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letterstothemidnightsociety · 3 years

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Another day of quarantine, another attempt to decipher the secret to one show’s mind-boggling longevity - Are they casting spells on every airdate? Do they have some kind of talisman? Did they make an actual deal with a literal devil to stay on the air this long?? The fact that Jensen Ackles has barely aged a day sure suggests they might have. It’s Supernatural!

I think one of my favorite things so far has been the trailer that plays at the end of “Crossroad Blues” to really make sure you tune into the next episode which...did not play for two weeks. Looking at air dates, “Crossroad Blues” plays on Nov 16, 2006, so that’s right around the Thanksgiving break. Then they come back for ONE episode on Dec 7 and that is their midseason finale. TV programming is wild.

I was like, really into this Bobby Johnson, like...I was into that.

It’s very possible that at this point in the season, SPN is trying real hard to keep their audience. Looking at the numbers for all the episodes leading up to “Croatoan”, they’re only averaging between 3 and 4 million viewers, roughly 1 - 2 million less than where they were at this time in season 1, so it’s easy to see why SPN was on the hook for renewal in season 2. Looking over its ratings for the rest of the season, the audience numbers just keep going down. The show is the number 8 highest rated show on the CW in 2006/07, so technically in the top 10, but it’s tied with Reba and One Tree Hill and the CW only had (16) original programs that year, so it’s not boasting much. These numbers supposedly include Live + 7 day DVR watches, so those numbers really are not good, BUT: starting in January of 2007, the CW started releasing episodes online the day after they aired, so I’m willing to bet that large portions of their audience were still tuning in, just not tuning in in a way that could be tabulated by Neilsen at the time.

It’s also interesting to note that for both season 1 and season 2, the real mythos/lore/arc episodes don’t really start until the midseason. In season 1, it’s not until episode 10, “Scarecrow,” where we’re introduced to Meg and the bigger stakes at hand for the Winchesters. Their search for their father starts ramping up and the show starts subtly shifting away from Finding Dad to Fighting The Boss Fight.

Season 2 is pretty similar. Up until “Croatoan” (episode 9), the show has been about the fallout from John’s death. Finding the yellow-eyed-demon is certainly a driving factor, but it’s very much on the backburner. The show even makes a point to say, hey! Our guys don’t really have any leads, so it’s gonna take a while before we get back to this.

I actually really appreciate that the show takes this much time to let the Winchester process their grief. Kripke and Co. have said numerous times that they realized the episodes that work best are the ones that really dig into the emotional journeys of the characters, so they just went ahead and made that the primary focus of the first half of the season. It gives weight to their loss at the beginning of the season - John’s death is not some throwaway plot point, it’s a real gut punch that our characters aren’t going to get over in a hurry. It also lends weight to the danger the brothers face in the future - John died immediately, who’s to say that won’t happen to Sam or Dean?

I mean, sure buddy, but also...no one here is okay.

Not to mention, John’s deal with the yellow-eyed-demon (+ the events in “Crossroad Blues”) give us a subtle/not-so-subtle hint as to what’s waiting for us at the end of season 2. But we’re not there yet.

Then we’re in “Croatoan” and reminded in full force what our guys are supposed to be fighting this season - not their crippling grief but rather a very present threat to their physical and spiritual well-being. That’s not to say we haven’t had a taste of the Sam-centric plotline that appears in “Croatoan”. BUT I’d argue that even though “Simon Said” deals with the Psychic Children, it’s still only a tease for what those children are capable of. “Croatoan” really drives home the threat from the yellow-eyed-demon, not just from his Psychic Children but also whatever nefarious plans that he’s been cooking for however-long. And it puts this threat front and center as a main quest for the back 13 of the season.

Because of COURSE demon viruses come with their own dusting of sulfur.

Doing the math on this, it looks like SPN had a Front 9/Back 13 split? As in, they got picked up for the first 9 episodes of season 2 but weren’t sure they were going to get those final 13 episodes and that is...crazy? I have not seen any proof this is the case, but it is something to consider for a show that was on the edge of cancellation for this season and last season. It’s possible that the CW was treating all of its programming like they were pilot seasons since this was, essentially, CW’s pilot season, but again - I have no evidence other than this 9/13 split to prove it.

