History Recap / SupernaturalS02E20WhatIsAndWhatShouldNeverBe

-->'''--Dean'''

** Sam says djinn are not like [[Series/IDreamOfJeannie Barbara Eden]] in [[BedlahBabe harem pants]], and explains that they're all over the [[Literature/TheQuran Quran]].
** Dean prefers Creator/BarbaraEden in ''Series/IDreamOfJeannie'' to Creator/ElizabethMontgomery of ''Series/{{Bewitched}}''.

-->'''Dean:''' My God. [[Series/IDreamOfJeannie Barbara Eden]] was hot, wasn't she? Way hotter than that ''Series/{{Bewitched}}'' chick.

** Dean prefers Barbara Eden in ''Series/IDreamOfJeannie'' to Creator/ElizabethMontgomery of ''Series/{{Bewitched}}''.

** Dean prefers Barbara Eden in ''Series/IDreamOfJeannie'' to Elizabeth Montgomery of ''Series/{{Bewitched}}''.

-->'''Dean:''' [[TheHunter Hunting]].

------------
[[PreviouslyOn The Road So Far]] starts with Dean reminding us that his father wanted them [[Recap/SupernaturalS01E02Wendigo saving people, hunting things, the family business.]] THEN [[Recap/SupernaturalS01E01Pilot a young Dean and baby Sam lose their mother as she burns on the ceiling. Sam then loses his dreams at Stanford when Jessica burns to death on the ceiling.]] [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E10Hunted Dean tells Sam he is sick of being a hunter because "I mean, we don't get paid, we don't get thanked. The only thing we get is bad luck."]]

NOW [[Characters/SupernaturalDeanWinchester Dean]] is driving the Impala with a new Ohio license plate trying to search the 50 miles of real estate where victims have been disappearing. [[Characters/SupernaturalSamWinchester Sam]] calls Dean's cell from their motel to let Dean know that a police car is outside their motel. This turns out to be a false alarm, and the police car leaves without incident. However, Sam updates Dean on his research. Sam is convinced they are hunting a [[Characters/SupernaturalDjinn djinn]], or genie, which typically lives in ruins. Dean wants to check out a location he passed, which he thinks could be the djinn's lair. Sam suggests Dean pick him up so they can investigate together, but Dean says he will just look around and pulls up to an abandoned warehouse. The djinn watches Dean who searches an old office holding a flashlight and a knife with a blood coated blade. When Dean starts to walk down a hallway, the djinn slams Dean against the wall, knocking the knife out of Dean's hand, and chokes Dean with his right hand. The djinn then lifts his left hand which glows blue as do his eyes. The djinn places his left hand on Dean's forehead, and Dean's eyes roll back and are covered in a gray film.

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!Tropes appearing in this episode:

* LotusEaterMachine: Dean is happy except for the fact that he and Sam aren't nearly as close as they were in real life.

* DeggansRule: Failed.

* WhiteShirtOfDeath: During the woman in white's second appearance, she has smudges of white on her blouse. By her third appearance, her blouse is soaked in blood.

* TheBechdelTest: Borderline. Carmen congratulates Jessica on her engagement, and Mary asks Jessica to see her ring.

Dean finds out what it would mean to have his deepest wish granted while hunting a [[Characters/SupernaturalDjinn djinn]] in [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joliet,_Illinois Joliet, Illionois.]]

-->"You kidding? I'd love to mow the lawn."
--->'''--Dean'''

* CoincidentalBroadcast: Dean decides to watch a little TV. When he turns on the set a cooking show is on on channel 2. Channel 3 is Bloomberg News, showing financial news, and channel 4 is playing an episode of ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats''. He then flips to channel 5, which is a news broadcast on 15 [[BroadcastingInTheUnitedStates KJLT]] covering the anniversary of the crash of United Britannia Flight 424.

** While Dean is flipping channels, we see [[Characters/ThunderCats Cheetara talking to Lynx-O, Tygra, and Panthro]], from ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats''.

------------

* YourFavourite: Dean's Wishverse!girlfriend, Carmen, produces his favorite brand of beer, El Sol. Cruelly subverted after Dean wakes up from the Wishverse, and finds his "perfect girlfriend" smiling back at him in a magazine ad for that brand.

* TitledAfterTheSong: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Is_and_What_Should_Never_Be A song]] on Music/LedZeppelin's 1969 album ''Led Zeppelin II''. This is [[StockEpisodeTitles also the title]] of an episode of ''Series/OneTreeHill'', ''Series/That70sShow'', and ''Series/CovertAffairs''. Other ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' episodes have been named after Music/LedZeppelin songs including [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E01InMyTimeOfDying "In My Time of Dying" (S02, Ep01)]] and [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E13HousesOfTheHoly "Houses of the Holy" (S03, Ep13)]].

* TravelingAtTheSpeedOfPlot: Wishverse!Sam catches Dean stealing the silver knife in the early morning hours, but by the time they drive from [[https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Lawrence,+KS/Joliet,+IL/@40.2330068,-96.0605277,6z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x87bf40c7ce479883:0x151713d50478ab2e!2m2!1d-95.2352501!2d38.9716689!1m5!1m1!1s0x880e456bec363d7d:0x9f9e66f7a36bc042!2m2!1d-88.0817251!2d41.525031!3e0 Lebanon, Kansas, to Joliet, Illinois, a less than 8 hour drive,]] it is already dark.
* TreacherousSpiritChase: Dean sees the back of a fleeing woman while working on his computer. He follows the woman in white into his bedroom, where he hears a creeping noise coming from the closet. When he opens the closet door, he finds decaying corpses hanging by their wrists, which disappear when he looks away.
* TrunkShot: AvertedTrope. When Dean looks in the trunk of the Wishverse!Impala, the camera is behind Dean's left shoulder and we see into the trunk from Dean's point of view. The trunk contains a spare tire, a couple of magazines, a flashlight, an old shirt, and fast food containers, but [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness not one weapon]].

