I love your reviews! I am with you. On the first viewing, it was hmmmm. I watched it again last night and enjoyed it much more. I wonder if Sammy seems on unresponsive to Dean is because he knows what he can become now after Mystery Spot and doesn't want to go there. I still think the Trickster is somehow connected to Dean's deal. Like he is "working" with/for the good guys. He admitted he liked the boys in Tall Tales and he could have just killed them both outright but he didn't. OK, he killed Dean a hundred times in MS but I think he was trying to make a point. I still think there is a hint in there of things to come in there somewhere and I can't wait to see the final two episodes!

I have to disagree with you about Sam. I don't like this uncaring version of him. Nor do I want the brotherly relationship that I came to love ruined just for the sake of darkside Sam.

I, like you, am also confused at Sam's cold response to his brother's obvious frustration and I don't know if it was part of the acting or the directing, but I didn't feel Sam cared whether it was dad or not, he just wasn't going to deal with panicky Dean because he "knew" it couldn't be John. How? We don't know, since at that point, they didn't know if it was really loved ones calling or another reason.

I also thought that Sam's response "huh..hello?" to Dean's heartbreaking request about what to say if John called back was unbearably callous. Sam was not a likable character in this episode till the end, and mainly because of Dean's lightning up the moment. I didn't see any layers in Sam that he was worried about Dean all the while he was telling Dean that it wasn't John and therefore he was going to go and talk to Lainie.

I found it also disturbing that he showed more patience and caring for Lainie than he did for his own brother.

As for the welching clause, per John, he told Dean that he had a way of getting Dean out without putting Sam in danger. So Dean wasn't going into this blind, he figured it was worth a try knowing that Sam would still be ok.

I'm not sure what you meant about Dean not caring about the clause. "John" pointed it out because it knew that Dean would only go along with what it was saying IF the clause would be rendered useless, thus showing that Dean was concerned about potential invoking of the clause and that even this thing knew it.

Sam's behavior on the other hand I find completely confusing. He acted like he didn't care about what Dean was going through at all, like he had better things to do than worry about this. This after a year of Sam complaining that Dean wasn't acting like he cared enough about the fact that he was going to Hell. Then, when Dean acts like he cares, Sam suddenly isn't interested.

I found this meta article that attempts to explain Sam's actions in this episode. It's a very interesting and well thought out analysis and might explain some of the points I was having issues with. Anyway, it can be found here

As for Dean not showing concern about welching on the deal, it goes back to the blind faith thing he has in John. He wasn't just risking himself, but Sam as well. I just thought he'd be more concerned about that. It wasn't a huge sticking point with me in this episode though, but I'm curious to see if this will be an issue as they get closer to the end of the contract.