I agree. It's that ongoing conversation about what Sam or John says to Dean, vs. what Dean hears/takes away from it. I don't think John ever quite knew quite how screwed in the head Dean is in this respect, and I think Sam's just beginning to get it.

Yes. This.

but he doesn't fight against getting back on the battlefield too long or too hard before they're back at Bobby's and he's declaring them back in the mix.

As goes Sam, so goes his nation. If Sam had gotten up off that bed and declared they were done, they would have been done.

Cause of no commercials? Mine skip but I figured I would pause for the east coast...

Yep, Me too, teasing aside. We'll be a little out of sync, but nothing too bad.

If Sam had gotten up off that bed and declared they were done, they would have been done.

I'm not entirely certain of that. I think it's also possible they might have been done for a short time, but (basing on WIaWSNB) that the inner John Winchester voice would have guilted Dean back into action as soon as he saw signs that the lack of Winchester participation was killing people. Esp. once the rush of Sam being back wore off and reality set in.

I don't think that Dean cared for a second about the world. He couldn't live in a world where Sam was dead, so he didn't. I want to think it was that he knew there was a battle that he needed to fight, but I don't. He just can't live or function in a world where Sam dies in his arms.

But he absolutely also doesn't think he should still be alive. And he shouldn't twice over. Both with the Reaper in Faith and then everything but-the-final-sig-on-the-paperwork dying after the accident in IMToD. So bargaining his life away doesn't mean a lot.

His soul does mean something but he'd give that for Sammy. He'll give every single thing he has and every single thing he could steal for Sam.

Nodding like a dashboard dog.

owning the fact that he just can't be that soldier. He knows there's a duty there, but it's meaningless to him. And he bitches, and tries to slow Sam down, but he doesn't fight against getting back on the battlefield too long or too hard before they're back at Bobby's and he's declaring them back in the mix.

Yep. But *only* once Sam's back. He wouldn't--couldn't--do it for anybody's sake, on his own.

Yep. But *only* once Sam's back. He wouldn't--couldn't--do it for anybody's sake, on his own.

Oh, absolutely. (See justification vs. motivation clarification upthread.)

Sam's death effectively killed him. I can see in his view how the deal's just a one year extension on what would've happened without Sam.

Sam's death effectively killed him. I can see in his view how the deal's just a one year extension on what would've happened without Sam.

Oh, yes. i really feel that in a way, we got to see Dean die a little by little throughout S2 as he was weighed down with the knowledge of what he might have to do to Sam. Even though he's got an expiration date, I have a feeling that he'll be a lot more relaxed in S3 (depending on how bad the new plague o' demons is, and how ragged it runs the boys) than in S2. Sam, on the other hand... I think Sam is going to start feeling some of the sense of responsibility that had been dragging Dean down for so long.

I think Sam is going to start feeling some of the sense of responsibility that had been dragging Dean down for so long.

I'm sort of with you there, but I think he's going to fight it with a fired-up "getting things done" streak.

I'm kind of consumed with the idea that Sam came back, not wrong, but a little different. All the soft edges burned away.

Speaking of Sam coming back wrong, changed, or otherwise, any thoughts as to whether or not the visions will continue?

(I had an idea for a fic in which the children chosen by the demon were inherently gifted, but the blood amplified things and also allowed the chosen ones to take on additional powers once they'd offed the competition. The fights to the death weren't so much a test as a way of creating a super-soldier. Andy's abilities increased after he offed his twin, after all.)

I had an idea for a fic in which the children chosen by the demon were inherently gifted, but the blood amplified things and also allowed the chosen ones to take on additional powers once they'd offed the competition. The fights to the death weren't so much a test as a way of creating a super-soldier.

Andy's abilities increased after he offed his twin, after all.

I mean, Andy was good with the powers he had and loved his life until his evil twin and those pesky Winchesters showed up. Until then he had no motivation to - or reason to even consider - improve them.

I mean, Andy was good with the powers he had and loved his life until his evil twin and those pesky Winchesters showed up. Until then he had no motivation to - or reason to even consider - improve them.

Good point. I'm just sort of casting around as to how the demon blood might have affected the chosen ones, and what sort of lingering effect it might have on Sam, or what Sam's death and/or the demon's death might do WRT the whole powers issue.

One thing is for sure. Now that the demon planted the idea in Dean's brain, Dean is not going to be able to get rid of the idea, is he? Which kind of kills my earlier thought that we might get a more relaxed Dean this coming season.