{"id":4383,"date":"2015-01-21T13:00:24","date_gmt":"2015-01-21T21:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=4383"},"modified":"2015-01-19T00:27:45","modified_gmt":"2015-01-19T08:27:45","slug":"mark-watches-supernatural-s08e06-southern-comfort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2015\/01\/mark-watches-supernatural-s08e06-southern-comfort\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Supernatural’: S08E06 – Southern Comfort"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the sixth episode of the eighth season of\u00c2\u00a0Supernatural<\/i>, a series of violent grudge murders compels Dean to air out all his grievances with Sam. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Supernatural<\/i>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For talk of racism (relating to the Confederacy\/slavery), grief, PTSD\/trauma.<\/b><\/p>\n

WELL. I certainly got what I wished for AND MORE.<\/p>\n

This is a deeply complicated emotional issue, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one I want to be careful with because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clear that these two brothers have a lot of longstanding issues that continue to plague their friendship. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m also glad that\u00c2\u00a0this\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>is what I get to talk about in this review because I was so, so worried that this show was going to do some sort of repeat on the Racist Ghost Truck. I mean, THIS GOT CLOSE. I thought this was going to be an episode about a Confederate soldier wanting revenge for the loss of the war, and I REALLY DID NOT WANT TO SEE THAT SORT OF RACISM ON THE SCREEN. (I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m still sticking to my assertion, though, that this is a perfect example of a person who would\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>develop a bitter hatred over the years in spirit form. Who is more bitter in America than those who supported the Confederacy and lost? This episode GIVES US MODERN-DAY EXAMPLES OF SUCH PEOPLE! If that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make it clear how I feel about the Confederate flag, then allow me to spell it out: you are a racist if you still want to fly that wretched thing.)<\/p>\n

So, Winchester angst:\u00c2\u00a0The Return<\/i>. Truthfully, though, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fair to poke fun at this issue by calling it angst, because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not like what we see here is some sort of teenage tantrum. Dean\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s issues with Sam, even if some are a tad harsh, are still problems that I think are pretty damn legitimate. Look, I sympathize with Sam a lot. (Zero people are surprised that I just typed that sentence.) But that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean I can also empathize with Dean\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s expression of betrayal. Even if Sam has a totally justifiable reason for running away from the hunting life, it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t negate or alleviate the pain that Dean feels after having spent a year in Purgatory. It doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t! I think\u00c2\u00a0anyone\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>would feel betrayed if their best friend or brother (or both, obviously) didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t do anything at all to save you or rescue you. Does the spectre of Vance enhance Dean\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s own anger towards Sam? Sure. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s important to acknowledge that his excoriation of Sam is harsh, particularly when he brings up things that happened years ago and casts them upon Sam all over again.<\/p>\n

Of course, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s part of this reason this is so complicated. I honestly thought that opening scene was the only part of this that would address this season\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s arc concerning Sam and Dean, but N O P E. Not even close! I feel like that scene alone provided me with enough material to talk about the Winchester\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s emotional state! We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got Dean admitting that Purgatory changed him. (Though I did notice that he hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t brought up the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153purity\u00e2\u20ac\u009d of Purgatory in a while; I think you could read that in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Blood Brother\u00e2\u20ac\u009d during the sequences where he kills the vampirates, though.) It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a huge admission, and yet it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s couched in fury and indignation instead of being the kind of thing you say to someone as an honest concession. These two aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t on the type of ground where they can have a conversation that isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t tinged with anger.<\/p>\n

Look what they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re in the middle of. No one knows where Kevin Tran is; both Winchesters were separated for over a year; Dean\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s standards are changing; Sam is longing for a life that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s different than the one he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been living for nine years; and here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Garth, constantly reminding the Winchesters that Bobby is gone. Garth plays such a fascinating role here aside from being funny because he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s evidence of how tragedy affects people differently. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think we should be\u00c2\u00a0comparing\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>tragedy in a way that estimates who has it worse, as that often leads to unnecessary messiness. Garth was affected by the loss of Bobby in a profound way, and yet he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t react to it like Dean does. That doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean any one person\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s way of dealing with trauma is more valid than another; I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m glad the show is demonstrating the numerous ways all three men have dealt with loss. Sam, to put it succinctly, ran away. Garth began to imitate and co-opt Bobby\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mannerisms and behavior as if Bobby was his guide. And Dean? Well, he made a friend. And that sounds so trivial to say it like that, but COME ON. WHEN HAS DEAN EVER MADE A FRIEND ON THIS SHOW LIKE HE HAS WITH BENNY? Not since Castiel, right? (WHERE THE HELL IS CASTIEL, Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ALL?) It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a direct result of his traumatic experience in Purgatory.<\/p>\n

The point of all of this is that in another world or another life, one where the Winchesters were not constantly fighting and chasing shit, I think Sam and Dean could react more like Garth and less like they are here. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just that they don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have the space (or the time, frankly) to have any sort of meaningful progress with one another.\u00c2\u00a0That<\/i> makes me feel pity for both Sam and Dean. What they need is a year off from hunting\u00c2\u00a0together<\/i>, to begin to repair their relationship in way that isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t going to be sidetracked or further complicated by what they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re doing.<\/p>\n

BUT WE ALL KNOW THEY\u00e2\u20ac\u2122RE NOT GOING TO GET THAT. So how do they get past this? I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel like we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve gotten very instances where the trust dynamic between Sam and Dean has been reversed like this. Now, Sam is the one who is looking upon Dean with mistrust, at least in terms of Benny. (I also suspect that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a bit perturbed that Dean hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t told him what happened to Cas or how he got out of Purgatory.) Which isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t to say that Dean is at\u00c2\u00a0all\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>ready to move beyond his feelings of betrayal, either. Nope, both men are steaming angry at one another, and there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no end to that in sight.<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122M FINE, EVERYTHING IS JUST PEACHY.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Southern Comfort\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

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