Review for 6x05 'Live Free Or Twihard'

[galathea]

Live Free Or Twihard by Brett Matthews is pretty much the antithesis of last week’s upbeat and humorous Weekend At Bobby’s. It’s an incredibly dark episode – visually as well as with regards to content – and in parts very uncomfortable to watch. Still, I actually liked the episode better than I thought I would, even though it set me several weeks back where my anxiousness in regard to Sam’s current storyline is concerned. Overall the plot around Dean intrigued me enough to get past my uneasiness with Sam’s actions, especially since I am still convinced that once we know Sam’s full story, all his actions will appear in a new light. I just hope the writers will resolve the situation sooner rather than later though.



I am often wary going into an episode when I am spoiled for its content, but it very rarely happens that I loathe the thought of a storyline so much that I hesitate to watch the episode at all. Live Free Or Twihard is one of those episodes. When I read a couple of weeks back that Dean would temporarily be turned into a vampire, I was pretty livid. I always hated the thought of Dean being possessed or turned into a demon or any other supernatural creature, because it's his humanity that defines Dean and his journey throughout the series for me. It always felt right that Dean never represented the supernatural in the show – that’s Sam’s storyline, after all – and I really resented the thought of the writers playing fast and loose with Dean’s humanity just for the sake of a one-off story. So, overall I dreaded this episode like something fierce, because I was concerned for the integrity of Dean’s character. Little did I know that, in the end, I would struggle with Sam’s storyline way more than with Dean’s storyline. In fact, I think Dean’s plot has been handled extremely well, and I enjoyed it more than I would ever have expected.

Sam: "Samuel will know what to do."
Dean: "C’mon, man. I’m a monster, okay. This is not a problem that you spit-ball. We’ve got to deal with this, before I hurt somebody."

The writers could have chosen many ways to play out the premise of vampire Dean and most of them would not have appealed to me, so I was extremely relieved to see that the episode did right by Dean and emphasised his greatest strength, namely his humanity. It has already been established in Fresh Blood that newly turned vampires go through a phase of adaptation. While they feel the instant need to feed – which makes sense given that we learn here that feeding completes the process of turning – and gain the vampire’s strength and speed, they are also mentally lucid and retain a connection to their human persona for a while. So Dean’s relatively normal behaviour once he is turned makes perfect sense in terms of the mythology. And in terms of the character it’s consistent that he fights the turning process by not succumbing to the bloodlust, even before he knows that he will need to abstain in order to be cured. On his way to Lisa he must have had plenty of opportunities to feed, but he didn’t, and I think that as long as Dean had a choice in the matter, he would not have given in. The thought of becoming a monster by choice has always been abhorrent to Dean and by feeding he would have succumbed to the monster inside him, he would have given up on being human, and Dean would rather die than do that. ♥

As a side note: I admit that I am very disappointed that the writers didn’t use Dean’s storyline to draw a parallel between Sam’s demon blood/blood addiction and Dean’s vampirism/bloodlust. It would have been the perfect opportunity to allow Dean to relate to his brother’s struggle with his addiction and open a new understanding between them. Just like Sam had been violated by the YED when the demon fed him his blood as a baby, Dean is violated by Boris when the vampire forces his blood down his throat, and for the first time in his life Dean is able to experience first hand how Sam felt when he learned about the demon blood in his veins. Just like his brother he feels tainted, like a monster. While I can see that the current state of affairs between Sam and Dean doesn’t really allow for bonding between the brothers, I think it would have been great if the episode had been able to explore these parallels between Sam and Dean’s experiences in detail.

Anyway, the most tragic turn of events that results from Dean’s stint into the world of vampires, is clearly the disruption of his relationship with Lisa. The contrast between their affectionate phone call at the beginning of the episode and the deafening silence that Dean receives when he calls her after all is said and done is absolutely heartbreaking. So far Lisa has shown remarkable tolerance and understanding where Dean’s work as a hunter is concerned, and I don’t think she is to blame for seeking distance after her disturbing encounter with vampire Dean. However, I think the biggest problem is that Dean had no chance to actually explain to Lisa what happened to him, in fact, I think he didn’t want to burden her, knowing that he would be dead in a couple of hours anyway. So I have hope that once Dean is able to talk to Lisa, she will be willing to give it another try. It’s entirely possible though that Dean himself will be hesitant to return to Lisa now, convinced that he will only bring harm to her and Ben, if he doesn’t let go. The thought that Dean might have lost his chance at happiness with Lisa and Ben is too devastating to contemplate though.

