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Asylum (the episode, not the convention)
Oh, how I do love "Asylum." It gives us some classic lines, like "That attitude right there? That's why I always got the extra cookie."
Or "I love the guy, but I swear he writes like freakin' Yoda."
Also? Brother banter. When they're not sniping at each other, Dean is teasing Sam about his newly discovered psychic sense, and Sam is smacking him on the arm.
Also also? Kat. Love Kat. The girl is clearly scared out of her wits, but she keeps her cool (while her boyfriend is panicking) and claims the shotgun.
Also x3? The creepy. This is one very creepy ep, and the creepy is my kind of creepy--shadows appearing in the background, figures moving suddenly across the foreground. Kat scolding Dean for squeezing her arm when he's not even touching her. Oh, yeah.
But of course the best thing about this ep (other than the story Jensen told about it at the Paley Festival) is the insight we get into Sam. We got Dean's issues with Sam via the 'shifter in "Skin." And here we get Sam's issues with Dean via the Ellicott Whammy (TM) the ghost puts on Sam.
Of course, it actually starts long before the actual whammy on Sammy (a Sammy whammy, you might say). The reason the ghost goes after Sammy in first place is the anger riding just below the surface. He gets angry with Dean in the motel room when they receive the coordinates, and that anger never really goes away. When talking to young Dr. Ellicott, it's evident that a psychiatrist can see Sam's brother as a point of tension. And given the amount of information Sam brings out of the office, and Dean's comment that Sam was in the office a long time, it seems that Sam had a lot to say (or a lot to repress--or both) about Dean.
Sam is annoyed when Dean assigns him to getting Kat out of the asylum, then when Dean assigns Sam to get both kids out of the asylum. He's annoyed when Kat mistakes Dean for Sam's boss. His annoyance and anger are apparently palpable to the ghost, because it's Sam Ghost!Ellicott lures to the basement.
Then of course we get the confrontation. Sam, having been whammied, does everything he can to keep Dean from finding the secret room and is generally contrary in every regard. And he takes obvious pleasure in being able to vent his anger on the object of his anger with a shotgun blast to Dean's chest. But that's not enough. There's the belittling and the mocking, and then the attempted murder. And Dean? Is resigned to this. It's like it doesn't come as a surprise to him at all. He tells Sam--and himself--that it isn't Sam talking, and of course he's not going to take any chances when a ghost whammy is at work. Dean finishes the job, and Sam returns to his senses.
The exchange at the car says volumes. If Sam had not remembered, I doubt Dean would ever have mentioned it again. But when Sam says he does remember it, and that he didn't mean any of it, Dean . . . blows it off. He doesn't want to talk about it. But he knows--or he believes--it's how Sam really feels deep down, and it doesn't surprise Dean in the least.
And the incident and emotions are left hanging until the next episode. Because there are no quick, easy fixes.
Btw, Sam? Honey? In a couple years, when Dean is on the fast track to Hell, you're going to go get drunk, and when Dean finds you, you're going to ask him how he can care so little about himself. You'd do well to remember this incident at Roosevelt Asylum and what the 'shifter told you about being left behind. That should answer your question.
Or "I love the guy, but I swear he writes like freakin' Yoda."
Also? Brother banter. When they're not sniping at each other, Dean is teasing Sam about his newly discovered psychic sense, and Sam is smacking him on the arm.
Also also? Kat. Love Kat. The girl is clearly scared out of her wits, but she keeps her cool (while her boyfriend is panicking) and claims the shotgun.
Also x3? The creepy. This is one very creepy ep, and the creepy is my kind of creepy--shadows appearing in the background, figures moving suddenly across the foreground. Kat scolding Dean for squeezing her arm when he's not even touching her. Oh, yeah.
But of course the best thing about this ep (other than the story Jensen told about it at the Paley Festival) is the insight we get into Sam. We got Dean's issues with Sam via the 'shifter in "Skin." And here we get Sam's issues with Dean via the Ellicott Whammy (TM) the ghost puts on Sam.
