#The Jess-Dean drama | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

venti-venus · 1 month

Text

baby driver - j. m x reader

summary: after a failed study session with dean forester, jess and y/n decide to get a little innocent payback.

𐌕Ꮤ: hating on dean forester, accurate gilmore girls banter and drama, not spellchecked, first jess fic yippie ! ¸¸♬·¯·♪·¯·♫¸¸ ¸¸♫·¯·♪¸♩·¯·♬¸¸

"Mariano," Y/N whined, stumbling into Luke's Diner. She dragged her feet across the floor and dramatically plopped down on one of the bar stools. " I feel like my face is about to fall off and I'm blaming it on you."

Jess rolled his eyes as he wiped down the counter, "Good morning to you too, Y/N. I get the feeling you didn't just come in here to complain."

"And you would be right!" Y/N smirked, "I'm here for the doughnuts. Chocolate, please." She jokingly batted her eyelashes before yawning. "Ugh, get me a coffee too."

"So, why are you up at eight o'clock in the morning," Jess poured her some coffee and handed it to her, along with the doughnuts. "You don't wake up until at least two. Special occasion?"

"Oh yeah, Dean Forester is real special. I'm supposed to meet up with him to go over our English assignment. I doubt he'll actually focus on the work though. I swear he's been so obsessed with Rory it's actually suffocating my last braincell."

Jess laughed at your comment, "You wish that was you or somethin'?"

Y/N threw a crumb of her doughnut at him and gagged, "As if! Dean doesn't even like Bowie, there's no chance him and I are gonna be anything more than friends."

"Very true," Jess smirked, "Any hater of David Bowie should be locked up and studied. I'm glad you're staying away from the freaks of the world, Y/N. Very proud."

"Yeah well, I better get going. Dean said he would pick me up from here and drive us to the lake so we can focus or something." Y/N sighed, "Wish me luck, Mario."

"Hey, do not call me that. Put some respect on a poor kids name, will ya?" He joked, "At least you get to ride around in his car. Pretty nice one if I do say so myself."

"Pretty car, pretty annoying boy." Y/N took her coffee and doughnuts and gave Jess one last smile before she headed out to wait for Dean and his car. Surely he wouldn't be too long..

"H-Hey, Jess," Y/N's shaky voice spoke into her phone, "Can you come pick me up? I'm at the lake and it's raining and Dean left an-"

"I'll be there in 10." Y/N could hear a door slam and a car start on the other side of the line. Jess hung up and Y/n waited as he drove to come get her.

The study session had gone alright, but it was what happened after that which led to Y/N now being stranded. She hid under what little over a close by oak tree had and waited until Jess pulled up.

“Get in.” Jess handed her a towel as Y/N got into his car. His knuckles grew white as he gripped the steering wheel, not saying anything else as he drove off.

“Thank you, Jess.” Y/N sniffled, “I could’ve walked but my house is too far with the rain and all.” She looked over to see the brunette focused on the road.

She decided to stay quiet as he drove her to her house, using the towel Jess gave her to dry off as best she could.

"The hell do you mean he kissed you?" Jess yelled from the living room, arms crossed on his chest. His eyebrows were so creased, they were practically conjoined. He was sitting down on the couch while Y/N was in the kitchen, trying to dry off and get water.

"I don't know! He told me he was finally dating Rory and everything was fine and then out of the blue," Y/N threw her hands up, "And then I freaked out because, hello, he just said he was with Rory!"

Jess huffed. "And then what happened?"

"He got mad at me for some stupid reason and yelled at me." Y/N got quieter, "I swear Dean makes no sense. One minute he's normal and the other he's... I'm sure there's some reference I could make but I can't think of one, but you get what I'm saying. He totally flipped."

Y/N opened her refrigerator, grabbing a bottle of water. "Oh, and then," She scoffed, "He had the audacity to tell me that he actually liked me the whole time. He was 'too scared' to tell me though because-. (because he thought I was dating you.)" Y/N paused and quietly mumbled, "That's not important." She frantically walked over to the living room and sat down next to Jess.

