#spn strangers in a strange land

[shallowseeker]

Why must you wound me like this, 14x01 outline?

SAM…Surrogate Dad.

///

Cas is like a FATHER to him.

///

Dean, Jack’s surrogate FATHER

[arcanespillo]

"Stranger In A Strange Land"

SPN S14E01

[soullessjack]

anyways I’m thinking a lot about these outlines from 14x01 and 2 and all the things they do for Jack’s characterization

“If he’s going to try and be the version of human being his mother was, then he wanted to know more about her. After all, he never met her since she died practically at the moment of his birth. And with both his biological parents gone, he felt a longing to connect with his roots.”

“No, Cas. I’m really not as dumb as everyone seems to think.”

“The truth is, there just isn’t much information about Nephilim. He didn’t realize he was such a rarity.”

“Jack agrees, and says he has to prove to Sam and Dean that he’s capable of being on the team.”

“I’m just trying to figure out who I am. I don’t know who I am.”

“Heroics aren’t the only measure of strength.”

“…he knows what Cas is thinking: that this is Lucifer’s gene pool talking. It’s not. ‘I’m not my father. I’m not my mother. I’m me.’”

[winchestress]

Castiel, certified damsel in distress

[suncaptor]

am going to accept Sam associates Nick as the Face Of Lucifer above else (since everyone else he knew first) even if it doesn't make the most sense to me simply because it is insanity inducing that he's just looking after Nick like this and helping him with his wounds and having him in his home and all that.

[samepisodebracket]

Round 1; Group 44

[let-me-be-your-home]

Sam Winchester Week - Day 3 | Hunter Sam 

[uh-ohspaghettio]

Am I gonna read a book purely cause my dad was telling me how much the main character reminds him of Jack Kline? Yes.

[prince-of-elsinore]

watching season 14 episode 1 where they're going off to save Cas from the demon ambush, and Sam's driving and Mary's sitting shotgun and they're having this conversation:

MARY: Sam, it's gonna be fine. SAM: (scoffs) Stop saying that, please. MARY: What? SAM: “It's gonna be fine,” that everything's gonna be fine, we're gonna find Dean, and -- MARY: We are. SAM: You don't know that. (pause) Dean's gone, and we have no idea where he is or -- or if he's even still alive. You know, Michael could have… burned him out or… worse, and… (sighs)

and it's like this merry-go-round of roles from the situation at the start of season 13, where Mary was missing, Dean was hopeless about it, and Sam was keeping the faith (and later season 13 where it flipped to Sam in despair and Dean keeping the fighting spirit), and all I can think is what must Sam be feeling right now, having this conversation play out with his mother rather than his brother? He and Dean come down on opposite sides of issues like this all the time. It's kinda baked in to their dynamic. Whenever one staggers or gives up, the other pulls/pushes him forward, and they both take their turns in each role. It's not only the bread and butter of the show, it's the bread and butter of Sam and Dean, so much that they themselves acknowledge it, as Dean did in 13x04 ("I need you to keep the faith for both of us").

In the above exchange, Mary goes on to give the kind of mini-pep speech I could imagine coming out of Dean's mouth, and it seems like the show wants us to think 'aw, Mama bear reassuring Sam and having a bonding moment.' But it's never been the words Dean uses, his platitudes about family and not giving up, that matter to Sam in these situations; it's who they're coming from. It's the fact of having Dean there by his side in spite of everything. So even though Sam finds himself, again, in a dark place with a loved one missing and another trying to pull him out, and even though Mary sticks to the Winchester script, the balance is all off. She's not Dean, and without Dean the fraternal seesaw of hope and despair breaks down, and there's nothing to pull Sam up again. The scene doesn't go there or really invite this reflection, but I wonder how much Sam is consciously aware of this as he listens to Mary. There's an interesting, blink-and-you-miss-it moment, after Sam says "You don't know that" where he cuts himself off and glances over as if just remembering who's in the seat next to him, and he adjusts his tone, in a way he probably wouldn't for Dean, before going on. So maybe he can't help but compare, in his head. Maybe Sam is thinking how he's heard his brother say similar things a thousand times but it's just not the same, and how much more hopeless that must make him, even as he shoves it down, for Mary's sake, for the sake of the mission in front of them, and for the sake of the people he's leading. Sam's never been so surrounded by people, all on the same team, his team ostensibly, in his life. But when it comes down to it, he's just as alone as he's been any other time he's lost Dean. He's grateful for Cas, and he loves his mom, but at the end of the day Sam can only rely on one person get his brother back: himself. Everyone else is just another person to convince he's fine.

[lillysilverus]

Stranger in a Strange Land is on.  Season 14 of SPN was pretty craptastic(cough Michael/Dean cough) , but Dabb did get this episode right.  

