November 16, 2010

If you ask me...


I'm well aware that what I'm about to say is likely to result in the internet version of tarring and feathering, but it's been on my mind for a while now, and I have to say it - the problem with Supernatural (and make no mistake, that show has a problem) isn't Sammy No-Soul, it's mopey, humorless Downer Dean. 

During the first three seasons of the show, the Winchester boys' personalities were pretty clearly defined - Sam was sensitive, empathetic, smart, and desperate for a kind of normalcy that he never had growing up with a crappy, demon-hunting, wing-nut for a father; Dean was a smart-ass and a bad-ass who thought only about drinking, women, and hunting when he wasn't busy being emotionally stunted by the daddy issues that kept him desperately trying to gain the man's approval and respect.  Part of what made them a good pair was that they each had different strengths and weaknesses - Dean didn't have great people skills but he could handily dispatch most anything when things came to blows, while Sam was likely to get his ass handed to him in a physical altercation but could blink his puppy dog eyes at people and suddenly they trust him with their lives.  They...completed each other.  Plus, they were fun to watch.  Sam was the tiniest bit bumbling and Dean was all about the slightly inappropriate snarky jokes.  Sam was a little awkward around the ladies and Dean ate constantly.  Sam was afraid of clowns, Dean was scared to fly.  They had these silly, human, FUN qualities that they ribbed each other about and that gave us something to smile at through all of the killing and drama. 

Then Dean got dragged off to Hell and when he came back?  He was not fun.  He was the kind of not fun that their awful dad used to be before he was mercifully killed and sent to Hell himself.  He rarely made jokes, he was always crying and being all secretive about how he tortured souls and kicked off the apocalypse and stuff.  Yeah, I know, Sam was his own brand of no fun after his brother's untimely death - that demon blood subplot was straight from TV hell, I won't lie.  But Sam was always the straight man in the relationship so when he's no fun, it isn't as noticable.  That's when we came to rely on Castiel for our comedy, which is ok in it's own dry-as-a-bone way, but it would have been so much better as an addition, rather than a replacement.

It also wasn't fun the way the brothers spent all of their time lying to and keeping secrets from each other.  I've gone on about it here before but it really does seem ridiculous for two people who spent EVERY MINUTE together for three years and routinely put their lives in each other's hands, to suddenly become distrustful of one another.  To suddenly forget that having all the information is often their only hope of defeating whatever nefarious forces are working against them at any given moment.  But again, it makes a lot more sense to keep a secret like "I drink the blood of demons, I like it and I can't stop" than one like "when I was in Hell, I was literally tortured into doing some things I'm not proud of." 

I get it - burning in Hell is going to leave some emotional scars.  I just wonder why Dean didn't deal with it the way Dean had dealt with every other painful thing in his life up to that point - repressing, internalizing and snarking.  But he didn't, and I probably could have lived with the moping and the crying - Jensen is the king of the single, manly tear, after all - but then he started blaming his brother for the immanence of the apocalypse (which was patently ridiculous since it was DEAN who started that whole ugly mess in the first place) and that turned him all sullen and pouty and preachy and about 6 other unbearable dwarfs.  Humorlessness is bad enough but when all of your other personality traits are completely grating?  Ugh. 

That's all stuff that happened while they were dealing with Lilith's seals and the Angel Death Match though, theoretically, things were going to get better this season - funner, lighter.  They haven't.  At first, the creepiness of post-Hell Sam was really bugging me, not so much because of the creepiness itself, but more because I wanted to know why he was creepy.  Now that we know it's because he has no soul, it turns out that his laissez faire attitude toward all things life and death (not to mention human and emotional) is a little fun to watch.  Unfortunately for us, Dean's spending all of his time whining about how his brother is soulless (and maybe a little about how he misses his girlfriend) and none of his time being snarky and fun. 

To be perfectly clear, I think both Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles have always done the absolute best they could with what they were given.  I don't fault either actor for what's become of the characters they play.  But I do blame the writers who have taken well-fleshed-out characters and turned them into shaddows of the people we came to like in the first place.  It is the writers who made this mess, and it's the writers who need to clean it up and make watching Supernatural fun again.  The commercials for this Friday's fight to the death with fairies looks promising, but they've always been able to make funny one-off episodes.  What I'm looking for is a change in the general tone of the show that brings back the old, fun Dean and sends pouty Downer Dean back to Hell where he belongs. 

