can you tell the difference?
when Dean and Cas are having a ‘domestic dispute?’
👀
something’s different…
Ngl I lost it when I saw that last promo pic of Sam in the middle like the actual visual honest to goodness representation of poor long suffering Sammy in the middle of these two idjits like it’s some kind of fan fic then I remembered it’s Dabb fab fic endgame era so bring it on 😄
Before I crash tonight, don’t forget — we saw Dabb purposefully insert Truthful couples in the periphery as Sam and Dean walked through their world powered by Jack’s Truth Serum e.g.
- M/M couple: “It’s not you, it’s me”
- Parents telling their child that they still love them even when the child’s parents aren’t together anymore. Oh, hm, rings a bell.
As expected since Character Conflict Primers 14x17/18/19, spousal-coded Dean and Cas continued to argue in front of Sam, expressed raw, choppy disagreement/engaged in mistranslation during the season finale, raised their voices at each other out of anger re: the wellbeing of their son Jack (complete with self-aware and humanized upset Cas shoving past Dean), and were clearly framed as divorcees, topping off all the emotional character-driven angst in the episode itself *flips table*
But EH, it all means nothing, right? Right???
*returns to CAPSLOCK FREAKOUTS BECAUSE THE UNSAID - TFW/Destiel’s biggest INTERNAL OBSTACLE — MUST BE SAID AND THESE TWO ARE SLOWLY YET SURELY GETTING THERE*
Good morning I’m still weeping in AngstTM over them:
(It hurt Dean that Cas walked away. *clutches heart* x)
Cas choosing Jack over Dean was absolutely expected, a clear parental choice, where their shared love for Jack, in relation to their romantic bond with each other, drove them apart, and it was such a necessary conflict, because Dean ended up NOT following through with God’s script of shooting Jack (causing Chuck to throw a tantrum and flip the world topsy-turvy), and Cas will no doubt appreciate Dean’s change of heart.
He always knew Dean was ‘more than strong’, knew Dean was entirely capable of executing the right choice for the right reason despite making so many terrible ones - many errors with repercussions - in the past, and Dean redeemed himself (Cas witnessed Dean’s TRAUMAS and negative self-process. He’s seen Dean, exposed, inside and out!). There WAS another way: not shooting Jack (and unfortunately that way still led to Jack physically dying anyway) and we’ve also spiralled back to 12x23 thematically/narratively here: a gun, lovers at odds, the Nephilim. Full circle. And these things played out differently versus 12x23, in that TFW didn’t make choices for others a la 12x23 depressed!Cas stalking off to kill Lucifer and deal with Jack in order to prevent Sam and Dean from doing it themselves. Mirroring then subverting Cas, an almost-self-actualized Dean chose not to kill Jack (for his family, yes, but) mostly for HIMSELF. Love won, but because of love, they also lost.
Or did they?
(Love won. Love and…Love will win again in the final season.)
More thoughts to come hopefully soon!!!
God I hope so!
Every time its always Dean who ‘makes the call’ to Cas, how Sam knows this is the deal.
Every time Dean moves away from Sam, or waits for him to go, then calls.
How Dean was so confused in 10x21 when he picked up Sam’s phone and Cas was calling it. How when they do talk have clearly been on the phone for a while and right at the end, when in front of Sam, Dean switches to the case and ends with a perfunctory ‘ok let us know’ or ‘keep us posted’ (most recent example 12x13) ….
It reminds me of how open Dean was on the phone with Cas when Sam wasn’t there in 12x02.
How it’s been shown that they clearly call and text in between those that we see on camera.
It reminds me of his physical reactions, side glancing at Sam when they’re on speakerphone, straightening himself and the conversation out when it might digress because Sam is there….
Exactly how he reacted when he was caught off guard and grinning over the idea of cute fluffy koalas and had to immediately pull his face back to neutral once he realised.
Yeah, cos they’re like 3 brothers, sure.
Bonus:
Dean toying with his phone as he worries about Cas not answering his phone while we focus on Sam and Eileen…
Source: @shirtlesssammy who kindly giffed this when I flailed over it :)
12x18: Calling Cas while away from Sam and going back towards him when he knows he’s only got his voicemail and so won’t be speaking to him… then Sam is all supportive and sweet as he can be, while Dean continues his worried husband routine… hmmmmm
Adding to this now the reverse, that Cas stepped away from Sam to call Dean, during which time he told him about the cardigan ofc but also, what else?
