'Supernatural' recap: An Inconvenient Truth

In the spirit of this week's episode, I'll be honest: After last week's ultimate betrayal, I didn't know if I would ever be able to forgive Sam. When he put his brother -- the guy who had literally gone to hell for him -- in danger, the part of my heart reserved for championing unconditional love and loyalty between pairs of TV brothers broke into tiny pieces. To my surprise, by the end of this week's episode, I not only forgave Sam, but I felt bad for him.

It could be because he was finally honest with his brother about his predicament. (He knew he hadn't been acting like himself.) It could be because he seemed troubled by his own lack of empathy. (Having no soul will do that…) But I gather it was mostly because Dean beat his face in.

A lot led up that, though. So let me back track.

This week, we dealt with the concept of truth -- rather, the concept of being unable to cope with it. Exhibit A (for All's I know is that this is going to be gross): A forlorn waitress with dating problems who didn't react appropriately when told by the chef that he had personally tainted a customer's food. (If I'm ever going to eat at a restaurant again, I have to believe a waitress would tell a manager or superior if the chef did something disgusting to the food.) After asking no one in particular for "the truth," waitress got exactly what she asked for in one big, overwhelming, self-esteem-crushing dose. The final blow was when her confidant/sister told her she was a burden and should kill herself. So she grabbed a gun and did just that. (At this point, has everyone completely given up trying to eat dinner during this show? Yup, me too!)

We picked up with Sam and Dean, who were in between cases and picking up food from a cart. While Sam tended to their lunch, Dean was on the phone talking to Bobby and airing his myriad concerns about Sam. Ever the voice of reason, Bobby convinced Dean not to "shoot him yet." I laughed when he said this because it was a typical off-color Bobby comment, but I stopped laughing when I realized they were talking about it in all seriousness. It seemed like a hasty reaction to a hunch. Later, Dean would put more pressure on Bobby to crack the mystery, prompting the elder hunter to propose the worst-case scenario: This was the new Sam. Considering Dean's quick departure from that conversation, the theory didn't sit well with him.

Just as Dean hung up with Bobby, Sam showed up from behind with a lead about a case. The dead waitress was one of four recent suicides, so they decided to go check it out. (In The Suits! We love The Suits. Honor thy Suit.).

They started with the waitress' sister, who was the last person to talk to her. At first she didn't admit to her role in her sister's suicide, but Sam cracked her using his hunter's intuition -- and possibly a trick he picked up on while watching the World Series of Poker. Dean seemed confused as I was about Sam's newfound intensity in the interrogation process. (Sam grilled her as though she was a master schemer plotting the end of the world.) Sam seemed sadistically pleased with himself after he caused the woman to break down, and it gave me the creeps. This boy truly knows no middle ground. It's either addicted to demon blood or uber-hunter with him. (Are extremes a Taurus trait? I don't believe so. Boo, continuity.…Don't even try to judge me. You know you've looked up their signs for fun, too.)

NEXT: And you thought your last trip to the dentist was a horror show?

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