"We don't always get what we want."

The deal Dean struck back at the end of season two saved Sam's life. But going through with the payment? That's about saving Sam's soul.

The Road So Far. Carry On Wayward Son. It's become the theme of Supernatural season finales.

Previously on Supernatural, the whole of seasons one through three happened.

Once upon a time, there were two brothers named Dean and Sam Winchester, and they hunted and destroyed all kinds of nasty supernatural monsters that normal people could never even dream existed.

Dean sold his soul to a red-eyed crossroads demon in exchange for Sam's life, and was given just one year to live. Sam confronted the crossroads demon in an attempt to free his brother from this deal, but gained only the knowledge that Red-Eyes was working for another, more powerful demon. A demon named Tammi told Sam about a new demonic leader out for his blood. Ruby named this deadly demon as Lilith – a demon that likes to wear the body of a little girl – and Bela provided the headline news that this Lilith was the demon who held the contract on Dean's soul.

Also this season, the demon Ruby tempted Sam with the promise of being able to save Dean's life. Dean took an instant hate to her, suspicious of her interest in his brother. We learned that Ruby was in possession of a knife capable of killing demons, and that her interest in Sam stemmed from the Yellow-Eyed Demon's interest in him. Sam, though, was convinced that his psychic abilities were no longer with him.

Back in season two, the brothers learned that people who sold their souls to crossroads demons were collected – and torn to shreds – by hellhounds on the day those contracts fell due. We saw said hellhounds beginning to rip into one such victim, and it was not pretty.

"There's no way of saving me from the Pit, is there?" a resigned Dean asked Ruby, and she agreed that there was not.

Dean admitted to Sam that he did not want to die and go to hell, and Sam promised to find a way to save him.

The recap ends with a gratuitous shot of Dean looking randomly pretty and weary and resigned to his fate, and viewers just know, right then and there, that he isn't going to be saved.

"You're gonna die! And this is what you're going to become!" demon!Dean taunted Dean in his dream. And you just know that this nightmare has been haunting him ever since.

Okay, so I'm exhausted and my heart is breaking and that was just the recap!

Now.

A frantic Dean sprints through the woods, fleeing an unseen assailant. Dream sequence, viewers immediately guess, and they are right. But although it is a dream, it is also an oh-so stark reminder of what lies ahead unless a miracle is found. Dean runs and runs and runs, breath coming in frenzied gasps. He skids to a stop, hearing the hellhound ahead of him.

Hellhound-vision shows us Dean poised on the balls of his feet, staring at it in apprehension. Then he breaks, spins around, and speeds back the way he just came, and the hellhound gives chase. It isn't long before the hound brings him down. It pounces and blood spurts…

Dean wakes up with a jolt, having fallen asleep over a heavy tome open to a hellhound reference. Man, the illustration shows one hell of a beast. Anyone would have nightmares if that was the last thing they saw before nodding off, never mind someone who has a date with one in a matter of mere hours! Dean is extra-stubbly for this scene, having just woken up. I guess shaving goes by the board when soul saving becomes this urgent.

There are lots and lots of pretty, pretty close-ups on Dean in this episode, and they begin in this scene. It's a sign. They're not going to save him. He is at his most awesome, heroic best throughout this episode, just to drive home the awfulness and the tragedy of what is going to happen to him.

Sam wanders in, looking remarkably perky, under the circumstances. This can only mean that he is onto something. Seeing his brother with a book in his hands, he asks if Dean has dug up anything good. Dean promptly slams the book shut before Sam can see just what he was looking at, and admits that no, he didn't. Sam looks positively bubbly as he announces that Bobby has – found something good, that is. Finally. Still shaking off that just-woke-up-from-a-horrible-nightmare fog, Dean prompts his brother to elaborate. Sam happily beams that Bobby has found a way to find Lilith. Oh, Sam. The tiniest, tiniest shred of hope lights him up like a Christmas tree and makes him look all of six years old. This season has been so, so hard on him.

Dean tries to be enthusiastic about this development, observing that there are just 30 hours until his deal comes due. Damn, that's cutting it fine. And, you know, this close to the end he just can't bring himself to believe in such a thing as hope. Trying to hide that fact, he jokes that maybe instead they could make a 'TJ run'. "What's Spanish for donkey show?" he muses.

Sam can't help but snort, amused in spite of himself and appreciating every last moment of Dean that he can get. "So, if we do save you, let's never do that."

Oh, he said 'if'. That kind of chills me. It's honest, acknowledging the very real possibility that their efforts might fail. All his earlier confidence has leeched away, this close to the deadline.

But then, reading Dean's mood pretty accurately, he follows it up with a heartfelt little speech. "Hey, Dean. Look, we're cutting it close, I know. But we're going to get this done. I don't care what it takes, Dean. You're not going to go to hell. I'm not going to let you. I swear. Everything's going to be okay."

Yeah, they're not going to save him. Oh, Sam. He says it so fervently, all bright-eyed and intense, and he means it so very much – with every fibre of his being he wants what he is saying to be true. For all his use of the word 'if' a moment ago, he just can't conceive of failure and what it would mean for them both. And it is so very much a role reversal – how many times in the past have we seen Dean offering similar words of consolation to Sam? It didn't matter how hollow that comfort was, or even if he believed his own words. What mattered was that he told Sam what he needed to hear and gave him something to hold onto when he was at his lowest ebb. This is Sam trying to give some of that back to his brother, picking up the load in his turn and taking on the mantle of protector.

He's going to hate himself for breaking that promise when the worst happens. Just as Dean saw Sam's death as his own failure to keep the promise that he'd made to always protect his little brother.

Less than four minutes into the episode and I am already flailing like mad.

Dean presses his lips together and nods and tries to believe his little brother's assurances, but when he looks at Sam he sees…ick! The hallucinatory facial distortion! I'd completely forgotten about that from Crossroad Blues! Man, it's creepy. Other than in his dream, though, there's no sign that Dean is hearing hellhounds yet. Evan Hudson in Crossroad Blues was already hearing the hounds by the time he started seeing that head-whipping facial distortion.

Dean is freaked, but swallows it and tries hard not to let Sam see and to smile his agreement with Sam's assurances. He can't quite manage it, though, because he's just 30 hours away from hell and he is terrified.

Titles.

Bobby gets set up for his Lilith-finding ritual. "With the right name, right ritual – ain't nothing you can't suss out."

Seems rather a nifty thing to be able to do, locating a demon so precisely just by knowing their name. It also smacks very slightly of deus ex machina, but we can go with it. This is the most desperate they've ever been, with Dean's life on the line and the deadline so close. And they've known Lilith's name for three weeks already and only just come up with this. So I'm prepared to believe that Bobby has been digging deeper than he ever has in search of anything that might help, and this is what he has found.

Also? This looks like the same place the brothers seemed to be squatting in at the start of last week's episode – same fireplace. So…is this a squat where they have set up base camp? Or a part of Bobby's house we haven't seen before? It doesn't look like Bobby's, but I don't know why they'd be anywhere else at this stage.

Bobby starts Latinating, and Sam looks hopeful, but Dean looks pensive. He's not prepared to hope for any miracles at this stage; the letdown would be too great. He's already preparing himself for the worst.

Bobby's magic demon-locating apparatus points to New Harmony, Indiana. How far is that from South Dakota (assuming they are at Bobby's place in South Dakota, which remains unclear) and how long would it take them to get there? They have less than 30 hours to both make the journey and execute whatever desperate anti-Lilith operation they can devise.

However, while Sam is anxious to get going without delay, Dean remains hesitant, as he has been all along. After everything they've been through, so many false trails and dead ends, he is just so reluctant to trust in hope it hurts. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Just holster it up, there, Tex." Okay, that's funny. I love about this episode that it is able to so smoothly combine humour with gut-wrenching pathos. Makes it all the more poignant.

Sam wants to know what the problem is.

"What's the problem? Come on – where do I begin?" Dean says. "First of all, we don't even know that Lilith holds my deal – we're going off of Bela's intel? When that bitch breathes the air comes out crooked." Oh, I love that description of Bela. "Okay, second, even if we could get to Lilith, we have no way to gank her. And third, isn't this the same Lilith that wants your giant head on a pike? Should I continue?"

"Ain't you just bringing down the room," Bobby snorts.

"Well, it's a gift," Dean snarks. Oh, how I love the way Bobby and Dean interact. They have a fabulous dynamic. They have known one another since Dean was a child, and Bobby was probably one of the few adults in Dean's life as he grew up with whom he could truly be himself, in a way that wasn't possible even with his father, given the pressure he was under to be the person he felt John needed him to be.

Immensely frustrated, Sam wants to know what they are supposed to do.

"Look, just 'cause I've got to die doesn't mean you have to." Dean lays it on the line, ever the pragmatist, and it hurts that he is so resigned to his fate. "Either we go in smart or we don't go in at all."

Sam snips that in that case, he has the answer. "A sure fire way to confirm its Lilith, and a way to get us a bona fide demon-killing ginsu." Dean immediately says no, not waiting to hear any more. "We are so past arguing, Dean, I am summoning Ruby," Sam insists, unable to believe Dean is still refusing this suggestion.

"The hell you are, we have enough problems as it is!" Dean shouts. His attitude toward Ruby has been very consistent, ever since he learned of her existence. She's a demon, end of story.

Sam huffs that that is his exact point – they have no time, and no choices, either.

"Come on, man, she is the Miss Universe of lying skanks, okay," Dean protests. "She told you she could save me, huh? Lie. She seems to know everything about Lilith, but forgot to mention, oh, right – Lilith owns my soul!"

Sam rants that yes, Ruby is a liar, but she still has that demon-killing knife. Bobby tries to interrupt, but Dean steams that for all they know Ruby works for Lilith. Sam wants Dean to give him another option, then, tell him what else they can do. Then Bobby finally gets a word in edgeways to side with Sam on this one.

"No! Dammit!" Dean yells, and Sam and Bobby are shocked into silence. He's so worked up about this. It is really important to him that they don't turn to Ruby for help, in spite of his situation. He takes a breath, calms down, but sticks to his point. "Just, no," he insists, rather more evenly. "We are not going to make the same mistakes all over again."