This is more purposeful empty space question raising just like the cowboy movie watching. How often do they call for a natter?! We only found out this time because Dean teased Sam about something Cas said, but if they’re just chatting between themselves we just don’t hear about it.
It happens though, clearly.
The salty side of Destiel fandom: THEY JUST DONT HAVE SCENES TOGETHER. THIS IS THE APOCALYPSE
TPTB: Glue them together for literally half the promo content.
Reblogging this for more serious thoughts on it: They really do seem to be trying to individualize Sam. Removing deeper elements perhaps applicable to Dean of the No Access sign elsewhere, squatting between the bros in one moment; his bold red shirt sitting in contrast against the earthy tones on DeanCas, the spacing and positioning – I’m a mix of worried and interested.
Everyone knows I’m on team “Happy for independent and growing Sam” but it’s honestly a bit weird that they’re dividing them in EVERY way. Dean and Cas are being presented as a unit, even visually and spatially, while Sam is left there to pop out to the eye as a different thing entirely. I wonder if that’s going to be addressed through the episode with the Sam-Cas teamup or what.
We already had the Sam-Mary thing while she mirrored the Cas attire a few episodes back, so we have an inkling on some of what they may brush on here. Emphasis on “may.” It’s Eugenie writing the Cas end (and thus Sam end) and I trust her to be as subtle and insightful as sandpaper, but who knows?
I picked up on the Dean + Cas separate from Sam visual too but I see it more as a Dean + Cas thing than Sam being alone. Imo the focus here rn is that Sam is not alone, they emphasised that in 01 with him being so supported by everyone else, family and friends and hunters when Dean was lost, and while he’s definitely struggling with the workload I don’t think he’s portrayed as lonely rn or suffering from that in particular. I think they’re just emphasising the Dean + Cas - ness of it.
Which makes sense too as 08 is going to give us exposition of Cas’ “enormous sacrifice” followed by 09 where he’s alone with Dean and then the midseason hiatus... idk imo it’s all leading to Cas being separated from Dean as the big thing and they’re just emphasising that given the choice they are indeed “joined at the... everything” so that it’s even more angsty when they’re separated and the empty space we’ve been yelling about in meta circles for 2 years is going to finally be clear to the GA.
whats empty space subtext? and how exactly would it be textualized?
Textualisation of any subtext I meant would be good, I’m living for how much we’ve had in the last few eps tbh :)
The empty space subtext is what we’ve been talking about for while but especially since Cas died, it’s the moments where you feel like something is missing, a void, the missing elephant in the room at the elephant cage you know?
Like, actually a good example of tectualisation of this is Dean going nuts for all of 13x01 while we all yelled that he’s missing Cas but it was all subtextual until they showed us that empty space that we had missed, the prayer scene.
Another is 12x19’s mixtape scene which brought up the empty space of the unseen but utterly important first exchange of the mixtape. The missing scene where Dean’s all awkward and shy while giving Cas a friggin mixtape of what he probably considers love songs, like, jeez.
Then most of the rest of season 13 gave us empty space moments again, mostly surrounding Dean and Cas due to their miscommunication trope meaning this empty space thing fits perfectly. Dean telling Cas they needed him back as a family and the empty space where he pauses first and we are expecting him to mention the fact that Cas is back because he in particular was a suicidal mess which is what made Jack trigger the awakening, but no, it remains empty.
More again with Dean being annoyed throughout all of the show when Cas is away - the literal empty space of Cas’ absence affecting his mood.
Now we have another with the Jack - Dean hug and the glaring empty space where a Cas - Dean should have been and would have had it been anyone else (eg Mary) but was completely missing and another weird jarring moment like ? Huh ? Where’s the hug ? That would have led so easily on from Jack’s ?
WHY is there an empty space in all these moments ? What is being hidden ? Why are they making such an effort to make these scenes feel jarring and like there’s something missing ? Surely that’s a bad thing for a show ? Unless ... it’s leading to a big reveal ... ?
Sam Winchester knows his brother. He knows what he’s thinking—what he’s dwelling on, what’s tearing him up inside.
