#also this is the plot of 10x03

[shinelikethunder]

Hellooo i was intrigued by your "fucked up supernatural shit" posts so i binged the fucked up episodes you suggested and now I'm a supernatural fan, sadly. I still refuse to watch all of it so i would very much appreciate if you could recommend some more fucked up episodes, especially focused on sam-dean-john dynamics. Also I like your taste in fucked up stuff so if you have any other fandoms to recommend I'd also appreciate that

idk if you caught the reblog with the Sicko Cut Bonus Episodes but every suggestion in there is also a doozy; for a broader range of "sick shit and fucked-up family dynamics" episodes i'd expand it to (previously recced eps in parentheses):

season one: 1, (6), 9/10/11, 14/15/16, (18), and (20/21/22)

season two: (1)/2/3/4/5, (8), 10, 11, (14), and 20/21/22

season three: this is where my ability to pick favorites starts breaking down; s3 is kinda my fave of all the seasons, but for the overall vibe rather than particular standouts. it's only 16 episodes long, so watching it in full is more doable. but the fucky family shit is strongest in episodes 1, 2, 8, (10), 11, and 14/15/16.

season four: i regret to admit that just about every episode in this season is a straight fucking banger. like, the only two i'd be tempted to skip aren't even bad. but extra-special sicko shoutouts to episodes 1, (3), 9/10/11, 14, 16, 19, and 20.

on to the slimmer pickings...

season five: the first five are a fun time and the last two or three SLAP, but man, the handful of salvageable eps in the middle are buried in a minefield of ones i WANT to slap.

season six: look, i may not respect s6 or think it's good, but by GOD do i enjoy it. the WHOLE THING is the new showrunner's grody id-fic, but episodes 5 and 10 are on a special level of sick.

season seven: .....no.

ok, ok, MAYBE 1, 2, 11, 15, and 17. but this is where SPN starts getting truly wretched.

after that... 8x03 i guess, 9x07, 9x19, 10x03, 10x09, 11x04...

s11 i actually found pretty enjoyable, and everything from 11x09 through 11x14 starts serving GREAT grody id-fic vibes again. but bail out after 11x19 at latest, because the end of the season is. bad.

s12-15 have a couple of arc plots with sicko potential i guess? but in my head most of the episodes are an undifferentiated blob of Does Not Fuck.

there are also a handful of early-seasons eps that are softer and sadder that i love a lot: 1x03, 1x12, 2x13, 2x16... plus for "mixed bag but the fun parts are a total blast," 2x17, 3x06, and 3x12.

[causewhywouldnti]

My thoughts as I’m watching 24 seasons of law & order svu:

Season 10

Kathleen and Elliot are great together in 10x01. As hard as it is for Benson, I love that they show how Sealview is still affecting her. Ooh right in the nuts, deservedly so.

10x02 whether legally wrong or right, I think Elliot beating up the guy, who posted Elizabeth's picture online, was very understandable. Even Fin agrees with it.

10x03 makes me think that Stabler is the main character more than Benson. We do see a lot more of his private life than of anyone else’s. The hair in the old pictures of Elliot!!! You can also see the difference between Kathy and Olivia in handling Elliot. Kathy slaps him then puts him in the dog house, Olivia tells him she is disappointed and fixes it. Probably unfair, but it was just very glaring in this episode.

10x04, that wig is not a good look on Benson. Stabler fanboying over the austronaut and Benson entranced by it is just a really cute scene. Why would someone choose to go by the nickname of Dick? I mean, I didn't get Dickie either, but I assumed that’s just the nickname the parents gave him. So why would you choose Dick? I mean, Rick is right there! Olivia asking if she should invite Stabler on the date had me laughing out loud.

10x05, that doctor sounds like my coworkers sometimes. Freedom of speech is good and all, but at some point science has to prevail. How often can Elliot break something?!

10x06, Munch screaming conspiracy theories whilst walking down the street is awesome. Didn't need to get hit though. Tina in the episode is something else. Having to ask about what the "big" words mean but wanting to get pregnant.

10x07, Elliot is injured again. And Benson really did say "I'm his partner", like someone would say they'e his wife. Fin making fun of a rapper is funny though. Benson really shouldn't be lying to Kathy for Elliot. Stabler's hesitation before he ate the tiger meat is just funny. That was some quick thinking by Olivia (posing as a prostitute). Also, just how badly is the Stabler marriage doing at this point. He doesn't want to talk to her, and she is willing to leave him. Benson and Stabler's codependency is really showing this episode. Pretty sure, Elliot shouldn't be chasing someone the day after being shot (considering there's blood on his shirt afterward, I think I'm right on this one). At least he went back home afterward.

10x09, I like that Benson's PTSD came back into play.

10x10 Stabler was very fast to step in when Benson got slapped. And her calling him off, of course.

Love their interrogation tactic in 10x11.

10x12, Benson is looking good undercover. Fin walking the perp into the stairs because he threatened Benson, that's a good friend right there.

I can't really put my finger on it, but I'm not feeling like there's a rush on finding the little girl in 10x13. The pacing just seems slower than usually.

10x15, yay, Tucker is back… Stabler really doesn't like him, and it shows. The grainy image for the flashbacks is an interesting choice. Cabbot is back!!! The kid is so excited to help them when they are going after his father. Jim Harper trying to flirt with Benson is hilarious. Someone other than Stabler got hurt (Poor Huang).

10x16, so, I know how Stuckey ends. But his energy is quite fun. Especially Benson and Stabler's reaction to him.

10x17 why does Stabler say the Devil also goes by Ryan Seacrest? What did Seacrest do to him? And why did he go solo on arresting "the devil"? Did he really think that was a good idea?!?

10x20, that judge is very sketchy. Cragen is a savage, savoring Olivia being held in contempt. Huang as the defense attorney and Cragen as the "suspects" father had me laughing.

10x21, I don't think that's how you suffocate. Because if he really needed that much oxygen, you could hear it. And if he doesn't need that much oxygen, it takes a while until he would start having symptoms. I did not see that plot twist coming.

10x22, as terrible as Stuckey's arch is going to end, I just love his energy (not 3eps ago when he called the press though). I honestly believe the show could use someone like him to lighten up the stories every now and then. Stabler annoying O‘Halloran with Stuckey's catch phrasenis funny. And then Stabler goes to judge Donnelly's private home, and her reaction is everything. The arraignment was exactly the kind of chaotic energy that I'm enjoying. Stabler losing it on Stuckey when he compared a future vic to Benson. And Cragen totally agreeing with Stabler. Donnelly is just funny in this episode. Donnelly stops breathing, and they just stroll her down the aisle calmly, no attempts to revive her. O‘Halloran, noooo. Oh look, Elliot is getting injured again. Tiny mistake, but the blood on Stabler's shirt is very inconsistent. Did Benson really have to slap Stabler that hard? But they really are a great team! I'm going to miss O'Halloran...

Familiar faces: Michael McManus (One Tree Hill), James Brolin (Castle), Chris Elliott (HIMYM), Clea DuVall (Grey's), Brenda Blethyn (Pride & Prejudice 2005), Mike Farrell (NCIS), Frank Whaley (House), Michael Trucco (Demming on Castle), Christine Ebersole (Richie Rich), Aya Cash (The Newsroom), Aisha Hinds (9-1-1), Alex Kingston (Arrow), John Gallagher Jr. (The Newsroom), Laura Leigh Hughes (Rizzoli&Isles), Carol Burnett, Robert Klein (Two Weeks Notice), Jeri Ryan (Body of Proof), Hilary Duff, Mike Pniewski (Madam Secretary), Swoosie Kurtz (Overboard, 2018), Sprague Grayden (24), Nick Stahl (Body of Proof) and Carol Kane (The Bounty Hunter)

Favorite episodes: 10x03, 10x07, 10x11 and 10x22

Favorite lines:

"What the hell just happened?" "Maybe god remembered how cute you were as a carrot." - Stabler and Benson 10x03

"Sex is dangerous. I mean, at its core, it’s a power struggle between men and women." "Not if you're doing it right." - Suspect and Stabler 10x04

(After the suspect got a hard on) "…that’s not an objection you’re raising." - Greylek 10x10

"And I would like to see you castrated with a rusty steak knife. Neither are gonna happen, but we can both dream." - Benson 10x11

"I have rights." "You can have a toothbrush." - Suspect and Cabbot 10x21

"People, take your meds." - Donnelly 10x22

[incorrectcaryl]

Daryl: Truth or dare?

Carol: Truth.

Daryl: How many hours have you slept this week?

Carol: Dare.

Daryl: Go to sleep.

Carol: I don’t like this game

[enigmaticxbee]

✖️✖️✖️ 10x03 Mulder & Scully Meet the Were-Monster

The one where... as advertised Mulder & Scully meet… the Were-Monster.

Best: Mulder standing in a motel room in the middle of the night doing both sides of their argument because they’ve been doing this for over 20 years. Scully: Yeah, this is how I like my Mulder. Mulder: So you’re agreeing with me? Scully: No! You’re batcrap crazy! 🥰

Worst: So they’ll show a guy’s fantasy of fucking Scully against a wall, topless, but no Mulder and Scully kiss in the revival?? Of the very few times we see Scully in a sexual situation TWO (see also: 6x18 Milagro) are male fantasies - it’s ridiculous how blatantly she’s only allowed to be sexual when it’s serving a man’s story (exception: 4x13 Never Again; exception that proves the rule: the show only acknowledging Mulder and Scully sleeping together for pregnancy plot lines - see next season 😑). Ugh.

✔️ Flashlights

✔️ Woods

❌ Slideshow

✔️ Autopsy

✔️ Evidence Disappears

✔️ Scully Misses It

✔️ Mulder Ditch

❌ Sunflower Seeds

❌ Voiceover

✔️ Catch Phrase: Mulder (IWTB)

❌ Scully is a Medical Doctor

❌ Mulder is Spooky

✔️ Scuuullllaaaaayy! Muullllderrrr!

❌ Fox/Dana

✔️ Inappropriate Touching (that I am here for)

✔️ Casual Scully

✔️ Casual Mulder

❌ Trench Coats

❌ Bad Tie Watch

❌ Glasses Watch

✔️ Taking! It! Personally!: Mulder

50 States: Oregon x3 (44/50)

Investigate: Together & Apart

Solve Rate: 67%

❌ Bechdel Test: Witness is unnamed and all they talk about is the suspect.

MSR: 🐝🐝🐝🐝

Goriness: 👽👽👽

Creepiness: 👽👽

Humor: 👽👽👽👽

Rewatch Thoughts:

William check-in: No mention.

Break-up check-in: So why did we do this again? Literally nothing about this episode would need to change if they were together except maybe they’d be sharing a motel room. He’s hanging out in her motel room in the middle of the night anyways!

This is only the third episode set in Oregon - after the pilot and Requiem. First time back here since Mulder was abducted…

Hey stoner couple! Their third appearance on the show - first seen getting high in 3x12 War of the Coprophages, then licking frogs in 3x22 Quagmire. 20 years later and they’re still in pursuit of old highs, just like Mulder and Scully.

Their office looks so empty - feather that nest Mulder!

Mulder: I’m a middle aged man, Scully. No, I am, I am. She wasn’t disagreeing, Mulder 😂

Even more than during the original run you question what they’re doing back in the FBI if they’re not investigating the conspiracies that they need answers about. But this episode at least makes the case that Scully took this case for Mulder’s sake, to try to cheer him up. She’s being so encouraging - she just wants to investigate a monster case with her Mulder!

