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Feb. 4th, 2007 01:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
liptonrm_backupWell, the snow kept me home today. I got out on the road and realized that my car really didn't want to drive down the snowy streets to church. Maybe it's a lame excuse but even though my car was made in Michigan (right here in my hometown, actually, before they closed the plant) and should be able to drive in these conditions the brakes have never worked well on uncleared roads. So I'll babble at you all instead.
The Da turned 60 last Thursday. I had to remind my brothers of that fact though I don't see why, it's not like the math is that hard to do. Anyway, the boys and I took him out to dinner on Friday and then went back to the parents' house to enjoy some King Cake that the boys brought back from New Orleans. It was a nice, quiet affair.
The end of last week was crazy for various reasons and I spent a lot of time in Ann Arbor but I did manage to see Supernatural on Thursday night. I think I'm finally ready to sit down and expound on a few of the thoughs I had with regard to the episode. I've seen a lot of meta flying around about 'Houses of the Holy' and I haven't read most of it simply because I wanted to solidify my own ideas at first. Hence, I'm sure you'll have seen a lot of these ideas in other places, given how fandom really is one big hivemind but I wanted to get them down, irregarless.
First, some disclaimers because this is the internet and we all know what that means if you're not careful about what you say:
Before diving into the character analysis I need to define what faith is in this context. I'm not going to speak on any specific religion and while the show itself mines christianity and catholicism for many of its archetypes (as do most western horror movies) I'm not going to analyze the use of those symbols in the context of the episode or the show at large. Rather I'm going to look at the personal beliefs of Sam and Dean Winchester and how those have manifested both in the episode 'Houses of the Holy' and how those beliefs have evolved over time. For the purpose of this essay the definition I will be using is, "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1) or, in plainer terms, "faith is the things which are hoped for and not seen" (Ether 12:6) "which are true" (Alma 32:21).
One final caveat: I am a christian and hence any analysis I do will be influenced by that fact I am attempting to see the characters as they are and not impose my world view on them. The following is my interpretation of the subject matter and I am more then willing to discuss conflicting or contradictory views.
All right then, with all of the disclaimers out of the way, let's get to it.
One of the things I love most about our show is the fantastic character continuity. We've seen glimmers of Sam's faith in a higher power for good from 'Faith', if not before. It comes as no surprise that Sam would be the one to admit to daily prayer, to a belief in angels. Sam believes, on one level, because it's logical to believe. In a world where you've fought the stuff of legends and nightmares your entire life it only makes sense to conclude that if there's one there must be the other. That is the basis of logic; if one then the other must follow. Sam has never seen concrete evidence to prove his conclusion but he believes because it must be true. If the legends are correct that silver kills a shapeshifter then prayers must be heard and answered. How many nights must he have spent as a child hoping that something good was listening to his prayers and would bring his father home safe.
In 'Houses of Holy' there is also a desperation to his belief. He knows that there is a demon out there that wants to use him for evil purposes and if that is so there has to be a force out there that wants to use him for good. His need for there to be an angel isn't just about redemption for his supposedly inherent evil but also about protection. If he can be implicitly claimed by the demon's counterpoint then he no longer has to be worried about being usurped to the demon's purpose against his will. He'll happily surrender his will if it means he'll never become something he isn't. Sam is afraid and desperate and willing to do pretty much anything to stave off the threat of what could be.
The scripture from Ether that I quoted above continues with, "For ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith" and Sam's faith was severely tried, both by the true identity of the angel and also by his brother's doubts and dismissals. It was a great touch to have what was one of his faith's greatest trials serve as a reaffirmation in the end. Sam was left with a little more hope that they weren't as alone as he feared then he had in the beginning. Of course, if the previews for next week are anything to go by, it's all about to go to hell in a handbasket. Poor boy.
This brings us to Dean. His declaration wasn't simple disbelief, it was a renunciation. God or angels or whatever hadn't protected his mother, who truly believed, from the demon and that wasn't right. It is better for those forces for good to not exist at all then to believe that they've turned their collective back on you. And his refusal to believe is better for him, emotionally, then one of the alternatives which would be to feel guilty, to feel as if it was his fault, or his father's or brother's or mother's or someone's, for all of the horrible things that have happened to his family. That boy has enough issues, he didn't need that particular guilt complex as well.
