Quick sketch of my favorite long-lived Leviathan. 

I love this almost as much as I love handball and a crisp glass of chardonnay.

Best episode of the season by a million kabillion miles come at me bro

Dean Winchester in a nutshell

I love how palpable Dean's self-hatred is in this snippet of dialogue; how quickly he answers Death's question, yet when he says Sam's name, he swallows it like a bitter pill; how cruel it is of Death to ask a man who values family above all else to choose between his brothers; and how ultimately Death always knew Dean would choose Sam, but he forces the decision anyway.

The thing is, I think if Dean had really forced the issue, Death may have relented and risen both Adam and Sam. Then again, Death also knew Dean wouldn't dare force the issue, not with Sam on the line.

The whole affair is so cruel and cold, and there's no kindness in it... which is why I think Death does it consciously, because asking Dean to choose is so at odds with the gesture he's offering to perform. Death will restore Sam's soul, despite what he tells Dean about losing, and it's something that Death's probably never done before (or if he has, only a handful of times). One might begin to think he's gone soft. But by forcing Sophie's Choice, then any possible sentimentality is mitigated.

My interview with VFX Supervisor Mark Meloche is now live! Check it out here: Supernatural From Script to Screen: VFX Supervisor Mark Meloche

Not gonna lie, it was very awesome to be sitting at home talking to one of the SPN crew for an hour.  Mark is a geek, and so passionate about his job – it sort of felt like talking to another SPN fan. The interview was done over Skype, my main challenge was remembering that this was an interview and not just a chat!

I hope you enjoy it - coming soon is my interview with First Assistant Director Kevin Parks. Let me know of any other crew members you’d particularly like to see interviewed.

An awesome behind-the-scenes look at Supernatural's VFX department, and what goes into making everything from black smoke to Levi tongue. Great interview, lots of meat here, fantastic job Jules!

Since you asked about who we'd like to see interview, holy gods would I love to see an interview with wardrobe! OMFG. I'm fangirling just thinking about it.

CASTIEL: I can’t help. You understand? I can’t. I destroyed… everything, and I will destroy everything again. Can we please just leave it at that? DEAN: No. [He gets up.] No, we can’t. SAM: Dean… DEAN: We can’t leave it. You let these friggin’ things in. So you don’t get to make a sandwich. You don’t get a damned cat. Nobody cares that you’re broken, Cas. Clean up your mess!

Dean and Cas // Survival of the Fittest (7x23)

God I love this exchange. Because Dean's right: In real life, when you fuck up, nobody cares that you're broken. You take responsibility for your fuck ups anyway. That's what being an adult is all about.

It says a lot about Cas that the first time we see him truly feel guilty, he runs away from the feeling, like Anna did -- like a child would, really. This is how a child behaves. A child wants Mommy and Daddy to clean up his spilled juice for him. A child thinks that by giving Mommy and Daddy enough hugs, or telling them he loves them, he won’t have to clean up his juice. And a child whines that he feels bad when Mommy and Daddy get angry at him for throwing the juice in the first place. A lot of fans got upset when Dean accused Cas of being a “baby in a trenchcoat” in 6x19, but c’mon, that’s exactly what he’s acting like here at the end of Season 7: a child dressed in a superhero’s clothes.

Of course, it only makes sense that Cas would behave this way, because until opening the door to Purgatory, he’s never really made a mistake he felt was so large he needed to hide away from it. (Which, if nothing else, should confirm that no matter how passive aggressive he gets about it sometimes, Cas doesn't consider leaving his garrison for the Winchesters' sake a mistake. Unlike 2014!Cas, he doesn't feel guilt over the action, or remorse, or regret. But that's another discussion for another time.) 

But just because it makes sense doesn’t mean it’s gonna fly. I see a lot of fans getting angry at Dean for this exchange, and I don't get it, I really don’t, because Dean has every right to be angry. His best friend (and probably more) is acting like a spoiled brat. Cas does need to nut up. It doesn't matter that he’s broken. I'm broken. You're broken. We're all broken. We're all cursed. And that doesn't absolve of us our duty and responsibility to fix our messes and to make the world a better place than what we found it. Even though we hurt, even though we feel guilty, somehow we just have to figure out a way to function in the society anyway, and no, you don’t get to sit on the sidelines and make sandwiches and play board games with yourself while someone else does it for you. 

Earlier in the episode, Sam tries to coddle Cas into “getting better”, but the truth is, there's no "better" for Cas to get to; because there's no getting better from your own mistakes, and there’s no getting better from your own maturity. Part of growing up is being shattered and gluing yourself back together. Not having someone else do it. Not pretending that the broken bits are their own excuse. And unlike Sam, I think Dean accepts that this is just how Cas is going to be broken. He doesn’t try to backpedal or deny Cas’s pain; he merely asks Cas to own it, like a real man does, and move forward anyway.

That’s why this exchange is so important. Because like with everything else about being human, it once again falls to Dean to teach Cas about what it means to be an adult – a man—and that means taking responsibility for your actions. And this message has to be harsh and direct, because children don’t listen to anything else; and it to be Dean who says it, because Cas won’t listen any other way.

I actually honest-to-god pumped my fist in the air when I first saw this exchange, because this is just what Cas needed to hear, when he needed to hear it, and this show is just so, so good sometimes, and I really loved what it became under Sera Gamble’s reign. If the first five seasons are about becoming an adult, then Sera Gamble’s run is about how to behave once you’ve become one, and this is a conversation I’d been waiting for ever since Cas stepped into that lake. Because an adult doesn’t get to sacrifice himself to make things right when he makes a mistake, and he doesn’t get to shy away from his own guilt, either; an adult steps up and deals with the consequences, whatever they may be, and then lives anyway.