Supernatural as Star Wars in Truck Stop America
February 6, 2009 by Cynthia
What do Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi have in common with Sam and Dean Winchester? More than you might think. Supernatural creator Eric Kripke once referred to the show as “Star Wars in truck stop America,” but the connection actually goes deeper — down to its very roots. Wanting to explore it more, I found the perfect person to discuss it with — she’s Star Wars: The Clone Wars scribe Julie Siege who also happens to be a story editor on Supernatural.
“When I talked to Eric Kripke about doing this interview, he said, ‘Oh absolutely, our boys are compared to Han Solo and Luke Skywalker, often.’ Then, as I started thinking about it more, I was struck by all the similarities.”
Maybe not so surprising, when Julie realized that both of her “bosses” had worshiped at the same alter.
“When George [Lucas] was developing the very first [Star Wars] movie, way back in the seventies, he was, to a greater or lesser degree, a student of Joseph Campbell,” says Julie. “My boss now, Eric Kripke, has Joseph Campbell’s “The Hero With a Thousand Faces” on his bookshelf.”
Even Jared Padalecki, who plays Sam Winchester on Supernatural, has mentioned his passion for Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey.” Given this history, it’s safe to assume that it’s no coincidence that Mary Winchester’s maiden name is Campbell.
Still, the roots of Campbell’s works and thus the stories behind both Star Wars and Supernatural go back even further.
“It all goes back to the Greeks,” says Julie. “It’s the very cornerstone of storytelling, the universal nature of that battle of good versus evil.”
THE SAME ONLY DIFFERENT
A simple concept, and yet it’s been the basis for thousands of stories, books, movies and TV shows. So how does a writer stick to the plan but still keep it fresh?
“There it is, you know. Its storytelling that’s tried and true for thousands of years but because these are such universal themes, there’s so much room to explore. So much territory that can be mined. I’m always saying, ‘let’s find the grey area. Let’s find something that might be a little bit good in a bad character, and what might be questionable in our heroic characters, and Eric’s head explodes and he shakes his head and goes ‘I don’t know, I don’t know’ and I’ll go, ‘Okay, just throwing it out there,’ but I think that that’s where you get some interesting storytelling. Audiences want things that are both familiar but at the same time surprising.”
Which can be very tricky on a show like Star Wars: The Clone Wars where the future of the character is already mapped out.
“The cool thing about writing Anakin now, in this series, is that he is a hero. He’s an absolute hero, but we know where he’s going, and I think that that’s just very rich territory to mine. You can start to layer in little indications of Anakin’s discontent at having to be the follower and his ambitions and his desire to be as strong and as powerful as he can be at this particular moment in his life. It could break one way or the other, and we know it’s going to break the other way, but just seeing that all those qualities can be heroic, and taken too far down the wrong road… anti-heroic.”
Boy, that sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Sam Winchester, walking the line between using his powers to save people and crossing over to the dark side?
Says Julie, “I know. Sam’s battling with that in a very epic way this season. One of the things, and we talk about all the time, is that he needs to believe that the things that he’s doing are heroic. It might be a bad thing, but he’s doing it for the right reason, and it’s a very fine line to navigate, but I think as long as we’re adhering to that, we’re honoring the character and honoring the story.”
HELP ME, DEAN WINCHESTER. YOU’RE MY ONLY HOPE
So if Sam is Anakin, does that make Dean Obi-Wan?
“Yeah I was kind of thinking about that, but you know, especially with the Clone Wars, that particular cross-section of the Star Wars story at that particular moment, Obi-Wan’s relationship with Anakin is that he’s mentoring him, he’s teaching him, Anakin is learning. That’s a lot like Dean’s relationship to Sam at the beginning of the show. The difference is, of course, that Sam is reluctant, but Dean was definitely the more experienced one. He was the one who had followed in Dad’s footsteps and he was the one who was kind of bringing Sam up and bringing him along like Obi-Wan was bringing Anakin up and bringing him along. We’re reaching the moment now on the show, and eventually on Clone Wars we know they’ll reach that point too, where the student is about to surpass his teacher, and what that does to the dynamic of their relationship. . . I think it’s just fascinating.”
