When the Levee Breaks
Aug. 16th, 2010 11:38 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
feliciakwI went back in my journal to see what I'd written after this one originally aired. And I found that I did not write a long and rambly running commentary for this one. I was too upset and depressed. Reaction came to me in bits and pieces. I didn't write a blow-by-blow commentary.
This whole thing about "destiny" that they kept hammering at in S5 . . . is a red herring of sorts. It merely muddles things. At least when it comes to Dean. The scene in the junkyard, between Cas and Dean. Cas says, in regards to stopping Armageddon, "We believe it's you, Dean, not your brother. The only question for us is whether you're willing to accept it."
You know what that says? It says that the angels know that Dean has the free will to make the choice. The angels know that Dean can choose not to go along with their plans. They know this. Look at how hard Zach has to try to get Dean to agree. If "destiny" comes into play, then Dean would have said yes regardless of what anyone said or did. There would have been no choice. Zach wouldn't have needed to force the issue. Mike wouldn't have had to harp on the destiny thing when they went back in time. And Adam certainly wouldn't have made a suitable vessel. Not if "destiny" superseded Dean's free will choice. The very fact that angels need permission to take a vessel indicates that there's free will involved, and always has been.
If the ending of S5 doesn't tell us anything else, it should at least tell us that Dean did fulfill his "destiny." He stopped the final smackdown. But he did it through his choices. Not because he was bullied into it, or because "destiny" dictated it, but because he loved Sam too much to let him die alone.
And even if Dean had said yes to Michael? It would have been Dean's choice. Not because "destiny" dictated it, but because it was the choice he made. The very fact that the angels weren't sure Dean would accept his role indicates that Dean saying yes would have been a choice, not a pre-determined given. But the way they were portraying the angels, they would have gotten all smug and told Dean, "See? There's no going against your destiny."
That's why I kind of love the ending--Dean fulfilled his "destiny" in a totally unexpected way. A way that none of the angels saw coming.
(We also probably should have seen the end coming given how "Cris Angel . . . " ended. But I'm getting waaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy ahead of myself here.)
I also wrote last year that I would have been very put out if Dean got possessed by Michael. I was totally okay with Dean as a metaphor for Michael, but if Mike actually took possession, I wouldn't have liked that. In retrospect, given what we were given, I've to an extent changed my mind. The way they played it, with Dean as the Michael Sword, and Dean not losing his eyeballs as he watches Zach die (which I'm wondering if they'll address or completely ignore in S6) . . . and given what we were given in the final exposit-off, I actually would have loved to have seen Jensen play Michael.
But given Dean's free will to say no vs. Sam's fear of/resignation to his "destiny," what they ended up with makes sense character-wise.
The final installment of S4 also has some things to say about choices. But I'll get to that later.
This whole thing about "destiny" that they kept hammering at in S5 . . . is a red herring of sorts. It merely muddles things. At least when it comes to Dean. The scene in the junkyard, between Cas and Dean. Cas says, in regards to stopping Armageddon, "We believe it's you, Dean, not your brother. The only question for us is whether you're willing to accept it."
You know what that says? It says that the angels know that Dean has the free will to make the choice. The angels know that Dean can choose not to go along with their plans. They know this. Look at how hard Zach has to try to get Dean to agree. If "destiny" comes into play, then Dean would have said yes regardless of what anyone said or did. There would have been no choice. Zach wouldn't have needed to force the issue. Mike wouldn't have had to harp on the destiny thing when they went back in time. And Adam certainly wouldn't have made a suitable vessel. Not if "destiny" superseded Dean's free will choice. The very fact that angels need permission to take a vessel indicates that there's free will involved, and always has been.
If the ending of S5 doesn't tell us anything else, it should at least tell us that Dean did fulfill his "destiny." He stopped the final smackdown. But he did it through his choices. Not because he was bullied into it, or because "destiny" dictated it, but because he loved Sam too much to let him die alone.
And even if Dean had said yes to Michael? It would have been Dean's choice. Not because "destiny" dictated it, but because it was the choice he made. The very fact that the angels weren't sure Dean would accept his role indicates that Dean saying yes would have been a choice, not a pre-determined given. But the way they were portraying the angels, they would have gotten all smug and told Dean, "See? There's no going against your destiny."
That's why I kind of love the ending--Dean fulfilled his "destiny" in a totally unexpected way. A way that none of the angels saw coming.
(We also probably should have seen the end coming given how "Cris Angel . . . " ended. But I'm getting waaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy ahead of myself here.)
I also wrote last year that I would have been very put out if Dean got possessed by Michael. I was totally okay with Dean as a metaphor for Michael, but if Mike actually took possession, I wouldn't have liked that. In retrospect, given what we were given, I've to an extent changed my mind. The way they played it, with Dean as the Michael Sword, and Dean not losing his eyeballs as he watches Zach die (which I'm wondering if they'll address or completely ignore in S6) . . . and given what we were given in the final exposit-off, I actually would have loved to have seen Jensen play Michael.
But given Dean's free will to say no vs. Sam's fear of/resignation to his "destiny," what they ended up with makes sense character-wise.
The final installment of S4 also has some things to say about choices. But I'll get to that later.
