3.10 Dream a Little Dream of Me

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DeanDemon.jpg
Title Dream a Little Dream of Me
Episode # Season 3, Episode 10
First aired February 7, 2008
Directed by Steve Boyum
Written by Teleplay:
Cathryn Humphris
Story:
Sera Gamble
Cathryn Humphris
On IMDB Dream a Little Dream of Me
Outline Sam & Dean enter Bobby's dreams to fight an interloper who's preventing him from waking.
Monster Jeremy Frost
Timeline
Location(s) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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Synopsis

Bobby is looking around in an old house when a woman jumps out and attacks him. Suddenly the scene cuts to a maid entering a motel room, unable to wake a sleeping Bobby. Sam is in a bar drinking alone and Dean enters, wondering why he’s drinking whiskey at two in the afternoon. Sam admits he’s upset about being unable to save Dean, because Dean doesn't want to be saved. He asks his brother how he could care so little about himself. Dean gets a call on his phone before answering.

At the hospital, Bobby is in a coma and the doctor tells them he doesn't know what’s causing it or how to treat it. Sam and Dean check Bobby’s motel room and find his research clippings in the closet, along with an article about a neurologist, Doctor Walter Gregg, who died by going to sleep and not waking up. Sam stays behind to research while Dean goes to Dr. Gregg’s office. Dean talks to the doctor's lab assistant, who reveals under insistent questioning that the doctor had been conducting secret sleep experiments. Dean eventually finds a young man who was part of this sleep study and he offers Dean a beer, which Dean gratefully accepts. The man has a condition where he doesn't dream, and the study allowed him to dream by drinking a disgusting yellow tea.

Back in Bobby’s hospital room, Sam tells Dean about African Dream Root, which allows people to enter other people's dreams. They surmise that this was the tea used in the experiments, and that someone killed the doctor this way and is now going after Bobby. Meanwhile, in his dream, Bobby is screaming, hiding in a closet from whomever's after him. Dean suggests to Sam that they take the Dream Root and get inside Bobby’s dream to save him. Sam points out it is hard to come by, so Dean suggests contacting Bela.

Sam is on the computer and hears a knock at the door. Bela comes in wearing a beige trench coat and takes off the coat, revealing lingerie underneath. She kisses Sam and they land on the bed in a heat of passion, just before Dean shouts to Sam to wake up. Sam wakes up rattled, especially when Dean mentions Bela. There’s a knock at the door and Bela enters for real, freaking Sam out more. She gives Dean the African Dream Root, claiming she’s doing this for Bobby because he saved her life in Flagstaff. Dean kicks her out.

Sam makes two glasses of tea and puts some of Bobby’s hair in them so they can enter his dream. They drink and find themselves in a version of Bobby’s house. Sam goes outside and enters a bright technicolor world full of flowers and birds singing. The door slams behind him, separating him from Dean. Dean searches the house and finds Bobby in the closet. He tells Bobby this is a dream, but Bobby doesn't believe him. A woman approaches them with stab marks all over her, scaring Bobby. Bobby tells Dean that the woman is his wife.

The woman confronts Bobby over why he stabbed her, and Bobby claims she was possessed and he didn't know how to save her back then. Dean pulls him away. Outside, Sam gets whacked with a baseball bat and sees the man from the dream study, who’s angry to find Sam there. Inside, Dean convinces Bobby to take control of the dream and the woman disappears. They all wake up a split second before Sam gets his head bashed in.

At the hospital, Dean asks Bobby about his wife. Bobby explains that everyone gets into hunting somehow, and he thanks Dean for saving him. Sam says he can’t find the man in the dream. Bobby explains that his name is Jeremy Frost, and he wasn't able to dream because his dad bashed his head in with a baseball bat. Jeremy was able to get into Bobby's dream by offering him a beer, which he drank, and which meant Jeremy had some of his DNA to use in the African Dream Root tea. Dean admits he drank a beer too, so now Jeremy can come after him. Bobby tells him to coffee up, because he can’t go to sleep.

