Tag: spn 8×17

I’m freaking about because I just read that “I love you” was an scripted line between Cas and Dean?! When that happened? :O

deanswingsbothways-deactivated2:

*Long, gusty sigh the likes of which hasn’t been heard since Metatron ended that sentence with, “…with humanity.”*

Okay here’s the short version:

During the crypt scene in Goodbye Stranger, Dean’s original line was supposed to be (and I paraphrase because I forget exactly where the line went in his speech), “We need you. We’re family. I love you.”

Jensen Ackles was like, “What the hell, Dean doesn’t say the l-word,” and the line got changed.

There was drama about it.

Personally, I have always come down solidly on Jensen’s side about this issue. The only person Dean has canonically said the l-word to is his mother. If he’s never managed to choke it out to Sam, there’s no way he’d say it to Cas.

Season eight was way too early in Dean’s arc to delve into Destiel (right now is still too early, too), there’s no way Dean would have said that in the way we would have interpreted it. He wasn’t there, emotionally. He’s only barely getting there now. So it would have been highly out of character for Dean to say it no matter how platonically he thought he meant it.

And since Jensen’s Dean-instincts also led to the trenchcoat thing, I tend to trust him and agree with him. Dean shows his love, he doesn’t tell it. The trenchcoat felt right, the “I love you” would have felt like queerbaiting since it would have been referring (at least in Dean’s head) to a familial kind of love.

To sum up: It was scripted, it got changed, I agreed with the change, we all moved on except for periodically reminding each other that it was supposed to happen and sighing with longing.

But not for the line as we would have been given it (I love you… like a brother), for the line as we would have written it (I love you… and want to touch your butt a little). 

crossroadscastiel:

8×17 // 9×18

Both Goodbye Stranger and Meta Fiction were written by Robbie Thompson, and directed by Thomas J. Wright. It’s no coincidence then that were were several common themes shared by these two episodes.

They were stark contrasts to one another in many ways, with Dean and Cas seemingly having switched places at this stage. In Goodbye Stranger, it is Cas who is being controlled by Naomi; in Meta Fiction, Dean is being changed by the Mark of Cain. In Goodbye Stranger, Cas leaves Dean standing in a crypt; in Meta Fiction, Dean leaves Cas standing in a parking lot.

Throughout season 8, and the first half of season 9, it was Dean who showed great concern for Cas and his wellbeing. Now, it is Cas who is showing great concern for Dean. They know each other so well, and they can sense when something is not right. Dean knew Cas wasn’t right when he got back from Purgatory, and Cas sensed right away that there was something different about Dean after seeing him for the first time since he took on the Mark of Cain.

Both episodes end with music being switched on, followed by somber car rides with Sam looking concerned after he knows Dean has had incredibly emotionally draining moments with Cas.

The song that plays at the end of Goodbye Stranger is the episode’s namesake:

Goodbye stranger it’s been nice
Hope you find your paradise
Tried to see your point of view
Hope your dreams will all come true
Goodbye Mary, Goodbye Jane
Will we ever meet again
Feel no sorrow, feel no shame
Come tomorrow, feel no pain

In Meta Fiction, the song The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore plays as the episode comes to a conclusion:

Loneliness is the coat you wear
A deep shade of blue is always there
The sun ain’t gonna shine anymore
The moon ain’t gonna rise in the sky
Tears are always clouding your eyes
When you’re without love

Both incredibly fitting songs, the first about a wayward lover, the second about deep abiding loneliness. It’s also interesting that the song playing in Meta Fiction contains the lyrics “I need you”, which as we all know is something Dean said to Cas in Goodbye Stranger. I know many of us have been wanting a reverse crypt scene, and I think last night we at least got part of one, in a way. Only this time, with a lot less violence, and far more love and concern on Cas’ part. Perhaps this is an indicator of things to come. Perhaps this is an indicator that the angel who knows Dean so well will be the one to break the connection next time.