There’s things, there’s people, feelings that I want to experience differently than I have before. Or maybe even for the first time.
That bar? That’s Dean’s local.
It’s where he (and maybe Sam) go when they want the familiar, comfortable feeling of bending an elbow in not-quite-random company. Sometimes it’s a good thing to do your drinking in a place where you have to be mindful that someone may take your keys, you know? Especially when you’re home alone. Dean’s a recognized regular there - knows the bartender’s name, bartender knows his order, they have in-jokes. It’s his local.
You don’t go barging into a man’s local trying to start shit. You just don’t.
Those three college boys didn’t seem to know that, so Dean helpfully gave them a lesson and made them pay for it.
Hustling and risking a fist fight makes perfect sense when you realize that bar is Dean’s territory, and hustling those brats was the most economical method of defending his territory against aggressive interlopers.
Which, btw, makes Rowena’s appearance in the suddenly-emptied bar even more intrusive and unsettling. She might as well have attacked in Dean’s living room.
Now I really want to hear more.
Does Sam hang there too? Do they always go there together? Is this what they do “every night”? Do they hustle pool there? They wouldn’t hustle the regulars, obviously. Do they play for fun?
Does Dean wink at Donnie all the time? Just when Sam’s not around? Or not at all? Does Donnie notice that Dean doesn’t flirt when Sam’s around? (Cuz Sam always pulls a bitchface when Dean’s flirting.) Does Donnie think they’re together? Or does he know they’re brothers? Does Dean flirt with the ladies there? The ladies in the background were all leather jackets and plaid. I’m just sayin.
To recap, Donnie the bartender
- is tall but (probably) not as tall as Dean
- has dark hair
- doesn’t wear a lot of scruff
- is a hot bartender (read: authority over the booze)
Conclusion: Dean’s type
Anybody else think of the couple in the bar in 8x23? Not necessarily as a direct reference, but Dean seems to come to this bar a lot, enough to know the bartender by name and to have a rapport with him. Kinda like “Rod rides a stool here most days.”
I’m just saying.