![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
You know what? I don't like Missouri Moseley. I didn't mind her so much at first, with the exception of her whole irrational Dean-bashing, but she is used in fic so much and I'm just SO sick of her. She's patronising, biased and irritating.
I know that Dean hadn't been entirely established as the character we know now by the time Home aired as the ninth episode. Dean is still in the stage of essentially catering to whatever Sam needs to play off at that point in time. However, the episode starts with our first real, non-comedic taste of vulnerability from Dean, with his slightly overly woobie admission that he swore never to go back to Lawrence. Before we are introduced to Missouri, we get a second woobie!Dean moment when he calls his father, after the strange POV conversation with Sam leaning against the Impala and the incredibly sexy shot of Dean past the Impala's bonnet. (Also, watch the way he says 'ceiling' while talking to Sam. It's hot. No, seriously.) So by the time we get to meet Missouri, even the most anti-Dean person (if any such person exists) has to be feeling pretty sorry for him.
Enter Missouri, who treats Sam like he's a sweet little girl who's just lost his best friend and treats Dean like he's something she would scrape off her shoes. The first time we meet her she's lying to a customer, which to my mind is horrendous enough in the first place. Surely she can see how much Dean is going through in coming back? Sam's powers are causing him problems, sure, but he doesn't have the emotional attachment to the past that Dean has. His statement to Sam that he doesn't remember much of the night Mary died is probably highly untrue - if he doesn't remember every word John said to him, I'll eat the Metallicar. I wouldn't be surprised if he saw Mary on the ceiling before he was told to get out. All this and the connection Missouri had with them as children and she still bullies him. I honestly don't think she says a kind word to him in the entire episode.
Missouri doesn't limit her attacks on Dean's behaviour to his silly questions (which, to be fair, he doesn't KNOW how she operates as a psychic), teasing him about his looks as a child, and berating him for thinking about putting his feet on her table. She also knocks his confidence in the one thing he's got that he knows - his work. We all know that Dean's got some serious insecurities that he covers with his attitude. That's not to say Dean isn't self-confident in certain ways, but in terms of what matters most to him - his family, mostly - he is a complete mess. The only thing he feels he has to offer is his good little soldier routine, the fact that he can do his job and do it well. Missouri completely undermines his ability to do his job two times that I can think of off the top of my head - when she calls him stupid for lying to Jenny (downright nasty), and when she scoffs at his EMF and calls him an amateur. So, according to Missouri, Dean's a stupid amateur. Nice, huh?
It's not just the way she treats him, though, but what she represents that bothers me. By introducing Missouri in this particular episode, they're setting her up as a temporary alternate mother figure, which is clearly what the fanfic writers have latched onto. She's very motherly to Sam, talking to him gently nad giving him guidance with a problem only she can really help with. The difference between the sharp way she addresses Dean and the almost syrupy sweet way she addresses Sam borders on ridiculous. Also, I know there's a whole tough love model of mothering in fiction (see:Molly Weasley) but honestly, what mother calls their kid funny-looking, stupid and bad at his work when he's already in a lot of pain just by being around?
She treats Dean much the same way she treats John, only she actually has a history with John, so it makes more sense.
I don't blame the actress, who's usually very good. I just think that, as seems to be a running theme on Supernatural, Missouri is not the character the writers think she is. They've either imagined a connection between her and Dean that would make him immune to her taunts, or they are seeing Dean as just an arrogant, stupid thug, which is clearly not the case in the rest of the episode.
In short, if I were Dean and Missouri told me not to be a stranger, I'd tell her where to shove it. Also, Daddy Winchester is sexy.
Green Queen
I know that Dean hadn't been entirely established as the character we know now by the time Home aired as the ninth episode. Dean is still in the stage of essentially catering to whatever Sam needs to play off at that point in time. However, the episode starts with our first real, non-comedic taste of vulnerability from Dean, with his slightly overly woobie admission that he swore never to go back to Lawrence. Before we are introduced to Missouri, we get a second woobie!Dean moment when he calls his father, after the strange POV conversation with Sam leaning against the Impala and the incredibly sexy shot of Dean past the Impala's bonnet. (Also, watch the way he says 'ceiling' while talking to Sam. It's hot. No, seriously.) So by the time we get to meet Missouri, even the most anti-Dean person (if any such person exists) has to be feeling pretty sorry for him.
