I'm just trying to make this work,

Same, and I'm trying very hard to do so without going to a "the writers really didn't think it through" place.

and I'm trying very hard to do so without going to a "the writers really didn't think it through" place.

Also same. It doesn't do me any good to get into where I speculate the writers might be falling down on the job. That's too painful and messy and unproductive. If I just gamely go at it from a "how does this fit with canon, and where does it go from here", at least there's good fic bunnies to be had.

So, I'm sticking with the "something is rotten in the state of Deanmark".

Writers do occasionally make mistakes, though. They're juggling a lot of threads and a lot of balls, and writing episodic TV ain't easy. Once something's filmed, there's no going back to edit.

I don't love what Dean did with the kid, obviously. But I can interpret to fit my fanon, and it's not going to ruin the season for me.

t /kneejerk sympathy for writers under a lot of pressure, especially in this fandom

Yeah, and just to be clear, I'm not overly exercised about it. It doesn't make sense to me, but I'm not tearing my hair out. For me it's just noted, and moving on, with a minor curiosity to see whether it's something they plan to revisit.

I'm a very sheltered SPN fan in that I don't venture out beyond here and my FB feed, which is great by me.

It works for me in the same way the memory wipe was totally not a solution to Lisa's problem--Dean's mistake, more than the writers'.

I think the writers have dropped the ball with meatsuits in general, but this particular scenario strikes me as on Dean.

Also in terms of Dean'character arc, it is totally possible t mild irony that the writers might take Dean places we would not in their place. t /mild irony

He's theirs to do with as they will. It's not a matter of my agreeing with a character arc or not; I don't get a vote. Some things will make sense to me, some won't; some things I'll like, some I may not. It's all part of the ride. My part comes down to watching it, making what I make of it, and talking about it.

Of course, if someone chooses to have a "What would I do if I were a writer?" discussion, have a ball!! I don't have the imagination to write fiction.

Dean's mistake, more than the writers'.

I can see it that way, absolutely. But I would like it to mean something later on, i.e. there should be consequences from that decision.

It works for me in the same way the memory wipe was totally not a solution to Lisa's problem--Dean's mistake, more than the writers'.

While I can read that as Dean making a bad decision for what he thinks is a good enough reason, I can't with the kid.

How does this make him anything other than the Big Bad in some monster's life who hasn't killed yet but surely will in the future if it is so survive?

I mean, clearly, I don't love this direction. You are, at best, ensuring innocent people die and, at worst, making yourself an enemy who only knows you killed his mom and he wants to avenge it.