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feliciakwYou know? The thought of doing a write-up on "Faith" exhausts me even more than "Scarecrow." There's so much chewy goodness in it, especially looking back at it from S4. But there was, the first time I saw it, much conflict on my part. So let's get the simple things out of the way first.
First? Dean-peril. And some mighty fine peril at that. Plus Sam doing whatever it takes to get Dean cured. Plus Sam's faith.
Also? This is Dean's first coronary incident. For those of you who enjoy counting along with me.
Also also? Smart!Dean!!!! \o/ Apparently, Dean is the resident expert on Reaper lore, which is so totally awesome in my book that he gets to explain something to Sam (which is fairly common in the S1), and that he's "been a hunter long enough to trust a feeling like this." Meaning the cold, wrong feeling he had when he was cured.
And for the record? The Reaper guy looks like the "The Man" from Carnival of Souls. Very similar figure of Death.
Also x3 (and what really turned me around on this ep)? Layla's line about "If you're going to have faith, you can't just have it when the miracles happen. You have to have it when they don't." \o/ \o/ \o/
(Plus Sam's admonition to Sue Ann, "He's not your God." But I'll get to that later.)
Now, this is going to get into a lot of personal thinky stuff. And I originally had no intention of posting this anywhere public. Because it's very personal and probably requires more explanation than I can give in this limited space. Just so you know.
The first time I saw this ep, it was really good, but as soon as they brought in the black magic aspect of the faith healing, my alarms when off. The use of magic is not compatible with Christian faith due to the specific Biblical admonitions against it. (How then, you might ask, can I watch SPN at all? Well, SPN is stories. It's fiction. It's fun. They pull from lots of different mythoi. But when you start using black magic and calling it God, I have a huge problem with that. Plus, when you mess with magic, you don't know who's on the controlling end of it. e.g., oujia boards. You don't know what you're calling forth; it's very dangerous. Which is why I had a minor freak-out on Sam's behalf in IMToD--but I'll get to that later.) So here we have a man of God ostensibly using black magic to play God. Huge button for me. I was suspicious of Roy as a con man before, then bring in the magic, and quite frankly, I'm tired of the habit Hollywood falls into of making the godly men out to be the bad guys.
Also, I was a little twigged that the point of control was a coptic cross. The Coptics are the Christian church in Egypt. Again, take a Christian symbol and use it for evil purposes. I have issues with that. Unfortunately, it happens in real life. Symbols of faith twisted into symbols of mockery or what have you. Don't get me started. I don't have the energy.
HOWEVER . . .
It is not entirely unheard of for black magic to mimic the work of God. Case in point: Pharaoh's magicians were able to mimic the miracle of Aaron's staff turning into a snake. (Exodus 7:10-12) So. There's Biblical precedent I can go along with.
Plus there actually are clergy in positions of power who abuse that power. It's a sad statement of the human heart, but it does happen.
I also appreciated Dean's explanation of Reaper lore. Because I tend along the Sam lines of Sam's thinking; I tend to think of the "Reaper" as the angel of death. Not necessarily an angel you might want to be visited by, but an angel doing God's will nonetheless. So establishing these Reapers as creatures of supernatural lore was all good. *nods* The black magic isn't controlling an angel; it's controlling a Reaper. This I can go along with.
Then we come to find out that Roy is not the one controlling the Reaper. Yay. That he really does have faith in God. And, I suspect, actually is guided in whom to choose--at least where Dean is concerned. More on that in a moment.
We get Dean's line of "God save us from half the people who think they're doing God's work." Which is true. There are a lot of people out there who claim to be doing God's work, but who aren't. Dean's line also implies that there are those people who claim to be doing God's work, and who actually are. So this is good.
Then we get Sam's line, when he destroys the pendant/amulet thingy. Sue Ann exclaims, "My God! What have you done?" To which Sam replies, "He's not your God." I think I did actual \o/ victory arms with that line, or possibly a fist pump. Might even have bounced in my seat. Regardless, that line was made of awesome in my book.
And finally, the line that won me over was Layla's "faith and miracles" line. \o/ Plus Dean's line about "I'm not the praying type, but I'm gonna pray for you." And Layla's, "Well, there's a miracle right there." Again, made of win. Because that?
That is a depiction of faith and conflict I can get behind. Because it's human. It's real. It's applicable.
So these points of dialogue won me over and told me that this show was actually taking a balanced view of things.
Also of great benefit was talking about this ep with Izhilzha. Because she got me to thinking about something that tickles me greatly, and that's when evil is ultimately used for Good. God can do that. God does that. (Joseph of many-colored coat fame comes to mind.) And this I can get behind. It was the evil use of black magic that saved Dean's life, and you'll notice that Dean was the last one to be healed before Sue Ann was stopped.