"Does he even like Rory? Or is he just leading her on now?" Jess was confused about the whole situation.

"Everyone likes Rory, Jess." Y/N rolled her eyes, "But I don't think he wants to get serious with her. I just can't believe he would do something like that to me."

"That tall freak has some serious paying up to do," Jess got up. "Go get changed into something dry. I have an idea."

Jess and Y/N got into Dean's Ford F-150, muffling their laughs as best as they could.

"Wait, you know how to drive, right?" Jess teased as he buckled his seatbelt.

Y/N rolled her eyes, laughing as she pulled out of Dean's driveway. Rory had picked him up earlier after Jess pulled a few strings, so his car was free and available for a little joy ride.

"I got my license last year, Jess. I'm practically Richard Petty." She pulled out of the driveway and turned on the radio.

"Okay, baby driver." Jess laughed as the two of them began to drive, happily using Dean's car for the night.

¸¸♬·¯·♪·¯·♫¸¸ ¸¸♫·¯·♪¸♩·¯·♬¸¸

#jess mariano #jess mariano x reader #jess mariano x y/n #jess mariano fluff #jess mariano imagine #jess mariano x you #milo ventimiglia #venti venus writes #venus village #gilmore girls x reader #gilmore girls

109 notes · View notes

angelsdean · 10 months

Note

I don't get the part of fandom that highlights Dean's supposed codependancy with Sam: he lets him alone x years when Sam was at Stanford, he brings him back to Jess at the end of the Pilot, he is happy to roadtrip with and without Cas in s5 and comes back only because he worries Sam is going to accept to be Lucifer's vessel, etc, etc, etc.

(And there is also Demon!Dean who is like "Fuch responsabilities" lmao)

yea it's like. very clear textually that dean can and will give sam space to live whatever life he wants. even in 1x11 Scarecrow, sam wants to go to california to find john, dean wants to stay and solve the case, he lets sam go !! sam later calls him and dean updates him on the case the the research he's doing bc he doesn't have his nerd brother (putting himself down, self-deprecating as dean is abt his own intelligence even tho he's SO smart) and sam's like joking "oh is this you hinting you need my help" and dean's like, straight up, listen i'm not hinting anything, tells him how proud he is of sam, but i also doesn't beg him to come back, basically tells him to keep doing his own this and to "take care of yourself and call me when you find dad."

sam's often the one projecting or putting words in dean's mouth like "you can't stand being alone!!" at stuff like, not letting sam die ??? not letting your loved one die is being selfish and means you don't wanna be alone ??? in what world. most people will do whatever they can to save a loved one, esp when you're living in a literal horror fantasy show and not like, a basic family drama. and sam will say stuff like but also will do risky things to save dean. hell his plan to save dean from the mark put charlie directly in danger and lead to her death. so like sam is not one to talk abt being "selfish" to save each other. and simply wanting your brother alive is not a bad thing. nor does it mean you can't stand to have separate lives / be alone. though dean very much does not want to be alone, but. he has friends and family outside of sam. he has love interests and people he could build a life with. looking at the relationships on this show you see dean have so many closer bonds with other characters and then sam is notably lacking in comparison. rowena and eileen are the only two recurring characters (off the top of my head) that feel like sam characters. people that are there mainly due to their personal ties to sam. and yea they have lots of joint friends, like gath, jody, donna, etc but even then sometimes it feels like they're closer to dean. sam feels very lonely (and it breaks my heart really) and so a lot of the things he says abt dean and their co-dependency really feels like some projection of sam's own feelings.

anyways this got long and rambly but yea, dean tells us over and over again that he's good with letting sam do his own thing. that he's good with having space and separate lives. the main thing he wants really is just, sam alive. he wants his family and friends alive !!! because he loves them !!!

#replies #family dynamics

198 notes · View notes

frazzledsoul · 10 months

Text

Melodramatic Gilmore Girls magazine ads, from the days of yore!

