#i suppose that's what happens when your topic of choice is literally Doubt Uncertainty and Liminality

[incesthemes]

there is interesting johndean subtext and insinuations across kripke era, usually through an antagonist insinuating parent-child sexual violence in order to exert dominance over dean. this type of mockery exploits that ambiguous relationship between john and dean and reminds dean that he never had a normal relationship with his father, and that makes him gross and wrong. it doesn't actually matter in the end whether john was sexually abusive to dean. the core of their relationship was damning enough: dean was made to take the place of john's wife—to comfort john and raise sam—while simultaneously being his son. the codependent nature of their relationship implies the incest that underscores their dynamic. again, this is regardless of what literally occurred between dean and john because there is enough doubt toward the nature of their relationship that multiple antagonists can use it against them.

sonwife, brotherhusband—dean is stuck in a liminal space between family and lover and is unable to put his feet firmly on just one side and instead has to accept both together or abandon both together. he doesn't get to have a relationship with his family without it being simultaneously incestuous. he plays the role of wife to john and mother to sam as mary's replacement; he therefore becomes more than a son and transcends the boundaries of the familial into the incestuous. it's baked into the dynamic and he can't hope to escape the liminality in which he's stuck without abandoning his entire family altogether.

this ambiguous relationship is further acted out with sam, where people perceive them as lovers rather than brothers; where their mutual devotion trumps, neglects, and disallows any other close relationship outside each other; where their physical closeness is viewed through an unusually sexual lens despite no literal sex acts between them taking place on screen. once again dean is stuck in a liminal space, paralleling the ambiguous and uncertain relationship he had with john.

in the end, sex (and sexual violence) is just a symbol of this codependency and uncertainly incestuous dynamic. sex acts in kripke era end up being symbolic: misinterpretations of sam and dean's relationship; accusations of sexual violence; literal, on-screen sexual moments between the brothers and someone else. it's a literary device that highlights the incestuous themes of the show. dean hand-picks women for sam to fuck because it allows dean to be symbolically part of sam's sex life. henricksen accuses john of raping dean because it is a symbol of the unhealthy, codependent relationship dean had with his father. the samulet stays on during sex because sam is symbolically integral to dean's sexual gratification (seen too in the way both dean and cassie in 1.13 appear to kiss the amulet at least once in the dark room). sex is used to signify more than what's literally on the screen, and the connections between the literal sex acts and the blurred lines of dean's familial relationships allow for a reading of incest between both john and dean and sam and dean.

it never mattered whether johndean or samdean had a sexual relationship in the canon because that was never the point. the point is the liminality that permeates the narrative. sam, dean, and john all stand upon a threshold between acceptable and taboo. the point of it all is the doubt and anxiety, the are-they-aren't-they that is never answered. the absence of incest within the text invites the understanding that the incest was, in fact, always there.

[counttotwenty]

(1)Just read Colin's interview. Considering he mentioned dealing with Blackbeard on this adventure, it seems pretty clear he's not coming back this coming episode. And spoilers for the finale are indicating that CS get separated again. I know we're going to get some awesome things coming our way, but do they really have to keep separating them? This will be the 5th time since they returned from the UW that they were separated by a realm in some way. And if this is the last season? I just

(2)wish they’d stop using this trope so often. Just like the secrets trope, it’s too repetitive. And what about the CS adventure? I was always willing to defend Adam about that, when people accused him of lying or manipulating his words to mean it would just be one of them going on an adventure. But I don’t really have the same hope anymore. I guess he really did mean a solo adventure. Sorry I’m venting, guess I’m just a little discouraged. Thank you for your encouraging responses!

First off, feel free to vent anytime. I know it always makes me feel better so I hope it did the same for you. Second, I hope you don’t mind me using your ask as a jumping off point for a couple of different issues. I feel like there are some things to be considered as a whole so I’m going to throw those in here along with my thoughts on your ask. 

Ok here we go. Deep breath. In. Out. In. Out.

As often happens with me…fair warning…wordiness ahead.

Let’s talk about the concept of angst. It’s what drives a large percentage of prime time dramas. A lot of fans swear they hate it but still, they tune in every week to watch it play out. It’s been that way for decades and it isn’t gonna change anytime soon. (The dropping ratings are a whole other topic but they certainly aren’t a result of too much angst)

Angst is supposed to be uncomfortable. It’s supposed to hurt. It’s supposed to incite passion and anger. If you’re a television writer that’s EXACTLY what you want from your viewers. You want them to be moved on a deep emotional level. You want them to feel the full range of emotions–not just gooey happiness.

