#meta.me

I wouldn’t. I don’t think he isn’t, by a lot of metrics, including my own a lot of the time. And I never argue something I don’t think is true, not ever, even if it would “help my case”. (I would, argue, it’s still probably the best relationship either has ever had. But that sad statement, relative to other relationships on other shows that aren’t defined by such frameworks and get to be healthier, is on Supernatural for setting up the situation they set up to begin with for them all. Among other things.)

I would argue, I also don’t think it exists in a vacuum. I don’t think it’s organically part of his character anymore. I think it is a box he wants to break out of, that the writers are forcing him back into, repeatedly, so as to prolong the series by making the journey towards a satisfying ending full of growth stretch out. (A good bit of this, is forcing his toxic relationship with Sam to stay the same so that people will keep tuning in for the same, stale Brothers Shit, which makes it impossible for them ever to have healthy individual lives themselves.)

I would point out how the narrative has established lots of opportunities for him to learn from that and make amends and change, lots of opportunities of him wanting to, and then, for cash-grabbing, terrible writing reasons, as per literally everything else they do, they’ve fucked it up, and he has stagnated and regressed and stayed the same, because they won’t follow through. They never follow through, especially when it comes to Dean’s relationships and Dean’s own personal growth. (So typically, fandom does it for them. We can see the box. He is not shaped like said box anymore. We write what would happen if they opened it and let him step out. They keep him inside it by sheer force of institutionally-empowered will.)

(I would also point out how many borderline abusive tropes [violence, neglect ala ignoring phone calls to enhance misunderstandings or whatever, lil semi-insulting banter, etc.] have been used in straight pairings that have then been followed through with, and ended happily and healthily because they began with a mutual reaction to each other and respect for consent. I would point out that more often than not, the use of them to begin with, is a symptom of attempted dramatization [especially in focal romantically-coded relationships] and suspense and comic relief and such. 

And then I’d point out that Supernatural is not a good enough show to do any of that delicately–keeping the characters’ verisimilitude in mind and treating them like people instead of devices, instead of making it hit like a hammer. Particularly with the irritating, artificially mischaracterizing addition of queerbaiting, that revokes most amounts of emotionally sincere, character- and relationship-related progress that typically follows dramatized violence and/or arguing and such, in many other pairings.

Berens wrote that, actually, but Dabb was the showrunner, I suppose, so they’re probably equally culpable. I’m not sure, honestly, in a Totally Logical way where I ‘get it’? I think Dabb has a lot of good and bad writing to look at, and I’m not sure right this second which is more abundant or more definitive. I’ve heard tell that 11x17 was actually Dabb kind of making fun of the Brothers fans (especially going by the title), which I suppose is possible, but it could easily be indicative of Dabb pandering heavily to those particular fans, ‘mockingly’ or otherwise.

As for how I feel about the matter…I genuinely am unsure. It hurts to hope at this point. S11 crushed a lot of my hope with how very, very deprived Castiel was of any sort of emotional payoff, with Dean and otherwise. But then, Dabb said it was to tie up the loose ends and start fresh, so S12 could literally be entirely different. I suppose, the tiny bit of hope I have tied up in Dabb’s showrunning mostly comes from his determination to progress rather than relying on just what’s “worked before”. “Avoiding the nostalgia cycle” or whatever he said. That, in my opinion, is something the show has not fully committed to before now. But still: tiny bit of hope. And painful at that.

(In response to this.)Yeah, I didn’t feel like it was my place to say that, but I don’t disagree literally at all whatsoever. It’s bad enough that they replaced her as his First Love with a white woman (Robin), but for fandom to act like the ‘in love’ connection he made with Cassie in what, weeks, isn’t actually love and he’s actually aromantic, is…Not Good in a really functionally racist way, I fully agree. 

This just pisses me off beyond words.

Like.

I keep imagining Dean [who was really little himself back then] picking a comic book and reading slowly since he just learned how to, and Sam listening to every word, with so much admiration and love for his big brother, and how this must’ve made Dean feel¦ How much having Sam by his side, even as a baby, was important for his survival as well.

And just, I keep imagining one day going by where I don’t have to see yet another post idealizing the fact that an abused, neglected, isolated, parentified child had to rely at all whatsoever on a baby for survival because he wasn’t given enough opportunity for stable friendships or to rely on adults who’d take care of him.