Meh. I pretty much hated this episode. I found the constant innuendo tedious, the torture porn as awful as it always is, and pretty much everyone's motivation murky.

I really wish I didn't agree. There were parts I really liked but overall bad taste in my mouth.

I'm not taking it off of the dvr list or anything but I saw the tv's description before I started watching and, well, I don't know any other way of saying this but I didn't care. It totally gave away the details of the ep and I just didn't care.

That actually makes me sad. Maybe it's time to just start spoiling. Then I won't cringe so hard at the thoughtless bitch, rape and sexualized violence stuff. And, you know, I might be able to find a motivation that stays in the same ballpark. I don't even know what I want from my show anymore.

I just caught that Meg says she "feels so clean" after kissing an angel. I love that she got all into it. And that Cas pretty much lifted her and carried her into the wall. And Cas does look down after the kiss, so there's that. Except that I think he was just noticing that Meg had his sword.

I too thought that there was some body-swapping or demon magik going on, but she just wanted him for his sword. Although why she didn't just ask for it led me to thinking that she had to stimulate Cas for the sword to appear on his person . . .

I'm confused on Demon movement. If Meg can poof away, then why did she, before, try to vomit away, abandoning her meatsuit? Why would any demon use that as a form of escape if they can take the meatsuit with? I get that some demons wouldn't have a fondness for any particular one, and would enjoy dropping a used up/dead body in preference for screwing over another human, but here Meg opted for both, and I don't get the logic, that if she does like her body, why'd she try to ditch it when she could have just poofed.

This ep made me rethink Sam's relationship with the idea of wanting his soul back. I think up until now, he kind of was still on board with it, and it was just his lack of soul that made him come off as keeping secrets and lying. This seemed a turning point for him. It didn't feel like he was just finally being honest with Dean about it, but that he had just changed his mind given the expert opinions.

I enjoyed the episode pretty well. Apart from the torture table which comprised maybe less than 3 minutes of Show, I found the reveal that Sam's soul is -- by consensus of both angels and demons -- a mutilated mess, not entirely a surprising new obstacle set in place to overcome.

Not only that, we now know where Gramps stands, and Mary's sons (and Sam's soul) aren't even on his list of priorities. Plus the added bonus of Dean all BAFM on Gramps. Awesome.

I'll miss Crowley, but I'm glad to be done with his manipulations. Gramps is going to be pissed -- Boys took away his seemingly only chance to get his daughter back.

I'm curious as to how Castiel "took care of" the prisoners in "Monster GITMO". Surely, he didn't free them?

JP continues to amaze me as Robo!Sam, and I'm glad he clearly stated that he changed his mind about wanting his soul back. From his soulless intellectual perspective, restoring his soul would remove him from the hunt and from any kind of purpose for living. Knowing that Dean will eventually walk away from Soulless!Sam, Sam walked away instead.

JA consistently blows me away, portraying a Dean having to adjust back into hunting with a stranger, who's sharp and effective, but is just a placeholder for Sammy. Dean on a mission is a win for me, and wanting his brother back in whatever condition and prepared to handle what that could mean for Sam's life is Love. LOVE Big Brother Dean!

I want Sammy back, but OMG.

I know Cas was supposed to take care of the prisoners, but I'm wondering if we'll be seeing that female prisoner again, the one where Crowley asked about her dad. Were we supposed to think she was special? She was the only one who got a line, although I suppose "help me" was only to be expected from at least one of the prisoners.

Cas discussing porn tweaked my embarrassment squick a tad, but the kiss with Meg made up for it. And for some reason I was noticing JP's hands this episode.

She was the Djinn from the first ep of the season.

Oooh, thank you, Perkins. I knew I was supposed to know who she was, but it didn't click.

For me, Samuel needed a qualifier for wanting Mary back. Like, "My daughter whose life was cut short" or "My daughter who never got to see her kids grow up." Maybe I'm just more attached to my spouse than I'm supposed to be, I don't know.

Of course, if Crowley has had the djinn for months, and still hasn't gotten her to talk, it could mean he's not all that when it comes to the torture.

I'm more bummed than I should be that Crowley is gone. This is like when Hannibal was my favorite character in Silence of the Lambs, I think.

I need to rewatch to catch everything. My head is still spinning. And it keeps getting stuck on stuff like "We're not supposed to talk about it" and "I learned it from the pizza man" and Cas ADMITTING he'd sometimes rather be on earth with the boys.

Maybe they're leaving it vague because the writer's have no clue either (Sampa's reasoning wrt Mary). I have a vague recollection of my mother having Dr. Laura on the radio and there being a big discussion of something like "in a fire, who would you save, your spouse or your child." There were lots of interesting call-ins for both sides of the equation. But I don't think the writer have anything so well-thought out or nuanced.

Why am I having flashbacks of black oil and supersoldiers?

I wonder (hope) if the Purgatory search is over and done with in the absence of Crowley.

Saving a small helpless child from a fire is a lot different than bringing bac your grown daughter from death, to me.

So does this mean Meg is Queen of Hell now?