Preview – Supernatural Season 8 – Episode 1 “We Need To Talk About Kevin”
With only days to go, just DAYS, it’s time to preview the first episode of the new season. This year, our previews are staying spoiler free, as much as a preview can, so I won’t be going into all the ins and outs of the season arc, as revealed by the cast and creative team at Comic Con etc., or in various interviews with Jensen, Jared and Misha. I’m simply going to look at where we left off, what the promo and sneak peek tells us as to where we come back and what that might mean. If you haven’t seen the promos, you should look away now, though if you haven’t seen the promos, you probably wouldn’t be reading a preview anyway!
So without further adieu, let’s preview episode 1 of Season 8 of “Supernatural” – “We Need To Talk About Kevin”. Yay!
THE ROAD SO FAR
Here are the elements of last season that I think may be relevant to the season ahead. Of course I have no idea, this is just my usual stab in the dark.
We had Godstiel, dead Godstiel, Leviathan, crazy Sam, drunken and depressed Dean, dead Bobby, resurrected Cass, repaired Sam, Ghost Bobby, crazy Bee loving Cass, helpful Meg, dead Bobby again, a prophet called Kevin, Crowley and the Word of God.
Heavy.
When we last saw our heroes, they were split up. Dean and Cass had been zapped to Purgatory, apparently caught in Dick Roman’s death slipstream, Crowley had grabbed Meg and Kevin the Prophet and Sam was left standing all alone deep in the heart of Dick Roman Enterprises with the Impala parked in a sign out front. Our closing images were of a distraught Sam and a terrified Dean, whose crazy Angel wingman had mysterious vanished. The brothers were separated, yet again. But this time, not by choice but by magical mishap, or Crowley intent (I’m not sure which) and neither brother looked like they had a clue what was going on.
5 MONTHS LATER (gah) and we’re about to find out.
NOW
The promo shows us a few things. Dean’s back, we know it’s been about a year (what year does that make it, 2014?) since he vanished in an explosion of Dick (I’m sorry, hee). He was in Purgatory with Cass fighting for his life. Cass’ fate is currently unknown, except that he’s worse for wear. We don’t know what Sam’s been up to (well we do,or I do,and if you want to know, visit the spoiler page), but he’s teaming up with his brother to go in search of Kevin.
It seems Kevin has escaped the clutches of Crowley and his Demon henchmen and is on the run, because, (drum roll) there’s another Word of God tablet, which Kevin, being a Prophet of God, can read and Crowley wants.
This time, the Word of God is a how-to for closing the gates of Hell,.forever. That’d put the brothers out of business right? It was real nice of God to jot all this stuff down for us!
In the extended sneak peek, we get a little more information about where Dean’s been and we see that he really needs a hug! Nawwww. He explains he’s been in Purgatory for the whole year and then is purposely evasive about how he got out. Secrets time people. Always with the secrets these Winchesters. But I guess, when you’re born into a life where you’re taught to lie about what you do and never tell the truth about who you are, keeping secrets would become second nature. I just love it though, that even at their age, they’re too scared to tell each other things, because they know the other will disapprove. It’s the only reason they lie. Even after everything they’ve been through, after everything they’ve forgiven,. I want to conk their heads together sometimes, I really do.
Anyhoo.
Dean says Cass didn’t make it, but not that he saw him die, just that he “didn’t make it” and Cass “let go”, which makes one assume Cass is not dead. Maybe his Cassness is no longer intact, as in, he changed, became at one with Purgatory? Feral!Cass? Because otherwise, Dean would say, yeah I watched him die or I dunno what happened to him. But he doesn’t, just that Cass didn’t make it. Sam asks if he’s sure, did he see Cass die? Dean, being evasive again, only says he saw enough. Mysterious! So the implication is as far as I’m concerned, Cass is still down in Purgatory in some form or another. For some reason, Dean left him behind. Or maybe only Dean could escape, so Cass sacrificed himself so Dean could be the one to get out! Yes/No? Yeah,I think I’m stretching here too. Trying to see a nice reason! Anyway, interesting.
