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shallowseeker · 1 year

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Dean wants what he can never have...so what's stopping him?

A consideration of Pamela as specter of Guilt in Rocky's roadhouse, SPN 14x10

At first glance, Rocky's bar has got everything: lots of family beer and cheeky references to Dean's pop culture, family, members, and friends.

So, why then, is Rocky's bar so anemic? It's a long way from the swing-for-the-moon El Sol type of contentment shown in Dean's prior djinn dreams. It feels peppy and hopeful through its decoration alone...but in actuality, it feels lonely, scared, and sad.

Dean is a social animal, and this is a bar devoid of people except for a dead psychic, a shady real estate developer, and a handful of enemies. There are no customers.

This Michael is clever. Dean, unlike other soldier-coded characters in SPN, is usually very attuned to knowing "what's real." (Families! People!) He has not fallen prey to frank nihilism or despair as often as other characters, at least not in that existential, what-is-real way. (Usually, his despair is about saving loved ones, or the horror of loss and abandonment.) This time, Dean is broken. Michael crows in triumph 14x09:

MICHAEL DEAN: So I left but not without leaving the door open just a crack.

CASTIEL: Why wait?

MICHAEL DEAN: To break him, to crush and disappoint him so completely that, this time, he'll be nice and quiet for a change -- buried. And he is. He's gone. [ Takes a drink of whiskey ] And now I have a whole army out there, waiting, ready for my command, ready for this. [ Michael Dean’s fingers prepare to snap ]

That explains Michael's choice of illusion here, and it foreshadows the nihilism and break with reality that Dean will experience in seasons 14 & 15. ("His life's work, a hoax.")

Dean is about to lose sight of the meaning of his life and will be set up to bear the ultimate disillusioned-soldier's burden: he will be unable to determine what's real.

Sam and Cas have already gone through this,. In fact, most soldier-coded side characters have consistently experienced this: Bobby, Charlie (not soldier-coded but grief-coded for sure), Benny, Mary, AU!Charlie, etc.

Arguably, Dean has broken with reality only a handful of times, but not to same severity and not with the same level of disillusionment as compared to someone like Cas, who was faced with both moral injury from his superiors in Heaven and a complete psychotic break.

///

Dean's heartbreaking self awareness

I think Dean's actually a pretty astute guy, and when you look past all the smack-talk and the witty one-liners, he's one of the best at reading people. Whereas Sam can at times sound like he's reading from a psychology how-to pamphlet, Dean often more easily navigates when to push and when not to push with strangers. He'll talk down on their level, too, which helps to keep it from coming off too scripted or condescending.

An example is 13x05 Nightmare Logic: Dean starts off quippy to a grieving Sasha, but he quickly builds rapport with her by being present in the moment and not trying too hard to psychoanalyze her. When Sasha says she isn't up for a heart-to-heart, he doesn't shame her. He says Okay. He show similar intuition with Claire Novak.

Emotional intuition aside, Dean's too much inside his own head a lot, too. And his fear of abandonment is crippling. If his rapid-fire speech pattern is anything to go by, I imagine Dean's mind is an equally rapid-fire flurry of intrusive thoughts. I wouldn't be surprised if he's prone to rumination.

His self reflection is a torment. We see this in early seasons and especially in 3x10 Dream a Little Dream of Me, when he meets his dark doppelganger.

And, of course, Dean feels guilty. He feels like everything is his fault because he was the primary "rock" of his family for so long. Sam is his brother but also his child, so he can't quite relate to him normally or always accept Sam's attempts to reach out to him. Furthermore, Sam tends to push when he cares, and Dean doesn't always take kindly to being pushed:

SAM: Dean, like it or not, the stuff you don't talk about doesn't just go away. It builds up, like whatever's eating at you right now.

DEAN: There's always something eating at me. That's who I am. Something happens, I feel responsible, all right? The Lindbergh baby – that's on me. Unemployment – my bad.

Dean often turns to alcohol to deaden the absolute tempest he's got inside. I feel like Dean might not be as robust as Sam is at frank compartmentalization.

///

An endless loop of status quo + threat

Dean has very rarely "completely checked out of the fight." In the dream world of Rocky's Bar, Dean has retired Baby, but there's still a horrible storm raging outside. Interestingly, Dean doesn't actually go out in the storm in 14x10; Pamela does. Her recounting of the outing feels stressful, like people are panic buying in preparation for an approaching disaster:

PAMELA: Everybody's shopping at the store like it's the End Days. The milk and bread aisles were a war zone. But I battled through it all for your stupid bag of limes.

Dean is no longer one who braves the storm; so, he's trying to be a shelter from the storm. He's checked out of the fight.

Dean's mind resolves the need to face the storm by mentally assuring himself that the burden of hunting is shouldered by trusted, competent, strong family members: Sam and Cas. Dean wants to be a safe harbor, but he's also hiding from the storm and drowning himself in booze (his preferred coping mechanism). Here, the beer isn't completely celebratory; it's replacement of people and the deadening of emotions. Michael is still drowning him. There's no Mary or Jack to be seen. It's the stasis of being useful, of being available as safe harbor but keeping everyone at arm's length. It's a bare bones kind of happiness.

Meanwhile, Dean and Pamela fight vampires in an endless loop. This shows that, outside of hunting, Dean struggles to have confidence and meaning in his life. He crows that he's famous:

PAMELA (wiping Deans face) Worst part of working here is having to clean up the blood after some pissed-off monster busts in to kill you.

DEAN (smirking) Well, what can I say? I'm famous.

It reminds me of the distraught high-schooler Dean, insisting loudly that he's a hero in After School Special.

The negative reading is that Dean in Rocky's Bar is checking out; it's a bit similar to Cas in season 7; he also wanted play support and let his trusted companions handle things. The root of it is the shame and crushing disappointment that Dean suffered when he choked during Michael fight. Dean was the weakest link. He failed.

And so, now we find him, happily fighting on the sidelines here, serving as Ellen Harvelle 2.0 with his own Roadhouse. (It's like Sam with Amelia in season 8; it COULD be a good thing if it wasn't representing Sam primarily checking out of his duty to Kevin. The same way Cas hunting in Hunter Heroici COULD be a good thing, if Cas wasn't primarily doing it to escape the consequences of his Heaven genocide. As usual, it's all about the balance, at least in the world of SPN.) Indeed, most of the new side relationships and new roles in season 8 are idealized, fantasy-esque ones, without the baggage characteristic of real-life relationships/jobs. That's on purpose. Season 8 is all about fantasy escapism-idealization, which is what gives it its dreamy, "is it even real?" quality.

On a positive reading, Dean has his own business, and he's putting his own stamp on the family business.

Interestingly, even this dream is under threat...from a shady real estate developer. 14x10:

WOMAN: (looking around the bar) Rocky's looks pretty dead. It's a very generous offer.

DEAN: Well, all the same, this bar? I've never had anything this nice. So that sale that you want so bad, well, it's just not gonna happen.

Only small amounts of happiness can be allowed, and this threat to happiness must exist to make even that small amount seem believable.

///

The Pamela of it all

Is the appearance of Pamela related to Cas? I think Yes. But not in the way you might be thinking. She's definitely complex:

CASTIEL You're just a complex manifestation of Dean's memories designed to distract him.

PAMELA You really know how to talk to a lady, don't ya?

I think her set-dressing, sexual symbolism, and stand-in for potential repression have been discussed to death, so I wanna focus instead on what I think the crux of the issue is: her presence as Guilt. See, it's clear from her words that Pamela knows that *Dean* knows what he wants.

On the surface, she's easy company, requires no explanations, and Dean can flirt with her, despite her not being "what he wants." She understands that, and she won't get the wrong idea. The part most people key into is that, she, Dean's subconscious, she chides him that he "always wants what he can't have."

But what can't he have? Peace. Why can't he have it? Well, lots of reasons. But chief among them is that he doesn't deserve it.

So, Pamela. Why Pamela, specifically?

One, this is what keeps Dean up at night: it's the people he couldn't save. He alludes to this rumination all throughout the series. So, of course, he thinks about Pamela. And Pamela was heartbreakingly angry when she died:

PAMELA: Yeah, I don't. I told you I didn't want anything to do with this. Do me a favor? Tell that bastard Bobby Singer—to go to hell for ever introducing me to you two in the first place.

Two, her blindness is because of what first connected Dean to Castiel. Therefore, Pamela is a reminder of the awful fact that one of Dean's cornerstones of happiness (Cas) came to him through great trauma and evil circumstances, kind of like a Leviathan blossom out of a corpse.

But to Dean, having happiness at the expense of others would make him "like a vampire," leeching life and happiness from the living, and that's uncomfortable. Because of Dean going to Hell and being resurrected, Pamela was pulled into this mess, lost her sight, and died. Cas burned her eyes out, something Cas is also horrified to revisit:

DEAN (looks at Pamela, whose eyes are now pure white) You're blind?

PAMELA Yeah, I've been blind for a while. Thank Feathers here for that one.

CASTIEL That was -- Dean, that was an accident.

Subconsciously, this was on Dean's mind, even before he remembered her blindness. But who is blind to what?

I think there are two layers to this. The first layer is that Dean cannot easily resolve being glad that Cas is in his life with the fact that Cas being in his life cost so much in the first place. The second layer is that Dean has experienced the trauma of being vessel now, and that not only re-contextualizes the horror of Sam and Cas's internal battles with Lucifer, it recontextualizes Cas and the Novaks. Dean was already thinking about these things in the previous episode, The Spear 14x09:

DEAN: [ Stopping Cas ] Listen to me. Michael conned me. Kept me trapped and drowning inside my own body. Now, when you and Sam were possessed by Lucifer, I -- I thought I understood, but I didn't, not really. So, yeah, if we get a chance to trap him, I'll take that, but I won't be truly happy until he is dead and I kill him.

Here, Dean is completely sidestepping the fact that Cas also possessed vessels, possibly all throughout his long life, forcing humans into submission and completely dominating them.

But Dean's subconscious isn't sidestepping it.

Loving Cas often makes Dean willfully blind to what he was, because Dean loves the person Cas has become. That's still a hugely burdensome cosmic horror, and it's been cast into a fresh light.

It's something that Cas struggles with, too, of course. (Indeed, in season 15, that's what the specter of Belphegor is all about; thus the "wearing him like a coat" line. Body snatching and angelic brutality are incredibly underestimated components of Cas's self-loathing. (Even the Empty calls them out in all of The Big Empty scripts.)

From 10x09:

CLAIRE: Why? Like you don’t have it coming? You stood there while this monster took my dad. [She puts the gun down, then turns to Cas.] I used to pray to you, Castiel. Every night. I would beg you to bring him home safe.

