standout fandom moments

[llywela]

rhianne recently posted a list of top five canon h/c moments that had inspired her...except that this top five was actually a top ten, five of which were from Supernatural. Understandable, since if ever a show invited h/c, it's SN! And that got me thinking about some of my own favourite moments (which is the point where galathea_snb faints away dead on the spot at the very idea of me making a list!). Actually, it's tempting to just repost rhianne's SN moments as I agree with them all! But I shall make myself do the list thing for myself, because I never do.

I enjoy a spot of good, strong h/c, I really do, but I find on reflection that my top moments in fandom, any fandom, tend to be a more random mixture, sometimes h/c and sometimes tiny moments where the strength of a partnership/friendship really shines through, significant moments in the development of an onscreen relationship, or tiny moments that illuminate a particular aspect of a character's personality.

'Ware possible spoilers herein for more than one show:

Supernatural
I loved this show from the first episode; it pressed all the right buttons in all the right ways for me. As for standout partnership, character or h/c moments...too many to count! I'll name a few, though, going right back to the beginning. The second episode, Wendigo pretty much established Dean as my favourite character, setting up all the character elements – and partnership/brother elements – that I've grown to love so much. Here we see Dean being a rock of support for the freshly grieving Sam, and then, after his capture by the Wendigo, all bloody and beaten and obviously in some pain but also in full-blown "'tis just a scratch" stoic mode, while Sam's all "are you sure you're okay?", very quietly concerned, but doesn't ask again when Dean says that he is, both of them just brushing the close call off and getting on with the task at hand. That's pretty much the dynamic of their relationship in a nutshell, right there. Just another day in the life.

It was the little three-episode mini-arc of Asylum, Scarecrow and Faith that really, really confirmed this as my number one show right now.

Asylum. Sam shoots Dean for the first time – 'nuff said. Thinking about it, this was the episode I wrote my one and only SN fanfic piece about, the aftermath thereof. Issues that have been bubbling away in the background all season are suddenly brought to the fore, both allowing us a whole new insight into the brothers' relationship with one another and their absent father, and also further highlighting and developing strands of character detail that we've already seen glimpses of. As close as the brothers are, yet they still don't really understand one another – here, we see especially how little Sam truly understands Dean and the dynamic of his relationship with their father, instead blindly reacting against him as a substitute for the absent John, with injurious results. Dean frequently seems to be on the receiving end of the issues John and Sam have with one another, which is a fact that speaks absolute volumes about a lifetime spent stuck in the middle of the two of them. And Sam apologises for the hurtful words spoken, but not for the shooting, which...just so many issues lurking beneath the surface of this one, an absolute goldmine, and the issues touched on here will be returned to and elaborated on so many times and in so many ways over the course of the show. The continuity of character exploration and development never ceases to amaze me.

From there, it's a straight line into the next episode, Scarecrow, in which Sam's frustration with the absent John boils over of its own accord rather than by supernatural interference, and, again, he takes this out on Dean as a substitute for John. The skewed sibling vibe, frequently bordering more on parent-child, is one of the aspects of this partnership that really appeals to me, and again, elements of this are seen in numerous episodes, in a variety of subtle ways. But the moment I want to point to in this episode is the phone call when Sam is at the bus station, after they've had that enormous row and gone their separate ways. We don't know who initiated the call; the important thing is that one of them made the first move, and that first move was all it took to smooth things over. From Sam listening with baited breath to Dean's tale of the man-eating scarecrow – so enormously baby brother listening to big brother's thrilling tales of derring do – to Dean giving Sam's drive for independence the validation he craves, no matter what the cost to himself – more surrogate parent than sibling – I love this scene. I love that Dean is able to learn from his father's mistakes, that he puts Sam's desires ahead of his own need, and that by giving him his blessing to go, he – probably without even realising it – frees the way for Sam to return.

Faith – dying Dean still stoically trying to be strong so as not to scare his little brother any more than he already is, and Sam absolutely, stubbornly determined to save him, no matter what it takes. It doesn't get much more h/c than that. I can't even pick out individual moments – I have to point to the entire episode! Every time we see Sam fluttering over Dean, trying so clumsily to do the looking after for once, a role he has so little experience of; Dean getting up on that stage to be prayed over by a faith healer he doesn't believe in simply because Sam wants him to; Sam unable to look Dean in the eye as he apologises on discovery of the enormous price that was paid for Dean's healing, knowing how devastated Dean will be and yet unable to regret it himself…and so on. This is a great episode.

