My SPN squee is on vacation to points unknown and I miss it. Spoilers for 811

[vyperdd]

Never thought I would write a post like this about my all-time favourite show and current obsession. Hopefully it's a 1 time thing and that I'm back to joining in all the fandom-wide love and happy feels from next week

I really, really wanted to love this episode, but I just can't. :'( Doesn't mean I don't like it, because I do but a couple of issues really got in the way of me enjoying it to the fullest. This is the first ep that I can recall where, upon watching for the very first time, I didn't immediately re-watch it. I watched the latest Arrow ep instead and only watched LARP for a second time, quite a few hours later, hoping that my issues/resentments may have faded a bit... (They didn't >:( ) Now that may have been because of Ben Browder being on Arrow, but I'm pretty sure I would have watched something, ANYTHING, other than this SPN ep again...... and that makes me really, really sad. Haven't ever felt this way about ANY SPN ep.

So, to my issues- (don't mean to be such a downer about them, but I just can't ignore them any longer and they are just the breaking point with some longer-term issues that I've been having about the show for quite a while now.)
1/ I was really hyped for this ep way back late last year when Jared revealed at a con they were filming an ep taking place at a Ren Faire and that BOTH of them would be in costume. Hooray, I thought, finally we get to see Sam in something other than his normal hunting clothes or a suit. We've had eps where Dean has gotten to dress up in some really amazing outfits (the Western gear in Frontierland and the 40's outfit in Time After Time are my favourites, complete with long, slow full body pans by a very loving camera) and I've really appreciated them and seeing how great Jensen looks. So, great I thought, finally Sam (& Jared) will get equal share of the spotlight in this regard.
Fast forward to this past week and spoiler clips and pics start showing up online and they are all of Dean in costume (and looking mighty damn fine, BTW) . They have me thinking... WOW, if I'm drooling this much over Dean then I'm going to need buckets when pics of Sam in costume appear. I throw my previous rock-hard spoiler-phobia out the window and click on every single preview/pic or vid link in order to see how magnificent Sam is gonna look in the medieval garb. Finally a preview/promo clip is released that shows Sam in costume, all of about 5 seconds worth, enough for a couple of screencaps to be taken. Showing Sam/Jared in tight leather leggings, shirt & cape with his longish hair in a ponytail. ;D And hey, it's still a lot less than all the pics we got of Dean, but for the most part I'm satisfied and, once again, I'm all hyped up for the ep, only to be majorly disappointed that what was in that last preview clip was pretty much ALL we get to see of Sam in costume. Right at the end of the ep in a couple of shots that probably lasted no longer than about 20 seconds. So after seeing Dean in costume for at least half the ep, all we get of Sam is 1 or 2 almost blink-and-you'll-miss-'em- shots lasting less than a minute.
Now I get that as a result of giving up on being with Amelia and his dream of a normal/safe/happy life, Sam is majorly depressed and was clearly just focussing on the hunt aspect of the case as a way of dealing with things, they still could have had Sam in costume for a lot longer than the tiny little snippet we got at the end.
As a result, I have gone back to my previous anti-spoiler stance as I can't handle getting my hopes up by something I read or hear or see, only to have them smashed when the ep arrives and things don't turn out the way I'd thought/hoped/prayed they would.

2/ My other issue (and this one goes back at least a few seasons) is that, once again, Dean is given a scene where he gets to discuss feelings/emotions/reasons why he did something (in this case, Dean and Charlie talking about the fake text he sent Sam at the end of 809). Sam very rarely gets to interact on such an emotional level with a secondary character like Dean has on multiple occassions (Gordon back in season 2's Bloodlust, all the convos he's had with Bobby, all the 1-on-1 scenes with Cas, heck Dean even has had more interaction with Meg than Sam in the last few seasons. I'm still surprised that Meg possessing Sam back in season 2 -- such a huge character moment/ plot point for Sam-- has never even been mentioned in any Meg ep since-- so it almost seems to me that Meg's initial very strong connection to Sam (and Sam alone) has been totally erased from memory) The last one I can think of is Sam talking to Young John in season 5's Song Remains The Same. Even in Season 6 and the re-introduction of Samuel Campbell as part of the SoulessSam focus, Dean got to have way more in-depth conversations and interactions with Samuel, than Sam did. It seems like Dean has always got someone he can talk to/confide in whereas Sam seems only to have Dean and when the boys are at odds and not speaking, then Sam has no-one. And that I think is what makes me saddest most of all.

I think I'm almost at the point where if something happened and Jared was no longer able to be on the show, I don't think I would continue watching, especially if it became the Dean & Cas show. I love Jensen and Dean, but I know in my heart, that I keep watching because of my absolute love for and obsession with Jared.

I'm really hoping that something happens in the second half of this season that restores my faith that both actors & co-leads and both characters are equally important in the minds of the showrunner, writers etc (because I'm really not feeling that at the moment and haven't for some time) and that we get some really good Sam-focussed eps like the many heavily Dean-centric eps we gotten in the past (What Is (s2), The Beginning (s4) & The End (s5)). Hell, giving Sam a friend that is not shared by Dean would be a good start. Will we ever get one where Dean/Jensen is only in 1 or 2 scene leaving Jared to carry the ep? I doubt it otherwise it would have happened by now. Maybe then I'll be able to come back to this ep with a much more positive attitude and love it like I really want to.

