SPN 6:14: Things I can't say at TWoP

[oselle]

Still traumatized by the montage of horribleness, I tuned in to the TWoP boards to see what the reaction would be and found that...an awful lot of people liked the scenes with Lisa and Dean and Ben. Not much, if any, praise for the montage itself, but plenty of people who were really into Lisa and Dean's relationship and wanted to see it picked up again, mostly because they want Dean to recognize his own worth and to have people in his life who love him.

Then I got to the dreaded comment I knew I'd eventually see:

I was so hoping, during the scene in the car, that Dean would turn around...

The rules at TWoP require everyone except Demian to be relatively polite, so I took a few deep breaths and asked what they thought would have happened if Dean had turned the car around. Seriously, what would have happened, not just in the rest of the episode but in the series?

The response:

I like to think it could have been about the supernatural and hunting, but with a broader base for Dean. A world where Dean didn't have only "one road"...the relationship (i.e. between Sam and Dean) has been unhealthy and way too dependent, and I think it would be better for both of them to have a more normal distance between them, and to have more supports for their world than just one other person.

I responded that if these were real people in real life I'd definitely want these good things for them. I also said that even if these were fictional characters in a straight dramatic series I might want this for them. But I'm not looking for "normal" in a show called Supernatural.

But you know, that's not really what I wanted to say. What I wanted to say is "you're wrong." I'm not allowed at TWoP to tell another member that they're wrong (again, only Demian's allowed to do that), so I'll do it here. You're wrong. Why? Because you're wrong, that's why.

You like the Lisa and Dean relationship and I'm not saying you're wrong about that -- that's your opinion and you're entitled to it. What you're wrong about is this "broader base" and "normal distance" stuff. You've misunderstood the show. This is not a show about people learning to have broader bases and keep normal distances between each other. It's not a show about the journey towards mature, caring relationships. It's not a show about overcoming unhealthy dependencies.

You're wrong because a show where Dean's life is more broad-based and he has a wider network of emotional support is no longer Supernatural. And if that's what you want, okay. But I really wish that people who feel the way you do would recognize and admit that what you want isn't Supernatural. If Dean had turned that car around, whatever show existed afterwards would be a different show and Dean would be a different character and Sam might very well be a different character too -- and it wouldn't matter if it was still "about hunting and the supernatural" because at its core...this show really isn't about hunting and the supernatural.

I've thought about what I said last night, regarding how I'd feel if these were characters on a straight dramatic series and how I might be okay with them growing towards a more healthy, functional life, but I take that back because the core conflict of any show is what really matters. Not what the show is technically "about."

Mad Men is technically about the advertising business in the 1960s, but it's not really about advertising. The core conflict of Mad Men is watching Don Draper precariously navigate a tightrope over the yawning catastrophe of his life, knowing that any minute he can slip off and go under (which he comes dangerously close to doing, many times). I don't want Don Draper to get off that tightrope, ever, or at least not as long as the show is still on the air. If someone were to say, "Mad Men could still be about advertising and the 1960s but I really wish Don would meet a good woman who could heal his dysfunctions and make him a whole, balanced person," I'd have to assume they like Don Draper and they might want to watch a show about advertising but they don't really want to watch Mad Men.

Another straight dramatic series that I love is Rescue Me, which is technically about New York City firefighters but it's not really about firefighting. Rescue Me's core conflict revolves around Tommy Gavin, who's a drunk and a womanizer and a general train wreck of a human being. His job as a firefighter is more or less a metaphor for the constant conflagration of his life. I don't want Tommy Gavin to get his shit together, ever, or at least not as long as the show is still on the air. If someone were to say, "Rescue Me could still be about the firefighting world but I wish Tommy would get back with his wife and take care of his kids and maybe take a desk job at the NYFD like his wife wants him to do," I'd have to assume they care about Tommy Gavin and they like shows about firefighters but they're not all that interested in Rescue Me.

Supernatural is technically about hunting boogeymen and rescuing people but it's not really about either of those things. The core conflict of Supernatural surrounds two brothers who were forced to grow up in a horribly abnormal environment and now have to navigate the rest of their lives not only with all that awful baggage but with constant external threats that reinforce the never-ending tragedy of their lives. I don't want either one of these characters to progress towards something more normal and healthy...or at least, not as long as the show is still on the air because then the core conflict will be gone. The show will be about something else. So when someone says that the show, could still be "...about the supernatural and hunting, but with a broader base for Dean...and I think it would be better for both of them to have a more normal distance between them, and to have more supports for their world than just one other person," then I have assume that they feel kindly towards the Winchesters and they like shows about supernatural things but they don't necessarily like Supernatural.

Not that there's anything wrong with that but...I'd just love to see a little awareness on this matter. If you want Dean to patch things up with Lisa, to grow enough that he can establish a normal and stable family life, and to develop a healthier relationship with his brother, and you would like to see all this play out during the next twenty-nine or however many episodes of Supernatural? Then you don't want to watch Supernatural. And with all due respect, I don't want to watch your show, either.

Comments

[oselle.livejournal.com]

One of the things that drew me to the show was the notion that the brothers were drifters on the outskirts of “normal” society, on this endless road trip and living this heroic albeit brutal life, making sacrifices in service to that mission to save people, and making sacrifices for each other.

I certainly wasn't drawn in by the plots. I never found any of the MoTWs remotely frightening, the episodes were usually predictable and the special effects were generally...not that special. But (aside from Jensen's pretty face) I was also drawn in by the atmosphere and especially by the backstory. Finally it was fanfic that really got me, especially pre-series fanfic that enlarged upon the Winchesters' horrible youth and painted such a compelling picture of how they turned into these characters. To me, that's the real story, and I think there's still plenty of that story to tell, but it seems the writers don't. When they're not telling us how awesome hunting is compared to, say, repairing copy machines, they're telling us that Dean really wants to be with Lisa and Ben...even though he looked pretty goddamn miserable when he was with them.