I have to say that I am rather impressed how well the expansion of the vampire mythology fits with already established canon. Vampirism has always been likened to a virus in the show, so a cure that uses the blood of the virus’s original host as an antidote is actually plausible. And since the cure has been buried away in an old Campbell journal – and the Campbells don’t seem to be team players where the hunting community is concerned – it makes sense that the cure is not exactly well-known within hunting circles. Not to mention that, until recently, vampires had been rumoured to be extinct or non-existent, even amongst experienced hunters like the Winchesters, so I doubt that many hunters would have ever had the need for a cure – that is, if they had been interested in curing a vampire in the first place. The fact that the cure only works as long as the new vampire has not fed on human blood, only leaves a very narrow timeframe to change the vampire back anyway. I don’t think many vampires would even have had the chance to use it.

Samuel: "That’s strange. ‘Cause if you had known, it’d be almost like you let him get turned. Get a man on the inside. Help us find that alpha vamp we’ve been looking for."
Sam: "You serious? You think I’d do something like that? Risk my own brother?"

While the plot of Live Free Or Twihard is about Dean, I think his storyline is largely overshadowed by the massive impact of Sam’s actions. The changes in Sam have become gradually more pronounced as the season progressed, but the scales tip from disconcerting to outright terrifying when he allows a vampire to turn his brother. The scene where Sam calmly watches how Boris feeds Dean his blood is extremely chilling and builds a clear reverse parallel to Fresh Blood, where Sam tore vampire Gordon off Dean and literally ripped his head off after he attacked his brother. Sam’s complete opposite reaction to the same situation is striking and demonstrates more than anything else that the Sam we know and love has left the building. Additionally, in his subsequent urgent insistence on learning everything Dean experiences, physically and emotionally, he gives the impression of a scientist who studies a particularly interesting insect. There is no real concern about his brother’s situation, just detached fascination, and even if we consider that Sam knew for a fact that it would be possible to cure Dean, his overall calmness is unsettling.

I admit, I really wanted Sam’s 'wrongness' to be a result of a psychological trauma caused by his possession through Lucifer and subsequent time in the cage, but after this episode I pretty much rule that theory out. If Sam would suffer from PTSD, he would be disassociated from his own emotions, but I believe that he would still never deliberately risk Dean’s life in this manner. We have seen Sam react to Dean in danger many times and it always propelled him into taking drastic measures, if necessary, to prevent that something happens to his brother. If Sam would essentially still be Sam, no matter how messed up, nothing could have stopped him from saving Dean from that vampire. It’s just part of who Sam is. And quite frankly, if Sam would indeed be so damaged, emotionally, that he lost every shred of compassion and care for his beloved brother, I think it would be extremely difficult for the writers to get Sam back from that. No, Sam’s actions in Live Free Or Twihard finally convinced me that something unnatural is going on with him, and I lean now more towards my second theory, namely that Sam has lost his soul and thus is not really Sam anymore, at least not in any way that would count.

Now, we have never actually met a soulless human in the show before, so it’s quite difficult to determine how exactly it affects a person. I guess it is fair to say that the soul embodies the essence of a person and so far Sam seems to mostly lack strong emotions, both positive and negative, as well as his compassion. The analytic, calculating side of his personality seems to have taken over completely and he is focused on the job to such an extent that it seems to be the only thing he is actually invested in. By the way, in light of the new evidence I now think that it’s more than likely that he indeed used the shapeshifter baby in Two And A Half Men as bait for the alpha, and he probably uses the Campbells and Dean as a means to an end as well. What exactly that end is, remains a mystery, but it’s obvious that it is in some way connected to the alphas, and while I am still not sure that Sam knows anything about Samuel’s hidden agenda, it’s at least possible that Sam’s actions, deliberately or not, play into whatever Samuel is plotting as well. Anyway, Sam seems to know right from wrong – otherwise he wouldn’t feel the need to lie to Samuel about risking Dean’s life – but it doesn’t seem to have any bearing on his actions. I find this particularly interesting because last year Sam deliberately turned away from the 'the end justifies the means' mentality, when remorse and guilt over his actions in S4 motivated him to change. Without his soul though, the formative experiences that make Sam who he is, are probably gone, too.

