Sam wakes having lost his memory and tries to avoid the police. Apparently his wall breaks and he comes across other versions of himself. Cas is on track with his plans to take the souls.
Sam (Jared Padalecki) is being chased by the police and runs into an alley and a bar where he meets a bartender - Robin. (Erica Cerra) He can't recall his name. "I don't remember anything." He woke on the park bench and doesn't have time for a doctor as he needs to be somewhere to stop something important. Sam's wall breaks as was expected since he got his soul back and now that finally happens. Maybe that shouldn't be wall but levee. Sam finds an HP Lovecraft book on the shelf. Then has flashes where he he finds a hotel on a computer - where he's staying.
Robin goes with him. Sam: "I could be anybody." Ooh eerie echo of Meg's words from season 1 ep Scarecrow when she met Sam hitchhiking and said she could be some dangerous "freak." He had the room with the fire escape cos it's the quickest route for a getaway. Room number 07, heading for season 7 of the show perhaps? His room is filled with clippings, just like Dad used to do. Jimmy Page is his fake ID, Angus Young, Neil Pert. Ellie (Kim Johnston Ulrich) is found in an alley after she went missing, where she's dying.
Ellie could have handled the demon (Crowley) not the angel, Cas (Misha Collins). She told the two about purgatory and they needed the blood of a purgatory native. The moon and eclipse are tomorrow when purgatory can be opened. Bobby (Jim Beaver) loses someone close again. Cas apologizes. Dean (Jensen Ackles) tells him he's lost the plot but he needs to stop Raphael. Cas can save Sam when it's all over and only if they stand down.
Cas made Sam forget. He remembers his name is Sam. He was with two men and one was "a male model type" obviously another reference to Dean, his looks and Jensen's days as a model. Sam has an address for Bobby in his diary - why would he have an address for him written down; when he knows the place and location. He also has Dean's Impala. Someone fires shots at them outside, it's Sam.
Dean meanwhile sits by Sam's side again as in 2.21/22, All Hell Breaks Loose, when Sam died and he was conflicted over what to do. Here we now see that Sam's wall has definitely broken and he's in agony. Dean's desperate to help him Bobby says they don't know what's happening in Sam's head and they can't afford to lose another man if Dean falls apart. Sam smells whiskey. Sam's locked inside his head. Dean shines a light into Sam's eyes and it's day in his mind. Great effect.
Sam finds weapons in the car and Sam wouldn't really be driving the Impala. He goes in search of the Sam who fired at them. That's soulless Sam. "Am I really that gawky?" He's dreaming. Cas brought his wall down and Sam the "pathetic infant" shattered. Hey he got that line from Dean when he called Cas a child. He was strong without a soul. "Souls are weak," says soulless Sam, who is shot by Sam. There's another Sam. The real one has a fit and recalls everything he did over the lat year. Sam recalls Robin being held by a demon and he shot her to get the demon. He's sorry, he was meant to care.
Balthazar (Sebastian Roche) turns up and calls them "mudfish." Giving them Cas's location and he's decided to help them. In the process he's betraying "a very powerful friend." Who has lost his scruples and his marbles. Anyway Cas has betrayed them too and he made the first move. He needs half monster and half virgin blood and Crowley (Mark Sheppard) comments Cas looks "more constipated than usual." Going back to what Dean said to him when he attempted to vanish in the episode when they were after Eve, Mommie Dearest, and he couldn't do it. Cas is going back on the agreement - by demanding all the souls. Crowley can leave or die.
Sam finds another one of himself in Bobby's kitchen. the one from the cage. "The one that remembers hell." Dean leaves the address behind for Sam if he wakes up. Sam knows he's at Bobby's and smells whiskey again and old spice. Sam needs to know everything he did. He can't leave Dean alone since it all comes down to family as always. Sam is given a knife to end it all and his memories return.
Cas knows Dean's here, there's a Judas among them and he kills Balthazar. So much for friendship in his blind quest, he didn't even blink. As Dean said he's off the rails. (Similar to what Dean said to Sam in season 4.19 Jump the Shark; "he's so far off the reservation" with his demon blood fest.) Demon smoke attacks and Dean likens them to a T-Rex. Courtesy of Crowley. Cas's power doesn't work on him and he has a new partner, Raphael, (Lanette Ware) in a woman's body. His new meat suit from season 6.15 The French Mistake. Crowley says he's got "sweaty hands."
Cas will destroy him, obviously. It's not real blood they have. Raphael wants to be the new 'god.' Crowley repeats Cas's line of "flee or die." Didn't they think of that. The car's overturned outside and and nothing happens when Crowley chants. Raphael catches Dean's knife. Sam got here quickly and he has flashes of being tortured.
Cas returns with the proper blood and goes nuclear. All that power - all in him. Crowley "sounds sexy." Crowley makes a hasty exit since Cas has plans for him and Raphael is killed by Cas. So just how many angels were left after this killing spree.
Cas is arrogant and he saved them. They doubted him, fought him but he was right. Dean wants him to return the souls where they belong before the eclipse ends. They were family once. "Before I'd have died for you - I did a few times." Dean doesn't want to lose Cas and Cas thinks he's only saying that cos he won. Sam stabs Cas but nothing happens - he's not an angel. Cas: "I'm your new god." He demands they bow before him or he'll destroy them. - Er don't think so!
Parts of this episode was an anti-climax to the season which had its share of ups and downs as far as episodes were concerned. It wasn't consistent as past seasons of the show. We know Cas was going to succeed with opening purgatory one way or another and that Crowley and Raphael were going to be powerless against him. Cas has become even more arrogant of late so with that purgatory power trip, there was nothing else left left for him but to proclaim himself god. He thinks no one can fight, challenge or destroy him now. There's a danger in becoming too familiar and caught up in one's own greatness. There'll always be someone out there who's better and more powerful
Sam's wall breaking was to be expected but Cas's part in helping it along the way wasn't. What's more is Cas believes this would be a distraction for Dean, leaving him free to charge ahead full speed with his plans. His arrogance and paranoia (delusions of grandeur) is further shown by demanding all three kneel before him. Had a flashback moment to Zod in Smallville and his line of "kneel before Zod." Sorry
As an avid fan (who wrote a book on the show, not plugging here) but Supernatural did far better season finales than this and was a big letdown in terms of plot and cliffhanger, what cliffhanger? To think that the brothers and Bobby fought off every kind of monster and demon conceivable and possible, Azazel, Eve even, without any outside help and now they were stymied when it came to Cas. A friend/ frenemy now and they knew all Cas's moves. Especially since Dean taught him how to be who he is, so he took this freedom way too far.
This episode's saving grace had to be the scenes with Sam, in my opinion. Working out who he is with his memory loss; finding out he killed Robin in order to kill a demon when he was soulless and repenting for his past actions was the highlight. Giving Jared a chance to play soulless, vindictive, guilty, sorrowful Sam and redeemed Sam all in one. Finally meeting his dejected self from hell and the cruelty inflicted upon him by Lucifer and Michael was truly breathtaking and sad. With Dean being helpless and unable to help once more.
Dean had his hellish moments as well in season 4 as he was made to torture in hell, which don't compare to Sam's ordeal (not to belittle Dean's experiences of hell) Sam's were of a different making and what made it worse was he had no soul when he returned and couldn't remember all of it, whereas Dean did. At least Sam came to join in the fight at the end, not that there was much of a fight.
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