* TryingNotToCry: Dean, when he hugs his mother, and later before he stabs himself in the stomach to end the dream.

** The book Wishverse!Sam closes after Dean calls him is [[FictionalDocument "Criminal Law & Procedure" by Kevin Parks.]] [[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0662971/ Kevin Parks]] is the first assistant director on the odd numbered episodes of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}''.
** Wishverse!Sam's prom date, who hooked up with Wishverse!Dean, is Rachel Nave. [[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1720117/ Rachel Nave]] was also one of the writers of [[Recap/SupernaturalS01E08Bugs "Bugs" (S01, Ep08)]].

* UnwillingSuspension: The two dead women Dean sees in his closet are hanging by their wrists. Later when he returns to the warehouse, Dean and Sam find the bodies of these two women hanging in the same manner as well as the woman in white. In the real world, Dean is also hanging by his wrists in the warehouse.
* [[CaliforniaDoubling Vancouver Doubling]]: This episode is shot [[http://raloriasresources.jottit.com/spn_locations%3A_s2_-_pt_2 at different locations]] in [[UsefulNotes/{{Vancouver}} Vancouver]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burnaby Burnaby,]] British Columbia. The abandoned warehouse is actually Terminal City Iron Works at Franklin Street and Victoria Drive in Vancouver. The Winchester home is a private residence on W 59th Ave in Vancouver. Dean first sees the near dead woman in front of the Burnaby Village Museum Carousel. The birthday celebration is at Hart House Restaurant in Burnaby, and the cemetery scene was filmed at Burnaby Fraser Foreshore Park where the [[https://www.google.com/maps/place/49%C2%B011%2701.9%22N+122%C2%B059%2713.8%22W/@49.182782,-122.989661,3a,75y,90h,90t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sRexlINEW2ATKSG0zTdUusQ!2e0!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x0?hl=en CNR bridge can be seen crossing the Fraser River.]]
* VehicleVanish: Dean notices a woman in white who is staring at him from across the street. As Dean crosses the street, a red car almost hit him. The car screeches to a halt and the driver honks his horn at Dean. When Dean look up, the woman in white has disappeared.

** Dean keeps seeing a brunette is a white blouse, long white skirt, and white shoes; rather than a supernatural being, she turns out to be another victim strung up alongside him, a reminder of why he should wake up. When they find her in the warehouse, she is wearing the same clothes she appeared in, which now appear filthy and blood stained, but she is now barefoot.

* YankTheDogsChain: Dean has his mother, a wonderful girlfriend, and knows Sam is happy. Of course, [[StatusQuoIsGod that can not last.]]

-->'''Dean:''' I'll die. (voice breaking) The Djinn'll... drain the life out of me in a couple of days.

* YouDoNOTWantToKnow: Dean tells Wishverse!Sam he really doesn't want to look in the brown paper bag. When Sam finds a tub of blood in there, Dean tells him he really doesn't want to know what it's for. Sam insists.

-->'''Wishverse!Sam:''' Fine (grabs the bag and begins to open it)

-->'''Wishverse!Sam:''' Oh really? (He takes out a plastic takeout container of [[KensingtonGore red liquid]].) What the hell is this?

-->'''Wishverse!Sam:''' Okay, um... stop the car.

* YourFavourite: Dean's Wishverse!girlfriend, Carmen, produces his favorite brand of beer, El Sol. Cruelly subverted after Dean wakes up from the Wishverse, and finds his 'perfect girlfriend' smiling back at him in a magazine add for that brand.
-->'''Dean taking beer from Carmen:''' My favorite. I guess you know me pretty well.

* {{Zoom}}: When Dean is talking to the professor, the camera zooms in quickly on 4 illustrations of djinn accompanied by a [[{{Sting}} swooshing sound]]. Each image becomes [[DeliberatelyMonochrome desaturated]] to the point of almost being completely white before disappearing. The images include a figure wearing a yellow hat with [[WingedHumanoid red wings]] that is in the sky surrounded by yellow swirls, a sketch of a [[ArabianNightsDays being wearing a turban]] surrounded by notes in Arabic, a bearded character wearing a helmet who has 4 wings, and a painting of six males in turbans around [[GenieInABottle a lamp]] surrounded by [[TechnicolorFire blue flames]].

-->'''Dean at his father's grave:''' But why? Why is it my job to save these people? Why do I have to be some kind of hero?
* ILetGwenStacyDie: Dean realizes that he can not be happy knowing that all the people the Winchesters saved are now dead.
-->'''Dean watching the coverage of the plane crash:''' No, no. I stopped that crash.
* InsistentTerminology: Wishverse!Sam does not like being called "Sammy" anymore than real Sam, but for a different reason. This argument about Dean's AffectionateNickname is also a CallBack to the [[Recap/SupernaturalS01E01Pilot Pilot (S01, Ep1)]], [[Recap/SupernaturalS01E15TheBenders "The Benders" (S01, Ep15)]], [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E03Bloodlust "Bloodlust" (S02, Ep03)]], and [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E10Hunted "Hunted" (S02, Ep10)]].

