Dean is such an idiot. SUCH an idiot. But this is perfectly in character, and Jeez, the fans complaining the writers are cruel to Cas... HE ISN'T REAL, sweeties. But all this emotion because Sarah died just because Sam was attracted to her (why did Tommy die?) or can the writers stop tormenting Cas and let him live happily with Sam and Cas instead of trying to atone for his misdeeds or save humanity, because ANGELS shouldn't do shit like that, they should quit and hole up with their friends.

Tenets, fans, tenets. The show still has pain, it's not new, and if they stopped now, that would be abrupt and odd. I don't believe in a random mid-series reward moment for characters because...what? This show clearly balances comedy and misery, and if it went to curtainfic in episode ten or something they, yeah, I would get angry about filming fanfic. How is that good for the narrative?

Why in Christ's name is the 'small blonde" at Sam's side so often Jess? Well, like all the times I've seen recently. Adrianne Palicki IS NOT SMALL. She's not quite Sam-sized, but I'd say she's more than Dean-sized, relatively speaking. Height, not bulk.

So I'm getting grilled on everything I forgot about tonight's episode but...why didn't they call a crossroads demon? Why wouldn't that be safer than someone who can't be exorcised? I can see why it mightn't work (since Abaddon is required for the finale), but it seems a weird oversight.

I think not raising her in the dungeon is fine, though.

Crossroads demons have been under orders not to answer summons from Sam or Dean for a while now, haven't they?

They called one in the Harlem Shake episode. Did we learn of orders after that?

I'm watching Hemlock Grove, and they used the word catabasis, which they defined as "the lowest point of a trial" but I can't find a definition that matches that. It seems to be like doppleganger or lycanthropy, a word I'm basically good with translating literally, but it's not really required to have a supernatural component. It could be a nadir, but also, in the arts, a visit to the underworld as part of a hero's journey.

Anyway, it seems to apply to Sam doubly this season since he went to hell on a trial¹, but it could cover either his cage dive or Dean's time downstairs. And, tidily, a catabasis must be followed by an anabasis (which is the return) which makes it a) different from death and b) applicable to our boys.

I just need to draw a picture worthy of the cool term.

t /random vocab lesson

"Catabasis" sounds weirdly familiar.

I have anxiety about next week. And then the dread of the long, hot Winchesterless summer.

I'm familiar with the term katabatic for describing glacial winds - I guess it's cool air sinking when it reaches the point where the ice pack falls off?

Ooh, I forgot my footnote:

¹: It is fair to say that only one finale has killed the boys, right? So hoping that neither of them die, for a change, at the end of the episode is kinda silly? I mean, hope they don't get separated, because that's happened as often as not, but Dean didn't even get close to dying the first time until way into the episode.

Any finale predictions? I figure at least these things are up in the air:

• who dies?
• who rules Hell?
• who is separated at the end of the episode?
• whose nature is radically changed?

My predictions: 100% RAINBOWS AND KITTENS AND UNICORN TEARS.

Right? RIGHT?

As long as neither Sam nor Dean (nor Cas, actually) is permanently damaged or has his "nature radically changed" (why did you even give me that to worry about?), I'll be happy.

Well, as happy as I can be before hiatus.