We know that we’re going to be seeing a lot of flashbacks this season, at least for the first half. So we’ll see Dean’s Purgatory experience and Sam’s year without Dean (doing stuff I’m not going to talk about here) in retrospect as it affects the season arc and the brother’s relationship. I love a good flashback. I feel like sometimes, when one of the brothers talks through what happened to him, the other brother feels it as profoundly as if he’d actually shared the experience. In fact sometimes more so, because he can’t really grasp it and so he wants to be supportive and he’s deeply affected by his brother’s trauma,.after a bit of yelling, some huffing, a bit of bitchfacing, some silent treatment, maybe some watery puppy eyes, the usual Winchester emotional reaction. But they get there!
On this Word Of God thing, they obviously can’t solve it this season, because Jensen and Jared have agreed to seasons 9 and 10 if they’re wanted (OF COURSE THEY’RE WANTED), so seasons 9 and 10 would be all about the Winchesters doing grocery shopping and watching TV if they closed the gates of Hell! But how good would it be to have this as the end game? If the brothers got to lock everything evil up forever,and preferably survive doing it.
So this is all we know, from what we have in front of us. Dean’s back. Cass is M.I.A. Kevin’s on the run. Crowley’s looking for Kevin. The brothers are on a quest to find Kevin and this new Word of God, which could put an end to all the evil crap on earth and all the evil crap the Winchesters have to deal with. Alrighty then!
Of course, Jeremy Carver has discussed the season arc in more detail and Jensen, Jared and Misha have given a tiny bit more away as to where their characters are this season. If you want more details about the season ahead, see photos from episode 1 and 2 or see some character arc info from Jensen, Jared and Misha, visit our spoiler page here.
So, there we have it, that’s all the promos and previews we’ve seen for this week’s season 8 opener.
Where’s it going? What do we all think? What’s happened with Cass? Are we raring to go? Do we need to group hug yet? Lets all speculate, Ready, Now!
And enjoy the episode everyone! Here’s to an awesome SeasonGr8!
– sweetondean
DEAR GAWD, WE ARE BACK. THANK THE HEAVENS. I AM SCARED TO READ THE PREVIEW. I NEED HELP. HAHAHA WELCOME HOME EVERYONE.
[quote]This time, the Word of God is a how-to for closing the gates of Hell….forever. That’d put the brothers out of business right? It was real nice of God to jot all this stuff down for us![/quote]
I actually don’t think shutting the Gates of Hell would put the boys out of business forever. Demons are a subset of the monsters they hunted. We’ve had ghosts, Wendigos, vampires, werewolves, Kitsune even real pagan gods as opposed to Gabriel playing dress up. So getting rid of all the demons would take came of many problems, but Dean, at least, would have a reason to go on hunting, especially after spending a year (presumably) fighting the monsters in Purgatory. Sam may have a reason to be done if all the demons are gone, they are, after all, the main creatures that have dogged his life, and he is tied to them most strongly.
I guess since the boys didn’t know the Meg and her “family” were demons until episode 21 of season 1 and they managed to fight lots of monsters, closing Hell shouldn’t eliminate the “family business”, just close one of the franchises.
Still, you don’t actually think that’ll happen do you? Close off Hell forever? Somehow, regardless of where the other creatures come from, I don’t think for one second the brothers would get that kind of win. The Demons are intrinsic to the mythology of the show.
Well, knowing show, I expect they’ll succeed to some degree, but it will backfire on them spectacularly (assuming they’re picked up for another season), setting up the next arc. Any victory the boys get is usually of the pyrrhic variety.
Pyrrhic victory? Had to look that one up!!! True 🙂
God, a five month hiatus was awful, but at least there will be less mini-hi’s this season. I hope the presidental debates don’t hurt the ratings. I usually [i]always[/i] watch the debates, but not this time. So excited for the boys to finally be back.
Speculation? My guess is Cas chose to stay in Purgatory for some reason and that Dean was okay with that, since he will be torn between Cas still having issues with deceiving him, Cas disappearing on him, and Cas doing whatever it is Cas wants to do by staying.
Dean? I am so looking forward to feral, PTSD Dean. I hope that lasts longer than half a season.
