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lady_ganeshI haven't watched the latest episode or, er, the episode before that. Nonetheless, have yourself some SPN meta.
So here's the thing. That damn book of Supernatural essays started me thinking meta.
Y'all know this way lies madness.
And honestly, I'm sure someone else has said this, somewhere, but SPN fandom scares me, so here we go!
So if you're reading this, I'm taking several things as a given.
One is that Dean Winchester has some decent qualities, and is one of the heroes of the show.
Second is that Dean Winchester had a really shitty childhood by any definition.
Third is that Dean Winchester can be an asshole, and appears to have some serious issues with women.
You don't have to love Dean to read this essay, but if you hate him, you might have some problems. On the other side, if you think Dean is Perfect in Every Way, this is also not the essay for you.
But really, I think Dean's behavior is a bit more explicable-- not excusable but explicable-- if you keep that second point in mind.
It's explicit right from the beginning that Sam and Dean are on different 'sides' of the argument when it comes to Dad. Sam leaves 'the life' to go to college, get a girlfriend, have a life; Dean stays hunting, stays at Dad's side.
In the first episode, John has Dean protect Sam. Dean takes care of Sam when John's gone; he's his protector, his guardian, his mom. Dean takes Mom's place in the family-- he's the nurturer (okay, he usually sucks at it, but stealing toys so your younger brother can have Christmas? NURTURER!), he's the continuity when Dad's out hunting, he's the bandager and the dinner-stealer maker.
And why did he end up in this shitty position? Because Mom's gone, that's why.
It's natural for children to have anger at their absent parent, even if the parent's absence is in no way their fault. But in the Winchester family, Mary-- whose death immediately and directly led to Sam's shitty childhood and Dean's lost childhood-- is something of a familly saint. Expressing anger at her would not have been acceptable in John Winchester's house.
So instead, Dean is angry at all the other women in his life. I don't think it's a coincidence that Dean's fantasy world from "What Is and What Should Never Be" has a living Mom (and dead Dad) and Dean in a happy, loving relationship. With Mom alive, Dean never has to take her place. He can, finally, be a man. (It's also not a coincidence, as many have pointed out, that he and Sam are estranged in this fantasy; Dean has been "Mom" for so long he can't picture another role for himself in Sam's life.)
(Sam takes the opposite course, grabbing on any female figure who offers him hope at a better life. His 'mommy'-- Dean-- was the constant in his life, and with his mother fetishized/sainted, he picked Dad to demonize. Poor kids.)
Really, it makes perfect sense. In an incredibly depressing sort of way.
This owes a bit of a debt to "Dean Winchester: Bad-Ass...or Soccer Mom?" by Tanya Michaels, from In the Hunt, which I reviewed here.
So here's the thing. That damn book of Supernatural essays started me thinking meta.
Y'all know this way lies madness.
And honestly, I'm sure someone else has said this, somewhere, but SPN fandom scares me, so here we go!
So if you're reading this, I'm taking several things as a given.
One is that Dean Winchester has some decent qualities, and is one of the heroes of the show.
Second is that Dean Winchester had a really shitty childhood by any definition.
Third is that Dean Winchester can be an asshole, and appears to have some serious issues with women.
You don't have to love Dean to read this essay, but if you hate him, you might have some problems. On the other side, if you think Dean is Perfect in Every Way, this is also not the essay for you.
But really, I think Dean's behavior is a bit more explicable-- not excusable but explicable-- if you keep that second point in mind.
It's explicit right from the beginning that Sam and Dean are on different 'sides' of the argument when it comes to Dad. Sam leaves 'the life' to go to college, get a girlfriend, have a life; Dean stays hunting, stays at Dad's side.
In the first episode, John has Dean protect Sam. Dean takes care of Sam when John's gone; he's his protector, his guardian, his mom. Dean takes Mom's place in the family-- he's the nurturer (okay, he usually sucks at it, but stealing toys so your younger brother can have Christmas? NURTURER!), he's the continuity when Dad's out hunting, he's the bandager and the dinner-
And why did he end up in this shitty position? Because Mom's gone, that's why.
It's natural for children to have anger at their absent parent, even if the parent's absence is in no way their fault. But in the Winchester family, Mary-- whose death immediately and directly led to Sam's shitty childhood and Dean's lost childhood-- is something of a familly saint. Expressing anger at her would not have been acceptable in John Winchester's house.
So instead, Dean is angry at all the other women in his life. I don't think it's a coincidence that Dean's fantasy world from "What Is and What Should Never Be" has a living Mom (and dead Dad) and Dean in a happy, loving relationship. With Mom alive, Dean never has to take her place. He can, finally, be a man. (It's also not a coincidence, as many have pointed out, that he and Sam are estranged in this fantasy; Dean has been "Mom" for so long he can't picture another role for himself in Sam's life.)
(Sam takes the opposite course, grabbing on any female figure who offers him hope at a better life. His 'mommy'-- Dean-- was the constant in his life, and with his mother fetishized/sainted, he picked Dad to demonize. Poor kids.)
Really, it makes perfect sense. In an incredibly depressing sort of way.
This owes a bit of a debt to "Dean Winchester: Bad-Ass...or Soccer Mom?" by Tanya Michaels, from In the Hunt, which I reviewed here.
