#spn transcripts

[shallowseeker]

[In the bunker library, Jack is reading a book when Sam and Dean come to tell him they're going out on a hunt] DEAN: Hey, uh...good reading? JACK: Yes. Did you know Article 246 of the Haitian criminal code officially makes it against the law to turn a human into a zombie? DEAN: …good.

14x16 Don’t Go in the Woods

[fandom-hoarder]

Normal things to say to your daughter's sons

A moment of appreciation for this particular accusation of Sam-preference...

Does Samuel reasonably believe Mary would rather herself be alive than Sam? Can he apply any logic to his position in this situation? 😅 This particular selfishness really is a family trait lol.

[diabolimeservavit666]

How Did I Just Notice This?

So, you know how Azazel was giving this great big speech to Dean right before his death, right? Well, there's a certain part of it that sounded awful peculiar.

HE WAS TAKING ABOUT HIS FREAKING MOTHER! I AM NOT OKAY!

He lost his mother as a child and he wanted to bring her back so bad but he couldn't. There was no way to. Also, there's something about his pyromania. You know how he always targets women who have a six-month year old infant (granted ten years after he made a deal with them but that's beside the point), Jessica being the only exception. Why do you think that is? Some traumas cause people to reenact them once they're older. That's how Lilith died! Now, why is it just him has the pyromania when, at least, Ramiel would remember it too? Because he was the one closest with her, out of all of them.

The part of this that really pisses me off is that, let's just say I am correct? That means you took a baby (Asmodeus) who probably wasn't even weened yet away from his mother, milleniums before Humans even came up with the thought of formula. Which means Alastair would've been losing his mind trying to find a Goddess who could nurse him and there weren't many God births at that time. I am not okay. I'm just not. Like, how could Chuck do this? To a child? Also, do you think Asmodeus got some benfits (small powers) from it?

[shallowseeker]

Pre-13x06 Tombstone moments were among Jack's best

Jack’s Heaven was the car ride to Dodge City

(Image from Naomi Aria)

Some fun observations about the scene:

They stopped for food at an adorable dog-theme diner called "Skipper's Beach Cafe"

Which....BEACH. The ghost of happiness -> toes-in-the-sand beach!

Anyway, it's adorable that they're lost, but it's also a little sad that the very act of getting lost is what led them...to the symbolic beach.

But wait! On the other hand, the specter of this beach COULD BE a false beach promise, symbolizing that whole "checking out and running away" temptation

When viewed as such, it makes SAM's proximity to Skipper's Beach Diner / Miracle / False Salvation a little disturbing, especially when viewed with the 15x20 finale in mind; it could be a figment

It could be read either way, that SAM's the only one who finds salvation by becoming lost and not adhering to a plan; OR (since Sam's app sucks) it's a danger sign, that Sam's off-road "checking out" is being led to a false dream. Apps tend to give instructions and steps, but maps must be interpreted in a spatial context

This would imply that Dean/Cas + Jack are actually the ones finding their footing here (at this moment in time in the story, anyways)

But back to cute things: Sam's phone app sucks ass & he's not happy about it

Sam is even whining about it, which makes me think that his whining in 12x12 Stuck in the Middle (With You) is totally a legit thing that Sam does often, because Jack has no reason to exaggerate here (God bless my annoying, tall man-child)

In this memory, Cas gets associated with maps, as he pulls an old-school map from the glove compartment and hands it over to Dean

(Cas is often associated to maps; he is the navigator-commander to Dean's captain-of-the-course to Sam's field marshal)

Cas is that holy North Star, the symbolic "North is up"

He's the thing that the boys put their faith in; a family protector; "angelic defender"; the thing that grounds Dean in particular

We see this dynamic again later, in 13x21 Beat the Devil. That is, Dean & Cas, as a UNIT, get the bearings for the group:

DEAN (snapping into business mode): Yeah. Thought we’d get spit out in the same spot, but this isn’t it. All right, well Charlie -- the other Charlie -- said that Mary and Jack have an outpost in Dayton. SAM: Okay. Let’s get our bearings and head that way. Cas, where are we? CAS (closing his eyes and concentrating): Uh, Kentucky. Northeast Kentucky. Or what used to be Kentucky. DEAN (looking at the sky then pointing): Which means that’s north. Okay, so Dayton’s that way. Roughly. Two days by foot but...that way. SAM: All right. [The group begins to move towards where Dean pointed.]

