I was boppin’ around on EW.com’s Supernatural section and the thought happened again and then typing happened.
I’ve been muddling this over a while and I’m just going to share it and see if anyone else agrees or not.
There’s this entire subplot called “Dean always has to step in and ‘save’ Sam”. Whether it’s the big things or the small things, when it comes down to it and someone has to be the guy who’s incapacitated/about to die and one has to be the guy who comes in and saves ’em, there’s really only one way that looks.
Okay, save for Jensen and the doped pudding and, really, it was pudding so you know they had to give it to him.
Look at the last couple of episodes, then look back further and ask yourself what would have happened if the roles were reversed?
Putting in a break cause SPOILERS!
Okay, so. A couple observations.
“The Purge” – Jensen gets pudding face, but Sam gets incapacitated and Dean saves the day.
“Sharp Teeth” – Sam ends up chained to a tractor while Dean does the whole tricking the werewolves with scent and saves Sam and everyone else.
Those two things. Just those two. Tell me why either one couldn’t have gone the other way?
Sam’s a smart guy. He would decoy himself with a jacket. He would be that cold about killing those dudes if it meant saving Dean. Why do we have him chained to a tractor or being incapacitated by a fat sucking fish face monster?
It’s those times where the writers seem to automatically put Sam in the “needs to be rescued” category — which sets up Dean needing to come save the day. It makes Sam look weak and then like a brat when he’s mad at Dean for always saving him.
I don’t even know if the writers know how often they do it. I don’t know if it’s intentional. But I feel like they’d benefit by sharing the rescuing duties a bit more if we’re ever supposed to believe that there’s any equality with these two.
Please, someone discuss this with me. It’s driving me crazy!
Lmao “Heart” aka the one with Madison the werewolf is so far removed from the context of where they’re at now. Sam has done nothing but fight for his own independence and stick up to Dean since regaining control, and he has been portrayed as strong willed in that fashion. Also on the contrary to the first comment, sure Dean is a goofball but he’s the tactical genius of the two. Sam is clever but he isn’t as calculating, except when he’s soulless. It makes less sense for Dean to be caught off guard in a fight than Sam, who often has serious other crap he’s caught up in worrying about. Megan is spot on about Sam being a hero by choice. Dean refuses to give himself the choice on hunting, on family. Right now Sam’s in it to finish the job since it’s the right thing, but he’s not seeing where the family bond they share ever did them any favors. After the shit Dean has pulled, you can see his perspective even if it’s hard to watch.
They don’t write Sam as weak, but it has always been “Dean keep Sammy safe”. They are both strong in their own ways. Dean is a hero by nature and Sam by choice. Remember he bested the Devil, but he also still wants a normal life. He’s bitter at the hunter life because it has taken everything from him. Dean accepts loss as a part of the job.
I could go on, but you get the point.
I totally understand what you’re saying and I question it too. I can’t recall episode names as clearly as you do lol but there have been several where Sam had to be the one to save the day. My personal favorite which was still so hard to watch was the one where Sam had to shoot the werewolf woman he slept with, she didn’t know what she was, but she needed to die. Dean wanted to do it for him and Sam just stopped him with a look and went in to her room to do it himself. I think that there should be more episodes like that, and if you think about it, Dean is so much dorkier and goofier than Sam, who strikes me as the serious one, that it’s a shocker Dean isn’t the one in trouble more often.