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Death's Door (7x10)

• Berly, LA • Season 7 • Episode 10

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Berly and LA recap the season seven Supernatural episode, Death's Door. Over drinks, they'll discuss lore, gore, and what they adore about the Winchesters and their adventures. Now, let's get tipsy!  CW/TW for violent and lewd commentary; listeners beware! 🔞

Summary: In the episode "Death's Door," Sam, Dean, and Bobby are on a mission to save Bobby from a coma-induced dream state. Bobby, experiencing a series of memories, must confront his deepest fears and regrets, including a traumatic past with his abusive father. The episode features a poignant scene where Bobby confronts his past, leading to a climactic moment where he successfully communicates crucial information to Sam. The episode is directed by Robert Singer and written by Sarah Gamble, showcasing a blend of emotional depth and suspenseful storytelling. The conversation also touches on scientific research confirming that life flashes before the eyes upon death and the historical significance of "death's door."

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Berly:

Ella, welcome to denim wrapped nightmares, Tipsy exchange Podcast where we explore the supernatural series, episode by episode,

LA:

over drinks, we'll discuss the lore the gore and what we adore about the Winchesters and their adventures.

Berly:

I'm Burleigh, and I'm a new fan of the series.

LA:

I'm LA, and I'm here long for the ride. Now let's get Tipsy.

Unknown:

Hello LA, hello Burly.

Berly:

We dropped the ball last time we did, but today we are drinking el mar margaritas. Well, at the moment, we've already had pike laws, true.

LA:

Ooh, that's tasty.

Unknown:

It's delish. Yes,

Berly:

it is. And it's strong. Be careful. I've had we, like, literally, have told people it's really strong. And then people are like, Oh, okay. And then they go get a bottle, and they're like, oh, oh, I got wasted. And we're like, yeah, we, we tried to tell you, it's good stuff, though. All right, where were we last episode?

LA:

Okay, well, the last episode was How to Win Friends and Influence monsters. Sam Dean and Bobby become actual hunters in the true sense of the word, when they set up camp in New Jersey State Park to track a creature that has been attacking people in the woods with their big old guns.

Berly:

Oh, I thought you were gonna say headboards. Oh, of course,

LA:

the townsfolk claim it is the real the real Jersey Devil. Meanwhile, Dean is beyond thrilled to find bigger sons restaurant in town, but is devastated when he discovers the restaurant. Special sandwich seems to be making the people crazy. It was a weird one.

Berly:

I liked it. Yeah, I thought it was fun. Today's episode was not fun. No, it was beautiful, yeah, and I cried quite a bit, but not fun. Today's episode is titled death's door. It's the 10th episode and the mid season finale of season seven. It originally aired on December 2, 2011 the episode begins with Sam Dean and Bobby in the van right where we left off last week. Sam and Dean are panicking about what's going on with Bobby. Sam has climbed into the back is trying to check Bobby's vitals. Dean is demanding like, Is he alive? Is he breathing? Tell me what to do. He's calling to find the nearest Trauma Center. What's the address? Like they are just panicking as Bobby lays unconscious with a bullet wound in his forehead in the back of the van, the camera zooms in, and I loved this. I

LA:

did too.

Berly:

It actually began this way, with us zooming out, oh yeah, from Bobby's bullet wound. And then we zoom into Bobby's bullet wound. The only criticism I have, which, again, I don't make television and film. I don't know what the limitations were here, but it was zooming into what seemed to be a white space in the bullet hole, and then it just cuts away to we're in the forest. Maybe that had been done intentionally so that we as viewers were a little disoriented as to what had just happened. But I thought that what they were trying to do was we're going into Bobby psyche. If the latter is what was trying to be achieved, I would have rather us gone into the bullet wound, fade to white, and then come into the forest, rather than that sharp cut to the forest.

LA:

I didn't mind it. I liked it. Yeah, I

Berly:

know you liked it as is, but to me, it was a little jarring. I could get that, yeah, that we were in the bullet wound, traveling and then just cut all of a sudden, we're in the forest. But again, maybe that was intentional. Yeah, we cut to Bobby Sam and Dean walking through the forest. And this is a scene straight out of the last episode we were in, like deja vu. I know it really was. They're looking for Ranger Phil, or deputy, Deputy Ranger Phil. They stumble upon his bloody arm hanging out the tree, and they're having the exact same conversation, doing the exact same things. And you see it kind of dawn on Bobby's face that something's something's going on, like I've lived this before, Something's coming. Something bad is about to happen. He looks down at the rifle in his hand, and blood starts to drip onto his hand. We cut to them walking into a cabin, and Sam and Dean are just kind of conversing, like, what's wrong? What happened to your head? Bobby is saying, I got shot. Yeah, I got shot in the head. Like, that's what's wrong. He's also trying to tell them that there's numbers he needs to give them. Like he's realized this isn't the real world anymore, that he's not actually talking to Sam and Dean, because Sam and Dean are like, well, then tell us. Tell us. Tell us what we need to know, Bobby. We're right here. Just tell us. And he's like, No, not you. You. I need to tell you, out in the real world, the actual you. I have important information I have to give you. It's about the leviathans evil plan.

LA:

Next, he wrote down the what the information he needs to get to the boys on a piece of paper. He's like, in a frantic panic, throws it in his pocket, and then he goes through a door. He's going through a lot of doors, right? Like, it's like the doors cut to each different scene, almost.

