They changed the airing order, JenP, Sam hadn't been through Trickster hell in this ep yet.
Willow ,'Same Time, Same Place'
Supernatural 1: Saving People, Hunting Things - the Family Business
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I think this was engineered to corrupt Sam. Ruby's in on it with all those demons.
I'm trying to think of concrete examples, because it seems to me they've flipped perspectives -- that in the past Sam would have been arguing to try to save everyone, despite knowing that they'd probably die anyway, and Dean would have been on the side of self-preservation.
Oh, well, see, his reaction (or, hesitation to not kill the virgin) makes more sense to me if he had been through it all already. That may be a first - an ep airing out of order makes it better for me.
OK, so forget what I said about the exorcisms...
Ruby could have left her magic knife behind.
That just made me think of Kaylee and the battle with the Reavers during "Serenity."
Mass exorcism! Smart!
MADE OF AWESOME
Never underestimate Sammy's giant brain.