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It's become a regular pattern now. Mary's proud of Sam and calls him a good man. Sam's memorized the entire Bible in ancient Hebrew. He knows the cure for thallium poisoning off the top of his head. Jack looks to him as the deciding vote in the Nick situation. He's obviously someone his whole family respects. Dean? Dude can't even figure out a child's game. He has to ask Sam to hack into the cameras, even though he's done it himself. Dean no longer remembers any lore outside of pop culture. But hey, if there's anyone to torture, he's the guy. Dean's own mother couldn't find one nice thing to say about him before she kicked the mortal coil. I hope Jensen helps put a stop to this nonsense. If the writers want to praise Sam, that's fine. But it's only fair that they treat Dean with that same regard, not this weekly put-down fest. It got old a long time ago.

If the decline in writing is truly one of the reasons the Js are leaving, then it's possible they themselves might be more vocal. No doubt that Jensen and Jared want to end on a high note and there's really nothing to be gained anymore by being politically correct about the crappy writing. Because, seriously, how demeaning is it for two show leads to be relegated to a supporting "dad" role? I can't imagine either J being okay with ending their 15 year SPN run on that note.

Taking to "Supernatural Bitterness & Unpopular Opinions"

The show's always had a problem with keeping canon consistent but it seems to have gotten especially bad this season. Now the writers can't keep things straight even between their own scripts, much less from 1 or 2 episodes ago.

Sounds about right (except Cas will also be lying unconscious on the floor)

Michael could have literally spent the entire season in a cereal box and it wouldn't have changed a thing. Dean's possession meant nothing and could have been skipped entirely. The plot could have just jumped ahead to Nougat!Sue killing Michael and getting his grace just the same. Dabb really did rip off Kripke's mytharc, with this episode as Swan Song redux. Except at least the original was about the brothers, not some bland supporting character.

This whole season has just been so pointless. Michael turning those monsters was pointless. Michael possessing Dean was pointless. Michael wanting to hunt down God was pointless. The only storylines with any throughline have been nougat baby's magical consumption and Nick's weird Lucifer thing. But I guess that's not surprising since Dabb obviously sees Supernatural as the Jack Show, with a side helping of assorted side characters. The brothers and Cas are just carrots to pull in the viewers (and to serve as occasional plot devices) but they're largely irrelevant to the actual story. If Dabb dislikes writing so much for TFW, then I think it's time for the show to end.

With Dabb at the helm, a repeat of Swan Song wouldn't surprise me in the least. I saw such a discrepancy in how he wrote the brothers' roles in the 300th (seriously, what did Dean even do besides make the initial wish and go grocery shopping?) If Dabb had no problem in handing Sam both Dean's big Zachariah kill and the big cathartic scene with John (nevermind that Dean's most impactful, throughline arc for 14 years has been his relationship with his father), it's not a big stretch for Michael to be next. But while Sam is clearly Dabb's favorite TFW character, I think he's actually most enthralled with the side characters. Season 12 revolved around Mary and the BMoL. Season 13 was Wayward, Jack, and Lucifer. This season, Jack and Nick have gotten the most consistent, cohesive focus. I'm betting that, if Michael does indeed leave Dean (which would make no sense but hey, welcome to lol!canon), he'll end up in Nick or Kaia or random character #487. Then Jack will save the day, burn off the rest of his soul, and next season will be all about that.

I agree. There's no tactical advantage for Michael to give up his Sword. He even described Dean as his "perfect vessel." Plus, there is the problem of what happens to Dean if Michael leaves: You fellas didn't think this out, did you? Even if you could force me out, what do you think I'd leave behind, hm? You'd be nothing but blood and bone My guess is that Michael's going to escape, take control of Dean again, and take off to parts unknown. Without another solution in sight, I think Sam and Cas are going to have to find a way to get Michael into the Ma'lak box after all (maybe Jack does it, hence "Jack in the Box?") Obviously, Dean wouldn't stay in the box forever. Who knows, Chuck could show up and pull a deus ex machina. Wouldn't be the first time he's intervened on behalf of the Winchesters

My Dabb-induced apathy about the show actually worked in my favor for this episode. I found it underwhelming but since I didn't have any expectations going in, I was okay with that. I didn't hate it, I didn't love it, I probably won't remember much about it by next week. Typical of how i feel about most episodes these days. I don't really understand why the episode was called "Lebanon" when the town part felt shoehorned in. I agree that they should have picked and focused on just one of the two storylines. There was a lot that could have been done to lay the foundation of JDM returning without him actually being there. Maybe then John's presence would have had more emotional resonance for me.

Sam also does all the magic and suddenly knows more than Dean about fixing the Colt. That's exactly why Chief Sam bothers me so very, very much. Sure, we've seen Sam occasionally lead but it never seemed like something he naturally gravitated to. But suddenly he has "room to breathe" and viola! Insta- Leader Sam. In 3 weeks, he not only took over the AU hunters but revolutionalized modern hunting. Now there's mandatory check-ins, body cams, hunting in pairs, and a coordinated mission control center. Not that those are bad things (although I'm not sure they're really improvements either) but it's like the writers can't just settle for Sam doing a decent job; he has to be even more special than everyone else. Kip decides to ask Sam's permission to lead Hell. Sam kills Kip instead and declares he won't allow a new King of Hell, at which point all the demons flee from him in terror. Okay then. It's a bit much. I used to enjoy the way each brother had their own niche on the show. Sam has always been the info expert. Dean can obviously do research but it's not something he particularly enjoys. If Sam went missing, it's a sure bet that Dean wouldn't suddenly become the lore guru and have hunters calling him for esoteric lore. Nor would I expect the show to go there because that's Sam's area of expertise. But when it comes to Dean's strengths, it's a different story. Under Dabb, Sam's skills are Sam's and Dean's skills are Sam's too. Sam has become a One Man Hunting Wonder. He can strategize, lead field operations, recite all the lore, kill the biggest bad guys, empathize with civilians, and overcome pretty much any obstacle. That's exactly how Dabb wrote him in "Form", "Red Meat" and "Stranger". I agree with you, @Aeryn13 . At this point, I'm not sure what purpose Dean serves other than as Sam's back up and support. When Carver introduced the MoL, I truly believed Sam would archive their library and become the new American MoL lore expert. Dean, otoh, would catalogue all the magical weapons and become the MoL field operations/hunting leader. Maybe if Carver had stayed on, eventually that might have happened. But now that Dabb's in charge, I can't see Dean ever being allowed to shine in that way.

I could buy Michael only re-possessing Dean in order to keep TFW busy. Even though previous canon said true vessels were special and sought after, we've had plenty of retcons recently. It wouldn't surprise me if Dean's now only useful to Michael as a distraction, not because Michael actually wants or needs vessel Dean.

I'm guessing that's what is going to happen - Sam & Cas convince Dean he's in fantasyland and Dean kicks Michael out for good. Which shouldn't be a problem since now monsters can house the most powerful archangel in 2 universes without exploding. Very little about the show makes any sense these days.

Maybe it's just spending time with Dean, lol

Episode 5 's title is Nightmare Logic OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS: DARE TO DREAM – After a hunt gone wrong leaves Maggie’s (guest star Katherine Evans) whereabouts unknown, Sam (Jared Padalecki) Dean (Jensen Ackles), Mary (guest star Samantha Smith) and Bobby (guest star Jim Beaver) race to find her, but what they find are their own worst nightmares. Darren Grant directed the episode written by Meredith Glynn (#1405). Original airdate 11/8/2018.