ILoveReading

Interesting since VanCon usually takes near the beginning of filming. Makes we wonder next season will be a partial one that starts filming in the fall rather than the summer.

As much as I wish this was true, I think its probably that Jensen had a 4 day weekend and didn't shave.

Add me in too. Dabb has no interest in Dean. The only episode I felt honored Dean's character was Asa Fox. He was smart, proactive, and a leader. We even had someone fan boy over Dean for a change. Yockey seems the only hallways Dean friendly writer on staff. Although, I suspect the only reason Dean got the kill in the Witch Twin ep was because Jared probably had extra time off for his daughters's birth.

What I don't get, the writers repeatedly say Cas can't hunt with the boys because he's too powerful. But Jack, whose supposed to be super powerful isn't a problem.

I also expect to get a lot of Jack asking Dean why he can't be more like Sam.

4 episodes later Dean did open up and talk about how he felt. So it might not have been immediate but in the end, Sam did get what he wanted.

I'm not sure what Dean's role is going to be this season. This isn't jerk/bitch. It's more of an observation based on spoilers.

The more Dean tried to support Sam, the more he saw it as babying. Then in the end apparently Dean didn't pay enough attention to Sam. I guess its why I can understand where Dean was coming from in season 9. Sam basically demanded Dean put him first. It seems like Dean is damned if he does and damned if he doesn't.

http://ew.com/tv/2017/08/09/supernatural-alexander-calvert-series-regular-season-13/ This is why I never believe "if it doesn't work" we eliminate him caveat. It's not practical for show reasons.

Not to mention Dean's suicide issues appeared out of nowhere. After Purgatory Dean seems to realize that hunting was what he wanted. Then they promptly dropped them the minute Sam's arm lit up. It was just another thinly veiled, Sam's strong, Dean's weak moment. Then suddenly Sam's suicidal, but its okay for Sam to be that way and do the trials. I never thought Dean was saying he was suicidal. I thought he was being practical. He knew there was no way of coming out of God's obstacle intact that that whoever did it wasn't going to survive. Since Dean figured he would go out on a hunt sooner or later he felt it should be him. As far as Dean was aware Sam wanted out of hunting (again) and to live a normal life. He was trying to make that possible. Based on the way it played out, it came across more as Sam wanting the trials and manipulating Dean, since Sam didn't do anything to back up that speech. Even worse than the bathroom scene, was the scene where they literally made Dean beg Sam to let him look after him, and actually feed him. Then it was topped of with an even worse speech in Sacrifice.

That's why I felt it applied far more the Abbadon situation than Metatron. If Dean had tried to discuss the options would Sam have listened? When Dean tries to explain something to Sam, Sam immediately gets defensive and falls back into the "stop treating me like a kid/stop protecting me" stance. If Dean said, "Stay behind, I don't want Abbadon to use you against me" I doubt Sam would have listened. Dean probably knew that which is why he sent Sam on the Wild goose chase, and if Sam went into the fight with Dean, there is a good chance they both would be dead and Metatron in possession of the first blade. These guys are stubborn.

I agree about Dean being steadfast about wanting to go it alone, but I also think a small part was Dean thinking this was the only way he'd be able to accomplish his goal. More so with Abbadon but with Metatron to a lesser extent. What I mean is that Dean knows Sam is his weak spot. When Dean walked into his confrontation with Abbadon, she had the upper hand at first. Had Sam been there, he would have been pinned against the wall right alongside Dean. I can see Abbadon threatening to kill Sam if Dean didn't give her the blade. Given Dean's need to protect Sam, he knows he probably would have done it. I think this was was Dean was trying to communicate, just not very effectively. I think given Sam's tendency to fall back into little brother mode, he wasn't listening. I always felt the scene was actually Dean admitting more his weakness than Sam's. I think its also why he felt the need to go after Metatron alone. Not because he was worried about Sam not being able to handle himself, but because Dean needed to make sure he didn't have that distraction.

Granted, I've only seen this episode once, but I don't remember Dean being a major plot point. Interacting with someone doesn't mean you impact the episode. 30 out of 42 minutes took place in Sam's head. If you take him out of the episode, nothing really changes. If Sam truly wanted to die, he had plenty of chances after Dean left. Sam has a bunker full of weapons and he was standing on a bridge. Cas also did the same thing. He made a choice for Sam and Sam seemed okay with it. So what did Sam really want in season 9?

