#THIS IS A WANEK APPRECIATION BLOG

[naruhearts]

*takes a break from yelling over this episode* 

In 14x14, queer Gorgon MotW Noah Ophis is fond of flowers -- you can observe the plentiful flower bouquets decorating his home:

(screengrabs: @coinofstone)

What caught my eye is this — an orchid centerpiece, complementing the pretty damn romantic ambience and soft hues evoking intimacy in Noah’s dining room (murder aside). The visual framing/alignment of Dean with the orchid could be symbolically significant, and you’ll see why.

As someone with a family of garden-lovers/gardeners, I immediately recognized the orchid on Noah’s dining table.

A quick search on orchids yields: “The most highly coveted of ornamental plants, the delicate, exotic and graceful orchid represents love, luxury, beauty and strength. In ancient Greece, orchids were associated with virility.” 

Noting the cannibalistic ingestion in 14x14, the following passage is interesting: “In fact, Greek women believed that if the father of their unborn child ate large, new orchid tubers, the baby would be a boy. If the mother ate small orchid tubers, she would give birth to a girl.”

Now, the primary aspect of the orchid metaphor I’d like to highlight --> the orchid’s genus name comes from the Ancient Greek ὄρχις (órkhis), “literally meaning "testicle", because of the shape of the twin tubers in some species of Orchis” x 

Additional research generally associates the orchid to sexuality and fertility. 

The orchid is phallic, especially if viewers take the vast queer subtext underpinning Noah and 14x14 (that then becomes TEXT) (I’m writing a separate post on 14x14′s queer subtext) into consideration.

We know that Noah’s name -- Noah Ophis -- is Greek ofiß for serpent (playing into the main meta-tastic Ouroboros themes of 14x14), but Ophis could also be not quite an anagram but an iteration/analog of the orchid: órkhis. Yockey takes GREAT care in characterizing Noah as a sexual villain (the first textually queer MotW if memory serves me right); he’s charming and upfront, preying on male victims onscreen through the power of seduction/sexual manipulation. Noah rides the line between the gender binary, appearing neither super masculine or super feminine: instead he may be seen as twink-y androgynous.

Am I supposed to be surprised? 

Remember that EVERYTHING MEANS SOMETHING.

Noah is a potential textually queer Dean mirror, not to mention that he poisons those he seduces, presenting a narrative reminder of Dean’s low self-worth; his low self-worth subsequently enables him to believe that he’s poison. Dean thinks he poisons the people he loves -- puts them in harm’s way *insert Dean’s previous romances + Destiel meta here* -- and perceives himself as undeserving of love in return, not worthy to be saved.

*resumes yelling* *all this meta in meta in meta is giving me the best kind of headache* *again I need to do AT LEAST 3 rewatches before I can properly absorb 14x14* *more posts to come, hopefully*

Also, semi-flamboyant Noah kinda reminded me of this guy:

Wanek, you genius.

[mittensmorgul]

Hi, sorry but I just got back into SPN after 4 years, and uh what's the thing about the beer? Thanks for the meta. <3

Hi there! And welcome back!

There’s a lot of different brands of beer that only exist in the Supernatural Universe. And we’ve noticed over the years that these brands aren’t used at random. Nor are the specific signs/posters/bottles just randomly seeded into the background of the show the way something like Budweiser or Coors signs are in our reality. The signs and labels are deliberately used to give context and clarity to the narrative. They’re chosen on purpose.

We know this is deliberate because of the sheer number of brands they’ve created for the show. If it didn’t mean anything, they could’ve stopped with a handful and just randomly cycled through them, but they did not.

I mean, this blog has been keeping a list of every brand of alcohol ever used in the show, which gives some incredible context to just how much thought and attention was invested in this seemingly simple background feature of the visual narrative:

https://200dollargod.tumblr.com/post/55879856964/for-my-own-reference-more-beers-el-sol

If the brands didn’t have additional meaning, then why make so damn many of them? And why use specific brands in specific contexts only? Literally things like El Sol are ONLY used within the context of “reality is being manipulated, or someone is lying or being lied to.” There is no scene in the entire rest of the narrative where we see El Sol where it doesn’t function as this specific sort of red flag. You will never see it, for example, as part of a scene that is otherwise a straightforward rendering of truth. They have never had an el sol beer inside the bunker, for example. And the entire episode where the brand was introduced in canon was LITERALLY a false reality, Dean’s djinn dream within which he only drank El Sol and everyone thought he was always drunk and his girlfriend was a rendering of the model from the El Sol ad. So like... it’s fake, it’s all fake. Even the LABEL and every ad poster for the beer in canon is called “the sun” but there’s never a depiction of an actual sun associated with any of it. It’s telling you it’s the sun, but you can plainly see there is no sun. Fake stuff through and through!

Beer in the bunker almost always defaults to Margiekugel (alternately known as the “family beer” or “mom beer” because Jerry Wanek named it after his own mother). It’s about as close to “generic beer” they have in canon, because it’s sort of the family bonding beer.

Schultz is almost entirely associated with death (or debts, as in favors owed or the like). There are different colored labels for it, too (one even involving traditional “heaven duty coded” yellow and blue). If a character is framed with Schultz, it’s a warning.

There are far more, but these are the big three they’ve used the most in these specific contexts, just to give you some context on how we’ve noticed these things in canon over the years, and for demonstrating that the show itself almost never breaks these rules. Which is why so many of us are side-eyeing the El Sol in Heaven, and ESPECIALLY Dean’s declaration that it was “terrible.”

eta, because I thought of it after posting, that Dean also said this beer was his father’s brand (which adds painful context to Dean’s djinn dream back in 2.20 and what he tried to want for himself being his father’s dreams for him and not his OWN actual wants), and was told in the same conversation that his father lived just over yonder in this heaven setting, and Dean just picked this beer up, took a sip, and set it down and walked away from it. Which I appreciate, but still doesn’t justify why this specific beer was given the label of “John’s favorite” when again, literally any other canon beer could’ve served the same function without the baggage associated with False Reality attached that El Sol serves.

Why, Jerry Wanek, would you use that specific brand in that specific situation if you weren’t intending us to read it that way?

Margiekugel I could’ve understood, as Dean entering Heaven to be reunited with his family for eternity. Schultz I could’ve even understood as relevant to Heaven and death. Heck, they could’ve shown us an entirely new beer with no baggage attached, or even a generic mug of beer with no labeling at all associated with it! But they specifically chose THIS beer.

And I gotta know why...

but in lieu of someone actually giving an answer to this, it gives me permission to understand that this is Not Real, that something deeply wrong is happening here, and gives me permission to flat-out reject this finale as a real thing that happened in canon.

