Sam is still locked up and Dean visits. Sam tells his older brother he isn’t some junkie, he isn’t drinking demon blood just for kicks. Rather, he is just trying to get stronger to get Lillith. On the contrary, Dean says, Sam is just getting weak and pathetic.
Back upstairs, hearing Sam’s screams, Dean and Bobby wonder if they’re doing the right thing. Bobby says Sam might not live through the detox, but they really don’t know what’s ahead. Rufus calls Bobby to tell him about more seals being broken.
Bobby hates to suggest it, but says maybe Sam needs to be out there, out on the battlefield. That maybe, no matter how much they love him, it might just be that he would have to be sacrificed to save the world.
Sam’s withdrawal grows tougher and tougher on him. He begins hallucinating, receiving visits from Alastair, teenSam, his mother, and then Dean.
First up, Alastair tortures Sam much like Dean did to him.
Then teenSam asks him why they didn’t he become normal like they always wanted. He’d quit hunting, he was going to become a lawyer, he was going to get married. Why’d he blow it. Sam says it’s because they killed Jessica, to which teenSam says wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t had gone with Dean that night. Would Jessica have wanted Sam to turn into “this,” using her as an excuse? Sam says life doesn’t always turn out the way you want it. They were never going to be normal, never going to get away from all of it.
Sam tells teenSam to grow up. teenSam then says maybe there isn’t an escape, after all, how can one run from what’s inside them, to which he blinks and reveals the yellow eyes.
After a while, mamaWinchester arrives. Sam tells her to give it to him, that she’s disappointed in him. But she says she’s proud of him, he’s doing the right thing, he’s brave.
Being raised a hunter herself, she knows how hard it is to make sacrifices. Their family is cursed, but he has the power to turn it into a gift against evil for justice. Sam asks what’s inside of him, what if whatever it is, it is stronger than him. She tells him that Dean can never know how strong he is because Dean is weak, terrified, in over his head.
Dean goes to meet Castiel. Cas tells Dean that the amount of blood Sam will need to kill Lilith, he’d become the next thing Dean would want to hunt. Cas assures Dean that he is the one they believe can stop it all. But is Dean willing to accept his role as the only one who will stop it? Dean asks if he does it, will it mean Sam won’t have to?
Castiel makes Dean swear to serve God and the angels, swear to obey God’s will. Essentially, become the angels’ bitch as Bobby says.
Suddenly, it turns silent downstairs and they go down to see Sam writhing on the floor and then getting thrown all across the walls. They tie him down before he hurts himself.
When Sam comes to, “Dean” is there watching him and he asks why Sam had to go and do all of this. That God had already chosen him to stop the apocalypse.
Meanwhile, Bobby is having doubts about whether or not they’re doing the right thing. He says they’re killing him. But Dean doesn’t want to. He doesn’t want to give him anymore demon blood. He’d die for Sam in a second, but can’t let him turn into a “monster.”
“Dean” begins taunting Sam, calling him a monster. He says Sam is nothing to him, which hurts like hell for Sam.
After a while, Sam wakes up and suddenly the cuffs around the wrists and ankles unlock and the door opens. No one seems to be around. He gets up, walks out, and leaves. As Sam walks up the stairs, we see it was Castiel who set him free.
Cas goes to the docks when Anna appears behind him. She questions Cas setting Sam free, but he says it was his orders. He says she should’ve have come, and two men come, grab Anna by the arms and a white light takes them away, leaving Cas alone.
Seeing Bobby and Dean asleep in the living room, Sam goes to take a car, but Bobby appears behind him with a rifle. He tries to stop Sam, but Sam says he’d never shoot him. Sam moves closer to Bobby, putting the rifle right into his chest. Bobby tearily tells Sam that they’re trying to help him. But Sam takes the rifle, hits Bobby in the face and takes off.
Dean and Bobby suspect Ruby was the one that helped Sam escape, and Dean decides to set off to find him and to kill Ruby.
Sam meets Ruby at a hotel, trying to throw off Dean. Sam questions Ruby disappearing without contact for the last few weeks. She’s been busy looking for Lilith. Sam wastes no time getting at Ruby.
In the drinking afterglow, she says she’s gotten information. Only one seal left, and Ruby says only Lilith can break that seal.
Pretty soon, Dean finds where they are. Sam is out of the room and Dean comes in to kill Ruby, but he returns just in time to stop him.
Sam tells Ruby to leave.
And now comes the confrontation. Sam tries to explain to Dean that they can do this together. But Dean says only if Sam dispatches Ruby. He wants Sam to stop with the blood.
Sam tells Dean that he isn’t strong enough to do what the angels have said he’ll do.
Sam tells him that all his life, Dean’s called the shots and he’s trusted him. Now he asks that for once, Dean trust him. Dean says no and Sam pushes Dean to say what he really means, that Sam is a monster.
That’s all it takes and Sam takes the first swipe.
They go at it with Dean ending up on the floor. Sam starts to choke him, but lets go.
“You don’t know me. You never did… and you never will,” Sam says.
Dean says if he walks out the door, to never come back. Sam walks out the door.
—
Next week is the final battle. Who knows what kind of s— will go down next week.
It has been very interesting watching the road Sam has gone down. No doubt about it, the Winchesters are cursed. At the very least, they’re special. All this, they’re a part of no matter what.
They have a destiny. So much so they’re going to get Gospels written in stone about them in the future (currently in progress!).
You can’t really blame either Sam nor Dean for how they’re feeling. We’ve seen a little bit of it before, but this episode really highlighted how Sam’s always been the little brother, always taking a backseat (or the passenger seat in their case) to Dean. Add to that the pressure of already having demon blood coursing through his veins since he was a baby, the people he loves most being killed by demons, his life basically a life of chasing after monsters… and I’d be pretty messed up too.
And Dean. So afraid of what his brother is becoming. Of course he’s the older brother, of course he’ll do everything he can to keep his Sammy safe from harm. He went to hell for him! Now, his little brother is doing possibly the unthinkable? I’d be scared out of my mind too!
There is such a magic in Kripke and Co.’s vision. Who would’ve thought four years ago we’d get this deep, enthralling story, strengthened by the incredible performances of Jared and Jensen.
But I’ll save the kudos for next week (and I’m sure Jared, Jensen, and the rest of the cast and crew will work hard to earn those kudos).
It’s going to be one helluva ride!
