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boringlibrarianthoughts · 3 years

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Spn Series Finale - and How It’s Still Destiel Endgame

I’ve been thinking more about the finale and have finally assembled my thoughts on it.

While I understand many fans hold to “the finale wasn’t real/canon,” to me, it was because that’s what was shown on tv, so I’m attempting to come to terms with it. You don’t have to feel that way and that’s totally fine. That’s just how I feel. So, here are my very lengthy thoughts:

*keep reading below*

I’m gonna be honest and say that I have always felt 100% sure that Dean would die at the end of the show. I started watching during like season 3, and I’ve believed that from more or less the start, so I went into the finale expecting him to die. Dean’s self loathing resulted in risky behavior on his part that was definitely indicative of someone who would never reach old age. That doesn’t mean I wanted Dean to die. Quite the opposite. His character deserved a chance to break out of the vicious cycle that had damaged his entire life; I wanted to see an arc of redemption and coming to love yourself (this would have been huge given Dean’s self-hatred). I wanted to see Dean move beyond the life his father trapped him in. As far as character development goes, it actually made more sense at the end of the series for Dean to get out of hunting and live a quiet life (with Cas) and Sam to continue the hunting lifestyle (with Eileen). This is what I hoped for, but given that for some reason showrunners and writers seem to hate their audiences and want to punish them for enjoying their shows, I figured this was unlikely.

So yes, I wasn’t shocked when Dean died. As soon as I saw that friggin piece of rebar on the screen, I knew that was it. So my main issue wasn’t that Dean died (again, I didn’t want that at all, but I knew it was coming), but what happened during the death scene. Like, I get that now without Chuck keeping them alive to entertain himself and Jack deciding to be totally hands off, the odds of Dean or Sam dying accidentally would increase exponentially. So yes, I could even cope with the rebar death (I know, I know).

What actually bothered me about the death scene was how Dean’s death is made completely about Sam. Wtf? Like, it seems the indication is that Dean’s death is a noble sacrifice for Sam to be happy.

I don’t like that.

While the first few years of the show focus on the tension between Sam and Dean and the struggles of family, it eventually moves past this (thank goodness, too). Their relationship becomes more or less settled and they are comfortable with their brotherly bond and no longer feel angry or bitter about it for the most part. That was satisfying to see. Instead, the focus shifted to other relationships. Sam would have girlfriends, a fun relationship with Rowena, and learn to trust himself more and grow into a leadership role. Dean would struggle with himself rather than his brother, but he would learn to develop friendships and grow closer to Castiel. The brothers were no longer codependent.

Dean’s death did a complete 180 and shifted back to the pathetic codependency of the early seasons. Dean saying his life was always about Sam blah blah blah was gross and a mean thing for the showrunners to make Ackles perform. Dean and Sam had outgrown this period of their lives. Reverting to it was out of character for Dean.

Now, I am certain this was done to “bookend” the show. Have the relationship between Sam and Dean go back to the way it was in the beginning - and this could be done since every other character was written out of the finale. There was no one left for them to care about anymore except each other. I think that if the show had ended like this around like season 5, it would have fit fine. Dean and Sam’s relationship was sadly like this, and Dean felt he had no worth beyond what he could do for Sam.

HOWEVER - the show has been on for 15 freakin seasons. A lot will change during that time. During the last 3 seasons of the show (at least) the main relationship in Dean’s life was that with Cas, not with Sam. Whether you believe the relationship between Dean and Cas was platonic or romantic, you can’t deny that Dean valued Cas very, very highly and loved him in some way. To me, it seems pretty straightforward that Dean had been actively trying to repress romantic feelings for Castiel for the last couple years of the show but whatever.

Dean’s speech during his death was out of character. And yes, as others have pointed out, Sam definitely could have done SOMETHING to keep Dean alive.

Here’s where I think his feelings for Cas were suggested in the episode (as an aside, I genuinely think that the COVID delay allowed for some... nervousness on the part of showrunners or whoever regarding Dean and Castiel’s relationship being explicitly romantic, and the tonal shift of the last two episodes is the result of that). Dean wanted to give up and die. He didn’t fight. Sam had been trained by the best witch around (Rowena) and surely could have come up with something. Call the friggin ambulance. Do the vampire reversal thing y’all have mentioned. DEAN DIDN’T WANT ANY OF IT. Now, we’ve seen before that Dean becomes suicidal when Cas is dead. I think this is a continuation of that theme. By killing Cas and then not bringing him back, the writers created a situation where Dean had literally nothing to live for anymore. And that’s really sad. I know, I know, I shouldn’t be so attached to fictional characters (whatever), but I really care about Sam, Dean, and Cas. I wanted them all to be happy after all the crap they’ve been through.

Dean’s closest companion was taken from him in a really, really awful way that would doubtless be traumatizing for Dean. He would likely feel intensely guilty about Castiel’s death and that he didn’t tell Cas how he felt (however, it’s clear Dean’s actual response to Cas’ love declaration was cut, so who knows what happened there - I wrote another lengthy post about that, actually).

I think Dean’s death happened a couple years after they defeated Chuck - the montage in the beginning of 15x20 represents that. Dean didn’t literally die on the very next hunt. However, a couple years still is not a long time, and doubtless Dean would have spent that time struggling with the idea that he couldn’t save Cas no matter what he did. That’s terrible. Who knows what he might have tried during that time to bring him back from The Empty, and the thought of him fruitlessly working toward that before finally giving up and having to live with the finality of Castiel’s death is really depressing. Of course, he wouldn’t know that Cas wasn’t even in the frickin Empty anymore because Jack pulled him out, which makes it even more sad. Now, I’ve seen some people wondering why Cas wouldn’t come back to Dean... it seems pretty clear to me that when Jack said he would be hands off, he meant the forces of heaven in general. That means Cas would be in heaven working to improve it and not be able to leave or communicate with Dean and Sam.

So Dean dies, alone in life and likely still feeling like he’s a failure. Not cool, Spn writers. The best we can assume is that he took Cas’ speech to heart and was trying to be a better version of himself (as shown by being merciful to Chuck).

Then he ends up in heaven where he’s greeted by Bobby (and not Cas - remember Becky’s little Funko POPs display of Dean and Castiel together in front of The Roadhouse? I think that was the initial plan before someone got cold feet). Anyway, I really think someone involved with this show was honestly trying to throw us a bone with the Dean/Bobby conversation.

Bobby points out that Heaven is basically like living a normal life again and not just reliving your memories because Jack rebuilt it.

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Bobby says Heaven is now “What it always should’ve been. Everyone happy, everyone together,” then mentions some side characters (no one too important so we wouldn’t ask why the actor wasn’t in the episode) and Dean’s parents being nearby.

Now, I totally get the John Winchester hate (he’s abusive, no way around it), but I think Dean had always dreamed of getting to know his parents in a good way and not the way life on earth had been. This is giving him that chance.

Then, this is the big line to me.

Bobby: “It ain’t just heaven, Dean. It’s the heaven you deserve. And we’ve been waiting for ya.”

This is everyone’s shared heaven now, not just Dean reliving some memory. This is everyone’s heaven. And yet, Bobby emphasizes that Dean is the focus of this. Dean. Dean was the motivation for this new heaven - the kind of heaven that Dean deserves and ought to have and everyone has been waiting for Dean to be there to enjoy it. Why? Frickin why? “Why,” I asked myself upon watching this episode live. Sure, Jack loved Dean and wanted Dean to love him back, but that seems weird for Jack to do this for Dean.

And then Bobby explains what actually went down.

Dean: “So Jack did all that?”

Bobby pauses and says meaningfully: “Well, Cas helped.” He looks meaningfully over at Dean and then raises his eyebrows suggestively. This is a hella weird response if you take it as anything other than an indication of a (future) romantic relationship between Dean and Cas. Castiel, as Jack’s adoptive father, would have helped, guided, and advised Jack on what to do, and Cas’ motivation for all of this would be to prepare a heaven for Dean that would make him happy. That’s an incredibly loving gesture. Like, Cas is really into Dean.

Likely, Bobby has learned things he didn’t know during his mortal life. He doubtless has either learned or inferred that Castiel and Dean love each other. If Dean didn’t love Cas back, Bobby would not have mentioned his being in Heaven so suggestively. If someone wiggled their eyebrows about my bestie being nearby, I’d be weirded out because I’m not into my bestie in that way lol. I’m into my husband, who is my romantic partner. Seeing Cas busily working to improve Heaven with Dean in mind would be a dead giveaway to Bobby about what was going on between the two of them.

Dean’s smile in response to hearing this is honestly how I smile when I think about something that makes me happy but I don’t want anyone else to know about. And that’s how I think Dean is reacting.

Next, Dean drives around. I don’t know if it’s supposed to be a montage of time passing for him and he doesn’t literally just drive nonstop or if it’s really just a little while in Heaven time before Sam shows up.

Now why wouldn’t Cas appear? Well, couple reasons. Firstly, it would’ve been “too gay” for the higher ups involved in the finale. There really wasn’t a non-gay way to reunite them. I think this is ultimately why Collins wasn’t in the episode.

As far as the in-show story, I think it makes sense for Castiel to be a little shy of Dean. I mean, he did confess his undying love for the man assuming he would never have to face Dean again. Castiel didn’t know Jack would resurrect him. He was literally like “ok, I love you, sorry, gotta go die now.” Now he’s got Dean in Heaven with him for eternity. There’s no rush for them to meet up again. I think Dean would want the resolution of knowing his whole family is in Heaven again, and it makes sense that Castiel would be bashfully hiding in a corner until Dean called him. Then once they met up, it’d probably be some messy making out and pure joy at being together again (sorry not sorry lol). I really think that was supposed to be our takeaway from this finale regarding Dean and Cas’ relationship. Was it ideal? No, but I do think there was something.

Some other thoughts: Eileen was perfect for Sam and not explicitly showing them together was a major cop-out. I think that because Padalecki had a new show coming out on the same network, they didn’t want to show Sam settled with a specific woman thinking “oh we want the fangirls to imagine they could be with Sam” which is dumb but probably their line of thinking. This also explains Sam’s totally random and unnecessary shirtless shot in the finale. I’ve known these characters for so long and care about them and that shot was like seeing your brother naked. No thanks.

I think this also explains the choice to revert to Sam being the main character and Dean’s only focus in the end. That’s how the show started out, and it makes sense from a marketing standpoint to emphasize Padalecki’s performance.

Anyway, I’ve probably left something out that I planned on including, but this is already crazy long lol. So there you have it - I finally wrote down my thoughts on a finale that aired 3 months ago. I’m clearly on top of everything.

Plus, I feel pretty confident they will do a mini reunion series within a few years, so hopefully some of these issues will be corrected before too long lol.

#spn #supernatural #spn finale #15x20 #spn 15x20 #castiel #dean winchester #sam winchester #destiel #deancas #dean and cas #ugh my heart #why do showrunners hate their own audiences #spn meta #original post

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amwritingmeta · 3 years

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I am just thinking about how it was such an asshole move to have Lucifer call as Cas and see Dean rush to the door and then not bring Cas back to life. That was something I forgot about until right now when I saw a gif of that scene

Hey, love!

