#5.22 Swan Song

[arcanespillo]

do you think lucifer ever envied the fact that sam has a brother so devoted

[lovealwayssay]

Not to be talking about something that came out in 2010 but Supernatural episode 5.22 Swan Song is, in my opinion, the best episode of television ever. The episode is told with this narration about the Impala, leading to the Impala reminding Sam of Dean just long enough that he can overpower the devil and stop the Apocalypse. The parallel between Sam and Dean and Michale and Lucifer is just beautifully done. How Lucifer asks Michael not to fight him and Michael refuses, only for Lucifer to have to see Dean show up and be there for his little brother. Dean shows up for Sam, even if it means he'll have to watch Sam die, just so he doesn't have to die alone. Dean refuses to fight him even if it means getting killed because he loves Sam. It's contrasted by Michael and Lucifer. Michael refuses to reason with his brother, is willing to kill his brother for an absent father, while Dean is willing to die just so Sam doesn't have to be alone. Sam is able to overpower Lucifer because of this immense difference in their relationships with their brothers. Sam and Dean win, but it doesn't really feel like it. Sam has to choose a fate worse than anyone could imagine, and he does it willingly. And Dean has to go on living, knowing his brother is being tortured beyond anything he can imagine. Its such a beautiful and tragic story.

[secretsoftheuniverse1987]

Absolutely this too! Sam who was so willing to put his faith in the divine. Sam who was ready to believe that some faith healers really were doing God's work and that one of them would save his brother. Sam, who when met with Dean's derision in Houses of the Holy tells him "I do pray every day. I have for a long time." Yes, always, Sam who was so excited to meet the angels, only for Cas to refer to him as "the boy with the demon blood." Sam, who had to not only learn that he was Lucifer's true vessel but actually take on that role in the apocalypse. Sam, who was told by Billie that he was "unclean, in the biblical sense." Sam who was so willing to believe that his visions of Lucifer were messages from God. Sam, who was willing, even after learning that God was, in fact, Chuck, to believe that he might have an explanation for all of this. Sam, who, after finally situating God in his worldview as a villain, was still able to believe in a better future.

Thinking about how Dean Winchester was an atheist before he got caught up in the biblical apocalypse because in his mind, the two possible realities were an absent God and a cruel one. Thinking about him learning God was real and he had a Plan for him. Thinking about how that robbed him of his faith that a God wouldn't be capable of such cruelty. Thinking about how quickly he came to put his faith in Cas, despite his distrust of the divine. Thinking about The Man Who Would Be King. Thinking about Dean's only on-screen prayer to God being a plea to "bring him back."

[genderqueersammy]

I’ve heard a lot of people say that Dean was originally supposed to jump in after Sam in Swan Song. Is that true? Or just people generally saying it?

[sammys-carhartt-jacket]

5.22

god I really hate the fact that this godforsaken show got renewed. Like!!! That was it. That was genuinely the most perfect ending. I’m a firm believer that 5 seasons is the perfect amount for fantasy/sci-fi/supernatural type series. It just made sense. There was this big overarching theme of destiny that they built up really nicely and gradually introduced higher powers, from the MOTW to special children to hell and then angels and finally heaven and hell and Lucifer. It’s like, after the first half of 6.01, the charm is just immediately lost. They just start it again at this really awkward spot, and then they just bounce between random ass shit. It’s just not cohesive anymore. Like soullessness and resurrecting random characters, then a random species of monsters taking over the presidency? I don’t even remember what happens between season 10-15 because there is no longer an overarching plot. No storyline. Let’s do everything and see what sticks.

and just generally the way swan song was edited and directed—beautiful execution. It felt special. We got a narrator, an opening sequence never before done in the show. The flashbacks right before Sam gets back control—I adore the absence of any background music. Just the whistling of wind. It had oomph, it had tragedy and acceptance, it just made sense. Dean, living life with the family he craves and being a father and a protector to Lisa and Ben. And Sam, making the ultimate sacrifice, because that’s who he is. Also! Dean finally admitting that he’s been overbearing and controlling on Sam, and saying he was wrong! That Sam is his own person, can make decisions for himself! The growth! It was so fitting for their characters and completed their arcs.

and then they drag it out to suck every penny they can out of it and make a profit :/

[freackthejester]

I started sleeping until like 11:30am, which means I'm getting enough sleep, which is objectively better than when I was getting four hours a night and my brain was melting and I was getting sick.