Back to the show. Let me just say: I LOVE “Croatoan.” Any time anyone wants to make up a supernatural reason for an obscure historical mystery, I am ON. BOARD. And the Lost Colony of Roanoke is definitely one of my favorites. I STILL love this episode even though I can hear my friend whispering through the decades, ”The colonists just intermarried with the local native tribe, the Croatoans…” which is apparently actually the answer in real life. But demon viruses are fine, and particularly relevant in The Year of Our Troubles 2020.

CROATOAAAAAAAAA!!!

What also works in “Croatoan” is the dynamics between the brothers that will play out for the rest of the season/series. The groundwork for their big fight at the end of this episode has already been laid in the beginning of the season. On the one hand, you have Dean, who’s lost so much at the hands of the yellow-eyed-demon he can’t stand to lose anymore, especially not his brother. On the other hand, Sam is becoming more like his father - ready and willing to sacrifice whatever needs to be sacrificed to defeat this thing, even if that means giving up his own life. Sam has the same motivation that Dean has but coming from a completely different direction. If his death will save his brother, then he’ll do it, no questions asked, just like John died to save Dean. Neither of the brothers are willing to lose the other and they will go on to make increasingly stupid, selfish decisions to make sure they won’t have to. Yes, I love this show, and I love Sam and Dean, but man they are DUMB BABIES.

OOF.

So we get “Croatoan,” where we see the stakes at hand - the yellow-eyed-demon is out for World Destruction, not just Winchester Destruction. He may have plans for the Psychic Children, but his plans reach far beyond a bunch of 20YO with wacky powers. And when Sam gets infected with the demon virus (LOL, sulfur in the blood?????), he knows he’s a danger to others and is immediately ready to sacrifice his life to keep those around him safe. Dean goes on to prove that this is a line too far - he’ll keep others safe but if the choice is between killing his brother and anything else, he will literally choose anything else. Sam turns out to be fine in a mysterious kind of way, although the town clearly is not, and the boys ride off into the sunset. Then we get the cliffhanger - John told Dean something important that we will not find out until January.

These dolly shots crack me right up.

If you’re watching this in real time, you wait a month for that cliff hanger to resolve itself in “Hunted”. If you are living in the era of streaming, you just skip the closing credits to find out what John said - “He said that I [Dean] had to save you...and that if I couldn't, I'd . . .That I'd have to kill you.”

Are you ever just like, What the actual F*CK, John Winchester?

This is literally Dean’s worst nightmare - having to choose between duty and family. Sam understandably doesn’t take this well to start with, but like in “Croatoan”, he ultimately settles into the idea, which is...deeply upsetting???

“Hunted” does a lot of fun things -

Number 1: We get more of the Psychic Children (because I REFUSE to call them the Special Children, sorrynotsorry). We see that there’s a range of Types, from Scott who definitely looks like a serial killer to Ava, who ultimately goes on to be the headmistress at a secret magic university (OMG, DO watch The Order cuz that shiz is GOLD.)

Seriously, if you liked Supernatural, you will like this show.

Number 2: We get the return of Gordon, this time as a head-on antagonist. Do I like Gordon? No, I find him frustrating at best. But do I LOVE Gordon as an antagonist? Absolutely! He is smart, capable, and (at this point) wholly non-supernatural, Natural, if you will. He’s such a good foil to Sam and Dean and he’s the perfect villain for this moment. He sees the world in only black and white. To him, there’s no moral dilemma as to whether or not the Psychic Children are good or bad - they’re definitely bad and he’s here to stop/kill them. I think he’s an important catalyst for Dean too, since in both of Gordon’s episodes, Dean sees what he could be if it wasn’t for Sam’s influence. He doesn’t want to be like Gordon, so he needs to keep Sam around.

