8.06 "Southern Comfort" Review/Rant
Not a lot of people will read this, but that's okay because I will feel better for just typing this and getting it out there. It's kinda longish, but less ranty than I thought it would be.
Okay. I really am enjoying Season 8 way more than I enjoyed Season 7. I hated the Leviathan story line, and the whole “close the door to Hell” story line is a million times better. I also love seeing Crowley, and Kevin’s grown on me this season as well, as has Garth. On the topic of Garth, he will NEVER be Bobby, because NO ONE can be Bobby, but I give Garth props for taking on his role a bit and helping other hunters the way Bobby would have. Also, throwing around the Bobby-talk was annoying at first, but for some reason the way he said “balls” made me die laughing.
I also like that after 8 years they can still come up with new monsters, or put a new spin on old monsters, and that they can still tell the story in new and interesting ways. The found footage episode was a little boring, but I really like how we got to see Sam and Dean from a different point of view. They seemed more real to me than they usually do when I’m so up in their faces. Maybe because it seemed more like real life, since in real life we look in at other people from an outside perspective. It’s hard to explain.
Anyway, point is I really do enjoy Season 8. And I do enjoy watching the drama unfold between the brothers. However, even though we’re only 6 episodes in, I’m kind of sick of it already. Mostly because I don’t feel like it’s accurate, or logical, for them to be taking so long to really address a pretty big issue. I can’t imagine saying the things that Sam did to Dean and then getting in a car with him and driving around with him all day. I just can’t imagine sitting in a car with someone with all that crap sitting between us. I realize that this is Sam and Dean we’re talking about, and that they’re guys, and that guys don’t like to talk about their feelings, blah, blah. But in this situation? I can’t fathom how they can spend SO MUCH TIME WITH EACH OTHER and not talk about ANYTHING. Not try to fix the situation AT ALL. Especially because the brothers DO talk things out sometimes. When things get really bad, they DO talk. Sam especially. He’s never been one to shy away from telling Dean how he really feels, even if it makes him come across as “girly.” So I can’t for the life of me fathom why Sam won’t just tell his brother that HE MISSED HIM.
What he told Amelia at the end of the episode about how he felt like his world imploded and he ran? Why the hell can’t he just tell DEAN that? I get that that’s got to be a hard thing to tell somebody, but Sam and Dean are so used to talking about the hard stuff at this point - they’ve been doing it for nearly 3 decades! Does he not think that Dean will understand? Can he really think that his brother won’t forgive him for giving up because he was scared and lonely and felt like his world ended when he lost his last family member, his last friend, his older brother?
The story I wrote right before the episode came out? The end of this episode kind of confirmed that for me. Maybe it didn’t get so bad that Sam was going to kill himself, but Sam admits that he was running, and we can only assume that the thing that stopped him was when he hit Riot. Then once Amelia told him he was responsible for the dog, he stopped running and started to nurse him back to health. He found new purpose, a new job, in caring for the dog. Then he met Amelia and he had someone to talk to about Dean. She helped him through a tough time in his life, and he took solace in her. I realize that Dean doesn’t know this, but it seems to me that Sam didn’t look for Dean because he had no one to turn to for help, and he couldn’t be in the hunting life without his brother. The season when Dean went to Hell, Sam knew where he was, knew who to bargain with. And when that didn’t work, we saw that he turned to drinking and essentially gave up on everything until he met Ruby. This time, Sam had no idea where to even start looking for his brother, and he didn’t have Bobby or anyone else to turn to. So he gave up until he met Amelia. Clearly, turning to girls isn’t really any new behavior for Sam. These two really don’t function all that well without each other unless they’re soulless or they make a promise. We’ve seen that before.
So yes, while I can understand why Dean’s upset (I’d be upset in his situation, too) I can understand also why Sam acted the way he did. If my world imploded I’d feel pretty hopeless too, and these boys have been through so much already. I feel like Sam didn’t look for Dean not because he doesn’t love him but because he loves him so much that he just couldn’t do the job without him. Mushy feeling stuff aside, Sam lost his job partner, and we’ve seen time and again that hunting solo is neither enjoyable nor easy.
Dean’s behavior is also not anything new. Dean’s always been the kind of person whose self-worth is based solely on how much other people value him. He feels worthless when he feels like John never loved him, or when he feels like he let his father down, or when he feels like Sam doesn’t love him, or when he feels like he’s let Sam down. He needs validation in order to feel worthy. Dean needs to feel valued by others in order to value himself. Dean’s spent his whole life seeking validation from Sam because he never got it from his father. Dean’s always been hurt easily by the fact that Sam never seems to need him as much as he needs Sam. So Dean being upset at the fact that Sam didn’t look for him? That’s typical Dean behavior. Sam giving up, turning to a girl for help after losing his brother? Also typical behavior.