In both Home and Nightmare we see Dean and Sam crossing a road to get to the Impala while talking furiously, Sam in particular upset about something. On both occasions Sam is completely focused on yelling his fears at Dean and keeps walking without even looking where he is going, trusting so implicitly that Dean won't let him get run over that he doesn't even notice when he walks into the road. And Dean, ever the caretaker, automatically takes responsibility for both of them, splitting his attention between the conversation he's having with Sam and the oncoming traffic they are about to walk into – in Nightmare having to stick out a hand to stop Sam walking right under a car, neither one of them so much as skipping a beat in the conversation, it's that underplayed. Again, it's one of those tiny, subtle details that are so easy to overlook and yet reveal so much about the dynamic of the brothers' relationship.

That's a lot of SN moments, and only halfway through season one! I'll move onto another show quickly and come back to this later, because I could carry on all day with that one…

Rome
Vorenus jumping into the arena to save Pullo at the end of season one really stands out in my mind above all else as the ultimate partner moment. Talk about brothers-in-arms! The friendship between these two men has withstood such enormous pressures and strains, been tested so many times, but never more than at that moment. Pullo is at his lowest ever ebb, and even Vorenus has turned away from him, unable to stomach his destructive behaviour any more, and now Pullo, a convicted murderer, faces execution: death by mortal combat in the arena. He refuses to fight, refuses to defend himself – until the gladiators begin to mock his former legion, the 13th. Only then, to defend the honour of his 'brothers', does Pullo begin to fight, hacking down gladiator after gladiator, taking hit after hit, until he is absolutely spent, unable to fight on. Vorenus is watching with great distress, despite having disowned his friend, unable to walk away and leave him to his fate unobserved. And then, right at the crunch, he realises that his love for his friend outweighs his anger and despair over Pullo's actions, and he opts to face potential death himself rather than watch him die like this. So he leaps into the arena to defend Pullo, taking his own turn at hacking down gladiator after gladiator, taking hit after hit, until the enemy stops coming and he is able to drag his injured friend away to safety. It's an appallingly violent and bloody scene, difficult to watch – but also incredibly beautiful.

The aftermath of Niobe's death also stands out as an example of the very deep friendship and partnership that exists between these two men, who love and understand one another on a very basic level, despite the enormous differences between them in terms of background and temperament. Just as Vorenus was there for Pullo at his lowest ebb, here Pullo is able to reciprocate. He is so tender with Vorenus, from the first moment he finds him keening over Niobe's corpse and has to pull him away, holding and comforting him, to gently assisting with the immediate practicalities of Niobe's funeral rites, to patiently allowing Vorenus time to grieve before bringing in Mark Antony to snap him out of his fugue and provide him with a new focus, to galloping all the way from Rome to Gaul to fetch Vorenus on learning of the true fate of the little Vorenii, to helping Vorenus retrieve the children from slavery – Pullo was there for his friend, his 'brother', throughout the whole sorry saga, even when Vorenus' anger raged against him as the only available outlet.

Then in the most recent episode the roles were reversed again, Vorenus taking his turn at supporting Pullo when his wife Eirene died in childbirth. The fallout of Eirene's death was less overwhelmingly devastating than Niobe's, but Pullo's grief was still enormous, and Vorenus provided for him the same quiet, steady support that Pullo had previously given him.

And I have to point to the numerous episodes that gave us Vorenus and Pullo on their way to a mission of some kind and camping out someplace in the middle of nowhere, just the two of them. I will never not love those scenes, the two of them walking/riding along or sitting around a campfire, just talking, sharing their differing views on life, the universe, and everything. I really hope that we haven't seen the last of those scenes, but sadly suspect that we have, with only two episodes to go and the two of them on different continents now. But how amazing it is, when you think back to the early days of their unlikely friendship, that Vorenus left his children in Pullo's care, knowing that his friend loves them as a second father and is, perhaps, better able to provide them with the care and support they need than he is himself, after everything that's happened.

Again, I could go on ad infinitum. It's about true friendship, about partnership, about love and trust on a very deep and fundamental level.

Dark Angel
I want to shout-out, too, to a different kind of friendship – this one boy-girl, rather than of the male bonding variety: the friendship that developed between Max and Alec in the second season of Dark Angel. Season two was not the best in terms of storyline, plotting or continuity, but the friendship/partnership that slowly developed between these two characters, with Joshua forming the third member of their unit, made it all worth watching for me. Max and Alec started out at total cross-purposes, didn't always understand one another, and didn't especially like one another, in the beginning especially, but the strong forward dynamic of their friendship was always engaging to watch, so much more so than the endless stop-start circles of the Max-Logan relationship.

