Thinky Thoughts From My Awesome Friend

[xwacky]

I have this evil plan where I want to infect gift all my friends with love for Supernatural. Top on my list is stilettos81 (whom some of you may remember from back in the BSG days.) So what do I do? I dropped 4 boxes of DVDs on her head! Anyway, she crammed in four seasons of the show within weeks (bless her heart) and wrote me an email voicing her thoughts at the completion of the 4th season. Previously she dropped me a quick line at the start of season four saying she wasn't quite sure how she would like the whole angel business. And this is her reflection after finishing the whole season:

With her permission, I'm quoting her email in its entirety here:

Season 4 of Supernatural turned out much better than I had feared, and I heaved a sigh of relief when Uriel wanted to go all "Sodom and Gomorrah" on that hapless little town. It would have been indeed very boring to have the "angle and daemon" business turn into a showdown between Good and Evil.

I suppose, of the Thousand Faces of Hero, Greek Mythology holds the most appeal to me as building materials for dramatized conflict. These gods are brave yet petty, capable of incredible as well as terrible deeds. None of them could claim exclusivity on righteousness or wickedness, and what blessings or curses they bestow upon the mere mortals almost invariably stem from what could only be called human instincts. In other words, they are the most human -- neither absolute Good, nor unmitigated Evil.

(My theory on that is, much of what we know of Greek Mythology today had been told by the likes of Homer but committed to written form by well-educated men. All together it constituted an important part of religion for ancient Greece during the height of that civilization, which was blessed by prosperity, diversity, and hence liberalism and sophistication. Either as a body of literature or a belief system, it is deeply insightful into the complexity of human nature. In comparison, the Hebrews were too preoccupied with suffering while Arabian Nights, materialism.)

But I digress. Back to Supernatural, I was quite blah about S1. I agree with you that "Dead in the Water" is exceptionally cinematic, yet the story itself just seems so... bland, nothing that tucks at heartstrings or evoke thoughtful debate. In fact that's how I feel about most episodes in S1 -- flat, thoughtlessly violent, occasionally grossed out (e.g., "Bugs").

S2 opens with "In my Time of Dying" which is a welcome change. I agree with you that Dean's pain and guilt makes a very good storyline, and for me that emotional content made it my favorite season thus far. In that vein, I also like "Heart." The way the narrative culminates to the point where Sam does the brave thing to kill that which he loves makes it a very powerful episode.

On the other end of the emotional scale, S2 is balanced out by good comic relief. To date, Loki from "Tall Tales" remains to be my favorite villain on this show. Not at all good, but not pure evil, either. Almost like an overgrown kid with a twisted sense of humor (and, incidentally, I was very happy to see his return in S3's "Mystery Spot"). "Hollywood Babylon" to me seems like a spoof, but the sharp wit in its observation on the creative process is almost biting. Speaking of, did that producer guy remind you of Jerry Bruckheimer?

Good acting also starts to emerge in S2. One of my gripes about S1 was the poor quality of the guest stars -- the actresses were especially bad that oftentimes I imagined my teeth hurt. Then "Number Six" showed up and blew them all out of water. Tricia was just one of the good actors on BSG, but here she is phenomenal in comparison. Her acting elevated "Road Kill", a virtual ripoff of The Sixth Sense, to a moving piece for me.

S3 has some very poignant moments as well. "The Kids Are Alright" gives an unexpectedly touching revelation about Dean's psyche, considering his entire life has been, in one way or another, devoted to serving others. And there is the tragic "Fresh Blood" where a man is turned into that which he hates the most -- can any punishment be more cruel? The bartender in "Sin City" is memorable, because she shows the possibility of "true belief" by a daemon, as strange as it may sound. So is Elizabeth in "Malleus Maleficarum" because, as a quite ordinary (and even silly at times) housewife, she gave her life so the good guys could win the day.

All that good stuff being said, I think S3 revealed a problem quite fundamental -- this writing team does not excel in positive characterization of strong, independent women. Throughout the show, women are either victims or villains, and the only "positive models" seem to be the stereotypical nurturing types. Bela had potential, but it was never fully fleshed out before she was dispatched off. You could be right about the writers' strike being the cause, but I am not sure that was all of it. Look at how S4 ended, and a pattern seems to emerge -- the strong women entering the Winchesters' lives all have some nefarious designs. Which, if you really think about it, is a quite juvenile notion.

