Season Three

3x01 The Magnificent Seven

• Sam is researching demon deals. he is committed to freeing Dean from his deal
  • at the start of the episode he’s specifically reading what seems to be a compilation of demon deal folklore, including dr. faustus among other accounts
• Dean has become rather unconcerned with his time limit; he’s carefree and enjoying himself to the fullest as he tries to make the most of the time he has left
  • compared to 3.10 dream a little dream of me, this could be a coping mechanism that indicates repression of his true fears rather than actual acceptance of his situation
• Dean is eager to gank the demon, but Bobby is advising they wait and observe it before acting. Dean’s impatience could be a result of his own guilt about the devil’s gate, or it could be a result of his fast-approaching deadline, or it could be representative of both
  • isaac and tamara ambush the demon before they can make a decision anyway—in this way they represent Sam and Dean’s ids, the part of them that wants to rush the demon without preparing. this is likely what they would have done if Bobby hadn’t been there, implying that Bobby fulfills a vital role in their dynamic by slowing them down and curbing their impulsive behavior
• after tamara submits to Bobby’s logic, Sam gives Dean what seems to be a disappointed look, and Dean looks perhaps guilty. Sam is deliberately transferring Bobby’s speech to Dean, reminding him not to be so reckless. it also looks like Dean touches the Samulet as he follows behind Sam, perhaps in reminder of who he’s living and dying for
• Dean wants to stay behind and sacrifice himself. Sam is vehemently against this. Sam is indeed surrounded by an aura of melancholy throughout the episode because of Dean’s deal. in the end, he would rather commit a double suicide fighting the demons alongside Dean than leave Dean to die alone
  • compare 2.09 croatoan where Dean locks himself in the clinic with Sam, willing to go down with him but not to leave Sam to die alone
• Sam calls Dean a hypocrite, citing 2.08 crossroad blues to make his point. Dean claims he feels entitled to be selfish “after everything [he’s] done for this family.” compare this to a major conflict in season 2 where Dean wants to quit hunting and find a life for himself—over the course of the season he became more okay with the idea of being selfish, with 2.20 what is and what should never be as the tipping point and 2.22 all hell breaks loose, part two, as the point of impact
  • once again, Dean claims that he’s “tired,” which recalls 2.09 croatoan when he says the exact Same thing to Sam as he expresses his desire to die with Sam to the croatoan virus
  • this conflict is left unresolved at the end of the episode. Dean cuts their conversation off forcefully by putting physical distance between them (getting in the car) and asserting how happy he is, deflecting Sam’s rebuttals
• Dean does not want to retire from hunting in his final year alive. this seems very contradictory to his desires up to now, but it could be motivated by two things: a solid deadline gives Dean something concrete to cling to so that continuously hunting despite hating it is easier; and spending the year hunting allows him an easy way to also spend his final year with Sam

• the demons have been quiet since the devil’s gate was opened. Dean suggests they’re waiting for something, which could mean that this is preparation for the apocalypse: they’re pawns on a chessboard, not there to wreak havoc but to wait for a signal (which would be Dean breaking the first seal and Sam breaking the last)
• isaac “i’ve never brought on the end of the world”
  • foreshadowing to 4.22 lucifer rising?

• Bobby “those demons that got out of the gate [...]” Sam “you mean the demons we let out?”
  • Sam feels responsible for the devil’s gate opening. he’s not forgotten about his fate even after Azazel’s death. this could also be tied to his anger toward jake, since Sam was unable to kill him before the gate opened—and could therefore be connected to the idea that he “came back wrong”

• Dean is attacked by lust: compare to the beginning of the episode where he has a threesome with twins. Sam is attacked by pride, gluttony, and greed
  • if Dean is attacked by the manifestation of his own vice, that would imply Sam is as well, and with pride as the leader it would mean his greatest vice is pride. secondarily gluttony and greed’s presence could be foreshadowing his demon blood addiction
    • Ruby kills all three of them to save Sam, and Ruby is also the one who fosters these three vices in Sam throughout season 4
  • by process of elimination this means tamara is attacked by wrath (possessing isaac’s body), which is her stated vice as well, supporting the conclusion that Sam’s vice is pride (and gluttony, and greed)
• pride “we’ve all heard of you. the prodigy, the boy king”
  • labeling Sam as “boy king” in season 3 could be more referencing to his mythological role as lucifer’s vessel

