Dean's disappointment at Sam's memories had nothing to do with Sam's desire for normalcy or independence. Dean was hurt that Sam's "best" memories didn't include times with him and were actually some of Dean's WORST memories (i.e. Sam running away and Dean getting blamed for it). But I totally agree that Dean didn't handle things very well in DSOTM. He was hurt and he wrongly lashed out at Sam. Dean was definitely in "parent" mode there and he was wrong (although I think John should take a bit of the blame for pushing that on Dean when he was a kid.)

And of course Dean isn't perfect. He can be crass and rude and quick to judgement. He can be stubborn and flippant and inappropriate. He can be uncessarily reckless and sometimes inconsiderate of other's (especially Sam's) feelings.

Dean is also the flawed everyman, without any special powers. He's made many mistakes, but he's also made many apologies. I think Dean's a hero as well but ... I'm thinking that's not a very popular sentiment around here.

"And the fan butt hurt over Swan Song is so rancidly hateful."

Excuse me? I love BOTH brothers, but yes, I would have preferred a little bit more action for Dean in the finale. Since it was Kripke's big wrap up to a 5 year arc and Lucifer is the biggest baddest EVER. But still, I liked the way Sam handled things in the finale. I have never complained about Sam in Swan Song. So how exactly does that make me "rancidly hateful"?

"Guess Dean finally beat the independent spirit out of Sam after all. He got what he wanted and he can't even be bothered to talk to Sam, he's so busy talking to everyone else on the show. Dean is all ego, all the time, and it gets tiresome to witness episode after episode."

WOW. Talk about "rancidly hateful"!! You're criticizing "EDG's" and yet YOUR comments here are filled with "extreme" rage and hate toward Dean. Unbelievable.

"Sam *needed* Dean in order to overcome Lucifer"

Well I would have loved for this to the be the case, but it wasn't Dean's bloody face that allowed Sam to overcome Lucifer, it was the ray of sunlight shining on the toy soldier in the Impala and Sam's own MEMORY of their childhood. Sure, memories are important, but that doesn't mean Dean himself was "pivotal" to defeating Lucifer. The Impala was pivotal though.

I do wish Kripke would have had Dean's "Dean-ness" directly contribute to Sam to overcoming Lucifer, but that did not happen (IMO). Swan Song was HEAVILY Sam-centric, with the rest of Team Free Will assisting in SAM'S plan. Show wanted to promote Sam as Hero of the Year. There's nothing wrong with that as long as Dean gets his Hero moments too.

I assume Dean was in the picture (yet still standing BEHIND Sam) in order to tell Lenore about Sam's "awesome" beheading of Gordon.

Of course Show could have used this as an opportunity to have Dean mention being turned into a vampire and now understanding Lenore's struggle with not feeding on humans... but Show did not do this. Dean instead focused on Sam's bad-assery. And this seemed to be the only reason Dean was in the picture in that scene.

"And yes, Dean’s the hero of the year, and I get that, but if Sam had any less to do in this ep, he might as well have phoned it in and saved himself a trip. "

So it's okay that Swan Song was all about Sam being a hero when he defeated the biggest baddie EVER -- while Dean laid on the ground beaten to a pulp? Dean had NO active role in SS at all. So I guess Sam was "hero of the year" last season. So... maybe now it's Dean's turn?

"As for Sam/Padalecki, the poor guy must be getting mighty bored, because the lines he’s got to memorize this week wouldn’t fill up a single side of a 3 x 5 card. As for blocking? There wasn’t any. He just had to stand there looking cute while Dean/Ackles interacted with everyone else BUT Sam. "

Sam did ALL of the interrogating of Lenore and Lenore spoke primarily to Sam. Sam stood in front while Dean stood behind him IN THE BACKGROUND. Sam did most of the talking when they were questioning the boys. Sam and Dean took the boys to safety. Sam and Dean took on the Mother of All, just the two of them together.

I thought this was a pretty good episode where BOTH brothers interacted with the MOTW and the PiPs and BOTH saw some action. I liked the way both brothers worked together in this one but I guess I'm completely wrong. I'll just show myself out.

Ah, thank you for the explanation of the Red Cap dude! That part confused me. I do wish they would have done a better job in the actual episode (maybe an issue with the final edit?) because the way they played up Dean's fear of Red Cap was sort of lost in translation because I had no idea who this guy was and if/why he was such a threat.

I'm glad you enjoyed the episode, Sylvia. I do enjoy Edlund's episodes generally, but I guess I was a little disappointed in this one. Parts of the episode were laugh out-loud funny (Dean being attacked by "nipples" at the top of the list -- Jensen was brilliant in this scene!) but my amusement was tempered in this one because it wasn't really "Sam'n'Dean"... there was Dean and not!Sam, which is not the same thing at all (to me).