Darin Morgan loves making fun of Mulder 😂 - of course he would try to take a photo of the monster now that we carry cameras around in our pocket, of course middle aged Mulder would be completely inept at using said phone camera, and of course he would bug Scully with his blurry photos while she’s trying to do an autopsy and actually solve this case, it’s perfect. Meanwhile Scully is hyper competent the whole episode.

Scully: Mulder, the internet is not good for you.

That motel animal head peep corridor is so creepy 😬 - WTF, you’re not going to report him, Mulder?

Red speedo! Lol

I do wish we’d gotten Scully in Mulder’s Knick’s shirt though.

Rhys Darby is really good - the whole Guy Man backstory sequence wouldn’t work as well as it does without him.

Dagoo! So cute.

How do people feel about Mulder’s awkward conversation trying to explain what it means to be transgender?

I appreciate that Mulder didn’t for a second think Scully would sleep with that guy like that. No need for jealousy.

The Kim Manners grave stone - let’s kick it in the ass!

We barely ever see Mulder drink (in his motel room in 3x13 Syzygy, at the bar in FTF, a beer with Scully in 7x21 Je Souhaite are the ones that come to mind) let alone in the middle of the day, on a case. Guess he’s really going through it…

Of course Scully misses having a dog to love 🥺

Make a habit of stealing dogs from crime scenes Scully?

Scully flirtily tapping Mulder’s chest as she reminds him cheekily that she’s immortal.

The Were-Monster’s little skip as he runs off!

The comedy and callbacks in this episode feel a little forced and effort-full in a way that the comedy in the best original run episodes - in Darin Morgan’s episodes - did not. But I really do enjoy the episode, it’s fun and I’m glad for the levity in a season that’s otherwise a pretty big bummer - it’s the only episode I ever really want to rewatch from this season.

[radiant-reid]

hiiii!! i hope this isn't weird, but i love your blog so much and i wanted to ask, what are your favourite criminal minds episodes?

i love getting questions like this, and thank you so much ! here's my list:

Gabby 9x16 without a doubt, this is my number 1. i don't really know why but i loved the plot twists

Minimal Loss 4x03 the hostage stand-off plot was really well done, there was lots of emotion and some cute BAU family moments at the end

A Thousand Suns 10x03 i love this one because the plot is so unique and it was a really good episode

some of my other favs that i'm not going to rank because i'm too indecisive so they're chronological

lessons learned 2x10 seven seconds 3x5 amplification 4x24 JJ 6x02 the boys of sudworth place 10x08 lockdown 10x16 rock creek park 10x18 entropy 11x11

also, let my know what you think, friends <3

[ambiguousdisorderken]

in your expert opinion what are some of the most destiel-heavy episodes of spn? i stopped watching around season 7 and have no interest in engaging w the plot of the show at all but i’m in the mood for some gay yearning ykwim

Hi anon! Thank you for reaching out to me about this, I’m, no-joke, very flattered. I’d seen a couple posts on this same question, very thorough and detailed lists on Destiel-centric episodes, but at the moment I cannot find any of them, that would’ve answered your request much faster. So, in advance, sorry, my reply is probably coming in extremely late, but I did write this from scratch, so yeah.

Even though storylines in SPN can be very shitty and hollow, I do feel that to get the full Destiel experience -that long-drawn yearning- one would have to watch the entirety of the show, even if Cas isn’t in the episode or if there’s no explicit mention of their relationship/bond because it gives you a better understanding of them as characters and of how their relationship affects the narrative.

Now, you mentioned you stopped around S7, which is completely understandable and justified given the Dick plot game was very weak and, in my opinion, annoying (so little Cas!). I’m going to start listing from S7 in case you want to refresh your SPN before jumping straight into unseen episodes. Also, since you mentioned no interest in the plot and are specifically craving those sweet crumbs of gay yearning, I’ll skip most one-sided / too subtle episodes and cut to the chase.

Lastly, I hate spoiling things, but you’ve probably seen it all on Tumblr. I tried to keep the episodes’ descriptions short, as it might come in useful. Stuck to key words, quotes and/or little comments.

 Season 7

7x01 – Meet the New Boss: Godstiel, sincere apology. Cas: “I'm gonna find some way to redeem myself to you.”

7x02 – Hello, Cruel World: Mourning. Trench coat melancholy. The heart-wrenching eulogy: “Dumb son of a bitch.”

7x17 – The Born-Again Identity: Emmanuel!Cas, reunion, longing, hurt.

7x21 – Reading is Fundamental: Honey!Cas, hug, hurt, reunion, that painful SORRY (board game) scene.

7x23 – Survival of the Fittest: Honey!Cas, forgiveness, adorable, wified Cas. Dean hits us with: “Nobody cares that you're broken, Cas!" but also “I'd rather have you, cursed or not.”

Season 8 (this season is so good and Destiel is the driving motor of it, I swear. If you can, watch it complete.)

8x01 – We Need to Talk About Kevin: Dean in Purgatory looking for the angel.  Cas is referred to as “your [Dean’s] angel.”

8x02 – What’s Up, Tiger Mommy?: HUG!!!, Purgatory reunion, face touch, very romantic. Monster: “ You'll find your angel there.” //  Dean: “Let me bottom-line it for you. I'm not leaving here without you.”

8x05 – Blood Brother: Cas vs. Benny cat fight lol. Dean: “Cas... we're gonna shove your ass back through the eye of that needle if it kills all three of us.”

8x07 – A Little Slice of Kevin: Cas comes back from Purgatory, but before that Dean starts seeing him in places. Very tragic; hallucinating your dead significant other trope. Has That boner scene. Dean: “I did everything I could to get you out! EVERYTHING!” Cas helps Dean see what truly happened in Purgatory and not his self-altered memories. PACKED!

8x08 – Hunteri Heroici: Hilarious, romantic, intimate. Dean and Cas have an heart to heart. They actually communicate. Cas “I’ll watch over you.”

8x10 Torn and Frayed: They work a case together, and when I say heart eyes…

8x17 – Goodbye Stranger: THIS. EPISODE. Dean “I need you.”

8x19 – Taxi Driver: Separation. Naomi to Dean: "You're hoping Castiel will return to you. I admire your loyalty; I only wish he felt the same way."

8x22 – Clip Show: Lack of trust, hurt, tense interactions. Romantic too (basically, Cas gets Dean an apology basket).

8x23 – Sacrifice: Meaningful conversation and a gay couple hit by Cupid parallel. Dean “So this is it? E.T goes home?"

 Season 9

9x01 – I think I’m Gonna Like it Here: Dean prays to Cas IN.A.CHAPEL. Worry, longing, separation. Dean “Please, man, I need you here.”

9x03 – I’m No Angel: Human!Cas and jealous!Dean.

9x06 – Heaven Can’t Wait: Human!Cas TEXT-BOOK LONGING. GAY AS FUCK. Gazing, touching, they even TALK (for real).

9x09 – Holy Terror: Adorable Cas, flirty vibes, happyish, funny. Cas: “Cas is back in town!”

9x10 – Road Trip: Cas comforts Dean, Cas and Crowley bitching at each other, overall protective!Cas.

9x18 – Metafiction. Cas finds out about the Mark of Cain.

9x21 – King of the Damned: Hug, strong boyfriends vibes.

9x22 – Stairway to Heaven: Cas gives up an entire army, for Dean. Metatron about Cas “He's in love………………………. with humanity.”

9x23  – Do You Believe in Miracles?: At this point, it’s canon stated that Cas will do anything and lose everything if that means saving Dean. Metatron to Cas “You draped yourself in the flag of heaven, but ultimately, it was all about saving one human, right?”

 Season 10

10x01 – Black: Demon!Dean and sick/brokenhearted Cas in a slutty robe missing his man.

10x03 – Soul Survivor: ICONIC. Angel on Demon action! Cas turns down Hannah because he’s too gay and in love. Intimate Deancas talk.

10x05 – Fan Fiction: No Cas, but Destiel references. 

10x09 – The Things We Left Behind: That.Lunch.Date. Deancas introduction to co-parenting.

10x14 – The Executioner’s Song: We get Daddy Murder aka Cain. This is a Pivotal episode to understand Dean’s character development. Plus, it has Deancas interactions.

10x16 – Paint It Black: No Cas, but Dean opens up in confessionary; repressed BISEXUAL AS FUCK.

10x18 – Book of the Damned: Charlie meets Cas. Gay energies everywhere. Cute domestic little scene.

10x20 – Angel Heart: PARENTING! Essential to understand Cas from this point forward.

10x22 – The Prisoner: Just… just watch it. One of THEE Destiel episodes.

10x23 – Brother’s Keeper: No Deancas interactions but it’s the finale, and I recommend watching it because next season takes off literally right from here. No time jumps.

 Season 11

11x02 – Form and Void: Could skip to the very end which is when Cas comes back.

11x03 – The Bad Seed: Cursed!Cas. Dean takes care of him, even wraps him in a blanket. He also cradles his face. Extreme Hurt/Comfort. Jacting joices rejoice.

11x10 – The Devil in the Details: Could skip but has Casifer in it. Interesting to see his dynamic with Dean.

11x18 – Hell’s Angel: Casifer. Dean "It? It's not an it, Sam, it's Cas!"

11x23 – Alpha and Omega: Huggg! Cas willing to go on a guaranteed suicide mission with Dean. Very tender and sad.

 Season 12

12x02 – Keep Calm and Carry On: ANOTHER HUG! Dean presents his boyfriend to his mom<3 Soft and romantic.

12x09 – First Blood: Reunion hug<3, Cas pining… as in he counts his every minute without Dean.

12x10 – Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets: Direct parallel with canon couple. Crystal-clear mutual affection. One of the best. Angel Ishim to Cas about Dean “I'm gonna help you. I'm gonna cure you of your human weakness same way I cured my own… by cutting it out.”

12x12 – Stuck in the Middle with You: A dying Cas confesses his love. “I love you. I love all of you.”

12x19 – The Future: We find out Dean gave Cas a MIXTAPE!!! Very romantic and full of yearning, also worry and what could be seen as a betrayal (ish…).

12x23 – All Along the Watch Tower: Hands down, one of the most distressing Destiel episodes. Cas dies.

 Season 13

13x01 – Lost and Found: This is the worst because you have Dean trying to assimilate Cas’ death. Core of Dean’s widow’s arc. Jack introduction, that’s their new kid.

13x02 – The Rising Son: Widow’s arc (you could skip it, but why would you?).

13x03 – Patience: Widow’s arc (you could skip it, but why would you?). Dean to Sam “He manipulated him, he made him promises, said, ‘paradise on earth’ and Cas bought it and you know what that got him? It got him dead! Now you might be able to forget about that, but I can’t!”

13x04 – The Big Empty: Continuation of widow’s arc and Cas wakes up in the Empty. The Empty to Cas: "I know who you love. There's nothing for you back there." // Dean to Sam “I need you to keep the faith, for both of us. ‘Cause right now, I… Right now, I don’t believe in a damn thing.”

13x05 – Advanced Thanatology: Suicidal and hopeless Dean gets his win. Cas comes back. Gives me the chills.

13x06 – Tombstone: COWBOY BOYFRIENDS!

13x14 – Good Intentions: Happy and fun Destiel scene. So Very Married.

13x23 – Let The Good Times Roll: Season finale, Dean talks about retiring (plans include Cas of course) and just very nice to see them interact.

