S13E21 quickie reaction

[amberdreams]

SPOILERS ahoy!

S13E21

When Sam got dragged off, jugular spurting, of course I knew he couldn’t be dead (or rather, stay dead). That sense of hazard that imbued Red Meat wasn’t there in this episode, so there was no way Sam could be gone like that, so casually, in the dripping dark.

In fact, my initial reaction (and remember I’m a dyed in the wool Dean Girl) was – that’s ridiculous. It should have been Dean.

Then Lucifer brought Sam back with a Devil’s bargain, and I realised. It had to be Sam.

If it had been Dean, with his low sense of his own worth and his deep simmering anger at everything, he would have taken his chances with the rabid vampires because he wouldn’t have seen any other way to protect Mary, and Sam, and Jack. It’s not that Dean isn’t clever, but he isn’t analytical in the way he approaches problems, he’s not as clinical as Sam. In some ways, Dean isn’t as brave as Sam either.

Look at the situation from Sam’s point of view. Lucifer wasn’t supposed to be there, but he is. Lucifer will find Jack with or without Sam’s help. Sam is afraid, in fact, he’s frigging terrified, but he will be looking at every angle. This isn’t about Sam’s own survival. It’s not a selfish act to preserve his own life, nor is it a capitulation to a newly juiced up and powerful Lucifer. He’s not giving in to his fear, he’s acting in spite of it.

Because Sam has one thing that Dean doesn’t. HOPE.

So I’m not angry or upset about this plot twist any more – I can see the logic. I could hope that Jack will not be deceived by Lucifer and that Jack will save everyone, but honestly, at the moment, I can’t think where they are going to take this now. There are actually more possibilities opened up by this episode than I imagined this writing team could manage, so maybe they will surprise me. I certainly hope so!

Comments

[kazluvsbooks.livejournal.com]

I loved the ep, I was scared for the first time in ages. The dark tunnel freaked me out. My only quibble was that we didn't really need Cas and Gabe to cross over to Au (and both of them seemed pretty useless) and I think Dean would never have left Sam without killing every vampire there and finding his brother.

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

I assume the only reason Cas was there was to drag Dean away and stop him going after Sam, while Gabe's only usefulness in this one was to somehow break all those angel wards round Mary's camp - which really didn't make much sense, because if a virtually no-powered archangel could do it, surely Michael would have been in there in the blink of an eye. *Hand waves*

[quickreaver.livejournal.com]

The sigils probably just kept Michael's hordes out, so they weren't the least bit effective against even a pale excuse for an archangel. Just surmising.

[borgmama1of5.livejournal.com]

Your analysis of this situation is spot on, exactly what Dean would have done vs why Sam accepted Lucifer's no-win choice. Thank you for articulating it so succinctly!

[caranfindel.livejournal.com]

Because Sam has one thing that Dean doesn’t. HOPE.

Yes. This.

[quickreaver.livejournal.com]

Yep, right you are!

I wasn't spoiled per se, but I had a strong suspicion that Sam would die before season's end. The very worst thing that happens in Dean's life is Sam dying. It's the one thing that will drive Dean to make Unfortunate Choices™, without fail. And to avoid spoilers, we know a biggie is coming up. Sam's death and resurrection will be the catalyst for that, I'm calling it now. So on those grounds, I was pretty sure it wouldn't be Dean biting it, lol!

Also, knowing it was written by Berens, well, he does so love to whump Sam. There was that, too.

[hugemind.livejournal.com]

I was originally like "eh, so Sam died but it looks like he won't stay that way for long" but Dean's reaction to it just broke me into pieces.

It was always clear to me that Lucifer would get to Jack somehow, but they've thrown in a lot more of Sam's (and everyone's) fears of him, so there are a lot things they could address and a lot of ways things could go down.