In AU earth, in later episodes, Cas even draws a map for them to reference as they go; Cas is keeping them grounded

Overall, Cas helps Dean get his bearings, and together, they help the group get their bearings (especially when Sam's way isn't working--in 13x06’s case, the app).

So, in 13x06, after Cas hands Dean the map, Dean is calm, maybe even grounded for the first time since Cas died.

Immediately, Dean begins teaching Jack to "read a map," perhaps taking on the role as PARENT TO JACK for the very first time (Jack and Dean have known each other ~20-25 days at this point). Dean is passing down the legacy of wayfinding.

Side note: Jack is shown gobbling down a burger, the thing that CAS loves in 5x14 My Bloody Valentine, and the thing that Dean makes, even as late as 15x14 Last Holiday (specifically with the goal of getting Jack out of his room):

SAM: What’s with the apron? DEAN: Burgers! But the pilot light keeps going out. It’s like the third time this week. Between that and the hot water, I thought this place was supposed to be state-of-the-art. SAM: It was, in the 50’s. DEAN: Hhm. Ah, Jack come out of his room yet?

Here in the 13x06 scene, when Jack crams the burger in, Dean nags him.

It's a contrasting callback to their first real "meeting" in 13x02 ("You can slow down, you know. That stuff’s not gonna disappear.")

The warning against eating too much, too fast, is a nod to parental nagging, sure, and that's cute.

But it's also tacitly associating Jack to overconsumption, which a key motif to both his Nephil-status and status as a rival, Usurper-God (not to mention, his zombie obsession):

[in Jack’s Heaven, working the case from 13x06 Tombstone, Jack gobbles a burger while the rest of TFW stand by Baby researching their route to Dodge City with their food laid out on the car’s hood. Sam is in the background on his phone] DEAN: Jack, take it easy. You don't have to cram it all in at once, right? SAM: Still no signal. DEAN: Yeah, 'cause I told you, that app blows. CAS [emerging from the car with a map]: I found this in the glove compartment. DEAN: Ah! Old school! A real map. Let's find our way to Dodge City. C'mere, Jack. I'm gonna teach you how to read a map. So, rule number one-- rule number one-- rule number one-- JACK: Dean? DEAN: North is usually up. [the sun appears to flicker on and off, and Jack looks up at the sky] JACK: Something's wrong. [Jack leaves his personal heaven and wanders out into the stark white hallway of Heaven, where the lights are also flickering. A tidal wave of black goo fills the hallway and chases after him as he runs away.]

He's recalling Dean specifically here, in order to get his bearings. He's using the wayfinding skills symbolically gifted to him by Dean & Cas.

It gives more weight to Dean & Cas in the prior scene, because this skill allows Jack to see the truth (about Heaven, about The Empty).

[shallowseeker]

Jack + child of destiny

Hold the phone. Jack Kline IS LIKE Dorothy Baum in SPN 9x04

image by FTWinchester & Jechiro

DOROTHY: I met up with these three freedom fighters, and they thought I was this child of destiny chosen to kill the Wicked Witch. They protected me, and then the witch turned them into -- CHARLIE: A scarecrow, a tin man, and a lion? DOROTHY: And then she hunted me down and killed me. CHARLIE: Yeah, that never made it to the books. DOROTHY: Sometimes real life is darker than fiction.

///

CROWLEY (to SAM & DEAN): Wow. If it isn't the Scarecrow and the Tin Man. 

SPN 9x04, Slumber Party

Of note, the Wicked Witch and Dorothy are bound, soul to soul. Like Jack & Chuck, perhaps? Or even triparted, like Jack & Amara & Chuck.

DOROTHY: A binding spell that came at a price -- her soul with mine. SAM: So you've been frozen with the witch for all this time? DOROTHY: Yes. Look, the witch cannot be killed. If I am awake, then so is she.

SPN 9x04, Slumber Party

[shallowseeker]

Cas, the angel tablet, and knowing his own heart, part 3

Cas is home, but fear drives him to try to fix everything and protect everyone. His efforts leads to him harming the very thing he wanted to protect.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3 (You are here)

///

== Dean is frosty ==

In 8x22: Clip Show, Dean's hurt, reeling from the rejection that Cas perhaps doesn't even fully grasp he delivered. (Dean is extra, extra prickly, and maybe even a touch embarrassed over the whole thing.)

