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It feels awkward trying to digest this and put something out online. After all, much of the episode was a digestion and expression of what we've taken, digested, and expressed about the show. Me doing it? It's the third time around. When does the meta end?
I wasn't necessarily looking forward to this episode. (Man, my metas make it sound like I'm losing faith in the show.) I'd read spoilers ages ago about this and it read like something that would be hard to pull off. I was so worried that it would jump the shark, fall flat, alienate fans, and destroy the viability of the Supernatural universe.
I am beyond pleased with the outcome.
It's definitely a fanservice episode and the likes of which I can honestly say I've never seen. Sam reading wincest? The boys talking about their feelings? Sam finally telling someone about his demon blood issues? Castiel sidestepping heavenly law to help Dean? Dean calling Route 666 "the racist truck" and Chuck apologising for bad writing? Wow. (The downside? My family now knows what slash is.)
However, in with the fanservice and maybe because of the fanservice, we actually got to see things that we wouldn't otherwise see. (And that's important.)
Because he's talking to someone who already knows, because it's not a confession, Sam talks to Chuck about drinking Ruby's blood. And Chuck can tell him that it makes him a less sympathetic character. That's not something that we'd normally ever be able to see. In my opinion, the discussion between Chuck and Sam reads as addiction or dependence - Sam doesn't know how to stop. He doesn't know how to feel like saving the world is his job, a job he can't give to Dean.
Because it's, to borrow from Good Omens, an ineffable situation and they shouldn't change it, Castiel has to choose between doing good and doing God's will. Sure, Castiel choosing Dean (and Sam) over God can be read as total fanservice, but it's also a huge choice for Castiel. He said before that he was thinking of disobedience. He has now betrayed a prophet. Oh, he skidded around the rules, but he broke the rules. He told Dean how to break the rules. He didn't just do something bad - he tempted a human being.
We also see a different side to Dean and I don't mean his apparent familiarity with Vonnegut. Sam is still the prime directive. Sam is more important that Dean's greatest fear (we all remember 4.06 Yellow Fever, right?). Of course, Dean has a plan, a good plan, which is a significant change from previous seasons, especially season three. He isn't rushing in blindly. He's figuring things out, researching, albeit in an unorthodox manner, and managed to save people - invoking the angelic power that's been hovering around him all season.
We've learned things about our heroes. Sam is wrapped up in dependence and can't figure out how to share his burden. Castiel is straying from the flock and tempting humans. Dean is learning to play smart so that he can keep safe. If Zachariah is anything to go by, Castiel really isn't playing by the rulebook. He's straying heavily, going native. Sam's going demon or, at least, is worried about it. He feels the need to prove his humanity. It gets to him when Lilith calls him on his extracurricular activities. Dean still needs to save Sam - and Sam needs to save Dean. And they don't know how to do it.
I hope that this means good things for the end of season four. The world is ending, yes. Sam is terribly focused on killing Lilith, probably gruesomely. Our resident angel is falling. Dean is struggling with the knowledge that this apocalypse hinges on him. However, we know more about why they're doing what they're doing. And they've got the best of motivations. I dare say that it's love - it's the need to save each other. Yes, even Castiel is learning how to feel - and he's learning to care for the Winchesters more than his prime directive, God. Even if the world ends, maybe there can still be a good place for the Winchesters in a post-apocalyptic hell-bound planet.
But I think we also learned more than that this episode.
It's the nature of meta that we learn more than just about the characters. This episode was a meta. It wasn't just the epic love story of Sam and Dean. This was an episode that tells us about ourselves and about the writers.
Certainly, writing this took a sense of humor, both about us, the fans, and about themselves, the writers. It was great to see that they saw themselves as the obsessive fans. It was a fine line - if only the "underground cult" had been hardcore fans, it could have gone badly. But no, I think they pulled it off quite well.
In the sides at least, the editor was named Sera. Chuck's pen name is Edlund. To me, these are clear references to Sera Gamble and Ben Edlund. (And the diner was Kripke's Diner, which is just so over the top I love it.) It's not just the fans who are obsessive and don't know how to shut up, even after the series is over. It's not just the fans who can't stop talking about it, loving it, writing inappropriate incestuous sex about it. Sera has a copy of their tattoo. Chuck cannot stop writing about it - it's beyond compulsive, it's demanded by God.
