#mirrors everywhere

[fantascia]

Stop.

Vegaspete trying to hurt each other but hurting themselves. Toddblack trying to hurt each other and hurting themselves.

[poorreputation]

SPN 15X05 Proverbs 17:3: Notes

Summary (via IMDB) Sam and Dean's routine case turns out to be anything but.

Written by: Steve Yockey

Directed by:  Richard Speight Jr.

Tagging: @thegalwhorants @emblue-sparks @metafest @verobatto-angelxhunter @evvvissticante @sudo-apt-get-destiel @wildligia @mishka-the-angel-of-saturday @stopmakingfaces (peeps put in bold are those tumblr won’t let me tag. It’s tumblr, what else is new?)

Spoilers under the cut:

-We open on Black Forest, Colorado.

-A trio of friends celebrate graduating college,except for one friend who's not as well-off as the other two. ""It's your own fault, you picked the hard road." This, right after the THEN, NOW segment shows the not-Destiel breakup, of how Cas has to move on. Cas mirror, anyone?

-The location's giving me 1X02 Wendigo flashbacks. [future me, here. 1X02 took place in Black Ridge, Colorado, and 15X05 takes place in Black Forest, Colorado]

-Either Dean told Sam about his and Cas' not-breakup, and Sam's playing as mediator, or Sam's in the dark.

-Body-count is now up to 5.

-Sam-vision time? Graphic as hell headshot? S4-5 divergent? No Cas.

-A Winchester lies about being fine? Say it ain't so.

-They (Sam and Dean) posed as Rangers in 1X02, as well.

-Sheriff of Black Forest is one smart cookie.

-If Sam's vision feels like a rewrite of S4-5 (in that Dean never knew the Colt wouldn't work on Lucifer, and that's what gets him killed), then this episode feels like a rewrite of 1X02. Chuck pulling a George Lucas, in an episode where Sam and Dean use the aliases Hamil and Ford.

-The rewrite features a werewolf.

-In hindsight, the line from the Sheriff now feels very cliche', in saying the attacker is a man, but surely a monster. If I didn't have 1X02 on the brain, werewolf would still be too obvious an answer. Werewolves are the go-to monster for exploring man's violent nature, and almost makes it all so corny, Think about it, our first werewolf episode was 2X17 Heart, and how many people consider that to be the show's first truly great episode. So, if chuck's approaching this like Lucas, tweaking things again and again until they're unrecognizable, all in the name of bettering it, he's actually making it worse.

-Dean wanting to shoot first, ask questions later. [Expanding on this more; his quickness to kill the kid from the previous episode rather than help him out, as the kid's clearly a Vampire who has no good guidance in his new world. It's all very S1-3 Dean, totally not intentional, right?]

-"I didn't want to hunt people in the first place, Dad would never-" "Dad is dead!" This sounds like a retread of Heart. Sam having to kill Madison, potentially when she's still Human, and Sam not wanting to hurt people, and- CHUCK, BECKY SAID ORIGINALITY.

-Cue @verobatto-angelxhunter telling us what the orange tie means (please do, I'm curious).

-"Wouldn't it be great if everything was just planned out for you?" *stares into the camera* STEVE.

-Ashley being nabbed while Dean and Sam are distracted, Dean pointing out how ridiculous of a plotpoint it is. also, flachbacks to 4X20, anyone? Minus Sam getting high on Demon blood. Maybe. [Later, Lilith talks about how she was better off seducing Dean way back when, had she known it would be this easy. you know, as Ashley's dressed as Cas, and the only reason why seducing Dean in S4 would have been impossible is because of how much time he was spending with Cas, then]

-It just ends in a murder-suicide.

-Ashley is Lilith. LILITH. Are you fucking kidding me? S4 rewite, anyone?! And, it's an enemy that was beatable if Cas was involved.

-Lilith was sent to seduce Dean? Dean getting close to the Madison mirror, trading places with Sam in S1-5.

-Chuck wanted them to see the werewolf brothers commit murder-suicide. His plans for Sam and Dean?

-Now, Sam's visions involve MoC!Dean. Still no Cas in sight.

-"I had to die for what I wanted most." Cas being taken by the Entity when he's most happy? I did say Ashley was a Cas mirror.

-Lilith here, validating my existence.

-Sam with the Devils Trap bullet. Almost like Sam and Dean have gotten better and smarter post S5.