Season 14

14x03 – The Scar: Reunion.

14x08 – Byzantium: Deanand Cas dealing with their child’s death, then bringing him back by Cas making a deal with the Empty. IMPORTANT EPISODE.

14x09 – The Spear: Cas uses the royal We – married behavior.

14x10 – Nihilism: Dean is stuck in his own mind, and Cas and Sam try to bring him back. Cas “Please, you have to -- you have to try to remember, because the people in your life -- in your real life, out there -- we need you to come back.”

14x12 – Prophet and Loss: Dean gets his very own Dr. Sexy, aka Dr. Cas.

14x14 – Ouroboros: Basically another date (their kid tags along) and They TALK. Very intimate and established marriage vibes.

14x18 – Absence: Shits starts to go south. [ Dean: “Who cares what Jack said? We don't know what happened! But I swear, if he did something to her, if she is -- (points to Castiel) Then you're dead to me. (Castiel looks crushed after Dean says that).]

14x20 – Moriah: Tense and very upsetting. Relationship very damaged.

 Season 15 (I would advise watching the entire season because it relies heavily on Destiel. They’re the heart and the emotional motor leading the plot onwards.)

15x01 – Back and To The Future: Deancas’ in the aftermath of their kid’s death. Tension gets worse.

15x02 – Raising Hell: Tension rises, this is very intense. Cas “Dean. You asked, "What about all of this is real?" We are.”

15x03 – The Rupture: Breaking point ends in divorce.

15x06 – Golden Time: Painful phone call which speaks volumes about the current state of their relationship at the time. Also, good to see where they’re standing and how they’re coping.

15x08 – Our Father Who Aren’t in Heaven: Strained relationship so obvious they’re offered couples’ therapy.

15x09 – The Trap: MASTERPIECE. Back to Purgatory. Can (and is) taken as Dean’s love confession (because it is). 

15x12 – Galaxy Brain: So married. Little domestic date, you can see LOVE written in their faces.

15x13 – Destiny’s Child: AU!Dean and Sam. Not a yearning episode per se, but AU!Dean? SO GAY.

15x17 – Unity: God reveals that the only act of free will in any universe he ever created has been Cas choosing Dean.

15x18 – Despair: Cas confesses his love to Dean.

[spneveryseason]

Results of the Ultimate Supernatural Survey (Part 4 of 5): Favorite and Least Favorite Season Ten, Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen Episodes

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

We’re at the penultimate stretch now!

Season Ten

This one is pretty split, but 10x05 Fan Fiction won out followed by 10x23 Brother’s Keeper, then 10x03 Soul Survivor.

Fan Fiction is the 200th episode and basically dedicated itself to the fans, which makes it very appealing to a lot of people. It’s also very self-referential, which people seem to like. Brother’s Keeper is a very intense finale, and some people are big fans of that final confrontation in the episode. Finally, Soul Survivor deals with Demon Dean running around the Bunker trying to kill Sam, which some also like for various reasons.

For least favorites, 10x21 Dark Dynasty took the top spot, followed by 10x05 Fan Fiction.

Unsurprisingly, Dark Dynasty is the least favorite episode in this season. It’s infamous for being the episode where Charlie died, and she was very much a fan favorite character. Next, maybe surprising based on the previous data, is Fan Fiction. As many people who like the humor and self referential nature, others really hate it and find it trite, cringey, and unfunny. This is definitely an episode that is contentious and inspires some strong emotions either way.

Season Eleven

Two episodes completely dominate the season: 11x04 Baby, followed by 11x17 Red Meat.

This season is well known for having several really well constructed standalone episodes, the most popular of which are the ones mentioned here. Baby in particular is considered to be a really well constructed and structurally fresh episode, and is seen as an objectively good episode of television. Red Meat is also much loved, but in a very different way: it takes classic hurt/comfort and thriller story tropes and runs with them, creating a really entertaining and satisfying episode.

The least favorites were much more contentious than the favorites, and 11x19 The Chitters ultimately won, followed by 11x23 Alpha and Omega, 11x05 Thin Lizzie, 11x15 Beyond The Mat, 11x20 Don’t Call Me Shirley, and 11x07 Plush.

The Chitters taking top spot here is, to be honest with you, a bit of a surprise. I was under the impression that it was a fairly standard episode. Perhaps because the brothers split their screen time with Cesar and Jesse? In any case, fans do not seem to like this episode much. Alpha and Omega, however, is not well loved for a convoluted and underwhelming conclusion to the season. Thin Lizzie, Plush, and Beyond the Mat seem like generic case episodes that may not be popular, while 11x20 may have gotten some people upset with the reintroduction of Chuck.

Here are your comments:

Into the mystic is my least favorite not cause of Eileen but bc I have Traumas relating to some of the stuff in that ep

Season Twelve

A runaway winner here with 12x11 Regarding Dean, followed by 12x10 Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets and then 12x04 American Nightmare.

These are largely agreed to be the top quality episodes that this season had to offer. Regarding Dean is much loved as a Dean character study and a look into his personality and sense of self removed from his history. 12x10 is very popular with fans of Cas and other angels, as it expands on his history and offers insights into angel lore. Finally, American Nightmare is well loved by Sam fans as an exploration of his past and his compassion as well.

The least favorite of this season is 12x17 The British Invasion, followed by 12x08 LOTUS and then 12x21 There’s Something About Mary.

There’s a clear through line with the least popular eps of this season: overarching plot. Each episode represents a plot element that is largely disliked, and it isn’t surprising these three episodes landed in the bottom. Firstly, 12x17 is a heavy BMOL episode, which is among the least popular storylines in show. Second is LOTUS, which introduces some of the more…ridiculous storylines on the show (the President??). Third is 12x21 with its focus on Mary, and a lot of people had a problem with the way her storyline was handled.

Here are your comments:

Bmol was bad

I miss what the show used to be and mourn for what it could've been. Sam's addiction wasn't handled at all and I will take it personally. I grew up with the show since s2 but stopped watching at season 12. I used to really like Dean but after a while Sam's autonomy just kept getting ignored and they didn't feel like brothers anymore. It started feeling like family that stayed together because they were being forced to, not because they wanted to. And Dean wasn't the character I loved anymore, he became some white american male macho fantasy that no longer tried to develop as a self aware person. Dean started feeling flat and Sam felt like a victim without a voice.

I didn’t watch s12+

Season Thirteen

The winner here is 13x16 Scoobynatural, followed by 13x06 Tombstone, 13x10 Wayward Sisters, and then 13x21 Beat the Devil.

There’s quite the range of episodes here, which I think reflects the general tone of the season pretty well. First off is a Classic Supernatural Funny TM episode with Scoobynatural, which was liked for its crossover with a well loved show as well as its ridiculous nature. Next is Tombstone, which is well loved by Destiel fans (this is apparently a controversial statement!), while Wayward Sisters has quite a significant following of its own. Beat the Devil tends to be popular with Sam fans, especially those who find his interactions with Lucifer fascinating.

Now to a bit of a twist: the least liked episode this season is 13x10 Wayward Sisters, followed by 13x23 Let the Good Times Roll.

Whilst Wayward Sisters is greatly loved by some fans, others really dislike it, mainly because they either dislike the characters themselves or they don’t like episodes that focus on characters that are not the protagonists. In any case, people seem to either love this episode or hate it. As for 13x23, the ending is…notorious for running the tension of the moment with some choice stunt work. It’s unsurprising that this found its way to the bottom.

Here are your comments:

I haven't watched past 13 x 02 so the last few aren't as concrete as the rest

If you have any questions about any details of these parts specifically let me know!

Next part is going to be episodes from season 14-season 15, and then favorite and least favorite episodes of all time! Keep an eye out

Part 5

[antigonewinchester]

The Mark & Hell, part 1

(Previous posts: Intro post; Dean & Hell, season 4.)

Now, I’m finally getting to how Dean’s time in Hell is threaded through the actual Mark of Cain arc. There’ll be several posts in this section, so I’m splitting them up into small parts for a bit more accessibility. This post covers the plot and mythological / lore connections between the Mark, demons, and Hell.

In 09x11, “First Born,” it’s Crowley, a demon, who tells Dean about the First Blade and encourages him to go looking for it so Dean can kill Abaddon (herself another demon). Crowley leads Dean to Cain, who isn’t just a demon but a Knight of Hell, “… the deadliest demon to walk the face of the earth. Killed thousands. The best at being the worst.” It’s then Cain who gives Dean the Mark.

At the end of season 9, the Mark brings Dean back to life as a demonic Knight of Hell himself. Dean unleashes some general havoc – getting drunk at bars, singing bad karaoke, hurting or killing people he doesn’t like – before Sam and Cas are able to cure him of his “demonization,” turning him back into a human with a human soul in 10x03, “Soul Survivor.”

Carver as showrunner was clear that demon!Dean was intended to be Dean, even if his soul was twisted by the Mark, as he talks about in this TVLine interview:

TVLINE | Dean as a demon, how is that different from Dean just being possessed by a demon temporarily? What is he like? Dean is not possessed by anything. It’s his own soul that’s been twisted into a demon soul, so this demon is not anyone other than Dean. So every thought, every action, that’s Dean, as opposed to some other demon possessing him. So while he’s a demon, that causes some complication of thought in him in that, “This is really me doing it.” It also motivates a certain bravado. “Yeah, this is me doing and owning it!” There’s a real period for Dean of deciding how dark he’s going to be and what kind of demon he’s going to be, because he can’t blame it on anyone else but himself. And then afterwards is when it will have the most effect on him because it was him. It was his actions that led him to becoming a demon. He pushed it with the Mark. He pushed Sammy away at the end of last season. He said, “I can do this by myself.” So there’s a certain consequence to all this that is almost more interesting to us than the actual demon part.

Framing-wise, this description paints Demon!Dean quite metaphorically, as Dean’s demonic change revealing a hidden side (his resentments towards Sam, for instance, or his lashing out when people insult him). I’ll also note that Carver’s emphasizes Dean’s responsibility in this situation. And Dean definitely took on the Mark without asking the consequences and then spiraled down the rest of the season, which led to him becoming a demon even if he didn’t know that would be his ultimate end. However, I do read Dean pushing Sam away as a bit more protective than perhaps Carver does, with Dean misdirecting before he went to fight Abaddon / Metatron as about him not wanting Sam to be hurt or even killed in those fights. Considering that Metatron did end up killing Dean, even with Dean having the Mark/First Blade powers, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say Dean’s intuition that his fights with Abaddon and Metatron would get very ugly was pretty spot on. But maybe Sam and Dean could have taken Metatron together, with neither of them being killed, if Dean hadn’t prevented Sam from joining him. There’s definitely a “I have to / I need to this alone” with Dean’s attitude, which the show always frames as something bad or misguided. I also see that aspect as riffing on the idea of Sam and Dean keeping each other human (Dean sending Sam away so he can fully embrace that killer side of himself, which is especially clear in the Abaddon fight).

The one minor aspect Carver’s framing leaves out is Crowley’s role in Dean becoming a demon: the last scene of 09x23, “Do You Believe in Miracles,” heavily implies that it wasn’t until Crowley put the First Blade into Dean’s hand that the Mark reacted and revived him in as a demon, which would make Crowley instrumental in Dean’s demonic resurrection. Dean’s actions did lead him to that situation, but Crowley then resurrected Dean as a demon without Dean’s knowledge or consent, too.