Which brings me to my point: Sam NOT talking to Dean about why he didn’t look for him? NOT typical behavior. Typical to a point, maybe, but I feel like we are past that point now. Sam’s gotta reach a breaking point soon; he can’t keep this bottled up forever. These boys need to TALK TO EACH OTHER. I’m upset that it seems to be taking so long, especially when Dean seems to be hurting so much as a result of it. If Sam would just TELL Dean why he didn’t look for him, I feel like Dean would be understanding. Maybe not at first, but yeah, in the end he would forgive him because they are family and that’s what they do. For whatever reason Sam doesn’t want to tell Dean what’s going on. Maybe there’s more behind it that we’ll find out eventually?
I just hope that eventually is soon. Because I’m starting to feel like they’re dragging this out for the drama factor, and while I like the drama, Supernatural has never been known for dragging the drama out of one situation for very long. What I like about this show is that they present issues, deal with them fairly quickly, and then move on to other issues. If they drag this through to the end of sweeps it’s going to get old. And beyond that, while I do enjoy the angst to a degree because I’m a bit of masochist, at this point both of the boys are hurting and I know that they could fix it if Sam would just TALK TO HIS BROTHER like he’s always done in the past. And I mean like REALLY talk to his brother, not the crap we got at the end of the episode. Maybe there’s more to Sam’s behavior, but I really think that the main idea is Sam lost his brother, again, and with no one to turn to, after all he had been through, he just kind of cracked. Who’s to say that Riot and Amelia didn’t save his life? As boring as she might be (still don’t see any chemistry between them, maybe it’s the actress?) I’m pretty sure she and Riot are the reason that Sam is even still alive. So Dean can’t resent her too much in the end.
Rant concluded. :)
The story I posted two days ago was pretty cathartic, and so was this. I feel a bit better now. NOW FIX MY BOYS, PLEASE! :-|
Edited: So I watched it again, and I've come to the conclusion that they're both being morons. They're both kind of right and they're both kind of wrong. I feel like Dean is being a bit too hard on Sam, but Sam is also not doing right by his brother by not telling him how he feels when Dean's so clearly hurt by Sam's apparently lack of caring. The whole situation kind of sucks and they're both dealing with it poorly. I've always been bi-bro, willing to accept both of them, faults and all, but right now they are both being idjits. If Bobby were around he would knock some sense into both of them and remind them that they're family. "Are you under the impression that families are supposed to make you feel good? Make you an apple pie maybe? They're supposed to make you miserable! That's why they're family."
God I miss Bobby. :(
Okay. I really am enjoying Season 8 way more than I enjoyed Season 7. I hated the Leviathan story line, and the whole “close the door to Hell” story line is a million times better. I also love seeing Crowley, and Kevin’s grown on me this season as well, as has Garth. On the topic of Garth, he will NEVER be Bobby, because NO ONE can be Bobby, but I give Garth props for taking on his role a bit and helping other hunters the way Bobby would have. Also, throwing around the Bobby-talk was annoying at first, but for some reason the way he said “balls” made me die laughing.
I also like that after 8 years they can still come up with new monsters, or put a new spin on old monsters, and that they can still tell the story in new and interesting ways. The found footage episode was a little boring, but I really like how we got to see Sam and Dean from a different point of view. They seemed more real to me than they usually do when I’m so up in their faces. Maybe because it seemed more like real life, since in real life we look in at other people from an outside perspective. It’s hard to explain.
Anyway, point is I really do enjoy Season 8. And I do enjoy watching the drama unfold between the brothers. However, even though we’re only 6 episodes in, I’m kind of sick of it already. Mostly because I don’t feel like it’s accurate, or logical, for them to be taking so long to really address a pretty big issue. I can’t imagine saying the things that Sam did to Dean and then getting in a car with him and driving around with him all day. I just can’t imagine sitting in a car with someone with all that crap sitting between us. I realize that this is Sam and Dean we’re talking about, and that they’re guys, and that guys don’t like to talk about their feelings, blah, blah. But in this situation? I can’t fathom how they can spend SO MUCH TIME WITH EACH OTHER and not talk about ANYTHING. Not try to fix the situation AT ALL. Especially because the brothers DO talk things out sometimes. When things get really bad, they DO talk. Sam especially. He’s never been one to shy away from telling Dean how he really feels, even if it makes him come across as “girly.” So I can’t for the life of me fathom why Sam won’t just tell his brother that HE MISSED HIM.
What he told Amelia at the end of the episode about how he felt like his world imploded and he ran? Why the hell can’t he just tell DEAN that? I get that that’s got to be a hard thing to tell somebody, but Sam and Dean are so used to talking about the hard stuff at this point - they’ve been doing it for nearly 3 decades! Does he not think that Dean will understand? Can he really think that his brother won’t forgive him for giving up because he was scared and lonely and felt like his world ended when he lost his last family member, his last friend, his older brother?