He thought that, through fighting the Leviathan and fighting through Purgatory, at least their trust had improved. (Cas isn't even thinking about those things, his hands are so full with Heaven trying to harm his family and the humans around him.)

///

When Cas enters the room, he reaches out. Cas says the equivalent of, "Good morning! I like your house." Dean gives him the cold should and transparently business himself with "kitchen things," pretending to be too busy to talk to Cas.

DEAN (brings Sam in a plate): Soup's on. There we go. [DEAN SIPS THE OPEN BEER] I think this is, uh... Oh, it's still good. SAM (clocking Dean's weirdness): A half-drunk beer, jerky, and three peanut-butter cups? DEAN: Yeah, we're – we're running a little low. I'll make a run. CASTIEL (eager): Dean, I can go with you. 8x22: Clip Show,

Cas immediately moves to go with Dean...to restock the kitchen. (Again with Dean n' Cas and kitchens, man. It's where they chat and live together get on the same page about things and store their Giant Hearts.)

CAS: Dean. I'm sorry. DEAN (playing it off, but fishing, blinking rapidly to hide his emotions): For what? 8x22: Clip Show

For what indeed. There's a careful edge, a crafted composure and faux-lightness that is at odds with the situation. (It almost veers into, "For what, because I sure as Hell didn't say anything to you. You misheard me. I misspoke.")

Then, it veers into safer territory. Ish.

CAS: For everything. DEAN: Everything? Like, uh... Like ignoring us? CAS: Yes. DEAN: Or like bolting off with the Angel Tablet, then losing it 'cause you didn't trust me? You didn't trust me. CAS: Yes. 8x22: Clip Show

This is about Dean spilling his guts as much as it is Cas's risky decisions-that-put-him-in-danger. Cas goes off, likes he always does, and he gets brain-whammied by Heaven, and he loses his own heart to Heaven's wars, AND he gets hurt. Dean wants him to be home.

In Purgatory, he asked him to come home with him.

Three seconds later, Sam encourages Dean to "go easy on Cas," even though Sam doesn't have much information at all about the raw emotionality of the situation. Dean's hurt feelings are, of course, about what happened in the crypt, where Dean revealed his Feelings directly to Cas. And Sam has no idea, so it's a little funny.

== New motifs on the horizon ==

Just after their confrontation, Dean and Sam discover the archives and dungeon room for the first time.

THE ARCHIVE ROOM AND DUNGEON

This is where Cas will die, of course, and where Cas will eventually return Dean's feelings. If Cas chooses to love Dean, he's going against God and damning himself to the punishment reminiscent of blended-Nephilim families, as hinted in part 1.

///

BUNKER MOVIE NIGHT

With the angel tablet lost, we get a new symbol, the first instance of "bunker movie night."

This will become a new motif of decoding for Dean and Cas--something they use to try to understand one another, speak the same language, and get on the same page. (Eventually, it will be how they spend quality time together.)

The popcorn is between Dean and Cas, pushed towards Cas, like Dean has left it there as a silent peace offering.

///

== Cas wants back on the team ==

After getting burned by Heaven, Cas wants to be on Team Free Will again, to be equal partners who trust each other. Cas wants to be welcomed back with open arms right away, and Dean is agitated over that, given their last meeting.

But despite everything, Dean is worried. Cas doesn't bring up Dean's raw "I need you," words, and Dean doesn't either.

CAS: Dean, I just want to help. DEAN: We don't need your help. Just stay here and – and get better.

But Dean invokes the word need.

///

== Help! I'm in the doghouse ==

What follows is one of the most hilarious "Help! I'm in the doghouse!" scenes that we'll ever see.

Cas runs out to replenish the kitchen on his own. Sorta.

He goes to a gas-n-sip, to get fuel for the road-journey. He grabs beef jerky, God's specter of fetish-porn, toilet paper, beer, and he cracks eggs...for some reason. He leaves a mess behind.

As he reaches for canned goods (sustenance, a quick meal), he knocks over a rack of....pizza-flavored and BBQ-flavored chips.

