Forbidden Elephants: The Most Forbidden, Issue #4, Part Two
Seasons 4 and 5 (and a little 6): When Kripke/Gamble Djinns Wincest, or even better yet, Here Come the Replacements! (or the part of the essay that’s going to piss you off, especially if you ship Cas/Dean)
Song suggestion:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlJOUVDoZes
(graphic lyrics!)
So Wincest exists, but only in “fanon,†right? It’s one of the “slash†versions of the show – an alternative universe, let’s just say. And according to fanlore.org, “Slash is a type of fanwork in which two (or more) characters of the same sex or gender are placed in a sexual or romantic situation with each other.†Now that is what I’m talking about! Bring on the pretty boys making love! Bring it on!
Oh wait, fanlore has a page for “Wincest� It links to Sam/Dean? And may I ask why is it that Sam is always listed first? It seems to me that if this process of naming were alphabetical and fair, it would be Dean/Sam, right? Also, if it were ordered by age, then the older would go first, right? So again, Dean/Sam. I don’t get it. Unless the slashing points to the positions of priority, should we say like “top/bottom� Because let me tell you….okay I guess I can see that. Dean is prettier. But wait! I don’t think so. I think it’s just arbitrary, and hence, unfair. There should be rules for the slashing, dammit!
(Note to DeanSquad: Hold your horses! I’m not calling your boy a bottom….so much. Eh.)
Anyway, that’s pretty cool. Nice going, Supernatural! Your own pages on fanlore preserved for all eternity in the annals of slash history. (Heheheheh…I wrote annals of slash.) Sorry, sophomoric humor moment.
Anyway, Wincest is just fandom run amok, right? Oh so wrong…so wrong. Because Wincest does happen, we just have to hunt it down like a demon in a forest full of blackened trees. So here it is, people. How Wincest came into being like a bright star and then was crushed into a red dwarf of angst. And Wincest happens just like everything else on Supernatural – out in front, covered in metaphor.
Batter Up! Pinch Hitter No. 1: Season 4 Ruby!
Song suggestion:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymo1GOH8REI
First, I’m gonna give mad props to Genevieve Padalecki (nee Cortese) for her portrayal of Ruby in Season 4. Whether through intuition, intention, or direction, she constructed a character that was the best tool for the downfall of Sam. She invoked Dean, became Dean, in such an insidious and diabolical way that it was fluid and flawless. And Genevieve acts it brilliantly, and makes the audience hate her so much that they are unaware of why – in fact, she makes the audience feel like Dean while she acts like him. So brilliant, girl. I bow to you.
So ya’ll may be thinking, “wtf? Linda…whatchu talkin’ bout?†Ah, let me show you in this handy dandy question and answer session, which changes up the essay a little (it’s kind of long-sorry). I want to show you how season 4 Ruby shows up as and continues to be the most perfect rendition of Dean Winchester since the shapeshifter in “Skin.â€
Question: When Ruby shows up in Season 4, where’s the first place we see her?
Answer: Half-dressed with a sarcastic attitude in a motel room, with Sam. Later on, we see her in a leather jacket. Oh, come on, this is going to be friggin’ easy.
Question: When do we realize Ruby is actually Ruby?
Answer: In the first episode of season 4, “Lazarus Rising,†when Sam meets up with her to continue to practice his demon killing skills. In secret like, to hide her from Dean, you know because of the cooties, I guess? Makes you wonder why he’s all hiding Ruby, right? Granted, Dean doesn’t like her, but last time they met, Ruby seemed to be trying to save his ass….I detect shame from Sam, do you? Wonder why?
Question: When we see Ruby and Sam in a car together, who is driving?
Answer: Ruby……
Question: When Ruby and Dean finally meet again, what is her reaction?
Answer: She attacks Dean and Sam calls her off. Seriously, like is there some kind of lost history that happened in hell that makes them not like each other? Again, last time they met, not friends but not gutting each other. Unless of course, Ruby was doing that on purpose….would she do that? Would she attack Dean just to manipulate Sam into stopping her, like he would usually do with Dean? No, not Ruby.
Question: When Ruby finds Sam, drunk and strung out with grief, what does she do?
Answer: Refocuses his attention on the hunt for Lillith, reminding him that he has these powers that he can use for the good, like hunting demons, saving people. It’s where he belongs….Oh, burn….
Question: When Ruby seduces Sam, how does she do it?
Answer: She starts with mentioning Dean, which pisses Sam off.
But then she reminds him that he’s not alone and kisses him, which again pisses him off and also horrifies him (make note of that people, make note of the horror – it ain’t because she’s a demon, you know. It’s because it’s just plain wrong to have those feelings….We need Freud again.)
Ruby persists though and calms him, lets him know that his attraction is okay, that it’s not bad, the body doesn’t matter, it’s what’s inside that counts. She’s playing him like a fiddle, telling him to take what he wants but that he could never have…
And if that ain’t all levels of contorted and deferred desires, I still have that bridge in Brooklyn for you.
(for video of seduction/sex scene, please go to youtube ‘cause sex scene with the now Padaleckis creeps me out <shivers> and yes, I watched it for this essay and yes, still creeped out!)
