Read on Twitter
*burst through the wall like the Kool-Aid Man*
Alright Hellers, we’re gonna have a thread about this post right here, Anton Chekhov, and how the finale doesn’t follow proper storytelling rules & thus has no rights.
Alright Hellers, we’re gonna have a thread about this post right here, Anton Chekhov, and how the finale doesn’t follow proper storytelling rules & thus has no rights.
Anton Chekhov was a Russian playwright. You may have heard of a little thing called Chekhov’s Gun. That’s from him.
The principal of Chekhov’s gun states that everything that’s included in the story MUST be necessary to it.
The principal of Chekhov’s gun states that everything that’s included in the story MUST be necessary to it.
How’d we get the gun part?
Simple.
It’s an example that Chekhov gave in regard to the previous idea, that every part of a story has to be necessary to the story.
There are two quotes about guns and storytelling by Chekhov that I want to focus on.
Simple.
It’s an example that Chekhov gave in regard to the previous idea, that every part of a story has to be necessary to the story.
There are two quotes about guns and storytelling by Chekhov that I want to focus on.
First:
“If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off. If it’s not going to be fired, it shouldn’t be hanging there.”
“If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off. If it’s not going to be fired, it shouldn’t be hanging there.”
Second:
“One must never place a loaded rifle on the stage if it isn’t going to go off. It’s wrong to make promises you don’t mean to keep.”
“One must never place a loaded rifle on the stage if it isn’t going to go off. It’s wrong to make promises you don’t mean to keep.”
So what’s all this got to do with why the finale and it’s lack of sense?
A hell of a lot.
You see, the post above gives a little taste of what I’m talking about. How the last 3 episodes showed the gun and showed the gun and showed the gun. How the last 3 episodes set the gun
A hell of a lot.
You see, the post above gives a little taste of what I’m talking about. How the last 3 episodes showed the gun and showed the gun and showed the gun. How the last 3 episodes set the gun
to fire. How the last 3 episodes didn’t shoot, didn’t even check to see if it was ever actually loaded because they want to even try to aim.
I’m gonna take that a bit further because I went to school for this dammit and I might as well use my piece of paper on something.
I’m gonna take that a bit further because I went to school for this dammit and I might as well use my piece of paper on something.
What is the gun?
Cas’ confession.
Plain and simple.
15x18 is chapter 1 and Castiel, angel of the lord, declaring his love for Dean Winchester is our shiny loaded rifle on the mantle. With two episodes left that means in 15x19or 15x20 the rifle is supposed to fire.
Cas’ confession.
Plain and simple.
15x18 is chapter 1 and Castiel, angel of the lord, declaring his love for Dean Winchester is our shiny loaded rifle on the mantle. With two episodes left that means in 15x19or 15x20 the rifle is supposed to fire.
15x19 is chapter two.
Is the gun still there on the mantle? If it is, will it go off?
The gun in 15x19 is Lucifer’s phone call. The gun in chapter two is Dean Winchester, who has fought angels, demons, and death, running up the stairs without question when he believes it’s Cas.
Is the gun still there on the mantle? If it is, will it go off?
The gun in 15x19 is Lucifer’s phone call. The gun in chapter two is Dean Winchester, who has fought angels, demons, and death, running up the stairs without question when he believes it’s Cas.
The gun in 15x19 is Dean offering himself and Sam to bring back Castiel and everyone else. The gun is Dean’s specific mentioning of Castiel in relation to giving up his and his brothers lives to bring him back.
The gun does not fire in chapter two.
The gun does not fire in chapter two.
15x20 is chapter three.
According to Chekhov’s rule, the gun must fire. According to Chekhov’s rule, a promise has been made in the narrative, a promise for the gun to go off, and it must be fulfilled.
It’s wrong to make promises you don’t mean to keep.
According to Chekhov’s rule, the gun must fire. According to Chekhov’s rule, a promise has been made in the narrative, a promise for the gun to go off, and it must be fulfilled.
It’s wrong to make promises you don’t mean to keep.
15x20 is chapter three.
Is the gun still there on the mantle? If it is, will it go off?
The gun in 15x20 is the street festival with Sam and Dean on the bench. The gun in 15x20 is the mention of keeping going. The gun in 15x20 is the mention of keeping going for Castiel.
Is the gun still there on the mantle? If it is, will it go off?
The gun in 15x20 is the street festival with Sam and Dean on the bench. The gun in 15x20 is the mention of keeping going. The gun in 15x20 is the mention of keeping going for Castiel.
TW// Dean’s death
The gun in 15x20 is Dean dying needlessly and going to Heaven. The gun in 15x20 is Bobby telling Dean that Cas helped Jack build Heaven to be better, to be a model of what Dean deserves. The gun in 15x20 is Bobby’s pronoun game of, “He’ll be along.”
The gun in 15x20 is Dean dying needlessly and going to Heaven. The gun in 15x20 is Bobby telling Dean that Cas helped Jack build Heaven to be better, to be a model of what Dean deserves. The gun in 15x20 is Bobby’s pronoun game of, “He’ll be along.”
15x20 is chapter three.
According to Chekhov’s rule, the gun must go off. The promise must be kept.
The gun does not fire in chapter three. The story ends. The promise is broken.
15x20 is chapter three and didn’t deliver on the word given by chapters one and two.
According to Chekhov’s rule, the gun must go off. The promise must be kept.
The gun does not fire in chapter three. The story ends. The promise is broken.
15x20 is chapter three and didn’t deliver on the word given by chapters one and two.
It goes even deeper than that because in reality, 15x18 isn’t chapter one.
Chapter one was 4x1. The beginning of the story, the gun having its true first appearance, was Lazarus Rising. 4x1 - 15x19 was the gun on the mantle covered with a billowing cloth.
Chapter one was 4x1. The beginning of the story, the gun having its true first appearance, was Lazarus Rising. 4x1 - 15x19 was the gun on the mantle covered with a billowing cloth.
15x18 isn’t chapter one.
15x18 is the third to last of a 327 chapter book.
So to have the gun never fire, to have that promise never fulfilled, defies Chekhov’s rule. It goes against it and leaves the audience feeling unsatisfied and bamboozled.
15x18 is the third to last of a 327 chapter book.
So to have the gun never fire, to have that promise never fulfilled, defies Chekhov’s rule. It goes against it and leaves the audience feeling unsatisfied and bamboozled.
That is not how you tell a story. That is not how you finish a story.
The gun is sitting there. Shiny on the mantle.
And it should have fucking gone off.
The gun is sitting there. Shiny on the mantle.
And it should have fucking gone off.