Sam? Well, we’ll see about Sam’s story. I am not enthusiastic about that one at all, but I think it will lead to something changing for the better between he and Dean. At present, I’m expecting to see a lot of mopey Sam evaluating where he wants to be — back in Normalville — and actually hunting with Dean. That may change when they go looking for something very important and personal to them. No idea what that could be. There is a possibility that Amelia will be seen in future seasons, too. I just hope her character is written better than the majority of the women we have seen on the show.
Cas? Well, I am looking forward to the Dean/Benny/Cas interactions, but I hope that a third of the season isn’t dedicated to Cas and his story. I’m okay with Cas as a secondary character, but not a third Winchester.
Kevin? I think Carver is expanding the SPNverse and Kevin will be a new support character going into future seasons. I wanted the world expanded, but not with teenagers. Would have much preferred some other hunters. At least the guy is a decent actor, even if I don’t like the stereotypical Asian teen character. I also hope he doesn’t become the new ‘go to’ guy taking Cas the magic fixers’s place. I think we’ll see a lot of Kevin in this season, since three episode titles have been dedicated to the character (and I find that really, really odd).
Crowley? I think he’ll be the big bad of the season. I hope he’s still the charming character we saw when first introduced, and not the screamer of the past two seasons. I like Crowley the character.
Meg? I hope never to see Meg again. I think the character has gotten stale, but I do expect her for an episode or two.
Oh, and BTW, all of Sam and Dean’s victories have been pyrrhic, even putting Luci back in the cage. I’m expecting the same this year.
That said, I am so excited for Wed. to come! Finally!
I know what you mean. This will be the first time I don’t watch a debate live – but must watch Supernatural! We have to be sure they get good ratings on Wednesday or they will be sent back to Friday purgatory or worse, get cancelled.
I’m sure I’ll be watching live Wednesday although I usually watch the debates live. The CW has been really good about giving a final season to long running shows, so I feel fairly confident that we will get a season 9 and I have a gut feeling that they will give us a season 10, just to be able to say they had another show (other than Smallville) go to 10 seasons.
I don’t think they will cancel the show so soon, good ratings or not. Supernatural DVDs are on the top sellers list. Just as an example, I ordered season 7 on line and opened my neighbour’s package by mistake – if he hadn’t complained to the doorman, I wouldn’t have noticed I had ‘stolen’ his DVD!
For a show supposedly nobody watches, it has a hell lot of people willing to spend money on it.
By the way, I’m from Brazil.
Unless you live in one of the very small number of US households that have a Nielsen box, your watching or not watching makes no difference to the ratings.
I find it intriguing that Dean uses the same language (did not make it) about Cas as he used about San in “The End” when telling his younger self about Sam. Sam was not dead but had said yes to Lucifer in that case. Wonder if it is a parallel situation with Cas and he was taken over by evil too?
Please tell me if there was an article about what we hope to see in Season 8. If so, forgive my comments tagged to this one…
I really hope to see some of the loose ends from S7 discussed in S8–the remaining leviathans, the fact that many people were in a trance like state, and how Sam got the Impala from the crash site and fixed it (himself?)
Am really looking forward to Wed!!
Ok. Forget all the spoilers and non-spoilers, fusses and worries. I am dying of anticipation here!
Can it just be Wednesday already?
st50-I second that. I thought it would NEVER arrive.
Now THIS review of the premier has me SUPER excited!
http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2012/10/supernatural-season-8-premiere-scoop-5-things-to-look-forward-to-in-we-need-to-talk-about-kevin.html
See, that article just annoyed me further. We can all see how unnatural it is for Sam to NOT look for Dean so why did the writers go there? What was the point of that? It makes zero sense!
I hate that Sam is being made the “bad” brother again! And why would Sam ignore Kevin’s calls? Why is Sam being made into a jerk?
Agreed! All I see is Sam being not only a bad brother but a bad person and Dean being the only one who cares about the world. Right now I just want to cry.
I know, right? Sam’s never been a jerk before but they seem bound & determined to make him one, and I don’t know why! Ignoring Kevin’s calls? What’s that about? Why would he do that? Driving around aimlessly for months . . . what’s the point of that?!?!
What the heck are they doing with Sam? Why is his character being ruined?