I also have to give the director a shout out for the way he framed that scene. With Dean's sleeve rolled up it almost looked like Dean's arm was a separate entity from this body. It also reminds me of that time when he killed Abbadon. He looked so vicious and psych when he was stabbing her, and like such a lost little boy when he snapped back.

I'd say All Hell Breaks Loose Part One, and The Man Who Knew to Much, and Sacrifice

What comes to my mind more than a song is the old Aesop Fable. Where the scorpion asks to ride across a pond on the frogs back. The frog is wary of being stung so the scorpion assures him that he won't because if he does they'll both by doomed. About half way across the scorpion stings the frog. The frog asks why because now they're both dead and the scorpion says its in his nature. This is why I think this will be a Jack episode.

My guesses Lost and Found- Sam deciding that they're going to raise Jack, and talking about how to get Mary back. The Rising Sun- Sam playing dad to the nephlim. Dean rolls his eyes a lot. Patience- The introduction of Missouri's grand daughter. The Big Empty- Cas in the Empty Advanced Thanatology- Deals with Sam's grief. Tombstone- Cas comes back War of The World- Takes place in the AU. Sam probably saves Mary. The Scorpion the The Frog- Jack turns bad. The Bad Place- Jack opens up the Hellmouth and the start of Wayward Sisters

Dean and Death (both the concept and the character) have always had a fascinating relationship. Death sees humans as as insignificant and he's just there to do a job. Yet for for some reason he always helps Dean when Dean asks. Same Billie. She bragged she'd never help a Winchester and almost seemed to enjoy the possibility of them ending up in The Empty. Yet, when Dean asked for help they both always did. Why Dean and no one else? I think that was why it was doubly disappointing that there was no follow up to Dean killing death. It could have really explored this concept of why Death seems so have such a fascination with Dean. If I ever end up at a con where Julian Richings is, I'd love to ask him that question. I never thought it was coincidence that Lust went after Dean while Pride and Wrath went after Sam. But it was yet another incidence where Dean managed to resist the influence the sin had over him. Another thing I wish the show would explore.

I remember Jensen talking about how he watched videos on youtube of people with chest injuries so he could get it right. Also the "im proud of us" line was supposed to be a big speech, but Jensen changed it because someone without his injury would have trouble breathing, let alone talking so he changed it. Rob Benedict said it best. The Man is a gift to TV

I've missed Dean talk. So I'm going to start back to episode by episode discussions. Discuss Dean in episode 3. Season 1- Dead in the Water Season 2- Bloodlust Season 3- Bad Day at Black Rock Season 4- In the Beginning Season 5- Free to Be You and Me Season 6- The Third Man Season 7- The Girl Next Door Season 8- Heartache Season 9- I'm no Angel Season 10- Soul Survivor Season 11- The Bad Seed Season 12- The Foundry Dead in the Water- I loved that we got another look beneath Dean's surface. His interactions with Lucas show that he's still very much traumatized by his mothers death. The whole "I try to be brave speech", allowed us to see that Dean is actually very vulnerable under the bravado. This episode was what pretty much turned the show from "looks cool" to must see tv. I wanted to know more about Dean Winchester and see what other layers there were to be revealed. BloodLust- Another favorite of mine. I liked Dean's interactions with Gordon. Again we got the peak beneath the curtain with Dean admitting he was trying to be strong for Sam. I also liked that it introduced the grey area of the "good" monster. (Unfortunately, I find they've gone to far in the other direction but that's a discussion for another thread). Bad Day at Black Rock- Okay ep, and I liked the I'm batman line In The Beginning- Loved that we got so much focus on Dean. I liked Dean's interactions with young Mary. The Mom's a babe. I'm going to hell...again made me chuckle. This is the kind of humor I like from Jensen/Dean rather than the over the top slap stick comedy. Free To Be You and Me- Loved this one. I really liked Dean and Cas's dynamic and I really miss it these days. I wish we could get more episodes like this. I also like the speech at the end, where Dean realizes he can be his own man. It's too bad the show didn't allow that to stick. The Third Man- I liked the profound bond Line. The Girl Next Door- Terrible episode. Felt like it was written purposely to throw Dean under the bus, and even worse they made Jensen direct it. Heartache- I liked Jensen's directing, but the ep wasn't really much of a standout. I would love to see Jensen direct a really good script. I'm no Angel- I liked the scene where Dean sees Cas's body. You could tell how upset Dean was and how relieved he was when Gadreel saved him. Soul Survivor- Even though we lost Demon Dean far to quickly, Jensen was phenomenal. Both in directing and acting. His earning TVline's performer of the week was so well deserved. I loved the Cat and Mouse chase through the bunker. I just wish it was longer. I like the extra thought Jensen put into it. He said usually the heroes chasing the bad guy from left to right so for this he went right to left. I love how much thought Jensen puts into everything. The Bad Seed- Again, Jensen did a good job, but the ep itself was 'meh. I miss Jensen's directing. The Foundry- Mostly for Jensen's acting. He broke my heart at the end of the episode with that little step back. How does Jensen have that ability to make Dean look like he's 8 years old.?

