CW Life Lessons: You Never Know Your Family as Well as You Think
Ah, family. They’re the people you can always count on, the folks you know better than anyone else, the people who have to love you and take you in, right? Hah! Obviously, you haven’t been keeping up with your CW shows. They teach us that you never know what’s going on in the hearts and heads of the people who share your genetic material, and what you don’t know can hurt you.
Take Gossip Girl. Serena knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that her grandmother Cece loved her wild side, wanted her to be a free spirit and live the life she desired. Then came the debutante ball, where Serena learned that her grandmother tried to run off her wrong-side-of-the-tracks boyfriend, browbeat her mother into trying to turn Serena into a Junior League robot, and lied about being sick to get her way. Then WE discover Cece lied about lying about being sick. Apparently there’s no room for truth in this family!
The Scott boys of One Tree Hill don’t do any better. They think they know everything they need to know about patriarch Dan Scott -- he’s the original Bad Dad, beyond redemption and bereft of good. But Dan seems to have a secret good streak he’s hiding from his boys, that only Jamie can see.
He saves Jamie from psycho Nanny Carrie, declines to kill the reverend who’s first in line for a new heart, and even kept a secret stash of Lucas pictures from when his illegitimate son was growing up. Is there a warm, fuzzy teddy bear hidden under that tough, brother-killing exterior? We’re not sure we’d go that far, but we do think there’s more to Dan than his sons will ever realize.
Then there’s the Winchester boys of Supernatural. They depend on each other utterly, but that doesn’t mean they don’t keep secrets from each other. Sam tried to conceal his psychic abilities from Dean, then declined to share Ruby’s revelation that Lillith was after him and that his abilities were still lurking in his potentially demon-tainted soul. Dean angsted over John’s admonition that he might have to kill Sam for more than half a season. Neither brother seems capable of really talking about how they actually feel about ANYTHING -- each other, their father, their line of work, what’s on TV, the weather, you name it. And speaking of John – oy, that was a man who kept things close to the vest, wasn’t he? He hid from the boys for most of the first season, never seemed to share all his information with them, and remained unknowable to the end. It was bad enough that Dean was willing to believe a crackly voice on the phone was John calling from beyond the grave, when two seconds of analysis would have revealed that it couldn’t have been the real John. Since Dean was facing a death sentence, we’re willing to give him a pass on that, we guess.
Even the folks on Smallville never really know the ones they love. Lex and Lionel circled each other with plots and counter-plots for seven seasons, never really telling each other the truth about anything. Heck, Lionel was surprised to the very end, when Lex pushed him out a window to his death. And Clark and Kara, despite their shared Kryptonian roots, never seemed to know each other – the cousins spent their first couple of meetings fighting, not realizing they were related, and Clark got blindsided by Braniac posing as Kara in the season finale. Even family-of-choice Lana and Clark had problem – Lana spent many blissful days with Bizarro Clark before she realized she’d been snuggling up with the wrong guy. Come on, Lana -- the lack of angst should have been a clear sign!
So, according to The CW, your family is an endless source of mystery. Keep an eye on your siblings, your parents, random cousins and miscellaneous great-aunts – you never know what they could be up to, or what you’ll learn.
Comments
Dean and Sam have their own special, complex language. A language in which, "Let me show you how to fix my car," actually means, "I love you," and, "You do that again and I'll kick your ass," means "I was so worried about you, and am beyond relieved that you're okay." So it's not that they don't express their feelings to each other, they just do it in a different way.
Posted by: deejay | July 22, 2008 2:37 PM
Great analysis Sarah, especially of the Winchesters. Thanks to the talents of Jensen and Jared, Dean and Sam are able to say so much to each other through just a glance without saying a word. But oh how special it is when they finally DO open up in one of their rare "chick-flick" moments! Proving that they really DO know each other soooo well. :)
Posted by: ~ MOUSITSA ~ | July 19, 2008 11:51 PM
ahah sarah i think you should watch the rest of OTH's season. The Scott boys know that dan keeps the pics as well as other things.....
Posted by: Chloe | July 19, 2008 8:37 PM
Seeing as I only watch OTH, I have to agree with what was said. I know that I love to hate the villain daddy, but it's a great plot twist to see he has a heart. I just think it's too late for him to reconcile with his sons, so he chose to do so with Jamie, after all, children tend to believe in their family more than teens and adults. While I personally will never forgive Dan for murdering his brother, I think that him trying to make up for it, at least with Jamie, helps me find a little comfort in my favorite villain.
Posted by: christina | July 18, 2008 5:20 PM
Jessica & Stacie really nailed it with their points regarding the Winchesters.
(And I too am glad that you mentioned John in there.)
There's a lot more "sharing" of emotion going on than you gave them credit for having. Not all communication has to be verbal .. and when they do actually say the words IT MEANS SO MUCH MORE.
Truly, the guys wouldn't be able to do the kind of "work" that they do if they were constantly verbalizing all their feelings. If they did much more than they already do, I think it would weaken their abilities to keep doing it.
I will admit that they do keep some "OMG" information to themselves (at least for a while) - but considering their upbringing and everything else they go through regularly .. it is kind of understandable.
Posted by: CandyMaize | July 18, 2008 4:47 PM
I agree with Stacie
Posted by: Amanda | July 17, 2008 7:34 PM
nice post! but the winchesters are able to express themselves a lot. just not in those horribly long and corny speeches which makes the brothers just so much more memorable! :)
i love how you wrote about daddy winchester. some people have seemed to just forgotten the golden moments of season 1. nice job of recapping and yes, john doesn't say a lot. but like dean said, he has a reason for everything.
thanks for the article. it was an interesting read ^^
Posted by: jessica | July 17, 2008 7:21 PM
Sarah, I have to disagree to a point with your assertion that the Winchesters boys are incapable of sharing how they feel. That is just patently untrue.
I concede the biggies that you mention, but there have been episode upon episode where the boys have expressed how they feel about one another. Sometimes they may not use words, but their actions can speak volumes.
Dean got Sam through the death of Jessica. Or after John died and Dean was spiralling, Sam called him on it and Dean eventually broke down. I still get choked up watching Dean's roadside confession to Sam about the sacrifice their father made for him.
Dean's deal. If that doesn't speak volumes about how he feels about his brother, I don't know what does.
Sam calling out Dean about masking his fear about the deal and just asking to be his brother again.
Mystery Spot. That hug at the end, and Dean's understanding that Sam had been emotionally damaged by that.
The boys may not express how they feel in long speeches, but they get it done and at the end of the day they know they love each other. I'd call that very capable of expressing how they feel.
Everytime I hear the desperation in their voice's calling the other's name in a dicey situation, it's creams love and concern to me.
"Dean!" "Sam!"
Sometimes it's just that simple.
Posted by: Stacie | July 17, 2008 3:06 PM
You mention the folks of Smallville not really knowing the ones they love (family-wise) and you don't mention Chloe and Lois (but you mention Clark and Lana???)?
Isn't Chloe hiding a big secret from Lois about being a 'metor freak' and the things she knows about Lex?
Posted by: Linda | July 17, 2008 2:09 PM