I should not have read this…I should not have read this.I really did not want to comment till the first episode aired.This all looks like set up for Sam being wrong.My only hope is JC saying nothing is as it seems.
My only concern is if the payoff will be worth the character destruction Sam endures. How does he look driving around aimlessly when he could have been searching for his brother or answering Kevin’s calls? Will I even like a Sam that gives Dean and everyone else the middle finger?
Here is another. It has a lot of overlap, but fwiw:
http://tvline.com/2012/10/01/supernatural-season-8-preview-carver/#utm_source=copypaste&utm_campaign=referralhttp://tvline.com/2012/10/01/supernatural-season-8-preview-carver/
NB: Sam and Dean have not, in fact, ever had an agreement not to look if the other vanishes. Agreements not to get the other back from the dead through shady deals are a very different thing.
OK. They went there with Sam. And that part does not make me very happy, but there it is.
What I find exciting is that the first episode reportedly spends more time on the relationship between Dean and Sam than on the hunt. That relationship, is of course, the heart and soul of the show. That they’re going to make it central to the premier gives me great hope.
(And I read that Sam tossed his phones – if he doesn’t have his phones, it’s not so much ‘ignoring’ messages, as not actively retrieving them. Not quite as bad a spin)
It does more than not make me happy. It makes me feel that the show no longer wants me as a fan, because they insist on trashing Sam. I’m back to feeling sick about this season.
But why? Why is Sam being destroyed? This isn’t the Sam I know. It’s so disheartening! None of this sits right with this fan since Season 1.
And it’s crystal clear now that there is no plot twist. This is it.
Yeah . . . . I don’t see some huge twist in the future. What would be the point of hiding Sam searching for Dean anyway? I never understood why that would need to be kept from the audience!
The thing is, it’s not even a dark action, where we could explore Sam’s motivations and understand where he was coming from, even if we agreed that he was making a terribly wrong choice. But as far as I can see, Sam fails to search out of sheer stupidity and incompetence. There’s nothing to do with that and nowhere to go from that. It’s not interesting. It’s not something where he can grow as a character and not be randomly stupid at badly chosen moments later on. It’s an utterly destructive dead end.
Great point! There’s nothing interesting about jerky behavior and stupidity. What’s intriguing about that?
Could it be … could it be … it is Sam who contacted Benny.
That’s why they hid it. Because between the many flashback that they are planning it will be hinted that actually Sam had done terrible thing like making deals with Benny and send him down to fetch Dean.
It could be there is other purgatory residence who escaped and Sam made deal with them? So, his white picket fences life is … i don’t know… a ruse ? a camouflage?
Hey, that’s interesting plot, yeah? But it will be the same plot as S4. But at least Sam did something to get Dean.
I am sorry but it is a terrible spin. Sam tossing his phone intentionally losing all of his contact just showing how much he gave up.
Crowley hinted about the kick of God’s weapon. The god’s weapon is stated on the tablet. The one who can read the tablet is Kevin. So a smart Sam should look for Kevin. Kevin maybe the key to Dean’s where about. I believe for brothers who has so deep connection with each other like Sam and Dean Sam would know from the deepest of his heart, his gut feeling, his hunter’s instinct should tell him that Dean is not dead. He is banished somewhere.
Can’t Sam feel it in his heart that if Dean is really dead then he’d know?
This spoiler about Sam just walked away from the hunting world even so much as throwing away his phone just a way of saying that the writers are intent to forever sever the bond between the brothers.
I just want Sam to say in a dialog “My brother is not dead. If he’s dead I would know, I’d feel it.” That’s the heart of the show. Not this … this … I don’t even know what this is.
Come on everyone! The review makes it sound awesome. And it does not sound to me like they are trashing Sam – it sounds like they are giving Jared a good meaty story and allowing him to be conflicted and deal with those conflicts. I also love that his smarts will be shining through again. I understand the anxiety i still cringe when i think of Sam during season 4, but we need to give them a chance and see what is happening to Sam in the context of the whole show Let’s wait to actually see the episodes – and what these 2 talented actors do with their roles – before we start judging them. I am also thrilled to hear about the rock music being back – and of course the car!