33 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yep...Dean has changed and yep, you get Dean back, you get the show back. They need the strong character they had in Dean. Sam's character could never carry a show. Why they changed their main character without a replacement is a mystery to all! And why they haven't listened to all the fans who know this, is an even bigger mystery.

Anonymous said...

Tha above poster & the whole article remind me why I hate supernatural fandom coz it's so whiny. Get a life peeps

Anonymous said...

Well Sam's the reason I watch but I totally get what you're saying. Sam is upsetting this season cos we miss old Sam but at least he's interesting, Dean is being pretty boring and not just boring unrecognizable, I miss the guy who'd put a bullet in anything that threatens his brother let alone touch a hair on his head, I miss his snark and fierce protective streak. I miss Sam's entire personality but we know he has an excuse. What's Deans?

Anonymous said...

I agree. I think they want to keep changing the characters but sometimes, like in this case, change isn't for the better.
I hope they get this eventually, but I have been hoping since season 3 so yeah, not betting any money on the boys and their brotherly bond coming back. Unfortunately.

Anonymous said...

IMO what is wrong with the show is the soap opera of "Dean's epic love for Sam" that we have been getting since somewhere in Season 2. I think if they moved Dean away from that tired old staple and allowed him to make new friends, get new hunting partners and put some distance from darling little Sammy, it would be fun again. Season 1 was the best part where the show was two brothers hunting things and SAVING PEOPLE. Not Dean going to hell in saving Sam or Sam going darkside after failing to save Dean and endless melodrama.

Anonymous said...

I agree with the first poster. Sam/Jared could never carry the show.
Poor Ackles. They've given him the most boring, most ungrateful - and I should know, I'm an actor myself - part of being the 'moral conscience' of the show. Why are they wasting Jensen's talent and charisma is beyond me.
Also, from the article it is clear that the author is a Sam fan. I guess nothing wrong with that but that description of Dean? - completely missing the essence and complexity of the character. Not to mention condescending. One-sidedness is easy. During my creative writing course we were asked to look at the story from POV of a character we disliked. It changes perspective. I recommend it to the author.

Anonymous said...

First, Dean didn't blame Sam for the apocolypse. Sam blamed himself. More than once it was pointed out that they BOTH caused it.

So what if Dean has changed? He still quips one liners. He's more mature, but the man is in his early 30's...it's okay to grow up a bit. He still has a sense of humor. It's a bit more hard to be lighthearted though when you've got a brother who continually lies to you again and again and again, season after season. A brother who pesters you to open up about what you've been through, and then when you finally do, calls you whiny. But I guess he's just supposed to ignore that and keep boozing and being a funny guy. Yeah, that's realistic.

Anonymous said...

I don't watch the show for Sam. I watch it for Dean. The very first episode I saw was Scarecrow and Sam was SO condescending in attitude toward Dean and unwilling to wait a week to search for his father. He didn't care of another couple died...so I did not have a good first impression of Sam. It bothers me how he's lied and lied and lied and lied...and yet people complain that Dean is the bad one. I just don't get it. I don't. I'm loving this season. I'm loving Jensen's portrayal of Dean. And I'm okay with souless Sam, because at least it's an excuse for him to be uncaring.

Anonymous said...

I agree Dean's character has changed. I'm hoping for the old Dean to come back.
Funny thing though? For me, it's Sammy that has always been boring, preachy, stuck-up, annoying and, generally, full of himself. That hasn't changed in season 6. Sure, he's now snarky but he lacks Dean's charm. Yep, still boring.

Melissa said...

For the record, I'm the author, and historically, I've never been partial to either brother over the other. I don't watch for Sam, I don't watch for Dean - I watch for Sam and Dean together.

I intentionally shied away from the "complexities" of both characters because I'm not writing a dissertation, just trying to succinctly express an opinion. That opinion is that both characters have changed a lot over the course of the show, and I don't think either one has been for the better, but the changes they've made to Dean's character have made the show less fun because his character was the one that was making it so much fun to begin with.

That said, whether you agree with me or not, I appreciate y'all reading and conversatin' about it.

Anonymous said...