The story I wrote right before the episode came out? The end of this episode kind of confirmed that for me. Maybe it didn’t get so bad that Sam was going to kill himself, but Sam admits that he was running, and we can only assume that the thing that stopped him was when he hit Riot. Then once Amelia told him he was responsible for the dog, he stopped running and started to nurse him back to health. He found new purpose, a new job, in caring for the dog. Then he met Amelia and he had someone to talk to about Dean. She helped him through a tough time in his life, and he took solace in her. I realize that Dean doesn’t know this, but it seems to me that Sam didn’t look for Dean because he had no one to turn to for help, and he couldn’t be in the hunting life without his brother. The season when Dean went to Hell, Sam knew where he was, knew who to bargain with. And when that didn’t work, we saw that he turned to drinking and essentially gave up on everything until he met Ruby. This time, Sam had no idea where to even start looking for his brother, and he didn’t have Bobby or anyone else to turn to. So he gave up until he met Amelia. Clearly, turning to girls isn’t really any new behavior for Sam. These two really don’t function all that well without each other unless they’re soulless or they make a promise. We’ve seen that before.
So yes, while I can understand why Dean’s upset (I’d be upset in his situation, too) I can understand also why Sam acted the way he did. If my world imploded I’d feel pretty hopeless too, and these boys have been through so much already. I feel like Sam didn’t look for Dean not because he doesn’t love him but because he loves him so much that he just couldn’t do the job without him. Mushy feeling stuff aside, Sam lost his job partner, and we’ve seen time and again that hunting solo is neither enjoyable nor easy.
Dean’s behavior is also not anything new. Dean’s always been the kind of person whose self-worth is based solely on how much other people value him. He feels worthless when he feels like John never loved him, or when he feels like he let his father down, or when he feels like Sam doesn’t love him, or when he feels like he’s let Sam down. He needs validation in order to feel worthy. Dean needs to feel valued by others in order to value himself. Dean’s spent his whole life seeking validation from Sam because he never got it from his father. Dean’s always been hurt easily by the fact that Sam never seems to need him as much as he needs Sam. So Dean being upset at the fact that Sam didn’t look for him? That’s typical Dean behavior. Sam giving up, turning to a girl for help after losing his brother? Also typical behavior.
Which brings me to my point: Sam NOT talking to Dean about why he didn’t look for him? NOT typical behavior. Typical to a point, maybe, but I feel like we are past that point now. Sam’s gotta reach a breaking point soon; he can’t keep this bottled up forever. These boys need to TALK TO EACH OTHER. I’m upset that it seems to be taking so long, especially when Dean seems to be hurting so much as a result of it. If Sam would just TELL Dean why he didn’t look for him, I feel like Dean would be understanding. Maybe not at first, but yeah, in the end he would forgive him because they are family and that’s what they do. For whatever reason Sam doesn’t want to tell Dean what’s going on. Maybe there’s more behind it that we’ll find out eventually?
I just hope that eventually is soon. Because I’m starting to feel like they’re dragging this out for the drama factor, and while I like the drama, Supernatural has never been known for dragging the drama out of one situation for very long. What I like about this show is that they present issues, deal with them fairly quickly, and then move on to other issues. If they drag this through to the end of sweeps it’s going to get old. And beyond that, while I do enjoy the angst to a degree because I’m a bit of masochist, at this point both of the boys are hurting and I know that they could fix it if Sam would just TALK TO HIS BROTHER like he’s always done in the past. And I mean like REALLY talk to his brother, not the crap we got at the end of the episode. Maybe there’s more to Sam’s behavior, but I really think that the main idea is Sam lost his brother, again, and with no one to turn to, after all he had been through, he just kind of cracked. Who’s to say that Riot and Amelia didn’t save his life? As boring as she might be (still don’t see any chemistry between them, maybe it’s the actress?) I’m pretty sure she and Riot are the reason that Sam is even still alive. So Dean can’t resent her too much in the end.
Rant concluded. :)
The story I posted two days ago was pretty cathartic, and so was this. I feel a bit better now. NOW FIX MY BOYS, PLEASE! :-|
Edited: So I watched it again, and I've come to the conclusion that they're both being morons. They're both kind of right and they're both kind of wrong. I feel like Dean is being a bit too hard on Sam, but Sam is also not doing right by his brother by not telling him how he feels when Dean's so clearly hurt by Sam's apparently lack of caring. The whole situation kind of sucks and they're both dealing with it poorly. I've always been bi-bro, willing to accept both of them, faults and all, but right now they are both being idjits. If Bobby were around he would knock some sense into both of them and remind them that they're family. "Are you under the impression that families are supposed to make you feel good? Make you an apple pie maybe? They're supposed to make you miserable! That's why they're family."
God I miss Bobby. :(