My meta tag where I’ve filed all the beer sightings of specific brands is right here for easy perusal and clarification. Some of the more heavily featured brands also have their own tags, which you can further explore as needed:

https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/tagged/supernatural%20beer%20signs

[shirtlesssammy]

Supernatural 2x10//Hunted

[dimples-of-discontent]

Haven’t seen anyone remark yet that Lee’s bar looks very similar indeed to Rocky’s Bar where Dean was kept pacified while Michael occupied his body...right down to a snarky dark-haired waitress (Pamela for Dean, Lorna for Lee), borrowed signs from FBBC (yes yes, they both wish they were Jensen) and a framed sunset over a pier that, in this episode, has a man in a coat silhouetted in it (right after an episode where Cas went fishing).

It’s clear that the bar is Dean’s idea of a happy life. Neither, however, is the best way to get it because both involved some version of giving up. (I know the Michael thing is more complicated, but they certainly did frame Dean’s choice to say yes to him as an act of last resort.) I hope Dean does get his bar--his version of a happy retirement--but I see the show telling us that he has to come by it the right way and that, when he does, he needs someone to ride off into that sunset with.

[naruhearts]

...

...

...

Also—

Pos? Trans? Vent?

Positivity + Transparency by venting

This sign is gonna kill me.

I’m just going to tag @naruhearts and walk away.

[naruhearts]

14x10: Destiel, Cowboys, and Pamela Barnes

Blatant Dean/Cas-coded M/F cowboy cutouts from 13x06 Tombstone resurface again in Rocky’s Bar (Rocky & Bullwinkle; subtext: Rock Hudson, first queer Hollywood star diagnosed with HIV/AIDS), and I’m thumping the table (besides obvious meta on their intrinsic links to D/C visual narrative and what it MEANS) because firstly:

Mind!Pamela takes up female Cas-coded cowboy’s place in frame, aligning her to Cas himself, and as everyone’s discussed already, here we have Michael’s construct/Dean’s complex manifestation of Pamela the Cas mirror — dark-haired and olive skinned best friend and independent tough nut. Sounds familiar...(my full meta 14x10 review is still in progress :P but I’ll be linking this post to it!)

Dean’s mind - Rocky’s Bar itself - is an entire subconscious construct of all the various facets of his identity, both textual AND heavily (closely surface) subtextual: his bisexuality, his humanity, his deep-seated desire for human socialization represented by bars in the first place — his want for a good platonic friend, a beautiful and honest one, who fights beside him, helps him keep the bar - his most important accomplishment and dream - in order, and whom he likes flirting with.

This version of Pamela Barnes -- both Dean’s memory projection and Michael’s construct of her -- is the subconscious MIRROR of whom Dean really wants that indeed calls him out on his desires: Cas. Their dialogue held romantic connotations within a mainly romantic context (“How come you always have a boyfriend?”). Pamela = subconscious double subtextual entendre of bisexuality and Destiel.

Mind!Pamela tells him “You don’t want me - you just like to flirt,” and his curtain of performativity is indeed drawn back. It’s true! Dean likes to flirt. He’s naturally charming, and he tickles the fancy of every person - man and woman - who crosses his path, but recall everything else we know about Dean Winchester, where his natural behaviour is used to: A. gain traction for a case, or B. grab him casual flings (that can also be abused as an unhealthy coping mechanism re: Burying-My-Problems) where he gets drunk, shackles up, and says adios the next morning; his semi-serial monogamy (and his penchant for threesomes/fivesomes *yes, including the M/F Doublemint Twins and almost-textual super overt M/M/M/M/M Drowley*) is a temporary substitute for chasing after long-term romantic attachments that are “unacceptable” in the LifeTM. Pain, horror, and death, like his old man dictated, in that romantic attachments are nothing but a hindrance. I digress—

Mind!Pamela (Michael) was able to see through him and his performativity. Dean is content that she, a psychic who “kinda knows” -- who can distinguish his truths and lies -- is someone whom he feels no obligation to perform for. He can embody the non-repressed version of himself.

The multi-layered D/C take home message: Michael knows who Dean wants. Again, in an evocative Empty-parallel manner, Michael knows “who you love, what you fear”, and it is the angel, now more humanized than ever. Cas is the antithesis of Michael and the one who strikes the balance within Dean’s life course.

Quick aside - how about Dean’s role in Cas’ narrative? Without sounding redundant, I’ll briefly talk about balance.

Dean facing Michael - who took Dean’s visage --> “I Am You” definitely called back to severely broken 5x04 Human!Cas and 13x21 AU!Cas. Cas’ Dark mirror selves outlined the visual/narrative dualism of Cas’ fragile personal nature: the two extremes on either ends of Cas’ identity spectrum: Dark Angel vs Dark Human. Dean Humanity and Free Will Winchester strikes his personal balance. Knowing Dean balances Cas’ personal nature. Through Dean, Cas has discovered kinship. Family. Free will. Love. 

AU CAS: You’re aligning yourself with the humans.

CAS: I vastly prefer them to angels.

AU CAS: Don’t think you are better than me. We are the same.

CAS: Yes.

x

Both 13x21 AU!Cas and Cas were already lost to Heaven (under their pre-existing internally rebellious human streak/inclination for Humanity), but unlike AU!Cas, he was guided –> found, in every sense of the word, by Dean.

14x10 echoed 13x21 via Michael!Dean vs Dean in that Dean has what Michael does not: meaningful interpersonal relationships that can drag him back from the brink of dark extremism.

x

(Cas needs you to come back, Dean.)

Dean has found freedom through Cas. Self-acceptance. Happiness. Love and...Love.

What Dean still perceives, however, is that he is unworthy of Cas, which Pamela the Cas reflection points out: “How come you only want what you can’t have?”. Dean wants Cas, and he is fully cognizant and self-aware of that fact. He searches for the rainbow endlessly, but he’s uncertain…afraid of the wind’s flow (and his internalization of low self-worth remains --> he believes “all good things come to an end”. Temporary contentment, where he’s undeserving of such good things as epitomized by real estate woman who wants to infringe on Dean’s property/dream; ‘sell it out’ literally and figuratively). 

Either Dean will find his pot of gold waiting for him, or he won’t, and this is the underlying star-crossed literary beauty of the D/C narrative.

Dean’s sick of pretending. He WANTS the wind to show him the way, but we must remember that, in an episode rich with the concept of authorial authority - writing your own fate and ever-glaring Free Will - he NEEDS to blow the wind himself. If he just allows himself to believe that he can have true happiness, then he will.