"But what I’m trying to point out here, if you’ve not garnered it already, that it is pure joy to watch them like this, and to give Dean plaudits for putting up with Sam throughout his transition."

Well perhaps I'm in the minority, but I don't find much joy in watching Dean as he struggles to deal with not!Sam. Oh he's trying his best but the underlying frustration and tension is so on-the-surface for Dean right now, that it permeates the entire episode. And I'm sure it's supposed to. Dean is there to remind us that Sam is indeed NOT!Sam, and Jensen does a great job at keeping that tension on the surface - in his jaw, in his voice, and especially his body language - but as a viewer and as someone who is sympathetic to Dean, it breaks my heart for him. Dean wants the real Sam back, but instead finds himself responsible for this soulless being (who has killed innocents and who is incapable of feeling guilt or remorse) wearing his brother's face and who does not care about Dean's (or anyone's) well-being in the least.

And I would have to imagine that being strapped down and "probed" brought back some not-so-good hell memories for Dean (yikes!), but again, Dean's hell trauma was mostly played for laughs in the one episode that dealt with them primarily (YF) so yeah, I guess playing it for laughs again here was to be expected.

"Because of course it proves that however Dean might strut about claiming indifference that he is alone, he truly, truly, truly needs Sam in his life,"

Oh I don't agree that Dean has ever been indifferent about being alone.. no, he has always been honest and upfront with Sam about *wanting* Sam to be in his life, from the moment we first meet him in the pilot. His Sam, I mean, not this current robo!Sam. Yet this is one of Dean's primary flaws -- wanting Sam too much. Needing Sam too much. I thought perhaps he had turned a corner in 6.1 by remaining with Lisa and Ben, being able to let go a little, but nope. That didn't even last.. what... a week? As Dean told Bobby and Sam in 6.1 and again in last week's episode, all Dean wants is his brother back.

And I don't think Dean needs a Sam to cry "over him" but I do think he desires someone who cares about him at least as much as he cares about Sam (the real Sam) -- a relationship where the feelings of affection or loss would be MUTUAL. And right now, Dean definitely does not have this without "his" brother, as this episode so clearly demonstrated.

So yeah, this one was funny on the surface, with great performances by both actors, but horrifically sad at it's heart, or rather lack of. Although I supposed that was the point. Especially the final scene where we'd normally have both brothers sharing a beer on the hood of the impala and bonding... but instead we see only Dean drinking. Alone.

Hi Sylvia – late to this one, but thank you for all of the lovely sceencaps in this review. YOWZA!

** “There were so many chestnuts in this ep, it was like watching something out of a film noir; I pity the actor who has to stumble through such cumbersome stuff. And it was so bad, I started keeping track.” **

Yeah, the dialog was a bit clunky but I do like the whole “noir” feeling of this season so I guess I just went with it. It would definitely be a challenge for the actors, I agree.

** “They meet up, they exchange snarky comments, they try to one-up each other, and it’s good, it’s all good.” **

Hee. Yeah I agree it is all good. I loved the brotherly exchanges as well! And yeah, Dean’s “silver lining” comment at the end… aw!

** “All of this allows Dean to make comical facial reactions to Sam kicking down doors, and to make the woobie face when Sam allows the Soap Angel to torture a young child for information. I liked seeing them this way. They’re brothers, to be sure, but they’re not clones of each other. Of course it was creepy watching Sam simply standing by and taking notes during the torture scene, but it was supposed to be.” **

That had to be a very difficult situation for Dean especially. I think Dean has a lot of empathy and sympathy for the victims right now. And after being the victim of 30 years of torture in hell and then breaking and becoming a torturer, I think the torturing of Aaron had to bring up some very painful memories in Dean. But more importantly, I think that Dean, who still seems to be struggling to find his balance again after Sam’s return, was shocked at Sam’s reaction (or rather non-reaction) to Aaron’s torture. When Dean returned from hell, he was very focused on the “saving people” aspect of hunting. I think he became obsessed with the thought that if he could just save as many people as possible that he could try to make up for the horrible things he did in hell.

I think Dean is still trying to process this new Sam, who seems to be very different from the Sammy Dean knows (or thought he knew). Because it was just a few years ago when Sam believed that Dean didn’t care if he killed an innocent man (potentially “sacrificing the innocent for a greater gain”) in Croatoan: “You might kill an innocent man, and you don't even care! You don't act like yourself anymore, Dean. Hell, you know what? You're acting like one of those things out there.” But Dean doesn't know exactly what happened to Sam in hell so he's sort of at a loss about Sam's state-of-mind at the moment.