-->'''Wishverse!Sam:''' Yeah, right. That's another thing. Since when do you call me Sammy? ({{Beat}}) Dean, come on. We don't talk outside of holidays.

* JackassGenie: The djinn is a malevolent creatures who does not actually grant wishes, but manipulate a person's desires to allow the djinn to feed.

-->'''Dean at his father's grave:''' Course I know what you'd say. Well, not the you that played softball but... "So go hunt the Djinn. He put you here, it can put you back. Your happiness for all those people's lives, no contest. Right?"
* LetsSplitUpGang: Dean insists on investigating by himself, despite Sam's warning. Not 10 seconds later does he get captured.

-->'''Dean:''' Yeah, [[InsultBackfire that does kinda sound like me]]. Well, hey man, I'm sorry about all that.

-->'''Dean to Wishverse!Mary:''' You don't think that wishes can, can really...

** Hearing Wishverse!Mary tell Dean to "Get some rest" is heartwarming early in the episode when she cradles his face in his hands after he arrives at her house and appears upset. It also seems to suggest Wishverse!Sam really does care for Dean, when Wishverse!Sam says "Get some rest" after explaining that the two brothers are not that close. Later the same line takes on a creepier tone when Wishverse!Mary delivers it while stroking Dean's cheek, but we know this Mary is a creation of the djinn, the same djinn who stroked the face of the bound woman in white clothes and told her to "sleep".
** When Dean is at his father's grave he asks, "Why is it my job to save these people?" Later when Wishverse!Sam tries to convinve Dean to give him the knife he says, "Why is it our job to save everyone? Haven't we done enough?"
** The image of Carmen smiling on a beach which was framed in the home she shared with Dean is seen at the end of the episode, as an ad for El Sol beer.
* MetallicarSyndrome: Despite the events of [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E19FolsomPrisonBlues "Folsom Prison Blues" (S02, Ep19)]], Dean keeps driving his 1967 Chevy Impala, but he did switch out the Kansas plate KAZ 2Y5 to an [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ohio_License_Plate_2004.jpg Ohio plate]] CNK 80Q3, which includes the rising sun from the UsefulNotes/{{Ohio}} State Seal and reminds us that Ohio is the [[TheWrightBrothers Birthplace of Aviation]].

* MrExposition: Dean pretends to be a student in order to discuss djinn with a college professor. According to the DVDCommentary by Creator/EricKripke, this professor was added to the episode to give Dean someone to talk to as he did not have Sam to discuss the case with, and they did not want to have Dean [[ThinkingOutLoud monologuing in an empty room]].
* MundaneObjectAmazement: Dean just can't stop smiling while he mows the lawn, even though Dean has quite a bit more trouble with the mower than he has handling a machete or a shotgun.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Dean's reaction when he found that flight 424 crashed outside of Pittsburgh killing all 108 people on board. He then finds out that all the people he saved with his father and brother are also dead.

* NoSenseOfPersonalSpace: Dean is more touchy feely than normal. He keeps slapping Wishverse!Sam on the shoulder and gives tight embraces to Jessica and his mother.

-->'''Dean:''' No, I'm pretty sure. Like, 90% sure. But I'm sure enough. [Dean turns the knife towards himself, getting ready to thrust it into his stomach.]
* NostalgiaFilter: Another shared trait between Dean and Wishverse!Dean. The coffee table in front of the couch at Dean and Carmen's home has a stack of cassette tapes and only one CD sitting among comic books and magazines. One of the comic books, ''[[http://comicbrowse.com/preview/six-from-sirius Six From Sirius,]]'' is a classic from Epic (a division of Creator/MarvelComics) from 1984. The stack of tapes is also a ContinuityNod to when Sam told Dean he needed to update his cassette tape collection in the [[Recap/SupernaturalS01E01Pilot Pilot]].
* NoTellMotel: They are staying at the Joliet Motel. There room has a pole lamp room divider, swirly red wallpaper, wood laminate, and a huge ornate clock.

-->'''Wishverse!Sam:''' I mean this whole warm, [[GettingSmiliesPaintedOnYourSoul fuzzy ecstasy-trip thing]].
* NotInKansasAnymore: This is initially an InvertedTrope, as Dean collapsed in Joliet, Illinois, but when he wakes up he finds mail addressed to Carmen Porter and himself at [[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Barker+Ave/@38.9539572,-95.2328179,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x87bf68af244e911d:0xfe47934f905e3553 53 Barker Ave., Lawrence, KS 66044.]] However, once Dean finds the abandoned warehouse where he first encountered the djinn, he can't resist a ShoutOut to ''Film/TheWizardOfOz''.
-->'''Dean to Wishverse!Sam:''' Well, we're not in Kansas anymore. (Looks at his brother, and then frowns.) Illinois.
* NotWhatItLooksLike: Subverted; Wishverse!Sam finds Dean breaking into the silverware cabinet. He gives this trope, then explains that he's stealing the silverware to pay a gambling debt.

* OlderThanTheyLook: Wishverse!Mary turns 52 years of age, but is portrayed by a [[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0809860/ 37 year old actor.]]
* OneHourWorkWeek: DiscussedTrope. Wishverse!Dean is not a hunter. He works at the garage, and Wishverse!Mary wonders why Dean is not at work. Later Carmen has to interrupt Dean from kissing her, because she has a night shift at the hospital.
-->'''Wishverse!Mary:''' Sweetie, I–I... Don't get me wrong. I am thrilled you are... hanging out here... all of a sudden. (She touches Dean's chin) But uh... shouldn't you be at work?

