Review for 6x07 'Family Matters'

[galathea]

Family Matters by Andrew Dabb and Daniel Loflin concludes the three episode mini-arc that focuses on revealing Sam’s secret and moving the brothers’ relationship to a new place of understanding. It finally allows Sam and Dean to strike a truce, albeit a very fragile one. Furthermore, the episode advances the alpha storyline and unveils the mystery of who is pulling Samuel’s strings, thus progressing the seasonal arc quite nicely as well. So far the storylines seem to come together really well, and I can’t wait to see where the writers take us (and the characters) next!



I really have to say that, so far, I am enjoying S6 a lot, and that’s something I definitely didn’t expect going into it. The pacing of the season is excellent and the clear direction and continuous forward movement for the storylines give the impression that the writers know exactly what they are doing. I find that heartening, especially since the lack of direction and the bad pacing have been my main points of discontentment with the previous season. Most of all though, I love that the show returned to a more intimate, character-driven storytelling. The story is focused on Sam and Dean and their ever changing dynamics and the detail work for the characters is intriguing. Now, obviously the epic plots hover in the background, namely the heavenly civil war, the search for purgatory and the origins of monsters, but the characters are front and centre, and I hope it stays that way. Granted, where Sam and Dean are concerned I would have preferred new story material to just another variation of 'something is wrong with Sam, and Dean worries about his brother', but the soulless Sam plot sure produces some interesting results and so far it works for me, not least because the season is so tightly written.

I admit, I am a bit torn though. On the one hand, I want the old Sam back as soon as possible – I simply miss the 'soulful' younger Winchester like something fierce – but on the other hand, I am insanely curious how and if Sam and Dean will be able to make their relationship work under these unique circumstances. They are forced to find a completely new way of dealing with each other, and I think there are a lot of interesting angles to explore in that set-up. Will Sam be able to overcome his limitations with Dean’s help? How exactly does a soulless Sam process what is happening around him? And will Dean be able to find part of his Sam in this version of his brother? I may be a hopeless sap, but I like the idea that the brotherly bond will prevail, even though one of them is unable to feel it. So, I think it should be very interesting to observe Sam and Dean’s dynamics in the next couple of episodes. However, I don’t want the writers to drag the storyline on for too long. I would prefer if Sam’s situation is fixed around mid-season, so the story can move on to the aftermath of re-souling Sam. I look forward to that part of the story in particular, and I hope that for once the writers will actually deal with the consequences of Sam’s trauma, instead of just sidestepping the issue, like they did with Dean’s post-hell story.

Okay, moving on to the episode now. I think the opening scene of Family Matters is fabulous. The episode starts right where the last one left off, with Sam coming back from unconsciousness, only to find himself tied to a chair and questioned by Castiel for answers about his general state of being. Castiel’s discovery that Sam has no soul comes as no real surprise at this point, but their conversation still offers some interesting insights. For example, Sam admits that he didn’t sleep ever since he came back from Lucifer’s cage, and I can’t help but wonder how he managed to hide that from Dean these last couple of weeks. Did he just pretend to sleep? It’s also interesting to ponder the implications of a human being separated from his soul. I mean, does Sam’s soul still have any awareness or is it just a metaphysical 'substance' like the angels’ grace? Does whatever happens to Sam’s soul at the moment leave any imprints and will Sam have to deal with the after-effects of those imprints once he is reunited with his soul? In any case, whether Castiel’s assumption that Sam’s soul is still in the cage is right or not, I find the thought of Sam’s soul being trapped and possibly tormented deeply unsettling.

Dean: "Nobody is forcing you to work with me. Okay? But if we do this, I drive the bus. I call the shots. And you tell me everything, whether you think it’s important or not, because trust me, you can’t tell the difference."

Sam and Dean’s nightly conversation at the side of the road is undoubtedly the highlight of the episode for me. Dean confronting Sam about his lies and coming right out about the fact that he knows that Sam keeps Samuel’s activities hidden from him, clears the air between the brothers and allows them to find a new place of understanding with each other. I love when Dean starts to explain all the reasons why Sam should have questioned Samuel’s actions. It’s not only a light bulb moment for Sam, but also for Dean, as he finally fully understands his brother’s limitations. The realisation that Sam simply has no instincts anymore where right or wrong are concerned put his past actions into a new context for Dean, and I think that’s the turning point in Dean’s attitude towards his brother.