This shift in the teacher / student dynamic became abundantly clear in this week’s episode of Supernatural, “Sex and Violence.” Compelled to speak their minds by a love-starved siren, Sam says that he’s become the better hunter and Dean is merely holding him back. Dean, like many mentors and parents, worries that Sam 
has gone too far, too fast and he longs to see their relationship go back to what it was when they were younger. Sadly, that can never happen. The rift between them is growing and now it’s just a question of how far and how fast.
“Our fans can be a little dogmatic and, I have to tell you, incredibly astute. I’ve been very impressed with a lot of their observations and comments on one of the first episodes that I wrote. There was a moment when there was a handshake and it was pulled apart and they turned it one way and turned another way, and they actually got exactly what the intention was for this handshake between Castiel and Sam. I’m very impressed with the fans, but they tend to be, ‘demons have to be bad, and we can’t let Ruby have any redeeming qualities, and Sam and Dean have to be good, and the angels have to be good, and I don’t want to watch it if there’s a grey area.’ But if all of those characters are so absolute then you really don’t have any conflicts, and you really don’t have any tension. I think, eventually, all of those characters will land exactly where they’re supposed to land, but in developing arcs and stories you need, at some point, to be on the edge of your seat wondering which way a character is going to break.”
That’s a scary thought for some fans and a point to look forward to for others. It seems inescapable that Sam, like Anakin, will eventually become Darth Vader and Dean (Obi-Wan) will have to battle him for the good of the universe. History tells us that a battle like that is not going to end well.
Now that I’ve thought it through, I agree with Dean. I liked it better when they were Luke Skywalker and Han Solo, exchanging witty barbs, fighting the good fight, while flying by the seat of their pants.
Either way, I’ll be watching every second of it, gloriously anticipating and yet hoping to be surprised by how it all ends.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars can be seen Fridays at 9:00 on Cartoon Network.
Supernatural returns with new episodes beginning March 5 on The CW.
Jensen Ackles as Dean and Jared Padalecki as Sam in SUPERNATURAL on the CW. Photo credit: Sergei Bachlakov ©2008 THE CW NETWORK, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Trademark information for Star Wars: The Clone Wars images: TM & © 2008 Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved.
I’ll disagree with her entirely on the angel / demon dichtonomy – I’m very very happy if demons stay bad and angels stay good but a big part of that idea is that humans are those messy little chaotic beings that could and do go either way.
But I really do enjoy getting an idea of what the writers are up to. Major thanks to you and Ms. Siege for the article!
This is very interesting. We’re actually studying Campbell’s quest in my lit class, and using Star Wars as our base/model. I totally see the connections… and it kind of makes me worried. Wonderful article.
I’ve always liked the Obi-Wan and Anakin comparison better than the Han and Luke comparison… I think it fits the characters really well. I don’t think Sam will ever surpass Dean in terms of purely human hunting… Dean’s been at it longer, with more commitment, and he just has a natural talent for it the way Sam does for research. But his powers do give him a big leg up, and I think he’s come to see that as equivalent to making him better than Dean, as we saw in the past episode.
I’m one of the ones who’s leery about not having true good or true evil on the show (even Star Wars had Palpatine), but if the writers really want to go there, I guess I’ll have to cross my fingers and hope they know what they’re doing.
I’m glad Julie Siege gave her thoughts but honestly I think she’s wrong. I’m very very glad to have Angels stay good and demons stay bad. Grey should come from people reacting to “good” and “bad”, because people are complicated.
Also, Anakin never surpassed Obi-Wan except in his own mind. That’s why he ended up with his arms and legs cut off, burned to a crisp in a lava enslaved to Palpatine and an iron lung. He was whiny spoiled brat who didn’t appreciate what he had.