Yeah, listen, I hear you, but I also reblogged a gifset the other day that so perfectly outlaid how Lucifer’s ruse is actually an underlining for what Cas means to Dean, because every other time Luci has used the “let me in” line it’s been in conjunction with showing up as the romantic counterpart of the person he’s trying to manipulate. Not that person’s best friend: their girlfriend or wife. Aka their the love of my life person.

Dean loves Cas back and this fact is shining so brightly in the subtext. It makes me all shades of thrilled and excited and joyous to even think about it!!

Is the omission of Cas from the narrative for the rest of that episode a little bit weird? Yes, it is. It would’ve been so easy for Dean to have one line to Jack our New God asking “What about Cas?” and Jack telling him “He’s at peace.” It’s very strange given how the episode started, with Dean demanding of Chuck to bring Cas back. It seems the perfect bookend moment for Dean to not demand of Jack, but simply ask.

However, no matter how at peace Cas is, Jack knows not to leave him in the Empty, because Cas doesn’t belong there, so having Dean ask about Cas and for Jack to dismiss the question (and Dean’s inherit longing to have Cas back that always accompanies Dean’s focus on Cas) with some airy statement, only for Jack to go get Cas the hell out of the Empty, but without sending Cas straight back to Dean, would’ve seemed even more OOC for Jack when we get the reveal that, actually, Cas is alive and with Jack and their off on a father/son remodelling of Heaven adventure tralala. Selfish, Jack. Right? :P

That scenario would’ve required proper refrigerator logic, yeah? Like... what was Jack’s actual motivation for keeping those two apart then? Since the subtext is telling us so strongly that they belong together! Wouldn’t Jack know? And after everything Dean’s been through, wouldn’t the best reward be to have Cas back in his life? What sort of God does that make Jack exactly?

What we get is Dean being shown to mourn Cas in 15x19 and omg do we have Dean wanting Cas back - there’s zero rejection due to the declaration of love, there’s as ever that focus on saving Cas, getting Cas back, nothing’s changed - and Dean all with the hope that Cas will show up, indicated by how he reacts to that call, and based in how Cas has always come back to him, only when it turns out that the caller is actually effing Lucifer, Dean’s immediate hope dwindles, and then, Dean’s facing Jack our New God and... well, why doesn’t Dean ask?

I think it was the only way to not have Cas back immediately, because Dean asking would’ve meant that Jack either would’ve had to give Dean actual hope that their separation wasn’t permanent, giving a less airy response than “He’s at peace” (because Jack knew that he was going to bust his dad the fuck out of eternal sleep in nothingness), or Jack would’ve had to grant Dean the reward of having Cas returned to him.

And neither option really worked with where Dean needed to be in his arc.

Well, to my mind, anyway.

Which was in acceptance of Cas’ absence. Acceptance and letting go and all the adulting that comes with moving into self-worth and a real sense of identity and letting go of the past to make way for the future, which was done very much in preparation for the letting go of Sam.

Letting go of the past and making way for the future was most clearly expressed in how Dean states that the pain of losing Cas and Jack will never go away, but not living would mean their sacrifices were meaningless, and so on with living he goes.

And the reward for this, for having integrated, for his self-actualisation, for being ready and open for whatever happiness comes his way, isn’t his sudden death - because that moment is given to him by the narrative as the final piece of the puzzle on his journey towards shaking off all that eternal sense of responsibility, and knowing peace - instead, the reward is finding Heaven remodelled by the love of his life, who has learned as many lessons on their joint journey as Dean has, and has been hard at work to make the afterlife what Dean truly deserves.

It’s a gift, Dean.

Making the moment of reunion linked to this, rather than Dean asking for Cas back from Jack, makes more sense, because Dean needed to properly let go of his need of Cas, and make way for his want of Cas, for his love, that doesn’t need Cas’ presence to validate it, but that just is, because it’s not in the having, it’s in just being, and I would say Jack is the type of God that knows that, and that knows that the reunion shouldn’t take place on Earth, but in Heaven. Especially in the Heaven that he’s about to create together with Cas.

And yes, it’s a bit sad that we weren’t given the brothers having a somewhat longer conversation about Cas, about him professing his love etc. but it goes with the tone of the finale, and I know we can look at it as though the love story was scrubbed clean of the narrative and yes, it does suck that it was consigned back to the subtext, but it’s still very much as present as it always has been.

Especially thanks to what’s come before: 15x18 being completely structured around couples in love losing one half and then this gentle callback to Lucifer’s pattern of behaviour when manipulating people by posing as the love of their life to gain their confidence.

There are little holes, I know there are, within the surface of the text of 15x19 and 15x20, but the logical way of filling them in is, to me, right there. Right in the narrative itself. You don’t have to go far to find them. Does that mend the holes of the textual impression of these final two episodes? No, not entirely.

I still wish Charlie and Stevie had been brought back as a statement, because I do understand the feeling that every queer character just up and died and it’s ridiculously careless, to my mind, to leave it to the subtext to ensure us they were of course brought back with everyone else by Jack.

And I’ll never understand why we didn’t get it stated that Eileen is Sam’s blurry wife. I mean... that wouldn’t have taken any effort whatsoever and would’ve meant a whole lot, so idk. Did it just not mean a whole lot to the writers? Just seems so weird.

Look it, we have Dean mourning Cas (via drinking and coping mechanisms), and wanting Cas back to the point of being ready to just up and die himself AGAIN (and being FURIOUS still, even though he admitted his anger got him and Cas into that room to begin with) but even if Dean kills Sam or Sam kills Dean or they kill each other, well, God had better fucking bring Cas back!! Which is like okay, calm down, Dean, this is exactly where you shouldn’t be in order to get Cas back, so, yeah, no wonder Chuck didn’t even respond to that demand.

Was it cruel and unusual to have Lucifer call Dean on the phone like that?

Yeah, it was, but it was also, in a way, if you want to look at the narrative we have and it is, end of the day, the narrative we have, a wake up call for Dean. After that he moves into teamwork mode with Sam and Jack and together they hatch the plan, the con, to defeat Chuck, and they succeed.

To me there’s threading there that emotionally resonates and makes a whole lot of sense for Dean’s arc. This final leg. The letting go of it all. The acceptance.

And so that’s what we get in 15x20. No more coping mechanisms. Just living life to the best of his ability, honouring Cas’ sacrifice, recognising he’s going to have to live with the pain of the loss, but he’s willing to do that, because he no longer feels he doesn’t matter, or that what he does doesn’t matter, because it mattered to Cas, and that has just finally brought his sense of worth into actual stark relay and he trusts it now. He trusts there’s more to him than being the weapon.

Cas took away Dean’s reason for his self-hatred and held up a mirror and said See yourself the way I see you. And so Dean does.

It’s beautiful. (literally) :)

Anyway, I just ramble on, but I hope that it explains why I see the good in the heartbreak, and how that heartbreak has left us with an ending that is wide open to a happily ever after that is setup by 15x18 and underlined by 15x20, and by that slow half-smile from Dean at hearing Cas is in Heaven too. That Cas is out of the Empty and free. That he’s the architect of Dean’s happiness. Because of course he is.

Of course he is.

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orionsangel86 · 5 years

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75 Must Watch Supernatural Episodes in preparation for Season 15

As you might recall, a while ago TV Guide posted an article about their choice of the top 75 episodes of Supernatural to watch as a catch up of the series before the final season.

I read that article, and found myself absolutely horrified at many of their choices and outraged that many of the all time best episodes (including ones extremely important to the story) were missed off.

Everyone has their own opinions of course, but when I disagree with something that much it tends to motivate me to act out of pure spite - I do love a good spite motivation - and so I have made my own list, for the fandom, of the 75 absolute must watch episodes for anyone who wants to understand the integral story of Supernatural.

I have to hand it to TV Guide, whilst I adamantly disagreed with their choices, I admit that this was EXTREMELY DIFFICULT and having to sacrifice some of my faves so that I could include others that were more important to the story HURT, but that’s how it is.

Full list under the cut. Let me know what you think of my choices and my reasons!

1. Pilot

You cannot start a series catch up anywhere else, and we have to include the pilot episode. Introducing us to Sam and Dean, and setting up the story including the back story with the family tragedy. You just can’t beat a good old fashioned female fridging for man pain. *jokes*

2. 1x06 Skin

I feel like Skin is an important episode to watch as it is our first real look at Dean’s psyche as a character, where we start to realise just how much he is hiding behind his tough macho man exterior. The speech by Shifter!Dean to a horrified and confused Sam is heartbreaking and very revealing.

3. 1x12 Faith

This is still hands down one of Supernaturals best episodes. It was also the first time Kripke started considering a bigger mytharc involving faith and Christianity. We can all thank this episode for planting the seeds that would later give us the hugely popular character Castiel, and the hugely successful mytharc plots of Seasons 4 and 5. Also, one of the best music moments from the show with the “Don’t Fear The Reaper” chase scene.

4. 1x14 Nightmare

This episode introduces us to the Special Children story line which was of paramount importance to the first two seasons. It gives us the first glimpses of Sam’s powers to come, and is also the first time we get some hints of John Winchesters abuse of Dean.

5. 1x18 Something Wicked

I chose this episode because it is the first time we get to see more of Sam and Dean’s childhood, and how horrific it was - especially for Dean. A brilliant episode that once again clearly demonstrates how John Winchester is not a man to be messed with. If at this point you aren’t itching to call child services on his ass you probably need to read up on your understanding of child abuse.

6. 1x22 Devils Trap

The Season 1 finale gives us the show down between John Winchester and the Yellow Eyed Demon Azazel, some heartbreaking moments between father and sons, and a cliffhanger that leaves Baby and Dean both broken.

7. 2x01 In My Time of Dying

I love this episode. Dean’s out of body experience at the hospital, Sam’s grief, John’s deal, Tessa’s introduction to the show. C’est magnifique!

8. 2.05 Simon Said

I just think Simon Said is a great episode that further develops the special children plot whilst being both funny and dark at its core - classic SPN.

9. 2.15 Tall Tales

Our introduction to Gabriel - well, to the trickster as he is known here. This episode is gloriously funny and a must watch!

10. 2.21 All Hell Breaks Loose: Parts One and two

Okay I’m cheating a bit and putting these two episodes together, but in my opinion they count as their own feature length episode as you can’t watch one without the other. The climax of the special children arc, the deeply emotional Sam death scene and Dean’s bedside vigil, and Dean selling his soul. This two part season finale packed a lot of punches and is a definite must watch.

11. 3.03 Bad Day at Black Rock

How can anyone forget Sam’s run of bad luck in this hilarious episode. He LOST HIS SHOE!

12. 3.10 Dream a Little Dream of Me

This is another must watch episode for the deep dive into Dean’s psyche. We also get more of a backstory to Bobby Singer, but the real brilliance happens when Dean spends part of the episode talking to his own dark mirror, revealing all sorts of subconscious fears and insecurities on his part.

13. 3.11 Mystery Spot

I couldn’t not put Mystery Spot on the list. This infamous episode of Supernatural will have you singing “Heat of the Moment” over and over again whilst sympathising with poor Sam every time Tuesday comes around. Don’t let Dean eat the funny tasting tacos!

14. 3.16 No Rest for the Wicked

In lots of ways, Season 3 was a weak season. It was drastically shortened due to the writers strike at the time, and Kripke & Co didn’t get to tell the story they initially planned for, instead they had to come up with an alternative which gave us this dark finale in which Dean is condemned to hell. That can’t have been a fun hiatus for fans watching live... Still, it was a memorable finale and that is why it is on my list.