-->'''Dean:''' Right. The garage. It's where I work, yeah. No, I-I–I've got the day off.
* OneTrueLove: Dean suggest Carmen could be this for him.

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Seeing Wishverse!Sam with his back against the wall, eyes large in the shadows, as he seems to need to gather his courage before he swings his baseball bat at the supposed intruder, reminds the viewers how much the real Sam has progressed as a hunter from the [[Recap/SupernaturalS01E01Pilot Pilot]] where he behaved similarly. Dean can't help teasing real life Sam with the behavior of his counterpart.

* OurGeniesAreDifferent: The Djinn doesn't actually grant wishes but traps its victims in a [[LotusEaterMachine Lotus Eater Machine]] so it can drink their blood.
* PaperThinDisguise: Sam and Dean in no way alter their appearance and continue to drive a 1967 Impala, despite knowing FBI Agent Henriksen is chasing them, they have arrest warrants in a least 5 states, and they recently [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E19FolsomPrisonBlues escaped from prison]]. Dean seems to believe getting a new license plate and credit cards should be enough of a disguise.

* PeacefulInDeath: The Wishverse!John died in his sleep from a stroke.

* PhotosLie: In the Wishverse, Dean looks at photos of his family. There is a Christmas picture of his mother, his father, Sam, and him, wearing matching Christmas sweaters with train engines on them, complete with John in a Santa hat. There is another photo of John and Mary at Sam's graduation. While in reality, his mother died when Sam was an infant. Later we see a photo of John with an impressively large fish who is smiling into the camera, striking a contrast with the desperate hunter trying to find his wife's killer who raised Sam and Dean and did not [[HeroesGoneFishing have times for these pursuits]].

-->'''Dean:''' Yeah... Lucky me. I gotta tell you though, man. You know, you had Jess. Mom was gonna have grand-kids...
-->'''Sam:''' Yeah, but... Dean... it wasn't real.
* PlotBasedPhotographObfuscation: Dean looks for clues in the living room he shares with Carmen, and he sees a framed photo of Carmen and two further framed photos of Carmen and him together. He then picks up another frame and drops it in surprise with it landing face down so the audience never sees the photo. He then drives to his childhood home, where his mother answers the door.

* PowerTattoo: The djinn is covered by elaborate tattoos covering his earlobes, face, scalp, and hands.

** Wishverse!Sam's Verizon Motorola Q8 phone on which he is reviewing e-mails when Dean calls him. Sam had [[ContinuityNod the same]] model of phone in [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E18HollywoodBabylon "Hollywood Babylon" (S02, Ep18)]].

* RedFilterOfDoom: In the Wishverse warehouse the bodies are hanging in from of back-lit red screens, giving these scenes an ominous and unreal air.
* RightUnderTheirNoses: Dean takes Wishverse!Sam to the djinn's lair to confront the djinn, and at one point they are literally hiding under the djinn's nose as they hide under an open metal frame staircase as the djinn walks up the steps.
* RingRingCRUNCH: When Wishverse!Sam tries to call for help believing Dean has had a psychotic break, Dean rolls down the car window, grabs the phone, and tosses it out the window of the moving car. He then rolls the window up again.

** When Dean calls Wisverse!Sam:
-->'''Dean:''' Well, the uh, the Djinn. It attacked me.
-->'''Wishverse!Sam:''' The gin? You're ... drinking gin?

-->'''Dean:''' [[LampshadeHanging Everybody keeps asking me that.]] But uh... No.

-->'''Wishverse!Sam motioning towards the beer in Dean's hand:''' I see you started off Mom's birthday with a bang, as usual.

-->'''Dean with his mouth full to Wishverse!Mary:''' Mmm. Mmm. Mmm! This is the best sandwich, ever!

* SdrawkcabAlias: The Winchester home has the number 1841 beside the door. This is reversed from the house number 1481 seen in the [[Recap/SupernaturalS01E01Pilot Pilot]] and [[Recap/SupernaturalS01E09Home "Home" (S01, Ep09)]].
* SharpDressedMan: Usually we only see Sam and Dean dressed up when they are impersonating law enforcement agents, but in the Wishverse they put on their best for their mother's birthday. Dean wears a blue button up shirt with a black woven tie, and Sam wears a black pinstripe suit with the yellow tie with blue squares that [[ContinuityNod was previously seen]] in [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E05SimonSaid "Simon Said" (S02, Ep05)]].

** When Dean wakes up in the Wishverse, ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-QV9CL-p_Y From Hell It Came,]]'' one of the [[OverlyNarrowSuperlative best movies featuring a Polynesian tree monster]] named Tabanga, is playing on the television.
** Dean and Carmen have a copy of Doug Moench's and Paul Gulacy's comic ''[[http://comicbrowse.com/preview/six-from-sirius Six From Sirius]]'' on top of a copy of ''Magazine/SportsIllustrated'' on their coffee table.
** While Dean is flipping channels, we see [[Characters/ThunderCats Cheetara talking to Lynx-O, Tygra, and Panthro]], from ''[[WesternAnimation/ThunderCats Thunder Cats]]''.
** There is a framed poster for [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immaculate_Machine Immaculate Machine,]] a [[CanadianMusic Canadian indie pop band]], on the wall of Dean's and Carmen's bedroom.

