3x05 Coda

[dwarfankylosaur]

Episode reaction as fanfic.

Antigone and Ismene
250 words
Coda to 3x05 (which means spoilers)

Comments

[sadelyrate]

Ouch.
And yet... too, too easy to imagine Sam considering this.
Short and sweet so damn fitting.
As if the episode didn't fuck with my head enough... *sniff*

So what do I think?
*friends you*

[dwarfankylosaur]

As if the episode didn't fuck with my head enough... *sniff*

Hell, this was me trying to *fix* the episode. The demon wouldn't have started with that 'sloppy, needy Dean' speech if she didn't think it'd hit home. "Sam blames himself for not fixing all Dean's problems" was the kindest interpretation I could come up with.

Man, this episode was a doozy, eh?

*friends back*

[lomer]

I like this drabble. Who's Ismene and Antigone though? I've always seen Dean as Antigone - willing to throw himself into the pits of hell for what he feels is right. But then again Dean could be Ismene - always obedient to John. Never questioning John's judgement too loudly because he knows his role in his family.

I freakin' LOVE "Antigone" (by Sophocles or Jean Anouilh or ANYONE.) Great play, great story. I haven't thought of Sam and Dean as parallels for this sisters though.

[dwarfankylosaur]

Yeah, I, um, never thought anyone would pay attention to the title, so the reference is a little odd. I'm not looking at it as a parallel for the entire Oedipus cycle, though, just Sophocles' Antigone. Specifically those two scenes: The first, where Ismene reminds Antigone of all the woe their family has caused them and says she lacks the strength to go against the state and Antigone rejects her for it, and the second, where Ismene repents and tries to die with Antigone and Antigone won't let her. On the surface, it seems like a kind and sisterly act, but in fact it's because *allowing Ismene to die would be too easy on her.* While I relate more to Antigone, my sympathies here were always with Ismene. What do you do with a sister like Antigone? She's so righteous, you can never live up to her. No sacrifice will ever be enough

[lomer]

When I played Antigone (Sophocles version, though I would LOVE to do Anouilh's version some day. I adore him.) I tried to play both scenes as very conflicted. No matter what Antigone says, she doesn't REALLY want to die. (Kind of like Dean.) And she is torn between wanting to embrace, and wanting to punish her sister for making her do this alone. It's just one of those wonderfully complex roles that could be played as "I have no doubts, I am confident in my choices, and I'm willing to die no matter what", but I think she's more interesting when she's TERRIFIED, trying to hide her fears, and willing to die all the same because it's the right thing to do.

And "Antigone" is one of those shows that is ambigious enough that everyone does have their own interpretation of it. Hell, my interpretation of it has changed throughout the years. I used to relate completely to Antigone, and as I get older I find the strength and power in Ismene. She's not the weak sister, she's just the one who wants to play within the rules.

[dwarfankylosaur]

When I read Antigone (my first semester of college, I should go back and read it again) I saw her as George Engel at the gallows, or Dean in 3x01: her life has been hard, her family has been taken from her, and she's just exhausted. Now, suddenly, she has this opportunity to be done with it all and for her death to *mean* something. She's scared, of course, and angry, but deep down she's relieved. The tragedy isn't what happens to Antigone, it's what happens to everyone else.
It's a great play that can be so many different things to different people.

[musesfool]

*whimper*

That's just hurtful and I can see the ending, see Dean's face, so clearly. Oh, boys...

[dwarfankylosaur]

Well, "Thank you" seems an odd thing to say, but thank you for commenting. < g >

[logovo]

I really liked this. It has so much in here.

[dwarfankylosaur]

Thank you.

[tigriswolf]

Lovely.

[dwarfankylosaur]

Thank you.