MARY WINCHESTER’S INTRODUCTION TO DESTIEL
OK CONSIDER THIS: THIS IS THE FIRST TIME MARY IS WITNESSING HER SON SHOW AFFECTION TOWARDS SOMEONE HE KNOWS. SHE HAS NO IDEA WHAT DEAN AND CAS HAVE BEEN THROUGH TOGETHER–WHY THEY’D HUG LIKE THAT. SHE MOST PROBABLY THINKS THEY’RE A THING–WHICH THEY ARE.
To be fair, Mary has absolutely no context here. This is the first person she sees Dean interacting with besides herself since he was 4 years old. FOUR. Dean is a grown ass man with around 37 years to his belt, she must know there is no way he is still the same he was as a kid. So what he knows about him may very well not be there. She just met her son and this is the first person she sees him interacting with. She has virtually no context besides maybe how hunters tend to behave. So she is a bit surprised when Dean calls this man a friend.
She is probably unsure of what to think. Is Dean like this with all his friends? Does he even have other friends? Is this friend more special than other friends? Has the general culture changed so much that she is seeing this as special when actually it’s completely commonplace? She has no clue.
So I think she is seeing something but has no idea what to make of it because she has no context. So she sees something, but it’s not sure what exactly it is and I think that maybe later when she starts getting to know them better, she will look back at this moment and realize some things.
ALSO:
Mary was just introduced to their home. Their HOME.
When Dean sees the blood on the floor, after checking for danger, calls out for BOTH Sam AND CAS. Of course, she has no reference at the time, and it’s a tense situation, but it establishes that Cas shares a home with the brothers.
Then she comes face-to-face with Cas, (Who’s also looking for Sam) and sees just how important he is to Dean. I mean, does he worry about what Cas will do to Mary? No. He’s worried Cas might be weak enough to get hurt by Mary’s gun.
And then there’s the “touch-starved koala hug” that Cas gave, and the gentle one that Dean returns.
Cas MEANS something to Dean. And he shares their HOME. And Dean obviously means SO MUCH to Cas.
So yes, I’m sure she’s questioning. Especially with the looks Dean keeps giving Cas at certain moments (like the one when Dean realizes his parents got it on in the back seat)
Yeah, I was thinking about that too! How Dean called for Cas when they got home and Mary hears him call this man by the same name. I’m not sure if she caught it right away tho, because she was still kind of shocked and processing what was going on. But after that, I am sure that it is pretty obvious that Dean was expecting Cas to be there, in their home and Mary may understand that as Cas living with them. Which I agree with, but it’s debatable if that was why Dean called out to him as well.
Also, Mary is lacking so much context here, not only all the things this two have been through but also the fact that Cas thought Dean was death. (Altho she may have figured that out by the conversation, it depends on how much she was processing, she may have missed it and only thought about it after the fact rather than in the moment) For all she knows this two act like that each time they see eachother, which is hilarious.
I love the curious look Mary gives them when they hug. The last time she saw Dean, he was a cuddly little 4 year old who “Wuvs Hugs” and even offered his mom physical comfort when she fought with his dad. So, actually, the Dean she knew was a hugger. Maybe she thinks he greets everyone like this.
What she doesn’t have is the history that we’ve seen. She doesn’t know about this angry boy who has hid his feelings behind bravado and humor forever. She doesn’t know what it was like for him to be dragged around from town to town and never make a connection and when he finally started letting himself care about people, they too often died. She doesn’t know how long it took him to get over his fear of chick flick moments and just how infrequently he lets people in and how long it took him to be comfortable hugging Cas. She doesn’t know that this strange man, who just let himself into her son’s home has sacrificed himself for Dean over and over. She has no idea what a profound bond this man shares with her son. And she may or may not understand that this is a reunion of two men who thought they would never see each other again.
Gosh this little scene is just so rich with feeling, and history, and subtext. It’s so cool being on the outside and watching the different reactions of people that have the benefit of history and those that don’t.
