User Reviews

Would you believe me if I say this was the one episode I was dying to see since Supernatural was back in September? I have been waiting to see how would Sam's other shoe drop! I have to say after watching this episode all week I'm still having conflicted feelings about it. I sure am excited, happy, disappointed, confused, frustrated but above all in love for my all time favorite TV show. I'm surprised but glad that Sam's downfall was a simple state of insomnia. But before I say anything further, Let me give praise to Jared Padalecki, hats off to you Jared, no words can give this guy enough credit for such a magnificent performance. After 5 days without sleep, Sam takes off seeking drugs (This is the guy who refused Dean's pills after his first glimpse behind the wall) it doesn't work and He is hit by a car and admitted to a hospital, where he is transferred to a locked psych ward, Moreover the doctors fail to put him to sleep no matter how much sedatives they give him (I'm a bit confused about why didn't he go under, some fans speculate this was because of the daemon blood, However on season 5 "Sam interrupted" he seemed normally affected by tranquillizers). Desperate but determined like a true Winchester, Dean promises his brother to find help but Sam is just resigned and willing to die simply because he is "too tired" (again when one of the Winchesters says this word, my heart is crushed into a million pieces, John said it, then Dean said it but it stung even more to hear it coming out of Sam's mouth since he was the one who wouldn't give up no matter what) So Dean (in a reminiscent act of season one's "Faith") goes to seek help from every hunter in Bobby's phone book.

Bits and pieces:

1- Again with the probability of ghost Bobby, Is he really still watching over the boys? I hope so.

2- I Love Mark Pelligrino and I think he makes a wonderful Lucifer, But I wished he would spare Sam for like 5 freaking minutes.

3- I'm not as excited to see Cas back (duck now, flying tomatoes) I used to love Cas on seasons 4 and 5 but he lost me on season 6 the moment he said Hello. Cas hurt Sam and for me even his act of sacrifice doesn't redeem him. (Crazy Fan girl moment here)

4- On a really shallow side note, But does every crazy person look as pretty as Sam? don't lose the scurf.

5-I loved Sam and Marin and though the ghost hunt was a little forced, (otherwise Sam would have nothing to do but sit with his hallucinations) They had a good chemistry and I'm glad Sam was still caring to save some one's life even in his time of pure adversity. Sam didn't think twice before offering to help another troubled soul. Besides I'm glad he found some kind of distraction away from Hallucifer.

6- Jensen was brilliant as always. He gave us a mature Dean, a determined one to save his little brother even if he had to work with the enemy even if he had to forgive his friend's betrayal. Dean did what he did best; He reached out with love to help both his brother and his old friend. The trench coat scene almost brought me to tears (But it was too rushed to appreciate the rush of emotions flowing from these two magnificent actors) However I find it hard to believe that Dean brought Cas's coat with him everywhere, Still Cas did the ultimate mistake in Dean's book by hurting Sam.

7- So Meg is back. Will she really be an ally to them? Or will she sell them out to Crowley if that could save her? Are those daemons really Crowley's hit men or are they on her team to convince Dean to make the full blown Angel trust her? Only time will tell.

8- It was a perfect montage when Cas regained his memory. Misha did a wonderful job portraying Cas's remorse and regret over his past mistakes.

9- I really freaked out when I saw a lock of Sam's hair falling, No please not the beautiful hair.

10- So Hallucifer wasn't enough for Sam? So daemon's decide to torture him by the electro shock. Stop Hurting Sam Winchester.

11- Lol at Lucifer reading "Three little pigs".

12- How did Cas shift Sam's problems? Don't try to figure it out, I hurt my head trying to come up with a convincing theory so now I'm resigned to wait and see. I can't deny that I was disappointed with the way they solved things and I fear that we are supposed to feel sorry for Cas now that he had to take on that weight but after doing some major rethinking, I think there was just no other way to get Sam back on his feet.

13- Did Sam find his 10? I mean what else on earth or in Hell does this guy have to go through? So please stop hurting the guy and give him something good even for one time. The writers enjoy hurting this poor guy yet he never complains and never gives up and that's exactly what I love about him.

Finally If I have to complain about anything, I would say it was too crowded, the end was rushed and I hoped for more brotherly moments instead of separating the boys for most of the time.

First things first. Jared did amazing job - I ate everything - from the stressful guy, who started to have problems after he had invited Lucifer deeper in his mind, drinking coffee all the time, to the man who wants to die - and even then, totally broken, he found out a way how to help a girl. You wanted hero? Here he is. Not selfish even when his time comes. Now Jared have so much experience! Lot of changes through the series! (Because Dean is my favorite character, I wish writers wrote him some good storyline as well.)