Secondly, we see Dean and Cas distinctly occupy the visual spaces of their counterpart in both 13x06 and 14x10 (you can also see phallic Space Cowboy aka Cosmic Cowboy in the first frame), subtextually interlinking the episodes together in continuous Destiel narrative symmetry.

And the bar is further decorated by bisexual hues of blue, pink, and purple, with the M/F cutouts serving as an additional silent manifestation of Dean’s bisexuality (mind you, overall Rocky’s Bar was swimming in queer subtext, but I won’t go too far into it here; I have my 14x10 review for that).

You’re not truly alone, Dean. You have Sam and Jack.

And Cas is there for you. *hello two fish fixtures; Cas = Fish* (I lack a screengrab). 

Cas will look for you, and he will find you, and he will fight for you, and he will support you, and he will take care of you, and he will freely make sacrifices for you, because you’re more than strong in his eyes.

Two cowboys. Two beers ((romantic) bonding connotations: Heart and Home). The HEART painting in a painting in a dream setting -- THE DREAM Dean wants, which lends him contentment. Full circle.

@coinofstone also points out the cavaleras Dean = Dog meta juxtaposed by Cas = Cat united within a domestic partnership, which absolutely gets me goin’! *serves cake* 

x

Cas has your heart, Dean. And you have his. 

Silent storytelling by Yockey/Wanek, ladies and gentlemen.

(13x06 and 14x10 skeleton painting screengrabs by @coinofstone; 14x10 by @ravenscat-tumbler)

[mittensmorgul]

The other day I was trying to explain something SPN to my terminally disinterested father (I think it was about El Sol), and he said derisively, in his usual manner: "Oh I'm sure there's tons of product placement in the show; anything to make money!" And I said, defensively, that SPN never uses real-life trademark brands, not for beer, motel and shop and cafe franchises, nor for search engines and websites, etc. But then: Cosmic Cowboy. So my question is: what other real world brands did they use and why?

Well, hello there! And yeah, SPN did their very best to avoid product placement at all. You have to really look hard to find real-world brands-- even things like snack cakes called “Bing Bongs” instead of “Ding Dongs” like we have in our world. But you’re right, they do have a very few real world products in the SPN Universe.

Cosmic Cowboy was from a bar that only existed in Dean’s imagination, and was a tribute to Jensen’s brewery. There were tons of Family Business Beer Company references in Rocky’s Bar in 14.10. There’s a good list of them here:

https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/182537258925

It was just a nice shout out to Jensen, and not traditional product placement where they were making the big bucks.

There have been a few other personal shout outs via product placement, though. The 3 Sheeps beer sign that appeared beginning in s12, I think, is a real brewery in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Jerry Wanek, the production designer who is responsible for all these sorts of things in the entire series, is from Wisconsin. There’s a LOT of personal shout outs from him to his home state in the show-- such as the “OPE_” sign (where the N in OPEN is dark) that gets used in occasional gas stations and convenience stores.

The dialogue has often referenced real-world alcohol brands, as well. Look at the pilot episode when Sam refers to John “working overtime on a Miller time shift,” or hanging out with “Jim, Jack, and Jose,” referring to Jim Beam, Jack Daniels, and Jose Cuervo. Yet we don’t ever really SEE those brands in regular circulation on screen.

The most interesting thing is the sheer number of fake alcohol brands they invented for the show. There’s a handy list of them here:

https://200dollargod.tumblr.com/post/55879856964/for-my-own-reference-more-beers-el-sol

I mean, if they didn’t want to use real beer and liquor brands, I could see making up a handful of fake brands just so they could cycle through a variety of different signs and not just have the same one in every bar in the country. But seriously, look at that list. There must be a hundred different fake brands on it. WHY go through the bother of creating that many labels, carton packaging, promotional posters and other advertising logos, as well as neon signs, bar signs, and the like for THAT MANY different beers unless there was a really good reason to do so.

I mean, this show didn’t have an unlimited budget, and yet they felt it was important enough to make neon signs for a ridiculous number of these fake brands. And with a menu as long as the one they created, that gives them a LOT of potential interesting symbolism to be used. When you don’t need to use every beer brand you have in every bar you come across, or always have them drinking the same brand in every episode, they can do things like they did with El Sol (signaling that all is not as it seems, or that there’s deception afoot), Schultz (Death and Debts), or any of the others.

Like, in the episode after Jack was conceived, long before he would actually be born, we see the first instance of a beer called “Fast Jack Ale,” in a neon sign hanging between Mary and Cas in a bar. So like... they use the beer brands and signs for a lot of silent storytelling, and it’s laughable to suggest otherwise.

But I think an interesting statement on the entire show’s mindset about product placement is the story about how Jerry Wanek fought from the pilot episode to use their old fashioned themed motels as a fixture on the show. And then went above and beyond designing each of those rooms with relevant themes to either the location of that week’s case, or somehow connecting through to the plot or characters, or situations they encountered during the episode. I have some of them catalogued here:

https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-motels

and there are probably more in my jerry tag (sorry I’m so bad at tagging >.>).

At the time, TPTB were pushing for them to ink a deal with Motel 6, so that every week Sam and Dean would be stopping at the same brand motel. THAT would’ve been product placement. And it would’ve been BORING AF. Which is why Jerry pitched the Themed Motels idea, and NONE of them brought in a penny of Motel 6 money. Neither does the vast majority of supposed product placement on this show. Because you can’t make product placement money for products that don’t actually exist.

Which means the ONLY reason for any of these products exist at all is because they exist for the sole purpose of telling the story through the visual narrative.

Just tell your dad sorry, but some weird blue-haired lady on the internet who calls herself Mittens says he’s wrong :’D

[naruhearts]

Re: the two straw drink - it's actually two separate drinks lined up in the cup holder. The camera angle obscures the one that's farther away, but you can see them both when Cas and Duma stop by Jack's heaven later in the episode. That being said, this by no means discredits anything in your post given that the two drinks are still being framed together. I just wanted to give you a heads up because I don't want anyone coming in and being an asshole to you about it.

AH, nonnie, I know, thanks so much for telling me!! I haven’t rewatched the entire episode yet, but I did realize that it was two cups and I smacked myself considering that no one’s gif-fed those seconds (unless I’m wrong) so I couldn’t see them at the time of writing the post (and editing it is no use since people are reblogging the original version - and I’m also outside atm, I can’t edit it asap)! However yes, exactly, it’s still peculiar isn’t it, because the camera was visually angled in such a way that you can mistake two cups as one during the scene frame (4 people on the hunt, 4 drinks, 1 set apart (Sam’s) - 1 is Jack’s, still placed further away, and 2 drinks close together —> thank you @cheerstofandomfamily for the additional detail!!! *shrug)

(Dean and Cas becoming one relational unit)

So to all my followers/people who will see/have seen my post, this is a DISCLAIMER! Thank you again nonnie for pointing it out to me civilly!!