Number 3: Alright, this one isn’t so fun just cuz the final scene is a little sloppy, but Ava turns out to be a good catalyst for Sam. When Ava shows up on screen, she is clearly on Team Cool Kid. She’s totally normal, very Apple Pie, but she shows up to try and save Sam’s life simply because it’s a life that she can (hypothetically) save. She knows nothing about demons or curses or Chosen Ones, she just had a weird dream that gave her a weird feeling and then she acted on out of the goodness of her heart. It’s exactly what Sam does when his dreams kick it into high gear in season 1 (with mixed results). Sam hangs out with Ava, gets to know her, gives her the whole Truth is Out There speech and when she leaves, I actually really appreciate this character. She’s had a wild ride of a day and she is just taking this whole thing totally in stride. Good on you, Ava!

Except, when we get to the end of the episode and Sam tries to check in on her, we find her fiancé with his throat cut, sulfur on the window sill, and Ava nowhere to be seen. Now I don’t remember what I thought the first time I saw this episode, but I don’t believe that Ava killedher fiancé. The show really seems to want me to believe that she killed her fiancé, though, indicating that no matter how cool she was at the beginning of the episode, it’s only a matter of time before all the Psychic Children “go darkside”, as Sam so strangely puts it.

Anyone else this this was a weird line? I thought this was a weird line.

And this is what pushes Sam’s arc through the rest of the season. Our next episode is “Playthings,” which feels like a monster-of-the-week episode where they squeeze in some unrelated emotional drama. Or maybe it’s the other way around. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fun episode, but SPN is usually better about tying their MotW eps into the emotional character arcs and this one is not as finessed. There’s a little more disconnect here. The important takeaway from “Playthings” is this: seeing Ava “kill” her fiancé convinces Sam that his father was right. Sam may need to be put down, and if that happens, he wants Dean to be the one to do it. Dean agrees, but we all know that he’s doing that just to appease Sam and that he’s still gonna do whatever it takes to save Sam, no matter the cost. Nothing gets resolved and this will definitely come back later.

I mean, yeah that’s probably true.

Some things -

First off: Sam seems to be perfectly OK with this and that...is not OK.

Secondly, SAM?!? WHY would you put that on your brother??

Thirdly, DEAN! Don’t make promises you don’t intend to keep.

FINALLY, and maybe most importantly, this is the best example I can think of to showcase a character’s greatest strength also being their greatest weakness. The Winchesters are about two things - fighting evil and taking care of family. Done in equal measure, these strengths make them heroic tropes. Taken to extreme situations? Well, now you have two humans wide open to failing at one of these things so bad that the apocalypse literally starts.

What these three episodes remind us, honestly what this whole season so far reminds us, is that Supernatural works because of relationships. The monsters and the mythology and the classic rock are there as a fun framework to get us interested in the show, but it’s the characters that keep us. That’s what viewers connect to. I really appreciate the arguments that Sam and Dean have with each other, starting at the end of season one and up until now in season 2. They feel very deeply rooted in character, not contrived for the sake of Drama. Neither of them is wrong, per se, but then neither of them is right, either. Their emotional backgrounds feel complex and grounded, foundations for real characters, not just the caricatures that you’d expect from a show about ghosts on a network aimed at the 18 - 24 demographic.

See, THIS is the sort of fight you’d expect, not a fight where one brother is begging the other to literally kill him.

And this is gonna be the hill that I’ll die on - characters and relationships are always the heart of any successful franchise. I mean, why else are there so many shipping wars out there? Why write fic if it isn’t to explore relationships and aspects of a character that the show doesn’t present? Sure it’s not the only reason to write fic, but I’d argue it’s a BIG reason.

Because it’s not just the characters building relationships with each other, it's the audience building relationships with those characters (and to a lesser extent, with the world of the story). This is the core of any show that hopes to make it past season one and beyond, no matter the decade, the network, or the platform it airs on. We like stories about people with problems we can relate to. Dysfunctional family trouble? Check. Drama at work? Been there. Feeling like the world’s about to end any second? Oh yes. You can feel those problems deep down in your gut, even if the specifics are different. It doesn’t matter if those people are working in an office or a hospital or hunting down demons in the dead of night. If you can show us people, real people with something we can relate to on a gut level, that’s how you stay on the air for 15 seasons.