15. 4.01 Lazarus Rising

This episode. Here begins Supernaturals “golden age”. Enter Castiel, Angel of the Lord and future fan favourite right up until 2k19. How many people out in the world saw that now famous entrance and immediately fell in love?

*holds up hand*

If you do nothing else, and you’ve never seen a single episode of Supernatural before, just watch this one, and I guarantee, I GUARANTEE, you will want to keep watching.

16. 4.07 It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester

The problem I have with season 4 is that I want to put basically every episode on the list. To this day it remains my favourite season of the show (and not just for the extreme DeanCas sexual tension). I kept this episode on the list simply because I love the Halloween theme, I love the frankly horrifying Samhain, and I LOVE the journey that Castiel goes through in this episode alone. Bonus points for Sam Winchester fangirling over Castiel proving he is no different from the rest of us. :P

17. 4.16 On the Head of a Pin

I say season 4 is my favourite season, and On the Head of a Pin is one of my all time favourite episodes. This is Supernatural at it’s finest and it’s not surprising as it was written by the great Ben Edlund. It is a perfect blend of horror and angst as we watch every character painfully spiral downwards. Sam hungrily drinks Ruby’s blood much to the audiences horror, Castiel faces his internal and external conflicts as all starts to unravel in the heavenly plans, and Dean plays a terrifying game of wits in an outstanding performance with the demon Alistair, his hellish torturer. It was a performance that Jensen Ackles should have won an Emmy for in my honest opinion. This episode has forever ruined the song “Cheek to Cheek” for me, but it was so worth it.

18. 4.17 It's a Terrible Life

It’s one of the classics. This AU world in which the angels flex their power over the Winchesters is another well loved fan favourite and quite frankly deserves to be here purely for the hilarious scene that many office workers all over the world would wish they could reenact as Sam quits his job in the most Sam Winchester way possible.

19. 4.20 The Rapture

I had to keep this episode here because it is so important for future story lines. As Castiel gets closer to Dean, heaven takes action and we meet Jimmy Novak, Cas’s tormented vessel, and in Castiel’s own future words “his greatest regret”. It’s a deeply emotional episode that proves even angels have their dark sides.

20. 4.22 Lucifer Rising

The Season 4 finale is still one of the most epic in my opinion. Sam and Dean’s dramatic fight in the episode before has left them both vulnerable to the angels and demons that are manipulating them for their own purposes. Ruby’s villain reveal speech is still one of the best, and as she shows her true colours to a horrified Sam, Dean makes an angel fall for him. In every way.

21. 5.03 Free to Be You and Me

This episode is another classic and many fans of Destiel would put it among their top episodes. As Sam and Dean go their separate ways, Dean grows closer to a now fallen and socially awkward Castiel.

22. 5.04 The End

Another epic from the mastermind that is Ben Edlund. The End has inspired much extremely angst ridden fanfiction over the years (and a very romantic song in a future musical episode) and is notorious for breaking fans hearts the world over. As Dean is unwillingly sent to a future apocalyptic world, he meets his harsh and brutal future self, and a drug addled hedonistic human Castiel. The most memorable and painful moment being his confrontation with a sharply dressed Lucifer wearing his brothers face. Tears flowed freely from fans the night this episode aired.

23. 5.08 Changing Channels

Changing Channels is another of those infamous episodes that even non fans of SPN are aware of for it’s sheer lunacy. Sam and Dean once again find themselves up against the trickster aka the archangel Gabriel, who puts them into a TV world where they must “play their roles” in order to survive.

Highlights include Sam’s herpes commercial and Dean’s heart eyes for Doctor Sexy MD.

24. 5.16 Dark Side of the Moon

Dark Side of the Moon is a beautiful episode. The race through heaven and through each Winchester’s memories gives us a far greater understanding of their complex and troubled relationship. The heartbreaking scenes of Dean’s heaven with his mother that Sam could not be part of were especially painful to watch. The climax reveal that God wasn’t listening and Castiel’s subsequent loss of faith only added to that heartbreak. Another must see episode.

25. 5.18 Point of No Return

As is the case with season 4, it was so difficult not to just put every season 5 episode on this list. I do think that both seasons just need to be watched in full to truly grasp how brilliant they were. Point of No Return needs to be on this list though because this episode is the breaking point, the tensions remain high throughout as each character makes desperate choices as they all spiral towards the Endtimes.

26. 5.22 Swan Song

Swan Song is often considered the number 1 top episode of Supernatural. It is always at the top of these “rank the episodes” lists in the media, and that is why it is on my list too. It is brilliant in many ways, but if I am being completely honest it doesn’t even come close to the top of my own personal list ranking SPN episodes. It is certainly emotional, and there are some extremely heartbreaking scenes. Lucifer plays his hand, Dean plays his right back with the power of love, Sam makes his swan dive. It’s heartbreaking, it needs to be watched, but the “endings are hard” meta moan by Kripke always felt slightly too pretentious for my tastes. Don’t make excuses dude, this episode didn’t need them.

27. 6.11 Appointment in Samarra

I’ll be honest, I didn’t like season 6. Whilst some of the individual episodes were good, the mytharc was weak and I think the season struggled to find it’s feet for many episodes at the start. I didn’t like soulless Sam, preferring my Sammy to be the compassionate caring sweetheart he always was before. That being said, Appointment in Samarra is a brilliant standalone episode simply because the character of Death is so very compelling. Dean’s time playing Death was fun whilst also being a deeply emotional exploration of cause and effect in the universe. It’s a must watch.

28. 6.15 The French Mistake

I couldn’t not put this episode on the list. If Season 6 did one thing right, it was this ridiculous episode.

29. 6.20 The Man Who Would Be King

The only other thing Season 6 did right. 6x20 is Ben Edlund’s masterpiece and without it, frankly, the entire mytharc plot of the season would fail miserably. This beautiful episode told from the point of view of a hugely conflicted Castiel not only birthed an entire new generation of Destiel shippers, but canonically confirmed that Castiel’s every decision was motivated by his love for Dean.

*Ouch my shipper heart*

30. 6.22 The Man Who Knew Too Much

The season 6 finale is on this list purely for two characters: Sam and Cas. Sam’s journey to put himself back together inside his own head is as enjoyable as it is emotional. Castiel’s spiralling through into utter villainy is simply soul destroying - especially for those of us who are heavily invested in this character.

31. 7.01 Meet the New Boss

I had to keep the season 7 premiere in this episode as it is the only hint we have of what could have been an AMAZING season story line! Sadly, it was not to be, and Castiel’s run as God lasts this episode only before a very misguided showrunner wrote him off the show (thankfully she saw reason and brought him back dramatically later on, even though the damage and huge drop in ratings was already done.) Worth watching purely for enjoying a power drunk Castiel wipe out a homophobic preacher - he really doesn’t like those homophobes!

32. 7.10 Death's Door

The first time I watched Death’s Door I sobbed for 20 minutes straight. Bobby Singer was the best father Sam and Dean (and Castiel at times) could have ever had, and this heartfelt goodbye to the character as he fought against his reaper and his own memories really packed a punch.

33. 7.17 The Born-Again Identity

The episode that turned it all around. The Born-Again Identity sees a desperate Dean take a chance on a mysterious healer to help a haunted Sam. That healer turns out to be everything Dean has been waiting for. Castiel’s dramatic return to the series answered both Deans, and many fans, prayers.

34. 7.20 The Girl with the Dungeons and Dragons Tattoo

The introduction of Charlie Bradbury was a must on this list. She immediately became a fan favourite with her upbeat quirkiness. Created to be an avatar for fandom in many ways, she was a breath of fresh air compared to the previous fan avatar the show introduced us too who the less we mention the better. This episode was a lighthearted fun episode in an otherwise downright depressing season.

35. 7.23 Survival of the Fittest

It’s a must watch for the dick jokes alone. In all seriousness, I like this episode, even if it is another weak finale compared to others. The dynamic between Dean, Sam, Meg, and a Castiel who isn’t quite himself, is enjoyable, even if the villain of the season isn’t all that interesting.

36. 8.02 What's Up, Tiger Mommy?

Where the season 8 premiere focused on the present day, and what Sam had been doing in the year between the season 7 finale and now, episode 2 focuses more on purgatory. Dean’s time in purgatory desperately hunting for an AWOL Castiel is definitely worth the watch, especially when their purgatory reunion was so heartbreaking. Bonus points for Sam being worthy of Mjolnir!

37. 8.07 A Little Slice of Kevin

I make no secret of the fact that Castiel is my favourite character in Supernatural, or my love of Dean and Castiel’s relationship. This episode is on my list because Castiel’s return to the real world and an emotional Dean gets my fangirl heart pounding. This episode must use every romantic trope in the book on these two heartbroken dumbasses and it will always be a favourite.

38. 8.08 Hunteri Heroici

This episode is another one of my favourite. The boys finally bring Cas along on an otherwise regular monster of the week hunt, and it is hilarious. Not to mention the hunt is extremely loony and for that reason alone, it is a must watch.

39. 8.11 LARP and the Real Girl

The reintroduction of Charlie Bradbury is a delightful episode where the boys get a taste of LARPING. This is one of those memorable episodes where we get to see the Winchesters both out of their element, and also embracing a bit of fun outside of their normal dark lives. It is a joyful episode to watch.

40. 8.12 As Time Goes By

An integral episode that ends up being a game changer for the show. Thanks to a time travel spell, the boys find out their grandfather was part of a secret organisation. This episode is a must watch for the introduction of Abaddon, the Men of Letters, and the Winchester’s new home base that will see them through to the end of the series - the Bunker.

41. 8.17 Goodbye Stranger

Goodbye Stranger is one of those episodes that will break your heart and leave you screaming. Castiel finally breaks free from heavens grasp - but what broke the connection?

42. 8.23 Sacrifice

I adore the season 8 finale. Crowley’s confession, Sam’s heartbreaking speech which kicked off a long ongoing arc over the next 6 seasons exploring the darker side of the Winchester’s codependency, Metatron’s betrayal, and Castiel’s fall to humanity. The final scene with the angels fall to Earth is beautiful and emotional and I just love everything about it.

43. 9.01 I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here

The season 9 premiere is another deeply emotional episode which explores the aftermath of Sam’s trials to close the gates of hell. Sam is once again on deaths door, but Dean has ideas to save him - and his choices drastically affect the course of both brothers, and Castiel’s, lives for the next several seasons of pain and downward spirals into darkness.

44. 9.06 Heaven Can't Wait

The first ever episode written by our angst goblin king Bobo Berens and what a first episode it was. This episode was like a twisted mix between tragedy and romantic comedy but it worked brilliantly. Fans of Dean and Cas both laughed and wept at it’s perfection. It also was the episode that birthed a thousand fanfics thanks to one well placed “fanfiction gap”.

45. 9.11 First Born

This episode is one of the highlights of Season 9, with a brilliant performance by Timothy Omundson as Cain, this episode sees Dean make the terrible mistake of signing a contract before reading the terms and conditions. Bonus side plot of Sam and Cas getting some Bunker bonding time.

