Review for 3x06 'Red Sky At Morning'
Nov. 9th, 2007 10:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
galatheaOh boys! Here I was, thinking that S2 was heavy on the brother angst, but actually S3 doesn't really give much when it comes to the drama between the Winchesters. While a lot has changed in SN that at least remains constant.
The boys continue to break me into tiny little pieces. On the one hand, the tension and the arguments between them feel very real and psychologically justified, after all, the show always made a point in taking the time to play out these emotional elements with all the severe consequences the grave events in their lives have on the characters, and I love that about Supernatural. On the other hand, I just want them fixed, like yesterday, because it hurts to watch them struggle and being at odds with each other, more than they have ever been before so far and the thought, that the WGA strike might end the show before it gets to the point where Sam and Dean reconcile, drives me nuts! *sigh*
Dean: "So, unless you were shooting at some incredible evil cans …"
As expected Sam didn’t tell Dean about his encounter with the crossroad demon, but Dean figured it out nonetheless and simply waited to confront Sam about it, because he hoped his brother would confide in him. This small detail just killed me right in the beginning. It’s Dean’s own behaviour that pushed Sam away and drove him to shut his brother out, their latest interaction resembles more and more the way John and Sam butted heads with each other, and I nver thought that would even be possible. It also has the same effect: Sam revolts and closes himself off, just like in Scarecrow or Hunted, and yet Dean hopes every time that Sam comes around. Waiting for his brother to tell him what went down exactly - without doubt alternating between anger at Sam for going behind his back, relief that Sam is still alive and hope that his deal may have been cancelled - must have driven him nuts these last couple of days.
Of course Dean's first concern is that Sam could’ve gotten himself killed, but his second thought is that maybe Sam did achieve his goal after all, which betrays his cool demeanour and shows that part of him wants to be saved from this predicament. Why even follow up any leads on who his contract holder is, if he doesn’t believe at all that he can be freed from the deal? Why not just leave it alone, so Sam doesn’t put himself into the position to take another stupid risk? I think that maybe Sam’s perseverance did kindle a small flame of hope in Dean. Not that he would openly admit it, but sometimes his behaviour shows how torn he is in the matter, especially when he sees how much his brother suffers.
Sam openly admits, that he shot the demon out of pique and nothing else and if the coldness in his brother's words bothered Dean, he didn’t let it show here. Sam of course is way beyond showing any signs of regret or giving in, openly telling Dean that no matter what he does or says, Sam is doing whatever is in his reach to save him, cutting off any further argument from Dean in that direction, basically giving Dean only two possibilities, to either come on board with Sam or to oppose him, but he won’t get him to back down on this.
Sam is obviously incredibly frustrated. He’s frustrated with his brother, who not only refuses adamantly to support Sam in any effort to save him (although I think part of Sam understands Dean’s fear that Sam gets himself killed again), but who also doesn’t seem to value his own life enough to be afraid for himself. Of course Dean works hard to not let Sam see that part of his own struggle with his deal and just like nearly every other of Dean’s coping mechanisms it does have just the opposite effect on Sam than intended. Sam’s also frustrated because every attempt of his’ is failing so far and he is slowly running out of time. As he admits, after they fail to save Peter Warrant, he feels like he isn’t able to save anyone lately, clearly referring to Dean. Burdened with the same task his brother had to carry last season, Sam struggles just as much as Dean did. In fact, his mix of ruthless behaviour and desperation mirrors Dean’s stance from last year perfectly.
It’s interesting how being at odds with each other shows in the little moments, for example in their short conversation about losing Peter to the ghost. Their usual reassurance routines just don’t work anymore. Where in earlier seasons Sam always welcomed Dean’s reflex to reassure his brother with vague platitudes ('We can’t save every one.', 'We just keep doing what we’re doing.', 'Everything will be okay.'), because he needed this feeling of being able to lean back into his big brother’s confidence, he just deflects it here and admits that it doesn’t make him feel better. He doesn’t want the illusion of comfort anymore, he wants to distance himself from being the little brother, who needs to be protected, which fits very well with their conversation at the end.
