Damn. I was wrong.

The Bobby rescue smells more like fan service. I still think it would have been much better to have Sam rescue Adam from Hell and send him back to Heaven. They could finally tie up that loose end, but instead they re-routed Bobby's soul to Hell to be rescued? Rogue reapers, my ass. What crap.

Harumph.

I still liked the episode in spite of the continued Adam loose end.

And I agree, Amy. I'll be quite glad to see the backside of Mark Sheppard at season's end. Or before.

Rogue reapers who hang around as cabbies by day in the physical world and run scams. And apparently more worried about displeasing Crowley than doing so to their boss, Death. Purgatory is suddenly Hell's vestibule and accessible to everyone and his brother rather than a great mystery that requires extraordinary measures by extremely powerful/resourceful individuals to track down. Sam and Benny are both able to immediately find the people they're looking for upon arrival in another dimension despite there being millions or billions of others there. Souls that can be intercepted like mis-delivered letters at demons' whims, which makes both crossroads deals in general and that whole Righteous Man business seem pretty unnecessary.

Brought to us by the same hacks who gave us the sexy bestiality earlier this season.

We seem to have remarkably little SamandDean time where they're on the screen at the same time. Not just in this episode, but all season so far.

My main gripe about this episode is all the fucking coincidences. What *time* does Sam's watch show in Hell? Why is Bobby kept so near to...anywhere? Why is Hell so literal? Why is Heaven above us? Why does Benny find Sam? Why does Dean walk up to the portal just as Sam pops through?

And, yes, I scribbled Batcave many times in my review (don't know if it will go up), but didn't actually write it down, because the coincidences, and also the devaluing--so Crowley and Cas couldn't find out where Purgatory was much less how to get there, and it was just two doors down the hall and then right at the potted sinner? SERIOUSLY?

Castiel might just have found Dean while he was taking a constitutional. Getting in was a snap. Or will everyone put out when they name drop without even using their names?

eta: to clarify--I liked the plot moving forward. But this ep doesn't hold up to much scrutiny.

I'm not happy with the get-Bobby-out-of-hell stunt. If Sam's going to go in, yes please, resolve the Adam loose end. And I am filled with don't-care with the writers at how easily Sam faced hell. And oh, look, hell's just a jail out of Pirates of the Caribbean after all--what was everybody so apprehensive about? A little paint, a throw rug, it could be quite homey. Pfeh.

It was a very huggy episode: Sam & Bobby, Benny & Dean, Dean & Sam. Did I miss one? And my, that Benny has a pretty smile.

Dean looks like he could use a vacation. All of a sudden he's looking a lot older.

Why does it take Sam 7 HOURS to find that fucking 3 trees spot? And only run into 1 beastie?

And I would LOVE to write a scholarly essay on heroism. I was just laying in bed thinking about the heroic journey this AM (as one does.)

Goddamn evil hand. (Can't write much, can't feel right hand, v. annoying.)

This episode really was a sort of soap bubble -- really pretty! and then poof. It all falls apart.

I feel guilty, too -- as soon as I saw the writers' names, my heart sank, and I hate to be prejudiced from the jump, but ... I am when it comes to them.

I'm sick of the absurd shortcuts, too -- Crowley told a demon to find Kevin, so we have to assume she did, even though we're not shown how, and despite that fact that the kid is warded into that boat on double secret industrial strength probation.

Why does it take Sam 7 HOURS to find that fucking 3 trees spot?

Why shouldn't it? It took Dean a year to find Cas and then find the portal. Look at how much Sam accomplished in a very short time.

Crowley told a demon to find Kevin, so we have to assume she did, even though we're not shown how

He said he found Kevin through his mother--he tortured and killed her. But why they didn't/couldn't find Mrs. Tran before is unclear. Why she's not in the batcave is unclear, even if Kevin needs isolation (for a task of this size, why not give him the batcave and go back to their normal pattern?).

I just turned on the TV and baby Sam is talking to Linda Blair, and it's weird how many things came rushing back without the whole picture--his hand in a cast, Dean's outfit, Dana Shulps, but the most notable thing was the soothing voice Sam uses. I don't feel like we've heard that recently. When did he stop that?

He said he found Kevin through his mother--he tortured and killed her.

Oh, right. But still! We're not shown how Mrs. Tran was found, and I was assuming she was as well hidden as Kevin was, since Crowley knew about her.

Why she's not in the batcave is unclear, even if Kevin needs isolation (for a task of this size, why not give him the batcave and go back to their normal pattern?).

I'd have to go back and check, but I think Kevin was established on Garth's boat before Sam and Dean were given the keys to the batcave. Still, it doesn't make a lot of sense not to pack everyone up and put them there.

the soothing voice Sam uses. I don't feel like we've heard that recently. When did he stop that?

He used it with Dean, talking about Benny! Or *a* soothing voice, anyway.

I went back and rewatched that scene, and now I'm wondering--it doesn't seem like the same "We are very sorry for your loss, ma'am, but maybe you can help us clear something up?" voice--but is that the voice he normally uses to calm Dean? I'm thinking that's a Voice too.