* SmashCut: Dean thrusts the knife into his abdomen and the camera cuts to Sam yelling, "Dean". Only it it not Wishverse!Sam protesting Dean's death, but real life Sam waking Dean from the djinn induced sleep.

* SpotTheImposter: Dean checks he really is talking to his mother before hugging her, by getting her to repeat something from his childhood.

* StealthHiBye: The woman in white appears to Dean, and then disappears. The first time she disappears when Dean is nearly struck by a car. The second time she disappears when Dean looks away as someone walks in front of him at the restaurant. The third time she flickers and then disappears as he is staring at her.

* SwitchingPOV: You would imagine that all the scenes in the Wishverse would be shown from Dean's perspective, as this world was created for his benefit. But, from the beginning we have scenes showing Wishverse!Sam's viewpoint, including the shot of him reading e-mails studying from a law book when Dean calls, and of Wishverse!Sam hearing the noise from downstairs that causes him to grab the bat and investigate. We actually have less scenes from the viewpoint of real life Sam than Wishverse!Sam in this episode.
* SubvertedCatchPhrase: When Dean calls Sam "Bitch", instead of responding with "Jerk", Wishverse!Sam appears offended and hurt by the remark. This is a ContinuityNod to the [[Recap/SupernaturalS01E01Pilot Pilot]] and [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E10Hunted "Hunted" (S02, Ep10)]].

-->'''Wishverse!Sam:''' W–hat are you calling me a bitch for?
-->'''Dean:''' You're supposed to say jerk.

* SurrogateSoliloquy[=/=]TalkingToTheDead: On discovering all the people who died because he's not a Hunter, Dean visits his father's grave and delivers a bitter tirade to John E. Winchester's tombstone asking why he and Sam have to be so unhappy because they're fated to be heroes.
* SurvivorGuilt: Dean realizes his happiness is at too great a cost.
-->'''Dean at his father's grave:''' All of them. Everyone that you saved, everyone Sammy and I saved. They're all dead.
* TakeFive: Wishverse!Sam asks Jessica and Carmen to leaves so he can talk to his "brother for a sec".
* ThemedAliases: This is the third episode in a row where this is an AvertedTrope. Dean pretends to be a student when he talks to the professor, but Dean does not offer the professor a fake name.

-->'''Sam:''' Oh God. Come on. (shaking Dean) Hey. Wake up. Wake up, damn it! Hey. Hey.
-->'''Dean:''' Ahh... Auntie Em. There's no place like home.

-->'''Wishverse!Sam:''' (sighs) Because you're still my brother.

-->'''Dean:''' It's the truth, Sam. All right, there are things out there in the dark. There – there – there are bad things. There are nightmare things. And people have to be saved and if we don't save them, then nobody will.

Dean wakes to a world where he's living with [[Characters/SupernaturalOtherHumans Carmen Porter]], his nurse girlfriend in [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence,_Kansas Lawrence, Kansas.]] He soon realizes his mom, [[Characters/SupernaturalTheWinchesters Mary Winchester,]] is alive, and neither he nor Sam grew up as hunters. Their father, [[Characters/SupernaturalTheWinchesters John Winchester,]] is still dead, but he died peacefully in his sleep from a stroke. Sam is in law school at Stanford, but he flies home with [[Characters/SupernaturalOtherHumans Jessica Moore]] to celebrate Mary Winchester's birthday. At the birthday dinner, Sam and Jessica announce their engagement. Everything seems great, until he realizes that all the people they saved are now dead. And on top of that, he and Sam are no longer close - they never were, thanks to Wishverse!Dean's escapades with Sam's old girlfriend and his absence at Sam's graduation, among other things. And he keeps seeing a girl dressed in white who appears and disappears.

Dean sets out to kill the djinn, and Wishverse!Sam joins him, refusing to leave. Unable to find it, he decides to attempt suicide, thinking that Real!Dean will wake up when he does, since that's what happens in dreams. The other Wishverse family members, Carmen, Jessica, and Mary, appear and try to convince Dean not to do it. They say that even though this may not be reality, he'll be able to live a long life, see Sam grow old, and have all his greatest wishes - his mom alive, a great girlfriend, etc. But Dean plunges a knife into his stomach anyway.

He wakes up bound and tied and hooked to an IV, which the djinn had been using to drink his blood. Real!Sam is shaking him, trying to get him to wake up. He begins to cut Dean's ropes, but the djinn appears and attacks him. Dean rips free just in time to save Sam, and the siblings rescue one of the other victims - the girl Dean kept seeing in the dream - before heading back to their hotel.

* [[YMMV/SupernaturalS02E20WhatIsAndWhatShouldNeverBe Your Mileage May Vary (YMMV) Items.]]

** Dean refers to the Impala as Baby. He previously used this term of endearment for his car in [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E03Bloodlust "Bloodlust" (S02, Ep03)]] and [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E05SimonSaid "Simon Said" (S02, Ep05)]].
-->'''Dean opening the trunk of the Wishverse!Impala:''' Well, who'd'a thought, [[CargoShip baby]]. We're civilians.
** Dean also calls Wishverse!Sam "Sammy" on six different occasions in this episode and uses this nickname another two times when talking about real life Sam at his father's grave.

* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: At least this is Dean's view.
-->'''Sam:''' Yeah, being fugitives? [[SarcasmMode Freaking dance party.]]