Enter Missouri, who treats Sam like he's a sweet little girl who's just lost his best friend and treats Dean like he's something she would scrape off her shoes. The first time we meet her she's lying to a customer, which to my mind is horrendous enough in the first place. Surely she can see how much Dean is going through in coming back? Sam's powers are causing him problems, sure, but he doesn't have the emotional attachment to the past that Dean has. His statement to Sam that he doesn't remember much of the night Mary died is probably highly untrue - if he doesn't remember every word John said to him, I'll eat the Metallicar. I wouldn't be surprised if he saw Mary on the ceiling before he was told to get out. All this and the connection Missouri had with them as children and she still bullies him. I honestly don't think she says a kind word to him in the entire episode.
Missouri doesn't limit her attacks on Dean's behaviour to his silly questions (which, to be fair, he doesn't KNOW how she operates as a psychic), teasing him about his looks as a child, and berating him for thinking about putting his feet on her table. She also knocks his confidence in the one thing he's got that he knows - his work. We all know that Dean's got some serious insecurities that he covers with his attitude. That's not to say Dean isn't self-confident in certain ways, but in terms of what matters most to him - his family, mostly - he is a complete mess. The only thing he feels he has to offer is his good little soldier routine, the fact that he can do his job and do it well. Missouri completely undermines his ability to do his job two times that I can think of off the top of my head - when she calls him stupid for lying to Jenny (downright nasty), and when she scoffs at his EMF and calls him an amateur. So, according to Missouri, Dean's a stupid amateur. Nice, huh?
It's not just the way she treats him, though, but what she represents that bothers me. By introducing Missouri in this particular episode, they're setting her up as a temporary alternate mother figure, which is clearly what the fanfic writers have latched onto. She's very motherly to Sam, talking to him gently nad giving him guidance with a problem only she can really help with. The difference between the sharp way she addresses Dean and the almost syrupy sweet way she addresses Sam borders on ridiculous. Also, I know there's a whole tough love model of mothering in fiction (see:Molly Weasley) but honestly, what mother calls their kid funny-looking, stupid and bad at his work when he's already in a lot of pain just by being around?
She treats Dean much the same way she treats John, only she actually has a history with John, so it makes more sense.
I don't blame the actress, who's usually very good. I just think that, as seems to be a running theme on Supernatural, Missouri is not the character the writers think she is. They've either imagined a connection between her and Dean that would make him immune to her taunts, or they are seeing Dean as just an arrogant, stupid thug, which is clearly not the case in the rest of the episode.
In short, if I were Dean and Missouri told me not to be a stranger, I'd tell her where to shove it. Also, Daddy Winchester is sexy.
Green Queen
Tags:
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
Just curious about your opinion. I don't know where to go for season two speculation and such, as I'm rather new to the fandom, so any sort of character/plot discussion interests me.
From:
no subject
Also, she just rubs me the wrong way.
From:
no subject
I have to say that the slapping down of Dean cracked me up. Dean has woobie moments, but I don't see him as someone who is particularly vulnerable to the snarky asides of a middle aged lady.
Dean has a memory of motherhood. Sam doesn't. Sam needs Missouri's Mammy/Mommy figure far more that Dean does. In addition, although Dean is jealous of Sam, he is secure in the approval of his father. Sam doesn't have that--he needs someone to understand and approve of him.
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
I thought Missouri was simply a case of bad writing. We were supposed to laugh at Dean and it didn`t work for me at all. Especially not after they had gone out of their way to show his vulnerability.
Also if it was supposed to be a case of "tough love" or "affectionate teasing", I either blame the acting or directing because I didn`t see one iota of that.
And I totally don`t buy into the theory that a) she did it to help him (no sign whatsoever and b) he needed/wanted it (he was equally woobie in SW and held his shit pretty well together there. And even if not why the hell shouldn`t he get as chance to Emo. Why is he always supposed to suck it up? Pfft.)
The "amateur" comment was ridiculus because yeah, Dean is obviously too lazy to use his Psychic powers and oh wait, he doesn`t have them, you stupid git. So how is he supposed to do this job? At least he IS doing it and not charging people for lying to them. *headdesk*
It would be okay if she owned up to being a bitch and got smacked down for it but she is treated as this wise mentor figure.
And yes, I don`t like seeing her in fics either. She either gets transformed into the loving UberMommy or she gets even bitchier. Hell woman, interact normally with people. Most people do have more default modes than sickly sweet, patronizing molly-coddling or annoying abrasive smackdowns.
See, that turned quite a bit into my own Missouri-rant. ;)
From:
no subject
Missouri as the other mother drives me nuts, because they don't even KNOW her that well. That's another thing that really bothers me about this episode. They just totally fall into line with her, even though they don't remember her at all. WTF.