Berly:

It was, which is cool, yeah, terrible for me as a recapper, because I don't do good whenever they cut from this time to that time, or this place to this place. But it was really cool for telling the story, right? I enjoyed it a lot. Now, I do wonder why? Because this is all happening in his mind. So I'm curious why him writing down the information real quick, like you said, almost frantically, like I'm gonna forget it. Well, you're writing it down on a piece of paper that exists in your brain, right? How is that going to help you remember? But it was a good thing for him to reference to throughout the rest of the episode, so I guess that makes sense, yeah, but yeah, you're right. He does go through that door, and now he's in his bedroom. He's got a glass of wine, and Karen, the same actress who played Karen in Dead men don't wear Vlad is on the bed, and she's just, she looks adorable. She's just like, Give me. Come bring that to me. It seems like it's going to be a happy memory, but we find out by the end of the episode, it was not, yeah, it was not a happy memory. It was one of his biggest regrets in life. And then

LA:

there was the thunder outside, and he's, he's a little, I don't remember, a storm coming. And then he looked out the window, and it was a beautiful, clear sky, yeah? And then he saw this little kid running,

Berly:

oh yeah, the little kid I remember throughout the entire episode. I was like, Who the fuck is this little kid? But we do find out who the little kid is before the end of the episode. But Bobby tells Karen. He's like, I gotta go. Yeah, I gotta go. And he books it out of there. Next he runs into Rufus. He's outside, and he runs into Rufus, which it was so wonderful to see sweet Williams. It was a wonderful, unexpected cameo. I was not expecting, but Rufus is in like, this pest control costume. I was like, Yeah, costumes. I love the costumes. I totally thought we were going to find out whatever it was they were talking about in that episode where they saw it open, Mitch pulling his head, Samuel Campbell's head, where Rufus was telling Bobby, I will never forgive you, right? I thought we were gonna see that. Nope, nope. That's not what we saw. What we saw was a case that Bobby and Rufus were working together. They were in a morgue, and Rufus ended up having a near death experience, because some things go awry. I'm sure this was important for whatever reason, but I'm just like, what was that you would think that would be the thing that you would think about, is the thing that Rufus, till the day he died, told you he would never forgive you for, right? I would think that would be what we would see. But oh, well, isn't

LA:

that when he goes into the church, not the morgue yet,

Berly:

I think because they're right, you're right, they go in the church first, but the morgue is part of the church.

LA:

But the little boy grabs him before he goes in, and tells him, God's going to punish you. And then there's like, a broken glass of milk that he notices. Oh, really, yeah, because I was like that. What the hell is that? But then we find out later. You

Berly:

know what that makes me think of was it Shutter Island, or was it inception, where it would show, like, these random things that didn't belong there? I think it was inception, actually. Yeah, I know what you're talking about now. Yeah. So the little boy comes, and then that happens, and it is very like, What the fuck? But then it's like, nope. Back to the church with Rufus. Yep. Bobby goes into the church, and there's a choir at the front, and then the thunder happens again. And there's like a rumbling that happens with the camera whenever this thunder happens. I just, I kept calling it a quake. Yeah, this quake thing happens periodically throughout the entire episode. And y'all just so, you know, I already told la I was going to need her help on this, so she will be jumping in periodically, because I want her to, because, again, the cutting back and forth I don't always do so great with those. The quake thing happens, and then the choir members start to kind of fade out, disappear, just pop out of existence, and the lights go out. I loved that shot from it was kind of the ground angled up a little bit of Bobby with the lights coming out like the I thought that was really cool. This episode was honestly very beautiful. Yeah, I didn't clock who directed it at the beginning of the episode, so I'm excited to see who it was. I have a theory as to who it is, but we'll see if I'm right. Can we get to the end? I did not look ahead because I want to be hopefully pleasant. Well, I won't be pleasantly surprised if it's who I think it is. But anyways, you know what I'm saying? Well, then there's this guy. He's just like, hi, hey, Bobby, it is time to go, my dude. Like, you're out of time. Yep, let's go. And Bobby was like, I didn't know that Reapers, like, came and took people. And he's like, yeah. Like, you're in a coma. I'm having to come into your brain and, like, find you and root you out. Like, but let's go. Is your time? And Bobby says, no, no, it's not my time yet. I'm in this dream, but I've got some shit I need to do. I gots to go. I loved Bobby's. Little shot of him running, running across the front of the church the Reaper is just like, yeah. All right. Like you, you think you're gonna be able to hide. I'm gonna find you again. Like, this is inevitable. Whatever it is, what it is, I like that. He never got angry with Bobby or whatever. He just kind of was like, okay, all right, let's keep going. Like, I got other things I could be doing, but fine man, like, let's go. Bobby next finds himself at home, and Sam and Dean are having an argument. They, I think they threw down some action movies, yeah, so I think they were about to start their movie night that this is a memory that comes back later. They're arguing. What was it like? Brass, brass over skill or something like that. Oh, yeah. I don't remember what the whole debate was, but what it comes down to is, Dean wants Bobby to agree with him that Chuck Norris could beat up gently, right? Do you remember all those Chuck Norris jokes that were really popular for a while? I'm having trouble thinking, Oh, I

LA:

couldn't think of any of them, but I know what you're talking about.