Neither Sam nor Bobby understands what he means by that. But it is clear that, for whatever reason, staying away from Ruby is more important to Dean than the possibility of saving his life. And there can be only one explanation for that: Sam. Sam is what always comes first for Dean, ahead of his own prospects, and he would rather die than see Sam beholden to her, a demon.

"You guys want to save me, find something else," Dean finishes, ending the discussion by stomping across the room to slump down in front of the desk, back to staring morosely at books about the hellhounds that will shortly be coming for him.

Bobby picks up his coat. Sam asks where he is going. "I guess, to…find something else," Bobby mutters, but he sounds so upset. Finding the address for Lilith was such a breakthrough, but Dean has just shut it straight back down again, and neither of them really understands why. They just know that they are out of time, and that they can't bear the thought of watching him die. Sam sighs his despair, and sets his jaw, resolved.

Later. Sam proves yet again just how very much he is John Winchester's son as he sets himself up a neat little demon-summoning ritual in the basement. Way back in In My Time Of Dying, we all wondered just how John knew how to summon Yellow-Eyes – Azazel – and why, if he knew that ritual, he hadn't used it before, to set a trap. Why go through all the trouble of trying to track the demon if he didn't have to? Similarly, if Sam knows how to summon Ruby like this, why wouldn't he also be able to find out how to summon and trap Lilith?

I suppose the answer is that although summoning a demon is possible, successfully trapping them when they reach you is another matter entirely. John summoned Yellow-Eyes without any trouble, but the demon still managed to sneak up and take him by surprise, maintained the upper hand over him at all times. And we have seen demons escaping from traps in the past. They have to come in answer to the summons, but they don't have to manifest where you can see them, and the summons puts them on their guard. Use omens and whatever to track them, and you just maybe might maintain the element of surprise.

Anyway, it figures that Sam would do this in spite of Dean's refusal to countenance the idea. When Sam sets his heart on something, nothing stands in his way. He will either defy orders openly, or sneak away when no one is looking, but he always pursues his own agenda when something really matters to him. Right now, the only thing he cares about is saving Dean's life, whether Dean approves of the method or not.

So, Sam performs his little ritual, so very similar to the one John used before him, and then stands and anxiously peers around the room. "You know, phones work, too," Ruby drawls from behind him. See? Again with the sneaking up when summoned.

"How do you get around so fast?" Sam grits, looking absolutely disgusted with the sight of her. He hasn't seen her, of course, since Dean told him that she lied about being able to save him.

I love that he asked that question. I've speculated about demonic teleportation so many times. Ruby snarks that she has a super jet pack, and wonders why he called. Like she can't guess. She knows when Dean's time runs out. She's only been playing on it to pull Sam's strings all season.

"Did you know?" Sam demands, cold, cold fury simmering. Ruby continues to feign ignorance. "About Dean's deal," Sam spits. "That Lilith holds the contract." Ruby calmly admits that yes, she did know. Sam is rendered speechless for a moment. "And, what? You didn't think that was important?" he disbelieves. Ruby shrugs that he wasn't ready. "For what?" Sam wants to know.

"If I told you, you two yahoos would have just charged off after her half-cocked," Ruby glowers, and she does have something of a point there, although the boys have taken out enough demons that the result would not necessarily be a foregone conclusion. "And Lilith would have peeled the meat from your pretty, pretty faces." Heh. Hello to the imagery.

"Well, we're ready now," Sam bites. "I want your knife."

Ruby eyes him appraisingly. "You're right about one thing," she coos. "If you are ready, and now's the time, too. Lilith's guard's down. […] She's on shore leave. A little R&R."

Sam wonders what the hell that means. Ruby assures him that he does not want to know, and then asks if he and Dean still have the hex bags she gave them. They do, although I can well imagine that Dean might have insisted on getting them checked out, just in case, since he mistrusts her so very much.

"Good, then she won't sense that you're coming," Ruby says, circling Sam like a prowling tiger. He summoned her. She has the upper hand. It's a demon thing.

"So you'll give us the knife?" Sam looks hopeful. Oh, Sam. He gets so single-minded when he wants something – he never pays attention to any detail that points at anything other than the outcome he is set upon, or puts the clues together. He looks so startled when she says no, and points to the words she just said as evidence that she should agree to his plan.

"You want to charge in with one little pig-sticker?" Ruby scoffs. "It's a waste of a true-blue window. Like hitting Hitler with that exploding briefcase, forget it." Sam demands to know how, in that case. "I know how to save your brother, Sam," Ruby tells him yet again.

"No, you don't!" Sam shouts. "You told Dean you couldn't, you've been lying to me all along! So just give me your damn knife!"

"You're not the one that I've been lying to," says Ruby. And therein lies the problem with a demon that gives different stories to different people: how do you tell which one is the lie? The answer is, of course, that you take every single word out of her mouth with a bucket of salt. I don't think she has lied to Sam, technically, but she certainly hasn't told him the full truth, either. She has been very, very careful in her dealings with him.

"So you can save him?" Sam demands.

"No," Ruby snips. "But you can." Sam wasn't expecting that, and is confused. "Sam," Ruby almost croons. "You've got some god-given talent. Well, not god-given, but you get the gist."

"All that psychic crap?" Sam scoffs. "That's gone, ever since Yellow-Eyes died."

But Ruby shakes her head. "Not gone. Dormant. And not just visions, either. Why do you think Lilith is so scared of you?" Ooooh! I've been saying that all season, that Sam's abilities weren't really gone, merely dormant!

Of course, it's Ruby so she could still be lying, but I don't think so. I've been sure all season that this was why she was interested in Sam, those dormant abilities just lying there, in his head, waiting to be tapped into. It is why Lilith sees him as such a threat, surely. Yellow-Eyes was a very powerful leader among demon-kind, and he intended his general – intended Sam – to lead his army. This means that the chosen general had to possess enough power to command the fear and respect of this demon army. It stands to reason that all that latent power buried within the supposed general would be a source of fear, resentment or temptation for the hordes of demons now jockeying for position. So, yeah, I'm inclined to believe Ruby on this one. Sam's powers are still in there somewhere, locked inside, hidden away and denied.

Sam wearily scoffs at the notion of Lilith being scared of him, what with the death and destruction that resulted from her last attempt on his life and how narrowly he escaped it.

"If you wanted, you could wipe her off the map without moving a muscle," Ruby tells him. That's what Sam wants to hear, of course – what he wants, more than anything, is a way to destroy Lilith and thus save Dean. But to his credit, his scepticism remains in full force and he doesn't believe a word Ruby is saying. She insists it is the truth. Sam questions the timing of this revelation. "Um, demon," Ruby points out. "Manipulative is kind of in the job description. Fact is, is that you would have never considered it, not until you were –"

"Desperate enough," Sam finishes, face set like stone. He knows full well how much she is playing him, what she expects from him, what she is trying to do. Knows full well the choice she is suggesting that he make – the same choice he spent the whole of last season running away from. In All Hell Breaks Loose he died rather than choose to tap into those abilities, because it was tainted power and the Yellow-Eyed Demon was using it to bend his 'special children' to evil and Sam wanted no part in that. The thought of being used by evil, of becoming evil, terrified him more than anything, and he died rather than give in to it. And now here he is faced with the same choice, but this time it is Dean's life on the line, not Sam's own. And Ruby is making full use of that fact, now that time is so short, to apply heavy pressure, trying to force Sam into compliance. It's much the same tactic that she employed in Jus in Bello, trying to convince him that hers was the only possible plan, no matter how unpalatable.

You know, Yellow-Eyes really went about the execution of his plan for Sam all wrong, trying to force him over the edge by killing the people around him. This season has proved how much more successful it would have been for him to simply take Dean hostage and use him as a bargaining tool against Sam, his life for Sam's capitulation. Now that would have been an interesting dilemma for Sam to face!

"You don't like being different," Ruby lightly remarks. "You hate the way Dean looks at you sometimes, like you're some kind of sideshow freak. But suck. It. Up. Because we've got a lot of ground to cover, and we've got to do it fast, but we can do it."

Ooh, so manipulative. Well, demon, of course, but still. Ever since season one, Sam has always been afraid of Dean's reaction to his psychic abilities, has always feared his brother's rejection. It's the reason it took him half of season one to confess to his premonitions, and a large part of the reason he has kept so many secrets this season. And yes, Dean has been concerned about what Sam's powers meant. But he has never, ever looked at Sam as anything other than his little brother, who is the centre of his universe. He's afraid for Sam, not of Sam. So for Ruby to use Dean against Sam in this way, twisting Sam's fears and projecting them on his brother? Gah.

She looks really pretty in close-up in this scene, though. Who directed this episode? Ah, Kim Manners, of course. Man does love his pretty, pretty close-ups, and they add an extraordinary element of intimacy to an episode.

Sam is shaking his head in mute denial, but Ruby continues to press. "Look, call me a bitch, hate me all you want, but I have never lied to you, Sam. Not ever," she insists. That might be technically true, but she certainly has deceived him a-plenty. Sam looks conflicted. "And I'm telling you: you can save your brother. And I can show you how."

"So that's you, huh," Dean interrupts, much to the surprise of both Sam and Ruby. "A slutty little Yoda." Ruby unhappily turns to greet him, a real thorn in her side and yet central to the influence over Sam she has worked so hard to build. "I knew you'd show up," he grates. "'Cause I knew Sam wouldn't listen."

I love that he knows Sam so well. Sam has deceived Dean too many times, snuck away to follow his own path after being told not to too many times. Dean's not going to fall for it again, not now. In the last episode we saw Dean realising that he can no longer pull rank on Sam, that his brother will stand his ground and make his own decisions regardless. It's good to know that he hasn't forgotten, and acted accordingly. Still kinda bossy, of course, undermining Sam's independent action, but done for a very good reason.