Oh, the drama! RIP, Mr. Squirrel.

I can just feel the sexual tension from here. Get a room already, you two.

This is a total bait and switch, because it implies that Dean and Jess are going to have a dance off, which actually sounds hilarious.

Fight! Fight! Fight! And then have make up sex, of course.

Luke, you dawg.

Lorelai's vocabulary must be extremely limited if she were engaged to another guy for a year and has never heard the word fiance.

I have no idea what this is supposed to imply whatsoever.

Guys, the background is killing me here. Is this the episode where Logan misses Lane's baby shower? LOL, that episode was not about him at all.

Are they going to commit mass suicide?

#gawd y'all what I will put on here to avoid being productive #anyhoo!#gilmore girls

167 notes · View notes

idkiwasntsupposedtobebackhere · 2 months

Text

what i would do if i was a gilmore girls writer:

april storyline:

i feel like instead of the april storyline liz could have given birth a bit earlier and and luke and lorelai would have to step in to help raise doula a lot. first of all we’d get to see them with a baby, which is cute. but there’s also a lot of room for conflict in deciding how to handle the situation. aka conflict that makes for good TV (”should we even have kids together if we can’t even do this?”, ”we have to make these decisions together, we’re getting married!” etc.) but isn’t life altering enough to ruin the couple. it also draws parallells to the jess storyline (which was a huge part of the earlier seasons), luke’s established family issues and his earlier disagreements with lorelai which makes luke’s character arc and the show as a whole more cohesive and satisfying. i could see this drama lasting for all of season 6. in the end because these characters have grown, they would actually figure it out somehow. and then they’d have season 7 to settle down and be happy. i actually do love april but they could have made her a young sheldon type of guest character at yale and paris could have developed a soft spot for her or something.

literati in season 3:

so i feel like they wanted to show us that this is rory’s bad boy phase. they made their relationship about dean a lot and most of the episodes centered around them were like ooooh jess did this sucky thing and dean never would have. and i get that maybe they needed to try something new and didn’t want to just recreate the boyfriend storyline with a new guy (aka see how he fits into her grandparents world, saying i love you for the first time etc). they already did the good stuff with dean so they decided to make this rory’s bad decision and only came up conflict to show us. but they didn’t even fully commit bc rory didn’t change with jess the way she did with logan. that was her bad boy phase, literati was always supposed to be something more. so instead of showing how bad of a couple this was compared to dean/rory, they could have drawn different parallels. because dean/rory was not a perfect relationship and they could have shown how in some ways why this is better for rory. what does she want? not her grandparents and not her mom. after all the buildup literati was the audience’s favorite and most anticipated couple, so i really think painting it as an unexpected but positive change of direction in rory’s journey would have been worthwhile.

like show us how when they go on dates they want to do the same things (as opposed to donna reed or rory just watching dean’s games). show us how they both want their alone time and them not calling each other every day because rory wants to study and jess has to work can be an OK thing (as opposed to the infamous 14 calls a day). show us how jess maybe doesn’t fit into lorelai and rory’s flow as well as dean did BUT how that’s also ok because rory is getting older and going off to college so this makes sense. but then also show us some god damn character development and lorelai and jess actually learning to get along (pls make that an entire episode’s storyline actually. have them be funny together and make it emotional). and show us nice scenes with luke, lorelai, rory and jess. where was all of this when they were dating??? nowhere to be seen. although i would have liked for luke not to kick jess out (i will make another post of how i would handle jess and luke’s relationship in season 3) i know it had to happen because milo had to leave. and i wouldn’t change major plot points like that because i like jess’ arc too much. but if they had shown everything i wrote here, literati’s realtionship would have canonically been stronger and jess would have at least told rory about not graduating and his dad showing up and why he felt like he had to go before he went.

dean cheating on lindsay with rory:

actually i would have had lindsay push him in the lake luke pushed jess in but oops plot twist, dean can’t swim

#gilmore girls #jess mariano #rory gilmore #literati #lorelai gilmore #luke danes

37 notes · View notes

thefirst3chapters · 3 months

Text

There is so much going on with the parallels in this gifset (Rory and Jess's first kiss and Jess's infamous "I love you"). This got long so it's under the cut.

