motivational issues?

Revenge. It’s never over, is it Sam?

Revenge is a circle that goes round and round. Ends in death, yours or theirs.

Sam and John vs. Dean on this front. Callback to Salvation. Sam wanting to do whatever it took to end things with YED (a’la John). Dean believing that “it’s not worth dying for.”

Hmm.

Sam and Dean’s life vs. Adam’s.

He took you to a freaking baseball game?
Yeah. Why? What’d Dad do on your birthday?

I suppose when looking at this new contrast of treatment of his sons it’d be easy to say one way of raising his kids was right, and one was wrong. But really, both Sam and Dean had valid points in what they wanted for Adam. And no one son actually got the real, full John Winchester as a father. Sam and Dean got the man who taught them how to survive. Adam got the man who presented as the indulgent civilian.

Ultimately, I think the answer lands somewhere in the middle. John got it wrong with all three of his boys. I can’t even say the argument is about quantity vs. quality of lifestyles that were given to the boys, because all three boys died before their 30th birthdays. Adam at 18-19(?), Sam at 24, Dean would have died at 26-7, again should have died at 27, and finally did die all the way to hell at age 29. The only difference being that Sam and Dean are still alive because they broke the rules. Which we have seen even “civilians” quite capable of doing, making deals with demons.

So – yeah, John. Didn’t do any of his kids any real favors, not really. Hell, one of your sons thinks that being dead is now preferable to being alive, and the other son thinks that breaking the rules is pretty much a viable option as a first resort.

You know I get why you and Dad butted heads so much. You two are practically the same person. I mean, I worshiped the guy, you know. I dressed like him, I acted like him, I listened to the same music. And you are more like him than I will ever be.

Superficial adopted traits vs. innate natural tendencies.

And judging by what Mary revealed as her wishes for her children in 4.03 – if Sam is John then Dean is Mary.

I think the Sam/John stuff is just getting momentum, however, so I’ll just wrap it up at this for now. Believe it or not -- this IS me being restrained in my analysis and commentary. Go me!


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[info]halfshellvenus
2009-04-25 02:41 am UTC (link)
Thanks for pointing me over here-- these were very interesting thoughts.

It’s not about what’s already inside Sam, it’s about what he the person is DOING. Keep asking that question, Sam. Self-doubt is what helps keep a person honest. It’s when you stop asking (stop caring) that you’re really in trouble.
Couldn't agree with you more here, in general. I'm nervous about a Sam who stops asking those questions, because that isn't the Sam I know and love.

Ultimately, I think the answer lands somewhere in the middle. John got it wrong with all three of his boys.
I'm not sure what he did with Adam WAS wrong, honestly. The vast majority of people will never encounter the supernatural threats that the Winchesters are so familiar with, and they will be happier not knowing that those threats exist. Why embrace the darkness when it might never find you? Enjoy your life. Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise.

With Sam and Dean, John was simply too rigid, time and time again. The possibility that he could even conceive of being otherwise is a slap in the face to both boys. :( Actually, it reminds me (off-topic) of the situation with my mother's parents. I was talking with my uncle when he was about 70, about how affectionate and warm his parents were with their grandchildren. They hadn't been so with their own children (victims of the 1920s adage against "spoiling" your children and making them weak), and because he was the only one of the kids who didn't have his own children, he hadn't known that. He was so hurt to realize what he'd missed out on, having all those years assumed it was because his parents weren't capable of those feelings. And I was so sorry I'd even mentioned it. :(

I can’t even say the argument is about quantity vs. quality of lifestyles that were given to the boys, because all three boys died before their 30th birthdays. Adam at 18-19(?), Sam at 24, Dean would have died at 26-7, again should have died at 27, and finally did die all the way to hell at age 29. The only difference being that Sam and Dean are still alive because they broke the rules.
SUCH an interesting observation! I hadn't really thought of it that way, but it proves your point so well. Neither method he chose worked, though at least Adam had a happy life up until his untimely death. :(

Have you thought about linking this to the "episode reactions" section of the newsletter? I think other people would find it fascinating. :)

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[info]blackcat333_99
2009-04-25 06:16 pm UTC (link)
I'm not sure what he did with Adam WAS wrong, honestly. The vast majority of people will never encounter the supernatural threats that the Winchesters are so familiar with, and they will be happier not knowing that those threats exist. Why embrace the darkness when it might never find you? Enjoy your life. Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise.

I mostly agree with this -- with the caveate that Adam did have an unwitting connection to the supernatural that most other "normal" people don't have because John was his father, and John has made a lot of enemies over the years. Adam certainly had the happier life by far, and he certainly was better off not being drafted into the hunter life, but I think he might have had a longer life if John had given him a little bit more info -- not destroying his innocence entirely, but just making him more aware. A fine line, to be sure, and it's one that John has proved himself not particularly capable of managing. Given his history of "all or nothing"/"in or out" with the family/hunting business, it's understandable that by keeping Adam out, he would keep him out all the way. I disagree with his choice, and at the very least think that Sam and Dean should have known about his existence -- he was THEIR brother too, not just John's son. But... spilled milk, all that jazz.

And his dealings with Adam were such a slap in the face to Dean, I think, because of exactly the point you made: that John had been too rigid with them, he could have raised them as hunters and still given them a little more "normal" in the process. Whether Adam got more as a lesson learned by John in losing a rebellious Sam, or whether it simply was about other psychologic reasonings in play for him -- he could have done better by Sam and Dean. And Dean's finally realizing that and acknowledging it, instead of falling back on the "he did the best he could with us" mantra of blanket forgiveness he's voiced in the past.

I think John loved all of his boys, Sam and Dean probably the most, simply because of time and shared family unit history. But they still ended up getting the short stick on the "father" end of John's person.

It's fascinating -- as much as there are some things revealed that have some people screaming, it's certainly giving us a lot to ponder about all of the Winchesters -- even the silent ghost of Mary. Thanks for popping over -- I'm always game for discussion. :)

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