[mittensmorgul]

soooo... I’m just happily reading through this article, looking at all the slides from the past (there are 96 of them here!) and I’d intended to put a post about it in my bunker tag for future reference:

https://www.thetvaddict.com/2020/11/11/supernatural-behind-the-scenes-of-the-bunker-and-other-sets-through-the-years

and then I got to this slide and just stopped and blinked at it, and remembered just how much I love Jerry Wanek, and felt robbed of untold numbers of stories this could’ve literally opened up for us. Then immediately thought of poor @trisscar368​. And then realized just how many fanfic authors would appreciate this certain knowledge, because I sure as heck do!

[ID: a picture of a corner of the bunker library encompassing two chairs in front of a built-in bookshelf, with the card catalog off to one side. The text below the image reads: 2015 (Season 11). While this hasn’t really been utilized on the show, Marcynuk once mentioned that they anticipated that secret passages might one day be found in the bunker. “We designed it for such. We have space behind [some of the] bookshelves if they wanted to put in a secret panel. We’ve prepared for that [even though they haven’t written it yet].” /END ID]

And while they haven’t explicitly used this concept of “secret passages” or “hidden rooms” or the like, it has sometimes taken them months (or even years) to uncover or explore the bunker making it seem like there’s still an awful lot they just haven’t explored or uncovered yet. And honestly, I’m gonna be exploring it in fic for years to come. :’D

[elizabethrobertajones]

12x11 watching notes

For once I think it's kind of obvious what my expectations are if you've been reading my blog... I also was spoiled last night after it aired that my favourite reoccurring guest star is in it, but on the other hand there's a ton of second hand embarrassment... I've just got back from yoga so let's try and be zen and enjoy it :P

-

Also it's not a plot episode so I can be a bit more chill and enjoy the MotW nonsense without writing 100 miles of meta. I hope

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Witches! (we already knew that, I'm just putting another note into "the only actual monster we've seen so far has been the one werewolf and one vampire Mary killed and everyone else has been a human, angel or demon this season" jar

I need a better label for that jar

Anyway from the looks of things this episode is all about a very human fear that just happens to be tripped by witchcraft and it would be a fucking waste not to milk it for 99% of the episode)

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Holy shit they used the "poor little guy" from 3x09 that always breaks my heart. Are they really churning up old Edlund stuff so much that the recap was 90% 3x09 and they decided to give Dean a bunny BECAUSE of his broken heart at the sight of the dead bunny in 3x09?

I really hope Edlund is watching this season and laughing like crazy

Anyway before the promo is even over, we have an interesting point of thought for the episode, and a comparison back to Dean revealing a weird vulnerability for no reason in the middle of a case. And more Edlund parallels than you can shake a stick at.

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Oh good the cold open is the witch who curses Dean... Definitely going to milk this for all it's worth. This is like fan fics where the first like 3 paragraphs are "and then they met a witch and it cursed them and then ran off or got killed" and all the rest is just whatever they actually wanted to write.

More Dean running around in woods (Purgatory callbacks), and mirroring a few episodes which started with the traditional cold open victim actually being the monster pursued by hunters.

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Dean waking up lying in the forest on the ground... He's done that a few times, in more dire circumstances I've seen paralleled together - 11x01 and 5x04. Interestingly I guess knocked out both times by a dark mirror to himself but who would never actually harm him. There's something peaceful about the way he has the bunny hanging out with him.

It makes him seem harmless too.

...

You know I could stop watching this show right here... I've seen 12x10 and now I've seen Dean Winchester calmly pick up a rabbit and call it "buddy" I mean... is there even anywhere to go from here?

But I've heard Kuma is in the episode so I shall press on

-

Like, emotionally though, I think the show might be over for me :P

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The town is called "Eureka Springs" which is kind of funny, because of the double water association and of course the association to revelation and learning. We gonna get a  big scientific discovery about Dean outside of the now doubly confirmed fact that rabbits are his favourite animal?

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KUMA

Oh dang he's got a big part here... Do I gif all of it?

-

I should probably backtrack because I was just reading myself writing about 2x20 for some reason this morning (I think I was looking for something else completely unrelated) and I stumbled on a little discussion about subverting it or, well, its obvious relevance now Mary is around. The woman with the stroller assumes Dean is homeless and tells him not to buy a drink when she gives him some cash, which I guess was a thing in that episode that everyone assumed Dean was a drunk. It's a tiny detail (I mean, he IS an alcoholic, although functioning better than usual and his drinking has got a lot better since he lost the Mark) but if we're peeling back Dean, I think an interesting little one to start with.

I mean, we've started with Purgatory!Dean, and Actual Fluffy Bunny Lover Dean, so... it's a bit wild.

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Dean remembers Sam's number.

Not where he is though.

Waffles! I'm with Dean here.

I too drop everything in a crisis when waffles are an option and someone's just paid me to leave them alone.

(Okay that's never happened - I'm delightful)

"What psycho doesn't love waffles" I mean come on even METATRON loved waffles, although they did not love him. Which is perhaps a more important sign of how dreadful he was :P

-

Ah jeeze I really want waffles.

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Promo scene!

We have NO idea what Dean did the night before, so the thing with the girl is even more out of context... I wonder what it will end up being about? He looked like he was pretty busy hunting that witch last night. Events do not add up.

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Sam has been convinced by Dean asking for painkillers that it's a hangover, and I think *Dean*, knowing himself, might think he just got blackout drunk somehow. The woman telling him not to buy a drink remains vaguely important, thematically...

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Sam also is getting concerned, and makes a general life advice warning to Dean to stop drinking so much.

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Okay the girl who slapped Dean comes in, looks at him and goes "oh my god" and is ushered away by her friend - did THAT happen in the promo?

No, no it did not. Her response is given way more attention here - that was definitely edited out for the promo. Crafting the scene to look like something different. Huh. (I mean I know they've used different takes in promos, like in 10x01 using one which completely changed how much of a jerk Demon!Dean looked from the finished product... They do really manipulate these things.)

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I really like how we're dumped on this case like Dean is - we only have one advantage, that we're already aware he's cursed while he isn't. Aside from that, we seem to be discovering it like Dean is, like how Sam springs the idea we're going to the morgue next on us.