Cas is trying to reach out, but he has already accidentally, unknowingly knocked down his chances of pizza. There is no pie.

(Also, poor Chris-the-minimum-wage-worker.)

///

== Enter Metatron ==

Unbeknownst to Castiel, this scribe, fluent in The Angel Tablet and knowledgeable of dangerous spell, has already clocked Cas as a champion of humanity, and he needs Castiel for his Revenge spell.

As they hustle from the convenience store, a warning bell tolls in the background.

METATRON: It's a mess up there. Open warfare...There are factions upon factions, all fighting, betraying each other. It's just a matter of time before they start ripping each other apart. It's all broken. CASTIEL: I know, I'm the one who broke it. There was a time when I thought I could lead our people, but I was mistaken. I spilled so much blood. And I've tried to atone for my sins and I did penance. And I [sighs] betrayed my friends to protect our secrets, but I've just failed. And now – METATRON: Look, I know. But now the angels – heaven – need someone to come to the rescue. They need us. CASTIEL: Us?

Castiel once more falls prey to the thinking, "I and I alone can fix it," (in this case, "we and we alone can fix it.")

That's because he thinks he and he alone broke it.

But the thing is, Castiel is the product of a billions-year broken system of war, not the root cause of its brokenness

Cas's past baggage is preventing his ability to fully reckon and understand his heart, and his heart is calling out to him to fix things and protect his loved ones. And so, he goes after Metatron and the New Cause to assuage his guilt.

SAM: "I can't find Cas. Think he blew town." DEAN (stoic, hurt): "Sounds like him."

///

== Angel tablet trial #1: The Nephilim ==

METATRON: "Levianthans get out of control, you put em in Purgatory. Demons get a little too demonic, toss em into Hell, angels get uppity, slam the Pearly gates. At the very least, it would s – [dog barking in distance, another warning] It would stop the fighting up there from spilling out down here, which will happen. It always does.

That's what Castiel is afraid of, and Metatron knows it. He's read Cas's heart. He knows it's about the safety of the human family. He knows how Heaven works. That they work cloaked in brutality and threats.

This is a primal fear Cas visited in 8x21: The Great Escapist, when the angels rained down on the diner. Cas wants to protect his heart and the humanity that he loves. Heaven's fighting spilled into the family restaurant, where his heart dwells.

Carnage at Biggerson's, 8x21

///

METATRON: No. I can't. I am a pencil pusher, always have been. I'm not strong enough. But you – you are a warrior. I've got the plan. You've got the muscle. We can do this. Heaven needs your help, Castiel. CASTIEL: I am the one that caused these problems. I should be the one to fix them.

So, Metatron casts Castiel as the gullible jock to his crafty nerd.

METATRON: See our waitress? She's the first trial – got to cut her heart out. CASTIEL: What? No, she's... She's just a girl. METATRON: No, she isn't. She's a Nephilim, an abomination. CASTIEL: She's the offspring of an angel and a human? I thought that wasn't allowed. METATRON: It's not. There's only one on Earth, and you are looking at it. CASTIEL: But she didn't choose to be a Nephilim, so she's innocent. METATRON: Yes, she is. I told you it wasn't gonna be easy. But if you want to do this, Castiel, if you really want to do this, you got to ask yourself what's more important – her life or your family?

Metatron doesn't mean the angel family, he means the one that Castiel is terrified of getting caught in the cross-fires of Heaven's wars. He means the human family.

///

They stalk Jane the Nephilim. Cas seems reticent, but he goes through with it, understanding his heart's motivations and wanting to save his family, but undertaking a great evil, born of great fear. He is killing the very things that represent his blended family...and he will be the final ingredient. It will not protect his family but ultimately but them in more danger.

JANE: I know what you are. I could see your halos. METATRON: And we know what you are - Abomination. JANE: Please, I'm not. I try to be nice. I just want to live my life. CAS: We know. I am sorry. JANE: You will be.... You want an abomination? I'll show you an abomination.

And Jane's execution is exceptionally violent. Cas stabs her from behind, through the neck. Then, Cas cuts her heart out. She is, in many ways, the true flower of free will, a union born of the alliance of Heaven and Earth, but he killed it without even recognizing it for what it was.

(Obviously, this parallels season 15's murder of Jack Kline.)