But right now (and having spoiled myself a little for next week) all I can think is that I really, really hope that Dean doesn't get all the interaction, and most of the scenes and dialogue with a new but very important up-coming character that in all respects does have an equal relationship with both brothers. I do know that I'm not going to get my hopes up again and maybe the episode will leave me pleasantly surprised and feeling the love once again.

I do still love SPN, I will always love SPN, I just don't know if I like it all that much, Jared & Sam aside, right now.

Comments

[sammichgirl]

I really did love this last episode, it had a lot of what's been missing, and was certainly lighter and a turning point.

BUT.

You make very valid points I happen to agree with. I too, was disappointed that our Sammy was only theme dressed for a blip on the screen. He totally could have been dressed like Dean the entire episode. He would have blended in and it wouldn't have thrown off the storyline at all. I mean, even if he didn't want to, Charlie could have demanded it as queen in order to move the case ahead. It makes me sad that the writer only see Dean as worthy of that kind of thing.

Which brings me to your second point. This is a show about BROTHERS! Even when we've had Sam centric storylines and episodes, they still seem so Dean heavy to me. Sam can carry an episode on his own. And Sam can converse with others just as well as Dean. For all the Deanisms about Sam being the emo one...we don't get to see it often in conversation, just in facial expressions (which, I do adore.) I was really hoping for some Sam/Cas momentum this season, but I guess I shouldn't hold my breath.

And yeah, I never understood how they completely blip'd the original Meg we knew from Sam and his storyline...I mean, I love her character, but there was never any explanation or anything to show some patchwork to where they are now with her.

Dean's expected to fall apart without Sam...and everyone seems to expect Sam to just be "okie dokie" without Dean - when it couldn't be further from the truth. I'd like them to explore that more, honestly. We've seen Dean's side of all that over 8 seasons...let's be fair and give Sam that voice, too.

I'm a spoiler whore, but I won't say anything on what I've seen or read. I absolutely do watch for Jared/Sam, too. And I love SPN, always will. Unless they kill off our boy for good.

[vyperdd.livejournal.com]

Thanks for letting me know I'm not alone in my feelings and issues.

Well, Robbie Thompson also wrote FrontierLand so at least he is being consistent with his favouritism of Dean getting the spotlight.

Re Meg: It would be awesome to get at least some recognition that Meg once possessed Sam. It's almost as if Sam has forgotten it himself for all the reaction he's shown towards her since she returned in season 5.

Yeah and it was Dean who said, in the very first ep, "No chick-flick moments" How ironic that he's had so many of them with so many other characters and Sam has had so few.

PS: Love your icon!!!

[corbyinoz.livejournal.com]

I can't speak to your first issue, because I understand that you must have been disappointed, especially as Jared said in an interview or con somewhere that they both get into medieval gear - which is true, but as you say, only briefly.

However, although I think I get some aspects of your second point, I don't see the show that way. For starters, Sam has had his own scenes all through this season of just him and Amelia, to the point that it often felt to me that they were privileged above the more pressing storyline. We've seen several 'heart to heart' scenes there. In fact, over the years Sam has been given a number of romantic interactions; Provenance, Heart, Sex and Violence, the whole Ruby storyline. There've been several very Sam heavy episodes, too; Hunted, the one that fills in what happened with Sam after Dean was sent to hell, the second last S2 episode (which was all Sam save for about two minutes of Dean)and the finale of S6 are just some that come to mind. In terms of Sam interacting with others, I can think of quite a few off the top of my head: Rebecca in Skin, the boy in Nightmare, the ghost in Roadkill, and Andy, and the girl in Hunted. Dean may have been (erroneously) bonding with Gordon, but Sam was bonding with Elanore. In regards to other-character interaction I've only just looked at the first two seasons because the covers are right at hand, but I am sure if I went through the series, there are many episodes that feature Sam connecting with others when Dean doesn't. Sam even had a heart to heart with John in a way that Dean never did.

But that said, I think Dean does have a need for other people that Sam doesn't.I see that as an essential element of Sam's personality. Sam has always held himself apart, even from his own family. He lets down his guard with more difficulty than Dean.

With reference to your later point that Dean fits into new situations better than Sam does; I think that is because Dean still has a strong sense of playfulness that allows him to embrace the make believe aspect of whatever scenario he's in. He's also naturally gregarious, although his job restricts his opportunities to let his real self out. When he's given licence to do so, to make friends and be part of a team, he embraces it, in the way that he embraces being part of a family. But when you consider Sam's character, Sam's need was for independence. He is, I think, far more of a loner than Dean. And he's more strategic than Dean, so he doesn't drop the reins and let himself relax into the role play as Dean does.

Anyway, just respectfully offering a different POV. It's fascinating that the show can bear such different interpretations; to me it shows a richness of character development.