Rewatch S5: Dark Side of the Moon (5x16)

[hells_half_acre]

 Finally on the 5th disc! Woo!

Now, after the odd non-sequential Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, we return to the story of Dean's complete loss of faith and hope in everything...

Comments

[trystan830]

*I'd LOVE to see what sort of information the rest of the Hunting community is getting about the Winchesters.
*it'd be awesome to see more of what the greater Hunting community thinks of the Winchesters. Here are Hunters that Dean KNOWS and they FEAR HIM.
ME TOO!!!

1)Thanksgiving is a bigger deal in America than Canada.
*nods*

another awesome, insightful post! =)

[hells_half_acre]

I'm glad you enjoyed it! :)

[trystan830]

=D

[borgmama1of5]

This episode was heartbreaking, and you caught all the bits that killed me.

(I leave a lot of LJ entries for a dead person...)

[hells_half_acre]

I think fans of Supernatural are the only people who die more times than the Winchesters. ;)

[katsheswims]

Woah. You wrote a lot for this one. I agree with a lot of what you said about Sam and Dean's characteriszations and such. There's not much I can say that you haven't.

(In my fanon Sam picked up the amulet too-and who knows he may really have done so).

I think that Sam and Dean are soul mates, too.

About Dean 'badmouthing' thier father: After his dad's death, and especially in Season 3 with Dean's own impending death, Dean really began to admit his father's faults and that he didn't always do right by them. And in season 6 he's already made comments about not wanting to be like hsi dad. But he still loves his dad, too.

[hells_half_acre]

Yes, but I think there's a difference between admitting to the man's mistakes, and calling him a "dead-beat dad." I mean, I could happily point out my mother's mistakes, but I can also recognize that she did the best she could with what she was given (and still does).

But yes, you are right, S3 on, it became a slow progression of Dean realizing more and more how faulted John had been - though, even in 5x13, you could still tell that he had a lot of respect for him. To me, "dead-beat" is just you know...a little harsh, and is more a comment on Dean's state of mind than it is on John's actual parenting skills.

[lethiaw77]

I just rewatched this episode yesterday, so it is so awesome to have your review!!!! Yes, Thanksgiving is a much bigger deal for us, it is really on par with Christmas only the focus is really on family and being grateful for what you have. I think choosing to show Sam with another family on Thanksgiving is especially meaningful in the US context. I agree with your assessment of Sam running away, at 16 pretty much everyone is self-involved. But I think the reason he never really thought about how it affected Dean is Sam's main character flaw: he is the victim. That is how he sees himself: everything is done to him. He was force fed demon blood, his mother was taken from him, his Dad was unfair to him, Ruby manipulated him. Everything shitty that happens is done to him, and he doesn't see his own role in what happens. (Before I get attacked by Sam girls, this is an assessment of character and writing...I still love Sammy).

[hells_half_acre]

I hadn't thought about it that way. I mean, I knew that Sam's storyline was about him trying desperately to gain control of his own life - and his own destiny...because everything (except Stanford) had always been decided for him. But I didn't think of it as a character flaw...I mean, I didn't think of Sam as victimizing himself. But yeah, it makes sense that it'd be a logical conclusion. And it makes sense for someone like that to not understand that they're actions have consequences, because they aren't used to being in control of their actions...does that make sense

hijacking this thread, hope you don't mind

[baruchan]

Speaking as a fan of SPN living in the Philippines, it was very jarring for me to have Sam choosing to spend Thanksgiving at another person's house instead of sticking with Dean. And I only just found out that Thanksgiving was for being thankful for family!

Here, we usually invite our relatives to the 3rd or 4th degree (e.g., cousin of a cousin, cousin of a cousin of an aunt-by-marriage, uncle of a cousin-by-marriage, etc.) on major (and not-so-major) holidays, so the thought of spending "family time" with strangers seems weird for me.

Re: hijacking this thread, hope you don't mind

[hells_half_acre]

Good to know! Yeah, here is where I guess my culture is showing - personally, I wasn't raised to be that family-oriented.

I WAS raised, however, to be considerate of other people...so, for instance, I wouldn't spend "family time" at a strangers house if it meant my older brother was going to be sitting all alone on a holiday. That's not cool.

[mymuseandi]

I just have a thing for "sleeping" pretty boys, I think.

A lot of us do. They look so young and carefree when they were sleeping. :)

I adore the fireworks scene as well. I kinda teared up slightly when watching it.

I don't think John hit him. I think there was a lot of yelling though

I read a fic recently about this, and I was leaking water by the time I finished with it because in that fic John was blinded by his anger and fear that he struck Dean repeatedly, and Dean just let him. It's the letting part that is so tragic to me.

Personally, I did think that John hit Dean, but more like a one time back-handed thing or something like that, when Dean told him about Sam missing and that red mist of fear and rage took him over and clouded his judgment. And that he was remorseful about it afterwards but he didn't know how to apologize to Dean. And Dean, being Dean, that was like the cherry on top.

Hopefully Sera would insert some storyline about them meeting other hunters post Apocalypse. And the Campbells don't count; they are family

[hells_half_acre]

It's the letting part that is so tragic to me.And he would have too. That's completely IC. Much like Sam always let's Dean punch him