CASTIEL: I know.

CLAIRE: You know … My father was a good man. In what messed up world does he have to die and you get to live?

CASTIEL: I’m sorry.

CLAIRE: No. You feel guilty. There’s a difference.

///

From 14x02:

NICK: Castiel, you’re just a stone cold body snatcher. You’re no different than Lucifer.

CAS: I...I need to look in on Jack. [CAS walks past NICK, but stops before he gets to the door] You know, in all my thousands of years, what happened to Jimmy Novak and his family are my greatest regret.

///

I don't deserve to be happy

People struggle to accept their lives when they feel they've committed too many evils to be worthy of actually living it. (Like, that's the whole APPEAL of religion for a lot of folks, you know?) Some people set out to do penance or self-punish. But when does noble penance go too far? How much pain and self-flagellation absolves you of sin?

AMARA: I wanted you to see that the real, complicated Mary was better than your childhood dream because she was real. That now is always better than then. That you could finally start to accept your life. I thought having her back would release you, put that fire out. Your anger.

At the point in the story that Amara says this, she is mostly reacting to Dean's anger and nihilism at being cheated in life, but she has a fair point about accepting your life. (Dean swings wildly in season 15, going from the his more typical early-seasons, "I don't deserve a life, but what I do has meaning," to an embittered "I deserved a better life than this, and nothing matters, not even family, not even saving people; it's all rigged!"

///

For Dean and Cas, I feel like Guilt is largely what the "something I can never have" stems from. It's the deep shame at the idea of being happy, of being selfish, at the expense of the more-deserving others. It's also about being bad luck--about being poison.

Cas shields himself from the weight of his guilt by appearing to be motivated by altruism. He likes to appear as if he's adhering to duty, something that Lucifer and Metatron are both shown to be absolutely bitter with him about. It's also why Jack was Cas's perfect raison d'état to feel good about staying on the earth and existing within a human family. It's more than that, too, but a huge attraction to the idea is exactly that.

From 10x10:

CASTIEL: This isn’t about me.

METATRON: (sarcastically) Of course not. The great Castiel never stoops to such selfishness.

///

Dean's self-worth is so abysmally low, I could chunk out a bunch of examples.

From 3x10:

DREAM DEAN: Dad knew who you really were. A good soldier and nothing else. Daddy's blunt little instrument. (angry) Your own father didn't care whether you lived or died. Why should you?

Nevertheless, throughout the series, Dean is incredibly in tune with his inner emotions. He has mini-crises about what he's willing to do for family, he quotes existential literature, he gives everything for his little brother even when it lurches into parental-authoritarian nightmare. He genuinely checks in on his suicidal war companions, and he showers Charlie and Claire with affection.

He was mentally prepared to say "I love you" to Cas in season 7. He creates a mixtape for him in season 12. He was originally drafted as telling Cas, "You're more than a weapon," in Good Intentions 13x14. He comforted Jack about his nightmares, and in Game Night 14x17 was at first super relieved that Jack was safe, "because he was safe with Mary (from Nick)."

Fuckups aside, I think we shouldn't underestimate Dean's amount of "sitting with the emotions in the dark of the night" type of introspection. I'd wager Dean still thinks about how he is only alive because John is dead. He still thinks about Layla and what happened in Faith--about taking another's heart to live. He even thinks about Adam, but he also feels powerless about a lot of these things.

I 100% think it's possible that Dean was suspicious of Chuck AND Chuck's entire family in season 15. Internally, it was a push-pull war of "Cas and Jack are family," and "Cas and Jack are Chuck's family...is he messing with me? Are they messing with me?"

///

How dare you fall in love when so much bad had to happen for you to even meet

(In a kinder world, you'd have NEVER met at all)

What I'm trying to say with this rambling brain exercise, I guess, is I just think it's more interesting to me personally if the Dean-Cas struggles in latter seasons are more about the happiness they feel they don't deserve. The rest is okay: the stigma of society, or shame for attraction, or a lack of self-awareness, or even the popular 2D bigoted bruhaha depictions of a cartoonishly homophobic John. But I feel like you have to work harder for those when the cosmic horror of existing as they are is already baked into their self-loathing.

I don't tend to view Dean as unaware of his emotions; if anything, it feels like he is psychotically over aware of them. I think he suppresses the expression of them, sometimes, but not the emotions themselves. That's why he drinks as his coping weapon of choice.

If anything, it's Cas that has been trained that angels don't have emotions, and when they very obviously do show emotions (because hey, guess what--ALL angels canonically do), they get compartmentalized. Angel emotions "don't count" as real emotions, because they've been told they don't have them, and because they don't feel exactly like human ones. (It's like a person starting hormones and mistaking a change in the expression of emotions for either an absence or addition of feelings.)

Cas typically solves for this by cloaking his own selfishness in angelic duty, as Metatron and Lucifer so astutely note. It isn't until very late SPN that I'm convinced he is willing to honestly "read" his own emotions at all. Cas has to start loving Sam and Claire Novak and the world to even begin to parse why he's attached to Dean in a more-than-the-charge-I-must-protect fashion. I think this is partially why, in season 10, Cas starts out being willing to kill Demon!Dean in the early part and winds up NOT being able to do so in the latter part.

There's a major shift occurring with Cas in seasons 9 onward. I don't feel like he lost his grace and WHAM he suddenly parsed his own emotions. It takes awhile. He actually MARVELS that he has sharper sense of empathy as late as 9x11.

CASTIEL: You know, old me -- I would've have just kept going. I would've jammed that needle in deeper until you died because the ends always justified the means.

Season 10 deleted scene:

Cas: Glory? Oh, I’ve seen glory. And I’ve seen defeat. But I have seen the glory. I have won epic battles, and I have reaped vast rewards. And none of it has meant as much to me as the relationships that I’ve formed on Earth. Sam and Dean? They are like a family to me. Claire Novak? When she smiled at me? Nothing, no angelic crusade or victor’s bounty, none of that could ever hold a candle to that sweet, crooked smile.

What do you want?

Everything Michael says is opposite. We know that Dean was gutted when Jack died, he was devastated when Sam left him alone with John, and he doesn't want Cas around out of obligation...he just wants him. Michael is The Character that goes around asking people, "What do you WANT?" So, he knows, too.

He's also astute enough to realize that he can't give Dean something too nice, or he'll realize he's in a dream. He can't bury him in trauma, because Dean thrives in that. He also can't bury him in blissful happiness, because he'll clock that. So instead he chooses a low-level, threats-on-the-horizon kind of contentedness--having something nice but not indulging too much.

In fact, in the terminal seasons, Dean and Cas seem low-key aware of how happy they make each other, but they can't LET themselves be happy. It would be selfish to seek more. They can't have it. But not because of what the other feels. It's largely because they feel they don't deserve to have this happiness. In Dean's case, happiness might even be dangerous, an invitation for more death. By the time they're on the cusp of something, The Empty strikes.

From 7x21

CASTIEL We live in a "sorry" universe...I mean, why should I prosper from... your misfortune? [CASTIEL puts down a marker and moves DEAN’s marker back to the start.] But these are the rules. I didn't make them.

And that's a real shame.

#queue #december writings #shame in spn #destiel explorations #for the record i'm not opposed to any of the other readings per se #it can be many things simultaneously #i just feel like the backdrop of the world is brutal OUTSIDE of how they feel about each other #the mere fact they're both EXISTING is a crime #and they're both aware of this

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sammyheroes · 3 years

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Ok! Time to over analyze Webby’s Board:

OK, so we have Team Science with the following members: Gyro, Manny, Fenton, Gandra, Boyd, Lil Bulb, and Quackfaster. My reasoning for Quackfaster to be in Team Science might be because she works at the Money Bin, therefore, works closely with Gyro to some degree. Plus, she keeps guard of the archives. I love that they are considered part of the family. They all work closely with McDuck and have had various adventures with the kids at some point during the series, sometimes more than once, especially Huey. I believe they are considered some sort of extended family.

We also see Drake Mallard (Darkwing) is tied by a question mark to Gosalyn, signaling that they don’t have an established adopted father/daughter relationship yet or even see each other as such, but it’s a big hint for the future. Also, we see a newspaper clip of Launchpad that says “Local Buffoon Crashes Six Planes in One Day, Unfortunately Survives Unharmed” if you zoom in on the picture. I just think that this is really funny that Launchpad canonly crashes more planes that the whole US Air Force (Just a joke!)

There’s also a picture of Penny connected to Launchpad’s newspaper clip that says ‘Just Friends’. I’m not sure if it refers to the pilot and herself or just Webby referring to Darkwing, Gosalyn, Launchpad and Penny as a whole group. But it could be the first option as we see a string attaching Penny to Della claiming her to be Della’s best friend.

Also, the drawing of Darkwing made by Launchpad is adorable, but I don’t think he is depicting Drake Mallard here, but Jim Starling because of the classic uniform instead of the new one. Remember that they believe him dead and not as Negaduck. Launchpad might have felt bad for him and might have asked Webby to add him.

Then we have the Main Family at the center of the board. At the top we see that Webby has added a stone drawing of Bubba, which I think it’s adorable that he was added in such way. Then we see Fergus and Downey, Scrooge’s parents. At the top right we see Goldie, which I’m pretty sure was a locket kept by Scrooge first before it somehow got into Webby’s hands. Then we see Scrooge under his parents with Hortense and Matilda at his sides, his sisters. Beside Hortense we see Quackmore (I’m still salty that we didn’t get an episode explaining what happened to them!). Underneath them we have Donald and Della, Donald being connected to Daisy and The 3 Cabs. Gladstone and Fethry are connected here as cousins. Finally we have Huey, Dewey and Louie with the new addition of May and June at the bottom. Mostly, I can’t say much here since we already now how these are all connected, but the Bubba addition is adorable.

Finally, we have an area dedicated to the villains at the top. I found it weird at first, but then I remembered that Magica is related to Lena and Webby considers her her sister, therefore Magica would be some sort of distant relative. I don’t know why Mark Beaks and Glomgold are in there.

We also see Djinn and Amunet at the top with no strings. It might be because they are considered friends only and not close enough to be considered family, but they’re important enough to be added.

Then we have Webby’s circle. We see Violet and Lena attached to Webby under the name of Shadow Friends, a nod to the time Lena herself was a shadow. We also have her connection to Beakley and her parents, who then turns out they weren’t actually hers if you know what I mean. But they are still related to Webby because of Bentina. (Or that might be Bentina herself when she was younger with her husband, who knows at this point)

There’s also a small section at the bottom for the dead, where we see Duckworth in his regular form and his demon form. Even in death, you cannot tear a family apart.

