#dean is the real monster of spn

[seasononesam]

Well, that’s the point. You know, with our usual playmates, there’s rules, there’s patterns. But with people, they’re just crazy.

[ananke-xiii]

Rowena and the thick, bloody umbilical cord between choices and faults.

In a previous post of mine I’ve explored a little bit how Mary and Kelly represent a sort of “missed opportunity” for, respectively, Sam and Jack.

At the beginning of s13 Sam resents the fact that he hasn’t been proactive in seeking to create a relationship with his mother and now that she’s (presumably) gone he doesn’t want to deal with that reality. He had wasted his second chance. Jack, on the other hand, never even had a first opportunity to begin with but, unlike Sam, has experienced a sense of unity with his mother so extreme that one of the first things that he tells Sam is that he was his mother(!!!).

S13 reinforces the Mother-Son symbolism because, after Jack’s birth, a rift is opened in space (apparently not in time?): Kelly stays (dead, rip girl I love you) on one side of it while Mary crosses it and finds herself in Apocalypse World. To make things even more clear, this is no random parallel universe: this is the alternate reality where Mary didn’t deal with Azazel. So mothers and their choices/faults are a central theme in this season. Or, well, more or less.

To complete the mothers’ trimurti or, better, tridevi we’re missing the final mother, the destroyer who is, of course, Rowena. It’s therefore quite apt that Rowena reaches her highest potential this season and even confronts Death. What motivates her in an interesting blend of (missing)love and (lacking)power. Lucifer is as part of her story as Kelly’s and Mary’s. Unlike these two, though, she doesn’t have a son who resurrects her, nor a turned-benefactor cosmic being who offers her resurrection as a gift to her son. Rowena has to resurrect herself. Not once but twice. She is, perhaps, the loneliest character in the whole series.

This is actually quite ironic because, if we look back on previous seasons, her “choice” to kill Oskar, her putative son, was what triggered the whole chain of events (the freeing of Amara first and Lucifer second) that directly link Rowena with Mary and Kelly.

It’s only natural, then, that s13 Rowena keeps representing the reversal of the Mary and Sam/ Kelly and Jack relationships because there is no son who’s looking for her, rather she is the mother who’s looking for her (dead) child. Like Sam, she also needs someone who can access another dimension to bring Crowley back but, unlike him, she’s not successful. Now, ngl, this pisses me off to no end, like of course I can understand the real reasons why Crowley couldn’t be brought back, still I kinda hate how it was narratively framed.

When, in "Funeralia", Rowena says that life is unfair she is right but not in the general, pessimistic sense of the phrase: she's right because in-universe some deaths are more important than others and people get back on board depending on whether or not they're still a role to play for them. Rowena's faith in magic is actually justified because magic is the only thing that can help her. And the tragic thing is that it's also what damns her in the process because it's the only form of power she can have access to. There are no angels or cosmic entities looking out for her. She's just... alone.

So, perhaps, it's not that I necessarily hate how her failure to bring Crowley back is described, I just see it as further proof that Rowena is the best example to show how in Supernatural the game is rigged from the beginning and we didn’t even need an interfering and pervy God to realize it. That's all we've been seeing it since S1. All those infinite, booooring talks about being good/evil or doing good/bad actually mean nothing because, at the end of the day, in this show what really matters is how useful you can be, to whom and why (and this is way less booooring, you learn a lot of interesting things about these characters if you go down this road, it's grim but it's more rewarding).

S13 is also when the final connection between Rowena and the Winchesters, Sam to be more precise, is established which is indicative of the fact that she will inevitably die. Before S13 her story was her own, after “Funeralia” it cannot be extricated from Sam’s. To some degree, it’s quite similar to what happened with Crowley and Dean. What’s more, just like Crowley’s powers and shrewdness are what really carry the plot from s6 to s12, magic and spells (and therefore Rowena’s role in the story) will be the key for many plot points from s13 to s15. But there is a big difference.

