Supernatural: Heart
Mar. 2nd, 2012 09:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gryfndor_godessWell this is a problematic episode. Naturally, I have a lot of thoughts about it.
2x17: Heart
Thoughts I had while watching the episode:
-“Between Nate and me.”
-Whhhyyy is Madison letting a strange man stay in her house all day and night. And whhhyyy doesn’t she call the police about her STALKER. These are stupid choices, Madison. Ugh.
-Aww, shy, crushing Sam is adorable.
-“Um, where are my pajamas.” COULD YOU PLEASE FREAK OUT A LITTLE, WOMAN, INSTEAD OF BEING COOLY BLASÉ ABOUT EXTREMELY SKETCHY THINGS.
-“God, I am so stupid.” Yes. Yes, you are.
-Aw, I like how Dean just shuts up when Sam says, “Maybe I understand her.”
-“You’ll live the rest of your life and I’ll just be a bad memory.” Jared is wonderful in this episode. You can see how much it hurts Sam to seem like a potential murderer/rapist in her eyes.
-Oh, it’s the neighbor. I hadn’t seen enough of the episode to know that last time (I saw half of this episode two years ago on TNT).
-I’d forgotten that the werewolves didn’t turn into actual wolves.
-I’m glad that Dean acknowledges that Glenn didn’t know what he was doing.
-This is quite the aggressive sex scene. If I cared about them as a couple, it’d be pretty hot.
-Oh, that last shot of Dean crying and the music cutting off at the sound of the bullet is perfect.
Moments that made me giggle inside:
-“Why do you always get to stay with the girls?” “Because I’m older.”
-“We’re not 100% sure you’re not gonna turn tonight. We’re lurking.”
-“So I’m just gonna head back to the hotel and watch some…pay-per-view or something.”
Moments that made me actually LOL:
N/A
Overall Thoughts:
I think it’s telling that even two years ago when I watched half of this episode on TNT and had never seen SPN before, I was skeeved out by its treatment of women. In a different, less misogynistic show or in the hands of better writers, this could have been a really interesting and poignant episode. However, as it is there were so many misogynistic, problematic elements in “Heart” that its primary value came from the excellent acting. The problematic elements I spotted include:
-The way Madison’s boss’s come-ons are hand-waved away as harmless, including by Madison herself. That kind of workplace harassment is neither funny nor something to roll one’s eyes at, and the implication that he did it so often that she just came to expect it is sickening. More sickening is the fact that he tried to get her to go back to the office by claiming she had work he needed her to do- i.e., he wasn’t just inappropriately flirting with her, he was exerting his authority to try to get her sexually. He should be slapped with a lawsuit so fast his head spins round. Arguably, this problem is subverted by the fact that Madison kills him, but I think the subversion is negated by the fact that she herself has to die, too.
-Starting with the boss, this episode perpetuated the idea that rape culture is okay and women just need to suck it up and deal with harassment- in fact it’s not harassment, it’s just boys being boys! Madison’s skeevy ex-boyfriend exemplified this particular problem: he stalked her, and the show didn’t do anything to imply there would be (non-supernatural) repercussions for this. Why didn’t she call the police? He was stalking her; she said so herself. I don’t buy the idea that she felt brave and confident enough to deal with it (the way she changed after the “mugging,” etc.) because she was shown multiple times as being freaked out. If she was as smart as Sam claimed she was, why didn’t she call the police? Is the message that women are just supposed to deal with creepy exes on their own and wait for them to get bored and go away?
-Another basic problem was that Madison was just a horrible character. Seriously, she was a complete idiot. Who lets a strange man stay in her house all day and night while she’s sleeping? The fact that she was coming onto Sam so strongly so fast was also sketchy. I don’t want to walk all over a woman’s right to have casual sex with a hot stranger, because that would be unfeminist, too, but given all the sketchy circumstances surrounding Sam’s presence in her house to begin with, I really think she crossed the line from “independent-and-proactive” to “really, really stupid.” Her scenes were framed to titillate both Sam and the audience (such as sorting her underwear in front of Sam), and it wasn’t at all subtle. Arguably, her irrational advances were caused by her lycanthropy (being part animal increased her sex drive and boldness, etc.), but that wasn’t clearly implied, and she came across as a male fantasy: hot woman with few boundaries wants to have sex with you ASAP.
-There’s also the very obvious problem that Madison had to be killed at the end. Given the lycanthropy mythology (how she had no control over the change and actually killed people regularly when shifted, etc.), I suppose killing her was the logical conclusion, but it’s a very unfortunate narrative choice for a show that so frequently mistreats its female characters. I can’t decide how I feel about Madison accepting her death; on the one hand, I can see myself doing the same thing in her position because I would feel such despair about killing and fear doing it again; on the other hand, having the female beg to be killed is just gross. This is why I say it could have been a more likeable episode if it were on a different series that wasn’t known for its misogyny, because even the more rational narrative choices are repugnant in view of SPN’s history.