Of course, it actually starts long before the actual whammy on Sammy (a Sammy whammy, you might say). The reason the ghost goes after Sammy in first place is the anger riding just below the surface. He gets angry with Dean in the motel room when they receive the coordinates, and that anger never really goes away. When talking to young Dr. Ellicott, it's evident that a psychiatrist can see Sam's brother as a point of tension. And given the amount of information Sam brings out of the office, and Dean's comment that Sam was in the office a long time, it seems that Sam had a lot to say (or a lot to repress--or both) about Dean.
Sam is annoyed when Dean assigns him to getting Kat out of the asylum, then when Dean assigns Sam to get both kids out of the asylum. He's annoyed when Kat mistakes Dean for Sam's boss. His annoyance and anger are apparently palpable to the ghost, because it's Sam Ghost!Ellicott lures to the basement.
Then of course we get the confrontation. Sam, having been whammied, does everything he can to keep Dean from finding the secret room and is generally contrary in every regard. And he takes obvious pleasure in being able to vent his anger on the object of his anger with a shotgun blast to Dean's chest. But that's not enough. There's the belittling and the mocking, and then the attempted murder. And Dean? Is resigned to this. It's like it doesn't come as a surprise to him at all. He tells Sam--and himself--that it isn't Sam talking, and of course he's not going to take any chances when a ghost whammy is at work. Dean finishes the job, and Sam returns to his senses.
The exchange at the car says volumes. If Sam had not remembered, I doubt Dean would ever have mentioned it again. But when Sam says he does remember it, and that he didn't mean any of it, Dean . . . blows it off. He doesn't want to talk about it. But he knows--or he believes--it's how Sam really feels deep down, and it doesn't surprise Dean in the least.
And the incident and emotions are left hanging until the next episode. Because there are no quick, easy fixes.
Btw, Sam? Honey? In a couple years, when Dean is on the fast track to Hell, you're going to go get drunk, and when Dean finds you, you're going to ask him how he can care so little about himself. You'd do well to remember this incident at Roosevelt Asylum and what the 'shifter told you about being left behind. That should answer your question.
no subject
And he takes obvious pleasure in being able to vent his anger on the object of his anger with a shotgun blast to Dean's chest. But that's not enough. There's the belittling and the mocking, and then the attempted murder. And Dean? Is resigned to this. It's like it doesn't come as a surprise to him at all.
This. It bugged me because it looked like Dean somehow got used to it - maybe it wasn't the first time when Sam openly belittle him and looked at him as lesser being... and Dean still loved Sam... aw, Dean...
Also, talking aboutthe writers don't know how to write strong female character not being MarySue. Look at Kat. An awesome character. And female ;) They know how when they really think of it.
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Well, we don't have any canonical evidence that Sam has done this in the past, or that he does it when he's in his right mind. I think we can extrapolate, though, that Dean isn't surprised by the words because somewhere inside he believes it because of Sam's actions. I'm pretty sure the "you always do what dad says" argument is an old chestnut. And we've gotten the argument of need to look for Dad vs. need to do the job Dad sent us on as far back as "Wendigo." So there's always been that tension, and Sam's frustration and anger with what he sees as Dean's blind loyalty to John.
But then we come to find out via the 'shifter in "Skin" that Dean feels abandoned. So if we look at it as a man who lost his mother, whose brother left the family (to go to college . . . more on that in the next ep) and hadn't communicated with him in two years, whose father than left him with no forwarding address, Dean's self perception could easily make believing Sam's anger-motivated words very easy.
So for the old argument about John to spill over into a belief that Sam thinks Dean is pathetic and can't think for himself . . . that's not a surprise. Heck if "Dream a Little Dream of Me" is any indication, Dean actually thinks that about himself, too. He knows his strengths, he tries to hide his weaknesses, and he loves his family. But he has a history of losing his family.
This also gives Sam a certain dichotomy of character. We know he loves Dean. What Dean needs to realize (or Sam needs to show Dean) is that Sam respects him.