Both Crowley and Rowena’s sacrifices are described as heroic but, let’s be honest, only Rowena’s was. Crowley’s demise was a clean-up after his own mess at best. It also proved to be unnecessary. Rowena and that awful MBOL’s egg thingy would have managed to confine Lucifer, like, they actually did it. It was Crowley who perverted the spell for reasons that I personally find OOC. I would’ve liked the Crowley vs Lucifer power struggle but not the way it was done in s12 because it felt very nonsensical to me. As in: I can see you need a reason to keep Lucifer around and this is what you’ve come up with but it’s still quite illogical.

At its hidden and secret core S13 is the season of the “let’s reframe the sons’ stories and blame it on the mothers”. Just like Kelly is blamed for Castiel’s ideal vision of Jack and Mary’s "choice" is established as the most important point in the whole show, Rowena-as-Mother must face the same fate: it was her fault if Crowley, Fergus!, ended the way he ended. It’s a naaaaaaaaaaaaaah for me.

This is what we’re told in “Funeralia”:

Rowena: Oh, but it is. Death has something I want. Sam: What’s that? Rowena: My son. After you told me he was gone, how he died, I had an unexpected reaction. We had our differences, but it’s my fault he went down the path he did. I left him. Dean: We’re talking about Crowley-- demon, King of Hell? Rowena: We’re talking about Fergus-- a man abandoned and loveless, tricked by a demon, died in a gutter. He deserved better from the world. From me.

Now, just to be clear: yes, Rowena had the responsibility to do better; yes, she was the absolute worst; yes, she played no small role in her son’s story. However, I personally don’t like all these negative associations between “worlds” and “mothers” as if every fucking thing in the universe is dependent solely on them. How did we end up here? It’s almost as if absent fathers are, like, not THAT bad after all (and the show, as far as I'm concerned, ultimately approves of and absolves absent fathers). So I’m very suspicious of the way motherhood is portrayed specifically in s13 and Rowena’s attempt at redemption well demonstrates that there is reason to be so.

This dialogue in “Funeralia” confirms my gut feeling:

Sam: You know, what happened with Crowley? That wasn’t your fault. Rowena: He never had a chance. Dean: He made his choices, just like we all do. Look, every one of us has done something that we have to live with, that were trying to make up for. Every one of us. Sam: Even without all that extra juice, you’re still the deadliest witch around [Sam's flattering Rowena. He's gonna ask for her help in 3,2,1...]. Rowena: Flatterer. Sam: Yeah, well, we, um... we may need your help [Here we go!]. To save our family. To… hell, to save the world. Dean: You wanna be redeemed? This would be a pretty big step. Rowena: And do you think I still can be? Dean: Yeah, I do.

I mean, not to be rude, but who the fuck cares if Dean Winchester thinks that Rowena can be redeemed? Like, how is Rowena’s redemption (which is strictly connected to her being a bad mother and not, among other things, a zero-regret murderer, which she also happens to be, for instance) connected to saving the Winchester’s family? Don’t get me wrong, I understand that this is SPN and that Sam and Dean’s problems are Apocalypse-level problems (lol, they really did that, when I say that their story is like a cosmogony maybe I’m not that wrong) but, as I’ve said, I cannot help but notice the similarities between Rowena’s arc this season with Mary’s and Jack’s, i.e. you can be redeemed if you either do something useful for the Winchesters or... realize that it's not your "fault" that your sons suffered terribily because "choosing" to deal with Azazel was actually the right choice... for the world. How come fathers saving the world are framed as heroic while mothers actively creating worlds by making hard choices that benefit the greater good need redemption?

So to sum up: while fathers invade S13’s main storyline as solvers, restorers and fixers, mothers are the bones of the story, they carry its weight and its sins but get little if nothing in return: Kelly stays dead, Mary ends up helping out a world that absolves her of her Original Sin but that’s nevertheless a mess (you can never win lol) and Rowena can’t get her son back (but she can save Sam and Dean's family the world!). Looks good, right? Hurray mommy!

