everybody loves a clown WHAT an episode. dean halfheartedly trying to hit on jo and just stopping halfway through, for once not up for putting up an act. and then turning her down again at the end of the episode after acknowledging that normally he’d be hitting on her ‘fast enough to make her head spin’. but sure yeah his dad just died it’s just not the time, right?
except he then immediately turns around and gets SO flirty with ash. and it’s so obviously genuine and doesn’t feel at all performative! like, dean already seems interested and impressed by ash at the start of the episode. but then at the end of it ash makes a queer movie reference that sam doesn’t get, and then shoots dean a look to see if he clocked it. and right after that dean angles in and turns on the eyelashes and gets flirty and it feels so REAL and subtle and different from the interest he’s generally expressed in women up to this point.
oh and then ash takes a swig out of deans beer
ok i went back and grabbed screencaps
BEGINNING OF THE EPISODE:
scene 1: dean and ash have their first conversation, there's some immediate chemistry
and then dean compliments him in a way that very much reads to me as flirting, and ash peacocks a bit
scene 2 (immediately following scene 1): dean connects a bit with jo and
first jo walks by and gives him a suggestive look, to which dean responds like this. it's giving "you are dean winchester this is what you do".
they talk some, and dean halfheartedly tries to flirt before hitting pause and deciding he’s not up for putting on the act
jo describes how most hunters hit on her, dean says “what a bunch of scumbags” jo says “but not you” in an interested tone. and dean says “i guess not”, like he’s kinda surprised he’s saying it. surprised that he doesn’t feel the need or ability to put on the act.
END OF THE EPISODE:
scene 1: jo tries to flirt again, dean connects honestly with her but shuts it down
scene 2 (immediately following scene 1): ash shows up with his completed program, and dean gets much flirtier in tone
some banter happens, ash explains the program, and then ash makes a reference to a queer film
sam doesn't get the reference, and then ash flicks his eyes to dean to see if dean got the reference
dean leans in, he and ash have some real chemistry/tension while ash does more exposition, and then we finish the scene like this: dean giving a real smile, taking a distinctly (and imo intentionally on his part) suggestive swig of beer
and then as dean gets up and walks away, ash picks up dean's beer and drinks it himself
anyways. sometimes your dad dies and you can't find the energy or motivation to put on your han solo persona and hit on a girl, and then you enthusiastically if subtly hit on the guy with major queer vibes instead. which i guess could mean nothing but personally i think it means Something