Sorry to post again so soon… but Em, I only saw the movies, but I don’t think Anakin was spoiled, really. I think he was just so damaged from the completely ridiculous and unstable circumstances of his life that he couldn’t handle the teachings properly and lost himself to paranoia.
That being said, I think you’re absolutely right about him never surpassing Obi-Wan. That was part of his arrogance and his delusion, and it was a pretty important part of the story that it be that way, actually.
For me, there can be nuance in the natures of angels and demons, see one Castiel. But when you strip down all the pleasantries, they have to be touchstones. There has to be boundaries otherwise the acting is meaningless. Sam and Dean’s purpose collapses like a house of cards. Angels are Good. Bad. Otherwise, what’s the value in using the trope?
It’s also why they’re awesome players in the epic dramas of humans…they’re meant to be binary forces, pulling, demanding, shaping and eroding a malleable humanity. The nasty demon in Phantom Traveller, murdering for glee, remorseless, fluid, shifty is where we started. Now, Ruby’s supposed to be acting out of love, if not for her former humanity, then for Sam…and I question it. I have to. Because if I have to take each demon on a case by case basis, then, we might as well be watching CSI or any other procedural where you face the serial murderer of the week.
All of that said, I think Julie Siege is a great addition and I like that mythic background.
Oh man, Lauren, I said the same thing you did!
I guess that means I agree. 
Personally — I prefer the Winchesters as Indiana Jones — or better yet — as themselves rather than some rehash of a cartoon that’s derivative of a cool story that was finished 20 years ago. Kinda sad, really — mining nuances of the same idea for 30 years.
Part of the reason that the original Star Wars worked was because there was a pretty clear and simple delineation between good and evil. Oh, yeah, and because the heroes actually, you know, won.
Em, I think it actually is a common idea, especially since others are touching on it. And I think that Esther has explained it very well.
I always enjoyed the original Trilogy more than the newer movies because there was such a clear, solid story where Luke had his conflicts to overcome but that was less about Good versus Evil and more well, growing up. Seeing Anakin’s fall from grace was a little bit of a letdown in the original trilogy because it just didn’t hold together well – it was pride, no, it was emotional distress, no, it was to protect his love, no, it’s because he fell in love in the first place, no, it’s because he was jealous and angry at Obi-Wan. I haven’t had a chance to watch the Clone Wars but I’ve heard good things about it so one Friday I really will have to sit down and watch it.
As far as examples of a hero falling from grace that I really liked, hm, I really liked Bond in Quantum of Solace and how the movie focused on his descent into an even colder, tougher killer after he seemed so happy in some moments of Casino Royale. And even though I hated how brutal Wesley’s transformation was in Angel (one reason why I stopped watching), there was definitely a lot of basis and realism to it.
Very nice article. This was also discussed on The Crossroads, a podcast about Supernatural. It’s on episode 42 of that show.
It’s hard to compare Sam and Dean as hunters, because Sam’s got a leg-up, as Ali said. As a pure hunter, I think Dean’s better. He’s got a better perspective on what it means to be a life-long hunter – which is, that you need to be able to let it go at some point, you need to be able to live. Sam has such a single-minded drive to hunt whatever it is he’s after (first the YED and now Lilith), that there’s no perspective. And in that scenario, people tend to get run over – like John almost did before Dean stopped Sam from shooting him in S1’s “Devil’s Trap,” and like Dean in “Sex & Violence.”
Bobby has learned to have a life outside of hunting, and Dean has the personality for that as well. John never learned perspective, but I hope Sam does!
Loved the interview and I’m bookmarking it. I’ve been trying to explain exactly this for 3 seasons to one of my friends. She refuses to listen because she’s one of those people who are “Black & White” and unwilling to accept “Shades of Gray”.
I can’t find all the words to say just how happy I am that the story has progressed like this. I have a few theories about how it will end, but Eric and the writers always have me on my toes. That’s the kind of entertainment I love and it’s so rare now in Hollywood to find it.