Mark Pellegrino proved he really was a good choice of Satan's vessel. I hated him and liked him at once. His torture methods were...satanic! Megaphone, firecrackers, fairy tales, diseases dictionary? Have a nap, Lucy!

The demons are back in the game. Meg - what a great character! I don 't think she would cooperate with Crowley one day - after all, she was Lucifer's good girl. The nurse-role was a good move. I wouldn't believe I'm gonna say this, but it gives her an aspect of humanity. (The thing Ruby always said she had, but never had in fact.)

Dean - always (well not always, but in the end, he is!) here to support his little brother, despite Sam doesn't want to be rescued - he knows he cannot be healed. Jensen brings the feeling of totally depressed but determined guy, calling all the friends of Bobby. (Someone talking about a ghost?)

There was a strange moment - reborn of Castiel. It should 've been explained much more than thinking about God's help...

The end of this episode is too fast to concentrate more on the brothers and brothers-Cas relationships, but i hope we will see it in next episodes.

Time to heal Sam before he dies. Mission Impossible completed! Maybe I gave it too many stars, but Jared deserves it in this episode.

Sam is unable to sleep for many days with Lucifer disturbing him. When a car hits Sam, he goes to the hospital and the doctor in charge sends him to the psychiatric wing to help him to sleep, but Lucifer continues to drive him crazy. Sam befriends the patient Marin and helps her to get rid of the ghost of her brother.

Meanwhile Dean calls Bobby's friends expecting to find someone that might help his brother. One hunter tells him about Emmanuel, a man apparently with healing power. When Sam meets Emmanuel, he recognizes his face.

"The Born-Again Identity" is an engaging episode of Supernatural with a great surprise, the return of Castiel. Mark Pellegrino "steals" the show in the role of an annoying but very funny Lucifer. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil: "The Born-Again Identity"

Sam's mental wall fully breaking down was built up for so long that it would have been more interesting as a season finale than the actual finale this season, but it still managed to kind of feel that way. The scenes with Sam and Hallucifer, and then those with Dean trying to find a cure for him were great and mirrored the time when Dean was the one dying and Sam the one saving him. Unfortunately the episode gets sidetracked by unnecessary plot points that could have been replaced with just Sam and Dean scenes or maybe with some deeper dive into how did Sam's mental state got this bad. I think it would have been cool to see as an introduction Dean actually getting worried for Sam after the last episode way before Sam ended up in the hospital.

Instead we have a lot of scenes wasted with Marin and Emanuel. It's cool that Sam helped Marin, but it was painfully straightforward and predictable without offering a real either break or support for the desperate feeling of the episode. Castiel having amnesia barely made any sense. If smiting demons awakened all his memories, why didn't healing people do the same thing or at least half of it since both of these are Cas using his angel powers? At least it was great to see Dean open up to Emanuel about what happened in a way that he couldn't towards Castiel. Also the solution for Sam's mind was alright, even though it was too clean and close ended for my taste considering how underutilized all that was.

The worst part though was the demons attacking plot line. While you can justify the Marin and Emanuel scenes as nice character moments, the demons attacking Cas and Sam felt just like a justification to have Meg ally with Dean... even though they already offered a good enough reason on it's own - Meg wanting to be on an angel's good terms to have protection from Crowley. Oh, and also the demons offered the only action scenes in the episodes, but they were weak and not every episode needs that to be good.

Despite how much I complained about this episode in here, I think its weaknesses get overshadowed by its strengths, having one of the best core ideas in this season (and one of my personal favorites in the whole show). Jared really sells the role of a Sam more tired and weakened than ever before, a Sam that's ready to slowly die after fighting it for so long, but without forgetting his humanity or forgetting himself. Sam's strength shined through even when he was in one of his lowest points, but it didn't minimize at all how desperate his situation was. That was the best part of this episode for me and it's worth a high score in itself.

I just wasn't a fan.. I liked Sam's potrayal of going crazy That girl was fine, i guess in a way if you want to find deeper meaning in it you can see how hunting helps him find purpose or something. I am not sure if the writers were ever planning to bring Cas back but in anycase they backed themselves in a corner. They had to do amnesiac Cas which is just such a huge cliche. I like Meg too but her entry feels forced to me. While i think needed, the character entries are weak. The end idk, he absorbs part of the torture? What? Is that how crazy works in the soul?