46. 9.18 Meta Fiction

This Castiel focused episode from the genius mind of Robbie Thompson is another must watch. The villainous Metatron manipulates Cas into playing a role in his own scripted story. Bonus guest appearance from fan favourite Gabriel adds to the appeal of this episode. (Following the season 14 finale I can’t help but wonder if this episode had some influence on the current writing team - could we even call it foreshadowing?)

47. 9.23 Do You Believe in Miracles?

The season 9 finale was another very strong episode which must be watched if only for the huge cliffhanger ending. Dean spirals into his own darkness under the effects of the Mark of Cain, and pays for it with his life. Thankfully Crowley is there to make things “better” and take the wayward Winchester under his demonic wing.

48. 10.03 Soul Survivor

Like many others, I feel that we were robbed of a longer Demon!Dean arc. I also feel like the show could have gone far darker with the character given everything we know about poor Dean’s psyche. Whilst episodes 1 and 2 took a lighter touch the demon, Soul Survivor was as close as we got to a truly evil representation of Dean and this episode shook me with the truly brilliant yet terrifying performance Jensen gives us.

49. 10.05 Fan Fiction

Fan Fiction is one of those episodes that you will either love or hate. Created as a love letter to the shows fandom, Robbie Thompson poured his heart into this episode and I do think it is a necessary watch even if just for the beautiful rendition of Carry on Wayward Son at the end. Some may find it cringeworthy in parts - many in fandom don’t exactly like the show drawing attention to their “dirty laundry” and I don’t think anyone will forget a fangirl telling Dean Winchester directly that “you can’t spell subtext without S-E-X” nor the break-the-forth-wall look Dean gives the audience upon hearing that. Nevertheless, we can officially say that both Destiel and Sastiel have been mentioned directly by the Winchester brothers - funnily enough Sam seems totally cool with the concept of hooking up with Cas; Dean though, well, as the saying goes “the lady doth protest too much”.

50. 10.14 The Executioner's Song

Like with First Born, this episode is a must watch for Timothy Odmunson’s performance as Cain, and how brilliantly he and Jensen work together. A haunting and tense episode with a heartbreaking conclusion. It’s dark and deep and pretty damn epic.

Bonus Episode Shout Out - 10.16 Paint it Black

I am not actually including this episode in the list, as it is a generic MOTW for the most part. But I do want to give it an honorary mention for one scene in particular. If you are new to the show, and are planning on using this list to catch up, then for this episode, go to YouTube and search “Supernatural 10x16 Dean’s confession”. TRUST ME. If like me, you love analysing Dean’s character to death, his church confession in this episode is like being given the key to figuring out the meaning of life.

51. 10.22 The Prisoner

I have chosen this episode over the Season 10 finale because this episode depicts Dean’s spiral into total darkness, whereas the season 10 finale always felt like a particularly weak episode to me. Following Charlie’s horrific (and highly controversial) death, Dean lets the Mark of Cain consume him and goes on a killing spree. The ending of this episode ripped my heart to shreds as Castiel promises that he will stay with Dean forever, only for Dean to beat him to near death and only stop at the last minute thanks to that final shred of humanity left in him. If the shot of a bloodied and heartbroken Castiel staring at the angel blade that narrowly missed his head doesn’t make you cry, then I don’t even know why you watch this show.

52. 11.04 Baby

Another fan favourite told from the point of view from the Impala which at this point is definitely its own character and so much more than just a car. Baby is an extremely well put together episode which confirms that there is more than a little bit of magic in that sleek 1967 muscle car.

53. 11.11 Into the Mystic

Into the Mystic introduces us to Eileen Leahy, a character who we all immediately fell in love with, and not just because she is literally PERFECT for Sam Winchester (yes I ship it), but also because she is a badass female hunter and this show is most definitely lacking badass female hunters. It also keeps us on the edge of our seats as Lucifer disguised as Castiel infiltrates the bunker and manages to trick Dean. Epic stuff.

54. 11.17 Red Meat

A well known controversial episode, Red Meat penned by Angst Goblin Bobo Berens delves into the darker, more toxic parts of the Winchester brothers relationship, and highlights just how horrific their codependency has become. Love it or hate it, you can’t deny that it highlights that these boys have some serious issues, and this episode marks a turning point from which both brothers, but especially Dean, start to move upwards, towards a more healthy bond.

55. 11.18 Hell's Angel

The fight to save Castiel from Lucifer’s clutches would be so much easier if the depressed angel actually knew how much he was loved by his Winchester family. Unfortunately for him, Dean is a dumbass who never uses his words. Hell’s Angel is heartbreaking but a must watch if you have any doubt in how much Dean Winchester cares for his angelic guardian. Lucifer’s mockery of his desperation is a particularly nasty knife twist, but then again us fans lap this stuff up.

56. 11.20 Don't Call Me Shurley

The dramatic return of Chuck AKA God. Another must watch episode which explains in some way what the hell God has been doing all this time, whilst Sam and Dean fight to save a small town from a deathly supernatural fog. The tear-jerking song “Fare Thee Well” sung by Rob Benedict at the end not only foreshadows God’s “death” at the end of the season, but also the departure of fan favourite writer Robbie Thompson from the writing team. Emotional indeed.

57. 11.23 Alpha and Omega

The season 11 finale marks the first time in the shows history that a finale doesn’t have a single death. The uplifting ending in which the boys manage to save the world and reunite God and his sister is a one off for Supernatural, especially when it ends with another shock character resurrection - symbolising a new direction for the show and a new showrunner. This was an epic finale that I thoroughly enjoyed.

58. 12.01 Keep Calm and Carry On

The Season 12 premiere saw the return of Mary Winchester, an awkward introduction with a shocked and overjoyed Castiel, and a dramatic race to save Sam from the British Men of Letters. It sets up a far more human mytharc plot than the previous seasons world ending battles between Gods, but with Mary’s introduction, and Andrew Dabb at the wheel, the story is about to get a whole bunch more personal.

59. 12.10 Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets

One of my all time favourite episodes, Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets gives us a very small peek at Castiel’s pre-Winchester past, and his beautiful female former vessel (no matter what form Castiel resides in, he is always beautiful - a fact referenced in show almost as often as out of it!). It also confirms that no matter how much Cas and Dean may bicker with each other, no one else insults Dean Winchesters angel and gets away with it! Bonus points for long suffering third wheel Sam Winchesters epic bitch faces and eye rolls throughout.

60. 12.11 Regarding Dean

This episode is one of those rare beauties which gets the balance between humour and heartbreak just right. As Dean rapidly loses his memories under a witches spell, Sam and Rowena fight to save him. Regarding Dean explores deep themes including Dean’s loss of childhood innocence at a young age, and how a life shrouded in darkness has effected him. Pure heartbreak. Bonus points for THAT scene on the bucking bronco.

61. 12.12 Stuck in the Middle (With You)

Another all time favourite, directed by our very own Richard Speight Jr in a highly stylised homage to Reservoir Dogs and other Tarantino movies. Castiel takes the role of Mr Orange in this gruesome tale, much to the distress of Mr White AKA Dean. One absolutely devastating love confession later and there isn’t a dry eye in the house. DO NOT SKIP THIS EPISODE.

62. 12.19 The Future

The episode that shook the fandom to it’s core thanks to one tiny moment. A desperate Castiel makes some bad decisions, but not before first using Dean’s love for him against him. The knowledge that Dean at one point made a tailored mixtape of his favourite Led Zeppelin songs and gave it to Castiel as a gift BROKE ME. To this day I am still not over this information. To this day I cannot quite get Dean’s soft voice saying “it’s a gift, you keep those.” out of my head. Just remembering the scene as I write this makes my heart flutter and I STILL can’t believe that the writers took the show in this direction. It’s beautiful.

63. 12.22 Who We Are

This heartbreaking episode reveals the importance of Mary’s return to the show, as Dean goes into his mothers own head to try to save her from brainwashing. A truly epic performance from Jensen Ackles (once again) in which Dean finally admits his own burdens, explains how he was robbed of his childhood, and how he was forced into the role of parent to his younger brother when he was 4 years old. Ah that character development is truly delicious.

64. 12.23 All Along the Watchtower

The season 12 finale packs a lot of punches. The imminent birth of Lucifer’s nephilim son causes a rift in the universe, opening a doorway to another world. As the tension builds to a dramatic conclusion, Lucifer plays his hand, unwittingly trapping himself in the AU world with one beloved character, as another sacrifices himself and a third tragic death leaves Dean shattered and broken on the ground.

65. 13.01 Lost and Found

The season 13 premier was everything I have ever wanted from a Supernatural episode - namely PAAAAAIN. The last 10 minutes of this episode in particular had me ugly crying into @margarittet and @tinkdw‘s laps. In fact, every time I rewatch this episode I cry again. As we are introduced to Jack, we say goodbye to Castiel, and my god, I will never get over watching Dean Winchester wrap the body of his angel in preparation for the pyre and try so hard to keep it together. Same Dean. Same.

66. 13.05 Advanced Thanatology

Where Lost and Found broke my heart, Advanced Thanatology stamped on the shattered pieces until the final seconds in which it magically pulled me back together again. This episode was the climactic end to a 5 episode mini grief arc for Dean who just couldn’t get over Castiel’s death. In this episode, we realise just how badly that death has affected Dean, as he foolishly risks his life in his desperation for any kind of win he can get. Episode highlights include a brilliant performance from Billie who has assumed the role of Death as she knocks some sense into Dean, and the final dramatic return of Castiel, proving that “it’s never too late to start all over again”.

67. 13.06 Tombstone

Following 5 episodes of extreme angst and pain, the audience is finally given some relief in this joyful episode which sees the reunited Winchesters take their new son on a trip to cowboy country. Honestly it’s worth watching purely for Castiel’s attempt at playing cowboy to make Dean happy, and Sam Winchesters knowing looks as he pointedly calls out Dean’s dramatic 180 turn from uber depressive to ecstatic happiness following his angels return to the world of the living. Bonus points for this episode getting the hashtag #brokebacksupernatural trending on Twitter.

68. 13.10 Wayward Sisters

The episode that should have kicked off a whole new spin off were it not for the idiotic decisions of a group of suited white guys with no concept of what decent TV is nowadays. Yes I’m still bitter, Yes Mark Pedowitz can go to hell. Wayward Sisters was a brilliant episode that gave us a whole new generation of badass hunting women, and a story that I was 100% invested in seeing more of. It’s a damn tragedy this never got picked up for its own series.

69. 13.16 Scoobynatural

I can’t write a list of top episodes without adding Scoobynatural. The three Winchester boys find themselves zapped into TV land and meet the Scooby Gang. This episode was just hilarious and brilliant. Bonus points for Castiel’s bond with Shaggy and Scooby, and only a minor deduction for Dean’s over the top flirting with Daphne.

70. 13.21 Beat the Devil

In true Supernatural fashion, as the end of the season gets closer, the tension builds to extreme levels. In the apocalypse world the Winchesters try to find and save Jack and Mary, but Lucifer is on their tails. An unexpected attack leads to a highly traumatic and shocking scene in which Sam is killed and a distraught Dean is only pulled away from further danger by a terrified Castiel. The final scene of this episode in which Lucifer resurrects Sam in a truly horrific display of power over his former victim and vessel is haunting and brilliantly acted by Jared Padalecki. The fear he radiates around Lucifer being the only thing that allows me to continue to take the devil seriously at this point in the show.