-Lilith melts the Equalizer.

-Sam only gets Cas' voicemail. Dean reasons they warned him about Lilith and Chuck, what else are they supposed to do? followed by an uncomfortable pause.

-Communication saves the day! The one thing Chuck couldn't predict.

-"How are we supposed to fight God?" Dean says, as the camera focuses on how utterly alone Sam and Dean are.

Those are my thoughts for this episode! If you like what you see, and want to read more of my episode notes and metas, let me know and I’ll add you to the tag-list!

[tinkdw]

Could you explain what people mean by “mirror”? Like character A could be a character B mirror... what exactly qualifies as a mirror? Similarities in their storylines? What differentiates between a “mirror” and “reusing some story/character pattern that’s already used”?

Yeah, it’s being a mirror in terms of storyline oftentimes but it’s really more to do with the character on a more psychological level. 

Like… Cas and Ruby are mirrors in season 4 through the way they interact with Sam and Dean but not in terms of necessarily their own individual plot all the time, it’s more about their relationship and effect on the others and what they mean to the brothers individually than an actual plot or lines as such. Ruby sets it up to start in season 3 by saying she's not an angel perched on Sam’s shoulder then Cas does the same to Dean and their plots intertwine of course but it’s way more about the psychological effect than the plot itself (also I love @elizabethrobertajones point that because Chuck removed the demon blood stuff from the SPN books the romantic parallel is even stronger as Sam is off with Ruby being manipulated through just their sexual/romatic relationship if there’s no blood arc meanwhile Dean and Cas are in parallel and oh...).

Also eg. Jack is a mirror of all of TFW through different aspects of his plot but it’s more to do with what it represents within him in a character way?

Like… yeah he’s rejecting his father which makes him a Dean mirror but the actual plot is nothing really like John/Dean’s, it’s more the concept overall on a psychological level.

There are plot mirrors of course as the show is so long, though I’m less interested in those, like when they repeat a storyline, say a MotW like a kid dying and his friend being sad about it like 12x18 and 13x05, that’s not really a true or interesting mirror, it’s only interesting if it does something personal and psychological to the character.

Like how the wife in 11x17 tells Dean pointedly:

Knowing that’s the kickstart episode of Dabb era and the climax of his full next season is Dean kneeling next to Cas’ dead body… and then we get 5 episodes of suicidal nihilistic angst, I was nearly expecting him to make some kind of “there’s no normal” comment you know? THAT’S an interesting mirror and so clear, imo, especially with the rest of the wow look how romantic they are, even though plot wise it’s not really the same at all in how they die or the time scale etc, just this tiny moment is a mirror and it’s so deep and important.

I hope that makes sense!

[teaandforeshadowing]

I dont want to see a mirror EVER AGAIN. REALLY. IMSODONEWITHTHIS.

Mirror meta proves that Mofftiss are lying assholes.

[poorreputation]

SPN 15X03 The Rupture: Meta Of Love, Prophecy and Gut Wounds

Really, it's as simple as that.

Tagging: @thegalwhorants @emblue-sparks @metafest @verobatto-angelxhunter @evvvissticante @sudo-apt-get-destiel @wildligia @mishka-the-angel-of-saturday @stopmakingfaces (peeps put in bold are those tumblr won’t let me tag. It’s tumblr, what else is new?)

Mary Winchester 1X01: The iconic image of her, pinned to the ceiling, her nightgown stained with blood around her stomach, as John looks on in horror. And then she burns.

Jessica Moore 1X01: Dies in the same manner as Mary, right down to the blood around her abdomen. She too burns in front of her partner, Sam.

Both she and Mary were sacrificed to encourage or even fulfill prophecy. Mary died when she interfered with Azazel. Jessica died because with her gone, Sam would let his anger consume him, priming him for his destiny.

Castiel 12X12: Cas is stabbed with the Lance of Michael, also receiving a wound to the gut, and is considered as good as dead. But, there's a magical loophole involved, which leads to Crowley breaking the lance in half, stopping the spell. Before this can be done, we get the instant classic "I love you, *looks at Dean* I love all of you. *looks at Sam and Mary*" This, for all intents and purposes, was a deathbed confession.

