#i was rewatching 1.20 and i thought about this

[sharpesjoy]

1.20 | 7.13

#*mine #thementalistedit #jisbonedit #the mentalist #jisbon #jane x lisbon #patrick jane #teresa lisbon #tmsource #cinemapix #cinematv #tvedit #parallels #i was rewatching 1.20 and i thought about this #idk why but i had to make it so :) #i miss my sweet idiots in love

[suncaptor]

writerswatch supernatural

I am doing a rewatch in groupings of the writers! The tag is #writerswatch. I have tallied the writers into groups giving the speed 1 episode per day, but I will not be consistent with that and have it listed into dates for each writer.

I have outlined it below and people can join if they do want to, whether it be for a certain writer, episode, or anything. I just thought this would be a fun format.

I am starting with Eric Kripke.

Eric Kripke: September 25th-October 10th

"Pilot"

1x02 (with Ron Milbauer and Terri Hughes Burton)

"Bloody Mary" (with Ron Milbauer and Terri Hughes Burton)

"Home"

"Shadow"

"Devil's Trap"

"In My Time of Dying"

"All Hell Breaks Loose - Part 2" (with Michael T. Moore)

"The Magnificent Seven" (with Emily McLaughlin)

"No Rest for the Wicked"

"Lazarus Rising"

"Heaven and Hell" (with Trevor Sands)

"Lucifer Rising"

"Sympathy for the Devil"

"The Real Ghostbusters" (with Nancy Weiner)

"Swan Song" (with Eric 'Giz' Gewirtz)"The Man Who Knew Too Much"

Sera Gamble: October 11th-November 8th

1.03 Dead in the Water

1.12 Faith

1.14 Nightmare

1.21 Salvation

2.03 Bloodlust

2.08 Crossroad Blues

2.13 Houses of the Holy

2.17 Heart

2.21 All Hell Breaks Loose: Part One

3.02 The Kids Are Alright

3.07 Fresh Blood

3.10 Dream a Little Dream of Me

3.12 Jus in Bello

3.15 Time Is on My Side

4.02 Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean Winchester

4.09 I Know What You Did Last Summer

4.17 It's a Terrible Life

4.21 When the Levee Breaks

5.02 Good God, Y'All

5.07 The Curious Case of Dean Winchester with Jenny Klein (story)

5.13 The Song Remains the Same with Nancy Weiner

5.21 Two Minutes to Midnight

6.01 Exile on Main St.

6.11 Appointment in Samarra

6.21 Let It Bleed

7.01 Meet the New Boss

7.10 Death's Door

7.17 The Born-Again Identity

7.23 Survival of the Fittest

Raelle Tucker*: November 9th-14th

1.03 Dead in the Water

1.12 Faith

1.14 Nightmare

1.21 Salvation

2.04 Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things

2.10 Hunted

2.16 Roadkill

2.20 What Is and What Should Never Be

*she did write some episodes with Gamble so some are repeats, so I have cut down the days.

John Shiban: Nomember 15th-23rd

1.06 Skin

1.07 Hook Man

1.11 Scarecrow

1.15 The Benders

1.20 Dead Man's Blood

2.02 Everybody Loves a Clown

2.09 Croatoan

2.15 Tall Tales

2.19 Folsom Prison Blues

Cathryn Humphris: November 24th-November 30th

1.20 Dead Man's Blood with John Shiban

2.07 The Usual Suspects

2.14 Born Under a Bad Sign

3.05 Bedtime Stories

3.10 Dream a Little Dream of Me with Sera Gamble

4.04 Metamorphosis

4.14 Sex and Violence

Ben Edlund: December 1st-December 24th

2.05 Simon Said

2.12 Nightshifter

2.18 Hollywood Babylon

3.03 Bad Day at Black Rock

3.09 Malleus Maleficarum

3.13 Ghostfacers

4.05 Monster Movie

4.08 Wishful Thinking

4.16 On the Head of a Pin

5.04 The End

5.10 Abandon All Hope...

5.14 My Bloody Valentine

5.20 The Devil You Know

6.03 The Third Man

6.09 Clap Your Hands If You Believe...

6.15 The French Mistake

6.20 The Man Who Would Be King

7.02 Hello, Cruel World

7.09 How to Win Friends and Influence Monsters

7.15 Repo Man

7.21 Reading Is Fundamental

8.05 Blood Brother

8.13 Everybody Hates Hitler

8.21 The Great Escapist

Jeremy Carver: December 24th-January 11th

3.04 Sin City 

3.08 A Very Supernatural Christmas 

3.11 Mystery Spot with Emily McLaughlin (story)

3.14 Long-Distance Call

4.03 In the Beginning 

4.11 Family Remains 

4.15 Death Takes a Holiday

4.20 The Rapture

5.03 Free to Be You and Me 

5.08 Changing Channels

5.15 Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid

5.18 Point of No Return

8.01 We Need to Talk About Kevin

8.23 Sacrifice

9.01 I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here 

9.23 Do You Believe in Miracles? 

10.01 Black

10.23 Brother's Keeper 

11.01 Out of the Darkness, Into the Fire

Matt Witten: January 12-January 13th

2.06 No Exit

2.11 Playthings

Richard Hatem: January 14th-January 15th

1.04 Phantom Traveler

1.10 Asylum

Andrew Dabb: January 16th-March 1st, Daniel Loflin: January 16th-31st

4.06 Yellow Fever with Daniel Loflin 

4.13 After School Special with Daniel Loflin

4.19 Jump the Shark with Daniel Loflin 

5.06 I Believe the Children Are Our Future with Daniel Loflin 

5.11 Sam, Interrupted with Daniel Loflin

5.16 Dark Side of the Moon with Daniel Loflin

5.19 Hammer of the Gods with Daniel Loflin

6.04 Weekend at Bobby's with Daniel Loflin

6.07 Family Matters with Daniel Loflin 

6.13 Unforgiven with Daniel Loflin

6.18 Frontierland with Daniel Loflin and Jackson Stewart (story) 

7.03 The Girl Next Door with Daniel Loflin

7.08 Season Seven, Time for a Wedding! with Daniel Loflin

7.14 Plucky Pennywhistle's Magic Menagerie with Daniel Loflin 

7.22 There Will Be Blood with Daniel Loflin 

8.02 What's Up, Tiger Mommy? with Daniel Loflin 

8.08 Hunteri Heroici 

8.14 Trial and Error

8.22 Clip Show

9.02 Devil May Care

9.10 Road Trip 

9.20 Bloodlines 

9.22 Stairway to Heaven 

10.02 Reichenbach

10.09 The Things We Left Behind 

10.17 Inside Man 

10.22 The Prisoner 

11.02 Form and Void 

11.10 The Devil in the Details

11.15 Beyond the Mat with John Bring

11.17 Red Meat with Robert Berens 

11.23 Alpha and Omega 

12.01 Keep Calm and Carry On 

12.09 First Blood 

12.23 All Along the Watchtower 

13.01 Lost and Found 

13.10 Wayward Sisters with Robert Berens 

13.15 A Most Holy Man with Robert Singer 

13.23 Let the Good Times Roll 

14.01 Stranger in a Strange Land 

14.13 Lebanon with Meredith Glynn

14.20 Moriah 

15.01 Back and to the Future 

15.10 The Heroes' Journey 

15.20 Carry On

Julie Siege: March 2nd-March 7th

4.07 It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester 

4.12 Criss Angel Is a Douchebag

4.18 The Monster at the End of This Book 

5.05 Fallen Idol 

5.12 Swap Meat with Harvey Fedor and Rebecca Dessertine 

5.17 99 Problems

Adam Glass*: March 8th-March 22nd

6.02 Two and a Half Men 

6.08 All Dogs Go to Heaven

6.12 Like a Virgin 

6.19 Mommy Dearest 

7.04 Defending Your Life

7.11 Adventures in Babysitting

7.18 Party On, Garth 

8.06 Southern Comfort 

8.12 As Time Goes By

8.18 Freaks and Geeks

9.07 Bad Boys

9.12 Sharp Teeth

9.17 Mother's Little Helper 

10.04 Paper Moon 

10.12 About A Boy

*both hitting Dabb and Glass these are writers I don’t really even take as canon most of the time, and then adding in Buckleming soon, but I’m still going to act as if I’ll have the stomach for it.

Brett Matthews: March 23rd-March 25th

6.05 Live Free or Twihard

6.10 Caged Heat with Jenny Klein (story)

6.16 And Then There Were None

Eric Charmelo and Nicole Snyder: March 26th-April 3rd

6.06 You Can't Handle the Truth

6.14 Mannequin 3: The Reckoning

6.17 My Heart Will Go On

9.05 Dog Dean Afternoon

9.13 The Purge

10.06 Ask Jeeves

10.13 Halt & Catch Fire

11.07 Plush

11.13 Love Hurts

Brad Buckner and Eugene Ross-Leming: April 4th-May 11th

(I wouldn’t recommend rewatching all of these and am assuming people know what to be critical and prepare for)

1.13 Route 666

7.05 Shut Up, Dr. Phil

7.13 The Slice Girls

7.19 Of Grave Importance

8.03 Heartache

8.07 A Little Slice of Kevin

8.15 Man's Best Friend with Benefits

8.19 Taxi Driver

9.03 I'm No Angel

9.09 Holy Terror

9.16 Blade Runners

9.21 King of the Damned

10.03 Soul Survivor

10.10 The Hunter Games

10.16 Paint It Black

10.21 Dark Dynasty

11.03 The Bad Seed

11.09 O Brother Where Art Thou?

11.18 Hell's Angel

11.21 All in the Family

12.02 Mamma Mia

12.08 LOTUS

12.13 Family Feud

12.17 The British Invasion

12.21 There's Something About Mary

13.02 The Rising Son

13.07 War of the Worlds

13.13 Devil's Bargain

13.18 Bring 'em Back Alive

13.22 Exodus

14.02 Gods and Monsters

14.07 Unhuman Nature

14.12 Prophet and Loss

14.19 Jack in the Box

15.02 Raising Hell

15.08 Our Father, Who Aren't in Heaven

15.13 Destiny's Child

15.19 Inherit the Earth

Robbie Thompson: May 12th-May 29th

7.06 Slash Fiction

7.12 Time After Time 

7.20 The Girl with the Dungeons and Dragons Tattoo 

8.04 Bitten

8.11 LARP and the Real Girl

8.17 Goodbye Stranger 

8.20 Pac-Man Fever

9.04 Slumber Party

9.11 First Born

9.18 Meta Fiction

10.05 Fan Fiction

10.11 There's No Place Like Home 

10.18 Book of the Damned 

10.20 Angel Heart

11.04 Baby

11.11 Into the Mystic

11.16 Safe House

11.20 Don't Call Me Shurley

Jenny Klein: May 30th-June 7th

5.07 The Curious Case of Dean Winchester with Sera Gamble (story) 

6.10 Caged Heat with Brett Matthews (story) 

7.16 Out with the Old with Robert Singer 

8.10 Torn and Frayed

9.08 Rock and a Hard Place

9.15 #thinman

10.08 Hibbing 911 with Phil Sgriccia (story)

10.15 The Things They Carried 

11.08 Just My Imagination

Daniel Loflin (without Andrew Dabb): June 8th-June 9th

8.09 Citizen Fang

8.16 Remember the Titans

Robert Berens: June 10th-July 5th

9.06 Heaven Can't Wait 

9.14 Captives 

9.19 Alex Annie Alexis Ann

10.07 Girls, Girls, Girls

10.14 The Executioner's Song

10.19 The Werther Project

11.06 Our Little World

11.14 The Vessel

11.17 Red Meat with Andrew Dabb 

11.22 We Happy Few 

12.03 The Foundry 

12.07 Rock Never Dies

12.14 The Raid

12.19 The Future with Meredith Glynn 

12.22 Who We Are

13.03 Patience 

13.09 The Bad Place 

13.10 Wayward Sisters with Andrew Dabb

13.21 Beat the Devil

14.03 The Scar

14.09 The Spear 

14.18 Absence 

15.03 The Rupture

15.09 The Trap

15.12 Galaxy Brain

15.18 Despair

Nancy Won: July 6th-July 8th

11.05 Thin Lizzie

11.12 Don't You Forget About Me 

11.19 The Chitters

John Bring: July 9th-July 10th

11.15 Beyond the Mat with Andrew Dabb 

12.18 The Memory Remains

Davy Perez: July 11th-July 22nd

12.04 American Nightmare

12.12 Stuck in the Middle (With You) 

12.15 Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell 

13.06 Tombstone 

13.11 Breakdown 

13.17 The Thing 

14.04 Mint Condition 

14.11 Damaged Goods 

14.16 Don't Go in the Woods with Nick Vaught 

15.04 Atomic Monsters

15.11 The Gamblers with Meredith Glynn 

15.15 Gimme Shelter

Meredith Glynn: July 23rd-August 6th

12.05 The One You've Been Waiting For

12.11 Regarding Dean 

12.16 Ladies Drink Free 

12.19 The Future with Robert Berens

13.04 The Big Empty 

13.08 The Scorpion and the Frog 

13.14 Good Intentions 

13.20 Unfinished Business 

14.05 Nightmare Logic 

14.08 Byzantium 

14.13 Lebanon with Andrew Dabb 

15.06 Golden Time 

15.11 The Gamblers with Davy Perez 

15.12 Galaxy Brain (story) with Robert Berens 

15.17 Unity

Steve Yockey: August 7th-August 17th

12.06 Celebrating the Life of Asa Fox 

12.10 Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets 

12.20 Twigs & Twine & Tasha Banes 

13.05 Advanced Thanatology 

13.12 Various & Sundry Villains 

13.19 Funeralia 

14.06 Optimism 

14.10 Nihilism 

14.14 Ouroboros 

14.15 Peace of Mind with Meghan Fitzmartin (story) 

15.05 Proverbs 17:3

Jeremy Adams: August 18th-August 20th

13.16 Scoobynatural with James Krieg 

15.07 Last Call 

15.14 Last Holiday

Auxiliary Writers: August 21st-August 27th

1.08 Bugs by Bill Coakley and Rachel Nave

1.17 by Hell House Trey Callaway

1.18 Something Wicked by Daniel Knauf

1.19 Provenance by David Ehrman

3.06 Red Sky at Morning by Laurence Andries

7.07 The Mentalists by Ben Acker and Ben Blacker

15.16 Drag Me Away (From You) by Meghan Fitzmartin

#writerswatch #spn #supernatural #incoherents #writerswatch guide

[ypthoughts]

i just love how Toudou’s the annoying and loud one that everyone’s just like, “oh my god shut up”

#yowamushi pedal #yp thoughts #yp rewatch #spice boys #1.20 #TOUDOU'S SO DRAMATIC ABOUT E V E R Y T H I N G AND IT'S SO FUCKING FUNNY EVERY TIME #espeically since he just says what everyone's thinking and sklghaiogjdioda he's so stupid i love him #aaaaaaaa i'd forgotten how much i love him since he wasn't in glory road #GLORY LINE DAMMIT #or...... new generation either i mean....... #IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE I'VE SEEN TOUDOU

[mittensmorgul]

So, Signs that 15x20 isn't real: El Sol beer; warm, saturated lighting; Dean's choice of clothes. Signs the writers were silenced: cut-out-tongue-vampire-thing. Sign it's about sexual repression: Vampires! Sign it's all about the gay: Dean was nailed from behind. Anything else to add to that list of symbols? Because this looks like the writers winking SOS at us in a kidnapper's video.

oh gosh... I keep meaning to rewatch the finale and make a full list of it all, because this is tip of the iceberg stuff. But I just... heck I just don’t want to watch it again :’D

That rewatch is on the agenda, and I’m currently watching 15.09 on the eternal loop. According to the TNT schedule, they’re showing 15.20 on Tuesday, looping directly back to the pilot immediately afterward. So... if I do decide to watch that (and I haven’t decided yet), that’s... gonna be some wild whiplash...

But anyway, back to the question!

You have a pretty good list going there...

I’ll add these things that made the episode feel like not-a-finale:

-no Road So Far segment, or even any sort of “important moments from the last 15 years that brought us to this point” sort of montage/retrospective of their lives

-no Carry On Wayward Son at the beginning, but TWO versions of it back to back at the end

And these things that were just general wtf moments for me:

-Sam? cooking breakfast? since when does Sam make breakfast, ever? that’s Dean’s thing

-Dean, with a dog? since when has Dean ever wanted a dog? That’s Sam’s thing

-Dean makes his bed, and it looks messier when he’s done than before he started (this is... not Dean-like... I actually went back and checked previous shots of his room)

-they never, not once in the episode, act like they have even one (1) single friend or any sort of goal or direction in life, which is weird...

-apparently they’d been unable to find a hunt, making it seem like the supernatural world had been quiet (for a moment I thought maybe monsters were no longer a problem in a post-Chuck world), until they stumbled on a hunt out of nowhere after choosing to go to a pie festival... as if the moment they chose to do something to move on and just have fun, suddenly there was work for them to do and they immediately abandoned everything to hunt these mystery monsters from John’s journal, which turned out to be a trap for them (specifically for them? considering the rando s1 vampire seemed to have lured them there?)

-The fact Dean recognized this vampire he never even interacted with and somehow magically knew her name, despite it never having been stated in canon and, again, Dean never having interacted with her outside of watching her escape with the vampire who actually DID bear them a grudge from 1.20...

-the weird lingering close up shot of the rebar during the fight scene

-the invocation of “destiny” and “don’t have a choice” as they went into a freaking pie festival... this hits bad right now because I’m rewatching 15.09 in the background as I type this, and it was almost word for word what the Dean in Chuck’s vision of the future said to Sam as they resigned themselves to go off on their final hunt (which was vampires btw), which they lost because in the next scene Sam and Dean have become vampires and are both killed... so like... this was Chuck’s story. The trappings might’ve been different, but it was still fundamentally the same... Cas locked away in a terrible place (ma’lak box in Chuck’s story, Empty in Dabb’s), Dean resigned to his fate because of a vampire hunt gone bad.

-then the pie festival itself... Dean’s got a huge tray with half a dozen different varieties he’s excited to try (purchased from Dabb’s Pies...), is eager to taste them all (like... metaphorically trying out different “apple pie life” ending scenarios, because he’s finally free to explore and maybe he actually wants the pecan pie life...), but before he can even taste the first bite, Sam... chooses one and smashes it in Dean’s face.

-even weirder, Dean never once in the episode says Cas’s name, or seemed even once to give a dang about Cas at all... and handwaved it when Sam mentioned Cas and Jack. It had been like... days, on screen (if they’d intended for more time to have passed, they would’ve indicated that on screen, and they did not... they showed us MAYBE three days passing since the events of 15.19). So like... did Dean have a personality transplant or what. Sam says Cas’s name in the ep, Bobby says it in Heaven. Dean... never does. Which is weird, considering how many times he’s said Cas in canon over the years, to the point it’s literally become memes...

-jumping around a bit here, but why Masked Vampires? Why had John failed to figure out they were vampires originally? Because he believed vampires were extinct? because he hadn’t been told they existed at all yet when he’d confronted them in 1986? Was John suddenly just A Bad Hunter after years of canon reinforcing that he was actually a really good hunter?

-and why THIS WEIRD CONGLOMORATION OF JOHN-RELATED CASE NONSENSE? From his journal to the murder clowns to rando vampire from their first vamp hunt? It’s like the perfect storm of erasing the last 15 years just to “bring it back to the start” to end it all like it could’ve had this been s1 still.

-speaking of John, and the El Sol in Heaven... WHY would Bobby hand Dean “John’s Beer” in Heaven? Especially since Dean expressed the fact that he didn’t even like it? Like... why wouldn’t he have been handed a beer he actually ENJOYED in Paradise? Why force a John Beer on him when he could literally have anything he wanted?