#ducktales #ducktales 2017 #ducktales the last adventure #webby vanderquack

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slashingdisneypasta · 3 years

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Horror Villains and: The Shovel Talk

Who gives a successful shovel talk and is fully willing to go through with the threats at the slightest WHIFF of tomfoolery:

Bo Sinclair: He’ll be waiting on the porch all night with his gun and the dog.

Debbie Loomis: Oh, you want to date her perfect boy?? Hmmmm…

Granny Boone: She may also stalk y’all.

Inkubus: He’s very unsettling in his performance.

Jedidiah Sawyer: The date may not survive the shovel talk with Jed.

Mayor Buckman: Boone’s better at it, but he sure as heck tries.

Pamela Voorhees: She will want to see some kind of resume and at least 3 references if you want to date Jason.

Sheriff Hoyt: Dear god I wouldn’t want to be whoever he’s threatening. He takes great joy in performing the traditional shovel *cough* or shotgun *cough* talk.

The Clown / Kenneth Chase / Jeffrey Hawke: He only half means it, but goddamn is he good at it.

The Deathslinger / Caleb Quinn: Can you imagine this man standing there before you with that big ass gnarly looking weapon telling you that if he hears even one tiny unpleasant thing about the date he will hunt you down?! Dear god. Save yourself. and ‘mark me down as scared and horny’ XD Haha

Thomas Hewitt: He’ll be keeping an eye, out…

Who is the second family member / friend / whatever, who feels bad for the person who’s getting the shovel talk and tries to cool the situation:

Lester Sinclair: Well with Bo as the shovel talker, it has to even out somehow and Lester is happy to try!

Who is the second family member / friend / whatever, who doesn’t give a rats ass. Leave them alone.:

Michael Myers: He’s busy eating… don’t ask what, though. THEN you might get a threat.

Patrick Bateman: “Whatever.”

Piper Shaw: “Yeah uhuh, okay. Have fun.” *Doesn’t even look up from her laptop*)

Roman Bridger: He’s too busy directing movies and running a Wes Craven horror franchise to give shovel talks!?

Who is the second family member / friend / whatever who is edging on the angry shovel talker for their own enjoyment:

Midnight Man: Well he’s just mischievous bastard, isn’t he?

Both Pennywise’: Cheeky little shits.

The Djinn: Oh, he is just hanging totally onto the hope you’ll say something like “Oh, how could this possibly get any worse?”

The Man from Hush: Because he’s an ass.

Who stalks the couple instead of giving a shovel talk:

Stuart Lloyd: He’s at a table in the back of the restaurant trying to act natural.

The Huntress / Anna: But she gives the shovel talk AS WELL. She’s just, you know, making sure.

Who gives the shovel talk but is joking:

Chop Top Sawyer: *Cuts off mid shovel talk into raucous laughter* “Pfftttt, I can’t do this, hahahahahaha… Have fun kiddos, and here have a joint I pre-rolled.”

Who fails at giving the shovel talk:

Bubba Sawyer: He got cut off by one of his other brother’s. Sigh.

Who received the shovel talk:

Billy Loomis: Ohhhh, boy. If only Neil had caught Billy in Sydney’s room that night…

Jennifer Check: She really doesn’t care, though, hahah.

Jerry Dandridge: He’s so polite and understanding and smarmy with the shovel talker, cuz he knows he could kill everyone in the room easily in under a minute.

Kieran Wilcox: Probably from his own Dad, honestly.

Mickey Altieri: He also gives good natured shovel talks for the price of one big coffee- I mean come on, he’s in college. He’s struggling. He needs caffeine.

Who was about to receive the shovel talk, then had the person just gives up:

Carrie White: Shovel Talker: “This small golden thing would never hurt a soul, what am I doing?? Oh my god, it’s trembling, I’m a monster- “

Leslie Vernon: Shovel talker can’t decide whether this is a secret thirst machine or a cinnamon bun.

Who gave up giving the shovel talk halfway through:

Drayton Sawyer: “-Aghh, what do I care. Don’t get shit on your good dress shirt.”

Who got the shovel:

Freddy Krueger: Just, you know. Shovels- right to the knees.

Stu Macher: I mean Sydney got it done but Cece and Tatum are gonna throttle him in the afterlife, too.

Who gave the shovel talk… then got the shovel from someone else:

Chucky Lee Ray: You can’t tell me if Tiffany’s mother was in the picture she wouldn’t have shot Chucky in the face at least once by now.

Is the poor lead who’s date is getting the damn shovel talk:

Jason Voorhees: I betcha he would also give a great shovel talk, too.

Jill Roberts: Her and her innocent little act. Standing there like ?? what?? Why are you threatening my date?? This is so embarrassing…

Vincent Sinclair: Oh my god, he cannot bring (Or sneak) anyone home, friend or what, without Bo sniffing them out and starting on his bullshit. Lester immediately behind him making jokes that are ignored.

*Then there’s Luda Mae,

Who is probably the one who feels sorry for the person who’s getting the shovel talk when it comes to Thomas (While Hoyt gives the talk), but who then GIVES a threatening shovel talk to Charlie when he brings a gal home. Not to the date though XD

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spnsmile · 4 years

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Final Monday: Profound Bond

for #SPNstayAtHome Challenge by @helianthus21 @bend-me-shape-me @pray4jensen ❤ with beautiful art from @verobatto-angelxhunter here! ❤

When almost everyone—demons included— all but told Dean that his angel is the hottest, most devastatingly handsome angel in the face of the seven seas, he not only believed them, but he’s secretly and most exclusively Cas’ number one fan.

Cas is really the looker and even without all the buzzing acclaims from hell and earth, Dean’s already smitten from the start. Cas’ vessel is naturally attractive and really stands out with that crazy dominant eyebrow, lightning in a bottle blue eyes, cutting jaws and regal high-cheek bones— but more than the vessel, it’s the insane hot angel beneath trench coat that makes his insides swoon.

Dean can’t explain it—every time Castiel just goes all out wrecking doors, walls, even smashing on cars and smite a whole pack of demons and monsters alike in a blink of an eye— now that—that is really hot!

So he doesn’t blame them from noticing his strapping companion, he actually isn’t that surprised when someone approaches them one day to scout Cas to be a model while they are in a middle of a Djinn case.

“Dean is my model,” replies the angel with that dorky side tilt, getting Dean’s stomach to flutter.

“No, Cas he meant uh, you know… they wanna take pictures of you, you posting like Mr. Calendar,”

“Why?” Cas says sharply.

Dean tries his best to explain but at the end of the day, and because they still need to monitor the case on a closer level, they agreed with talent scout to have a screen testing the next day. Dean was also asked but he politely declined. The worse thing he can land himself in as a hunter is to be under the public scrutiny who will follow his every movement.

Cas on the other hand has a lesser risk because Cas doesn’t care. The angel is an enigma and can get himself out of situations with one flap of his wings.

So here they are, just another day with another case inside a studio with Dean trying to focus his attention to any supernatural occurrence around, but really the only supernatural thing happening at the moment will be Castiel half-naked in a setup of white clouds and overcast skies for of a Bruce Almighty segment.

And Cas’ theme?

Angels.

Dean still can’t stop laughing at the irony and kept the hilarity of knowing how no one is capable of cracking any expression from the angel’s stony face.

It was all fun at first when Castiel was dragged away and Dean was hollering when he spoke to Sam over the phone about the developments of the Djinn case preying on dreamers in the modelling agency that has killed two victims so far. He waited for Cas to come out imagining the long white toga the angel would be wearing like one of those pictures of angels with harps. Cas hates those representations and Dean can’t wait to bawl his eyes out laughing.

Meanwhile, Dean smiles and winks at beautiful models passing by and to his credit, they all give him a disgusted look. Oh well. No one likes the police these days.

He was busy ogling at himself in one of those giant reflectors when Castiel’s team came out. Dean was ready to make fun of him imagining Cas finally in proper angel dress— only to get a slap in the face when he sees Castiel stripped off his trench coat and toga—but was wearing a blue tight jean showing a well-shaped round ass and loose white button-down shirt where the barest of holy skin is peeking.

[sexy Cas art here]

Dean gasps, electric shock hitting him straight to Manhattan because holy fuck this isn’t what he was expecting—what the hell happened to the angel theme?

It didn’t help that almost everyone has the same reaction and if the photographer wasn’t there barking his directions, Dean’s sure Castiel will be smothered to death.

“That magazine is going to be sold out.” Says one of the crew guys standing behind the lighting next to Dean, “I’ve never seen anyone so… cute and hot and…” a struggle for the right words then— “divine. How does he do that?”

“Exists?” Dean drawls with arms tightly crossed on his chest. The crew guy beside him snorts.

“He can easily get followers and we need models with huge fan base online, you know, free advertising.”

Dean half-rolled his eyes at the crew member mesmerized by the amateur model. Half an hour later, green eyes following Castiel’s every movement in the middle of a battlefield of flashing cameras and light reflectors, of smothering group of stylists with powders ready at hand and demanding photographers asking for a ridiculous mood board— and what’s with all those hands touching Castiel?

Dean can’t help feeling sour every time the assistant manager runs to Cas’ side just to dust his shoulder, open his collar more or when he simply tilts Castiel’s jaw the right way—Dean is livid—who touches his angel so casually with grubby hands!?

And he’s beyond control when he sees the man opening Castiel’s button-down wider like—just strip them out stop teasing! Dean finds himself shrinking to the wall while murmuring curses and snapping on the phone every time Sam calls. They have work to do and Sam’s been constantly asking for updates while he works the field over the victim’s family for any lead to follow and Dean only has eyes for his angel being instructed by the photographer. Cas was bewildered at first with all the goading and salacious comments, Dean cringing for his friend. Castiel looked miffed at some point, but Dean can’t go to his side yet. If he does, he might grab him and leave the premises and that’s not being professional.

They need to find the Djinn among these people soon.

Standing in the sideline watching his friend try different angle that surprisingly fits him— except the photographer is losing his patience with the dorky angel who doesn’t understand structure and context—

“This is like a dance, move those sexy hips, give me suave look, pout lips— that’s grumpy, baby—give me seduction—yes those blues, seduce me— seduce me, don’t murder me! That’s it, you got this sweetheart, make me melt with that look! Melt me—melt—where are you going—?”

“You said melt you—I” he raises a hand—

Dean nearly jumps from the wall to stop Cas smiting any hollering directors but then—

“Go back in position, sweetheart, don’t make me lose all my hair where you can’t see them—okay, look devious—devious—don’t frown— imagine a blade in your hand. Now that’s fantastic, a tilt of the head? Adorable, now quit that, we’re aiming for sex appeal! Now make me want to have you—pout those sexy lips—pout, pucker them—forward—no, don’t slump forward you’re not Quasimodo’

“I don’t understand that reference.”