Very nice interview, thank you! I do accept the shades of grey, but I also want pure villains and pure good characters, especially if that they aren’t human-like creatures but something ‘above’ like Demonic or Angelic.
Besides, if Ruby wants to redeem herself I’d like to know WHY and have an actual convincing reason, not because she remembers what is like to be human. Or out out of love for her Sammy.
Please…
Nice interview. It sounds like Julie is wiping all fans with a broad brush based on the visible and vocal minority posting all over the internet though if she thinks most fans want cookie cutter ‘only good Sam and Dean and angels’ type stories.
Supernatural fans expect a nuanced story, with real character development, not anvils or narrow characterizations played in repeat mode.
For Sam, in particular, fans expect some logical and visible (ie, shown on on screen) character development for why Sam will go darkside. He has to have an emotional reason, not just ‘good intentions’ or strategic reasons that gets him led astray by Ruby and demonblood.
Please come up with something better than how Lucas did Anakin’s turn to the darkside in episodes 2 and 3 as the model for Sam Winchester. Supernatural has always been about the brotherly bond between Sam and Dean. So no matter what Sam does, he has to be redeemable to brother. If he’s not, then the Show will kill the Goose and the Golden Egg.
I like the shades of grey! Of course angels are bastardic, and demons are more complex than plain “bad,” and the boys are human, good or bad. If it were all black and white there’d be no point.
I think Ms Seige has mis-understood what I at least want in shades of grey. I want the demons and angels to be the parameters that inform the choices of the humans in the show i.e. Sam and Dean. THEY can be as messy and as grey as the writers want to make them, but without absolutes to compare their behaviour against, everyone is just the same and there’s nothing interesting about that.
I agreed with Donna. Grey (sam & Dean and by extension human) is only interested when it is contrast against black (demon) and white (angel).
If everything is all grey, then what are so special and interesting about Sam and Dean’s situations/decisions/choices? Where is the conflict if everything is grey and accceptable? Why do we care if Sam and Dean make right decisions? Why do Dean even care about the consequences to Sam’s actions? If demons are not true evil, then why is being demon such a bad thing? May be all of us should sell our souls to the devil because frankly, we’ll get what we want right now. Sure 10 yrs later, we’ll go to hell. But hell won’t be that bad, because we can still coming out of hell and be a shinning demon with a heart of gold, which is actually even better than being human because demons have some special powers. If angel is not good, then what is good? Why do we even strive for good? Why do we even need morals since essentially everything can be justified through multiply shades of grey?
4.14 left me sad and unsettled. Sam & Dean are miles apart. Sam has changed, but Dean is not the same either. I hope that Dean looks past his own insecurities and Sam’s hurtful comments to really see how damaged Sam is. If Dean’s distrust continues to alienate him from Sam, he unwittingly leaves Sam more vulnerable to the dark side. Trust is a two way street. It is not enough for Sam to stop lying to Dean, but also for Dean to trust Sam’s judgment.
I don’t mind seeing cracks in the brotherly bond, but I hope they can be true brothers again. I’d like to see that love triumphs in the end. It may be a bloody and sad journey, but there will be peace when done.
I like Julie’s interview much more than Sera’s. Her answers appear to be more well thought out than Sera’s. Also kudos for criss angel is a douche bag.
P.S. In Malleus Maleficarum, it is established that hell burns away humanity. Then why the heck would Ruby still have redeeming human qualities?
I want Sam to be a hero, a real hero, on this show. This darkside crap should have been dealt with in season 2 and not stretched out ad nauseum like it has been. If Sam is equal to Dean, which means, he’s a hero and not a future villain, then treat him as an equal. It is very obvious that as soon as John dropped dead, Kripke has treated Dean like a God and Sam like some dog crap stuck on Dean’s shoe. It’s horrible and finally Sam fans have gotten so sick of this difference in treatment that they are starting to leave the show, the fandom, and probably anything associated with Kripke from now on.
