The writing was on the wall right from the opening this week, when we heard Sam again say that he has to set things right. Like Dean, we all knew that nothing good was going to come from that. But what choice did Dean have? Sam was going to keep scratching at the wall whether he went along with it or not. Better that he was there to try and pick up the pieces.
The latest impetus for the aforementioned wall scratching was very good. So good, in fact, that I left the episode kind of wishing that we had actually seen that episode. The spidey story was good enough that it could have carried an episode all on its own. Maybe while Dean was feeling the first signs of things breaking down with the normal life. It certainly would have done wonders for painting the picture of just who Sam was without his soul. And it would have made this return to Rhode Island all the more impressive.
That’s not to say this episode was lacking in any way. Spider-girl, and Spider-Roy (Joe Holt), were both great monsters of the week. And it was nice to see Miranda Frigon (Jake 2.0) again. It was also interesting to travel along with Dean as he found himself in the same predicament as Sam. He’s learning about all of this for the first time too. And all the while, there was that nagging feeling on the periphery of the whole thing that this just can’t end well.
The revelations about the Rhode Island job didn’t really tell us anything we hadn’t already learned about soulless Sam. They did, however, set the stage very nicely for the crack in his mind that closed the show. We all knew that was coming at some point. Although, I thought it would be much later. Now the question becomes, what next?
My best guess is that this particular episode will pass, and the possibility of it happening again will hang over the boys as they move forward, not knowing if the next one will be the killer attack. It should make for terrific tension. The bigger question becomes, how will Sam’s mind get fixed? I think it has to at some point. Keith suggested that they may have to remove his soul again to save him. It’s an interesting idea, with soulless Sam again trying to learn the right and wrong of doing things. But I think we’ve traveled that path already. Instead, I suspect some sort of divine intervention that fixes Sam so the boys can move into a seventh season in as normal a fashion as what passes for normal on Supernatural.
Clacked by Brett Love 
on Feb 12, 2011 @ 13:15 EST5EDT
great episode, i really though that the wall cracking would come more in the future, but again these is supernatural, so anything is posible!!!
Yeah, they really haven’t wasted any time this season — I can’t believe the amount they have crammed into this season already (in a good way!). Everything is happening sooner than I’d expect. There seem to be a lot less of the one-off episodes this season.
The only thing I didn’t like about the episode what the spider people. The rest ROCKED! To see Samuel tell Sam that he needs to do things calmer and tell him he’s the coldest person he has ever seen was very interesting.
I am also very glad they didn’t drag out the wall story. SPN has been great for that all season. One bombshell after another. The other thing I am glad of is that they didn’t make Sam all sappy, whiny yet. He seems totally confused but I suppose that is to be expected after forgetting a whole year and a half of your life.
Sam’s time in the pit seems like it must have been much worse than Dean’s after they showed him on fire but again, what would one expect after hanging with Lucifer and Michael.
Supernatural is the best show on TV right now and the only show I will never miss.
They’ve basically said that Sam’s time was much worse. Dean spent time in hell, yeah, but Sam was a punching bag for Lucifer and Michael.