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punk-rock-alex-manes · 4 years

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Supernatural vs. Roswell, New Mexico

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So I feel like this is the moment from Supernatural that inspired a scene from this week's episode (I know some people have argued that it's Michael beating up the car that was modeled after Dean beating up the Impala, but to me, that wasn't exactly an iconic, deeply emotional scene, so I personally disagree), but I think it's really interesting how much of a role reversal it is in terms of the characters involved.

Dean and Max are both the ones who see themselves as the protectors of their respective families, the ones who are supposed to step up and be in charge and do what they need to do to keep their siblings safe. Sam and Michael, on the other hand, are the ones who keep their distance, who don't particularly feel like a true member of the family, who resist taking orders and falling in line, rebelling against their brothers despite the fact that they would drop everything to help them the moment they were needed.

In Supernatural, it's Sam who dies and Dean who believes that he's failed his one job: to protect his brother. But in RNM, it's Max who's gone, and Michael who has to step up to save him. At first, this struck me as a pretty inconsequential difference, but the more I think about it, the more I hope that it might be the beginning of a hugely significant change for Michael.

In Supernatural, Sam's death forces Dean to confront two things: (1) protecting Sam is his primary role, and (2) he has failed that role. That thought process alone drives Dean to absolute desperation, leading him to sell his actual soul just to correct the mistake and bring Sam back.

This is what happens when Dean (the protector) fails what he believes to be his primary purpose (keeping Sam safe). But for Michael, everything is different. He's not the protector here, that's Max. Michael's role is entirely different -- he's the one who's supposed to resist, the one who pushes people away when they try to protect him. He even says as much in this episode, confronting his own abandonment issues and admitting that the reason everyone leaves him is because he forces them to.

The point is this: when Dean is confronted with his own percieved failure to be the protector, he embraces that role even further, going to extreme lengths to save his brother. But Michael hasn't failed his role.

His role has failed him.

He pushed Max away, and Max died. He pushed Isobel away, and she went through a life-threatening abortion, completely alone, and didn't tell him until now. He pushed Alex away, and now instead of being together, they're struggling to find a way to be friends. He even kept Maria at a distance, the one person who was supposed to be separate from all of this, and now she's not speaking to him.

But between this scene and the well-timed malex flashback and Michael's conversation with Isobel, we're finally getting to see Michael realize that pushing people away isn't going to fix any of his problems. That he's allowed to have a family, he's allowed to have people who love him. He's allowed to accept that he has people who are on his side, and he doesn't have to question it or test it or push the limits to see how far it goes.

You know what that is? Growth. And I am here for it.

#roswell new mexico #supernatural #michael guerin #max evans #rnm spoilers #rnm s2 #my post

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