From:
no subject
Exactly. It just turned him into a joke for the sake of a joke. With all the examples you cited I had no problem poking fun at him.
But this ended up as a couple of rounds of "Beat the idiot." Which works really well with one of your lead characters. *headdesk*
Also Dean can be a smartass sometimes but he wasn`t to her. He was pretty polite and restraine with her, a lot more than I would have been. If he`d given back as good as he got, maybe I`d have a less negative reaction to it but the way it played out, it became one-way bullying. With her always "Don`t cuss at me" and stuff. Lady, he`d be in his right to kick your ass down the stairs instead of helping you.
Missouri as the other mother drives me nuts, because they don't even KNOW her that well. That's another thing that really bothers me about this episode. They just totally fall into line with her, even though they don't remember her at all. WTF.
That`s just the thing. So she met them once? when they were kids. Doesn`t mean that they are anything than virtually strangers now.
So this overly-familiarity bugged. Buddies or Family, yeah, they can rag on each other like nobody`s buisness but you don`t do it with people you just met.
And fact is, she is not their mother, not even a mother figure. You have to earn a status like this, it isn`t just handed over as the writing implied here.
Now if the likes of Pastor Jim behaved like a semi-parent to the jobs that would be different because arguably he saw them growing up quite a bit.
From:
no subject
What I find interesting is the way Dean reacted to Missouri. I wonder if the whole point to her behavior was to keep him off-balance. It's possible she knew something he didn't (although it woulda been nice if the writers had let us in on it if that were the case), or just could read him well enough ot know this was painful for him so she kept him focused on the present rather than dwelling on the past. I mean, if I were Dean, and I had this woman being a real bag ot me for no reason that I could discern, I'd be mentally all WTF? and focused much more on that than wondering where Dad is and having to possibly relive (because I suspect Dean might have had a few PTSD issues in the house - he is clearly incredibly uncomfortable in Lawrence and he acts totally weird *until* he meets Missouri, then he seems to be a bit more clearheaded) the night his mother died, in more than one way. It would almost be a welcome distraction. And Dean isn't usually shy about voicing his opinion, yet he never says anything about her. I wonder if he kind of enjoyed the attention. Sure, he gets the attention of the ladies all the time, but some guys like a little henpecking, and it's not like Dean gets that very often. I wonder if it was mom-type behaviour all-around (except you're right about her degrading him in some places. Although I took the EMF comment as a joke and the coffee-table bit as Mom-ESP-like (because God knows my own mother always seemed to know if I was about to put my shoes on the table *from another room*), and I don't recall the exact words - did she actually use stupid or dumb? it would make a difference - but it might not play as badly here as it did for you. I know I've seen people make offhand comments like, "Don't be dumb, now," and it not be considered offensive. It may be a stereotype, but a lot of comedy about "black mamas" have them as very outspoken and not pulling any punches with their kids, especially ones with attitude. Sort of the whole give 'em a kick in the pants if they need one scenario. Another point someone else pointed out to me was that she probably saw what Dean's coping mechanisms were and she may have actually tried to tear them down a bit so he would see there was more to himself than that, but I don't really know, because we didn't really see her give him anything to replace it with.
I'm not really an apologist, though. I think she was too hard on Dean without it ever being clear on a reason why (and, unless they bring her back to explain it, is a MAJOR pet peeve of mine with the writers), and she was rude to him. His behavior in return is equally puzzling, to me. I kind of want her to come back so we can hopefully get to the bottom of it. As for fanon, well, I haven't seen her in too many fics yet, so I haven't gotten really tired of her that way. But I don't look for her either, and I don't think she should just be thrown in gratuitously. There are many other characters, based on cryptic comments and shots of the boys' cellphones, that you could use in fic.
Meh. Just my two cents and a bit of playing devil's advocate...
From:
no subject
When she talks to Jenny she says Dean 'isn't the sharpest tool in the box,' which is definitely something that bothers me, because Dean already has a complex about not being as smart as his brother.
If it was once in a while and there were other times she was nice to him it probably wouldn't be such a problem, but she does it all the damn time.
From:
no subject
We have someone who knew them when they are little, someone who can shed a little light on their past. She could have been such a great character!
Instead I found her abrasive and annoying. She picked on Dean about something he was thinking for god's sake! I mean, that's like eavesdropping and then omplaining when you hear something bad about yourself.
I wish Meg had taken her out - and left us Pastor Jim.