[walk-to-gallows]

Jimmy Novak and John Winchester

[soullessjack]

tfw: hey jack buddy pal beloved son dude friend of ours we love you and appreciate you but you gotta be more careful with your temper and not do impulsive things that will get you immediately killed or worse mmkay 🫶😙

jack: you hate me and want me to die

[batcavescolony]

S3 E8 Supernatural

This is a Christmas Episode! I'd be great if it wasn't April but here we go!

The flash backs to the Christmas they had as kids? When Sam first figured out what John actually does? Then Sam gave Dean the present he got for John then Dean wore it for for ever? Guys I'm crying. And then in the future Dean wants one more Christmas and Sam gives it to him! AHHHH

[deancasforcutie]

all of us when the spn revival announcement drops (x):

[gayangelcrimes]

hey. anyone ever think about 1x06 Skin. what if Dean died, but being in Dean's shape made something snap in the shifter's mind and it decided to take Dean's place for real. and it had absorbed enough of Dean's memories and personality that he was pretty much just Dean except Sam is more wary of him, at least for a while. (and John of course never notices that's not his real son.)

[spnyouresostupid]

I'm Dean Winchester, this is by brother Sam

I didn't even write that down

[proudace]

Ok can we talk about the snake, Felix?

It pisses me off every time I think about it

Noah Ophis, the original owner of the snake who was a gorgon, from what I remember, was not giving him adequate care. Noah moving around all the time to keep away from the cops and hunters could not have been providing a cage for him with a proper setup. At least not while hitchhiking like Noah seemed to be doing. He was at least keeping him fed and warm tho, Felix looked healthy and active.

When Jack adopts him, it gets even worse. Bro puts him in a tiny clear bin with newspaper and nothing else.

Jack gets concerned about him being sad, right? Cuz he’s not eating. But instead of doing research, or going to a vet, he just assumes he doesn’t like the food he’s already tried, or that Felix is sad over Noah. And you know what? Valid logic for a child, he’s like 2-3 years old at this point. What’s unforgivable is the three adults around him going along with it.

Dean just says ‘give him bacon’ ignoring the very common knowledge that most snakes do not eat bacon. You’d expect Sam at least to do a little research, maybe see what species of snake Felix is, the basic needs of a snake at the bare minimum, but no.

Who I’m most mad at for this is Castiel. Dude watched the creatures of earth evolve from algae, but he says nothing. He lets his adopted child neglect the incredibly low maintenance needs of his new pet.

A trip to the pet store for some mice, a couple places for him to hide, and a heat lamp alone would have improved Felix’s mood. That’s not even mentioning how tiny that tub is, Felix has barely any room to even move, plus that bunker is probably cold. There’s nothing but plastic and newspaper separating him from cold stone.

Of course Felix’s mood is awful.

[acesammy]

man I love season 4 so much.. the way almost every single monster of the week throwaway hunt contributes to the inevitable ending is just so [screams]

[opheliasam]

dean just makes me so mad sometimes

[wrenwinchester]

The way I would have watched the show if it was written like a procedural cop show, but with Monsters. And we got to learn more lore about different monsters and see a wider variety of monsters over the course of the series. I’m not normal about the show now, but like. It would be worse. And we could still have the first five seasons as is, but like after Sam was saved from hell, cas would knock on the door to Lisa’s house for him, forcing them to interact and everything would be different and they’d still be hunting new things and learning new things and—

one thing about me is I will always choose the monster of the week over an Big plot

[wombpala]

BTW spn's construction of the domestic sphere aka the normal apple pie life aka white picket fence aka nuclear family is not a real thing it's a fetish it can only exist off screen bc it's a myth designed to perpetuate the image of the perfect pure civilians that hunters give up their lives to defend from the scary evil monsters. it's the djinn dream it's Mary in the white dress making Dean sandwiches and petting his hair. It's Jess baking cookies. It only exists to be the place you wish you could return to.

