Missed opportunities for brotherly moments in Supernatural.
The following will contain *SPOILERS* for season 10 and beyond... Including the recent events of 13 and 14. If you haven`t seen 10 and beyond yet and don`t want to be spoiled then...here there be dragons folks. YOU WERE WARNED so no whining about it...
Okay, now that we`ve gotten that out of the way.
The first time I noticed it was season 10 and since then there have been multiple times where a brotherly moment; like a hug or a conversation that would have added a lot to the boy`s relationship; could have been added, but was not for various reasons.(In season 10 I blame the writer`s insistence on shoehorning Castiel AND Crowley into the story-line which left less time for the brothers.) The result is, at least to me, a glaringly obvious hole in the narrative that leaves the feeling of something left wanting. Then again It could be just me feeling like this, I don`t know.
Let me go on the record as saying I love Cas, and I loved Crowley.. but for me they are secondary characters. Secondary characters who have grown in importance and have added a lot to the narrative but still secondary characters.
( Note before you get up in arms, this is how *I* see them. Others may feel differently, and that`s just fine) To me the whole show is about the brotherly relationship between Sam and Dean. I`m a bi-bro fan with a slight Dean preference.
Missed moment # 1: Season 10 - SOUL SURVIVOR
When Dean is finally cured of being a demon.
I know that a lot of people weren`t happy that he was cured so soon. I however was ecstatic. Now don`t get me wrong I think Jensen did an amazing job playing Demon Dean. I know that the actor himself was disappointed he didn`t get to play the character longer. I know he`s going to be happy to play Michael!Dean this season and stretch his acting legs. I know he`ll do a fantastic job. For me however I love Dean just the way he is, and my whole love of the show centers around the brother`s together.
So for me the Demon Dean arc was great.. but it ended just in time. What wasn`t so great for me was the real lack of a decent brotherly moment right after he was cured. I mean Dean died, he was turned into a demon, was gone for months, basically left his brother Sam to be killed by Cole Trenton, chased Sam around the bunker trying to kill him, and said some really heartrendingly mean things to his baby brother
Sam went through the wringer on this one mentally and physically. He was desperate to save his brother and with help from Castiel he finally did. Yet after he`s cured we merely get a `You look worried fellas.` from Dean, and two separate conversations between Dean and Cas regarding Sam and Sam and Cas regarding Dean. But no interaction between Dean and Sam on screen. What they needed in that moment was a conversation and/or some kind of hug.
I recognize it might be because Jensen was directing this episode himself, and in between the sequences for Cas and Crowley he likely did not have time for more interaction between the brothers. Nevertheless It left the aftermath of the Demon Dean thing feeling a little empty for me. In the subsequent episodes we got some bits of conversation about what happened, the lengths Sam went to to save his brother, and Dean thanking his brother for saving him among other things.
The episode itself, however, left things hanging a little.
Missed moment # 2: Season 11 - RED MEAT
This is one of my favorite episodes. I love both brothers, (Dean a tad more) but I love me some Sam whumpage. Sam get shot early in the episode, trying to save two hikers, a married couple Corbin and Michelle from Werewolves. He seemingly dies when Corbin, ( Who unbeknownst to Sam and Dean has been bitten by one of the Werewolves) strangles/suffocates the badly wounded Sam so that the Uberprotective Dean will leave his brother behind and get them to safety. The moment that Dean thinks his brother is dead is heartbreaking, and even though we as viewers know Sam can`t possibly stay dead, especially in the middle of the season, it is still hard not to get drawn into Dean`s grief.
I mean look at that. Doesn`t it make you want to hug him?
Jensen is such an amazing actor.
Later it is revealed that Sam wasn`t dead...just mostly dead. Corbin`s attack sent him into shock. He wakes up alone in a cabin, manages to kill two other Werewolves, drive the miles to the Impala, and get to the local hospital in time to save Dean from the wolfed out Corbin. Yay for bad ass Sam! ( Though how bad ass he can actually be seems to be seriously depended on the plot of the week)
This is where we get to out missed moment. Sam shoots wolfCorbin as he`s trying to strangle Dean. As soon as Corbin is dead Sam collapses in the hall, and all we get from Dean is.. “ It took you long enough”
I wanted Dean crawling down the hallway to collapse next to Sam after he`s sure he`s alive or something. I could have done with a hug in the car afterwards as well, or just when they stepped out of the hospital to get back in the Impala to go home. After everything both characters went though in the episode, at the end there they could have added a brotherly moment.. instead it was left hanging and sort of unsatisfying or me.
Missed moment #3: Season 12- Mamma Mia
Image borrowed from Den of Geek-
This is one of the ones that bother me the most.
