The one thing that bugged me a little last night, and more so on rewatch was Gordon trying to blow Sam up in the other room, but leaving Dean unharmed. Gordon is smart enough to know he would have to kill Dean if he killed Sammy (unless he wanted to be hunted down and killed, painfully), so why not just set Dean up as the second trip wire?

Yeah, that was definitely lacking in foresight from the guy who's looking to play the long con.

Plus, he has no compunction about killing people who aren't evil: i.e., the possessed girl who he was exorcising when the demon spilled something about that war.

But see, that plays back into Gordon seeking Dean's approval. I got a little frisson in there that maybe somewhere in the back of his mind Gordon was thinking if Sam's gone, Dean's got nobody--like me. I don't know if he thought that maybe, when Dean got over being upset about Sam's death they could bond, or something. I don't know. Gordon's elevator doesn't go all the way up, I'm afraid, but then neither does the family Winchester elevator.

I do think Gordon felt he made a connection with Dean in the earlier episode, felt like he'd found a kindred spirit. Sammy was in the way of that, Gordon didn't like Sam; without Sam Dean would be a less conscience-troubled hunter, like Gordon. They could be hunting buddies. Gordon would never admit to this, consciously, but I think it colored how avidly he went after Sam. And I also believe Gordon thought if Dean lost Sam it somehow made Gordon's killing his vamped sister more "right."

Gordon killing Dean, or setting it up so that the tripwire took Dean out, wouldn't have been consistant with what I've seen as Gordon's moral code: Dean, while a potential threat to Gordon, isn't a threat or potential threat to humanity.

He's made his peace with acceptable losses (see: possessed girl), but as of Hunted (and if we see Gordon again, this may change), killing Dean's a line he's unwilling to cross.

killing Dean's a line he's unwilling to cross.

Then how does he plan to survive? Self defense is okay, I wager.

Is there netiquette about dragging bits of LJ discussions (especially with some but not all Buffista participants) over to a message board?

I am so totally confused about some shared opinion, and I'm looking for as many different explanations as possible.

If it's not a locked post, I don't see an issue.

so why not just set Dean up as the second trip wire?

Antagonists being this smart would make the show end after 3 episodes.

there netiquette about dragging bits of LJ discussions (especially with some but not all Buffista participants) over to a message board?

I don't see why not (unlocked posts, anyway). At least, link to it and ask that discussion happen here rather than there. Like metafandoming, right?

link to it and ask that discussion happen here rather than there

It wasn't locked, but I don't feel comfortable dictating the location of discussion.

Well, here's the basic premise, which I'm sure to state badly...that there are a few racially insensitive components in Gordon's story, the last ep he was in and this one. The components of this episode were his stressing human racial purity, and him being taken down by an all-white group of cops--all this being all the more notable for him being one of the few black characters on the show.

Speaking of trip wires, this completely fails to set off any of mine. In fact, I'm having a hard time even seeing why they should be tripped for other people.

I've been to Lafayette, IN briefly. . . but I have not a clue how integrated or not the town or the police force is.