#sam studies

[babyjaans]

I’m rewatching supernatural, and I can’t believe I never realised this before, but sam and dean are the exact opposite of what they think of themselves. In the brothers’ eyes Sam is the more emotionally open one, or the one with more empathy, and yet he struggles to make close relationships that aren’t romantic. He keeps everyone at arms distance: john, mary, bobby, cas, and so many other examples throughout the series. Whereas dean is supposed to be closed off and emotionally stunted, and yet he has deeper connections with almost all recurring characters: garth, jody, donna, claire (obviously the ones mentioned before). He lets people in more easily than sam. Even how he knows all the shopkeepers in lebanon, whereas they don’t seem to know sam (ie 14x13).

[madonnadean]

That one episode where Sam goes out of his way to spoil Dean is literally one of my favourite late season Sam moments ever

My favourite part is where he gifts Dean the liquor bottle.

This is the wincestie side of my brain typing, but I love how similar his actions look like to a vintage man courting his date, and the thing is that Dean is onboard. He wants to get spoiled by his little brother

Tsundere much?

Then they sit down, facing each other, Sam placing the bottle between them, like a date (again, wincest brain)

Ik that in the long run, these really don't do much for Dean to come out of his depressive state, but it's things like these that makes me love Sam so much.

[angelkissesdean]

While we’re on the topic of Sam can we please discuss how in his college friends’ (minus Brady) pov, it looks like he set his apartment on fire shortly after a Halloween party, killing his girlfriend and then fled the campus altogether. And the next time he makes contact w any of them, it’s with his brother who they then think is a serial killer. And then later on both he and his brother are wanted by the FBI.

He’s not getting into law school after that :/

[inter-state80]

i love that sam is canonically a voyeur because it’s sooo thematically relevant in the sense that a) he’s left out of the action yet remains peripheral to it and b) he does this eroticization of wanting-but-not-having. when sam watches his brother fuck girls it’s thematically parallel to how he orbits (but doesn’t occupy/embody) hunter-masculinity and hunter-violence and hunter-rejection of normal life. when sam watches meg changing in the window it’s about his denial of his own desire and his awareness of his attraction to dangerous women + his own perceived leash on himself and this desire. you know.

[jasmineintheforest]

When and what Sam chooses to project on others about is actually sooo telling.

He has many complex traumas. All of those traumas don't stand out to him equally.

For example, being called a freak or someone else making a major decision for him are like thorny bits of his trauma that didn't heal for so long. The Gadreel arc, the Amy Pond arc (which was about his freak nature btw), the Metamorphosis episode, and so on prove that.

But. Sam doesn't look at vampires and project basically ever. Like post-demon blood addiction, he could well have projected on vampires, or even specific "good" vampires. But he doesn't! Even his hatred of Benny is not because he's a vampire. That was just a convenient excuse. Because Sam doesn't see how much like a vampire he really was. He was Special. HE was doing it to stop demons and avenge his brother and for power etc. There is no equivalence in his mind, so he doesn't flip out.

Similarly, with Amara and Crowley, he could have gotten triggered again. It would be understandable. Amara and Crowley repeat a lot of Azazel-like speech (as silver and shal have pointed out). But he doesn't! He doesn't fully view himself as a victim of Azazel maybe? He simply offers support to Dean when Amara fucks him up. Because he's got the clarity without any self-centeredness right now. To me, it suggests that 1) he's used to accepting powerlessness against these cosmic beings, and 2) he's not haunted by Azazel right then. Tbh, he's either not recognizing the similarities at all, OR he IS recognizing it and it's not triggering to him, or both. It's very possible he recognises Crowley as an abuser without the recognition of Azazel in him. (Fair).

Something else is happening here too. Dean got taken advantage of by Crowley because of how Sam was treating him in s9. (Some of that was fair, but some really wasn't - he was acting from a traumatised place). Everything he accused Dean of doing to push him towards Ruby in s4, is something he did now. And I think he does recognise this. But he doesn't actually know how to handle the emotional side of it. He's still doing it youngest-sibling style lol. He handles the practicalities of rescuing Dean. Ruthlessly. But the emotional aspects, he struggles. The most he can offer is an, "I lied when I said I'd let you die", and then being blind to Dean's traumas, followed by a period of being overly wary and overbearing about how he handles the Mark. And then he releases Amara. That was entirely his fault. And yet. He has no hang-ups about this. I think he just doesn't feel all that guilty. Whatever little bit he feels, he buries. (See: his reactions when demon dean points out his actions). Ultimately, he achieved his goal: Dean is alive. As long as he has that success and power, he will handle the rest however he wants and however he can. He sacrificied the world to save his brother, but he successfully saved his brother! Which her never been able to do! (Dean does NOT view the events this way but uk).