“What about Cas?”
“Are you sure you want to do this, Dean? It’s Cas.”
“Maybe he can come back …”
Sam asks the questions and goes over all the possibilities because he knows that Dean won’t say a word of it out loud.
Dean will stay quiet … at least, he will when someone’s looking.
But that was the main focus in this episode, wasn’t it? What happened when Sam—when we weren’t looking, made all the difference in the world. At the start, the plot went on and left us asking questions. “Why are you leaving the cabin? Where’s Cas’s body? Did you just leave him out there?”
I was genuinely worried that that is what they were implying when Dean and Sam left in the impala—but then, the next scene comes and we see Castiel’s body, inside—covered with a sheet.
High off the ground.
Respected.
Missed.
It was not shown, yet—it happened.
Dean carried Castiel into that house and laid him out on the table. He went and found a clean white sheet to cover him with.
The chair by Castiel’s head was pulled out—where Dean had most likely sat and cried, and tried to will his best friend to open his eyes.
But they didn’t open.
Castiel didn’t move.
So Dean got quiet again.
He got quiet and dismissive and spiraled, just like Sam thought he would.
But then, Dean prayed—as soon as he was alone and had the chance to scream and shout and explode the way he wanted to, he did. And he prayed to God to bring back all that he lost. “Everything” he said he lost everything, and that list began with Castiel.
Every time what had happened the night before was remembered, the first name on Dean’s lips was “Cas.”
And when Sam was busy leading Jack into the room to say goodbye to the mother he never truly knew—Dean was back beside that table, hoping that when he pulled away the sheet, it would be someone else underneath it. But it wasn’t—it was still Castiel, and that other angel’s words suddenly rushed back into his head. “He’s dead—really dead.”
And the silence is all Dean has now, so he covers Cas’s face once more and looks around—noticing the yellow curtains … yellow, the color of a fallen soldier and, that seems fitting. If any of this is to seem right at all, then maybe it’s that. So he tries to switch to autopilot—bind the body so it can be burned; but as he lifts that weight and begins to wrap the cloth around it, it’s suddenly all too familiar in his hands.
He has felt that weight too many times—in too many ways.
There is no denying what that weight means to him, and with its absence, it’ll weigh heavier on him with every breath he breathes.
So he stops.
Dean stops and looks back up the lines that he has looked up so many times before—times that we also have never seen, because now we know: there is so much that we don’t know.
There is so much we haven’t heard, haven’t felt, haven’t experienced … but Dean has.
He has experienced everything—and everything, well … everything is lying dead on a table in front of him.
1. Sam says they should split up, one (Dean) to stay (safely) with Sandy, the other (Sam) to go into potential danger to figure out what happened re the rift.
Dean is adamant that they shouldn’t do this and both go together: “I’m not going to let you go back there by yourself!”.
2. At the end of the episode exactly to the contrary Dean says they should split up, one (Sam) to stay (safely) with Gabriel, the other (Dean) to go into the danger of the rift.
Sam: “it’s safer if we go together!”.
=> Direct flipping of positions within the episode.
Gah. I love Davy. This episode is meta gold.
So we didn't get Cas actually saying "Hello Dean". Instead we got Asmodeus saying "Hello Dean" completely wrong. Any meta on that?
You mean the fact that there was a glaring EMPTY SPACE of Cas NOT saying “Hello Dean” and then it was filled with AN ILLUSION.
While I spent most of yesterday writing about Asmodeus and this point, that yes there was a glaring empty space and he just used it in a horrible manipulative way, which is exactly the point of his character :p
*fans self*
I love the unclear “how’s” and empty spaces theme continuing.
Where did Cas get his new phone from? Did Dean give it to him in another nice moment, “don’t lose this one ya hear?” = “don’t die again ya HEAR?!”.
How did he get to the sand box? Did he take a bus? Does he have wings again (doubt it)? Did he or the boys hotwire a car? What is it? Where is it now? Will the boys find it if they search for him at the sandbox or at the bar? Did Cas and Lucifer drive or walk to the bar? Why? What happened?
Did Sam make Ketch’s sandwich? Why do I find this hilarious?!
Where’s Mary?
How long til Asmodeus reads Dean’s disgustingly cute and angrily worried text messages and taunts Cas with outrageous responses?
