A Deep Look At Season Five Thus Far

Just as with Sam, Dean’s character development starts off pretty strong. Is it out of character that he tries to pretend like nothing is wrong in “Sympathy For The Devil” and then finally comes clean with Sam by how hurt he is? No, not at all. It’s classic Dean and it plays out very well. The same for “Good God Y’all.” Just like with “When The Levee Breaks,” he couldn’t see how bad Sam is drowning. The betrayal stings too much.   What’s worse this time though is Dean has a world to save. Others need him more than his brother. This was best shown when he goes to save Sam and then stops himself, knowing he has to protect the people in the church basement. Sam is going to have to fend for himself. That’s why he lets Sam go at the end of the episode. That way, he only has to worry about  the world. He also doesn’t have to live with that hurt. 

Sam comes back to him though. He’s Lucifer’s vessel and they’re stronger together, not apart. Dean’s head doesn’t believe this, even though his heart wants to help. It’s understandable why he thinks this. He has to consider the bigger picture. “The End” is one of Dean’s greatest defining moments. Dean learns a lesson from Zachariah but it’s not the one the evil angel wanted to teach. Dean sees that unraveling of the world happens when he turns Sam away and Sam says yes to Lucifer. Interesting how turning his back on his own brother is the first step in dooming his own humanity. It’s fascinating that’s what he got out of the future. He still believes in free will and making choices even after seeing his hardened self five years in the future, the destruction of humanity, and Lucifer wearing Sam to the prom. Sure, it all might end up at the same place, but he’s choosing the way to get there.

One thing that hasn’t been well explored is why exactly is Dean resisting Michael so much? What fears are really there? Sure, there’s losing his free will and the fact that millions or even billions will die, but I don’t think the underlying issue has been explored. We haven’t really seen Dean consider the possibility or talk about his true feelings on the matter. Even when his future self confronted him in “The End” it is left with a “that’s not what we do.” Why not? Is it just stubbornness and that’s all? I can’t help but think there’s more to this story. I’m sure when Dean eventually does have his run in with Michael, maybe that will be answered. Maybe not. I anticipate we’ll see further Dean stepping up and becoming a leader in this war, but not without some more growing pains. Losing Ellen and Jo had to have hurt and make him question some decisions.   

Sam and Dean

After Dean takes Sam back in “The End,” the brotherly relationship gets somewhat weird. Their issues seemed well played until that point. “Fallen Idols” is a rather clunky attempt at brotherly reconciliation. For one, it didn’t show Dean at his best. I’m sure it is meant to show his flaws, especially when it comes to Sam, but it didn’t seem right he could be so mean and then perfectly fine with Sam’s new terms within a day. Especially since in the next few episodes everything seems back to normal between Dean and Sam. Or is it? 

 

Take a careful look at “The Curious Case of Dean Winchester.” Things aren’t quite so great between them. For a standalone episode, there were a lot of little nuances in here. For one, Dean still has that “little brother” mentality when it comes to Sam. He doesn’t believe Sam could win at the card game. He is keeping Sam at the kids table. Sure, it is mostly that overprotective instinct kicking in, but again how much does Dean really know about his brother? Not that this is Dean’s fault, for Sam loves keeping him in the dark too. This episode reminds me a lot of “Lazarus Rising.” Sam tried to tell Dean in that episode he had been killing a lot of demons, but Dean pulled “the smarter brother is back” crap. Here too. Sam tries to tell Dean he’s been watching him long enough where he knows how to play cards but Dean won’t listen. Dean would only let him go into that game when they had a plan to work the spell. So, does Sam come clean in the end and tell Dean in detail how he won the poker game? Nope. He brushes it off as getting lucky. No, there are still cracks in the brotherly foundation. Both don’t know each other as well as they claim. 

 

“Abandon All Hope” is a good setup too. Lucifer cannot be killed by the colt. Sam has made the proclamation, “I’ll kill you myself.” Kind of like Lilith, huh? We can only wonder if Sam will break out of Dean’s shadow and leadership again if he’s desperate enough to kill Lucifer. The brotherly bond on the surface never seemed stronger than when they were clanging beers at Bobby’s house, but now that they have to deal with the terrible losses that they suffered, how united will they be? Will Sam follow that same pattern of recklessness? Remember those lingering issues that were swept under the rug? They’re piling up too much not to be noticed. All it takes is someone to step on them (like Lucifer maybe) and they’ll come flying out.    

 

What has me really thinking though is “Changing Channels.” That episode in its awesomeness has Sam and Dean working together through an impossible situation. Sure being bounced through TV land is amusing for us but it’s very traumatic for the brothers. They go through that and solve the mystery by working together. Then Gabriel tells them both that it’s inevitable, one brother is going to have to kill the other. They won’t accept that. Or will they? Dean defiantly doesn’t, but in judging Sam’s silent reaction, he’s thinking of the most practical solution. By the end of the episode Sam doesn’t have it, but that could be just another hint that these reveals are pushing both brothers toward their usual tendencies. Dean faces these obstacles with defiance, Sam tries to find the creative solution. Dean has the power to see through manipulation, Sam doesn’t and needs Dean to help him through that. They both need each other though, because apart they both end up making bad choices that doom the world and together they keep each other human.    

 

Overall the flow of the season has gone really well except for one episode. I’ve actually grown to love “The Real Ghostbusters.” From a standalone perspective, it’s a really decent episode. I especially love how the fandom and all its wackiness comes out from that looking pretty special. Chuck gets a girl and it has in my mind the best ending of all the episodes thus far in season five. The trouble is, the timing of it is all wrong. It makes for a poor follow up to “Changing Channels” and a poor lead in to “Abandon All Hope.” This episode would have been more suited for later in the season, like episode 17 or 18. It would have been nice comic relief from some pretty heavy stuff coming down the pike. It is just too jarring for when it aired and the saga for “Abandon All Hope” could have easily played out through two episodes, starting with the lead on the colt. Even “Fallen Idols” in its clunky execution did have its purpose in the time line. 

So, for those that were getting droopy eyes over this in-depth analysis, I’ll just summarize what we should be keeping in the back of our minds for the rest of the season.

 

37 days and counting. Plenty of time to speculate. What would you like to see in the second half of season five?