But say what you will about doing things that are "healthy for my body," I definitely had more time to watch and blog about Supernatural.

Currently watching the finale on 1.5 speed if I even hope to finish it. I think it's better this way. It's uh, really really bad. But I miss having the time, ya know.

[faultyfoundations]

Looking at the graveyard scene in Swan Song again, it’s striking how different Sam and Lucifer’s mannerisms are, except for when they’re faced with the rejection or rebukes of their older brothers. (4.4 and 5.22)

[twinlambs]

It never occurred to them that sure, maybe they never really had a roof and four walls… but they were never, in fact, homeless.

SUPERNATURAL | SWAN SONG (5.22)

[soft-pine]

be my anchor, pull me under

some blueberry pie life: chapter 16

You have barbecues and go to football games. You go live some normal, apple-pie life, Dean. Promise me.

Now there was a woman who had been suffering from a flow of blood for twelve years. She had endured much under many physicians and had spent all that she had, and she was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, for she said, “If I but touch his cloak, I will be made well.” Immediately her flow of blood stopped, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my cloak?” And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, ‘Who touched me?’” He looked all around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” Mark 5:25–34

title from Anchor by Jack Ingram, John Randall, and Miranda Lambert

notes below

May, 2010

Both these sections take place during and right after the events of Swan Song (5.22)

The previous four times Dean was injured that Cas is thinking of are from 4.01, 4.16, 5.01, and 5.18.

The bible story both Dean and Cas are thinking of is Mark 5:25–34.

Yes, the part where Dean is thinking Cas would never tell him to worship and kneel is foreshadowing to the end of season 6.

The memory Dean is thinking of in Bobby's kitchen is from chapter 6 of this fic.

When Dean is to Bobby's with Cas in the car at the end of Swan Song, the windshield is still cracked. But it's fixed by the time he leaves Bobbys so I'm presuming Bobby helped replace it for him.

The memory Bobby is referring to is from chapter 5.

The memory of Bobby disabling the car is from 3.16.

The way Bobby talks about Dean treating Lisa right is in reference to Bobby's own father who took out his anger and issues on Bobby's mom (7.10). I don't think Bobby actually thinks Dean would hurt Lisa but I do think that kind of thing is always on his mind.

Unfortunately for me, they changed the set for Lisa's house from season 5 to season 6 so please forgive any inaccuracies relating to either house.

The issue of why (and who) removed the hand print will be dealt with later on. Unfortunately, this is one of the more evil things I've ever done.

[lower-the-volume]

5.22 Swan Song

[spacedean]

DEAN WINCHESTER in one random episode per day ‣ 180/327 5.22 SWAN SONG

[finalgirlsamwinchester]

1.01, "Pilot" | Stephen Adly Guirgis, "The Last Days Of Judas Iscariot" " | 5.22, "Swan Song"

[lovealwayssay]

Sam's heaven was another family's Thanksgiving, a week spent alone with a dog, and the night he left for Stanford, but that doesn't mean he doesn't love Dean. Sam never had a home, he never knew what it was like to feel completely safe, but he did have Dean and the Impala. Despite the fact that Sam spent his entire childhood running from his family and the role he was forced into, the Impala and Dean are Sam's home, and that is never more clear than when Lucifer catches his reflection in the Impala window, surrounded by Dean's comfort of "I'm here. I'm not gonna leave you". Sam loves Dean, he loves the Impala, the only place he's ever considered home, and that is enough to break Lucifer's control. Sam Winchester saved the entire world because of his love for his brother, and that says more than any of his Heavens.

[captainchilly]

One Castiel Quote per Episode 26/136 → 5.22 “SWAN SONG"

[kolumander]

“The Impala, of course, has all the things other cars have... and a few things they don't. But none of that stuff's important. This is the stuff that's important. The army man that Sam crammed in the ashtray – it's still stuck there. The Legos that Dean shoved into the vents – to this day, heat comes on and they can hear 'em rattle. These are the things that make the car theirs – really theirs. Even when Dean rebuilt her from the ground up, he made sure all these little things stayed, 'cause it's the blemishes that make her beautiful. The Devil doesn't know or care what kind of car the boys drive.”

- 5.22 “Swan Song”

[becauseofthebowties]

DEAN WINCHESTER IN EVERY EPISODE ↳ 5.22 - Swan Song