Two days later a very irritated Dean drives the Impala, yelling at Bobby over the phone because they can’t find Jeremy. Dean pulls over and decides he’s going to sleep, ready to take Jeremy on. Sam pulls out some of Dean’s hair, insisting on going too. Dean doesn't like the idea of Sam digging around in his head but Sam won’t listen. They both wake up in the Impala and step outside to see Lisa on a blanket with a picnic basket. She tells Dean they have to pick up Ben soon and that she loves him, before disappearing. Dean denies ever having had that dream to Sam. Sam spots Jeremy in the woods and they go after him but Dean falls behind and finds himself alone in a long hallway.

Sam looks for Dean in the woods while Dean enters the motel room and sees someone at the desk, turning the light off and on. A dream version of him turns around, and Dean gets it—this is a dark part of his own subconscious. Dream!Dean tells Dean how worthless he feels and how he hates what he sees in the mirror. Dean tries to take control of the dream by snapping his fingers, but nothing happens. Dream!Dean slams the door and locks it, holds a shotgun and tells Dean they need to talk. Sam wakes up in the Impala to find Jeremy next to him. He hits Sam with the bat, and Sam falls out of the car and tries to crawl away. Jeremy comes after him, and Sam is suddenly tied to stakes in the ground. Jeremy says he gets stronger with each dream, and Sam and Dean aren't waking up.

Dream!Dean berates Dean; he says Dean's got nothing but Sam, that everything he owns was his dad’s. He says his dad thought he was a good soldier and nothing else, and he doted on Sam while not caring whether Dean lived or died. Dean fights back in a rage, calling his father an "obsessed bastard" who couldn't protect his family, who let his wife die, and who wasn't there for Sam. Dean says he didn't deserve what his dad put on him, and he doesn't deserve to go to Hell. He grabs the shotgun and shoots Dream!Dean, symbolically killing the self-loathing part of himself. It then transforms into a black-eyed demon version of Dean, a manifestation of Dean's fear of his impending death and transformation into a demon in Hell because of the deal he made with the crossroads demon. "This is what you're going to become," it taunts.

Sam takes an intense beating from Jeremy. Jeremy tells Sam that there’s nothing Jeremy can’t do because of the Dream Root, and Sam reminds Jeremy that he took the Dream Root, too. Jeremy’s father appears and Jeremy is frozen in fear, giving Sam the chance to deliver two sharp whacks to the head with the baseball bat, killing Jeremy. Sam and Dean wake up in the Impala.

Back at the motel, Bobby asks Sam if his ability to enter Jeremy's dream had anything to do with his psychic stuff. Sam says no, but he’s not certain. Dean says he can’t find Bela, and Bobby admits that all he did was give her a good deal on an amulet in Flagstaff. Dean checks the safe and finds that Bela stole the Colt. While packing up to hunt down Bela, Dean asks Sam what he saw in the dream. Sam says he only saw Jeremy, and Dean lies, saying nothing happened with him because he was looking for Sam. They get into the car and Dean admits to Sam he doesn't want to die and doesn't want to go to Hell. Sam promises they’ll find a way to save him.

There is a final flash to Dean's dream with the demon version of himself, repeating to Dean that he’s going to die and that’s what he’s going to become, then snapping his fingers to end the dream.

Characters

Definitions

Music

  • "Long Train Runnin'" by The Doobie Brothers
(plays in the bar when Sam's enjoying his whiskey)
  • "Dream a Little Dream of Me" by The Mamas & the Papas
(plays during Dean's dream of Lisa; also the song the episode is named after)

Quotes

Dean: It's two in the afternoon. You're drinking whiskey?

Sam: I drink whiskey all the time.
Dean: No, you don't.

Sam: What's the big deal? You get sloppy in bars, you hit on chicks all the time. Why can't I?
Dean: Crap.

Sam: What?
Dean: Bela.
Sam: Bela? Crap. You're actually suggesting we ask her a favor?

Dean: I'm feeling dirty just thinking about it, but yeah.
Dean: Dude, you were out. And making some serious happy noises.

Dean: Who were you dreaming about?
Sam: What? No one. Nothing.
Dean: C'mon, you can tell me. Angelina Jolie?
Sam: No.

Dean: Brad Pitt?
Bela: It's 2 am. Where am I supposed to go?
Dean: Get a room. Ah, they got the Magic Fingers, a little Casa Erotica on pay-per-view. You'll love it.
Sam: Hey, when did it start raining?
Dean: When did it start raining upside down?
Dream Lisa: Come on. We only have an hour before we have to pick Ben up from baseball.