How are his smarts shining through when he just throws up his hands at having no leads (HULLO? REMEMBER THAT HINT CROWLEY DROPPED ABOUT THE WEAPON?) and doesn’t even try to find out what happened to his own brother, and is so clueless that it’s a huge surprise that Dean was in purgatory?
It seems that they are simply destroying Sam so that Dean can take him to task. Not that I blame Dean, given what they have Sam doing, but come on. s3 heavily set up that Sam would do some dark stuff after Dean’s death, but there is absolutely nothing in s7 to indicate that Sam would just walk off like that.
Nothing at all. And then he’s just driving around in the Impala doing absolutely nothing . . . Huh?
I have hope after the finale that maybe they will pick up again about the hell trauma. I mean Dean said last season that Cas’ fix is temporary. That means it could rear it’s ugly head again. Losing Dean to Crowley’s machinations is a good enough reason to have Sam have a breakdown. It will also close the season in a circle. 7.02 we have Dean giving Sam the stone number one speech and the finale is about that stone is gone and Sam is in devastated state of mind.
But no… we have Sam living white picket fences with a dog and a girl (who we barely know, who we don’t know at all) and HAPPY. It is disjointed and as if the last two seasons Sam is dead and we’re back to Standford Sam.
It is making zero sense. And again twisting Sam around to fit a certain role.After everything he has been through and the fact it wasnt his fault Dean ended up in Purgatory and still they manage to write Sam in a way he ill deserves.
Do they know Sam at all? or is this how they view him? or do they just invent a new Sam every season to fit in with Dean? .
Well, everyone has his/her own opinion, and for me, the review was not exciting; it was disappointing. I’m very confused with what’s happening with Sam and why the writers have chosen this route to go with him.
I wonder how his actions will be presented and explained. As written, he seems pretty callous.
[quote]Well, everyone has his/her own opinion, and for me, the review was not exciting; it was disappointing. [/quote]
Same here. For me this review just heaped on yet more disappointment and disbelief. I love the Dean spoilers but I’m a Sam fan primarily and every new Sam spoiler has merely made me less and less and less excited for the new season. And I hate feeling like this as I’ve, up until now, been extremely excited for every season – ever since I anxiously awaited the start of S1 over here in my neck of the woods.
As with many things, mileage varies. Dean’s story does sound intriguing, but Sam’s sounds horrendous. Dean courted Death to get Sam out of The Cage. When the spoilers first hit, people noted that if Dean had been as cavalier about Sam and The Cage then Sam would still be trapped with Lucifer. I was willing to believe that Sam had at least tried to find Dean but couldn’t so Sam had been as proactive as he could. But now, I can’t defend what Sam did. If Dean understands, it really will be that Dean always has to grovel to Sam. It will be Fallen Idols again, only this time I won’t be able to find any defense for Sam.
As of now, it looks like this is it. There will not be a reveal that exonerates Sam. Sam will just be the brother that was willing to let his brother suffer and do NOTHING to even try to find him. Even if the writers decide this does trash Sam too much and change course somewhere late in the season, it will be too late. 8, 10, 14, 20, 22 episodes of Sam not caring enough to look for Dean of Sam wanting normal more than to back up the brother who has done so much for him will leave Sam irredeemable. The articles have even stated that the hug between Dean and Benny is more real and more heartfelt than the one between Sam and Dean.
I am devastated. I became attached to this show because both brothers loved each other. Now, that is being shattered. Sam was my entry character. I loved both Sam and Dean, but Sam had a slightly larger piece of my heart. Now, they are turning that to ashes.
I keep saying I will give the show a chance, but why bother? Find a way to get Cas out of Purgatory and let Dean have his best friend. Have Benny ride shotgun as Dean’s new blood brother. Dean is tied to Sam not by love but by obligation and the fact that family are the people who can’t throw your out. Sam is no longer recognizable and I feel gutted. With these previews, the brotherhood that cracked in season four is finally shattered, maybe beyond repair. I’m in mourning.