-and why was Heaven for Dean, in a place where he could literally have anything he wanted, go anywhere and do anything, why was he just driving through the woods along back roads? After years of talking about how he wanted to go “toes in the sand,” take a vacation, go fishing, or even finally get to eat a piece of pie? Or like ANYTHING he’d talked about wanting to do over the years that he never had a chance to... but apparently the thing he’d arguably spent the most time during his life doing is the only thing he wanted to do now that every possibility was open to him? Yeah, no that’s stupid...

-Tree (the final shot of 15.04 with bobblehead Sam and Dean by the tree like they didn’t have a thought of their own, Chuck’s plastic figurines dancing on his orders, very much like where they randomly parked and had the “vamp mime” conversation)

-Dean casually resorting to the threat of torture after YEARS of the show condemning this choice. Dean gratuitously being “a killer” when his acceptance of the fact that that’s not who he was in the previous episode was literally the thing that defeated Chuck... like... this was entirely stupid...

-just... the pacing of the episode was so weirdly wonky, with random cuts and no sense of time passing anywhere, nor interconnectedness between scenes, and the weirdly uncomfortable interminable death scene. Like, it looked like the death scene of a soap opera heroine. It was upsetting when Dean hit the spike and realized what had happened, but then he just... lingered... dangling on the hook for Sam’s benefit. Like Dean was nothing more than set decoration like a framed portrait for Sam to hang up and walk away from. Which is weird... and stupid... Dabb knows how to do pacing, and it’s like he forgot everything he ever knew about writing to force this “good way to die” trope, as if the previous 15 years of the show hadn’t been spent denouncing (and Dean finally overcoming) this mindset of “I always knew I’d go down swinging” or whatever. WHY. IT WAS STUPID.

-Wig

there’s probably more, but I’m tired and have reached my daily limit for the wtf of this episode >.>

Anyone else, please feel free to add more.

#spn 15.20 #Anonymous

[ransomedrogue]

I’m back... and almost caught up on the S2 rewatch! But being a completionist, I sorta had to finish a couple of S1 rewatch fics first. So... please bear with me and rewind time a bit, then soon I’ll post some S2 scenes too :P

Tales of Woe - Scenes from S1

1.20 

Jane sat alone in the empty room for awhile after Maya had left with her grandmother, finally allowing herself to feel relaxed after a long day of being worried for the girl. Maya was as safe as possible now and, just as importantly, she wasn't alone anymore.

Watching her be reunited with her grandma had been such a huge relief; Jane had felt the tension seeping out of her shoulders just knowing that the girl was with someone that would love her and take care of her.

And what about you? her mind asked, unhelpfully.

Who's going to love and take care of you?

Jane tried to brush the thought away but it had already dampened her mood. The pressure of her situation, which she'd managed to put aside while they dealt with the case, suddenly returned all at once.

She still hadn't decided what to do about the thumb drive mission Oscar had given her; hated even considering going through with it. But Jane didn't have enough intel to push back against his demands yet. That morning had been a start, when she'd followed him from the loft he'd taken her to. She needed to know more about this group she was up against before taking any action that might put Weller's life at risk.

Jane sighed, knowing what she needed to do but feeling crushed by the burden of living her double life. It was no wonder she'd felt Maya's plight so strongly. She wasn't that far removed from being completely alone; still was in many ways. She couldn't tell Kurt her secret. And she didn't trust Oscar, despite his love for her former self.

It weighed on her heavily, being beholden to people that seemed to be so powerful. But she couldn't see any way to safely avoid the missions she'd been tasked with. Not when they could easily hurt Weller at any time. So, despite all her abilities and her position within the FBI, it still felt like there wasn't any choice but to comply until she'd come up with some leverage on Oscar and his organization.

She had to protect Kurt. Even if it meant doing things she hated.

Jane's heart rate increased a little, just thinking about Weller. Her mind flashed back to that morning and his impromptu invitation. It had been a cute gesture at the time, but definitely unexpected. She'd even forgotten about it for most of the day, but then everything had changed with a simple question.

How's Allie?

It had been asked mostly innocently – she'd been genuinely surprised that they'd broken up. Though it was also true that Jane had sensed something she couldn't quite identify; a feeling that things had shifted. Not just because he'd asked her to come over that night to hang out while he babysat. There were also the glances he'd been trying to hide, ever since that disastrous mission when they'd been played by Rich Dotcom. She'd felt it particularly strongly that day, in the weight of his gaze as she talked to Maya and then again when they were alone together in the SUV.

But now, what had just been a casual invitation to play board games with his nephew suddenly seemed more like a date. Not a real one of course, just friends hanging out - especially since nothing could happen given the constraints of the situation. Yet Jane was still a bit nervous, and more than a little excited too, as the end of the day finally arrived.

There was just that one other thing weighing on her.

Jane fingered the thumb drive in her pocket as she internally debated whether to just forgo Oscar's mission. She hated the idea of getting something past the FBI firewall, knowing that nothing good could come of it. But the threat on Kurt's life had changed everything. The group Oscar belonged to seemed determined and ruthless; Jane had no question they would hurt Weller to make her comply.

She needed more leverage before making a stand; that was why she'd started surveilling Oscar. She already had some power over him, just from their previous relationship, plus the role he was playing as her handler. And despite being drawn to his knowledge of her former self and the comfort of his body, Jane had also realized how much pull she had with him. Especially when she'd stopped him from relinquishing his role as her handler and kept him from disappearing.

She was turning the tables on him, but it was still a work in progress. Until she had more, it was crucial that she kept Oscar and his organization happy with her missions.

Gulping down her hesitancy, Jane pulled the drive out and stuck it in the computer. The light glowed red and she stood there waiting, with her heart in her throat and guilt churning in her gut.

Of course, Kurt showed up at that moment, right while she was both betraying him and saving him with the same act. Jane forced herself to loosen up and not seem so suspicious, but still felt tense as she took him up on his invitation to board game night.

The thumb drive still wasn't done and she needed to get rid of him. Desperately, Jane searched her mind for some way to slip out of his view and managed to squeak out a line about grabbing her coat and meeting him downstairs. For a moment she thought Weller was going to call her on her odd behaviour and it felt like her heart was going to burst out of her chest.

Getting caught and having to explain herself to him was one of her worst fears. Exposing everything she'd been keeping from him, all her little missions for Oscar. He would finally see all of her traitorous behaviour; who she really was.

But, incredibly, Weller didn't seem to notice that anything was wrong; readily agreeing before commenting on her necklace and walking away just before the drive also finished whatever it was doing.

Jane let out a lungful of air she hadn't realized she was holding and steadied herself before quickly unplugging the device. The deed was done, and she couldn't take it back now. At least she hadn't been caught in the act, and could still pray that she'd be able to fix all the damage she was doing by going along with Oscar's demands.

She exhaled a worried breath, trying to put away the rest of her nerves. The anxiety was still there but at least it was over with. And now there wasn't anything left to do but meet up with Weller.

Jane headed for the locker room, her spine now tingling with an entirely different emotion. Guilt and worry had exchanged places with hope and excitement, even though she knew that babysitting Weller's nephew with him shouldn't be laden with such anticipation.

Still, she couldn't quite keep her nerves under control; almost jumping out of her skin when she got out to the lobby and Kurt approached from behind.

"Ready?" he asked.

He had the board games in his hands and an earnest expression on his face, appearing every bit the seasoned parent.

Jane hadn't really pictured him that way before that day, though she'd also been surprised to hear that Weller couldn't see himself as a dad. He was so overly protective and caring, she'd easily imagined how doting a father he would be, as soon as she thought about it.

Even now, Jane could feel him hovering a little as they walked to the car. He was always just a bit in her her personal space, his presence there projecting both security and possessiveness. She'd never really stopped to consider how that looked to everyone else.

They'd broken up because of her. Which should make her feel bad, instead of guiltily elated.

So even if it was a child-chaperoned night of pizza and board games; she couldn't help the way his too-close presence filled her with flutters.

###

It had been a spur of the moment decision to ask Jane over for dinner and he'd never really considered that she would say yes. But now Weller was walking up to his apartment with a pounding heart, while telling himself that he had to calm the fuck down.

They were going to play some Uno attack with his nephew, that was all. Yet he'd been uncharacteristically up front about his situation with Allie when Jane had asked.

Because you wanted her to know, his mind unhelpfully supplied.

There hadn't been much reason to be so honest, other than opening up that door again. The one he'd slammed shut so quickly after she'd missed that meeting in the park.

Ever since then Jane had been different, distant in a way he'd been unable to pinpoint. Which was understandable, considering he'd been the one to put up the boundary. But there were also still moments when he thought there was something happening between them. And it was clear that everyone else did too.

Weller's hand was a little sweaty, making him fumble with his key, so Sarah was right at the door as it swung open. There was an awkward moment as her eyes landed on Jane for awhile before flicking over to look at Kurt.

"You don't usually bring anyone over," she commented.

Kurt groaned inwardly, having already anticipated that his little sister would take the opportunity to bug him mercilessly. He grumbled something about more players making game night better but still Sarah gave him an exaggerated wink.

"Of course," she replied sagely. "It's all about the games."

With that, Sarah left, but not before giving him another loaded look as she walked by. Kurt sighed and finally dared to glance at Jane, wincing a little at the impish expression she was wearing.

"So, no other hot babysitting dates?" she asked wickedly.

Weller groaned to himself, even as a flare of desire shot through him. He remembered her ribbing him about his cooking earlier that day, how good it had felt just being with her. Then he thought about the conversation he'd been about to start when they had to turn the SUV around.

For a second he felt nervous, like he'd been put on the spot. But then Jane nudged him with her shoulder and Kurt immediately relaxed at the laughter in her eyes.

As soon as they walked in, Sawyer set upon them.

"Uncle Kurt!" he hollered. "Can we have pizza?"

Weller chuckled and mouthed a 'told you' in Jane's direction.

"Sure, we can have pizza while I beat you at Uno attack."

"Yeah right! You suck at it!"

Jane laughed at Sawyer's candid assessment of Weller's skills and then continued to egg him on as Kurt dialled in the pizza order.

"Oh yeah? He said he's just been letting you win," she commented, wearing a sly grin.

"What! No way," Sawyer replied indignantly. "He really sucks. You'll see."

Weller watched the interaction with a laugh. It all felt so normal, even though he'd certainly never brought Allie along with him to babysit. But Jane was a perfect fit as always, keeping Sawyer engaged while managing to poke fun in his direction as they started to play the game.

After the pizza had been delivered and they were well into their third round of Uno attack, Kurt momentarily fell into another reality. A different dimension, an alternate life with Jane. The two of them at home, with a family.

He mentally glitched at the image, suddenly frozen in the projected memory. It just felt so right.

Of course, Jane caught him in the moment, eyeing him with a sidelong look.

"Everything okay?" she asked.

"Uh yeah. Everything's… perfect."

The words tumbled out of his mouth before he could assess and retract them, leaving him standing there dumbly with the truth spilled between them.

But, other than the briefest of pauses, Jane took it completely in stride.

"Except you just lost another round," she commented.

Weller shook himself out of the moment and gave her a mock frown.

"I'm just getting warmed up," he asserted. "Next game you're both going down."

Sawyer rolled his eyes at his uncle and Jane burst out laughing at Kurt's exaggerated pouty expression.

Breaking into a wide smile, Weller realized it was the lightest he'd felt in a long time, despite the situation with his father. All his past trauma, all that searching - it had all been worth it. He still almost couldn't believe he'd finally found her.

And sitting there, watching her chew pizza through a spray of flying cards, Kurt again saw a glimpse of a future he'd never really considered. One with kids, family game nights, and a wife that he absolutely adored.

#blindspot #blindspot fanfic #blindspot rewatch #s1fic #i wrote this

[elliebartlets]

i took a break from rewatching west wing for a day and decided to watch sex education (all in a day, mind you) and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it. it was much better than I thought it’d be, and I’m glad it got renewed.

So since I just spent the past like 6-7 hours watching tv, why not add another hour and continue my ww rewatch?

TWW Rewatch: Mandatory Minimums (1.20)

• “hey senator, why don’t you take your legislative agenda and shove it up your ass?”

Lmao yep I remember that

• so does everyone know about Josh’s failed attempt to get with Joey lucas?

• “it’s his Joey Lucas suit.”

“Donna!”

• “I’m beginning to regret not getting the waffles.”

“I’m beginning to regret hiring any of you.” Lmao

(Sidenote: waffles sounds really good right about now)

• “this is the White House. I wouldn’t expect candy or flowers on your arrival.”

*Margaret enters with flowers from Leo*

• C.J. and Danny arguing!! mom and dad stop!!

• omg what if Leo went to jail instead of rehab for his drug addiction? 😩

• lol midnight slumber party in the residence

• “I gave Joey Lucas a coffee mug.”

*bartlet immediately after* yeah I have like 24 armed guards outside so how/why tf can u get into my bedroom

• why was Sam about to tell Bartlet that the FEC guy knows about Laurie?!

• like why would you tell the president that...in his bedroom...

• “you call your wife dr. Bartlet”

“Just for the turn on.”

I’m SCREAMINGGG

#tww #the west wing #tww rewatch #the west wing rewatch #mandatory minimums #jed bartlet #leo mcgarry #josh lyman #toby ziegler #cj cregg #sam seaborn #donna moss #tww 1.20 #the west wing mandatory minimums

[bethanyactually]

okay, my level of curiosity has won out and I'd like to try watching some Stargate, but I'm worried about diving head in and burning out (which is what happened when I tried watching West Wing). I'm fairly certain that you've reblogged a list or put together one of your own for must-see episodes? Or maybe a must-avoid episodes list?

I don’t think I ever have made that list of Stargate SG-1 episodes, actually! I will do so now. :) I’ll rec episodes on the basis of which ones are kind of important to understanding what’s going on, and/or ones I personally found the most enjoyable. So you—and anyone else who finds this list—should certainly feel free to take this list with many grains of salt, and feel free to disagree with me.

Season 1:

Honestly, there aren’t many episodes in this season that don’t give you some background on the characters, or that do some major worldbuilding. So keep that in mind.

1.01-1.03 (Children of the Gods and The Enemy Within) introduce the main characters and set the foundation for the show. 

1.04 (Emancipation) is considered by many to be one of the weakest episodes of the series, so you could skip it. Also, it’s got a gross white Savior thing going on. (That said, I have a lot of affection for this episode anyway, because it’s kind of the one episode in which they address the fact that Samantha Carter is “the girl” on the team, and she refuses to be seen as only “the girl,” and then she kicks some bad-guy ass. After that, she’s never treated as anything less than the complete equal of anyone else at Stargate Command.)

1.05 (The Broca Divide) is entertaining but skippable.

1.06 & 1.07 (The First Commandment & Cold Lazarus) explain some of Sam’s and Jack’s backstory.

1.08 (The Nox), 1.09 (Brief Candle) and 1.10 (Thor’s Hammer) are probably all skippable. Characters or planets from all three of these episodes are mentioned later, I think, but in a pretty minor way that probably won’t confuse you too much. (@altairvanyel​ disagrees with me about The Nox, and thinks it’s an important episode for a few different reasons—read their thoughts here.)

1.11 (The Torment of Tantalus) has the backstory of the Stargate program.

1.12 (Bloodlines) explains some of Teal’c’s backstory and introduces an important recurring character.

1.13 (Fire and Water) introduces a recurring theme but it’s skippable.

1.14 (Hathor) is skippable. It’s one of those episodes that the show itself likes to pretend doesn’t exist, and they poke fun at it several times in later episodes. (It’s a pretty meh episode, but the plot does involve all the women at the SGC banding together to save the day. So, you know. YMMV.)

1.15 (Singularity) introduces a supporting character who will pop up again a few times.

1.16 (Cor-Ai) has some good team moments, but it’s probably not essential.

1.17 (Enigma) introduces some recurring characters, but it’s not one of my favorite episodes and I usually skip it on rewatch.

1.18 (Solitudes) is NOT one you should skip, I just wanted to point out that it’s my very favorite episode of the whole series, and it’s also the episode that really made me go “Okay, this show has GOT me, I’m IN.”

1.19 (Tin Man) is kind of existentially horrifying if you think about it too hard, but it’s also a really enjoyable episode, and introduces some characters who pop up again later.

1.20 (There But for the Grace of God) is a great episode and important to the show’s mythology.

1.21 (Politics) is basically a clips episode, but it introduces an important antagonist. And there’s a funny moment early on. So watch the first 5-10 minutes and then skip the rest.

1.22 (Within the Serpent’s Grasp) is the first part of a two-part cliffhanger. Definitely worth watching.

Season 2

2.01 (The Serpent’s Lair) is the second part of the two-parter. Watch it, duh. :)

2.02 (In the Line of Duty) is the start of an important arc, and also has the first big “holy shit” moment of the show, for me.

2.03 (Prisoners) and 2.04 (The Gamekeeper) are both skippable.

2.05 (Need) is a good episode, and has some elements that are important later.

2.06 (Thor’s Chariot) is the start of another important arc.

2.07 (Message in a Bottle) is one of my top ten episodes.

2.08 (Family) is skippable.

2.09 (Secrets) introduces you to Sam’s dad, which will be important.

2.10 (Bane) is skippable.

2.11 & 2.12 (The Tok’ra) pick up where 2.02 and 2.09 left off.

2.13 (Spirits) It’s not all bad, but it’s vaguely racist and meh. Sam does get to command her first away mission in this one, which is cool. But it’s skippable.

2.14 (Touchstone) is skippable.

2.15 (The Fifth Race) Important and a good episode.

2.16 (A Matter of Time) A good episode, and more of Jack’s backstory. That said, it’s probably not essential, and you could skip it if you wanted to.

2.17 (Holiday) Not super important but this episode has BODY-SWAPPING. :D

2.18 (Serpent’s Song) It’s a good episode, and you might wanna read an episode summary, but you could skip it.

2.19 (One False Step) This isn’t a super important episode but it’s one of the funniest SG1 episodes, please don’t skip it.

2.20 (Show and Tell) It’s a decent episode but nothing that happens in it affects later events, and the characters you meet never show up again. You can skip it.

2.21 (1969) SOLAR FLARES. ACCIDENTAL TIME TRAVEL. SG1 WEARING FLOWER CHILD HIPPIE CLOTHING. DO NOT SKIP.

2.22 (Out of Mind) Part 1 of a two-part cliffhanger (this show loves those), and it’s excellent.

Season 3

3.01 (Into the Fire) Part 2 of the cliffhanger.

3.02 (Seth) This episode does reveal a minor plot point that will come up again, but it’s skippable.

3.03 (Fair Game) Sam gets a promotion and there’s a funny bit at the beginning, but mostly this episode is a lot of politics. You could watch the first five minutes and then read an episode synopsis.

3.04 (Legacy) Michael Shanks acts his heart out in this one, so if you’re a fan of his you probably wanna watch. Otherwise you can skip it.

3.05 (Learning Curve) This has some moments of various SG1 members being cute with kids, if you’re into that. Otherwise, skip it.

3.06 (Point of View) Doctor Carter from an alternate universe shows up at the SGC.

3.07 (Deadman Switch) Nothing particularly important happens in this episode but it’s a really enjoyable one, with a great antagonist.

3.08 (Demons) You can skip it without missing too much.

3.09 (Rules of Engagement) This is a pretty good one.

3.10 (Forever in a Day) Another good one, with ties to Daniel and Sha’re’s arc.

3.11 (Past and Present) Skippable. (This is sort of a sequel to 2.03, so if you skipped that episode you can definitely skip this one.)

3.12 & 3.13 (Jolinar’s Memories & The Devil You Know) Jacob Carter is in this two-parter (heh, that rhymes!) and it’s good.

3.14 (Foothold) This is a great episode, and it introduces an important recurring character.

3.15 (Pretense) Skaara is in this episode. Some of the Tollans from 1.17 (Enigma) show up in this episode, and will show up in another episode down the road. I’d watch it just for Skaara, if nothing else, but you could probably skip it.