I like Julie Siege’s scripts for Supernatural, I do like her episodes. But seriously, Sam fans are dying here. This show is teaching fans to hate Sam because he’s got demon blood, or because he’s got some characteristics like John (so does Dean, but no one cares), or because he hangs with a demon chick. This show is using Sam to promote prejudice. Because Sam is treated differently than Dean is. At every level.
At this point, the only thing that will save this show at all for me will be if Dean goes dark and becomes Dean Vader. Sam never got the chance to be Luke Skywalker. If Kripke never meant to treat Sam like a person and a hero, he shouldn’t have lied about that in season 1. Dean isn’t the only person and hero on this show, and I wish the writers cared enough about Sam to really delve into what he thinks and feels. In more than his designated 4 episodes a season….
Jared Padalecki is a fine actor, give him more and better to work with for once. Please, Show Writers, Please!
Julie Sam isnt Anakin so dont go there .I did like the interview but what I dont want to see is a gulf between how the boys are writing. I am not interested in Dean the saint and Sam the bad. Has people have said and I totally agree it needs to be shades of grey here.
These boys have both been damaged and that needs to be made clear .
The writers have failed Sam to much to often now they need to start getting that right.
I have a feeling the next set of episodes will be intense and maybe hard to watch but it also needs to be both and not just the one . Two brothers one destiny lets start seeing that.
Wow that’s really interesting! As much as I love Luke and Han, Darth Vader is the reason why Star wars is epic and awesome! So no matter if Sam turns completely darkside or not, I will definitely love it!!!
Hmm. I can understand the discussion that you are having between these two gentlemen. But my question is this: Why is it being compared to “Truck Stop America”? Does anyone even know what goes on in a real truck stop? I do not see the similarities at all. Someone please elaborate on this for me.
If Sammy is becoming a better hunter than Dean why God chose Dean for a mission ? He would have chosen a better horse than Dean , more accurate , more clever etc for his mission , that have to be very important . So Sammy have not something that is very important for the mission . I like Stars War but that’s all , I hope Eric & Co will know better that to do a Stars War bis , I would be disappointed … Greek myth is sthg awesome , tragic , sad and it never end up good …
I have liked Julie’s episodes immensely – I think she’s an excellent writer, perhaps better than any of the others on Supernatural, and that includes Sera. However, I think she’s wrong about the grey areas and how fans approach them.
It’s not like us fans came up with our notions of good/evil on the show by ourselves. I am basing them on what I’ve seen before from this show. I am basing them on what was introduced to me in seasons 1 and 2 – you know, the show “canon.” It’s not my fault if Kripke and the writers have actively ignored canon and tried to reroute the show and tell a whole new story without tying it backwards to anything they’ve shown before. You have to honor the storylines you’ve already begun and tie seasons and plots together and take your audience on a contiguous journey. Or, basically, you haven’t told a very good story.
I see a lot of nutty stuff on forums sometimes, but I truly believe that this time it’s not the viewers’ interpretation that’s at fault, it’s Kripke’s failure to tell a linear story.
“If Dean’s distrust continues to alienate him from Sam, he unwittingly leaves Sam more vulnerable to the dark side. Trust is a two way street. It is not enough for Sam to stop lying to Dean, but also for Dean to trust Sam’s judgment.”
Dean did trust Sam, absolutely, in previous years. Sam’s lying, repeatedly, not only for the year before Dean went to Hell but from the minute he came back, is why Dean is now doubting Sam’s judgement. It’s ridiculous for the writers to blame Dean for doubting Sam when anyone with half a brain would doubt Sam’s judgement under the circumstances.
Sam’s a grown man and he’s responsible for his own decsions. It’s not Dean’s fault if Sam lies and if Sam’s vulernable. After all Sam’s decision to not kill Jake and then leave the knife right at Jake’s side left Dean “vulnerable” after Jake killed Sam due to his error in judgement but I never saw the show blame anyone but Dean for his decisions in the aftermath.