Berly:

Let's see here. Number one, Chuck Norris doesn't flush the toilet. He scares the shit out of it. Number two, when Chuck Norris was born, he drove his mom from the home, from the hospital, like when, short, when Chuck Norris slices onions. It's the onions that cry. And Chuck Norris counted to infinity twice, just like things like that. I got a kick out of those. Oh my gosh. I'll share that link, if I think about it, in our in our sources, in the show notes, yeah, love it. Love me some good Chuck Norris jokes. So Dean was very passionate about this debate, by the way. And then

LA:

Bobby opens the kitchen door and his mom, it's like back in his childhood, and his mom's setting the table for dinner. And that's super short scene, because then it's that's when it switches back to Rufus and them in the mausoleum.

Berly:

I think that that scene is super short because we know by the end of the episode what happens in that scene, right? And so he's running away from that. He doesn't like to confront that. Yeah, exactly that. Not that one. We're not going in there. Yeah, let's, let's go. Let's go somewhere else. And so yes, they go to the morgue, and this is where we see the scene that there's, there's a ghost. They're there to burn the bones and the morgue. And it turns out that it's this bride, and it is important that the bride does reach into Bobby's heart and calls him a heartbreaker. Says, You're a heartbreaker. Will all break your heart. Rufus ends up knocking his head on the stairs coming to save Bobby. And that's Rufus is near death experience, which ends up being a little bit important later as well. Bobby gets the torch and burns the bones and gets rid of the ghost and gets Rufus to the hospital. I always like

LA:

it when they're burning the bones, and then it should you see the bones burning, and then they show the ghost, or whatever,

Berly:

burning, yeah, and I don't know if I've just never noticed it before, or if it's something new this season, that whenever it shows the ghosts burn up, there's like some fire thing that happens along the ceiling. Now, I noticed it the first time in the mentalists, yeah, whenever they burned crazy old Maggie, old Margaret. Oh, yeah, the ceiling thing, and it happened in this one too. But you have to look for it, because it's almost off screen. Yeah, I'll have to look forward. I didn't see that. I like it. I like the effect of the ghosts burning right now. It's cool. I've always liked it, but I feel like they've upped up that special effect a little bit. Yeah. In the meantime, while all of this is happening, Sam and Dean have managed to get Bobby to the hospital, and they are being warned that they can't just go in there and take the bullet out. There's apparently a lot of swelling going on in the brain, and they're more concerned that they would do more harm than good if they try to go in and take the bullet out right now, as everything is we're just gonna sedate him. He's stable, yep. Just gotta see. Wait and see. Yeah, wait and see. That's essentially what's happening in the real world. Sam and Dean are at the hospital dealing with this, dealing with people asking if he's going to be an organ donor. And just, I can't imagine having that job, like I said, that Job has to exist. Like, just, oh,

Unknown:

it's awful. Awful. Dean did not take

Berly:

kindly to it. No, I would imagine most people won't. Yeah, right? You don't want to think about that, right?

LA:

Especially when they're like, We have a short window of time we need to, yeah, that's

Berly:

why it's almost it's on my driver's license. I have it on my driver's license, you know, because I don't want a loved one to have to make that decision for me, like, I've made it for myself, and it's on there. So that is that he's stable. He's crashing. He's stable. He's crashing. All of this is going on in the hospital, back into Bobby's noggin, back into the dream state, into the coma. Bobby is now out on a street. It's daylight, and there's that fucking kid again, the kid that told him he breaks everything, or whatever it was earlier with the milk he. Was over to him, and he starts thinking, like, Okay, I know, I know who you are. And it turns out he is outside of a hospital, and the nurse is bringing Rufus out. And did you notice that Rufus, like, gave her his phone number and told her to call him?

LA:

I did not, yeah,

Berly:

he like, slid her card, and was like, You call me? And she

Unknown:

was like, oh, Bobby talks

Berly:

to Rufus and is asking him, okay, I remember when this happened. You had a near death experience. Remind me. Tell Tell me everything that happened. And Rufus told Bobby that he basically went through what Bobby's going through now. He was going through memories hitting his greatest hits, and he realized that he had to go deep. He had to go to those memories that he didn't want to think about before he could find his way out, his exit, that there's always going to be a door you have to find the right door, which means you're going to have to go to those deep, subconscious thoughts that you are not wanting to revisit. There's the rumbling, the rumbling again, the little boys disappeared. By the way, Bobby did look back and the little boy's gone. So there's a rumbling. And I loved it. Whenever Bobby was like, I need you. I need my partner for this coming with me. Yeah, I liked that. I think I even did like the cringe, stupid. I think I clapped. I think I clapped. I think I sat there and clapped while we were watching the show, if I remember correctly, and you looked at me and you're like, you dumb bitch. That

LA:

did not happen.

