I did not like this episode at all.

It seems unlikely that anything Dean and Sam could find out about Balthazar's soul trade or the whole alpha monsters/Purgatory situation would be information Death isn't already aware of. Perhaps when they find out they'll end up doing something that he wants done but isn't allowed to do himself?

There's a part of me that is still sympathetic to RoboSam -- not the willing to kill Bobby part, because no, I'd never accept that -- but to the part of him that really did not want the soul put back, and was not asked if he wanted it back, and when he definitively stated he didn't want it back, and for very clear reasons (after all, Castiel, Crowley. and Death all agreed it was severely damaged) was completely ignored.

I suppose I still view the real Sam as what Death just retrieved. If reuniting that with the functional living body results in less overall trauma and fewer attempts to coldly murder loved ones, RoboSam is just SOOL.

I suppose I still view the real Sam as what Death just retrieved. If reuniting that with the functional living body results in less overall trauma and fewer attempts to coldly murder loved ones, RoboSam is just SOOL.

Well yes, absolutely, the souled version is still the original version of Sam. But I guess the "functional living body" also had a functional (kind of) independent personality for the past year plus however many months that just got wiped out. Which admittedly is a smaller death in the grand scheme of things than that of Adam or the little girl in the hospital or some of the others we've seen, but still, it's a version of Sam, and it just got eradicated.

So the issue of souls is still important, which means Balthazar is a key player for the back half, and who knows who else.

I do feel bad for soulless Sam. He was a wonderful bastard. And he did feel things. Like fear. And he was cruel and sadistic and petty and lustful. And maybe he wasn't Sammy, but he was still something of a person, and now I wish they had explored that for one more episode. Or that they had gotten to the point where Dean was actually starting to like this new guy, and then Death comes back and is all "Hey!" and Dean is all "but wait!". Shit, I'm already plotting fix-it fic. It's like I can intellectually see the ramifications, but don't feel that I got to really experience the emotional ride quite right.

Editing was weird again. Especially with the souls of the dead looking at their bodies. It seemed so apparent that it was filmed separately. And I swear the ambient noise dropped out between cuts depending on who the camera was pointing at.

I'm still pissed that they made Bobby stupid to further the plot. He was smart enough to anticipate Sam's dastardly intentions, but the second he goes quiet, he's the opening act victim of a horror flick? The plot contrivances this season are seriously bugging.

I didn't get attached to soulless Sam though because I always knew he was temporary. I am much more attached to Origianal Recipe Sam, so I am willing to have the sacrifice. Besides, RoboSam pissed me off by being so intent on killing Bobby. I feel sorry for RoboSam and understand his plight. I just love the other Sam more. It wasn't the greatest episode but it was interesting all the way through.

There is always going to be a few Very Special Lessons in Supernatural. It's part of the show. Just like the bonding conversations over the last 5 min or so (even though we've been skipping that lately).

My signal messed up while Sam was summoning...Balthazar? I did not get that scene at all. Who was that guy and what happened. Why was he trying to kill Bobby?

Balthazar didn't care about Bobby. Bobby had acted like a father to Sam and one of the ingredients of the spell was doing something horrible, like killing one's own father. Even if he wasn't father by blood. That was one of the tragedies of the set up was that Bobby's death would have been completely arbitrary. A necessary ingredient, but not personal against Bobby. That would have sucked had it been successful.

eta: The missing scene was just Sam summoning Balthazar. Balthazar agreeing to assist because he claimed he wanted to piss off Dean. Then he gave Sam the ingredient list he would need for the spell. He actually only named one ingredient and it was the previously mentioned father's blood.

My signal messed up while Sam was summoning...Balthazar? I did not get that scene at all. Who was that guy and what happened. Why was he trying to kill Bobby?

quester, Balthazar is a rebel angel. He was in an episode earlier this season (the one where we learned that some angels - Balthazar in particular - are now trafficking in human souls). He and Castiel had been friends, and I think they still are. Sam summoned him because of his knowledge of human souls. Sam wanted to know if there was a way he could keep his soul from being reinserted into his body. Balthazar agreed that he wouldn't want his soul back after its time with Lucifer and Michael, and said that there was a spell that would work. It would involve "scarring the vessel" by doing something really awful, like patricide. Sam reminded him that John had been dead for years. Balthazar said that he needed the blood of his father but it didn't have to be his father's blood, or some such gobbledygook. It translated to mean that Bobby's blood would suffice. That's what set Sam off on a quest to kill Bobby. Balthazar didn't particularly care about Bobby, and Sam was doing it as self-preservation.