Both of these scenes happen after Rory or Jess's parent(s) announce a new relationship: For Rory, she just talked with Christopher and is happy about the prospect of her parents being together. This family reunion is seconds away from being over, but Rory is hopeful that it will last. For Jess, he just met TJ, was not impressed, and does not want to be a part of the situation at all. He is jaded from seeing Liz repeatedly getting involved in destructive relationships and is frustrated that Luke thinks they can change her mind. It is interesting that both Rory and Jess's history of abandonment is highlighted as they abandon each other. (Similar to how Jimmy showed up and ran out on Jess in the same episode that Jess left.)

Both of these scenes happen at an event that commemorates love: The kiss is at Sookie and Jackson's wedding, and the "I love you" is at the Firelight Festival, which celebrates a star-crossed love story from Stars Hollow's history. The wedding is joyful and marks a beginning while the festival has a more bittersweet undertone. This holiday is when Dean breaks up with Rory in S1 and when Rory is heartbroken by Logan's disinterest in S5, but the scene with Jess is the only one of the three that happens at the festival itself. (Rory really can't catch a break with this holiday.)

Both of these scenes have surrounding events that contrast their aesthetic: The scenery of Rory and Jess's first kiss is of course beautiful and is fit for an Austen-esque drama. It's springtime, and Rory and Jess are both wearing blue. The beauty is undercut by the impending Lorelai/Christopher fallout, Rory’s inner turmoil and disloyalty to Dean, and Jess’s pain as he moved back for Rory only to see her run away; the seeds of communication problems and abandonment that will plague their relationship have been sown among the blossoming flowers. The "I love you" scene happens on a cold, dark winter night. Rory and Jess are both wearing neutral colors, and it's clear from their facial expressions that despite what they both told Lorelai, they are emotionally torn up by their estrangement. The darkness is undercut by the Firelight Festival’s faith that love will eventually conquer its obstacles; among the twinkle lights, Luke and Lorelai find each other (it’s not their time, yet) and Liz tells Luke she is hopeful that Jess will be okay and TJ will be a good partner for her (the rest of the show proves that this faith was well-placed). Rory and Jess's obstacles of failed communication and abandonment remain, but so does hope.

Rory and Jess respectively reveal what they did to their parental figure when they return to town months later. The aesthetic contrast is interesting. Lorelai and Rory have this conversation in public and in broad daylight. Lorelai and Rory's "default setting" is being best friends, but this is something significant that Rory kept from her. Lorelai, who is still upset over what happened with Christopher, tells Rory that the situation isn't fair to Dean but ends up focusing more on Dean's feelings than anything else. Luke and Jess have this conversation alone and in the dark. It's their breakthrough moment where they realize how much they really care about each other, and Jess divulging something so personal is a big deal. Luke just had the revelation that he loves Lorelai, and his advice is more focused on trying to help Jess. The dialogue is so similar:

Lorelai and Rory in S3 E1: "Well, I thought it was over. I mean, you haven't talked with him since..." / "Sookie's wedding." / .... / "Okay, so he crashed Sookie's wedding, and..." / "And nothing. He told me he was back in town, that he'd moved back, and..." / "What, Rory? Come on." / "And we kissed, okay?"

Luke and Jess in S4 E21: "No. Rory, still? That's ancient history. You haven't seen her in a year." / "I saw her when I was here a few months ago." / "I didn't know that. So, what happened?" / "Nothing... I told her, uh..." / "What?" / "I told her I loved her."