-Lastly, at the heart of it (hee), this episode was about fridging another girl so we could see how compassionate and sensitive Sam is.
I’m sure there are many other problems, but those were the biggies I noticed. The other way this could have been a much better episode would have been if we actually cared about Madison and her relationship with Sam. Considering her appalling stupidity and naiveté in the first half of the episode, I wasn’t at all inclined to like her. This didn’t stop me from feeling sorry for her, obviously, because her situation was so unfair, but it was hard to get cut up over the ending. The only reason I felt at all moved was because Jared and Jensen were just so damn good at the end (and the actress playing Madison was all right, too, actually). I didn’t understand or believe Sam and Madison’s relationship for a second (she really seemed much more like Dean’s type), but Jared’s heartbreak tugged at me, and Dean’s moment at the end was heart-achingly good (although really, it’s also a problem that the end is framed in terms of their pain, not the woman’s who actually dies!). If Madison and Sam had been together for longer than two seconds, this episode would have been more tragic.
Aside from the gender issues, I was also not a fan of the werewolf mythology. Maybe I missed something, but there didn’t seem to be any logic in when they turned. One night she was a wolf, the next she managed to stay human and they think she’s cured, and then the next, bam, she’s a monster again! It’s completely contrived so as to fit in a sex scene when they think she’s cured and make it all the more “tragic” when they realize she isn’t. If you’re going to rewrite werewolf mythology (and let’s be honest, “werewolf” is a very generous term; she was not a wolf), you should at least have rules and stick to them.
And regarding the sex scene, it could have been very hot if it were between a couple we actually cared about. As it was, the explicitness of it was only a little hot and also made me slightly uncomfortable.
What I did like about the episode besides the acting: Dean leaving Sam to sleep with her. Regardless of the appropriateness of the romantic subplot in the episode, it was a nice/cute/brotherly thing for Dean to do.
Overall, this was not one of SPN’s finest. On a personal note, I really don’t like werewolves (which is one of the reasons I’ve taken a break from TVD; I just really don’t like werewolf storylines!). They creep me out. When it comes to supernatural creatures, I much prefer vampires.
Purely Subjective Rating:
2.5/5
Favorite Boy:
Dean
2x17: Heart
Thoughts I had while watching the episode:
-“Between Nate and me.”
-Whhhyyy is Madison letting a strange man stay in her house all day and night. And whhhyyy doesn’t she call the police about her STALKER. These are stupid choices, Madison. Ugh.
-Aww, shy, crushing Sam is adorable.
-“Um, where are my pajamas.” COULD YOU PLEASE FREAK OUT A LITTLE, WOMAN, INSTEAD OF BEING COOLY BLASÉ ABOUT EXTREMELY SKETCHY THINGS.
-“God, I am so stupid.” Yes. Yes, you are.
-Aw, I like how Dean just shuts up when Sam says, “Maybe I understand her.”
-“You’ll live the rest of your life and I’ll just be a bad memory.” Jared is wonderful in this episode. You can see how much it hurts Sam to seem like a potential murderer/rapist in her eyes.
-Oh, it’s the neighbor. I hadn’t seen enough of the episode to know that last time (I saw half of this episode two years ago on TNT).
-I’d forgotten that the werewolves didn’t turn into actual wolves.
-I’m glad that Dean acknowledges that Glenn didn’t know what he was doing.
-This is quite the aggressive sex scene. If I cared about them as a couple, it’d be pretty hot.
-Oh, that last shot of Dean crying and the music cutting off at the sound of the bullet is perfect.
Moments that made me giggle inside:
-“Why do you always get to stay with the girls?” “Because I’m older.”
-“We’re not 100% sure you’re not gonna turn tonight. We’re lurking.”
-“So I’m just gonna head back to the hotel and watch some…pay-per-view or something.”
Moments that made me actually LOL:
N/A
Overall Thoughts:
I think it’s telling that even two years ago when I watched half of this episode on TNT and had never seen SPN before, I was skeeved out by its treatment of women. In a different, less misogynistic show or in the hands of better writers, this could have been a really interesting and poignant episode. However, as it is there were so many misogynistic, problematic elements in “Heart” that its primary value came from the excellent acting. The problematic elements I spotted include:
-The way Madison’s boss’s come-ons are hand-waved away as harmless, including by Madison herself. That kind of workplace harassment is neither funny nor something to roll one’s eyes at, and the implication that he did it so often that she just came to expect it is sickening. More sickening is the fact that he tried to get her to go back to the office by claiming she had work he needed her to do- i.e., he wasn’t just inappropriately flirting with her, he was exerting his authority to try to get her sexually. He should be slapped with a lawsuit so fast his head spins round. Arguably, this problem is subverted by the fact that Madison kills him, but I think the subversion is negated by the fact that she herself has to die, too.