I think Sam’s clueless reaction to Dean’s questions resonates well with the other instances this season where someone directly pointed out a moral problem to him, like for example, Samuel telling Sam that someone running around making 'baby stew' is bad or Dean pointing out that torturing a child is not acceptable. Now, intellectually, Sam knows that there is a difference between right and wrong – or truth and lie, for that matter – but he has no internal means to differentiate between them. As I already stated in my last review, I think Sam's condition is comparable to someone who lost the ability to see colours and is now only able to perceive different shades of grey. Obviously that person would still know that there is a difference between red and yellow, but if confronted with the colours, they would not be able to determine which colour is which, unless someone points it out to them. Similarly, Sam can’t relate right and wrong to his internal moral compass (soul) anymore, and so he can only use other peoples' reactions or rational assumptions as pointers as to what the right response is in any given situation. I do think though that Sam’s reactions to Dean tend to be more varied and precise, simply because he has a lot more memories involving Dean. His 'database' of how to respond to Dean or how to read his brother’s reactions in a given situation is a lot more extensive, so it is a lot easier for him to mimic normalcy in his brother’s company.

I think that’s one of the reasons why Sam chooses Dean, when his brother gives him the choice to either walk away and join Samuel or to accept his terms and completely subordinate to Dean’s decisions. Since he knows how to act around his brother, Sam simply has a better sense of self when he is with Dean. Furthermore, Sam’s memory tells him that Dean has a personal interest to help him and can be trusted, a point swiftly proven by Dean’s willingness to give Sam full disclosure, while Samuel wants to keep him on a need-to-know basis and exploits Sam’s skills without accepting him as a full member of the team. So, obviously Sam’s choice is not rooted in sentimentalism, it’s about choosing the option that makes the most sense in terms of achieving his goal, namely retrieving his soul. I believe that Sam is genuine when he tells Dean that he tries to get better, but I think it’s difficult for Sam to stay focused on a problem he isn’t always able to feel. He knows though that Dean will not let it go or forget about it, he will keep Sam focused on the task at hand. In effect, Sam relies on his brother’s soul to guide him. Dean quite literally becomes Sam’s humanity, his moral compass, at least for the time being.

Dean not only takes on a lot of responsibility by standing in for Sam’s soul, but also a huge risk, because he simply can’t rely on Sam to make the right choices in any given situation. His brother’s actions have become unpredictable and in their line of work that’s a liability, after all, their lives depend on trusting each other. However, now that Dean understands what exactly is wrong with Sam, his initial hostility makes way for acceptance. He is still creeped out and untrusting, understandably so, but I think his willingness to stand by Sam, despite the difficult circumstances, shows that his primary question if Sam is even still Sam is settled in his mind. With Sam giving Dean what he needs the most, namely trust and honesty, he can work towards fixing the situation, but any further development will depend on Sam’s ability to keep his word and follow Dean’s lead without question. And their first trial by fire at least proves to be successful. Dean takes a chance when he sends Sam to try and infiltrate the Campbells for intel on the alphas, but Sam validates Dean’s fragile trust and returns to him. ♥ Similarly, when Sam’s first reaction is to kill Samuel for betraying them, he backs down as soon as Dean asks him to. It's not an ideal situation, but if they can maintain their teamwork, it might just work.

Dean: "So, what’s so important that you’re the king of hell’s cabana boy, huh? What did he offer you? Girls? Money? Hair?"
Samuel: "Got my reasons."

To my surprise Family Matters finally managed to make me feel more sympathetic towards Samuel by revealing that rather than working his own shady agenda, Samuel is under Crowley’s thumb, most likely blackmailed into helping the demon. Now, given the importance of the family motif this season and Samuel dropping Mary's name pretty frequently, I think it's quite probable that Crowley uses Mary's soul as leverage to force Samuel into doing his bidding. It's not unreasonable to think that Mary’s soul went to hell rather than heaven – she made a deal with a demon, after all – and that Crowley gained control over her soul when he became the king of hell. Remember, in Dark Side Of The Moon Ash had been unable to locate Mary – or John, for that matter – in heaven and while that’s no conclusive proof, it’s at least consistent with the theory. So, I think it’s entirely possible that Samuel agreed to help Crowley in exchange for the freedom of Mary’s soul, and I admit, I find that possible plot twist a rather thrilling prospect. At least it instantly endeared grandpa to me.

