Thinky Thoughts: Rolling back the years
Between this, the scene in the car and the ending scene with Sam, both boys were thrust back to a younger, more vulnerable state... And the fact that @JensenAckles and @jarpad actually captured that with their faces, voices... Stunning. #SPN300 is gonna rock our world, y'all. https://t.co/pTQ6V8ENYk— Dean's Not Fine #SPN300 💔🥃🥧 (@DeanIsntFine) February 2, 2019
It started with sheer terror.
The images of Dean inside the box, at the beginning of "Prophet and Loss" -- the sequence we'd heard had brought some of the crew to tears -- kicked us all square in the gut.
There he was, one of the strongest men we've ever known, reduced to a terrified boy in the dark, panicking in the small space, water dripping, calling out for Sam. (We know Michael initially kept Dean drowning... could that experience be making this terror even more intense?)
When we found out it was a dream, it wasn't much solace.
Because here were Sam and Dean, back in some (deliberately?) anonymous motel room, with Dean in the grip of a nightmare, fingers bloodied, scratch marks on the wall... And then, in the dim and quiet, the boys share confidences, grapple with their choices.
We try not to think about how many nights Sam and Dean have spent like this, in how many motel rooms. Nor how young they were when it began.
The last few episodes have been pointing somewhere. For my part, I love Supernatural the most when the scripts do this, thoughtfully, seemingly out of context... they pull and push us toward a revelation. It's dancing just out of reach. But we can't wait to see what it is.
I'm fairly certain that it all points to #SPN300. To John.
I haven't done a thorough rewatch of S14 yet with this in mind. But think as far back as Mint Condition, when Dean's stand-in, Dirk, talked about things getting bad with his dad, and that Stuart was always there for him.
Or Dean's conversation with Mary over Winchester Surprise, where she finally took a hard look at what her sons' childhood was like.
And next we have that conversation from this week. In the car. Talk about hitting us over the head with it:
When we found out it was a dream, it wasn't much solace.
Because here were Sam and Dean, back in some (deliberately?) anonymous motel room, with Dean in the grip of a nightmare, fingers bloodied, scratch marks on the wall... And then, in the dim and quiet, the boys share confidences, grapple with their choices.
We try not to think about how many nights Sam and Dean have spent like this, in how many motel rooms. Nor how young they were when it began.
The last few episodes have been pointing somewhere. For my part, I love Supernatural the most when the scripts do this, thoughtfully, seemingly out of context... they pull and push us toward a revelation. It's dancing just out of reach. But we can't wait to see what it is.
I'm fairly certain that it all points to #SPN300. To John.
I haven't done a thorough rewatch of S14 yet with this in mind. But think as far back as Mint Condition, when Dean's stand-in, Dirk, talked about things getting bad with his dad, and that Stuart was always there for him.
Or Dean's conversation with Mary over Winchester Surprise, where she finally took a hard look at what her sons' childhood was like.
And next we have that conversation from this week. In the car. Talk about hitting us over the head with it:
DEAN: You ever think about when we were kids?
SAM: Maybe. Yeah, sure. Sometimes. W-Why?
DEAN: I know I wasn’t always the greatest brother to you.
SAM: Dean, you were the one who was always there for me. The only one. I mean, you practically raised me.
DEAN: I know things got dicey… you know, with Dad… the way he was. And I just… I didn’t always look out for you the way that I should’ve. I mean, I had my own stuff, you know. In order to keep the peace, it probably looked like I took his side quite a bit. Sometimes when I was… when I was away, you know it wasn’t ‘cause I just ran out, right? Dad would… he would send me away when I really pissed him off. I think you knew that.
SAM: Man, I left that behind a long time ago. I had to.
And there's one important guy we haven't talked about yet. Someone who normally keeps his shit very tightly wrapped. Someone who struggles more than we may ever know. He's about to reach his breaking point. And his big brother isn't helping matters. At all.
If this post is about the Winchesters reverting to a younger, more vulnerable state, then this scene was the coup de grace.
Is this the end of the line? Stream the latest episode of #Supernatural for FREE now: https://t.co/B7PgbCloBJ pic.twitter.com/L123KPSDbU— Supernatural (@cw_spn) February 1, 2019
Wow. Try not to think about how many times a young Sam, stripped raw by fear, was desperate to grab on to his big brother and never let go.
Where's it all leading us? As I write this, we have just three days until we find out. Are we ready?
Up next: Pulling the plug.
I am 100% HERE for your theory of the boys reverting to themselves as kids just in time for Dad to return. It's [bleeping] poetic. And no matter how it plays out, no, we are not ready.
ReplyDeleteI just watched (again), and Dean goes even deeper into big brother mode in the motel room: "What are you doing? You should get some sleep." Even though //he// was the one who just woke up in terror. I invite everyone to watch that again, and again, picture the boys in allll the different motel rooms, at allll the different ages.
ReplyDeleteIn no way, Jennie, am I prepared for this coming episode.
ReplyDeleteConfession: that initial scene of Dean in the box, bloodied fingers, water dripping slowly into the box, Dean calling out in his fear for Sam, the correlation to the "drowning" he experienced with Michael's isolating Dean in his own mind...that scene...triggered an anxiety attack related to my own near drowning as a small child; my head forcibly held under water by my babysitter. You opened your essay with that scene, and you described it so clearly, yet in a setting that felt safer for me than at that first viewing, because you broke it down into smaller pieces. I felt the impact without losing myself to it.
You do that, you know...put difficult things into manageable parts that allow your readers to "feel", to experience the emotional impact, without permanent damage.
You bring up so many things to ponder...John, being the most distasteful for me. In his drive for revenge, he subjected those boys, nearly from infancy, to horrendous abuse, in the name of protecting them from "evil", a poor excuse for his dedication to revenge.
The powerful brother bond has never been more evident. And Dean was right...Sam was the only one who could get through to him.
Nope, not ready, Jennie, but if you write another blog like this one, it will make the encroaching trauma, if not more palatable, a bit less threatening...
Misery really does love company, Jennie...and you're good company.
Doris, what an unbelievable trauma you were forced to endure as a child... I can't imagine what you went through. The writers really are taking us trough a minefield of emotions this season. I only hope that the boys come out stronger... stronger in themselves, stronger in their bond, stronger with their larger family. <3
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