bardicvoice

5.07 The Curious Case of Dean Winchester: They’re My Years, I Can Do What I Want

Best years of your life:
Stake them on a game of cards;
Live young or die old.

 

I'm sorry this is so late; my home remodeling went seriously weird. I think I have evenything back on track, but it really made me ill-suited to write. I'll do better from now on.

 

sophie_deangirl

 "You don't stop being a soldier because you got wounded in battle." -- Dean Winchester

"The basic difference between an ordinary person and a warrior is that a warrior takes everything as a challenge while an ordinary person takes everything as a blessing or a curse." -- Carlos Castandea

"Greatness is the dream of youth realized in old age." -- Alfred Victor Vigny

sophie_deangirl

"Children have to be educated, but they also have to be left to educate themselves."  -- Abbe Dimnet

"Religion holds the solution to all problems of human relationship, whether they are between parents and children or nation and nation.  Sooner or later, man has always had to be decide whether he worships his own power or the power of God."  -- A.J. Toynbee

"While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about."  -- Angela Schwindt

Once again sorry this is so late and probably all that has been said about this episode will likely end up here too so forgive the repetitiveness of it, but bottom line I LOVED the episode and it's take on nature versus nurture. For me, it was a hopeful episode even though the burden of the news weighs heavily on a little boy who never asked for what he is and what he could possibly become (sound familiar?), but Jesse, you can see, unlike Sam and whoa, before you protest vehemently, I'm not saying that Dean's protection and raising of Sam was bad, in fact, if it weren't for Dean, Sam would have ended up way more messed up, but Jesse, he was raised by both a mom and a dad, parents who clearly loved him, made him care about others (as evidenced when he told the demon not to hurt Dean -- sidenote: You know this DeanGirl giggled when the demon said that they couldn't hurt Sam, but could hurt Dean all they wanted. Poor Dean, hee), taught him lessons, legends, and harmless lies as all parents do to protect their childred and you can see that though he's afraid and uncertain about his own fate and future, he put his parents' safety first, he didn't want them to get hurt because of him and he clearly loved them. I think that it was a good sign that Jesse made that choice. It showed that nurture had won out, at least for now. It gave Sam a glimpse into a hope he desperately wants to believe, that his failure to make the right choice doesn't mean that someone like Jesse, someone very much like himself will make the same mistake, that being born evil doesn't mean you're destined to become evil.  You can feel Sam's regret for his own choices and you can tell that he wants his redemption to come as much from helping Jesse realize that he can make his own choices and that he can make good ones despite his "heritage", as he also hopes that when the final battle begins he'll redeem himself by making the choices he should have made before.  It's all about redemption for Sam from now on and by aiming for that, he's growing up too. Now, some could argue that Sam's goals now are the same as the ones before, that's he's always meant well, had good intentions and that the only difference now is that he's just not using his powers to accomplish them (saving people minus the bloodlust to kill Lillith), but I think there's more to it than that.  I think that Sam's good intentions are now coming from a fresh realization that he has to own up to his mistakes, that the road he had taken towards those good intentions before was leading him towards a darker path, maybe even to Hell. Now, he understands that he was wrong for justifying using his powers towards a his perceived good end.  That plane crash in Sympathy for the Devil? I believe that it was a symbolic (and literal in their cases) gesture, by someone, maybe God, to wipe both Dean's and Sam's slates clean. That as they face the Apocalypse, they have been given second chances to make the right choices and I think Sam, especially, believes that and is doing everything he can to make those right choices.  I think Sam is growing up. You hopefully make better, more informed, rational and good choices when you come into a maturity, a maturity that is mostly gained through experience both bitter and sweet.