[ghoastixx]

what about spn boys with an S/o who pranks them with the ‘monthly shed’ thing? How would they react to that?

SPN boys being pranked with the monthly shed

synopsis above

notes: I hope you know, whoever you are, I love you for this. This.. this is amazing.

Author's notes: Gender Neutral Reader, but AFAB body. Mentions of menstrual cycle.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dean Winchester

Freaks the hell out.

Brother does NOT understand, he hardly understands makeup as a whole so he would never even think of it as an option.

"Is it like your period?? Is it a side affect??" "Baby, what do you mean? It's my monthly shed." "I THOUGHT THAT WAS YOUR PERIOD."

He is stressing.

He would 100% ask if you need anything. Tries to tell you that you look amazing, though he does wonder if you're a monster.

Will ignore you once he finds out you were joking. You scared him, he's petty.

Will ask you how you did it.. he wants to try it on Sam.

Sam Winchester

Now, Sammy is a smart boy. He's lived with a girl before, I feel like he'd know better. He knows how makeup works.

..but you're so persuasive.

He shakes himself out of it, he knows very quickly you're bullshitting.

He's mostly just interested on what exactly you had on to make it look like you could peel your skin off. He wants to know how it works, how you put it on, what it is.

This is what you get for loving a smart boy.

Castiel

He's confused

genuinely so confused.

"Does this have to do with a humans menstrual cycle..I was not aware..the human body could do that.."

Asks if there is a way he can help..what you do with the skin..how to treat this..how long you've been dealing with it.

Genuinely if you were to go further with the joke and use the siren-esc route I've seen on tiktok where they mention that "To keep our beauty we have to drain it from men" he will actually tweak a little bit.

He doesn't remember Eve having to do that?? When was this update??

Please reassure him you're joking, he might have a crisis.

Gabriel

Even if he knew that you were joking, he would soo play into it

"Sugar, what are you doing?" "My monthly shed," "Your monthly shed?" "Yes, why is something wrong?" "I've never seen something like this before, sugar. What is it that you do for this again?" "Ah, I have to drain a man to keep my beauty before I wilt." "OH. SO THAT'S WHY YOU'RE WITH ME."

It literally goes exactly like that. Nothing else.

He does ask you how you do it though, sure he could do the same thing if he wanted, for real, but he wants to see you do it.

Lucifer

He is slightly intrigued.

"My dear, whatever are you doing?" You mention you're peeling your skin off?

"Darling, you're shedding?"

Immediately (Ironically) compares it to a snake in his mind. Wonders if his father punished humanity finally.

"My darling, I was around. I do not remember this being..necessary."

He sniffs it out so fast.

Would act unphased but he sort of does want to know about your odd illusions you can do with the odd..face paint you insist on wearing.

Crowley

Only a tad bit concerned.

Humans don't normally..do that.. do they.

I think he would be confused but would want to act like he knew what was going on.

Like..yes this is totally normal! oh- a joke- psh yeah I knew that, I was only humoring you, angel.

What a charmer.

[angelsdean]

Despite Sam's little outburst at Dean, that Dean doesn't care about Madison bc "part of her is evil" and that Dean isn't willing to kill Sam but will just "blow her away" -- Dean is broken up about Madison. He calls her a "sweet girl." He feels bad that she is unaware of her actions when she turns. But he's also being realistic. One of them has to be. If she can't control herself from killing people then there's only one way to stop her, unfortunately. It's not like he's against other options. There just aren't any. And Sam is naively holding out on some miraculous cure showing up but Dean has to be the realist and point out that no one has ever found a cure in all this time.

Then when Sam wants to keep the truth from Madison to keep her hoping, Dean again has to be the honest one, as much as it hurts, and tell her there aren't any other options, aside from locking her up at night, which isn't a foolproof solution.