Sam: "So would you please just quit worrying about me? I mean, that’s the whole problem in the first place! I don’t want you to worry about me, Dean, I want you to worry about you! I want you to give a crap that you’re dying."
The end conversation in the car was pretty much perfect, and I was happy that they took Dean’s character one step forward by finally allowing him to openly acknowledge Sam’s feelings, even if he still refuses to acknowledge his own. The last couple of episodes Dean avoided to address Sam’s grief over Dean's impending death and pretended that Sam would be okay, even when he obviously wasn’t, so that he takes a step towards Sam here and offers an apology, as well as understanding, like the proverbial olive branch to bridge the gap between them, is at least a first step in the right direction. Mind you, he was always the first one to take a step towards his brother, whenever he was in distress, always the first one to offer comfort.
In the end though Dean fails to see what Sam’s real concern is: Dean's lack of regard for his own life. I think I never loved Sam more than in this moment, where he insists that Dean needs to put himself first, and not his little brother. ♥ All his life Dean focused on John and Sam, and Sam mostly took his brother’s devotion for granted, basically relying on it all his life, until now. Dean laying his own life down for Sam, turned Sam’s view on the subject around, and he finally realises how detrimental Dean’s sacrificial nature, as well as his lack of self-worth, is to his brother’s psyche.
I especially love about this conversation that both Sam and Dean are more concerned about the other, than about themselves, which is their dilemma in a nutshell really. Dean acknowledges Sam’s grief and Sam acknowledges Dean’s self-esteem issues, but neither is willing to admit to their own problems with the whole situation. Dean is genuinely convinced that Sam will be better prepared to deal with his loss, than Dean was when he lost Sam, and Sam doesn't argue that statement, although he is obviously not at all able to even comprehend the thought of living without Dean. Sam, on the other hand, seems to genuinely think that Dean wants to die and doesn’t care about the damnation of his soul, and Dean doesn’t correct this perception either. It’s like their commitment towards each other is standing in their way here.
Anyway, this was the first conversation where they turned from yelling and exchanging more or less fruitless arguments to a real dialogue, at least until Dean was feeling too uncomfortable with where the conservation was heading and closed off again. They may still be far from a resolution, but it’s a start nonetheless.
Dean: "Can I shoot her?"
Sam: "Not in public!"
So, Bela made her return in this episode, and I still like her, as a character concept that is, not as a person obviously. She is annoying, in a way I think she is intended to be annoying, as an obstacle in the boy's way to achieve what they want. Her constant effort to look down on Sam and Dean’s job, possibly a result of experiences with other hunters, her habit to refer to Dean as dumb and uneducated and to Sam as clever, but overdramatic, can be interpreted either as a defence mechanism or a genuine feeling of superiority. I need to see more of her to be clear on that one. Anyway, I like the snark between Sam'n'Dean and Bela, at least they are united in their distaste for her. *g*
The dark background story for Bela that was hinted at here, might make the character more interesting in the future, as long as the writers don't fall into the cliché of a redemption arc for her. We learned that Bela was guilty for killing someone in her family, and since Sheila and her cousin were an accident, it obviously doesn’t really matter if there was any intent behind Bela's murder. So, I don’t really think that Bela is a stone-cold murderer, as her reaction to the spirit’s MO was subdued instead of self-righteous. In any case, both boys reacted harshly to the revelation of Bela's past. Granted, they don’t have any reason to give her the benefit of a doubt, but still, I thought that Dean should have been able to relate to her better, after all, he felt responsible for Sam’s death, his failure to save his brother giving him an inappropriate feeling of guilt. Bela’s situation might not be that much different. Anyways, in the end the brothers save Bela, and I hope it foreshadows that Dean might be saved as well.
I liked that Bela didn’t change after the boys saved her life, she didn’t come back redeemed from her experience and turned to a more selfless lifestyle. For her it’s important to make the whole incident non-personal. Sam and Dean did their job and she compensated them for it. Deal done, no further obligations! So, I don’t object to see her again, though I would find it not very believable if the boys would run into her every 2-3 episodes, unless she was connected more to the mytharc or the character arcs.
