Salvation. Good Lord.
Jul. 12th, 2006 04:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dangermousie"Salvation" is an excellent ep, but I first want to talk about something tangential. Namely how Dean, after his time with Sam, is now standing up to Daddy Dearest. And John is taken aback, while he percieves it as a lot more normal when Sam does it. I think John has assigned roles to his kids (Dean is the good soldier, Sam is the rebel) so when the lines get blurred, he is a bit thrown. For a supernatural hunter, he doesn't deal that well with the unexpected, does he? And I also find it interesting that Dean first stands up to John to either back up Sam. It's not that he is incapable to stand up for solely himself (get to it later) but I think, in a way, it would be much harder. It has to do with his placing all his value into his family and none really in himself. So he would argue on Sam's bahalf and knuckle down on his own. Dean needs Sam to allow him to express himself. Of course, that is not the only time he argues. He blows up at John when John yells at them for not telling him Sam has visions. But I think even that is partly motivated by a desire to protect Sam. Of course, part of it is his imbibing Sam's ideas of independence and part resentment: when he mentions that John didn't respond when they called him from home or when Dean was dying, you can see how much it bothers 'repress everything' Dean, for him to burst out with it. I wonder if he feels valueless to his father? And of course, once he starts arguing, it becomes easier and easier each next time.
Dean doesn't deal well with emotion, does he? When Sam tries to thank him for always having his back, Dean just deflects. He always deflects whenever things get too personal. I think it's growing up with no mother figures or really good caretakers.
But then, we get to the end of the ep. And Sam loses it, he wants to go after the demon so badly. He almost runs into that fire and I love that he is willing to die to kill the thing but Dean, the consummate hunter, would rather let the demon go, then have Sam die. OMG. Brotherly love. And they end up in a mirror reversal of the scenario from pilot, with Dean being the one saying even with killing the demon, Mom and Jess aren't coming back, and Sam being the one to completely explode and fall apart at that. And when Dean says "The three of us. That's all we have. That's all I have. Sometimes I feel like I am barely holding it together" my heart just breaks for him. Stick a fork in him, he's done. Boy needs a long vacation in a sanatorium with a shrink.
Of course, instead of that, he gets Meg, telling him that 'you boys' really screwed up and that they will never see their father again. And coming on the heels of Dean's admission that family is most important to him? Talk about a solar plexus punch. (Interesting that yet again, Sam and John are similar in their driving vengeance need for the demon over everything. But not for Dean).
Also, I know manly men and all that, but when you first meet your kids after a long time, shouldn't you be a bit less gruff than "You should have taken care of the car. Never should have given it to you blah blah." Nope, can't warm up to John.
Dean doesn't deal well with emotion, does he? When Sam tries to thank him for always having his back, Dean just deflects. He always deflects whenever things get too personal. I think it's growing up with no mother figures or really good caretakers.
But then, we get to the end of the ep. And Sam loses it, he wants to go after the demon so badly. He almost runs into that fire and I love that he is willing to die to kill the thing but Dean, the consummate hunter, would rather let the demon go, then have Sam die. OMG. Brotherly love. And they end up in a mirror reversal of the scenario from pilot, with Dean being the one saying even with killing the demon, Mom and Jess aren't coming back, and Sam being the one to completely explode and fall apart at that. And when Dean says "The three of us. That's all we have. That's all I have. Sometimes I feel like I am barely holding it together" my heart just breaks for him. Stick a fork in him, he's done. Boy needs a long vacation in a sanatorium with a shrink.
Of course, instead of that, he gets Meg, telling him that 'you boys' really screwed up and that they will never see their father again. And coming on the heels of Dean's admission that family is most important to him? Talk about a solar plexus punch. (Interesting that yet again, Sam and John are similar in their driving vengeance need for the demon over everything. But not for Dean).
Also, I know manly men and all that, but when you first meet your kids after a long time, shouldn't you be a bit less gruff than "You should have taken care of the car. Never should have given it to you blah blah." Nope, can't warm up to John.