///

== If we shut it all down, you'll finally be safe ==

Which leads us directly into 8x23: Sacrifice. Metatron is taken by Naomi, and Cas runs to Dean for help. He always runs to his human family for help, when it's down to the wire.

(Meanwhile, Metatron is told ominously by Naomi that the archangels had wanted her to "debrief" him, long ago, but he ran, and we feel some sense of why he's so vengeful. Metatron cries out, "You drove me from my home!")

CAS: I've been working with (Metatron) on the Angel trials. DEAN: The what? CAS: We're gonna shut it all down -- Heaven, Hell, all of it.

It's the way to keep you safe. It's the way to fix my home. (I and I alone can fix it.)

DEAN: Metatron, the guy who was full-on crazy, cat-lady-hoarder angel yesterday -- now he wants to save Heaven? CASTIEL: Yes, he wants to. CASTIEL: But I'm the only one who can. I can't fail, Dean, not on this one. I need your help.

Dean is rightfully suspicious. Motive is always important. He clocks that before Naomi ever shows. It's not that he trusts Naomi, per se, but he's suspicious of Metatron before they even head out.

///

In this image, as has been pointed out by others, we get the two arrows symbology again, similar to the arrow through two hearts that the Biggerson's waitress Kara wore.

Although he is rightfully suspicious of Metatron's rapidly shifting motivations, when Cas asks for his help, he gives it without much pushing.

Meanwhile, Sam is trying to be a grownup hunter, and to make his own amends for his season-8-nervous breakdown induced absenteeism and escapism. Dean says to Cas, "If anyone needs a chaperone, it's Sam."

(Kids' table again.) ///

== Angel tablet trial #2: The Cupid's bow ==

Cas is motivated, amped up in his own conviction and eagerness to fix, not recognizing his own corruption in the process

He's awful to Kevin: "There is no out. Only duty. You are a Prophet of the Lord, always and forever...until the day you cease to exist, and then another Prophet takes your place. Now, are you clear as to the task before you?"

We have the specter of duty and work again, but with career and duty, you are expendable and so, so replaceable.

///

Next, we have the oft-cited, Cupid's bow-shooting Dean. I think it's very likely that Dean is thinking about his feelings again here, the ones that weren't returned. He's trying to come to terms with them.

DEAN: Talk to me. You sure about this?

And of course Cas is sure about this. This will keep Heaven's problems away from them, or so he hopes. "One step ahead of them, to keep them away from you." As always.

Dean gently nudges him about the issue, asks him if "this is it." If this is the end of them, and if Cas is going to die? Cas stares him dead in the eyes and says, "Yeah. I might." Dean tries to shrug it off using his trademark, misery-humor.

They both look so sad!

"So this is it."

///

As the Cupid-bonding gets underway, the screen reflects it. Off-screen, the bartender and Rod start noticing one another, and on screen, we see two men happily walking next together.

"Damn. That's sweet."

Music plays, ♪ "Oh, it's so nice to be with you. I love all the things you say and do. And it's so nice to hear you say, you're gonna please me in every way." ♪

Dean stares, open-mouthed.

Importantly, this is unlike Dean's scene with the TV screen. In Dean's scene, he's getting mortally wounded, shot by the bow-and-arrow, and there is no other party. He's "unrequited" in this thing with Cas. Alone. (Amelia getting left.)

Even when Cas walks in, Dean's TV scene remains solitary, at least from what we (and Dean) can see.

Dean is trying to come to terms with his own "rejection."

///

They follow the cupid. She says, "I've been afraid to go home for some time now... Now it's chaos. It all seems to be breaking down, and you really think you can fix that?"

Cas replies, "With time."

She extends the open palm, giving it freely. This love is caring. From nurturing your family members to comforting the ones you love, caring is done with open, kind hands.

"Take it then," she says.

(Take it. Please.)

Except Cas's hands are not kind here:

He raises his blade, cutting out the very thing that makes him strong and binds his blended family together. (His kindness, his heart. Despite his uncertainty and gut instinct, he's ignoring it.) Aside// this is a parallel to the earlier part of season 8 in Purgatory, where he bats away Dean's open hand inviting him home.

///

== Naomi-who-cried Wolf ==

Dean follows up on his instincts re: Metatron. He checks out the Angel Trials with Kevin.

