#you settle on one that's basically repeating conservative talking points about how homeless people are all irresponsible

[trekkiedean]

the thing about cas's arc in the first half of s9 is that it's a prime example of why I cannot look at this show through a purely watsonian lens. there is no way to make it make sense except bad writing. and "idk it was bad writing" is a copout with most shows, and can very much be a copout with this show, depending on how selectively you apply it. but also, with spn, not only is the writing bad, but the show is SO hyperaware of itself as a story that I have a lot of trouble ignoring the doylist factors, the way I would at least try to in another show.

like, I have a ton of logistic/plot questions about the whole early-s9 situation, because the basic facts just don't really make sense from 9x03 to 9x06 to 9x09. but more than that, I feel like any purely watsonian explanation requires me to either throw out a lot of dean's past characterization (I can be pretty hashtag deancrit, but I do think it's ooc for him to kick cas out with absolutely nothing) or a lot of cas's future characterization (I think cas's takeaway was that dean does not care enough about him to help him unless it will serve some larger purpose of dean's to do so, and I think that informs a lot of cas's future behavior). like, the potential watsonian explanations are:

dean offered cas some supplies/cash/a fake id, and cas was just too proud/hurt/stupid to accept

dean offered cas some supplies/cash/a fake id, and cas took them, but he was too proud/hurt to keep them or too stupid to keep them safe/use them wisely

dean is a complete sociopath who doesn't give a shit about cas and kicked him out with literally nothing but the clothes on his back, and cas's self-esteem is so low that he thinks it was okay

dean is too stupid to even realize that cas might need supplies/money/resources

and I don't find any of those explanations satisfying, because there are things in other episodes that undercut or refute all of them: if dean genuinely just doesn't give a shit about cas, why did he bother trying to find him in 9x03 in the first place, or care when april killed him and get gadreel to bring him back? if dean didn't give him anything in the way of money/supplies, then how did cas get from kansas to idaho, or get a job with no papers or bank account? but if dean did give him cash/the magic credit card and fake identity papers, then why did cas need the job in the first place and/or why is he sleeping in the back room? and if he didn't, if cas is truly in such a dangerously precarious situation in 9x06 because he has nothing else, then how, in 9x09, does he have a fairly nice, well-fitting suit and presumably a fake badge and a car? if dean gave him some money to begin with, and cas is just clueless with money and blew it all, then how did he get savvy enough, between 9x03 and 9x09, to acquire all of those things himself? if dean gave him money and/or the suit, badge, and car to begin with, but cas was too proud and hurt to make use of them, what changed his mind? if he has those things in 9x09 because dean helped him after 9x06 and either gave them to him or gave him the means/money to get them, then why wouldn't dean have just done that in the first place? if dean didn't help him at all, despite knowing what a dangerous situation cas was in before they found him in 9x03, then why does dean approach cas in 9x06 like he expects any reaction but completely justified anger and hurt, and treat cas's new job like it's a silly little thing cas is doing for funsies rather than his best chance at survival? but then, why is cas treating the whole thing like it was no big deal in 9x09?

meanwhile, the doylist explanations are:

the episodes in question were written by privileged white people who have no idea what actual poverty and homelessness entail, and didn't care enough to do some basic research (or even like, ask the cast member who'd actually experienced serious poverty and homelessness for some input)

there was little to no coordination among the writers to ensure story or emotional continuity across episodes (if you told me berens and buckleming just didn't read each others' scripts or watch each others' episodes I would 100% believe you)

they didn't want to pay misha for enough episodes to show us what the fuck was going on with cas in the 9x03-9x09 span, let alone have him kicking around the bunker

and also possibly

everyone knew that if cas was kicking around the bunker, and they put him in the standard hunter uniform, dean's spirit would fully possess jackles and derail every scene by flinging him mouth-first onto misha's dick

and all of those make a lot more sense to me than any purely watsonian explanation is ever going to. and again, I do think that shrugging and saying "bad writing" can be a copout, and with other shows, I would make more of an effort to at least try and find a satisfying watsonian explanation, but spn is not only badly-written, but self-aware, even self-obsessed, in a way that other shows are not, so it's a lot harder for me to just disregard the non-diagetic factors. so I do tend to think that if you choose a watsonian explanation for the whole thing, it can be kind of a rorschach test, because you basically have to decide which character's development to prioritize, dean's or cas's.

#all of which is to say that if in the course of looking for a watsonian explanation that exculpates dean #you settle on one that's basically repeating conservative talking points about how homeless people are all irresponsible #and only have themselves to blame for their situations. well. that's kind of telling. #meta #s9 #jules.txt