Hell? Got that right.

[astri13]

Okay, please read this disclaimer carefully because I don`t want to harsh on people`s squee anymore than I already did. This episode? Was a crushing disappointment to me because it went exactly the one way I wanted it with every fiber of my being to NOT go.

So

For weeks and weeks and weeks I prayed for Dean NOT to make a deal. And damn, he went and did it. His character journey this Season? Shot to, pardon the pun, hell.
How am I supposed to watch all the "what`s dead should stay dead" or him sticking to his guns in Crossroad Blues and not go "whatever." He is a bona fide hypocrite now. Bobby was right. The Yellow Eyed Demon was fucking right.

How can I give credibility to any stance he takes in the future? Because lord knows when he goes back on his words again. Sam is right in ANY argument about the deal that may arise by default. To have exciting philosophical debates you need TWO valid viewpoints though.
And Dean`s Season 3 storyline? He needs to saved from doing something stupid. Woohoo.

Oh, and it would be the absolute kicker if Sam came back wrong because then it would be Dean`s fucking fault who screwed up even his screwing up. Oh boy. Hey writers, can you think about new and exciting ways to kick this the character any more in the dirt? Because I think he has a huge ego and needs to be "humbled" by feeling MORE like a screw-up. This time even justifiably. *headdesk*
Could he maybe succeed at anything in life? No. Just checking.

On the other hand he really can`t expect any gratitude from Sam. He KNOWS how it feels to be in Sam`s position, the pain it causes yet he went and did it anyway. Knowing full well that Sam never would have wanted it.

And the real kicker? He SHOULD NOT be saved from the deal. He made his bed, he can lay in it. He went into it with both eyes open. Even moreso than the Crossroads people and I wasn`t cutting them any slack either. Dean cheated death. That`s HUGE. And it should have consequences. If you can just make a deal and then wriggle out somehow - yeah, yeah, he can`t but come on he will anyway - there are no consequences. What, angsting? Pfft.
JOHN paid his dues. I can respect that. Dean probably never will. I can`t respect that. Makes the whole "sacrifice" meaningless in the end.

Now Dean had a crappy life and did a lot of good so I wouldn`t want him to rot in hell forever and ever - Sam can bring him back after a while - but honestly at this point? I`m not sure he will ever learn not to cross the lines in the sand. Will ever evolve from his utter co-dependency with his family. So fire and brimstone might be about the only thing left to beat some sense into him.

I sure give up. He came to the realization that it scared him what he was willing to do for his family in the Season 1 Finale. In Season 2 he experienced some necessary anger at John and he seemed to draw a line somewhere. Apparently not. Like, did Dean of all people really need a lesson on sacrificing for family? Really? It had impact with John but for Dean it was same old, same old. And I wonder if the guy will ever evolve? Ever develop? Ever have a journey that isn`t rendered null and void at the end?

Sam passed his crucible in the Season 1 Finale, Dean utterly failed his.
Because the writers chose the laziest, most unoriginal way imaginable to bring Sam back. A deal with a demon. Wow, I have certainly never seen this before. On this show. THIS Season. *facepalm*

So really maybe Dean does need it beat into him after all. He has low self-worth, I get it and he attributes more weight to the lifes of Sam or John than he would to his own but is he NOTHING without them? Truly nothing? Does he only exist as long as they do? This episode points heavily to "yes". Which is an utterly depressing place for a TV character.
When in Becoming Angelus asked Buffy what she had left after everything had been stripped away her answer was "ME". Dean doesn`t have a "me" according to AHBL II. And that crushed me. Truly did.

Sorry for ranting here but this is how I feel about the whole thing. I don`t find it "awww" and it doesn`t fill me with warm fuzzy feelings. Nor am I in any way excited about Season 3 now.
If at least the show had balls and makes Dean go to hell at the end of next Season I`d be able to respect that. Hopefully Dean`d go with dignity.

It`s human what he did, yeah. Doesn`t mean it isn`t an utter failure for the character and I have to like it. The writers will have a hard time to bring Dean to a place where I can follow again. Admire him? Well, that`s gonna take mountains more.

As for the other stuff, the whole defeating the Demon thing was okay. Nice that the gate to hell can be closed by two people. Heh.

Sam shooting Jake? Might have feel excited about if I wasn`t so terribly disappointed by then already. At least Sam would get the exciting storyline from cheating death. Dean got some pretty angsting but that was about it.

John? Wow, was this six or ten seconds he was on screen and even climbing fresh out of hell he had to save his brats. Man, the buck never stops.

Bobby continues to be awesome. If he were pretty I`d happily watch the show be about him. :)


It`s sad because I really need to scale back on my investment in the show and the characters since obviously I have wildly different visions about those than Kripke and staff which only leads to heartbreak on my side.
I know it sounds prissy and drama-queenish but I honestly can`t take this. Dean? At the moment I don`t even wanna think about him. So it`s not indifference but I can`t really say it`s love either. At least not right now. Heck, I need space from a TV character. Gosh, I`m pathetic.

Comments

[i-am-schizo.livejournal.com]

We discussed the topic already even though it wasn't canon then. But apart from the fact that I'm probably with you in calling it lame writing that we've got yet another deal with a demon, you know I so can't agree with the rest. I still don't see it as a failure in character or personality that he's willing to die for those he loves dearly. You're right, his dependency on his family is most unhealthy at times, but I think personally, I can completely relate to his devotion to those dear to him. I must admit that I believe that "me" is worth almost nothing without others close to you. Sam's all Dean's got left after John's death. Falling back on yourself, on your "me" when both people you loved most in your life are gone...uh-huh...no. I still think Sam could do it though, building a new life on his own even without Dean. He's always been the stronger one in this respect. I'm guessing Dean knows that. I don't mind Dean's "surrender" to the people he loves at all. I understand it and it touches me.

