From this picture, we would assume that Dean passed out in the middle of a particularly kinky fling.
How did he get back? Did he and the woman have this soft-bondage fling in the room, without waking Sam up? Did Dean walk home from her place, fully dressed, bra and tie and flog around his head, only to pass out mere feet from the bed?
The last time we saw Dean hungover was “Beyond the Mat,” where he had to get drunk for case purposes and Sam was a total dick to him. In contrast, this time, Dean’s gotten drunk for fun, and Sam gives him a pitying look and lets him sleep in.
And then there’s breakfast.
When Sam gets back from the interview, it’s exactly in time to see Dean, in sunglasses, loading up on bacon. His favorite food, bacon.
Because as Dean knows, nothing treats a hangover better than a big pile of bacon.
Basically?
Dean’s being a massive faker, trying to pretend that everything is fine. He’s weirded out that Sam is mothering him, and so he’s determined to prove that he’s living the same great life as always.
He wasn’t nearly as drunk as he’s pretending to be. The flogger and the bra are plants. The alternative is that a woman decided to leave at least $40 worth of stuff with her random drunken fling.
This is a thing that women generally don’t do, and what’s more, the writers know they don’t do it. Once previously, they used a pile of discarded lingerie and clothing to imply that a massacre, not an orgy, had taken place.
That scene, like this one, requires the viewer to look deeper in order to see a truth that is much darker than what is originally implied.
Sam and Dean can track each other’s phones. Dean knew when Sam would be on his way back, and he timed it so that his brother would have front-row seats to the breakfast scene. Dean went out of his way to play up the contradictory states of 1. craving bacon and 2. being massively hungover from partying.
Dean says “whatever happened to you being nice to me” hoping that he’d worn out Sam’s patience and things would go back to normal. Instead, Sam pulls out a gift bottle of alcohol.
Dean instantly drops the pretense of being hungover. He takes off his glasses, doesn’t protest the volume of Sam’s voice, and starts working the case. He’s also eating his bacon as obnoxiously as possible- not because he’s hungover, but because he’s fucking with Sam.
Last night’s episode was so amazing. I knew I already loved Steve Yockey, but now he has completely
won me over. He is a great writer and he can stay. I wanted to talk
about that song choice at the end of the episode. (I wonder if it was all his writing, or how much TPTB were involved in choosing it? Either way, it’s just an A+ choice in my book.)
The song is Steppenwolf’s “It’s Never Too Late”. I turned on the subtitles, and got
some crappy screenshots for you guys. It’s about 40% gayer now. Oooh
boy. Here goes:
The song starts playing right after Dean has shared his feelings (what is that character development?! I am LIVING) – “I just need a damn win.” Poor baby 😥
As
the boys drive down the road the lyrics are timed so well. This is not a
mistake. Thirteen seasons in, the writers/editors/directors know
exactly what they are doing.
“You say you’ve only got one life to life. And when you’re dead you’re gone.”
Dean
just died. Again. (Just another Tuesday for him.) The lyrics speak to
that, and also fit the theme of death running throughout this episode
and this season. But that last line also echoes back to the paradox that
a Winchester never really stays dead. And what is Castiel? He is
a Winchester.
He is family.
They boys have said as much in past episodes. So the rules of death don’t apply to him either.
When Dean’s phone rings we don’t get to hear the caller, but we do get this line:
“You left us alone.”
Who left them alone recently? Mom and Cas, as Dean keeps reminding us.
And
then we LITERALLY GET A LIGHT SHINING ON DEAN’S FACE WHEN HE REALIZES
WHO IT IS. THIS SHOW ISN’T EVEN SUBTEXT ANYMORE WHAT EVEN?!
I also wanted to call out this beautiful imagery as the boys drive down
the alley. Further proof of who the call was from.
I love Jerry Wanek
with my entire gay ass.
“Tell me who’s to say after all is done, and you’re finally gone, you won’t be back again.”
I mean…Do I even need to expand on that? What a great line. To me it sounds hopeful. And the lyrics point to someone singing this line to another person – not to or about themselves. (Dean singing praying to Cas? Maybe…)
And then we get this beautiful cut to Castiel:
“It’s never too late to start all over again.”
Castiel is alive. He has escaped death again, like the Winchester he is. He has another chance to be with the ones he loves.
And who does the camera cut to?
Dean. Always Dean. 100% Dean. Forever Dean.
And that line is repeated as we see this shot of Dean. “It’s never too late to start all over again.”
It’s important that the line was repeated for both Cas AND Dean’s reactions. Cas and Dean have both ignored their feelings for each other over the years. Neither one brave enough to make the first move. Both of them afraid to face the pain of possibly being rejected, or facing their own feelings of low self-worth – that they don’t deserve the love they both so desperately want.
But now we are being shown that this is a new opportunity for them to be open and honest with each other about how they feel. They are finally coming together to be on the same page about their relationship, and what it means to both of them. They were both resurrected (within days? hours? idk timeline is hazy) to be with each other again. It’s not too late for them. They are both alive. Their story isn’t over yet.
This is their chance to finally come together! (heh)
The final shot of the episode, the raw emotion on Cas’ face when he sees Dean…
He’s so glad to see Dean again he almost cannot believe it is actually happening.
Wow. Fucking punch me in the face it would hurt less.
Side note: The last shots of the episode do not include Sam. They
could have given us a two-shot of both brothers standing by the Impala
seeing Cas again – but they didn’t. This is a moment just for Cas and
Dean.
Now of course, Castiel considers both brothers to be his family. He
loves both of them. But he loves each of them differently. The Show has
been telling us this since season 4. It has been used as a joke at times,
or it was merely hinted at. But now it is fully out in the open for
even the casual viewer to see. This is how you develop a relationship.
This is how you show that what we’re watching is a true love story.
IF THIS IS WHAT WE CAN EXPECT FROM SEASON 13 THEN HOLY CHUCK WE ARE ALL BLESSED AND I COULDN‘T BE MORE EXCITED
Tagging a few blogs who might enjoy this, under the cut
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