3.16 (Urgo) How do you feel about Dom Deluise? He guest stars in this episode, which is hilarious. It’s one of my favorites. But if you’re not a Dom Deluise fan you might wanna skip it.

3.17 (A Hundred Days) This is a pretty important episode for a variety of reasons, even though it’s not one of my favorites.

3.18 (Shades of Grey) This is a great episode, one of those that makes you go ‘wtf!?’ while you’re watching it.

3.19 (New Ground) I really enjoy this episode, which has some funny moments and is a great team ep, but it’s skippable if you’re just trying to get through the season.

3.20 (Maternal Instinct) Sort of a continuation of 3.10. Fairly important to a couple different arcs.

3.21 (Crystal Skull) Note that this episode aired years before the Indiana Jones movie was made. :P It’s kind of a fun ep, and has some Daniel backstory, but you could skip it.

3.22 (Nemesis) Another season finale that’s the first part of a two-part cliffhanger! It introduces the Replicators, which is the start of a big arc, and it’s also a really good episode.

Season 4

I will note here that this season is full of excellent episodes, and most of the ones in this season that I tell you could skip, I don’t think you should skip. :)

4.01 (Small Victories) Second part of the cliffhanger, another really good episode.

4.02 (The Other Side) This is an excellent episode for a lot of reasons, but it’s not part of a larger arc. You could skip it. (But please don’t, it’s a good one. Also, it guest stars René Auberjonois.)

4.03 (Upgrades) SG1 gets superpowers, temporarily! It’s a good ep, and it’s part of a larger arc.

4.04 (Crossroads) An old flame of Teal’c’s shows up at the SGC. It’s skippable.

4.05 (Divide and Conquer) This is a good episode, important for a few different reasons. (But mostly it’s important to me because I’m a Sam/Jack shipper and this is One Of Those Shippy Episodes.)

4.06 (Window of Opportunity) GROUNDHOG DAY EPISODE. STUCK IN A TIME LOOP. PERFECT EPISODE IN EVERY WAY.

4.07 (Watergate) This is a good episode and it guest stars Marina Sirtis so even though it’s skippable you probably want to watch it.

4.08 (The First Ones) Another episode that’s entertaining yet skippable. (You do meet a recurring character in this one, though, and there’s lots of Daniel being a cute and exasperated nerd. So you might not wanna skip it.)

4.09 (Scorched Earth) Yet another episode that’s really good and enjoyable and skippable. Some good character moments happen in this one, but nothing that happens is directly referenced later, I don’t think.

4.10 (Beneath the Surface) SUCH a good episode, and basically a canon AU. Maybe my second favorite SG1 episode ever.

4.11 (Point of No Return) A really entertaining episode with guest star Willie Garson, who comes back in a couple of future episodes.

4.12 (Tangent) A good episode that’s important later. And Jacob Carter is in it.

4.13 (The Curse) This is a good episode with some Daniel backstory and it introduces a character who shows up a few more times. But you probably could just read an episode synopsis.

4.14 (The Serpent’s Venom) This is another political episode. I think some stuff happens with Teal’c? I honestly can’t really remember this episode which tells me it wasn’t that exciting. You could probably skip it.

4.15 (Chain Reaction) Good and entertaining, but you could probably skip it and read a synopsis.

4.16 (2010) Alternate timelines! This is a really excellent episode. Watch it.

4.17 (Absolute Power) A good one, with a canon alternate timeline, and lots of Daniel and angst. I’d watch it.

4.18 (The Light) SG1 gets accidentally addicted to a substance off-world. Another one of my favorite episodes.

4.19 (Prodigy) This is the episode with a cameo by then actual Chief of Staff of the US Air Force, and it’s entertaining, but skippable.

4.20 (Entity) THIS HEARTBREAKING EPISODE IS SO GOOD. WATCH IT AND CRY.

4.21 (Double Jeopardy) This is kind of a sequel to 1.19 (Tin Man), and is a lot of fun but similarly existentially horrifying, in a good way?

4.22 (Exodus) Just assume that you should probably watch any of the season-finale two-part cliffhangers. Also, this is the episode in which Samantha Carter blows up a sun. 

Season 5

5.01 & 5.02 (Enemies & Threshold) Teal’c and Bratac are a big part of this one. Part of the Apophis arc. Even though this is kind of the continuation of the S4 finale, I think you could skip them and read episode synopses.

5.03 (Ascension) So…this episode is kind of important because it introduces a character who shows up later, and it’s part of a big arc. And there are some pretty cute moments in it. But it’s also a rather frustrating episode to me because of the way the rest of her team treats Sam. That said, it’s probably one you should watch.

5.04 (The Fifth Man) This is a really entertaining episode, with lots of Jack and team goodness, but it’s a standalone. You could skip it.

5.05 (Red Sky) A good one, part of the Asgard arc.

5.06 (Rite of Passage) This is a great episode, with Cassie, and Dr. Fraiser being awesome. But you could skip it.

5.07 (Beast of Burden) An Unas episode, with Chaka from 4.08. It’s a decent episode, but skippable.

5.08 (The Tomb) Probably the closest SG-1 gets to a horror episode. It’s a good one, but skippable.

5.09 (Between Two Fires) Another Tollan episode, a decent episode, but skippable.

5.10 (2001) Sequel to 2010. Definitely watch this one.

5.11 (Desperate Measures) Sam gets kidnapped on earth. This is an excellent episode.

5.12 (Wormhole X-Treme!) The 100th episode! The SGC gets wind of a TV show with a plot that sounds awfully familiar. Hilarity ensues. :)

5.13 (Proving Ground) This is a really entertaining episode, with SG1 training new recruits (featuring Jennifer Hailey from 4.19, and guest star Grace Park before her BSG days), but it’s a skippable standalone, more or less.

5.14 (48 Hours) A very good episode with everyone fighting to save Teal’c, and a bunch of recurring characters and some arc plot.

5.15 (Summit) A lot of Goa’uld politics, with connections to the events of 2.20 and 4.13, but if you skipped those two it’s probably not enough of a connection to be confusing. It’s a decent ep but skippable.

5.16 (Last Stand) This is an entertaining episode, but you could skip it. (One of the guest stars was in 5.13, so if you watched that one, watch this one.)

5.17 (Fail Safe) Stargate’s take on We Must Stop The Asteroid Before It Destroys Earth, and it’s AWESOME. Definitely one of my favorite episodes.

5.18 (Warrior) This is a pretty good episode, but it’s skippable. (Though you should at least watch the scene in the middle of Jack gleefully ordering Sam to smash the Jaffa patriarchy with her awesomeness.) 

5.19 (Menace) An important and good episode. Part of the Replicator arc.

5.20 (The Sentinel) A good but skippable episode.

5.21 (Meridian) Must watch. Have tissues handy. (Also, the introduction of Jonas Quinn, precious alien puppy.

5.22 (Revelations) It’s the first part of a two-part season-finale cliffhanger, so…guess what. Watch it.

Season 6

6.01 & 6.02 (Redemption) Resolves S5 and sets up the rest of S6.

6.03 (Descent) One of my favorite episodes. Jonas proving himself, and part of the Asgard arc.

6.04 (Frozen) This episode has repercussions throughout the season. Definitely watch.

6.05 (Nightwalkers) This is basically an episode of the X-Files. :) (Although you could probably skip this one, it’s mostly a standalone.)

6.06 (Abyss) SUCH a good and painful episode. Richard Dean Anderson doesn’t get enough credit for his acting skills.

6.07 (Shadow Play) Dean Caldwell is the guest star, so watch it for him if you want, but this is basically a standalone and it’s a lot of politics and not one of the best episodes.

6.08 (The Other Guys) Guest stars Patrick McKenna (of The Red Green Show and many others) and John Billingsley (of Star Trek Enterprise and many others including the Rashomon Job ep of Leverage) are hilarious in this, but it’s kind of a filler episode. You could skip it. (But you should watch it, it’s a good one.)

6.09 (Allegiance) This is a good episode but you could probably skip it and read an episode summary.

6.10 (Cure) Part of the Tok’ra arc and also an important development for the Jaffa and their potential for freedom.

6.11 (Prometheus) Important to a couple different arcs.

6.12 (Unnatural Selection) This is a really good episode, and it’s important to the Asgard arc and the Replicator arc, and has some serious consequences further down the road.

6.13 (Sight Unseen) This is a standalone episode that’s a lot of fun, but you could skip it.

6.14 (Smoke & Mirrors) Jack is accused of assassinating someone. This is a really good episode and introduces some tech that becomes relevant later, but you could probably skip it and read an episode synopsis.

6.15 (Paradise Lost) Jack gets lost off-world. This is one of my favorite episodes.

6.16 (Metamorphosis) Another favorite episode, with lots of feels.

6.17 (Disclosure) This is basically a clips episode. You can skip it.

6.18 (Forsaken) This introduces some characters you’ll see again, and it’s a good ep.

6.19 (The Changeling) It’s a canonical Firehouse AU!!! And this episode was written by Christopher Judge, who plays Teal’c. Another fave.

6.20 (Memento) The maiden flight of the first Tau’ri space vessel!

6.21 (Prophecy) Jonas starts having visions of the future. You could probably skip this one.

6.22 (Full Circle) Watch it.

Season 7

7.01 (Fallen) Daniel comes back!

7.02 (Homecoming) And Jonas leaves. :(((

7.03 (Fragile Balance) Jack is suddenly 30 years younger!? This is a favorite episode. Michael Welch, who plays young Jack, is amazing.

7.04 (Orpheus) This is part of the Jaffa arc, which is…kind of boring to me, honestly. You could skip it.

7.05 (Revisions) This is a pretty good and entertaining episode, but you could skip it.

7.06 (Lifeboat) Michael Shanks and Teryl Rothery both won awards for their performances in this episode. It’s probably not essential to the overall story to watch it, but it’s a really good one.

7.07 (Enemy Mine) Not a bad ep, but skippable.

7.08 (Space Race) Sam Carter having the time of her life being an adorable interplanetary badass. One of my faves. (This ep features characters who were in 6.18, Forsaken.)

7.09 (Avenger 2.0) Another fun episode that is skippable. (This is a sequel to 6.08, The Other Guys.)

7.10 The introduction of the Hak’tyl! Lots of awesome women! Jolene Blalock being amazing! (Christopher Judge wrote the story for this episode)

7.11 & 7.12 (Evolution) Intro of the Super Soldiers, an important arc, and also a field trip for Jack and Daniel. Enrico Colantoni guest stars as a really fun character.

7.13 (Grace) Amanda tapping won a Leo award for this episode, which is AMAZING.

7.14 (Fallout) Jonas is back! For a single episode! I’m still bitter!!! Also, Corin Nemec wrote this story. (Honestly you probably could skip this one but JONAS IS THERE, WHY WOULD YOU.)

7.15 (Chimera) Ugh, okay. So, there’s stuff happening here that’s probably kind of important, but this is the introduction of fucking Pete, Sam’s inexplicable, forgettable boyfriend. He’s around for a while, so it might be important for you to know about him…or, hear me out: you could skip most of his episodes and save yourself the rage and annoyance. (Honestly, tho, you probably want to watch this episode.)

7.16 (Death Knell) Sam metaphorically getting kicked repeatedly and being awesome anyway.

7.17 & 7.18 (Heroes Part 1 & 2) Saul Rubinek (Artie from Warehouse 13) guest stars as a filmmaker trying to document the Stargate Program at the request of the incumbent President but without much cooperation from people at the SGC. This is an amazing, heartbreaking two-part episode that we all like to pretend doesn’t exist. Grab tissues.

7.19 (Resurrection) Not a bad episode, but skippable.

7.20 (Inauguration) A skippable clips episode, but the part where the new President gets briefed on the existence of the Stargate Program is pretty funny. (He thinks he’s being punked at first, as one would.)

7.21 & 7.22 (Lost City) Really excellent two-parter that will probably  make you cry a little.

Season 8

8.01 & 8.02 (New Order) Some Asgard story arc, some Replicator stuff, and you meet Elizabeth Weir, who is wonderful. (When you see her again in Stargate Atlantis, if you watch it, she’ll be played by a different but equally wonderful actress. You will probably love all incarnations of her.)

8.03 (Lockdown) This is a pretty good episode, but you could probably skip it and read an episode synopsis.

8.04 (Zero Hour) Jack figuring out how to do his new job, facing Ba’al with sass and style.

8.05 (Icon) I only have the vaguest recollection of this episode even though I know I’ve watched it at least three times, so you could probably skip it.

8.06 (Avatar) This is probably a standalone (it’s sort of a sequel to The Gamekeeper way back in S2) but it’s a lot of fun so you should watch it.

8.07 (Affinity) There are some fun moments in this episode, but it involves Teal’c hooking up with someone who’s technically decades younger than him, and Sam and fucking Pete getting engaged. There’s a pretty amazing, heart-wrenching scene between Sam and Jack because of the proposal, but you know, YMMV depending on your shipping choices. That said, this episode is pretty skippable.

8.08 (Covenant) Not a bad ep, but pretty skippable. (Charles Shaughnessy of The Nanny guest stars.)

8.09 (Sacrifices) This is a pretty damn entertaining episode. (There’s a HORSE in the SGC!!!)

8.10 (Endgame) Another episode that I cannot really remember despite having seen it at least three times. You can probably skip it.

8.11 (Gemini) Replicator arc, and Amanda Tapping reminding us all why she’s the Grand Empress of Sci Fi.

8.12 (Prometheus Unbound) VALA. (Honestly, this episode is probably skippable, but it’s entertaining and you wanna meet Vala, who’s gonna show up again later and who is played by the great Claudia Black!)

8.13 (It’s Good To Be King) Jack gets to go through the gate again! And this is just a fun episode, plus there’s some Ancient arc. (Wayne Brady shows up for a second as a Jaffa, which takes me out of the show for a second every time I see it, lol.)

8.14 (Full Alert) Earth politics. I’m sure there are some good moments, but it’s skippable.

8.15 (Citizen Joe) This episode is a delight from start to finish. Dan Castellaneta (aka the voice of Homer Simpson) guest stars as someone with a mysterious connection to Jack.

8.16 & 8.17 (Reckoning) Climax of the Replicator arc, and a good couple of episodes.

8.18 (Threads) Part of this episode is rather surreal, and part of it is very sad. But Sam dumps fucking Pete, finally.

8.19 & 8.20 (Moebius) Time travel and alternate timelines and dorky Sam and Daniel! I know at least one person who doesn’t like this two-parter (and, again, there’s some pretty serious existential horror if you think about it), but I freaking love these episodes.

Season 9

Okay, first things first: Stargate was not a bad show after RDA and Don S. Davis retired (and Jack and Hammond moved on to different jobs), but it was a different show in some ways. There’s still plenty to love. Sam, Daniel, and Teal’c are still there. Beau Bridges is excellent as Hank Landry, the new SGC commander (he’s no Hammond, but he does his best and I liked him a lot). And of course they’re still going through the gate and having adventures.

I know people who’ve never watched the last two seasons, and I get that. But I started watching Stargate SG-1 in the first place because I’d watched and LOVED Farscape, and I wanted more Ben Browder and Claudia Black in my life. And they’re main characters in the last two seasons, so of course I watched them.

That said, Seasons 9 & 10 are definitely not my favorite seasons of this show. (That’d be Seasons 4, 7, 6, and 3, in roughly that order.) I was mostly indifferent to the whole Ori storyline, and I really missed Jack. That said, there are a handful of episodes in the last two seasons that I do love. So here we go.

9.01 & 9.02 (Avalon) You meet Cameron Mitchell (“Bullets BOUNCE!”) and Vala shows up again.

9.03 (Origin) This is the start of the Ori arc.

9.04 (The Ties That Bind) This is basically a standalone, you can skip it.

9.05 (The Powers That Be) Listen, Claudia Black was basically born to play a Goa’uld, even a fake one.

9.06 (Beachhead) Sam’s back! (In-universe, she was working at Area 52 doing science stuff. IRL, Amanda Tapping was on maternity leave with her daughter.)

9.07 (Ex Deus Machina) Ba’al’s threatening to blow up a bomb, he’s got clones, blah blah. I think the actor who played Ba’al, Cliff Davis is fantastic; I do not like Ba’al the character. So I cared about the Ba’al Clones arc in these seasons even less than the Ori stuff. I say you can skip it and read a synopsis, but if you wanna watch more Cliff Davis, knock yourself out. :)

9.08 (Babylon) Cam gets captured by some rogue Jaffa, the Sodan, and then gets trained by one of them in a super-secret Sodan fighting style. Not my favorite episode, not super important. You could skip it.

9.09 (Prototype) Frozen Ancient dude turns out to be a bad guy. Skippable.

9.10 & 9.11 (The Fourth Horseman) Orlin (from Ascension back in S5) shows up in this one, sort of. But it’s mostly Ori arc and Jaffa stuff, and meh. You could read synopses and skip them.

9.12 (Collateral Damage) Cam is accused of murder on another planet. It’s not a bad episode, and Ben Browder acts his ass off, but it’s skippable. (@stuckonaglacierwithmacgyver says this episode contains some important info about tech they use going forward, and it was confusing for her when she skipped it the first time around; read her tags here.)

9.13 (Ripple Effect) Parallel realities! Multiple SG-1 teams! And some old friends show up, kind of. :) This is a good one.

9.14 (Stronghold) Some Ba’al stuff, some Jaffa stuff, Cam visiting an old friend (played by Reed Diamond, from Dollhouse) in the hospital. Skippable.

9.15 (Ethon) Off-planet politics and Origin, the Ori religion. Meh. Skippable.

9.16 (Off the Grid) Oh yeah, the Lucian Alliance is a thing in these seasons? Which is relevant to this episode but not really important to understand, because the main thing about this one is that SG-1 goes undercover as drug dealers on another planet and it’s amazing. 

9.17 (The Scourge) Oh, this is the other time Stargate gets close to a horror episode! Note that there are scary bugs in it, if that’s something that will be a problem for you, but it’s really a very good episode.

9.18 (Arthur’s Mantle) Lots of funny moments and Sam and Cam being actual bickering siblings. I’d watch it.

9.19 (Crusade) So I have mixed feelings about this one. Vala’s back—yay!—with a Magical Pregnancy—boo!—but the way she makes contact with the SGC to tell them what’s going on is pretty entertaining, as is Claudia Black (who was actually pregnant, hence the Magical Pregnancy storyline) relaying the story. Also, it sets up the season finale so you might wanna watch it.

9.20 (Camelot) I really, really don’t care about the Ori invasion, but you know, it’s a big storyline and this is a big Ori episode and a cliffhanger, plus Vala’s in it.

Season 10

10.01 (Flesh and Blood) Sigh. Of fucking course the Magical Pregnancy results in a Magical Baby who matures at a dizzying rate, and she’s taken away from her mother (after Vala names her Adria) so Vala has to deal with all of that grief on top of being mysteriously impregnated without her consent. But this episode does set up the season, so it’s probably a good idea to watch it. And one of the child versions of Adria is played by Jodelle Ferland, who later played Five in Dark Matter, which is kinda fun.

10.02 (Morpheus) Will Vala get to stay at the SGC? And there’s a thing with a sleeping sickness off-world.

10.03 (The Pegasus Project) This is a crossover episode with Stargate Atlantis, and while I like the idea of that, the characterizations in this episode have always seemed weird to me. If you’re not planning on watching SGA, you could probably skip it. Though there are some relevant details about the Ori, I guess? Eh, read an episode synopsis.

10.04 (Insiders) Ba’al and his clones, and some frustrating writing around the way the SGC handles security. Skippable.

10.05 (Uninvited) Okay, so…this episode would seem eminently skippable, but it’s actually one of my favorites. Something about Ben Browder and Beau Bridges together is magical and hilarious. Plus there are some cute team moments of them playing poker.

10.06 (200) The 200th episode! Martin Lloyd is back, and wants to write a movie to follow up Wormhole X-Treme! This episode is basically the show poking fun at itself and the sci-fi genre, and everyone clearly had a fantastic time making it. Also, Jack’s in it!