Both of these reunions bookend a third Literati reunion (of sorts) at the End of Summer Madness Festival: In S3 E1, Rory just told Lorelai that she is joining her in not speaking with Christopher, which contrasts her talking with him at the wedding. Rory was surprised to find Jess under a tree at the wedding, and here she is surprised to find him under a tree kissing Shane. The setting here is also a stark contrast to the other two scenes. It is late summer, the music is loud and irritating, red is a prominent color, and lots of people are present. The body language of Jess and Rory's first kiss was so affectionate, but Jess and Shane appear far less emotionally invested. These contrasts all enrich the comparison of Rory’s clandestine enchantment at the wedding to her disappointed jealousy at the summer festival.

Looking at all three of these scenes together, there is this poetic sequence of Rory and Jess's relationship from a beautiful spring day to an overbearing summer afternoon to a bleak (but not entirely so) winter night, and it's really compelling.

It is notable that all three of these reunions happen outside, and so do a lot of their other scenes together. The idea that Rory and Jess find freedom to be themselves when they are together is brought up often, and the fact that so many of their scenes are outside could be reflective of that. Being outside gives them space to breathe and grow away from the confines of what other people expect of them, but it also leaves them more exposed to the elements and more at risk of being left out in the cold, which makes vulnerability frightening for both of them. They don't quite have the emotional skills to weather those challenges (yet).

#gilmore girls #gilmore girls meta #rory gilmore #jess mariano #literati #rory x jess

52 notes · View notes

hearthouses · 1 month

Note

happy wincest wednesday!! what do you think would happen if jess found out?

This is highly dependent on when she finds out and how she finds out, in my opinion.

Personally, I struggle a lot with fics where Jess is immediately okay with it and even kinks on incest because it often feels like an easy way to avoid conflict and drama. In an effort to sketch out her character, it feels more like she's positioned as a "cool girl" plot device who is down for anything rather than a fully formed, real person with feelings that can be hurt. So for a situation where Jess eventually becomes okay with it, I imagine it would take a lot of work and development to get there.

My primary thought would be an AU where Jess lives, but in the process is injured and traumatized, and feeling deeply hurt and betrayed by Sam who she discovers has been lying and ommiting truths, leaving her vulnerable. If she chooses to go with them, it would need to be for herself and her own peace of mind, but in the process, she would be getting to know Sam as he is and not as he presented himself, all his dark parts and secrets, and not knowing if she can love this Sam when she fell in love with an illusion. In this AU, I imagine she becomes closer to Dean by default of there being no history, Dean is a clean slate, Dean hasn't lied to her and made her believe he was someone he wasn't. A writer would have to develop Dean and Jess as a separate relationship and dynamic, then have Jess open up to Sam again.

As for her finding out about Sam and Dean in this scenario, I think depending how everything unfolds and develops is what would make or break it. I don't think Jess is in a position to immediately accept it because I imagine she's lived a fairly regular life, and while I think people are cool with things in fiction, it's another thing entirely to have it shoved in your face in reality. I imagine in the best case scenario, with development, it's still a shock to her system and she would have to reconcile everything else that has happened, on top of finding out the man she was going to possibly marry is in love with his brother. So I waver on if she can fully commit and be all in, or not, which I don't blame her at all for and would rather a more realistic and messy possible break up, over a situation that rings hollow and false.

As for finding out during the canon Stanford timeline, I can't imagine any other scenario than her assuming Dean had sexually abused Sam. This would be figuring something happened when Sam was underage, and that Dean being older and his caregiver meant he took advantage. I think she would loathe Dean in this scenario and attempt to help Sam with trying to get him therapy or give him books or find groups he can attend, all while Sam continues to insist it was never like that and wholeheartedly defending Dean. I imagine she would be cold to Dean when he shows up in the pilot and unable to figure out why Sam would want to go off with him.

I also like scenarios where Sam confesses half-truths, like he was younger when he lost his virginity to somone older and Jess using context clues and coming to the worst conclusions. In these scenarios, Jess means well and is trying to help Sam because she loves him and she's never going to be able to wrap her mind around in what world any of this would be okay, or even understandable. She doesn't have the same frame of reference or experience. I personally would love to see more fics that explore the complexities and nuances of what it would be like to be Jess and having to come to terms with all this information, as well as fics that don't necessarily end in a happy poly Sam/Dean/Jess situation, but rather Jess realizing the best thing for her would be to walk away.