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Also did Dean lick his knife more intently in the promo asking for a friend

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Huh I don't think her interaction with him has changed very much - I'm pretty sure she did just say hi then slap him in the promo too. The way she stopped when she saw him though is very suspicious because she sounded so horrified to see him.

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Oh no Sam and Dean are wearing nice coats with their suits. I guess there's gonna be a lot of gifs :P

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Really pretty morgue technician with no lines. Honestly if she doesn't get killed off that will mean finally after a lousy streak, we make it through an episode without a black woman being killed.

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Well the first thing to go is Dean's ability not to be squeamish and weird. There's definitely a text post out there making fun of Dean for spending a year in Purgatory covered in guts, but getting weird about using a public telephone. Well, whatever barrier Dean has up about guts is aaall gone.

Please don't puke, we've made it over a season without you puking on screen and we're doing so well.

-

Oh no is this where Dean crashes the car. He's disappearing fast :< I thought that might be later in the episode.

I suppose Sam has to realise eventually that something is wrong with Dean.

I can't believe Sam lets Dean drive when he's "plastered"... I mean he must drive over the legal limit basically all the time and Sam's used to it, but can we just... make this a "wear seatbelts" road safety episode? Please take that car away from him, Sam.

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OH NO Sam takes this moment for honesty hour - "Makes me want to crawl into a bottle too" - when Sam is drinking we KNOW it because he so rarely does it as a coping mechanism. I am indescribably sad about him saying that he feels this way :(

I mean I just take it for granted that Dean feels like shit so it's easier to deal with that :P I've been worried about Sam all season and he gives so few clues it's basically a pictures on a board linked with red string scenario to deduce if he's happy or not >.>

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FINDING DORY REFERENCE

"Not going to apologise for loving that fish. Not to you, not to anyone." Dean has his barriers down and he does not care who knows he likes watching Disney movies. And the fact that it's probably Sam he's most prickly around when it comes to protecting that facade... Sam is, well, gonna learn a lot about Dean he feels like he probably didn't want to know :P

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Honestly, Dean is me trying to remember the names of common household appliances.

There's something really bitchy about the way Sam labels the light stick and then covers the rest of the room in post it notes, even though Dean hasn't forgotten what they all are yet.

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Rowena! :D Mostly because Dean doesn't want to bother Mom or Cas... I notice something there - Cas is someone who a few years ago they'd have absolutely bothered for some weird magical problem. Now Dean wants to keep EMOTIONALLY distant from them because they're his family and he doesn't want to worry them/them to see him like this/him to blurt anything he doesn't remember he isn't supposed to say... In this case the fact that Dean DOESN'T want to call Cas for help sure says a lot more about how much he likes him.

Anyway Rowena is a badass and I love how she gets into these weird scenarios. This one is much better than all the finding a rich husband and killing him malarky - fleecing rich dudes over rigged poker games is definitely more empowering :P

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Okay yeah one of those post it notes says "Wall" - there is definitely a montage we missed of Sam being a hilarious bitch about it to Dean, and they're only phoning for help once it got kind of really not funny any more.

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I wish we saw that

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Dean and his "ICE BUCKET" what a tragedy

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"All these dumps look the same" Dude, don't be rude to Wanek. I'll assume this is because you can't REMEMBER them.

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Also the whole, living in a billion motels and until recently never having a place to call home thing - I was joking ages ago about Dean keeping a scrapbook about all the weird motels they went to or stealing mementos from them to remember the truly tacky ones... But the idea that almost all of them completely blur in his mind and he just doesn't notice or appreciate the differences...

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I love using Dean's "the last thing I kinda sorta remember" to take us to the office. They mentioned Memento but honestly I'm still thinking "Dude where's my car" although I know Dabb hasn't watched that because he's deathly afraid of Emus, so it's possible Glynn had to sell the Memento angle despite having other things in mind.

Like Finding Dory

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Dean steals a cigar (or two) - more implications that he smokes. I suppose when an angel heals you regularly or you were immortal for like a year and a half you kind of don't think of the consequences. I know some people don't really *smoke* smoke, but would have a good cigar if it came their way like this... I think Dean kind of has smoked in phases through the show, especially when he was younger, never mind all the implications he smokes weed, so... him stealing a few cigars is just more sneaky referencing this.

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To the bar! Hey, waitress Dean got slapped by!

We have more stuff with the names and badges - Dean messing up getting his badge out in time because he forgets to do it, forgetting what their cover is... Basically, a little demonstration that he's forgetting their covers in general - HIS covers in general. The FBI identity is something I've written reams on so I won't go into it but yeah it's his Performing!Dean next layer up, and what he does with it can often tell us stuff about how he's acting with his more sturdy and thorough Performing!Dean layer underneath, before we get to fluffy bunny lover Dean who watches Finding Dory.

Anyway she calls him out for using ANOTHER name the night before, and he's like "sometimes we have to lie to protect our cover" which is the most Dean saying ever.

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Oh hey and then as usual with the badge thing, a moment later we're slammed with something RIDICULOUS like, for example:

"And then you hit the bull." "What??" < both Winchesters "Oh yeah, you had the hots for Larry as soon as you walked in." "He - you... rode Larry?" *Dean shrugs like whatever* "Was I good?"

yeah so that's not a coded conversation that sounds SUPER FUCKING GAY out of context and considering the "hots for Larry" comment, doesn't do so badly IN context, especially as it's such a, uh, suggestive thing :P There's a girl riding it in the background and yeah, the whole movement to keep on the bull? I know it seems like a manly sport, but it involves a lot of writhing and pelvic movement and that bull is like as masculine an icon as you can get.

And Dean had the hots for it

oh god :P

-

Worked to win the waitress over anyway :P

And she apologises for taking advantage of him. Wow. I don't think Sam and Dean even know what all those words mean put together in that order. :P

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"First action in I don't know how long, and it's like it never even happened. Figures." "See now that's comedy"

When WAS the last time Dean hooked up? Back in season 11 some time... 11x13 it was suggested. (I have a lot of Snymelo vibes from this episode)

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Honestly Cas is living right at the Bunker just man up and go talk to him and I guarantee that I could get you some action in about 2 lines of dialogue if you let me...

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(Sadly last episode actually convinced me that there's really good reasons Cas hasn't made a move and Dean is pining unsuccessfully after him so I can't even be mad :P)

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"It's like watching myself on netflix" Aw

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"I know how to shoot a gun!??"

:D Oh sweetie

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Sam giving Dean the Talk.

No that sort of talk. the "monsters are real" talk.