“Give me passion—give me something you want so badly!”

Castiel glances at Dean.

“He’s not bad,” Dean grunts to himself as he meets the blue eyes. Castiel pulls back and stares up the sky. Dean doesn’t know what he sees there but the sigh that came out is drawn long.

When the photographer exhaustingly shouted five minutes break, Dean watches Cas get crowded by the stylists to one corner, hearing them praise the angel about not sweating and giving him googly eyes.

Dean leaves the room and heads straight to the vending machine stations. He was just about to push for a coke when two members of the crew stop beside him to use the next vending machine supplying chocolate bars. Dean would have ignored them except one of them says Cas’ fake agent name.

“Wright? Got everything wrong. Yeah, he got the face but he’s so stupid. Giovanni’s giving all the best instructions and the model just stands there like a wall. Doesn’t even bat an eyelid, he’s like a hammer, at least a hammer is lethal, that Wright guy doesn’t know any instructions.”

“You know what they say about pretty faces, they lack a brain.” says his companion. They snicker and press for chocolate bars.

Dean remains silent as two cokes slide down the port with clanking sounds. He bends to take them quietly.

“The bar is stuck,” says one of the crew members.

“Don’t add to my shit day, it’s a long day already with that useless model—” A loud crashing sound breaks in the corridor as Dean slams his fist on the metal side of the machine. The chocolate bars fall on the slot with the crew’s mouth hanging open.

“Your bars.” He says, walking away but not without leaving a huge dent on the corner of the machine. He hears the whispers after him, the comments about the public property but Dean doesn’t care. He could easily smash their faces but he’s not that violent.

He gotta get Cas out of there.

Speaking of the angel, Cas is immediately in his space the moment Dean returns in the studio.

“Dean,” he says in his usual gravely voice, “where did you go? Are you okay?”

“Hey, how’s the pretty model?” Dean dismisses him as he let his eyes roam the model’s gorgeous new look as he hands Cas his coke. “You don’t look bad, Cas, you’re killing it there.” Actually, killing them, he adds thoughtfully.

Castiel raises a hand to reach the refreshment, but he ends up pulling Dean’s other hand.

“Thank you, now why is your hand hurt?” blue eyes stare at him dead in the eyes. That kind that really goes straight to your soul.

Dean swallows hard. He can never understand why Castiel cares so much. He’s spent years without anyone watching his back and now he’s got his own angel. Dean really doesn’t know who to thank for that.

“Nothing,” Dean tries to pull his hand to no avail, “The vending machine was broken, had to get my money’s worth,”

“I don’t think that is a good displace of a public officer,” Castiel raises it closer to his lips and kisses the pain away.

“An angel would know, huh?” Dean sighs upon feeling Castiel’s grace smoothen the slight tingling pain and pulls his hand back once Castiel lets him. Castiel’s eyes are still intent on him.

“What’s the development with the Djinn?”

“Uh… yeah, Sam’s on it and since you’re playing the sexy bait—”

“I don’t think any Djinn would find me appealing,” Castiel confesses and it’s too adorable not to take the chance to tease so Dean grins.

“Oh, come on, who knows? You might marry one someday?”

“Angels don’t marry.”

“Sure, they don’t, they also don’t do modelling,”

“Well, I’m not attracting them right now as I am anyone in this place, I’m failing you, Dean, I’m sorry.”

“Are you kidding? You’re like hot captain garrison out there—very good mood play with the face, it’s so uh—angelically unreadable, and nice button toss,” Dean reaches a hand to Castiel’s collar and in swift movements, because his hands have been itching, he buttons it all the way up Castiel’s throat. “Let’s just not show too much when your off-duty.”

“Off-duty?”

“Off—like uh turn off the sense responsibility?”

“I see,” Castiel narrows his eyes. “The basic human response when feeling lethargic. Indifference to things that do not directly harm them. I am not that. I am feeling quite fit, in fact, even when my thighs can’t freely move from this… suffocating jeans,”

They both look down the angel’s thighs and Dean licks his lips. When opportunity just presents itself, who is he to deny himself the pleasure? But then—

“It’s impossible to get in that dress alone—Cas did they—?”

“I ripped two pairs,” Castiel says quietly. Dean stops, eyes wide.

“W-what?”

“I tried putting them on my own, they won’t fit. I tore them to shreds whenever I pull it up, so they had to help me,”

Dean makes a face, “Yep, dorky Hercules,”

“I don’t understand that reference.”

“Sam ripped his jeans once too,” Dean smiles from ear to ear, “We were digging and he’s so tall and his jeans are frigging tight and he bents down and—" he makes a tearing sound which makes Castiel slowly smile.

“That I understand.”

Dean laughs.

“You do. Look, Cas, I know the photographer’s being a hard dick on you…but it’s not your fault you can’t understand the references because we’re the ones not adjusting to you… now look here, buddy… you can’t trick a fish to climb a tree so it’s okay to just be you…um… you get what I mean?”

Castiel is still smiling softly. “I understand you are trying to comfort me,”

Dean shrugs. “Is it working?”

Castiel tips his head, “Have you been a model, Dean?”

“I’ve been everywhere,” Dean tells him mysteriously and gives his friend a pat on the shoulders, “So later you’ll go get em, little tiger,”

Castiel nods

“Excuse me, Mr Wright?” they both turn to a young lady in a black crew shirt with a clipboard is standing behind the angel. “We need to set up your wings for the next op,”

“Set up my wings?” Castiel quickly turns at Dean and if that doesn’t get the hunter to act quickly, nothing will. He immediately holds Castiel’s shoulder and tightened his grip so his friend doesn’t interrupt.

“Where is it? I’m going to help him,”

“There’s really no need, we have plenty of staff—"

“I insist,” Dean gives her his most brilliant flashing smile and she quickly points the direction of the props room. Dean drags Castiel there.

Dean picks up a fake white wing with wires and holsters and shows it to Cas who easily frowns who presses it back to Dean’s hands.

“I have wings,”

“Yeah, not like you can let people see the shadow flip-flap thing, okay?”

“Flip flap thing?” Castiel repeats uncertainly, eyebrows raising. Dean shrugs.

“You know, making your ginormous shadow show in the flashing lights—you can’t do that. They want a model and yeah, they need to do marketing, but not that kind. No flip-flap of wings,” Dean throws the wings back at the table.

“I will use my wings I just have to contain my power so it doesn’t break into its real form.”

“You can do that?”

“I can do anything.” Castiel’s eyes suddenly glow without warning and Dean steps back as Castiel raises his magnificent wings with the cracking sparks of fluorescent lamp and there is Castiel, the angel of the lord, in all his glory and dorkiness included max out—Dean’s eyes reflect and behold its beauty. Until the power steadily holds and shrinks down to a fitting one enough at least to make him fit a door.

The power in the air subsides and Dean realizes how he is holding his breath. The beauty of his friend did not strike him in its real essence until now—where Castiel is actually bare in front of him with his black wings’ appearance. He exhales and stands next to the angel where he can see his wings.

It strikes Dean yet again how Castiel is an angel. But every time he looks at his friend, in this form, in this vessel, he's just ultimately... Cas.

"That's fucking hot, Cas,"

Castiel smiles all gummily. "Thank you, Dean."

“Can mortal eyes see this now?”

“Yes,"

Dean whistles. Then there's that question that's been itching to be said, a question Dean knows won't leave him in peace if he doesn't ask now. Because it's now or never.

“Uh...Cas...can I touch it?”

Castiel's glance is an automatic sharp look that Dean can describe as a shock, but then the angel nods slightly without looking at him. He doesn’t reach. Something about Castiel’s reaction is bugging him.

“Are you sure I can?”

“Yes, please."

Dean takes him to his word and runs his fingers on the wings, his fingers sinking on the soft feathers like it’s made of cloud. Castiel trembles under his touch with a slight moan escaping his lips. Dean stares and sees the tip of Castiel’s ears are red.

"It's beautiful..." Dean licks his lips, "Cas... you... you're truly magnificent, have I told you that?"

"Not in so many words," Castiel doesn't look at him.

Dean just knows he is also having a mental breakdown.

“C-Cas?”

“It’s fine,” the angel whispers, head bent. “Just a little… it’s never been touched by human hands.”

Dean wavers on the spot and takes steps back in shock.

“Y-you mean—I’m the first one—I’m your first?!”

Castiel glances over his shoulder, his eyes leveled. He nods. "What's mine is yours, Dean. I'm yours."

Dean Winchester's head is a puddle melted and stirred by none other than the hottest angel in the garrison. He wants to tell Castiel never to say something like that- not when they are in a room alone because Dean is only a man- instead, he pulls Cas into a deep kiss. It's unexpected and truly catching them both in surprise, but when Castiel doesn't pull, Dean sighs and holds Castiel's shoulders steady. He doesn't know if he can tell Castiel that, but Cas is one of the best kissers he knows attributed to the pizzaman.

To Dean's delight, Castiel kisses him back. It's swift and lingering when Cas bites his bottom lip and runs their tongue together in a dance. He never thought he'd be kissing Cas like this. Then there's the noise Cas makes, especially when Dean runs his palms on the smooth surface of his chest. Dean pulls only to breathe because angels don't do that, the moment he does, Castiel is there capturing his mouth in another heated kiss and Dean drowns in him.

Castiel is absurdly hot. All the bumps and contours his palm lands into, Dean can't help getting electrified. He knows he is getting hard and there's only one thing left to do- he slips his right knee between Castiel's legs and grinds his steadily hardening groin on Castiel's thighs. The sensation is instantaneous and Castiel doesn't let up. The angel kisses him between the soft moan and sighs that all can Dean do is cling tight on the angel's hipbones. He wants to do many things to Cas aside from pressing hard on him with hands roaming all sacred places that make Cas catch his breath too. He wants to tell Cas to take them away but the thought of his brother facing a Djinn stops all his thoughts.

But he promises himself he will take this. He and Cas, later, tonight, they will have this.

Dean pulls back knowing anyone can come to get the model and when he did, Castiel flaps his wings demandingly, frowning at Dean's withdrawal. Dean doesn't know what to say to that so instead, he soothes the angel by running his hands on the smooth surface of the wings. He sees Castiel's eyes droop, sees the contortion of eyebrows leaving the heavenly forehead, knows that Cas is relaxing under his care. There's a long sigh when Dean is done and he stares at his shaking hands next.

“Dean, can you stay beside me,” Castiel says looking slightly put out and Dean quickly steps right into his space and stares Castiel in the eyes. Castiel doesn't even question the kiss. Dean thinks they still need to talk about it later. For now...

“What’s up?”

