Are you counting Crowley in that number? For some reason, I feel like that window has past. Tho, he's been surprising before, what with the legs.

I will be disappointed if either boy asks for it, especially Dean.

That's another question for the end of the season--what will Meg and Crowley's relative status be?

Another unsubstantiated "feeling" is that Cas will reach some sort of balance (if not full S4 brand sanity) and still have powers.

Can't wait to find out, except for the whole bit with the no more new episodes for yonks.

Are you counting Crowley in that number? For some reason, I feel like that window has past. Tho, he's been surprising before, what with the legs.

Yep. He brought Grampa Campbell back without anyone needing a deal to set it in motion, so theoretically he's capable of doing the same for Bobby if he has motivation to.

I consider that resurrection of Samuel to be grossly ill handled. You have a demon raising someone to make a deal to raise someone--that's dirty pool. And crossroads demons shouldn't need to cheat.

What is Sampa's real motivation here? What has changed for/happened to him that he'll kill his daughter's children to get his daughter back? Where has he been for the past 37 years that he wants to pluck her from presumable heaven to live on earth and *deny* her the children she barely got to know? Where does he think she's been this whole time?

I seriously want to know what how that conversation went.

(I figure he, who never really liked John, must have *hated* him thinking he'd raised Robo!Sam--but he must have a very different view of John than he had previously held)

That shit is way too complicated.

As much as I dislike it, the only explanation that seems to make sense is an unhealthy fixation upon Mary to the exclusion of all else, including the welfare of his own wife and their extended family. Which, if that was the case, might also explain how an apparently upstanding family man who spent his whole life saving victims from evil supernatural creatures ends up going Downstairs in the first place.

Oh, that's the other big unanswered question: WHERE WAS HE? It doesn't make sense for Crowley to have dominion of him unless he went to hell, but the Samuel we saw didn't seem to be clearly headed down that path. Where was Mary? Hell too? Was that why Crowley could raise her?

(I'm assuming for now Crowley plays by the rules, but he also gets to make many of the rules and is under no compulsion to point out the fine print--then again, Bobby's soul doesn't clearly support that.)

And if it does take being sent to Hell for a demon to raise you, what does that mean about Sam the first time he died?

eta: and by "big" I guess I meant "many small"

Hmmm. All Winchester go to Hell? (Unless, given a special one-time only pardon.)

Doesn't explain why Pops Campbell ended up there though.

Hey, maybe Bobby is delaying crossing over because he really doesn't want to see John again. He's all "Shit, I don't want to tell him what his kids..the soul...the torture...gay interspecies sex..."

Yeah, that makes sense.

It was forseen that someday he would have Winchesters as descendents. That makes him retroactively a Winchester.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the line of Campbells from the Mayflower to now would be a little miffed at that reduction.

Yup. Since it would mean that all Campbells go to hell as well. And no, not a serious theory.