Kaia Nieves 13X10: Is killed by Evil!Kaia in the Bad Place, stabbed in the stomach with a spear, a very powerful spear that could harm the Archangel Michael. Now, 12X12 was written by Davy Perez, and 13X10 by Bobo Berens, but the connection of spears/lances meant to kill archangels and connected to Michael, It has Beren's/Dabb’s fingerprints all over it.

More so, Kaia's death is linked to prophecy; Patience had a vision of Claire dying, only for it to turn out to be Kaia. But, knowing going to the Bad Place could mean her death, Kaia chose to go with Claire. She accepted those risks, just as much as Claire did. Choice, even in the face of prophecy and fate. (I know Patience isn’t a prophet, so it’s technically only a premonition, but just roll with it)

Rowena 15X03: Dies by Sam's hand, as told by Billie, in the form of a knife to the stomach. Rowena makes it explicitly clear she lives her life by magic and prophecy, and chooses to use her death to create the spell needed to send all of the souls back to Hell. It's prophecy, but her choice. Not to mention, in her final words, "Goodbye, boys." she evokes her son, Crowley. Crowley, who's already heavily linked to this topic in 12X12, saving Castiel, doing so with a magical loophole. This episode was also written by Bobo Berens, who loves his bookends and mirrors.

You can argue about whether Mary and Jess are being called back to in the later episodes, but I'm pretty sure Cas, Kaia and Rowena were meant to be connected, paralleling one another.

If you like what you see, and want to be tagged in future episode notes/metas, let me know!

[tinkdw]

I know your blog is mostly Destiel(and I love you for that!) but I was wondering if you saw the OBVIOUS reverse parallel between Patience and Sam with the whole "if you go out of this door never come back" thing and what are your thoughts on it because honestly I'm loving it and the whole concept of badass Wayward Sisters

Oh absolutely!

I actually see myself as an overall Supernatural blog, I just happen to have a real passion for Destiel because I love romance, but I love all of TFW and the whole show, I don’t have a true leaning per se like I dislike talking about Sam, I love talking about Sam! :D

Yeah I loved this, we saw how Patience was a great mirror for Dean in 13x03 and now she is a great mirror for Sam in 13x06, I think really overall her powers (plot) are a mirror of Sam while her inner character story is a mirror of Dean, which makes a lot of sense because in the show overall Sam was created to carry the plot arc and Dean to carry the character arc, of course both to both, but each with more of a leaning on way or another.

Same with Kaia too tbh, the fact that she’s been harming herself in order to stay out of the Bad Place is reminiscent of both of them with the self - harm and self - hate (I’m not important) (Dean) but it also being something beyond her control that she tries to run away from until she can learn to live with it within herself and that it doesn’t have to be bad or make her a bad person (Sam).

This is why Jack is also a brilliant mirror for them (and Cas).

This makes them truly interesting as individual characters as we know this kind of story gets people invested or SPN wouldn’t be in it’s 13th year, but they can explore them a little differently than they did with Sam and Dean, or it’s just a rehash which is boring, while at the same time using them within the SPN world to show the mirror and parallel purposefully in order to show how far Sam and Dean have both come from their own pilot.

I desperately want to write more but work beckons and I have a ridiculously busy weekend ahead, but hey we have all of Christmas hiatus :) I’ll come back to this though as Sam is really getting a good story arc this season and I am really glad it’s coming bigger and clearer just as I hoped it would for the second 2/3 of the season.

The whole show is like a big glorious mirrored circle filled with angst and despair but a halo of light around it that they’re heading towards at endgame...

It’s so brilliant!

[tinkdw]

What’s normal? A Dean/Cas mirror

This episode is so full of subtext about the themes of Dabb era I think I may have to write 25 separate posts on each moment / theme rather than one episode review cos my friends it is intense. 

*Imagines Andrew Fairy Goddabb waving his glittery wand all over the episode and season*

Key themes: Who we are is not what we are. There is no normal, it’s a social construct. Chosen family. Performing to a norm and repressing your true self does not lead to happiness. Honesty wins. Love is love. Romantic v platonic love. Humanity. Fatherhood…. subverting the pilot and linking it back to the start. I think I will just do them one by one :)

Themes One and Two: There is no “normal”, acceptance of differences. Chosen family & sadness turned to rage.

Exposition: Jack and Clark.

1. There is no normal.

Police officer: “Weird.” O Barker: “There’s no such thing as weird, everyone’s normal in their own way” Clark: “Yeah, totally normal…”

Clark Dean Mirror Barker firstly establishing that he thinks there is such a thing as “normal” and Jack definitely falls outside this box, moving forwards until he’s sitting on the floor with him accepting he can do cool magic and eating candy bars with him.