* AloofDarkHairedGirl: Carmen's dark hair and pale skin as well as her knowing and mature attitude are reminiscent of [[Characters/SupernaturalReapers Tessa]] from [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E01InMyTimeOfDying "In My Time of Dying" (S02, Ep1)]]. The fact that Dean's dream woman resembles his reaper has some [[DeathSeeker unsettling implications]].
* AlternateSelf: We see the Wishverse versions of Mary, Jessica, and Sam, and gain an understanding of what Dean and John were like in the Wishverse. We also see the Wishverse!Impala with Kansas license plate that reads RMD 5H2.

** Subverted when Dean does come up with a plausible lie, that he owes money to a loan shark that he's got to pay pronto.

-->'''Dean:''' The Djinn. The ... scary creature. Remember? It put its hand on me and then I woke up ... next to some hot chick...
-->'''Wishverse!Sam:''' Who? [laughs] Carmen?

-->'''Dean:''' But I wanted to stay. I wanted to stay so bad. I mean, ever since Dad... all I c– all I can think about is how much this job's cost us. We've lost so much. We've... sacrificed so much.

* BigBrotherBully: Wishverse!Dean who slept with Sam's prom date and generally has a distant relationship with his brother.
* BigBrotherInstinct: One of the temptations of the Wishverse for Dean is that Sam is happy and safe,

* BigEater: Dean shoves a sandwich into his mouth and continues to [[JabbaTableManners talk to his mother with a full mouth]]. The RunningGag of Dean stuffing his face was previously seen in [[Recap/SupernaturalS01E14Nightmare "Nightmare" (S01, Ep14)]], [[Recap/SupernaturalS01E19Provenance "Provenance" (S01, Ep19)]], [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E15TallTales "Tall Tales" (S02, Ep15)]], [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E18HollywoodBabylon "Hollywood Babylon" (S02, Ep18)]], and [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E19FolsomPrisonBlues "Folsom Prison Blues" (S02, Ep19)]].

* BlackAndNerdy: The college professor who is wearing glasses, a button up shirt, and sweater. He has an outline for the course "Anthropology/Mythology 204" on his computer screen. His office is full of books and artifacts including a mask and stringed instrument.

** You can not see the full title of either of the magazines in the trunk of the Wishverse!Impala, but the one with a blonde in a yellow bikini on the cover recalls ''Magazine/{{Playboy}}''[[note]]-evidently the Wishverse!Dean is not as big a fan of ''Busty Asian Beauties''[[/note]]. The other resembles ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxim_%28magazine%29 Maxim]]'' and has a woman with half closed eyes and the caption "The It Girl Bobbi B!" on the cover.
** An advertisement on the back of the ''Magazine/{{Playboy}}'' magazine in the Wishverse!Impala's trunk is for [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smirnoff Sknokoff Vodka]] and shows a cat looking at a fish in a martini glass with the caption "Everyone's Favorite Martini ..."
** The airline of the crashed plane is [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_air United]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Airways Britannia.]]

* BlatantLies: When the professor says he has not seen Dean in his class, Dean says, "You kiddin' me? I love your lectures. You... You make learning fun." This seems to win the professor over.
* BloodFromTheMouth: The woman in white has blood dripping from her lip on her third appearance. Blood pours from Dean's mouth, after Dean thrusts the knife into his stomach

* BookEnds: The episode starts with Dean pulling up to the abandoned warehouse in the Impala on a rainy night as "Saturday Night Special" by Music/LynyrdSkynyrd plays. 29 minutes into the episode Wishverse!Sam and Dean pull up to the same warehouse with the same song playing to confront the djinn.

** Sam believing the police car outside the motel is after them recalls the [[Recap/SupernaturalS01E01Pilot Pilot]], and the new license plate and credit cards reminds us that they were going to go deep (like moving to Yemen deep) after realizing what Agent Henriksen was capable of during [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E19FolsomPrisonBlues "Folsom Prison Blues" (S02, Ep19)]].
** Dean realizes that something is wrong with the Wishverse when he sees the news coverage of the crash of United Britannia flight 424, which was the plane Sam and he boarded in [[Recap/SupernaturalS01E04PhantomTraveller "Phantom Traveler" (S01, Ep04)]] that landed safely after they exorcised the demon.
** Dean starts looking up news articles online and comes across an article titled "Nine Children Comatose; Mystery illness baffles doctors at Dane County Hospital". The article goes on to say that in the last week a deadly illness seems to be spreading from family to family in Fitchburg, Wisconsin. In [[Recap/SupernaturalS01E18SomethingWicked "Something Wicked" (S01, Ep18)]], Dean and Sam killed a Shtriga saving these children.
** The next article Dean reads is titled "Parents mutilated; Brutal double homicide in quiet residential area shocked neighbors". In [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E02EverybodyLovesAClown "Everybody Loves A Clown" (S02, Ep02)]], Dean and Sam killed a rakshasa who was killing the parents of children who attended a carnival.
** Dean then reads an article titled "Girl Drowns in Hotel Pool; Mother devastated after discovering daughter drowned ". The article goes on to say that 9 year old Tyler Thompson, the daughter of widow Susan Thompson, drowned in the Pierport Inn in Cornwall, Connecticut. There is a quote from her mother saying they don't know why she was on the roof or why she jumped into the pool, but maybe she heard a loud noise. They also mention that Rose Thompson, her grandmother, is the oldest living member of the Thompson family, and that Robert Carlton planned on demolishing the hotel. The article includes a smiling photo of Tyler in a blue shirt. In [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E11Playthings "Playthings" (S02, Ep11)]], Sam and Dean try to save Tyler, but it is actually Tyler's grandmother, Rose, who sacrifices her life to stop the vengeful spirit.
** The scene of Sam walking down the stairs with a baseball bat is very similar to the scene of Mary coming down the same stairs to find a sleeping John in the [[Recap/SupernaturalS01E01Pilot Pilot]]. Light comes through the window backlighting Mary and Sam in the same manner. The curtains, wall lamp, and framed photos, are slightly different in the 2 scenes, but still quite similar.
** The scene where Wishverse!Sam finds Dean stealing the silverware echoes the scene in the [[Recap/SupernaturalS01E01Pilot Pilot]] where Dean breaks into Sam's apartment. In both episodes, we see Sam and Jessica sleeping back to back. A noise wakes Sam up while Jessica only stirs in her sleep. Sam sees an open window and attacks the intruder, but is easily bested. Then once Sam recognizes Dean, Dean insults his fighting ability. Sam asks, "What the hell are you doing here?" Dean replies, "I was looking for a beer."

