Supernatural 5.03 episode reaction

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Honestly. Was there anyone who was surprised by this latest development? Like almost everyone has been speculating for quite some time now, it will be Dean/Michael against Sam/Lucifer in the end. Joy. (I don't doubt that it can be done in a spectacular or even unexpected way. It's just that right now, the prospect has me seriously underwhelmed.)

Of the good (aka points about which I'm not resigned):
- I liked the juxtaposition of Sam's Dean-less life with Dean's Sam-less one at the beginning. The images flowed well together. Well done.
- Much as I want for the boys to get back together again, for the same of realism, it was good that the episode went by with no contact between them.
- Sam calling Bobby. Bobby doing better. Bobby calling Sam the "best hunter in the vicinity".
- Castiel and Dean mouthing off to Raphael. All the angels I've seen so far annoy me no end.
- Lucifer using Jess to get to Sam. I had my doubts for a while there, but I didn't want to believe it was really her ghost disheartening him.
- Dean laughing, even if it was with Castiel and not Sam.
- Sam spitting out the demon blood. I was seriously annoyed when the hunters tried to shoot him up again. Hopefully, what got into his mouth won't have any lingering effect on him.
- The barmaid not dying, against my expectation. The whole time I was thinking, "Love interest for Sam, she is dead already. Or evil." Both might still happen, but still.
- Dean using his search-for-John to encourage Castiel. That was a nice, and possibly the only thing to do, even if he probably doesn't believe in the ultimate success himself.

Some thinky-thoughts:
- So apparently Lucifer can't find Sam, but he can still send him visions. Possibly making use of Azazel's demon blood connection? Also, was watching those hunters and found myself missing Gordon. At least he would have just tried to kill Sam. Because - he had no qualm at the end using his own evil vampire powers for "good", but no way in all eternity would he have risked a Sammy all hooked up on the bad stuff, no matter for what purpose. (I need word of their ill-fated attempts to get back to Dean, Ellen, and Bobby.)

- Dean obviously needs this separation as much as Sam does, but that doesn't mean it's necessarily the right thing. It's okay if he wants to explore this freedom for a while, without the chains of his family, as he put it, but eventually he needs to get his head screwed back on straight, and I hope that if he doesn't arrive there himself, Castiel will do it for him. Because the only way I see out of this mess is the brothers re-connecting, which means that Dean will have to choose Sam. For the very first time.

- Also, we need an episode exploring what hunting was like for Dean without John and Sam during the Stanford years. Because I'm guessing we're getting to see glimpses of it now, but it would make such a good comparison to the "happiness" he's professing to feeling now. (Any viewer walking this planet who doesn't think he's lying to himself, albeit somewhat successfully?)

- Who wants to bet we'll see the phone connection thingy performed on either Dean or Sam?

- How on Earth does Sam think he can stay at his new place after what happened?

- If Castiel ever finds his Daddy, I want Bobby to be his Vessel, should He need one. Or else, I want Him to interfere and hop into either Dean or Sam. That sure would screw up the angels' spiel!

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