Question: When Sam wants to help Anna, what strategy does he plan?
Answer: Have Ruby intercept Alistair, during which time she gets tortured by the phallic knife of doom, but eventually leads Alistair to Anna, where the demons and angels have it out. So Sam involves her in a plan and not Dean…and also this is at the point when Dean really starts to lose his shit over Ruby/Sam and has also revealed helltime was not playtime….which allows Sam to think of Dean as weak. Partner up there, buddy.
Question: What event happens that leads Sam to decide to full on commit to Ruby’s plan to get Lillith?
Answer: In “Criss Angel is a Douchebag,†Sam rejects Ruby’s plan because of Dean’s resistance. During the episode, Dean and Sam talk about the future and Sam wonders if they’ll grow old and still be hunting when they’re 60. Dean says no, they’ll be dead, basically rejecting Sam’s future. Later in the episode, Jay’s affection for Charlie mirrors Sam and Dean’s conflict, especially when we realize that (1) Charlie’s been sacrificing others for Jay (Oh again – echoes of “Faith†and Meatloaf) and (2) Charlie asks as he dies, “You pick these strangers over me?†So sad….<frowny face>.
At the end of the episode, Sam and Dean come across the broken Jay and then Sam walks his misery off which ends with him going to Ruby, who is eagerly waiting to drive him away in a classic muscle car.
Question: When can we pinpoint that Sam’s addiction is out of control?
Answer: When he starts suckling on Ruby’s body like a newborn colt at a teet, perhaps? Mother issues? Dean issues?
And the piece de resistance question: When Ruby is finally revealed as evil and in cahoots with Lillith, after the final seal is broken, how does she treat Sam?
Watch this video and note two things: What Ruby calls Sam and how Ruby touches Sam (from 2:20-2:40)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhlMiTqFcJU
You back? So she calls him Sammy and touches his face like a mother would, doesn’t she? She even invokes a childhood story, Dumbo. Oh so many layers of Wincest unraveling before our very eyes. But! But! That’s not the real joy…the real moments comes with her death, which I like to call…..
<drum roll, please>
Song suggestion:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtyeCSIyvVc&feature=fvst
Oh Linda, you are one sick puppy…in a good way. Even though I refuse to go there in my mind, whether it be Wincest, Destiel, or whatever other cest, I love taking the journey with you, cause I can laugh at it. But two guys just does not do it for me, never has, never will.
By the way, I got stuck at that picture of Jensen’s back, oh mama! Had me drooling, I think my computer actually blew a fuse. And for those who don’t remember, Dean was an under with Cassie. More Dean sex scenes I say! We’ve seen plenty of Sam, and I’m very grateful, but come on, we demand equal opportunity gratuity on both brothers!
See what you made me do? I’m usually so sedate, I’m a librarian for Chuck’s sake! And it’s only 12:30 p.m.! I need to break for lunch and read a very innocent book to calm myself down. Walk away, Sylvie, walk away.
Oh, yeah, and thanks for the pictures…again.
Thank you Sylvie. I love the picture of Jensen. The man is gorgeous. Thanks for sitting with me on the journey! 🙂
I’m loving these essays. I hope you do go into the dying of the Wincest and your reasons as to why. I would be fascinated to read your thoughts. (If you hit on them in earlier essays, I’ll get to them, I just started with the last two.)
Thanks Percysowner! I don’t really get into it in this series, but I’m working on another essay, so it may peak up in there.
Thanks for reading!
Nice essay. I think there is oh so much truth to it in terms of the show—if you want it to read that way and oh so many do.
I don’t think, as of last night, that Wincest is dead. I think it’s being reborn in a weird way–hint the two fighting MARRIED FOREVER witches are Sam and Dean in some weird way—and they need to talk to each other about their issues as those two did. But that won’t happen until either later in the season or next (if we’re so lucky).
I think you nailed that Dean doesn’t know who or what he is well—which is another thing this season is tackling if you ask me. It’ll all end up with the Wincest in the end, I’m sure.
Loved how you covered all the replacements and Ruby is Dean is Ruby is oh never mind. It’s true. I can’t wait to see what you say about season 7 on this issue.
I have been quietly reading articles on this site for the last 2 years but feel now I have to make this comment.
The articles here have been wonderful, warm, moving, witty and well written. But now all we get are 6, 7 or even sometimes 8 reviews of each episode, surely this makes them slightly redundant! We now also get, infrequently, articles like this series which cannot make their mind up whether they are serious or funny, and just come off as repugnant, or `the angsty ones` like `The suffering of Dean` or, heaven help us `The Marbles` which appear as if written by hormonal teenage girls.
I think it is a pity, when I look back at some of the wonderful work in the archives, to see what things have been reduced to here, I cannot imagine that I am alone in feeling this?
Personally I like the multiple episode reviews. Each one makes me reexamine the episode. I often see things I missed or the reviews make me look at things from a new angle.
I also enjoy reading the different reviews, and yes they do tend to get a little repetitive, but every one manages to give a little something different. I enjoy all the essays also. “Forbidden Elephant” being my favourite. I check out a whole bunch of different sites for the other reviews! I guess you could call me obsessed.