[astri13.livejournal.com]

I`m just so angry the writers set him up for a fall. Of course Sam needed coming back so we get Dean making the stupid deal. They could not have gone creative and say, have him tricked the Demon or something. Anything else. *headdesk*

You're right, his dependency on his family is most unhealthy at times,

And I`m really afraid it`s never gonna get better. He ended up in the same place he is always been in. While Sam on the other hand grows and is allowed to succeed in his journey I feel Dean isn`t.

[i-am-schizo.livejournal.com]

But to a certain degree Dean is learning. At least he acknowledges in IMToD, Playthings and especially in No Exit that his Dad's decisions or the way he made his boys grow up haven't always been the best. But I can't really say anything to this because I cannot bring myself to see Dean's choice as a failure or even as a lack of character growth.

[i-am-schizo.livejournal.com]

I linked back to this entry in my post about the finale. Hope you don't mind. (Though I don't really discuss Dean's deal. It's just general squeeage, really.)

[astri13.livejournal.com]

No, it`s fine. I hope I`m not bringing anybody down if they come here but I see you warned them of my utter grumypness. :)

[legoline.livejournal.com]

I knew you'd hate it. Haha. I loved it, though. I thought it was pretty much awesome, despite that I didn't want Dean to make the deal. :-)

[astri13.livejournal.com]

I can`t even be gleeful about hating it right now. I`m really more depressed about it.`:(
This was a major plot development, laying down the set-up for Season 3 and I simply don`t care about it at all. If Jensen wasn`t in it I`m...not really sure I`d keep watching. So, that`s basically the worst place I`ve ever been in with regards to the show. :/

[legoline.livejournal.com]

That's too bad but really as you know, I don't see your problem. I know you think Dean should have his principles but I think it would have been OOC if he hadn't brought Sam back somehow. *shrug* I actually liked the way they did it and picked up on the fact that he should be dead, and that Sam noticed it instantly :-)

I love it so much it currently doesn't even bother me you hate it that much...:-) (Which really has never happened before)

[astri13.livejournal.com]

Believe me I would like to squee with everybody but I just don`t have it in me. Maybe I will have to need to take a break from the show, like no watching episodes, no fanfic etc. Maybe that will help in time for Season 3.

[legoline.livejournal.com]

I hope it will. :-/ Me I'll just be over here squeeing :-)

[astri13.livejournal.com]

I feel so bad though because I really wanted to finish my fic now the Season is over but at the moment I couldn`t write something inspired about Dean if my life depended on it. Sorry. :/

[legoline.livejournal.com]

That's ok. I kinda have given up hope you'll ever finish it anyway :-)

[aizjanika.livejournal.com]

I don't feel as strongly as you do about this, because I really am all about the squee and the angst with this show, but I pretty much feel similar about the deal with the demon as you do. It *is* lazy writing, and I thought it was somewhat character-damaging for Dean as well. (Well, that's my opinion. I know that 99.9% of fans don't feel that way, and that's okay. hehe)

I love the angst on this show, and what JA did with every single one of his scenes nearly killed me, but I felt a bit let-down by the "easy" deal with the demon thing for a few reasons. For one thing, we know he's going to get out of it somehow, unless they find out early that season 3 is the last season. Also, now we know that if you're willing to make a deal, you can bring someone back, and we'll find out next season that you can get out of the deal somehow.

It's like the sarcophagus on SG-1. Why not just put everyone in it when they're sick and injured? Now they're going to have to think up a reason why this won't be a good solution for people to do all the time.

I also think that all of this will change the dynamic between Dean and Sam. That could be a good thing. The changes they had between them in season 2 were mostly all good, IMHO, but...I'm not sure what the new season will bring. *g*

The deal, though, was so the obvious route to take. They could have done it numerous other ways. *g* What if Jake had succeeded in opening the hell mouth by himself and in the ensuing fight to close it, John came out (as he did) and saved Sam instead of Dean? Or somehow something they did in killing demon resulted in Sam coming back, but they didn't know that would happen, and they can't ever repeat it because Bad Things would happen... I don't know. *g* I'm not a TV writer. *g* I just wish they'd thought of something else.

I haven't seen much agreement on this issue, though. *g*

I didn't hate this episode, and I appreciated JA's fine acting and the fantastic scene with Bobby and all of that. I loved seeing John again although I really wanted him back, even if it was stupid. *g* But...but...but... *g* I felt a bit let down after watching this. When I watched it again, though, I felt a lot better about it--not overall, but just in a "it happened" kind of way, so it wasn't foremost in my thoughts as I was watching. *g*

[astri13.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen much agreement on this issue, though. *g*

Oh, I`ve read a fair share of comments like "fucking deal, I hate it". *g*

I felt a lot better about it--not overall, but just in a "it happened" kind of way, so it wasn't foremost in my thoughts as I was watching. *g*

I`m better with it too but I still don`t like it and I`d be really fine with resolving the deal thing by Mid-Season next year. It`s not really suspenseful to pretty much know how the whole Season and the Season Finale is gonna play out one year in advance.