Yeah, I can see John being ambiguous and slippery about a lot of things, but when he's pissed at you, you'll know *exactly* why. I think that translates to the boys, too, because I believe John was big on only making a "mistake" once - by his definition of a mistake, of course!
I'm not so sure that Dean's wrong, though. To me, even though it was "unintentional" on John's part - just a question of prioritizing - the fact that he *would* prioritize the hunt ahead of the boys is very telling. We know that it's partly because he wants to give himself some time to calm down, so that he can decide what's appropriate (instead of over-punishing because he's angry and hurt), but there's a lot to be said for the effectiveness of making them twist in the wind a little, provide that anticipation, so that the actual punishment is not as bad by comparison. As Kripke says of the creatures, sometimes your imagination can conjure a far worse image than reality, so leaving those pictures to the imagination is more effective (and less expensive!) than any special effect could be. So with the punishment, waiting for it is worse than its imposition.
And regarding saving the spirit, we've seen the boys achieve a curve, discover that sometimes, the straightforward, black-and-white approach to ghostbusting is not the best one. I think John learned that here and there, too, even if he didn't put everything in his journal. Nine times out of ten, it's easier and necessary to shoot first, ask questions later (as it were), but there's that one case in twenty when it's possible to resolve the situation without having to destroy. Plus? It's Christmas!
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I'm not so sure that Dean's wrong, though. To me, even though it was "unintentional" on John's part - just a question of prioritizing - the fact that he *would* prioritize the hunt ahead of the boys is very telling. We know that it's partly because he wants to give himself some time to calm down, so that he can decide what's appropriate (instead of over-punishing because he's angry and hurt), but there's a lot to be said for the effectiveness of making them twist in the wind a little, provide that anticipation, so that the actual punishment is not as bad by comparison. As Kripke says of the creatures, sometimes your imagination can conjure a far worse image than reality, so leaving those pictures to the imagination is more effective (and less expensive!) than any special effect could be. So with the punishment, waiting for it is worse than its imposition.
And regarding saving the spirit, we've seen the boys achieve a curve, discover that sometimes, the straightforward, black-and-white approach to ghostbusting is not the best one. I think John learned that here and there, too, even if he didn't put everything in his journal. Nine times out of ten, it's easier and necessary to shoot first, ask questions later (as it were), but there's that one case in twenty when it's possible to resolve the situation without having to destroy. Plus? It's Christmas!