DEAN: Well, we could lock you up at night, but … you bust out, and some night you will, someone else dies. [pause] I’m sorry. I am. MADISON: [crying] [exhales] So, I guess that’s all there is to it, then.

What often gets overlooked in discussions about Dean and Monsters, is that the big issue for Dean is less about the fact that they're supernatural beings. The sticking point, the problem with most monsters they hunt, is the fact that they're hurting and killing people. If Sam and Dean are rolling into town that usually means the monster had killed someone. They're not going around preemptively killing monsters simply for being monsters (one of my big issues actually with Last Holiday and the "monster radar." They usually don't just go kill monsters for existing. They usually have to have hurt someone first. It's the (British) Men of Letters that seem more interested in eradicating all monsters simply for existing)

Anyways! Most of the time, the monsters they hunt are not simply killed for being Other (which is why many blanket metaphors about monsters on SPN leave me cold. No, every monster does not actually represent "minorities" or other groups society deems "undesirable"-- in fact many monsters on the show actively prey on real minorities and those on the fringes of society). Anyway, it's not the monsters being Other, or their mere status as monsters that is the issue. And for Dean especially, being supernatural is not a prerequisite for being a "monster." Dean has no trouble considering humans just as capable of monstrosity. It's about hurting / killing innocent people. That's what consistently is the sticking point for Dean. The "saving people" part of the phrase is Not incidental. It's the whole point.

And Dean wishes he could also save Madison here. But they can't. There's no cure. And Madison, too, is horrified by the possibility that she will continue to kill people. Dean even offers to do the hard part. To kill the sweet girl they can't save and spare Sam the hurt and trauma of it. The whole time Dean is taking the brunt of being the "bad guy" here. He had to deliver the harsh truths. He has to be the realistic one. And he'll be the killer too, to spare his brother from having to do it. But Sam insisting on doing it. And Dean?

[DEAN, now alone, lets a tear roll down his cheek. He flinches as he hears a single gunshot from the next room.]

He's not heartless. A monster is not always a monster. Not every monster deserves death. He cries for Madison. For Sam. For not being able to save her. He cries because it's not fair and their job is rarely easy.

[alchemillalost]

My wife and I are rewatching SPN and I’ve kept an ongoing list in my phone of improvements we’d make and unanswered questions in supernatural since season one

- there should be a therapist for hunters who makes bank over telehealth

- Keep a recording of the exorcism on person at all times to play whenever update: they finally do this in season NINE

- The false false trunk of mini toiletries collected over the years

- Keeping anti possession pendants on hand en masse and give them out like candy like why are they always shocked pikachu when someone around them becomes possessed

- Can demons go in the ocean? Are oceans totally safe? Like an oil rig out in the gulf or something

- Sam should have practiced fighting off possession before saying yes to Lucifer

- Christo?

- Where do their medical bills go

- An EZ pass

- Get gas rewards at every major gas chain in America

- big office style scanner to scan all men of letters files and all their books into a database with an organization system and searchable by keywords

- Why don’t they have an RV or camper or something (probably aesthetics but… come on)

- Why are the walls so dirty everywhere all the time

- They need a straight story on the “family business” when they want to be broody about it to normals

- Dean wears his shoes when hanging out on his bed IN HIS HOME and it triggers my fight or flight

- Does the bunker have a laundry room? It used to house a bunch of people, is it a 1950s laundromat? Or did they upgrade it to wash out so much blood and monster filth? What’s their oxyclean budget?

- They should draw something on their hand the second they know they’re dealing with a shapeshifter so they know it’s the real them and not the shifter

- They were nationally wanted viral serial killers in season 7 and there’s no lasting consequences, they even introduce themselves to cops and feds with their real names a few times lol

We’re on season 11, I’ll keep updating this. Reblog with yours too