10.07 (Counterstrike) Adria’s back, and she’s played by Morena Baccarin, who is the best thing about this episode and the entire Orici storyline, tbh. I would say you could skip it, but there’s a lot of Ori story happening here, though, so if you wanna follow that you should probably watch it.

10.08 (Memento Mori) Vala loses her memories and is on the run, and the rest of the team works hard to find her. This is a pretty good episode and Claudia Black is, of course, wonderful in it.

10.09 (Company of Thieves) Lucian Alliance storyline. This is a decent episode but it’s skippable.

10.10 & 10.11 (The Quest) This is where the Ori story collides with the Merlin/Arthurian Knights mythology and things get confusing, but these episodes are actually pretty good. Also, Carter decks Ba’al when he’s being an ass, which is one of the most satisfying moments of the entire series. (At the end of this episode, Daniel gets separated from his team, which happened because Michael Shanks took some paternity leave.)

10.12 (Line in the Sand) This is a great, very angsty Sam episode. But if you’re looking for more episodes to skip, you could skip this one.

10.13 (The Road Not Taken) Another fantastic Sam episode, plus a canon alternate universe. But once again, if you’re looking for more episodes to skip, you could skip this one.

10.14 (The Shroud) Daniel’s back, and so is Jack! At least for one episode. The Ori arc continues.

10.15 (Bounty) Lucian Alliance story, plus Mitchell goes to his high-school reunion in Kansas and takes Vala with him in what has to be a shout-out to Farscape fans. This is a pretty good episode, and I would recommend watching it, but if you’re just trying to get to the end of the season you could skip this one.

10.16 (Bad Guys) This is honestly one of my top ten favorite Stargate episodes. The story was co-written by Ben Browder, it guest stars Josh Malina, and it’s just really funny. WATCH IT.

10.17 (Talion) I hate this episode because Teal’c is so badly characterized in it. TEAL’C OF CHULAK WOULD NEVER EVER HURT OR EVEN THREATEN TO HURT SAMANTHA CARTER OR DANIEL JACKSON, HIS TEAMMATES AND FAMILY FOR THE PAST TEN YEARS.

10.18 (Family Ties) This is just…kind of inconsequential filler. Why did they waste an entire episode on Vala’s worthless father (played by Fred Willard, who’s always fun) when they already knew this was going to be their last season? There’s literally a joke about the show’s cancellation in this episode. Also, there’s a scene at the very end with Teal’c going to a play that relies a lot on sexist earthbound assumptions to be funny, and (a) gross, and (b) I don’t think Teal’c, who is not a Tau’ri male but a Jaffa, would necessarily have had the reaction he does.

10.19 (Dominion) Lots of stuff happens in this episode, with Adria and Ba’al, but you could probably read an episode synopsis.

10.20 (Unending) This is the series finale, and it wraps up the Asgard arc, so of course you should watch it, but I will say that when I initially watched it I was pretty underwhelmed by it as the finale. The episode isn’t badly done, necessarily; but there were a few issues I had with the premise and the way it was executed, and the more I thought about it the more I disliked it. When you’ve watched it, you can find my thoughts on the episode here and more at the tag #I kind of hate Unending. :)

There are two post-series Stargate SG-1 movies, The Ark of Truth and Continuum.

Stargate: The Ark of Truth wraps up the Ori arc, and it’s fine. I’ve watched it once and honestly don’t remember too much about it, except Sam’s hair is really cute, and Cam has fun with commanding a spaceship, and Teal’c has some great lines about forgiveness and making amends.

Stargate: Continuum is an excellent, heart-rending movie. It wraps up the Ba’al story, Claudia Black gets to magnificently play a Goa’uld, there’s time travel and alternate timelines. And Jack is in it, which is both welcome and kind of painful for reasons that will become clear when you’re watching. Have tissues handy.

omg, I did it! :) It was actually pretty fun, going through the episode lists and figuring all of this out, and kind of made me want to do a rewatch. Thanks for the ask, Casey, and I hope you and others find this list helpful!

#stargate sg1 #episode recs #penguinsandyetmorepenguins #bethanyactuallyedit

[allimariexf]

alli’s Arrow 1x20 rewatch thoughts

“Don’t worry, Felicity, they don’t send blondes there.”

“Well I dye it, actually, -- I keep your secret!”

And then the look he gives her!!!

Yep, he’s still totally charmed by her, and actually smiles. I think this is the first time he’s let this honest reaction to her, as a person, show in the foundry. Which is significant, because down in the foundry is where things are “real.” Where everyone knows everyone’s big secrets and where they’re honest with each other and no one is playing a part. Where Oliver being charmed by and playful with Felicity becomes a part of who he is and who they are together, rather than just a part they’re playing. Yep. :)

Dig and Felicity giving Oliver trouble over his “friendship” with Laurel -- this is actually progress. A few months ago (pre-Felicity) Oliver would not have let anyone get after him after his personal life and choices.

The murder of Laurel’s clients is harsh. Has Arrow gotten less violent? Or maybe just less realistic, which tends to reduce the effect of violence.

NAKED OLIVER IN A TOWEL WHY DO WE NOT GET THIS ANYMORE? CAN WE PLS HAVE IN SEASON 7 WITH FELICITY PLS???

@blondeeoneexox you mentioned in last week’s discussion that they totally squandered Colin Donnell - I totally agree! We see him in these episodes butting heads with Oliver, trying to grow as a person and understand how Oliver has changed, wrestling with how Laurel fits into everything, and it’s awesome but also very angsty. I wish they had time to move and grow beyond this. :( And Tommy with this little kid, talking about his mom! 😭 Then swallowing his pride to take Laurel and the kid to Oliver’s house.

I love Shado. But I don’t love Oliver with Shado. First of all, he has that island hair. Second, he’s still pretty foolish. Third, Oliver just falls for women too easily. And fourth, obviously Shado mainly fell for Oliver because he was like a sweet puppy she rescued from certain death. Conclusion: ick. Their relationship would have been just as deep, and less gross, minus the sex. (I get it, though...Slade’s “jealousy.” Even though “fighting over a woman’s affection” is soooo icky. And yeah, I know the fact that her love “belonged” to Slade is just Slade’s mirakuru-crazed delusion, but even so. ICK. Shows should just not even go there. It’s too easy, too misogyny-normalizing.)

“I want you to get into his corporate accounts….anything that may link him to the killer.” I still get all giggly at this point in the show when Oliver relies on Felicity for stuff. Just like a well-oiled machine already even though she’s only been an official member of the team for like barely over a month.

I miss this casual throwaway humor:

“Do you have a police radio in your pocket?” “No, I’m just happy to see you.”

“You know, what position gives you the best shot at Lawton...I think. He used a lot of military jargon. If you’re sniping a sniper...it’s kind of ironic, don’t you think? Me neither.”

It’s actually so unforgivable that Oliver stands John up on the Lawton plan. At the very least he should have told him he wasn’t planning to show.

Is John wearing the same cap that Oliver wears in the 3x14 flashback (when he is in Starling City at QC and he sees Felicity)?

“Something to say, Felicity?” “Nothing you want to hear.” Honestly what Oliver did was so shitty. I love that Felicity totally stands up for John. Oliver is so lucky Felicity didn’t ditch him then - probably would have been the end of Team Arrow for good.

Ugh I’m so looking forward to putting all the Laurel stuff behind us in season 2. Trying to make all of Oliver’s hang-ups about her is basically the only forced thing about season 1.

So Oliver’s killed 26 (well now 27) people so far. That’s more than I thought.

Tommyyyyyy! Ugh. This Tommy/Laurel/Oliver triangle shit is so annoying and melodramatic and unnecessary and VERY soap-opera-y (take that, Lauriver fanboys with your selective memories) and I really wish this and the next three episodes didn’t play out the way they do. Yick.

Roy: “It feels like my life is connected to his.” 😭

@jules85 @blondeeoneexox @hope-for-olicity @memcjo

#arrow #arrow meta #arrow 1x20 #arrow series spoilers #ArrowRewatch2018 #allimariexf arrow meta

[darkstar6782]

1.20: Dead Man’s Blood - My Rewatch Review

It may be a weird thing to say, but I absolutely love it when this show goes deep into just how complicated and messy the Winchesters’ family dynamic is. Other fans have written whole essays on the topic, so it’s something I don’t really feel the need to go too in-depth on, but I will never stop mulling its complexities over and over in my head every time I watch the show (this part of the series especially) nor will I ever stop admiring the writers for having the courage to make their family dynamics so realistically messed-up in the first place. Because every word and action between the boys and their father always rings true in this episode, not just because the show has done a good job of setting them all up for those interactions, but also because there is nothing done or said that is outside the realm of believability. For all that Sam and Dean’s childhood was uniquely dangerous and isolating, the way that John tried to protect them and take care of them was a normal reaction to the trauma he had experienced, and their reactions to him as a parental figure also ring true given their personalities and their upbringing—Dean, as the oldest, acting the mediator and the peacemaker and always being the one that falls in line as an attempted example for Sam, Sam as the youngest always pushing back and questioning and wanting to know the reason why. You can see the shape of their upbringing in every interaction with their dad in this episode, but you can also see the relationship changing before our eyes, and that is what makes this episode so particularly fascinating to me.

Because what you are seeing happen is what you would expect to happen between these boys and their father, now that they are not children any more, but grown men. John is reacting as any father would, trying to reconcile the part of himself that still sees them as children that he needs to protect with the fact that the boys standing in front of him are grown men who can take care of themselves, and who also deserve to be treated as adults, which means sharing information rather than just barking orders, and trusting them to have his back and to think for themselves. Sam is also trying to find a new footing with his dad as he comes to terms with the fact that they are more alike than he ever wanted to admit, while also coming to understand his father as a man, grief-stricken and broken-hearted, who never wanted this life for his family and only did what he did because he thought he had no choice. And Dean is realizing that he has more power within the family dynamic than he thought he did, and that he can stand up for himself and for his brother without breaking everything that he has been trying to build back with Sam and his father apart. It hurts to think that the balance they are finding in their relationships with one another will get blown to hell before they truly get a chance to solidify, but this show wouldn’t be what it is without an oversized serving of family angst to it, and knowing that they eventually do make peace with every aspect of their own family tragedy makes this rewatch more bittersweet than painful.

Along with the wonderful family drama we get this episode, I love the way that the show chose to make vampires completely different from the monsters that we are used to. I love that none of the common lore is true—though, in a world where the supernatural is real, you have to wonder how the folklore could get all that stuff about garlic and sunlight and crosses so horribly wrong? Maybe it was a propaganda campaign by vampires at one point, to keep people from actually knowing how to kill them?—and the way that their vampire teeth look, and the fact that they can be immobilized by dead man’s blood and only killed by beheading give them a grittier, more animalistic feel that fits in perfectly with the Supernatural universe. John even talks about them in a more animalistic way, using words like ‘extinction’, ‘mate’, and ‘nest’, implying that even vampires see themselves as a species apart from humanity, though they were all human once. I also love the way that vampires change as a threat over the course of the series. It is interesting to note that here, when they are first introduced, it is implied that hunters thought them basically extinct, and it is that fact, though it is never mentioned again, that plays a role in the evolution of the threat that they pose as the series progresses.

#supernatural #1.20 dead man's blood #spn rewatch #tgpcSPNr #the great pre-convention spn rewatch

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Monday, August 24

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

The Santa Conspiracy (Crossover with Avengers, G) by Beriaearwen

Mob! (Multiple crossovers, FR18) by acs

Heir of Evil (Crossover with Charmed, FR13) by mmooch

Job Offer (Crossover with Leverage, FR13) by Indra Leigh

Five Percent (Crossover with Star Trek, PG) by hermione2be

The First Day of the Rest of Her Life (Crossover with Lord of the Rings, FR13) by jerseyfabulous

The Call of Work (Crossover with Devil May Cry, T) by madimpossibledreamer

You Go Right (Crossover with Harry Potter, T) by MariaVenera

To Burn with Desire (Buffy/Giles, E) by kez

Foresworn (Angel/Willow, M) by Ladyfae

[Chaptered Fiction]

Taking Chances, Chapter 5 (Crossover with NCIS:LA, T) by 3am_moonlight

While She Sleeps, Chapter 4 (Buffy/Spike, T) by KittyKat1026

Chosen to Not Fade Away, Chapter 1 (Buffy/Spike, M) by buffy_and_spike

Love Lost, Chapter 1 (Buffy/Spike/Anya, T) by Tasseomancy

The Darkling, Chapter 76 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by OffYourBird

Promise Me, Chapter 16 (Buffy/Spike, PG-13) by Lucky_19

Inside Man, Chapter 6 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Holly

A (Mostly) Comprehensive Guide to the End of the World, Chapter 10 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Annabellee

Dances in the Dark, Chapter 11 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by DarkEternity96

Waiting, Chapter 11 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by sweetprincipale

Buggs Buffy, Chapter 7 (Crossover wtih Looney Toons, FR15) by Hanzo

CSI Buffy Summers (Crossover with CSI Las Vegas, FR13) by Wild

A Touch of Her Style, Chapter 10 (Buffy/Spike, M) by myrabeth

[Reviews & Recaps]

PODCAST: Faith, Hope & Trick by Buffy and the Art of Story

[Community Announcements]

Week three roundup! by Twisted Shorts

[Fandom Discussions]

Discussion of 4.20 "The Yoko Factor" - Aired 5/09/00 (WB-US) by Buffy Summers

Discussion of 1.20 "War Zone" - Aired 5/9/2000 (WB-US) by Flannen

If Buffy had walked in when Faith was hurting Wesley? by Benz

Discussion of 4.21 "Primeval" - Aired 5/16/00 (WB-US) by Buffy Summers

Thoughts on Forrest's character by spikenbuffy

SFX artists by WillowsOveralls

Discussion of 1.21 "Blind Date" - Aired 5/16/2000 by Flannen

The book Spike is reading in As You Were by flow

Question about Spike’s soul in comics...(spoilers) by RickOShay25

Rupert to Ripper by YipYipsUhhuh

Anthony Stewart Head seems to be have dropped the Stewart by IntellegentIdiot

Pretty much sums it up by paulrbray72

How would Sigmund Freud psychoanalyze the show if he were to watch it today? by barre_chord_reality

Just watched The Body for the first time by JPickle96

Mentally, I am here by Use_Her-Name

Buffy Season 5 by Salvatore-Charmed

Do you rewatch in order or skip around by The810kid

If Faith hadn’t been in a coma when The Mayor ascended by purplemackem

Spike looks like N-sync era Justin Timberlake. by fede01_8

Buffy, Faith & Willow VS Glory? by Salvatore-Charmed

An odd thought about the opening scene of Bad Girls by OGIHR

Ok watching again and sometimes I just wanna say things about it by Astraterris

Which plot-hole frustrates you the most? by ettybr

Hole in the world by cervezamonkey

The Mayor and Faith by KirstyBrad

Dingoes ate my baby by beursgeb457

Did Xander and Cordelia ever sleep together? by 1eyeonixfish

I’m trying to convert from traditional mediums to digital, just got into the show by GWhizKatlifa

Can I Blame Giles for Dark Willow? by riffbw

Why was Xander in every episode of the series sans one episode in season 7? by KevTravels

How is the reception of season 6 now all these years later? by KevTravels

Buffy, Angel, Spike, Faith by KevTravels

I’m rewatching and I noticed a really sweet moment from cordelia in season two by brad620

Did Sunnydale have the worst crime rate statistically for a city of its size by KevTravels

What were plans, ideas, arcs or characters for the series that got shelved or never came to fruition by KevTravels

Gotta give credit to SMG. She carried this show. Starred in it at at age 19 by KevTravels

Just rewatched "Hole in the World" by liquiddsunshinee

This moment gets me every time. by berserker1979

[ypthoughts]

i kind of wonder what made Fukutomi and the other regulars interested in Manami, like..... is it because he kept making a name for himself because he was late all the time? like...... i feel like, as a first-year, he wouldn’t garner this much attention unless something tipped them off to how good he is.

perhaps they have a first-year race like Sohoku does? and Manami didn’t quite show his full potential? idk.

#yowamushi pedal #yp thoughts #yp rewatch #spice boys #1.20 #i hadn't really thought about it but now i'm curious #it's been so fuckin long since i watched these episodes oh man

[mittensmorgul]

i obviously did not think this through

So the other day I thought it would be fun to make up my own Essential Rewatch List leading up to 15.01, and boy howdy was I ever wrong! This post is the result of that. Instead of a conveniently streamlined list of important episodes for meta and character development highlights, instead have this 15k word probably-useless behemoth...

I debated not even posting this on tumblr because it’s just so massive. But heck this was a lot of work so here it is.

For reference purposes, I refer a lot to my rewatch notes, but mostly in later seasons. If you’d rather just go to the beginning of my tag for the most recent rewatch, 1.01 is the last post on this page, and then you can just continue chronologically from there:

https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/tagged/s14+hellatus+rewatch/chrono/page/3

If you want to read more about a specific episode, every singe episode is filed on my blog with the episode tag. For example, all posts about 1.01 are tagged like this:

https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-1.01

To find a different episode, just plug in the correct episode number and voila.

If you’d prefer to skip an episode but don’t fully recall it and just want a quick refresher, every episode is linked on this page of the superwiki. Those links will serve you up a tidy synopsis as well as link you to the transcripts for every episode (linked at the bottom of each episode page):

http://www.supernaturalwiki.com/Category:Episodes

I started out making reasonable, logical entries for every episode, and then... kinda went off the rails toward the end... apologies for how chaotic this might read. Most of it was typed off the top of my head, and I haven’t edited it so apologies for any errors. Under a cut because FIFTEEN. THOUSAND. WORDS.

Good luck.

1.01 Pilot Obviously this episode sets up everything that comes after, and gives us a platform from which to understand exactly how the show’s mythology will eventually evolve. It also establishes a baseline for understanding Sam and Dean and their personal character evolutions and family dynamics. Probably essential viewing in any rewatch...

1.02 Wendigo Like so many early episodes, we learn more about Dean and Sam, and the missing father they’re searching for. And here we get “Saving people, hunting things, the family business” that becomes the motto of the Winchesters.

1.03 Dead in the Water

Sam is shocked to learn that Dean’s good with kids, and how Dean was traumatized as a 4-year-old. Like, dude, he practically raised you, Sam… makes sense he’s good with kids...

1.04 Phantom Traveler Specky the Wonderdemon, who was terrifyingly beyond their pay grade at the time. Kinda hilarious in retrospect… (also first use of Dean’s homemade EMF meter)

1.05 Bloody Mary Aah, Sam is keeping secrets from Dean (about his psychic powers and that he’d foreseen Jess’s death), and we learn ghosts can be attached to items that must be destroyed to banish the ghost.

1.06 Skin ooh Dean, take off that shirt yes… no… wait… stop… you can stop with the shirt you don’t… no please put your skin back on… (no, seriously, we learn A LOT about Dean from the shapeshifter, and so does Sam… There’s a heck of a lot Dean keeps buried. Also a reminder that shifter episodes tend to involve these sorts of buried secret things for Dean. Also Dean’s first “legal death” even if not actual death)

1.07 Hook Man Another ghost attached to an object, Sam’s first flirtation with anyone after Jess’s death, and Dean’s proficiency and innovation in hunting techniques continues to surprise Sam-- with the first use of salt shells for a shotgun.

1.08 Bugs Oh look more first season talking of their different experiences and memories of childhood and especially their very different relationships with John. If you can ignore the bug-related portions of the episode. Also I think still the only time in canon Sam and Dean have used umbrellas.

