42.3: Deconstructing "Carry On" - From Dean's Funeral to the Bridge Reunion

*CONTENT WARNING: This episode discusses and analyzes "Carry On," starting at Dean's funeral and ending at the bridge reunion. We are including chapter markers in this episode so that you can skip moments that may be too difficult. There are no audio clips in this episode, as we feel that they could be triggering. Please take care of yourselves, friends.*

In this episode, Chrisha and Catherine begin their discussion with Dean's funeral, and proceed through to the brothers' reunion at the bridge.  Along the way, they discuss everything from the way Sam's life montage invokes S14's "Nightmare Logic" to Dean drinking El Sol beer in heaven as they continue to investigate the many allusions to something being "wrong" with the events of the finale. Their conclusion? Given all that they have uncovered, canon for them ends in E19.

Links from discussion:

• Supernatural Beer Info: https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/167499752865/hey-what-are-your-tags-for-beersign-meta-thanks

Follow us on Bluesky @thefangirlbiz.bsky.social

Join our Kofi Discord community at $1/month: https://ko-fi.com/thefangirlbiz/tiers

Support our podcast by buying our new merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/thefangirlbiz/shop

Thanks for listening!

Chapters

• 0:00 intro and disclaimer
• 2:38 Dean's funeral
• 4:53 Sam's mental health, Eileen, and found family erasure
• 11:03 divergence from the season's themes
• 13:09 Sam, pizza, dogs, and "Dark Side of the Moon"
• 17:07 the Austin phone call
• 19:39 Sam's journey towards love, leadership, and witchiness cut short
• 22:45 Chuck's unjust framework
• 25:18 the dropped thread of The Empty
• 27:35 that file on Dean's desk
• 30:11 Sam's departure from the bunker
• 32:28 the telescope and alternate universes
• 34:45 Chuck's lack of understanding of relationships and community
• 37:18 Dean's arrival in heaven
• 40:42 Dean, Bobby, and heaven's jail
• 43:48 the El Sol beer
• 46:29 Bobby's exposition and John's presence in heaven
• 50:44 the weight of what Dean "deserves"
• 53:18 "Cas helped" and Dean's silence
• 54:09 paradise on earth?
• 55:52 "he'll be along"
• 57:32 the emptiness of the driving sequence
• 1:02:40 Sam's life montage
• 1:03:19 Sam's house and "Nightmare Logic"
• 1:07:35 the "family photo" from "Lebanon"
• 1:08:54 Sam's family
• 1:12:02 family legacy, alcoholism, and isolation
• 1:18:23 Dean Jr's anti-possession tattoo and its implications
• 1:19:18 Sam's death scene and Dean Jr's stoicism
• 1:21:25 the bridge reunion scene
• 1:23:38 the surface narrative vs the visual and musical cues
• 1:28:40 the exit montage from "Inherit the Earth"
• 1:29:59 the intermission curtain from "Fan Fiction" and an end to canon
• 1:31:43 final thoughts
• 1:35:57 outro