#wincest #wincest wednesday #sam x dean #jessica moore #spn meta #supernatural #alaynestone #replies!#anyway if it is not clear: i love jess

21 notes · View notes

abbeyyyscorner · 19 days

Text

gilmore girls opinionnnn🎀☕ (SPOILERS!!❌)

ok so likee i might get attacked for this one but i personally dont like logan as a love interest for rory, nor did i like dean. basically my issue with logan was that they had a very rocky start and im glad they could fix it but likee there was a lot of drama there😭 anyways i feel like theyre cute but not the best??!! idk- and then with dean he literally ruined rorys like life for a minute w the cheating thing like hated him and that one episode where rory like becomes a whole housewife for him BOTHERED me..like s1 dean wasn't bad but still icked me off bcz of his stupid haircut and him lowkey stalking my girl rory likeee😭😭 idk tho like i perfered jess but only after he got his shit TOGETHER.. like i feel like there were so many missed like chances for logan plotlines bc i personally felt like his storyline felt like a sideplot kinda??!! but ya thats my opinionnn-!!

#gilmore girls #rory gilmore #jess mariano #dean gilore girls #logan gilmore girls #gilmore girls opinions #coquette #downtown girl #spoilers #coffeee #aesthetic

13 notes · View notes

iliketoydinosaurs · 5 months

Text

Essay on 05x18 of Supernatural

Word count: 2245

Estimated reading time: 17 minutes

Season five episode eighteen is one of the best episodes of Supernatural because it explores the themes, aesthetics, and characters of the show in a skilled way, as well as furthering the character arcs of season five. I will be going through the episode sequentially and explaining the relevance of certain scenes.

Even the very first scene of Point of No Return (05x18) is significant to the overall feel of the show. It starts with Zachariah drinking in a bar because he’s mad at heaven. He thinks that because he’s failed to get Dean to say yes, the angels will send him to hell. He complains to another man about his “job” which really puts into perspective what the environment of heaven is like. Then when another angel begins speaking to Zachariah, the man he was complaining to and the bartender are both killed in a screaming burst of light. This scene is reminiscent of the true horror of seasons one and two, something the show loses more and more throughout, much to its detriment.

Then, of course, there’s the obligatory Sam and Dean drama. Started in 99 Problems(05x17) when Dean took off in the Impala without Sam. Sam, naturally, finds where Dean is hiding out. He compares saying yes to Michael to suicide. This scene is a great example of how well Sam knows Dean as well as Dean’s suicidal ideation and self-sacrificial nature. While Dean might not be planning to kill himself in a traditional sense, saying yes to Michael is most certainly a death sentence. Dean was told this directly by Cas in Free To Be You and Me(05x03). He knows the damage that will be done to him, and he plans to do it anyway.

The conversation really picks up after these lines,

SAM. How could you?

DEAN. How could I? All you’ve ever done is run away.

SAM. And I was wrong every time I did!

This is the angst I watch Supernatural for. This line points out Sam’s character progression, not only when it comes to running off with Ruby, but also running off to Stanford. At this point in the show it’s clear that Sam regrets this. He now views his leaving for Stanford as a betrayal against Dean; and he blames himself simply being there for Jess’s death; and he thinks it was futile because he was always going to hunt somehow. All of these things expertly tie into Sam’s character arc throughout season five. Blaming himself for Jess’s death as well as what he sees as the inevitability of his “freakhood” are both shown in the opening scene of Free To Be You and Me. And his leaving for Stanford (as well as running away for two weeks as a teen) are sources of conflict in Dark Side of the Moon(05x16). These lines also show Dean’s abandonment issues. Issues that were greatly exacerbated after Sam ran off with Ruby. These abandonment issues worsened significantly after the events of Dark Side of the Moon. Dean’s newfound mistrust of Sam is a consistent argument between the two throughout season five. These simple lines show the brothers’ character development throughout the season as well as being perfect, compact characterization.

