citrusjava

The Boys' Relationship
Dean being so careful all of a sudden - FFS, Sam! He is trying to – trying to do what you told him to, not to be flippant about life, to want to live! Get with it!

Aww, Dean needing to be involved, to help Sam, to *do something*. Sam, say it with me. "You're going for beer? Sure, could you get me those green gummy worms? Not the blue ones. Yeah. And we're out of toothpaste". That would have been a kindness, to allow him to feel less helpless, to feel he was needed, had a function, had a place in the world and with Sam.

Um, the flashes to all the traumas the boys went through? *Wow*. Writers. You tap into something that emotional and huge, and just use it as an excuse for a conversation? No. You either use it for something more, or you write better!

Sam loves dogs <3
Adorable!

Wrong sorts of Bigotry
First of all - it's hot when Portia's angry?! That's one of the biggest sexist cliches! And from *Sam*?! Sam?! Really?

Anyway. In the past few episodes, up to 814, Dean's been getting way more open minded. I like that. He's growing up, perhaps, becoming less hysterical about proving he's a man. I *love* that he was friendly with Charlie, as I said. Love that when Aaron hit on him, Dean didn't do one of the things we'd considered a possibility in fic - from spewing everything homophobic on earth to punching him. Sure, he was flustered, but he was really trying. And in my book, that is a step up, for Dean.

That goes well with being more accepting towards Sammy - he can be a man of letters if that makes him happy, he doesn't have to be just like Dean and dad. That was so sweet. The brothers being accepting of each other in the past few eps makes me so happy I can't even express it. Anyway. It also goes well with Dean willing to allow himself to cook for Sam, and cook well, and brag about it. To use the word "nesting". He's just - I feel like he's healing, growing up in such a nice way I could cry.

But this is the sort of thing that needs to be written really carefully. You can't lose the Deanness of Dean, and while relapses and trying different things can be part of changing, you can't be sloppy about writing it.
One if the interesting things about Dean is his struggle with manliness. I wouldn't want to see that go - or if so (cause I really love him, ok?! It's worth it) - it has to be told well.

And then this week - ?

That was weird. More bigotry than Dean expressed before, I think. And about sex? *Really?* I'd expect him to be a jerk, to objectify perhaps, but Dean is not Hegemony Guy. He is not part of society, and that brings him pain and pride - it's part of his identity, in a big way.
And part of the reason he doesn't see a life for himself outside of hunting.

Dean is not the guy likely to take the role of "you own me answers about your sex life, I'll decide whether it is OK or not". Not as society's spokesperson. Maybe as a hunter, which was not the case. Dean, demanding "Define yourself for me. Choose a category I understand. You are no longer permitted to move away from it"? No. He might define people, might want his clear categories, but fake-enlightened "tell me how you define yourself to help me oppress you better"?

Na-uh. I've had those conversations (a *lot*). Imagining telling Dean about some of my stuff - I'd expect him to be anywhere from awesome to freaked out or disgusted, but never take the role of explaining to me that I should know my place. Never. That's not my boy. That is one form of douchebag I don't believe I've ever seen from him.
I can even imagine Sam doing it, though it would break my heart (had he had a reason not to go with empathy or the whole controlled-cultured-liberal-polite thing). But Dean?

And that point in which he said he didn't get what Portia was saying, and Sam needed to spell out for him that Portia was talking about sex - I don't get *that*. It's *Dean*. Dean makes things about sex even when people aren't talking about sex. And Dean is not stupid. Even Sammy said so. Dean's smart and sensitive, even when he acts like a jerk. And he wasn't making a joke, not any joke I can recognize (of course I get why the writers put it in, but *Dean* wasn't making a joke). Was the idea if sex with Portia that shocking to imagine that he didn't even consider it? Unlikely, from a guy who, himself, made it clear twice that he found her attractive.

I'm gonna go ahead and imagine he is doing this cause he's trying to convince himself he isn't changing, like some sort of purging. But it isn't working, it's not even charming like he used to be while being a jerk.

What's going on with the show and social issues?
I get the feeling they're trying to make the show way more diverse. And generally trying, things like - in this episode - using the clunky "he or she". I'm curious what is going on.

Portia
I like Portia. I loved her reasoning for why James was innocent. Supernatural rarely lets women express intelligent reasoning skills. I identify with her, re having those conversations with bigots, wherever you go, no matter whether you're in the middle of something really important, no matter if you'd just met, no matter if you only told them personal stuff to get their professional help, or, in her case, *to stop them from killing her life-partner*.

And I do give the show credit for trying to show that fucked up experience. I believe they wrote Dean so OOC in that scene in order to show it. Perhaps part of the reason they showed us the sex was for us to not be thinking the thoughts Dean thought, which should leave us free to think he was being a jerk. Actually, it would have been nice if had they challenged us bit more.

But writing-wise -
I have no standpoint here, so I may not know what I'm talking about. Please tell me, if that's the case, and you feel like it. I'd appreciate it, but of course that's my responsibility.

That said - she is owned? By a white guy? And wears a collar? And is depicted as very much about the sex, about being exotic, and being a sort of animal? This is Social Studies 101, SPN :-(

BDSM
OK, first of all, Dean bringing in his duffle full of chains cracked me up. He supposedly planned it all out, emptied his duffle on his motel bed (with Sam trying to ignore the pink lace panties and so forth), filled it with *very heavy chains* and somehow dragged it into the living room casually.

Now for the bitching.
That episode was supposed to be BDSM-sexy. It was *not* (to me). It didn't include almost anything I like about BDSM, like the play, the game that it is, and like the interesting emotions and modes in brings up in all involved. It did include some stereotypes and ick.

First of all, the clothes, the imagery. To me, it was the sort of thing you might find at a regular, sleazy sex shop, ridiculously overpriced, trying to sell being dirty to vanilla people or to cater to the one customer they have who hasn't found a better place yet, and has "more exotic tastes". Buh.

And the attitude was right there too, same sleazy concepts I hear from creepy guys who don't know anything about BDSM. "Consensual" means the people involved need to want this. Neither of them looked like they liked it. Portia said she hated tying James up. BDSM doesn't become sexy just cause there is tying involved - at least not for me. It's about the emotions, the things it brings out in people...
Also - look, random sex by strangers. Why did we just get that?

At *least* neither of the two were killers/killed for their abnormality. They did, however, have an underground club for likeminded people, two of whom were the bad guys. The motivation for murder - fight over a woman... *is tired*

My There will be fanwork list:
- Dean's ass, while sitting down. Surely there is already a gif somewhere.

- The witch-familiar is a different form of relationship, sort of. There's material in that for fic. Plenty of fic. I would have been more flaily about it, had the episode been better, had the structure been more clear and unique. It might be an attempt to interest werewolf lovers, the way we got other fan-candy for other fan-tastes over the season, and particularly over the past few eps.

- The last things Portia said to them, about knowing what it's like to start fresh, knowing what it's like to run. How did she know, about them? Also - how did she know they were having another form of sex that wasn't socially acceptable? Perhaps she could smell the Impala Sex they had on the way over :)

- This is at least the third episode in which a chess board appears. Someone wrote an interesting meta about the first one. I'd loe to read more about the other two (or more).

I'm Gonna just go ahead and ignore:
- Sam checking the suspicious sounds from outside the door without a weapon.
- The boys just taking her word for her not being a shifter.
- Sam so comfortable with killing someone without checking.
- Dean is not allergic to cats, and that would not have triggered his allergies had he... argh, never mind.
- "The shirt is mine, really! Look, initials! And I will tell you the name once more!"
- That cat guy flirting with Dean. Bluntly. Cause - still, boring.