So, it does appear that the roles are now reversed. But while Sam has had a year to adjust to the changes in himself, it’s all still very new to Dean. They are still trying to get used to being around one another.

** “More proof of this is Dean’s pleasure at having Sam back at his side. This is amply demonstrated when Sam’s bad boy has been bashed to bits in the angel puddle battle. Instead of commiserating with Sam, Dean says, casually, “Okay, silver lining.” Because, as you can see, if Sam has no car, he must sit in the Sam Seat once again, and join Dean inside the confines of the Impala as the two brothers rocket down the road. I get that Show felt it had to build up to this point in the story line, that they wanted to give us all a momentary concern to up the ante, but really. This is all we want, the rest of it is just window dressing.” **

Great points, Sylvia. I do think Dean is happy to have Sam at his side in the Impala. And the window dressing is VERY nice, isn’t it? ;-) Thanks again for the review.

@ Whiskey: "But there's just no way a four-year-old Dean was taking care of six month old Sam in anything even approaching a primary caregiver position."

Oh I agree. I do think Sam was mostly self-sufficient (i.e. Something Wicked) when Dean was charged to care for him. I think Dean maybe is just a natural with kids of all ages. And yes, the name choice by each brother was interesting!

@Whiskey: "I'm not sure where that suspicion came from. Maybe it's just Dean's default position right now, to question Sam that way, which is both painful and understandable."

Yeah, obviously Dean has a lot on his mind right now. There's Sam not telling Dean he was back -- which pulled the rug out from under Dean and I don't think he's regained his balance yet. There's the mysterious resurrection of Samuel (and Sam). There are monsters who aren't acting in ways they're supposed to and who have attacked his home. There are all these other (creepy!) Campbells coming out of the woodwork who Sam has already built a relationship with, but they really haven't embraced Dean as one of their own. So there is suspicion on both sides.

And quite frankly, Sam is acting differently and he's not opening up to Dean (yet). So, Dean is on the outside looking in and his keen spidey senses are telling him that something is going on... with Samuel, with the Campells, and with Sam... but he's been so preoccupied with the safety of Lisa and Ben that he hasn't been able to really focus on anything else.

I don't think he wants to be suspicious of Sam but let's face it -- no one has any idea how or why Sam is back. Dean was also freaked out when he returned from hell and thought that maybe something evil rode out with him. And Sam was possessed by Lucifer the last time Dean saw him, so this could have been Lucifer's doing for all they know.

Anyway, I guess I'm not at all surprised Dean is suspicious right now. He's been out of the loop for a year and now strange things are happening -- strange things that could be a threat to his family -- so yeah, I get it. And based on the look on his face in that final shot of the episode, he's gonna damn well get to the bottom of it.

I thought this episode was pretty good, especially for a newbie writer. Both babies they used are just totally ADORABLE! There is a screencap when the boys are in the grocery store aisle and the baby is looking up at Dean with this huge smile on his face! Yeah, Jensen is really pretty, isn't he? :-)

I also was a bit disappointed that the episode didn't touch upon Dean's caregiver role when they boys were growing up. When I watch season 1 episodes it's so apparent. Dean is just so maternal with Sam much of the time and even though Sam chafes at this sometimes, I think it's lovely. Anyway, I thought Dean did a pretty good job with the baby shifter.

So of all the Campbells, why did the least offensive one have to die? Meh. Samuel is still as shady as ever and Christian is still an ass. And no wonder Dean is suspicious of them, they live in some sort of radical right-wing gated compound. I mean, really. Creepy. But Sam seems to trust them. I think Dean feels very isolated right now, not having the benefit of knowing these people for a year like Sam does.

Obviously Dean feels extremely conflicted right now. He's being pulled in opposite directions because of his obligation and care for Lisa & Ben, but also his obligation and care for Sam. Dean doesn't want to become like John with Ben and treat him like the "good little soldier" as he was treated by John. Dean loved his dad but he is now able to see that John was only human, and he was flawed. Dean still carries a lot of anger and hurt by how his Dad raised them. He sees himself becoming John and that's something that scares him to death, and I think that's a big reason that Dean has decided he needs to go back to hunting. Things are happening that he's now smack dab in the middle of and the more he treats his family like property/soldiers the more he sees himself become someone he doesn't want to become. And good for Dean for realizing this before it's too late.

I LOVED the reunion of Dean and his baby. But that look on his face at the end... that was a look of determination. There's a mystery out there with all these monsters and Campbells and such, and he's now on the case! Even though I love Lisa and Ben, I'm so very glad we have hunter!Dean back! Thanks for the review Sylvia.