How long til we see North Cove again? (Assuming that’s where Jack’s gone with the cave symbolism).
Now we have Jack in a metaphorical cave (maybe) and his two dads are in a literal dark cave like prison.
So much symbolism, so many empty spaces and questions!!!
Reading some of my recent posts and thinking I would love to talk about our perspective and character POV in various Destiel scenes to examine what they each individually know about what’s going on and how our perspective differs too. Just reading myself talking about that being an obvious metaphor in 11x04 in the “werepire” scene but aside from a bit of commentary on the mixtape scene I haven’t really done much with it… What scenes should I talk about? I mean, would you want an analysis like that/think it might be interesting?
How about Cas watching Dean bubbling around the hotel room and in direct contrast to Sam and Jack who are seeing this like a huge eye opening “Dean is acting 100000000% differently to how he was 36 hours ago” blatancy of his emotional state, Cas is just like “ah yes Dean...well yeah he loves cowboys and is insufferably adorable and I can’t have him, he doesn’t want me, I’ll just wait here then and do my duty” grumpy about it because he has no freaking idea what Dean has been going through when he’s not around.
The last time he saw Dean in a not pissed at him big blowout moment but a “normal” hunt, Dean was strumming a guitar and being a dork about that, just like he is here with cowboys, so for Cas it’s not like much has changed?
But for Dean so much has changed.
It’s their own individual empty space, that can only be filled through communication. I’d love your opinion on this cos I keep thinking about it :D
So I love all the fanfic gaps of 13x06 but like... when exactly did Dean sit Cas down to watch movies? Before he kicked him out in season 9? When he had the mark? When he was a demon?? I love all these little secrets it feels like we're being let in on, but I'm also too curious for my own good. :D Love your meta!
IKR I love this.
All the empty space in season 13. It’s a GIFT. It’s even a CHARACTER. Like…!
Who knows when, I’m going with some time around season 11, the booty shorts car washing era when Cas was hanging around the bunker ;)
In season 9 Dean gets a second bedside table and lays on one side of the bed, a huge glaring empty space on the other but he kicked Cas out and it came to nothing. In season 11 he’s parading around the bunker in booty shorts when Cas is there, so yeah I totally put this as a potential “come on Cas, indulge me, come on it’s my favourite movie!” flirting period. I can just imagine it alongside the “call it a Werepire, come on Cas ;)” stuff you know?
It’s great isn’t it, like, all the random little things we know. It feels like we know the little things and that makes it easier to know really who they are. I said last year that I wished we knew more of those things about Sam and we are getting more, it’s great!
It’s inferred Cas likes to use emoticons when he texts, Sam’s interests are kinda wacky, Dean actually owns his own cowboy hat he brought to Dodge and he has a proper wrestling, cowboy and doctor fetish (I mean let’s throw firefighter in there too for Cas’ halloween outfit when he’s human and they’re together in the end, I mean, he would totally get those HIP BONES in a shirtless suspenders fireman outfit, jeez he’d be dressed and undressed 3 times before they just decide fuck it they’re not even gonna bother leaving the bunker.
I live for more of these. Seriously Dabb era is a GIFT. They’re giving us all the stuff I’ve been saying I wanted, like… I am in awe!
More of these sweet fun positive moments like we got in 13x06 between Sam, Dean and Cas, more of these little insights into really who they are and what they like… I LOVE IT!
I don’t have much time to write something because I gotta go to work and I haven’t been able to rewatch yet. However, I can’t leave without saying some things that were very subtle but I loved anyway. The writers are consistently showing us that what happens in our screens IS DEFINITELY NOT THE ONLY THING THAT HAPPENS in the lives of our boys.
Cas knows dean is an angry sleeper. He knows he reacts like a bear and will use the gun that he keeps under his pillow. This is something that somehow had to remind us of 12x19, the episode in which Cas wanted to return the mixtape Dean gave him as an excuse to steal the Colt that he KNEW Dean would put under his pillow. Dean said in that episode that Cas came into his room and played him. The question is still the same: How does Cas know about Dean’s sleeping or waking up habits?
Dean makes Cas watch movies with him. And we’re not talking about whatever kind of movies. Dean makes Cas watch classical films he’s passionate about. When exactly does that happen?
