Mirror Mirror on the Wall: Chapter 8 - On Sam Out of the Box

[hearseeno]

The Way out of the Box

I've worked with kids whose families perceive them as "bad," or somehow different than the rest of the children in the family. It tends to draw for really strong reactions from the kids. I've seen them withdraw, become sullen, resentful and feel misunderstood by everyone around them.  I've seen them comply with the implicit

Comments

[hearseeno]

Thanks for kind words, persuna. Have fun with the John and Dean chapters. :)

[yourlibrarian]

Death by Childhood Emotional Baggage

Hee! What a great caption.

I like the way this all comes together so well in explaining, not only Sam's time in college, but his current behavior post-Dean's death.

[hearseeno]

What a great caption.

Thanks! And Winchester emotional baggage is particularly lethal, too, in all kinds of ways. *snicker*

You know, it really wasn't until this season that I feel like I understand Sam better. I felt like I understood where he was coming from on a gut-level, but was unable to really put my finger on the specifics. Because he's such an introvert (read: cagey bastard), I have to work backwards from the now to the then, from what I see on the surface to what must logically be underneath because of previous behavioral patterns he's demonstrated.

[yourlibrarian]

I have to work backwards from the now to the then, from what I see on the surface to what must logically be underneath because of previous behavioral patterns he's demonstrated.

Yes, Sam definitely keeps a lot to himself, and interestingly, the things he often wants to be open about are the ones Dean wants to keep closed! It's not surprising the writers have had to find various extreme means of getting their thoughts revealed to the audience.

[litotease]

via crack impala.

Oh, terrific analysis. Yes.

(Plus, it explains a lot about why I'm so overly identified with Sam. *g*)

*runs to read the others*

[hearseeno]

Thanks GraceCourage.

Yeah, sometimes I identify with Dean... and then I see Sam and something clicks, and I'm back to identifying with Sam, and I'll identify with Sam for a while, and then.... XD

Your comment reminds me of a postcard I saw a long time ago that cracked me up. It was a cartoon of an auditorium that was pretty much empty, just a few attendees dotting the audience here and there. The banner above the doors read something like, "Welcome, Children of Normal Families Convention." :P

Maybe that's one reason why The Show appeals to so many of us, because of its underlying themes of family and the struggle to connect despite, and sometimes because of, the parts of us that are broken.

[litotease]

via crack impala Um. The Newsletter. Yeah. *facepalm*

[redrikki]

What an excellent Sam meta. I must admit, I've always had a lot of trouble rally getting Sam, but this just explicitly laid out all of those issues which I was aware of but couldn't quite articulate. I found the part with the protect Sam issues to be especially pertinent. Dean's reaction to this side of the equation was always fairly explicit, but, as you said, Sam tends to internalize things.

[hearseeno]

Thanks RedRikki.

Yep, which is why I think this Sam-meta just grew and grew and grew. Once I started linking ideas a whole domino of 4 seasons' worth of information started falling into place.