• Dean gets Sam’s go-ahead before having sex with the doublemint twins. Sam smiles, endeared by Dean’s promiscuity
  • Sam walks in on Dean having sex with the twins. he is disgusted by what he sees, but importantly he walks in without waiting for an answer after he knocks, and Dean squeals with delight after Sam sees him (whether this is because Sam saw him or not is unknown)
  • Dean “it’s a beautiful, natural act, Sam” Sam “it’s a part of you i never wanted to see, Dean”
    • implies Sam saw Dean’s dick
• isaac and tamara already know that Sam and Dean let the devil’s gate open. compare to 2.03 bloodlust: gordon “you know how hunters like to talk.” additionally 2.10 hunted and how gordon knew about Sam’s fate
• Sam can sense Ruby following him. very reminiscent of 2.03 bloodlust, where Sam and Dean know that gordon is trailing them
• the demons apparently want nothing more than to be free from hell. compare 2.14 born under a bad sign, where meg says that “hell is like, um... well, it’s like hell”
• Ruby copies meg (1.11 scarecrow) during their first meeting by taking control over the flow of information in their exchange and refusing to divulge information about herself. this causes Sam to be curious about her, which will eventually make him open and susceptible to her influence
• tamara survives

3x02 The Kids Are Alright

• Dean uses a potential case as a coverup for his real motivation to go to Cicero, ID: rekindling an old flame with Lisa
  • Dean is still not particularly invested in hunting (perhaps beyond cleaning up his part of the mess with the devil’s gate), but he believes Sam is, at least insofar as he needs more motivation to come along with Dean to get him laid

• Sam is still looking to free Dean from his deal at the start of the episode: their conversation at the end of 3.01 the magnificent seven did not resolve anything or cause Sam to waver in his convictions

  • this time he’s looking at a ritual written in sanskrit—he uses a translation program on his computer to translate the documents
  • what the conversation did change is that now Sam is lying to Dean about continuing his search. he’s working with bobby behind Dean’s back
    • this is contrary to his stance on secrecy in season 2. now that all hell has broken loose, secrets between Sam and Dean are no longer off the table, and Sam is taking that to heart. he can’t convince Dean to change, so he will sally forth anyway but leave Dean out of the loop
      • Sam is unwilling to abide by Dean’s wishes. he does not like people telling him what to do, and he will do whatever he wants even if his family disapproves
  • Sam’s coverup is that he was “ordering a pizza” (they’re at a restaurant currently). Sam is hilariously bad at lying, probably because he has little practice where he finds it advantageous to do so. this supports that his nature is to be honest (compare 1.08 bugs) and also that even though he’s willing to lie while hunting (compare 2.16 roadkill), he doesn’t perform well when the desire to lie is intrinsic to him. this is the first time in the show where Sam’s dishonesty is rooted in himself rather than being extrinsically motivated
• Sam does not tell Dean about his findings about mary’s friends (and family), doing his research on his own and when Dean is away (with Lisa). he brings his findings directly to Ruby, bypassing Dean. he’s still being secretive, even though on this matter he shouldn’t have a real reason to be
  • perhaps he senses danger on Ruby and knows she’s bad news, and therefore that he shouldn’t be talking with her even though his curiosity is getting the better of him
  • Sam is given more of a reason not to confide in Dean about Ruby when she says she can help save him. this connects Ruby intrinsically to Sam’s lies and secrecy and places her in diametric opposition to Dean. from here out, every time Sam turns to Ruby, he will be turning away from Sam—thus toward his fate

• Ruby calls Sam the antichrist—more foreshadowing to the apocalypse

  • she “thinks” that Sam is still a pretty big deal even though Azazel is dead
  • Ruby tells him about all of mary’s friends disappearing. again, she doesn’t give him the information but dances around the truth, drawing out his curiosity just like in 3.01 the magnificent seven

• Dean mistakes ben for his own kid and even when he’s corrected otherwise, he forms a paternal attachment to him and tries to bond

  • once again we see Dean desiring an “apple pie” domestic life—compare 2.20 what is and what should never be, compare 1.03 dead in the water. Dean intrinsically desires to be a father, and at this point in his life he seems to believe he might make a good one (at least subconsciously, as he makes efforts to get close to ben instead of keeping his distance. he doesn’t currently believe he would be an inherently negative influence on a child—contrast this to 1.18 something wicked, where Dean believes he’s inherently irredeemable)
  • Dean teaches ben to use violence to stand up to bullies (fire against fire). this is framed as a positive action, despite Lisa’s protests. this compares to Sam and Dean’s general modus operandi of vigilante justice against harmful monsters in the world. ben is likened to Dean, and the bullies are the monsters
    • again Dean is paralleled with a child. compare 1.03 dead in the water and 1.18 something wicked
• Sam leaves to “give [Dean and Lisa] some time,” which is essentially what they came to Cicero for in the first place. Dean ends up telling Lisa about monsters and not having sex

