The Things They Carried

• Does Dean really believe he can't be saved?
• Will Sam continue searching for a cure, or will he do as Dean asks? If Sam is to continue his search, where will he look next? Will he make a "dark" deal to save his brother?
• Now that Cole has proof that monsters are real, what will he do?
• Are all the Khan worms dead? Kit was infected with at least two, so if his friend was also infected with multiple worms, might some of them have gotten away?
• This isn't really a "burning" question, but does it bother you that Cole gets away with calling Dean and Sam "Dean-o", "Sammy" and "Sammy Boy"? It sort of bothers me.

• Dean has given up on finding a cure for the Mark of Cain, so he wants to keep hunting for as long as he can
• Now that Cole understands how a normal person can become a monster, he truly regrets trying to kill Dean. He also sympathizes with the Winchesters, who have devoted their lives to saving the world from monsters that most people don't even know about

• The facade used for the Fayetteville, North Carolina Municipal building/police station in this episode was also used as a museum facade in season 7 "Shut Up, Dr. Phil". This screen cap is from "The Things They Carried':

........And this screencap is from "Shut Up, Dr. Phil":

• While working their case, Cole and the Winchesters ate dinner at "Sammy's Roadside Cafe"

• This episode's title is taken from the 1990 book The Things They Carried, by author Tim O'Brien. The book was about a platoon of soldiers who fought in the Vietnam war, and discussed the items they carried with them into combat.
• There are several military facilities in Fayetteville, North Carolina, including an Army training facility, and an Air Force base.
• The woman who was killed in the opening scene was trained in the self-defense systems Krav maga and jiu jitsu. Krav maga is a military-based fighting system, and jui jitsu originated in Japan.
• "PTSD" is the acronym for "post-traumatic stress disorder", a common problem among military veterans.
• Cole joked that the Winchesters had come to North Carolina for some of Jemma Verson's sweet tea. Sweet tea is a popular beverage in the southern US and is often made by adding sugar or syrup to brewing black tea. Mint, raspberry or other flavors may also be added.
• "Kung fu grip" has been mentioned in Supernatural before. The term originates from the GI Joe action figure, as the "Kung fu grip" was a feature that allowed the figure to hold weapons and other objects in his hand. Dean seems to use the term to tease smaller/shorter people. He initially used the term in season 9 "Bad Boys" to encourage a shy young boy to work on developing a stronger hand shake. In this episode, he calls Cole "Kung fu grip", seeming to tease him about being short or small.
• We originally met the "Khan worm" type of monster in season 6 ("And Then There Were None". The creatures were created by Eve. In this episode, the Khan worm doesn't behave the same way, but the Winchesters theorize that the monster in this episode may be related to the one they're familiar with. The Winchesters called the monsters "Khan worms", alluding to the 1982 Sci-fi film "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan". In the film, space alien worms/larvae can crawl into a person's ear and get to the brain. The parasite initially makes the host very susceptible to suggestion, but eventually causes madness and death.
• When Dean wanted to stop using electrocution on Cole, he said "We're done playing Operation". Operation was a child's game created in the 1960s by the Hasbo toy company. In the game, players used tweezer-like instruments to remove items from small holes cut into a cardboard schematic of a human body. If the tweezers touched the edges of the holes, a buzzer would sound. The object of the game was to remove as many pieces as possible without causing the buzzer to sound.
• "AWOL" is an acronym for "Absent without leave" and refers to military personnel who leave their posts without permission.
• A "schvitz" is a Yiddish term for a communal sauna

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EPISODE 1016: Paint It Black