“I don’t want anyone else touching it,” Castiel says deadly serious. Dean is about to point to himself but the angel holds his gaze and adds, “Except you.”

Dean wants to hide his face somewhere.

“Dean, are you okay? Your face is red—Dean?” Dean turns away from the angel, body reaching boiling point if he thinks more about what else Castiel is allowing him to do when his phone rings. Still a little shaken, he answers softly only to be greeted by his impatient brother—

“Dammit, Dean! I’ve been trying to reach you for a full ten minutes! I got the Djinn in the warehouse—you may want to help me out! And stop making a pass at Cas! Now is not that time!”

So the kiss was only ten minutes?

“I’m not making a pass, give me the location, bitch,” Dean listens carefully and once he’s done, he turns to the angel apologetically. Castiel’s expression turns serious.

“I understand, we are here for a case, after all, I am sorry my job is in your way.”

Dean stares at him in awe.

“Cas, you’re not a real model, we’re ditching this job!”

There’s a beat.

“Oh.”

They were just about to leave the building when Castiel remembers to get his trench coat. Making a side trip back to the changing areas, Dean meets Sam halfway who informs him the Djinn has been taken care of no thanks to Dean daydreaming about his model boyfriend.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Anyway, where’s Cas?”

There’s a scream from the changing room.

The Winchesters exchanged glances and together they run inside to find Castiel standing in the middle of the room wings spread out and on his hands is the talent scout they’ve spoken to yesterday. Dean’s mind reels—is this another Djinn?

No, that’s human!

“Hey, Cas—no, no we don’t smite talent scouts!” Dean hurries beside the angel, firm grasp on his arm as he tugs it back, causing the talent scout to fall on the floor coughing. Sam is beside him at once while Dean deals with the hot-headed-angel. “Cas, what the hell!”

“He says he wants you,” Castiel growls back, pure anger hatred in his eyes.

“What?”

“He says he wants to take you and you have given me permission to defend myself

Dean throws the talent scout a dirty look. “What exactly did you say to him?

“I said I wanted to recruit you, okay?”

“Not your exact words,” Dean narrows his eyes. The talent scout grimaces.

“I said I want you, that’s it, is it hard to understand? I want him too,” the talent points at Sam while massaging his throat, “You brothers would make the best boxer models,”

Dean blinks at Sam who stares back in disgust.

“No, thanks,” his brother says, “not my dream come true.”

“Might be mine,” Dean turns to the agent, “Okay, dude, here’s the thing—we’re done being models and frankly, it’s not even the safest job. Now leave Cas alone too, he’s cut for it, but not for us...”

“What made you choose him anyway?” Sam wants to know. Dean throws his brother an incredulous look.

“The man was smiling like a real angel when I saw him, of course, I’d recruit him.”

And Dean looks back to when it was before the scout approached them, he and Castiel standing side by side and talking about the most mundane things Dean has done that day. It’s weird because not once has Castiel said about not understanding reference when the topic is about Dean.

Castiel gets him. Dean is his reference. It makes sense.

Sliding an arm around Castiel’s shoulder, he pulls him closer and smiles.

“Come on, Cas, time to go home.”

Castiel slowly looks at him, really looks deep inside his soul, and the angel smiles—and Dean’s glad he can crack that from such a handsome face.

“Yes, Dean.”❤

-end- ao3- ❤

Thank you for giving us this escape during quarantine! We enjoyed it! :)

#SPNStayAtHome #fluff #model cas #canon #Destiel #destiel oneshot #tooth rotting fluff #art prompt #final monday: Profound bond

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tbhwhocaresanymore · 4 years

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Nancy Drew 1x12

Sorry this review took a while, my TV likes to not record the things I tell it to and I’ve been too busy to watch the new episode online until just now so let me tell you my THOUGHTS about it under the cut.

This week’s episode, The Lady of Larkspur Lane, was truly stunning. I am always a little bit skeptical of haunted asylum story lines, but this one was done really well, and I enjoyed every minute of it. And even though almost everyone does the “staff member is really a patient” twist I somehow never see it coming. In other news, I continue to be a sucker for book references.

This episode had some comedically gold moments, most notably the entire Ace and Carson storyline. “Your ax is huge! Come on, I’m gonna chop off your cuffs. It’s okay I went to archery camp I got great aim.” “Please tell me you’re not just taking me to my house.” “Where would you like to pretend that I’m taking you?” And also between Nancy and George, “Please don’t say I’m the distraction.” “You’re the distraction.” “How did you ever have a solo career?” The writers just did a really great job of having their typically creepy episode, but interspersed with some great moments of levity.

They are still steaming full slow burn charge ahead on the George and Nick pairing. The Jean Valjean banter, her pulling Nick into a closet and asking what they do for seven minutes, becoming co-bosses. But I also think it’s clear they both feel a little bit guilty about it, especially George since she and Nancy have finally become friends. The way she looked really quickly at Nick before immediately agreeing to help with Lucy’s mom? Speaking of Patrice, I want to know more about her relationship with Lucy. It looks like her spending time with Ryan and his crowd had been starting to drive them apart, and then something happened that her mother just couldn’t allow and so she hid it somewhere the key card grants access to. And when she thought Nancy was her mom, you could see how that hurt Nancy.

The whole time in the asylum was really well done too. The living wing was like six kinds of creepy, and then when they left the doors open and the ball rolled out to creepy childish laughter? I had to stop myself from cheering. Sal was also pretty well done, but I have to wonder why is he a patient? I’m thinking he’s either a sociopath, or not all the children died that night and he’s a descendant of the Ropeur family or something. But if he doesn’t turn out to be very significant, that would also work because they didn’t really set him up to be anything more than a plot device. And when the security cameras first went on the fritz, I at first thought it was George making a distraction somehow before realizing it was the ghosts.

Slight tangent. Can I just say how much I absolutely adore how this show does ghosts? Like instead of overdone CGI or anything like that (I’m looking at you Charmed reboot) they take real live people, slap them in the creepiest fucking costume and makeup you have ever seen, play with the camera angles, and boom it’s better than like ninety percent of the horror movies out there.

Ace’s storyline was, as I mentioned earlier, comedic gold. They did a really good job of showing how he can be so smart but also so clueless. He also hacked into the DOC, which was good because I completely forgot he was a hacker. And I am hopeful for Lara Tandy to come back in some capacity, because I am starting to miss her. And she and Ace were pretty good together, up until he briefly suspected her of murder of course.

To talk briefly about Bess’s storyline, I feel like in the future she’s going to be one of the ways they continue to tie in the storyline to the rich and famous. Her, and for the time being Nancy’s relationship with Owen. By the way where was he this episode? Not that I’m complaining since I still don’t like him, but even so. They are doing a good job of showing Ryan trying to be human, but it’s also realistic that he continually needs to be pushed into it from outside sources. I mean he’s been a Hudson for twenty plus years, that doesn’t just go away overnight. And I am still convinced he will come forward with that urn he found. Aside from that I don’t have many thoughts, except that Amaya looked a lot like this YouTuber I watch which was distracting, and when she said “fake it till you make it” I thought my mother had come in the room without me noticing.

Nancy was as always fantastic in this episode, and the continual Nancy x Nick shipper in me swooned when she was about to go into the East Wing. “What about the guy who’s not on the most wanted list?” “I will need him, to come in and save me, if I am not back in ten minutes.” I mean??? And then that ending, the goddamn ending, I have no words. When she fell to the floor I thought maybe Lucy was going to come frighten off the other spirits? Like, ‘back off this one is under my protection’ or something. Then she woke up in some sort of dream state and the roaches crawled into her room and it ended and just Jesus Christ. I’m thinking it will be sort of like this episode from Supernatural that I don’t remember all that well, where a djinn like captured Dean and stuck him in a dream state to feed off him and he realized it wasn’t real and had to force himself awake. The way they showed that sand bottle breaking at the beginning, I thought I was supposed to remember it at first, it wasn’t until the end that I realized it is probably going to be one of the things that helps snap Nancy out of whatever trance she is in.

Moving forward. Next week’s episode looks like it will be mostly centered on breaking Nancy out of wherever her mind is trapped. From the trailer it looks like Sal will get the others back in the building, and there will be even more not-so-friendly neighborhood ghosts. I also suspect Nancy might not entirely want to come back. From the looks of the reality so far, her mom is still alive, she’s together with Nick, has a good relationship with her dad; some pretty solid advantages over her current life with her mom dead her dad in prison and her almost dying twice a week. But eventually she’ll realize that like all fantasies, it can’t last, and she’ll wake up. Although I definitely want some answers on whatever dark force went after her and the Ropeurs. Afterwards they’ll probably work on finding where the key card from the Bible leads to, so I’m very hopeful that episode 13 or 14 will give us some fairly definitive answers, at least about Lucy’s murder. And as for Bess/Amaya/Lisbeth? I can smell a love triangle coming from a mile away. I have also sort of suspected for a while now that Bess and Lisbeth would end in heartbreak, and I feel like this is leading up to that potentially in multiple ways. Regardless of what happens, I cannot wait for next week’s episode, The Whisper Box.

#Nancy Drew #Nancy Drew cw #Nancy Drew 2019 #George Fan #Bess Marvin #Ned Nickerson #Nancy x Nick #George x Nick #Bess x Lisbeth #Lucy Sable #Dead Lucy #The Lady of Larkspur Lane #The Whisper Box #my theories

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tardisgirlepic · 7 years

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Ch. 1: “The Eaters of Light” Analysis Doctor Who S10.10: OMG, the Meaning of the Doctor’s Hair! & Tying in Season 9

Note: I wrote this and posted it on ArchiveOfOurOwn before seeing the airing of “World Enough and Time” and the Doctor’s OMG REALLY long hair! This post refers to the Doctor’s hair from “The Eaters of Light.” The really long hair in “World Enough and Time” just adds to the reference I mention below. I’ll talk about how it is supported in the “World Enough and Time” analysis.

Things Not Happening Like They Appear

Once again, we can’t trust what we know on the surface about this episode. There are multiple oddities. Here are a few examples:

The Old Man with Pictish Tattoos

After the Doctor threw the popcorn on the fire and it started exploding, there is a quick couple of shots (one shown below) of an old man with Pictish tattoos hiding behind a boy. There were no adults, so who is this?

Something Is Wrong with the Doctor

Once again, the Doctor is swinging back and forth in personality, which is a big red flag that says something isn’t right. One of the most obvious not-right-things this week is that a women screams, but the Doctor and Nardole just stand there. Why?

The Eye of Harmony & Harmony Shoal: The Doctor Vs. Himself

When Bill first encounters a Pict, we get to see the tattoos on Kar’s face, shown below. Because the tattoo crosses the bridge of her nose (red arrow), it’s reminiscent of the incision lines in the scar-faced people in TRODM.

