Quickly, because I forgot to mention something IMPORTANT! I rewatched 4.17 It’s a Terrible Life last night and kicked myself.

When Dean is kneeling over Ian in the bathroom, what does he say?

Somebody help me!

Isn’t that exactly the line from when he is hanging in hellchains? I’ll have to psych up to rewatch 3.22 No Rest for the Wicked. I did notice the line on first viewing, but simply forgot to include it in my excitement over the bridge business.

+ + + + +

Also, I was thinking about the ouija reference (Sandover Bridge and Iron) found in an episode constructed around an alternate universe. I’m seeing both the bridges and the reference as a signal that there are attempts at communication and connection happening even if Dean isn’t consciously aware of it. This led to thinking about the other types of experiences the boys have had with acknowledged twists on planes of existence over season four. The list went on longer than I expected:

  • 4.01 Lazarus Rising (seance – to reveal the agent of Dean’s return from hell)
  • 4.03 In the Beginning (time travel – to “stop it” – to learn the truth)
  • 4.10 Heaven and Hell (hypnotism – to access Anna’s past)
  • 4.15 Death Takes a Holiday (astral projection – to deal on the reaper’s level of existence)
  • 4.17 It’s a Terrible Life (alternate universe – and ouija reference?)

This doesn’t count the ‘usual’ encounters with monsters, spirits, and wishes/curses, etc.  I am sorely tempted to include the black and white world of 4.05 Monster Movie but am making myself resist. Ditto on the angel penchant for kidnapping which removes a person from a location in no more than a blink.

It’s become default now to expect sleep/dreams (now with more waking!) in an episode and I’m surprised the couple of times I haven’t spotted it. There are also flashbacks, both conscious (Sam in After School Special and It’s a Terrible Life) and unconscious (Dean’s early hell nightmares).

I’d be tempted to wonder if Sam is the bridge and Dean is the iron – except there’s been such crossover in the boys’ characters that I really have trouble sorting them one from the other these days.

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