"But you're not going to teach him anything," Dean insists, Sam fading into mere background as his brother and the demon argue over him. Ah, Sam, even now he remains overshadowed by his charismatic brother. For Sam to ever become truly independent, for better or for worse, Dean has to be removed from the picture. "You understand me? Over my dead body."

"Huh. Well, you're right about that," Ruby snarks. She loathes Dean as much as he loathes her, and his use to her as leverage over Sam is wearing out as fast as the scant few hours he has left to live.

"What you are going to do is give me that knife," Dean menaces. "And then you can go and crawl back into whatever slop you came from, and never bother me and my brother again, are we clear?"

It's inflammatory language, such as Dean always uses with Ruby because he can never forget that she is a demon, but this time the language has a purpose. He is deliberately goading her.

"Your brother is carrying a bomb inside of him, and we'd be stupid not to use it," Ruby insists, irritated beyond measure that Dean is still standing between her and whatever it is that she truly wants from Sam. How exasperating it must be: to need Dean both alive and out of the way simultaneously.

Looking very, very weary, Sam starts to suggest that Dean maybe hold on a moment and listen, but Dean furiously tells him no. "Come on, man, what are you, blind? Can't you see that this is a trick?" Ruby argues that this is not true, but Dean is having none of it. "She wants you to give into this whole demonic, psychic…whatever, okay, I mean hell: she probably wants you to become her little antichrist superstar."

"I want Lilith dead, that's all," Ruby insists.

Lilith dead would release Dean from his crossroads deal, which is what Sam wants and what Dean wants. But Ruby doesn't care about Dean in any way, except insofar as his predicament provided her a means of access to Sam. So why does Ruby want Lilith dead? I'd guess because knocking out the major demonic leader would improve her own standing in the pecking order, allow more room for manoeuvre in the power vacuum left behind, just as the demise of Yellow-Eyes was the starting signal for the demonic jockeying for position we've caught glimpses of all season. Lilith heads a powerful and growing demonic faction. Ruby, as we have seen all season, stands alone, a real misfit with no supporters to call on among her kind, at least that we know of. Taking down the leader of the biggest faction couldn't help but provide opportunity for advancement. I have no doubt that acquiring control over Sam and his abilities and removing Lilith from the picture would only be the start of Ruby's machinations.

Like me, Dean wants to know why Ruby wants Lilith dead. She snips that she's told him why. "Oh, right, yeah, because you were human once," he scoffs. "And you like kittens, and long walks on the beach." I love that he didn't believe that 'I remember being human therefore I'm on your side' speech of hers at the end of Malleus Maleficarum. She is a demon, and he does not trust a word out of her mouth, because no matter what she says and no matter how many times her aid has proved invaluable, she has an agenda of her own that all her scheming is in aid of, and they have no way of knowing what that is. Any help she has given the brothers in the past has been for her own purposes, not for them – it was all in aid of bringing them to precisely this end: desperate and out of options. This is exactly why he didn't want her anywhere near Sam, even if it meant forfeiting any chance to save his own life, protecting his little brother right to the last.

"You know, I am so sick of having to prove myself to you. You want to save yourself? This is how, you dumb, spineless dick," Ruby spits.

Dean absorbs the insult for a moment, starts to turn away – then swings back and slams Ruby with a hefty right hook! It looks like a knee-jerk reaction to Ruby's insulting words, and maybe that's a part of it. But her fury is exactly what he wanted to inspire when he came down here. He's been purposely goading her. Provoking her to fight, even though he knows he will be hopelessly outmatched by her demonic strength, is also very deliberate. He needs to get her moving, from where she is to where he needs her to be.

A full-on fight breaks out, as Ruby reacts to the punch by laying into Dean with gusto. Sam tries to break it up, only to get kicked aside for his pains. Ruby returns her attention to Dean, who gets in a couple more punches before she knocks him down and starts raining blows down on him, kicking him across the floor.

But when Dean starts to pick himself back up, bleeding from a split lip, he is grinning with triumph. Too late, Ruby smells a rat and wonders what's so funny. By way of reply, Dean asks if she is missing something, and holds up her magic demon-killing knife. Hee. Pickpocket extraordinaire. "I'll kill you, you son of a bitch," Ruby fumes, and starts to fling herself toward him again…

…but she is stopped dead in her tracks, as if hitting an invisible wall. Dean doesn't so much as flinch, flicking his eyes heavenward to call her attention in that direction, much as he once did with Meg. That seems like an awfully long time ago now.

Ruby looks up. She is standing beneath a devil's trap, painted on the ceiling. Woo! "Like I said, I knew you'd come," Dean gruffly reminds her, still winded from the fight. That's what all the goading was about: getting her into this trap and therefore away from his brother before she could tempt him into handing himself over to her. Clever, clever Dean. He's been on top form in the last few episodes, and is at his absolute best throughout this one. They aren't going to save him.

Dean heads for the stairs. Ruby can't believe he is just going to leave her there. "Let's go, Sam," Dean pants, looking stiff and sore as he heads up. Sam very meekly follows, falling in line with his brother's instructions automatically. I think he's a little dazed by the speed of events, at being caught out in a deception, and by the way Dean so easily anticipated him and so vehemently argued against Ruby's suggestion. Not to mention there is so little time left, and Sam just doesn't know what to do.

"Oh, so you're just too stupid to live, is that it?" Ruby rants and rages. "Then fine! You deserve hell! I wish I could be there, Dean. I wish I could smell the flesh sizzle off your bones! I wish I could be there to hear you scream!

This little tantrum, in the face of being so utterly thwarted just at the crucial moment when a carefully plotted year-long endgame was about to come to fruition, gives us insight into how Ruby really feels about Dean, I suspect – and probably about Sam, too, not to mention any other human she meets. She's clever enough to play a very diplomatic game, scheming and manipulating constantly, keeping her cards very close to her chest. But at the end of the day, Sam is merely a means to an end, a tool to make use of – and a stubborn one, at that. She's been working on him all year, without ever quite succeeding in getting him just where she wants him to be, as close as she came here before Dean's interruption. And Dean is nothing more than an inconvenience, necessary to maintain her leverage over Sam and yet completely and utterly in the way of what she wants to achieve.

"And I wish you'd shut your pie-hole, but we don't always get what we want," Dean grimly retorts, not looking back.

We don't always get what we want. How true that is. They're not going to save him.

Later. The brothers are gearing up for battle one last time, Dean resolute and Sam pensive. Sam frets about whether they are really leaving Ruby in the basement to rot. Dean dourly replies that yes, that's the idea.

She's a demon. She wants to open his brother's mind up to all kinds of psychic abilities that could easily overwhelm him, and that he would then be beholden to her for, as the one who helped him unlock them. No, Dean doesn't want Ruby anywhere near Sam.

Still troubled, Sam wonders if maybe Ruby is right and he can take out Lilith. Dean gives him a fabulous wtf face. Sam sighs and asks his brother not to look at him like that. Ruby planted that seed of doubt in his mind, and he was already sensitive to any comment on his abilities. Unmoved, Dean scoffs at the notion of Sam being able to just stare at Lilith and have her go poof – it sounds as fantastical as any other supposed miracle that has turned out not to be. Sam admits that he doesn't know what Ruby meant, and suggests that they just go and ask her.

"Sammy, you wanted the knife, I got you the knife," Dean sighs. Oh, man, that is such an older sibling thing to say. Give the little one what he asks for, and have him turn around and demand something else, as well. We've all been there.

Sam points out that the last time they encountered Lilith, she snapped her fingers and put 30 demons on their tail, and all they have to use against her is one little knife. It's a valid issue that they face, but he's quoting Ruby there, just as he took her 'mine is the only solution' argument as read in Jus in Bello. "Like you said, we go in smart or we don't go in at all," Sam argues.

"Well, this ain't smart!" Dean protests.

"We've got one shot at this, Dean. Just one," Sam points out. "So maybe if there's a sure-fire way, we should just talk about it."

"Sam, we are not going to make the same mistake all over again," Dean urgently pleads.

"You said that, but what does it even mean?" Sam is perplexed.

"Don't you see a pattern here? Dad's deal, my deal, now this?" Dean looks desperate – not desperate to save his own life, but desperate for Sam to understand how much more important he considers this. He's not a guy much given to reflection or introspection, but it is clear that he has been thinking about this a lot during the course of the year. "Every time one of us is up the creek, the other is begging to sell their soul. That's all this is, man. Ruby's just jerking your chain down the road. You know what it's paved with and you know where it's going."

Oh, Dean. He'd rather go to hell than see Sam beholden to a demon and end up in the exact same situation. He is absolutely right to be so concerned about Ruby's intentions toward Sam. Whatever it is that she thinks she can teach him to do, saving Dean's life and soul would be a mere side effect, rather than the point, and how long would it take for her to call in the favour? What might she expect in return? No miracle ever comes for free on this show.

Would Ruby even really allow Sam to save Dean in the first place? Or rather, would she allow Dean to live once Lilith was out of the way? We already know that she loathes him, and he is the greatest obstacle standing between her and complete control over Sam.

Dean sits down and starts assembling his weapons once more. Sam sighs. "Dean, what are you afraid is going to happen? This is me. I can handle it. And if it'll save you…"

Oh, Sam. His intentions are so good, but as always where a threat to Dean's life is concerned, he is only seeing the result he wants, the immediate relief of salvation, closing his eyes to the risks he would be exposing himself to – exposing them both to, and everyone around them. To open his mind to those long-dormant abilities now, in such a stressful situation, under the guidance of a demon… Ava and Jake also developed their abilities in such desperate circumstances, with their own or loved ones' lives on the line. And they were both completely consumed, with evil, death and destruction the only outcome. That is what Dean is afraid of. It's what Sam so steadfastly resisted all through season two – he died for his belief in his own ability to choose to remain who he is. But throughout season two he has been slowly but surely tempted in the opposite direction, and that is what Dean is standing against here, saving Sam's soul as well as his life. It's why Dean has to die.

Dean is shaking his head. "Why even risk it?"

God, this conversation is killing me, because the brothers are on opposing sides, but there is no heat or tension at all, only sorrow and regret, and all either of them is trying to do is save the other.