During the rest of season 10, Dean’s struggles with the Mark are then connected to his having been a demon, with this aspect actually briefly touched upon in the same interview (emphasis mine):

TVLINE | You’ve had instances where the boys were possessed, but now Dean’s fully a demon. What made you decided now was the time to pull the trigger and go down that avenue? Dean being a demon here ties into a deeper mythology in the show, that being the Mark of Cain and Cain. That’s really one of the places we started to get the idea. The show has made a point of saying how rooted these brothers are in, frankly, the mythology of the world, and to find another anchor that was literally around at the beginning of time made us feel like… It wasn’t so much the spectacular effect or whatever of Dean being a demon. It’s more just rooting him in something more final, something that will not necessarily totally go away even when/if he’s converted back from demonism.

Several explicit references to Dean’s time as a demon, as well as his time in Hell, occur over the season. In 10x09, “The Things We Left Behind,” Dean flashes back to his time as demon!Dean, as well as his receiving the Mark and killing Magnus with the first blade, right before he kills the loan sharks. 10x17, “Inside Man,” begins with with Dean having a nightmare about his past violence and yelling for Sam in his sleep. One of Dean’s screams is the same audio cue from the end of 3x16, “No Rest for the Wicked,” when Dean woke up in Hell and cried out for Sam.

There’s also a repeated image of Dean looking at himself in mirrors in season 9 and 10, a visual symbol of Dean’s questioning his sense of self as connected to his corruption by the Mark. This visual image first occurs in 04x01, “Lazarus Rising,” with Dean carefully looking at his eyes in a bathroom mirror while flashing back to his time in Hell. While Dean’s eyes are mostly human in those flashbacks, there is one cut where Dean’s eyes are briefly demon black, implying that Dean was on his way to becoming a demon when he’d been in Hell. (A similar example, non-demon but still monster-related, is in 06x05, “Live Free or Twi-Hard,” where Dean looks at himself and his new vampire teeth in a bathroom mirror.) In 09x23, after Dean has attacked Gadreel and Sam and Cas have locked him for everyone’s safety, Dean coughs up blood and looks at his face in a small mirror in a cabinet he finds in the room. He’s clearly worried about the Mark and how it’s affecting him. In 10x10, after his Mark-influenced massacre at the end of 10x09, Dean looks at his reflection in a cracked mirror. The visual metaphor is obvious: being overtaken by the Mark and killing all those people has cracked Dean’s sense of a heroic self. In 10x17, Dean again goes to a bathroom and sees his eyes flash demonic black in the mirror, with Dean being surprised and upset to see so.

The Dean and mirror imagery culminates in 10x23, “Brother’s Keeper”. From the transcript, emphasis mine:

Scene opens on the exterior of the motel at night. ‘MOTEL’ is lighted in red letters on the outside. Cut to Dean’s hands as he washes them in the bathroom sink. He looks in the mirror and sees his reflection. When he looks again he sees Castiel, face all bloody. Dean looks away, troubled or maybe scared. He continues to wash his hands. He looks up again and sees Rudy in the mirror reflection. He washes his hands more vigorously and looks away, visibly upset. He punches the mirror, slams the phone off the wall throws the TV to the floor and proceeds to thoroughly trash the motel room. When he is done he is breathing heavy and looks anguished.

This time, Dean doesn’t need to see demon eyes, because he’s already become monstrous enough as a human: he horribly beat up Cas at the end of 10x22, “The Prisoner,” and then he caused Rudy’s death in 10x23 by not negotiating with the vampire and instead egging him on, so the vamp killed Ruby and Dean then easily swooped in to kill the vamp himself. Dean still has enough humanity to feel ashamed of what he’s done, as shown through his guilty washing of his hands and then his smashing up of the motel room, Dean trying and failing to deal with his anger, frustration, and shame.

Finally, the whole of 10x22 is very evocative of Dean’s time in Hell. The Styne family worked with the Nazis, just as Alastair did. Cyrus’s situation parallels what Dean faced in Hell: Cyrus’s father coerces him into torturing and killing the kid who bullied him by threatening Cyrus with torture and death if he didn’t, just as Dean was faced with Alastair’s torture in Hell and then his offer to make it stop if Dean became a torturer himself. When Dean is later trapped by the Stynes and tells them he can’t die, they get excited, seeing him as a “perfect lab rat” who they can keep experimenting on without him dying, calling to mind Dean being continuously tortured in Hell without being able to die. When Dean escapes from the Stynes’s house after murdering everyone there, escaping from a metaphorical Hell, he returns home almost totally lost to the Mark, killing all the Styes trashing the Bunker, even Cyrus. And Cas isn’t able to save Dean from 'Hell’ this time, as Cas’s pleading with Dean to stop does not work and Dean pretty brutally attacks Cas before leaving.

[elizabethrobertajones]

Hello there. I have a question (more like a thesis): What would have happened if Cas told the Truth anywhere between season 7 and 15? Do you think it would have had the same impact on Dean? Logically speaking Cas could have told him anytime.

Oh gosh, yes. I mean Dean’s reaction in season 15 is still the best it could have been really :P He was in the best place and most accepting of himself and he still had a BSOD for a moment and then Cas had to shove him away so he could go die... (Assuming you take the on screen boring presentation of what happened as canon and not throw in the reciprocation, tears, pull in for a kiss, etc that we know exists either in our hearts or on Jackles’ phone.)

I’ve been thinking about this and the parameters we’d have to apply if we were gonna get something like the show being self-healing back to its self as we know it but we were allowed a confession. Also the show has to be as punishing as ever. So these are my personal theses on each season... 

Season 7 the confession would have to be after Cas comes back, and everything in 7x17 that looked like Dean was jealous of Daphne and Meg textually was meant to be read that way in the set up for the confession. To make it the most painful obviously we still get Cas exactly as he was all through to the end of the season and he never really says anything too different but then right when they’re having the “cursed or not” discussion he’d bust out of nowhere that he supposes it is inevitable Dean would talk him into going on this dangerous mission to get Dick because obviously Cas loves him. And Dean, who is in a weirdly zen sort of place in the remaining minutes of season 7 after Bobby’s send off and final words that helped him go make up with Cas, is in a similarly season 15 oddly okay spot, mental health wise. At least. COMPARED TO ALL THE REST OF SEASON 7. But I still personally have always read it as a genuinely good place for him that could have endured much longer if not for *gestures everything that happened after stabbing Dick* and obviously making up with Cas was step one and a huge part of his process. 

(idk if you’ve noticed but 7x23 pretty much has no Sam and Dean interaction after Bobby’s send off, and their last good broments are really scarce; it feels sort of natural for abrupt calamity and no time for teary farewells in a season with a strong commentary on grief, which also hyperfocuses the attention on Dean n Cas there.)

So I think Dean would maybe be stunned but maybe quirk a sceptical smile like “He can’t mean it like that and anyway he’s currently coo-coo, this doesn’t mean anything hahaha oh Cas :)))” and then idk shake his head and move the story on and Cas just turns one longing look after him like “dammit that didn’t work out like planned” 

Anyway then the exact plot beats of 7x23 follow, exactly as seen on your screens, but we’re left going into season 8 and Carver era with Dean far far more messed up about Cas and it can force clarification in 8x02 in Purgatory where Cas is entirely adamant he meant what he meant and furious at Dean for being mad at him and Dean’s mad at Cas for all the season 8 reasons so they continue angsting at each other but Benny’s reaction shots are just 10x funnier. This is followed by Dean’s reciprocation of “I love you” instead of “I need you” in the crypt scene in 8x17 and from there honestly it’s been built up into canon in such a way that the emotional arc of the show has to go off the wheels and I can’t keep to the self-healing model to continue following the “real” plot and contain this much raw power.

Coincidentally, if the first confession is in season 8, it would be “what broke the connection” after a season 8 where nothing was different up until that point. Cas flaps off while Dean is still processing that the answer was “You. I love you.” and Dean is left yelling at the empty crypt like “What the hell, Cas?!” 

Then he’s as mad at him as he was in canon except instead of being borderline a really bad overreaction into his anger phase which we have to weather as miserable fans tethered to this ship who know sometimes Dean gets mad and yells at Cas for no reason, he’s reacting proportionately. It’s always seemed like 8x22 only makes sense if Dean is furious at Cas for confessing and fleeing except, obviously, in our “”real”” canon, it can only be like Cas confessed and Dean took it that way and also felt embarrassed how far he went with his own feelings only for Cas to run. 

This would make the bar scene with the cupids in 8x23 make a lot more sense too, and after they get the cupid bow Dean’s going to turn to Cas and give him a nervous smile, and then - Naomi flaps in like she does and distracts them away from reciprocation. 

I think this one could go long - maybe even season 13 Cas being dead and Dean being like “FUCK I never got a chance to work things out with him” and 13x06 onwards is where we get any actual work on the ship, because Carver era was so determined to be emotionally gruelling and unsatisfying and relentless from one issue to the next. And the confessions are so bound up specifically in the moments of miscommunication or failed attempts, cut off conversations etc that whether Destiel is canon or not, they’re never gonna get to talk it out under those conditions. Cas is only explicitly the grieving wife and jealous ex to Crowley’s smug take over of Dean’s affections rather than subtextually. 

The season 9 confession... I feel like we’d come perilously close to the Monkey Paw curse we once envisioned of Buckleming making it canon because they love jumping the gun on plot points and making them too obvious. So the end of 9x03, Cas is really blatantly angling to come in with a big “Hey I’m human can I live in the Bunker look at me I learned to do The Sex can we do it now” kind of vibe. All the enthusiasm he was giving to eating that burrito in the background while “Zeke” was trying to get him kicked out, but with lusting over Dean :P 

If we avoid that we can leap to Mr Bobo Berens and his first episode, and have this thing handled by a pro, as it’s already very much about Cas as a homeless queer man with a bad ex he still loves rolling into town where he’s just trying to make a new life and play straight - I mean human - for his own survival. I suspect the confrontation with Iphraim would make it really obvious that Cas didn’t just want to live as a human but had an eye for living as a human with Dean, and then he’d attempt a confession right before Dean would accidentally talk over, like, the L in “love” honestly, to tell him that sorry things do still stand that you can’t come back with me. Leaves Cas utterly devastated but Dean is none the wiser and he drives off and Cas pines piningly at the pine trees in his Gas n Sip. 

Again the end of season probably would force the real confession, since there’s a ready made moment in 9x22 where Hannah tries to force Cas to kill Dean and he gives it all up for one man. Cas can just lower that knife and be like, “No, I love him,” talking to his shoes and Hannah rather than meeting Dean’s eyes. Mark of Cain Dean is fuuuucked up at that point but we still get the moment where Dean carries Cas’s bag into the bunker and sits down with him and tries to care about his health and now also this confession. Sussing out what the heck is up with Cas, and maybe he looks like he’s playing it cool and is still so messed up but Cas is vulnerable, and finally Dean starts to reach across the library table for his hand, and it’s a moment where maybe things could have started to go better for them...... Cue Gadreel walking into the library, Dean going feral, blah blah demon!Dean, blah blah explicitly stated Drowley, blah blah muuuch healing and Cas giving Dean a wide berth for a lil while. Though, in this scenario, 10x22 is far worse but has the reverse crypt scene moment, so Dean can be more obviously unable to kill Cas because he loves him, and then he walks out, followed by season 11 and Cas being returned to them. Unfortunately. Yep. Another finger curls on the Monkey Paw... 11x03 by Buckleming would absolutely be where Destiel goes undeniably canon as it is their first real interactions post Mark of Cain. Our only consolation - directed by Jensen Ackles.