You’re not alone actually. You’ve got the editor of the site agreeing with you on this, in part anyway.
I actually love this Forbidden Elephant series and I’m proud to feature it on this site. If Bookdal’s writing style isn’t something you care for, that’s okay. But if we’ve been known for anything, it’s going out of bounds with some articles. It’s always been my policy to let the writers take their creativity and run with it.
Now, having said that, I do admit that we’ve been lacking in our usual style of late. We’ve had a shift in writers, so that has a lot to do with it. But yeah, a lot of the fun and clever writing that’s been the foundation for this site has been missing these days (this article excluded. The one on the great hair too! 🙂 ). I keep twisting my brain trying to figure out how to get that back.
I do take the blame for that one, but just like Supernatural’s writing team these days, I’ve been caught in a mode of just taking what I’ve been given. I keep challenging SPN’s writers to do better, I should do the same here. I actually do enjoy our reviews, but yes, sometimes they get repetitive. In cases of eps like “The Girl Next Door” though, every review had a drastically different view. I do recognize that each week can’t be a home run like that.
I love getting feedback like this and if you want to elaborate more, give more specific examples, let me know which articles you’ve enjoyed the most in the past, I’d appreciate it. Just send a message through the “Contact Us” section. Anything you share will be taken very seriously.
Thanks for the feedback.
[quote]or `the angsty ones` like `The suffering of Dean` or, heaven help us `The Marbles` which appear as if written by hormonal teenage girls.[/quote]
Or maybe by a woman mature enough to not be afraid or ashamed showing her emotions and feelings like something below her or this site.
This show is not only acting and writings and mytharcs and technical stuff: this show is 70% “emotional and angsty” stuff. Ok, there is monsters and creatures lore; philosophical questions about the right to kill or who is to save, or the significance of the soul to define a human person, or free will and destiny… but it is basically the story of two souls (three, if you add – sigh – Castiel) and of their relationship, with all the complex and complicated feelings you usually have to face in dealings with human relationships, be they love, family, brotherhood, friendship, war companionship. It is 70% psychological and emotional consequences of said philosophical and mythological questions on two very damaged human beings.
So yes, I can totally see the point of articles like the ones mentioned. Not all the articles on a magazine (and you can see this site a bit like a “daily issue” about our show and all things related) have to be “serious and scholarly” essays: you can have funny and ironic stuff, like the articles about Sam’s hair, or articles like this one, that discuss interesting (if somehow twisted) views on some themes of the show behind a humorous façade, or “emotional, angsty” stuff that expresses in poetic ways what the characters go through [i]emotionally[/i], or just what us viewers [i]feel [/i]watching them struggling.
And I don’t understand why my feelings as viewer have to be looked down on as unimportant or “teenage-like”. After all, emotions and feelings ARE what stories (written or filmed) have to produce on the reader/viewer.
No offense girl but I think you need to lay off the fanfic ’till you can again tell the difference between fiction and reality. And by reality I mean the show reality ’cause honestly? you’re seeing fire were there’s not even a wisp of smoke.
dudlinsheila is right this site used to be so good but lately is coming from bad to worse if it’s not a dozen of reviews from the week episode it’s complete nonsense articles that look like written by angsty teenagers. I give up, there’s nothing here for me anymore.
The King is naked!
Hi Hi Linda….
I have a confession. After reading your article and re-watching the shows, i am beginning to be able to pinpoint the things you mentioned here. It’s like i know that there’s something there, this something that makes me love this show since the beginning of S1 but i can never pinpoint it exactly what. Like seeing something at the corner of my eye. it’s there but out of focus.
Yes, Metaphor and Parallel color this show wickedly. Damn!
Oh! one more thing that you forget to mention Linda. You said Dean stabbing Ruby is symbolizing the death of Wincest How about Sam stabbing Castiel from behind? the death of Destiel?
If we see Dean stab Ruby full frontal for imitating him with bravado and cockiness. What’s that saying about Sam sneaking quietly behind Cas and stab him? (with the phallic sword of Angel, mind you. So it’s parallel with how Dean stab Ruby with her own knife. Still… same concept) Because you said Cas is a poor imitation of a ‘baby brother’ Sam?
But,but, the sword does not work. (frown) Cas still alive at that time. M confuse. What you say Linda?
So, S1 to S3 are the golden Age of Wincest. S4 to S6 are the new age of Destiel. The Death of Ruby should end wincest but cannot kill Destiel because Cas is still alive. Then, S7 is what?
You know this discussion if fun. One of the way to get away from angst. Come on guys it’s just for fun. And it’s all Kripke’s fault anyway. I hope you write it during S4 but that would be weird.
Thank you Alice for allowing bookdal to post it. It’s all in the spirit of fun. We’re allowed to have fun once in a while, right?
I enjoyed this series of articles, they gave me lots to think about and the analysis was very interesting.
I’m glad that I’m not the only person who finds it hard to watch the Sam & Ruby scenes in S4 because of the real life relationship that exists there. I’ve always found it unsettling/squicky to watch sex scenes between actors who I know are a couple in real life :sigh: I’m a delicate flower who is easily embarassed lol.