-Starting with the boss, this episode perpetuated the idea that rape culture is okay and women just need to suck it up and deal with harassment- in fact it’s not harassment, it’s just boys being boys! Madison’s skeevy ex-boyfriend exemplified this particular problem: he stalked her, and the show didn’t do anything to imply there would be (non-supernatural) repercussions for this. Why didn’t she call the police? He was stalking her; she said so herself. I don’t buy the idea that she felt brave and confident enough to deal with it (the way she changed after the “mugging,” etc.) because she was shown multiple times as being freaked out. If she was as smart as Sam claimed she was, why didn’t she call the police? Is the message that women are just supposed to deal with creepy exes on their own and wait for them to get bored and go away?
-Another basic problem was that Madison was just a horrible character. Seriously, she was a complete idiot. Who lets a strange man stay in her house all day and night while she’s sleeping? The fact that she was coming onto Sam so strongly so fast was also sketchy. I don’t want to walk all over a woman’s right to have casual sex with a hot stranger, because that would be unfeminist, too, but given all the sketchy circumstances surrounding Sam’s presence in her house to begin with, I really think she crossed the line from “independent-and-proactive” to “really, really stupid.” Her scenes were framed to titillate both Sam and the audience (such as sorting her underwear in front of Sam), and it wasn’t at all subtle. Arguably, her irrational advances were caused by her lycanthropy (being part animal increased her sex drive and boldness, etc.), but that wasn’t clearly implied, and she came across as a male fantasy: hot woman with few boundaries wants to have sex with you ASAP.
-There’s also the very obvious problem that Madison had to be killed at the end. Given the lycanthropy mythology (how she had no control over the change and actually killed people regularly when shifted, etc.), I suppose killing her was the logical conclusion, but it’s a very unfortunate narrative choice for a show that so frequently mistreats its female characters. I can’t decide how I feel about Madison accepting her death; on the one hand, I can see myself doing the same thing in her position because I would feel such despair about killing and fear doing it again; on the other hand, having the female beg to be killed is just gross. This is why I say it could have been a more likeable episode if it were on a different series that wasn’t known for its misogyny, because even the more rational narrative choices are repugnant in view of SPN’s history.
-Lastly, at the heart of it (hee), this episode was about fridging another girl so we could see how compassionate and sensitive Sam is.
I’m sure there are many other problems, but those were the biggies I noticed. The other way this could have been a much better episode would have been if we actually cared about Madison and her relationship with Sam. Considering her appalling stupidity and naiveté in the first half of the episode, I wasn’t at all inclined to like her. This didn’t stop me from feeling sorry for her, obviously, because her situation was so unfair, but it was hard to get cut up over the ending. The only reason I felt at all moved was because Jared and Jensen were just so damn good at the end (and the actress playing Madison was all right, too, actually). I didn’t understand or believe Sam and Madison’s relationship for a second (she really seemed much more like Dean’s type), but Jared’s heartbreak tugged at me, and Dean’s moment at the end was heart-achingly good (although really, it’s also a problem that the end is framed in terms of their pain, not the woman’s who actually dies!). If Madison and Sam had been together for longer than two seconds, this episode would have been more tragic.
Aside from the gender issues, I was also not a fan of the werewolf mythology. Maybe I missed something, but there didn’t seem to be any logic in when they turned. One night she was a wolf, the next she managed to stay human and they think she’s cured, and then the next, bam, she’s a monster again! It’s completely contrived so as to fit in a sex scene when they think she’s cured and make it all the more “tragic” when they realize she isn’t. If you’re going to rewrite werewolf mythology (and let’s be honest, “werewolf” is a very generous term; she was not a wolf), you should at least have rules and stick to them.
And regarding the sex scene, it could have been very hot if it were between a couple we actually cared about. As it was, the explicitness of it was only a little hot and also made me slightly uncomfortable.
What I did like about the episode besides the acting: Dean leaving Sam to sleep with her. Regardless of the appropriateness of the romantic subplot in the episode, it was a nice/cute/brotherly thing for Dean to do.
Overall, this was not one of SPN’s finest. On a personal note, I really don’t like werewolves (which is one of the reasons I’ve taken a break from TVD; I just really don’t like werewolf storylines!). They creep me out. When it comes to supernatural creatures, I much prefer vampires.
Purely Subjective Rating:
2.5/5
Favorite Boy:
Dean