Okay, I'm on board now with this season finale.

Things that still don't sit right, though, are the touches of Dean feeling guilty over Castiel's fall and becoming human/more human and Lucifer messing with Sam during the mirror scene(s). The former has been a long time coming, and to be reminded of such and then have it done away with is unsatisfying. The latter seems like a long way to go to remind us that Lucifer is a bad guy.

And here's the fluffy marshmallow bunny coda to salve the pain of Kassie's. [link]

Dean and the Impala went back to Bobby's to fix the windshield. When that was done they went their separate ways. At least that's how I read it. So there would have been a few days before he showed up at Lisa's.

I skimmed it the first time. I like the way it is written, but

Dean is a shitty dad

narratively, they were destined to save the world. Inside their universe, they were destined to lay it to waste. They didn't.

This is how I felt about it too.

I'm mainly wondering how much time between Dean showing up at Lisa's and Sam appearing outside.

doesn't exist in any universe.

I think it exists, potentially (and probably), in his head. The guilt that you'd feel for loving your first and lost child best, for always feeling that the other is the substitute.

From Dean's voice and body language I was thinking it hadn't been all that long before he went to Lisa's from Bobby's. But with Cas healing Dean, we don't have any way of knowing how much time it was between Dean showing up at Lisa's to the final scene. Looking through that window it could have been the next day or six months. I'm assuming we find that out within the first few minutes of season six.

The guilt that you'd feel for loving your first and lost child best, for always feeling that the other is the substitute.

I can see him feeling guilt because--Dean. But guilt goes with parenthood and doesn't make him a shitty dad. I can see Dean making parental mistakes sure, but not anything that qualifies as shitty. That's not Dean. He's not mean or neglectful of kids.

Thank you for linking to the fluffy marshmallow bunny coda. I needed that.

I think it exists, potentially (and probably), in his head. The guilt that you'd feel for loving your first and lost child best, for always feeling that the other is the substitute.

Oh yeah.

I even think he might be able to love Lisa genuinely *if* Sam were alive somewhere and happy, if they were going to have the occasional road trip/hunt. World-without-Sam, though, is a big lonely nothing for Dean.

I do think Dean showed up at Lisa's within a few days, probably just however long it took to drive from Bobby's. What else is he going to do? Too much alone time in motel rooms without Sam, or Cas, and you've got a Dean who's back to drinking even more and writing suicide notes again. To keep that promise at all, he probably knew he had to get there pretty quick.