#1.20 dead man's blood

[incesthemes]

this is the exact halfway point in 1.20 dead man's blood. it's also the first time we see dean stand up to john in any capacity. from here on, too, dean continues to hold his ground against his dad, and his defiance grows more confident and definitive.

the first half of this episode therefore represents the "status quo" of their family dynamic: sam is angry and defiant, dean is blindly loyal, and john is domineering. we get a sense of what life was like for them before the series began and how the family functioned. the second half, then, represents sam and dean's development. sam and dean are working more as a unit, and they demand to be treated as equals not only among each other but to their father as well. this half shows sam seeming to get meeker in a way now that dean is defending him (sam deflates falls back into a comfortable routine with john, his yessirs a vast contrast to dean calling him out and an even vaster contrast to his own shouting matches with john in the first half of the episode)—this is the dynamic they're working toward and have been working toward this whole season.

but this halfway point is so cool. because right after this moment, dean is left helplessly torn between two options:

sam gets in the impala, and john gets in his truck. the two vehicles become physical manifestations of the choice dean now has to make: john or sam? status quo or development?

he gets in the impala. he chooses sam.

but the cool thing about it is that the impala is dean's car. of course he was going to get in his own car. it's a no-brainer. but at the same time, this doesn't stop the impala from representing sam in this moment. what this means, then, is that dean never had a choice in the matter: he was always going to choose sam.

dean lacks narrative agency for the majority of season 1. he constantly defers to sam's decisions, and even when he does make decisions that would lead to significant development for himself (see 1.11 scarecrow, where he chooses to let sam have his independence instead of clinging onto him, signifying a massive step forward for his own sense of self and independence), sam inevitably shapes the outcome of those decisions, leaving dean in a position where he isn't actually choosing things for himself (and sam returns at the end of the episode, preventing the possibility of his growth and keeping him defined by his place in his family).

this moment in dead man's blood is symbolic of that lack of agency. dean is tied to his brother, doomed to choose him because it's the only real option presented to him. this isn't to say that's a bad thing by any means obviously, just that it's an interesting setup for his narrative arc. dean is set to spiral straight into sam's orbit, helpless to stop it or escape, and frankly he doesn't want to, either. sam is the center of his universe, after all, and choosing sam was what he was raised to do. sam is his everything—including the master of his story.

so when dean chooses sam and gets into the impala, there was never any other option for him. dean was always going to choose his brother, was always going to stand up to john and defend sam and himself, was always going to get into his own car. unlike sam, whose season 1 conflict is between his fate and his family, dean's fate in many ways is his family, and he has nothing to convince him off that path (indeed, the one time he does falter in this during season 1 is because he's again deferring to sam's decision to leave him).

and the best part about all of the whole metaphor, to me, is this:

sam is the one driving the car.

[spacedean]

1.20 DEAD MAN'S BLOOD

[scoobydoodean]

It is actually insane that Sam and John have this long heartfelt bonding conversation in 1.20 Dead Man's Blood about how John was just scared Sam would get hurt if he was out of John's eye line and that's why he was so mad he went to Stanford—he just wanted Sam to be safe. Then Dean comes into the motel room and John immediately enacts a plan to use Dean as vampire bait.

[grabyoursaintsandpray]

Supernatural

1.20 - Dead Man's Blood

[shallowbelever]

Supernatural | 1.20 Dead Man's Blood

[deanbf]

SUPERNATURAL 1.20 — Dead Man's Blood

[finalgirlsamwinchester]

SPN 1.01, 'Pilot' | Andreas Malm & the Zetkin Collective, 'White Skin, Black Fuel: On the Danger of Fossil Fascism' | Titane (2021) dir. Julia Ducournau | SPN 1.20 trans., 'Dead Man's Blood' | SPN 5.08, 'Changing Channels' | | Crash (1996) dir. David Cronenberg | SPN 6.06, 'You Can't Handle the Truth' | SPN 2.02, 'Everybody Loves a Clown' | Georges Bataille, 'Death and Sensuality' | SPN 1.16, 'Shadow' | Tetsuo: Iron Man (1989) dir. Shinya Tsukamoto

[pagannatural]

Master List

I post about wincest/gencest/weirdcest/all the psychosexual samdean that I see in the show. I have not finished the entire series yet, but I pull in info from later episodes as I go when it feels relevant.

I'm going episode-by-episode and season-by-season.

Reblogs, additions, and messages always welcome <3

Season 1 Analyses

1.01 Pilot

1.02 Wendigo

1.03 Dead in the Water

1.04 Phantom Traveler

1.05 Bloody Mary

1.06 Skin

1.07 Hook Man

1.08 Bugs

1.09 Home

1.10 Asylum

1.11 Scarecrow

1.12 Faith

1.13 Route 666

1.14 Nightmare

1.15 The Benders

1.16 Shadow

1.17 Hell House

1.18 Something Wicked

1.19 Provenance (pt I) (pt2)

1.20 Dead Man's Blood

1.21 Salvation

1.22 Devil's Trap

Season 1. Sam and Dean are in love: a summary

Season 1. Wincest narrative

Season 2 Analyses

2.01 In My Time of Dying

2.02 Everybody Loves a Clown

2.03 Bloodlust (+additions)

2.04 Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things

2.05 Simon Said

2.06 No Exit

2.07 The Usual Suspects

2.08 Crossroad Blues

2.09 Croatoan

2.10 Hunted

2.11 Playthings

2.12 Night Shifter

2.13 Houses of the Holy

2.14 Born Under a Bad Sign

2.15 Tall Tales

2.16 Roadkill

2.17 Heart

[devilmns]

DEAD MAN'S BLOOD Supernatural, 1.20

[lakemichigans]

1.20 - Dead Man’s Blood

[schizosamwincester]

1.20 "Dead Man's Blood" // "Sober II (Melodrama)" - Lorde

(and also one screencap from 1.16 but shhhhh)

I just think that Sober II, and specifically the line "how we kissed and killed each other," is the thesis of samjohn. Plus it's my favorite Lorde Track, period. And obviously "Dead Man's Blood" is just so samjohn. So. I made this.

Getting these screencaps was such a pain in the ass so if anyone wants the raw images for anything, message me. They deserve to be used in more than just this. That said, it was totally worth it to have the exact perfect facial expressions.

[spacedean]

DEAN WINCHESTER in one random episode per day ‣ 242/327 1.20 DEAD MAN'S BLOOD

[scoobydoodean]

Sam's Motivations 13/? | 1.20 Dead Man's Blood

[deer-motif]

I'LL BE A NICE PUP IF THAT'S HOW YOU WANT ME

animals, alex g // 1.15 the benders, supernatural // controlling dog aggression by using a dog muzzle, k9aggression.com // 1.10 asylum, supernatural // dog's death, john updike // 1.20 dead man's blood, supernatural // epitaph of a dog, george gordon byron // 1.22 devil's trap, supernatural // 3.10 dream a little dream of me, supernatural // fighting dogs, pauwels van hillegaert // toddler loses arm after reaching into pen with two wolf-dog hybrids, corey williams // 4.16 on the head of a pin, supernatural // aggression in dogs, kenneth martin; lynn buzhardt // two adult pit bull terriers fighting, rspca // animal, sir chloe // nice pup, chloe moriondo

part 2

[shallowbelever]

Supernatural | 1.20 Dead Man's Blood

[mishaesque]

Scenic Supernatural 1.20 Dead Man's Blood