There have been ghosts who seem to exist mainly to try and reduce the harm done by other ghosts. Recently, the ugly virtuous sister who tried to warn against the beautiful evil one. Also in the Ghostfacer convention ep, wasn't the adult ghost trying to keep the kid ghosts from killing people. Though since she killed the kids in the first place "benevolent" is probably NOT the word. But, you are right ita !. Still would be their job to help him move on.

Recently, the ugly virtuous sister who tried to warn against the beautiful evil one

No, it was the ugly sister that was killing people. The beautiful sister was good and trying to warn them.

I saw people saying how cruel it was of the brothers to "kill" her, and when had they started doing things like that without remorse? Uh? She's dead. They didn't kill anyone. They regularly end ghosts, good and bad. Just bad are more pressing, I'd imagine.

Also in the Ghostfacer convention ep, wasn't the adult ghost trying to keep the kid ghosts from killing people.

No, the woman's dead son was warning against other bad kids -- it isn't until the end that they learn why the woman killed them.

Just watched the last two episodes in a row. Wah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gah. I finally had a chance to watch. That was sad, but immensely satisfying.

I was gutted by the arc with his wife - not only did he have to kill her, there was still all that unresolved pain. What a thing to have to live with. Oh, my heart...

Saying that he "adopted" two boys and taking Dean to throw a ball around rather than practicing with the double barrel just killed me. Oh, and the phone call with John.

Oh, yes. So much so, yes. In my headcanon, the last fight with John that led to Bobby running him off the property was the "you're not their dad" thing gone nuclear.

Do you think that they went nowhere with Sam's death? I can see you not liking where they went, but that's not the same thing as nowhere. We had half a season of RoboSam, a third of a season of guilty!Sam, then breakdown!Sam and recuperating!Sam since then, all the way up to last week.

You might have wanted them to do something different, but you can't say they've done nothing. I don't get it.

(having a debate on IO9, natch)

How is bringing Sam back from hell, soulless, and later guilty and crazy, doing nothing?

What other options are there? Bringing him back evil. Bringing him back as a ghost/spirit. I can't think of many more, and those aren't appealing options anyway.

What the guy seems to mean is "don't bring people back from the dead, even if they're still dead".

I pointed out that he's a star, and it's much like Buffy dying--it's about the consequences, not the idea that they'll never come back.

Then he said they were no consequences, which I think is objectively bullshit. Not enough? Not the right ones? Maybe. None, or none but his end of season breakdown? Not so. He's still seeing Lucifer up through the first hiatus. How much do you want? And Dean is still drinking away his own death, as well as the deaths of everyone since then, whether they came back or not.

Ellen coming back wasn't consequence free--they had to annihilate her. Jo wasn't alive, and came back into Dean's life to make him feel like shit and then die. And then she left.

Cas's first death had a revelation, his second changed his character and his character's position markedly.

I'd say that Bobby's first death was completely consequence free. And that's the only one I can think of right now that meant nothing for the character or the people around them or the plot.

Yeah, without Sam and Dean there really isn't a show. You don't kill one of the two stars, not on a show like this.

Did people really think Buffy wasn't coming back? Do people realize this is TELEVISION?

Sam's death had plenty of consequences, if you ask me. For Dean and for Sam.

Yeah, that's a not very well thought out argument. Maybe the writer didn't get the consequences s/he thought were appropriate, but there sure as hell were plenty of consequences.