Honestly, I could get het up about this episode. I could say that they're mocking us. I could say that they're making fun of how much we love and slave over this show.
But I don't think that's what they're trying to tell us.
Here, in this episode, there's a closer parallel between Chuck and Sera and the underground cult following than between Chuck and Sera and Sam and Dean. Here, as in seasons one and two, Sam and Dean are outsiders to something that everyone else understands. And we're a part of that. We're in on the secret. We're not just in on the secret, we're part of it. We're part of the story.
I think it's great that we're now a part of the show. I don't know that I've ever seen or heard of that happening in another show, not where the characters go on the internet and find fanfiction. And even if, admittedly, not all of the episodes have the best writing in the world (I'm in this because I'm a B-level horror movie fan, I don't have illusions on this level), I don't think they could have handled this subject better than they did.
I wasn't necessarily looking forward to this episode. (Man, my metas make it sound like I'm losing faith in the show.) I'd read spoilers ages ago about this and it read like something that would be hard to pull off. I was so worried that it would jump the shark, fall flat, alienate fans, and destroy the viability of the Supernatural universe.
I am beyond pleased with the outcome.
It's definitely a fanservice episode and the likes of which I can honestly say I've never seen. Sam reading wincest? The boys talking about their feelings? Sam finally telling someone about his demon blood issues? Castiel sidestepping heavenly law to help Dean? Dean calling Route 666 "the racist truck" and Chuck apologising for bad writing? Wow. (The downside? My family now knows what slash is.)
However, in with the fanservice and maybe because of the fanservice, we actually got to see things that we wouldn't otherwise see. (And that's important.)
Because he's talking to someone who already knows, because it's not a confession, Sam talks to Chuck about drinking Ruby's blood. And Chuck can tell him that it makes him a less sympathetic character. That's not something that we'd normally ever be able to see. In my opinion, the discussion between Chuck and Sam reads as addiction or dependence - Sam doesn't know how to stop. He doesn't know how to feel like saving the world is his job, a job he can't give to Dean.
Because it's, to borrow from Good Omens, an ineffable situation and they shouldn't change it, Castiel has to choose between doing good and doing God's will. Sure, Castiel choosing Dean (and Sam) over God can be read as total fanservice, but it's also a huge choice for Castiel. He said before that he was thinking of disobedience. He has now betrayed a prophet. Oh, he skidded around the rules, but he broke the rules. He told Dean how to break the rules. He didn't just do something bad - he tempted a human being.
We also see a different side to Dean and I don't mean his apparent familiarity with Vonnegut. Sam is still the prime directive. Sam is more important that Dean's greatest fear (we all remember 4.06 Yellow Fever, right?). Of course, Dean has a plan, a good plan, which is a significant change from previous seasons, especially season three. He isn't rushing in blindly. He's figuring things out, researching, albeit in an unorthodox manner, and managed to save people - invoking the angelic power that's been hovering around him all season.
We've learned things about our heroes. Sam is wrapped up in dependence and can't figure out how to share his burden. Castiel is straying from the flock and tempting humans. Dean is learning to play smart so that he can keep safe. If Zachariah is anything to go by, Castiel really isn't playing by the rulebook. He's straying heavily, going native. Sam's going demon or, at least, is worried about it. He feels the need to prove his humanity. It gets to him when Lilith calls him on his extracurricular activities. Dean still needs to save Sam - and Sam needs to save Dean. And they don't know how to do it.
I hope that this means good things for the end of season four. The world is ending, yes. Sam is terribly focused on killing Lilith, probably gruesomely. Our resident angel is falling. Dean is struggling with the knowledge that this apocalypse hinges on him. However, we know more about why they're doing what they're doing. And they've got the best of motivations. I dare say that it's love - it's the need to save each other. Yes, even Castiel is learning how to feel - and he's learning to care for the Winchesters more than his prime directive, God. Even if the world ends, maybe there can still be a good place for the Winchesters in a post-apocalyptic hell-bound planet.
But I think we also learned more than that this episode.
It's the nature of meta that we learn more than just about the characters. This episode was a meta. It wasn't just the epic love story of Sam and Dean. This was an episode that tells us about ourselves and about the writers.