I'm thinking the name change from Daughters to Sisters is for legal reasons. When Claire was sent to Jody, some in the fandom immediately asked for a spin off of Claire and Alex with Jody and called it WayWard Daughters. Plus, it was used as a name for a campaign. Since fandom came up with Wayward Daughters the show probably can't use. As for Missouri, I really hoped they toned her down, because I didn't like the way she was written in her other episode. I could be misremembering but I thought Patience was estranged from her father, because he wants her to suppress her psychic abilities but Missouri tried to encourage them. I expect the episode to be pretty paint by the numbers. Im guessing Patience will run away to her Grandmother, something will follow her. Sam and Dean end up in town. Patience and Sam bond over being psychic, Patience saves Dean. Then for.....reasons, she goes to live with Jody.

I have to agree here. I wish they went with this version.

There is also his confession in Yellow Fever, after his control slipped. Also a perfect mix of comedy and freaking out. I forgot about that scene in Simon Said. You can also see and hear a forced tone, like he really is trying to stop himself.

Me and a friend of mine were talking about The Purge and how much we loved Jensen's acting in that ep. I know that Jensen gets a lot of praise for the mirror scene, the Mary scene, The End, his hell confession, What is and What Should Never be. It got me thinking about other performances where Jensen was so good but aren't mentioned a lot. I was curious as to what lesser mentioned scene's/episodes are in others top five. I'm not defining exactly what "less talked about scenes, so if you think The End isn't talked about enough, feel free to list. Mine, in random order- Houses of the Holy- Dean talking about why he didn't believe in God. I thought Jensen delivered that speech perfectly. There was a mixture of sadness and a hint of bitterness in Deans' tone. Jensen just has this ability to add so many layers and tones to his speeches. Adventures in Babysitting- After Frank tells Dean to fake smile and the scene were Jensen is practicing smiling at the end. Never before have I ever seen such a sad smile. Never once did Dean's eyes light up. Jensen's ability to turn his eyes on and off is amazing. So much expression without saying a word. It was the scene that made me want an episode where Dean loses the ability to speak. Crossroad Blues- When Dean confronted the demon and she tempted him. You could tell part of him wanted to accept the deal. Jensen is such a master a displaying conflicting emotions. Dead in the Water- Where Dean opens up to Lucas. Its the first time we really see Dean wear his heart on his sleeve. The Purge- The ep itself was 'meh and I disliked the end but I thought it was a master class in what Jensen talked about in finding what's not on the page. Throughout the whole episode you can just feel Dean's wariness and exhaustion. He was trying so hard to pretend he was okay but not quite managing it. The underlying sense of depression. The way his control slipped during the interview. The way the exhaustion seemed to double after he was roofied. He was barely in control of himself that whole ep. Good acting can improve a bad script and I thought Jensen took this to the next level.

I agree. When we first got the spoiler that Sam wasn't going to look for Dean, I understood where Carver was coming from. He wanted Sam and Dean to have a healthier relationship. I didn't disagree on the concept. Unfortunately the execution as lacking. Carver's mistake was ignoring the middle ground. There is a large gap between making deal and doing nothing at all. They found this middle ground with Dean in s6. We know he didn't stop looking for a way to free Sam, but he was resarching. He didn't poke at the cage or do anything that would risk releasing Lucifer. Unfortunately, when that didn't go over well, I found Carver took it way to far in the other direction where Sam and Dean started to look selfish and too wrapped up in each other. Dean wasn't that clingy even in s1. It's where I find the writers weakest point is their ability to create layers, its either all or nothing, but that is probably for another thread.