Which brings us to Dean, and looking back on this ep in light of S4. Roy told Dean he saw in Dean's heart a young man with important work to do, and he wasn't finished. From the perspective of S1, we're thinking it's "saving people, hunting things." Protecting Sam. Maybe even finding John and destroying the demon. But knowing what we know now? It's so. Much. Bigger. Apocalyptic big. You get the picture.
And so, if I were to look at this as God actually playing a part (which, this being fiction and all, might be a little pretentious, but work with me here), I would lay forth the suggestion that God brought Sam and Dean to that point in time and space for the specific purpose of healing Dean. What does that mean for the guy who died in Dean's place? I don't know, because I don't know where his heart was with God. Neither am I saying that God caused the guy's death, though nothing happens without God allowing it. (Also, this being fiction, and an imperfect analogy, I'm not too put out to explain all of it.)
Not only that, but this could also, in hindsight, be seen as a time of testing for Dean. Because he had to choose whether or not to let Layla be healed, or to stop the use of the evil black magic. He chose to stop the evil, as painful as it was not to let Layla be healed.
And now? My brain hurts. So let's just talk about the boys, shall we?
Dean. Oh, Dean. Come here. Let me hug you and I will bake you cookies and make you a pie. Dean can't stand the fact that someone actually died in his place. From the very get-go, Dean was ready to die. (Though as a side note, the choice, "burial or cremation" tells me that they haven't dealt with any hunter deaths up to this point.) He doesn't see any other outcome for him. And sadly, this really hasn't changed in the three subsequent seasons.
ETA: Looking back from 4 seasons, I find Dean's understanding of why Sue Ann did what she did especially poignant. Sam calls her evil; Dean calls her desperate. Desperate to save her husband. Even if he hates the method, he understands the motivation--love of family.
Sam. Oh, Sam. I will make you cookies and fancy coffee. I love that you have enough faith for both you and Dean. *hugs Sam and tries to hide him from S4* I love that you just want to see Dean healed and be on your way. I love that the two of you are working so well together, Dean with the knowledge, you with the research.
There's just so much to love about this episode (this entire disc, actually). It could probably go on for days.
This is far more self-disclosure than I ever intended to put toward any of these eps. Even now, I'm debating whether to actually post it. Because there's something to be said for keeping part of yourself for yourself. But here goes.
Oh. And also x4? Jensen's eyelashes are amazing. I'm just sayin' . . .
First? Dean-peril. And some mighty fine peril at that. Plus Sam doing whatever it takes to get Dean cured. Plus Sam's faith.
Also? This is Dean's first coronary incident. For those of you who enjoy counting along with me.
Also also? Smart!Dean!!!! \o/ Apparently, Dean is the resident expert on Reaper lore, which is so totally awesome in my book that he gets to explain something to Sam (which is fairly common in the S1), and that he's "been a hunter long enough to trust a feeling like this." Meaning the cold, wrong feeling he had when he was cured.
And for the record? The Reaper guy looks like the "The Man" from Carnival of Souls. Very similar figure of Death.
Also x3 (and what really turned me around on this ep)? Layla's line about "If you're going to have faith, you can't just have it when the miracles happen. You have to have it when they don't." \o/ \o/ \o/
(Plus Sam's admonition to Sue Ann, "He's not your God." But I'll get to that later.)
Now, this is going to get into a lot of personal thinky stuff. And I originally had no intention of posting this anywhere public. Because it's very personal and probably requires more explanation than I can give in this limited space. Just so you know.
The first time I saw this ep, it was really good, but as soon as they brought in the black magic aspect of the faith healing, my alarms when off. The use of magic is not compatible with Christian faith due to the specific Biblical admonitions against it. (How then, you might ask, can I watch SPN at all? Well, SPN is stories. It's fiction. It's fun. They pull from lots of different mythoi. But when you start using black magic and calling it God, I have a huge problem with that. Plus, when you mess with magic, you don't know who's on the controlling end of it. e.g., oujia boards. You don't know what you're calling forth; it's very dangerous. Which is why I had a minor freak-out on Sam's behalf in IMToD--but I'll get to that later.) So here we have a man of God ostensibly using black magic to play God. Huge button for me. I was suspicious of Roy as a con man before, then bring in the magic, and quite frankly, I'm tired of the habit Hollywood falls into of making the godly men out to be the bad guys.
Also, I was a little twigged that the point of control was a coptic cross. The Coptics are the Christian church in Egypt. Again, take a Christian symbol and use it for evil purposes. I have issues with that. Unfortunately, it happens in real life. Symbols of faith twisted into symbols of mockery or what have you. Don't get me started. I don't have the energy.
HOWEVER . . .
It is not entirely unheard of for black magic to mimic the work of God. Case in point: Pharaoh's magicians were able to mimic the miracle of Aaron's staff turning into a snake. (Exodus 7:10-12) So. There's Biblical precedent I can go along with.