Season 10 confession, hm. Poor Cas. He has the option of 10x03, of confessing and then immediately apologising and walking off to handle stuff with Hannah (thanks Buckleming!) or the Burger Date, where Dean may be slightly less stunned stupid but still likely to laugh it off and not believe it. There’s not much heavy tension between them most of the season so it’s possible that the only time Cas would really get is to confess in 10x22 while telling Dean that he would have to watch him murder the world, and that would suck because I love you. At which point the story dictates that Dean beats Cas to paste so it’s a very bad look. Season 10 destiel confession is the worst. 

Season 11 may be better because Cas has options to be jealous of Crowley and Dean’s connection to Amara multiple times and then Casifer happens and that can really play up things in a season where a confession is coming. 

I think the Beer Run in 11x23 might be the only viable place, where Dean grabs Cas and takes him out for that drive for last drinks before the end of the world. Cas gets the “you’re our brother” thing and just lays into Dean with the certainty of someone who knows this is it - now or nothing - with “You know that’s crap, Dean. You wait until the end of the world and you can’t even say it. Well I can; I love you.” 

Cue awkward tension, well-placed interrupting Moose, and then the world very much not ending so that when Dean n Cas hug and kiss in front of Mary in 12x01. Well. There’s even more explaining to do to her. Since we’ve made it to Dabb era, I believe any confessions from this point onwards can just slot into the show as we got it from there since it’s entirely compatible to start season 12 assuming Dean n Cas are literally married and never be contradicted by the text in their behaviour. But since we’ve had canon Destiel since whenever, obviously the final episodes are good instead of. That.

Season 12... Going to have to go with the first sniff of true canon coming in Lily Sunder with just a few lines leaning even further in the Cas’s Angel Family Are Homophobic Assholes metaphor, leaving Cas’s relationship with Dean even more live wire exposed. Followed by The Mixtape Scene where Cas is going to confess to Dean and get him startled up out of his seat, accidentally knocking the mixtape to the floor and for a moment it’s like, did he throw it is he mad? but then he’s smooching Cas, fade to black, return to scheduled programming but the whole line about Cas stealing the Colt from under Dean’s pillow makes fuckin sense, as well as the fall out argument and how mad Dean was at Cas followed by how devastated he was at Cas’s death. This just means Dabb era continues as planned except we get a kiss in 13x06 under that big glowy cross, and some more smooching here and there when things are good from then on. 

Season 13... Hm. Cas has to do the confessing and I don’t think he’d throw that at Dean on return from death so unlike if Dean was the one who was being made to confess obviously the aforementioned glowy cross scene obviously would be it for him... Cas could keep that bottled up much longer, especially as he has so much to do with Jack this season. It’s entirely possible we go through the whole season and then Cas lobs it at Dean as a final card when he’s making his Michael decision and we actually see the scene that we didn’t get, where Cas has to watch Dean getting possessed. Except Dean is like, tearful and furious like why would you tell me that now, and anyway i’m doing this for you as well dumbass but fuck you but also how dare you anyway I need to be an archangel now and save our - your - son, bye. Cue Cas sitting there not just in total horror at what happened but also kicking himself for fucking up the moment :P I guess this way at least we can have that moment where Dean is un-Michaeled and tells Cas he’s going to shower and finger guns at him, and now we can have Cas wordlessly and furiously follow him. 

Season 14, we get Cas at Rocky’s bar confessing to Dean while figment!Pamela cheers the whole thing on. If there was EVER a time to use the power of love to snap Dean out of it, Cas upsetting his cosy routine with “this isn’t real, I’M NOT HERE IN YOUR FANTASY” is absolutely the time to pull a reverse crypt scene which has such low stakes in terms of neither of them needing to punch each other when Michael is an external aggressor.

My ONLY issue with this is that Sam has to witness the whole thing and we would get reaction shots and I am a weak mortal who will start cackling at them when I’m supposed to be having the transcendent moment of canon and the whole thing would be ruined just because of the way Jared gurns when doing reactions to dean n cas interacting. Wow thanks. Thanks a lot. 

[laora-inn]

Supernatural - Does Dean keep Cas’s photo in 12x02? A bit on Mary’s significance

Hi, guys. 

Currently writing a meta about Destiel and pies, I re-watched 12x02 and noticed something UNUSUAL at the end of episode. Now I can remember this was also bothering me while watching for the first time but I’d just filtered it. The 25th frame effect you know. 

Strange thing, I didn’t analyze it and didn’t even read meta about it. I checked out and found this amazing post written by @charlie-minion. I’m totally agree with it, but also want to speculate about something more.

Now let me clarify :)

12x02 is an episode where Mary, Dean and Cas save Sam from Toni (BMoL). Mary tries to find her place in the bunker, with her new family, and Sam brings her John’s journal to read. Mary opens it, looks at John’s photo where he is a soldier (we saw this photo in journal in 1x09) and then discovers another one. This:

We saw this photo before. When? In 5x04! In the End!Universe, when Cas was a human and a junkie. This photo was important to the plot. When Dean came to Bobby’s house in the End!Universe he found this picture in a secret place, saw the camp title on it, saw Cas and Bobby in it and went there. I took some screen-caps from 5x04 to prove my point:

We never knew what Dean’d done with this photo after. It wasn’t important, to tell the truth. 

And now Mary discovers it in John’s journal. 

At first you can say it’s a mistake of the crew. John is a soldier in his solo picture, then there are some pictures where his brothers-in-arms could be, with him included. If there is some picture where soldiers are, the crew may just take it for the scene. 

But then Mary reaction comes. She shakes her head a little and returns this photo to the diary. She can’t recognize anyone from this picture - besides Cas, I suppose. She even doesn’t know Bobby this far. And there is no John in the picture - despite of the fact it’s his journal! 

But we know. We know them both, Bobby and Cas. So it can’t be a mistake also because of our familiarity with the characters. 

@charlie-minion​ writes “I don’t think the photo was a huge element of the plot, but it did help the audience have a visual reminder of a time when the world had collapsed and Bobby Singer was fighting angels”, and I’m totally agree with that - by the end of the season we’ll see another parallel universe, not End!verse, but also with Bobby fighting angels and Apocalypse world. And yep, in 5x04 “Cas was fighting with the humans, not against them. Whereas Castiel in the alternate universe was fighting with the angels. Interesting to think that the big difference between one world and the other was the existence of Dean Winchester”. 

So the crew’s perspective why they chose this photo to show us is clear. But why the hell did they put it in John’s journal?!

We know Dean was the only one who could bring it from the 2014 End!verse. Was it him who put the picture in this journal? And why? 

I don’t think Dean’s shared his experience in End!verse with anyone. It was his part of a story, his point of view, too personal to tell anyone, even Sam or Cas. I suppose maybe he brought this photo to remember events he didn’t want to happen and to make everything not to end like that. But again - why did he put this photo in the journal? 

At first it was like lore collection to the Winchesters, but then they moved to the bunker and used to find information in different books. John’s journal became just one of them. So it was more his personal belonging then, a memory of him, just like photos of Mary with Dean or young Sam and Dean with Bobby. 

We know John’s Impala and old jacket became Dean’s once a time. Can we suggest that after 1x01 it’s Dean who also keeps John’s journal? 

I think we can. Trivia:

1x02 - Sam takes Dean aside and asks for John's journal. Dean pulls it out of his jacket. 

4x03 - Dean has the journal with him when Cas sends him back to 1973. Before that he slept - though he had his jacket with him. The journal was in it.

5x03 - Dean studies the Journal while waiting for Cas. That time Dean and Sam were separated for a while, and that was Dean who had the journal. 

8x08 - Cas looks through John’s journal and says to Dean: “Your father... beautiful handwriting”. Before that he looked through Dean’s personal belongings - toothpaste, toothbrush. There is no real need for Cas to read the journal - Dean was reading it just when Cas was handling his things. I suppose that Cas’s examining it the same way he’s examining other Dean’s belongings. ‘Cause of personal space lack between two of them.

9x12 - The last time John’s journal was seen before 12x02. Dean is separated from Sam again and takes it IN THE BAR with him. When Crowley asks for it, Dean pulls the journal out of his jacket.

Sam also reads journal from time to time, but it’s Dean who carries it with him everywhere in his jacket - like his wallet. I think Sam is still asking for the journal. I suggest he asked Dean for it before giving it to Mary in 12x02. 

From 1x01 to 12x02 the journal was Dean’s. 

And if that’s true, then this photo from the End!verse wasn’t supposed to be seen by anyone except Dean himself. Sam’ll definitely ask about it if he’s noticed, and, in my opinion, Dean still doesn’t want to answer questions connected with this picture.

In 8x14 Dean decorates his own room with the photo of him and Mary. He pulls it out of his wallet. We can see other family photos later in his room, framed or not - in 10x03, 10x22, 11x22, and mostly they are hidden. In Dean’s notebook, in different boxes. In 11x11 we saw Sam has his own box with pictures either. Before that he told about family photos with Eileen. 

So, the photos are hidden, but they are all in the same place for each of Sam and Dean. In fact they have different pictures, and in 11x11 we didn’t see any photo of John in Sam’s box. 

Maybe, that’s because Sam didn’t admire John the way Dean did. Of course, he loved him, but in 14x13 Sam would be the one who’d be against John’s appearance in the bunker. On the other hand, Dean’d be blissful... until he’d discover John’s presence'd make Cas stranger to him. Yep. 

Well, Cas was never so important to Sam than he is to Dean. That’s canon. 

And maybe that’s the reason Dean actually has 2 places for photos to keep. One of them is some place in his room - the box, the notebook. The other is John’s journal, with 2 photos - of young John and...  

The photo that has Cas in. Not Dean’s Cas, but the Cas who was definitely closer to HIS Dean than Dean’s Cas is to him. In the End!verse Dean and Cas basically had only each other.

I’ve read a meta where was mentioned that after Cas’s death in 12x23 Dean had no his photos. Well, he had. In 13x02 Sam and Dean used John’s journal again, so Mary returned it by that time - if only Dean hadn’t pulled the End!verse photo out of it earlier. 

He kept this picture since 5x04, just like he kept Cas’s trench coat in season 7, and Sam had no clue about it. It’s not his business, it’s not HIS RELATIONSHIP. Impala belongs to Dean, John’s journal belongs to Dean. End!verse photo with Cas belongs to Dean, and he keeps it with him in John’s journal like he kept Mary’s photo in his wallet. Ahem. 

Crucial to say, Sam, Dean, Bobby, Mary and John are the only people in family photos. No Charlie, no Kevin, no Garth. Maybe because of digital era? 

And here we have a photo with Cas, and Dean keeps it for himself. Until Mary comes. 

Maybe, Mary assumes that all the men in this picture are hunters. Maybe, she doesn’t even recognize Cas - she is in a difficult state. I don’t think this photo helps her to recognize Bobby later - it has no text “Bobby” on it, so the source for her recognizing him should be different. Well, Sam and Dean both have photos with Bobby, even framed. Maybe she just asked about Bobby when she saw him in another picture. 

In 12x02 while Mary is looking at End!verse photo Dean is also looking through his family pictures. I think that’s no coincidence there is no John in them.

Dean’s looking through the first part of his family photos, which he possibly could share with Sam. The second part, more personal, now in Mary’s hands with John’s journal that we know was Dean’s by this time.   

From 12x02 Mary metaphorically becomes a keeper of Dean’s secrets.

