Kitsune. Nice slipping in of a Japanese monster there, without any actual Asian people.

Also, they made a trickster shape shifter that can be an extension of a god into a brain-sucking monster.

I forgot to say congratulations, Anne! We're probably the only non-Phillies fans in this town (at our house, they're The Filthies, since we're Mets fan till death), and it was very gratifying to watch them choke.

This season is fascinating me so far. Granted, I'm the easiest fan ever in terms of pleasing me, but still.

Sammy, angsting and wrestling with Lucifer and pushing on his scarred hand! Dean, grieving and snarly and bad-ass and angsty! New monsters! Old monsters! Flashbacks! I love you, Sera. Call me.

So at the end of Season 5, Dean was going to trust Sam and decided that he couldn't really "let" Sam do anything - that Sam was trustworthy to make his own decisions.

And then he couldn't trust Sam because he lost his soul and had no moral compass. I need to rewatch but I'm trying to remember exactly why he left Sam behind at the end of Season 6.

So now, he doesn't trust Sam's judgment when it comes to killing the monster. I see Dean's point but to me, the bigger betrayal here is lying to Sam (essentially) and killing Amy. Leaving the boy does seem...not out of character, but like the character is changing. I guess it goes along with Dean thinking he knows what is best for Cas. I wish I had time to rewatch the last few seasons because I feel like there are some themes here that I can sense but not quite identify. Either way, I'm worried about Dean. Sam seems to be dealing with his issues, but Dean...I don't know.

why he left Sam behind at the end of Season 6

When, exactly?

Either way, I'm worried about Dean. Sam seems to be dealing with his issues, but Dean...I don't know.

Same here.

I think if he killed the mom, he should have killed the kid. If he didn't kill kid, he should have had a plan for dealing with the kid.

I think they're setting Dean up for the same hubris that Castiel fell victim to.

Well, I'm trying to remember clearly what happened. But didn't Bobby and Dean take off to confront Cas and leave Sam behind? And Sam showed up in the Impala at the last minute?

I can't remember why Sam wasn't with them, but I'm trying to track this idea of Dean not trusting Sam.

Wasn't Sam comatose from the wall falling? He pulled himself up by the bootstraps to come help. Dean had left a note and begged him to pull it together.

Oh, I think you are right. So when did Dean start not trusting Sam again? I'm just curious because the moment last night was almost identical to the moment at the end of S5, except this time, Dean was totally lying through his teeth and clearly doesn't trust Sam to make important decisions.

I think it's a different issue now -- Dean isn't sure Sam knows what's real and what's not, and how Lucifer is affecting his judgment. You can call this distrust, because it is, but it's not motivated the same way. He's a little more worried now than he was when Sam was drinking the demon blood -- then, he believed Sam was making the wrong choices from a lucid point of view, and now he's simply worried that Sam may not be lucid all the time, although it's not his fault.

I think that Dean stopped trusting Sam when Sam started being unreliable. Also, he disagrees with him. I don't think he'd have let a monster go without a big fight, and Sam's not up to one right now.