I do think the hand puppet was WAY creepier than any of the Bobbyisms he picked up.

I know we were talking about the themes of the Civil War and brother against brother in this last episode, but I was reading a meta on lj and spicy comments about it, and someone had this to say:

The heart of this story, I think, is that it brought Dean around to being ready to talk to Sam. He begins the episode angry and defensive. Sam has questions about Benny. I don't know that they're especially helpful questions, but Dean hasn't been giving him a lot to work with so I can hardly blame him for asking them. But Dean doesn't want to answer any damn questions and basically tells Sam he should just shut up and deal with Dean's vampire friend.

The scope of the story - the discussion of Bobby's loss, and of how hurtful it can be to see a loved one's place taken by someone else (exemplified by Garth), and the grief and misery of these people who have murdered lovers and friends and colleagues over trifles gives Dean context. Dean feels about Amelia and Sam about Benny what they both felt (although the emphasis is on Dean) when they saw Garth 'be' Bobby - something vital has been replaced with something inferior, and how dare he? But as Garth points out: somebody has to do the job, even if the job is 'confidant in time of need'. And Dean's own outburst, whether he remembers every word or not, is a reminder of how dangerous it is to nurse resentments you don't understand. Just talking about it could clear the air.

So as you say, he comes to Sam at the end ready to agree to almost anything if it fixes things. Garth reminded him that they're all they have, now. The trouble is, Dean had all his honest conversations in this episode with Garth. All Sam knows is he got yelled at and shot at for things that are more complicated than Dean knows. So they switch places, and Sam tells Dean to shut up.

What I find interesting, with regard to Dean's possession, is the way it contrasts with Sam's flashbacks throughout the episode. A lot of what Dean says is either unfair or so far behind them that it shouldn't matter - but the emotional logic of it is clear. It's misery that needs to spill out. The episode brings Sam to the same place, but in flashback - he really wants to talk about Dean. And yet that, we don't see. Even in flashback, that would be a kind of floodgate opening. But it's not there. Sam's misery is still being crushed down.

I read that and was immediately ashamed, because I thought - of course, and all my literature professors who loved to tear apart everything looking for symbolism and metaphor would have had my head for missing that (although in my defense I think the mental image of Garth chewing his cud with his mouth open threw me off my game). Anyway, perhaps it provides some justification for the overuse of Garth and all his "Bobbyisms" throughout the episode.

Also don't know why I didn't realize that Dean won't remember all the accusations he yelled at Sam, since none of the other possessed people remembered precisely what had happened to them.

Wow. I feel stupid, too. That makes a lot of sense. Thanks for linking that.

Dudes, look at this: [link]

I wonder if that's his brother and sister-in-law, or his brother and sister. Someone who dwarfs Jared is pretty impressive, I have to say.

There are other people in that picture?

Well, there is some weird little guy with a very round, yellow head.

I can't believe his brother is bigger than he is. He must be ... I can't imagine. And weirdly, maybe because we had discussed the Amelia scene, my first thought was where Jared's tattoo was.

That's his big BIG brother. I'd been keeping half an eye out forever (curiosity boggled, and was clearly not crazy), and just stumbled into this on my dash.

Like, seriously, Jared looks buff, but normal sized buff. Can you imagine how tiny Jensen would look in that pic?

And, clearly--the hairstyle is genetic. I wonder whose hairstyle TC will get (yes, he's TC in my head--step off).

the tags on that tumblr pic indicate that it's Jared's brother. i've seen Gen's brother(also hot) and that's not him. of course, i also don't know how many brothers she has.

That's Megan in the middle. I like her smile.