Early Season 5 Reaction

[impulsiveanswer]

Frustration: A Sam-girl's early season five mini-rant

As much as I love Supernatural, there are times when I wish I've never heard of it - such as 1:20 a.m. when I can't get to sleep because I'm so indignant and frustrated at how the powers-that-be are dealing with the fall-out of last season.

Comments

[zimshan]

SOCIAL responsibility! That's the word for it! I attempted a meta post on this the other day, just trying to a sort things out from the finale and premiere. And I was trying to talk about how as a unit, Sam and Dean's actions and words toward each other have consequences in both parties lives. But I was missing that word. That's it exactly. Yes, there is a individual responsibility but there is also a social responsibility that should not be ignored

[impulsiveanswer]

I'll have to read your meta :)

In the case of Sam and Dean, social responsibility is pretty much equal to individual responsibility because they're such a tight unit that any bad decisions on the part of the individuals will cause disharmony in the unit and that disharmony will inevitably breed more bad decisions.

Anyway, glad to see another person who's unhappy with this cut and dry, right/wrong routine. I agree it does the characters such a disservice to not explore the complexities of the present at hand.

Ditto. The show is beyond the whole he's-excused-for-his-errors-and-his-flaws-vanish-because-he's-a-"hero" thing.

Can't say I'm quite so mad just yet, simply because I think Kripke is holding out on us, holding these cards to be played later, there is a whole season ahead still.

You have a lot more patience than me :) I try to trust Kripke and I hope he's just holding out on us to add to the drama, but I don't think I can take another season of this - heck, it would be torturous for me if he held out to November sweeps!

[blacklid]

I like your thoughts and I think you're right on the money when it comes to the surface of things. Dean has a lot going on in that head of his, but his real feelings about things have always been "close to the vest".

I hope that I'm covering a lot of the brother angst in my episode reviews... in between all my horsing around.

[impulsiveanswer]

Dean's got a lot of guilt, angst, and hurt feelings inside his head and soul, but by only showing his questionable and often indignation-inducing behavior the writers are doing the same disservice to him that they did to Sam last season. And just like last season I believe the character deserves better and the viewers deserve better.

[daisychain1957]

Great to see someone word this so eloquently and to show Sam is never to blame for all that is going on!

[impulsiveanswer]

Thanks! Glad to find out I'm not alone in feeling this way. Sam is trying so hard to atone for his mistakes and bad decisions; it would be nice if Dean and Castiel would at least acknowledge they made some mistakes and bad decisions of their own.

[alphabet26]

Thanks for sharing this post! I agree with a lot of this.

[impulsiveanswer]

Thanks for commenting. It's nice to know I'm not way off-base on this.

[percysowner]

I have to admit, I didn't notice this myself, but on another board it was pointed out that Castiel called SAM'S cellphone. The same cellphone that got the altered message in Lucifer Rising. I know Kripke has confirmed that the Angels manipulated the message, but this could be a slight hint that Castiel was the Angel that actually did it.

Like you, I don't absolve Sam for his mistakes. He made so many wrong choices, but the show never really gave a context for them because season 4 was a very tight Dean POV season. I have always been suspicious about Castiel, and I am even more suspicious now.

[impulsiveanswer]

I have to admit, I didn't notice this myself, but on another board it was pointed out that Castiel called SAM'S cellphone.

I didn't notice that either!!! Wow. It might not be suspicious in itself if he was the one who altered the voice message (he was still openly following the angels' orders at that time), but the possibility that it was him coupled with the fact that he hasn't acknowledged his part in the whole mess definitely makes me wonder about his motivations.

In addition to robbing Sam of the context needed for many people to truly understand why he was making the choices he was, the almost-constant Dean POV in S4 also skewed how Castiel was presented to the viewers. If there had been more balance between Sam and Dean's POVs he might have come across as a much more ambiguous character.