Berly:

It was very sad that whenever Rufus said, What's your worst memory, that Bobby, like literally couldn't narrow it down to one. Yeah. Now, of course, we know what the one was. It's the one he avoids as much as he can the entire episode. But that made me so sad that he was like, I got a lot to pick from. Yeah, I got a lot of bad stuff to go through. Well, he's seen some shit in his time. You know, Ruth has helped narrow narrow it down by asking him, why did that ghost call you a heartbreaker? Bobby went back to his bedroom at his house where he was handing that wine to Karen. It turns out that Karen apparently was very open and communicated clearly she wanted to have kids. She wanted to have a family, and now here she is married to a man who is suddenly telling her, I don't wanna have kids. And Karen's heart is broken because she's thinking that they're going to get to have a family. And so I'm kind of wondering, did she, like, tell him I have something to tell you when he was bringing her the wine? Yeah, right, that's what I'm saying. Like, I think it wasn't actually presented in the scene, but just following the context clues, I think that she told him she was pregnant, and he was not happy about the news, that's what I think. Yeah, follow the context clues here, and it makes it even worse that she was asking for wine, I know, one glass, one glass of bread, one glass of red isn't gonna hurt anything. But I'm just saying context clues here, whining aside, context clues to me, are saying that she told him she was pregnant, and he was not happy with the news, right?

LA:

And then, but then to find out that three days later, it was when, after that night, yeah, was when she was possessed, and then he

Berly:

had to kill and he had to kill her. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. No wonder this was one of his worst memories. Yeah, you know. So that's what I'm thinking. Maybe I'm reading too much into it. Maybe it was literally just a I want us to try for a baby, and him saying no, but just that whole I have something tell you, and the like, the coy playfulness that she was having at the beginning of the when they first were in the bedroom, and all of that I could be reading too much into it, just so y'all let me know. Y'all, y'all let me know in the comments. If you're on Spotify, you can comment on individual episodes, or come comment on our social posts, if y'all think I'm reading too much into it, or if you guys think I'm right, but she told him she was pregnant

LA:

I liked. She was like, she was like, why she's like, You're a wonderful man. You'd be great. And it's like, he did end up being a great he did.

Berly:

I know she was right. Oh, oh my god. So I listened to on Supernatural then and now, for Dead men don't wear plaid. They interviewed Jim Beaver, which, if y'all, if y'all haven't listened to that episode yet, go listen to it in the interview with Jim Beaver. He had lost his wife, she passed away, and then does this episode where it's, yeah, he said it was like cathartic, and it like helped him in the grieving process. And him and this actress, okay, I lost the page, but him and this actress, they actually kind of fell in love with each other. Oh, really, nothing ended up happening romantically. They're still friends to this day, they both had kids. They lived in different countries. They were both single parents, yada yada yada. Obviously they each prioritize their children, but yeah, like they're still friends to this day, they had a major connection, and just it was, it was so cute. Yeah, listen to the episode. It is. It is such a wonderful interview. He just is completely vulnerable talking about that and talking about this actress. So I was thrilled to see her again. Yeah, and she killed it. Oh, yeah, because there were plenty of times where Bobby wasn't saying anything, and yet she would speak like he had just said something. What was a two way conversation, but because Bobby was actually saying the things that he said at the time, she just did great. She did great, like reacting and having this conversation where Jim Beaver is literally just standing there, but you could tell that, no, this was an argument. This was going back and forth. This was them yelling at each other. Jim Bieber, just not yelling anymore. My heart, my heart, my heart, where was I?

LA:

Oh. Rufus told him to try the door. You're

Berly:

right. You're right. Whenever Rufus realized, like, this is low, this is down deep, this is a horrible moment in Bobby's history, maybe this is the exit silver lining. He was like, try the board, and I like that. Bobby was like, thank you. Like, thank you. Thank you for reminding me, because he did freeze like, like I said. He wasn't even acting out the argument that they had. He was just frozen there in time, just staring at her with her bloody foot.

LA:

I just, he did apologize.

Berly:

He did. He did. I'm so happy that they did get their little moment. And dead man, don't wear plaid after seeing this after learning more about what I might be making up. But I think I'm pretty sure that I'm right with context clues, that that's what this conversation was. Anywho Bobby and Rufus do try the door, and there is the white light. And so I thought for a second like, Oh, he's getting out, right? No, no, no, no. He is out in a park. And I love that they're just in a park, just seeing people playing in a park, and Rufus is able to go, oh, it's like, 1989 like another year.

LA:

He's probably looking at the clothes

Berly:

he was wearing a turtle. I didn't like it, but they had Bobby in a blue turtleneck with a flannel over it, and then his puffy vest over that. It's like, Huh? But it was him and Dean, and apparently he was supposed to be practicing shooting or something. Dean

LA:

was saying that dad had said that they were supposed to be practicing with a particular type of gun. I don't know what it was. That's what I was

Berly:

trying to think of. Is exactly what he said, but I knew it was shooting, yeah. And Bobby said, No, because you're a fucking kid, you should be able to learn to just play catch. So they're tossing the ball. This is a happy memory, right? So Bobby is not on the right track again. They need to go deeper. So they start looking for a door. They turn around and they find one, and they start walking toward that. It was at this time that Rufus asked Bobby about how much longer it was after the conversation he had just seen that he had with Karen before things ended the way they did, and that's when we find out that it had only been three days. Well,

LA:

he asks him why he didn't want to be a dad, because back there, right? Yeah, Dean looked like he was doing a pretty good job. And he says that his dad was a mean drunk and he didn't want to pass that legacy on to a kid.

