As always, a captivating recap, almost as good as watching the episode over again. Which I might just have to do later. Ahem.
Anyway, regarding this: This is the first time Sam has offered his perspective on their childhood relationship with one another. And it's gorgeous because it fits so beautifully with what we know of their upbringing: with John away so often, Dean would have been the centre of little Sammy's universe, just as Sam was the centre of Dean's, each of them the most consistent presence in the other's life. Twenty years later that's still true!
What isn't mentioned here, though, is how all that has to have changed when Sam hit his teens, as we know he became fiercely resentful of everything associated with their lifestyle, and that included Dean. One of the themes of season one was how little Sam really knew his brother, following their lengthy estrangement, his memories several years out of date and coming from the perspective of a rebellious teenager, rather than an equal. Even then, though, hints of that childhood hero worship still shone through, and that has never gone away. And after spending the last two years almost exclusively in one another's company, after they've been through so much together, each of them absolutely knows the other inside out, in a way that no one else in the world ever could.
Not surprisingly, I made that speech in that scene the subject of my Monday Meta this week at wee_chesters. I'd love to know what you think.
I'm struck too by how mirrors continue to be used in the show, in terms of camera angles and set pieces and so on. This episode has so much to do with characters providing foils for one another, and the use of mirrors is huge - from right off the bat, when Bela sees Gordon's reflection, to Gordon seeing his second row of teeth come in via the shop window, to Sam seeing Dean's reflection in the mirror when he comes back. There's a lot being filtered through mirror images.
And the most incredibly awesome scene of car maintenance ever! We get Dean back, and that's a major part of the appeal, but I'm also just happy to see them working on the car. I freely admit that it did not make me even remotely misty, only because I was SQUEEING like a mad thing when I watched it. It's so w00bie I could probably watch it a hundred times before getting bored.
I've already been bitten by the plot bunny on this one, but I think there's at least two other fics waiting to be written based on this episode. Without even going into Gordon or Bela or Kubrick.
I was sad to see that we were not only losing Gordon but Kubrick. But I do hope this sets up some complications for the boys.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2007-11-21 07:25 pm (UTC)Anyway, regarding this: This is the first time Sam has offered his perspective on their childhood relationship with one another. And it's gorgeous because it fits so beautifully with what we know of their upbringing: with John away so often, Dean would have been the centre of little Sammy's universe, just as Sam was the centre of Dean's, each of them the most consistent presence in the other's life. Twenty years later that's still true!
What isn't mentioned here, though, is how all that has to have changed when Sam hit his teens, as we know he became fiercely resentful of everything associated with their lifestyle, and that included Dean. One of the themes of season one was how little Sam really knew his brother, following their lengthy estrangement, his memories several years out of date and coming from the perspective of a rebellious teenager, rather than an equal. Even then, though, hints of that childhood hero worship still shone through, and that has never gone away. And after spending the last two years almost exclusively in one another's company, after they've been through so much together, each of them absolutely knows the other inside out, in a way that no one else in the world ever could.
Not surprisingly, I made that speech in that scene the subject of my Monday Meta this week at
I'm struck too by how mirrors continue to be used in the show, in terms of camera angles and set pieces and so on. This episode has so much to do with characters providing foils for one another, and the use of mirrors is huge - from right off the bat, when Bela sees Gordon's reflection, to Gordon seeing his second row of teeth come in via the shop window, to Sam seeing Dean's reflection in the mirror when he comes back. There's a lot being filtered through mirror images.
And the most incredibly awesome scene of car maintenance ever! We get Dean back, and that's a major part of the appeal, but I'm also just happy to see them working on the car. I freely admit that it did not make me even remotely misty, only because I was SQUEEING like a mad thing when I watched it. It's so w00bie I could probably watch it a hundred times before getting bored.
I've already been bitten by the plot bunny on this one, but I think there's at least two other fics waiting to be written based on this episode. Without even going into Gordon or Bela or Kubrick.
I was sad to see that we were not only losing Gordon but Kubrick. But I do hope this sets up some complications for the boys.