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But then we come to find out via the 'shifter in "Skin" that Dean feels abandoned
I wonder who wouldn't with the history of r-ship Dean had. And the low self-esteem and thinking about family before himself came from the same place. And no one still don't address it. No one of Dean's family seemed to realized that it was a problem for Dean. They used to use him as a tool not a person *sigh*
This also gives Sam a certain dichotomy of character. We know he loves Dean. What Dean needs to realize (or Sam needs to show Dean) is that Sam respects him.
And that's my biggest prob;em with Sam's character. I actually never saw him respecting Dean. Not for what Dean can do for him not for saving his life but for just how awesome as a person his brother is. It looks more and more like Sam just obligated to love Dean because ut's right and all people have to love their relatives. But i don't see any respect or like from Sam.
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I don't think Sam feels "obligated" to love Dean; it's just that Sam can get so wrapped up in "Sam" (you've heard me talk about Sam's issues with pride) that he doesn't realize Dean is suffering. Sam has always had such a strong sense of self, and he doesn't understand the lack of same in Dean.
We've seen in multiple episodes how Sam reacts when Dean is injured or in danger. As early as "Wendigo," when he finds Dean strung up in the cave. And his sureness that the 'shifter isn't Dean. Dean is such a part of Sam's existence that a lot of times he takes Dean for granted. And projecting into S4, that makes it that much more painful to see how Sam views Dean. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Sam and Dean really are two sides of the same coin in a lot of ways. Sam is very self-confident in a lot of ways, while Dean desperately seeks the approval of those he loves.
There is much chewy goodness to discuss in those two.
Now, if Sam would just show Dean--in a way Dean will take notice of--that he respects Dean. *nods* Maybe I should ask a Sam!girl.
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Yes and i'm sure that even raised in loving family Dean would out family needs before himself but the attitude wouldn't be the same. The returned reaction would help Dean to feel needed and loved - that he didn't feel from the members of his family.
In John's case, he needed someone he could count on to hold down the fort, take care of Sam, work the job while he was doing his secretive stuff. And for John, that person was Dean.
Yes but doing that John 'forgot' that Dean was a small kid at that time. The childhood was for Sam not for Dean. Also that secretive stuff included hot nights with Adam's mother right on Dean's birthday...
I don't think Sam feels "obligated" to love Dean; it's just that Sam can get so wrapped up in "Sam" (you've heard me talk about Sam's issues with pride) that he doesn't realize Dean is suffering
Yes but for me it's one of the visible traits of being obligated to love someone. Sam is so deep in 'all for Sam and only that matters) that he doesn't look at Dean as a person and how can you truly love someone not seeing him as a person?
Dean is such a part of Sam's existence that a lot of times he takes Dean for granted.
I'd say Sam always took Dean for granted. I can't remember of any otherwise moments. Plus even being a big part of Sam's existence Dean's there as a tool not a person. because how could you cut off all ties with the person you supposedly loved? And Sam did it for 4 years. And didn't regret of it. He could be sad about not having so helpful tool Dean was for him but he didn't regret of a person Dean was (and is).
while Dean desperately seeks the approval of those he loves.
I'm not sure if he seeks the approval, for me he just don't want to be abandoned again. I think it was the biggest shock for Dean at age 4 and it wasn't properly treated and he didn't get any indication from his family that he could be needed just by being Dean so he adjusted to be a tool and hence be needed.
Now, if Sam would just show Dean--in a way Dean will take notice of--that he respects Dean. *nods* Maybe I should ask a Sam!girl.
That's what i want from S5. And what do you plan to ask from Sam girls? How do they see that? Or how do they want it?
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So what is the story JA told?
Love your reviews. They always make me want to go back and watch all over again.
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I'm glad you're enjoying the reviews. I've always been like this, watching and re-watching favorite shows (or audio recording them in the pre-VCR days and listening to them like radio shows). It's like DVDs were invented just for me.
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I use to do that too!! I'd put the tape recorder right by the TV speaker and record. Welcome Back Kotter, Starsky and Hutch, Mork and Mindy. I'd record them and listen while I was washing the dishes. When I see reruns, I can always vividly remember the ones that were recorded 'cos I knew them so well.
Asylum? Awesome episode. This disc is one of my favs. It's probably been played more than any other S1 disc. Amazing episodes.