I think Dean came back hating himself and Buffy came back hating her friends.
Ooh, excellent answer. I don't think I would have framed it that way, but it makes a lot of sense.
If he is just going through the motions because it is all that he knows to do, is he still a hero?
lcat, I'm so glad you liked the essay! I'm not totally happy with it -- I feel like at the end I lapsed into OH, DEAN without a lot of actual thought, but it should be clear that I love him (and Sam!). The whole thing was such a treat --getting to write about the show for money? Awesome.
I don't know how much he's just going through the motions up till now -- I think there was a sense of that in S7, but when he had Sam to take care of, his mindset was very different.
Now, he's got to get out of purgatory, which is pure survival. I think it's going to depend what happens to him there, and what the next big bad ends up being, before we know where his head is in S8.
I want to think that he (and Sam) learned a lot about deals between them, and that their reaction to Bobby (sort of) proves it, but then ... as important as Bobby is, he isn't Sam or Dean. It's hard to say! I have to think about it some more. They've been through so much since I wrote that piece, and I haven't really considered it.
Ha! Amy, that was beautiful.
Does Dean describe himself as atheist at any point? I mean, with that precise word?
Not specifically with that word, as far as I know.
At this point is there any chance Dean is an atheist, rather than thinking God is a dick?
Someone on IO9 is saying that if Dean fought demons (and vampires and shapeshifters--but that makes no sense) he can't be atheist.
I said that by S2 demons are still new to him, and he does believe in gods, but he doesn't attribute divinity to any of the "gods", just superpowers.
S4, he accepts that there is a Christian god, so I guess he can't be atheist anymore, but he's certainly not a worshipper. He just concedes his existence.
And that's not a new concept: believing in God but not having faith in Him, doubting His intentions or reliability or interest. After I gave up on the church and religion, I never gave up on the idea of
something
out there, but never thought that it was benevolent or invested in my well-being.
The person is saying that Show doesn't understand what atheism means. But I just can't remember Dean calling himself an atheist.
In my memory, Dean never said that word. I do remember him being dubious in that fake angel ep, and again when confronted with what Castiel said he was. Or, maybe not dubious, but adamant about their lack of existence, which I guess would mean atheist in a Catholic/Protestant sense.