In 12x03 Mary also had a conversation with Cas. That was the time I thought they could be a nice couple because of dynamics. However they have no COUPLE dynamics - there is always Dean whom they’re both having in their minds, though in absolutely different ways. Mary as her grown child, Cas as his equal. 

From the first meeting, when Mary saw Cas hugging her son, for seasons 12-15 dynamics between them is significant to the main plot. But not because of its romantic (or parenting whatever) tone. It’s rather... understanding? Appreciation? Gratitude?

What does the text give to us is that Mary is significant to DeanCas relationship progressing. 

[belleandkurtbastian]

General rewatch thoughts on Shameless (US) 10x03 - “Which America?” (just the prison scenes)

1

Mickey cracking his knuckles. You know what, Ian? I’m going to give this one to you. At least your fucking annoying flossing noises were productive.

“Your side of the cell” - ... which side of the cell is that supposed to be, anyway? I’m so confused by the supposed geographometry of this cell-splitting.

2

“The rumour” is that they’re trying to kick out the non-violent offenders? That counts as a rumour? Everyone under the sun knows that’s how they choose who to give parole hearings to.

“What’s your deal on the outside”... Look, while this is all reasonable advice... They’re also kind of talking like Ian and Mickey met IN PRISON, and not like Mickey WENT BACK TO PRISON for Ian. They absolutely need to have this talk, but it feels like they’re missing the point a little too.

“My sentence was supposed to be 3-5 years”... No... I WATCHED S8 and 9a... There was talk of 10-20 without a plea, 5-10 with a guilty plea, and 2 with an insanity plea. Where the fuck did 3-5 come from? Quote from 09x06 “Face It, You’re Gorgeous”: “I’m about to spend the next two years of my life in fight-or-flight mode.”

3

“You free at the moment?” - Okay, relatable. Ask a really stupid obvious question as the ice-breaker.

“Long distance, or no distance, marriage, kids, retirement?” Also relatable - turn this conversation from being about the immediate future into... everything. Just gotta escalate it all the way up there.

“You’re out there, you’re gonna be fucking other people, so will I.” Mickey is TRYING to get Ian to move on here. Mickey is trying NOT to want Ian to stay there with him... but then...

“It’d be one thing if you felt differently about leaving [...] if there was a part of you that felt maybe you owed it to me” Lemme translate this one for those of us not fluent in Mickeyese: “I’m gonna miss you when you’re gone and I’m scared that when you’re out there, you’re gonna leave me here to rot [again].”

This is such a WEIRD argument for Gallavich to be having... Because this entire story is just a back-and-forth of them both being selfless... And the realisation that they can’t BOTH be selfless all the time. Heck, this is basically the only time we see Ian being selfless towards Mickey... And I kinda dig it, because this is Ian thinking about them, in the way he used to back in S1-3.

4

Ian looking for advice... You know what? Thank God Lip didn’t answer because while he would have been RIGHT in saying that Ian shouldn’t throw his parole hearing, if Ian HADN’T tried to blow his chances, he and Mickey would never have actually had the chance to see eye-to-eye on this.

“Congrats, you’re an uncle” “I already was”... You know what, I don’t think this is on Mickey. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard Ian MENTION Frannie.

5

Mickey seeking advice from Nazi friends of his DAD?! Yeah, this is in no way a fucked-up situation.

“Yeah, unfortunately” - you know, I REALLY do want to see Mickey reacting to his father’s death at some point. If we get an S11, I hope that’s a thing that happens. It will be heart-wrenching, but I don’t think that space was explored NEARLY enough with Monica, and Terry has 1000 times more fucked up feeling baked in...

“It’s about my partner, Ian” - you know, I liked him calling Ian his “lover” and “boyfriend” and “family” in S5... But “partner” is always the one that gets me the most, and I’m not sure why.

“Business or pleasure” - I don’t think Mickey has a strong distinction between the two. I mean, all his business was either with Ian, or with his family... Still, the question was obvious.

“You had the talk, right?” ... You know, Ian and Mickey are clueless gays both in prison AND out, and I love it... I also love that “the talk” is a thing. It’s so ridiculous, and given that this episode seems to have like 12 D-plots and no A-plot, that just works.

“Let her go” - Not for nothing or nothing, but Mickey could probably have used that advice before coming back from Mexico to get himself thrown in jail with his ex-boyfriend.

“He’s gonna wind up resenting you and hating you” - for the record, Mickey, this would also have happened if he’d actually made it to Mexico with you in 7x11.

6

He’s actually gonna do it. Also, for a show that’s COMPLETELY unconcerned about continuity, I am AMAZED they remembered that Ian and Mickey lost their shiv last week.

And here comes selfless!Mickey, which is just... Mickey.

“You don’t belong in here, Gallagher”. NOR DO YOU MICKEY. You got sent to jail the first time on an unprovable attempted murder charge, while the supposed victim was CHASING YOU WITH A GUN just before you were arrested... Everything after that is kinda negated by the first stint being unwarranted.

“I’ll get out soon.” You know, I completely do not doubt this, and not just because we know he does from spoilers and stuff, but because see above ^.

“I love you.” *sad smile* “I know. I love you too.” It doesn’t get fucking old. It’s been 4½ seasons since Mickey first said it... But also: I can’t help but parallel this to Svetlana and Mickey’s exchange in 4x12. S: “You love him?” M: “I don’t know. Maybe.” Because Mickey wasn’t lying then. He couldn’t really untangle his feelings, and he was so uncertain... But now he is SURE of himself and of their relationship, and he KNOWS that Ian LOVES HIM, which is possibly even bigger than the fact that he knows HE loves IAN.

7

Fucking Mickey feels guilty for pushing Ian into trying to throw his parole... and is making it up to him. MICKEY MILKOVICH’S LOVE LANGUAGE IS ACTS OF SERVICE.

[verobatto]

Destiel Chronicles

Vol. XLVI

It was a love story, from the very beginning

The Guilt and The Demon!Dean foreshadow

(9x14/9x15 and 9x17)

Hi my dears! Another meta from season 9, this is a very interesting one, talking about a funny mirror I found with the ghostfacers and Destiel, also a new foreshadow for what will come in season 10.

We will talk about Dean's guilt and a lot a foreshadows too for Demon!Dean and his summer love with Crowley.

I want to say thank you to my friend @agusvedder, she made the gifs for this meta, thank you girl!!

Okay, let's start...

Guilt and more Guilt

Episode 9x14 is all about GUILT. We have Dean talking with Ghost!Kevin, trying to ask for forgiveness, because his death is all over Dean's shoulders... He said it while he was trying to contact him.

DEAN: Kevin? Kevin. All right, I can't do this. Coffee-buzzing, bump-in-the-night crap. I got serious things to say to you, okay? And I'm not gonna say them to this.

[DEAN gets up and turns his back on the coffeemaker]

Kevin, I'm sorry. You did not choose this life. You busted your ass, you lost everything, everyone you've loved...

[[MORE]]

This speech is yelling guilt the whole time. Is Dean trying to say every painful word that had been stabbing his heart and his mind since Kevin died. One of his huge, heavy bags on his back.

Then... We will have Castiel talking with Bartholomew, and again, this angel trying to bring the guilt on Castiel, the fault.

But before this... Bartholomew will try to recruit him... Castiel is not that kind of angel, the one who follows orders, so, Bartholomew can't barely understand what motives Castiel to keep fighting by his own...

And this is a foreshadow for that famous quote from Metatron: IT WAS ALWAYS TO SAVE ONE HUMAN. TO SABE DEAN WINCHESTER.

That's why Castiel needs to keep fighting, and that's what Castiel feels is waiting for him, for his help. Is waiting to be saved, even if he doesn't feel he deserves it.

And then, the exposition of Castiel's sins, and guilts...

But Castiel answered magnificently... And this proves he really grew up after being a human. He did what he had to to survive, because they are in war. But what he did... Doesn't define him.

The quote from Bartholomew WE FOLLOW ORDERS, is against Castiel's nature, and impress the huge difference between Heaven and Castiel.

Foreshadow of Demon!Dean/Crowley summer of love, and Castiel's finding another "new love"

Okay, we had a little scene in 9x14 between Sam and Dean...

What a funny foreshadow of what will be Dean and Crowley's summer of love, Dean giving some credit to the Demon, as if it was the beginning of a great friendship.

And we had a very interesting Destiel mirror with Ghostfacers in episode 9x15 Thin Man.

If you watch the episode, it will look like if Harry and Ed were representing the current issue between Sam and Dean. Their fight because of Gadreel possession. But if you dig deeper... They're not just mirroring the brothers there...

First of all I want you to pay attention to the clothes changes in Harry. Harry will be our shapeshifter mirror. He will be mirroring Cas and Dean, and it will be easier for you if you hear his words and see his color coded dressing.

With that on mind... Let's check this scene...

ED: What did Dana post?

HARRY [turning his phone around to show ED a picture of a girl]

No, it's just -- she changed her profile pic, and it's cropped, (...)

Okay, Dana mhm, is obviously making reference to Dean here... But Dean is with another man... Platonically?? That's a very funny word related to Destiel dynamic, but also... Dana/Dean is betraying... Harry dressed in BLUE COLOR (CASTIEL MIRROR), so, blatantly talking about what is about to come... Dean will betray Castiel with Crowley, but just platonically (🤣) so funny.

But this doesn't ends here... Because when Dean arrives... The dialogue between him and Harry (Castiel mirror) becomes very second meaning and flirty.

HARRY: Ahh, first of all, you guys don't scare us.

ED: Not at all.

HARRY [lifting his shirt to reveal a gun in his waistband] Say, "hola" to my little pistola.

DEAN: Am I supposed to be impressed with that treasure trail or the lady gun you got hiding in your, uh, pants there?

HARRY: Uh...Both?

Okay, this was for dirty minds, and we know who had a happy treasure trail, right? Hello sexy Mish.

And then we had this new reference to Dana again...

ED: Come on, man, would you please stop Facebook stalking your ex-girlfriend?

HARRY: I was right.

ED: Hmm?

HARRY: She changed her relationship status to "it's complicated." What does that even mean?

ED: Who cares? You broke up with her. Everything about that girl is complicated. Okay, I mean, she gets the cream puffs, she tells you to take out the filling. They're just puffs.

So Dean is complicated, and he will be in a complicated relationship with Crowley... Foreshadow again.

Now... Don't forget that ass slap to Harry/still Cas mirror dressed in blue, but now adding green and red to make reference to Destiel.

May I add this was too gay? And how Agus marked me... Dean is hitting his lower lip like, excuse me sir?

Finally, we arrived to the big fight between Harry (dressed in red, toxic Dean, it means he is mirroring Dean now) and Ed.

This fight brought to elements... One the brothers fight we saw at the end of Road Trip, mostly when Ed confess he did it for Harry (to lie). And two... The break up will be between Crowley and Dean at the beginning of season 10... So... Pay attention to this dialogue, thinking we have toxic/demon!Dean/Dean mirror in Harry and Crowley mirror in Ed...

Who was the woman Harry/Dean was about to marry, the woman who he had a serious and deep relationship? Dana, now... This reference is linked to Castiel. Castiel is the safe love the unconditional love, the man who will always be there for Dean. The angel showed him that in Road Trip. He's his loyal partner. The love of his life.

Now... This...

ED: Well, maybe it's not too late, you know? You could call her and see.

