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Supernatural: Metamorphosis
Shallow positive responses to the episode
Dean was rocking the funny lines tonight, between "Manburger helper" and "hungry hungry hippo" and "that's my word of the day" and "Go vegan, stay human."
Also, he calls Castiel "Cas"? And he knows about that KY that Sam keeps stashed under his mattress? Oh, the slash on this show just writes itself
Shallow negative responses to the episode
EWWWWWW. I can't remember ever being so grossed out by a MOTW, even before he turned cannibal. Just watching him eat turned my stomach in a big way. YUCK. I had my eyes closed a lot in his scenes.
Somewhat more rational analysis, the Sam edition
I've been reading tons of reviews talking about how happy people were that Sam got his comeuppance for lying to Dean, and I just find myself...puzzled? perplexed? bewildered? at how many people seem to be uncritically adopting Dean's POV on Sam's use of his powers. I mean, I actually expected Sam to really go dark after Dean's death--to become the scary obsessive freak he clearly was after Dean died in "Mystery Spot," and it's so clear to me that he hasn't, actually, gone that route. In fact, this seems like the Sam of season 2 who was raising the important moral questions about whether their dad's policy of "if it's supernatural, kill it" was actually the best policy to adopt, as opposed to the Sam of season 3 who I kind of hated for his conversion to "burn witch burn."
And the fact that Dean said that if he didn't know Sam, he'd want to hunt him? Despite the fact that JA acted the hell out of that scene, my sympathies were not with Dean there, especially when his solution to the problem of possession was to use the knife--which, as Sam pointed out, always kills the host. WTF, Dean? And wtf with trying to kill Ruby before even finding out what the hell was going on? I mean, Dean was justifiably angry at Sam for withholding information from him, and I can see why he now doesn't trust Sam to be telling him the truth, but honestly his response seemed way out of proportion to me.
It's true that Dean now thinks he's acting on angelic (and therefore divine) orders, which reinforces the suspicions he's always had about Sam's powers, and that excuses him somewhat, but I have to be honest: I kind of wanted Dean to have more faith in Sam, and was disappointed that he didn't. I mean, Sam really is saving lots of people--and from all we've seen of Ruby, she's helping him. It's true that the MOTW seems to foreshadow that Sam may pass some tipping point in using these powers that he can never recover from, but I guess I've always been more sympathetic to Sam's position that supernatural beings ought to be presumed innocent unless proven guilty, so I tend to side more with Sam in this argument.
The Travis edition
I've seen some people suggest that Jack was foreshadowing Sam's future (not really going evil until the person he loves most is threatened), and I agree that that was rather anviliciously dropped on our heads, but I also think Travis could be foreshadowing Dean (or any hunter) who is too quick to assume the worst about supernatural creatures (e.g. Sam). Because Travis would still have been alive if he hadn't tried to take out the innocent wife and child--in fact, he caused the very outcome he was trying to prevent. (Hmmm...perhaps a Travis/Castiel parallel is more apt? Because like Castiel, Travis was older, presumably more wiser and experienced, someone Dean was inclined to trust, etc. And both of them are going to take out the threat if Dean won't--but maybe this will lead to consequences "Cas" isn't expecting)
The Dean edition
I think it's very interesting that while Dean used to argue with Sam, constantly, about the ethical issues in hunting (siding with the shoot first, ask questions later side himself), he nevertheless respected Sam's moral conscience--to the extent that last year he actually missed it when Sam started getting more hard-edged. Yet now his first assumption when Sam questions whether they should just go ahead and kill Jack or not is that Sam is identifying with Jack's inner demons. Of course, he's right that Sam is--but I also think Sam is authentically concerned with killing someone who might be able to change--just like Lenore, just like Madison. So I was really glad Sam made Dean pull the car over so they could have their second fight, with Sam pointing out Dean was implying he no longer knew the difference between right and wrong.