It was Dean whose first reaction was to hug Cas. It was Dean who welcomed Cas home. It was Dean who said Cas was gone too damn long. It was Dean who said HE needed a big win and that getting Cas back was a pretty damn big win.
Notice that Dean’s learning to use the right pronouns but he’s not quite there yet. “I said I needed a big win. WE got Cas back. That’s pretty damn big win.” The one who needed a big win was Dean. Even though all of them got Cas back, it was textually and subtextually obvious that the person who experienced a big swift in mood was Dean. HE got Cas back. That’s the truth of it all! Sam and Jack got Cas back too, but Dean’s win was that he got what he said out loud that he needed; what he wanted since 13x01 (when the drunk!female angel whose name I don’t remember said Jack could do almost anything but that Cas was all the way dead… meaning Dean’s priority was Cas over all the other losses even though he mentioned them all in his prayer to God). Dean’s win was that he got what he didn’t dare ask Billie in 13x05.
There were many moments from 13x06 that we were not shown. After the brothers picked up Cas, they had to ride to the Bunker. Where did Cas sit? What did they talk about? How did Dean behave?
After Dean decided they should check the case Jack found, they had to pack and then they had to spend around 4 hours in the car (from Lebanon to Dodge City in Kansas). Did Dean and Cas have a chance to talk privately? What did they all talk about during those 4 hours?
Then in the scene where Jack woke Dean up, we could hear the crickets outside, but the sun was up and shining when we next saw Dean and Cas together. How long were they together? Did they grab something to eat before or after going to the crime scene? Did Dean just take a cowboy hat lying around in the motel they were staying in and just put it on Cas? What did they talk about before and after they left the crime scene? Were they alone at the motel before Jack and Sam got back?
The fact that we didn’t see any of those scenes doesn’t negate that there are many gaps for the writers to retcon later on.
It’s like the show is trying to prove a point here. Dean and Cas have a relationship besides hunting. Cas has watched Dean sleep enough times to know his reactions, and they have had enough time off screen to have moments like watching movies together. We already knew they usually text; we already knew that Dean gave Cas a mixtape at some point off screen, but apparently THERE’S A LOT ABOUT THEIR RELATIONSHIP WE DON’T SEE ON OUR SCREENS… and the show is trying very hard to prove that much is canon.
I’m sure this is going to be important one day in the foreseeable future. What we see is not all that happens. Keep that in mind, folks!
I feel HORRIBLE saying this but I was kinda let down by the sneak peek? I mean, I wasn’t expecting a huge love confession but still. Something was just so... off. About the whole thing ?
It’s SUPPOSED TO FEEL OFF!!
*GESTURES VAGUELY AT MY WHOLE BLOG TODAY*
It’s supposed to feel like there’s something *NOT RIGHT* here.
It’s not truthful.
Because Dean and Cas are both holding the truth back.
The truth that was set up all season so far so BLATANTLY. That was the focus of so much of the last 5 episodes.
Now it’s suddenly MISSING, there’s a huge glaring HOLE, because they’re holding it in in front of each other. All those feelings that were exposed before this point suddenly retreat inwards as they repress it having just gotten back to each other again because they’re both terrified of these feelings.
There’s a huge EMPTY SPACE just as there had been all season with Cas missing now there’s one just as Dean with tears in his eyes walks towards Cas in front of a big neon cross after saying “I do” then swallows the truth and friend zones him.
It’s SUPPOSED to feel off. It’s SUPPOSED to feel not right. Like… hang on what?!!!! But they just??? But I thought…???
It’s BRILLIANT!!!
Davy Perez right now:
Sam: “I don’t know what to say”
Dean: “I do...” (walks towards Cas slowly)
<GIANT ASS PAUSE WHILE ALL DESTIEL SHIPPERS AND THE GA WHO ARE LATCHING ON LEAN INTO THEIR MONITOR LIKE ????>
Dean (finally): “...welcome home pal”
Everyone:
Me: Slow Clap @ Davy Fucking Perez.
What were we saying about the empty spaces this season re: Dean/Cas? Pfff.
GUYS. I HAVE BEEN ON A TWO WEEK INTERNET BLACKOUT AND OH BOY HAVE I MISSED YOU!