"Because you're my brother. Because you did the same thing for me," Sam firmly says.

"I know. And look how that turned out." Oh, Dean. He's not expressing regret for Sam's restored life, but he is acknowledging the fact that he should not have made that deal, and this is one instance where he definitely does not want Sam to follow his example. "All I'm saying… Sammy, all I'm saying is that you're my weak spot. You are. And I'm yours."

"You don't mean that. We're – we're family," Sam whispers, upset. Oh man, pretty soon, there will be no one left to call him 'Sammy'.

"I know. And those evil sons of bitches know it too. I mean: what we'll do for each other, how far we'll go – they're using it against us." Dean's right. The forces of hell have used their close brotherly bond against them time and time again. He is being very, very honest here.

"So, what – we just stop looking out for each other?" Sam disbelieves, still reluctant to accept the truth of what his brother is saying, reluctant to let go of that quick fix Ruby so tantalisingly dangled before him, which probably feels a lot more of a sure bet than the alternative, whatever the risks.

"No, we stop being martyrs," Dean corrects. "Man, we stop spreading it for these demons. We take this knife and we go after Lilith our way, the way Dad taught us to. And if we go down, then, uh, we go down swinging. What do you think?"

That's quite a speech, and so very Dean, real 'return carrying our shields or being borne upon them' stuff. Sam takes a moment to absorb and accept what his brother is asking of him. "I think you totally should have been jamming 'eye of the tiger' right there," he murmurs at last. Mwah, oh Sam. He's getting really good at that deflective humour thing to defuse an emotional moment. He knows Dean needs it – they both do. It's something Dean has done for him so often, and Sam can give a little of that back now. It's also Sam's way of saying – without having to say it out loud – that Dean is right, and that he is going to trust his brother's judgement and follow his lead and forget about Ruby's temptations.

"Oh, bite me," Dean grumbles. "I totally rehearsed that speech, too." Message received and understood.

And in spite of it all, Sam is able to laugh a little, debate over and course of action agreed upon. They might not stand any chance against Lilith in battle, but going down fighting, with Sam's soul, at least, still intact, is the only real option. If Dean dies and goes to hell his soul will be burned away until all that is left is a demon, but that transformation would be involuntary, forced upon him. But for Sam to surrender his humanity by choice? It's everything they've both been fighting against for so long, the worst possible outcome.

This whole conversation is perfect. So utterly in character, both of them. Dean calm and determined, completely willing to accept his own fate if the alternative is the loss of Sam's humanity, and Sam desperate and blinkered, willing to clutch at any straws and believing in his own ability to master his abilities simply because he has to. But Sam listens to his brother, and accepts what he is saying, what he is asking, and chooses his path over Ruby's, again.

Dean is, and always has been, the single most powerful influence in Sam's life. It's why any demon that truly wants to make use of Sam and his dormant psychic abilities would have to remove Dean from the picture first. That's Ruby's dilemma, of course. She needs Dean alive as leverage over Sam – and having him watching Sam's back all season has also been useful in terms of keeping Sam alive long enough to get to this point – but also needs him out of the way because his influence over Sam stands in the way of her ambitions.

So, Sam observes, it looks like they are going to Indiana. Where Lilith is on shore leave, Dean adds, proving just how much of Sam's conversation with Ruby he overheard. "Tell me something," he adds. "What the hell does a demon do for fun?"

New Harmony, Indiana. A picture postcard cul-de-sac. It's sleepy and suburban and perfectly ordinary. Doesn't exactly look like demon central – but appearances can be deceiving. A pair of elderly gentlemen exchange pleasantries at the mailbox. It appears that one of them, a Mr Pat Fremont, has a young granddaughter visiting. Viewers are instantly on the alert, knowing that Lilith wears the body of a little girl. The men shake hands as they part, and as Pat Fremont heads back indoors, neighbour Tom looks puzzled, glancing down at his hand to see that Pat used that handshake to hand over a crumpled note bearing the words 'help us'.

Back in the Fremont household, a clearly terrified Pat locks the door behind him and steps over the fly-ridden corpse of his wife to scurry into the kitchen and anxiously ask where 'she' is. His daughter (or daughter-in-law, I'm not quite clear), busily working on an enormous chocolate cake, whimpers that 'she' is upstairs, playing with Freckles. Pat frets that if they just sit there, they are dead. His son or son-in-law, who has been peering anxiously out of the window, hisses that 'she' will hear him. It doesn't take a genius to work out that 'she' is Lilith, and this is the unfortunate family whose little girl has been bodyjacked. Pat grimly says that it is her or them. Mom mournfully argues that she is her baby girl. Pat says that it isn't her baby any more, that there is something inside her. Very perspicacious.

The terror of the trio is palpable as the little girl wanders downstairs to join them – covered with blood. Interestingly, it seems that Lilith has picked up a new host body since we last saw her in Jus in Bello. Maybe that one got incinerated along with the rest of the police station? She asks what they were talking about. Pat stammers that they were discussing how much they love her. Mom gaspingly asks what happened to her dress. The sweet, rosy-cheeked little girl beams as she happily explains that Freckles was mean to her. Eek. Show does love its creepy little preadolescent evil. The family are shocked, but try their utmost to hide it.

Lilith excitedly asks her Daddy to push her on the swings. Dad stammers that yes, of course he will – but maybe she should change her dress first, so the neighbours don't see all the blood. Lilith laughs that he is smart, and gives him a huge hug, declaring her love. He gulpingly returns the sentiment, and then tentatively suggests that maybe, after a while, she could let them go. Mom immediately starts shaking her head in fear of how the child will react.

Lilith draws back in anger, and wants to know why – don't they want to be there, don't they love her? Terror-stricken, Mom and Dad fall over themselves to assure her of their love. "Don't be mean to me, Daddy," Lilith menaces, reminding him what happened to Freckles and her babysitter when they were mean. So maybe the corpse by the door is the babysitter, not the grandmother? Still a death, either way. Dad is by now reduced to a puddle of fear, expecting to go the way of Freckles at any moment, as he stammers an apology. Lilith glowers a moment longer…then breaks into a huge smile. "That's okay, silly. Now let's go and play."

I confess I'm a little unclear as to what Lilith is playing at here. Is she really on 'shore leave', as Ruby put it, kicking back and having a bit of random fun with a new body and new family to torment? Or is this a set-up for the Winchesters, somehow? Is she hoping/planning for them to find her and attempt a last desperate stand? After all, she knows that Dean's deal is about to come due, since she holds the contract, and therefore must realise that Sam – whom she regards as a direct opponent – will therefore be at his most vulnerable and desperate right now. It isn't clear.

HQ. Dean and Sam are in the Impala, ready to set out on their fateful mission – but the engine won't start. She doesn't want to take Dean to his death! Except…no, obviously: nothing so dramatic.

Bobby appears bearing a part he swiped from the engine to prevent the brothers leaving without him. He sabotaged the Impala! What's more, Dean doesn't say a word of protest about it!

Their expressions resembling nothing so much as a couple of kids who just got caught sneaking out of the house to go to a party, Dean and Sam get out of the car to talk to Bobby, Dean sporting quite the shiner in the wake of that skirmish with Ruby.

"We've got the knife," Dean says by way of explanation.

"And you intend to use it without me," says Bobby, looking highly pissed off. "Do I look like a ditch-able prom date to you?" Hee. Bobby rocks.

Sam starts with the conciliatory 'no, of course not' line, but Dean interrupts. "This is about me. And Sam. This isn't your fight."

What he means is: this is pretty much a suicide mission, and they all know it, and he doesn't want to take Bobby down with them. The fewer casualties on their side the better.

"The hell it isn't," Bobby rages, furious at being excluded, having been with the brothers every step of the way on this, through thick and thin. He watched these boys grow up. He was there for them both when their father died. He was there for Dean when Sam died. He's been there for them both all season, pulling out every stop in the effort to find a way to break the deal, and it is clear that he loves Dean like the son he never had. He's not going to be left behind, not now. "Family don't end with blood, boy."

Well said! There's a pause, Dean and Bobby holding eye contact, with Sam shuffling anxiously off to one side. Bless him. Like with Ruby earlier, he just fades to background – this is between Dean and Bobby.

"Besides, you need me," Bobby adds. Dean shakes his head, still reluctant to drag the older man into a fight like this. "You're playing wounded," Bobby snipes, with the air of a man playing his ace. "Tell me, how many hallucinations have you had so far?"

Sam is startled, not knowing anything about this. Dean clearly covered up well enough earlier that Sam didn't notice anything wrong. Dean shuffles guiltily, doesn't admit to anything, but asks how Bobby knew.

"Because that's what happens when you've got hellhounds on your butt," Bobby tells him, as if it should be obvious. "And because I'm smart." Hee. Dean fidgets and drops his eyes, admitting defeat, while Sam frets, clearly not liking the sound of that hallucination thing. Bobby holds out the engine part and announces that he will follow. "Don't be stopping to pee every ten minutes, either." Heh. The gruff bachelor uncle right to the last.

Road. Night has fallen. How many hours have passed since the countdown was at 30? Dean's time is running out really fast.

"Hey, Dean," Sam quietly begins. "You know, if this doesn't, um… If this doesn't go the way we want, I want you to know…"

Shades of Salvation. Oh, Sam. He's probably spent the last 12 months wondering what to say when the time came, wondering if he would actually need to, how he could ever condense everything he wants to say to his brother into actual words, if he would be able to go through with it, hoping it wouldn't come to this extremity.

"No. No, no, no, no," Dean interrupts, very firmly. Just like in Salvation, Dean cannot have this conversation before going into battle. He just cannot go there. "You're not going to bust out the misty goodbye speech, okay? If this is my last day on earth, I do not want it to be socially awkward." Sam visibly droops. Dean looks so tense he might vibrate out of his skin at any moment. "You know what I do want," he adds, leaning forward to switch the radio on.

Music fills the car. Dead or Alive. Sam can't believe what he's hearing. "Bon Jovi?"