Maybe Julie should go back and watch previous seasons of the show because she clearly seems to have missed the parts where Dean has held Sam in high regard, even if he did tease him sometimes.
In Season 1 he told Sam why he admired Sam(Sam has still never done this with Dean, he’s just talked about what Dean has done for Sam, which is not the same thing), in Season 2, he often asked Sam’s opinion about stuff, in Season 3 he told Sam he believed in Sam’s ability to survive without him, both early and late in the season which means he thought of Sam as a responsible adult more capable of taking care of himself.
They can’t just retcon all that into “Dean can’t accept Sam as a big boy”, just to once again whitewash Sam’s actions and make it “not Sam’s fault”, because Dean already showed he did accept it those things previous seasons. Dean’s the one who has mostly been treated like dirt, been insulted, looked down upon by Sam and just about everyone else and if she thinks that’s satisfying viewing to see him put down some more with claims his not accepting Sam’s wonderfulness is part of the problem(when he was the one talking about it in previous seasons when he encouraged Sam and told him he believed in Sam’s goodness, etc, etc) she’s wrong.
Good interview, but I do have to say it left me with a cold feeling of dread. I’m at the point where all I want is that Sam is also a hero in this story and not a villain and seeing him compared to Anakin/Darth Vader does not make me feel good about his chances at all. I would be crushingly disappointed if after following this story from the beginning it ended with Sam, the reluctant hero, turned into something evil. That’s not the reason I got invested in the first place.
I realize he’s far from perfect and I like him that way. I realize he has to make mistakes and fall and pick himself up but in the end I want him on the side of good even if he’s bruised and bloody. That’s what I’m hoping for.
Em, I see what you mean, but I don’t think it’s retcon, mainly because so much has happened since season 1, 2 and 3. Dean has experienced Hell. He knows how evil corrupts. Back in Season 1, 2, and 3, would we ever believe that Dean would torture someone and even enjoy it? But it turns out that he did. Similarly, deep down Dean may still believes in Sam (although I haven’t seen evidence of that lately), but the temptation of evil is so great and the fact that Sam did and still consorts with Ruby, raise doubts that may be Sam has already fallen during the 4 months that Dean was in hell.
I think even as of now, Dean sees how Sam has changed but I’m not sure if he is fully aware of how messed up Sam is during that 4 months while he was in hell. I’m interpreting that Dean thinks it is because the bad mojos are like crack and Sam is an addict, instead of Sam making a conscious decision to use his power because (1) I’ve so much of a failure (couldn’t save Dean and consequentially turned Dean fragile and need, which might or might not be true) but I’m trying to redeem myself/fixed things by going after the person who’s responsible for it all (Lilith) and let it be the one thing that I finally do right and (2) since it will all come down to a bloody and sad ending anyway, according to Dean, I’m going to screw it all and at least have a chance of winning.
Anyway, Sam keeping secrets and going bad scared the crap out of Dean. And consistent with his character, when Dean’s terrified, he violently lashes out and resorts to the big-brother – I’m-right-and-you’re-wrong card. The distrust is logical. But it is the exact same thing that pushes Sam further away.
We can all agree that Dean has a big influence on Sam and vice versa for Sam. That doesn’t in any way mean that Dean is responsible for Sam’s actions or takes away Sam’s accountability for his own actions.
I acknowledge that both Sam & Dean are messed up. They both has fault and make stupid mistakes. Heck, the entire Winchester clan makes stupid choices, starting with Mary. At this point both boys are messed up; the damage is done. It’s time (or at least soon) that they can look past the mistakes and heal each other. Geez, I sound like Dr. Phil. And to do that, the focus shouldn’t be about the blame, because if it is, the rift will only get bigger and bigger. They’ll never be brothers again.
I know that in their own way, the brothers are thinking that they are doing the right things for each other, to save each other. But urg they do it all wrong if they keep pointing the fingers at each other and/or ignoring the big fat elephant in the Impala.