What else was noteworthy:
(1) Dean hyperventilating over a seemingly stolen Impala was just too cute for words! ♥ And I loved how Sam switched from amused to concerned within a second, aiding his brother.
(2) Boys! Boys in tuxedos! ♥ Okay, let me have a shallow moment. *g* I love how uncomfortable Dean is whenever he has to dress up. Give him a prison uniform and he is fine, but put him in a tux and he is self-conscious. Usually Dean is very well aware of how attractive he is to women, and he often does play that card quite blatantly to his advantage. His uneasiness with Bela’s obvious flirtatious approach was funny, but also shows that he isn’t comfortable with being hit on by someone he loathes.
(3) I really liked the ghost story this week, and all the 'watery' effects were absolutely gorgeous in this episode, possibly some of the best effects in the show so far. Again they focused on a siblings storyline, though the parallels this time weren’t as obvious as in Bedtime Stories. I liked how the ghost brothers cancelled each other out in the end, which can serve as a nice visual mirror on how Sam and Dean 'kill' each other with their efforts to save each other. Bela says later that Sam was giving the angry spirit what it really wanted: his brother. In a way you can refer that to Sam, he not only wants Dean to be safe, but also for Dean to acknowledge what he did to Sam with his deal. Or maybe that’s just me over-interpreting.
(4) One of the biggest problems I had with the episode was the whole Sam-Gert interaction, which really made me feel uncomfortable and which I didn’t find funny at all, it just made me cringe. While in the end it at least lead to finding out the connection between the murder victims, it was drawn out too long and the 'intimate' camera-work especially during the dance scene was unsavoury in my opinion, but well, I am known to not be always on board with humor in this show.
(5) Also, the whole scene at the charity ball felt extremely 'out of character' for Supernatural. The music, the 'the high and the mighty' context, it just didn’t feel like Supernatural at all. Okay, I get that it is Bela’s original habitat so to speak, but I don’t feel comfortable with Sam and Dean in that environment. I always loved the grittiness and run-down environment the boys live in, so that scene didn’t sit very well with me. I would have preferred a good breaking and entering scene, since Bela only was after the hand of glory as well and she was introduced as a thief after all, the whole charade didn’t make that much sense to me.
(6) While a lot of the character work between Sam and Dean worked well in the episode, I couldn't help but feel that they were taken slightly off character to accomodate Bela in this episode and that is a point that annoys me greatly. I just can't see Dean shrugging off that Bela shot Sam or forgiving her for towing the Impala. We have seen his reactions to people messing with his little brother or the Impala before, and his reaction in Red Light At Morning is completely unlike him. I think it is very unlikely that Sam and Dean would even entertain the idea of working together with her in the first place on that grounds. I don't see any reason for them to not being able to ID the ship themselves (Bela even says so) and acquire the Hand of Glory on their own. It's usually a problem in writing if you need to change the main characters in order to fit in a new one. I hope this remains a singular case.
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about wallpapers
Date: 2007-11-10 09:25 pm (UTC)I failed to send You an e-mail, that's why I write here.
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Re: about wallpapers
Date: 2007-11-11 02:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-12 06:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-12 10:59 am (UTC)Well, I like Bela as a character concept, as someone who brings conflict into the story. I think as a person she is horrible and annoying, but she underlines how the boys still walk a on the good side of the fence and I think that's important especially in this season where we deal with the acceptance of human war casualties. Sam makes some pretty harsh decisions this season, but a character like Bela so far shows how different he is from a truly ruthless and self-centered person.
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Date: 2009-11-20 10:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-20 11:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-20 10:57 am (UTC)I know, right?! He was too cute for words, Dean's relationship with his Impala is my second fave on the show after Dean/Sam....:p
I also liked the watery effects, especially since it meant NO GORE! ;) Nice to have a break from blood and carnage...
Oh and yeah the Gert thing got a little too awkward, but I still found it amusing overall, especially the first scene (with Dean teasing him about his "girlfriend" afterwards)....and asking for a report in the morning! :p
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Date: 2009-11-20 11:25 am (UTC)