1.09 Home

Well if you absolutely need an in-depth exploration of the Winchester Family Dynamic as it stood in s1, this is a good baseline episode. Mary’s guilt expressed by her ghost in the house where she died, more exploration of Sam’s psychic powers, and we first see John on screen in the “present day.” Sam also learns it was Dean who carried him out of the house when he was a baby, and uses the exact same line John told Dean in this episode (take your brother outside as fast as you can and don’t look back)

1.10 Asylum So much of s1 was Dean getting orders from John and… following them. We get an interesting glimpse inside Sam’s head (having heard some of Dean’s dark secrets in 1.06) and via ghost interference Sam says some pretty bitter things to Dean (and would’ve shot him if Dean had been dumb enough to hand him a loaded gun. lucky Dean’s smarter than that). But now we have their baseline issues laid out on the table for us.

1.11 Scarecrow Sam is sick of taking orders from John and decides to go find John on his own rather than following another order. He meets Meg hitchhiking, and she tries to lure him in. Luckily Sam realizes Dean is in trouble and goes back to save him. They decide to stick together again. Of course.

1.12 Faith Here we go… the first moment the show realized it had the potential to be something bigger than a MotW horror/fantasy road trip. Dean’s first brush with capital-D Death (in this case, a reaper). The first time in canon anyone suggests that Dean was “chosen by the Lord” for a greater purpose.

1.13 Route 666 Racist Ghost Truck. But also the first time we learn an important difference between Dean and Sam. Sam hid everything about his life from Jess (a woman he was planning to propose to), but Dean fell in love with Cassie over a matter of weeks and told the whole truth to… and she dumped him for it because she thought he was lying to her. That heartbreak goes a long way toward the cavalier attitude Dean puts on toward relationships in general in the early seasons. Tell them the truth and they’ll leave you for it, but he won’t live the lie that Sam was perfectly happy to...

1.14 Nightmare Aah, more of Sam’s powers (darkest timeline edition with Max), and Sam credits John for being a better father… until he sees Dean’s reaction to that comment… and we get that Dean stood between Sam and John’s… lack of parenting skills >.>

1.15 The Benders “Plain old people are often worse than monsters”

1.16 Shadow The return of Meg, who is Up To No Good messing around with scarier demons than good old Specky was. We finally have John in the picture, but he deems it too dangerous for them to stick together, blaming their vulnerability on their care for each other, and just PFFFFFFT how often has the show kicked this notion to the curb? Give it a few more episodes… Sam also expresses his desire to finally get their revenge so he can leave hunting for good and go back to his “normal life.” Dean is crushed and upset by this revelation.

1.17 Hell House Aah, the prank war :’), and the idiot ghostfacers :’). It’s a tulpa.

1.18 Something Wicked Well if you need your heart ripped out with Dean Feels, you’re in the right place. Sam learns even more about Dean’s struggles as a kid under John’s orders, and what “failure” to obey meant to Dean-- that it once almost cost Sam his life. Sam gets a better idea of the burden of guilt and the weight of responsibility that Dean has carried for far, far too long. And Dean gets a bit of closure, finally killing the shtriga.

1.19 Provenance Sam gets to unburden himself a bit from Jess’s death and make a real connection with a wonderful woman who gets a real peek into the reality of their lives and the supernatural. Still, he walks away, and completely loses touch with her for like… 7 years...

1.20 Dead Man's Blood Sam and Dean are sick of blindly following orders, and sick of wild goose chases. And they demand answers from John. We learn about vampires for the first time, and are finally introduced to The Colt, which will take on so much significance over the seasons that it’s RIDICULOUS. A weapon Mary heard bedtime stories about as a child, now become real to be used to get their revenge on the demon who killed her? Which will resurface again and again to either become their hope or destroy their hope… so much baggage attached to a single gun.

1.21 Salvation So much plotting, but the demons get their way and get the Winchesters separated and set up. Sam fails to shoot the demon with the Colt and John is captured.

1.22 Devil's Trap As the title suggests, this is where we learn about the Devil’s Trap. And see the “single step” exorcism performed (not the two-step Specky exorcism from 1.04). Dean rejects John’s orders and “wastes” a bullet from the Colt to save Sam’s life. But it’s still all a trap, because the demon is possessing John. Dean realizes it when John is NOT FURIOUS that he “wasted” that bullet. It nearly kills Dean, and Sam refuses to kill John in order to kill the demon. The demon escapes, the Winchesters have one bullet left in the Colt, and then they’re run over by a demon-possessed semi trucker.

2.01 In My Time of Dying Dean’s second brush with Death (again, reapers). He learns a lot while mostly dead that unfortunately he won’t remember for a long time (until 4.15, to be precise) about reapers and their powers (manipulating reality, etc.). Sam is desperate to save Dean, and John trades his life (and the Colt) to the Demon for Dean’s life, lays one HELL of a burden on Dean-- either save Sam, or you’ll have to kill him. No further details, just that horrific fact which Dean will try to shield Sam from as long as he can, which will (as per usual) probably only make things worse when they eventually come out. Dying wishes on this show SUCK DONKEYS. Remember that when we get to 5.22...

2.02 Everybody Loves a Clown Spoiler alert: nobody actually loves a clown, especially not Sam. But heck Dean driving the soccer mom minivan is priceless. And we’re introduced to Ellen, Jo, and Ash at the Roadhouse. Sam and Dean are like… whoa there are actual hunter gathering places? And begin to uncover just how sheltered and weird their lives have been, even for hunters.

2.03 Bloodlust like 1.15, “sometimes people are the worst monsters,” with a generous side helping of “sometimes monsters aren’t actually monsters.” Dean gets to question a lot of what he was taught his whole life by John, via the proxy of Gordon Walker and his hate-on for vampires. But Dean realizes there’s a limit to killing everything not-human… the beginning of the era of “killing what deserves to be killed and not just anyone will do”

2.04 Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things Zombie. Considering Jack’s longtime fascination with zombies, and how 14.20 ended… possibly relevant thematically on several levels… Girl resurrected by a dude for love (she didn’t love him in life… but was basically a “soulless person” as a zombie, as we will come to understand in later seasons). It’s a terrible idea to try and bring back the dead… >.> But this is all wrapped up in grief and how Sam and Dean each deal with grief in their own ways, and how they don’t really understand how the other is processing John’s death. In the MotW language of the show, zombies are about grief for the past and an inability to express it or move past it. They’re just emotional baggage (like shapeshifter eps reveal hidden truths and vampires are about revenge)

2.05 Simon Said More special children affected by the demon exhibit psychic powers… Sam is unsettled by the mind control, but unlike Dean he’s immune to it… He’s scared he’s gonna turn “evil” (and this is the first hint he gets that Dean might feel the same, based on the horrific dying promise John extracted from him that we still haven’t heard, and which we’re reminded is clearly weighing on Dean anyway)

2.06 No Exit Aah, Jo. They hunt the ghost of HH Holmes with her and learn some terrible things about their father’s history-- that he probably played a part in Jo’s father’s death. We also learn Dean sleeps real funny in chairs...ow it just looks so dang painful :’D (but they do comeuppance real well on the ghost…)

2.07 The Usual Suspects I love this just for the structure of the episode, showing us Hunting with Sam and Dean 101-- how to avoid arrest and imprisonment edition. This just gives us so much insight into how well they work together as a team, and the degree to which they’ve developed code words and references and how they are able to craft seamless backstories in the event a hunt goes south. It’s just… delightful.

2.08 Crossroad Blues The introduction of Crossroads Demons. And the first confirmation to Dean that John did indeed sell his soul for Dean’s life. Uncomfy revelation. The demon offers Dean a deal… his father resurrected and ten years to enjoy his company before Dean’s soul would end up in Hell instead. Dean declines. But their arsenal of weapons against demons (and the newly-introduced Hellhounds) grows to include goofer dust.

2.09 Croatoan Aah, a terrible time was had by all… the demons are scheming, creating demonic viruses and testing Sam’s immunity to them. But of course Dean and Sam don’t know that… Dean’s comment as they leave town: “I'm already starting to feel like this is the one that got away.” And ends on a cliffhanger of Dean about to tell Sam what John told him in 2.01.

2.10 Hunted Sam is enraged Dean would keep that from him, and wants to seek out more Special Children to learn what they can, but Dean wants to hide out and bide their time for safety’s sake. And maybe it’s just because I was in my 30’s when I first watched this show, but Sam pulls what I still think of as one of his signature childish moves and runs away in the night. But down that path lies revenge against the demon, so of course Sam runs into vampire-adjacent Gordon Walker. We learn more about how the Winchesters work together, the secret code word “funkytown,” and that sometimes they actually get the authorities to work in their favor. They’re good at manipulating the system...

2.11 Playthings Ghosts, Hoodoo that wasn’t to cause harm, but to protect against the ghost. Sam gets spectacularly drunk and makes Dean promise to actually kill him if he goes bad. Yikes. We also have the “why does everybody think we’re gay,” and Sam’s reply of “you’re kinda trying too hard to be butch” that Dean… doesn’t have a response to. Sam gets to SAVE somebody (he puts a gold star in his book as proof he’s not turning evil yet)

2.12 Nightshifter This is one I recommend actually watching… another shapeshifter (not a mandroid), so uncomfortable truths time. Sam lies thinking he’s protecting someone from danger, but it just drives Ron into even WORSE danger (and gets him killed). Everything about this hunt goes sideways, except they do actually kill the shifter, but now they’ve got the FBI on their tails. This is Winchesters Scrambling In A Tight Spot nirvana.

2.13 Houses of the Holy The first hint that the show… could possibly someday include angels, but they’re still on the BS list by the end of this episode. We learn more about Sam’s belief in God, Dean’s utter disdain for the idea of God, and the fact that Mary had believed in angels. Dean witnesses something he can’t explain, and Sam points in Dean’s direction when asking, “That’s Michael, right?”

2.14 Born Under a Bad Sign From holy to Hell… Sam is possessed by Meg, who leads Dean on a wild goose chase and does some pretty horrific stuff with Sam’s body. >.> They learn about the antipossession charms from Bobby (and probably get the tattoos shortly after this). Dean still refuses to kill Sam even when he begs (though we learn it was Meg testing or goading all of them).

2.15 Tall Tales We’re introduced to the Trickster (who’s even tricking them about his actual identity). Sam and Dean are completely bamboozled until Bobby shows up and points them to what’s really going on. There’s a lot of fun stuff about Sam and Dean’s relationship and how they see themselves and each other in here, though. And of course we know who the trickster actually is, which makes this all so much more interesting in retrospect… bit of comeuppance and lessons learned.

2.16 Roadkill An interesting take on a ghost MotW episode, where one of the ghosts doesn’t realize she’s dead, and how Sam and Dean work with her to save them all.

2.17 Heart Sam’s first actual sort-of-relationship with a woman. Who happens to be a werewolf… oops. There’s a lot of Sam Pain in this one, and Dean feeling like he’s failed in protecting Sam, yet again. But we are introduced to werewolves, which take on the monster meta shorthand of exposing or understanding their own inner monstrousness.

2.18 Hollywood Babylon And it’s Dean’s turn to have a little fling, where their concept of a “vacation” is “deal with mysterious haunting and death on a movie set.” And like in 1.12, this all comes about because some dingdong thinks he can do whatever he want. ALSO! The true monster of the week here… IS A WRITER. A writer who is furious that his story was trashed, and produced into something unrecognizable as his actual writing. I think this one might be HIGHLY relevant to 14.20, just for that. For the deadly tantrum of a writer who didn’t get his way. (plus the brilliance of Dean going from complete noob to the best PA in the history of Hollywood in like… a day… he’s just that good :’D)

2.19 Folsom Prison Blues In doing a favor for their father’s marine corps buddy (so the ghost of John hangs all over this one), they deliberately get themselves arrested and put in jail. Dean fits in there just as well as he did as a PA. He’s… really just that good at acting. Now I have Green Onions stuck in my head and I want a milkshake. And a donut.

2.20 What Is and What Should Never Be DJINN. aka the monster meta signal of deep personal introspection. What we learn about Dean in this episode is just heartbreaking. What he would wish for (Mary alive, Sam happily at Stanford Law School engaged to Jess) and the consequences he’s willing to endure for that to be a reality (his own life’s work negated, where everyone assumes he’s a drunk and a thief and a loser). 

2.21 All Hell Breaks Loose: Part One Dean just wanted pie. Instead Sam gets taken by demons. We finally find out what the demon wanted with him (sort of). Sam plays in the Demon Hunger Games, and loses at the last moment… (Dean gets to feel what it’s like to have a psychic vision, and hates it)

2.22 All Hell Breaks Loose: Part Two Dean sells his soul to resurrect Sam for the bargain price of one year before he’ll be dragged to Hell. Well learn about Samuel Colt’s Hellgate, which can ironically be unlocked with the Magic Kill Anything Gun (the Colt). In retrospect, this was just the beginning of the larger narrative arc of the Apocalypse, where Azazel released Lilith (along with a lot of other demons) to get that party started now that they had their hooks in Dean’s soul, but hey, at least Azazel won’t live to see it all happen (Dean finally shoots him with that last Colt bullet, rendering the gun useless but at least it did what they needed it to, with an assist from John’s ghost).

3.01 The Magnificent Seven The Seven Deadly Sins, the introduction of Ruby and her Magical Demon Killing Knife. Dean tells Sam he can’t be saved because if he breaks his deal, Sam would die.

3.02 The Kids Are Alright We meet Lisa (who Dean had a fling with years earlier) on Dean’s “relive his greatest hits before he goes to Hell denial roadtrip.” And Dean thinks he has a son for a hot minute (he does not, but he likes the kid anyway). Weirdness with them will ensue until they finally get to move on with their lives in s6. >.> But we’re introduced to our first fairie-adjacent creatures: Changelings. And Sam learns Ruby is actually a demon...

3.03 Bad Day at Black Rock Sam lost his shoe. We learn about curse boxes, Sam and Dean learn that John kept a secret storage unit full of weird and possibly dangerous stuff. But also some relics from their childhood-- Sam’s soccer trophy, Dean’s first sawed-off shotgun. And if that isn’t shorthand for the fact they had very different childhoods, I don’t know what is. Anyway, we meet Bela, and are entertained by good luck going bad… kinda the theme of s3?

3.04 Sin City more demons, we learn more about bigger plans they had for Sam, and Dean comes THIS CLOSE to actually considering letting a demon go… but Ruby helped Bobby make the Colt work again, and Sam kills both demons.

3.05 Bedtime Stories A pseudo-ghost of a girl trapped in a coma acts out fairy tales as a cry for help. Dean doesn’t want to kiss a frog. The pie is poisoned and Dean has to fight the big bad wolf… I swear that all makes perfect meta sense.

3.06 Red Sky at Morning Bela again. And like the ghost they’re hunting, we learn she got her revenge against a family member. The first use of the name “Castiel” in the spell to summon the ghost’s brother’s ghost so they could splish-splosh each other out of existence. That’s… all you really need to know.

3.07 Fresh Blood Gordon Walker, vampires, and vengeance. Taken to an extreme. Dean basically throws himself into danger because what does he have to lose if he’s already destined for Hell? But he’s beginning to crack, and Sam’s getting pretty desperate to get Dean to admit he’s scared and do something to save himself. Gordon’s desire for revenge gets him captured by a vamp and turned… and Sam ends up beheading him with razor wire. Yikes… so much for that revenge, eh?

3.08 A Very Supernatural Christmas Yuletide fun and eggnog. Pagan gods they end up killing with a Christmas tree. But they do reach a personal emotional plateau with Dean’s whole “half a year to live” clock ticking down.

3.09 Malleus Maleficarum Witches. Ruby. And a demon who knows Ruby leading a coven of suburban housewives who believe they’re just doing something harmless and not slowly selling their souls to said demon. Ruby saves Dean’s life, earning his reluctant gratitude for the time being, but not exactly his trust. This is the first we learn of Lilith, the demon apparently leading all the rest of them. Dean also learns that demons are just human souls that have been tortured in hell, and that’s what awaits him after he dies.

3.10 Dream a Little Dream of Me VERY IMPORTANT EPISODE. African Dream Root, which mimics the sort of djinn-dream experience. Dean has to literally confront his demon self. For the first time he admits he didn’t deserve any of this, any of what John put him through. And he admits to Sam that he is scared of going to Hell. Oh, and Bela steals the Colt, aka the only weapon they have against Lilith.

3.11 Mystery Spot If 3.10 was about Dean’s internal trauma, 3.11 is about Sam’s. The trickster puts him through a time loop forcing him to relive endless Tuesdays, and Dean dies each time and he wakes up again. The power to do this is just… insane. Just when they think they’re out, Dean apparently dies “for real,” and it drives Sam on a six month long rather terrifying revenge mission. Only to finally come face to face with the trickster again after having proven the horrific lengths he’s willing to go to in order to save Dean. Also a very, very important episode. Trapped eternally in someone else’s looping story and forced to act it all out endlessly? Yeah. That’s not 14.20 at all >.>

3.12 Jus in Bello very nearly the series finale. They work with Ruby after FBI agent Henriksen discovers they weren’t lying about the supernatural and they exorcise him from demon possession. Dean gives him The Talk about what’s real, and refuses to sacrifice someone to perform Ruby’s spell that would supposedly save them all and kill all the demons. Everyone lives… for a little while, at least. At least Sam and Dean are marked among the dead, so they won’t have to worry about law enforcement chasing them for a while, but Ruby holds this over them (in addition to losing the Colt, if they’d just listened to her everyone would still be alive… in theory… she’s really good at this manipulation thing!)

3.13 Ghostfacers And interesting perspective to see what Sam and Dean would look like uncensored and unbound from the traditional episode format, and through the eyes of other people.

3.14 Long-Distance Call Crocotta. Dean is lured in by John’s voice over the phone, believing it might be a ghost situation, and that John may have a way to save him from Hell. It’s all just a trap that leaves Dean feeling even more hopeless, knowing he can’t expect John (or anyone else) to save him from this. 

3.15 Time Is on My Side Sam gets desperate, and we have another mention of zombies… which if you’ll recall, signals grief and desperation and an inability to let go of the past. Which kinda defines Sam’s state right now. Dean tracks down Bela to retrieve the Colt (but it’s long gone, and Bela’s about to be dragged off by hellhounds herself). Sam tracks down Doc Benton hoping to get him to share his secret for immortality as a last desperate attempt to save Dean. But Dean doesn’t want to live like that, killing other people for their organs as his would wear out, just to keep himself out of Hell. And honestly good for him because ugh.

3.16 No Rest for the Wicked Dean’s seeing through the veil, able to see demons’ true faces, and the hellhounds that are on their way. They steal Ruby’s knife and go after Lilith, and fail completely. Dean’s dragged to Hell, and Sam’s immune to Lilith’s powers.

4.01 Lazarus Rising CAS GRIPPED DEAN TIGHT AND RAISED HIM FROM PERDITION. Honestly if you don’t know the meta import of this episode, this list ain’t gonna help you.

4.02 Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean Winchester We really learn about the Apocalypse, the seals breaking that will eventually free Lucifer. Supposedly the angels want to stop them from breaking… and Dean and Cas have their first real conversation about all of this. And this is the episode my tag for God comes from, “If you say mysterious ways, so help me I will kick your ass.” Dean’s already set himself up with Cas to defy God.

4.03 In the Beginning Angels can send you back in time! Dean sees Mary and John’s relationship, the death of Mary’s parents, and the fact Dean talked John into buying the Impala AND now feels responsible for having lured Azazel to Mary in the first place… he witnesses the deal she makes to bring John back that would effectively shape the entire narrative on both sides of this episode. The things we do for love… Cas told Dean to stop it, and in the end tells him he never could’ve stopped any of it. It is what it is. It’s the first instance of Dean getting this glimpse at the bigger picture, and taking away his OWN lesson from it rather than the one he was supposed to learn… 

4.04 Metamorphosis Dean finds out about Sam working with Ruby to exorcise demons with his psychic powers. And the inevitability of falling victim to those psychic powers plays out in the MotW, the rougarou who gives into his hunger. Sam promises to give up using his powers lest that happen to him.