"Bon Jovi rocks," Dean loftily informs his brother, lifting an appraising finger to add a very important disclaimer to that statement. "On occasion." Mwah.

Oh, oh, oh, and then Dean starts to sing along with the music, very loudly and very badly, and not caring in the slightest, because that's the point. Having shut down Sam's attempt at a goodbye-and-thanks speech, he's offering him something else instead – the chance to completely dork out together and just be brothers one last time. Embarrassing, entertaining and comforting his little brother at one and the same time, as he always does so very well.

It always kills me that Jensen Ackles chose to portray Dean as a not-so-great singer, given that he has such a good singing voice in real life. For someone who really can sing, it's actually harder to hit the wrong notes than to stay in tune! I've never heard Jared Padalecki sing, though, so can't possibly comment on whether Sam's singing voice is faked or his own.

And then – and then…Sam joins in. He picks up the backing vocals, tentative at first, but then really throws himself into it, completely spazzing out, because this could be the last chance they'll ever get to just hang out together like this, and. And. And it's cringe-worthy, and wonderful, and absurd, and just so damn perfect, all rolled into one short scene.

But while Sam is busy belting out the chorus, Dean falters and drops out of the singing, because he knows, and it's overwhelming, and he just can't, and just…yeah. They're not going to save him.

The Impala continues to zoom along through the night, but a rear view shows us that it has a broken taillight. It's not like Dean to leave something like that un-repaired – the Impala is his beloved! But I daresay it's safe to say that he's had a little bit more on his mind than car maintenance of late.

Later. It is still night, and the Impala is still on the road. However, a hidden cop car sees them go by, and immediately slaps on lights and siren to flag them down. Where's Bobby? He's fallen quite a way behind for someone who's meant to be following the Impala along a deserted road.

In the Impala, the brothers are alarmed and frustrated at being pulled over, what with being on the clock and all. Dean remembers his busted taillight with a groan, and plasters on his best 'unassuming civilian' act for the benefit of the officer, while Sam quickly pulls out his licence and registration for him. Mr Hagar is the fake ID of the week, for anyone keeping track. The officer examines Dean's paperwork, and points the broken taillight out to him. Dean glances at the officer, and his expression changes immediately, cycling through shock and disbelief before settling on alarmed, but he keeps up the good citizen act a moment longer before taking action. He swings his door open, hard, right into the officer, then leaps out and starts belting the guy into submission before he can recover, before whipping out Ruby's magic demon-killing knife and jamming it into the guy's throat!

Sam has likewise leapt out of the car in alarm at his brother's actions, but can only gape in disbelief at the demonic death throes of the officer.

Bobby finally catches up to the boys and hurries over to find out what's going on. "Dean just killed a demon!" Sam disbelieves. "How'd you know?"

"I just knew." Dean looks freaked, not understanding himself what happened. "I could see its face – its real face, under that one."

Wow.

A short time later, Bobby and the boys have dragged the officer's car (corpse inside, presumably) into the undergrowth and are hard at work hiding it beneath as many branches as they can pile on top. Sam is a little concerned about the fact that Dean can now see demons inside the human bodies they possess, and it kind of tickles me that his wtf face is pretty much the exact same one that he complained about coming from Dean earlier. Dean admits that he's been seeing all kinds of things lately, but nothing like this. Bobby shrugs that actually, it's not all that crazy. Dean demands to know how it's not that crazy.

"Well, you've got just over five hours to go," Bobby reminds him. Thanks for the countdown update! Five hours – that's terrifying.

Hey, if there are five hours to go, and the deal comes due as the clock hits midnight, that means it is 7pm now, right? It's dark awful early, considering it is meant to be the beginning of May. Maybe we shouldn't worry about that kind of detail.

"You're piercing the veil, Dean," Bobby explains. "Glimpsing the b-side." Sam looks troubled. Dean looks nonplussed and asks for a less New Age-y interpretation. Bobby promptly translates his words into Dean-speak. "You're almost hell's bitch. So, you can see hell's other bitches."

Not exactly what Dean wants to be hearing right now. Sam mildly points out that this newfound ability could actually come in pretty handy. "Oh, well, I'm glad my doomed soul's good for something," Dean grumbles.

But Bobby agrees with Sam, since Lilith is likely to have demons stashed all over town, and it is vital that they don't sound the alarm. "If she knows we're here, we're dead before we're started."

"Oh, this is a terrific plan. I'm excited to be a part of it. Can we go, please?" Ah, Dean. Don't ever change.

New Harmony. Fremont house. The family are all gathered around for a special party tea. Mom brings in the chocolate cake, and wishes wee Lilith – whose real name we never learn – a happy birthday. Lilith is thrilled that it is her birthday every day and blows out the candles, while Dad tries hard to be enthusiastic about having cake again. How long has this family been trapped in this living hell?

Lilith turns to Pat and asks why he asked Mr Webber for help. Everyone freezes. Pat hurriedly denies that he did any such thing. Lilith calmly calls him a big fat liar.

Evil kids really are creepy. It's a thing about the perversion of innocence.

Pat stutters that it was a mistake and he is sorry. Lilith asks if Mom and Dad knew about this, and they panic and babble that no, of course they didn't. Pat looks betrayed, hung out to dry and left isolated to await his fate as they scrabble to protect themselves rather than making any attempt to defend him. Lilith turns back to him and says that he doesn't love her. He tries to insist that he does. She coldly tells him that he doesn't, that he is lying again, that he is just a mean old man. Pat begs Mom and Dad to do something, to please help him, but there is nothing they could do even if they weren't frozen to the spot with fear. Lilith casually announces that she doesn't think she likes him any more and, with one quick flick of the wrist, snaps his neck.

Mom gasps with shock and horror. Lilith snaps that nobody is to scream. "Screaming makes me mad." Mom and Dad struggle to obey this injunction, and Mom returns her attention to the cake. As if nothing untoward has ever happened, a bubbly Lilith asks if she can have ice cream with it.

Outside. Peering in through the window, Dean informs Sam and Bobby that the demon is in the little girl. He can see the demon inside, and it is awful. Sam takes a breath and then briskly says that they should go, they are wasting time, but Dean says to wait. "For what?" Sam snips. "For it to kill the rest of them?"

"Yeah, and us, too, if we're not careful," says Dean. He draws Sam's attention to a go-getter mailman working hard at 9pm.

9pm! Only three hours left!

Oh, Sam's got binoculars, the better to scout the neighbourhood. That's adorable. The mailman is a demon, Dean's hell-bound eyes are telling him. So is neighbour Tom, which explains how Lilith knew about the note. It seems this girl goes nowhere without her minions.

"Okay, fine," Sam huffs. "We ninja past those guys and sneak in." Sam's just desperate to get this over with, as quickly as possible. He doesn't want to stop, to wait, to think. Thinking means dwelling on the enormity of the situation, which comes complete with the prospect of being completely overwhelmed,

"Then what? Give a Columbian necktie to a ten-year-old girl? Come on," Dean protests. Oh, Dean. It kills me that he is the only one of the three to argue against killing the little girl in order to take out the demon inside.

Sam agrees that it is awful. "But this isn't just about saving you, Dean. This is about saving everybody."

Saving everybody means cutting off the head of a fast-growing demon army. It's logical, sound battle tactics, and easy to say in the abstract. But it still means killing a little girl.

"She's got to be stopped, son." Bobby quietly agrees with Sam. Dean still doesn't like it, and curses at the situation they are faced with.

Inside. Lilith is cuddled up with Mom in bed, demanding that her favourite story be read to her again. Mom almost sobs that she has read it 26 times already. But Lilith grimly insists that she hear it again, so Mom tearfully complies and starts to read the story of a princess doomed to be sacrificed to an evil dragon. It figures that Lilith's favourite story would feature human sacrifice.

Outside. The demon mailman continues to futz around with his parcels, but when he looks up he sees Dean lurking in the bushes nearby. As soon as Dean knows he's been seen, he turns tail and runs. Eyes flashing demon black, Mailman gives chase. Dean sprints around the back of the house. Mailman races after him…and runs right into Sam and that magic demon-killing knife. While Sam stabs him in the gut, Dean clamps a hand over the man's mouth to keep him quiet while he dies. It is actually pretty scary how competent and deadly these boys can be.

That's two demons down in this episode so far. Maybe we should run a count over the season and try to estimate how many have been taken out, one way or another. It must be a sizeable percentage of the escapees by now, given that Jus in Bello saw 30+ exorcised back to hell in one fell swoop. And yet there are still so many still to go.

Elsewhere, Bobby busies himself creating holy water in the sprinkler system.

Elsewhere again, Sam pulls the magic demon-killing knife out of the corpse of neighbour Tom, and absent-mindedly wipes the blood on his sleeve. Ick. Remember the Sam we first met, back at Stanford? He's hardened so much since then, at times he is barely recognisable. Dean drags the body out of sight.

The body count for this episode is really rather high – that's a lot of collateral damage to rack up in an effort to save one man. Except, as Sam pointed out, this isn't just about saving Dean, however much of a principle focus that might be. It's about taking out Lilith, who stands at the head of a demonic army. It's about saving everyone. And there simply isn't time to attempt anything clever, to find a way to trap and exorcise all these demons. It's harsh and it is brutal, but that is the nature of war.

Dean hurries to the garden gate at the Fremonts, but before he can open it, Ruby appears behind him and slams him against the mesh, pinning him. "I'd like my knife, back, please. Or your neck snaps like a chicken bone," she menaces.

But before she can make good on that threat, Sam has rushed to the rescue, pressed said knife against her neck, and menaced in turn that Dean doesn't have it. He pulls Ruby away from Dean, who wonders how she got out of the trap. "What you don't know about me could fill a book," Ruby dismisses. Quite. That's why it really isn't safe to trust her, in any way.

So how did she get out of the trap? Well, we've already seen Meg manage a similar trick, in Born Under A Bad Sign, using a nifty trick she picked up during her most recent stint in hell to crack the ceiling and thus break the trap. We saw Casey attempt something similar in Sin City, albeit without success. It isn't hard to believe that Ruby would be able to affect an escape. She's right that we know very little about her, or about what she is capable of. That's part of what makes her so dangerous.