Whoever said Sam couldn't carry the show is right. I've just never cared about him because of his arrogance. At least with no soul he actually has an excuse for being the way he is. But to say the problem with the show is because Dean has changed? Nah, I don't see it. Dean (and Jensen Ackles' portrayal) are why I'm so invested in this show. He has made Dean "real" so to speak. I care about him, flaws and all.

Anonymous said...

Also, why is that all the Sam fans are as condescending towards Dean as their favourite character? That's not a nice personality trait...
And even though I agree that Ackles talent is underused because he has to play this paler, more subdued version of Dean, I completely disagree with this description of Dean, both season 6 and earlier. Wow. This is the way the blogger perceives Dean's character? No one's gonna start throwing stones, she's entitled, but man, really? So much effort has been put to find excuses for Sam that none was left to even TRY to understand Dean. Or even to see him without prejudice. That's...sad.

Anonymous said...

Crap show anyways.

Anonymous said...

' I intentionally shied away from the "complexities" of both characters because I'm not writing a dissertation, just trying to succinctly express an opinion'
Melissa, that's obvious. Still doesn't change the fact that your description is biased. I don't have a problem with you simplifying. I have a problem with being biased. Describing Sam you've used mostly positive adjectives / facts (finding excuses where they shouldn't be found) and describing Dean there seems to be just one positive thing: he used to be fun (also finding blame where there is none, e.g. blaming Sam for the Apocalypse). It seems you identify more with Sam and 'use' Dean's character primarily as 'enabler' and 'entertainer' in Sam story. And I guess it's ok, just don't say that there is an equal understanding and empathy for both characters in this blog. There isn't.
But thanks for sharing your theory.

Anonymous said...

Amen sister....sort of. While I do tend to love the angst, there is a such thing as overload and this show reached it quite a while ago, especially regarding Dean. People want to be entertained, not be driven to drink on a weekly basis because there is no relief from the sadness. I think it is why so many reviewers are loving RoboSam so much. He is at least fun to watch.

Anonymous said...

Melissa. I think a lot of Supernatural fans agree with you. It's not really what you've said, it's how you've said it that's causing such strong reactions. Why so mean to Dean? "Humorlessness is bad enough but when all of your other personality traits are completely grating? Ugh." ALL HIS OTHER PERSONALITY TRAITS? Really, you don't see any positive traits of the character? He should be more fun, absolutely, especially, that the show depends ,and always has, on Dean/Jensen Ackles being the funny one. You're right. And now we have to look for comedic relief to Cass or Bobby. You're right again. But the way you wrote about it... I think your two sentences about Sam and Dean in comments area convey your message much better...

Anonymous said...

Hmm, I agree with the general idea here, and this is coming from a huge Dean fan. As I believe that Dean carries the show, I think the last two seasons have suffered greatly because of the way the character has been written. I miss the old Dean quite a lot. I don't think Jensen is given a lot of good material to work with, and much of what we see of Dean today seems quite out of character compared to the Dean of the first two seasons. That being said, the extent to which Sam is OOC these days (and I'm not talking about Robo Sam, more like seasons four to five Sam) is much greater. It doesn't bother me as much, though, because I've never shared the same passion for Sam's character as I have for Dean's. I liked both brothers a lot more in seasons one and two.

One more thing, I don't think it was "patently ridiculous" that Dean hold Sam mostly responsible for the apocalypse. How is he not? Yes, Dean broke the first seal, but he did so after spending forty years being tortured in hell. He was bound to snap, and he knew nothing about apocalypses or the breaking of seals. Sam, on the other hand, ought to have known that drinking demon blood, killing innocent victims, and beating the crap out of his brother were wrong. While Sam may have had good intentions once upon a time, they were completely selfish when he killed Lilith.

Anonymous said...

I can't agree that Dean carries the show at all. Perhaps for those that only watch for Dean, just as Sam carries the show for those that only watch for Sam. This season its obvious to me that Sam and Dean together carry the show. We have Dean right there, even if he is a bit of a grumpy old man to say the least, but half of our brother duo is missing and thats whats killing the show now. Bring back Sam and lighten up Dean a tad (ok a lot) and we will be back on track.

Dean fans, just because you only watch for one character doesn't mean that character carries the show for everyone else.

Anonymous said...