Dean: I've never had this dream before... Stop looking at me like that.
Sam: Sorry.

Dream Lisa: Dean. I love you.
Dream Dean: Joke all you want, smart-ass. But you can't lie to me. I know the truth. I know how dead you are inside. How worthless you feel. I know how you look into a mirror... and hate what you see.

Dean: Sorry, pal. It's not gonna work. You're not real.
Dream Dean: Sure I am. I'm you.

Dean: I don't think so. 'Cause see, this is my siesta. Not yours. All I gotta do is snap my fingers and you go bye-bye.
Dream Dean: You are nothing. You're as mindless and obedient as an attack dog.

Dean: That -That's not true.

Dream Dean: No? What are the things that you want? What are the things that you dream? I mean, your car? That's Dad's. Your favorite leather jacket? Dad's. Your music? Dad's. Do you even have an original thought? No. No, all there is is, 'Watch out for Sammy. Look out for your little brother, boy!' You can still hear your Dad's voice in your head, can't you? Clear as a bell.
Demon Demon: You can't escape me, Dean. You're gonna die. And this? This is what you're gonna become!
Sam: Bela stole the Colt.

Bobby: Damn it, boys!
Dean: Pack your crap.
Sam: Why? Where are we going?

Dean: We're gonna go hunt the bitch down.

Trivia & References

Dean: Maybe so. But, uh, still, this- this... this could go on your permanent record. Unless you hand over the doctor's research to me. All of it.
The "permanent record" line is a reference that comes from a threat made often by school principals in the '50s and '60s, but it is more widely known from the Violent Femmes' song "Kiss Off." There is a lyric in that song "I hope you know that this will go down on your permanent record." The lead singer, Gordon Gano, along with bandmate Brian Ritchie, performed at a National Honor Society induction ceremony at his high school. They were warned to stick to ballads in keeping with the solemn atmosphere of the ceremony. Halfway through the ballad they broke into something fast-paced and the kids loved it. The teachers were so infuriated that they suspended Gordon and kicked him out of the NHS, telling him the exact line he used in the song.
University of Westmoreland does not exist. However, there is the University of Pittsburgh. Westmoreland probably comes from Westmoreland County which is the county directly east of Allegheny County where the city of Pittsburgh is located. Westmoreland County is included in the Pittsburgh, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area.
When Dean visits Jeremy his alias on his fake ID is Robert Plant, lead singer of Led Zeppelin.
Dean: Take it easy, Phish, that's not why I'm here.
Phish is a hippy jam band.
Jeremy's condition, Charcot-Wilbrand syndrome, is a genuine medical disorder resulting from a stroke that inhibits the ability to dream.
Dean: Let me guess—they dose up, bust out the didgeridoos and start kicking around the hacky.
The didgeridoo is a musical instrument originally created by indigenous Australians and made popular on the modern music charts by the acid jazz group Jamiroquai. Hacky sack is a game where a footbag is kept up in the air, either individually or by a group of players standing in a circle. Both are commonly associated with hippy and stoner culture in America during the 1990's.
Sam: I mean, this Dream Root is some serious mojo. You take enough of it, with practice, you can become a regular Freddy Krueger.
Freddy Krueger is a fictional character from the A Nightmare on Elm Street series of films. Created by Wes Craven and portrayed by actor Robert Englund, he is an undead serial killer who can attack his victims from within their own dreams. Robert Englund would later guest star in episode 6.11 Appointment in Samarra.
Sam: So let's say this doc was testing the stuff on his patients Tim Leary-style.
Timothy Leary was an American psychologist during the 1960's whose research experiments involved administering psychedelic drugs to volunteers in the studies.
Dean: So, how do we find our homicidal Sandman?
The Sandman is a mythical character in European folklore who puts people to sleep and brings them good dreams by sprinkling magical sand into their eyes.
Bela: So when do we go on this little magical mystery tour?
"Magical Mystery Tour" is a reference to The Beatles record and film of the same name.
Dean: Uh, should we dim the lights and synch up Wizard of Oz to Dark Side of the Moon?

Sam: Why?
Dean: What did you do during college?

