I was horrified when Sam couldn't spring the trap by breaking the ball--and completely understood, Chuck really did a number on his head. And I think it was the idea that without Chuck monsters will take over the world that did Sam in. I really, really wanted Sam to say 'screw your awful future, we'll make a different one...again' but he couldn't take the chance.

I wonder what Dean would have done. (And why did Cas throw the ball to Sam, anyway? Sam who had no idea what was going on instead of Dean who would have crushed it instantly?)

So once again Sam sacrifices himself (and Dean) by looking at Chuck's plan for them to kill each other as the better thing for humanity, keeping Chuck alive to keep the monsters in check.

(Except--Chuck implies that if he is trapped like Amara was, good and evil become unbalanced. Yet Amara was trapped for eons and good and evil still ran neck-and-neck...)

I felt that Cas and Dean made it through Purgatory waaay too easily. Why wouldn't Eve want Dean as much as Cas, Dean was the one who put her back there! And the Leviathans just left Dean lying there with his gun and no one bothered him??? But then I got to thinking, Chuck needed Sam to give up hope so he set up the situation to have Sam lose hope, and in order to do that he needed to be sure that Dean and Cas showed up with the magic ball at the right place and time. So it would be logical that he smoothed their path a little in Purgatory. Not completely, that would be suspicious, but enough for them to show when Sam is despairing.

I love that Dean just accepted that Sam completely blew the plan. I am thinking that his breakdown in Purgatory gave him some insight into forgiving people? I really hope Dean isn't going to be a dick about it later...

Thank goodness for the final shot of Billie and Jack or I'd feel as hopeless as Sam...