So guess who was on an actual ship, shipping my ship, missing out on my ship sailing whilst sailing on a ship? (I’m sorry. Groan at me all you want.)
Okay so here’s the thing, thanks to my 2 week stint on an actual ship I haven’t been blogging or writing my reviews or meta and I am bursting at the seams to talk about what the hell has been going on over the past few weeks.
Because WOW. Guys… GUYS…
In case you have been living under a rock for the past two weeks (or in the middle of the ocean with no wifi and a maritime data package at £6 per megabyte like me…) then you may have missed the following HUGE advances in our ships development towards a canon happy ending…
The sheer amount of negative space in these episodes has floored me. There is a HUGE question mark hanging over the ENTIRE season so far. This plot doesn’t quite work if you aren’t “in the know” (in other words, a destiel shipper). But each episode 3, 4 and 5 have answered those silent questions perfectly with a big neon arrow pointing directly at CAS.
Cas is the answer to all of Dean’s problems, that is the message that the show has shoved in the audiences face constantly since season 13 began, and the REAL silent question that the show is just BEGGING the audience to ask is WHY? WHY is Cas SO important to Dean? WHY is Dean’s grief SO MUCH worse than Sam’s? WHY is Cas the answer to EVERY. SINGLE. EMOTIONAL. POINT. SO. FAR for Dean?
WE KNOW THE ANSWER.
What I am constantly being amazed by this season is that this isn’t deep meta. This isn’t some next level highly analytical picking apart of symbols and film theory that you need a degree in film or literature to figure out. This is so close to surface level you can see it floating just beneath the waves. As a destiel shipper at this point I am blinking and wondering why I should even bother writing about this stuff because it is SO OBVIOUS that at this point, if someone asks me where I see destiel in the show I can just gesture vaguely at season 13 and say LOOK. Because all you need is two eyes and a brain that is capable of consuming media with some degree of intelligent thought.
Honestly what else is there to do now other than to sit back and enjoy the show? I am desperate for them to finally bring it out of subtext of course, as my one gripe is that we are still not there yet. All the foundations are in place, but we still need a textual confirmation that what we are watching is not platonic love. My feelings on that matter now is that we are no longer dealing with an ‘if’ but a ‘when’ and I don’t say that kind of thing lightly.
Perhaps I am deluded in this thought, but every episode so far in season 13 has had me struggling to find the platonic reading. We are well and truly in romantic territory and I’m sorry but that final shot in 13x05 of Cas turning around to reveal himself to a shocked Dean, the slow zoom in on both their faces as they stare longingly at each other… in what way is that NOT romantic?
Never in any previous season of SPN have we had a consecutive run of 5 episodes where the overarching theme was all about Castiel. Castiel and grief and Dean’s love for him. Because that’s what it’s all been about. Sure we have had Jack’s story and Sam being a support figure and a source of conflict for Dean, and we’ve had some new bad guys, but ultimately, every single episode so far has been about CAS and how his death has affected Dean. This is what has stunned me. This is what I can’t wrap my head around. I guess being a Cas girl I am so used to being burned by this show that I can’t quite handle it.
Nothing is certain of course, and I don’t have a magic crystal ball telling me they are gonna go there, but with everything we have been given I can’t fathom how they CAN’T be going there now. I have never been more positive, and I only hope that the show continues to amaze me in this way. Judging by the promo’s for next weeks episode, I think I will once again come away with a huge grin on my face. Their reunion episode is COWBOYS FFS. I mean JESUS could they BE any less subtle?!?
I have rambled on for far too long, but I had to get this all off my chest. I am so very light and happy and gleeful about this all. I am basically Dean in next week’s episode! A giddy school girl fangirling over the thing I love and simultaneously revelling in the fact that the person I adore has finally returned to me. Oh Dean. Your happy face in the promo makes me happy. I just KNOW it’s going to be fantastic.
I started leaning towards the TV during the zoom in on Castiel, just waiting for “Hello, Dean,” and when it didn’t happen, I felt like I’d just missed the last step on the staircase going up.
Well played, SPN. That was a worthy episode ending.
WHERE THE FUCK IS THE HELLO DEAN
I know.
I just hope they’re trying to end us all next week ;)
It was the next empty space ;)