All of the things they want their viewers to feel they also want their characters to feel. Because as much as we all love the idea of a happily ever after (we’ll get there) the whole range of emotion is what makes a character feel real and relatable. It makes them feel multi-dimensional. Makes them interesting to watch week after week.

Sure a dose of happiness once in a while is good too, and CS has had their share of those gooey moments. But ultimately this is a show about heroes AND villains so you can’t expect smooth waters to stay around for long.

Writers also want both their viewers and their characters to feel doubt and uncertainty. And for those feelings to lead to a deeper understanding of the characters and their relationships. And that’s ok. Doubt and uncertainty, especially when they’re driven by fear, don’t diminish a solid relationship, they reinforce it. An unexamined life is not worth living and all that.

As I said before people get very protective of their favorite characters. They want to wrap and protect them from every negative feeling and event. But that’s just not realistic.

So as it applies to the next couple of eps–angst doesn’t mean Emma and Killian are separated but each one totally knows the other is fighting tooth and nail to get to them and neither of them feel scared or hurt and neither lashes out and there are no bad decisions in sight.

It means that one or both of them are going to do things that make us want to throw our shoe at the television. Within limits of course. I haven’t changed my mind on any of the things I’ve said I don’t think will happen.

It means that both of them are going to be unhappy, scared, uncertain and a whole slew of other negative emotions at some point. Because if the characters don’t feel those things the viewers won’t feel them. And if no one feels a crescendo of uncomfortable and negative emotions then the reunion can’t bring them to their knees with joy and happiness. You gotta feel the lows to appreciate the highs and all that.

It means buckle up and strap in. Grab a box of kleenex, your favorite comfort food and the beverage of your choice. And, as counter intuitive as this might sound, enjoy every minute of it because it is going to be AWESOME.

To quote the great John Cougar Mellencamp–c’mon baby make it hurt so good.

Next let’s talk about context. Think of your favorite book series. Something you feel very invested in. Now imagine when the next installment comes out someone tears out 5% of the pages and hands them to you. Do you honestly think you’d have a clear picture of what’s happening from those few pages?

None of the sneak peeks or set spoilers or promos mean a thing until we see them in context. Knowing what happens is only part of the story. Until we know the whys and hows and until we see what other forces are at work–and in this show that can be literal–then we’re just guessing.

The whys and the hows and the other forces at work brings me to the the last thing I want to mention. So called OOC behavior. In a lot of cases what that really means is that a character acts other then how someone would have wanted them to act.

Think of it this way–if you could predict every reaction a character will have, and every move they’ll make based on that reaction–wouldn’t that be boring and predictable. It would be the sign of a stagnant character.

In real life how many times have you watched your friends or loved ones do something and thought–man I did not see that coming. It happens. On an fairly regular basis. Because people can, and often do, surprise you. 

Characters, like people, are complex creatures. They act and react based on any number of internal and external pressures. There’s no guarantee that how they react to a situation once is the way they’ll react if faced with the exact same situation again. How many times a week do we hear someone say “I snapped”? Or someone else “snapped”? By it’s very definition that means someone reacted differently than they’ve reacted in the past. They might snap out of anger, or rejection, or fear …or pretty much anything.

And that doesn’t make their actions OOC it makes them realistic.

So, with all that off my chest…I hear ya on the constant separations thing. It’s a cheap tactic. Same with secrets. Writers use them because they’re easy. Everyone recognizes and understands them so they need less set up or exploration. Unfortunately, when it comes to network tv there’s very little time for reinventing the wheel. New and groundbreaking often finds itself cancelled before it even gets out of the gate. 

Once I’ve seen the eps play out I’ll be more than happy to call the writers on it if it comes tired and repetitive onscreen. Ditto if the adventure fizzles. But I’m gonna give them a chance to show what they have in mind before I start condemning them.

I just haven’t seen anything–or maybe I should say enough of anything–to make me think this storyline is going to be any less awesome. At least over the next handful of eps. I’d be lying if I said A&E writing the finale didn’t give me pause.

Regardless of that though–I am still here for all of it. And I still believe it’s gonna be AWESOME!!!