#SPN #Supernatural #Supernatural season 2 #Supernatural rewatch #Sam Winchester #Dean Winchester #Crossroad Blues #Croatoan #Hunted #Playthings #CW #TV #TV History #TV Structure #Are you ever just like #What the Actual F*ck John Winchester

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samwinlover-blog · 7 years

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Cover Hogger

Pairing: Sam x Reader Characters: Sam, the reader and Dean Warnings: a ton of fluff Word count: 671 Summary: The reader is a bit of a cover hogger and Sam decides to do something about it. Basically just a ton of fluff, have fun guys! Tag List: @amanda-teaches @myplaceofthingsilove @spectaculicious @bambinovak @writingthingsisdifficult @spnfanficpond @aliensdeservebetter @amanda-teaches @myplaceofthingsilove@evyiione @mogaruke@aliensdeservebetter@27bmm@craving-cas @spnfanficpond @amanda-teaches @myplaceofthingsilove @spectaculicious@bambinovak @bambinovak@writingthingsisdifficult@padackles2010 @mamaredd123@milkymilky-cocopuff @iwantthedean@zeppo-in-a-trenchcoat @spntrista @d-s-winchester@just-another-busy-fangirl@winchesterprincessbride@waywardjoy@supernaturalyobsessed@whywhydoyouwantmetosaymyname@sandlee44@fangirl1802@kittenofdoomage @evyiione @winchestersmut@purgatoan@mogaruke @therewillbeblood @megansescape @taste-of-dean@leatherwhiskeycoffeeplaid @scarlet-soldier-in-an-impala@deathtonormalcy56@wildfirewinchester @notnaturalanahi@jensen-jarpad@impalaimagining@fangirlextraordinaire@itseverythingilike@jesspfly@lovekittykat21@mysteriouslyme81@mrswhozeewhatsis@aiaranradnay@supernatural-jackles@girl-next-door-writes@spnsasha@27bmm@spnfanficpond @amanda-teaches@myplaceofthingsilove@spectaculicious@bambinovak@writingthingsisdifficult@spn-imagines-to-feel@spn-ficfanatic@cleverdame@saxxxology@jensen-jarpad @keepcalmandcarryondean dancingpanda137

Masterlist Here!

Sam Winchester was the perfect boyfriend. He made the insane lives you both led seem a little less crazy. Through all the danger and heartbreak, he was there with a smile and a laugh. The two of you had been dating for about two years, and you loved every second of it. At first the relationship had been awkward, because both of you were awkward people. It had been an endless string of forced conversation and shuffling towards each other, as if the novelty of actually dating had made both of you walk on eggshells. You didn’t want to ruin it. But over time you both got over it and grew into the people you were today. He was your best friend, and your boyfriend. Endlessly thoughtful and even more adorable, you loved him. The two of you were inseparable in every sense of the word, much to Dean’s dismay. He’d perpetually grumble and roll his eyes whenever you and Sam kissed in front of him- which, admittedly, was often.

When you, Sam and Dean arrived at the motel you were exhausted. The three of you had been on the road all day. And, as much as you loved the Impala, driving really wiped you out. You’d spent the day crammed between the Winchesters, because all three of you refused to sit in the back seat. So, since you were the smallest, you were chosen to sit in the middle. Normally, you didn’t mind. But, again, you’d spent the entire day in the car- listening to the Winchesters bicker about the most petulant things. As much as you loved both of them, you just wanted to sleep.

So, with a small groan, you dropped your duffle bag to the ground and flopped onto the bed. You didn’t even bother to change, and were still wearing your blue jeans and t shirt from earlier. Within minutes Sam had switched off the lamp and lay down next to you. You felt the mattress sag from his body weight and immediately rolled over to grab his hand. He sighed and hugged your shoulders closer to him as you both drifted off.

In the middle of the night you woke up to Sam nudging your shoulder, “Babe, wake up”

“Wh-what?”, you responded, groggily rubbing your eyes. Looking around the room you saw the clock read about 2 AM. It was still dark outside and at first you could barely see Sam in the pitch black of the motel. But, within minutes, you could make out the lines of his face and began staring into those hazel eyes of his.