Plus there actually are clergy in positions of power who abuse that power. It's a sad statement of the human heart, but it does happen.
I also appreciated Dean's explanation of Reaper lore. Because I tend along the Sam lines of Sam's thinking; I tend to think of the "Reaper" as the angel of death. Not necessarily an angel you might want to be visited by, but an angel doing God's will nonetheless. So establishing these Reapers as creatures of supernatural lore was all good. *nods* The black magic isn't controlling an angel; it's controlling a Reaper. This I can go along with.
Then we come to find out that Roy is not the one controlling the Reaper. Yay. That he really does have faith in God. And, I suspect, actually is guided in whom to choose--at least where Dean is concerned. More on that in a moment.
We get Dean's line of "God save us from half the people who think they're doing God's work." Which is true. There are a lot of people out there who claim to be doing God's work, but who aren't. Dean's line also implies that there are those people who claim to be doing God's work, and who actually are. So this is good.
Then we get Sam's line, when he destroys the pendant/amulet thingy. Sue Ann exclaims, "My God! What have you done?" To which Sam replies, "He's not your God." I think I did actual \o/ victory arms with that line, or possibly a fist pump. Might even have bounced in my seat. Regardless, that line was made of awesome in my book.
And finally, the line that won me over was Layla's "faith and miracles" line. \o/ Plus Dean's line about "I'm not the praying type, but I'm gonna pray for you." And Layla's, "Well, there's a miracle right there." Again, made of win. Because that?
That is a depiction of faith and conflict I can get behind. Because it's human. It's real. It's applicable.
So these points of dialogue won me over and told me that this show was actually taking a balanced view of things.
Also of great benefit was talking about this ep with Izhilzha. Because she got me to thinking about something that tickles me greatly, and that's when evil is ultimately used for Good. God can do that. God does that. (Joseph of many-colored coat fame comes to mind.) And this I can get behind. It was the evil use of black magic that saved Dean's life, and you'll notice that Dean was the last one to be healed before Sue Ann was stopped.
Which brings us to Dean, and looking back on this ep in light of S4. Roy told Dean he saw in Dean's heart a young man with important work to do, and he wasn't finished. From the perspective of S1, we're thinking it's "saving people, hunting things." Protecting Sam. Maybe even finding John and destroying the demon. But knowing what we know now? It's so. Much. Bigger. Apocalyptic big. You get the picture.
And so, if I were to look at this as God actually playing a part (which, this being fiction and all, might be a little pretentious, but work with me here), I would lay forth the suggestion that God brought Sam and Dean to that point in time and space for the specific purpose of healing Dean. What does that mean for the guy who died in Dean's place? I don't know, because I don't know where his heart was with God. Neither am I saying that God caused the guy's death, though nothing happens without God allowing it. (Also, this being fiction, and an imperfect analogy, I'm not too put out to explain all of it.)
Not only that, but this could also, in hindsight, be seen as a time of testing for Dean. Because he had to choose whether or not to let Layla be healed, or to stop the use of the evil black magic. He chose to stop the evil, as painful as it was not to let Layla be healed.
And now? My brain hurts. So let's just talk about the boys, shall we?
Dean. Oh, Dean. Come here. Let me hug you and I will bake you cookies and make you a pie. Dean can't stand the fact that someone actually died in his place. From the very get-go, Dean was ready to die. (Though as a side note, the choice, "burial or cremation" tells me that they haven't dealt with any hunter deaths up to this point.) He doesn't see any other outcome for him. And sadly, this really hasn't changed in the three subsequent seasons.
ETA: Looking back from 4 seasons, I find Dean's understanding of why Sue Ann did what she did especially poignant. Sam calls her evil; Dean calls her desperate. Desperate to save her husband. Even if he hates the method, he understands the motivation--love of family.
Sam. Oh, Sam. I will make you cookies and fancy coffee. I love that you have enough faith for both you and Dean. *hugs Sam and tries to hide him from S4* I love that you just want to see Dean healed and be on your way. I love that the two of you are working so well together, Dean with the knowledge, you with the research.
There's just so much to love about this episode (this entire disc, actually). It could probably go on for days.
This is far more self-disclosure than I ever intended to put toward any of these eps. Even now, I'm debating whether to actually post it. Because there's something to be said for keeping part of yourself for yourself. But here goes.
Oh. And also x4? Jensen's eyelashes are amazing. I'm just sayin' . . .
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no subject
Date: 2009-06-11 11:42 pm (UTC)And...yeah, what you said about Layla's line and Sam's, and all things working according to God's will regardless of whether they're meant to or not. Yay this episode!!
no subject
Date: 2009-06-13 03:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-12 12:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-13 03:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-12 02:58 am (UTC)Maaaaarvelous!
no subject
Date: 2009-06-13 03:09 am (UTC)Oh, boyz, indeed.