And I'm supposed to be picking out stand out moments that exemplify that friendship. The first that comes to mind is in the episode Hello, Goodbye, after Max has broken Alec out of police custody, where he was being held for the murders committed by his twin, Ben. Alec asks about Ben, genuinely curious about the twin he never knew, rather than brushing the whole thing off and pretending not to care, as would be his usual style. Max breaks down when she admits that Ben died at her hand at his own request, psychologically damaged beyond repair and choosing death over recapture, and Alec very tenderly puts his arm around her shoulders and kisses her on top of the head, providing beautifully gentle comfort, support and understanding, and it's the most open and honest these two characters have ever been with one another. It's also the first time – seventeen episodes into the season – that they've addressed the fact that Alec is the identical twin of the 'brother' Max was forced to kill, and that a large part of her antipathy for Alec stems from that fact. This is the moment at which these two characters move from being reluctant allies to genuine friendship, and that friendship is all the stronger for being so hard-earned, having slowly but consistently evolved in this direction throughout the season.

Another moment that stands out is at the very end of the episode Dawg Day Afternoon, when, at the end of what has already been a fraught and harrowing day, the beleagured transgenics learn of the murder of Joshua's would-be girlfriend, Annie, which is being blamed on them. Joshua is devastated, and Max and Alec both sit with him in silence, arms around him, physical comfort being all they have to offer. The net is closing in, the world is against them, and the three of them are pretty much all they've got – talk about 'us against the world'. Whatever their differences, the bond between them forged by their shared heritage surpasses everything in the face of what they are up against, and it's a really powerful moment

The third moment I have to offer is smaller – it's when Alec goes to see Logan, after learning that Max has used him as an excuse for breaking up with her on-off boyfriend. We've already seen Alec angry with Max for dragging him into it by lying about the nature of their relationship, which has always been 100% platonic, and have heard his determination to tell Logan the truth, unwilling to be used as a scapegoat or for Logan to think him the kind of guy who'd move in on another man's girlfriend. But when it comes to the crunch, he can't go through with it – he knows that Max lied because she wants to protect Logan, and as much as he wants to be honest and repair the damage to his reputation that her lie has caused, in the end he goes along with the lie for her sake. We don't often see Alec being genuinely altruistic – even when he is, he generally tries to dress it up as self-interest – but here he is very much doing something for someone else, rather than for himself, and it's another milestone both for him personally and in his friendship with Max.

The Professionals
I've already written reams. But I have to include the Pros Lads, too, because that was the first partnership show I really fell for, hook, line and sinker, and is thus the origin of my love for a good, strong on-screen partnership.

A few standout moments. Hunter, Hunted! Doyle is being stalked by a mysterious killer with an enormous grudge, and Bodie is oh-so protective. But that protectiveness is wonderfully understated and not commented on by either of them, we just see it in action: Bodie insisting on going ahead of Doyle into his flat, in case of attack; Bodie sitting up all night in his car outside Doyle's flat, keeping watch, again in case of an attack. It's cute, and very much downplayed by Bodie, while Doyle rolls his eyes and puts up with the fussing, the genuine concern of each partner for the other is plain to see, and the banter is marvellous.

Discovered in a Graveyard – Doyle has been shot and is at death's door, and Bodie is frantic with worry. As with SN's Faith, it's hard to pick out single moments, so I just have to point at the entire episode as one enormous h/c fest: from the moment Bodie discovers Doyle lying in a pool of blood and begins frantic first aid, through Cowley keeping Bodie focused on helping his partner the only way he can, working the case, and Bodie managing to correctly interpret the tiniest gesture from a still all-but comatose Doyle, that vital clue allowing them to finally solve the case, right through to the final scene when Doyle comes out of hospital and Bodie takes him to the laundrette to collect the washing he'd left there at the start of the episode – domestic support for the ailing partner as a sign of their deeper friendship, outside of the strong working partnership.

Doyle confronting Bodie in Man Without A Past, when Bodie's girlfriend has been injured in a bomb attack that may or may not have been aimed at Bodie, who is furious and distraught and determined to work the case himself, despite having been ordered not to. The partners aren't together that much in this episode, but when they are, it's partnership gold.

Blind Run – Bodie dashing to the rescue when he realises that Doyle is pinned down and under fire after they've been forced to separate, stealing a boat, of all things, to provide an escape route for his partner and those in his charge. The whole episode is a delight, this sequence in particular.

Life on Mars
Okay, so this is mostly an ensemble show, but it has a partnership of very different characters at its core: Gene and Sam. And I've rattled on for so long now that I'm just going to present one standout moment for this show. It's in the episode, early on in the first season, when a cleaner from the station gets shot as a bystander in an armed robbery and Sam gets the blame from the rest of his colleagues. He visits the girl, June, in hospital, and Gene finds him there – they argue, and then fight, physically, fighting one another to a standstill and then collapse in a heap alongside one another at the foot of June's bed. And they go on from there to develop a greater understanding of one another – and to learn from one another how to be better at their respective jobs.