KEVIN: I think I found the Angel Trials, but I don't see anything about a Nephilim or a Cupid's bow or anything like that.

They walk together.

And oh, this scene. It looks like they SHOULD be holding hands. Dean's hand is "up in the air," and Cas's is a closed fist, clenched too tightly around violence and penance to reach back.

Cas holds what is very likely Cupid’s severed hand (or worse, Jane’s heart) in a plastic shopping bag. Cas started 8x22 holding normal kitchen provisions, and this is a terrible replacement.

His original instinct was to "fix" things with Dean using silly shopping gifts, which is what he should have followed through on. This, however? It's misguided. It's evil.

///

Enter Naomi, unsettled. She comes to Castiel and Dean, because she trusts them to want to do the right thing. But unfortunately for her, she has made herself untrustworthy.

She appeals directly to Dean instead, pragmatically knowing she's got a shot with him.

She knows Dean doesn't really want Cas to leave, after all. (And she has intel on Sam.)

NAOMI: I'm not here to fight you. Not anymore. He told you he was going to fix Heaven, didn't he? Murdering a Nephilim, cutting off a Cupid's bow. It's a lie. All of it. ...He's trying to break it. An act of revenge for driving him away."

In torturing her comrades, and in driving Metatron away from his home to start with, Naomi has created a mistrustful, damaged family that bites her in the ass.

Dean's interest is peaked, but mostly because he already has honed in on Metaton's unreliability. It's about him being suspicious of Metatron's MOTIVE, not a magic innate sense of knowing what's right, or faith in Naomi.

NAOMI: (He wants) to expel all angels from Heaven, just as God cast out Lucifer. Here. Thousands of us, walking the Earth. Our mission was to protect what God created. I don't know when we forgot that.

And, perhaps most unsettlingly, Naomi reveals that "the ultimate sacrifice was always God's intention. "

And there is so much sacrifice of "children" going on, even here. Jane is sacrificed. Sam is going to be sacrificed. (And war IS indirect sacrifice, usually of the sons and daughters.)

This has ominous implications for season 15 as well.

CAS: Dean, I'm not wrong. I'm going to fix my home.

///

== Angel tablet trial #3: a Fallen angel's grace ==

When he gets to Heaven, Cas sees Naomi, "dead." He realizes what's up, but Metatron, for all his talk about choices, does not give Castiel a choice here. He shackles him to the chair and forces him to complete the spell.

METATRON: "She told you I lied, didn't she?"

Metatron is now in the role of Naomi, perpetuating his family anger--Revenge. The final trial is taking the grace of the Father of the illegal, blended family.

The Fallen Angel, but the one who Loves Humanity.

METATRON: These were never trials, Castiel. This is a spell. What' I'm taking from you now, your essence, your grace, is the last piece.

///

Meanwhile, the human remnants of the family flounder, temporarily clinging (correctly) to human weakness and support instead of war and revenge. ("I'd let the sons of bitches who killed mom walk.")

Love is a tremendous force, and the human family forgives. (Heaven family does not.)

In modern times, Churches WANT to represent Forgiveness--very unlike Metatron's bitter, bitter Revenge. For a while, it will be about not holding score, and forgiveness, but as we will see, that's much easier said than done, especially within family units.

///

== Protecting the family hurt the family ==

Metatron used Castiel's horror and fear for the safety of his human family, so horrifically threatened by Heaven, to draw him into a trap.

Now, the opposite of what he wanted to happen is happening.

His Heaven family is screaming and dying, again, and as they come crashing down, their fight spills towards his vulnerable human family.

///

So, what of the Angel Tablet now?

It's a little on the back-burner, but it still represents Castiel's heart in many ways. Kevin searches the tablet, looking for a way to reverse the spell, just as Castiel keeps trying to make up for what he's done.

This is what sets him apart from John Winchester--this tenacity to keep trying. (With Heaven, with Winchester family, with Claire Novak.)

In season 9, we'll see Castiel begin to understand his heart even more intimately, as he's broken down to his most basic pieces, "without the bells and whistles."

///

(Text Attributions// Supernatural scripts here via @spnscripthunt. Transcripts are located here via SPNWiki. Visit their Tumblr to donate.)