A lot of my interpretation of Dean's beliefs came from their presentation, not from the words alone. There was something there that I recognized on a fundamental level. Sometimes there are things that you want and you want them almost more then you want anything else but you don't have it and you've convinced yourself that it doesn't exist, at least not for you, and that's okay, you'll get by and it's better this way. However, there's always a part of you that is yearning after it; Dean knows that belief of a universe of evil without good is bleak and a part of him wants there to be something more but he's never, ever seen it and he's fought evil his entire life. He's been on the front lines of the war and if there were ever a place to observe the powers of good it would be there but they've never manifested themselves so he's not going to believe in them because the alternative, that good simply doesn't care, is unacceptable. As I said above, it's better to not believe than to have been rejected.
But I think that there is still a part of Dean that wants there to be something good and that it is fighting with him. Sam's determination and faith during the episode strengthen that voice so that by the end he's able to see the bad guy's fate as something more then mere coincidence. Whether it was a coincidence or wasn't isn't really the point, at least in this context, but rather how it affected our boys. Maybe, just maybe, they're not as alone as they thought they were. Or, at least, we can hope they aren't. And while Dean's anger made him lash out at Sam's apparent naivete (as Dean saw it, I see it more as a desperate suspension of disbelief) by the end he willed it to be true for Sam's sake, if for nothing else.
It is also fascinating that the only people who can get inside a Winchesters defenses is another Winchester. Dean's doubt caused Sam to reevaluate what he had experienced and Sam's faith opened Dean's eyes to other possibilities, thereby acting as a reaffirmation for Sam when his faith was at its lowest. We weren't given any concrete answers because there never are any when dealing with things of this nature. The answers change and grow as the experiences of your life mold and shape you and your understanding of the world and that's as it should be.
Man, I always love a good discussion of faith and 'Houses of the Holy' provided more then ample inspiration.
Last, but certainly not least, I re-organized my recs page and added a few new ones to it yesterday. I love how many great stories our show inspires.
The Da turned 60 last Thursday. I had to remind my brothers of that fact though I don't see why, it's not like the math is that hard to do. Anyway, the boys and I took him out to dinner on Friday and then went back to the parents' house to enjoy some King Cake that the boys brought back from New Orleans. It was a nice, quiet affair.
The end of last week was crazy for various reasons and I spent a lot of time in Ann Arbor but I did manage to see Supernatural on Thursday night. I think I'm finally ready to sit down and expound on a few of the thoughs I had with regard to the episode. I've seen a lot of meta flying around about 'Houses of the Holy' and I haven't read most of it simply because I wanted to solidify my own ideas at first. Hence, I'm sure you'll have seen a lot of these ideas in other places, given how fandom really is one big hivemind but I wanted to get them down, irregarless.
First, some disclaimers because this is the internet and we all know what that means if you're not careful about what you say:
Before diving into the character analysis I need to define what faith is in this context. I'm not going to speak on any specific religion and while the show itself mines christianity and catholicism for many of its archetypes (as do most western horror movies) I'm not going to analyze the use of those symbols in the context of the episode or the show at large. Rather I'm going to look at the personal beliefs of Sam and Dean Winchester and how those have manifested both in the episode 'Houses of the Holy' and how those beliefs have evolved over time. For the purpose of this essay the definition I will be using is, "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1) or, in plainer terms, "faith is the things which are hoped for and not seen" (Ether 12:6) "which are true" (Alma 32:21).
One final caveat: I am a christian and hence any analysis I do will be influenced by that fact I am attempting to see the characters as they are and not impose my world view on them. The following is my interpretation of the subject matter and I am more then willing to discuss conflicting or contradictory views.
All right then, with all of the disclaimers out of the way, let's get to it.
One of the things I love most about our show is the fantastic character continuity. We've seen glimmers of Sam's faith in a higher power for good from 'Faith', if not before. It comes as no surprise that Sam would be the one to admit to daily prayer, to a belief in angels. Sam believes, on one level, because it's logical to believe. In a world where you've fought the stuff of legends and nightmares your entire life it only makes sense to conclude that if there's one there must be the other. That is the basis of logic; if one then the other must follow. Sam has never seen concrete evidence to prove his conclusion but he believes because it must be true. If the legends are correct that silver kills a shapeshifter then prayers must be heard and answered. How many nights must he have spent as a child hoping that something good was listening to his prayers and would bring his father home safe.