Okay, fair enough. But just because I said that I think Dean carries the show doesn't mean I only watch for him. I watch for the brothers' relationship, and I genuinely like both of them. When I say that Dean carries the show, I mean that I feel as though he is the glue that holds them together. If things hadn't turned out the way they did, don't forget that Sam wanted to return to school.

I mean "carries the show" in a sense that the show is about Sam and Dean's journey and relationship - a relationship that is often seen from Dean's point of view, and in which I think Dean feels more strongly about. I'm sure people with a preference for Sam will disagree on that, though.

Anonymous said...

...'half of our brother duo is missing and thats whats killing the show'...

Well the brother duo has been missing for 3 seasons now, and the show has survived. What's more, we had season 4 - the best season, in my opinion, with most creative potential.

...'we have Dean right there...'
That's the point, we don't. If Dean was 'the Dean', the search for Sam's soul could be a great arc. This soulessSam would be enough. This Dean, being manipulated by everyone, totally broken and lost - isn't. When was the last time Dean actually really won a fight? I remember, in season 5, the joke was; wow. someone's beating the crap out of Dean. Must be Thursday. Now, in season 6, the joke is: wow. someone is kidnapping/ beating the crap out of/ outsmarting/trying to use and/or manipulate Dean. Must be Friday.

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry. I like Sammy, I really do, but Dean carries the show...

Melissa said...

Ok, with everyone posting anonymously, it's tough to speak to specific comments but to Anoymous 6:04 - that's a fair point. I'm often prone to exageration for effect and I have clearly done that here by implying that Dean has no redeemable qualities. He has many - he's still fiercly loyal and caring and protective.... He also has moments where the old Dean peeks through the gloom of the sad new Dean and I enjoy the hell out of every one of those moments. If there were more of them strung together, we'd have old Dean back.

Anonymous said...

However you feel about it, Jensen Ackles/Dean has always carried the show. That's the point of the whole article. The changes done to his character influence the show the most. Sam has been good, bad, demon blood addict, Lucifer, now RoboSam and the integrity of the show, of the story, hasn't suffered (even without Sam's character). Now, the entertainment value, on the other hand...has. And, again, it has mostly to do with Dean. As we can see, funny, snarky Sam is simply not enough to make the story entertaining. (I'm sorry, but Jared simply isn't as good, versatile and charismatic as Jensen, but that's just my opinion). Neither is Cass nor Bobby. It all depends on Dean. If he is confused, we are confused, if he is depressed, we are depressed (that's why probably so much impatience, instead of sympathy, towards the poor character right now - he FORCES us to feel unpleasant feelings...), if Dean is boring - we are bored. And that's why this role reversal isn't working. It's relatively easy, writers I'm looking at you, to turn Dean into Sam. But having Ackles (with his dramatic talent and comedic timing as sharp as razor), and forcing him to play 'a new Sam' ? Crime against humanity. C'mon, this is the guy who's made Dean one of funniest, most charismatic and complex characters on tv. Just...use him. No one else can do it.

riley said...

Hee. So clearly this blog was posted at the Dean forum. Nothing gets and SPN fan's back up quicker than a percieved slight against their fav...no matter who it is.

Anonymous said...

Ok, so the new Dean isn't as fun as old Dean.
But what about his love, tenderness, loyalty, being essentially good man trying to save everybody at the expense of his own happiness, life, everything. It's there more than ever. He lost his brother and than he found him only to lose him again. Can you imagine anything more cruel or heartbreaking? Compare the touching and hopeful "Am I in heaven?' from 6.01 when Dean saw Sam, with last episode's 'I don't really care about you'. He had something resembling 'a family' and he lost everything. Again. And besides 'you're not real Sam' I haven't heard a single complaint.
Being funny is just one of many beautiful layers of Dean Winchester. It's not even the most important. What about all the others, still there? Just not so obviously 'entertaining'. Maybe Melissa, you should look deeper.

Anonymous said...

riley

Isn't it implied in the word 'fan'...? :)
Also, I found the blog because of Cadlymack on Twitter. She's a very vocal Sam girl and I feel she 'used' this article to support her ...hmm bias. And as Melissa admitted, it was relatively easy, because this text is a little, hm...unbalanced. But i's cool, Melissa explained everything and I think the general idea is not that controversial.
And I don't think there can be anything better for a blogger to have this kind of interest and so many comments :)

Anonymous said...

