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Meet the monster
But before we have to deal with the repercussions of that conversation, let's consider this week's monster. It's a dragon. Yeah, we know. The boys are pretty incredulous, too, as no one has seen one in about 700 years. But something big and winged is snatching up virgins and gold, so... dragon it is.

Fortunately, Bobby has some history with a medieval studies professor, and she just happens to have a dragon-killing blade. Unfortunately, said blade is stuck in a stone ("Binding sword to stone used to be all the rage," she explains.) When Dean proves that he's not the reincarnation of King Arthur, he gets his Mythbusters on (unofficial motto of the show: "When in doubt, C4"). He does manage to free the sword, but it's substantially shorter now. Oops.

Dragon slaying
Sam figures out that sewers are the modern equivalent of caves, so the the boys go searching for virgins. They find them, but unfortunately two man-shaped dragons are guarding the girls. Fight!

Dean drops the sword down a grate and he can't retrieve it. Good thing Sammy's got ginormously long arms -- he retrieves the broken blade and dispatches one of the dragons. The other dragon flees, but at least they've saved the fair maidens.

The plot thickens
It seems that the beasts the boys encountered weren't the only monsters collecting maidens. Another dragon has a van full of virgins, and they've got the pages from a creepy book (made of human skin) that will open a door into purgatory. In Supernatural world, purgatory isn't a place for souls to cool their heels while they wait to be redeemed. Nope, according to Bobby, "It's all blood and bone and darkness, filled with the body and souls of all things hungry, sharp and nasty. It's monster land."

But our dragons don't want to go on vacation in monster land -- they want to get something out. So they toss a virgin into a volcano-like pit, and out pops The Mother of All. What does that mean? We're not sure, but it can't be good.

Highlights, thoughts and odds and ends
We're very, VERY happy that the secret-keeping didn't last for a whole episode. The show has been down that path before, and we like to think sometimes the guys can learn from their mistakes.

Now that Sam knows he was a bad, bad boy when he was soulless, he wants to spend some time making amends. Oh, Sam -- we understand the impulse, but we can't imagine this will go well.

We love how delighted Dean is at Sammy being Sammy again. Look, he's deploying the puppy-dog eyes! He's exhibiting empathy! He's disgusted that Dean stole the diary! And we admit, we're happy to see it, too.

We sympathize with Bobby -- we'd have a hard time forgetting that Sam had proposed to gut him like a fish so recently. Yeah, Dean says it wasn't Sam, but we're not so sure.

Bobby gives Dean a slug of whiskey. "Like my daddy always said -- just 'cause it kills your liver don't mean it ain't medicine"

Dean, on Sam's recovery: "It's a gift horse, and I'm not looking for teeth. I'm sending Death a damn fruit basket."

Oh, Sam. You have no idea what sort of wound you're poking at when you accuse Dean of not even trying to build a life. Granted, we can see how he would have assumed that, but still, it was heartbreaking.

Dean reads from Penny's diary:
Dean: I've decided. I'm going to give Stan my most precious gift.
Sam: Wow, that sounded really creepy coming out of your mouth.
Dean: I think I delivered it.

The boys discuss the attacks:
Sam: What, you think Batman tried to rape her?
Dean: Well, he does carry a lot of rage... But he rejected her because she was already dehymenated. Just goes to show -- being easy's all upside.

The boys try to figure out what they're dealing with:
Sam: I googled fire, claws, flying, stealing virgins and gold, and it all takes me to the same place.
Dean: Where?
Sam: World of Warcraft fan sites.

Dean asks Bobby what he knows about dragons:
Bobby: They're not like the Loch Ness Monster, Dean. Dragon's aren't real.
Dean: Could you make a few calls?
Bobby: To where, Hogwarts?

We loved how the music swelled when Dean tried to pull the sword from the stone -- and how it petered out when he fell.

Sam, to Castiel: Um, look I would hug you but...
Cas: That would be awkward.
Why would it be any more awkward than hugging Dean or Bobby? Come on, Cas needs Sammy snuggles too!

Dean, as he plants the explosives to free the sword: "You rocks think you're so smart... All right! Welcome to the 21st century!"

Sam explains why he wants to make amends, even though Dean says he wasn't himself: "I kind of feel like I got slipped the worst mickey of all time and I woke up to find out that I had burnt the whole city down. And you can say it wasn't me, but I'm the one with the Zippo in my pocket, so I'm not sure it's so cut and dry."

What do you think? Was the episode worth the wait? Are you happy that Sam is resouled? Will he be able to resist picking at the wall? How much trouble will the Mother of All be? Could she possibly be more destructive than Lucifer and the Apocalypse? Talk about it in the comments!