Okay, this just recalled me when Dean and Crowley broke up, Crowley went straight to give some stolen grace to Cas, to give Dean his ex boyfriend back.

HARRY: That's not gonna work.

ED: Well, maybe -- maybe it will.

Okay!! And let's stop here... Remember in episode 10x03 when Dean was back to normal and Castiel entered in his room? And Cas just threw I HAVE A WOMAN ON MY CAR? And Dean's face was like WHAT DID YOU JUST SAID??

Ah okay, so... Because Dean had this live summer with Crowley, with empty promises and all... Now he lost Cas, who searched for another love interest? (Hannah?) So yeah... Now Dana is Cas. And yes, Cas said this because he wanted some revenge and make Dean a little jealous.

Okay but that is for season 10 Chronicles we will have to wait...

Foreshadow of Cas and Sam healing Demon!Dean

This is just a brief comment about episode 9x17 Mother's little helper.

This scene...

Is a foreshadow of Sam facing his brother as a demon, Demon!Dean will act like a soulless evil, erratic and heartless.

This episode showed us an unrequited love and a sacrifice for that love, linked too to season 10 and how will Dean feel after becoming normal.

And because is talking about soulless people, is a foreshadow to Amara's plot too.

Sam releasing the souls is showing us he will be solving the way to bring his brother back at the beginning of season 10: again FAMILY LOVE (Sam) and ROMANTIC LOVE (Castiel) will save the day.

To Conclude:

Episode 14 talked about guilt as a central topic this season, but it began to show clues about Dean/Crowley dynamic in season 10, we had even Dean saying to Del (the demon) "Well, me and Crowley, we're -- we're tight now. Thick as thieves. Saw him just last month. We, uh, had a grand ol' time."

Episode 15 did the same with Ed and Harry as mirror shifters for Cas/Dean and Dean/Crowley. Talking us about a love triangle between CAS/DEAN/CROWLEY and DEAN/CAS/HANNAH.

Finally we had another foreshadow of how they will heal Dean at the beginning of season 10 in episode 9x17, when Sam released those souls.

I hope you liked this meta, see you in the next one!

Tagging @metafest @magnificent-winged-beast @emblue-sparks @weirddorkylittlediana @michyribeiro @whyjm @legendary-destiel @a-bit-of-influence @thatwitchydestielfan @misha-moose-dean-burger-lover @lykanyouko @evvvissticante @savannadarkbaby @dea-stiel @poorreputation @bre95611 @thewolfathedoor @charlottemanchmal @neii3n @deathswaywardson @followyourenergy @dean-is-bi-till-i-die @hekatelilith-blog @avidbkwrm @anarchiana @dickpuncher365 @vampyrosa @foxyroxe-art @authorsararayne @anonymoustitans @mybonsai1976 @love-neve-dies @wildligia @dustythewind @wayward-winchester67 @angelwithashotgunandtrenchcoat @trashblackrainbow @deeutdutdutdoh @destiel-is--endgame @destiel-shipper-11 @larrem88 @charmedbycastiel @ran-savant @little-crazy-misha-minion @samoosetheshipper

@shadows-and-padlocked-hearts @mishtho @dancingtuesdaymorning @nerditoutwithbooks @mikennacac73 @justmeand-myinsight @idontwantpeopletoknowmyname @tenshilover20 @teddybeardoctor @pepevons @helevetica @isthisdestiel @dizzypinwheel @jawnlockwinchester @horsez2 @qanelyytha

@imjustkipping

If you want to be tagged or removed from this list, just let me know.

If you want to check the previous season 9 Chronicles, here are the links...

Vol. XL, XVLI, XLII, XLIII, XLIV and XLV

Buenos Aires 15th January 2020 5:32 PM

[thenerdintheattic]

Doctor Who Rewatch Season 10

10x00 The Return of Doctor Mysterio - 4/5 : this episode is a bit long towards the end but i like all the superhero tropes and yeah, i like nardole, so...

10x01 The Pilot - 4/5 : i like the concept of the pilot race (?) and the fact that heather keeps following bill is because she has crush : it's nice not to have something threatening the earth or the universe for a change. i like (love) bill and her questions and her relationship with twelve (especially the susan parallel), it's a nice, welcome change

10x02 Smile - 3.5/5 : this episode is cool, not really convinced by the ending though

10x03 Thin Ice - 4/5 : i love the atmosphere of this episode and yeah, twelve punching a racist

10x04 Knock Knock - 2/5 : it's ok, i kinda like the concept of the house eating people but i don't know the atmosphere was kinda wrong and i didn't like the resolution so ...

10x05 Oxygen - 4.5/5 : Space, the final frontier ... so this episode is creepy in sooo many ways, it's really well done and the twist of twelve being blind OMG

10x06 Extremis - 4.5/5 : so i really liked all the parallel between the actual plot and missy/river song's diary. the monks are gorgeous and yeah that VR thingy was quite clever

10x07 The Pyramid at the End of the World - 3.5/5 : i really liked the fact that the invasion happens because the companion wants to save the doctor because the doctor is an IDIOT. and the fact that the end of the world happens not because of a war but because of a human mistake is completely disturbing but i could have rolled with it. the thing is this episode is a bit long and kinda all over the place sometimes which is a shame

10x08 The Lie of the Land - 3.5/5 : when the previous episode felt a bit too long, this one was a bit rushed. but even if i wouldn't say i'm completely satisfied with the ways things turned out, i'm not as disapointed as other people seem to be and i actually liked the ending with bill's mum replacing the monks. also i really love bill/nardole sister/brother kinda relationship, it's something that was really missing in newWho

10x09 Empress of Mars - 4/5 : so i like the ice warriors, i wish we could see them again. so this episode is actually good

10x10 The Eaters of Light - 4/5 : another good episode

10x11 World Enough and Time - 5/5 : oh my god i love everything about this : black hole (did i mention i'm a slut for black holes?), missy, the master in disguise, mondasian cybermen, 'i waited for you'

10x12 The Doctor Falls - 4.5/5 : it had been a while since i hadn't been disappointed by a finale so that felt extra good. bill and nardole get a nice ending (that's a change), missy's redemption, twelve falling ALL GOOD

10x13 Twice Upon a Time - 3.5/5 : so let's start with the negatives : one's sexism. and i didn't really cared for rusty coming back but apart from that, that's a pretty decent episode. i like the testimony principle and the christmas truce. and yeah, i'm still crying over twelve's regeneration.

Overall opinion : Apart from Knock Knock, that season is pretty good, even the monks trilogy. the resolution could have been handled better but the episode is still quite decent. and the finale was actually great. i also love the new tardis team dynamic : two companions that don't know each other and develop a brother/sister relationship. i like bill, most of the mistakes that were made with clara were fixed so that's definitely good and i love this professor/student relationship she has with twelve. and speaking of twelve ... i'm gonna miss him. it’s weird because during this rewatch, even if i was sad to see a doctor regenerate, i was also kinda excited to have a new one after but with twelve, i don’t know if it’s because i’m very emotional at the moment, but it was kinda dreading watching tuat because i really didn’t want him to go. and it’s not because of thirteen because i love her, but i think twelve is really important for me. (also i’m gonna miss seeing his hair getting crazier with each season)

[enigmaticxbee]

S10 Rewatch - Investigation

Autopsies: Scully does autopsies in 2 episodes - 10x02 Founder’s Mutation and 10x03 Mulder & Scully Meet the Were-Monster - she’s happy to be back slicing and dicing and so am I 🥰

Rule-Breaking: Not much direct rule-breaking from Scully this season, although there were still some questionable choices: she uses illegally obtained evidence (with tacit approval from Skinner) in Founder’s Mutation; steals a dog in Were-Monster; and uses her own DNA to develop a vaccine that she then gives to people with absolutely no testing or safety protocols in 10x06 My Struggle II.

Scully’s in Danger: She is attacked by suspects in 3 episodes and is knocked out in one. A breeze for Scully!

Mulder’s in Danger: He is attacked by suspects in 4 episodes; knocked out in 2; physically incapacitated by a mysterious sound; maybe or maybe not drugged with a hallucinogen; and is on the verge of succumbing to the Sparta virus. It’s not looking good for Mulder at the end of the season if his only hope is his long lost son’s stem cells.

Hospitals: There’s only one hospital visit this season (not counting Scully’s work visits) but it’s a doozy with the death of Mrs Scully in 10x04 Home Again. That dark wizard moment is one of my favorites of the revival. And the flashbacks to Scully’s coma, steadfast Mulder being there for Scully, the gut punch of Mrs Scully’s final words, Scully’s desperate attempt to use work to compartmentalize, all make it the most emotionally compelling part of the season.

Driving: Mulder doesn’t seem to have a car in the first episode? And hey, we get Scully driving with Mulder as the passenger in the second (she immediately almost runs over a pedestrian and if I remember the bts story correctly GA also backed into a pole or something so perhaps there’s a reason Mulder’s usually the driver 😆) I’m not a big fan of the giant SUV Scully’s driving this season - it just doesn’t feel right without their FBI rental sedans.

Line of Duty?: They’re pretty restrained this season, I don’t think there were any shots fired all season! Although how many times is this that Mulder has held a gun to CSM’s head and not fired for some inexplicable (plot) reason???

Investigation: They spend 5 episodes investigating both together and apart and 1 episode completely apart. I will never get over CC separating them for a full episode - not putting them on screen together until only 2 minutes are remaining in the final episode of the 6-episode revival! Their famed partnership is the reason the show endured enough to get a revival! Their chemistry on screen is what viewers were here for!! 😑😑😑

Solve Rate: 64% overall solve rate at the end of the season and 67% solve rate for this season, continuing the original series trend of unsatisfying conclusions to the mytharc episodes.

[wolfwhiteflowers]

Some thoughts I commented on forums about the 10x03 Q&A spoilers.

dslfjlsdjfl Very Carol episode. I also love that they’re showing Aaron more btw.

-Read the last two questions. It tells me the TF and Carol are tensed and paranoid. Carol was right about the whisperer in the end but Michonne trying to keep calm and didn't see them, doesn't believe her. Like the whole group is paranoid...in the comics I think it kinda goes like a witch hunt way.

- From the Q&A, They really mentioned Sophia, Lizzie & Mika, and Henry. :( I liked that I think/hope the writers are gonna show and deal with Carol”s and Daryl's (mentioned/hinted) past and loss throughout the season. Daryl mentioned his past in ep 1 from the table reading and in ep 3.

- It really shows how TF is really getting tensed and paranoid already.

-Wow for real!? Carol, Daryl, Henry moment and Grimes family moment! Is this ep real? This ep is so everything!

-Carol's dream and seeing Henry, kinda reminds me of Carl's future/goal dream of old man Rick. Asfnlgjkl :(

-Alex_in_orbit said: i thought about that too. but Carl's dream was about all alive being. I think Carol's about her "wish to be" but it won't be like that for sure because Henry already died. But IMO Daryl there tells me he's one who she can't lose. 

It's interesting to me that Daryl was in the dream. Why is he there? I guess the dream can be interpreted in any way. I like those kind of scenes. he is her BFF who she cares of right now and one that supports her when grieving. It's like she depends on him on what's real and not real. ..(Katniss and Peeta/Hunger Games).

 -nana said: Hmmm, I like the Katniss and Peeta connection.

I just thought about it and like afghhjllkl wtf lol Before it's just jokes like they're the last two from ATL and Carol with her bow. But yeah it would be a nice parallel if Caryl were to have that similar plot like K and P grieving and depending on each other on what's real or not.