If Sam wanted to flip out with repressed guilt, Amara would be a great issue to do that with. But he doesn't. That's not his struggle right now.

One thing about Sam: whatever you think his issues should be at any moment, he's actually struggling with something completely different.

[darkshrimpemotions]

The thing is, the finale is just as unfair to Sam as it is to everyone else. It erases years of his character development just as much as it does to Dean. It ignores the significant relationships and growth he's built just as much. He's back to season 1 Sam--pretending to be the arbiter of healthy processor of feelings while being extraordinarily callous towards Dean. Running from his problems and trying to deny and erase them instead of dealing with them head on. Disappearing into some sad facsimile of "normal" and shutting out everyone who cares about and depends on him.

The Sam of 15x19 would never act like the fucked up caricature we got in 15x20. That Sam was a witch, protege of the Queen of Hell who could learn from her and use power without being corrupted. That Sam was in love with Eileen Lahey, a woman who took no shit and knew the truth about his life, a woman who was capable and fiercely independent and would never cater to any of his younger self's egocentrism. That Sam had found his niche within the supernatural world and had learned to balance his pragmatism with thoughtfulness and the weight of responsibility. That Sam was a leader. He had reconciled with the fact that he LIKES his life, that he CAN like his life without losing some battle of independence from his father or brother. He had actually learned real compassion instead of just going through its motions. He could make decisions and stand by them and be trusted. And NONE of that hard-won growth is present in the finale. Finale Sam is simply not the real Sam.

Chuck won, even when it comes to Sam.

[kinky-cas]

blurry wife + dean jr ending is an affront to sam wesson tbh. cruel to make sam play Suburban Normal Guy for the rest of his life he needs ENRICHMENT. even without his memories he was finding ghosts at his tech support job!

[batvacuum]

cas and jack only having 4 episodes to interact in s13, with 3 of them being the last 3 episodes of the season, is odd. episode 6 (the best episode of season 13) is the only one they have before the last 3 and i need more of episodes like that in s14 to explore the dynamics of the two and also everyone together. gimme gimme!

as of right now, they need more time. BUT! dean’s and jack’s arc together is fantastic, i love THEM! dean has never lied to jack! and while that can be blunt at times, it has led to such a strong foundation for them and their relationship for the future! dean talking to jack after his bad dream is so lovely <3

sam’s forced positivity and repression of his own feeling in the early parts of the season was a bit frustrating, especially when it led to him not being fully honest with jack about what he wanted from him. the “training” earlier on felt messed up bc of this. but im glad he was able to open up by the end once jack was gone for a bit so that sam really felt jack’s absence, and finally calling jack family by the end of the season.

i find it very telling that dean was able to vocalize that jack is family first before sam! in episode 9! dean’s big heart & the strong mama instinct pattern continues! i really like dean choosing jack in the end, he rarely gets to choose something like this.

cas is the protector dad, who tries to keep jack safe (maybe too safe lol, he seems like a coddler). dean is the looking up-to dad, the one who jack wants to be, and connects with each other on a similar DEEP level with true honesty (and it can be blunt). sam is the teacher dad, he tries hard to understand and to be kind (even if it can be too much and isn't always coming off as entirely honest at first)

and lets not forget my girl mary! as the mom, she's the one jack has gotten to spend the most time with, her opinions have the most validity and they share war traumaaaaa. he connects to her the way he never got to with kelly, someone who will side with him and his well-being. she worries so much <3

worry-sport mom lol, having a tough exterior with a soft inside. mary dean jack are kin like that lol, love that

thank you for coming to my jack and his parental figures (cas, dean, mary, and sam) ted talk for s13 lol. what can i say, i found jack’s inclusion the most interesting thing about s13. he’s great! need more of this next season bc i needed MORE from s13 that it wasnt able to give more of! show me more of my sexy man jack, cmonnn!