It is no doubt to me that if Dean lets go (because like you say it is Sam’s decision and Sam needs to own up to the consequence), then Sam will fall. Again, it is not about who’s at fault or who is at fault more. It is about them being brothers again. I’m bi-bro. I want them to be happy together. Two brothers, one destiny. That is what Supernatural is about, isn’t it?
Of course, I can totally be wrong, and Kripke pulls the whole fratricide Cain v.s Abel thing.
I’ve got to say, I don’t understand this notion that some seem to have that Dean is some poor, mistreated victim and everyone is soooo mean to him.
The nastiest things that have been said between the brothers when no one has been possessed or poisoned have come from Dean. A few gems?
“You’re a selfish bastard.”
“Now you want to make it right (their Dad’s death). Well you can’t, it’s too little too late.”
“Do you know how far off the reservation you’ve gone, how far from human? If I didn’t know you, I’d hunt you.”
“What’s with you and sleeping with monsters?”
Not to mention the multiple times he has punched Sam now, or threatened to punch him when he didn’t like what he heard. No matter what has been said to Sam, Sam has never, ever raised a hand to Dean in anger like that.
But I guess that’s all okay, because of how mean everyone is to Dean, right? Sam doesn’t deserve any kindness or understanding because he’s so mean to Dean. I guess Dean hasn’t made any bad decisions or choices of his own, it’s all just horrible things that have happened to be heaped upon his poor saintly shoulders.
Angie, I think Dean’s flaws have been displayed and examined extensively (as you’ve pointed out), which is why the audience has a fair amount of sympathy for him. It’s also why Sam is getting a lot of sympathy and character examination in the wake of this episode… because we got to see his flaws. Generally, I think Dean gets more sympathy than Sam in fandom because of that… if a character is shown to be always correct in a show, or always victimized, the way Sam is, the natural inclination of an intellectually-rigorous viewer is to deconstruct his perfection. Not in terms of how he came to be perfect in-show, but in terms of why he’s written that way, and whether the presentation of his flawless behavior is accurate, or whether it requires glossing over of certain actions and words.
With Dean, it’s exactly the opposite. We’re frequently bombarded with Dean’s failures, his prejudices, his anger, his weird sexual preferences, and nearly everyone in the show tells him, at one point or another, that he’s useless and pathetic. So, again, that same intellectually rigorous audience looks at this character and says, “Hm. Is he really a loser?” and then picks apart the text, deciding whether it’s true that Dean is at fault for everything, or whether the overt message of the show is actually misleading.
I think that, if the show is starting to really acknowledge the flaws in Sam that have been implicit since season one, but generally unremarked-upon, audience sympathy for both boys will become more even. Since we’re all flawed individuals, it’s easier for us to love characters who are flawed, and more difficult to love characters who are always right. The show has had a good reason for glossing over Sam’s flaws in the past, because no character existed who would call him on them… demons wanted him to work for them, hence building up his ego, and Dean believed Sam to be more moral and stronger than himself, so his criticisms were always more about his own weakness than about Sam’s. But now, with the scales falling from Dean’s eyes regarding his brother’s problems, I think we’re gonna get a clearer view of Sam’s bad side, the way we’ve gotten for Dean.
Thanks for the interview! Great to see that the story is going where I suspected it to go. I’m glad I stopped watching after the third episode this season.
Sam is Anakin all of a sudden? Initially I thought both boys would be heroes but it’s turned out to be Demon Sam and Saint Dean and it’s become boring like, yes, hell.
Guess CW got another soap after all, because there’s little gray in this series now. There’s painting Sam totally black and Dean is the woobie poor misunderstood angel with tarnished wings who can do anything because he saved his brother’s life and went to hell. Nothing will ever top that in self-sacrificing. It’s so noble that God takes pity on poor Dean and sends an angel to resurrect him to show the humanity the glory of his haló.
