SPN: The Benders and Shadow

[snick_backup]

Okay, y'all. I realize I'm jumping the gun and it's probably way too early to expect it, but I'm ready for this show to start telling different stories. Something more than "beat the evil bad spirit thingy, angst about John Winchester."

Like, can we have an ep from an outside POV? The Winchester boys are pretty threatening, really, with their habitual lying and their car trunk full of guns. Not to mention they'd come across as more than a bit cracked. Or maybe an ep that's really all about the credit card fraud and the umpteen fake ID's. Or an ep where the supernatural thingy isn't really evil?

Question your assumptions, show!

The Benders
At first I thought these might be, like, spoon-benders, playing off Dean's remark in the previous episode. Failing that, I hear there are folks that can bend the four elements. They're pretty cool. You should check 'em out.

As near as I can figure, though, Bender must be the family's name, although I can't recall hearing it said.

So we got to the hillbilly cannibal episode, I guess, although it was really more about the hunting; I suspect the reasoning behind the cannibalism was something along the lines of, "You kill it, you eat it."

I gotta say, I'm offended on behalf of Minnesotans and of folks who hunt and, hey, I'm offended on behalf of hillbillies. I feel I should point out that these particular hillbillies were apparently transplanted from parts east or south; the only person in the whole ep who sounded even vaguely midwestern to me was the kid witness at the beginning.

I sort of liked the lady cop and I loved when she handcuffed Dean to the car; that boy needs all the ego-pokes the universe can dish out. I was miffed, though, that she in fact wasn't able to handle it all herself.

Meh, basically. Meh.

Shadow
This felt less like a full story than it did a pit stop in the larger arc. I can't say we've learned anything more on the thing-that-killed-Mary front, only confirmed what we already knew: that John Winchester has been getting close, and that the thing's gunning for him.

I'm trying to decide how I feel about the reasoning for John and the boys staying apart. He lets his guard down when they're around? Really? His boys are nearby and he's less vigilant than usual? I can see the argument that someone might take the boys and use them against him, just like they were taken this time, except wouldn't it be even easier to nab them if they're five states away from him?

I dunno. I'm just not sure I buy the argument that they're more vulnerable together. If Sam and Dean were civilians, maybe, but they've spent the last six or seven months holding their own and saving each others' hides. Does John Winchester's hide never need saving?

It all sounds like isolation as an ideology to me. I remain skeptical.

Of course, whether right or wrong, the real impact is in the fact that's it's Dean arguing for the separation when we just saw him panicking about Sam splitting up the family again.

DEAN: I don't want you to leave the second this is all over.
SAM: What is your problem?
DEAN: Why do you think I drag you all over the place? Why do you think I went and got you in Stanford in the first place?
SAM: Because Dad was in trouble. Because you wanted to get the thing that killed Mom.
DEAN: Well, yeah, but not just that. You and me and Dad, I wanted us to be together again. I wanted us to be a family again.

Aw, Dean. *pat pat*

Comments

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

Hillbilly cannibals: never entertaining.

The types of episode you suggest (the self-referential ones, anyway) may still be a ways off. I think you're creeping up on some vampire action, though, and it's always fun to compare and contrast vampire lore between universes. Is that too spoilery? If so, may I just say "Ooops?"

The family dynamics always seem to be drawn out just until the point you're rolling your eyes, and a little beyond, and then something gives, generally. I was watching a Korean soap opera with my sick kid this weekend, and the same principle was at work. Can they charm you while you wonder why they don't just move on, already? Well, when you've got Dean, there's no shortage of charm...

[snickfic]

I didn't realize hillbilly cannibals was really a trope. I've seen humans used for sport hunting lots of times, but I think the only other time I've seen backwoods cannibals was, uh, in a fic beer_good_foamy wrote.

Yay, vampires! I look forward to that. No doubt there will be an in-depth discussion of the similarities and differences and which construction I like better. (I like specific vampires on BtVS very much indeed, but in general I think the execution of them as a concept is pretty stupid.)

Well, when you've got Dean, there's no shortage of charm...

Pretty much.

I don't mind the family dynamics so much, I just wish they'd move a little faster.

[silverusagi]

>Like, can we have an ep from an outside POV?

Yes.

>Or maybe an ep that's really all about the credit card fraud and the umpteen fake ID's.

Mostly yes.

>Or an ep where the supernatural thingy isn't really evil?

Yes.

[snickfic]

\o/

*anticipates*

[cindergal.livejournal.com]

Well, IMO there can never be too much of anything that has to do with John Winchester. ;-)

I just typed other stuff then deleted it because it was spoilery. :-)

[snickfic]

Heh. You are one of those John fangirls, eh? He has not won me over yet. I'm not saying he can't, but so far his main attribute has been willful evasiveness, which I don't find terribly appealing.

Aw, thank you. I'm sure it was highly insightful; you'll have to save it and tell me later. *g*

[cindergal.livejournal.com]

You mean, his main attribute is not how scruffily attractive he is? ;-) Hey, he's much closer to my age, so I'm not so uncomfortable fangirling him. *g*

You haven't gotten to the good stuff with him yet, at least IMO. Hope that's not spoilery! ::is paranoid::

[snickfic]

You haven't gotten to the good stuff with him yet, at least IMO. Hope that's not spoilery! ::is paranoid::

Nah, you're good! I was certainly hoping there'd be more, to justify everyone's enthusiasm for him. :)

I do think the age thing is part of why John Winchester isn't striking me as attractive. As of S1 Jensen Ackles is just my age, and it feels very peculiar to me to think of Dean's dad in that light. It's the familial bond that's really screwing it up for me, I think, because I have no such difficulty with Giles despite the fatherly connotations of his relationship with Buffy.

