There’s No Place Like Home

• Were DarkCharlie and Charlie right when they told Dean that he lies to himself and doesn't forgive himself?
• We see that the Mark causes Dean to be more violent and it makes his hands shake when he hasn't killed or injured anyone; what else is the Mark doing to him?
• Can the Book of the Damned help Dean if Charlie can find it?

• Dean's hands tremble when the Mark is not being adequately "fed" by committing acts of violence or murder. His hands were shaking at the beginning of the episode, but after his fight with DarkCharlie, his blood-stained hands were steady. They were also steady at the very end of the episode as Charlie is leaving.
• The producers and writers intended DarkCharlie to be a twisted version of Charlie, much like DemonDean was a corrupted version of Dean. This may also foreshadow what will happen to Dean because of the Mark of Cain.
• Time passes differently in Oz, such that someone who would be over 100 years old on Earth is still alive and young.
• There are six Oz keys. They are forged from Oz steel in Oz.
• Dorothy is apparently trapped in Oz, now.

• For Charlie's background file, Felicia Day provided an actual photo of herself when she was 12 or 14 years old.
• Felicia Day had short hair in this episode because a medical condition caused her hair to fall out.
• Charlie Bradbury's left arm got broken in this episode. Her right arm got broken in "The Girl with the Dungeons and Dragons Tattoo" (season 7).
• Charlie's real name is Celeste Middleton.
• We initially learn about the car accident that killed Charlie's parents in season 8 "Pac Man Fever".
• When Charlie and Dean are wrestling and she gets him in a head lock, Dean utters "Crap!"; that was improvised by Jensen. At the end of the episode, Charlie says "arrivederci" as she's leaving. This was also unscripted.
• "Berto's" is the bar/restaurant where Charlie and the Winchesters discuss the case; the restaurant's name is a nod to Robbie Thompson's brother-in-law.
• In the scene at the restaurant, Charlie is wearing a tee shirt that says "What would Falkor do?". This is a reference to a mystical creature from the film "The Never Ending Story".
• When Dean is listening to motivational tapes in his car, the voice of the speaker on the tape belongs to Supernatural's long-time director and executive producer, Robert Singer.
• In a scene that was cut from the episode (but is included among the deleted scenes on the DVD), we learn that the relationship between Charlie and Dorothy was not romantic, as may have been implied. Charlie considers Dorothy a sister, not a love interest.
• At the real estate office, Dean was pretending to read a women's magazine called "Fitness Now"; that is a fictional publication.
• Barclay Hope also played a college professor in season 2 "Tall Tales".
• Duncan Fraser also played the god Odin in season 5 "Hammer of the Gods"

• "There's no place like home." is from the original Wizard of Oz book and movie; it's the phrase Dorothy chanted so she could magically return to Kansas.
• The children's book "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" was written by L. Frank Baum in 1900. In Supernatural mythology, Dorothy was L. Frank Baum's daughter.
• Dean refers to his "clean living" resolution as a type of 12-step program. A 12-step program, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, is a set of life modification principles that successfully help many people overcome their addiction to alcohol or drugs.
• Dean refers to the Mark of Cain as a "demonic tramp stamp". "Tramp stamp" is a pejorative term referring to a tattoo on the lower part of a woman's back.
• Dean says that the real Charlie wouldn't hurt a Hobbit. Hobbits are fictional characters from the J.R.R. Tolkein books, The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Ringstrilogy. Hobbits are small, easily mistaken for children because of their size, and they are known for being polite and kind to others.
• DarkCharlie attacked Mr. Harper in Topeka, Kansas. Topeka is approximately 3 1/2 hours by car from the bunker, which is in Lebanon, Kansas.
• Part of this episode takes place in Junction City, Kansas, which is approximately 2 1/2 hours by car from Lebanon, Kansas.
• When Dean gives DarkCharlie the wrong location, he later tells Sam that "Grantville, Kansas" is two towns over from where they are. It's actually 90 minutes away by car.
• "Jack Bauer" is a fictional character from the popular television series "24"; the character is an intelligence officer who has tortured people to get information.
• Dean and Sam use fed aliases Special Agents Gabriel and Collins. This refers to Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins -- members of the rock band Genesis.
• Rocket and Groot are Marvel Comics superheroes.
• Although an albatross is a sea bird, it is metaphorically used to refer to someone who is a burden or holds another person back. The allusion comes from the 1798 Samuel Taylor Coleridge poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
• In feudal Japan, ninjas were mercenaries often hired to commit assassinationsor espionage; they are known for having impressive martial arts skills.
• Dean says "Skip to the end, Dragon Tattoo", referring to the fictional computer hacker from the book and movie "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
• At the real estate office, Dean uses an alias "Mr. Presley", referring to the legendary performer, Elvis Presley.
• Russell Wellington calls Dean a "hayseed", which is a derogatory term for a farmer or someone from a rural, working class background.
• Dillon says that the Oz key released his "id". Sigmund Freud identified three parts of the human psyche -- the "id", "ego", and "superego". The id is the part of each person that is primitive, impulsive, and pleasure-seeking, and disregards potential consequences associated with its behavior.

• "Feel so fine" -- Simon Stewart (plays when Dean and DarkCharlie are talking at the bar)
• "You don't have the right" -- Brett Boyett (plays when Dean and DarkCharlie are talking at the bar)

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EPISODE 1012: About A Boy