Now, obviously Home implied that Mary’s spirit had been destroyed when she attacked the poltergeist that threatened her sons, or well, at least Missouri claimed as such, but it has never been confirmed and it's not as if Missouri has never been proven wrong before. The show simply never explained what happens to spirits that move on - deliberately like Molly in Roadkill or forcibly like those angry spirits that are vanquished through a salt and burn - so I think the writers have plenty of room to be creative without violating previously existing canon. Maybe angry spirits end up in purgatory, rather than being completely destroyed or moving on to heaven or hell, and if that were the case, it’s also possible that Mary is in purgatory instead of hell. While Mary’s spirit never struck me as evil or even angry and the alpha vampire explicitly mentions that the place is filled with the hungry souls of monsters, it’s possible that she was simply pulled along when she overpowered the nasty poltergeist. That would certainly give Samuel an added incentive to actually find purgatory for Crowley.

What else was noteworthy:

(1) The revelation that Christian and some of Sam and Dean’s other cousins have been possessed by Crowley’s minions all along, has been an interesting plot twist. Christian’s constant friction with Dean makes a lot more sense now. Although it’s odd that Samuel, the 'walking encyclopaedia of the creepy and the crawly', never suspected that something is wrong with those closest to him. In that context I can’t help but wonder if being possessed by a demon is the reason why Christian knew about Dean’s time in hell – demons like to gossip, after all. It’s possible that the topic came up at some point and that Sam simply never questioned why Christian had any knowledge about it in the first place.

(2) So, Crowley is the mastermind behind the scenes and he pulls Samuel’s strings in order to find purgatory? I admit, I never saw that one coming. However, I think we have to take Crowley’s statement that he pulled Sam back from the cage and Samuel out of heaven with a grain of salt. Crowley may have seized the opportunity and used the power vacuum in hell to take control – obtaining influence and increasing his abilities in the process – but I simply don’t believe that he gained enough power to bring someone back from Lucifer’s cage. It was impossible for Azazel and Lilith (or Zachariah and Uriel) to free Lucifer from his cage without breaking the 66 seals first, and they have been a lot older and way more powerful than Crowley. So it makes no sense that Crowley would be able to just pull Sam’s body and soul from the same impenetrable cage. Similarly, I don’t believe that a demon has the power to pull a soul from heaven – if Samuel had been in heaven, that is. So, I rather suspect that Crowley is lying, playing on Sam and Dean’s ignorance to his own advantage. It’s also possible that Crowley himself is under someone else’s thumb and simply plays the front man. In any case, I am happy that we will see more of Crowley. He is just one of those fun villains Supernatural does so very, very well.

(3) I find it rather curious that Castiel, a fully empowered angel of the lord, is unable to sense that Sam has no soul, while a weakened alpha vampire instantly detects Sam’s 'defect'. Now, obviously the writers didn’t want to give away Sam’s little secret too early, so unless they wanted to delay Castiel’s first appearance in the season, they couldn’t allow Castiel to notice the absence of Sam’s soul. I think though that the writers should have refrained from giving anyone that ability, if only for the sake of consistency. It’s not as if it has been important to the plot for the alpha vampire to notice Sam’s missing soul. And while we are talking about Castiel being oddly unperceptive: Why has Castiel been unable to detect that Christian is a demon? Usually angels sense demons immediately, as I recall. But well, I guess I'll chalk that up to the same narrative inconvenience.

In conclusion: These past three episodes clearly build a narrative unit. While Live Free Or Twihard forced Dean to realise the extent of his brother’s 'wrongness' and You Can’t Handle The Truth forced Sam to finally show his hand, Family Matters builds on those developments and allows the brothers to adjust to the new situation. I just love the way Sam and Dean start to renegotiate their relationship here, and I am extremely curious to see if they can make it work, despite the insane circumstances.

* * *
Did you know? In order to avoid giving away Crowley’s surprise appearance, Mark Sheppard himself requested not to be listed in the opening credits for the episode. He stated that he has too much love and respect for the fans to spoil them through the credits. ♥