Darkblood8

Going by writers and the general information we have, I only expect 1 or 2 good Dean episodes left this year. We are looking at a run of Perez and Berens and Yockey may be down to 1 more. I'm going with 1 Dean, 1 Castiel, 1 Crowley/Rowena, 5 Sam's and the rest mythology (Mary,BoL,Luci, Lovechild,Princes and season 13 set up). Not saying those other eps won't be good but Dean's run this year is about done.

According to http://ibelieveinthelittletreetopper.tumblr.com/post/147242139088/supernatural-season-12-spoiler-sheet yes.

From everything I've seen of Jensen and Jared, I am certain that they told the showrunners immediately after they found out their wives were pregnant. I think they had a general idea of when the babies were due and they planned some Castiel and Sam leaning eps. They probably knew early on that Perez was stronger with Sam and scheduled his episodes accordingly.

Nothing deliberate at all. Jensen and Jared should get some time off when their children are born. I think there is a possibility that they wanted to give Jensen some time off and that Perez's strength is with Sam so it all worked out for this being a Dean lite episode. I do think that Perez writes for Sam (like Glynn seems to write for Dean). Those two might have been brought in to provide Jensen and Jared some down time through the year in different episodes. BTW I would never say Jensen or Jared would ever intentionally be unprofessional.

I saw it that way at first myself but I've started looking at it a different way. I reconcile it by the fact that Dean was in Hell by himself. It would be worse for him in this situation because he knew his brother was going through the exact same hell. He could always think "at least Sam is safe" in hell. He couldn't in the prison. Dean's hell would be knowing his family was suffering and he could never do anything about it.

That would have been brilliant (particularly LOTUS). They way they portray Mary is practically abusive.

Judging by Jaxcon, Jensen came in very late to the shooting. I don't know if it was to have time with his twins or if it was just because Perez was writing it. There probably won't be much for Dean fans in this at all. On a bright note, the episode after is written by Glynn which I am very optimistic about. Just get ready because Perez has another right after :(.

You beat me to it, summed it up much better than I did.

It kind of puts a whole new perspective on the time Mary and John split up. I originally thought it was John's fault but looking at it now Mary was keeping secrets and going away to "tie up loose ends". John may have had the high ground on that one. I think Dean needed the idea of Mary much more than the real thing.

Fair enough. Let me change that one to saved and inspired the greatest hunter in Canada who could kill 5 Wendigo's at the same time all by himself.

I think Perez redeemed himself somewhat from his first episode though he clearly seems to favor Sam (but Glynn seems to favor Dean so at least there is some balance with the new writers). So, random thoughts- Loved: Got a bit of a squeal over the Colt and another after seeing Mark's back. Also glad they are back to fighting monsters instead of stopping for exorcism or magic handcuffs. Liked: The Princes of Hell. They could be interesting and I'm hoping Dagon is a Lovecraft reference. Also, liked seeing Crowleys start towards becoming the King of Hell. Plus the Winchester boys taking out the monsters was a pleasant change (two episodes in a row). Hated: I officially hate Mary now. She makes me miss Charlie (who I thought was a massive Mary Sue). So far Mary has killed the LoL that beat Dean and Cas, saved her boys from Toni, helped exorcise a demon, took out a vampire that Castiel bungled, helped Asa's kids take out a werewolf pack, hunt a shapeshifter, knock out 6 vampire nests, 4 werewolf packs and a ghoul feeding in Arlington ( all in 12 episodes). I just wish I could see those stories with the characters I have actually cared about for 12 years. Mary continues to be a horrible Mother. I used to think the tragedy was that Sam and Dean lost a loving family and normal life. Now I think it's that Sam and Dean were never going to have loving parents. I wonder if Samuel had succeeded in resurrecting Mary if she would even care that it cost her her sons. Is it too late for Dean to call up Amara and trade Mary in for a Bobby?

Samhain did too. Since Lilith was the first, I don't know how those two fit in.

I like Yockey a lot but mostly because he seems really good at creating new characters. I'm curious if he will continue the trend of inserting the character into the episode title.

I know it's real early but so far this season I have been most impressed with Meredith Glynn. She seems like a real Dean fan and she should have another episode this year. Other than her, Dabb usually throws Dean fans a bone or two in his eps. I'm hopeful that this season will have at least a few more good Dean moments.

I think he does. I also think the flashback at the end was showing Dean getting his memories back. I do hope this helps bring Rowena into the fold. At this point, she deserves to be a regular and she brings a different skill set than Cas or Crowley.