It’s also quite obvious that Sam is unable to really connect to anyone – victims, the Campbells or even Dean. However, there have been several moments of genuine interaction between the brothers in the first four episodes, and I can’t quite believe that Sam has simply been pretending the whole time. For example, in Exile On Main Street Sam rushed to save Dean from the Djinn poison and told him that things are better with him around. Or in Two And A Half Men there was open affection in Sam’s expression when he watched Dean with the baby. The brotherly banter between the brothers appeared to be genuine to me as well. And even in this episode Sam clearly starts to run towards Dean, when he sees him struggling against the vampire, before he simply stops mid-stride, so the first impulse to save his brother seems to have been there. I wonder if these moments have been like a muscle memory, an automatic response of Sam’s body/mind even though the original source of that response, namely Sam’s emotions, is no longer there. Of course this is all wild speculation on my part, and it’s possible that I am entirely off the track, but so far this theory makes the most sense to me. Plus, this way it is much easier to accept Sam’s betrayal here, because I refuse to believe that the real Sam would actually be capable of doing something like that to Dean.

That all being said, I am not quite comfortable with the way the writers chose to escalate Sam’s story, even if this is not really Sam at all. From the first four episodes it had already been perfectly clear that something is very wrong with the younger Winchester, and I am not sure if there was any need for something as drastic as Sam allowing a vampire to turn his brother to solidify that impression. I think what makes this turn of events so hard to digest is that we are not allowed to understand Sam’s perspective in all of this. In S4 I always knew what Sam’s motivation was, even when he made questionable choices or hurt his brother, but in S6 his thoughts and feelings are kept completely in the dark. Obviously the writers prefer to play the mystery card with Sam for a while, but I am not sure if that will not backfire on them. Sam has never been the most popular character of the show and if the current Sam hatred in fandom is anything to go by, the writers might have caused permanent harm to the character, no matter how they resolve his storyline. And for fans like me, who love and adore Sam, the extended absence of all things Sammy will become a source of frustration sooner rather than later.

To be honest, I have no idea how the writers plan on maintaining the next couple of episodes if they don’t reveal Sam’s secret soon and allow the brothers to confront their issues. Given that Dean has clearly witnessed his brother’s betrayal, Sam and Dean working together would be a farce and every potentially light-hearted moment between the brothers would be tainted from here on. It’s simply incomprehensible that Dean would even consider getting in the same car with Sam, let alone trust him to have his back on a hunt, so at this point I can only conclude that Dean is now actively playing Sam in order to find out what happened to his brother and how to bring his real self back. I really hope that the pay-off to Sam’s storyline will be satisfying and that the direction his story has taken is justified in the end by considerable development for his character. At the moment I am only comforted by the thought that Sam’s breakdown, once he is restored to his former self, should be spectacular and clear the way for healing and bonding between the brothers.

What else was noteworthy:

(1) I really love how the whole 'alphas' storyline feeds into this year’s seasonal arc of 'the monsters strike back' and how consistent and careful the writers developed that plotline throughout the first five episodes. I dare say, if all other supernatural creatures, like shapeshifters, werewolves etc, started to implement the same strategy of building a fearless army as the alpha vampire in Live Free Or Twihard, the hunter's community will find itself with a massive enemy at their hands in next to no time. I wouldn't be surprised if the second part of the season will see Sam and Dean fight that very threat, and if Samuel's secret agenda as well as the rebellious angels' agenda converge with that storyline, the writers would really pull off a nice arc for this season.

(2) I’ve never read the Twilight books and never saw the movies, so a lot of the digs at the popular vampire series have probably been lost on me, but I think it has been a brilliant idea on the writers’ part to actually incorporate the hype surrounding those books/movies into the storyline in a manner that subverts the whole idea of the books. The fact that the mass phenomenon of Twilight supplies the vampires with willing victims for their army – namely delusional teenagers who fall for the 'romantic vampire' cliché, only to find that said vampires are not quite as aesthetic as they seem – is pretty ironic, and as far as strategies for recruiting goes, it’s ingenious. I really enjoyed that twist, and I like that the writers didn’t only mock Twilight, but actually made it meaningful for the plot.

(3) The 'vision' Dean had when he was under the alpha vampire’s spell has been extremely creepy and disturbing, and I assume it will be significant later in the season. It seems to reflect back on the very roots of vampires as a species, and I am really curious how it will play into the monsters storyline.

In conclusion: As long as I keep the thought that Sam is not really Sam at the back of my mind, I can appreciate Live Free Or Twihard as a pretty well written episode. Even though I am not the biggest fan of characters turning dark and I feel that Dean had enough angsty storylines in the show to last me a lifetime, I think the writers did a good job with the episode. I have to say that so far the season has a very cohesive feel, as all storylines are steadily developed and every episode reveals new parts of the larger picture.