The other problem I perceive is the characterization of daemons. After 4 seasons and the revelation of their master plan, most of these guys still come across as one-dimensional characters. The only exception could have been Ruby, but she was summarily dismissed as yet another manipulative b!tch. All things considered, there seems to be no redeeming quality in any of the daemons to elicit sympathy from the viewers, and for me this lack of sympathy has translated to apathy. This is why, despite the intriguing narrative, I can't bring myself to care about the Epic-scale Conflict the show seems to be working towards.

Consequently, the S4 episodes that I liked have practically nothing to do with angels or daemons. "Metamorphosis" is a retold Frankenstein story, a tragedy that never fails to move me. "Criss Angel is a Douchebag" is a poignant commentary on growing old: when the ravage of time robs you of everything else, will you give up the only good thing in your life to do the right thing? "The Monster at the End of the Book" is just funny -- to think of prophets as bad writers of their time! And how can one forget "It's Terrible Life" where the boys finally cleaned up nice for once?

To give credit where it is due, the writers are doing a tremendous job developing these boys. I love everything you said about Dean, especially the comparison to Kara -- had Kara turned out the way Dean is, my BSG-love would have been complete. You said it was fashioned after Han Solo; if true, then score another point for my "juvenile notion" remark. Props to the actor to make it more complex! While Han Solo remains one of my favorite onscreen heroes, as seasons of my life change Aragorn of Lord of the Rings holds increasing literary appeal to me. And I'd love to see Dean as a similar warrior-protector-redeemer, who is not immune to guilt or self-doubt, whose aid to a seeker's Quest brought him closer to his own destiny.

And, in that same vein, I'd like Sam to turn out more Frodo than Luke or Anakin Skywalker. All are burdened with a blessing-turned-curse, Anakin succumbed to the dark side, Luke triumphant over it, while Frodo resisted the temptation but never fully recovered from the physical, emotional, and psychological wounds. Frodo's is a more powerful, complex story, one in which a Hero's destiny never truly fulfills his own dream, and yet so changed by the Quest that he finds himself utterly alienated from those he once knew. He is the hero who can never go home.

Then, perhaps, that's a bit too dark for popular television. Heck, I'm not even sure I'd like it; when RDM did something similar on BSG, I was royally p'ed off. Still haven't recovered from this sense of shattered dreams. Which pretty much says, no matter how seasons change, we probably hardly change who we are deep-down.

Bring on S5!

Incidentally, I did send her the first four episodes of season 5, and she has wonderful thinky thoughts on that as well!

Comments

[evening-spirit.livejournal.com]

stilettos81! Wow, tell her I hope she's inspired enough to do some art! *iz dreamy*
Off to read her thoughts now. :)

[xwacky.livejournal.com]

*giggle* I was just thinking about that! Wouldn't it be awesome if I can get her to sign up for the next big bang?!

I'll pass that on. :)

[evening-spirit.livejournal.com]

Hm. Yeah, I pretty much agree with her opinion on S1. It took me about a month to watch it all. It had potential and Ackting was great even there but there wasn't the character. I fell for the show after about five episodes of S2 (I think it was a scene on the sidewalk in "Children shouldn't play..." that one in the middle... nevermind) and I was completely sold at "Croatoan" and Dean's confession that "maybe he doesn't want to (keep living without Sam)". S3 took something like six days to watch. ;)

Stiletto has a lot of good thoughts on the creators never being quite able to create strong female characters, but frankly, I'm not looking for strong female characters, so this didn't bother me as much. I wasn't looking for the reasoning behind demons' actions either -- I was very interested in what motivated the Cylons, but here, I didn't want to understand the evil guys. Well, maybe I do feel a lot of "sympathy for the devil (Lucifer)" now, but demons never seemed important enough for me. This is why I loved the mytharc of the fourth season and I love what's happening now.

But the core of the show for me is -- no surprise there -- Dean and Sam and their relationship. And perhaps this is why I dig Lucifer so much. I see angels as the brothers of humanity (children of the same father and if we're talking about Frodo etc -- have you or Stiletto read "Silmarilion"? I'd have a comparison with that). Then, there's Lucifer and Michael relationship -- two brothers again.