Again, I could go on. I'm a sucker for partnership shows!

Back to Supernatural for a few more moments, just because. The whole of Something Wicked, for example, the episode that peels back the years and gives us a glimpse of the childhood that made Dean who he is, pinpointing one incident in particular that shaped the man he would become – and in which, for both Sam and the viewers, so many pieces of the puzzle entitled 'Dean' suddenly fall into place. Standout moment? The scene where Dean finally tells Sam the story of the Shtriga. At the start of the story, Dean is sitting on the bed while Sam stands on the other side of the room, but when we return from flashback to the present we see that Sam is now sitting alongside Dean on the bed, using physical proximity as a means of reassurance. He attempts verbal reassurance, as well, more than once, but Dean won't allow it – he's been carrying the burden of guilt for too long, for so long that that sense of failure and of never quite being good enough has become an integral part of who he is. There are no words that can take that away. But Sam makes the attempt anyway, as he begins to truly understand his brother for the first time.

The two-part finale, Salvation and Devil's Trap have a few standout moments between them. That scene at the end of Salvation when Dean stops Sam from running back into the burning building – "I don't care." "I do!" – leading into the final scene back at the motel. Sam is still burning with anger at not being allowed to take himself out in a blaze of glory, so acute is his desperation for revenge at all costs, while Dean is almost beside himself with anxiety at how badly this is all turning out, with Sam so suicidally reckless and John not having made contact after his own dangerous mission. The standout moment is Sam's temper snapping, physically attacking his brother again, as he throws Dean hard against the wall, and Dean not making the slightest attempt to fight back. He just pleads with Sam verbally to see things from his point of view, to see reason, to choose life over death. And it works. Gorgeous scene, gorgeous 'partner', brother moment. Taking us into Devil's Trap, when Dean is the one whose anger is pushing him right to the edge as they attempt to exorcise Meg. Standout partner/brother moments are Sam's quiet little aside of "are you all right?" as they go into the other room for Bobby to have a word, and then later when they prepare to go and rescue John, when Sam comments on how quiet Dean is, concerned about his brother's state of mind. That whole scene is fabulous, meaty emotional stuff. "You both can't wait to sacrifice yourself for this thing, but you know what? I'm gonna be the one to bury you."

*pets both boys*

The end of Devil's Trap, of course, is pure h/c, once the demon-possessed John starts ripping into Dean. After Sam has finally broken free and disabled the Demon/John, he doesn't spare his father so much as a second glance, immediately scooting past him to check on Dean, who has collapsed to the ground, bloody and barely conscious. But when Dean asks Sam to check on John, he does so at once, unable to deny his brother anything he asks, and later so vehemently defends the badly injured Dean against John's single-minded focus on the Demon at all costs.

Which in turns leads into the whole of In My Time Of Dying: Sam so devastated by his brother's critically injured state, his reaction to the wrecked Impala symbolising how he feels about Dean's condition, and the brothers communicating by ouija board.

Sam shooting Dean for a second time, while possessed by a demon in Born Under A Bad Sign, and everything else that Dean goes through in that episode, culminating in the final couple of scenes where it isn't clear how much Sam does or doesn't remember about what he did to his brother. What is clear is that where Dean is injured and in pain but determinedly not mentioning either fact, resolutely treating Sam as normally as he possibly can, reassuring him as he always does, Sam on the other hand is focused not on guilt over his own possessed actions against Dean, but on where he feels his brother has let him down by not following through on his promise to kill Sam if he ever turned evil – a moment that absolutely exemplifies their very different outlooks. They understand one another a lot better now, but that doesn't mean they always agree.

Too many tiny moments to count. Such as in Hookman when Dean gives Sam a leg up onto a balcony, and it totally doesn't occur to Sam to return the favour and give Dean a hand up in turn. Because where Dean, as the older brother, automatically assumes that Sam might need help, Sam, as the younger brother, automatically assumes that Dean can do everything perfectly well by himself. Or in Tall Tales when Dean has taken a physical battering (as usual) and is visibly wobbling on his feet, but he's the one to ask the entirely uninjured Sam and Bobby if they are okay, and neither thinks to reciprocate the question. It's absolute canon that more often than not Dean has to be practically at death's door for the people around him to notice that there's anything wrong. Is that because he's so good at covering up, so unwilling to own up to physical weakness? Or does he brush aside his physical pain because he's so used to it going unnoticed anyway? Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

I could go on, at enormous length, but, whoa, this post got long! So, I'll wrap it up by saying that these are just a few of the standout partnership/friendship moments that really hooked me into a few of my favourite shows.