Current mood:

thoughtful

Dear kripke, WOW.
In the good way, and the bad way. But mostly the good way, which engenders another WOW.


1. Consuela. Really? Really, the Latina maid named Consuela who doesn't speak English, really?
1b. But... kudos on making Sam speak to her in Spanish, and making the boys look foolish because THEY couldn't communicate with HER, not the other way around.

2. Wow. Another villain that was gender neutral and/or male until it was time to kill it... and then it was female. That was a big ol' shocker.
2b. But... nobody called her a bitch. Talk about damning with faint praise, but SERIOUSLY.
2c. I think I kind of love Paris Hilton.

3. Apparently there was some issue-ness surrounding the Ghandi thing. I wouldn't be surprised, but I missed it, as I was distracted during that scene, likely by a) knitting or b) a small child or c) a dog or d) all three.
3b. Fruitarian.


...you know, it's kind of sad that I've gotten to the point where misogyny/race issues on this show can be categorized as minor. I mean, all things relative and all, but geez, guys.

With all that out of the way:

Y'all, can we talk about how AWESOME Dean Winchester is? Can we? Because he is. And I'm gonna.


So first things first: Is Dean perfect? Obviously not. He's a kripke-Sue, and he's skeevetastic accordingly. He treats women/sex as a commodity, he makes sexual assault jokes, and he refers to cars as "her" and "baby." But that is not what I want to talk about tonight. What I want to talk about is Dean being a totally awesome brother who loves Sam so much he can't even get his own head around it, and how totally aware he is of his own flaws, and those of everyone he loves, and how he does not let that stop him from loving them or living his life.

In short, I want to talk about the thing that made me love this show from the start: Dean loves Sam, and Sam loves Dean, and that is (see icon) everything that matters.

From day one, the only thing that's been important to Dean is his family. Yes, hunting down the YED, but that was primarily to bring peace to his father, and secondarily to avenge his mother (and, I think, Sam's loss: Dean knew his mother, however briefly. Sam didn't. And I think this strikes Dean as unfair.). And all along the way Dean has made it clear he was NOT willing to sacrifice his family to bring down Azazel, neither literally nor figuratively. Like, "yeah, yeah, the YED, but first and foremost, can you two stop FIGHTING and be a FAMILY?"

(Answer: no they cannot. Sorry, Dean. Good news! John will be dead soon, and you and Sam can be your own family!)

And this is what's been ringing so false to me about the separation. Yes, I can buy that Dean feels pretty fucking betrayed by Sam's trusting Ruby over Dean. Especially since Dean never really doubted that Ruby was a bad guy--and it bears pointing out here, again, that Dean's instincts have not led him astray yet. Sam gets taken in from time to time, but Dean's gut is way smarter than his upstairs brain. But even through that betrayal, I found it hard to believe that Dean would prioritize the hunt--even for Lucifer--over his relationship with Sam/Sam's safety. I get the separation, because it's something Sam explicitly asked for. And that comes from one of the main points here, which is this:

Dean is trying so, so hard not to be John Winchester.

Which means, when Sam says, "I need to go my own way for a while," in Scarecrow, Dean listens to what he's saying, and he lets him go. And it means that when Sam says, "I can't hunt right now, it's not safe for me," Dean listens to him, and he lets him go.

But I don't see anything--even Sam's own explicit wishes--overriding the Prime Directive of Dean's life: Watch out for Sammy. And when Sam calls and says, "Help me, Dean, Lucifer is after me, I'm scared and I need your help," I can't see Dean saying anything but "I'll be right there." Which is why I was SO relieved last week to have the boys back together, to have Zachariah's lesson end with the "unexpected" result of having Dean more determined to stand by Sam and refuse Michael. Because that? That's the Dean Winchester I know and love enough to have followed him through season 3. That's what this show has always been about for me, and seeing that restored was important to me.

AND THEN THIS WEEK.

There is a lot of awesome going on here.

First, I was astonished to see Sam pointing out that they can't go back to "the way it was before," not because he can't be forgiven for what he did, but because the way it was before led them to the point where he did it. And he did this, and pointed out Dean's own culpability in the situation, without ever exculpating himself or denying his own agency/accountability. That was SIGNIFICANTLY more subtle, nuanced writing than I have come to expect from this show, which pleased me deeply.

And then DEAN! Dean listened to what Sam was saying, and it pissed him off and hurt his feelings! How dare Sam say it was partly HIS fault! And then he had to think about all this complicated, uncomfortable stuff because of it! And there's no easy solution! Jesus! Besides, it's his job to look after Sam, and that's all he's doing, and he can't be expected to just forgive and forget and let it go about Ruby, because Sam's SHOWN Dean that he can't be trusted! This is all just crazy talk!

And then he thought about it, and realised that Sam had a point. And because Dean, every single time that he's said he doesn't want to be his father, every time he's showed us that, has been 100% sincere, because Dean has never been the one who's just like Dad, because Dean values his relationship with Sam above everything, even his own pride, told Sam that he had a point. And he apologized. And he changed his behavior to be less like his father.

And I fell in love with him all over again.

Dean is prioritizing what is best for Sam--in both his AND Sam's opinion--over what feels comfortable/is easiest for himself.

Now that's love.