It was such a great Sam episode.  Tired, frustrated Sam trying to be everything to everybody.  Reassuring Jack and letting him come to help with the demons for his self esteem.  Dealing with Nick when no one else would.  His reaction in the hallway after leaving the room and having to talk to Nick was just so painful and perfect. Kip the demon calling him his Beyonce and getting his ass handed to him. Sam scaring the other demons out of their meatsuits. And all the while looking hotter than it is outside my door right now (heat index is 102). 

One scene that’s really spot on is his first one when he comes back and Mary tries to get him to rest.  He’s exhausted and frustrated, she tries to Mother him and he shuts that down. Sam Smith’s reaction is so good because when he grabs her arm and pointedly stops her from trying to stop him, you can see in her face the realization that she wasn’t around to have the right to be that person to him.  And later on in the car, Sam’s reaction to her admitting that she has to keep being positive or she’ll drown in the bad.  How many times have we seen that in Sam and he’s realizing that he did inherit something from her. 

So many gems among the dross and it’s all Sam. 

[shallowseeker]

TFW parenting, and pep-talking Jack:

Hey, Sammy DOES come into the domain of Jack's bedroom to act as Jack's father! It's in 14x01, when Dean is missing. :-) (TBF, He does this in 13x03 Patience too but that wasn’t well-received/was perceived by Jack as glib and fake.)

Anyway! This whole episode, Jack is pretty successfully being raised by The Village of Hunters. Everyone steps in: AU Bobby, Mary, Sam, Cas. (Of note, Jack doesn't feel better, really, until he talks to Cas.)

///

In this episode, Jack laments the loss of his powers.

In the Sam scene, Sam tries his best to sit with and comfort Jack, and he mostly does okay with that. Interestingly, Sam emphasizes "moving past it," because that's a Sam way of coping. Dissociate and get back to work.

This is a sharp contrast to when Dean comforted Jack about his nightmares in 13x23, which was to tell him, "It's not about being strong," and emphasize taking care of Jack.

Sam in 14x01:

SAM: I talked to Bobby. He says you may have had a rough day today. JACK (sullen, closed off): It was fine. Sam tries some more. SAM: I know it's a lot, I'm sure, but you can get past this. I know you will. I have faith in you, Jack, and I believe in you. (Mary enters; Jack still looks sullen and upset.)

It's a nice attempt, especially for Sam, who comes by connection in a more practiced, careful, "therapizing" manner. The conversation gets interrupted by Nick Vaught waking up. Nevertheless, even before the interruption, Sam's attempt gives off a stilted feeling, like Sam is reading from a self-help seminar.

He says, "You'll get past this," and "I believe in you." Somehow, it doesn't feel like he's coming down to Jack's level and getting real with him, as Dean and later Cas will do.

///

At the end of the episode, Cas comes into Jack's room, with his own face beaten to a pulp. Cas hasn't healed himself. He's letting Jack see his own weakness here. That it's okay to screw up. They all screw up all the time.

He asks how Jack is, and Jack sullenly mutters (again) that he's fine. Then, Cas tells Jack that he did well, and Jack explodes in a flurry of emotion, easily opening up to Cas: (we’ll see that he is more willing to hurl his genuine emotions at Cas, Mary, Dean…)

JACK: All I did was get punched...in the face! CAS (wryly): To be fair, we all got punched in the face. JACK: That's not--Before, when I had my powers, I-I could've done something. CAS (frankly): Jack, you don't-- you don't have your powers. And you- your grace should regenerate in time. But until then-- JACK: I'm useless. I can't kill demons, I can't find Dean, and Michael is in our world and I can't stop him. I can't do anything. I don't have...anything. CAS: Oh, Jack. That's just not true. You've got me. You have all of us. (touches shoulder) You have...your family. (then, passionately) And we are going to find Dean, and we are going to beat Michael, and we're going to do it together! Because that's what we do.

Cas's message seems to get through to Jack a little better here, though Jack is still uncertain and scared. Cas, like Dean, keeps it real with Jack (just like they keep it real with Claire). It doesn't sound so...canned. (Sorry, Sam. Ilu. You try so hard.)

Cas talks frankly: "Yes, you've lost your powers." He also, like Dean, emphasizes familial support and delivers a message of hope and unshakeable confidence.

///

Lastly, Jack is in his "Rocky Balboa" era. It's so adorable. I just wanted to point out his lil jogger outfit and make you imagine him training to "Gonna Fly Now." You're welcome.

No, literally. This is Jack is 14x01, except he's (somewhat hilariously) getting the crap kicked out of him:

[deansamnatural]

[arcanespillo]

"Stranger In A Strange Land"

SPN S14E01

[soullessjack]

[winchestress]

men being beaten and bloody 🥰🥰🥰

[suncaptor]

SO. TRUE.