-Maybe they show Zeke grieving in his own way in the Hilltop episodes. I do think and hope they talk about Henry eventually. This ep is about Carol.

[twdmusicboxmystery]

New Thoughts on Inmates (4x10)

Okay, so weeks ago, just before watching 10x01 actually, I went back and we watched Inmates. You could call it a scientific experiment. I had a hypothesis that if I looked at the structure and chronology of Inmates, which I haven't looked at in several years and we've learned a lot since then, it would lay out the structure of death fake outs.

Well, my hypothesis didn't entirely pan out. First of all, Rick and Michonne weren’t even in Inmates (I forgot that) so it couldn't have it encompassed all the death fake outs anyway. That said, I did find some interesting things and take some notes. This post is just to lay out what I found.

The first thing I learned is that I really need to re-watch the entire series knowing what we know now, because everything will different. In fact, @wdway has recently gone back and done this with a few episodes and she reports the same thing. We understand SO much more now that we know where they're going with it. And the dialogue can be taken much more literally than we ever suspected back then.

Beth and Daryl:

I talked about some of this recently. Beth insists other people are still alive and they can’t be the only ones who made it out of the prison. She insists they track and try to find some of these people. When they find some footprints, which are actually Lizzie and Mika’s, Beth says, “at least that means they’re alive.” Daryl answers, “No. It just means they were alive four or five hours ago.” And Beth says, "They’re alive!"

I think we can apply this to Beth. If the “four or five hours ago” represent S4/S5, it’s just saying she was alive then. Which is obvious. So, what would be the point of that? Well, I can see someone coming to Daryl in the present timeline (S10) and saying Beth is alive. This is a way of saying well, she was alive in S4 and S5, but that doesn't necessarily mean she still lives. Then Beth insists, "They’re alive!" Because she is too. Later on, when she sees the shoe by the tracks, she assumes they’re dead and her hope is dashed. But actually, Lizzie and Mika are still alive. She just doesn't realize it. So, we have some heavy foreshadowing here.

I also noticed that it shows Beth's feet walking along as they track through the woods. It looks a lot like Rick’s feet with the blood dripping onto them in 9x05. Yet another way of foreshadowing the coming death fake out, perhaps?

In the final bit of their section, she says, "We're not going to die. None of us." Now, in terms of plot, that's meant to be ironic. Because at this point, the prison has fallen and several people died, including Herschel. So it was very tragic to have her read this diary entry here because it turned out not to be true.

In terms of foreshadow, I think you can apply it to Beth and Daryl. After all, they're the only ones on the screen when she says this. So, neither she nor Daryl will die. (Hooray!)

Tyreese, Lizzie, and Mika, and eventually Carol:

Most of this stuff isn’t groundbreaking, but there was some interesting dialogue that really jumped out at me.

First let me say, I genuinely believe that Lizzie represents Carol and Mika represents Beth. I mentioned this briefly when I talked about how in 10x02, the “good” sibling and “bad” sibling where the good one dies and the twisted one lives might represent two halves of a whole. I’ve always interpreted Lizzie and Mica’s arc this way.

And I think this is a good time to bring this up because, due to spoilers about 10x03, they might be relevant to Carol’s arc again this week.

I've said before that when Carol gives her speech to Tyreese in the kitchen after Mika dies, when she says, (and I paraphrase) "she's too dangerous to be around people," she's talking about herself. I mean, she's talking about Lizzie, but this is why she keeps trying to leave the group after this as well. Carol believes that people always die around her because she make such bad decisions. And that if she stays around people she cares about, she’ll end up getting them killed. Unfortunately, that actually has happened with quite a few children. But my point here is that Lizzie = Carol and Mika = Beth.

Mostly, this is a foreshadow of what's going to happen to Grady. It's not a coincidence that the two of them end up together at Grady. In this particular arc, Beth (the Mika-like, hopeful, happy, sweet one) “dies” while Carol, (much darker, harsher, and Lizzie-like) lives on.

And no, that doesn’t mean Beth is dead for realz. I think it was a foreshadow of Coda and what happened in this arc.

What is the point of all this symbolism? I’m not entirely sure. I think they must be heading toward some kind of resolution. I mean, obviously we think Beth will resurface and come back to Daryl, but why involve Carol so heavily? 

Well, I do have one thought, though admittedly I’m kind of pulling it out of the air right now. I can’t help but wonder if at some point, we’ll see a replay of Grady with a different outcome. Now, TD has said that for years concerning Beth. But what I mean is, as specifically concerns Carol, I wonder if Carol will die.

I know, I know. If any Carol-lovers read this they’ll give me hate for it. But I’m not predicting that Carol is going to die any time soon. If she does die, I doubt it will be until the very end of the series. The last season, at least, if not the last episode. So not anytime soon. I’m just saying I feel like they’re setting up an eventual reversal to the results of Coda.

After all, S4 was when we saw Carol murder Karen and David. And that was really the first time we saw her go VERY dark. Later that season, we have the Lizzie/Mika/Carol/Beth foreshadowing. And then in Coda, Carol, who definitely had some things to atone for, lived, while Beth, who’d been brought front and center as a companion for Daryl, apparently died. Everything happened in a very unjust and out-of-sync way, you know?

But I digress. Back to Inmates.

Evidence that Lizzie = Carol and Mika equals Beth comes in some of the seller dialogue.

At one point, Lizzie says to Mika, "You're not like Sasha." And Mika asks, "Why?" Lizzie answers, "Because you're still here, and Sasha isn't." It’s a fairly callous thing for Lizzie to say, but in her mind, it's practical.

But if you apply that Carol and Beth, it sort of suggests that Beth will outlive Sasha. And then there's the, "I'm still here," theme that we heard at Grady around Beth and Carol.

I also think Lizzie silencing Judith in a creepy way might foreshadowed children dying around Carol.

After Carol shows up to help, Mika feels very proud of herself and says to Tyreese, "I didn't run. I didn't leave Lizzie."

Because Mika = Beth, it’s a mirror of Beth saying, "I'm not going to leave you."

After that, they walk along the tracks toward Terminus because the guy they found told them to him it would be safe. Carol tells Ty about driving back to the prison and seeing him run into the woods with he girls.

Ty says, “Maybe we can circle back. Find the car."

Carol refuses, saying, "the walkers, and the fire. We can't go back to the graveyard."

Think about her response for a minute. Because for a long time, what she says here made on sense to me. Why not go get the car? They could all sleep in it at night, if nothing else, and it would protect them from walkers. And maybe the car died or ran out of gas, but she doesn’t actually say that.

But I think what’s being implied here is that she left the car at the prison. When she saw Ty and the girls run into the woods, she got out, ran after them on foot

(kind like THIS maybe?)

And left the car behind. So if they went back to get it, they’d be faced with all the walkers that had overrun the prison, which was on fire when they left. So it makes sense that she wouldn’t want to risk that with the girls.

It strikes me as a foreshadow of what happens with Beth. Ty specifically mentions going back to find a car that was left behind. She talks about walkers and fire. I can see that being something she says to Daryl in S5 when he wants to go back to get Beth's body.

“Can’t go back to a graveyard.”

Maggie, Sasha and Bob:

We’ve said a million times that Bob is a Beth parallel (X). He says in this scene that he’s smiling because he's not alone. He has faith. That dialogue alone makes him Beth parallel.

Maggie says, "I couldn't find Beth, but Glenn, got out and I know which way he went." Again, not anything groundbreaking, just a foreshadow of her not finding Beth and not really getting her back in this arc.

That pesky school bus. I've actually done a lot of theories on the school bus (X, X, X). My question is, how did the people on the school bus die? If the bus left the prison, how did everyone end up dead in the middle of the road? The only thing that makes sense is that perhaps person aboard died (perhaps a stray bullet from the prison hit them) and they turned into a walker and chaos ensued. We’re never given a definitive answer, but it’s odd that they all left alive, and Maggie finds the bus a very short way down the road, and everyone on the bus is dead.

Sasha and Bob decide to let the walkers out one at a time and Maggie will kill them. They want to control the flow, so they don't get overwhelmed, and Maggie needs to know Glenn isn’t one of the dead inside.

A few things I need to say about this. Letting only one or two walkers at a time and then losing control, so they all come out at once, is exactly what happened with the boat in 10x01. We've actually seen this theme a lot, and it’s very entangled with the death fake out symbolism. First because Maggie thinks one of the walkers on the bus is Glenn, so this is a prequel to his S6 fake out, and then also because a blond walker falls out of the bus and hits the ground at Maggie’s feet. (Very Beth-ish).

Then it happens on a BOAT in 10x02. So I think something like this happened with Beth after Coda. I’m not sure what the circumstances would be, but we’ve seen this over and over again.

Maggie wears red shoelaces, which shows that she's in part of the death fake out sequence that involves Glenn. (They’re in their trial separation period.) She thought Glenn was on the bus and might be dead, but was happy to find out he wasn't there, and later they reunite. Meanwhile, 6x07/08, she's wearing the red shoelaces again when she climbs the ladder. Glenn survives and they reunite.

So, both a foreshadow of Glenn’s fake out, but also by extension, of Beth's.

Glenn and Tara:

Next, we see Glenn wake up at the prison. He wakes upon the broken bridge, which represents the broken community, because the prison just went down. I've also said before that, in terms of Maggie looking for Glenn, she thought he left the prison, and didn't even think to go back there to look for him. She simply continued her search outward. But at the time, he was actually back at the prison where she'd originally left him. I translate that into Beth. They would never think that she went back to the hospital, but we think that's exactly where she was when Daryl thought she was dead.

We see some alcohol references here as Glenn picks up the alcohol and ends up using it to get out of the prison with Tara.

Something else I suddenly realized when watching this episode. The virus at the prison might actually tie to the radiation, the helicopter group, and the water scarcity. Why? Well, Glenn got sick with the virus, but managed to pull through. Right before the Gov attacked the prison, Maggie said she was going to get him some water. She never actually got it for him as the prison was attacked and they had to make a run for it. She did go back and get him and put him on the bus, but didn’t bring him water. So, I feel like there's a tie there between illness and water. Perhaps surviving radiation sickness and then finding water?

(Remember that in FTWD S4, the group actually got methanol (or was it ethanol) poisoning from drinking bad water. So we’ve seen sickness and water be linked more than once.)

Also, keep in mind that at the end of this episode, Glenn and Tara meet new people (Abraham, Eugene, and Rosita) who came from where? Texas. And that's exactly where the Fear crew currently is and we think they will probably run into the helicopter people.

Glenn passes out. I always kind of assumed it was because he was still weak from recovering from the virus. That's probably true. But those who got sick became really dehydrated and Glenn needed water, which again, Maggie never actually got for him. So once he left the prison, I think she passed out from dehydration. I went and looked at the next episode where he wakes up in the back of Abraham’s truck. Sure enough, the first thing Tara does when Glenn wakes up is offer him more water. After that, he recovers completely. We don't really see him being sick again. That's probably because not only has he already recovered from the virus, but he has access to plenty of water.

So I’m seeing this as a foreshadow that TF will experience some kind of illness, possibly from radiation. And on the heels of it, a water scarcity. Just when they’re almost dying from lack of water, some one will come from Texas (probably Morgan, one of the Fear crew, or possibly even Beth) to give them water.

So once again, we have a foreshadow of illness and water and people coming from Texas to save the day all wrapped up together, clear back in S4. Please don't try to tell me that this has been planned for a long time.

Thoughts?