71. 14.08 Byzantium

I know what you are going to say, I have skipped a BIG chunk of episodes in my list. I have to be honest here and admit that the season 13 finale was possibly one of the worst episodes in Supernatural history and I can’t in good conscience add it to this list. I also think that the writers struggled to pull themselves back up to the high standard of early season 13 after that dreadful finale, so the first half of Season 14 always felt a bit dull for me, however Byzantium does make up for it, in it’s emotional story of how Sam, Dean, and Castiel all deal with the death of their son. The highlights of this episode have to be the scenes in heaven, where Jack reunites with his mother Kelly, and Castiel finds them both in her own piece of paradise in another tear-jerking scene. Castiel’s deal with the creature from the Empty leaving Cas fans everywhere horrified and distraught, but also rather excited at what exactly may trigger the deadly deal. Hopefully this plot point will be picked up next season, as it is definitely highly anticipated.

72. 14.10 Nihilism

Another dream episode for any Dean fans who like to analyse his beautifully deep and layered psyche. Sam and Cas must dive into Dean’s mind in order to free him from the archangel Michael. What they find is worth several essay’s of analysis on this fascinating and wonderful character. Dean’s bar; surrounded by symbols and hints of his life and a very apt song put on repeat - Will Dean ever get his rainbow ending? Only one more season to go until we find out.

73. 14.14 Ouroboros

Following all the drama and separation of the Winchester family, they finally all reunite in this episode to hunt a gorgon. I always prefer the episodes where Sam, Dean, Cas, and Jack all work together, and this episode explores the group dynamic perfectly. The gorgon is a charismatic villain who taunts our heroes and has them all fighting to keep up with him. Put it simply this is just a fun episode and exactly what we want from our MOTW episodes in the new Supernatural era.

74. 14.15 Peace of Mind

Just like the previous episode, Peace of Mind is simply one of the more fun and enjoyable episodes of the season. So much so in fact that I have probably re-watched it a dozen times because I loved it so much. In a rare team up between Sam and Cas, they find themselves stuck in a Pleasantville type place. Hilarity ensues, and poor Sam gets himself stuck in a 1950s style marriage and a sweater vest. Castiel reads some raunchy erotica and enjoys it. You will find yourselves laughing at “H-E-double hockey sticks” for hours afterwards. A must watch lighthearted episode in an otherwise dark season.

75. 14.20 Moriah

The season 14 finale was certainly one of the more epic finales we have had, and a meta masterpiece penned by showrunner Andrew Dabb. As Dean’s anger and grief following Mary’s death only deepens, and the rift between him and Castiel continues, it is Sam who discovers that all this time, for their entire lives, they have all been nothing more than characters in a world created by a cruel and manipulative writer God. Chuck’s return and reveal as the villain of the entire show came as a shock to many fans who saw him as a beloved fan favourite, but to many others, myself included, this reveal harmonises this entire story and the Winchesters long and traumatic journey and blows my mind at just how perfect it all is. God Was Never On Your Side, and this has always been a show to stress the importance of free will in a Godless world.

*chef’s kiss*

Bring on Season 15.

#supernatural #top 75 episodes #spn meta #destiel #dean winchester #castiel #sam winchester #supernatural episode summaries #my opinions #seriously these are just my opinions #and I had so much fun writing this #and i am kinda proud of it #my stuff

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aspoonofsugar · 5 years

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Hello! About HxH. Do heavens arena and hunter exam (including Zoldyck family) have their own themes like yorknew, greed island, chimera ants and election? Or do they serve just as a build up? Also, from what I understand ca has most complex themes (in quantity and exploration) but I am not sure. How does it compare to yorknew in that regard? Are themes of greed island complex (in number and exploration) too?

Hello anon!

Sorry, for the late reply.

I would say that the CAA is different from the arcs before in the sense that it is as if it tells its own story and it even has its own protagonist (Meruem). Because of this, it also has its own specific themes which are easy to find. In this, I think it is similar to the current arc and partially to the Election arc.

When it comes to the arcs before, I think they can mostly be considered as a long introduction since the characters and the power system are introduced and explained.

Among these arcs, I would say YS is kind of an exception since it focuses on a different character (Kurapika is the protagonist of that arc). Because of this, that arc has themes which are linked to Kurapika and different from the ones present in all the other arcs.

I have talked about YS here and here if you are interested.

Kurapika is a character linked to the concepts of grief and vengeance and so the arcs centered around him deal with these ideas. What is more, they also delve in the importance of information and are more intellectual than other arcs. Finally, YS also deals with the concept of destiny thanks to the importance Neon’s power had in that arc.

When it comes to arcs like the Hunter Exam arc, the HA arc and GI (so the arcs where Gon is the protagonist) they are all centered on the idea of growing up because this is what Gon’s character is about. His story is a coming of age one and these arcs seem to deconstruct some aspects of typical coming of ages/shonen stories.

I will try to discuss more of it under the cut, but I would say in advance that this analysis will concentrate on what each one of these arcs specifically offers on the theme of growing up which I think is the theme shared by them all. However, one should not forget that arcs are not the only elements of a story which have themes. Characters have those too and I will not address all of them here.

If you are interested in themes linked to characters other than general themes of the series, I will think this post by @hamliet will be useful. She also offers there an alternative reading of the arcs’ themes.

The hunter exam arc introduces the characters and their objectives. What is interesting is that each character’s objective needs the hunter license in order to be reached. This is interesting because it introduces the idea that the exam is not really an end, but a mean to something. This is also why the exam is not given a clean conclusion:

Gon passes the exam, but he is not satisfied with himself, the same goes for Leorio and what happens between Killua and his brother leaves a bitter aftertaste in all the participants. This is why after the tournament we are shown a discussion among the new hunters where they get on each other’s nerves. It is because, all in all, many of them are not happy despite having officially become hunters. This anticlimatic conclusion is used to convey the fact that passing an exam is not something which can be used as proof of one’s value. Gon passes the exam because Hisoka kills his pursuer and later he is not able to win against Hanzo. Leorio passes thanks to his friends’ help and Pokkle passes out of sheer luck. However, the way they pass is not important. What is important is what they will do with the new chances they are given and with what they have learnt. This is true for Killua as well, even if he did not pass. He is still given permission to travel with his friends because of him taking the hunter exam. What a person learns and what a person gains by an obstacle vary, but what is important is that they can use it to face future challenges. The idea that life and growth are never over is something which lies at the root of the series:

The exam is just the first representation of such an idea.

At the same time, the different trials test different attributes a person must have to become a hunter aka to grow up.

1) The first test is a test of endurance both physical and psychological. Only strong people can become hunters, so this test verifies a person’s strength.

2) The second test is made to verify that the partecipants are both intelligent and curious.

Strength, intelligence, determination and curiousity are 4 attributes which keep coming out again and again throughout the series and they are tested at the very beginning of the exam.

3) The third test had the characters work together. They had to make every choice by voting in what is basically a form of democracy. Thanks to this, the limit of such a process of decision-making is highlighted:

At the same time, it is interesting that in a test which is so focused on the relationships among individuals, the characters are given individual fights where they can shine. In a sense it may be a way of reflecting the contradictions of society where one has to live together with others and to partially conform to what others want, but at the same time they are asked to develop skills for themselves, so that they can shine.

This contradiction is perfectly shown by the last choice the characters are asked to make:

They have been asked to work together, but in the end they are told they have to fight each other to go on. This can very well be seen as a synthesis of how society works. As a matter of fact society exists because of people cooperating, but at the same time people are not equal and are not granted identical chances. However, the answer Gon gives is one which bends the rules and uses a loophole to overcome the obstacle.

4) The fourth test could be partially seen as the opposite of the third one since the characters are asked to work alone in order to catch a target. The nature of the exam makes so that finding allies might be dangerous since one can’t be sure not to be another’s target. What is more, this test is seen by some characters (like Gon for example) as a chance to shine individually and to face a complex problem alone.

However, throughout the test many alliances are born and Gon being too concentrated on his own individual pursue makes him fall into the trap of his hunter.

In short, even in a situation where individuals should test their own abilities others keep being important and entities one can not ignore.

5) Finally, the last test is meant to test one’s character. As Gon’s extreme case shows, who wins in the tournament is not the strongest, but who never gives up. This is also used to underline the key difference between Killua and Gon’s approaches to things which will keep coming back as the story goes on.

I would like to highlight that HA and GI are two similar arcs and deal with becoming individually strong and with working with others (similarly to test 3 and to test 4 in the hunter exam).

Both arcs are basically training arcs which are used to give more details about nen before two complex arcs (YS and CAA) full of characters very expert at using this power.

In both arcs, Killua and Gon want to reach an objective, but are too weak, so they meet a master and start training. The fact that Biscuit used to be Wing’s master is nothing more than a way to show that GI is the continuation of HA since Gon and Killua will develop there their hatsus. There is also the fact that both in HA and in GI a hunter exam is completed. Gon passes his unofficial exam in HA and Killua obtains his license in GI. Basically, with these two arcs both characters can be considered true hunters just in time to take part in their first big operation in the CAA. It is also interesting that Gon and Killua end up in the HA and in GI because of respectively Silva and Ging. Silva is the one who sent Killua there in the past and Ging is the one who prepared GI as an obstacle Gon has to overcome to find him. What is more, Silva tried to hide nen from Killua for unknown reasons, while nen is necessary to enter the game and so Gon has to know nen to become a player.

That said, HA and GI explore slightly different things.

HA gives a lot of importance to individuality:

This is underlined also by the fact that the rules of the arena make so that the fights are between two opponents and not between groups of people.

What is more, the whole arena is nothing more than a metaphor for a person climbing higher and reaching one’s full potential. The arc explores the difficulty of doing so.

Growing up is complicated. One could do like Kastro did and choose to invest their talent and time into something which doesn’t suit them. One can also do like the minor antagonists of this arc did. The three opponents they face are people who reached the 200th before they were ready and as a result they lost a part of their bodies. This resulted in the fact that their nen powers end up becoming something which, instead of enriching them, are mostly there to compensate for what they lost. This is very interesing because nen in the hxh world is often a metaphor of a person’s personality and interiority. In other words, the protagonists developing their powers is symbolic of them developing their interiority and we can easily understand many things of a character by looking at their nen power. Because of this, Sadaso, Gido and Riehlvelt are basically people whose growth has been damaged because of them being in a hurry to reach their objectives. This is shown also by their behaviour. All in all they don’t really care about becoming better anymore and simply wish to be floor masters by targeting people weaker than them even if they don’t know about nen. In this way, they are ready to make others experience what was done to them.

In short, it is like Wing says:

One should not become obsessed with a single objective and not lose sight of the bigger picture. Growing takes time and effort. This is also why Gon and Killua do not choose a hatsu right away, but are given time to think properly about it.

At the same time, the arc also shows Gon and Killua’s opposite behaviours:

Gon wants to grow up too fast, whereas Killua wants to take things slowly.

This difference will come up again. For example, the CAA shows how dangerous it is for Gon to be willing to become an adult before the right time, whereas in the Election arc Killua is basically asked to grow up a little, so that he can care about Alluka.