Certainly, writing this took a sense of humor, both about us, the fans, and about themselves, the writers. It was great to see that they saw themselves as the obsessive fans. It was a fine line - if only the "underground cult" had been hardcore fans, it could have gone badly. But no, I think they pulled it off quite well.
In the sides at least, the editor was named Sera. Chuck's pen name is Edlund. To me, these are clear references to Sera Gamble and Ben Edlund. (And the diner was Kripke's Diner, which is just so over the top I love it.) It's not just the fans who are obsessive and don't know how to shut up, even after the series is over. It's not just the fans who can't stop talking about it, loving it, writing inappropriate incestuous sex about it. Sera has a copy of their tattoo. Chuck cannot stop writing about it - it's beyond compulsive, it's demanded by God.
Honestly, I could get het up about this episode. I could say that they're mocking us. I could say that they're making fun of how much we love and slave over this show.
But I don't think that's what they're trying to tell us.
Here, in this episode, there's a closer parallel between Chuck and Sera and the underground cult following than between Chuck and Sera and Sam and Dean. Here, as in seasons one and two, Sam and Dean are outsiders to something that everyone else understands. And we're a part of that. We're in on the secret. We're not just in on the secret, we're part of it. We're part of the story.
I think it's great that we're now a part of the show. I don't know that I've ever seen or heard of that happening in another show, not where the characters go on the internet and find fanfiction. And even if, admittedly, not all of the episodes have the best writing in the world (I'm in this because I'm a B-level horror movie fan, I don't have illusions on this level), I don't think they could have handled this subject better than they did.
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Also Sam and Dean's Wincest reading faces. They can't be unseen. XD
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I didn't see any Riyelle reffs, but I think that's almost everyone? And then of course, the FANS.
So much love. :-)
AND SAM/LILITH FTMOTHERFUCKINGWIN.
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And I will never get over Sam and Dean's reactions to Wincest.
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Awesome meta; I agree with pretty much everything you've said. I worried a little about alienating a few fans, but I think your thoughtful comments really cover that.
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Yes! That's it, exactly.
(Hi, came across this surfing friendsfriends.)
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Also dreading the moment I have to explain slash and Wincest to my non-fandom SPN friend DDD:
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Reaction would be more coherent if I hadn't just finished watching the eppie half an hour ago.
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Lol despite the slight awkwardness of having to explain slash and why Dean slammed the laptop shut to my eight year old daughter (and why I was laughing so hard), this really was an excellent episode and I agree with all your points. This moved the plot in so many ways and was not a throwaway episode in any fashion at all. And I love that they gave such a shoutout to both their writers and their fans.
How often do you get to see that in a television series?
(in other news, I'm tickled that Dean is a fan of Vonnegut)
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not all of the episodes have the best writing in the world (I'm in this because I'm a B-level horror movie fan, I don't have illusions on this level)
And thank God for that! TV shows that have (or think they have) the best writing in the world tend to get pretentious and much too complicated for viewers to actually relax, enjoy, and have fun with.
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I wonder if Sam actually read fanfic. He didn't seem to phased.
This episode was amazing. I have to say it. And I missed the name of the diner.
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But I don't think that's what they're trying to tell us.
This times 100. I've seen a few things already, both on my own lj and on my flist, about some people feeling insulted by the treatment of fans and fanfic in the episode but I don't see it that way at all. I think, if anything, Kripke and the writers and saying that they totally understand and are actually right there with us in our devotion to the story. Yeah, the Sam-girls and Dean-girls thing and the reference to slash were played for laughs but not in a mocking way. To me it felt more like an in-joke between people who share the same perspective.
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I think it's great that we're now a part of the show. I don't know that I've ever seen or heard of that happening in another show, not where the characters go on the internet and find fanfiction."
You know, I hadn't thought of it like that, but you're right.
I had this spontaneous image of the show lying there in bad and pulling the covers back and saying, "I know you're wanking off in the corner. Come on in."
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Far from being insulting I really sort of felt like this was a real love letter to fans.
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I echo your sentiments here. There were so many ways it could have gone bad, but thankfully, it didn't. It was a lovely continuation from last week without much fumbling. It does look like we have a new Tucker/Gamble combo. It's nice to see that the new writers are meshing u with the mythology and series style so beautifully.
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