[shallowseeker]

Family cars + protecting the ones you love

How Dean sends Jack and Sam to battle in the impala in all versions of SPN 14x09 The Spear scripts

///

In almost all version of The Spear drafts, Dean isn't driving Baby.

Why?

Because.

In these specific scripts, the emotional symbolism of protecting one's children is prioritized over the marketing motif of Dean in the black Impala.

///

Dean sent Sam and Jack to the post office in the impala...for protection.

///

Transcript: As our heroes start packing up, getting ready, we CUT TO... INT. CAS'S TRUCK - NIGHT (PMP) Cas drives, Dean rides shotgun. He's been scouring the radio dial-- we hear Christmas music on the RADIO. Giving up on getting any classic rock, he turns it OFF.

///

Of note, Cas is driving in all script drafts.

Why?

Well, one way to look at it is that Cas is now acclimated to earthly life, and he's much more frequently driving his own (doomed) road. He's become more confident of his place in the world and within the family dynamic as family protector (and Dean leans on that.)

In seasons 13 & 14, Dean is shown riding shotgun with Cas in the "family truck" (The Dodge), often when he's feeling vulnerable. (Later, when Jack dies and they go looking for Sam, they drive the truck. Here, Dean's fresh off his Michael-induced psychological injury.)

He needs Cas.

He's allowing himself to need Cas.

Something has changed for Dean.

And yet, like the (scripted) broken tapedeck in Cas's truck, Cas can no longer hear their music. Because The Empty deal has effectively put an end to it. Despite his damaged mind and burning desire for revenge, Dean is still an active participant in the relationship.

("We have a broken tapedeck and you did not complain once.")

Symbolically, Cas is not. Cas is still participating as brother-in-arms and family protector, but he's holding Dean at arm's length in other ways.

///

Cas has already sacrificed himself (his happiness, and symbolically also Dean's happiness) to protect the family child. This very child is swaddled within the protective confines of the Impala.

///

The impala is John's family car, and it protects children. However, the impala is both safe haven and death omen.

When children are loved, they become targets. The protective enclosure of the Impala is the mark of love as much as the mark of death for the children that ride within it (Dean, Sam, Cas, and now Jack).

Impala = antelope = prey animal = symbolic runner, symbolic victim

Impala is stalked by lions, hyenas, and wild dogs. Like the savanna impala, the Winchester boys too are stalked by "angry gods."

Becoming a hunter is an attempt to assert protective dominion over the harsh wilderness that threatens to overtake you. To punch above your fighting weight.

///

Transcript Off Sam's look, Jack tilts the box-- shows Sam. Sam smiles--charmed by Jack's innocence-- and by this small, good omen. As Sam turns back to the Impala-- THWACK! He's brutally CLUBBED in the face-- and he GOES DOWN!

14x09

[shallowseeker]

Chuck's inability to connect to Metatron's experience in SPN 11x20 "Don't Call Me Shirley"

In the previous episodes, we saw Metatron insult Castiel, try to goad Castiel into killing him, lament the difficulties of life, and finally beg for help. ("Oh, Castiel. HELP ME!")

Castiel put him in traction. Dropped him off at the hospital.

And that shook Metatron to his core.

///

METATRON: You saw what happened the last time I was with your B.F.F. Castiel. CHUCK: Yeah, he beat you nearly to death. I gotta tell you, even from far away, you kinda had that coming. METATRON: I did. (gets up) But Cas-hat... he spared me. He showed mercy. (sits down opposite CHUCK) And do you know what was the first thing I heard when I woke up in my cold hospital bed? It was hands-down the sweetest, loveliest song I ever heard in my whole, long, sad bottom-feeder existence... My heartbeat. I was still alive. The joy of knowing that you're still alive, and the simultaneous panic of knowing that someday that heart is going to stop beating, that's humanity. It's frail and it's flawed, but damn it, it's worth fighting for.

And Chuck? Chuck responds with unbridled cynicism. Metatron fires back:

CHUCK: That's a really sweet story, Metatron. Good details, nice balance, and a healthy dose of truth. But it's a little late for a redemption arc, don't you think? METATRON: For me, or for you?

///

Chuck immediately frames Metatron's experiences as STORY, then clinically ANALYZES it. Chuck does not CONNECT to it.

SPN 11x20