I’ll be honest, it kinda feels like the cherry on top of the shit sundae. I’ll be better with time, it’s just… not what I was expecting at all. I’ve had a rough… three years or so? I don’t even remember at this point. It’s a long ass story and fiction (particularly spn) has been something I could consistently look forward to.
It feels like losing a friend. Losing a lot of friends, really. I knew at least one of the characters was doomed and I had a feeling another would bite it too, but like… all of them? All of the recurring cast (save for Jody, Donna, and the girls) bites it or gets trapped? That’s what we get? It feels so bad, especially considering the way the season began.
@wanderingcas and I were talking and she thinks the reason Cas’s death, in particular, is so hard to swallow is because we’ve spent so much time in his head. I’ve written probably 50k through his eyes in the past year. I know him. He’s a part of me in some ways, because all writers put parts of their soul into their writing and I definitely put myself into him.
It sucks, you know?
I’ll just let myself feel it I suppose. I need to work on actually letting myself process anger and pain so I guess this is as good an opportunity as any.
I agree with you, the deaths stung even for me – I can’t even imagine if it had been a character I was deeply devoted to. I love Cas and Crowley, and Rowena was growing on me too, but I know some of my friends are as devoted to and invested in them as I am to Sam and Dean and was to Mick (and Ketch before they bastardized him).
I was discussing it with a friend in PM and we realized what made us so mad was the lack of care they gave them. Three characters that really were all fan favorites – I know some folks disliked Cas or Crowley or Rowena, but just as many liked and loved them. And they were all given 5 second deaths before the episode moved on. We weren’t allowed time to grieve. Sure, we have the hiatus, but that’s an after the fact grief. It didn’t do any of them justice.
You’re a good writer. And part of being a good writer is investment in your characters, so I understand where you’re coming from. It’s not being babyish or pathetic at all to want better than he (or they) got.
Processing emotions – especially powerful ones like anger and pain – it’s not easy. But it can be done. Sometimes we just need a little help and support along the way. *hugs*
(And for the topic of the fic – I know i love your stuff. I, for one, am eager to read it no matter what it is – as I know many of your friends are. You bust your ass writing for free, and you’re amazing for that.)
In regards to the point about not having time to grieve, I completely agree. The past four eps of the season have given us so much death and it was just a hell of a lot to digest. The dropped to the ground and then we moved on. Whenever anyone tells me everyone dies on spn and I should just get over it I always point to the early season deaths. Dean and Sam grieved John for half a season basically. Bobby got an entire episode to die. Jo and Ellen died as heroes. Hell, even Charlie (which was a dumb death) was given a hunter’s funeral. Crowely’s death is one I can deal with because he got to give a speach before he died. He went out like he lived and in the end, no one bested him but him. That was fitting. Rowean was a burn corpse. I was screaming “GET AWAY FROM THE RIFT” a second before Cas died. It wasn’t dignified. Cas was a hero, and he deserved to go out like one. (Of course, I know I’m biased. I love Cas. But I still think if even Crowley, who’s constantly switching sides, got a speech, Cas should’ve, too.) The deaths this season have been shock foder and it’s disheartening and enraging.
I knew Ketch was going to die, I was fine with that even if I preferred something else. (side note: they didn’t solve anything this season. Sure, they killed the invading BMoL but the organization still exists and can easily try again. They made a good dent in the hunter population and they still have all that info. That’s why they needed a turncoat.)I suspected Crowely’s time was up but everyone else was a shock.
It’s hard to handle when all my favorites (save Sam and Dean, ofc, ) are dead now. It stings something awful. I gotta deal with that, though. The emotions are there and I guess I just gotta figure out what to do with them. It almost makes me want to step away from the bangs I signed up for and work on a much darker fic for a while. I’ll have to think about it. But thank you (and everyone else) for offering your support. It means the world to me.
Thank you, for the compliments about my writing, btw. It’s cliche to say it’s a labor of love but it’s true. I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t love the characters and I suppose even if they’re gone now I shouldn’t allow anyone to take that from me. Canon be damned.
I’ll be honest, it kinda feels like the cherry on top of the shit sundae. I’ll be better with time, it’s just… not what I was expecting at all. I’ve had a rough… three years or so? I don’t even remember at this point. It’s a long ass story and fiction (particularly spn) has been something I could consistently look forward to.