Finally, this arc also show the different challenges Gon and Killua are faced with. Gon is mostly given focus when it comes to physical fights. He fights more than Killua and in the climax of the arc he faces Hisoka in an epic battle. Killua is given instead only a major fight against Riehlvelt. However, it is not that he is not given focus in the arc, but the chapters centered around him are not ones where he has to fight, but ones where he has to find an equilibrium between behaving as a good boy and not letting others trample over him and his friends. In the beginning, he would like to settle the conflict with the three men in a way which would benefit them and by being overly generous. However, this attempt fails, so he uses a more malicious approach, but still avoids killing them.

GI is a training arc with a more complex and flexible battlefield than the HA. Moreover, it is made in a way that it is more advantagious and even necessary for people to work together.

In short, GI explores the equilibrium one must find between working with others and being independent.

This is shown starting with the preliminary test:

It is explained that one should face this test sticking to one’s own convinctions without worrying about others.

However, once they enter the game, the players realize how difficult it is working alone and that it would make sense for them to join a bigger group in order to succeed. The strategy proposed by Nickes’s group is to basically find strength in numbers. This seems an optimal solution on paper, but it is soon revealed that trying to compensate for one’s absence of strength by simply sticking with others is not enough:

Weak players came together hoping to win against the stong ones, but in the end they were tricked by a stronger opponent and could not do anything against him despite their numerical advantage. This is because, in the end, none of them was self sufficient.

However, even if one is exceptionally strong, they can not succeed in GI if they are alone and the proof is the fact that in order to obtain Plot of Beach there must be 15 people willing to work together. At the same time, Goreinu states this:

As a matter of fact, even if a group of people must work together only a small number of copies can be made of the card wanted. This is similar to what happened in the third test of the Hunter exam when people are asked to unite forces just to fight in the end.

In short, the battle against Razor underlines the nuance of having multiple people working together. The players come together because it is useful and all of them are determined to take care of their own interests. For example, the main trio is quick to discard their first group because made of people too weak to win. However, this doesn’t mean genuine bonds are not born since in the end all the players who took part in the game (with the exception of Hisoka) ended up growing close as a result of their battle.

Razor’s fighting style is interesting too when it comes to this:

He is at the centre of a challenge which requires multiple players, but he himself fights alone. This is also why he loses:

However, he too is there because of another person:

He was able to change his life only because Gin connected with him and did not care about his past as a criminal.

In short, GI is an arc which explores group relationships much more than HA.

This is also shown by Genthru who is both a character able to fight alone and a person who works well wiht his comrades (as a matter of fact they seem to share some powers).

The way Gon fights him is also indicative of how the boy is trying to reconcile a strong wish of individual strength and the necessity to work together:

As a matter of fact Gon has been given by Killua a plan to follow and if he did, he would not have any problems in defeating Genthru. However, Gon is not completely satisfied because he wants to use the battle to test himself. So in the end he chooses to follow the plan only after he managed to injure his opponent on his own.

This solution is a good synthesis of Gon and Killua’s struggle to grow up together, but also in an independent way, so that the can keep being friends, but also become proper individuals. This is something which will be explored also in the CAA with their friendship being partly deconstructed after GI spent much time showing its importance and positive effects.

In short, I would say HA and GI are nothing more than two sides of the same coin and are compementary. They explore what it means to grow up using the structure of a classical training arc to do so. In HA the focus is on individuality. For example Win helps his mentee to find what they are good in and discourages them from pursuing technique in areas which aren’t theirs. When it comes to GI, the focus is widers since a person to grow has also to interact with others and to learn from them. Because of this there is a focus on teamplay and how to integrate it with personal goals and with the necessity to remain true to one-self. About this, let’s underline that Biscuit makes so that Gon and Killua starts practicing in abilities different from their own, so that they can become more flexible. This is because in order to grow healthily a person must both realize what they are good at and go out from their comfort zone, so that they can improve. In the end it is about finding a happy medium between these two things.

Finally, there are the Zoldyck family arc and the Election arc. These two arcs are centered around Killua and so they have similarities.

As a matter of fact Killus is a character linked to specific themes and these themes are explored in arcs focused on him.

Most of all, it is interesting to show that both the Zoldyck family arc and the election arc are arcs where it seems some major conflict are gonna explode. The Zoldyck family arc is presented as an arc which will culminate in Killua’s friends meeting his family and having to fight or at least to convince them to let Killua free. However, this does not happen and Gon, Kurapika and Leorio do not even see the family house and barely meet some family members. The situation which seemed perfect to explore a major conflict is settled in a pretty common way with simply a father and a son having a chat.

Similarly, the Election arc sets up a potentially dangerous situation with Alluka and her powers only to reveal in the end that if people treat Nanika normally and love her, she uses her powers without making cruel requests.

All in all, the Zoldyck family is used to explore extremely common family dynamics and the fact that they are presented as so over the top makes so that them settling their problems as any normal family could do highlights the importance of communication and connection even more.

The Election arc is also used to convey specific themes about general politics. For example, Leorio and Pariston can be easily seen as two different declinations of what a popolar leader is, whereas the Zodiacs can be see as an elite who has knowledge and abilities, but is unable to connect with the majority of people.

The fact that also this part of the arc ends with an anti-climax is interesting especially because the conclusion of the Election is framed as far more comical than the conclusion of Killua’s conflict with his family.

All in all it is interesting that while the majority of the hunters is concentrated on an election whose results have basically been rigged since the beginning, the true and more serious battle seems to be the one between a boy and his family. Moreover, this personal struggle goes unnoticed by the majority of people who are too concentrated on a large public even and ignores that a small chilod could potentially destroy the world if she is not helped and loved.

This is a very reduced discussion of each arc. Many points are probably unclear or not elaborated enough, but I hope you would still find them interesting enough.

I will also tag this meta where I discussed other general themes of the series.

All in all, I would say YS, CAA, Election arc and the current arc are the richest ones thematically, while the other three are usually used as introduction to something and introduce ideas which are fully explored in other arcs.

Thank you for th ask!

#hxh #hxh meta #asksfullofsugar #anonymous

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spaceshipkat · 5 years

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Hey I wanted to know what your opinion on the whole gritty dark realism thing in modern media that we have going on??? I started watching a oldish anime (tbh it’s only from like 2011) and even though it dealt with pretty dark topics, I suddenly remembered how watching media is supposed to be fun, and I actually went and watched Good Omens afterwards, and I got that same feeling, and it just sucks how “realism” sucks the joy out of things. There’s a reason we turn to fiction after all

hi anon! so my answer is...twofold, i think, bc 1) i do enjoy the gritty dark realism thing going on (though i really, really wish people would move away from the whole “everyone must suffer and the ending can’t be happy bc that’s how you really drive home suffering and grimdark and current society”) bc it often sheds light on topics that need to have light shed on them, and 2) i also do enjoy the more upbeat fiction that’s been created over the years (the kind that ends with a happy ending hard-won and whose plots aren’t steeped, marinated, and glazed with suffering and darker than dark darkness), and i wish it would be much more commonplace in common media. GOT, i think, has simply ushered in this new era of “everything must be darker than dark”.

re: Good Omens, if i understand you correctly, you think it falls into the gritty dark realism category? if so, i disagree (respectfully!). to me, Good Omens has that perfect balance of dark and light, and its stakes carry the same weight as the darker fiction out there without falling into the same category of “everyone must suffer and the ending can’t be happy” bc, in large part, the ending is very happy: Satan is no more, the end of the world isn’t nigh, everyone lived but they had to work hard to get there, Crowley and Aziraphale have their breathing space and, imo, the roots of a real romantic relationship starting (i mean it was always romantic but secretively, if that makes sense. now, they can hold hands and kiss in public without being worried that they’ll be immediately smote over it bc Heaven and Hell have both agreed to leave them be thanks to their body swap), and Adam is simply human. even though everyone survives (even the bookshop and the Bentley) we (or at least i and the GO blogs i follow/my friends who’ve seen the show/read the book) don’t feel cheated by the lack of loss bc the characters had serious problems to deal with that made the ending feel hard-won and satisfactory. the arcs the characters went through (though Aziraphale’s is the most overt, imo) were realistic, compelling, and fulfilling.

to stop myself from rambling (i’ve been known to do that with GO lately), we can compare that to the ending of Game of Thrones and how i hope Supernatural ends. GOT’s ending was beyond disappointing bc d&d seem to think that the only plausible ending is one where the characters suffer and/or die, and the endings they give us are ridiculously unsatisfying. i mean, we have Bran on the throne (despite the fact he has never said he wanted it--and personally, i hate and disagree with the whole “you don’t want power and that’s why you deserve/need it” shtick), Jaime dead (despite his redemption arc and character growth that would make it implausible for him to return to Cersei in the hands of good writers), Jon exiled to the North (i wasn’t upset by his ending, but i know others were), Dany dead (again, i wasn’t upset by the ending bc i never really cared for her, but i know that there were a lot of people who were upset and i do feel for them bc it was a shit ending for her), and fucking Bronn on the council (or whatever the hell the term is). how does any of that make sense? i don’t personally know a single person who was completely happy with the ending, despite the stupid award nominations that the writers and show got. GOT is a show of constant suffering and unhappy endings, and the fact it ended that way, too, left a lot of people disenchanted with it and upset over it. and yeah, some people argue that it was realistic for the show to end that way and keeping in-tone, but therein lies the crux of the matter: why must everything be dark and full of suffering? (how many times can i say dark and suffering in this answer?)

in Supernatural, i’m in a few endgame positive camps: the Winchesters both surviving*, destiel being canon (even if that canon is literally just Cas and Dean holding hands or saying “to the world” to each other in the same tone of voice Aziraphale uses in episode 6: i, for one, would probably melt into a puddle of goo over either of those endings for destiel, bc they say a lot without saying much. i think a lot of people who aren’t endgame destiel positive don’t seem to understand that that would scream everything to those of us who are positive, or who want destiel to be explicitly canon by the end. we don’t need them to fall into bed with each other for us to be happy--or at least i don’t--but i digress), and Cas becoming human by his own choice. Supernatural is definitely a dark show, but it has its light moments (i wouldn’t have stuck with it and fallen so in love with it otherwise, unlike with GOT bc i was far more a casual viewer there) and i really hope that the writers decide to end on a light note, too, so as not to fall into the same camp as GOT. if it does fall into the GOT camp, this 15-season show will go down, at least to me, as one of the biggest tragedies in fiction of the 2000s and 2010s, and even though the show brings me a lot of comfort, i don’t think i could look at it the same way if that’s how they chose to end it come the finale. the characters deserve a happy ending (to quote Dean, him, Sam, and Cas retired with their feet in the sand--and with Jack now, too, obv), and i hope that the writers choose to make this the dark story with light at the end instead of the dark story with an even darker ending.

and i think that’s the best way i can describe my opinion on the gritty dark realism stories that have become so pervasive. write those dark stories (my stories are always dark) but infuse them with enough light to make people find comfort in them, to leave them happy by the end, to give them that sense of satisfaction for a conflict with an ending of victory. for as long as i’ve been writing (literally half of my life now, since i started when i was 12 and i’m now 24), i’ve always written a hard-won ending with a bit of hope, even if there was a lot of darkness toward the end, even if it’s the first of a series. i don’t enjoy stories that are an entree of darkness with a side of darker darkness complete with a darker than dark dessert, so i tend to steer far from those or prepare myself going in (with Supernatural, i’m optimistic about a light ending, but i’m also keeping my expectations in-check bc i can’t be certain).

i’ve said before that i hope that Good Omens the TV show’s success ushers in a new era of stories ending on a light note so people leave them happier than they came in (or satisfied by a hard-won victory that doesn’t end in suffering for everyone involved even if they’re on the winning side: GOT versus Good Omens, really, since GOT is 100000000% guilty of that fucked up kind of ending) and can find comfort in them. i want my books to be the kind where people can reread them for the comfort of finding that happy ending, and i hope i’ve achieved that (since i’m only just now getting into standalones, i’m really only just beginning to challenge my ending chops since my other books were the first of series and thus needed to have that hard ending with a dash of hope, whereas my standalones are free to end with hard-won happiness--tbh, @ripley-stark would be the only one who can say if i’ve achieved that, considering she’s the only one on here who’s read my first standalone from start-to-finish), bc those are the kinds of stories i seek and appreciate and love.

does that answer your question? i think i just rambled a lot, as per usual. heh.