I am an unrepentant DeanGirl.  You all know this and I loved every Dean moment. Dean with kids is always a treat! I loved Dean's handling of Jesse, even though some might argue that Dean babied him with the whole superhero stuff, all I saw was Dean wanting to spare a young kid from learning the horrors of an evil world or of what he is, wanting to put into terms in way that he thought Jesse would understand and also in his own wonderful Dean way, maybe even empower Jesse with his words by putting as positive a spin as he could on his powers. What kid wouldn't want to be a superhero (emphasis on the hero here), one of the X-Men, no less, with superpowers? Even making  Bobby Professor Xavier! How neat was that? It's the big brother in him. He can't help it. I also LOVED that he managed to convince Jesse that the joy buzzer wasn't real and disarmed it and Jesse at the same time with his convincing words. Wouldn't anyone believe whatever Dean told them? I LOVED how he handled Jimmy too. He tried to relate, but when that failed, he did a cool tough FBI act on him and got him to talk.  One thing about Dean I love, he can read people and apply just the right pressure to get what he needs. I'm not saying it works all the time, but when it comes to kids, he's got the touch down.  I LOVE that it was Dean who came to the right  conclusion about what was happening. Okay, so Sam's point may be well-taken for some. Dean can be viewed as juvenile some times (but to this DeanGirl only in the cutest and in many ways in the most innocent of ways -- playful almost) so the theory might have just come naturally to him but it was still cool.  Everything that was happening were all based in the lies that kids were told to believe, tooth fairies, joy buzzers, itching powder, coke and pop rocks, face freezing and from Dean's own personal childhood belief which aided towards his conclusion, sea monkeys.  I mean, I can remember when those joy buzzers scared the crap out of me and I wouldn't go near one for the longest time. I admit that I have to giggle about the "do not use my razor" and Dean's wry smile moment. It had brother written all over it and warmed me despite the implication. I'm no prude, I got it and laughed. Again, the ending of the episode coalesced everything for the Winchester brothers, both wistfully wishing that their dad had lied to them, to protect them from all the bad things out there like other parents do. It seems like such a simple wish, not too much to ask and too late to change. Sadly for the brothers, their dad thought telling them about the monsters out there then training them to be able to fight them was his way of protecting them and as Dean has said, it's too late for him and Sam, they can never have a "do-over' of their childhood, even though Dean tried twice in What is and What Should Never be and In the Beginning.  Both were fantasies, one manufactured and the other a destiny that could never be changed and one that set theirs in motion before they could even have a say.

In the end, this episode had Sam written all over it and it was Sam who reached out to Jesse because it could only be him who could truly understand and relate to Jesse and his situation. Sam had lived it. The events may have been different, but in the final analysis, Sam was chosen with a drop of demon blood. Jesse was the immaculate conception of demon and human (talk about your Rosemary's Baby moment -- interesting clarification Cas made about the anti-Christ).  Sam grew up surrounded by evil, demons, monsters, ghosts and became a hunter, fighting those monsters.  Jesse grew up like any other normal kid, adopted by people who had love to give a child and who had told him the same innocent lies that every parent tells a kid to protect them then he grew into the power to make those myths real, just learning about who he is and the kind of power he wields.  Neither of them asked for the fates they were given. Sam took his path and made his choices with many more ahead to test him.  Jesse is just beginning his journey and Sam has to hope that by reaching out to him with the truth and with compassion, Jesse will make the right choices, choices that Sam didn't make. Jared played it wonderfully.  He was gently honest with Jesse. Never straying from the truth, using the sincere and supportive tone of someone a child can believe in to guide Jesse in the right direction.  Time will tell if Sam's gestures will work.  I left feeling hopeful that Jesse would become a powerful ally for the good guys. If you're a glass half-empty kind of person, you might think that Jesse will grow to resent having to have to leave his parents behind and lose the safety of his childhood and that he'll  tap into that anger to use his powers in the way the demons hoped he would. Call me a Pollyanna, wouldn't be the first time, hee! I think he might play a pivotal role in the future.

Cas's appearance, though brief was both HILARIOUS with the whoopee cushion and yet darkly cynical from my perspective of it.  You can understand Cas's fear that Jesse would grow up to kill the Heavenly Host and that an innate sense of faith and protectiveness would kick in, assuming the one and only conclusion, the child must die to prevent the Heavenly Host's death, but it was interesting to see the black and white nature of Cas's assumption. Nurture doesn't play into his equation.  The child is a half-demon/half human threat and nothing about his upbringing could change what Cas feels is his destiny to do. Cas's harsh rebuff of Sam's argument was chilling and only seemingly confirmed Cas's point, that Sam was raised presumably with all the right values, if not the perfect mom and pop lifestyle and he didn't make the right choices so what made Sam think Jesse would overcome his own destiny? What about faith, Cas? I would ask. Sam is laying his faith in human nature and nurture to the test just as Cas does with his own faith in God. Still, you can feel Cas's blame of Sam for the situation they're in.  Again, very black and white, you don't feel any forgiveness there for Sam, just tolerance and nothing more. Misha did a great job.  I also love the way both Dean and Sam protest the mere idea of killing a child, that they are the good guys and good guys don't kill children. Perhaps naive given the situation, after all, Lillith displayed herself as a child, but she was clearly evil to the core, but I LOVE that Dean and Sam still proclaim the wrongness of the idea of killing a child. It reveals their belief in humanity in beautiful relief.