Oh, and then Dean gets a good look at her face, and recoils, and it is hilarious. Ruby wonders what the problem is. Dean can barely bring himself to even look at her again. "Nothing. Just I couldn't see it before, but you are one ugly broad," he tells her, eyes averted. Mwah. Now more than ever he is seeing her as demon and nothing else.

I think I actually kind of love how very much these two despise one another, and yet are bound together by their mutual interest in Sam. It makes for an interesting dynamic.

Ruby rolls her eyes and turns to Sam. "Sam, give me the knife before you hurt yourself," she patronises. Her attitude toward Sam has been very consistent all season, always implying how much he needs her, how helpless he is without her, how much he should be relying on her to help him solve all his problems. Trying to condition him into dependence. And for a long time it was a worryingly successful ploy, but Dean's influence over his brother has always remained stronger, and with events turning out the way they have, any hold Ruby had over Sam is pretty much broken now. It is clear that whatever it is she wants from Sam, it isn't because she is in any way interested in saving Dean, and the prospect of saving Dean was the only reason Sam ever had to listen to her.

Sam tells her she can have the knife when this is over. Ruby says that it is already over. "I gave you a way to save Dean. You shot me down. Now it's too late. He's dead. And I'm not going to let you die, too."

Again, it's much the same line that she used in Jus in Bello. Also: oy on Dean's behalf, since he's still standing right there.

Sam's not playing Ruby's little games any more; the bubble is well and truly broken where any influence she once had over him is concerned. "Try and stop me, and I'll kill you, bitch," he coldly tells her, very deliberately adopting Dean's style of aggressive language for verbal sparring with a demon, making it clear whose side he is on here.

Ruby is unimpressed by the threat, but Dean interrupts to tell them to have their little catfight later, and draws their attention to the audience they have drawn. Demons all around, standing at every door in the street.

"So much for the element of surprise," Dean sighs. All they can do is make a run for it, all three of them, through the gate and up to the front door, where Sam frantically tries to pick the lock before the demons can reach them. "What the hell's taking Bobby?" Dean frets, just a moment before Bobby comes through. On comes the sprinkler system, liberally dousing the oncoming demons with holy water and effectively creating a force field around the house so that none of Lilith's minions can get inside to support her. Dean whoops his gleeful delight as the trip hurry inside the house. Yay, Bobby! And oh Dean, still able to wring every scrap of enjoyment he can find out of what remains of his life.

Bobby is trapped now outside for the final showdown. Just as the demons can't get into the house to help Lilith, what with that holy water force field in their way, so Bobby can't get past the ring of demons to help the boys in any way.

Inside, the trio stumble over the corpse in the foyer. Dean wonders if Lilith knows they are there. Ruby thinks she probably does – they have to assume that she does, anyway. They make their way into the house, Sam leading the way, wielding the magic demon-killing knife, with Dean bringing up the rear. Someone creeps up behind him, but Dean hears them approach, swings around, and captures and clamps a hand over their mouth in one fluid movement.

It is Dad. Dean gently but sternly hushes him, whispering assurances that they are here to help. Sam asks where his daughter is. The terrified Dad whimpers that it isn't his daughter any more. Sam repeats his question, and Dad replies that she is upstairs in the bedroom. Dean tells him to go downstairs to the basement and put a line of salt at the door behind him, but Dad won't go without his wife. So, not having time to argue, Dean calmly cold-cocks the man, slings him over his shoulder, and takes him down there himself.

Care and concern for the safety of misguided civilians, however brusque. Please, never lose that.

While Dean deals with Dad, Sam leads Ruby upstairs to find Lilith, that magic demon-killing knife clutched tight in his giant hand. Upstairs, all is quiet. Sam and Ruby nod their agreement to split up at one another, as Ruby slips into a random room to check it out, while Sam heads for another.

It is Sam who strikes lucky, if you can call it that. There's a pretty pink curtain around Mom and Dad's bed in the room he has entered. Behind it, Mom and Lilith lie on the bed together.

This is it: the moment of truth. Freaking out – it's all in the eyes – Sam slowly, carefully creeps toward the bed, knife at the ready, and pulls the curtain back. Wee Lilith is fast asleep, but Mom is wide-awake and scared out of her wits. Seeing Sam wielding the knife – a complete stranger, in her house, but she barely even registers that fact, sees only the sudden possibility of salvation – she frantically whispers for him to do it, do it, do it. This is her little girl, her baby, whose life she pleaded for earlier, but she is so far past that now. It isn't her little girl any longer, and all she wants is for the nightmare to end. Do it, do it, do it.

But it is a little girl, all golden hair and rosy cheeks, lying there asleep. And Sam struggles and struggles and can't bring himself to do it, to slaughter a little girl in her sleep to destroy the demon hiding inside her. He has hardened so very much this season, out of necessity, and we have seen ample evidence of that tonight – Sam has had charge of the magic demon-killing knife since they got here, taking out two demons and their host bodies almost without batting an eyelid. But you could see even then that doing so hurt him, beneath the surface where he tried not to let it show. So this? Killing a child? It was easy to talk about outside, in the abstract, but now that he has her in his sights the sheer magnitude of what he has to do is overwhelming.

But it is for Dean, the last chance he has to save his brother's life.

It is an awful, awful choice to have to make, and Sam struggles and struggles, with the mother egging him on, and the tension is unbearable, and then the little girl wakes up, sees the knife and screams, and Sam decides that he must do this and the knife starts its descent…

…Dean grabs Sam's arm before he can kill the little girl. The demon is no longer in her – this really is just a terrified child. Lilith has moved on to a new host.

Damn, I hope that little girl doesn't remember anything that happened while she was possessed. She would never recover, surely.

The brothers exchange wide-eyed looks of pure freak-out at how close Sam came to killing the little girl and not even taking Lilith with her. However much of a setback it is that Lilith has escaped and the chance to kill her is gone, being saved from having to take that awful, reprehensible course of action, being saved from killing an innocent child for no reason, by mistake, must surely be a cause for relief. I'm not sure killing a child is something Sam could recover from. And it was Dean who saved him from it, right in the nick of time, just as Dean has saved Sam so many times before, in so many ways.

They're not going to save Dean, are they? Every time Sam is pulled back from the brink is another nail in Dean's coffin. That was the choice that Dean made at the crossroads a year ago, that if only one of them could be saved it had to be Sam. The initial deal Dean struck saved Sam's life, but going through with the payment? That's about saving Sam's soul. It's why the deal has to play out. It's why Dean has to die.

Outside. Bobby has taken refuge in a house across the street, and peers out of the window at the line of demons separating him from the action. He checks his watch, and frets. Time is running out, and there is nothing he can do to help now, and it is tearing him apart. You can see it. Nope, family don't end with blood. I'm glad he's safe. My heart breaks for the agonies he must be going through, unable to help the boys in these final minutes. He loves Dean like a son; we've seen that. Sam's death was bad enough, but this?

Inside. Dean ushers Mom down to the basement, instructing her that no matter what she hears, she and her daughter and her husband must stay in the basement. What he means is that in a couple of minutes time she will hear him being torn to bits by hellhounds, and it would be better if she and her family didn't have to watch that happen, on top of everything else they've been through. Oh, Dean. It just, it kills me that he's in his last few minutes of life and he is the one taking care of the civilians. That's Dean for you. He can be petty and vain and crude, for sure, but he is also noble and heroic and utterly selfless, and that is why we love him so very much.

Sam and Ruby, meanwhile, move into the lounge, Ruby making the most of the opportunity to say 'I told you so'. Sam grimly asks where Lilith is. Ruby says she doesn't know. Sam asks if she could get past the sprinklers. Ruby scoffs that a demon of Lilith's grade isn't going to be troubled by holy water.

"Okay, you win. What do I have to do?" Last minutes. Sam's still playing for the win and he is out of options. He's not willing to let go. So with Plan A having struck out, in his panic he is prepared to revert to Plan B, however eloquently Dean argued against it. Dean is about to die. He'll do anything. He can't bear to experience that again, this time for keeps.

Ruby looks intrigued, and asks what he means. It's a nifty moment, because it looks for all the world like Ruby playing dumb for sarcastic effect, which would be in character, but…maybe this demon really doesn't know what Sam means, and takes a moment to catch up.

"To save Dean," Sam presses. "What do you need me to do?"

Dean himself comes into the room in time to hear this question and demands to know what the hell Sam thinks he is doing. Sam frantically tells him to just shut up for a second, focused on Ruby.

"You had your chance," Ruby says. "You can't just flip a switch. We needed time."

You know, Ava said that it was exactly like flipping a switch, and so did Jake. So who's lying? Maybe a demon that doesn't want Sam to tap into his abilities – at least not without her input and control.

Sam is absolutely frantic, refuses to believe that it is over, and insists that there has to be something they can do. Whatever it is, he is willing to do it. Sam does not wear failure well, and that tends to be his biggest downfall. It is the lesson that this whole season has been trying to drum into his head: that his blind focus on what he wants exposes him to all kinds of dangers that he refuses to take into consideration. That sometimes it is necessary to take a step back and look at the bigger picture – refocus, and let go.

Ruby said that Sam was carrying a bomb inside him, and that they should use it. She sees him as a weapon. Just imagine what a demon could do with that kind of weapon, if they had full control over it. That is the reason Dean has to die, because, with every other option stripped away, the alternative is Sam selling himself to Ruby. If the deal plays out, Dean dies and goes to hell. But if Sam tries to use his dormant abilities to save him, if he allows Ruby to be the one to unlock those powers, he would pretty much be handing himself over to her, and we still don't know what her agenda is. A lot more lives than just Dean's and Sam's could be at stake, and Sam's own soul would be forfeit.

Dean firmly pulls Sam back, away from Ruby, and Sam explodes, beyond desperate, absolutely frantic with denial. "Don't! Dean! I'm not going to let you go to hell, Dean!"

