Brotherly Love by Winchesters: 2x04

[sargraf]

I'm surprised by how emotional I got re-watching the last scene of this episode even now, years after "what's dead should stay dead" has effectively lost its potency on this show. Revisiting these episodes where it was a central theme has completely reinvigorated my love of this show, and I can't really even pinpoint why.

Comments

[fourtenpm]

aw, thoroughly enjoying this.

[sargraf]

Thank you. :)

[blackcat333_99]

Your "Dean is a cat" analogy had me in stitches -- in large part because there was a behavior truth to it. He totally is the one that is just fine with initiating contact, but bring it on when it's uninvited and... woah, boo-hiss!! It takes a unique individual who is both cat and dog, depending on the circumstances, lol. :)

Your Sam analysis is also great. Sam does have a tendency to push and push and push. He looks for the obvious immediate results and doesn't always think to look beneath/beyond the obvious, sometimes blinding himself to the bigger picture truth because he's so caught up in his tunnel vision focused on a micro truth. He's learning, though. Especially when it comes to Dean.

[sargraf]

Dean is a cat. Hee! Why didn't I see it before? :) And, yes, a cat-dog. How does he do that? Sort of like how Jensen is visually both very pretty/delicate/feminine and very handsome/robust/masculine at the same time. Not even in different scenes or different shots, but in the same second of the same shot. I don't know how he does that. How does he do that?

I remember when I was watching this as it aired, and Sam was just breaking my heart, his need for absolution was so clear and no one was giving him a hand to help him because no one could give him a hand. Dean was too wrecked with his own devastating grief, plus John's godawful secret. I think he tries so hard to do what should be done that he doesn't always allow himself (or others) to breathe. He really has taken it on himself to learn how to read Dean and how to help him. He's really taken that to heart since that Asylum/Scarecrow/Faith arc. ♥

[arliss]

I always just want to make big "Look! Look! Everybody look!" gestures and yell, "Yes! This!"

I've really come to appreciate the work Jared has done all along. Of the two of them, I think he's gained the most in depth and range. Jensen always had it--in pretty spectacular fashion. Jared's craft is more carefully and deliberately constructed, and I think he often doesn't get the credit his work deserves. So, you know, thanks for underlining it.

[sargraf]

Thank you! :)

I completely agree. Jared deserves so much more credit for his acting than he usually gets. He really has grown by leaps and bounds, I think, but even when I think that, I think of moments like the end of "Faith." They both really had such a great grasp of the relationship from the very beginning. Part of it has been that amazing natural chemistry, but I think how aware and responsive both Jared and Jensen are of each other's choices and character history in that relationship has been really beautiful to watch.

I'm posting this for no real reason but just because that moment in "Faith" is still one of my very favorite little brother! Sam expressions ever:

[arliss]

Faith remains one of my very favorite eps. It and Dead in the Water made me keep watching when the horror genre is so far from what I like or watch, otherwise.

And I meant to thank you for highlighting that little dosey-do they did on the sidewalk--one of my very favorite physical scenes between them. Another one being Sam stopping Dean from kicking the study door open in Crossroad Blues. Watching them work off each other is often like watching dance. And I'm left wondering how much is choreography, and how much is just auto-response.

[sargraf]

I'll never forget "The Benders" being my first episode, and I almost stopped before I was done with that one. The pretty kept me watching for just a couple of more episodes, if I remember correctly, and then the show really kicked it up in the final run of S1, and I was hooked.

I love that moment in "Crossroad Blues," too. It really is like dance; that's a great description. One of the hard parts of doing this series is trying to categorize when something is "deliberate" and when it's not. So much of what they do--especially the further on in the series we get--seems to come from their instinctive read of each other. I love hearing the behind-the-scenes stuff or convention answers on how they feel working with each other, when they mention how they kick each other's game up a notch or "direct" each other. They have such a great grasp of how to dance with each other. (I think Jensen or Jared even compared it to dance once, didn't they? Or maybe that was in a fanfic, I dunno. I can't remember where I read that.)