[quote]As with many things, mileage varies. Dean’s story does sound intriguing, but Sam’s sounds horrendous. Dean courted Death to get Sam out of The Cage. When the spoilers first hit, people noted that if Dean had been as cavalier about Sam and The Cage then Sam would still be trapped with Lucifer. I was willing to believe that Sam had at least tried to find Dean but couldn’t so Sam had been as proactive as he could. But now, I can’t defend what Sam did.[/quote]
Ditto
[quote]As of now, it looks like this is it. There will not be a reveal that exonerates Sam. Sam will just be the brother that was willing to let his brother suffer and do NOTHING to even try to find him. Even if the writers decide this does trash Sam too much and change course somewhere late in the season, it will be too late. 8, 10, 14, 20, 22 episodes of Sam not caring enough to look for Dean of Sam wanting normal more than to back up the brother who has done so much for him will leave Sam irredeemable. The articles have even stated that the hug between Dean and Benny is more real and more heartfelt than the one between Sam and Dean.
Dean is tied to Sam not by love but by obligation and the fact that family are the people who can’t throw your out. Sam is no longer recognizable and I feel gutted. With these previews, the brotherhood that cracked in season four is finally shattered, maybe beyond repair. I’m in mourning.[/quote]
From what I gather from these spoilers is Sam is tied to Dean reluctantly. Dean’s love is not enough for Sam. Dean’s sacrifice (selling his soul, risking his life to call out Death, he could be dead on that doctor’s table) is not enough for Sam. Sam is still longing for the girl he barely knew even when he is with Dean. (come on, he knows her less than a year compare to the time he knows Dean his whole life)
Why can’t Sam be satisfied and deliriously happy that his brother is back and kicking? What is the purpose of these flashback going to be if only to show how happy and uncaring Sam is about Dean.
I await the new episode with mixed feeling.
One hand I am very excited about Purgatory and Dean but on the other hand I am not very excited to see season 8 Sam. I am not interested to see his happy live with Amelia or whoever that girl name is.
If the flashback just gonna show me how happy he is (with this Amelia character), one flashback is enough. It will fill me with bitter taste if I have to see Sam living a live filled with rainbow and sunshine while I know that his brother is fighting for his life in Purgatory.
Not that I don’t like to see him happy, I do. But I want to see Sam happy with Dean living a happy life too. I want to see both brothers happy.
Who knows how the episode or the season will turn out, but Singer and Carver sure know how to wind fandom up with the spoilers they release!
Is anyone really surprised at the “bad brother Sam” characterization anymore? Sam!girls or Sam!haters should all know by now that this is what the show does.
“Sam gives up” doesn’t seem out of character at all to me, considering all that has gone before. The apple pie life is what he wanted for Dean when he thought Dean was going to be left alone, so of course that’s what he wants for himself.
Sam doesn’t do well on his own. It’s been shown from the first time we saw him in the Pilot. When he’s without Dean, he needs a surrogate. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t love Dean, or that Dean is not his whole world, in fact, it proves the opposite.
[quote]
Is anyone really surprised at the “bad brother Sam” characterization anymore? Sam!girls or Sam!haters should all know by now that this is what the show does.[/quote]
I would say it’s what a certain segment of the fandom does, but overall the show has shown Sam to be a great brother – one that through most of the series was as much if not more concerned for Dean as he was for himself. Sam absorbing his Hell memories because he didn’t want to abandon Dean in the season 6 finale sealed that image. That’s why Sam not looking for Dean is striking most people as out of character. It’s what Sam and Dean do.
[quote]
Sam doesn’t do well on his own. It’s been shown from the first time we saw him in the Pilot. When he’s without Dean, he needs a surrogate. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t love Dean, or that Dean is not his whole world, in fact, it proves the opposite.[/quote]
I’m not sure where this perception came from. Yes he talks to other people and makes new friends when Dean is not around, but so doesn’t Dean when Sam is not around. Was having a girlfriend and building a new life away from his family in the pilot a sign that he “needs a surrogate?” I don’t get it.
