DTaH and On the Head of a Pin

[feliciakw]

A couple more thoughts on DTaH:

1. I don't recall if this is the first time, but here we have Dean wanting to be "normal," average, and Sam pointing out that they can't change who they are. "I'm infected with demon blood. You've been to Hell." Is anyone really surprised that next season Dean's going to be the one trying to hold onto a home life and Sam is the one who's gonna push the hunting gig?

2. Hey! Alistair has Death's sickle. And apparently Death gave it to him. To kill his employees and help start the Apocalypse. Sooo . . . . Death changed his mind. Also, Crowley gave the sickle to Dean to kill Death. So what's the chain of custody on that thing?

Death loans it to Alistair.
Sam kills Alistair.
Crowley gives it to Dean.
Death takes it from Dean.

Any guesses on how it got from Alistair to Crowley? Did Crowley snag it from Alistair, or did Alistair return it to Death, and Crowley snagged it from Death? Am I over-thinking things again?



In retrospect, OtHoaP offers a bunch of stuff that needs some brain power to fit into the mytharc as it developed.

First, we have Uriel, who wants Lucifer out of his cage, but doesn't mind of Dean is dead. Apparently he didn't get the memo that Dean is Michael's vessel (and yet, he knows Dean can be replaced), and that Sam is Lucifer's, and that there's supposed to be a big showdown between the two. He appears to simply want Lucifer's angels to take over the world.

Then we later have Zach, who claims the Uriel incident was unintended, but we come to find out that yes, Zach also wants Lucifer out of his cage and the Apocalypse to begin. Now, the way Uriel went about things was probably contrary to Zach's plan, since it broke Dean and Zach had to do damage control. Still . . . it all seems pretty poorly handled from a tactical POV.

Alistair is working for or with Lilith? Obviously, they're on the same side. And at this point, I don't think she knows yet how she plays into the scheme of things. But if she wants to be top banana, why is she breaking seals? She had plans for Dean in Hell--for Dean to break and break the first seal. But to what end? What good does it do her to break the seals? Or is it that she wants Lucifer out until she finds out that she's the final seal, and then she reneges. Yeah, that's it. Until the very end, when she goads Sam into killing her. What?

Then we have Dean's role in the whole thing. When he says he can't stop the Apocalypse, it's too big, I just wanted to stroke his cheek and tell him all he has to do is show up. All he has to do is stop the fight and stand by Sam. He's been standing by Sam all his life, so that's not so hard, right? All he has to do is be strong and give Sam an anchor. Then I would wrap him in a fleecy blanket and feed him pie.

But as it is, Jensen and Misha are spot on in that final scene, and I gotta say, I love it. You know, in that angsty, how-on-earth-are-they-gonna-fix-this sort of way.

As an aside, I occasionally ponder Castiel's attitude toward Dean. I don't usually read Cas fic, so I don't know how many authors get it "right" (or my version of right), but here you have a mighty celestial being who's been given charge of this, in comparison, very fragile creature who is still God's crowning creation. "A little lower than the angels," the Bible calls us (Psalm 8), and yet so incredibly precious to God, and by extension, his angels. "For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone." (Psalm 91:11-12, NIV) I'm almost inclined to think that it's an emotion that we as humans might not be able to comprehend, at least not in its entirety. Something completely different from anything in the human experience. And I love to see that come into play with how Castiel relates to Dean (at this point in time. Things kinda fall apart for a while in S5).

Anyway . . .

We also have Sam, early in the episode, encouraging Dean to tap into his anger. (Oh, what a change happens in S5, huh?) Sam is being pulled inexorably to the dark side. He believes (not without reason) that Dean is weak, not the man he was before Hell. Sam reverts to drinking demon blood and is pretty darn proud of himself for killing Alistair. He's protective of Dean, but there's more a sense of pride in what he's done. Inasmuch as he says Dean doesn't trust him, neither does Sam display any trust in Dean in this regard.

Oh, boys.

I'm also wondering if the whole "Dean left part of himself in Hell" is one of those threads that shall be left dangling and shoved under the rug. (Just don't move the rug, or the frayed edges will show.) In a way, I kind of hope it is, in that I don't know that I want that layer of angst added on top of what we've already got coming next season.

All in all, this ep requires more brain power in light of what came later than I have the energy to expend. Let's just say there's good (if painful) stuff in this ep and keep truckin'.