DeeDee79

Forced doesn't seem like the right word for Sam's decision. He made a conscious choice to say yes because he thought that it was the right thing to do but no one made him do it. Dean on the other hand was pretty much forced to change his mind after deciding to say yes to Michael by everyone around him. Of course YMMV *shrugs*

Thanks for posting this info!

Sorry to remind you and incite more rage :)

Didn't Michael say that he was going to erase their memories in The Song Remains The Same before he sent Sam & Dean back to the present? I seem to remember Dean being upset when he said he was going to do so because Mary would still walk into the nursery.

Good points! I never considered that but considering that we're talking about the Trickster I guess that I should have :(

Good questions. To add to this: when Dean died over 100 times in Mystery Spot did he go to hell each time since he had sold his soul? If so, technically speaking wouldn't the terms of his deal have been fulfilled after the 1st death and the deal made null and void since he was brought back by an archangel? Hmm.....

That's an understatement!

This is a really great question!

I liked the scenes of Cas & Crowley working a case together. I think that Mark had good chemistry with Misha.

It would have been much better IMO. I am beyond sick of random angels popping up just to berate Cas for ruining Heaven and trying to kill him.

Yes! I feel exactly the same way. I doubt that I'll even watch the spinoff unless one of the J's makes an appearance.

I know that you don’t like Benny because you’ve stated that many times. And fandom dislike of the character because of the way that Sam was written during that season as you’ve pointed out was the point of my post.

I never thought that the writers made Benny a cuddly character or tried to downplay the fact that he was what Dean normally hunted to make him more sympathetic. One could argue that Lenore was a cuddly, sympathetic character for resisting her nature and fandom uses her as an example of Sam's willingness to believe that monsters can be good and go against their nature. Not trying to devalue your personal opinion but I just think that it sucks that fans dislike Benny because the narrative painted Sam in a bad light during season 8. I like that Dean had a friend and was sorry to see him go.

The only instance that I can remember was in The Vessel when he drank beer because there wasn't any coffee left but it wasn't quite breakfast time:

Season 6 is up!

Very true. I hope that he gets some semblance of a happy ending but unless we get some new writers I highly doubt it :(

Re: @ahrtee's post in this week's thread. I'm truly tired of every character that either thinks that they know Dean ( based on loose knowledge of the Winchesters ) or knows him enough to know better, or makes an assumption of his character and immediately decides that the " tough love " ( or insulting ) method is the only way to reach him. While Sam gets speeches like " you're a hero" or " you saved the world" ( looking at you Sully! ) Dean gets never ending speeches about how it's the job/bigger picture/work to do/suck it up, etc, etc. I'm honestly baffled as to why this is an ongoing theme in order to get through to Dean. What happened to kindness and understanding for the weight that's been put on his shoulders since he was a child? Or an acknowledgment of all that he's done at the expense of any personal happiness? I can't say that I've ever seen an instance where Sam gets this treatment. Also, this is the umpteenth time that Dean has shown little regard for his life or his self worth; at this point I'm leaning towards @gonzosgirrl's prediction that Dean will be dead by the end of the series.

Responding in Dean Winchester: Aka Squirrel to be safe...

Which is because the writers ( stupidly) think that Dean always needs a tough love approach in order to keep him motivated. Kind words and praise for all that he's endured just won't do! Throw some insults and obligatory speeches about the bigger picture at him; that'll do the trick! Ugh...

It surprises me that this could be considered an unpopular opinion. This episode was very boring and after it became evident that we weren't seeing actual Benny that one bright spot was gone for me.

I loved MOC Dean especially in The Prisoner. I still can't believe that Dabb wrote that ep!

Yes! That's one of my favorites! Me too! I could accept that Crowley may have survived but I never saw the Crowley and Cas partnership coming.

"Rooster" in Folsom Prison Blues & "Miracles" in Mommy Dearest are two good ones :)

True indeed. Dean learned it with Lenore and with Benny.

I know that SPN isn't a warm and fuzzy type of show but I wish that we would get a few episodes with moments like this put in instead of the angsty brother vs brother scenes that they insist on throwing in.