You know who does that? CRAZY PEOPLE.

Nope, "Awesome. That's awesome."

He's feeling a bit better about the job I guess than back in Yellow Fever where he had the equivalent moment.

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Aw he found a torch! He's so happy! "I'll man the flashlight" Yeah this is Yellow Fever again :P

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Oh god we're only 18 minutes what can possibly-

Jesus Christ Siren Episode reference You've not talked about that for EIGHT YEARS.

See, last night I compared these 2 episodes before this one ever aired with the assumption that the Yellow Fever parallels might be obvious but the Siren Episode would only be a sort of leech onto that because of its own parallels to Yellow Fever so we would have to walk through YF as an intro to the Siren Episode and how it could be applied to this one

(Sue me I was already planning the meta and this episode is following the exact same pattern as Yellow Fever and the Siren Episode so I'm feeling really vindicated, right about now :P)

The point I made LAST night was that Sam had been reading Dean wrong all this time and messing up his chance to understand him in the previous episodes. This time, Sam doesn't really have any reason why he'd get Dean wrong? The enemy of the season is miscommunication and not understanding Dean is Sam's biggest miscommunication.

Whether he's taking advantage of Dean's cheerful no-memory state, and the suspicion Dean won't remember him bringing it up again or what, Sam feels secure telling Dean about the Siren, at least I assume not telling Dean HE was attracted to it, but that this is a thing that happens. Dean can't lash out, Dean doesn't feel defensive... He just takes this information as Sam tells it to him without being weird about it.

The fact Sam remembered and wanted to tell Dean though... Well, like I said, Yellow Fever and the Siren Episode are basically the same thing ESPECIALLY from Sam's perspective. Here he is for the 3rd time and Dean's all fucked up again, and no wonder Sam remembers.

He also mentioned Djinn "not granting wishes" which means my reference to 2x20 earlier was super legit. *more smugness*

(sorry :P This episode is fun. I like that the new writers have watched the show)

Anyway, I'll be thriving off that reminder for a while :D Better carry on watching before I get sucked into a vortex of comparing episodes before I even know how this one goes.

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Aw Sam calls it "the Talk"

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"Best job ever!"

Dean thinks they sound like heroes, Sam, who has the lived experience, voices some actual goddamn complaints about the job. GO SAM. I guess he's thinking Dean won't remember this conversation and so he can voice some things.

So HE does the "you know who does that? CRAZY PEOPLE" speech that Dean didn't make.

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AAAAAAAAAAAAH Bloody handprint. "Our best friend's an angel! WHaaaaaat!!!" I worry :P

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Cas will be fine, I don't think Jared's even had his 3rd kid yet. Misha needs to give them all paternity leave by having more Cas-centric episodes.

What a beautiful set up. Smol babies and more Cas.

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But yeah something horrid might happen to Cas briefly.

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Also Sam told Dean that he was "our best friend" and so Dean is totally failing to grasp exactly what Cas means to him.

He probably only remembers Sam as well as he does because he's right in front of him - if Dean had been with Mary or Cas he'd have forgotten the other 2

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"Is that a dead guy?"

Dean looks grossed out but also "Cool!" because dead monster.

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Witches! These guys seem like fun people.

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"I want my family back" she says while having Mary's hair and looking at the dead guy.

Oh dear.

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"Is that a dead guy?"

Sam needs to get a post it note for the dead guy.

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ROWENA

"your hair is so bouncy" I think Dean is full of cute observations like this he's just never allowed to say and I think that's so sweet I might barf.

(You should hear how he talks about Cas ANYWAY)

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Dean remembers porn but not quality TV oh dear >.> Sam puts Scooby Doo on for him, which I guess is sort of Dean's role in this episode :P More dogs on TV - reminder of the second "dog that thinks it's people" line with the person who said it the first time in the room...

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"Dean Winchester is going to die." "Sucks for that guy!" Well at least he's happy :P

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Sam drags him away for a toilet conversation

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Dean briefly regains a sense of self and is miserable

Sam why did you do that

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"You know, I've seen my brother die, but watching him become... not him. This might actually be worse" Please, you watched him descend into the Mark of Cain and then babysat demon!Dean for an episode, this isn't new :P

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OH SHIT here's the "my name is Dean Winchester" speech and it's delivered directly into a mirror I am not going to make it

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That was terrible also can I have a new heart something happened to this one *shows a box of shards to the cashier*

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Sam don't be bitchy to Rowena when she's the only one who can help.

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And Dean is struggling to remember anything

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Oh nooooo

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Poor Dean :( :( :(

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or whoever he is

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Sam is putting Dean's life on the line to be weird about Rowena helping them.

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OH NO Dean's still struggling with it

"I don't know"

*wails*

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"Stop touching everything!"

I kind of love poor Dean when he's like this :( He's so sweet and... I don't know. Living in the moment because that's all he's got.

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Also who is that voodoo doll of because they're having a terrible day too.

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Aww Rowena already hates the British Men of Letters, so I guess she'll be helping later.

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"These witches sound like dicks. I think you have plenty of snuff."

Dean interpreted that she was talking about herself despite not knowing anything. Dean is good at subtext.

Also that has real echoes of "Doug's a dick, you deserve better" which made me squeee over Dean x Donna although obviously as the waitress said, it would be completely taking advantage of Dean so Rowena better not butter him up too much while his barriers are down. Especially as Dean has a "ugh witches!" gag reflex while himself.

It's also interesting that this is a barriers down thing for him to say. He was still getting over ACTUALLY being roofied when they talked to Donna that time, and I didn't think Dean was totally out of it there because he was engaged quite well in the conversation, but heh, it's an interesting comparison.

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"What a gift not to remember the things you've done!"

Oh no don't TELL him, Rowena.

"You're a killer" "scores of people" *gagging* "the greater good" (hey we had a "the greater good" earlier this season, right? I was laughing about the parallels to Hot Fuzz... Was it something the BMoL said? I see to recall paralleling their control of England to the baddies' control of the village)

I like that Dean and Rowena both have a gag reflex about each other's professions. But really loving this dynamic.

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He might forget in a minute that Rowena told him he was a killer, at least.

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Rowena having honesty hour because like Sam she's assuming Dean won't remember this (as you might have guessed I am fascinated about what Dean DOES remember about this)

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"Power's what matters" Oh my god she's had actual character growth about this because of having to watch God and Amara suck at being the most powerful beings in the universe. Haaa.

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Rowena does love nose-booping Dean

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Sam is being pretty dangerous and scary in that way he gets when Dean is dying. Why do I get the feeling he's about to get a lesson in  being reckless.