In fact, in “The Eaters of Light,” the Doctor says

DOCTOR: Listen, you are all very, very angry, but really you're just very scared. For now, would you mind awfully all just jumping out of your skins and allowing Nardole and I to escape in the confusion?

“Jumping out of your skins” is a reference to Harmony Shoal, but this is opposite to what he said in TRODM to Dr. Sim and Brock at Harmony Shoal when they were talking about capturing The Ghost:

DOCTOR [on screen]: Boo! I'm talking to you live! (the lights come on) DOCTOR: In person! You can jump back in your skins now. Except, of course, they're not your skins, are they?

So this has to do with the Eye of Harmony and the Matrix.

Since the 12th Doctor represents both the Scottish people and the Romans (Caecilius and Roman Rory – both were slaves of a sort), the Picts and Romans represent the 2 sides of the Doctor’s war with himself.

This gives Nardole’s comment, “Death by Scotland,” new meaning.

In the end, though, the 2 sides come together to try to stave off the inevitable. The Sun going out. We’ll see this in some form in the finale.

More Mary Celeste, But There’s a Problem

We examined the Mary Celeste and disappearance of its crew in “The Pilot” analysis because there’s a sign from the ship near the Vault. I didn’t realize until “The Eaters of Light” that the ship was also a reference to the 1965 1st Doctor story The Chase, so I watched it. Nardole’s statement below not only doesn’t make sense in the normal fashion, but also it contradicts The Chase.

NARDOLE: The way I heard it, the human ship was called the Mary Celeste. Something like that. Anyway, the Enzomodons assumed that any species they encountered would communicate as they did, by digesting each other. The Enzomodon ambassador got through the whole crew and then very sadly choked on a lifeboat, so (Nardole is now in Pictish garb, including a plaid and the face markings, and lecturing five villagers. The Doctor comes out of the Cairn.)

In The Chase, the Daleks are attributed to the missing crew, who jumped overboard in fear, so this is a change of history. And enzomodons don’t exist in the TARDIS Wikia. They sound similar to a biology term. So what is going on?

Last week, Bill mentioned something interesting in “The Empress of Mars”:

NARDOLE: The Tardis registered multiple life forms below the surface, so this seems like the best place to look. BILL: Maybe someone's been messing around with time. Like in The Terminator.

In The Terminator, a killer robot time travels to prevent a revolution by assassinating someone. So he’s meddling with time. That’s a reference to the next 1st Doctor story after The Chase, called The Time Meddler. I hadn’t seen this one, either, so I watched it after I finished The Chase. In fact, there are 12th Doctor references in both episodes.

Both 1st Doctor stories have a huge bearing on what is happening now, including a duplicate, robotic Doctor, which the real Doctor has to fight.

The Empress with New Clothes & Classic Who Writer

There was so much to write about with last week’s “The Empress of Mars,” but I only got to some of my main points. However, because “The Eaters of Light” is hammering home a similar plot in different clothes, I get a chance this week to write about some things I didn’t get to for last week. It’s all the better with more examples.

DW won’t run similar plots back to back unless it’s important for foreshadowing.

The episode is also tying together numerous foreshadowed concepts that we’ve examined over the many chapters of this series. Here are a few examples:

· The exploitation of children, in this case the Romans

· The Roman and Scottish connections

· The Doctor being female in the past

· Harmony Shoal and the Eye of Harmony

· Duplicate Doctors

· Expulsion from paradise

· The fall of the Doctor

· Empire and exploitation in general

· Falling into the Satan pit

· Confronting one’s beast

· “The big bad wolf,” as the Doctor called the Eater of Light

· Slavery

· Gates/doorways that let monsters in through an intermediary

· The God complex

· Various end of time concepts

Therefore, it was exciting for me to see this playing out. DW is also tying together many of the end-of-time stories to show us the source of them.

Additionally, Classic Who writer Rona Munro, who wrote the very last Classic Who story, “Survival,” is the first Classic Who writer to write for nuWho. That’s exciting! Also, I’m excited to see that we’ve had a couple of connections to Classic Who in these last 2 episodes.

Tying in “Face the Raven,” “Heaven Sent” & “Hell Bent”

“The Eaters of Light” is metaphorically, among other things, catching us up to Seasons 9’s last 3 episodes: “Face the Raven,” “Heaven Sent” and “Hell Bent.” “The Eaters of Light” is a retelling, so it’s basically an outline to set up the finale for furthering the story set up in “Hell Bent.”

BTW, one of the things I didn’t get to mention in last week’s “The Empress of Mars” analysis is that the Ice Queen rallied her warriors and said, “Sleep no more, my Warriors. Sleep no more. It is time!” This is a reference to “Sleep No More,” the episode just before “Face the Raven.” “Sleep No More” then takes on an additional meaning of rallying the sleeping warriors for war. Sleeping Time Lords were implied in “The End of Time” with Rassilon, and the Ice Queen is a mirror of Rassilon.

After almost a whole Season 10, we are revisiting events from Season 9 because there’s so much story. Also, it’s so complicated in the subtext because events are told from multiple viewpoints, especially with the 12th Doctor. We have been watching the story from his 3 different faces, which we have to determine from the subtext. (The Doctor’s 3 faces show up in “The Eaters of Light.”)

Because of all the viewpoints and subjects the episodes have to cover, they must go back in time and revisit previous events, although in a different way. This is how DW has worked from the start. So the whole story is non-linear.

As far as oddities in Season 10, the 12th Doctor’s erratic behavior is among the easiest things to notice, especially in “The Eaters of Light” that tells us that something isn’t right. His behavior is reminiscent of Season 8, although I find it harsher in this episode.

His 3 parts are being highlighted here in metaphors.

“Face the Raven,” Tattoos, Birds & “Let Me Be Brave”

In the promos leading up to “The Eaters of Light,” the tattooed people reminded me of Ashildr in “Face the Raven” shown below. Her tattoo, though, is on her neck, and she is in control of the Raven, a Quantum Shade.

As the Doctor explained

DOCTOR: It's called a Quantum Shade. It's kind of a spirit. Once it's bound to a victim (The Raven turns to smoke and leaves its cage.) DOCTOR: You could flee across all of time and all of the universe, it would still find you.

So the Raven, a member of the crow family, is also very similar to the crows in “The Eaters of Light.” The Picts have a relationship with them. However, the crows are free, unlike the Raven. Regardless, the crows are metaphors for the Raven.

Therefore, not only are the Picts a metaphor for the Doctor, but also they are metaphors for Ashildr. She is a face of the Doctor, so this all lines up.

The Picts also are djinn, as shown below by the 8-pointed star shape on their shields. The shields show the djinn symbol inside a circle, indicating they are prisoners. Interestingly, the birds are free, but these people are in a metaphorical cage. This episode is running backward from “Face the Raven,” where the Raven was a djinni and imprisoned. This episode is from Ashildr/Me’s point of view of having to do what Rassilon said to keep the people on Trap Street safe. And this is just like the Doctor’s situation in “The Lie of the Land.” So Rassilon comes up again. Most likely he will show up in the finale.

The Doctor as a Bird In “The Pilot,” the Doctor has a bird on his desk. I don’t know what type of bird it is, but it’s a metaphor for the Doctor. Here, it looks like it has a pigeon body, but it’s beak is more like that of a coniferous bird. Anyone have any ideas? Maybe it’s supposed to be a hybrid.

We’ve seen the Doctor represented by an Eagle, Raven, and now Crows. At first, the Doctor tells Nardole the Crows are sulking.

Toward the end, after Kar, Lucius, and another Roman are going to enter the gateway. The Doctor says something odd and contradictory to the Doctor’s promise “Never cruel or cowardly.”:

DOCTOR: Oh, stop being brave. I can't bear brave people.

However, since this episode is a reworking of “Face the Raven,” it’s a reference to Clara when she has to face the Raven.

(Clara steps out into the deserted street. The Raven lands on a nearby stall and caws. She walks towards it as other passers-by run away. The Doctor steps out of the doorway.) CLARA: (sotto) Let me be brave. Let me be brave.

The Doctor is ready to take Kar’s and the Romans’ place. Kar and the Romans, in this case, represent Clara, who is a face of the Doctor.

Earlier in the episode, the Doctor has an interesting conversation with his mirror, Kar.

KAR: I'm remembering the dead. DOCTOR: Oh, right. Well, save that for old age. KAR: They're dead because of me. DOCTOR: You know, every moment you waste wallowing about in that happy thought means more of the living are going to join them. When you want to win a war, remember this. It's not about you. Believe me, I know. Time to grow up, Kar. Time to fight your fight.

With the mirrors, he’s talking to himself. The dead person in “Face the Raven” is Clara, but he’s sulking, which can help explain his harshness. In fact, he asked Kar if she was sulking, which started this conversation.

At the end of the episode, Nardole says something important to him after watching Ban with the crow:

BAN: Kar. She's holding the gate. Remember, her name is Kar. CROW: Kar! BAN: Kar. CROW: Kar! Kar! (flies off) NARDOLE: There, you were wrong. The crows aren't sulking. The crows are remembering. CROW: Kar! Kar! Kar! (They walk off across the moorland.)

The Crows are remembering, so the Doctor is remembering Clara. We need canon confirmation. We may see it with the Doctor and Bill first.

“Heaven Sent” & the Eye of Harmony: The Inter-dimensional Temporal Rift

In “The Eaters of Light,” Doctor goes into an inter-dimensional temporal rift where a second in there equates to days of time on the Pict’s side. The temporal rift and the gate are similar to what happened in “Heaven Sent,” being that it was actually a Black Hole and the Eye of Harmony, which we examined in Chapter 17 of Fairytales and Romance in Doctor Who. The Doctor was a Door metaphor there.

In that chapter, we examined how it was a factory, so to speak, for creating an army for Rassilon, using the Doctor’s own energy to power it. Those beings in the rift in “The Eaters of Light” represent the army.

The army-factory concept, island, castle, creation of almost people and monsters were part of the 2-part, 11th Doctor story in “The Rebel Flesh” and “The Almost People.” Check out the island with the castle on it, shown below. It’s a direct reference to the Doctor’s confession dial castle in “Heaven Sent.” I should have mentioned it in Chapter 17, but I didn’t. So what happened in those 2 episodes have a direct correlation to what we are seeing now. In fact, these episodes are also referenced by Judy’s red wellies at the beginning of “The Eaters of Light.” We’ll examine that in a bit.