After Cas helps Sam drag Dean back to Bobby’s, Dean starts to truly reveal his reasoning. He sees saying yes to Michael as the best possible option. Which, given Sam and Bobby don’t have a plan, isn’t an entirely unfounded thought process. However, Bobby argues, saying yes to Michael will not save everyone, so they need to find a new way. Much like the episode before it, this episode touches on Dean’s faith, not in God, but in everything. Himself, Sam, the universe. Bobby attempts to restore Dean’s hope.

BOBBY. You can’t give up, son.

DEAN. You’re not my father. And you ain’t in my shoes.

Dean is very obviously trying to push everyone away in this episode so they’ll let him say yes to Michael. He obviously does view Bobby as his father/father figure as he’s stated that multiple times, but his angry mind knows that’s a sensitive subject for Bobby so he uses the opportunity to try to make him angry enough to kick Dean out. Dean feels like if he doesn’t say yes to Michael and people die, then their deaths will be his fault. In this sense, he’s right that Bobby has never been in that position. However, Bobby uses his personal experience with suicidal thoughts to show that he has been in similar situations. He pulls out a bullet and gun from the drawer and tells Dean how he looks at it every morning and wonders if he’ll kill himself that day. This sort of physical, in-your-face, almost aggressive explanation is a wonderful characterization of the type of person Bobby is. Then Bobby says, “But I don’t do it. I never do it. You know why? Cause I promised you I wouldn’t give up!” This is in reference to The Curious Case of Dean Winchester (05x07) when Bobby revealed to Sam and Dean that he wanted to kill himself because he felt useless. Dean had assured him that he was still useful and that Sam and Dean needed him. Once again this episode touches on every plot point and character arc, even for more minor characters.

Also Cas has so many fight scenes in this episode and he’s so pretty and cool and yes that does improve my opinion of this episode even more.

And, finally, for the very first time we see the real Adam Milligan alive. The angels had revived him for Michael (much like the writers did. I actually think Adam as a concept was a cheap plot device but I won’t go into that here). Sam tries the “we’re family” argument on Adam while trying to convince him to not say yes to the angels just yet. Adam proceeds to say, “We may be blood, but we are not family.” Adam is the antithesis of the show’s theme of family and that is perfect. Complex narratives should take into account other perspectives in order to be properly explored. While, in my opinion, Supernatural’s theme of family would ultimately fail due to poor writing, this was a step in the right direction. The show also attempted the found family trope (again, a colossal failure as they cared too much about blood) and this is pivotal to the idea of found family. Found family says, “We may not be blood, but we are family,” which cannot exist without, “We may be blood, but we are not family.”

Adam brings a more nuanced look at the theme and characters. In particular when he and Sam disagree over whether it was worse to never see John or to see John everyday. Neither is necessarily wrong that their situation was terrible, but they can’t see that because the situations were so different. Neither of them can truly understand the other’s perspective, to no fault of their own. Nobody was right in this “I had it worse” debate. The main takeaway is that John Winchester is the worst.

Sam, unfortunately, can never catch a break. So the next scene is him somewhat-arguing with his other brother. Dean speaks about how he thinks he’s simply destined to be Michael.

DEAN. I don’t believe.

SAM. In what?

DEAN. In you. . . . I do know they’re gonna find a way to turn you.

SAM. So you’re saying I’m not strong enough.

DEAN. You’re angry. You’re self-righteous. Lucifer is gonna wear you to the prom, man. It’s just a matter of time.

SAM. Don’t say that to me. Not you of all people.