*to go off-topic and fall into the land of speculations that i tend to stay out of, Jensen and Jared have both said they want Sam and Dean to die by the end bc that’s the only way they’d ever stop hunting. recently, Jensen said that the ending wasn’t what he expected and that he had to come to terms with it, though he now understands it and thinks that the audience will, too. there’s a huge part of the audience who want Sam and Dean to die by the end, too. however, Jensen’s comment has only further cemented my endgame positive outlook, since if Sam and Dean survive that would go against what he and Jared have wanted or expected to happen for years now, thus forcing him to come to terms with it. i know some people have been really worried by his comments, and obviously we shouldn’t put much stock into them bc the ending is a year away, it was an interview and you can’t rely on interview answers to make solid predictions, and PR isn’t showrunning, but it only helped bolster me upon going into the final season.

#ask #anonymous #long post #good omens #supernatural #im not gonna tag g0t bc i don't really want to dip my toe in that fandom #it's dangerous as it is to tag spn #writeblr #booklr #i have no idea what else to tag this #kat rambles

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neven-ebrez · 5 years

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In response to the thing about "healthy" relationships. There was no actual onscreen resolution of like, anything. Just a handwave of it all (well-encapsulated in 14x05 by the "Let it go" part which seems to imply that they're never GOING to resolve any of Dean's issues, just gonna leave them in the past like they don't inform his shit to this day). ...And for Dean and Cas, this is not HEALTH. This is draining the fraught, dramatic intensity out of their relationship to make it seem less queer.

I think the show understands it’s past the point of being able to fully address all Dean’s past trauma in an “individual instance” kind of way. Carver has been done fumbled the ball and this is the best way Dabb knows how to deal with it, unfortunately. I don’t think Dabb is necessarily trying to lower drama to take some of the romantic coding off Dean and Cas, he’s just stalling in general. I think he thinks he is being clever right now. We are right back in S9’s situation from what I see (only reversed from Sam onto Dean, Kevin onto Jack), but Dabb is trying to hide this, for whatever reason. And it’s working because I see no one talking about the foreshadowing for Jack’s death at the hands of Dean (which afterwards, if I had to guess, we’d have a different fallout from S9 simply because the characters have progressed far enough to allow this).

Back to your point, I think saying “healthy” here is just shorthand for “they now talk openly about their current worries” (though not necessarily their feelings) instead of simply Dean drowning himself in alcohol and hating himself. S13 was about trauma and standing still (for Sam mostly in relation to Lucifer, but for Dean as well, if Castiel isn’t with him). None of this addresses how the ghost of Dean’s father haunts his future though. Dean got to confront Mary, but not John. This is most likely where we are headed, but it’s honestly going very, very, VERY SLOWLY. I wish Dean could have that now, that peace, like Sam got when he finally saw Lucifer’s burnt out wings. I think this issue (Dean’s traumatic childhood as specifically caused by his father) is seen as the more (long) pressing one by the narrative, against anything that Dean and Cas have gone through together. Together, it’s too big and there’s not enough time. And so the narrative will have to choose and you can guess which way it will go.

And up til now… I’ve personally loved Dabb era. But 14x05 finally struck me with what he’s (probably) (slowly) doing and I just really realized how hollow it all feels. We can see Sam post endgame, but not Dean. Dean’s issues have driven the show far more than Sam’s. Yet Sam’s are resolved first and his new chapter opens, while Dean remains in the past. It’s unbalanced. And while MOST of Cas’ issues have been dealt with (in the show’s eyes), but because of how he’s tied into Dean’s arc, Cas is in this weird developmental place where he can’t advance… not with Dean and not with Heaven in derelict limbo.

The show begins and ends with Dean’s issues. That’s how the show sees itself, which is why it can resolve Sam and put him into “endgame” WAY before Dean. Voltron has done something similar, structure wise. The characters who have their arcs tied to another character and/or “poised at overcoming character flaw issues” go into their final season unfinished, while a few characters have already wrapped up their “issues”. Putting any character (especially one like Sam) essentially into “endgame” signals the end. Voltron prepared for this, but Supernatural has been faced with unexpected renewal after renewal. Which is why endgame begins to feel too long earned and hollow.

So. I do think we’ll get there with Dean. He says he keeps trying to put it all behind him, but the truth is he still can’t. There’s only one way forward.

#zerbe discusses things #14x05 #trauma and standing still #trauma and moving forward #this is a fight dean can’t win alone #i just wish it hadn’t taken us so long to get here #end of the road #what i dont like about the show now is mostly still due to carver era #long post for ts #selfihateyouithink #seperately i still dont believe or hope destiel will get text in any sort of breakthrough moment

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flyingfish1 · 7 years

Text

spn and the heroine’s journey

(Take two)

I thought it was about time I did an updated/cleaner/clearer version of my “Heroine’s Journey” meta from last season, so here it is. In which I look at the story structure the show seems to have been using for Dean, Sam, and Cas’ character arcs for the past few seasons, and make a few guesses about what we might see in the future. The other post only included the Carver era. This version includes the Carver era and the events of season twelve as well, which is actually fitting right into that same pattern. I wasn’t sure how it would survive the showrunner change, but it looks like Dabb is keeping it going--with a couple of tweaks--so that’s pretty cool. I thought I’d include what we’ve seen of Mary’s character arc so far, too.

The “Heroine’s Journey” story structure, in a nutshell, is about finding balance. It’s the story of a character who rejects half of themselves and then, as they go through each step of the journey—going on a quest for a treasure, finding the treasure, being unsatisfied with the treasure, experiencing a metaphorical death and a descent to the underworld, meeting with a dark god/dess, resurfacing and reuniting with a mother figure, and so on—gradually learns how to accept both sides of themselves and to embrace themselves as a whole person. The “archetypal” version of the heroine’s journey (according to Maureen Murdock, who wrote the book on it [link]) is specifically about a heroine who rejects her own archetypal feminine side and embraces her archetypal masculine side instead, and then learns to accept both. But the heroine’s journey story structure doesn’t have to be about femininity versus masculinity. It can be about anything, just as long as it’s about a union of opposites and the discovery of balance (link). It also doesn’t have to be limited to female characters! Any character can go on a heroine’s journey.

Dean’s heroine’s journey is the closest to the “classic” heroine’s journey, as it is about learning to embrace his inner archetypal “feminine” side; Cas’ journey is about learning how to embrace his inner humanity; and Sam’s and Mary’s journeys are about learning to embrace the presence of the supernatural in their lives. Having found balance and wholeness, they’ll be able to use that to heal the world around them.

Mary is right at the very beginning of her journey but Sam, Dean and Cas have all progressed through almost every single one of the ten stages.

The first half of the heroine’s journey plays out in pretty much the same way a typical Hero’s Journey does, with a “call to adventure” and a quest for a treasure (a la Joseph Campbell). It’s after the heroine finds the goal of her quest that things start to diverge. So here’s a rundown of the ten steps, plus some guesses about where Sam, Dean, Cas and Mary might go from here:

Stage 1 The character hears the call to adventure and rejects half of themselves: The character views part of themselves as being undesirable and turns away from it. The “call to adventure” is heard when the heroine realizes that her old sense of self no longer fits. Her life has been shaken up a way that makes her realize that “she has no sense of self that she can call her own” (Murdock, “Introduction”).

Dean -season nine. Shaken up by Sam’s illness and near death and by Kevin’s death, Dean starts thinking of himself as “poison” to the people around him and rejects his own caring, community-minded side Sam -the end of season seven/beginning of season eight. Shaken up by Dean and Cas disappearing into Purgatory, and his being completely alone in the world for the first time, Sam rejects everything about “the family business” Cas -season nine. Shaken up by the angel fall, the hostility of his angelic family, and Dean’s perceived rejection of him, Cas rejects his human side/his human life Mary- shaken up by her death and resurrection, desperately wanting a civilian life again, Mary rejects the supernatural

Stage 2 The character embraces the other half of themselves, gathers allies, and prepares for their quest: Having turned away from one half of themselves, the heroine embraces the other half as being more desirable. She finds guides and allies, and she sets out on the typical “Journey of the Hero”—a quest for a treasure. She thinks that this is her path to success. This quest helps the heroine create her own place in the world as an independent person. However, the character’s imbalanced approach can cause problems (ch.2).

Dean -embraces his identity as a violent killer, and teams up with Crowley and Cain Sam -grabs onto the hope of creating a world free of demons, and teams up with Kevin Cas -cannibalizes another angel’s grace, becomes an angel again, devotes himself to his angelic family, and teams up with Hannah, the rest of his angel army and, later, Gadreel Mary -grabs onto the hope of creating “a world without monsters” for herself and her kids, and teams up with the BMOL—specifically, with Mr. Ketch and Mick Davies

Stage 3 The Road of Trials: The character crosses into the unknown. “The heroine crosses the threshold, leaves the safety of… home, and goes in search of herself.” She faces obstacles and antagonists. Facing a series of trials (as in the typical Hero’s Journey) enables her to “discover her strengths and abilities and uncover and overcome her weaknesses” (ch.3).

Dean -defeating the demons in Cain’s house and proving himself to Cain; getting the Mark; tracking down the Blade and taking possession of it; killing Magnus; finding Abaddon Sam -the literal three Trials to close the Gates of Hell Cas –building his angel army, finding Metatron Mary -getting the Colt from Ramiel; taking out the vampire nest; going on hunts with Ketch

Stage 4 “Finding the Boon of Success”: The character finds the goal of their quest, or something close to it.

Dean -killing Abaddon Sam -the third Trial Cas -opening Heaven and getting his angelic brethren home; defeating Metatron Mary- Still to come. My guess is that she will somehow get a glimpse of the BMOL’s “world without monsters” and it won’t be what she was hoping for

Stage 5 Metaphorical Death: The character succeeded in her quest and found her treasure but it isn’t giving her what she wanted. She feels a “sense of betrayal” over that. Something is missing (ch.5). She sacrificed half of herself and the reward she got for it isn’t enough. She hasn’t let herself become a whole person (“Introduction”). The heroine might cycle back to a previous stage on her journey, trying to solve the problem by going on yet more quests for yet more “treasures,” but it doesn’t work (ch.4). “She may experience a physical illness or accident” that represents her internal state (“Introduction”).

