SPN Ep: Wishful Thinking

[the_other_sandy]

It looks like this episode ran short too, but all we got was more commercials.

"Wishful Thinking" reminded me a lot of a Saturday Night Live sketch in that it had a cute premise that was stretched out way too long and then beaten into the ground. Long story short: be careful what you wish for. It just seemed like an awful long way to go just so Ben Edlund could get a giant teddy bear into an episode. I didn't really hate it (there are worse episodes), but I don't see this as being one I'll watch over and over again.

The wishes were fairly revealing of the wishers' personalities. What else would a little girl want but a live teddy bear to have tea parties with her? Or a bullied little boy but the ability to get back at the kids who hurt him? At least Wes eventually recognized that it wasn't cool to force some poor girl who didn't even know he existed to love him more than anything and took his wish back. It was especially revealing that Dean kept thinking of happy, fun things to wish for, while all Sam could come up with was Lilith's head on a platter (I think poor Sam needs a vacation).

Here's the part where I'm probably inviting wank down on myself.

We all know that Dean is the best big brother ever. He's always there for Sam and doesn't let Sam bottle things up until he explodes. Meanwhile, Sam has the reputation in fandom of being selfish and self-centered. Yet, every time Sam tries to be there for Dean like Dean is there for him, Dean shuts him down cold.

I get it. Really. Dean is the big brother and he sees letting Sam look after him as an enormous failure on his own part because he's supposed to take care of Sam, not the other way around. I also totally understand that Dean is right--there are probably no words in any language that can adequately describe what he went through in hell. What he saw there can never be unseen, and what he experienced there can never be understood by anyone who hasn't been there...which is basically nobody except for demons. There's nothing Sam can say or do to make it better, but just once I'd like for Dean to let him try, because the stoic big brother thing inadvertently makes Sam feel like the worst and most useless brother ever. He tries so freakin' hard, and yet he never really gets to give back in his relationship with Dean.

But on the other hand, "Kneel before Todd!" = best line ever.

Comments

[rei17.livejournal.com]

I don´t think that´s entirely fair.
I mean Sam wasn´t all sharing and caring after Jess died, wasn´t he?
And Dean did confess to him in 2x04 what eats him up and even though Sam couldn´t really help him then, it was a very bittersweet and intimate moment between the two.

But I get what you´re saying in general. And hey - I totally wish they would have more heart to hearts and would acutally talk about their feelings. Dean sucks at this like nobodys business but Sam isn´t so much better.
But I think this is kind of the Winchester-way ... ;) And yay for fanfics where the guys actually do talk.

[datenshiblue.livejournal.com]

Sam has the reputation in fandom of being selfish and self-centered.

Operative words in fandom. The downside of fandom it that stereotyping of characters happens early and often. Not just SPN fandom, any fandom, in my experience.

But your observation is right on. Sam definitely tries, and isn't selfish and self centered, any more than Mary was for wanting a life other than hunting.

For what it's worth, I think Dean will open up more as time goes on. It's a progression - he lies, then he acknowledges but won't talk about it, I think eventually more will come out.

But I could be totally wrong about that. ;)

What I found (perversely) amusing about the reveal that Dean lied about remembering his time in hell is how the fandom has been all over Sam for lying about Ruby and using his powers at the begining of the season. ;P Think anybody will be calling Dean a "lying LIAR" now?

I didn't think so. ;D

*loves them both*

[samazon13.livejournal.com]

No wank here. I agree with you pretty much down the line on this one. :)

-Samazon

[un-conscience.livejournal.com]

You won't get any wanking from me! Dean's speech was very similar to Sam's in "Metamorphosis." But somehow I doubt we'll get the backlash.

And while I was disappointed they didn't go any further with the reveal, you know it will be addressed in upcoming episodes.

[jade-kadir.livejournal.com]

I had to love all the stuff with the teddy bear though. It was comic genius.

[ambersaigh.livejournal.com]

Randomly over here from lurking on supernatural_tv and hoping you don't mind, but your reaction post is one of the saner ones addressing this point that I've seen, so I'm reaching out. Sorry if it's intrusive.

We're pretty much agreed on all points; while I love my men stoic and tough but brittle, I'd like to see just a tiny bit more evolution in Dean where he's able to admit things to Sam. The one line I kept waiting (with bated breath) for Dean to say was "I don't WANT you to understand" - not because Dean doesn't need to be understood, which Sam does with alacrity and an admirable degree of patience, but because the things you see in Hell are not something you want someone you love seeing with you. Not only can Sam not do anything to actively remove or really even soften the effect of the memories (which, for the record - really? 40 years of torturous memories and Dean still snaps back to basically how he was when he went into the ground? C'mon, Kripke, that's more years than he's even been alive) but Dean doesn't want him to know what Hell is like. Ever.

But I, too, think it's a process. Dean tends to skip around the normal processes until he's pounded out his own - first he denies, then realizes he's slipping up too much to refuse being affected at all. Then he tries to say that yes, he's hurting, but he'll handle it. Eventually he'll hit that wall where trying and failing to handle it on his own will endanger Sam or them both or someone else when he freezes up under the pressure, and he'll be forced to either drop it, let Sam help, or just sit down and give up.

Here's to Dean Winchester (and Sam Winchester) never sitting down and giving up.

...That got a bit long. Apologies, and feel free to delete if I'm an annoyance.