It was a weird marathon -- the ghost ship, then Bugs, The Kids Are All Right, Death Takes a Holiday. It skipped all over the place. And unless they're going by some bizarre ratings algorithm for the choices, there was absolutely no theme to it.

Ghost Ship! Bugs! Why???

Looks like glorious_spoon thought the pills were for mental anguish according to her coda. Gen.

I shouldn't do this because other people's kids are in the picture, but I had to show off the mini!Dean sitting next to Sara in this picture. She's in the black and gray stripes.

It was a weird marathon ...It skipped all over the place. And unless they're going by some bizarre ratings algorithm for the choices, there was absolutely no theme to it.

I know! I was trying to come up with some sort of unifying theme too, but there was nothing. I picked up the marathon with No Exit, then The Magnificent Seven, then Fallen Idols, then the one with Jesse the antiChrist, and then the one where Sam wins at poker with the he!witch and Dean turns into Chad Everett.

I just rewatched this week's ep, and the Lisa bits were unsatisfying to me.

She had reasons for ending it with him in YCHtT. I can see her not wanting to go there about Sam, because that would be hard to talk about not under a spell. But Dean shoved Ben, and they never talked about that. The real reason for that is that supernatural danger follows Dean around--yet he says that's not it to Ben, that it's because he's a shitty person.

I get that he has low self esteem, but it just seemed weird to hinge it all on that. At least she accepted that he was a hunter and was going to keep being a hunter, even if she couldn't handle being in relationship with him while he was doing it. I hate when they have the partner throw out ultimatums because of dangerous jobs.

I also really like that Sam thanked Dean for his soul. I saw too many people saying there would be angst about that, than souled Sam wouldn't have wanted it back.

I get the reading that the pills were about physical pain. Not sure why Sam would have been surprised by that, though. They must have used purloined painkillers before. And he looked like this was new to him.

Aww mini!Dean totally likes Sara from the body language. I'd keep an eye on that boy.

Dean also told Ben that if he stayed Ben wouldn't have a choice at another life. But that's wrong because he raised Sam and Sam chose Stanford.

I need to watch again, too.

I feel like I know they've used painkillers, but I'm not sure that's not fanon from fic. When I think about episodes, I mostly remember ice packs and whiskey when one of them is really injured.

I don't see how they could get through all those many years without painkillers. Just judging by the martial artists I know, it seems pretty impossible. And they (eta: hunters) get mashed up way worse. Again, the implication I get from Sam's reaction would be that Dean used these pills when Sam wasn't around--surely not painkillers during the year with Lisa, and would he really have used them during Stanford and not afterwards?

But that's wrong because he raised Sam and Sam chose Stanford.

Sam chose Stanford. But he didn't make it to graduation. Dean raised Sam, if we choose to get that hardcore with his position, and Sam turned into what Dean was. Even went to hell like Dean did. Not promising for Ben.

surely not painkillers during the year with Lisa

Why do you say surely not? Painkillers work for pain, obviously, but without pain you're looking at a nice high and a good night's sleep. And they are easy to get hold of, if not legally, in the suburbs.

I could also see Dean choosing an opiate over something he might consider wimpy or *shrink meds*, like Ativan or Xanax.