The Visual Story at a Glance: "Jump the Shark" (4x19)

I'm unspoiled beyond 4x19, but I am prone to wild speculations.... *g*

The boys find that their father had another son who he only became aware of at age twelve. Further, they realize John made something of a place for himself in the kid's life for the next four or so years. Birthdays at baseball games, fishing trips, driving, poker, and pool lessons. The kid's had the opportunity to become kind of perfect - an eagle scout, honor student, and now attending college in a pre-med track.

Sam and Dean react differently to the idea of Adam. Sam is open to the idea - insisting the research allows for the possibility. Dean considers it a trap and needs convincing which occurs mostly through photo evidence. Sam readily takes Adam under his wing and wants to train him for hunting to protect him from the Winchester Curse. Dean is equally certain they should respect the set up for ignorance and normalcy that John must have felt protected the kid.

But what about Mary? She's not absent from this.

Kate in John's embrace?  (Where is this supposed to have been taken? I doubt Windom, Minnesota has that kind of busy background?)


Is very like the photo on Mary's nightstand in the pilot... the same shot Sam has with him at Stanford.
  

Then there are Kate's dressertop with its ceramic pink roses as Dean investigates and ...


... the pink rose botanicals behind Dean on the walls of Kate's home.


Since Mary is associated with pink roses as noted by hearseeno. (I believe I'm missing another helpful link; please point to it in the comments! Found! meta on Mary and roses by sadelyrate. I knew this was worth remembering!), I'd assume we're meant to think John is consistent in the women he's able to experience genuine affection for and have a family with?  I'm leaning toward the idea that it makes things easier if this Kate woman is someone Dean (and we) can actually see John with and think about as a person Mary would have approved of. (Do we talk about the photoshopping? I'm not sure I'm ready to shift my view of John enough to see him taking off his wedding ring for weekends in Minnesota.)

But then, the episode isn't done with Mary!  Dean is determined to find what is after Adam so that it will be safe for him to continue in the civilian life John apparently wanted for the kid. He's stuck and ends up in a bar and is greeted by the bartender, who is wearing a shirt almost a twin to the one worn by1973's hunter Mary.
  


This character seems to be an amalgam of women Dean has positive feelings about and is predisposed to accept. Besides the obvious physical resemblance to Mary, her name is Lisa Barton (just a tick away from Lisa Braedon who Dean thought might actually be mother to his own child). She is a no nonsense older bartender whose missing husband apparently worked with John many years ago on a case.  (Gee, I'd like to know what Ellen is doing these days.)  

I'd be very curious to hear other ideas about this Lisa. I'm thinking of her like Sam's teacher from After School Special. She's there to encourage Dean and help him focus. She says, "I was scared they stopped looking. Now you're here," with gratitude when Dean acknowledges he's there to look into her husband's disappearance. At that point he's able to start making connections between John's old case and the current threat against Adam.

Bigger than that (and because I can't bear to waste an opportunity to speculate), I'd wonder if she isn't encouraging Dean to keep looking... for the truth behind the secrets and lies filling season four. Has anyone been able to look back and find foreshadowing that Adam was going to turn out to be a monster? The strongest I can find is in Dean's "It's a trap" instinct. He turned out correct, of course, but I'm not sure the story was headed there while Mary was a presence in the episode.


edit: I forgot to credit oxoniensis for the caps!
edit2: to add links (thanks much, hugemind!) and tag
edit3: to sneak in a cap of Kate's bedding with woven floral stripes noticed by shorofsky 


edit4: to drop a link to bowtrunckle's look at 2.20 What Is and What Should Never Be. Lots of Mary associated with pink roses images!