And yet--despite the fact that Dean will really strongly press his brother on the choices he is making, and punch him in the face, and destroy motel rooms--I love that he still has Sam's back, even in such a simple thing as defending Sam to Travis when Sam wants to look more into the lore of saving rougarous. Though it was devastating to me that he ever considered leaving Sam to hunt with Ruby (and clearly that showed exactly how betrayed he felt--god knows how much fanon there is built up around the idea that Dean would never leave Sam, it's always the reverse).
Oh, I almost forgot my favorite scene, which was Dean telling Sam about Mary. "She almost kicked my ass"--Almost, Dean? Now who isn't telling the truth? :D
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Dean did rock the comedy here and the boys' timing was nicely done
"It's ok we're here to save you...*looks round room* I think"...Sam whispers "We should go" Dean shuts the door. Well timed.
I LOVED that glimpse of Sam's hard edges again in the impala - Stop the car or I WILL. I was kinda hoping Dean would keep driving but then I can be twisted like that. Likewise I didn't think Dean had a leg to stand on really with the whole if I didn't know you line...because Sam has saved more lives than you guys did ina year...does that not count for something? Is it xenophobia the fear of difference? Because that was what I was feeling here coming off Dean in waves.
I think Sam has always had this inner jiminy before he even knew about his YED history about killing demons via killing innocent hosts. I just think it has come to the fore more now that he has options open to him. And no Sam. You are not going to quit this power cold turkey. Hmmm I forsee an untenable situation where Dean is threatened and oh my how is Sam gonna save the day?
And yeah I like how he tells Sam he's not alone with it and how he even acknowledges how unlikely it is that he is pressing for a chick flick moment and Sam is all about the not gonna talk about it. Make a note, we may never see this again!
I liked your review, sorry if my comments were a tad long winded but I really enjoyed this ep...well apart from the gross eating/blood/meat scenes. That was kinda ick. But it is Spn I suppose.
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Likewise I didn't think Dean had a leg to stand on really with the whole if I didn't know you line...because Sam has saved more lives than you guys did ina year...does that not count for something? Is it xenophobia the fear of difference? Because that was what I was feeling here coming off Dean in waves.
I think Dean has always had a negative attitude toward the supernatural, coming from John, and from what we've seen of a lot of other hunters (like Gordon and Travis) that attitude is the common one among hunters. But I agree that it is xenophobic, and I have problems with it.
And yeah, I agree there's no way Sam's just going to be able to stop using his powers, regardless of his intentions.
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I agree with you that it was awesome to see Dean getting ready to take off - although I didn't see it as him going after Ruby so much as him leaving Sam. I also loved his word of the day thing - and then he kept using it. Hee!
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I didn't mean that Dean was going after Ruby when he was packing in the motel room; earlier when he discovered who she was he went after her with the knife.
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I also loved it that when Dean starts packing up, he's pulling clothes out of the closet with their hangers. I just don't picture Dean being the kind of guy who hangs up his clothes in the closet.
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Anyway, the part of that review that really got to me was this:
Sam's certainty that he can't lean on Dean. He's got to still be angry with Dean for selling himself for Sam in the first place, and that anger has to be hard to live with. Dean can't just come back and expect to control Sam's choices -- Sam's already learned the hard way, over and over again, that Dean can be taken away from him at any time and that ultimately, we're alone in our choices. Sam's depended on Dean his whole life, far more than he should, and he's struggled against that all his life, too. Now he knows the reality of being completely alone. Love like Dean's is seductive, overwhelming -- unconditional adoration, devotion, and protection is not something a lot of people are lucky enough to know. Sam's struggled against it but who'd really want to give it up, if they had it? He's fallen back into that familiar security blanket far more times than he's resisted it. But now he knows what it feels like to lose that, and just because Dean's here again, that doesn't mean he can afford to look for things to go back to the way they were. Not to mention, Dean's not exactly offering -- he's been kind of distracted and had a lot of his own shit to deal with. Sam's right when he says Dean can't really know what he's going through.