Anyway, at first glance, the creatures in the rift in “The Eaters of Light” reminded me of the fish swimming in the air in “A Christmas Carol.” However, once one creature comes closer, shown below (white arrow), it looks like some type of lizard. This scene mirrors the cute fish in “A Christmas Carol,” giving way to a shark. These creatures in this latest episode also resemble at a distance the flying stingrays from one of the last 10th Doctor episodes “Planet of the Dead.” Also, they resemble the Gelth from 9th Doctor episode “The Unquiet Dead.” We also examined that latter episode and the idea of a gateway in Chapter 17.

There’s a theme here of creatures and gateways in “The Eaters of Light,” “The Unquiet Dead,” and “Planet of the Dead.” We haven’t looked at the latter episode, so I want to highlight a few things.

“The Planet of Dead” “The Planet of Dead” introduced 2 arcs: knocking 4 times and something is returning. Therefore, it’s appropriate to tie this episode into “The Eaters of Light.” Knocking 4 times also showed up in “Hell Bent,” “The End of Time,” and “Thin Ice.”

Also, the Doctor and a busload of people pass through a wormhole (another reference to black holes) to an alien world.

They find a swarm of creatures ready to come through the wormhole to Earth’s side, much like what is in “The Eaters of Light.”

“Hell Bent,” the Grudge & Chess

Nardole said something surprising the first time I heard it:

NARDOLE: (untying the Doctor) I know you're inclined to bear a grudge, so just remember I know about ten percent of your secrets. The dark secrets.

Thinking about it further, I realized it wasn’t surprising at all.

The 12th Doctor bearing a grudge? Unless I’m not remembering something, we’ve only seen him bear grudges with Rassilon and the High Council in “Hell Bent.” He did look like he was bearing a grudge against Ashildr/Me, but it vanished at the end of “Hell Bent.”

In “The End of Time,” the Master also bears a grudge against Rassilon. Both are end of time events, and the Doctor is mirroring the Master there.

Rassilon also bears a grudge against the Doctor and tries to have him executed. He probably also holds a grudge against the Master.

Chess & War When the universe was nearly dead in “Hell Bent,” Ashildr sat with a chess set when the Doctor arrived. A sign of war.

In “The Curse for Fenric,” chess was defined as “war, a game played by politicians.” Ashildr/Me is Mayor Me.

In “The Eaters of Light,” the 12th Doctor said he had governed in Roman Britain.

So both Ashildr and the Doctor are politicians involved in a chess game. Ashildr in “Face the Raven” was ministering aid to enemies of the Doctor. She, in some ways, has been on the opposite side of the war.

Samson & Delilah, David & Goliath: How to Win at Chess

In “The Empress of Mars,” the Tythonian Hive reference directly alludes to the 4th Doctor episode “The Creature from the Pit.” In it the Doctor has a conversation with his companion. I wanted to get to this in last week’s analysis, but ran out of time. The Doctor talks about a Minotaur, so the whole God complex goes way back.

Even more interesting, Romana is going through the Doctor’s belongings:

ROMANA: All right, but what can you possibly do with the old jawbone of an ass?

DOCTOR: Don't be a philistine.

The reference to the “jawbone of an ass” and “Philistine” is an allusion to the Old Testament story of Samson & Delilah.

Samson & Delilah

OMG, River and the Library!

While I was just thinking about Samson and Delilah’s story, I had a revelation!

Samson was given great strength to help him fight his enemies. The jawbone of an ass is a reference to slaying an entire army with just a jawbone, and he destroyed a Philistine temple with his bare hands. However, if Samson cut his long hair, he would lose his strength. I’ve been totally baffled by the Doctor’s unruly hair. Now, I get it!

River is Delilah!

Missy now, too, has unruly hair because she is mirroring the Doctor.

River told the 10th Doctor in the Library:

RIVER: The last time I saw you, the real you, the future you, I mean, you turned up on my doorstep, with a new haircut and a suit.

Wow! She takes him down by the haircut, like Samson! That’s not exactly how we saw it in THORS, but he ended up on Trap Street, redressed for Christmas. The whole thing was a trap, and a great deal of time passed in the episode in the subtext, which we examined in a chapter in Fairytales and Romance in Doctor Who.

Anyway, regarding Samson, Wikipedia says

He then falls in love with Delilah in the valley of Sorek. The Philistines approach Delilah and induce her with 1,100 silver coins to find the secret of Samson's strength so they can get rid of it and capture their enemy.

Delilah keeps trying to figure out the source of his strength, and he keeps telling her different sources, which she tries to exploit. But they are all lies.

Eventually after much nagging from Delilah, Samson tells Delilah that he will lose his strength with the loss of his hair. God supplies Samson's power because of his consecration to God as a Nazirite, symbolized by the fact that a razor has never touched his head.

In “The Name of the Doctor,” there was a conversation about the Doctor’s name, which is a similar metaphor – a Holy Grail:

VASTRA: This, Mister DeMarco claims, is the location of the Doctor's greatest secret. CLARA: Which is? JENNY: We don't know. It's a secret. VASTRA: The Doctor does not discuss his secrets with anyone, my dear. If you're still entertaining the idea that you are an exception to this rule, ask yourself one question. What is his name? (Something invisible touches Jenny's cheek.) RIVER: Well, I know it. CLARA: What, you know his name? He told you? RIVER: I made him. CLARA: How? RIVER: It took a while.

So the Doctor’s name AND hair are metaphorical Holy Grails!

OMG, I still am blown away by how DW is doing this! This is exactly why I find this all so fascinating.

In fact, this explains why the Doctor’s hair started out short and started to grow longer over seasons 8 and 9. Metaphorically, his strength was growing, and that matches the Great Work.

David & Goliath

While the jawbone of an ass definitely refers to the story of Samson and Delilah, Philistines are part of a second story in the Old Testament, which is very relevant: David and Goliath.

In the story, there is a war between the Israelites and the Philistines. Goliath, a Philistine giant, fights the young David, who is armed with a sling. David kills the giant and becomes a hero and future king of the Israelites.

In both “The Empress of Mars” and “The Eaters of Light,” there are superior forces fighting ill-equipped forces, mirroring the Goliath vs. David story: the Ice Warriors vs. the Victorian British troop and the Romans vs. the Pictish band, turning into the Romans and Picts fighting the Eaters of Light.

Captain Catchlove in “The Empress of Mars” mentions that Colonel Godsacre is not the hero of the Battle of Isandlwana that he appears to be. He deserted. While I briefly mentioned what happened, I never got to put it in context of David and Goliath.

In the Battle of Isandlwana, about 20,000 Zulus armed mainly with traditional iron spears and cowhide shields annihilated the British invasion force of about 1800 men, armed with state-of-the art weapons, and maybe 400 other civilians.

In both episodes, however, there is a beast of a different type that changes the balance of power.

The Eaters of Light change the situation between the Romans and Picts, threatening everyone.

In “The Empress of Mars,” the Doctor mans the Gargantua and threatens to destroy all their lives. He says either they live together or die together. In one way, he is David (one man) against a huge army. However, he is the one that ends up with the giant weapon, mirroring the Eaters of Light.

The Life of Gargantua and of Pantagruel Gargantua is a reference to 5 novels written in the 16th century by François Rabelais, which, according to Wikipedia, tells of the adventures of two giants, Gargantua and his son Pantagruel. Gargantua’s wife died giving birth to his son. And a character is beheaded, which sounds like Nardole, and Gargantua sews the head back on. A whole nation lives in Pantagruel’s mouth, which sounds something like people living on the Star Whale’s back or in CAL’s mind.

The Winning Chess Strategy: Working Together

Working together is another theme that I didn’t get to last week. In “The Empress of Mars” and “The Eaters of Light,” the forces have to work together to survive.

“The Curse of Fenric” may give us an idea of what is happening because it looks like “The Curse of Fenric” and chess are playing out with the 12th Doctor. But this is a deadly game of live chess, like we saw before with the 11th Doctor in “The Wedding of River Song.”

Most likely, the Valeyard is at work here.

Fenric is most likely the Valeyard. According to the TARDIS Wikia:

Fenric, also known as Hastur the Unspeakable, Aboo-Fenrán, the Wolf and the Hunger, was an immensely powerful sentient force that was at least as old as the universe itself and an intelligence of pure evil, later identified as a Great Old One.

Commander Millington in “The Curse of Fenric” wants to win the war at any cost, so he plans to poison the enemy with the curse, which brings on Ragnarök.

MILLINGTON: Let me see. (reads) I warn of the day when the earth shall fall asunder, and all of heaven too. The Wolves of Fenric shall return for their treasure, and then shall the dark evil rule eternally. This is it. The final battle between the gods and the beasts. It's now, Judson. The Curse of Fenric.

The 7th Doctor has fought Fenric before with a chess game and won, trapping Fenric. However, Fenric got free:

JUDSON: You left me in the shadow dimensions, trapped for seventeen centuries. But now I've found a body again, and the preparations are complete.

The Doctor has to play chess again with Fenric; however, Ace accidentally gives the enemy the Doctor’s winning strategy:

ACE: A brilliant move. The black and white pawns don't fight each other, they join forces.

So to defeat Fenric, the Doctor has to break Ace’s confidence in him because Ace is under Fenric’s control.

The Roman Vs. Scottish Sides of the Doctor & Companion Obsessions

The Eater of Light is as much a metaphor for one’s inner beast as it is an external monster. In fact, the Roman vs. Scots struggle represents the Doctor’s internal struggle within himself, as a hybrid.

In “Deep Breath,” the Doctor defined the Roman side of his mirror, the half-faced man:

DOCTOR: Well, it would need a constant supply of spare parts. You can tan skin, but organs rot. Some of that metalwork looks Roman. Wonder how long it's been around, how much of the original is even left? The eyeballs look very fresh, though.

The Roman side is the robotic side, which makes sense, too, from Rory’s situation.

Romans & the Last 3 Companions

Amy One of Amy’s interests included, according to Wikipedia, “the Roman occupation of Britain, on which she had several books, along with her favourite book, Pandora's Box. She didn't receive a good grade for her paper on the Romans due to titling it ‘Invasion of the Hot Italians’. (TV: The Eleventh Hour, Let's Kill Hitler, The Pandorica Opens)” Also, she put a party photo into a book on Roman Britain.

Amy also has a look alike (or is it Amy having gone back in time?) in “The Fires of Pompeii,” who is a soothsayer in the Sibylline Sisterhood.

Amy, in “The Eleventh Hour,” says that she is sometimes a nun, sometimes a kiss-o-gram, and sometimes a policeman.

The 12th Doctor has been trying to deny he’s a policeman in seasons 9 and 10.

Clara In “Deep Breath,” Clara and Vastra were having a disagreement about Clara’s behavior regarding the 12th Doctor’s new face. Clara to counter Vastra talked about being a fan of Marcus Aurelius, a Roman emperor. According to Clara, “Last of the five good 'uns. Stoic philosopher.” When she was 15, she had only one poster on her wall – the emperor.