[quote]I would say it’s what a certain segment of the fandom does, but overall the show has shown Sam to be a great brother – one that through most of the series was as much if not more concerned for Dean as he was for himself. Sam absorbing his Hell memories because he didn’t want to abandon Dean in the season 6 finale sealed that image.[/quote]
I don’t disagree that Sam is a great brother, but the show has often portrayed him as being in the wrong in conflicts between the two. His good intentions are brushed aside, and the consequences of his mistakes are played out intensely over long periods of time. The whole episode Dark Side of the Moon portrayed Sam as not caring as much about Dean as Dean cared about Sam. And sure, we knew that the angels were manipulating those Heaven memories in order to hurt Dean and make him give up, but we had to read that into the episode, it was not explicit.
[quote]Was having a girlfriend and building a new life away from his family in the pilot a sign that he “needs a surrogate?” I don’t get it.[/quote]
Yes. Sam was raised in an extremely overprotected and sheltered way. I thought Jess was a very obvious surrogate for Dean. The first time we see her (before we ever even see Sam) she’s bossing him around exactly as Dean does. She also praises him and builds him up and takes care of him. Just like Dean. He says, “What would I do without you?” and she says “Crash and burn.” And he certainly would have when she died, had Dean not been there.
And he crashed and burned, in a manner of speaking, every time something happened to Dean.
I’m not dissing Sam, don’t take this wrong. He’s my favorite, and I could analyze his character for hours because he is interesting and complex and good, and because show doesn’t give him a break.
[quote]
I don’t disagree that Sam is a great brother, but the show has often portrayed him as being in the wrong in conflicts between the two. His good intentions are brushed aside, and the consequences of his mistakes are played out intensely over long periods of time. The whole episode Dark Side of the Moon portrayed Sam as not caring as much about Dean as Dean cared about Sam. And sure, we knew that the angels were manipulating those Heaven memories in order to hurt Dean and make him give up, but we had to read that into the episode, it was not explicit. [/quote]
I think the show portrays [i]Dean’s perception[/i] as Sam not as caring about Dean as much as Dean cares about Sam. In many episodes such as DSOTM, that are filmed primarily from Dean’s POV, that perception is exaggerated. But in other episodes that are POV-neutral, or shot from Sam’s POV, we see how deeply Sam cares for and worries about Dean.
I still don’t see share you POV about Jess. I didn’t feel like we saw enough of her to get any kind of feel for the dynamics of their relationship. It’s possible that there was a parallel with Dean intended, but even so, I don’t think that says that Sam doesn’t do well on his own. A lot of people find partners who remind them of their mother or father. I interpreted the Stanford years as an indication of Sam being independent and self-sufficient, rather than a sign that he doesn’t do well on his own.
I also disagree with the comment that he was overprotected and sheltered growing up. Sam was more protected than Dean because he had Dean looking out for him. But given their lifestyles growing up – living unsupervised in motels and hunting monsters – I don’t think you could characterize either of their childhoods as sheltered.
[quote]I think the show portrays Dean’s perception as Sam not as caring about Dean as much as Dean cares about Sam. In many episodes such as DSOTM, that are filmed primarily from Dean’s POV, that perception is exaggerated. But in other episodes that are POV-neutral, or shot from Sam’s POV, we see how deeply Sam cares for and worries about Dean.[/quote]I agree
[quote]I don’t disagree that Sam is a great brother, but the show has often portrayed him as being in the wrong in conflicts between the two. His good intentions are brushed aside, and the consequences of his mistakes are played out intensely over long periods of time. The whole episode Dark Side of the Moon portrayed Sam as not caring as much about Dean as Dean cared about Sam. And sure, we knew that the angels were manipulating those Heaven memories in order to hurt Dean and make him give up, but we had to read that into the episode, it was not explicit.[/quote]I agree
Whereas Sam has not done well when Dean was not there….[quote]”Sam gives up”[/quote] does’t fit,he is always shown trying .whether he was successful is another matter
[b][b]
Supernatural Season 8, Episode 1 – We Need to Talk About Kevin @ http://ow.ly/ebZei
Supernatural Season 8, Episode 1 – We Need to Talk About Kevin @ http://ow.ly/ebZei
Supernatural Season 8, Episode 1 – We Need to Talk About Kevin @ http://ow.ly/ebZei
Supernatural Season 8, Episode 1 – We Need to Talk About Kevin @ http://ow.ly/ebZei
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