Dear Brother

[brightly_lit]

We're watching an awesome anime at anime night with s_c's brother lately called Dear Brother that takes being a high-school freshman in a "sorority" and makes it the! most! dramatic! thing! that ever! happened!!! Which I love. As long as a show is good, then by god, make it as dramatic as you possibly can. Aaaaand, since I was a high-school freshman once, I can attest (as I'd wager most/all of you could, too!) that being a high-school freshman girl really DOES feel that dramatic, so it's kind of ... extra realistic, in that way.

I voted today. Man, voting is so cool. I was disappointed recently to see that my favorite rock star said, or at least used to say, that voting doesn't matter, but damn, if fandom hasn't shown me how much it does. I may not be able to make our show win an online poll or the cover of a magazine ... but I know my fandom can do it, which is all of us doing our part, all of us together, voting. (And I know some of you have individually had a significant impact on certain voting situations where one is allowed to vote as often as one wants!) I say, if you think voting doesn't matter, look at all these people in the highest current and former positions in government, carefully deciding and then announcing their choice. They believe their vote matters. And their vote has exactly the same weight as yours. I fucking love voting, doing my part, learning what's going on in my community and being part of deciding how we go forward. All these people who take democracy for granted. It's not for granted, dammit! It's a precious right. Exercise it.

I think I'm the only person I've seen who liked 12.2 as much as they liked 12.1? I thought it was great. YASSS, Rick Springfield--sexy AND such impressive acting! More of him, please! Sexy sexy Jared in the sexy sexy sex scene. Of course the consent issue is cruel, but I am a bit surprised that a fandom that so loves their dubcon and noncon in fic is so bothered by it in show. Toni is over-the-top evil, which is kind of tiresome (I preferred her now-dead cohort in 12.1--a more interesting character by far), and yeah, Dean could've been happier to see Sam, but I suppose the number of times he's been dragged into a room to see his brother tied up and bloody has worn down his sense of surprise, maybe, and he kind of already had a lot going on what with mom being back in the picture and all. I LOVE LOVE LOVE how they're dealing with both boys so desperately needing a mother, Sam's adorable eagerness just to begin to get to know her in that scene at the end, arrrrghhh. THERE'S SO MUCH FIC THERE, in mother and children getting to know each other as adults, having missed all the time in between, but I haven't been able to find a fic in it to write just yet. I want to see where show goes with it first, I guess, hoping they'll do it right and get out of it all that can be got. Mary really is the only thing that could heal either of those boys now, and god, how I want to see that happen! YAY SHOW!!

Comments

[toratio.livejournal.com]

I was a little surprised about the backlash against the scene with Sam and Toni, as well as Sam's torture in general. I've actually seen fics written before the premiere with Sam being sexually tortured.

What I think unsettled people was just how sexy the scene is made to be, probably because they're trying to lull the audience in to thinking that Sam was doing this consensually, and possibly to make people feel slightly violated for enjoying it. Supernatural has a habit of combining sex and violence/gore in different ways, and I didn't actually see it as more extreme than any other scenes we've seen.

From an in-universe point of view, it's pretty fucked up, and I kind of hope we get to see some fallout from it, that Sam maybe won't just be able to shake that off.

I think Dean is quite conflicted in the first two eps, because usually his only focus is on saving Sam, but he's got this curveball, and he's trying to manage both. Also, maybe because it's a human adversary he's not quite as worried? I don't know, I was surprised too by how underplayed it was, but I think you could probably say the same about Sam's hunt for demon!Dean, which took a while and wasn't all that frantic.

For me, Sam's kidnapping felt like a plot device to give Dean more time with Mary, so as to introduce that dynamic before throwing Sam in. There were actually a couple of lovely moments about Sam that could happen because he wasn't there - like Mary not knowing how to face him because of Yellow Eyes (and fuck it was amazing to get to that straight off the bat), and Dean being so proud of Sam going to Stanford.

I hope Toni becomes a more rounded character. We know she has a kid - so the mother thing is probably going to become important - but mostly she's kind of weird preppy evil. I found Mick more interesting, possibly because he seems more reasonable, and yet he sent for Mr Ketch (dun dun duuuun).

Sam and Mary at the end? Worth the whole ep. My Sam!girl heart was breaking. <3

[brightly-lit.livejournal.com]

I do hate shows/movies that shame an audience later for enjoying what they were set up to enjoy previously. I REALLY hate that; it's like, filmmakers, you don't get to have your cake and eat it too, and like, do you hate your audience or what? I felt like Grosse Point Blank, as otherwise great a movie as that was, did that A LOT, making the violence humorous, then shaming the audience for finding it funny instead of horrific. But I just didn't get a feeling of that from this ep. It may be partly that I was spoiled and knew what was going to happen, but it did seem fairly clear early on that something wasn't right about it, what with her saying "Now isn't this nicer?" and peppering him with questions just as she had been before. That is to say, even if the sex had been real, it seemed immediately clear she was still just using him, so thank heaven it was but imaginary.

But jeez, I hardly know how they could undress Jared and put him in a sex scene and not have it REEEALLY sexy, so I don't blame the show for that. I THANK Show (and heaven) for that. ;-> Speaking seriously, though, that might have been partly Jared's choice, wanting it to be hot and not realizing how disturbing it could come off to viewers in context.

Excellent point about its being merely a plot device to give Dean more time alone with Mary first.

[toratio.livejournal.com]

I actually quite like the shows and movies that do the shame thing - I think because I like the meta nature of it. Movies like Videodrome, which discuss the spectacle of torture and violence but also show it are always fascinating for me. I suppose for me it's about being aware of what and how we consume entertainment. But that's just me.

I think it was designed to throw people off, definitely. And you're right - maybe it wasn't meant to be so sexy, it's just that it's Jared and he's just a sexy mofo.