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I wonder what the butterflies symbolise. We've seen them on the show before, but in very different contexts. Hope someone else is on that because I have no immediate ideas. Like that they re-animate to cause harm. Not sure how much symbolism here for what though :P

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Aw Rowena does care :D in her own way. No respect for the car. Pfft.

(I feel like someone's gonna be all "Dean remembered Sam when he was in danger!"  but the phone is right there with his name on so I'm not sure)

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Having Gideon laid out like that is pretty ominous...

"We can bring him back!"

Yeah, okay, that was fairly obvious since he was still in the room the whole time :P

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Wow guess they're swapping Sam for him or something.

- Aw Rowena wearing a long black coat and being badass.

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Eeeeee more Rowena backstory.

I love her so much.

I mean everything we learn about her is so sad but it makes her motivations to be badass and not take any shit and obtain wealth and have nice hair really sympathetic :P

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I am really loving how they're making Rowena more sympathetic.

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Grenade launcher: DENIED

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I swear to god this had better be building to Dean shooting it in 12x23 as the crowning moment of awesome for the season or what is even the point

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Are these all Rowena's notes or did Sam leave the ones in the trunk

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Whoever did it (I shall have to look at your handwriting again) you did good.

BUT

It was using Dean as a weapon. He had no idea who he was, no purpose, just these orders/suggestions and he went on instinct, couldn't even talk, COULD fire a gun, and had enough instinct to load the gun, walk into the house, and fight the witches.

I'm reminded of 9x21 (which I will be watching up next! Aaaah the dang rewatch! And GAVIN coming back...... Although maybe the new and improved Rowena might make that more interesting)... Whoops I... forgot... What I was saying. Uh. 9x21. Dean in the middle of the dark decent. Goes to kill Abaddon (mirrored in the fight with Lily and Ishim last episode), and for the entire scene from the moment he comes in the door, I think until they leave the building, Dean does not speak a word. He just goes in there on instinct, charges Abaddon, and pushes through he wall-shoving to get her, all on this brutal killer instinct that Rowena has reminded Dean he had.

Dean with no sense of self was very cute and goofy, but he retained his moral code (killing monsters bad, person who kills monsters hero) and he retained his killer instinct, so stripping him right down like that, I think this was the message of what has been programmed deepest into Dean, the things that would go last when everything else about him was disappearing. And considering I've been working through the last few episodes of season 9 lately, I'm chilled. :S Especially that the back up plan was to throw Dean at them as a weapon (I wonder if Rowena did it then, because Sam didn't have the thought Dean would do it, unless he labelled it all when they knew it was witches, but earlier in the episode when he was going on  his labelling spree)

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Dean takes Sam on total trust as well about who is the witch and who is his brother. We don't know if that was his instinct or being obedient to what he was told... I'm guessing this is going to be something with 2 readings.

I'm assuming the cheap answer is the love of his brother runs that deep and instinctively he would know.

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Why was Sam NOT at the restoration... Aside from for setting up "who's this hippy"

I mean they even used the sad family music! What jerks :P

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Probably best to piss Sam off immediately so to avoid soppy hugs.

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"Can't believe you called Rowena" "Can't believe you rode Larry" "Hey, I was awesome on that bull."

THAT'S your take away from this, Sam? I mean I'm thrilled but that's just... hilarious.

Especially as they don't mention the waitress again so the reminder is all about Larry and not about Dean's other conquest of the night :P I’m laughing.

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Does this episode end with Sam leaving the super powerful book of spells on top of the impala and Dean drives off and it falls in the street

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I say this because I'm feeling emotional about Rowena implying Dean should talk to her if he remembers their conversation, and Sam is now talking about how he's jealous of Dean's no-memories buzz

Dean is like “our life sucks but if I was happy I wouldn’t have a shot at hooking up with an angel”

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Okay no Sam took the book of witchcraft.

That doesn't bode well at all.

*she says vibrating with pent up frustration about how witch!Sam is being teased roughly twice a week with no pay off since like... ever*

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Yay I knew we'd get to see Dean riding Larry at the end.

because this is Yellow Fever.

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I like Yellow Fever.

-

This is sort of embarassing having all of the other Dean stuff in there... You should have just stuck with him and Larry

Let them have a moment.

This is their song.

[naruhearts]

Sweeeeet, OP!! Glad we have a great cohesive post putting together the toys/comic representations! Hope you’re okay with me referencing it later @drsilverfish :D

Yeah, I’m still threading my meta thoughts together in drafts (hopefully they see the light of day before 14x05 airs lol), but Stuart and Dirk, individually, totes reflect BOTH Dean and Cas in such ways ^^

14x04 was a supermeta POWWOW, and yes: reverse iteration of 8x17 is something I hope for!!

Also of interest regarding ‘Sleeping Beauty’: 14x03, Laura’s green (Green Lantern ring-reminiscent) necklace (Laura, like Batman, ran away from home, then sought power in “darkness” = the witch) was destroyed by Jack the Cas mirror (mini-Superman), and Laura was saved. In 13x12 we got True Love’s Kiss (as aforementioned) in that love spells were emphasized aka the embodiment of agency violation by coercing Dean to get the Grimoire for the twin sisters yet, like Michael, simultaneously acting as the vehicle for revealing truths = Dean yearning and wanting a long-term romantic partnership.

SO, there’s definitely a continuous foreshadowing narrative going on, here.

Dean will save HIMSELF, but remember that self-actualization still requires external support. You’re not alone. Cas—his Superman, the Win, the singular person who saw through Ghost Kid (Dean)’s façade in Scoobynatural—is the psychological impetus for Dean’s catharsis. He’ll tell him, once again, that he deserves to be saved: that he can finally let go of ALL of the preconceived John-induced constructs imprisoning him.

Batman vs Superman: Connection and Conflict in Mint Condition 14x03

Wow! So much narrative subtext in the set design this week!

We all know that Castiel has been identified as Superman, ever since the infamous “Superman going to the dark side” line in The Man Who Would Be King 6x20 (which let Dean know that Cas had been eavesdropping on the Winchesters, and was secretly working with Crowley).

Dean of course, has identified as Batman, ever since 3x03  Bad Day at Black Rock, here complimenting himself on his mad skillz whilst in possession of the lucky/unlucky rabbit’s foot:

The “Smash/ Pow” comic shop name in Mint Condition sets up a Batman vs Superman encounter which makes sparks fly (you can read that as conflict or intense connection. I think it’s intended to signal both. Sparks did literally, after all, fly, when Dean and Cas first met):

On another wall of the comic shop are both the superheroes:

Stuart, appears to be a Batman fan-boy. He wears a Batman T-shirt, which suggests he is a mirror for Dean here:

Stuart also has an argument with a customer (off camera - but we hear about it) because that customer was, apparently, an “idiot” for not accepting that, with kryptonite gloves, “Anyone can beat up Superman.” 