4.05 Monster Movie A straightforward, black and white case. A shapeshifter (so buried truths), but this one becomes Hollywood movie monsters trying to give the monsters a happy ending… essentially trying to rewrite his own story. Sound familiar? Dean gets the girl, at least. I love this episode.

4.06 Yellow Fever Dean vs his own fear, compounded by the fear of a ghost who infects him with ghost sickness, inflicting his own suffering on Dean. This was Dabb’s first episode, and as such, is definitely worth watching for the themes, and what Dean is truly afraid of-- i.e. of going back to Hell and being tortured by Lilith, of Sam being a yellow-eyed demon. The rest is just awkwardly fun watching Dean squirm.

4.07 It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester Sam breaks his promise not to use his powers when Samhain rises. We meet another angel- Uriel- who isn’t as fond of humanity as Cas. Sam meets Cas, too. But this is truly the episode where Cas begins to differentiate himself and show his doubts in Heaven’s orders. He warns Dean that bigger tests are coming, but he doesn’t know what they will be yet. This is still the true foundation stone of Cas’s entire personal character arc for the entire series, when he went from maybe-three-episodes-then-dead interesting side character to 11-years-and-counting truly a Winchester.

4.08 Wishful Thinking I love this episode… you can’t just wish for what you want without consequences. This was like primer-level Cosmic Consequences stuff.

4.09 I Know What You Did Last Summer Dean learns what Sam was up to while he was in Hell being tortured by Alastair (conveniently the antagonist in this episode), why he trusts Ruby now, and voluntarily works with Ruby to save Anna-- a woman who hears angels talking. This is effectively continued in:

4.10 Heaven and Hell Where Anna remembers that she’d been an angel who fell from Heaven by choice, removing her grace to experience life as a human. Which… is kinda important a concept to know exists… >.> Heaven (and Cas) judge her harshly for that choice, and yet… there’s just too much just go read my rewatch notes from this episode at the very least.

4.11 Family Remains They think it’s a ghost but it’s not a ghost. All you need to know is this is the episode they wrote on a dare to see if they could write an episode that the network would refuse to air ever again. They were actively trying to write the worst possible episode they could imagine, and this is the result.

4.12 Criss Angel Is a Douchebag

Sam had a thing for stage magic as a kid, but now he runs around with a demon. The concept of “will we be in this life until we die or it kills us” and “what would life even look like to us if we were actually to grow old” is batted around for possibly the first time. 

4.13 After School Special

From contemplating retirement to flashbacks to high school. Another look at Sam and Dean and who they are as people, and how their very different childhoods shaped them into who they are now.

4.14 Sex and Violence Dean’s Siren was a dude. (oh, and the director of this episode? whose last episode was 6.15? is directing 15.03, so maybe worth a peek...)

4.15 Death Takes a Holiday Dean vs Death again. The return of Tessa the reaper from 2.01, and Dean finally remembers. They save Tessa, save a seal, and capture Alastair, but discover they’ve been manipulated into doing it by Cas/Heaven. Heaven loves its manipulations… Pamela the psychic warns Sam that what he’s doing, despite his intentions, is not good. He ignores that advice. At the very least read my rewatch notes for this one. >.>

4.16 On the Head of a Pin There is absolutely too much going on in this episode to sum up in this post. Read my rewatch notes, read the superwiki, watch the episode. This one is huge, for Dean and for Cas.

4.17 It's a Terrible Life Heaven’s Grand Manipulator, Zachariah. Or he thinks he’s pretty grand… he’s really not all that good at his job

4.18 The Monster at the End of This Book CHUCK. The inevitability of destiny, or at least his attempt to write that version. In this episode, all of Chuck’s plans go according to plan… until Dean drags him back into the story and forces a different ending. (and we learn Sam’s demon blood drinking is so distasteful to Chuck he didn’t even include it in his books) Remind you of anything? Like, oh, 4.22, or 5.22, or 11.23, or 14.20? Yes, this episode is the key to everything.

4.19 Jump the Shark Since Adam will reportedly be back in s15, watch this one and understand Dabb’s exact intention in creating the character in the first place-- literally as a decoy who never existed with any narrative weight of his own, as a ghoul (a creature that feeds on the dead and takes their shape). I wrote about this one recently, so I won’t waste space repeating myself here.

4.20 The Rapture CAAAAAAAASSSSSS. He gets dragged back to heaven for disobedience, and is tortured back into obedience. Obviously this one is huge for Cas as a character, and for Dean’s relationship with him. But they both learn about why Sam’s powers were getting stronger, and are not pleased...

4.21 When the Levee Breaks Sam’s detoxing from demon blood until Cas lets him escape. Cas rounds up Anna and has her sent back to Heaven for her own round of torture/reprogramming. And Dean and Sam have her Big Falling Out that drives Sam to do the horrific… however good his intentions are, what he’s doing is still bad.

4.22 Lucifer Rising The grand manipulation is unveiled. Dean talks an angel into rebelling from Heaven to stop the apocalypse, but they’re still not in time to stop Sam from breaking the world. Chuck… is less than fully helpful, despite Cas literally volunteering his own life to protect Chuck. Pretty sure this is a critical episode for rewatching. Chuck’s mostly pleased his story is going to plan.

5.01 Sympathy for the Devil Ugh, no we do not have sympathy for the devil on this blog. Chuck recruits his biggest fan to deliver cryptic messages to Sam and Dean. Dean learns he’s Michael’s true vessel, destined to be his tuxedo for the apocalypse. Cas returns without having a clue how he’s even alive. And it’s all Chuck’s doing… even if we don’t know that yet.

5.02 Good God, Y'All

The apocalypse is in full swing, and the Horsemen are coming out to play. In this case, War manipulating people into destroying each other. Cas sets out on his mission to find God and convince him to help stop this mess. We learn Dean’s amulet had the power to find God all this time, and they’d never known it until now. Convenient!

5.03 Free to Be You and Me Just watch it already, you know you want to. Defines Dean and Cas’s relationship for years to come, though. Plus Sam learns he’s Lucifer’s destined vessel. I’m sure that will all go fine… 

5.04 The End I know most people will disagree with me on this, but the only useful meta takeaway from this episode is the same as one from 4.17: Dean doesn’t learn the lessons he’s “supposed to.” He makes his own lessons. There is literally zero other relevant information to take from this episode, aside from it being Cas who saves him from it. Watch if you enjoy it… but literally nothing about it is any more real than the djinn dream in 2.20 or the dreamroot dream in 3.10, and it’s all been rendered irrelevant by later canon anyway. Especially by 14.20 and that moment Dean refused to play Chuck’s game anymore.

5.05 Fallen Idols More John baggage disguised as an old god. Worth watching just to hear poor Consuela the housekeeper wail about Abraham Lincoln killing Mr. Hill, and Sam being attacked by Ghandi.

5.06 I Believe the Children Are Our Future Dabb’s second gag on the fandom… the antichrist. Dean admitting Cas is his friend. :’)

5.07 The Curious Case of Dean Winchester Dean gets to be an old man for a day.

5.08 Changing Channels Just watch this one, read about it, whatever. Refresh yourself on it. The trickster is unmasked as the Archangel Gabriel, and he’s attempting his own ploy to force Sam and Dean to “play their roles.” They convince him they’re not gonna do that, but to break out of the endless loop of literal television shows he’s forcing them to act out for his own entertainment (and sort of to teach them that lesson), they’ve got to do more than just refuse to play their roles, they’ve got to best him at the game. Kinda like they’re probably gonna have to do with Chuck in s15. 

5.09 The Real Ghostbusters Oh, speaking of Chuck… here have a Supernatural fan convention, and a key piece of information on what actually happened to the Colt after Bela stole it. But most importantly, Dean gets to yell about how much he doesn’t appreciate the story of Supernatural.

5.10 Abandon All Hope… They find the Colt, and Crowley, and discover it never would’ve worked against Lucifer anyway, and then promptly lose the Colt again. Lucifer gets to stare down Cas and Cas doesn’t blink, Meg’s hellhounds kill Jo and Ellen, and really everything’s kinda bleak. Lucifer raises and binds Death.

5.11 Sam, Interrupted WRAITH, aka a monster that uses mind altering venom to “cook” her victims to perfection, so like a djinn and other mind-altering, perception-altering creatures, when they sneak up on you unawares, things get… complicated. Massive insight into the essential character of Sam and Dean.

5.12 Swap Meat Body Swap. That one time Sam was actually Gary.

5.13 The Song Remains the Same More time travel, Sam’s second resurrection, we finally meet Michael face to (Young John Winchester’s) face. Mikey seems pretty confident in his “destiny.” Dean’s second warning to Young Mary about her death is wiped from her mind. Contemplation of Cosmic Consequences: it’s better never to be born if it means stopping the Apcoalypse-- clarified in 12.23-present that… nope, definitely worse. “Team Free Will” coined. Watch this one. It’s the stage on which all the s12-present Family Dynamics will be set.

5.14 My Bloody Valentine We learn Heaven set up John and Mary, that they couldn’t stand one another before Cupids intervened and made them “the perfect couple.” I’ve written a lot about the effect the Horseman Famine had on all of them-- especially Dean and Cas, with the reminder that s5 was the season of “lol nope” to the category of beings attempting to manipulate all of them, including the Horsemen. Important just for all of that (and Edlund’s confirmation that Cas’s cravings were actually his own, and that my read that he was being a shifty liar blaming it on Jimmy was correct-- Cas does have his own human cravings, going all the way back to this point, that he was ashamed of, or terrified of, or both...) As well as Sam’s struggle against demon blood addiction, and his fear of and gradual acceptance and internalization of his own powers)

5.15 Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid ZOMBIES. ZOMBIE PIE. JODY MILLS. As I’ve said above, zombies are grief and unresolved baggage from the past, and in this episode, the denial was so strong even the normies in town were willing to accept the return of their dead loved ones, clinging to them until they “turned” and devoured them… the Mary parallels, Karen’s talk with Dean about what we do for the people we love… this one’s important.

5.16 Dark Side of the Moon Dabb, and our first look at the structure of Heaven, and how human souls see the place. Probably one of THE most misunderstood episodes in the entire series. Please see everything I’ve ever written about it for reference. FINALLY they toss out the toxic, worthless samulet. (which we literally learn in 11.20 that chuck “switched off” and INTENTIONALLY rendered worthless, because it suited his plotline and amused him). Still think this is vital to understanding Dabb Era overall.

5.17 99 Problems We see what it looks like when Dean gives up, loses hope, and is about to do Stupid Things™. Cas too. Probably useful just for that.

5.18 Point of No Return We finally see Cas really let loose on Dean, and admit what he gave up because he believed in Dean. Because Dean asked him to. Dean nearly gives in to destiny, but because of Cas, because of Sam, he fights through it. Zachariah and his manipulations end (getting stabbed in the face tends to end that sort of thing). Also the irritating return of Adam only to be the meatsuit for Michael when Dean refuses. (and we learn the truth about Adam-- that everything ghoul!Adam told them had been a straight-up manipulation, and Adam only ever cared about his mom. by the time he learns the truth, it’s too late for him, the gullible idiot vs the power of propaganda)

5.19 Hammer of the Gods The return of Gabriel, aka Loki, and a ton of other pagan gods Lucifer will slaughter. Interesting in light of Gabriel’s return in s13, and because of the mirror of Chuck in each of his archangels. And the Winchesters win another angel to TFW.

5.20 The Devil You Know Crowley’s good at manipulation, but again proves himself to be… mostly trustworthy (as long as they’re all working toward the same end). And re: manipulation, Sam gets a glimpse of just how thoroughly his entire life has been manipulated by demonic forces, which… relevant to the revelations of 14.20 vs Sam’s persistent faith in God despite everything.

5.21 Two Minutes to Midnight Cas is effectively human. Bobby sells his soul for Death’s location, and Pestilence falls to teamwork. Cas learns the value of a shotgun. Dean has pizza with Death, who WANTS him to succeed at locking Lucifer back up and explains exactly how to go about doing it. Sam thinks he can overpower Lucifer if he gives in and says yes.

5.22 Swan Song Sam was not totally wrong in 5.21. Cas resurrects Bobby, and explodes and is resurrected (again!) himself. Sam drags two (2) archangels into the cage and is promptly pulled out (only missing one critical bit…). Dean… actually tries to live up to at least one of Sam’s dying wishes, and it basically ruins his life for the next year. Chuck is a smug, self-satisfied bastard who pats himself on the back for a story well-told before flapping off and proceeding to write variations on his original fic using his favorite characters. >.>

6.01 Exile on Main St. All I can hear is Dean’s heartbreak and anger that Sam had been “alive” for a year and forbade anyone from telling Dean that he wasn’t actually suffering tortures in Hell all that time. If ever there was a YIKES moment on the show, this is it for me. This one’s probably good to watch just for the setup of soulless!sam and s6 in general.

6.02 Two and a Half Men Dean’s even good with monster babies. And after a year of unsettled living with Lisa, he’s more duty bound to protect them than he is wanting to stay because he’s actually happy there. Sam is a creepy hunting machine.

6.03 The Third Man CAS! But heck he’s acting shifty, but so’s Sam, and Dean’s feeling even more alone now. The introduction of the concept of Angel Marks on souls, the Profound Bond, and biblical weapons. And the war in Heaven, and the seasonal antagonist stepping up into Michael’s shoes: Raphael.

6.04 Weekend at Bobby's BALLS. Woodchippers trump everything. We discover that burning a demon’s human bones will perma-kill them, and learn a bit of Crowley’s backstory.

6.05 Live Free or Twihard Dean becomes a vampire for a hot minute. We learn there is a vampire cure that works as long as they haven’t had human blood yet. And we learn something really, really is wrong with Sam...

6.06 You Can't Handle the Truth Dean is now 100% positive that something is horrifically wrong with Sam, and is distraught that nobody else seemed to know it for a YEAR.

6.07 Family Matters Cas figures out what’s wrong with Sam and promptly becomes even shadier around the Winchesters. We meet the Alpha Vampire. And vampire eps are about revenge, right? There is a LOT of shady going on here.

6.08 All Dogs Go to Heaven weird dog episode that I always forget exists between rewatches.

6.09 Clap Your Hands If You Believe… hands down the best soulless!Sam episode. You fight those fairies! I’m still waiting for another fairie episode where Dean can still see them and nobody else can :’D. Just watching Sam try to logic his way into being more human is educational about the struggle to be human in general.

6.10 Caged Heat Family betrayal, Sam and Dean nearly get fed to ghouls, Cas would rather be with them then fighting his war in Heaven. Angel blades can kill hellhounds. They finally entrap meg into working with them instead of always trying to kill them >.>

6.11 Appointment in Samarra I think this is still in my top five favorite episodes ever, and one I think everyone needs to rewatch. Dean and Death episodes usually are. And in this one, Dean IS effectively Death for 24 hours. But there is a LOT in this episode, from Death “testing” Dean on multiple levels-- forcing him to make choices AND process the consequences of his actions and how it affects other people… this is a big one for the cosmology of the SPN universe and Dean specifically. Even in Dabb era.

6.12 Like a Virgin Dragons are a thing. Eve pops over from Purgatory.

6.13 Unforgiven Sam’s soul/hell flashbacks start when he goes poking at the wall, but he keeps poking anyway. Giant spider people. Eurgh. But unfortunately the whole “web of lies unraveling” thing kinda fits.

6.14 Mannequin 3: The Reckoning The haunted kidney episode. But Dean finally breaks it off with Lisa (again… >.>)

6.15 The French Mistake We actually learn something about the angel wars… sort of. We also learn AU’s are actually real. (this was also the last episode the director of 15.03 directed, so probably worth watching if they’re bringing him back after all these years…)

6.16 ...And Then There Were None Monster Possession is apparently a thing now. The last of the Campbell hunters die (that was a quick trip through the family dynamics there >.>). The main takeaway here is from Rufus’ funeral: Life’s short, and it’s not worth carrying guilt and regret (takes them a really REALLY long time to actually internalize it with each other, but at least they got the spirit)

6.17 My Heart Will Go On Cas just lying to their faces, creating an alternate timeline just to generate souls as a power source (the specific number of 50k souls comes up, and will come up again in 6.20, as the number of souls Crowley “loaned” Cas at the beginning of the war in Heaven, with the suspicion that Cas was attempting to “buy his way out of their deal”, but the plan fails and he’s forced to put everything back… but he does ensure Sam and Dean both remember the entire experience, but we get an idea of the extent of the power angels can actually wield.

6.18 Frontierland Dabb has referenced this one several times during his era, but again, the history of the Colt is involved, a Phoenix, and Dean in a cowboy hat. We learn even the other angels think Cas is up to something super shady. But it’s their first real moment of hope.

6.19 Mommy Dearest Eve uses Mary’s face to torment Dean, we learn Crowley is not dead, and Cas… has been doing shady things with him. Cas is again effectively human for an episode.

6.20 The Man Who Would Be King Well this is where everything both falls apart and comes together. This episode makes sense of the entire rest of s6, as painful and sad as it is. If you only watch one episode from s6, it should probably be this one.

6.21 Let It Bleed Dean’s worst fear comes true, and people he cares about but leaves behind for their own protection are used against him. Not just by bad guys, but by Cas. Ouch. Still incredulous that Dean did recognize HP Lovecraft, or even make a Metallica reference at the mention of “Call of Cthulhu.”

6.22 The Man Who Knew Too Much Sam putting himself back together. Cas tearing things apart.

7.01 Meet the New Boss That one episode where it looks like Cas will be the unwitting bad guy and s7 will be about saving him, until it’s really really not. That whole exchange between Dean and Cas about forgiveness and finding some way to make it up to him, though… that’s what will carry us through the bleak middle of s7 and generate the grief arc for Dean in the meantime.

7.02 Hello, Cruel World It looks like Cas is really, truly gone, and all Dean has of him is his trenchcoat. And we’re stuck cleaning up his oozy black mess for the next 15 episodes before getting him back again. Sam’s Hallucifering all over the place and finds a connection to reality through squeezing the scar on his hand, which will become a symbol in show for reconnecting with reality for him for years to come.

7.03 The Girl Next Door Sam thinks pie and cake are the same. In their own respective messed up mental states, Sam thinks Amy is worth saving, Dean doesn’t trust that and kills her. Let the guilt ensue.

7.04 Defending Your Life A good setup of Sam and Dean’s issues for s7.

7.05 Shut Up, Dr. Phil I can’t believe they melted Tula’s painting. But it takes a couple of bickering witches for them to finally get a hold on the Leviathan, so that’s something.

7.06 Slash Fiction Aah, going back to the beginning as a trap for Sam and Dean-- the Leviathan using the Supernatural books to lay a trail case by case from Sam leaving Stanford (Crowley will do the same in 8.22, and the end of 14.20 gave a lot of people the impression there will be a similar progression in s15… but honestly that’s really only sustainable for a single episode, but this may be relevant for like… 15.01-02). Also, Dean finds it satisfying to behead himself (or the leviathan version of himself)… so yikes.

7.07 The Mentalists I love this one just for the Dean feels. He’s really hurting.

7.08 Season Seven, Time for a Wedding! Sam’s love-spelled. Mind control is always a terrible thing. Demons trying to game the system and cash in on deals ahead of schedule. So that’s a thing.

7.09 How to Win Friends and Influence Monsters I love this one. Poor Dean. This is the first time he’s actually felt good in like… ever. Too bad it’s from monster goo.

7.10 Death's Door Bobby :’( And Dean essentially falls apart.

7.11 Adventures in Babysitting Vetala. Which only Dean knew hunt in pairs, so hunter after hunter had been falling victim to them, including Sam. Meanwhile Dean finally got a decent nap.

7.12 Time After Time Dean gets booped back to the 1940’s to hunt with Eliot Ness. Still, they defeat Chronos, yet another god whose prophecy will be tossed aside by the Winchesters.

