#therefore only aaron laughs at this joke and hes horrified

[jingerhead]

It's 2am. Neil's been doing homework for hours. Andrew's at the window smoking. It's quiet until Neil sniggers and says, "These damn numbers now have properties for their communities?"

Andrew just stares at him.

"Bit of a math joke for you," Neil says, going back to work.

[mittensmorgul]

6.03: ... because I lie professionally, that’s why.

Me @ Mr. Mittens (telling him what happens in the opening minutes of this episode): ... and then Dean drives to Pennsylvania. Mr. Mittens (in Dracula voice): Muahaha Pennsylvania. Me: So many bad things happen to them in Pennsylvania. Mr. Mittens: Huh. That’s true. Me: Then again bad things happen to them pretty much everywhere, so...

Sam is just... so not Sammy. And Cas is acting pretty shady, too. Poor Dean has to manage them both.

Sam is lying to Dean about pretty much everything, because soulless. But the main thing he’s lying about is that he knows there’s something wrong with him. He’s largely staying away from Dean (separate cars, Dean had been trying to hold something together with Lisa up to this point, Sam’s actually PAYING for sex in direct contrast to 4.01 where he even joked with Dean (to cover up Ruby’s identity when he found them in a motel together) that he didn’t pay for it...

But now in s12 Sam DOES have his soul (thank freaking god, because yeesh), but he’s still keeping certain truths from Dean. His mission to lie about working for the MoL only lasted two weeks (and the span of a single episode) before Dean wheedled it out of him. Because Dean wasn’t worried about something inherently wrong with Sam himself this time (no demon blood, not soulless, so hey, we’re already one step ahead of s6 Dean...)

And then there’s Cas, who Dean hasn’t talked to in more than a year, because Cas booped out on him to handle the war in Heaven after Dean promised Sam he’d get out of hunting and live a normal life. *he watches Dean RAKE FUCKING LEAVES and is tempted away by Crowley ffs because he couldn’t make Dean break his promise to Sam*

*pauses to wail for five minutes*

Cas has compromised himself in so many ways, lying to Sam and Dean, having to stay away from them now, because it’s already been a year since he made his deal with Crowley, and there’s no going back for him now. I mean, what could Sam and Dean even do to help him battle Raphael and his loyal forces of Heaven? His “people skills” are “rusty” and in a lot of ways he’s reverted back to Warrior Of Heaven mode to even cope with the things he’s found himself having to do in the name of stopping Apocalypse Part Deux.

CASTIEL: Dean! If I get the name, I can work a ritual to track the angel down. DEAN: And I'm all for that. But come on. There's got to be another way. CASTIEL: There is no other way. DEAN: You're gonna torture a kid? CASTIEL: I can't care about that, Dean! I don't have the luxury.

All while Chilly Droid Sam watches on without a care.

D:

(Dean says he was expecting “more Dr. No, less Liberace” at Balthazar’s house, and first thing you see inside is a grand piano under a bunch of disco lights. I’m sure there’s no subtext there. >.>)

I think we’ve also talked over every angle of the Handprint vs the Mark on Aaron’s soul, so I’m not gonna even bother with it here... but Balthazar does say one thing relevant to Cas and Heaven now in s12:

CASTIEL: If we can beat Raphael, we can end this! Just give me the weapons. BALTHAZAR: [ Laughs. ] Do you know what's funny about you? You actually believe that you can stop the fighting. It will never stop. My advice -- grab something valuable and fake your own death.

Heck I think Cas really knows this and accepts it now. Every time he’s ever tried to show the angels another way, they’d rather run to their own destruction than stop to listen to reason or even consider another way...

CASTIEL : [ To a threatening ANGEL. ] You're making a mistake. Please. There is another way. Brother, please. I don't want to hurt you. The ANGEL advances on CASTIEL. CASTIEL throws his knife into the ANGEL's chest. The ANGEL screams and vacates the body. CASTIEL: Why won't any of you listen?

(have I mentioned why “I did what I had to do” is absolutely the worst thing anyone can say on this show?)

But as soon as Raphael and Balthazar are dealt with, Cas boops off without so much as a how-de-do.

And Dean confronts Sam about his questionable moral choices. Sam KNOWS there’s something seriously wrong with him, but he does his best to turn Dean’s suspicions right back around on him... and Dean KNOWS he’s not getting straight answers out of Sam, but he just doesn’t know WHY.

So much of the outward circumstances bear a horrifying surface-level resemblance to what’s going on in s12, but... I was complaining at Lizbob about the fact there’s just TOO MUCH to meta on, comparing 6.03 to 12.18, and where everyone stands right now... so here have my quick summary notes from the chattybubble:

yeah... Sam is lying to Dean about pretty much everything, Cas hasn't been around and isn't answering Sam and Dean's prayers for admittedly complicated reasons... (but back then Sam was soulless and Cas was responsible for that, and both of them were trying to avoid telling Dean about the Bigger Picture Plan) Sam with the Alphas and his mission with the Campbells, which he didn't know enough about to really give Dean any info about anyway... *at least the Crowley parts of it* And Cas was trying to avoid telling Dean about the truth of his plans to win the war in Heaven Because he'd been trying to keep Dean out of it from the start, and he's already in far too deep to back out now... It's all just a mess. But with Sam now in s12 keeping secrets from Dean about the MoL (even if he doesn't know enough about their full plans to really be useful to Dean) And Cas off in Heaven, not answering Dean's calls because he's trying to fix the problem without involving Dean... *SCREAMS FOR 84 YEARS*

But as similar as it is, they're all starting from very different points, which bodes well... or at least better...

Sam is in full possession of his soul and therefore a sense of human morality so yay

Cas has a FAR more “human” grounding in the world and isn’t resorting to shady desperate deals to stop the apocalypse

Cas isn’t even really working behind Dean’s back, they’re all truly working toward the same objective. He returned to heaven hoping to give them ALL an advantage in stopping Dagon and finding Kelly.

(which makes it all the more worrisome that Cas hasn’t been in touch now)

Dean is operating from a mindset where he knows Cas is “on their side” and he’s trying his damnedest to remember that Cas understands he’s part of their family and Dean’s hoping like hell that he’ll actually come back home. It’s an entirely different sort of worry than back in s6...

So much has happened between 6.03 and 12.18. EVERYTHING but the surface-level trappings are completely different now. The narrative demands a better ending...

(and this is why speculation is practically impossible, because everything under the surface is different now, and looking to the past for clues about The Future-- see what I did there? The Future is 12.19-- is practically impossible...