More on 4:09

[oselle]

I haven't seen anyone else mention it yet, but when Sam told Dean that Ruby had "saved his life," did you think (as I did) that we'd find out she stopped Sam from committing suicide?

When Sam said that, and then in the next scene we see him drunkenly staggering to his decrepit room, I was absolutely certain he was planning to kill himself. Now, I'm sure there are viewers who would have hated this angle and would have found it completely OOC for Sam but it would have worked a whole lot better for me.

First of all, it would have shown us a truly despairing Sam, one who had given up all hope and decided that if he couldn't bring Dean back he could at least be where he was (assuming that suicides go to hell in SPNverse). Of course a rational-thinking Sam would have known this is the last thing that Dean would have wanted but here's the thing: suicidal people are not rational. Suicidal people do not see options. And seeing Sam so completely undone that he considered suicide his only course would, for me at least, have been very compelling.

Second, I think it would have been a much better re-introduction of Ruby as a mentor because she could have saved him by reminding him that this was exactly what his brother had died to prevent. Giving Sam a reason to live not just to kill Lilith but because this is what Dean would have wanted. As it is, that idea only comes up later, after Sam has already welcomed Ruby back and become her student and...boyfriend. As written, the idea of "what Dean would have wanted" is almost an afterthought.

Bleh, the more I think about this episode the more I loathe what they've done with Sam's reaction to Dean's death. That was the worst thing for me about this one -- not the necrophilia, not the Mary-Sueing of Ruby, not the logic gaps, but the wholly unacceptable way they've portrayed Sam as just moving on with his life while Dean's dead and writhing in hell. Is there a point at which Dean's going to wonder about that, too? Or is he also so dazzled by Ruby that it really doesn't matter to Dean that his brother mourned him for one lousy month and then apparently forgot all about him in favor of his shiny new life with a hot girlfriend and cool powers and an iPod in the Impala and all that?

Comments

[muffaletta.livejournal.com]

I wish I knew what is going on in Kripke's mind to so fundamentally change the relationship that is the core of the show. And to do it in such a way that makes Sam look like a major dick to boot. I'm with you, Oselle. I never really "got" canon Sam and now I like him even less. I was so irritated with Sam last season when he seeemed more upset about Dean leaving poor Sam alone than Dean going to HELL. And now it seems, that maybe that impression on the writers' part was deliberate. I haven't gotten any vibes that Sam missed Dean as his brother and best friend. I feel more as if Sam just wanted an ego crutch and when he found an even better one, Sam really didn't want or need Dean back. Of course, Sam's glad that Dean's out of hell. It just doesn't seem as if Sam is glad that Dean is back with him.

About the moving on...most dying people say that. But I don't think they mean immediately. Even Dean seemed a little taken aback by Ruby's bra in "Lazarus."

And I would love,love, love to have Dean call Sam on his shit. Maybe then Sam would have more respect for Dean and not take him so much for granted. Dean leaving for awhile would be made of AWESOME. But no, I think Kripke will just have Dean passively accept everything and let it go. Sigh...

I'm at the point where I've almost given up on Dean and Sam and rather see Dean bonding with Castiel (which would also mean more scenes with the two pretties *g*). But I doubt Kripke will go there either. Double sigh...

[oselle.livejournal.com]

As for fundamentally changing the brothers' relationship, that's the sort of thing that has terrific dramatic potential -- but only if it's done with a great deal of care and thought. And that's not what I see happening here. Instead, they're suggesting that Sam's transfer of loyalty from Dean to Ruby is a positive and justifiable development...and based on this week's episode, Dean seems to be coming around to accept that because Ruby is so awesome and has been so good for Sam. So rather than a compelling and heartbreaking estrangement based on real conflict, we're getting this bold new Sam who's bravely moved on with his life and a passive, seemingly irrelevant Dean who's sheepishly getting in line.

I'm at the point where I've almost given up on Dean and Sam and rather see Dean bonding with Castiel

This would be very interesting but the show is going the route of making the angels into vengeful sonsofbitches while painting Ruby in such a rosy light that if Dean opposes Sam's relationship with her then he is automatically in the wrong. So if Dean bonds with Castiel, then Dean becomes the narrow-minded antagonist while bold new Sam and his demon-with-a-heart-of-gold girlfriend become the heroes.