It feels like losing a friend. Losing a lot of friends, really. I knew at least one of the characters was doomed and I had a feeling another would bite it too, but like… all of them? All of the recurring cast (save for Jody, Donna, and the girls) bites it or gets trapped? That’s what we get? It feels so bad, especially considering the way the season began.
@wanderingcas and I were talking and she thinks the reason Cas’s death, in particular, is so hard to swallow is because we’ve spent so much time in his head. I’ve written probably 50k through his eyes in the past year. I know him. He’s a part of me in some ways, because all writers put parts of their soul into their writing and I definitely put myself into him.
It sucks, you know?
I’ll just let myself feel it I suppose. I need to work on actually letting myself process anger and pain so I guess this is as good an opportunity as any.
I don’t handle emotions well. By my nature I am good at two things, repression and implosion. (I’m also bad at grammar. I went to public school. I think that’s supposed to be a colon not a comma. I don’t care.)
Implosion comes in a specific form, too, mainly “destroy everything that makes you happy and take no prisoners.” As a reslut the urge to destroy a year and a halfs worth of work on ao3 is strong as hell.
I poured my soul into my bang (it posts in a week) and as of now I couldn’t give a fuck if another human being ever lays their eyes on it. It is (as far as I’m concerned) my magnum opus and if it were handwritten I would burn it.
Go ahead, laugh at me. Call me names. Send nasty anons and make fun of me. Call me over dramatic and a baby and a bitch and whatever else you want. I’m much better at belittling myself than you will ever be.
Sorry guys, I’m all out of repression. I’m all out of pretend smiles. It’s not so much this one tiny mostly insignificant show thing, it’s that my entire life is a shitshow and a handful of things make me happy.
Yeah, I’m an overdramatic baby. Like I give a fuck.
16. If you could change anything in the show, what would you change? Just one thing? lol. Obviously, I’d stop the fridging of minor characters for no good reason. Look, I totally get that sometimes characters die and for good reason. Jo and Ellen died a hero’s death worthy of their characters if you ask me. Bobby’s death was impactful (he got a whole damn episode to die). Even Benny’s death, I can forgive, because you could kinda tell that he was feeling lost and alone and his death proved that he’d been good all along (I swear I thought he was going to be Dean’s Ruby). But there are other deaths I can’t forgive or look past (Billie, Charlie, Eileen, Bela, etc etc). I get that characters die and that’s fine, but what bugs me is the way they die. They’re pawns and I hate that. It wouldn’t kill the show to just have these characters live a life separate from the Winchesters only to show up every once in a while, and if the show didn’t have a history of killing off all of Sam, Dean, and Cas’s friends for no good reason (plot w/out deep impact is not a good reason) I’d probably handle it better, but it frustrates me to no end is that it happens so often. If you don’t know what to do with a character you can just make something up and leave them alone. (Like, you know, how Claire and Alex went to a Radiohead concert so they weren’t in an ep. See how easy that is spn? Wow.) Here’s a hint, show, having a cast of recurring characters isn’t a bad thing. You can add to the world and make the show more fun the more characters you have. Wow. 22. Popular character you hate? Gabriel. I know! I know! Look, Gabe is fine he’s just not really my favorite. He’s just meh. I get that he’s usually the wild, fun, party guy in fics and that’s totally fine but I’m just not a fan. I don’t really care for him.
which I’m separating out because it’s only responding to a single point:
And at the end of the day, I’m choosing to accept [Eileen’s] death narratively, because I understand the machinery that made it happen well enough to say okay, I get why the writers made this choice
Which I’ve seen several fans express, and I don’t get it. What narrative purpose did Eileen’s death serve besides a moment of shock in the opening, and a couple scenes of grief from Sam?
Charlie’s death – which I hate, and it burns me to defend it – but it serves a plot purpose; vengeance sends Dean further down the MoC’s dark path. It’s blatant fridging, but that motivation wouldn’t have worked if it hadn’t been someone close to them.