This scene starts off strong with Dean’s lack of faith, a theme of his character as far back as season one. But now it’s a lack of faith in Sam, rather than lack of faith in God or good. This is something that has been building since the season four finale. Throughout season five Dean has tried and failed to trust Sam again, and once again he’s saying he simply can’t. Sam’s language of being “strong enough” is also of note as becoming stronger was his justification for drinking demon blood. He feels weak and powerless without it, something he is still working through at this point. Dean is also finally revealing more of his thought process on saying yes to Michael. He sees it as an inevitability that Sam will say yes, so figures he should do it first. This is in strict contrast to seasons two and three when Dean adamantly defended Sam from the likes of Gordon. It shows the effect Sam leaving with Ruby had on Dean, as Dean saw Sam as the one person he could trust. Then there’s that last line from Sam. This line is extremely similar to one in When The Levee Breaks(04x21), “Don’t say that to me. Don’t you say that to me.” In that episode “Dean” (actually a hallucination) was telling Sam that he meant nothing to Dean. Sam gets extra hurt when Dean in particular lacks faith in Sam. This is partially because of what was at one point Dean’s intense loyalty to Sam, as well as Dean’s parental role in Sam’s life.

But of course, no good Supernatural episode is complete without Cas. Dean uses angel warding to send Cas away and escape Bobby’s house. This is futile as Cas finds him almost immediately. Then there is the iconic scene of Cas beating the shit out of Dean. “I rebelled for this?” he asks. “I gave everything for you. And this is what you give to me?” I’m not going to go too into the gay subtext of Cas rebelling for Dean (and the other gay subtext in this episode), as that’s been stated many times, but this is my acknowledgement of it. Season five is when Cas starts to truly develop his own moral compass, and even though he rebelled for Dean, he doesn’t always agree with Dean. He feels particularly betrayed that he worked with Dean to stop the apocalypse, risking his life and family, just for Dean to try to say yes to Michael. He truly did give everything, his livelihood and family and life, for Dean. I’ll elaborate on this more later.

Moving sequentially throughout the episode, Zachariah then reveals to Adam that the angels simply used him to get Dean to come to them. Adam is such a tragic character who had the misfortune of being related to Sam and Dean. He was dead before he was even on screen. Now he’s simply being used, once again, just to get to Winchesters.

Sam decides to fall right into the angels’ trap, and take Dean to where they have Adam. Despite Dean telling Sam that he will say yes to Michael if given the chance, Sam, ever the optimist, simply says he won’t. Sam is the only one who thinks this is a good idea. They get to the trap and Cas explains his plan to go take down the numerous angels inside. Dean asks,

DEAN. Isn’t that suicide?

CAS. Maybe it is. But then I won’t have to watch you fail. Sorry, Dean. I don’t have the same faith in you that Sam does.

This episode shows how the entire main cast has some level of suicidal ideation and self-sacrificing tendencies. In fact, this episode is about as close as we get to real acknowledgement of Dean’s suicidal thoughts. Back to Cas, his faith in everything is wavering currently. Of course, he lost faith in the angels long ago, but at the end of Dark Side of the Moon, he loses faith in God as well. Now Dean has gone back on his morals that Cas left heaven for, and he’s lost. This no doubt is a factor in his recklessness. Cas, while harsh, is telling this to Dean because he truly can’t take another loss. Yet even as he says this, he apologizes to Dean. Sam is the only one with any hope in team free will at this point.

Dean angers Zachariah by fake saying yes to Michael under the condition that Michael kills Zachariah. He uses this to lure Zachariah near him and kill him. There is still the issue of Michael coming down into the barn. Dean grabs Sam to help him evacuate, but when he tries to go back for Adam he can’t get in. Obviously this was meant to show how Dean will always save Sam before anyone else in the room. Once again, Adam is let down by the Winchesters. Adam then gets taken.

And what would Supernatural be without the obligatory ‘driving at night in the Impala and talking about our feelings’ final scene. The final scene is pretty simple. Dean explains that he said no to Michael because of Sam’s faith in him. Dean says, “Screw destiny,” which obviously contrasts his earlier conflict with Sam. It puts a decent ribbon on Sam and Dean’s conflict of the episode while leaving the rest of the plot to later episodes.

And that concludes my essay on Point of No Return. Supernatural is a bad show that turned its back on most of the themes and characters I praise here, but sometimes while rewatching I like to be reminded why I love the show. I think this episode is one of the best.

25 notes · View notes