Rocky's Bar

Rocky's Bar

Then we don't kick him out. We keep him in. It'll hold. My mind, my rules. I got him. I'm the Cage. – Dean Winchester, 14.10 Nihilism

History

Rocky's Bar is a space within Dean Winchester's subconscious which was created by Michael as a means to keep Dean quiet and compliant by offering him contentment. However, after Sam and Castiel penetrate Dean's mind and compel him to fight back, the storeroom is used to keep Michael temporarily imprisoned within Dean's mind.

Episodes

14.09 The Spear

Flashes of a bar can be seen as Michael repossesses Dean's vessel and traps him in his mind, leaving the elder Winchester behind the bar.

Dean's office

14.10 Nihilism

In the bar, Dean works alongside a version of Pamela Barnes, while Sam and Castiel are off hunting a ghoul. The scenario operates on an infinite loop, where a woman offers to buy the bar from Dean, Dean denies the woman's offer, Dean and Pamela flirt and take shots together, and Dean kills two vampires who are after him for killing their nest.

When Sam and Castiel locate Rocky's Bar in Dean's mind, he is able to acknowledge their presence, while continuing his routine without realizing what is happening, believing the blood on Sam and Cas from his killing the two vampires came from their ghoul hunt. Once Dean becomes aware of the nature of Rocky's, he is able to alter elements, so that for example when Sam reminds him that Pamela was blinded by Castiel, dream Pamela loses her eyesight and reminds him it was due to Castiel. He eventually causes Pamela to disappear once he remembers that she died helping him and Sam. When Sam uses the word "Poughkeepsie", Dean is able to fully realize and remember what happened to him, which causes Michael to make his presence known in order to stall everyone to give his monster army time to get to the Bunker. After a fight, rather than eject Michael from his body and release him into the world, Dean chooses instead to lock him in a storage room, making his body "the Cage" to trap Michael.

In his room, Dean manages to keep Michael trapped in his mind when Billie pays him a visit, telling him that Michael will escape and use Dean's vessel to destroy the world. She explains that this outcome is seen in all of Dean's death books in her reading room, except one. When Dean reads the outcome where Michael loses, the contents shock him and Billie departs, leaving the veracity of it's contents' outcome up to him.

14.11 Damaged Goods

Michael continues to scream and pound on the storeroom door in an attempt to escape, causing Dean to have a brief episode. Later, Dean tells Sam that he can feel the door giving way, and that Michael will eventually escape. Dean reveals that he plans to trap himself in a Ma'lak Box, a mortsafe designed to imprison an archangel, but since they're almost impossible to construct, Billie left the designs with Dean for him to build on his own. Dean plans to have himself buried at the bottom of the ocean to keep anyone from finding him and forces Sam to either help him or let him do it alone. Sam reluctantly agrees to help, despite his apparent concerns about Dean.

14.12 Prophet and Loss

Michael continues to try and break free from the storeroom in Dean's mind as he drives in the Impala in preparation of trapping him in the Ma'lak Box at the bottom of the ocean. After saving Donatello, Sam manages to convince Dean to hold off on the plan and give them a chance to find another solution.

14.14 Ouroboros

Michael continues his efforts to break free, as Dean explains to Castiel that he feels a relentless pounding in his head. Even then, he's barely keeping Michael imprisoned, let alone sleeping. The archangel finally escapes after Dean gets knocked unconscious by the gorgon, Noah Ophis. As a result of Michael's escape, the storeroom and its contents are left in shambles. Jack manages to exorcize the archangel from Rowena's vessel and incinerate Michael.

Trivia

Rocky's bar featuring beers from the Family Business Beer Company

• The name of the bar and the Moose's head which hangs on the wall are a reference to Crowley's nicknames for Dean and Sam which were Squirrel and Moose -- a reference to Rocky the squirrel and Bullwinkle the Moose from the cartoon The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends. In fact, "Moose" has became so popular with Crowley that it spread to Jared, other cast members, and the fans. (See all its uses in canon here.)
• There is also a stuffed squirrel wearing an aviator's cap and goggles, as Rocky does in the cartoon, behind the bar, holding a bottle of Margiekugel -- a beer created for the show that features regularly and is named for Production Designer Jerry Wanek's mother.
• "Daphne Loves Fred" can be seen carved inside a heart on the bar in Rocky's. This is a reference to Daphne Blake and Fred Jones from Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! who appeared in 13.16 Scoobynatural. Dean has a crush on Daphne and was frustrated by her affection for Fred.
• Cosmic Cowboy IPA, along with the other beers on tap -- Ghost White IPA and Fox Rye Lager -- are beers from Jensen's Family Business Beer Company located in Austin, Texas. The beer coasters also feature the Family Business Beer Company logo. There is a Family Business Beer Company neon sign on the wall opposite the bar.
• There is an Impala tribute behind the bar, including two photos of the Impala and the KAZ 2Y5 licence plate.
• There is a "Texas Star" neon sign. Jensen grew up, and still lives, in Texas.
• The bar also features other things Dean loves, including a cassette deck and a pool table.
• There is a neon "Tom's Tequila" sign -- a reference to director Thomas J. Wright
• The wooden monkey behind the bar originally lived on the corner of the bar at Harvelle's Roadhouse. In 2.02 Everybody Loves a Clown, when the boys first visit the Roadhouse, Ash is passed out drunk on the pool table, referenced here with the vampire pretending to be passed out at the bar.
• In the bar office, there is a Busty Asian Beauties calendar and an autographed photo of Canadian actress Kathleen Roberston.