* ChronicHeroSyndrome: Dean who has to help others, even if it means sacrificing his happiness and those he loves.
* CoincidentalBroadcast: Dean decides to watch a little TV. When he turns on the set a cooking show is on channel 2. Channel 3 is Bloomberg news showing financial news, and channel 4 is playing an episode of ''[[WesternAnimation/ThunderCats Thunder Cats]]''. He then flips to channel 5, which is a news broadcast on 15 [[BroadcastingInTheUnitedStates KJLT]] covering the anniversary of the crash of United Britannia flight 424.

-->'''Wishverse!Sam:''' I... guess we just don't really have anything in common. You know?
-->'''Dean:''' Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Yes we do. Yes we do. (laughs)

-->'''Dean:''' [[TheHunter Hunting.]]
-->'''Wishverse!Sam:''' [[ManlyMenCanHunt Hunting?]] [[ComicallyMissingThePoint I've never been hunting in my life]], Dean.

** In the episode [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E13HousesOfTheHoly "Houses Of The Holy" (S02, Ep13)]], Dean told Sam that their mother would say angels were watching over them when she tucked them in. In this episode, Dean asks Wishverse!Mary what she told him when she put him to bed. She replies, "I told you angels were watching over you."
** Wishverse!John Winchester played on a softball team. Sam had a baseball mobile over his crib in the [[Recap/SupernaturalS01E01Pilot Pilot.]]
** When Wishverse!Sam falls asleep in the car on the ride to the warehouse in Joliet, Illinois, Dean wakes Wishverse!Sam by shining a flashlight in his face, recalling the prank that started the prank war in [[Recap/SupernaturalS01E17HellHouse "Hell House" (S01, Ep17)]], when Dean put a spoon in Sam's mouth while he slept in the Impala.
** Wishverse!Mary is wearing the same white nightgown with a lace collar, rose ribbon, and lace trimmed short sleeves, that she was wearing when she last held Dean as a child in the [[Recap/SupernaturalS01E01Pilot Pilot]] or when he last saw her in [[Recap/SupernaturalS01E09Home "Home" (S01, Ep09)]]. This is not obvious when Dean first sees his mother, as she is wearing a robe with red flowers covering her nightgown, but it is obvious when she confronts Dean in the warehouse.
* ConvenientlyAnOrphan: Dean realizes that if his mother lived or Sam [[CartwrightCurse settled down]] they would not be able to hunters.
-->'''Dean at his father's grave:''' What about us, huh? What, Mom's not supposed to live her life, Sammy's not supposed to get married? Why do we have to sacrifice everything, Dad?

-->'''Dean:''' You're not real. [[TryingNotToCry None of it is.]]

* DestroyTheProductPlacement: Dean throws Sam's Verizon Motorola Q8 out of the window of the Impala.
* DiesWideOpen: SubvertedTrope. Dean finds the woman in white hanging limp with her eyes wide open, appearing to be dead, but then she whimpers revealing she is alive.
* DirtForcefield: SubvertedTrope. The woman is white is wearing grayed dirty clothing with red stains on her blouse, tears in her clothes, and [[BeautyIsNeverTarnished disheveled hair]], during her second appearance in the restaurant. On her third appearance she is in even worse shape.

* DramaticDrop: After looking around the house, Dean sees a framed photo which he drops in shock, the photo landing face-down so the audience can't see what it is. He then drives to a house in the middle of the night...to meet mom.

* DrivesLikeCrazy: In the teaser, Dean not only is talking on his cell phone while driving at night in a rainstorm but also spends most of his time looking down or out the side windows instead of looking at the road.
* DueToTheDead: A [[ShrineToTheFallen candle lit vigil]] is held in Indianapolis one year after the crash of flight 424, and we see people leaving messages of support for the family members who lost a loved one.
* EmbarrassingOldPhoto: According to the DVDCommentary by Creator/EricKripke on this episode, some of the photos Dean looks at in his childhood home are real photos from Jared and Jensen, while others were photo-shopped to put the whole family together. The photo of a young Dean holding a girl in a blue sparkling dress with a corsage on her wrist was actually a RealLife prom photo of Creator/JensenAckles, and the photo of Sam in an orange cap and gown is a RealLife graduation photo of Creator/JaredPadalecki.

* FamilyBusiness: Wishverse!Dean works in a garage. In [[Recap/SupernaturalS01E09Home "Home" (S01, Ep09)]], we find out that John Winchester owned a garage with Mike Guenther in Lawrence, Kansas. Later during [[Recap/SupernaturalS04E03InTheBeginning "In The Beginning" (S04, Ep03)]], John Winchester describes himself as a mechanic from a family of mechanics.

