You can’t fake pupil dilation. And you know nobody’s playing with the lighting to make them dilate (what would be the point, from a production point of view?). This is 100% natural reaction. Destiel? Cockles? Both? The world may never know…
MISHA TOO MISHA TOO
Ummm. S'gotta be Cockles. You can’t *act* pupil dilation either. Go try it. I’ll wait.
Signed: A girl with acquired Horner’s syndrome (go Google it) who has spent too much time staring at her pupils and thinking about how they act.
for anyone who doesn’t already know, if your pupils dilate when you look at someone it’s most likely a sign of interest / attraction / arousal (take your pick).
I’m going to talk about Jensen’s pupil dilation for a second, because it’s incredibly obvious compared to whatever Misha’s eyes are doing.
let’s say controlled pupil dilation was possible. Jensen would probably attempt to conquer that ability for the sake of acting better. he’s all about the subtleties. we know that about his acting.
so if Jensen did indeed have impossible eye-controlling superpowers, I have a question. why would Jensen make a point of using that power to show Dean as attracted to Cas? let me list the reasons. 1. he was consciously playing Dean as bisexual, 2. he was invested in Destiel as a romantic relationship from the get-go, 3. both of the above. (of course, this is assuming that he dilated his pupils ~on purpose~.)
the thing is, though, over the years hundreds of actors and actresses came and went, playing other characters who interact with Dean, and Jensen didn’t bother to use this fantastic pupil-dilating power each time Dean was attracted to someone. so what made Misha different? was it that he’d be sticking around, and it was worth putting in the effort? nope. the writers hadn’t even planned on bringing Cas back after the first three episodes of season 4. Misha was supposed to be on set for a few weeks and then he’d be gone. at the time Jensen and Misha met, not expecting it to last, Jensen couldn’t have been deeply invested in Destiel as a future relationship – certainly not enough to care whether or not his goddamn pupils were dilated. this gifset is from the second episode they had together.
sure, Jensen could’ve been going for “the pushy angel turns Dean on”; end of story. whether he played that consciously or not, that’s what became canon. Dean is totally into Cas, hooray! nobody is surprised.
but c’mon, let’s face it. those aren’t magical eye-controlling superpowers. nothing’s happening to the lights to make Jensen’s pupils expand. it’s definitely not CGI. above all: Jensen’s not dilating his pupils on purpose. what you’re looking at is not singularly Dean’s attraction to Cas. you’re seeing Jensen’s attraction to Misha too. these dorks just met two weeks ago (8 days filming each episode), and Jensen is already hopelessly gone on Misha.
Do you see THAT? Right when their eyes meet. No scratch that. Do you FEEL that? That tension. It’s almost jarring. This is why I will never believe that they are just friends. I’m not going to say they’ve fucked or dated, but something has happened, and clearly neither of them have forgotten it.
Hi so with the new cockles video I would just like help and clarification to if they were acting awkward like that as a joke or if they were being serious? I tend to take things too seriously so I don't really know the difference
I’M NOW CONVINCED IT WAS FULLY PLANNED AND DIRECTED BY EITHER ONE OR BOTH OF THEM. AWKWARDNESS INCLUDED.
AND THERE’S SYMBOLISM.
fasten your seatbelts, because I’m about to do some hardcore analysis.
for instance, take the kettle. granted, it was probably the only shiny thing Misha had in his trailer that was suitable for children to see - but it’s also a symbol of welcome and acceptance. Misha’s a big fan of green tea. hell, there’s boxes of tea visible on the bottom-right corner of the video. Misha handing Jensen a kettle is like “here, have something that means a lot to me”.
and that’s not even mentioning the whole domestic symbolism of a kettle. the heart of the home is a kitchen, right? Misha could’ve chosen a spatula or a frying pan or a toaster, but he picked up the thing he really connects with, emotionally. at VanCon Misha once said three things he couldn’t live without include: porn, running, and tea. the kettle makes hot water to make tea. the kettle represents things near and dear to Misha’s heart and he’s giving it to Jensen.
now, I want to compare the first frame, the middle frames, and the last frame:
it begins with Misha being the centre of attention:
and honestly, the way it starts, kind of sounds as though he’s thanking people because he won. he pats his heart like it means a lot to him. (which it does, obviously, but if you didn’t know he was about to announce Jensen, you might assume it was all about Misha himself. that was precisely what I thought the first time I watched this.)
then Jensen comes in and there’s the hand-off. Misha doesn’t wanna let go of his kettle for a bit. he touches it a few times, grabbing and petting it. he wants to hold it while Jensen’s holding it. Misha and Jensen were both up for this award, they were pitted against each other. Misha won this award previously. he’s acting like he’s not quite ready to give it up.
this is all super subtle, so if someone is only watching because Misha and Jensen are in the same frame and making eyes at each other, then it’s easy to miss the bigger picture. it’s been over 6 hours since I first saw this and only now am I figuring out exactly how choreographed it is.
