The CW Source

Be careful what you wish for…
Unfortunately, Dean asks for the truth. Is it an accident? Did he do it on purpose? We kind of think it was an accident (they hadn't found poor Mittens yet), but he's perfectly happy to put the truth curse to work for him. He goes to interrogate Sam, but first he has to run the gauntlet of truths both squicky (Bobby gets pedicures and loves to have his toes manipulated) and heartbreaking (Lisa thinks the Winchester boys have the least healthy relationship she's ever seen, and she knew her and Dean's relationship was over the moment she found out Sam was back from the dead. Dean needn't bother coming back home.)

But all that pain is worth it when Dean gets to ask Sam why he let Dean get turned, and Sam confesses he didn't -- he just froze up. Dean is skeptical, but Sam reminded him that he's physically incapable of lying at the moment. So yay! Everything is awesome and back to normal, right? Right?

Then why are we not convinced?

Ferreting out the truth
The boys figure out that Veritas has taken the form of a TV consumer affairs reporter, and pay her a visit armed with knives dipped in dogs' blood. Unfortunately, Veritas gets the drop on them and decides to play a little game of Truth or Truth while she munches on raw human tongues (ewwww…). She asks Dean how he really feels about Sam, and Dean admits that until yesterday, he thought Sam aas a monster and wanted to kill him in his sleep. Now that he reassured Dean while under the truth whammy, it's all good. Oh, and Dean wasn't really lying to himself about wanting a family, but he realizes that Hunting is his life's calling and there's no getting out of it.

Then she asks Sam how he feels about the band getting back together, and Sam tells her that what they do is hard, but they watch out for each other and that's all that's important. "That's it, that's the truth," he tells her, but she is horrified. "No, no it's not. How are you doing that? That's not possible, you're lying to me. What are you?" She wheels on Dean. "What is he?"

Sam picks this moment to cut through his bonds and attack Truth. Dean manages to get free and they stab Veritas to death. So it's all good, right?

Not so much. Dean turns on Sam with a knife. Sam pleads that it's really him, but Dean isn't buying it. So Sam confesses:

Sam: She was right. There's something wrong with me, really wrong. I've known it for a while. I lied to you, yeah, and I let you get turned by that vamp, because I knew there was a cure, Dean, and we needed in that nest and I knew you could handle it!
Dean: Handle it! I could have died. I could have killed Ben!
Sam: And that should stop me cold, but… I just don't feel it. Ever since I came back, I am a better hunter than I've ever been. Nothing scares me anymore, because I can't feel it. I don't know what's wrong with me. I think … I need help.

Dean considers Sam for a minute, then he puts down the knife. And then? Then he beats the crap out of Sam, pounding him again and again until Sam is bloody and unconscious. Then he punches Sam a few more times for good measure. We're guessing Dean isn't entirely happy about this development…

Highlights, thoughts and odds and ends

• On the one hand, we're glad to get some idea of what is going on -- Sam is completely without empathy, or any feeling whatsoever, and that's why he's all wonky. On the other hand, although it's been a while since Psych 101, we kind of think that's the textbook definition of a psychopath.

• We got about five minutes of Cas this week, and while we were glad to see him, we wish there had been more of a reason for him to stick around. He was able to tell us that Lucifer was still in the cage, and that it wasn't Gabriel's Horn of Truth that was causing the mayhem. He also mentions that "certain… regrettable things are now required of me" in the celestial war, but he pledges to "make inquiries" about Sam's condition.

• The first time Dean talks to Bobby, the Great Bearded One mentioned a worst case scenario.
  Dean: What, that Satan is my co-pilot? Yeah, I know.
  Bobby: Well, that'd be the other worst case.
  Dean: Well then what?
  Bobby: Maybe it's just Sam.
  Bobby really does know everything!

• We were wondering where they were going to go with truth-whammied Bobby, since he's never really been likely to pussyfoot around to spare the boys' feelings, and anyway, he got most of his frustration off his chest in "Weekend at Bobby's." So we were happy they went the comic-relief route -- we never would have picked Bobby as a Tori Spelling fan. We also loved this: "I never told anyone that. Why'm I telling you? Maybe 'cause you're my favorite," [Dean breaks into a smarmy "well, of course!" grin.] "Although Sam's a better Hunter, lately anyway." [Deans grin disappears]

• We also loved cleavage girl at the bar: "I'm sitting like this so you'll look at my breasts. I just bought them. I need a LOT of attention." And of course, Dean obliges. Such a gentleman!

• More evidence (if we needed it) that Sammy ain't right: "And that's?" "Dog blood." "Do I even want to know where you got that?" "Probably not." The Sammy WE knew wouldn't be draining puppies without a second thought…

• Most heartbreaking moment for us: Hearing Dean say that he thought psychopathic, non-empathetic, user Sam was "just acting like me." Dean, you could put on a brave face of callousness, but we never thought you didn't feel what was happening to those around you. We totally buy that Sam isn't feeling anything.

• Is it just us, or were the camera folks emphasizing the height difference between the boys this week instead of minimizing it? Usually, they take pains to make Sam look a bit taller than Dean, but not so much like he's looming over his brother. This week, the whole half-a-foot difference was very obvious. (Yes, we know their bios say Jensen is 6' and Jared is 6'4", but we suspect Jensen adds and inch and Jared subtracts an inch.)

• Props to Veritas for the "Natural Born Killers" shout-out!

• We had to laugh when we discovered that Veritas loves cats and hates dogs. Makes sense -- cats are completely open about their contempt for even the people who feed them, while dogs make everyone feel good about themselves. However, just owning a cat doesn't make one prone to suicidal depression and unpleasant truths, ok? Our kitties are our friends!

  What did you think? Could you handle the truth? Were you surprised by Sam's confession, or did you want more? Did Bobby's overshare freak you out? Did Lisa's goodbye shock you, or were you just waiting for it to happen? Talk about it in the comments!