"Yes, you are!" Dean bellows back at him, and Sam is shocked into silence. Time is up, and Dean knows it. He is willing to pay that price for Sam…but oh, Sam's face. He's just absolutely bereft. Desolate. Dean stares back at him, just as frantic, but all of Dean's fear is for Sam right now. He doesn't want to die and he doesn't want to go to hell, but if the price of his salvation is Sam giving in to the dark side…well, Sam comes first. Always has and always will. Saving Sam has always been more important to Dean than saving himself.

"Yes, you are," Dean repeats for emphasis, but more calmly. "I'm sorry," he almost whispers, just as distraught as his brother. "I mean: this is all my fault. I know that." Oh, Dean. He always, always blames himself, whatever goes wrong. But he's also accepting responsibility for the decision that he made and deliberately absolving Sam of any guilt, knowing that Sam will blame himself for not keeping his impossible promise. "But what you're doing, it's not going to save me. It's only going to kill you."

It's true. Even if Ruby did help Sam unlock his powers and destroy Lilith, would she really let Dean live? I doubt it. He's too great an obstacle to the control she seeks over Sam, and we've seen ample evidence in this episode of how much she loathes him and would dearly love to just kill him and get it over with. And Sam would be beholden to her, would be wide open to the dark side, and the Sam that we know and love would be gone. The risk is too great.

Sam is absolutely heartbroken as he heeds his brother's words and backs down, accepts defeat. Dean is the most powerful influence in his life, and he listens to him even now, maybe especially now, because this may be the last and most important thing Dean will ever ask of him: to accept his sacrifice and remain true to who he is. "Then what am I supposed to do?" he hopelessly asks. Oh, Sam.

Dean asked that very question when Sam died, as does everyone who suffers bereavement. When your life crumbles into a million pieces, how do you pick them up and put them back together, when nothing can ever be the same again? How do you even begin to carry on?

Dean holds his eyes. "Keep fighting," he gently instructs his brother. Last will and testament. "Take care of my wheels. Sammy, remember what Dad taught you. Okay?" Sam nods, fighting back tears. "Remember what I taught you." Oh God. Dean so rarely acknowledges how big a part he played in Sam's upbringing. This is that goodbye speech he refused earlier, but now time is up and it's all over, and he needs it, and Sam needs it, and he tries to smile, and just…*sob*

The clock strikes midnight. Unhappy birthday, Sam.

Dean looks sick with dread as the chimes sound. This is it. Sam's got tears rolling down his face, and Dean manages a brave smile in an effort to reassure him.

"I'm sorry, Dean," says Ruby, just to remind us that she is still in the room. "I wouldn't wish this upon my worst enemy."

The hellhounds start to howl. Dean slowly turns his head toward the sound of the growling. He can see one, right there in the room. Sam, of course, can neither see nor hear a thing; Ruby can, though, but she doesn't look scared.

Hellhound-vision shows us the three of them, standing staring back at it. Then they make a break for it, and the hound gives chase.

The trio leg it into another room, and quickly line the door with goofer dust. Nice callback to Crossroad Blues. I thought they'd explored other anti-hellhound options, since Dean recognised Bela's devil's shoestring in Time Is On My Side, but maybe goofer dust worked to be the most portable and practical. Anyway, Dean quickly pours the dust across the window ledge, as well, sealing them in. But it is a temporary measure, buying only a very small amount of time – the hellhounds can't be held off for long. We already know that.

Although…having said that, how long did the goofer dust keep the hellhounds at bay for the old man in Crossroad Blues? He was the first person to make a deal out of the several caught in that particular demonic trap, having been the one to summon Red-Eyes in the first place, and therefore his deal would have also been the first to come due. But the architect and doctor were both taken by the hounds several days before the brothers met him, when he was still alive and kicking in his goofer-dust lined studio.

Ruby turns to Sam. "Give me the knife. Maybe I can fight it off." Sam is startled by this offer, and she is immediately frustrated by his slowness and non-cooperation, pointing out that the dust won't last forever. Sam hesitates a moment longer, hefts the knife appraisingly and prepares to hand it over, not knowing what else to do.

"Wait!" Dean is staring at Ruby.

"Do you want to die?" she snarls.

Dean doesn't take his eyes off her. "Sam, that's not Ruby. It's not Ruby!"

Lilith has jumped into Ruby's body. Oooh, neat, neat twist. The switch presumably happened after Sam and Ruby separated upstairs, and Lilith has been playing the part very convincingly ever since. For all that her statement that it was too late to help Sam unlock his powers was in character for Ruby, it would also make perfect sense coming from Lilith, since Sam in full possession of his abilities would be the last thing she wants; of course she would deny any possibility of it. We have no way of knowing for sure just when the switch happened, however. It could have been at any time after they reached the house, right up to the moment the hellhounds appeared.

It's worth noting how silently and invisibly the switch took place, whenever it was. There was no scream, no convulsion and no black smoke to signify the departure of the demon from the child, nor any sound from Ruby as Lilith took over her body. We've seen silent, virtually invisible possessions before, in Devil's Trap, of course. They seem to be the exception, rather than the rule, but it is clear that powerful enough demons are perfectly capable of stealth when not being forcibly expelled or otherwise in a hurry.

Why bide her time before making herself known, when she could have just taken both brothers out on the spot? So as to enjoy the fun of watching Dean's time run out, and his desperate struggle to survive, perhaps? Also, I imagine, because Sam had that knife, and she is too wary of Sam to try to take it from him by force, employing subterfuge instead. It would have worked, if Dean didn't have that close-to-hell ability to see a demon's true face. It's a very nifty plot mechanism, very smoothly employed.

The moment Dean has shouted the warning, Sam swings into action and raises the knife to plunge into Lilith's chest, no longer even the tiniest hesitation now that a) Dean is out of time and b) she is no longer in the body of a child.

But Lilith reacts first, slamming Sam across the room into the wall and knocking the knife from his hand. Shades of Devil's Trap. Dean is likewise flung, landing on his back on the table so that he has to strain to lift his head enough to see what's going on, and it looks like a really uncomfortable position – both for Dean to be trapped in, and for Jensen Ackles, having to act the scene!

Dean grates out a bitter query as to how long Lilith has been in Ruby's body. "Not long," she purrs. "But I like it. It's all grown-up and pretty."

I'm impressed by Katie Cassidy's turn as Lilith, as she does an excellent job of incorporating the spoiled little girl characteristics we saw in Lilith earlier, creating a character recognisably different to Ruby.

Sam asks where Ruby is now. "She was a very bad girl," Lilith coos. "So I sent her far, far away."

What that means, we can only speculate. Did Lilith expel the other demon from the body? In that case she would either be back in hell or floating around someplace trying to find her way back in, depending on how much time Lilith had to deal with her. Or is she still in the body someplace, locked away and trapped, much like the unfortunate soul of the human host?

Dean spits that he should have seen it before, but demons all look alike to him. I've no doubt he is kicking himself for missing it, but it isn't as if he was paying any attention to Ruby at the time. And it is such a Dean reaction to being trapped and helpless, lashing out at his enemy verbally.

Lilith turns her attention to Sam. Sam's the one she has been interested in all along, the one she has been too wary of to openly confront before now, for all that she seems supremely confident now that she has him in her clutches. "Hello, Sam," she chirps. "I've wanted to meet you for a very long time." She leans in and kisses him on the lips, with an air of experimentation, and the way he scrunches up his face in protest is brilliant. As is the way Dean rolls his eyes at the sight of Sammy getting a little demon action in the midst of the crisis! "Your lips are soft," she breathes.

Sam looks disgusted. "All right, so you have me," he grimly allows. He knows that he's the one she really wants, and tries for one last, desperate attempt to save Dean. "Let my brother go."

"Silly goose," is all Lilith has to say. "You want to bargain, you have to have something that I want. Tut-tut-tut. You don't."

And that's that. Why accept any kind of plea-bargaining when she already has them both at her mercy? There are no more options, no last second miracles to strive for. This is going to happen.

"So, is this your big plan, huh?" Dean interrupts. More shades of Devil's Trap. He can't help but call the demon's attention back to himself and away from his little brother, protective right to the last, no matter what it costs. "Drag me to hell? Kill Sam? And then what? Become Queen Bitch?"

"I don't have to answer to puppy chow," is all Lilith has to say, malicious and gleeful, and that is a scary description. She steps away from Sam, who becomes alarmed…and opens the door, displacing the line of goofer dust.

NO! Viewers start to scream. NO! DON'T! NO!

But she does. "Sic 'im, boys." Dean and Sam exchange wide-eyed looks of the utmost alarm. And the hellhounds come rushing in and, just…damn.

Give me a moment to compose myself.

…

…

Okay. I was expecting that the deal would have to play out. It has been foreshadowed all season that there would be no way to save Dean that didn't involve Sam losing himself in the process, that the only way for Sam to be saved from that would be for him to let go of Dean and make his brother's sacrifice worthwhile. I'm happy that Dean has held onto Sam's humanity for him, kept him from going over the edge. The cycle of sacrifice has been broken, and that needed to happen. But, but, but…. Dean.

I still, I just…I still can't quite believe the show actually had the guts to go down this road, for it to play out like this, of all the possible scenarios.

Remember when the Yellow-Eyed Demon tortured Dean in Devil's Trap? Yeah, that was like a fleabite compared to this. Show has become gruesomely graphic this season.

The hellhounds drag Dean off the table onto the floor, and start ripping into him, and it is absolutely horrific to watch. Dean is screaming in agony, with massive gouges appearing in his leg, his shoulder, his chest, blood spurting all over the place.

"NO! STOP! NO! STOP IT! NO!" Still pinned to the wall, Sam is shrieking with raw anguish, pleading with Lilith to make it stop, despairing and heartbroken, and he can't do anything but watch, and he already saw Dean tortured by Yellow-Eyes that time and was likewise unable to help, and he watched Dean die so many times in Mystery Spot, and has been captive witness to countless murders already this season.

And Lilith is laughing her delight at the scene.

How are any of us ever supposed to get over this?

One last shot of Dean as he stills, awash with blood, the light fading from his eyes.