I feel it’s important to note that this was not a spur-of-the-moment “let’s just turn the camera on and see what happens” video. Misha and Jensen are both directors, and actors, and very aware of how they have to present themselves to their audience. (which of course makes it extra special that they’re making hearteyes at each other in this because THEY’RE DOING IT ON PURPOSE.
this is the spn mockumentary, part 2. they’re playing themselves but with a little mask over it.
Misha’s possessiveness of the kettle? acting. Jensen’s fluttery nervousness? acting. Misha yelling “HE’S THE MAN” and whacking Jensen’s arm? my guess is that that was ad-libbed. Jensen blinks a lot after that, trying to keep his place in the script. that’s him thinking very quickly after Misha caught him off-guard.
Misha is absolutely stealing the show. I had to watch it three times before my eyes even moved from Misha to Jensen. despite Jensen taking up the space front-and-centre, Misha’s bold movements and the full focus of the camera make him the object of the video. if the video was completely about Jensen, then Misha would have left the shot when he handed over the kettle. at this point, this video is about Misha.
imagine for a moment that Jared was there instead of Misha. what would he do? I know exactly what he’d do. he’s stand right next to Jensen and look proud and tall and moose-like. he’d smile and nod along, and right at the end he’d say something like “thanks for all the support you’ve showed Jensen these past few months, guys, it means a lot to us both” and he’d be Jensen’s equal in every way. that’s just what they do when they’re in videos together, no matter who the video’s about. but with Misha? not so much.
Misha is putting himself in a position of rivalry and playful nudging. sure, he’s clearly really happy for Jensen, and I have no doubt that in real life he’s genuinely over the freaking moon that Jensen was the one who won. but his character in this video is the supportive-but-jealous boyfriend who wants the limelight. he’s mockumentary!Misha.
then Misha switches sides. he goes from stage right to stage left. that’s him backing down. that’s him taking a step back and letting Jensen take centre stage. but does he leave? does he stay quiet? oh no. very much no.
[distant sound of Misha playing percussion on the kitchen cabinets]
[slightly closer sound of Misha dragging a drum set out of his kitchen sink]
[very nearby sound of Misha switching on his megaphone and preparing to sing Peaches’ “two guys for every girl”]
Misha acts all awkward and defeated and so done with this whole thing but you just know he’s got the warm fuzzies inside, and he’s trying his best to stay in character and not look at Jensen. that easygoing smile from earlier is gone and he’s straight-faced now. no lines left to say. Misha’s body language says “don’t look at me”, so this is the part where Jensen’s actually allowed to shine.
now the video is about Jensen.
in all seriousness, well done to Jensen. he deserved that kettle.
now, the last frame. the video ends with Jensen in the same place Misha was standing at the start.
Misha’s self-character has been thoroughly usurped, and his place has been taken. but he’s still there. lingering. for support - because he’s the most loyal of partners when it really matters - and he’s waiting for his chance to shine again next year, at the next PCAs. (he’s also the angel on Jensen’s shoulder. just a bit.)
and, as soon as the camera was turned off, there’s a 100% chance Misha slapped Jensen’s butt.
I agree with “supportive-but-jealous” when it comes to Misha’s character in the video but I don’t think that “boyfriend” part or especially the “heart eyes thing” were intended. The first one is rather fans’ interpretation and the second… I find it natural for them to look at each other like that (when they’re both being happy or on emotional high). Also that is the part you can’t basically play. The reason why actors who intended to play a couple in the movie or tv show are always invited for the special casting is because producers need to see if there is that kind of natural interaction between them. The chemistry need to be real and natural, and only if it is you can start to play with “the chemistry” on screen. It’s like the first casting rule :) Of course having the chemistry doesn’t necessarily mean that actors are having crush on each other or smith because gay man & gay woman could interacting so well on the screen that we could easily misreading their chemistry with them being in love. But making hurt eyes on each other?… hm ;) It’s a little diffrent level of interaction between actors&people ;) but also not really possible to fake.
What I mean is that it was probably only partly scripted but in 70 -80% looks like the total improvisation. Maybe Misha was supposed to be the jealous guy but instead he looks like the proud boyfriend because you know…. Cockles ;)