7.13 The Slice Girls Dean accidentally has a monsterbabby, Sam kills her. Amazons.

7.14 Plucky Pennywhistle's Magical Menagerie Just watch it. This is the only episode in the entire series that just… is purely good and fun. Sam has to confront his fear of clowns, Dean faces a villain who was blamed for his brother’s death when he was just a kid and his parents should’ve been doing their jobs instead. I mean...

7.15 Repo Man The guy who was trying to lure back “his demon” exorcised during the Apocalypse era, by continuing his murder spree. Sam loses to Hallucifer by acknowledging his existence as separate from Sam’s own subconscious. There’s… a lot in this episode. At least read my rewatch notes.

7.16 Out with the Old Sam eventually succumbs to his Hallucifering, Dean nearly succumbs to a pair of toe shoes. Peter Yankit of Johnson Lane nearly succumbs to a cursed porn magazine. Cursed objects are fun.

7.17 The Born-Again Identity CAAAAASSSSS! He’s back, even if he doesn’t remember who he is. Dean tries to break it to him slowly, but instead unburdens a lot of his personal hurt over Cas’s actions to the oblivious “Emmanuel,” And Cas tells Dean his feelings are completely understandable. This is setting up the entire rest of Cas’s arc, probably through the end of the series. This is what motivates him, his need to repent. And He gets a start by taking on Sam’s trauma, healing Sam.

7.18 Party On, Garth An alcohol spirit enacting personal revenge, and despite all evidence, Sam continues to doubt Dean’s theory that Bobby is somehow still around. Dean’s season-long grief-drinking becomes a punchline, and Dean’s literally the only sober one in the final fight scene.

7.19 Of Grave Importance Yep, Bobby is a ghost, been there all along. Also, ghosts can sort of… cannibalize each other? For their power? whatever, moving on.

7.20 The Girl with the Dungeons and Dragons Tattoo CHARLIE.

7.21 Reading Is Fundamental KEVIN. But also CAS! Is awake but not quite himself and in full denial mode, like he was awakened against his will before he was done cooking >.>. we learn a bit more about prophets as we see Kevin awakened to serve the Leviathan Tablet.

7.22 There Will Be Blood more manipulation, and the Alpha Vampire is back, so we get a double whammy of manipulation/deceit AND revenge. The alpha vampire cooperates with the Winchesters. So does Crowley.

7.23 Survival of the Fittest Cas doesn’t want to fight, but in the end he steps up. They get the Leviathan, Dean and Cas are beamed to Purgatory, and Sam’s left alone and pulls a Sam. He runs away from reality.

8.01 We Need to Talk About Kevin Dean comes back from Purgatory without Cas, but with a vampire friend… so s8 is about Dean making pals with revenge. This will fuel his arc for a good long while to come until he can finally make his peace with it. It affects his interactions with Sam for most of the first half of the season… because while Dean was fighting for his life, Sam was… pretending to be a normal guy and ignoring everything else. Including Kevin.

8.02 What's Up, Tiger Mommy? The push to do something drives them to seek out the Demon Tablet with the promise of closing the gates of Hell forever at Kevin’s suggestion. Plutus, the God of Greed is the baddie in this one, if that’s any sort of meta statement on their overall plan to take this particular course of action… the narrative basically condemned their plot before the season even started. Hubris, ahoy. But we also find out why Cas ran away in Purgatory-- to protect Dean. And why he wanted to stay-- guilt and penance.

8.03 Heartache Oh, a case where a curse is passed on to others after death? And the original death didn’t actually end the curse as intended? Nice.

8.04 Bitten I love episodes were we see Sam and Dean through other people’s eyes. And this one, an episode where we learn new things about werewolves (remember: an examination of inner monstrousness).

8.05 Blood Brother I’d point out the agony of Winchester Secret Keeping being toxic, but since we’re largely out past that by the end of s14… *shrug emoji*. Dean helps his vampire friend get revenge against the vampires who killed him. Double revenge! And Sam… does not like Benny. But we know exactly why DEAN does… he literally saved Cas’s life in Purgatory, despite repeatedly wanting to leave Cas behind. He saved Cas for Dean.

8.06 Southern Comfort Garth again, and his serenity is basically there to point out how toxic Sam and Dean are by comparison. The spectre that possesses Dean to leech off his vengefulness has zero effect on Garth. But Dean gets out his feelings of anger that Sam never looked for him in Purgatory, so that’s on the table to provide drama for years to come.

8.07 A Little Slice of Kevin CAS IS BACK AGAIN! But he has no idea how he got here (he’s been mind controlled by Heaven again, and is desperately trying to make amends, but is literally blocked from doing so at every turn, which is a tidy mirror for what Chuck’s done to the entire story since… forever… so this is probably a must-watch episode, or at least read my notes on it.

8.08 Hunteri Heroici This one’s fun, until it’s owie, and then sad. Magical powers don’t save the day, they only end up hurting people. Cas desperately wants to make amends, but he is afraid to face what he’s done. Instead, he just gets manipulated even harder. At least read my notes for this one, too.

8.09 Citizen Fang Oh, manipulation moves directly to the Winchester brothers, no heavenly interference required. Vampires again, but this time Dean again sides with Benny, but against Sam… who again refuses to hear the truth and pulls another Sam. He forgot the lesson that sometimes it’s not the monsters being monstrous, and it’s important to kill the RIGHT monster, not just the convenient one.

8.10 Torn and Frayed Just like the episode sounds… Cas goes to Dean for help,  and then brings Sam onboard and asks them to stow their crap. By the end of the episode, Sam and Dean will have resigned themselves to being on their own again because Cas is… something is not right with him...

8.11 LARP and the Real Girl CHARLIE! Fairies! Dean does one (1) fun thing for his birthday. But this is about using a book to manipulate events to suit the Bad Guy’s whims. Sound familiar?

8.12 As Time Goes By Sam and Dean meet their grandfather, fill in a huge gaping hole from their past, and discover their legacy, the Men of Letters, and the Bunker that will become their home.

8.13 Everybody Hates Hitler Yep. It’s true! Nazi necromancers, and another new ally in Aaron. They settle in to the bunker.

8.14 Trial and Error They take their first steps toward closing the gates of Hell, killing a Hellhound. I wrote about this one recently, so go read that. :’D

8.15 Man's Best Friend with Benefits another weird dog episode

8.16 Remember the Titans Prometheus, Artemis, and Zeus. Curses passed down through families to fall on innocent children. And Zeus is delighted because it causes even more suffering.

8.17 Goodbye Stranger oh the agony. We see what it took for Heaven to control Cas, and what it took for Dean to break through to him, only to fall to yet another mind whammy by the angel tablet. Of course Dean takes this personally, abandoned again. Definitely watch this one. Read the notes. All that.

8.18 Freaks and Geeks In case anyone missed the point, we have manipulation and vampires. And Dean reminding everyone that finding the truth is important (let’s not be so bloodthirsty that just anyone will do).

8.19 Taxi Driver The second trial, the horror that Bobby’s wrongfully been in Hell all this time, and Sam is stranded in Purgatory until Benny shows up to escort him to the portal. Sam finally gets why Dean’s loyalty to Benny never wavered. He was literally willing to die for Dean. This guilt will carry Sam into the third trial eventually but for now...

8.20 Pac-Man Fever Let’s look at Dean’s guilt/fear. That he’s failed to protect Sam and won’t be able to save him from the trials. Fear is a terrible thing. But we have djinn AND dreamroot, so all the false realities.

8.21 The Great Escapist This is still among my favorite episodes, but Cas finally begins fighting for himself, and we uncover the extent of Heaven’s duplicity, and meet Metatron, aka Chuck Lite. Definitely watch or at least read.

8.22 Clip Show Aah, I mentioned this one back in 7.06. This is Crowley’s turn to use the boys’ history against them, but instead of manipulating them, they trap him (at the beginning of 8.23, after whoopsie accidentally freeing Abaddon because of Crowley’s manipulation distracting them from their job…) We learn that “curing a demon” is a thing.

8.23 Sacrifice Cas is so embittered by his experiences with heaven that he refuses to believe Metatron is lying, and thus falls victim to the worst manipulation yet. Sam’s dying from the trials, Cas is human, and angels fall. (and also some of the worst, most toxic relationship stuff between Sam and Dean, which contributes to all of that, along with their hubris to think this was a good idea in the first place… I mean it’s literally what the big bad of s9 did to Heaven so why were they trying to do the same to Hell again?)

9.01 I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here Cas is human, confused, and alone. The big bad is basically Diet Chuck, and Dean is manipulated into doing a Terrible Thing to save Sam that will strain their relationship for the rest of the season. (Don’t worry, Sam will return the favor in s10 >.>) Buckle in for a season all about manipulation by more powerful cosmic forces but with all new levels of guilt over having caused these problems in the first place!

9.02 Devil May Care Abaddon makes a play for the role of big bad, but will ultimately lose the title to Metatron.

9.03 I'm No Angel The Worst Possible Take on Human Cas. Mostly I ignore this episode.

9.04 Slumber Party Oz. Dorothy. Wicked Witch of the West. Sam’s angel possession gets a bit tricky… Direct mind control instead of the manipulative sneaky kind we usually see. and CHARLIE. The Winchesters lives are directly compared to Dorothy Baum’s, where her “fictionalized” version didn’t even come close to describing the horror of her lived reality. (also that one line swap incident that still pisses me off… and pissed Robbie Thompson off enough to write a whole SCENE in 11.04 they couldn’t screw around with like that… “god helps those who help themselves”)

9.05 Dog Dean Afternoon oh look another weird dog episode

9.06 Heaven Can't Wait the Best Possible Take on Human Cas. Well, while Dean’s still being held hostage against telling the truth to him about the angel possessing Sam… and not being able to just bring Cas back home with him. :’)

9.07 Bad Boys Sam learns another major lesson about just how much Dean was manipulated into lying to him his whole life, and another look at what Dean has given up over the years to protect Sam. The origin of my “the story became the story” tag. 

9.08 Rock and a Hard Place Breaking vows is frowned upon. Vesta. And Dean tries to tell Sam about the angel possessing him, but he’s prevented from doing so. And he’s really beginning to realize just how bad a decision this may have been...

9.09 Holy Terror Cas is back in town. He can’t stand by when he might be able to help, but again Gadreel (because now we know that’s the angel possessing Sam) refuses. Gadreel is lured in by Metatron, and things for Sam go from bad to worse. Cas steals another angel’s grace because he had no choice. And Gadreel kills Kevin and runs off. All of a sudden, Dean’s alone.

9.10 Road Trip Just when Dean can finally tell the truth to Cas, Cas isn’t human anymore. They literally never got to actually just BE. Crowley poughkeepsie’s Sam into kicking Gadreel out. Abaddon is becoming more of a problem. Probably at least read the notes on this one. At the end, it’s Dean that “pulls the Sam” and runs away. Which is interesting because they’re essentially gonna swap narrative roles for like… the next season and a half. Buckle up. Things get rocky >.>

9.11 First Born And definitely watch this one. Cas and Sam bonding hour, while Dean goes off with Crowley and is manipulated into taking on the Mark of Cain so he’ll be able to kill Abaddon for Crowley… (and for everyone else, but mainly for Crowley).

9.12 Sharp Teeth Sometimes family can be a werewolf pack. And Garth is now part of one of those, but there’s still zero monstrousness in Garth. As Dean’s beginning to wonder if he should regret taking the Mark (just as Cas wondered if he should regret cannibalizing grace… which he said made him barbaric)

9.13 The Purge A genuinely altruistically intentioned monster, or at least one who attempted to use her monstrousness for good. But her blind spot was her brother, out there just devouring whatever he wanted and not wanting to play by the rules of society or worrying about staying hidden and safe. Plus, DONNA. Even if she doesn’t get to play a big part in the monster hunting.

9.14 Captives We learn more horrors about the s6 angel war from Bart, and pushing Cas toward siding more and more with humanity and against all the heaven nonsense (until he’s manipulated back in DIRECTLY by Metatron and his magic typewriter… but that’s four episodes in the future yet). Linda Tran gets a bit of revenge for being held prisoner for half a year anyway...

9.15 thinman ghostfacers, back to face their own ghosts. If you like getting hit in the face with anvils...

9.16 Blade Runners Crowley’s addicted to humanity. Dean finds his own addiction in the First Blade. And we get our first glimpse of the darker side of the MoL.

9.17 Mother's Little Helper Misha directed it, and it’s got one of the most beautiful scenes in the whole series (Sam freeing the stolen souls, but Dean drinking and playing pool ain’t half bad either). Soullessness, which Sam handles on his own, and learns the truth of how Abaddon infiltrated the MoL.

9.18 Meta Fiction A MUST WATCH. Writers lie. Read my posts. What makes a story? Seriously, Metatron is just Chuck with training wheels.

9.19 Alex Annie Alexis Ann Vampires. More revenge. This time for stolen childhood and lost family. Plus Jody, and the first seed that would become Wayward. Dean is also beginning to succumb to the Mark’s darker urges.

9.20 Bloodlines Dabb’s idea of a joke, I’m pretty sure. 

9.21 King of the Damned Well, Abaddon’s dead, at least. Time trave wtf’ery. Dean is… not okay...

9.22 Stairway to Heaven Sam and Cas pop culture road trip. The level of Metatron’s manipulation becomes horrifically apparent. And Cas gives up his army because he refuses to kill Dean. (also Dean really loses it at the end…)

9.23 Do You Believe in Miracles? Crowley reveals the truth about what the Mark is doing to Dean, and we see the final truth when Dean wakes up as a demon.

10.01 Black Demon Dean Part 1. Bad karaoke and random murder. Cas is languishing because of stolen grace, and Sam is off the rails interrogating demons for Dean’s location.

10.02 Reichenbach Demon Dean Part 2. Cas struggles to teach Hannah about humanity, Sam struggles to find Dean.

10.03 Soul Survivor Demon Dean the conclusion. Cas hugs the demon outta Dean. Er… that’s what happened, pretty sure. But he’s still got the Mark.

10.04 Paper Moon More fun with Werewolves: Siblings edition. While Dean struggles to come to terms with his own literal inner monster...

10.05 Fan Fiction Just watch it. And read my rewatch notes for it. I mean, it’s about rewriting the story. And Chuck shows up at the end and gives it a “Not bad.” Probably kinda relevant.

10.06 Ask Jeeves Supernatural: Clue edition. With a shapeshifter that Bobby had known about for decades. Buried secret things again.

10.07 Girls, Girls, Girls Our first real introduction to Rowena. :’) She’s not a friend in this one...Hannah finally gets a taste of humanity through her vessel’s grief and pain, and decides that it’s wrong for her to remain in her vessel. She returns to Heaven, and Cas is left to ponder how he affected Jimmy’s family (since Jimmy’s long dead now) by his possession.

10.08 Hibbing 911 DONNA AND JODY. Donna gets “the talk,” in a vampire case, and finally gets to prove her mettle as a hunter.

10.09 The Things We Left Behind Cas has found Claire Novak, and does what he can to help her. She’s been taken in and manipulated by an unsavory character, who Dean kills in a fit of mark-induced violence (granted he was surrounded by dudes who wanted him dead, but it was still upsetting and mirrored his nightmare from the opening scene). The burger date. (go ahead and watch it)

10.10 The Hunter Games More Claire drama, but this time she stops it. The Longing Retcon. Cas uses emoticons. And Dean nearly kills Metatron while demanding he tell him how to cure the Mark. Things are getting kinda desperate on that end… All Metatron says is “the river ends at the source”

10.11 There's No Place Like Home OZ. CHARLIE. At least read my watch notes. I’ve been banging on about this episode since it aired. But at the very least read the last round of watch notes. Possibly relevant again because of how it was relevant to Chuck and Amara in 11.23 (yes, this is basically how Dean saved the universe).

10.12 About a Boy Dean gets zapped into a 14-year-old version of himself by a witch. Plus: the mark disappeared for a few days, probably giving him a mini-vacation from enduring it and refreshing his control a bit.

10.13 Halt & Catch Fire ghosts in the machines… plus a John reference that is reinforced when a clip from this episode is reused in the horror movie trailer in 14.04 (so skim my rewatch notes for that if you’re still following along for that sort of thing… post 14.13… *shrug emoji*)

10.14 The Executioner's Song Watch it. Read the notes. This is a big one. Free will-wise.

10.15 The Things They Carried Khan worm: homoerotic sweat lodge edition.

10.16 Paint It Black Worth it just for Dean’s confessional scene. At least read my rewatch notes.

10.17 Inside Man We learn some interesting things about Heaven, Cas gets Bobby’s help to break in and talk to Metatron, they sneak him out, steal his grace, and have their leverage over the one person who might know how to cure Dean AND get Cas what’s left of his own grace back… Meanwhile Rowena tries to kill Dean, and he has a heart to heart with Crowley about what Family really means. Definitely watch, or at least read my notes. A lot happens in this one.

10.18 Book of the Damned CHARLIE. And the wtf’ery of the Styne family begins >.> Sam has a good chat with Charlie about his own life. Metatron leads Cas to another book containing his grace and then escapes with the demon tablet. Family dinner. At least skim my notes on this one. (basically anything with metatron is probably relevant to Chuck stuff…)

10.19 The Werther Project Watch this one. I just wrote notes on it. The beginnings of an interesting relationship between Sam and Rowena (yes that started in 10.18, but this is where it gains weight in Sam’s own subconscious). Dean confronts himself in his own vision about the burden he’s laid on Cas (to kill him if he goes off the rails again). There’s a lot of emotional baggage in this one, too. But seroiusly-- watch this one for the Sam and Rowena stuff, because Rowena… isn’t even really there… 

10.20 Angel Heart Claire, and Cas’s finally laying to rest his baggage associated with the Novak family. Dean and Claire finally bonding. Dean and Cas went to the Hot Topical.

10.21 Dark Dynasty w. t. f. (if you want to be pissed off, give it a watch)

10.22 The Prisoner If you just want the comforting revenge portion of the program, just watch this one instead. Or if you can’t bear to, at least read my notes on it.

10.23 Brother's Keeper Whoopsie, Dean kills Death. Whoopsie, Sam doesn’t stop everyone else from executing the spell to cure the mark. Whoopsie, that releases the Darkness. Also for people who don’t “see Samwitch,” uh… please note that this is a major inciting incident in Sam and Rowena’s relationship-- she’s being held prisoner to complete this spell, and literally kills the only person she ever loved for it, on Sam’s order… (technically…), which will fuel the ongoing antagonism of early s11. Their relationship isn’t fluffy. It’s built on this mutual pain.

11.01 Out of the Darkness, Into the Fire Amara. I think a lot of s11 is gonna be relevant thematically to s15, but...

11.02 Form and Void I think a better focus of “what is relevant thematically” will be found by looking at Dabb’s episodes and influence over this season… I’d start a rewatch with this one, and the introduction of Billie, who will become Dabb’s in-show avatar as he takes over the reins.

11.03 The Bad Seed Rowena finally undoes the spell she’d cast on Cas. but they’re all traumatized. Please at least read my notes on this one, too.

11.04 Baby This episode sets the new tone for Sam and Dean’s relationship going forward. They are more open with one another, and the main drama isn’t them hiding things that eventually blow up in their faces like it had been in the past. There’s still elements of that, but things never really go back to the toxicity of s9 and s10 after this. Ghoulpire.

11.05 Thin Lizzie Fake haunting at Lizzie Borden’s house, Amara eats souls.

11.06 Our Little World Cas is clearly struggling with PTSD, hiding in the bunker until he spots Metatron by chance and finally gets upset enough to go after him. Dean’s first confrontation with Amara outside of his Darknado Vision, and she… tosses him aside like a used tissue. Sam’s still having visions of the Cage and still thinks the visions are coming from God… >.> 

11.07 Plush Donna! And haunted masks! Foreshadowing that Sam’s about to confront Lucifer in the cage-- creepy clown in the elevator.