Dean -his horror over the Mark turning him into something he doesn’t want to be; the Mark of Cain taking over his body and making it start to break down when he doesn’t kill; his failed attempt to kill Metatron; his literal death and transformation into a demon; his fight with the Mark over the following season Sam -his despair during the Third Trial; the Trial sickness and his near death immediately after the Third Trial; his failure to complete the Third Trial; his chat with Death in 9x01 and his determination to die; his continued illness over the next several episodes Cas -his belief that stealing another angel’s grace makes him “a barbarian”; the stolen grace burning him up inside and nearly killing him, more than once; his failure to save Dean from Metatron and his despair over that.

Unlike Sam and Dean, Cas doesn’t immediately progress to the next step on his journey. Instead, he circles back around to stage 3 and goes on more quests. He and Hannah team up to round up the rogue angels, and then he and Sam team up to save Dean from the Mark of Cain. Those quests don’t totally work out either (Hannah abandons him to return to Heaven; Dean, overcome by the Mark despite Cas’ attempts to snap him out of it, viciously attacks Cas). Cas doesn’t move onto the next stage of his journey until end of season ten/the beginning of season eleven.

Mary -sill to come. For the other three characters, this was a supernaturally-induced physical illness and a near-death experience. Mary might experience something similar. Or maybe she’ll have some other kind of metaphorical death. Or maybe she’ll literally, permanently die :( but for the sake of this meta/spec, I’m assuming that she won’t die and that her story arc won’t end here. Fingers crossed.

Stage 6 Descent to the underworld and meeting with the personification of the character’s repressed and rejected side: “Initiation and descent to the Goddess” The heroine makes her journey to the underworld (ch.6). The journey may be kicked off by the character being offered another quest/task and choosing not to take it (ch.5). Another stage in her life has come to a close. “An initiation process has begun. During this part of the journey, the [heroine] begins her decent. It may involve a seemingly endless period of wandering, grief, and rage; of dethroning kings; of looking for the lost pieces of herself and meeting the dark feminine” (“Introduction”). The heroine “confronts her own dark side, the rage and fury left unexpressed….” This stage can also be associated with depression. The heroine descends into the dark and meets the dark feminine goddess who is being held captive there. The heroine must free her. Only when the dark goddess “feels heard” can they—both the dark goddess and the heroine—begin the ascent and be reborn. “[T]his woman of the depths is only frightening when her energy is shackled, contained, and denied expression” (ch.6).

Dean -his supernatural bond with the manifestation of his repressed side, who is furious at being denied expression for so long: Amara, the Goddess of Darkness. He saves the world and himself by approaching her with an open mind, listening to her, asking her, “What do you want?” and helping her achieve it in a healthy, non-destructive way. He sets her free and sets part of himself free, too. And finally he is able to admit to liking chick flicks ;) Sam -his feelings of worthlessness and his possession by Gadreel, who manifests Sam’s own feelings of intense guilt and horror at everything he’s done and everything the supernatural world has subjected him to. Sam ultimately extends the hand of friendship and understanding towards Gadreel, and accepts his help in return. In doing so, he starts to accept the side of himself that he’s been rejecting. Cas -This is an interesting one, because s11 did one version of it and I think s12 has been doing another. S11 had Cas’ depression and his descent into possession by Lucifer. S12 has Cas’ continued depression and feelings of disconnection from the people he loves, culminating in his being influenced by the Nephilim. Lucifer is the ultimate rebel against Heaven, and the Nephilim is a half-human, half-angel being. They both represent parts of Cas that he has been rejecting: his desire to reject Heaven, and his desire to have a life on earth and embrace a human life. I don’t think this’ll be fully resolved until the Nephilim plot is resolved--maybe at the end of next season? The Nephilim’s direct influence over Cas doesn’t necessarily need to last very long, but I’d expect their storylines to remain linked and for Cas to eventually have a moment of connection and/or understanding with the Nephilim which would represent him coming to fully understand and accept his own human side.

(As a side note, I can see why the show might have wanted to tinker with this storyline and redo it with the Nephilim, if that is indeed what they’re doing. Lucifer has so many associations and relationships with so many characters other than just Cas—like Sam, Crowley, Chuck, Michael, etc. Making him all about Cas and Cas’ storyline would be difficult to do, as well as not being quite fair to all of those other associations. The Nephilim, on the other hand, can “belong” to Cas’ storyline with no big complications.)

Mary -still to come. IF the pattern holds, she might become possessed or otherwise controlled by some force beyond her full control. This force will metaphorically represent the part of her that she’s been rejecting/running away from.

Stage 7 Embracing the half of themselves they once rejected: “There is a desire to develop those parts of herself that have gone underground while on the heroic quest” and to develop positive connections with other people who are associated with that (ch.7).

Dean – the end of season eleven and the beginning of season twelve, in which he desperately tries to recreate the relationship he remembers having with Mary when he was four years old. Sam – pretty much all of season ten—his desperate need to find and save Dean, even if it means throwing himself into the supernatural and into dark magic with Rowena, and getting other people killed. Instead of running away from his family, he’s made his family into his whole world, and he’s willing to devote himself to dangerous magic to protect it. Cas – still to come, I think, although there are elements of it happening right now, with his desire to be a part of the Winchester family. I assume that would be Cas throwing himself fully into life on earth—more so than he’s already been doing, I mean. Human!Cas might be a possibility. Even though I tend to assume that human!Cas would be an end-of-show scenario, I don’t want to rule out the possibility that it could happen earlier. Or it might be something else—it’s hard to tell. But yeah, if human!Cas does happen at any point before the end of the show, I would expect it to follow right on the heels of the Nephilim/Lucifer story. Mary -still to come

Stage 8 The character deals with the issue that caused them to reject half of themselves: “Healing the mother/daughter split” They form connections and become part of a community (ch.8). “After the period of descent our heroine begins to slowly heal the mother/daughter split, the wound that occurred with the initial rejection of the feminine. This may or may not involve an actual healing of the relationship between a woman and her own mother. A healing does occur, however, within the woman herself” (“Introduction”). If the heroine’s mother is dead or otherwise unavailable--if she’s a wicked witch or an evil stepmother, for instance--the heroine will find other ways to heal, through making other relationships and forming community or through looking inward (ch.8). (I am forever kicking myself for not being more on the ball and predicting Mary’s return at the end of last season—I totally could have! If I’d only been paying more attention! :p) Dean -healing his relationship with Mary, of course. Healing the wound that Mary’s absence left in his life. That’s still a work in progress. He’s also rebuilding his relationship with Cas, the one that got shattered during the Mark of Cain arc; and he’s feeling his way into a healthier relationship with Sam. But his relationship with Mary is the big one. That’s going to need to come to a climax soon. Sam -Sam is showing wonderful amounts of self-acceptance when it comes to talking about his psychic powers and so on. He’s let go of enough of the guilt and the feelings of impurity that he’s able to say that his powers never made him bad. He’s forming connections with other people in the supernatural world like Eileen, Alicia and Max, and even people like Rowena and, unexpectedly, Crowley (sort of). But it all comes down to the original event—Azazel, his demon blood/powers arc—and that has yet to be discussed. However, Mary’s already brought the subject up to Dean, so I’m optimistic that we’ll get to that before too long. As with Dean’s arc, Mary is sure to play a major role in this. Cas – Still to come? Cas is kind of getting this, currently, though. He knows that his human family loves him and considers him to be one of their own. I think that wound is healing, although he’s still got a lot of self-worth issues that he’s struggling with. He might get another big moment relating to this, later. Mary – still to come. Healing the inner wound that caused her to reject the supernatural.

Stage 9 The character creates a healthier, more balanced relationship with the side of themselves that they embraced to the point of illness “Healing the Wounded Masculine” The heroine faces down a dark, tyrannical male figure. She may need to accept or heal this figure, or she may need to let go of his influence over her. “The masculine is an archetypal force; it is not a gender. Like the feminine, it is a creative force that lives within all women and men. When it becomes unbalanced… it becomes combative, critical, and destructive” (ch.9).

Dean – still to come. Mr. Ketch is coming across as a manifestation of Dean’s inner tyrant figure—the worst, most unbalanced, unhealthy, violent, psychopathic, sexist parts of himself. His MoC-influenced self, basically. I’m guessing that Ketch’s defeat will metaphorically represent Dean dealing with this. And speaking of significant male figures with influence over the characters, we’re getting a lot of father figures in this season, too. I’d love it if John was discussed, and/or Dean’s lost childhood as a hunter-in-training. Maybe that’ll be more of a season thirteen thing, since fatherhood is likely to be a big theme after the birth of the Nephilim. Sam -still to come. I’m expecting Sam to take on the BMOL--maybe he’ll be the one to deal with the higher-ranking members--and to have a hand in reforming their tyrannical regime and reshaping it into something better. This will give Sam a healthier relationship with the world outside of “traditional” hunting while still allowing him to remain connected to the supernatural world. Cas -still to come. For him, this would mean making peace with his angelic side/his angelic origins/his angelic family. If he’s human at this point, it wouldn’t necessarily mean becoming an angel again, but it would mean having a final confrontation with an angel or angels. If he is still an angel himself at this point—well, it would still probably mean having a final confrontation with another angel—but it might also be the time when he decides to let his angelic side go, and to become human, if he hasn’t done so already. Not because he’d think there’s anything inherently bad about being an angel, but just because it wouldn’t be the right fit for him and he had made peace with that. Mary -Still to come. It’s hard to know where any of these plot points would fall, for her. Is her character arc all going to be stuffed into the end of this season? Is it going to be spread out over the next season(s)? It makes it hard to guess the specifics. She might also have a hand in reforming the BMOL, for instance. Or not.

Stage 10 The character integrates both sides of themselves and finds balance and peace

PEACE?! This is very much an endgame/final season/final few episodes scenario, clearly :p It’s when the characters resolve their issues, make peace with themselves, and use what they have learned to bring lasting peace and harmony to the world around them.

This is probably when the successful romances—if there are any—would happen. A happy and healthy union of two people represents, on a metaphorical level, the successful, healthy union of two separate forces into a balanced whole (ch.9). The show has been flirting with the idea of its characters “settling down with someone involved in the life”/“settling down with another hunter” and, if the show commits to that, I imagine it would occur at this point in the story, as part of the harmonious conclusion.

Alternatively, maybe there would be babies (although, as things stand, I’m more doubtful about that one). The birth of a baby is another way of metaphorically representing harmonious unions and “rebirths” (ch.9). Maybe Mary will settle down and have another kid, who knows?

At any rate…

The characters have been reborn as whole, unified beings. Balance, harmony, and health have been restored. “The heroine becomes the Mistress of Both Worlds; she can navigate the waters of daily life and listen to the teachings of the depths. She is the Mistress of Heaven and Earth and of the Underworld. She has gained wisdom from her experiences: she no longer needs to blame the other; she is the other. She brings that wisdom back to share with the world” (ch.9).

Murdock, Maureen. The Heroine’s Journey : Woman’s Quest for Wholeness. Boston: Shambala Publications, Inc., 1990. eBook Edition.

http://mythcreants.com/blog/using-the-heroines-journey/

#spn #spn meta #spn spec #my meta #beyond duality #again #updated version this time #and easier to follow I hope #I need to come up with a new topic at some point lol #Dean Winchester #Sam Winchester #Castiel #Mary Winchester

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