* {{Fanservice}}: While neither Dean or Carmen are wearing much in bed, Wishverse Sam and Jessica disappoint with both of them sleeping in t-shirts. Wishverse!Sam is wearing sweat pants as well, but there is a shot of Jessica's [[MaleGaze tight boxer briefs]] while she lies on her side in bed.

** After Dean visits with the college professor, he sees a woman in white standing in front of a sign saying "Anthropology [[http://www.ku.edu/ University of Kansas".]]
** Dean reads ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Indianapolis_Star The Indianapolis Sun]]'' online. The {{tagline}} of ''The Indianapolis Sun'' is "The voice of the people", while the tagline of RealLife ''The Indianapolis Star'' is "[[AsTheGoodBookSays Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty]]" [[http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/3-17.htm II Cor. 3:17.]]

-->'''Dean:''' What if that's why she keeps appearing to me? She's not a spirit. It's - it's like more and more like I'm catching flashes of reality. You know, like I'm in here somewhere, and I'm - I'm catatonic, and I'm taking all this stuff in but I, but I can't snap out of it.
* FlyawayShot: As Dean walks through the cemetery leaving his father's grave, the camera elevates above the trees with brown dead leaves and bare branches and shows the river illuminated with lights on a bridge.

* ForkFencing: Dean steals a knife from his mother's good silver dining set to kill the djinn, but ends up using it to kill himself

-->'''Dean:''' It wasn't. It was just a wish. I wished for Mom to live. That Mom never died, we never went hunting and you and me just never [[CanNotSpitItOut uh... you know.]]

* FriendshipMoment: Wishverse!Sam insists on going with his brother to pay off the 'gambling debt'.
* GenreBlind: "[[ItsProbablyNothing I'm sure it's nothing.]] I just wanna take a look around." Really [[IdiotBall Dean]]?

* TheGlomp: Dean's reaction to seeing mom and Jessica.
-->'''Wishverse!Jessica being squeezed by Dean:''' Good to see you too, Dean... Can't breathe, okay.

* {{Gorn}}: When the woman in white is whimpering and trying to pull away from the djinn, we see her bare feet which barely reach the ground slipping in a puddle of her own blood.

* HollywoodDarkness: Dean and John's grave are well lit in the cemetery at night.

* HomeSweetHome: Dean is thrilled to mow the lawn. His childhood home has a picket fence with red and yellow roses, green shrubs, and a [[OurGnomesAreWeirder smiling garden gnome with a wheelbarrow]].

-->'''Dean looking at Carmen's rear as she changes into her scrubs:''' I'm dating a nurse. That is so... respectable.

* IJustWantToBeNormal: [[TheWoobie Oh]] [[SadClown Dean]].

'''[[Recap/{{Supernatural}} Recap]] of Series/{{Supernatural}}'''\\

--->'''- Dean Winchester'''

For this episode = [[spoiler:1 djinn.]]

* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler: Mary Winchester and Jessica Moore are both]] alive in the Wishverse.

* NumberOfTheBeast: The softball uniform John Winchester is wearing in the photo has a Route 66 symbol on the sleeve. This may also be a {{Homage}} to [[{{Series/Route66}} one of the shows]] which was an inspiration to ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' or it could be {{foreshadowing}} of the [[spoiler: 66 seals which will be broken in Season 4.]]

** Dean prefers Barbara Eden in ''Series/IDreamOfJeannie'' to Elizabeth Montgomery of ''Series/{{Bewitched}}'', but as will [[spoiler:be shown in [[Recap/SupernaturalS03E09MalleusMaleficarum "Malleus Maleficarum" (S03, Ep09)]], Dean hates [[Characters/SupernaturalWitches witches]]]].

* DeggansRule: Failed.

* TheBechdelTest: Barely passed. Carmen congratulates Jessica on her engagement, and Mary asks Jessica to see her ring.

* PlotBasedPhotographObfuscation: Dean looks for clues in the living room he shares with Carmen, and he sees a framed photo of Carmen and two further framed photos of Carmen and he together. He then picks up another frame and drops it in surprise with it landing face down so the audience never sees the photo. He then drives to his childhood home, where his mother answers the door.

* PlatonicCave: The wishverse.

-->'''Dean:''' Yeah... Lucky me. I gotta tell you though, man. You know, you had Jess. Mom was gonna have grand=kids...

* SwitchingPOV: You would imagine that all the scenes in the Wishverse would be shown from Dean's perspective, as this world was created for his benefit. But, from the beginning we have scenes showing Wishverse!Sam's viewpoint, including the shot of him reading e-mails studying from a law book when Dean calls, and of Wishverse!Sam hearing the noise from downstairs that causes him to grab the bat and investigate.

* BloodFromTheMouth: The woman in white has blood dripping from her lip on her third appearance. When Dean thrusts the knife into his stomach

* ArtisticLicenseMedicine: When we see a closeup of the line being used to drain blood from Dean's neck, the line appears to be subcutaneous, in a piece of skin bulging oddly from the side of Dean's neck and not in a blood vessel (certainly not in the probable intended site of the internal jugular vein). In addition, the line is not secured in any way, no stitches, tape, or bandage. There is also no blood actually in the line which appears clear, while the connector and IV tubing connected to the line are filled with red liquid. Finally, when Sam removes the line, he does not apply an pressure to the puncture site.