This seems to foreshadow a conflict between “Batman” and “Superman” - likely between Michael!Dean and Castiel (reverse crypt scene anyone?) because Michael possessing Dean’s vessel again would be the equivalent of “kryptonite gloves” in terms of a power up. 

Stuart, bt dubs is queer-coded by his response to Panthero: “So handsome, so angry!”

Stuart is also (like Dean) being haunted by the ghost of a father figure; the previous shop-owner (for Dean, John Winchester). The haunted object is a Batman keyring (Batman T-shirt, Batman keyring: like father, like son):

The opening sequence of this episode was very careful to give us Dean and Dark!Kaia’s confrontation scene again, from last week’s The Scar 14x03, with its dialogue:

Dark!Kaia: “You are just like him!”

Dean: “I am nothing like him!”

That invites us to see Stuart’s conflict with the ghost of his father-figure, the comic store owner, as a mirror for Dean’s conflict with the ghost of his own father, for whom AU Michael (in the narrative arc of S14) acts as a mirror (AU Michael = John Winchester = Dean’s own internalised repression via the metaphor of Dean’s “drowning” possession by Michael).

In the slow pan of the comic store’s merchandise at the start we see more Batman and Superman imagery. Here we have Deathstroke vs Batman (AU!Michael vs Dean - Dean’s internal conflict with the ghost of his father)

Then we have: 

“It lurks with the power battery” seems significant - the sense that Michael could, at any time, return to re-possess Dean?

Then we have Batman fighting another antagonist (Dean/ Possessed!Dean is filled with internal conflict):

Then Superman appears (to save Batman with true love’s kiss): 

The “Mint Condition” of the title, somehow implies a figure “restored to factory settings”. We could read that as a covert crypt-scene reference (8x17 Goodbye Stranger)

SAM: “So… what happened? I mean, Cas touched the tablet, and it reset him to his factory settings or something?”

DEAN “I don’t know.”

Of course, the answer to, “What broke the connection?” (between Cas and his angelic conditioning by Naomi) was…. Dean’s, “I need you!” 

Batman saved Superman that time. Can Superman save Batman this time?

[naruhearts]

14x11 promo is making me excited re: Dean’s Necessary Decision of All Decisions (keep in mind I don’t say “bad” decision this time - we lack any real knowledge of what’s going to happen, and so does Dean, but he’s definitely wearing the Red Shirt of Bad Decisions™. What matters are the choices he executes despite endless bad outcomes - yet we also know that locking oneself up, physically and psychologically, never bodes well in the long term - and the rich commentary of Free Will/Free Choice/Author of your Life themes carries over for the next 3 eps).

Dean’s going off on his own to see his mom for one-on-one goodbye time pre-sarcophagus, and he makes Sam stay behind. It’s like a lovely subverted redux of early seasons a la S3, where Dean’s “time of dying” used to involve heavy Sam-dependence. The Brodependency is literally “dying” with Dean after all the visual/plot narrative foreshadowing. I’m so surprised :P

At the same time, Dean’s once again hiding his predetermined plans from his family. Sigh. But again, to me this is final regression before progression (towards Dean’s “death” and subsequent resurrection of the self-actualized self via Michael plot) (like I said here, Dean’s symbolic burial links the ever-cyclical narrative back to Lazarus Rising on purpose); Dean will learn to embrace full honesty and transparency, especially when it comes to himself. Use your words.

And look: it’s deliberate darkness, speaking to Dean’s literal/metaphorical ‘burial’ of the Self. Interestingly, this dim setting even reminds me of a mausoleum from the camera’s vantage point.

The library table embodies who he is and whom he belongs with: Sam, Jack, and Cas. Home. Family.

So many important heart-to-hearts, optimistic conversations, positive strategization and general emotional unloading took place in the library alongside moments of betrayal, heartbreak, sadness, and disillusion (hello Light/Dark dualism). Here, it’s technically visually framed as the only focal point of literal/metaphorical light during Dean’s pre-darkest hours.

(So, on a D/C note: Dean’s “rough physical shape” in 14x12 makes me wonder if he goes through with locking himself up and he’s in dire emotional straits while telling Cas stuff OR Cas refuses to let him do it and certain words are exchanged OR a combo of the last two plus Dean finding out about Cas’ deal. Who knows? I just hope, as we all do, that BL’s tendency for non-subtle subtext works in D/C’s favour.)

Gotta love Dabb Era silent storytelling...

[naruhearts]

14x06

Jack: “Winston dead. No details.”

Dean: *stops Jack from writing in notepad*

- - -

Cas: *upside down FBI badge*

Dean:

It’s a Spot-the-Parallels game!

Also thanks @emblue-sparks for pointing out 13x06 ‘Dave Mathers’ and 14x06 ‘Winston Mathers’/Tombstone links; not to mention that the rooster (aka cock) facing Dean is certainly peculiar

[mittensmorgul]

Got a package today and couldn’t figure out wtf Simon and Schuster was sending me. Opened the outside box and found this inside...

Wait this can’t be right, I just ordered it like two days ago and they said it wasn’t even going to print until April...

NO I HAVE BEEN BLESSED THIS IS REAL. RIP everything else I was supposed to do today...

(pinefest people, I’m still here for you, but everything else is on temporary hiatus :’D)

[naruhearts]

@savannadarkbaby @dimples-of-discontent

Besides writing (or trying to write) about this stupid scene in my own semi-coherent post—

I TOTALLY didn’t notice that erect rift in contrast to Gabe’s ‘drooping’/‘flagging’ rift omfg (I was fixated more on Dean’s reaction)

BERENS & CO, how dare?!

and yeaaah all of this ^^ lbr the drooping rift was visually prefacing Gabe’s face-to-crotch action with Cas because ew, brother, and Gabe (the proxy for Dean’s gay fantasies in two back-to-back eps) wasn’t aroused by that at all vs Dean who was aroused🤷🏽‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️ thus explaining the rift’s (penis) shape.

I honestly don’t know what else to say *snickers*

@tinkdw

I’m actually cryinghfh look at his fckin face 😂😂

[mittensmorgul]

I’m not even gonna stop here long enough to yell about how glorious this is...

just have a link and join me in the revelry

https://www.jerrywanek.com/