There are lots of talking points here; writer Daniel Loflin hit a lot of emotional notes. But the wall between the brothers has a lot of holes in it, which may not have sunk this episode, but did make it resonate less than it could have. The season has Dean apparently holding on to every resentment he’s ever had concerning Sam, including ones that have never been presented onscreen, such as blaming Sam for being soulless.
He doesn’t seem to have processed any of his feelings about Sam and Ruby since season four, and to me, this causes story dissonance with previous seasons. Dean had an emotional arc in season five that centred on his feelings about Sam choosing Ruby over him. “Swan Song” showed him having processed a lot more than this season suggests.
So I have issues with the writers presenting Dean as being in the same place he was in the penultimate episode of season four, especially when it is possible for Dean to have issues with Sam in a way that fits. Dean’s fear of abandonment and hurt at Sam’s different definition of family have ample support in the story and are enough explanation for what’s motivating Dean. I don’t understand why the writers feel the need to throw the kitchen sink into the mix—it doesn’t strengthen the story. Dean has always needed family and he’s always placed Sam at the centre of his family.
The issues with Sam’s story are even deeper. It’s never been more apparent why one of Sam’s flashbacks should have shown us his emotional state when he ran instead of looking for Dean. I need to hurt for both boys as they vent their hurt disguised as anger at each other, especially when Benny is a target. I had no difficulty understanding both Winchesters in previous seasons when they had different perceptions and goals. But this time, we’re missing a major story point.
Having to fanwank Sam’s feelings about Dean gets less and less satisfying the more flashbacks we have to watch about Sam and Amelia. This episode suggested I should find the dissolution of the relationship because of Don’s return really sad, because of what Sam was losing. But last episode suggested the relationship was an escape so both Sam and Amelia didn’t have to face their losses. It’s difficult to go from flashbacks that present the relationship as living a lie to flashbacks that want me to embrace soap opera.
Sam’s flashbacks have slowed down the episodes they appear in and the season so far, because they go over old ground without advancing the present. Not only has Sam not had any epiphanies about his relationship, “Citizen Fang” ends with Sam still deeply caught up in it, as if the audience is breathlessly waiting to find out if Amelia really chooses Don. I’m hoping he doesn’t have an evil twin to further complicate her choice.
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Article comments
1 - Big T.
This is one of my favorite television shows. But I can't always help thinking that if the two idjuts would sit down and talk to one another about their emotions and feelings their lives would be much improved. They are brothers for cryin' out loud.
2 - lil
Great review. I agree with most of it.
The myth arc isn't getting enough attention.. and you're right that there's more focus on the Benny situation than the Crowley one.
I have one major problem with this season though.. and you share my views.. as you have brought this up several times in your reviews.. We absolutely NEED to know what happened to Sam in the time period between Dean disappearing and Sam hitting the dog. If the season ends with us never knowing that, I will be hugely unimpressed. To be honest, I'm already annoyed that it hasn't been clarified by this stage.
3 - Gerry
Hi Big T, nice to see you here! I agree it would solve a lot of Sam and Dean's problems to just talk, but then again, most of us have trouble with that at one time or another. (-: Hopefully, we'll get some bro talks soon.
Lil, I too think it's a big mistake to either skip over that flashback or leave it until the second half of the season. By the time we get to Hellatus, we've formed a lot of our opinions on the season, especially on anything we've been wondering about since the premiere. Too long a suspension in time is a problem. Maybe the writers will surprise me and really tie everything together when the show comes back in January. My fingers are crossed!
4 - Tiffster
I agree so much. Great review. Supernatural hooked me with the the family bond between Sam, Dean and John. Then it got dramatic and moving when strong tensions were set up between them. Now I feel like the family bond is missing and the tensions are forced. Like both brothers are just angry at each other for reasons that don't fit the scenario.
5 - redsky
I have to say Gerry, I pretty much agree with all your points here. Personally I'm willing to believe Benny when he claims he doesn't kill humans, and I don't dislike him per se, but I can't help but wonder whether Dean is taking into account the motivations behind Benny's helping him in Purgatory. He seems to talk about Benny helping him as though this were something that cost Benny or endangered him, when in fact the opposite is true.
And the point you make about Sam treating Benny differently and trusting him less than other vampires and monsters we've seen on the show is very valid. I wonder if part of Sam's exceptional disdain for Benny comes from him feeling that Dean is giving Benny a little too much credit, and worrying that Benny could take advantage of that. Or possibly I am straying too far into wank territory there.
And yes, Big T you are right; not only in this show, but in countless other works, the lack of communication between characters is too often used as a way of driving a plot. At least the Winchesters' tendency to fail at communication is pretty much par for the course and doesn't feel too OOC.
As for the Sam/Amelia storyline, at the moment I'm having mixed feelings about it. I'm not really all that pleased at having had Casablanca repackaged, particularly since I can forgive a 1942 movie a lot more than I can a 2012 television show. It's one thing for Rick to make decisions for Ilsa in a more chauvinistic time, when there's a war on and who she stays with could ostensibly have an effect on the war effort, but it's quite another for Sam to decide for Amelia who "gets" her without even giving her a chance to make her own mind up. Sam tells Amelia he wants to stay with her, but after Don talks to him he seems to change his mind - not about wanting her, but about whether he deserves to try to keep her. I can't help feeling as though she's being treated like some kind of prize or resource that Sam has unwittingly stolen from Don. This is not to say that I think Sam and Amelia should have stayed together long-term, and Don's talk with Sam is coming on the heels of Amelia's father raising the idea of Sam running away from something and hiding in an unreal dream world with her, so Sam has been considering this question, but he still seems to give up a little too easily.
From what we've seen of Amelia's character though, I'm hopeful she'll challenge Sam on that point. Well, cautiously hopeful might be more accurate, since other male characters have been equally cavalier in similar situations - Dean wiping Lisa and Ben's memories of "the best year of her life," for example, or Jimmy Novak deciding to become Castiel's vessel. (Not to mention the odious Wes in "Wishful Thinking").
And on a completely shallow note, I have to confess to feeling a bit cheated - if you insist on having a romantic subplot, at least show us some class of a sex scene. I can't help believing that if the show were about two sisters who hunted monsters, there'd be a sex scene every other episode :)
6 - lil
You got that right Red! But, much as I love seeing the boys wearing less, I'm glad they don't use sex scenes gratuitously, like they would if the leads were two sexy females.
I'm not feeling any connection whatsoever with Sam/Amelia. There doesn't seem to be any chemistry there, and I can't quite put my finger on the reason why. Usually Sam wears his heart on his sleeve, but there's something missing when he's in the scenes with Amelia.
7 - Lia
All we need is an evil twin. *snort* Seriously, Sam's story line really is beginning to feel like a soap opera, and I don't know anyone who's enjoying it.
As for the vitriol that Dean spewed under the influence of the specter, I think it was just that. The specter was taking Dean's anger and hurt from Sam not looking for him as well as the remembered anger and hurt. It doesn't mean that Dean is still upset with Sam about Ruby or that he ever was about Sam being soulless. Sam, however, still feels guilt about all those things, so he believes Dean meant what he said. That's my take on it. Otherwise, it doesn't make any sense.
As for Sam leaving Amelia after that talk with Don in which Don said that they should respect her choice, it was triggered by Martin talking about a brother choosing a vampire over his brother. I think we were supposed to understand that Sam doesn't believe that he -- a freak who fails everyone -- would be chosen over a guy like Don, so he took off before she had a chance. Dean choosing Benny over him, as he sees it, confirms that even Dean no longer chooses him first even over a monster.
Great review. I with practically every word.
8 - JFP
Great Review!