11.08 Just My Imagination Sam’s childhood imaginary friend was actually real.

11.09 O Brother Where Art Thou? Dean is yoinked from a park by Amara to have a chat about how they’re destined to become one and all that creepy nonsense, while Sam decides to go directly to Hell to talk with Lucifer and doesn’t wait for Dean. Granted, Rowena has been manipulated with lies from Lucifer in this scheme… but she’s about to learn how bad a decision that was. Dean does get to see just how casually Amara can destroy angels, though… which will become relevant it...

11.10 The Devil in the Details Where Dean tells Cas to run if Amara isn’t actually dead… but Cas is convinced he’s useless by the end of the episode and says yes to Lucifer. Owwwwww. At least read my notes on this one. They’re from last week...

11.11 Into the Mystic We meet Eileen, and I just wrote notes about this episode a few days ago. Banshee, which feeds on broken hearts, Dean’s told he’s pining for someone, and is concerned that Cas doesn’t seem himself… >.> He’s also asked if he wants to know the secret to a long and happy life… “Follow your heart” (and he confesses his powerlessness in Amara’s presence to Casifer) https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/186891847375/1111-into-the-mystic-heck-ive-written-a-lot

11.12 Don't You Forget About Me Wayward! Family learning what it means to be family. Vampires-- so the element of revenge, but this time it’s the vamps seeking revenge on a human. 

11.13 Love Hurts Quareen. A monster that basically feeds on obsession, toxic “love.” For Dean, that manifests as Amara trying to rip out his heart. I mean… this is the episode he confesses to Sam that he can’t control himself in Amara’s presence, and Sam reassures him it’s not his fault. And he explicitly says it’s not love. It’s horrifying to him, because this episode, this monster, had nothing to do with love, but with possession and control.

11.14 The Vessel What a wonderfully apt and layered title. Thus begins Dean’s s11 “pining for Cas” arc, where his entire focus shifts to Cas after unburdening his Amara issues onto Sam in 11.13. I also consider this episode to fall definitively into Dabb Era. Probably goes for episodes back to 11.10, but this is where that shift is truly evident to me. Definitely watch this one, read my notes, etc. etc.

11.15 Beyond the Mat https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/186962895400/1115-beyond-the-mat-jerry-wanek-directed (just read my notes, this is a Dabb co-writing credit episode)

11.16 Safe House Maybe I should just start copying my rewatch notes here for every episode… https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/186963627365/1116-safe-house-more-blasts-from-the-past-in-a 

11.17 Red Meat You should just watch this one, and remember this episode isn’t glorifying the codependency between Sam and Dean, it’s shattering it… It’s werewolves, after all (inner monstrousness brought to light) and read some of my past notes on it.

11.18 Hell's Angel The first half of the episode is just a lot of talking, but hooboy.. Rowena is back from the dead and we learn more of why she seeks out power-- self-preservation. Worth watching just for the second half, the failed Poughkeepsie scene, Dean’s heartbreak and fear for Cas, and Amara’s shock that with Cas standing between them, she doesn’t seem to have any affect over Dean at all… 

11.19 The Chitters For a MotW episode, I think this really captures on a meta level what Dabb intends for the whole series. It’s worth watching for itself, but have my notes as to why: https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/184690946610/weve-finally-hit-1119-on-the-tnt-loop-this

11.20 Don't Call Me Shurley Chuck, and Metatron. I think everyone really needs to watch this one, just to remember how absolutely shady Chuck was. Basically from here right through the end of s11, if you pay attention to these episodes, nothing about 14.20 is the least bit shocking...

11.21 All in the Family Just like 11.20...

11.22 We Happy Few Just like 11.20 and 21

11.23 Alpha and Omega Do we not all think s14 is gonna end on a similar thematic note? Minus all the cliffhangery stuff?

12.01 Keep Calm and Carry On I can picture Dabb rubbing his hands together preparing to run the narrative in loops ad infinitum until he gets word they’ve got one season left to wrap it up. Worth it for the Dean and Mary and Cas. :’)

12.02 Mamma Mia https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/184126233100/cass-flashback-to-his-time-hunting-with-mary-as (written recently…)

12.03 The Foundry The companion notes to the link in the last episode: https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/187007192830/1203-the-foundry-yes-ive-already-written 

12.04 American Nightmare If you haven’t noticed, I’m just pasting rewatch notes links now… >.> https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/184740345285/im-watching-1207-on-the-tnt-loop-and-yeah 

12.05 The One You've Been Waiting For See the link at 12.04 (Dean also killed Hitler)

12.06 Celebrating the Life of Asa Fox see the link at 12.04 (Also Billie is in this one, so of course I think it’s important to the ongoing Dabb Era narrative)

12.07 Rock Never Dies see the link at 12.04 (Lucifer’s nihilism laid bare, no different from Michael’s in s14)

12.08 LOTUS The episode that brought us Jack. Well, eventually…  I’m putting these notes here, even though they also cover 12.09: https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/184761652205/so-the-tnt-loop-has-continued-into-s12-and-after 

12.09 First Blood (see above, plus Billie, plus Cas laying it out on the table what he will do because he loves the Winchesters... he does a lot of pining for Dean)

12.10 Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets Nephilim, Lily Sunder, Human souls as angelic power sources, the deceptions of heaven (and love versus obsession again). https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/184762915965/last-ep-on-the-tnt-loop-today-1210-reminders 

12.11 Regarding Dean Watch this one, 100%. But also have my whole tag for this episode… I haven’t actually made rewatch notes for it recently, apparently? Which is a shame, because we have Sam working with Rowena, Dean riding Larry BEFORE losing his memories to a curse. There’s a lot of excellent character stuff in this one, for all of them.

12.12 Stuck in the Middle (With You) Watch this one. Cas is family. He loves them. This is the point I became frustrated with myself because there’s a huge gap in my hellatus rewatch notes that I thought I covered and apparently… did not… I don’t have recent notes to point you toward for convenience...

12.13 Family Feud Rowena gets her revenge on Crowley for making her kill Oskar in 10.23. Too much time travel wtf to even bother mentioning anything else.

12.14 The Raid The lengths Sam will go to to have any sort of relationship with Mary… including lying to and manipulating Dean. Vampires… and the Colt, and Sam finally kills the Alpha Vampire.

12.15 Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell between the Crowley and Lucifer drama, Sam kills the Alpha Hellhound (essentially). A lot of other deceptions and lies come to light though, and Cas disappears off to Heaven and from just one call, Dean’s already concerned about him. https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/184853801830/still-on-s12-in-the-tnt-loop-and-heck-s12-looks

12.16 Ladies Drink Free (covered in the notes linked in 12.15) Werewolves, and an actual werewolf cure.

12.17 The British Invasion (covered in the 12.17 post) Eileen is back for her last real episode.

12.18 The Memory Remains https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/184854556715/that-last-scene-of-1218-where-sam-and-dean-are 

12.19 The Future https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/184875554515/i-find-it-endlessly-fascinating-that-i-can-rewatch (this post covers… most of the rest of s12 and loads of s13)

12.20 Twigs & Twine & Tasha Banes (see the link in 12.19)

12.21 There's Something About Mary Mary is being stripped of her will. And Free Will has been what this show has been about… forever. And what will be recontextualized in the wake of 14.20.

12.22 Who We Are And here’s where Mary’s will is restored to her.

12.23 All Along the Watchtower The proof of the spiral narrative. But also the point writing this post that I’ve determined this is all probably neither useful nor interesting to anyone other than myself, and I lose the ability to simply discuss these episodes individually anymore. From here on out, it becomes a weird blur of everything. This post is already over 14,000 words long and I still have 43 more entries to make, and I have no idea how to convey the meta import or Character Development highlights from this point forward. I don’t even know how to eliminate most of these from a watch list of essential character and meta points. So I’m just gonna… wing it… 

13.01 Lost and Found Watch this one for the soul-crushing agony, and our intro to the Nougat.

13.02 The Rising Son Jack is nearly manipulated by the Kentucky Fried Demon

13.03 Patience Our second Wraith. Watch it for, if nothing else, Dean shouting down Sam about Cas.

13.04 The Big Empty TFW in group therapy with a shapeshifter. Cas vs the Empty, defending his life with a statement that he wants to live, but… again he is unclear on his mission going forward.

13.05 Advanced Thanatology Must watch for Billie, for Dean’s complete loss of hope, and Sam’s inability to “fix him” with things that worked in the past.

13.06 Tombstone Yeehaw! Cas is Dean’s big win.

13.07 War of the Worlds Michael has been effectively “playing God” in the AU. The first rumors that Rowena is actually alive after 12.23, and Cas is captured by Asmodeus, who manipulates the Winchesters into thinking Cas is still at liberty… That’s probably all you need to know. >.>

13.08 The Scorpion and the Frog https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/184946657745/so-im-still-out-ahead-of-the-tnt-loop-but-i (this also covers 13.15)

13.09 The Bad Place Wayward!

13.10 Wayward Sisters Wayward again!

13.11 Breakdown Donna! Wayward part 3! And the reminder (via Vampires) that not everyone who has a brush with the Supernatural will feel compelled to pick up a life of hunting.

13.12 Various & Sundry Villains Zombie! (which makes it relevant to Jack stuff even indirectly) Rowena! And Sam giving Rowena what she needed to protect herself, which honestly is what she’s been seeking since her introduction in s10. Sam. Just handed it to her. Let that sink in. Maybe watch the episode. It’s fun, anyway.

13.13 Devil's Bargain Heaven sucks. The bits about Sister Jo describing the feeling of weakened grace allowing her to feel a little bit human is relevant to our interests, though. 

13.14 Good Intentions Watch this one. It sets up Cas’s special power to strip memories from a human mind, and the results of that. And Dean’s wishy-washiness about just telling Cas he’s wanted, not just needed.

13.15 A Most Holy Man (see 13.08)

13.16 Scoobynatural Dude… it’s scoobynatural. just watch it because you want to.

13.17 The Thing this post covers 13.17-13.20, for convenience’s sake: https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/184996231285/so-ive-watched-four-more-episodes-since-my-last 

13.18 Bring 'em Back Alive (see above)

13.19 Funeralia Billie and Rowena, Sam’s “destiny” to kill Rowena, and Castiel’s forgiveness by Naomi in Heaven as she explains how badly heaven is broken and shows him to the door, knowing he won’t stay. This is a must watch.

13.20 Unfinished Business Revenge doesn’t fix anything.

13.21 Beat the Devil https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/185000752455/still-watching-s13-and-1321-is-owie-but-im 

13.22 Exodus (see 13.21) https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/185000920730/dean-in-1322-so-close-to-ready-to-letting-all 

13.23 Let the Good Times Roll (see 13.21) But I have a list for this episode… maybe just read my tag starting with the posts I made on May 19, 2019… https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/185002926095/1323-vs-1420-lets-start-with-1323-jack-tell and https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/185003462010/1323-was-so-ridiculous-i-mean-dean-basically 

14.01 Stranger in a Strange Land At this point, I think everything is at least tangentially relevant… I mean look at this nonsense: https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/185004920575/on-to-s14-and-one-of-dabbs-big-pet-themes-for

14.02 Gods and Monsters https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/185014835950/aah-only-18-more-episodes-to-go-and-48-hours-to

14.03 The Scar https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/185016627975/aah-1403-power-doesnt-fix-anything-dean-is 

14.04 Mint Condition https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/185018115175/im-gonna-lump-1404-and-1405-together-here-for 

14.05 Nightmare Logic (covered in the post linked for 14.04)

14.06 Optimism https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/185030339610/1406-jack-im-already-writing-isnt-that and https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/185030940270/jack-vs-zombies 

14.07 Unhuman Nature (see that first post in 14.06)

14.08 Byzantium https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/185042798280/omg-wait-literally-in-1408-while-theyre-all 

14.09 The Spear https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/185043896890/haaaaa-1409-and-michaels-speech-at-the-end 

14.10 Nihilism Not rewatch notes, but a post made after the episode aired: https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/182171684160/were-working-on-the-power-of-love

14.11 Damaged Goods https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/185047861195/the-boxes-of-1411-omfg-a-demon-trapped-in-a-box 

14.12 Prophet and Loss https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/185048948905/aah-1412-tony-you-cant-you-cant-do-this 

14.13 Lebanon https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/185050918250/ive-been-holding-off-starting-1413-because-i 

14.14 Ouroboros aka the point where I firmly believe they were 100% sure s15 would be the final season, and began actively setting up the endgame. (I mean I think they knew well before this, but this was where the turn happened narratively) https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/185052705595/i-wrote-a-little-about-1414-earlier-today-in 

14.15 Peace of Mind WHEEE! My delightful personal vendetta against Chip, the MotW, the direct Chuck parallel who even called himself a god, and who manipulated everyone else around him to make HIMSELF happy… like seriously, major definitely must rewatch. https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/185074234960/mittensmorgul-once-again-in-1415-cas-is (I wrote so much about this episode it’s ridiculous)

14.16 Don't Go in the Woods https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/185056380525/so-i-started-watching-1416-intending-to-write 

14.17 Game Night (see 14.16)

14.18 Absence https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/185065385445/1418-and-1419-both-will-require-additional 

14.19 Jack in the Box (see 14.18) 

14.20 Moriah Writers lie. I think this is now officially my favorite episode of the series… 

#s14 hellatus rewatch #spiders georg of the tnt loop #how the heck else can i tag this one i mean YIKES if any post ever qualified for the tag #too many episodes to tag them all #it is definitely THIS one yikes #and i never ever tag my posts this but #supernatural meta #destiel #samwitch

[mittensmorgul]

Rewatching 4.03, and feeling the sense of horrifying futility combined with the horrifying urgency of fighting against destiny. The entire premise for Dean being sent back to 1973 proved a false assumption by the end of the episode:

DEAN is dreaming. We see flashes of his terrified face, in red, and the sound of screams. He wakes to find CASTIEL sitting on his bed. CASTIEL: Hello, Dean. What were you dreaming about? DEAN: What, do you get your freak on by watching other people sleep? What do you want? CASTIEL: Listen to me. You have to stop it. DEAN: Stop what? CASTIEL puts two fingers to DEAN's forehead.

There’s the first “STOP IT” Dean’s charged with. He’s given no further information, thrown into a baffling situation, and left to his own devices at the mercy of the entire situation:

CASTIEL: Time is fluid, Dean. It's not easy, but we can bend it on occasion. DEAN: Well bend it back or tell me what the hell I'm doing here! CASTIEL: I told you, you have to stop it. DEAN: Stop what? Huh? What, is there something nasty after my Dad? [DEAN turns as a car horn sounds. When he turns back, CASTIEL is gone.] Oh, come on! What, are you allergic to straight answers, you son of a bitch?!

And Cas again gives him that instruction, to “STOP IT.” We feel Dean’s frustration, but his own curiosity about his parents drives him to insert himself into the events of their lives, from following John to the car dealership and convincing him to buy the Impala all the way to discovering Mary and her family’s lives as hunters. But he still has no idea what he’s been ordered to “stop.” He’s been shoved into a situation he has no reference for and the demand is made for him to intervene and prevent some unknown event. Frustration intensifies. :P

Strangely enough, our next “STOP IT” comes not from Cas, but from John Winchester. While Dean’s questioning him at the car dealership, Dean’s floundering while trying to understand this entire bizarre situation he’s found himself in, so he defaults to what he knows in an attempt to find his feet here:

DEAN: I've been hung over before but, hey, I was, I was getting chills in that diner. You didn't feel any of those cold spots, did you? JOHN: Nope. DEAN: I swore I smelled something weird too, you know? Like... like rotten eggs. You didn't happen to smell any sulfur by chance? JOHN: No. DEAN: No... There been any cattle mutilations in town recently? JOHN: Okay, mister! Stop it. DEAN: Yeah, if only I knew what to stop. Listen, uh – watch out for yourself okay?

Poor Dean, he leaves this confrontation feeling no less confused and frustrated than he’d been before. He even acknowledges that this is becoming a theme for his day, “if only I knew what to stop.”

After discovering the Campbell family, that they’re hunters, and that clues from John’s journal about the history of Azazel’s involvement in what happened in Sam’s nursery in 1983, linking it back to events that happened in Lawrence in 1973 (conveniently within DAYS of when Dean had been sent back in time), he thinks he may have hit upon his reason for having been sent there. Maybe this is the thing he’s been sent back to stop...

Dean knows from his own experience where the Colt is (Daniel Elkins had it in Colorado, and Dean had visited the man’s house after he was killed in 1.20), so he puts his Major Play into action, thinking he has a real chance to stop Azazel before he has a chance to destroy his family.

DEAN: I know you guys think I'm crazy. SAMUEL: You seem like a really nice kid, Dean, but yeah, you're crazy. DEAN: Yeah, maybe, but I know where this bastard's gonna be, and I'm gonna stop it, once and for all.

But wow, wouldn’t that be something. Dean’s entire life would’ve been different if he’d managed to stop THAT, you know? 

DEAN: Alright, if I do this, then the family curse breaks, right? Mom and Dad live happily ever after, and – and, Sam and I grow up playing little league and chasing tail? CASTIEL: You realize, if you do alter the future, your father, you, Sam – you'll never become hunters. And all those people you saved, they'll die. DEAN: I realize. CASTIEL: And you don't care? DEAN: Oh, I care. I care a lot, but these are my parents. I'm not gonna let them die again. I can't. No, not if I can stop it.

Before we move on to the conclusion, there were two other events in this episode that involved this concept, but as they related to the story as opposed to how they related to Dean’s involvement specifically, and are worth mentioning:

The boy, Charlie, who Dean and Mary interviewed in the guise of a priest after his father had been killed. Charlie had made a deal (unbeknownst to him) with a yellow-eyed demon, because that demon had promised that his father’s drunken beatings would end:

CHARLIE: Did I want the beatings to stop? I just thought he was crazy, I didn't think – and the next thing I know, Dad's dead. Am I going to jail?

He just wanted the Bad Thing to stop (which ended up leading him into something far worse, the consequences of which he couldn’t even BEGIN to imagine...).

Next we have Dean’s confrontation with Daniel Elkins over his “borrowing” the Colt. It led Dean to make this ultimatum:

DEAN: Look, I have a chance to save my family’s lives. My family. But I need this gun to do it. So if you want to stop me? Kill me.

That’s pretty dramatic there, Deano. So the only way to “stop it” in this instance was really an untenable threat.

After all of these events, after Cas boops him back to the present, Dean feels like a failure, that the whole mission was futile. No matter what he did, he couldn’t stop anything, but Cas also finally reveals the truth:

DEAN: I couldn't stop any of it. She still made the deal. She still died in the nursery, didn't she? CASTIEL: Don't be too hard on yourself. You couldn't have stopped it. DEAN: What? CASTIEL: Destiny can't be changed, Dean. All roads lead to the same destination. DEAN: Then why'd you send me back? CASTIEL: For the truth. Now you know everything we do.

The whole point wasn’t about stopping anything, it was about understanding and knowledge. Which makes the last command Castiel issues to Dean at the end of the episode feel particularly weighty and inevitable:

CASTIEL: We know what Azazel did to your brother. What we don't know is why – what his endgame is. He went to great lengths to cover that up. DEAN: Where's Sam? CASTIEL: 425 Waterman. You brother is headed down a dangerous road, Dean, and we're not sure where it leads. So stop it. Or we will. 

And right there we have the inevitability of the apocalypse laid out for us in this one tiny order. STOP IT.

Of course Dean couldn’t stop it alone. It took Castiel finally rejecting the “destiny” set forth in Heaven, it took Sam eventually choosing to say yes to Lucifer and finding it within himself to overpower that destiny through sheer force of will, and it took Dean refusing to say yes to Michael who was the ultimate symbol of Heaven’s inflexible rejection of free will. It took all of them in order to eventually overcome destiny, and to finally stop it.

Way back in 4.03, though, they didn’t even have a complete understanding of everything they’d need to stop in the first place. This right here was stone number one in building that understanding that would eventually give them firm enough footing to wrangle that destiny around to their will.

#spn 4.03 #that's what free will is #s12 hellatus rewatch