“You have all the covers and I’m cold,” Sam replied, whining a little bit.

You rolled over to your side and cocooned yourself into the blankets even more, which earned a groan from the Winchester at your side. You laughed in response and buried your head further into the covers. Which caused him to wrap his arms around your shoulders and squeeze tightly, earning a giggle from you.

“I’m coooold,” He said again. You rolled over to him and laughed, so wrapped up in the blankets at this point that you were just barely peeking out from them to look at him.

“Okay fine if that’s how you wanna play it,” Sam whispered while starting to tug the covers off you with a wicked grin.

“Noooooo,” you whined and started to roll away.

“You leave me no choice, babe” Sam laughed back and started to tickle you. You squirmed away and nearly fell off the bed before he caught you with another laugh.

“You can’t kick me out- it’s my bed!”, you whispered yelled at him, hitting his shoulder.

Sam opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by a sleepy Dean, “For god’s sake get a room you two!! I’m trying to sleep!!”

You put a hand to your face and buried your head in Sam’s shoulder with embarrassment, he just pulled you closer while sneakily shoving some blankets onto himself in the process.

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xparrot · 7 years

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sheronm replied to your post “@chiisana-sukima mentioned idontneedasymbol in a post “Halp! Need...”

As Destiel is my OTP, I just want to weight in that for this one fan it's not that I think Sam & Dean shouldn't need each other. It's when shippers turn this into an argument of Sam & Dean ONLY needing each other that I disagree. This feeling is not reserved only for Cas, but or Bobby and Charlie, and the other people in Sam & Dean's life. I don't think having more/different/other relationships make the Sam&Dean bond WEAKER. (1/2)

I ship Dean/Cas pretty thoroughly in this fandom, while also really loving the platonic/friendship interpretation of it in canon. And I love Sam&Dean. But what I really like about shipping Dean/Cas is how it’s not the same as the bother’s bond, but that doesn’t make it bad or somehow subservient to the emotion that Dean feels for Sam. It’s a different relationship, with different dynamics (that happen to push all my buttons) and that’s fun! (2/2)

Oh, yeah, that’s cool! --Well, really, any perspective is cool, as you’re not trying to force it on me; on my other blog I just went into a whole long thing about ‘live and let fan,’ and ship conflict is a big part of that.

But for me, while I often get OTPs or particular relationships that I latch onto, I don’t generally need or want to see them in isolation. There’s a reason a bunch of my slash fic features a lot of other characters; I’m a team fan, and I like complicated webs of relationships. While I don’t have romantic ships in SPN, I really enjoy Cas’s friendship with both Dean and Sam -- go Team Free Will! At the same time, Sam & Dean’s relationship is the one that most pushes my own buttons, so when it comes to fic, if I have to choose one relationship to read about, that’s the one I pick.

What I was referring to is the reverse of that, the subset of Destiel fans who perceive the Sam & Dean relationship as, hmm, an active threat? to their ship. I had Destiel fans on my dash who kept talking about how the only way Sam or Dean could be happy is to end the “toxic codependency” between them, and their ideal ending of the show is for Sam to quit hunting, marry and settle down somewhere, while Dean and Cas drive off to hunt in the Impala.

And that’s great, if that’s how you want to view the show. (I am hardly in a position to judge; I watched Smallville for years fastforwarding through any of Clark’s romances, and my happy ending would have been him and Lex getting married...) But it’s contradictory enough to what I enjoy about SPN, and a prevalent enough attitude, that I find I enjoy tumblr more if I don’t follow Destiel blogs (though I do happily follow some multishippers, who are less likely to be putting any one ship above the others.)

#sheronm #replies #my post #supernatural #fan discussions!#fwiw the fan I'm talking to #is a Wincestiel shipper #so she's all for Cas being there too #I've found I have to curate my SPN tumblr experience very carefully tbh #not just with shippers either #I also am cautious about following major Sam fans or Dean fans #as they're both prone to tearing down the other characters to make their favorite look better #but I've got a good balance of positive fans now #also I just realized I wasn't following you on tumblr?#that's been rectified!

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