And Sam, bitchy boy wanting to make a life for himself has to be painted as evil, because that’s what real individualism is all about. That’s what thinking critically is all about, isn’t it? not to even mention the misogynism of the show? The good angel is male and the demon is of course, a female luring a male to destroy the world. Oh, it’s also spitting on any kind of intelligence.
The hero is a white male with slightly sexist views and a black/white view of the world. This is the one getting chosen by God and hailed by angels.
Then of course, at the end, there will be a stupid twist akin to the sending Dean to hell stint and Dean will have to weep some more on the hood of the Impala.
The show jumped the shark when it sent Dean to hell and seemingly it’s aiming to keep doing stupid shark jumps to the bitter end.
I agree with the poster up thread: I will carefully watch out to avoid any show with Kripke’s name attached to it in the future.
At least it’s good that the producers and writers finally stopped lying and are showing the cards.
That’s odd that it seems as if Julie is scolding fans for preferring certain things to be black and white. I don’t understand why everything needs to be steeped in shades of gray. To me that doesn’t add conflict and suspense, it adds confusion and disillusionment.
And Sam as Anakin? Yuck. I swear if I’d known this was the path it was going to follow (rather than the Luke/Han Solo), I would never have invested so much time and heart into this show.
Stars War Stars War … Hope Supernatural will be more than a Stars War bis because I am not interested . I still keep my faith in Krikpe and hope he will know better . We habe both different feelings about Sammy & Dean , even if a Sammy vs Dean is interesting , I hope the boys will see they are stronger together … I hope Sammy will understand that Dean , despite his mistakes and flaws is the the only one he can trust . I checked out Joseph Campbell’s thing , interesting . Sammy needs to follow his path without Dean but I hope he’ll come back alive from it . I do not want Sammy in a side , and Dean in a side . Interesting interview but screw Stars War !
Leah, wow, you must be my soulmate, as I could not agree more. I stopped watching after the first episode this season once it became apparent that Sam wasn’t going to be allowed to have a hand in Deans rescue. Oh, and that he was boinking the enemy while his brother was being tortured by that enemy’s pals.
I was on the fence anyway, thanks to the CWs Sam-less promotions for S4, and EK showing the first 5 minutes at ComicCon, which were also completely Sam-less. I still read interviews, and to be honest, I watched The Afterschool one, because I do love me some WeeChesters, but those two are the only ones I’ve watched this season, and I’m glad…
As for mysogeny, lets not forget that it even reaches the children on the show- Lucas, Michael, Ben, all saints. Little girl Lilith, the girl from TKAAR, the girl in CSPWDT, all evil little monsters…
This comparaison sounds right but, well, that doesn’t stop me to dislike it.
I mean, I can totally picture Sam being some kind of Anakin. I loved DV but always hated Anakin. It’s weird but this character and what happened to him always frustrated me. So Sam is going to the dark side but it’s only because he has good intentions. That’s quite boring, isn’t it?
I don’t want to dislike Sam, but it’s what’s going to happen. I guess.
As for Dean and Obiwan comparaison, even if it sounds right too… it’s just crapy. I prefer ten thousand time the Dean/Han Solo comparaison. I always thought Solo was the most interesting character in Star Wars. And it’s easier to see the comparaison between Dean and him. Beside, I don’t like the fact that they are making Dean being some kid of a sage mentor. I really hope writers are not going there and will flesh Dean.
Even if I really like Sam, I hope they will going some other purpose to Dean. I’d like him to be something else than Sam’s brother.
So, I’m a little disapointed about this comparaison. I really hope there are more behind it and that writers are not exactly taking that road. I love this show and would like to love till the end.
I don’t really like the turn of events since series 4 has started, nor do I like the Supernatural/Star Wars comparison. The only reason I’m going to watch Supernatural to the end is because I’m curious as to how they’re going to wrap it all up. (If I had my way, Sam and Dean would go back to the dynamics in their relationship from before Dean went to Hell…if that makes sense. However, there’s probably too much damage done.)