Meta: Supernatural 1×08-1×10

[rusty_halo]

Previously: 1×05-1×07

Just a warning that this post contains spoilers for the entire aired series.

1x08: Bugs

A stupid, offensive (OMG Indian curse WHAT?), badly made episode, but notable for 1) Dean slips up and admits he watches Oprah, 2) Dean's complete disregard for the law (pool hustling, credit card scams, squatting, impersonating government officials, telling a child to fake a seizure! ... all in service of the greater good, of course), and 3) Dean's insistence that his father raised them well and 4) that he would've hated a "normal" life (both later revealed to be untrue or at least way more complicated than Dean admits here).

Dean: Growing up in a place like this would freak me out.

Sam: Why?

Dean: The manicured lawns, the how-was-your-day-honey? I'd blow my brains out.

Sam: There's nothing wrong with normal.

Dean: I'd take our family over normal any day.

The quote above is certainly interesting in light of 5x22. On some level Dean probably rejects the "normal life" here because it's something he thinks he can't have, and so it feels better to insist that he wouldn't want it anyway. There's clearly a part of Dean that does wish for it--it represents the security that was ripped away from him as a child. It's also something he hasn't had as an adult and--we see later--is definitely curious about. I'm not saying that it actually is what Dean wants, but his denial here comes across as protesting too much. I'm glad that Dean is going to have a chance to actually try out "normal life" and see whether he'll be happy with it. (Uh, my bet is no.)

But anyway, the MOTW plot of 1x08 is actually an excuse to explore Sam's feelings about his father and relationship to the family. I find myself agreeing with Sam--the way their dad raised them was fucked up--and yet feeling more emotional resonance from Dean, who is so invested in believing that their father was infallible that he refuses to admit anything could have been wrong. Dean's still in denial here and it's not until that dream in, what, season three? that he finally admits how much was wrong about the way John raised him. (Though the threads definitely start this season--a big part of Dean's arc is his slow realization that John wasn't perfect.)

Here's an early example of Dean as family peacemaker, insisting to Sam that their father did love him and was proud of him, and encouraging Sam to apologize for his harsh words. Which of course is only half the story--yeah, raising them was a difficult task and their dad meant well, but surely John owes Sam plenty of apologies too, and it should be him telling Sam he's proud--Dean shouldn't have to do it for him.

Sam comes out of this wanting to apologize to their dad; Dean predicts that when next they meet, they'll apologize and yet be fighting again five minutes later. Which is exactly what does happen; Dean knows his family too well.

This is the first of many times the boys are mistaken for a gay couple. Dean plays along by patting Sam's ass and calling him "honey." Oh, show--and you hadn't even met your fandom yet.

Bechdel test: No.

1x09: Home

Sam: How much do you actually remember?

Dean: About that night, you mean?

Sam: Yeah.

Dean: Not much. I remember the fire. The heat. Then I carried you out the front door.

Sam: You did?

Dean: Yeah, what, you never knew that?

Sam: No.

This is the first episode where we discover how much emotion this show can wring out of its premise, and how good Jensen Ackles actually is as an actor. I will never get enough of Dean, husky-voiced, teary eyed, in such an extreme close-up that you can see his freckles. He has to go home again, to the only place he was ever happy, to the house he swore he'd never return after his mother died. And his brother's developing scary psychic powers, and maybe they're going up against the demon that killed their mom, and his dad has run away and is ignoring his pleading calls, and OMG IT IS PURE EMO PORN.

Dean: Dad? I know I've left you messages before. I don't even know if you get them. But I'm with Sam, and we're in Lawrence, and there's something in our old house. I don't know if it's the thing that killed Mom or not, but... I don't know what to do. So, whatever you're doing, if you could get here... please. I need your help, Dad.

AHHHH look at his lips tremble and his eyes tear up. I want to hug Dean so much.

Also, their dad really sucks. Dude, at least answer your children's phone calls! But their mom is awesome and heroic and saves them from beyond the grave--yay mom!

The way Dean hugs Sam after Sam is nearly strangled is very reminiscent of Dean clutching actual dead Sam to him at the end of S2. :*(

Bechdel test: Yes. Missouri talks to Jenny about exorcising the poltergeist. Although Missouri is a pretty unfortunate collection of stereotypes. (Still, seeing her completely pwn Dean is fun.)

1x10: Asylum

I am so frustrated by the way John treats his children. They're fighting with each other, both on edge and terrified because they haven't heard from him. He could at least tell them that he's okay and working on something where he can't afford to have them around.

I understand why he doesn't, that he wants to protect them, and maybe he's even afraid that if he did talk to them they'd convince him to let them join him despite himself. But also, in a way, he's putting revenge above family, because he wants to go all out and risk everything to kill this demon and he doesn't want the kids to stop him. He's so single-minded that he either doesn't realize or doesn't care about the damage that he's doing to his children by treating them this way, by not being there for them when they so desperately need him. Sometimes I think John embodies the worst characteristics of his children--Sam's rage and desire for vengeance above all, Dean's difficulty communicating and eagerness to sacrifice himself.

So, the core of this episode is the conflict between Sam and Dean, that Dean wants to obey whatever they can glean of their father's wishes without question, while Sam questions everything, wants to know what's going on and why, and wants to get on with his own agenda of vengeance for Jess, not be absorbed into the life as a hunter that his dad and Dean want for him. This is their core conflict articulated--Dean puts family above everything to a pathological degree, while Sam's right to want his own life but lets his anger and resentment get the best of his judgment.

My mind is saying poor Sam, but my heart is saying poor Dean. Sam's right that Dean needs to stop ordering him around, but Dean's such an angstily delicious mess that I end up loving him more, aching for how much pain he feels when Sam rejects him. And wow, this is a painful rejection--the whole point of the MOTW is to get Sam to tell Dean off in the most painful way possible. (Great use of a MOTW to illuminate our regular characters.) It puts the worst possible spin on what Sam's feeling, but Sam's resentment is real and Dean knows it.

Sam's right that Dean is desperate for their father's approval, but he doesn't--can't--understand why obeying Dad and protecting Sam is so core to Dean's identity, can't understand how deeply the loss of their mother and breakdown of their father shaped the way Dean grew up, the desperate need he felt to protect what was left of his family after his life was shattered.

Dean almost had me when he gave Sam the gun, but no--Dean may be recklessly borderline-suicidal, but he's not stupid.

This is also the first episode where we discover how well Jensen Ackles plays pain. Dean, on the ground, gasping... umm... yeah.

I think this is the second time we see the brothers fight each other. Here it's Sam attacking Dean; in 1x06 is was Shapeshifter!Dean attacking Sam. This is a good way to delve into the negative feelings they have about each other but wouldn't normally express, and also foreshadowing for the eventual brother vs. brother story.

Bechdel test: This episode doesn't pass the Bechdel test, but it has possibly Supernatural's best female character thus far, Katherine, who is a nice subversion of the horror movie victim trope. Her asshole boyfriend ignores her objections and drags her into an abandoned insane asylum, so of course she's scared when they get attacked by ghosts, but then she 1) stands up to Sam and Dean and insists on staying to save her boyfriend, 2) is strong enough to stand up to the ghost and listen to what it tells her, 3) knows how to shoot a gun and isn't afraid to, and 4) breaks up with the cowardly boyfriend who ignored the fact that she said no. And, bonus, she doesn't even die! Supernatural needs more characters like Katherine. Preferably recurring characters with agency and character arcs, thanks. (Yeah, I know, don't laugh. :P)

Next: 1x11-1x13

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