It was car 54.

Nice.

If Dean was seeing demons' true faces, was his "hallucination" of Sam's face at the beginning of the ep really a reveal of a demon within Sam struggling to come to the forefront?

See, that was my first thought when Dean said he could see the demons. That is going to be my guess. There is just to much building to it with Ruby saying, "your God given talent, well, not exactly God given"

fwiw i'm still a little bit broken about last night. i'm kind of feeling like a whole show marathon.

Yeah, I have post show blues too. Which is actually really good because it is honestly one of a handful of episodes that I've wanted to watch more than once this season. Right now my order of favorite season is going 2,1, and then 3 (with much love for the Ben episode, the Christmas episode,and then the finale).

Someone on my flist has posited that Dean is either in Purgatory or Limbo, rather than actual hell. The anteroom, as it were. The vestibule, the Green Room, from which he may be more easily retrieved than from Actual Hell.

I think they are right. Didn't the demon that trapped Dean for a time before Sam shot her, despite Dean's protests, talk with Dean about the "Devil" being as unknown as "God". There may not be a one true Hell, but rather closer to the whedonverse concepts of hell dimensions. He certainly looked like he was in a waiting room for a big frickin spider. They definitely have different departments what with the coup d'etat being attempted among the demon ranks.

Someone on my flist has posited that Dean is either in Purgatory or Limbo, rather than actual hell.

I agree. i mean, pretty much every demon that has held any kind of conversation with Dean has been gloating about friends waiting to meet him in hell and he was very much alone when he was shown. i definitely think hell will have a welcoming party(if he ever sees it).

I'd imagine Hell is pretty solipsistic, with the surroundings and tortures being determined by the inhabitant's own fears and inner trauma. I don't think we can read much into that brief glimpse not matching up with any given person's visualization of the underworld.

I hate to disagree, conflict-phobe that I am, but Sam's stretchy-face was exactly the same effect that Ethan saw in his wife's face, and the doctor saw in the hotel guy's face, when they were hearing the hellhounds. It *could* be Sam's demon nature surfacing, but I think it's just a halluncinatory effect of the deadline getting closer. Bobby did refer to it as a halluncination.

Also, iTunes has the ep up.

Bobby did refer to it as a halluncination.

True.

Love your new tag btw!

I'm thinking Dean's in Hell. What's his biggest fear? Being alone, cut off from his family. And I'd say strung up in a spiderweb looking thing is pretty darn alone.

I keep flashing on finding Mulder strapped to that alien chair with his face all stretched out screaming for Scully.

Sorry, what? I shouldn't be giggling every time I see Dean in hell? Blame Chris Carter.

For some reason, I had thought that in the end, when The-Body-That-Was-Ruby's-Host say's "stop!", I thought that was Ruby, re-inhabiting her host-body. I thought maybe Lilith had been lying about Ruby being far far away and that she had merely temporarily smothered Ruby inside that body.

That was Lilith scared out of her wits and then fleeing the scene? Huh.

Oh, man, all the chin and lip wibbles going on in this ep are killing me!

It's weird, I kind knew that, if they did this final right, Dean would be dead, so his death didn't have the OMGWTF?! impact, and I think it was better (storytelling-wise) for that. We've had the wailing and gnashing of teeth. This ep had a sort of inevitable impending doom that really played well in it's structure and pacing. And so it got to be rid of the usual tropes involved in the "possibility" of a major character's death. Up to and including the ass-pully save at the eleventh hour.

For some reason, I had thought that in the end, when The-Body-That-Was-Ruby's-Host say's "stop!", I thought that was Ruby, re-inhabiting her host-body. I thought maybe Lilith had been lying about Ruby being far far away and that she had merely temporarily smothered Ruby inside that body.

That's the read I had too.

That was Lilith scared out of her wits and then fleeing the scene? Huh.

See, I would have expected Lilith to look different than just black smoke. Although I guess she's supposed to be a regular demon. Or something. We don't really know what her damn deal is.