Bill Bill has read one book on the Roman 9th Legion and got an A star, so she considers herself an expert on the legion’s non-disappearance.

It was really a very odd debate she had with the Doctor about the missing legion.

Anyway, the Roman 9th Legion really did disappear from history.

The debate between Bill and the Doctor seems backward. When it comes to the missing Roman 9th Legion, English novelist Rosemary Sutcliff in 1954 wrote the book most often cited, called The Eagle of the Ninth. Based on some historical information, some of which has been confirmed, she presents the view that the Romans were annihilated on the battlefield in Britain. So what book did Bill read?

The eagle does represent the Romans, so we have to extend our Eagle metaphor.

Vestal Virgins in Rome, Angels & the Doctor’s 2nd Class Rating

The Doctor said that he was once a Vestal Virgin, 2nd Class. In ancient Rome, the Vestal Virgins, priestesses of Vesta, goddess of the hearth, gained great power. Their existence was deemed fundamental to the continuance and security of Rome. After Rome converted to Christianity and fell, some blamed it on the absence of the priestesses.

Parents committed their daughters to the priestesshood before puberty (when 6–10 years old), and the children took a vow of chastity for 30 years. After that, they were free to marry.

They sound a lot like the Sisterhood of Karn in that they cultivated the sacred fire or flame that was not allowed to go out.

So the Doctor being a Vestal Virgin does support the hypothesis that he was a female as a child.

2nd Class, It’s a Wonderful Life & “Turn Left”

I’m not an authority on Vestal Virgins, but 2nd Class sounds very strange. A reference that immediately came to mind was the 1946 movie It’s a Wonderful Life.

It mirrors what happens in “Turn Left” when we see life without the Doctor.

The film is based on Philip Van Doren Stern's 1943 short story "The Greatest Gift." According to Wikipedia:

The film stars James Stewart as George Bailey, a man who has given up his dreams in order to help others and whose imminent suicide on Christmas Eve brings about the intervention of his guardian angel, Clarence Odbody (Henry Travers). Clarence shows George all the lives he has touched and how different life in his community of Bedford Falls would be had he never been born.

Much like dystopian life without the Doctor in “Turn Left,” Bedford Falls becomes, metaphorically, Bedford Fell. In the dystopian segment, it actually does get renamed to Pottersville after tyrannical Mr. Potter.

The Doctor, as a 2nd Class Vestal Virgin, would then be Clarence Odbody, Angel 2nd Class, who is trying to get his wings. Doctor Angel, trying to earn his wings, would become the Doctor’s personal savior, as Clarence became George’s.

The Doctor’s personal saviors in “Turn Left” were Rose and alternate-Donna. If we go by the mirrors of the movie and “Turn Left,” the Doctor we see in “The Eaters of Light” is the alternate-Doctor who will be a personal savior of the Doctor. Is that Missy? We’ll examine that in a bit.

We examined the 10th and 12th Doctor’s metaphorical angels in Chapter 16 of Fairytales and Romance in Doctor Who. Here’s a very short version:

10th Doctor & “The Satan Pit” The 10th Doctor jumps into the very deep pit in “The Satan Pit” and survives, which makes him realize someone prepared it for him to survive.

12th Doctor & “The Return of Doctor Mysterio” We saw something similar in TRODM when the 12th Doctor’s cable and rope broke as he hung upside down outside Grant’s window. He falls, which is a metaphor for falling into Satan’s Pit, but somehow survives and climbs in Grant’s window after Grant talks to his mother.

YOUNG GRANT: Mom says you can come in. You're expected.

Grant’s mother is the Doctor’s mother, since Grant represents the young Doctor. She’s expecting the Doctor and must be the angel who is saving him.

In fact, in “The End of Time,” an angel is associated with the Doctor’s Mother on TV and Wilfred, Donna Noble’s grandfather. Wilfred was like a dad, in a way, to the 10th Doctor, and he was a face of the 11th Doctor. Will the 11th Doctor show up? He’s been in the subtext a few times in Season 10.

Interestingly, we examined how the Doctor was associated with the Virgin Mary in “Extremis.”

Bill and Pits in “The Empress of Mars” & “The Eaters of Light” In both “The Empress of Mars” and “The Eaters of Light,” Bill falls into pits and survives, mirroring both the 10th and 12th Doctors.

In both episodes, she’s stepped up and become like the Doctor by mediating the situations. She’s actually mirroring the Doctor.

Bill Mirrors Martha in “The Doctor’s Daughter”

Bill is not just mirroring the Doctor in the episode, but also she is mirroring Martha in “The Doctor’s Daughter.”

In that episode, Martha gets separated from the Doctor and Donna and ends up on one side of the war with the aliens called the Hath, who were fish-like people. While the Doctor, Donna, and the Doctor’s replicated daughter Jenny end up on the humans’ side of the war with General Cobb, whom wants to commit genocide against the Hath.

Martha can’t easily communicate with the Hath, who have water devices on their faces. However, through rudimentary communication, she does befriend one of them, who ends up sacrificing himself to save her.

So in a twist to the Hath and communication problems, Bill learns about the gift of translation of the Doctor and TARDIS.

“People Like Me and You, We Should Say Things to One Another”

One of the themes that I didn’t get to in “The Empress of Mars” analysis was communication. That it comes up again in “The Eaters of Light” is very significant, and with the setting and other elements of the story, it takes on additional meaning.

In fact, you may recognize the title of this section as what Clara said to the Doctor in “Hell Bent” when they were in the Cloisters. Since “The Eaters of Light” has a lot to do with Clara and communication, the title seems like foreshadowing for things to come. Also, Sweetie wrappers is probably a reference to River.

Gift of Translation by the Doctor & TARDIS with a 10th Doctor Reference

While communication comes in different forms (e.g., dialogue, sign language, and music) and levels from basic to intimate, being able to express oneself at the most basic level is a big plot point in “The Eaters of Light.” Without speaking a similar language, it’s impossible to form friendships and alliances, and the latter is at the very heart of this long story and chess game, which I’ll get to in a bit.

Bill recognized that the Doctor or the TARDIS or both translated languages, which is why people in space all speak English.

LUCIUS: You speak Latin? KAR: I don't. BILL: Neither do I. Not a word. And I don't speak whatever they speak either. It's him. It's you, isn't it? DOCTOR: Yes, it's me. BILL: Something to do with the Tardis. Maybe, telepathic field?

While we don’t get an answer here, the Doctor as part of the circuit for translation came up in the first 10th Doctor story “The Christmas Invasion.” The Sycorax were trying to take control of Earth while the Doctor was unconscious, recovering from regeneration.

ROSE: I don't understand what they're saying. The Tardis translates alien languages inside my head, all the time, wherever I am. MICKEY: So, why isn't it doing it now? ROSE: I don't know. Must be the Doctor. Like he's part of the circuit, and he's, he's broken.

Rose speaks of the Doctor, as though he were a broken machine.

The Doctor’s Lack of Communication Theme: Women Have to Take Control

The statement that the Doctor can give others the gift of communication is a striking contrast to the Doctor’s own problems with communication. His own failings are at the heart of at least part of the problems.

The Doctor’s lack of communication is called out in multiple ways in this episode, but it follows a trend, especially with the 12th Doctor.

DOCTOR: I've got a better idea this time. BILL: Which is the part you never tell me. DOCTOR: Don't I? BILL: No. DOCTOR: I probably just get interrupted.

True to form, he got interrupted. And in all fairness to him, when he was going to tell Bill about his blindness after Nardole pushed Bill to ask the Doctor what was wrong, he once again got interrupted. Getting interrupted, too, has become a theme with him, and missing memories of Clara fits in this category.

It can’t be coincidence, especially since he called out the problem. Someone is directing things, and it sounds like it might be Missy or River.

Certainly, the Doctor has been terrible about expressing love and fears. We know the Doctor isn’t afraid to talk about running from the Untempered Schism. However, when it comes to talking about emotions, he avoids the subject almost at all costs, it seems.

Of course, it’s not exclusive to the 12th Doctor, especially when it comes to love, but the 12th Doctor is the most guarded when it comes to talking about emotions.

The Doctor & River The Doctor is terrible at telling his own wife how he feels about her. Therefore, River felt unloved and poured out her heart in THORS, showing a vulnerability that we’ve never seen from her. The Doctor got a rude awakening there. River had to be the one to pour out her heart first.

The Doctor & Clara We saw the Doctor guarding emotions with Clara, although he did open up more from the 8th to the 9th seasons. However, she only realized his love and devotion once she learned he spent 4.5 billion years being interrogated and tortured before coming back for her.

She had to take the reins and say, “People like me and you, we should say things to one another.” Hopefully, we’ll finally learn what she said.

The Doctor & Bill The Monks wouldn’t have taken control of Earth, most likely, if the Doctor had let Bill know about his blindness.

In response, Bill has really stepped up to take charge, especially in the last few episodes. She even went as far as to help save the Doctor from himself in “The Eaters of Light” by not allowing him to go back into the rift. Nardole, too, stepped in and tied up the Doctor. It was a mirror, too, of the Library scene with River before she died.

The Coming Gut Punch, “Heaven Sent” & “The Girl Who Waited”

Moffat has set up some odd situations this year with, for example, the whole Doctor-executing-Missy thing and the anticlimactic Vault reveal. However, from the subtext, we know these things weren’t happening like the text showed.

No doubt, he has some big gut punches coming.

I see “The Eaters of Light” as directly foreshadowing what is coming.

In relation to the last 3 episodes of Season 9, only “Face the Raven” was highlighted in “The Light Eaters.” Most likely, we’ll see some retelling of “Heaven Sent” and “Hell Bent,” which brings in “The End of Time” two-part story.

From the clips, we will see the Eye of Harmony, which is a Black Hole.

In “Heaven Sent,” the Doctor was in a different time stream, so to speak, from Clara.

It looks like Bill will be “The Girl Who Waited,” mirroring Amy in a different time stream, while waiting for the Doctor and Rory to rescue her. But Rory was a prisoner in the subtext, mirroring Rorybot, a sentient robot. The 12th Doctor would be the Rorybot mirror. However, Missy is also mirroring the Doctor, and so is Bill.

BTW, Bill and the 12th Doctor’s promo shot mirrors somewhat a shot from “The Beast Below.”

Here’s the 11th Doctor holding Amy while she is floating in space. While Amy is having fun, Bill looks fearful of something.

Next Chapter or So

I will have one or two chapters to add, talking about the meaning of the TARDIS on the rock, the beast on the stone, red wellies, Guardians, and more.