CinematogrAWESOME!

[hells_half_acre]

 Let's talk about this awesome cap from Unforgiven (6x13) while I wait for my pasta to cook:



Check out that lighting! What is it trying to say? THINK ABOUT IT.

Sam is pleading to be trusted by a women who, very rightly, suspects that he had a hand in her husband's death...during an episode that very much continues the debate: Was Soulless!Sam still Sam? Or is Sam another entity all together.

And it's all nicely encapsulated in this one image...

On the one side, we have Sam's earnest and open face - innocent and scared and pleading for help. On the other hand, we have the side of Sam's face that is hidden in darkness, tinted in blood red. 

Interestingly enough, back in 6x11, Soulless!Sam spoke of Sammy as though he were a different person - as though bringing Sammy back would kill Soulless!Sam. Now that Sammy is indeed back, he believes that Soulless!Sam was still him - that the fact that his soul had been separated from his body meant nothing and it's HE who has to make up for Soulless!Sam's ruthless cold-heart.

So, are Soulless!Sam and Dean correct and Soulless!Sam was a different person...or are Sam and Bobby correct and Soulless!Sam and Sam are NOT different people?

I think I've been thinking about this wrong. Soulless!Sam and Sammy are two different people...but they are two different people that together make up Sam. And I think that's what we see in this one image. We've got the cold-hearted ruthless body and the warm-hearted kind soul of Sammy (and as loved ones do, Sammy is the version of Sam that Dean sees the most)...and you put them together and you get Sam, who is capable of both (as we've seen in flashes throughout the years, most prominently in Mystery Spot and a lot of S4.)

Of course, maybe this is me being biased, because I love characters with duality...(like Remus Lupin and Sirius Black)...anyway, no matter what your theories, you gotta admit, that's a really awesomely lit scene. 


(cap by crystalchain )

Comments

[dairygirl.livejournal.com]

I completely agree about the lighting. I noticed it in the episode but having it presented here as a still really drives home the duality (and dueling natures?) of Sam.

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Indeed...and yes, I definitely think the duality is constantly dueling.

I really only noticed it on re-watch. The first time I watch something through, I really can only focus on the plot (though sometimes I get distracted by the clothes)...but yeah, on re-watch I couldn't help but notice how brilliant this shot was.

[mara-snh.livejournal.com]

I totally buy the color theories presented in fascinating meta posts by a number of fans. Here, we see Sam almost bracketed by red (evil) and blue (good). Inside those brackets, the half of Sam bracketed in red is in the dark. The half of him bracketed in blue is lighter, but not yet clear. This is brilliant.

Good for you for catching this!

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Yes, I love those colour metas! Sam is always at his best when there's a balance between the two colours :)

[glinda4thegood.livejournal.com]

Has the separation and reintegration set up a Jekyll and Hyde deal, where Sam will need to recombine the elements of himself before everything is back to "normal." Whatever the hell normal is . . .

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Yes...or, well, something similar. He's already recombined, now maybe it's just a matter of acceptance. Sam's always been part "dark-side" after all.

[glinda4thegood.livejournal.com]

I'm wondering -- with the wall up, how truly has he been "recombined". He obviously senses his soul, has changed enormously. In trying to work this through, his soul now has the imprint of a horrible experience, so is the wall is keeping something more than just memory out? What holds the function of memory here (I would have said "mind" previously) -- he can't remember what he did as soulless Sam, is prevented from remembering his time in the cage. Obviously for SPN, the presence of a soul has some effect on memory . . .

BTW, did you notice Visyak doesn't merit a first name? Unless Doctor is a girl's name I'm unfamiliar with . . .

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

BTW, did you notice Visyak doesn't merit a first name? Unless Doctor is a girl's name I'm unfamiliar with . . .

Well, I wouldn't say "doesn't merit" because that sounds like calling her by her professional title is some sort of put-down, when it's the opposite. But yeah, now that you mention it, they don't tell us what her first name is. That's gotta be hard for all those folks who want to write fic out there. Unless they just make one up!

I think that even with the wall, he's been recombined...he's just been recombined without the damaged part of himself. Sort of like someone severing a limb that's gone gangrene...yes, they are missing a limb, but they're still a whole person. (If that makes any sense).

Souls have a lot to do with memory in Supernatural. Dean remembered his time in hell...when Sam and that kid switched bodies, they didn't know what their bodies did when their souls were in each other. I'm not sure how Sam's body-only memory factors in...I think it's not so much behind the wall as it is suppressed by the presence of the soul-memory. But, I have absolutely nothing to base that belief on.

[katsheswims.livejournal.com]

Yes, when I was watching this scene all I could focus on was that dichotomy. I was thinking 'why would they have half of Sam's face in the dark?' Of course they have a reason, and I think you explained it perfectly.

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

I think it's pretty cool! Also, nice to look at. :)