Berly:

He even said something about, like, look, look at me, like I turned out just like him. And Rufus said, You're more of like a cranky drunk. Yeah, you're not mean. You're just honoring Yeah, they do find a door at the park. They go through that one, and they're back in Bobby's childhood home. So this scene that we saw previously for like, all of two seconds where his mother is trying to get supper ready, and we see them sitting down. His father is in the room this time before, it was just his mom telling him to, like, just go clean up or something. Now his dad is there too. That meatloaf looked good, but it was, I have had meatloaf in so, so, so, so long. But, like, literally, whenever I saw the plate in front of Ed, the dad, I would, I would appreciate that plate being put in front of me. I want to buy to that meatloaf. Yeah, the peas and carrots were just peas and carrots, like, they better have some salt and butter on them. But like, the meatloaf, I was like, that looks good. Yeah, he's an asshole, a real piece of I think I even wrote that in my notes somewhere. The dad says, pass me the biscuits. And

LA:

by the way, he could have grown those biscuits, right? They weren't that far, right?

Berly:

They were not that far and Bobby is across the table from him, and he tries to slide the little bucket of biscuits. Yeah. Little Bobby, adult Bobby, ghost. Bobby is watching from the doorway. Little Bobby, the little boy, Bobby, who's been popping up here and there throughout the episode, tries to slide the basket over and accidentally knocks over that glass of milk that we saw shatter whenever Bobby first came toward the church,

LA:

he was, like, so eager to, like, push him over to him and, like, make him happy,

Berly:

dad. But so Bobby's dad, Ed, looks at him and goes, you break everything you touch. So that's why little boy said that earlier. We find out, Bobby says that to Karen whenever he is telling her that he doesn't want to be a dad, that he breaks everything he touched. And it just hurts my heart. He internalized that so deeply, yeah, that he truly believes. About himself. It just sucks. Bobby closes the door again, just like he did earlier. Slide these doors shut. He's

LA:

just, he's like, taking little peeks.

Berly:

He's like, this isn't the right one. This isn't right. Well, we get the quake again, the thunder and the shaking, Rufus warns Bobby that Reaper's coming. Like, you can't stop it. And Bobby goes, Oh, but maybe I can. I did some research, because Sam and Dean were dealing with these things a little bit. I got, I got this spell that I can do. I have this cool cross back in the hospital. The doctors are telling the Winchester is telling Sam and Dean that only one hemisphere of Bobby's brain was damaged, but he was straight upset. I don't want to give you guys false hope, right? And Sam said, like, most people don't make it. And the doctor's like, yeah,

LA:

which when they were saying that he woke up and, like, was fighting his tubes, and so they took him out, and he's breathing on his own. I

Berly:

was like, Oh, great. I think I probably just said that to explain why he wasn't incubated, and all of that later? Oh, sorry, no, you're good. No, I'm saying for the story. That's why, I think not, not to say he was doing better, but to explain why he wasn't intubated later so he could have his moment with the boys that he gets to have, you know? Oh, yeah. So there wasn't a plot hole there. And that's actually when the gentleman approaches them about, did Mr. Singer let you guys know what he wanted? Would he be an organ donor? Because time is very limited, and Dean gets furious, punches the wall behind the guy. I loved the guy's facial expression. What a routine did his eyes he got. And Dean was just like, walk away, walk away from me. Dean steps outside to catch a breath and try to cool off. And sure enough, there's a limo out there, which, why was he there? Because he's a dick. Yeah. Dean walks up to the limo, and it's Dick Roman. He he was there to try and finish the job, and he just was smug. The actor just really well with being almost like a kind doll, just like that smile he was doing.

LA:

Dean notices black car dick inside.

Unknown:

It's the dick. He's a good shot. Get it. Like, yeah, I got it. So

Berly:

they have their little bit of an altercation, and Dean takes the opportunity to be like, Hey guys, it's dick. Roman. Like, what's he here to do. What are you here to do? Asshole? Like, really calling him out and like, yeah, it's gonna be really hard for you to get out of the car and fucking kill me whenever all these people are taping you on their on their phones, like everybody's pulling their phones out to record everything. And he says, not, not always going to be great that you picked this famous person to be in, is it? He's just still smiling, yeah. Smile. So unfazed. Oh, and I think Dean said, I'm gonna kill you. And he was like, I can't be killed. Like, you don't know how, pretty sure I'll make you wanna be Yeah, that was gonna say. He said, I'm pretty sure you'll wanna be dead. Yeah, I'm gonna, I'm gonna get you. Dean's pissed back in Bobby's brain, Bobby is searching through his library at his house for a King James Bible. He's hitting these old King James Bible, and he tells Rufus that, you know, we can't stop the Reaper, but we can at least slow him down. And basically, he has a spell for a Reaper trap specifically. So kind of like a devil's trap, but it's a different design. It's still in a circle. I liked it. It was cool, yeah. And I, like he, they are really good at, like, geometry. Their circles are perfect every time, whenever they dig their graves, they're perfect rectangles. Every time. They're really good at geometry talent. Yeah, so talented. So they paint out this Reaper circle. And they had something else they had to do that we haven't necessarily. They're basically summing summoning the Reaper and trapping them at the same time, like we've seen them do with Crowley a couple of times. I liked it whenever the Reaper is talking to him later and he's like, you're just gonna pin me here like a bug and think that's gonna stop the inevitable. These things are still happening. It doesn't matter what you do with me. I'm not going to be trapped here forever, because this isn't going to exist forever. Like, sorry, bro, this isn't going to work for as long as you want it to back in the hospital because we were cutting back and forth. Sam and Dean are having conversations, and Sam is trying to get Dean to accept we might lose him today. We need to have a conversation about what's going to be next, but Dean does not want to hear it. He does not even want to accept that that's a possibility. We've been through enough, and that's whenever I started talking to La about, oh my gosh, Dean's totally gonna lose his shit in the next few episodes. I think in hindsight, they've kind of been foreshadowing that we were going to lose Bobby this season. Now that I'm like thinking about it earlier in season seven, we had that moment after Cass, after we lost Cass, where Bobby was trying to talk to Dean, you just lost your best friend. And I can't remember why Bobby was gone, but I remember Bobby being gone, and Dean like essentially praying to Bobby, oh no, it was on the phone. He was leaving him a voicemail, being like you said you'd be there for me, and you're right. I'm not doing good, and if I. Lose you. I'm gonna fucking lose it. There was that scene, and then I think it was just last episode when Bobby was like, if you die before me, I'll kill you. Like, there's been plenty of foreshadowing that we were gonna lose Bobby this season, and there's also been foreshadowing that Dean's not doing well, yeah, actually, I shouldn't say foreshadowing. It's been straight up stated that Dean's not doing great. So I think Dean's gonna lose his shit, like he's already kind of starting to lose it right now. And this whole, I've been, we've been through enough. No, yeah. So back in Bobby's brain, they've done this ritual, trapped the Reaper. I'm going l out of order, guys, I'm so sorry. And so Rufus and Bobby move on. They're like, okay, Reaper, peace. We're on a mission. Oh, this is also when the Reaper is asking him, why? Why are you doing this? Why is this so important to you? And Bobby told the Reaper, because they're my boys. They need help. Those are my boys. They need this information. Damn it. I'm gonna get it to them. And I love that they kept reinforcing that it's not that Bobby's like refusing to die. It's that he knows something that he needs Sam and Dean to know, and that's what he's fighting for. Just this episode was so good. Anywho they see the young Bobby again, he kind of realizes, all right, this is it. This is what, this is what I have to do. He thanks Rufus for helping him, and he follows the little boy out. And so we're back in Bobby's childhood home. We're back in that kitchen again that he's been avoiding and avoiding and avoiding and avoiding, and this time it shows his mom cleaning up the spilled milk, cleaning up the dinner plate. I forgot to say the dad threw the dinner plate aside too

LA:

real quick. I did. Like how he told Bobby that he did more with his

Berly:

like, yeah, come back to So, coming back to the Reaper, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It was like, it kind of like, insulted him at first,

LA:

but then he was like, You did more than any man would do with this unremarkable life you were given. And I was like, That's really sweet. That's

Berly:

what he kept saying. Yeah. Bobby was like, I have to do this. I have to do this. And the Reaper was like, dude, trust me, like you've done enough. Yeah, you've done so much with your life. I like the Reaper. I liked the Reaper. I liked the actor who played the Reaper. I liked the attitude he took. He approached toward it. I do wonder if that was an actor choice, or if that was directed that just kind of be like, Man, I'm just here to do my job. Yeah, he never gets angry. He never gets mad at Bobby. It's just like, all right. And again, Tim being like, you've done enough. Like you've done so much. Man, it's but it's your time. There's, I really

LA:

liked the Reaper. There was some a scene is somewhere in the mix of this too, where Bobby was on the phone with John arguing with him, and he's like, I know they're not my kids or something like that. Yeah. And I was like, Oh,

Berly:

that bites. John was getting onto him because he played catch instead of teaching them That's right, yep, yeah.

LA:

I just thought it was like, the my heart heard a little bit for Bobby that he had to say that, because, yeah,

Berly:

I know I'm not their dad better on the newer right. Okay, so back to the childhood home. I put back to asshole father hitting mom, right back to the abusive asshole dad. We see abusive asshole dad and mom, and the little boy is just like, Okay, I'll go get something to help clean it up and running off. And the dad is like, you know why he's like that? He's like that because you let him get away just being total asshole. Bobby's mom, of course, looking at young Bobby, because they're both in the room. So we've got the young Bobby and the current Bobby and being like, why do you provoke him like this? Why do you do this? And the dad just, yeah, I was just awful, awful. And adult Bobby starts defending, baby Bobby. So we've got the whole healing of your inner child thing going on here, being acted out for us, where he's saying that, you know, it's a lot of crap, like he's a drunken bully. I didn't do anything to provoke him. You didn't do anything to provoke him. He's fucking asshole who's gonna hurt us regardless of what we did. It wasn't our fault. And that's when we hear the dad say, again, you break everything you touch and Bobby telling him how you know he didn't want to have kids because he didn't want to turn out like him and yada yada. And he was like But his fate would have it. I adopted two boys, and they grew up to be heroes. They saved the world so you could fucking go to hell, you dick. Yeah. Loved it. So good seeing Bobby and being empowered back in the hospital. Bobby is starting to be responsive. He's starting to come around. And so the nurse tells Sam and Dean, we're going to take him to surgery. We're going to try and do this. So if you want to talk to him, try and go talk to him. Now we cut back into the childhood home. Bobby, young Bobby has gone outside and gotten a rifle. The dad is like, what are you going to do with that? You're not going to do anything with that. And he reaches down and grabs Bobby's mom by the hair and is pulling her up and taunting Bobby The whole time that he's doing it. Basically young Bobby shoots him in the head, literally in the exact same spot where Kurt. Current, Bobby is suffering from a bullet wound now, and so I'm curious. I do wonder, so is that really where he shot his dad, or is that Bobby's mind kind of mirroring what Bobby's going through right now? And I mean, it was literally in the exact same spot. I think the Reaper even said, You're the only person I know who has like genetic bullet to the head, yeah, as the reason for death. So, yeah, this is, this is Bobby's deepest, darkest memory. Is that he murdered his dad, right? And then buried him out back. Yeah, older Bobby looks at younger Bobby, and it's just like, you just take his body and bury it deep out back by the shed. Yep. She's like, damn. So the Reaper is here. He's witnessed this. He makes this little smart, smart ass comment, like time to go. But then we see lights lighting up, and Bobby runs toward the other door, as we suspected. This was the memory, you know, he'd been avoiding it the whole episode, but this was the memory. This was the one he needed to confront and deal with. This was the exit. So he finally comes to and it's as Sam and Dean are at his bedside, and he's like, trying, clearly trying to speak to them. And they're like, don't talk. Don't talk. They tell him. They give him a pen, and he scrolls the numbers. It was like a marker. Actually, it was a pin, I think it was like a Sharpie. Barely gets those numbers written onto Sam's palm. And then he says it just before he closes his eyes again and flat lines, but the doctors like, wheel him off. Who knows what's happening there. We cut back into Bobby's brain. I'm so sorry, guys, if this episode was a struggle, but we're back in Bobby's brain. He's in his house. The Reaper is there and is like, hey. Like, good job. You did what you wanted to do. You got the information to them that you wanted to get to them. Awesome. Job. Bobby's excited that he's like, hey. Like, I saved the best memory for last for it to be the best memory. I was a little let down. It was cute. It was cute, don't get me wrong. But like, really, your best memory is Sam and Dean fighting over popcorn and licorice. Maybe

LA:

that was just the beginning of the night. The move ended up being like a great night with the boys or something. And it was just that was the beginning

Berly:

of it well. And just I get that his fond memories with the boys isn't this hunt or that hunt. His fond memory of the boys is just doing things that a regular family would do. So I get that I probably would have liked it a little bit more. This is so stupid, but if it was young salmon Dean instead of adult salmon Dean, yeah, I think that would have been a little bit more of a all moment for me personally, that's just me. Though, things are fading away. The Reaper has told Bobby already, like, you see things are going black. You see things are missing that should be there. Like, this is your brain slowly dying, like this is all going away. So the Reaper looks at Bobby and is like, All right, so what's it going to be? Are you coming? Are you staying? Which Rufus, like, straight up told him, like, you don't want to stay here and be a ghost. You don't want to stay here and be hunted. So, who knows? I don't know that's, that's how the episode ends. We don't know. I'm guessing that if he stays, he's going to be a ghost, like I'm guessing the body is done for, based off of all the black and everything. I don't know. We'll see. I was right. I was right. Written by Sarah gamble, directed by Robert singer. So I knew it was Robert singer because of some of the shots, some of the angles, but also because he used that lens, that wide angle lens that he used in when the levy breaks to kind of emphasize the intensity and the the crazy, the crazy that was about to come out. Yeah, he switched to that wide angle lens whenever Dean was confronting the organ donor guy. And so I thought it. I was like, hey, either this is Robert singer or this is someone heavily influenced by Robert singer, because I remember that fucking lens from when the levy breaks, look at me, pat on my back, see I meant for guessing the director. This recap was a mess. All right, there was no Gore, really. I mean, we had the bullet wound and the, you know, marital abuse, but otherwise, and I mean, stepping on the glass, nothing I would say is gory, honestly, not any gore. But was there anything you adored about this episode?

LA:

I was glad to have Rufus back for a little bit. Rufus Stephen Williams,

Berly:

was wonderful. I and I loved just getting to see Bobby and Rufus interact with each other, just the two of them. I do wish they had done whatever it is that Rufus won't forgive Bobby for. Oh yeah, instead of whatever this was, I understand that the near death experience was relevant, and Rufus reminding Bobby of what he had apparently told him years ago was important information for Bobby, so I get why they went the way they did. What did you adore? I adored this episode entirely honestly. I thought that just the storytelling again for me, recap wise, the cutting back and forth is tough for me, but just watching it, I thought it was beautifully told, yeah, I really loved some of the angles Robert singer did. It wasn't hazy, but on the verge of haziness that they added to the film when they were in Bobby's coma versus when they were in the real world, was a nice touch, too. Just I thought, I thought it was a beautiful depict. Action of somebody getting to reach enlightenment before they move on. I'm hoping that's what happened. I don't know. I don't know, but yeah, I thought, I thought it was a beautiful episode. Stephen Williams was great, the actress who plays Karen. I'm forgetting her name, I want to say it was Fleming. She was great. And Jim Beaver did phenomenal. Oh, yeah, full, full range of emotion displayed in this episode. He did great. All right, la will take us into the war. All

LA:

right. Well, this is from an article written by Elaine for hyper allergic, allergic. Hyper allergic. And yes, it is,

Unknown:

I know

LA:

the article is titled, science confirms that life flashes before the eyes upon death. Oh yeah, hold on, I'm getting old. I gotta make it a little bigger. You're