But if Eileen had been a previously unmentioned hunter acquaintance (like Mary’s friend), who died suspiciously and then the boys learned that he or she had been paranoid about having been bugged – how would the plot have progressed any differently at all? What would the Winchesters have done differently? They would’ve looked less sad, but how would that change the story?
Sam’s grief was nicely played, but is it going to have any impact after this? Will it change his character in any way? He’s mad at the BMOL, of course, but while he says he wants to punch something, he makes no decisions driven by that grief, instead acting as rationally as if Eileen were an innocent victim that they didn’t know personally. And anything he might have felt over Eileen is overwhelmed now by what the BMOL did to Mary.
Maybe I’m wrong and it will have an effect on Sam’s character; maybe he’ll be more likely to reach for the next opportunity for connection he gets, or less likely. But I think it unlikely; Eileen wasn’t really in the show enough yet to be that significant. I doubt we’ll get a mention of her again (maybe one reference next episode?). In the end, her only point in the overall story was to make the BMOL more detestable and make Sam look briefly sorrowful. And I have a hard time accepting that limited value was worth losing a character who provided unique representation, who was generally well-liked and offered further story opportunities (putting aside her developing relationship with Sam, she was the only other American MoL legacy the boys have met).
Okay, I’m just gonna let it all out. You all are mad and I am too, so I’m just gonna get it out. This season is a wandering train wreck.
I had actual hopes that some of the interesting things they’d planted we’re going to really be played with (the whole “who knows what about who” thing and the misinformation and misdirection) because, hey, that’s not too much to ask for is it?
I’d hoped we’d see genuine character development from Mary and at least one member of the BMoL that lead to an ally-ship. (Mick, for instance, if he didn’t die, and no, even if Toni is the one who turns around I don’t think that counts because she’s really had fuck all time and/or relationship with anyone to make that meaningful.) I wanted to see Mary make mistakes and learn all about the shit her sons had gone through and I wanted an attempt at healing. The BMoL arc was enough to fill an entire season with intense interpersonal drama.
BUT that stupid Lucifer plot showed up. Look, I really dislike this whole thing and I really dislike that it’s put Lucifer as a driving force. He’s lost so much of what made him interesting and intimidating. They could have the nephil plot without him (if Crowley hadn’t done a huge dumb). But whatever.
The issue is that they’re playing with huge themes (truth v dogma, what truth even is, morality, understanding, trauam) with the BMoL arc and big themes with the nephil (nature v nurture, bodily autonomy, what’s really “good” when there is potential for so much bad) and just one of those is needed for a season. Only one of those needed to be the big climax, but apparently we’re getting two and both are half-assed.
And as far as the bloodbath element, honestly, it’s crap. It would be different if they didn’t feel the need to purge all kinds of good recurring characters all the damn time but they do. And these awesome characters are rarely given the weight their deaths would deserve. It’s like watching somone get kicked in the teeth over and over and over again. Angst is fun, constantly seeing interesting characters die is not fun.
See, this is the problem I see with both killing off good characters and half-assing action-y plots. Supernatural’s strength is that they create a wonderful world full of potential. There are thousands of monsters, hundreds of hunters and each of them has a story. We get to see these stories, we get to love these characters, and we get to find our view of the world challenged over and over because some monsters are good and some humans are terrible. The lines between friend and foe get blurry and we get to see the height of human triumph and the lows of beastial depravity. That’s what makes the world of Supernatural so much fun. It’s not about two brothers, it’s about two brothers, the world they live in, the politics of heaven and hell and the friends they make along the way. It’s a rich world and apparently that’s just too much for the powers that be to handle because they keep trying to shrink that world down by making it as action-y and focused on two people as they can. I realize that the show’s world revolves around Sam and Dean, but that world is massive and complex and doesn’t need to be stuffed in a box until the need arises to dangle interesting characters and plots in our face just to torpedo them.
It’s really tired.
One of spn’s strengths for the very beginning was to tell the story of ther people through the lenses of Sam and Dean. It’s strength was to mirror internal and external drama. No amount of grenade launchers or shoot-em-up scenes or manpain is going to replace that. You wanna get attention and pull things out of your viewer’s show? Show us how the complex world is reflected in complex characters, don’t just half-ass plots and deaths because you think anger and tears are the same thing as understanding and heartache.
Wasted potential should be this season’s tag line.
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