*Tink stares into the camera*

Clark and Jack first meet in a fast food joint (!) where Clark (Dean mirror) tells us he is untouchable due to his parentage in a lovely echo of season 4/5 Dean when he first met Cas being untouchable due to being the vessel of Michael through his parentage.

He’s intrigued by Jack, kinda flirty with everyone, charismatic and Jack starts to learn about himself and humanity through his interactions with Clark. 

By the end:

Jack: “I like it, I like nougat!”. Clark: “Dude’s magic”. 

Then continues to smile and sit comfortably with him until Jack goes nuts (nougat pun intended) due to Angel radio. He was however seemingly pretty chill about Jack’s abilities and thought it was kinda cool *insert Dean’s hey lookatmyboyfriendhessocool face*.

So Clark Humanity Barker helps Jack discover his own Humanity through candy bars (childhood) but he had to grow up fast… because the world is a dangerous place and he needed to grown up quickly and have a protector.

2. Chosen family & sadness turned to rage.

Then we have this:

Jack: “That’s why I chose Castiel to be my father.” Sam: “he’s dead.” Jack: sad face that immediately turns to angry revenge. 

Where have I seen this before?! 

DEAN.

Both immediately after Cas’ death we have Dean falling to his knees in grief then turning into a hard angry face as he goes inside to shoot Jack in the face, then the same again after his prayer goes unheard, going from abject grief to rage.

Man this season is going to be EPIC. Subtext abounds and this is just one small snippet of the themes of this one episode!

Bonus: What episode do we think we will get an openly bisexual side character who’s a massive Dean mirror and we get Dean’s reaction to it? (Ie. not like Chuck who WE know about, but Dean doesn’t) I’m going with… by episode 14.

Bonus Bonus: Ok but I crack-postulated that Dean might even come out of the closet by the time Cas comes back in 06 because he’s so done with everything and feels like now is the time to be honest about himself because why not, everyone is dead anyway… and the freaking HONESTY scene with Officer Barker is just hammering this home to me right now and I don’t want to get overly excited but man… Dabb you have no chill, you’re writing fanfic and I don’t know how to separate wild speculation from realistic speculation now as he’s just validated our meta of season 12 and the consequent speculation within minutes of the new season and now there is actually a totally open path for this to happen (and how much else is left given we got so much already within the first 42 minutes of the season?!)   ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[tinkdw]

man, when Jack sat in the Impala, with his beige jacket, he looked SO MUCH like Cas in that backseat, I almost lost it. It couldn't have been more obvious. Also Dean is so pissed about it, acting really mean on purpose. And 'he keeps staring at me' (yea it wasn't such a big problem for you when Cas did that, was it?)

He’s literally the kid that killed the mom in childbirth that the dad can’t look at because of the pain even though he knows it’s not their fault + here Dean specifically thinks he’s the satan baby that forced Cas to believe in Paradise and get him killed.

He’s Sam to Dean’s John with the baby that killed the love of your life thing PLUS he’s Lucifer mark 2 if he did manipulate Cas.

I’m surprised Dean even lets him in the CAR.

What I am really pleased about though is how Dean seems to be coming around to the idea though, that perhaps it wasn’t Jack’s fault, that perhaps he’s not evil, he knows that he’s not innately evil but he thinks he is because of what he did to Cas, HOWEVER he’s, just as between 12x19 to 12x23, now between 12x23 to 13x05 starting to now his knee jerk reaction has petered out, having thought about it he’s starting to think perhaps this is not the case?

There is no way he’d be starting to warm to him if he genuinely thought he PURPOSEFULLY led Cas to his death.

NO WAY IN HELL.

Pun intended.

So yeah, I’m really interested in this as we expected him to start forgiving Jack and start at least attempting to get past Cas’ death and start on the path to acceptance by 13x05 when Cas comes back, because we don’t want Cas to magically “Fix” Dean, Dean has to do this himself just as Cas did in the empty.

They can help each other get there in the end but ultimately it has to be their own doing.

TL;DR we’ve thought for ages and even more so now after 13x04 that Dean would start warming to Jack literally just before Cas comes back and then once he IS back things will really take a turn in loads of different senses.

I’m expecting a shake up :)