Comments | hearseeno: Mirror Mirror on the Wall: Chapter 12

hearseeno

Mirror Mirror on the Wall: Chapter 12 - On Sam Out of the Box Redux

Apr 26, 2009 19:08

Sam Out of the Box - Redux:

Just as Mr. Wyatt opened the door in the midst of Sam's despair, so did Ruby. Just as it took someone outside the Winchester family system to challenge the view of the validity of "Keep Sam safe," so did it take an outsider to challenge the Winchester family value of "Reject all things supernatural."

( The door out of despair )

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Comments 12

pizzapixie April 27 2009, 01:48:59 UTC

You are brilliant. I have been so frustrated with Sam, so disenchanted with his choices. You just made so much sense. Thank you.

hearseeno April 28 2009, 01:28:00 UTC

You're welcome and thank you for your kind words.

pinkphoenix1985 April 27 2009, 07:00:58 UTC

this is brilliant! I've friended you so I can get updates on this brilliant series

hearseeno April 28 2009, 01:30:01 UTC

Oh dear. *gnaws on fingers and feels the weight of expectations acutely* Heck, if you made it to the end of this series of posts, then I know to count on your patience and forbearance. ;)

pinkphoenix1985 April 29 2009, 19:36:33 UTC

Your meta is just so wonderfully detailed and really explains what Sam's motives are as well as John's! I found it to be refreshing especially when it seems that most of the fandom is against Sam at the the moment!

impulsiveanswer April 27 2009, 16:25:52 UTC

You amaze me with how deep you're able to go inside Sam's psyche.

The part about Dean staking his innocence in Sam, that he held Sam to be the one good thing he'd done no matter what, reminded me of stage parents - for some reason they failed to obtain "the dream" so they project that desire onto their children. It's a lot of pressure, especially when that child doesn't take to "the dream" as their parent did - I think it says a lot about how much Sam loves Dean for him not to completely resent Dean putting that weight on him or acting like Sam's loss of innocence is a personal betrayal.

The part about Sam doing what Dean wanted him to do during season three left him without Dean or himself at the end of that season made me think of what the shapeshifter posing as Dean said in Skin: "Hell, I did everything Dad asked me and he ditched me too". There's a part of Sam that's very angry, however irrationally, at Dean - not just for making the deal but also for leaving him even after he gave up so much of himself to follow Dean's lead ( ... )

hearseeno April 28 2009, 01:51:34 UTC

... and damn but it take some digging to get down deep in that boy. He's John's son, all right.

I think it says a lot about how much Sam loves Dean for him not to completely resent Dean putting that weight on him or acting like Sam's loss of innocence is a personal betrayal.

Yeah, I really agree with that. I kept trying to find a place to stick in the observation that Sam rarely aggresses against Dean, like Dean, the older of the brothers, aggresses against Sam to keep him in line. Not only is it the use of force is often the purview of the older sibling, but Sam refrains from deliberately hurting Dean. He certainly makes choices that hurt Dean, but, unless the supernatural or alcohol loosens his tongue, he doesn't go for Dean's jugular even though he's got the material to do it.

reminded me of stage parents Yep, good observation. It's a characteristic of enmeshed family systems that the boundaries between "what I need" and "what you need" get terribly blurred. That who Sam is serves a need for Dean at that level of self- ( ... )

varkelton May 3 2009, 14:33:34 UTC

Whoops, I copied the latest posts into an e-mail so I could read them at work, 'cause I couldn't wait, and then I forgot to comment. Bad me. Still loving this series of meta, and I love that there's so much detail here that I can reread them and get more out of them each time. And can I just say that the implications of the last episode on all of Sam's issues are truly scary. (Is being purposely vague in case you haven't seen it yet)

hearseeno May 4 2009, 02:04:56 UTC

Hey there, Varkelton. Hey, I appreciate any and comments, regardless of timing ( ... )

varkelton May 4 2009, 04:06:12 UTC

The trouble is, I don't think the self-doubt is new, and it's exactly why he tried to hide the visions and then later the blood. I think he internalizes a lot of the messages he gets from John and Dean - i.e. supernatural=evil. And the "death" of "Sam that Was" destroyed most of his sense of self-worth. I'm really worried that the level of condemnation emanating from Dean as they locked him in the safe room could lead to Sam simply self-destructing all together.

etoile444 May 3 2009, 21:05:03 UTC

Sam is the living sacrifice, whereas Dean's sacrifice could only happen in death. But then this all makes sense. Dean's sacrifice was of the spirit and Sam's of the body. I noticed this concept for the first time in "Death Takes a Holiday". Dean seems to rule the spirit world, and Sam the physical.

Sam is giving up his humanity on earth to save his brother.

As always, your discussion, mixed with the quotes and the pictures is perfect.

hearseeno May 4 2009, 02:09:28 UTC

Sam is the living sacrifice, whereas Dean's sacrifice could only happen in death. But then this all makes sense. Dean's sacrifice was of the spirit and Sam's of the body.

Huh! That's a really interesting way of thinking about it. Hmm.... gonna have to think about that some more. :)

Thanks 3CatMama