I loved this episode because it began to show the evolution of Dean and Sam as individuals as well as their progression towards being brothers again only from a much more mature and healthier perspective.  I LOVED the touches of humor, there wasn't any painful digs at each other, no repressed resentment, just brothers working together again and treating each other equally.  I know that Dean might have more of a problem with changing just because protecting Sam and admittedly, treating Sam like a kid brother too much is such a reflex for him and in some ways he may still fall back on that reflex, but I know that Dean respects Sam for wanting to try to repair their relationship and you know that Dean wants that, even when he was hurting over Sam's betrayal, you could see how much he wanted to have his brother back, to be able to trust his brother implicitly like he used to.  Oh, and Arafel, my devoted DeanGirlfriend, I totally get your befuddled reaction to the evolution between Dean and Sam, but being the Pollyanna that I am, I see the resolutions coming.  I totally get that Sam will still need to demonstrate his regret and his sincerity to reconnect with Dean more and that it has to be more than just "I'm sorry" for the both of them and I know that it seems like Dean is being pressured to bend more than he should have to as if he was the one who was wrong versus the one being wronged, but I see Dean's apologies not as a sign of weakness and not so much as letting Sam off the hook.  I see Dean coming to an understanding about himself.  Is he justified to feel betrayed? Hell, yeh! Does he deserve more proof from Sam that Sam really wants Dean back in his life and completely regrets choosing a demon over him? TOTALLY, but I also can see that however well-intentioned (there goes that word again), Dean's actions were towards Sam (protective, bossy in the most caring of big brother ways), he does need to see that he has been protecting Sam too much and that by doing that, he made Sam feel resentful and helped drive Sam away. Wouldn't any child want to runaway from being ordered around so much or to be treated like a child? Sam doesn't blame Dean, he totally takes responsibility for those feelings and his actions because of them and that's refreshing to see. I LOVE Dean, but I think it's a good thing that Sam is telling him the truth of his feelings.  There is no "I'm right and you're wrong" in their evolution now and I think that will go a LONG way to mending the pain between them and making their bond that much stronger.  We've all said all along, they are stronger, better, together, but they also have to be better and stronger as individuals too.  Dean has already painfully come to the conclusion that he can't let Sam and Bobby be used against him, that he might have to make awful, once unthinkable choices to save the world, but that making those choices doesn't make him a lesser friend, son, brother anymore.  It doesn't make him a failure.  I like that a lot.

Okay, I think that's it for this one.  On to The Curious Case of Dean Winchester.  Chad Everett as Dean, spot on HILARIOUS!

Thanks for reading as always and being patient with me.  Comments always welcome.  Forgive the mistakes.  Don't have time to proof at the moment, but wanted to post.  Will proof and likely add forgotten points later.  Hee!

rhymeswithmagic
papawinchester

You’ve probably seen the new pictures of Jeffrey Dean Morgan from The Resident. If not, I put a link at the bottom.

I found some other pictures from the movie and they are too awesome not to share. I’m not going to grab the pics, because my guess is the production company doesn’t want them released yet. And where Warner Bros. sent a very polite “please take down those Losers pics” email, I don’t want to know what Hammer Films would do. I’d probably want to keep some garlic on hand and not go out at night :-(

ETA: If you don't want to click through all the flash pics, I posted the pictures at my blog here.

WARNING: These pictures are not just spoilers, they’re a play by play of the movie. If you don’t care about knowing how the movie ends, then click away. If you want to be even vaguely surprised, don’t.

ETA: I think all pics up until #26 are safe for viewing. There's no real action.

It’s flash, so you just need to get past the first two movies, to picture #23. (And seriously, Maggie Gyllenhaal as Jeff Bridges’ love interest? Though the idea of Jeff B. and Colin Farrell singing together is awesome!)

Hot pics of Jeffrey Dean Morgan in The Resident

If you want to see the other pics released yesterday, go here. Not all of them are on the site above:

Jeffrey Dean Morgan in The Resident