[milly-gal.livejournal.com]

I loved it JUST as much!!! ♥

And good for you for voting honey :) Sounds like an interesting night at the Brother's :)

[brightly-lit.livejournal.com]

Ah, I'm glad you liked it as much!

Something I said at the brother's: "We had a great couple of episodes of Dear Brother, a great couple of episodes of Gundam, a great couple of episodes of RWBY ... and then we also saw some Great Teacher Onizuka," because GTO, uh ... not too fuckin good. But it WAS an interesting night there! <3 :-)

[anactoria.livejournal.com]

Of course the consent issue is cruel, but I am a bit surprised that a fandom that so loves their dubcon and noncon in fic is so bothered by it in show.

For me, at least, it's the fact that with the writers of this particular episode, it forms part of a pattern of throwing in consent issues or rape jokes for extra drama or ~edginess, and then never addressing them again. In my experience, fic tends to better about not just tossing these things aside. Not that I'm going to judge anyone for enjoying the scene in canon, of course. ;)

All these people who take democracy for granted. It's not for granted, dammit! It's a precious right. Exercise it.

Indeed!

[brightly-lit.livejournal.com]

It does seem to be a habit of these particular writers to add in such things for drama/edginess or, more mercenarily, ratings, and yeah, they'll probably never address it again, but my thought was, at least it was only mental, and at least it was pleasurable, as opposed to the straight-up physical torture she put him through before and after! It seemed to me much less bad. Aaaaand, of course, they never follow up on the consequences of regular physical torture, either, but that's just Show for you.

[madebyme-x.livejournal.com]

I very much enjoyed 12.02, but after reading all the fics that I've seen, I think they did drop the ball a little bit with all the potential that was there for further drama and plot twists. But there was so much to enjoy - the Sam and Mary scene was perfect!

My Mary POV summergen fic touched a little on the difficulties of bonding with adult children who are essentially strangers. Because yes, it's an odd situation, but I think Show is doing a great job with Mary; it's not an instant connection, but they're all finding their way to each other. I like too how they acknowledged her demon deal, as well as how at odds she feels in this century. Bring it on Show - I want more of this loveliness!!!

[brightly-lit.livejournal.com]

Yeah ... Show has a bad habit of dropping the ball on that kind of thing, I always feel, at least in recent seasons. But that's what the fic is for, I figure.

It was SO great that they already got into the demon deal! And I'm loving all the jokes about her being behind the times; it's so well conceived and played. Only on our show, man.

Ooh, ooh, off to read your fic!

[elwarre.livejournal.com]

I loved it, too.

Regarding backlash to the sex thing - that sort of moral, judgmental reaction to content being included in a show frustrates me. It's so familiar. I grew up with it (and I'll imagine you did, too), with particular shows or movies being off-limits because a character swears or has premarital sex or rebels against her father without getting the comeuppance she deserves. I'm done with that nonsense, yo.

Someone else argued that the inclusion of the scene wasn't the problem, but that including something like that just for shock factor might be. Which makes me wonder what the point of those heavier elements might be. Maybe they're setting Sam up to further question his perception of reality (which would make all kinds of sense, seeing as Mary's now in the picture and Dean's suddenly not dead)? Or maybe they're setting up more consent issues regarding Lucifer and possession? Lucifer can't possibly have lost interest in his perfect vessel, right? I dunno. On this one I'm willing to see where the show goes with it.

but I suppose the number of times he's been dragged into a room to see his brother tied up and bloody has worn down his sense of surprise, maybe, and he kind of already had a lot going on what with mom being back in the picture and all.

YES, to all of this. Don't get me wrong - I will read a million h/c fics in which Dean frantically searches for kidnapped Sam and then showers him with love and concern once he's found. I eat that shit up. But I'm kind of glad the show doesn't keep rehashing the exact same scene over and over. This situation is a little different then, say, that time Gordon kidnapped Sam. Dean's got a lot going on, and he's got the extra worry of possibly losing Mary again. I'm glad they let him react differently - it felt appropriate to the storyline to me.

[brightly-lit.livejournal.com]

Yes, I too am definitely done with that nonsense. I like your ideas of what it might be setting up (despite my lack of faith in the writers to actually make it have some sort of meaning)--especially your ideas about Lucifer, possession, his perfect vessel ... and the fact that we know Rick Springfield can't last in that role for long. Plus, that picture from the Endverse??!? (If indeed that was what it was, as it appeared to be??) That would be SO rich for storylines and angst and relationship drama.

But I'm kind of glad the show doesn't keep rehashing the exact same scene over and over.

I am, too, although a little more horror on Dean's face, just a look, would have gone a long way. I mean, if they were going to spend days upon days inventively torturing Sam, far beyond what we've almost ever seen depicted in canon, it simply seems odd to me that his loved ones would react like it's all in a day--his obsessed brother, and his mother, coming upon her baby son in this condition?? Maaaan, I'd have liked to see Sam get a bit more love showered upon him by his family. But I'd always like to see that.

His feelings about Mary make for the best and yet most troubling explanation for me, inasmuch as Mary may to Dean be "as important as Sam, but female, motherly, recently deceased, and therefore theoretically 'fragile'"--not to mention that losing her the first time destroyed his life (and, arguably, psyche), so he really couldn't bear to lose her again. Eh, regardless, it was still an excellent episode, and I can't wait to see where they're taking it! I'm already enjoying Dabb as showrunner more than I ever enjoyed Carver's reign.

Nice to chat you, lady!

[gatorgurl94.livejournal.com]

Re voting: AMEN!

*runs off to check out Dear Brother*

[brightly-lit.livejournal.com]

Ooh, yay. You'll have to tell me how you like it!