I remember, Sam's not saying, "Hey, I was keeping our bargain!" but more ... "I was out of spoons. I had no idea where to start looking."

See, I remember it the first way, and I don't have time to answer all my premiere questions, but I can sure look that up.

Okay, Sam walks out, and Amelia's eyes are open and there is someone standing outside her house. I swear it.

"After you looked for me...did you look for me, Sam?"
Sam looks away, slightly guiltily]
"Good. That's good. We always told each other not to look for each other. That's smart. Good for you. Of course, we always ignored that, because of our deep, abiding love for each other. But not this time, eh, Sammy?"
"Look, I'm the same guy, Dean."
"Well bully for you. I'm not."
[Dean leaves]
"Welcome back."
[Sam shrugs to an empty room.]

That's the initial conversation, at least. I can check the wiki when I'm back-I just wanted to get the body language and the precise leaving-Amelia details by rewatching.

Beau wants Amelia dead as soon as possible.

Waht bugs me is that they could have got to same plot place witout this portrayal of Sam.

"You did look for me right?"

"Yeah, 3 psychics. Nothing One witch - Had to kill her to stop her from turning me over to Crowley. I guessed Purgatory and alive when nobody could find you, but I could not find a way to reac purgatory.

Also had a really shity situation. Crowley still has Kevin and I have not found a way to reach him. And then they get the message from Kevin.

Also I have a girlfriend for a while but lost her.

============= Pretty much the same situation in terms of plot, but with no new reason for Sam to feel guilty.

Really, le nubian? Why?

"After you looked for me...did you look for me, Sam?"

Sam looks away, slightly guiltily]

"Good. That's good. We always told each other not to look for each other. That's smart. Good for you. Of course, we always ignored that, because of our deep, abiding love for each other. >But not this time, eh, Sammy?"

"Look, I'm the same guy, Dean."

To me that shows Sam feels guilty, now that he knows where Dean was, not that he's insisting not searching was the right thing to do.

Amy,

I believe he does not like the actress and further he is dead tired of the Sam flashbacks that seem to go nowhere.

I am more tolerant. But I must admit I am ambivalent about her fate.

I agree the Sam flashbacks are slow-building, but they are going somewhere (I think). The difference with Dean's is that there's not actually that much to cover -- we're in Purgatory, we're fighting for our lives -- but the action in those scenes does give them a little more interest.

Plus, you know, Dean covered in sexy dirt and blood.

I forgot about vampirates! Love that.

My memory of the first episode is that Sam defended himself and his choices, and that he's still doing so. I hate the choices, and hate the idea he might have to back down on anything and admit Dean was right (in this can they at least meet at .middle ground?), but things like the explanation that started out with "I hit a dog" and his insistence that something out there (specific or general, dunno, thanks writers for vagueing it up) is better than most of the rest of his life.

I think he's sticking to his right to quit hunting, and with that to not been there for Kevin, although he's in it now to close Hell. I mean--yelling at Dean about almost killing Mrs. Tran when he left Kevin unguarded for up to a year? Crowley didn't have to have access to her meatsuit in the first place.

I think he should stand by the strength of his convictions. I just wish they'd written him different convictions.

Waht bugs me is that they could have got to same plot place witout this portrayal of Sam

But they clearly want to be at this emotional place so your examples are useless to the writers room. I'm pretty sure the things that take place are secondary to how everyone feels (especially Sam and Dean) about each other. They want precisely this rift.

So there's no need to be bugged. You're writing an entirely different story--it's apples and elbows.

I don't think we're disagreeing, although I've sort of forgotten the original question now. I think it's reasonable for Sam to feel guilty about Dean being in purgatory for a year and still defend his choice to quit hunting.

And I think Dean especially is perfectly sympathetic in his disappointment and betrayal, because he's never run away, he's never gone off to school, he's never quit hunting -- and even when Sam told him not to, he was still trying to spring Sam from the cage.

For me, though, Sam's decision was understandable, even if it wasn't the best choice *with regard to other people*.

I don't get his motivation for not trying to find Dean at all, honestly. Or I guess I don't want to get it, and I should suck it up and stop whining because canon is canon. Either canon will have him letting down Dean (again) and I'll be mad at that, or he'll have made a right decision and I'll be mad at that. I don't see a good way out of this, but the season's not done yet--let's see if they say something new. Because with what's in evidence now, nope. Don't like.

The part where he cut himself off from people like Kevin or Sheriff Mills who might have come to him as a sort of friend needing help. That's not hero Sam either, and I don't want to watch the story of reluctant hero Sam and his big, always right brother Dean.