[cindergal.livejournal.com]

Well, it also helps that I was already a fan of his from his role on Grey's Anatomy where he played Denny, one of the most loveable characters you could imagine. :-)

[snickfic]

Ah. That would also make a big difference, yes. I very much doubt I'll ever be interested in Grey's Anatomy, but then again, I never thought I'd watch Supernatural, either...

[silverusagi]

The Winchester boys are pretty threatening, really, with their habitual lying and their car trunk full of guns.

Not to mention that Dean is 6'2" and Sam is 6'4". Once Jared fills out in the later seasons, it's hard for Sam NOT to look threatening, LOL.

[ghostyouknow27.livejournal.com]

I dunno, as long as the shirt's on, the puppy eyes seem to make Sam a woobie in the witnesses' hearts and minds. :D

[silverusagi]

But he towers over them! I just keep thinking of any scene we see with him and a girl that's a wide shot, and he's like 15" taller than they are.

But Sam knows how to loom occasionally. Like the episode with Andy.

[snickfic]

There's only a 2-inch difference between them? I'd have thought it was more than that. Dean definitely comes across as "the short one," although I think it might have something to do with how he carries himself.

[ghostyouknow27.livejournal.com]

I think JA says that he's 6'1? It definitely looks like more than three inches onscreen, though.

JP is just *huge.* Especially in later seasons. I'd insert a shirtless .gif, but I'm not sure if that would count as a spoiler. *g*

[snickfic]

Like I said, I think it has something to do with carriage. Sam carries himself like a big guy, and Dean carries himself like a short guy. (I don't know how much of that is acting and how much is the actors, though.)

I hereby give you permission to insert a shirtless .gif. :)

[ghostyouknow27.livejournal.com]

This is not the best version of this scene, but it's the one I found first, so ...

[snickfic]

Good heavens. "Filled out," indeed.

[ghostyouknow27.livejournal.com]

I confess that I like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, so I kinda ... uh ... like ... The Benders. Teeth in a jar and I'm happy, cannibal rednecks or no.

I realize I'm jumping the gun and it's probably way too early to expect it, but I'm ready for this show to start telling different stories. Something more than "beat the evil bad spirit thingy, angst about John Winchester."
Hold on, kid. Just hold on.

[snickfic]

Hold on, kid. Just hold on.

*anticipates*

[diamondtook862.livejournal.com]

I dunno. I'm just not sure I buy the argument that they're more vulnerable together.

Not saying it is a good perspective, but I'm guessing he probably means that with the boys he isn't able to do the things he needs to do, because they might get hurt (I have many more thoughts, and they connect with my last s5 rewatch post, but I shall not spoil).

I don't think they make him weaker by not pulling their own weight, more that he's their DAD, and he wants to be a hunter. He will always be dad first when they are there. I think he does trust them as hunters in their own right though- otherwise he wouldn't have sent them on so many missions alone.

[snickfic]

He will always be dad first when they are there.

Maybe? I guess that makes sense. I don't know. I think mostly I resent all the evasion, on the parts of both John and the writers. All John's reasoning so far has come across as a contrivance to draw the story out, and I hate that.

[ever-neutral.livejournal.com]

It all sounds like isolation as an ideology to me. I remain skeptical.

That is pretty much it in one. It's the idealisation of the individualistic American hero, much like in all noir. Masculinity issues, blah blah blah.

Of course, the Sam-Dean relationship overturns that, by emphasising that the most important thing is love/friendship. Dean is immensely screwed up because of John Winchester, but on some deep level, he genuinely understands that... I LOVE THAT BOY SO MUCH.

[ghostyouknow27.livejournal.com]

It's the idealisation of the individualistic American hero, much like in all noir.
This show is actually super unique in that it doesn't rely on one hero (though John may think it does). Buffy, Angel, The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, LotR, many other examples I am too sleepless to recall ... you've got one, main hero and their sidekicks and friends. With SPN, you've got two brothers splitting the protagonist role, though it sometimes gets a little uneven.

[snickfic]

With SPN, you've got two brothers splitting the protagonist role, though it sometimes gets a little uneven.

Isn't that the basic idea of every buddy movie ever, though? And I feel like there must be lots of shows that focus on the two cops who are partners, or whatever, although nothing's coming to mind at the moment.

Of course, mostly those sorts of things tend to involve more mundane heroics; are you specifically interested in the saving-the-world kind?

[ghostyouknow27.livejournal.com]

I was specifically referring to epics, without saying so. My bad.

Sure, you have buddy cops or, say, Mulder and Scully (though the show was skewed in favor of Mulder). But epics/fantasy stories tend to focus on one person and the way the handle Big-D Destiny.

His Dark Materials might come close to being another exception, but I think it's still one character that bears the brunt.

[snickfic]

Hmph. Now you've got me trying to think of ensembles with Destiny. I'll get back to you if I think of some. :)

[snickfic]

I tell you what I love. I love that this show totally knows how screwed up its main characters are and how emotionally unhealthy their backstory and lifestyle are. This is exactly the sort of premise that I've seen glamorized a few dozen times. Heroe(s) with an Unfortunate Past on the road saving the day and romancing the little lady. But this show totally embraces the screwedupness and runs with it, and I think it's the screwedupness I'm watching the show for.