Saying Dean carries the show implies to me that it would continue without Sam and thats simply not true for me. We do see this story mostly through Dean's eyes but its Sam's story we are seeing. Both characters are vital to the story and if Sam was gone for good I would be too.

Some think Dean is the glue and in a sense he is, but without Sam there is nothing for Dean to hold together.

Do Sam fans think Dean carries this show? Don't answer that because there is no way to identify if someone is genuinely a Sam fan on here, but my point is its Dean fans that think Dean carries the show and their bias accounts for that belief I am sure.

Anonymous said...

Of course Dean fans think Dean carries the show. But I watch SPN mainly for Sam so for me, Sam carries the show. Fair enough?

Anonymous said...

Sam definitely carries the show for the horde of Sam girls but they don't shout down Dean fans like the Dean girls do to Sam fans, and they can actually watch this show without being overly cruel to Dean. That is sadly the main difference between the Sam girls and Dean girls, in my opinion the Sam girls are far, far more adult, mature and respectful of his brother. It's a shame the same respect is not paid in return.

This is an incredibly valid article, Dean is nowhere near the character he used to be, he cries to easily, and gives up to easily and old Dean never did that. It is definitely one of the reasons 6 is not as enjoyable as well as the amount of time it's taking for Sam to come back to his body.

Anonymous said...

Well I agree with your point that all the fun in the show came from Dean's character in the early seasons. Lord knows Sam has been a mopey, whiny, self-absorbed cliche right from day 1.

By keeping Dean forever tied to Sam's pathtic density-ridden ass, they had no choice but make Dean as angsty as mopey Sam and so most of the fun went out of the show.

I think the writers thought that robosam would bring some of the fun back but Jared isn't a likable enough actor to carry off such a douchebag role. You need someone with charisma and nuance and someone who actually thinks about his character's motivations, to be able to pull of something that complex and Jared just doesn't have it.

Let's face it, the only time he gets any attention is when he just mimicks other actors' characters on the show, whether it's Jensen's snarky delivery or Misha's angelic cluelessness or Nickki Aycox or Mark Pellegrino as they played their characters.

So in conclusion, TPTB's obsession to keep making Sam the most important creature in the universe is what sucked the fun out of the show because, really, the character in and of himself, isn't interesting enough to be the constant focus of everyone's attention.

Anonymous said...

I'm loling at the self-righteousness of the sam fans here. Just go to sntv or the CW Lounge and you'll see just nasty and vicious they can be to characters other than their fave, both actors and characters. What a bunch of hypocrites.

Anonymous said...

I saw this posted at IMDB in a thread full of dean-hating samgirls so, ITA with the above poster about the hypocrisy of sam fans claiming they are better.

I also agree that Dean was the character that brought the fun and energy to the show and that's what carried it to the success it is today.

I still think Dean gets most of the quippy dialog and pop culture reference but I have noticed the writers trying to give more that to soulless Sam but it just seems awkward and obvious that they are trying to me him the funny guy or something.

I think Kripke and now Gamble keep looking for different ways to try and turn Sam into Dean because to them, he is the hero of the show and I think they resent the popularity of their sidekick character.

This show has been pulling this role-reversal crap since season 2. At least that's what they call it, but it seems to me that they keep trying to give Sam more and more Dean's positive qualities while still keeping everything all about Sam. That's what is not working because the show us slowly eroding the best thing it has going for it and that is Dean Winchester. I think it's really unfair to Jensen Ackles who has almost single-handedly made his character so iconic despite the writers trying to undermine him at every turn.

I suspect too that Jared Padalecki has desperately wanted to up his own popularity because he sure seemed thrilled a comic con when he kept going on and on about how Sam is like season 1 Dean.

I think he also pushed to play a full-out evil Sam because usually those kinds of character tend to get more attention. I suspect the Gamble, being such a Sam and JP fangirl, decided to indulge him this year out of her own biases and because they wanted him to sign on for a couple more seasons.

Anonymous said...

Here's how you put the fun back in the show: keep Robo-Sam as the big bad and have Dean and Castiel partner up to hunt him down.

RoboSam is way more fun than soulful Sam and Dean and Castiel have been way more fun together than Dean and Sam and 6 seasons of the same, repetitive dysfunctional ISSUES. That way Dean is given the opportunity to go back to being his fun self when dealing with someone else and they won't overload us with the brotherly angst.