iirc Jensen originally wanted to audition for Sam or he did I can’t remember that part. HAD HE GOT SAM… would you still be an anti 😈
Hmmm... That's a good question, and the answer is a touch difficult...
On the one hand, a lot of my issues stem --- as far as I can isolate --- from Sam's character as it was written. I remember not much caring for his values from episode 1, and that's writing, not acting. Additionally, judging by my experiences with both John and Mary, I can very much love a performer --- I love JDM in every role in which I've ever seen him (SPN, of course, but also Walking Dead and various films), and Samantha Smith is great too, though I haven't seen her outside of SPN --- and hate the character.
On the other, however, Jared has never been a great actor in my eyes, and has just... largely gotten worse. So there might well be a degree to which Sam's character and his acting were intrinsically connected from the beginning. Additionally, someone mentioned --- I think it was during the anti-Jared war about a month ago? Sorry if that timing is wrong --- a good point: that Jared's worsened performance led to fewer Sam-centric arcs, different handling of his storyline, etc. Thus, if there were a different actor in his stead, maybe Sam's character wouldn't be something I'm as anti towards as it is now.
So, I think the answer would be yes, I would still be an anti. There's a possibility that both would get closer to a midpoint (e.g. I'd watch and Jared's acting would bring down Dean's character while Jensen's would elevate Sam's), but I don't know that for sure.
Hope that answered the question, and thanks for the ask!
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I've seen a good number of people ask a question along the lines of "why do characters like Falin and hate Laios when they're so similar?" and i've also seen good analysis on the differences in how the touden siblings carry themselves that would, despite their shared traits, make a person gravitate to one more than the other.
But i feel like we've overseen one very central thing here.
People don't like Falin
Like... the average person in dungeon meshi doesn't like Falin. She was deeply ostrasized by her home village, in magic school she had zero friends before Marcille and the others generally saw her as strange and a bit offputting.
Characters like Namari and Chilchuck like her well enough but not necessarily more than any other member of their party, including Laios. Neither Kabru nor his party think much of her. The canaries don't give a fuck about her. Toshiro's retainers don't see her as anything else than the weird foreign girl their boss has a crush on.
The reason we think everyone loves Falin is because, despite all the indifferent side characters, the 2 most important and central characters of the story are Laios and Marcille. Who are NOT representative of the average attitudes to Falin! But necromancy georg number 1 and 2 are our main eyes into the story and they love Falin so much that it colours our perspective of the whole world.
The only side character who qualifies as liking Falin and not Laios is Toshiro (at least at first, as he ends the story on much better terms with Laios) and that says a lot about his character, with him drifting to the quiet Falin precisely because of her oddness but being both uncomfortable with and deeply jealous of Laios' much more open expression of that oddness. Because he's a repressed guy from a culture where etiquette is incredibly important.
But like I said, that's a specific aspect of him, not to the world at large.
Because there's also people that click more with laios than with Falin.
Kabru, for one, who is initially distrustful of laios but clearly also deeply fascinated by him and drawn to him.
Minor spoilers, and you don't have to read too deeply into this, because I don't think Kabru particularly dislikes Falin or anything. But it's interesting that when he talks about his distrust of the toudens in ch.32 he's talking about them both. But his big friendship declaration in chapter 76 is aimed squarely at Laios, he doesn't say "you and your sister" he says "you"
And Senshi!! He instantly clicks with Laios, well before he does so with anyone else in the party– who he also becomes friends with, it just takes a bit longer– specifically because they bond over their shared special interest in monsters!! Senshi is kind towards Falin and cares for her wellbeing, but he also... doesn't know her. The reason he is even here, helping to save her, is because he and Laios bonded over monsters and he wants to help his new friends out!
Of course, the theme of neurodivergent isolation is very present in Laios' story. I'm not denying that. He does turn people off, without meaning to and unable to fully understand why! But so does Falin. And just like there are people who like her despite of or even because of those traits, there are people who do the same with him.
In conclusion: "Average person loves Falin and hates Laios" factoid actually statistical error. Average person is neutral on both Falin and Laios. Georcille, Laiorg and Geoshiro, who live in the dungeon and think over 10,000 Falin-loving thoughts a day, are statistical outliers adn should not have been counted.
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