Supposedly, the 1939 Victor Fleming film The Wizard of Oz and the Pink Floyd album The Dark Side of the Moon correspond to each other when played in sync. Watching the two together, often under the influence of drugs, is something many people do in college. There has been much debate as to whether or not the two works sync up, and whether it was intentional on the part of Pink Floyd. The process of watching the film with the Pink Floyd album on is called Dark Side of the Rainbow, in reference to the famous song from the movie "Over the Rainbow" and the rainbow on the album cover.
Dean: Maybe we got some bad shwag.
"Shwag" is a term for marijuana of weak potency.
Dean: Okay, I don't know what's weirder – the fact that we're in Bobby's head... or that he's dreaming of Better Homes and Gardens.
Better Homes and Gardens is a magazine that specializes in homes, cooking, gardening and decorating."
Sam: Dean, you sure you don't want me to drive? You-- You seem a little... caffeinated.

Dean: Thanks for the news flash, Edison!

Thomas Edison was a famous inventor during the turn of the twentieth century, especially known for inventing the electric lightbulb and motion picture camera.
Dean: I get it. I get it. I'm my own worst nightmare, is that it? Huh? Kind of like the Superman III junkyard scene? A little mano y mano with myself?
A reference to this fight scene in Superman III where Clark Kent is forced to fight the evil version of Superman that was split from him.

Minutiae

Sera Gamble revealed in several interviews, that the basic idea behind this episode has been around for quite a while, and that she originally conceived it with fellow co-writer Raelle Tucker, who left the series at the end of season two.
In October 2007 it was announced in an article that this episode would feature the character Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13th movies:
"We have Jason from Friday the 13th, the character with the hockey mask," show creator Eric Kripke tells the Supernatural fanzine. "He shows up in episode 10. We have cleared the rights to actually use Jason. We have a twist on it so it is not really Jason out there but we have found an interesting way to bring him in so Sam and Dean fight Jason from Friday the 13th. In our world, that is a pretty cool guest star."

This ended up not happening, and Kripke elaborated on this planned scene in the season 3 DVD extra Scene Specifics: Dream a Little Dream of Me:

"Dean's dream was, he was basically gonna be dreaming an eighties horror movie. He was gonna wake up, and the film stock was gonna be- kinda be eighties. The original version, like, this girl in warmers was gonna run up and be like, "Oh my god! Help me!" and then, y'know, Jason was gonna come out and he was gonna have the machete and the hockey mask, and the whole thing. And we found out, I think about three days before shooting, um, that the movie studio that shall remain nameless thought they had the rights to the character and it turns out they didn't."
At the Creation Con in Chicago in November 2008, Jared and Jensen related the following anecdote:
Jim was lying in a hospital bed, trying to deliver his lines to Jensen and Jared, and just off camera, Jared was trying to make him mess up by playing with his toes while he was lying there.... Jensen said Jared was playing “This Little Piggy Went to Market” and everything. Despite the distraction from Jared, Jensen said Jim delivered his lines perfectly and then as soon as the cameras stopped, yelled “What’s wrong with you?” to Jared. Jared said that Jim has “toes of steel” and that he was very impressed and will have to step up his game.
From the report by efh.
Sam and Dean's hotel room has a bird theme. The hotel is called The Aviary Hotel (with Birdnest Lounge & Restaurant). The wallpaper is made up of various green and blue birds, the room divider is made of repeated dove-shaped outlines, and there is a painting of two peacocks, one of which is albino. The room decor is the same in Dean's dream.
The starburst clock is on the wall of the hotel room.
When Sam leaves the house in Bobby's dreamworld, he encounters a color-saturated, bright world, in complete contrast to Supernatural's usual color filter. The same saturated and bright colors have been used in Dean's wish-verse in episode 2.20 What Is and What Should Never Be - even the color of the flowers (yellow and red tulips) are the same, invoking an idyll of peace and quiet. The normal filter is also absent later in the series during 4.17 It's a Terrible Life, when Sam and Dean are living alternate lives arranged by Zachariah.
The house number of Bobby's technicolor dream house is 2194.
In the season 3 DVD extra Scene Specifics: Dream a Little Dream of Me, Kripke revealed that Dean's confrontation with himself in his dream was initially supposed to be a confrontation with his father where John would "browbeat" him. However, this had to be changed due to the fact that Jeffrey Dean Morgan was busy filming the movie Watchmen at the time.

Sides, Scripts & Transcripts

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