Unknown:

good. That's what he said. Oh,

LA:

it's been an age old trope in works of literature, poetry and art for ages, but now science has confirmed it's true, life does indeed flash before your eyes when you die. An 87 year old epilepsy patient unexpectedly passed away during a brain scan that's kind of like Kismet that this happened for them to like. Anyway, the scan found that his brain seemed to replay memories in the 30 seconds before and after, his heart stopped beating after, oh, my god. According to a recent study published in frontiers and aging neuroscience,

Berly:

that literally is just like luck of the draw, like, right? That's insane, the

LA:

patient, whose name was kept private, suffered a heart attack, which I mean during the scan, yeah. And due to his Do Not Resuscitate status, the scientists were able to track his brain waves throughout the final moments of his life. Oh my god. Which how awful to just stand there and watch him die.

Berly:

But as scientists, I bet you, they were like, This is fascinating. Oh yeah. They're

Unknown:

like, oh shit, look at what we're this is amazing.

LA:

The scan was to Yeah. The scan was conducted by an international team of 13 neuroscientists, led by Raul Vincent at the University of Tartu in Estonia. I'm gonna

Berly:

go ahead and say that's Raul Vincente Vicente. What did I say? You said Vincent did I but I'm wrong, because remember, I was like, Steven Moyer,

LA:

no, you're totally right. But I I'm just surprised. I read it like, no, it is totally Raul Vicente.

Berly:

Why am I thinking of Pulp Fiction? His name was Vincent, yeah, okay. Why was I thinking his name was Vicente? I don't know. I totally was okay. Keep going.

LA:

Uh, the scientists were originally conducting electroencephalence. I'm gonna get this. No, okay? Electroencephalography, yeah. EEG scans on the patient to detect and treat seizures. When he unexpectedly died, the EEG machine kept running, providing the scientists a first of its kind glimpse into the brain activity of a dying human. This is why it's so rare, because you can't plan this. Amal a Jamal zemer, one of the co authors of the study, told insider, no healthy human is going to go and have an EEG before they die, and in no sick patient are we going to know when they're going to die to record these signals. So crazy, the EEG brain scan found an oscillatory brain wave pattern in which activity in the brains alpha, beta and theta bands relatively decreased, and activity in the gamma band relatively increased. It's thought that these oscillatory patterns and an increase in gamma waves suggest memory recall. The gamma band decreases external inference, allowing for deep, inward concentration, like recalling memories,

Berly:

they went deeper and deeper and deeper. Yeah, Sarah Gamble's psych genius,

LA:

similar brain oscillations occur during meditation and dreaming. This is the first time this has been proven in a human although the concept looms large in our collective imagination, it comes back to us from people who have experienced near death experiences, defined as when the brain has transitioned into preparing for death. Research into these experiences has reported intense memory recall and a panoramic review of one's life. They have also reported a hallucinatory and meditative state and a sense of transcendence and bliss. These accounts cross cultures and religions. Research has not concluded why the brain does this for now, it seems that a flood of memories, a feeling of transcendence and eventual bliss are one last gift the world gives us before we leave it for good. Well, that's kind of nice, yeah.

Berly:

Like so we think Bobby, he was kind of smiling and happy whenever he was, like idiots. Oh yes, his eyes. This episode was a beautiful depiction of that. I love it. And

LA:

then we also have another article. Well, this is a blog entry from umbri Art Gallery titled at death's door. Or an Assisi. Assisi, the phrase at death's door, is synonymous with being seriously ill when someone is looking really under the weather, you'll often hear, Oh, he's at death's door. While the meaning is quite obvious, where exactly is this deathly door? Deadly door during the Middle Ages and beyond, it was considered, why are you pointing at me? Oh, I don't know. My hands. I don't know during the Middle Ages and beyond, it was considered bad luck to take the corpse from a house using the main entrance. Seriously ill people or the recently departed were laid out in the front parlor. From here, there was a smaller door next to the front door that led into the street. It was through this which the dead person in their coffin could be passed. These doors of the dead are easy to recognize, as they are only half doors and were built with a stone ledge to support the coffin as it was removed from the house, the body could be balanced here while everything was made ready for their last journey. The author walked around many the many medieval cities of Italy, and as they explored specifically, Assisi could make out the ghostly remains of these brick up doors and the walls of the houses others have been put to use and turned into shop display windows or now form entrances to another part of the building. How many of the people using these entrances or pricing up trinkets realize that daily they pass through death's door.

Berly:

There's some pictures at the blog link, which you guys can find in the show notes. Quote, to close it out, we have the conversation between the Reaper and Bobby. Reaper says, Bobby, you've helped. You got handed a small, unremarkable life, and you did something with it. Most men like you die of liver disease watching Barney Miller,

LA:

okay, I knew it was somebody's name, not actually Barney, but

Berly:

you've done enough, believe me. And Bobby says,

LA:

I don't care. Reaper says, why? And Bobby says, because they're my boys, he's

Unknown:

gotta get to them.

Berly:

Cheers, cheers

LA:

to Bobby.

Unknown:

Oh, is he gonna be gone? I'm

Berly:

so sad. I love him. Thank you for listening to denim wrapped nightmares. Follow

LA:

us on Twitter or Instagram, leave a review and let us know how we can get involved in the fandom. This was fun, jerk. It always is, bitch. You.

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