Stuck in the middle with “You”
*Takes her glasses off and rubs her eyes* Sweet muffins, I’ve been busy recently.
Before I start here, know that I’m still destiel positive. I still think the reading of Cas’ “I love you” as romantic is intended and valid. However, I also think the platonic reading is intended. I think they’re still trying to play both sides. That doesn’t mean I think they’ll do that forever though. I can see the signs of shore here. Seagulls and sandbars. It feels like a matter of time before we reach land but I can’t know of course.
The title of 12.12 can be read as a cheeky acknowledgement of this.
“Stuck in the middle” as in “between things”, an ambiguous phrasing in itself since it doesn’t specify where the things are or what they’re between on its own. The (With you) implies another party of either a person or persons. Again ambiguous and where they are in relation to being stuck is also ambiguous but the acknowledgement of some other party involved is drawn attention to.
The phrasing makes it sound like either someone is stuck in the middle of a group of people or between a two entities or they’re relationship with someone is “stuck in the middle” and ambiguous. Dean and Cas are stuck in the middle of the interpretation of their relationship between familial and romantic, between singular and plural with the meaning of “you”... at least in general English. But not just that... to me it sounds like they’re drawing attention to the nature of the ambiguity of the phrasing in the episode and how their relationship is handled textually. The episode/writing is stuck in the middle with how to interpret the word “you”. I’ll flail at more unambiguously positive things later. There are definitely plenty of things to flail at.