Sam has lived for days, maybe weeks believing his brother is dead. He had been repeatedly tortured physically and mentally. He has no idea that not only is his brother alive, his MOTHER Is as well. Dean, on the other hand, most definitely not died, has found out his mother is alive and reunited with her, and has returned to the bunker eager to get back to his baby brother and share this news with him. What he gets is an empty bunker, a pool of blood and Castiel who has no idea where Sam is.. and oh by the way Sam has been kidnapped??
Dean, Mary and Castiel spend a lot of time trying to find Sam. I don`t know the exact timeline so I`m going to say a week or more. When they do find him, Dean goes in alone only to get captured himself. The reunion of the brothers was a pretty good moment, if a bit short and a little underwhelming..
A bloody, beaten Sam looks at Dean in shock. “ Dean..I thought you were dead”
Dean, hanging from shackles, reeling from the effects of the spell looks at Sam and smiles `Hey. Well I`m not sure that I`m not. Listen I`ll tell you about everything later...”
Check out what I mean here.
But later Mary shows up just in the nick of time to save Dean from getting his eardrums punctured with an ice pick. Sam is, understandably shocked to see his mother alive. After a nice fight between Toni, Mary, and Dean eventually the British Men of Letters torture happy bitch gets knocked out and Mick Davies shows up to calm things down. Here we have everybody okay, Sam`s free, Dean`s okay, Mary`s okay... it needed a moment. Mary is seeing her baby boy for the first time since he was an infant, I kind of wanted her to hug him. I kind of wanted an all around Winchester hug. Later at the bunker, they have that funny family dinner where Dean gets some illusions shattered ( It came from the Piggly Wiggly LOL )and eats an entire pie. Sam and Mary have a nice conversation where Sam gives her John`s journal and finally have that hug they should have had before. Afterwards Sam lays on his bed staring at the ceiling fan and Dean sits on his own drinking beer in the kitchen looking at pictures. I kind of wanted them to sit together drinking beer, and clink their bottles together you know? Something to symbolize them being together again.
Okay those are my main ones. There are a few others with good moments that could have been so much greater with the addition of a hug, or some more dialog. But this is just me being nit picky.
We know how Dean feels about those moments.
1) Season 10- The Executioners Song
After Dean kills Cain and manages to retain himself while doing it he comes out of the barn and collapses into Sam`s arms. It was sort of a hug so I guess it`ll do.
2) Season 10 - Brother`s Keeper
Caught up in The Mark and his desperation to stop himself from causing any more carnage Dean makes a deal with Death. Kill Sam and Death will send him where he can no longer hurt anyone else. Dean and Sam fight, and the younger Winchester gets a good beat down but Sam eventually gets through to his big brother. Sam agrees to let Dean kill him if it means putting a stop to him. Death gives Dean his scythe but after some powerful words from Sam ( and some amazing acting from both boys) Dean slices and dices DEATH instead of Sam. Afterwards he drops the weapon and worriedly asks Sam if he is okay, but I would have kind of liked a hug. I might have a Winchester hug fetish though LOL
3) Season 11- Don`t Call Me Shurley
Amara`s fog has taken over the town and infected Sam. Dean however, seems to be immune. Dean refuses to leave his brother`s side, as Sam struggles and is close to being taken over by the fog Dean looks up to the heavens and yells `Stop this, you hear me you dick!` Just when he thinks all is lost he sees something shining in Sam`s pocket... it turns out to be the Samulet. As viewers hear Chuck sing `Fare Thee Well` Miraculously the fog clears, the people in the closet are okay, and so is Sam. Both boys are shocked. I thought though it would have been cool if Dean had grabbed Sam by the coat, and yanked him into a hug.
4) Season 12- First Blood
The boys are arrested by the Secret Service and taken to a black site and locked up for two months to try to get them to talk. They eventually get out by making a deal with Billie the reaper. They sort of die in their cells, and wake up in the morgue together. I thought the reunion between the boys was a little lackluster there. I mean they hadn`t seen each other for months, could we have gotten a better brotherly moment? Still that sequence afterwards with them hunting those military guys in the woods was just bad ass.
Man I get chills. Image borrowed from here.
5) Season 12- Regarding Dean
Dean is hit by a memory erasing spell and loses all of his memories. Another episode I really enjoy. It has a nice mixture of humor, and angst. The brotherly moments were good, but Dean was a bit of a jerk to pull that trick on Sam at the end. It would have been cool if after doing that mean joke, Dean had just stepped off the stairs and given Sam a little hug.
Okay so there we go... just a few missed moments..and a brotherly moments that were a bit underwhelming for me.
Next time I think I`ll do my favorite brotherly moments, and then some of Jared and Jensen`s best acting. Just to balance out the criticism.