"No!" Sam sobs.

"Yes," Lilith breathes, turning her attention back to the remaining Winchester. She holds up her hand a la Jus in Bello, and it glows, and the screen flashes white.

Fade to black. Game over? Yeah, not quite.

Lilith's white death-ray fades, and we are seeing her from below now, from Sam's perspective as he cringes on the floor expecting to die. In a very nifty little effect, her normal eyes roll back down into place, and there is a moment of absolute stillness and shock. Re-adjustment.

Lilith looks completely lost. Shocked right to the core. Sam is still alive. Her death-ray just bounced right off him! She really, really was not expecting that, and is too bewildered by the development to even react.

What happened? How? Why? Did Sam tap into his dormant psychic abilities somehow, in that last moment as he prepared to die? We've seen him do it before, just that one time, in Nightmare, as an unconscious reaction to witnessing Dean's murder in a vision. (Speaking of, damn, but we've seen Dean killed or near death a tremendous number of times in just three seasons!) Did the trauma of watching his brother being torn to shreds and the anticipation of being hit by Lilith's death ray finally manage to trigger a similar reflex?

Or is it that he is immune to her? Is that what the Croatoan experiment was all about, that immunity we already know Sam has to the demonic virus planted by Yellow-Eyes? Is that what the ingestion of demonic blood as an infant was all about? Was Yellow-Eyes preparing his special children – one of whom was to become the general of his army – to fight a war not just as a leader of demons against humans, but against other demonic factions? You'd have to presume so, however powerful a hold Yellow-Eyes had over his fellow demons; there would always be power struggles and rebellions. In order to successfully lead his army, he would need his human general to be able to withstand anything those demon rebels threw at him. We already know the special children were immune to one another's abilities, so immunity to certain demonic powers isn't so far-fetched. And yet…Sam isn't, or hasn't been, immune to all demonic powers – they are all perfectly able to fling him around and pin him to walls at will. But will that all change now, as a result of this, or will it be as much a one-off freak adrenaline thing as in Nightmare? Intriguing!

It's been a long time since I was so excited about the mytharc!

One thing seems certain: however he did it, Sam is going to be devastated that he was able to save himself but couldn't use that unknown ability to save Dean.

Sam reacts first, taking only a moment to absorb the fact that he is still alive and that he is free and his enemy is stunned into immobility. He rises to his feet, and Lilith is actually shaking with shock. She tries to use her telekinesis to throw Sam back again, but it doesn't work. She can no longer pin him, and that is almost as huge a development as the death-ray bouncing off. What does this mean for Sam, long term? If he really has tapped into his abilities it must be important that he did it on his own, without having to accept help from any demons, but it still remains to be seen just how far-reaching those abilities are and whether he will be able to hold onto them once the heat of the moment is over. Or, if he does retain the powers this time, how he will choose to use them.

Wrathful, as he should be, Sam snatches up the magic demon-killing knife and lunges at Lilith…but she flings her head back and departs the body in a rush of black smoke before he can strike a killing blow.

Ruby's body collapses in a heap, and looks pretty dead, but who knows? The nameless human host should definitely be dead after everything she's been through this season, but it does not by any means follow that Ruby won't continue to use her body. We still don't know yet if she was expelled from the body and will now be able to get back inside, or if she is still locked away inside and will now be able to resurface. There is little doubt that she will be back for season four, because there is so much more of her story still to be told, with her ambitions and motivations remaining as obscure as ever.

With Lilith gone and Ruby down, the room becomes still. Ruby is lying alongside Dean's oh-so bloody body. He's all mangled and torn to shreds, and he died while Sam wasn't looking, and…Sam!

The acting in this episode is incredible.

With no enemies remaining to fend off, Sam is able now to take in the sight of his brother's bloody corpse, and it hits him like a blow to the stomach – you can see him physically recoil, the little gasp as the emotional sucker punch hits him. He slowly walks over to kneel beside Dean, lips trembling as he tries in vain not to cry, biting his lip and choking back sobs, and his face crumples, and then there are tears dripping off his nose as he can no longer hold them back, and his broken little voice as he whispers his denial, oh man. I will never, ever be able to watch this without sobbing.

Sam gently lifts Dean's head, and for all that mauling his face is unmarred: blood-splattered, but undamaged. Absolutely distraught, Sam weeps.

Oh, but then! The camera zooms in on Dean's sightless dead eyes and goes right inside, and all of a sudden we are actually, honest-to-god in hell. Something else I never expected – Kripke had said in interviews that they didn't have the budget to attempt scenes in hell. But here we are, and it remains to be seen whether this is some kind of limbo, the particular portion of hell Dean has been imprisoned in by demonic design, or a construct drawn from his own mind. Either way, it is horrific: a murky, desolate landscape of thunder and lightning and criss-crossing chains, Dean's soul-self suspended from an intersection of those chains in perpetual continuation of his dying agony, with hooks embedded in his bloody body. He is completely, utterly alone – Dean's worst nightmare – completely immobilised, and completely helpless, able only to scream for somebody, for Sam, to please help him.

He's still wearing his amulet. Even in death, it is so much a part of his self-image that it remains with him. It was a gift from Sam, so many years ago, something 'real special' that Bobby gave him to give their father, gifted instead to Dean. Maybe one day we will learn what it really means.

For now, this is a truly devastating scene with which to end the season.

Boy, that was a doozy of an episode, and a sucker-punch of a season finale. It seems strange to feel so satisfied by such a distressing outcome to the seasonal arc, to be optimistic after such tragedy, and yet that is how I find myself coming out of the season.

I have absolutely no doubt that Dean will be back, probably sooner rather than later. The show is about the brothers, the two of them together – they couldn't even leave Sam dead for ten minutes! So it is highly unlikely that Sam will be on his own for long. The question marks hang over how Dean's restoration will come about, how long it will take, and what the consequences will be. Those consequences, of course, will hinge upon the how factor. No miracle ever comes for free, after all.

I don't see preservation of Dean's corpse as an important factor – after all, the crossroads demon offered to bring John back 'just as he was' months after his body had been burned. Demonic ability to bring the dead back to life also includes the capacity for restoring the body for the soul to return to, no matter what condition said body is in. So I'm sure there are plenty of creative options for the writing team to play with, and they don't have to involve any kind of quick fix – technically, he could be in his grave for months before a solution is found, although unless the timeline skips ahead a chunk I can't see Sam being left alone that long. And honestly, if Sam was to spend that much time alone we would need to experience it with him, in order to maintain storyline integrity and witness his development – showing, not telling – which brings us back to the unlikelihood of this separation lasting long simply because the structure of the show doesn't allow for it.

Ruby's situation makes it likely that season four will have to kick off pretty close to where season three closed. With Katie Cassidy remaining under contract, and with so much of Ruby's story still to tell, Ruby must return to her body, and we will need to see how that happens. Also, there are the stages of Sam's grief to explore, and surely his initial reaction to Dean's demise will set the stage for just how Dean's restoration will come about.

Sam is incredibly vulnerable right now. He appears to have spontaneously unlocked his dormant abilities all by himself, in the stress of the moment, but until season four arrives there is no way of knowing for sure. If he has unlocked those powers, and they stay unlocked, well, he could now go either way. As things stand, he has remained true to himself and withstood all temptation to give in to the dark, and that brought his development arc for season three to fruition and gave meaning to Dean's sacrifice. But all bets are now off. Mystery Spot provided an important lesson to Sam, but only time will tell if he heeds it. He could still go that way again, in his grief, desperation and obsession. The first few hours and days following Dean's death will surely be crucial. Bobby will be on hand to lend his support, but Sam may refuse that offer of comfort, just as Dean did before him.

That's where Ruby must surely come into play once more – will she recover in time to take advantage of Sam's vulnerability and attempt to manipulate him once more, and if so, will he listen? We still don't know what Ruby's overall plan is, after all. Her relationship with Sam shouldn't ever be the same again, now that Dean is gone and with him the leverage she once had – leverage that ran out long before Dean actually died. But I can't see her giving up on Sam so easily, having invested so much time and effort in him, and the situation Dean is now in could easily provide her with fertile ground in which to plant a new scheme.

Ruby has attempted to persuade Sam to follow her down increasingly dark roads throughout season three, with varying degrees of success. He has become a lot more ruthless than he used to be, and we can never know how much that was a decision he came to on his own and how much he was influenced by Ruby's insistence that he needed to toughen up in order to save Dean. Jus in Bello was a big turning point, as Ruby so nearly convinced Sam to take a truly abhorrent course of action involving human sacrifice in the name of the greater good. Dean talked him down from that one and showed him a better way, just he talked Sam out of trusting Ruby in this episode – but Sam will no longer have Dean to provide that voice of reason, to hold onto his humanity for him. Will he remember Dean's dying request to remain true to himself, or will his need to get his brother back at all costs override all other considerations? Will he obsess on developing his powers now that he has unlocked them, with Ruby perhaps whispering seductive offers of help in that quarter? Or will his compulsion take him in a different direction entirely in his effort to retrieve his brother from hell, with those mysterious abilities becoming dormant again now that the immediate crisis is over?

The mode of Dean's return and whether or not he remembers his time in hell will have a considerable impact on his recovery from the experience – on both of their recovery from the experience – and how long it takes to move forward once more. You'd have to hope for a memory wipe, just as Sam remembered nothing of his death in All Hell Breaks Loose and Dean remembered nothing of his time as a spirit in In My Time Of Dying, because the trauma would be horrific to contemplate otherwise. But there are no guarantees. It also remains to be seen just what the price of his return will be, who will have to carry that cost, and how he and they will react to that.

And then, of course, there is the ongoing mytharc to consider. Lilith is in retreat, for now, but is certain to regroup and rally. There are still many other demons out there, as well, with no doubt all kinds of factions forming and power bases being established that we know nothing of. Whatever is going on for the Winchesters personally, the demon war must surely move up a notch following this deadly skirmish.

All in all, I'd say we have a hell of a lot to look forward to when season four finally arrives!



May 2008

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