But more than that, he can never really know what Sam's been through in the past two years. Likewise, Sam can never know what it was like for Dean to live with the terror of Hell hanging over him, not really, and this is the first time in their lives that's been true in such a profound way. (I think it's impossible for Sam to really know what Dean went through when he was hunting alone after John and Sam both ditched him -- that's probably the closest equivalent, and Dean's no more willing to share and care about that than Sam is about this.) Sometimes it just hurts too much to try and explain and know that no amount of rehashing it is going to make the person we love understand how we feel. The fallout from that is that their relationship is forever changed, as they are.
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The thing is, I was hoping that Sam might punch him back, but he seems to feel GUILTY over this, so he's allowing it to happen. Sam does know that there are problems with what he's doing, problems with letting Ruby use that woman. I think this episode paralleled both of their fears. I'm not sure it forshadowed what will happen necessarily. However, it was able to bring the struggle each of them is dealing with on their own together, and it's important to do this since they've kept Sam's struggle quiet, and he hasn't had a chance to try to explain himself.
That said, Sam's explanations sounded weak, at first. Like he knew they were rationalizations to himself, at least in part. I think that only proves that he does still have is conscience, but things aren't black and white right now. He is right. His powers have been helping him to save more people. He's also right that not all supernatural being are necessarily evil.
Unfortunately, Dean is also right. Other hunters are going to be coming after Sam. Period. I don't think he was saying that he wanted to hurt Sam, with the "I would want to hunt you" line. I think he was pointing out that they are in a community of hunters and people like Travis and any of their other 'friends' would turn on him if they knew what he could do. I'm just mentally replacing the line. "If I didn't LOVE you, I would want to hunt you," because that's how Dean feels about his brother. I think that fear is overriding most of his sense in regards to Sam right now. These other people? The non-awesome, non-Bobby hunters? They don't love him. They'll try to kill him. Castiel and the angels... they don't love him either.
Travis caused that situation. He was an idiot. (Have we ever heard of Travis before, because when Sam got the call from Travis, I was like... WHO?) I think that any forshadowing is really on the part of the hunters exacerbating the situation with Sam. In order to prevent apocalypse... the boys have to keep the more extreme players from causing everything to blow up?
I guess in the end, I'm refusing to take a side. I don't like the negativity it causes in me. I've ALWAYS been more of a Dean fan, since S1, but I don't think either of them is more right than the other, because they don't KNOW what is going to happen. It's all a grey area. They're just doing what they think is best and trying to survive as best they can. In my mind, Sam and Dean, together, keep each other from becoming monsters. I think that was clear in Bloodlust. Sam is keeping Dean from becoming one of those hunters that just... goes PSYCHOTIC. And Dean is trying to keep Sam from giving in completely (Except he doesn't know that he's already pressed this point on Sam, and it must be echoing in his ear whenever he has to make a choice.).
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I definitely agree that he should have told Dean more about the demon blood and his mom's friends getting killed--but considering he was spending all his time trying to prevent Dean from going to hell, and Dean was not only not helping but never wanted to tell Sam about the deal in the first place, so I don't really hold that part against Sam. But Sam needed to tell Dean about his powers this season, yes. That was a very legitimate ground for Dean to feel betrayed, especially since Sam lied and told Dean he wasn't using them.
So I get Dean's fear and sense of betrayal, I do--but for me that also explains why Sam wasn't telling him in the first place. And I think you're right, Sam feels conflicted himself about using the powers, which is why it was so devastating to him when Dean (and angels and God) seemed to be condemning him.
I guess I wanted to clarify that I think they were both at fault in the fights--it's the broader mythology of the show I have issue with, and to the extent that Sam is on the side of "you shouldn't automatically kill something just because it's supernatural," I'm on that side. I can see your reading of Dean's comment about having to hunt him as a warning about other hunters, sort of--except that much as I love Dean (and he is actually my favorite character) he has a long history of assuming that supernatural automatically=bad.
I do think Dean is more concerned about angels than other hunters, though. It's not like they didn't spend a big chunk of s2 and s3 avoiding Gordon and his ilk.
I also agree that Travis created the situation that killed him, and good riddance, as far as I'm concerned.
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Also, so stupidly pleased to be able to use this icon and have it be relevant.
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I definitely was glad to see Sam's POV, and hope we get more of it in upcoming episodes.