• Dean gives ben the responsibility of rescuing the children. this is both a sign of Dean respecting ben’s personhood, agency, and competence as well as a sign of Dean perpetuating the cycle of abuse passed down from john. Dean doesn’t treat ben like a child but rather a competent, capable adult, which is validating and rewarding for the child but can ultimately cause maladaptive issues, as seen in both Sam and Dean

• Lisa offers for Dean to stay for a while, but Dean turns her down saying he has “a lot of work to do, and it’s not [his] life.” with the way he rushes out the door and the brevity of his explanation, there seems to be some conflicting emotions at play

• Dean went on a road trip 8 years before this, which is where he met Lisa. this would have been in late 1998 (about september), and Dean would have been 19, Sam 15 (Sam was in orlando at the time). the goal of the trip was to drive through five states in five days. the likely states he drove through, along with Indiana, were OH, KY, MI, and IL since they all border Indiana. alternatively the road trip could have taken him from Orlando to Cicero, as the FL -> GA -> TN -> KY -> IN route satisfies the requirements
• Ruby calls Sam a damsel in distress: compare 1.06 skin and 1.15 the benders
  • compare Dean “swooping in” to save Sam when he’s in trouble. Ruby is positioning herself as Sam’s protector, just like Dean
  • Ruby pigs out on fries, making a performance of her eating. compare to Dean
• Sam confirms that Sam hasn’t had any visions since Azazel died. this could indicate that his powers were manifested through Azazel’s existence, or perhaps they’re just dormant now that the other special kids, who were the impetus for his visions (Sam only had visions where special kids were involved), are also dead
• among the many of mary’s friends who died are robert and ed campbell. they are almost certainly related to mary, but exact relationship is unknown
• Ruby “not all of us are the Same, Sam. not all of us want the Same thing”
  • compare to 3.04 sin city, where the demons are just trying to live their lives. Ruby is presenting a nuanced and varied look at demons and their nature

3x03 Bad Day at Black Rock

• when kubrick tells gordon that the devil’s gate was opened in wyoming, gordon’s loaded question is: “Sam winchester was there, wasn’t he?” he doesn’t care whether Sam himself opened the gate or not; he’s made up his mind and the particulars don’t matter
  • kubrick clarifies that Sam and Dean went there to stop it, but gordon is adamant that this isn’t true because “bobby’s edge isn’t what it used to be; Sam could have him believing anything by now.” the bias of perception allows gordon to believe anything he wants because Sam is a liar
  • the self-assured prejudice should foreshadow a dark twist on Dean’s development which will realize itself in season 4. gordon is still representative of Dean’s duty and him being utterly convinced of Sam’s evil nature is indicative of how Dean should be conducting himself
  • gordon told kubrick a war was coming six months ago. this might be when gordon first learned about the special children in louisiana (2.10 hunted)
• Sam has told Dean that ruby is a demon. Dean chews him out for not sending her back to hell, fulfilling the promise of 3.02 the kids are alright which places ruby and Dean on opposing ideological ends
  • the fact that Dean is so opposed to ruby means that Sam cannot choose both Dean and ruby, and the fact that Dean reprimands Sam and ruby is gentle with him while promising to fulfill Sam’s goals means that Sam will be more likely to choose ruby. from hereon Sam will be in a state where he objectifies Dean by removing his agency to choose his own future, because Sam’s goal to save Dean is not intrinsically tied to Dean’s personhood
  • Dean is standing in the way of Sam’s goals to save him. ruby is offering solutions. Sam will therefore choose ruby over Dean, but he believes he’s choosing Dean because he doesn’t see the difference between choosing Dean and choosing his ambition to save Dean
    • Dean will therefore do this Same thing in season 4, objectifying Sam because Sam stands in the way of Dean’s ambition to save him
  • when Deans asks what else ruby said, Sam says “nothing.” he’s exasperated and shutting down—indicating that he is turning away from Dean
• Dean “[ruby] knows what your weakness is; it’s me”
  • rather, family is the sole opposition to their fates. ruby is corrupting the family in order to make it work in her favor, removing the only roadblock between Sam and the apocalypse
• kubrick and the hunter he’s working with both have doubts about gordon’s instincts regarding Sam. this indicates again that gordon’s instincts are wrong and warped by prejudice
  • at the Same time, gordon is mostly correct, or will be correct, as Sam spirals down the path to his fate
  • it’s gordon’s methods, not necessarily his intuition, which are wrong. Dean too is correct about ruby, but his methods for persuading Sam only push Sam away from him. gordon is symbolic here of the tear forming in their relationship as a result of ruby
• Dean “don’t do anything [...] don’t even scratch your nose”
  • Sam checks to make sure Dean is gone before scratching his nose: he recognizes Dean as an authority over his life. compare this to their honeymoon period in season 2—in 2.11 playthings he accepts Dean’s sole right to kill him and from then on he has put his life in Dean’s hands
    • at the same time, he is still defying dean through this action: he is in a state of rebellion, comparable to his pivot away from dean and toward his fate