In 'Houses of Holy' there is also a desperation to his belief. He knows that there is a demon out there that wants to use him for evil purposes and if that is so there has to be a force out there that wants to use him for good. His need for there to be an angel isn't just about redemption for his supposedly inherent evil but also about protection. If he can be implicitly claimed by the demon's counterpoint then he no longer has to be worried about being usurped to the demon's purpose against his will. He'll happily surrender his will if it means he'll never become something he isn't. Sam is afraid and desperate and willing to do pretty much anything to stave off the threat of what could be.
The scripture from Ether that I quoted above continues with, "For ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith" and Sam's faith was severely tried, both by the true identity of the angel and also by his brother's doubts and dismissals. It was a great touch to have what was one of his faith's greatest trials serve as a reaffirmation in the end. Sam was left with a little more hope that they weren't as alone as he feared then he had in the beginning. Of course, if the previews for next week are anything to go by, it's all about to go to hell in a handbasket. Poor boy.
This brings us to Dean. His declaration wasn't simple disbelief, it was a renunciation. God or angels or whatever hadn't protected his mother, who truly believed, from the demon and that wasn't right. It is better for those forces for good to not exist at all then to believe that they've turned their collective back on you. And his refusal to believe is better for him, emotionally, then one of the alternatives which would be to feel guilty, to feel as if it was his fault, or his father's or brother's or mother's or someone's, for all of the horrible things that have happened to his family. That boy has enough issues, he didn't need that particular guilt complex as well.
A lot of my interpretation of Dean's beliefs came from their presentation, not from the words alone. There was something there that I recognized on a fundamental level. Sometimes there are things that you want and you want them almost more then you want anything else but you don't have it and you've convinced yourself that it doesn't exist, at least not for you, and that's okay, you'll get by and it's better this way. However, there's always a part of you that is yearning after it; Dean knows that belief of a universe of evil without good is bleak and a part of him wants there to be something more but he's never, ever seen it and he's fought evil his entire life. He's been on the front lines of the war and if there were ever a place to observe the powers of good it would be there but they've never manifested themselves so he's not going to believe in them because the alternative, that good simply doesn't care, is unacceptable. As I said above, it's better to not believe than to have been rejected.
But I think that there is still a part of Dean that wants there to be something good and that it is fighting with him. Sam's determination and faith during the episode strengthen that voice so that by the end he's able to see the bad guy's fate as something more then mere coincidence. Whether it was a coincidence or wasn't isn't really the point, at least in this context, but rather how it affected our boys. Maybe, just maybe, they're not as alone as they thought they were. Or, at least, we can hope they aren't. And while Dean's anger made him lash out at Sam's apparent naivete (as Dean saw it, I see it more as a desperate suspension of disbelief) by the end he willed it to be true for Sam's sake, if for nothing else.
It is also fascinating that the only people who can get inside a Winchesters defenses is another Winchester. Dean's doubt caused Sam to reevaluate what he had experienced and Sam's faith opened Dean's eyes to other possibilities, thereby acting as a reaffirmation for Sam when his faith was at its lowest. We weren't given any concrete answers because there never are any when dealing with things of this nature. The answers change and grow as the experiences of your life mold and shape you and your understanding of the world and that's as it should be.
Man, I always love a good discussion of faith and 'Houses of the Holy' provided more then ample inspiration.
Last, but certainly not least, I re-organized my recs page and added a few new ones to it yesterday. I love how many great stories our show inspires.
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no subject
Date: 2007-02-05 02:20 am (UTC):-) Your brain is the rockingest.
no subject
Date: 2007-02-05 02:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-06 03:51 am (UTC)I'm rather a big fan of your thoughts.
no subject
Date: 2007-02-06 03:54 am (UTC)I love characters with conundrums because I seem to have so many of them myself. It's a kinship thing. ;-)
no subject
Date: 2007-02-06 03:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-06 04:07 am (UTC)