My, I got really thinky today! ;)

[xwacky.livejournal.com]

I agree on S1 too, although it still has some episodes I really like. "Faith" and "Devil's Trap" are two foremost came to mind. Also I think S1 is essential in laying out the background for the boys.

I was hooked by S1's season finale. I couldn't get my hands on S2 and S3 DVDs fast enough. :D

The lack of strong female characters are universally acknowledged, it seems. But like you said here, most of the fans weren't bothered by it. Personally I don't think it's so much as the writing team's inability to write such characters. It was rather because the nature of the story doesn't make such characters interesting. I've read the predominately female fanbase didn't quite like the female characters introduced in the boys lives. I'm hesitating to say we are a bunch that discriminates our own sex. I'd rather think it's because a strong positive female character doesn't fit the story arc well. Because who are we kidding? Sera was right, this is the "epic love story of Sam and Dean." *g*

I have a theory about the demons. To me they have been a disorganized bunch that in need a leader. They aren't that different from the humans actually. Didn't canon establish that all demons were human once before. So I think the epic fight really are among the angels. Demons and humans are all caught in between, belonging to opposing factions.

Hmmm, I've never actually read "Silmarilion", but I don't know if stiletto did or not. She's so widely read, she probably did if I have to put my money on it. I'd love to hear your comparison, and I'm sure she would too! I'm also would be very interested if the show goes into Lucifer and Michael's relationship. I wonder how they would portray it.

Hehe, yay! Thinky! Blame it on stiletto, that girl is incapable of non-thinky thoughts if you ask me. =p

[borgmama1of5.livejournal.com]

Yay for addicting our friends and family :)

I am currently trying to get my oldest daughter, her husband, and my youngest girl all hooked. I gifted my oldest with season 1 & 2, she's halfway through year 1 and her analysis sounds a lot like your friend's. This gives me hope that she'll get sucked in at the start of yr. 2.

[xwacky.livejournal.com]

Hee, I was introduced to the show because my friend dropped S1 DVDs into my hands. So it's only fair we pass the love, isn't it? ;)

Tell your daughter to stick with it. She won't be sorry. :D

[proggrrl.livejournal.com]

Cool, I wondered what ever happened to stilettos81, who I still remember fondly as Liebestraum on the BSG forums. Figures you got her hooked on another cracktastic fantasy show...

[xwacky.livejournal.com]

She's splitting her time between the far east (Singapore/Hongkong mostly) and London/US. And yes, you have good memories! She's also ClairdeLune on TWoP. *g*

Yeah, I try to "infect" her with Supernatural. *giggle*
To be honest, SPN is like my bandaid for the wound left by BSG. I hope one day, you'll start to watch it too! =p

[davincis-girl.livejournal.com]

Thanks for sharing that.

[xwacky.livejournal.com]

You are welcome. Hope you liked it. <333

[layne67.livejournal.com]

I'm glad that your friend seems to like Bela! Bela fans are hard to come by *sighs*

How about you? Hate her? Like her?

[xwacky.livejournal.com]

Oh I love Bela! I'm very sorry to see her depart. But I also can see she just doesn't quite fit in the myth-arc. I suspect her departure might be because contract related though.

[layne67.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad!!!! I really couldn't understand all the Bela-hate that was going on. I liked her a lot!!

*HUGS*

[xwacky.livejournal.com]

I've heard ppl say they don't like her because she always get to best the boys. Although I really don't think that should be a reasonable premises to dislike a character.

*HUGS BACK*

[i-o-r-h-a-e-l.livejournal.com]

Oh, I love the way she compared Sam with Frodo. *sniffs*

But yes. I agree that SPN might be too dark for TV. That's why it's difficult for some people to accept it, perhaps.

[xwacky.livejournal.com]

Me too! I also love the way she compare Dean with Aragorn. :D

I love shows that are darker in nature, if my love for BSG and The Guardian can attest to that. *g*

But SPN suffers as a genre show. Worse even, a genre show that lives on CW! Seriously, my friends tried to get me to watch this show for a very long time. At first, it was the genre that put me off, then it was the channel it's on. CW to me has only teensy shows that I stopped interested in it at least twenty years ago. But I'm glad I finally gave this show a chance!