• Dean “just dad. you know, him and his secrets. we spent all this time with the guy, and it’s like we barely even knew the man”
  • Dean is still irritated with john; he hasn’t been able to forgive him. this should indicate that Dean is still trying to oppose his fate. compare to 2.03 bloodlust, where Dean is far more upset about john’s secrets than Sam is; this seems to be the case here as well
• the things john keeps of Sam and Dean’s reflect what john valued in his kids, and also what they valued growing up (minimal difference, based on what we know about john). john wanted Sam to live a normal life and so kept his soccer trophy; john took Dean for granted and raised him as a mini-me and so kept his sawed-off
  • Dean made his sawed-off in 6th grade (about 1991, Dean is also 12)
  • because both of these artifacts are from when Sam and Dean are 12 (respectively), it shows the difference in what they valued at the time and what kind of lives they were trying to lead
    • compare this to 2.03 bloodlust, where Dean says he didn’t embrace hunting until he was 16, which is four years after Dean made this sawed-off

• Dean “so you’re only out for yourself, huh? it’s all about number one?” Bela “being a hunter is so much more noble? a bunch of obsessed, revenge-driven sociopaths trying to save a world that can’t be saved?”
  • Bela peels back the fantasy on hunting and reveals it for what it really is. she’s corroborated specifically by Sam’s character arc throughout seasons 1 and 2: his desire to hunt is driven by revenge and purely selfish in nature. he saves people so that he himself can be saved. when Sam turns to hunting, he is going down the path of his destiny, which is an apocalyptic path of destruction
  • hunters are the monsters
  • Bela is drawing a connection between hunting and her own profession by pointing out how both are rooted in selfish desire

• both Sam and Dean are attracted to Bela in a notably perverse way. this is typical for Dean but not for Sam. if Bela is an allegory for Dean this would imply the perverse attraction Sam has for his brother, which is distinct from his attraction to other women
• Bela “we’re all going to hell, Dean. might as well enjoy the ride”
  • both Bela and Dean are in fact going to hell at the end of this season. she’s setting herself up as a parallel to Dean
  • if gordon is Dean’s duty, then Bela could represent Dean’s selfishness, or represent him as the righteous man. she is the inevitability of his fate, perhaps; where gordon is driven and actively pursuing duty, Bela assumes the passive role as fate consumes her and preys upon her. she appropriates her fate through selfish actions, just as Dean appropriated his fate through his own selfishness
• Dean “looks like you’re not the only one with sticky fingers”
  • Dean is also drawing parallels between himself and Bela. they’re both thieves with the same skillsets
• Bela is willing to shoot Sam and Dean to get the rabbit’s foot back. she will resort to violence and has no moral compass to speak of
  • compare 1.22 devil’s trap Dean “killing that guy, killing meg. i didn’t hesitate, i didn’t even flinch. for you or dad, the things i’m willing to do or kill, it’s just, uh... it scares me sometimes”
  • compare 2.03 bloodlust, where Sam offers to be Dean’s moral compass and Dean is relieved and grateful
  • compare 2.10 hunted Sam “how could you not have told me this?” Dean “because it was dad, and he begged me not to” Sam “who cares?! take some responsibility for yourself, Dean!”
  • Dean has no moral compass of his own and externalizes his morality on the axis of his family. they are what motivates him and he represses himself such that he falls in line with their orders. Dean, like Bela, is not intrinsically moral and has no qualms about inflicting violence when pitting outsiders against his family. they are both capable of extreme violence, but where Bela operates for herself only (as she has no family left), Dean operates on behalf of his family. notably, both motivations are selfish in nature, because Dean is not acting for his family but rather doing whatever he can to make sure he’s not left alone or abandoned

• kubrick is a devoutly religious christian, keeping depictions of jesus in his motorhome
  • when Sam’s luck goes sour and kubrick find Sam and Dean on the biggerson’s website, he attributes it to divine intervention
• kubrick labels Sam as “the adversary.” this is more foreshadowing to his role as lucifer’s vessel
  • gordon notably thinks kubrick is crazy when he claims god led him to Sam—like Dean, gordon doesn’t place his faith in god

• Sam’s soccer trophy is from 1995; Sam is about 12
• john has curse boxes which use binding magic to keep evil contained within. Sam recognizes this magic, indicating his level of book-smart education in hunting. Dean seemingly doesn’t recognize the symbols themselves, but he does know about curse boxes

3x04 Sin City

TBA.

3x05 Bedtime Stories

TBA.

3x06 Red Sky at Morning

TBA.

3x07 Fresh Blood

TBA.

3x08 A Very Supernatural Christmas

TBA.