4.09: half-truths come out...
At the end of 4.08, Dean said he wasn’t gonna lie anymore, but he’s also not gonna talk about what happened to him in Hell. Just because he refuses to put his own mental and emotional burdens on Sam.
So now Sam “unburdens” himself of some of his mental and emotional burdens left over from the time that Dean was in Hell-- but he continues to lie about the big important fact about the source of his powers...
On the surface it seems similar to the things that Dean’s keeping to himself, but Sam then turns around and spills far more details than Dean had ever wanted to know... >.> (he spills so much prestige around that we don’t realize until much, much later that we never even saw the trick)
(which is also something I’ve been talking about in s12. But now it’s the basis for the entire overarching seasonal plots, and not just one specific thread)
A tidy metaphor for this larger theme happens within a single scene of this episode. Sam’s hustling pool, with Dean acting concerned for Sam’s ability to be rational while he’s “drunk.” Sam’s already completed the first part of the hustle, losing $200 to his opponent, and has just upped the wager to $500 over Dean’s act of protest (because of course Dean’s in on the hustle, but his endorsement is what suckers in their mark). Before Sam can even take the first shot, he tells the guys to “Keep the money,” and walks away because Ruby’s just showed up.
Dean’s incredulous that not only did Sam not complete the hustle, but so cavalierly lost them $500 in the process. Until he sees Ruby and is completely distracted from the trick. They never speak of their lost money again. And for Sam and Dean, that’s a not-insignificant sum to lose.
On a bigger scale, that’s essentially Ruby’s influence over them. Sam now trusts her completely, but she’s able to stir up enough concern and doubt in Dean that he’s blinded to (or distracted from) what’s really going on. His instincts are telling him one thing, and he resists and resists, but Ruby’s able to keep shifting the targets around, conning the con man. Because Sam and Dean don’t yet know the full truth and are still trying to play Cosmic Catch-up.
So when these themes rear their ugly heads again later (like, say, in s11...) Dean’s able to see through the distractions, to overcome his self-doubt, and to finally come to the beginning of an understanding and acceptance of who he is.
Meanwhile throughout the rest of the episode, Sam is essentially dumping his story of those four months Dean was in Hell, revealing why he’s come to trust Ruby so much. And he goes into so much detail that Dean actually asks him to stop talking. (yet another bit of prestige)
Did you see the blue rose here? Yeah, that’s long been a symbol associated with Cas in the visual language of the show.
So while Sam’s sitting here trying to convince Dean to trust Ruby as well, and Dean’s being incredibly not-convinced, we see this growing division between Sam and Dean, and their alignments as to who they trust and which side they’re on. This couldn’t be more on the nose if it had been a neon angel perched over Dean’s shoulder instead of that blue rose.
Ruby even earns Anna’s endorsement, and yet Dean still can’t bring himself to properly thank her. He’s still got reservations, because something’s still not sitting right with him.
(gosh I’m so glad Dean’s become better at trusting that instinct now)
So at the end when Cas shows up with Uriel claiming that Anna has to die, it pushes Dean even further into working with Ruby, because he’s never gonna come down on the side of the beings that intend to kill an “innocent girl.”
to be continued in 4.10...
Because they’re still not seeing the rest of the trick here. Anna is absolutely not what she seems to be on the surface (and neither is Ruby, and neither is Uriel). Cas and Dean are both essentially caught between choices where it seems they’re choosing the side of “righteousness,” but have been paying attention to the “right things.”
Like we saw “behind the scenes” in Mary’s plans to storm Ramiel’s cabin in 12.12. Back in s4, we the audience were as dazzled by the performance as Sam and Dean were, but now in s12, we’re being given a glimpse behind the curtains. We can choose to be distracted by the surface level stuff, or we can look deeper and at least realize we ARE being shown a trick, even if we can’t yet see the rabbit hidden down inside the hat...
WALLY: Okay, then. Hell, what do I know. [clears throat] I’ve never gone after a demon before. I don’t even know why you called me.
MARY: Because if Sam and Dean think they’re helping you and not me, they won’t ask the wrong questions. It’s safer that way.
WALLY: Right.
Still, Mary neither confirms nor denies Wally’s inference that she trusts the MoL. Yet she continues acting on their orders. Maybe trust has nothing to do with it. Because we’re being asked to both trust and distrust the narrative at the same time.
