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Review | 8x07 | A Little Slice of Kevin
A Little Slice Of Kevin by Brad Buckner and Eugenie Ross-Leming mainly revolves around the mystery of what exactly happened between Dean and Castiel in purgatory, but it also explores Kevin and Linda’s difficult situation as refugees and Crowley’s contingency plans to decipher the content of the demon tablet. As is apparent from this short overview, the episode is rather busy with various plot-strands and characters – too busy for my liking, actually – and as such it has precious little Sam-and-Dean time, which is always a minus in my book. Overall, there are parts of the episode that I enjoyed, parts that left me indifferent and parts that annoyed me, so it is not exactly a winner, but also not the worst episode the show has ever delivered.
Before I go into my thoughts about A Little Slice Of Kevin, let me talk about my problems with the way the season is structured this year. According to Robert Singer, the writers decided to reunite the brothers at the beginning of the season and tell their time apart in flashbacks, mainly because they know that the fans do not take it kindly when the brothers are separated for an extended period of time. However, we are now seven episodes into the season, and I begin to wonder what the point of reuniting Sam and Dean was, if the writers are not willing to consistently explore the aftermath of their separation. I mean, out of seven episodes, only three focused on the brotherly relationship and the rest centred almost entirely around guest characters like Kevin and Linda Tran, Crowley, Benny or Castiel, thus not only undermining a sense of continuity where the exploration of the brothers’ relationship is concerned, but also giving the impression that Sam and Dean are just two characters in an ensemble cast, rather than the central figures of the narrative. Moreover, even though the brothers are together in the present, the steady stream of flashbacks to their time apart undercuts an actual sense of togetherness – not to mention that the constant back and forth between the past and the present interrupts the natural flow of the narrative. So overall I think that the season would feel much more coherent and consistent, if the writers had told the brothers’ time apart in 'real time', alternately focussing on Sam and Dean’s stories before reuniting them and then deal with the aftermath.
The fact that the story is told out of chronological order is also detrimental to a sense of emotional continuity across seasons in my opinion. I mean, at the end of S7, Sam and Dean had been emotionally open, mature and completely in sync with each other, but obviously their individual experiences during the past year changed them to such a degree that it undermined all that hard earned progress in their relationship. As a result, there is an emotional shift in the brotherly relationship at the beginning of S8, and since we do not have enough information about their time apart to understand that shift right away, it simply feels jarring. Of course, it is possible to fanwank the reasons for the changes in Sam and Dean, but if the writers had decided to continue the story from where Survival of the Fittest left off and thus allowed us to witness the characters’ development during the past year, their reactions to each other after their reunion would have felt a lot more natural to us. In that context, I have to admit that I think the writers do a poor job at illustrating said character development. I mean, look at Dean, for example. Purgatory was clearly a transformative experience for him – he went from clinically depressed to purposeful and energised – but in the flashbacks the writers do little to actually explore that transformation. The purgatory flashbacks mainly revolve around running and killing and bickering between Dean, Castiel and Benny, but actual emotional content is virtually non-existent. Instead of highlighting Dean’s slowly changing mindset during his time in purgatory through introspective moments, the writers focus on the action. To date, Dean’s statement in the season opener that purgatory had been pure is the only substantial insight the writers have given us in Dean’s thought processes, and I find that dissatisfying.
Last but not least, I am also not too pleased with the fact that, so far, there is a giant Sam-shaped hole in the narrative. While there have been plenty of flashbacks to purgatory, an extensive exploration of Dean’s relationship with Benny and the reveal of what happened between Dean and Castiel, there have only been half a dozen of short flashbacks to Sam’s time with Amelia and nothing beyond that. I truly enjoyed the glimpses into Sam and Amelia’s relationship and I would love to hear more about them, but what happened to Sam immediately after Dean’s disappearance is the more pressing issue. There are still months of Sam’s past year that are unaccounted for and we still do not know who was watching Sam when he left Amelia’s house in the season opener, and I am growing impatient with the writers’ stalling tactics. On top of that, Sam has barely any meaningful screen time in mytharc heavy episodes like What’s Up, Tiger Mommy or A Little Slice Of Kevin, and I wished the writers would at least compensate for the lack of insight into Sam’s past year by giving him a more active role in the present. Now, part of me still believes that Sam’s absence from the plot so far is a deliberate decision on the writers’ part and that there will be a crucial reveal about Sam’s time without Dean around mid-season; a reveal that will not only explain why Sam did not look for Dean, but also drive the story in the second half of the season. However, the pessimist in me remembers that the writers do not exactly have a good track record where exploring Sam’s mindset and motivations are concerned, and I fear my hopes will be disappointed.
Sam: "Dean, you did everything you could."
Dean: "Yeah, and why do I feel like crap?"
Sam: "Survivor’s guilt? If you let it, this is going to keep messing with you. You gotta walk past it."
I guess it should come as no surprise that A Little Slice of Kevin offers no follow-up to last week’s falling out between the brothers. After all, it is not often that the writers revisit huge emotional moments between Sam and Dean in later episodes. However, usually severe disagreements between the brothers either result in a temporary separation (Scarecrow, Hunted, When The Levee Breaks, Slash Fiction) or at least in a frosty atmosphere between them (Asylum, Metamorphosis, Sex and Violence). This time though, Sam and Dean not only stay together, but the atmosphere between them also changes to the contrary, and I think that is a first. Of course, it is not difficult to see that airing their grievances would relieve some of the tension between Sam and Dean and thus result in a less strained relationship. Moreover, at the end of last week’s episode, Dean agreed to stop needling Sam for his choices during the past year and, assuming that he stood to his word, it makes sense that Sam would feel less defensive and more open to an amiable communication with Dean now. It is equally understandable that, in turn, Dean would feel more inclined to open up to Sam and share some of his personal experiences in purgatory with his brother, which is exactly what happens in A Little Slice of Kevin. On the whole, I would have preferred if the writers had actually shown us how Sam and Dean went from point A to point B, if only to preserve a sense of emotional continuity, but ultimately I am not one to turn down heart-warming brotherly interaction, so I enjoyed their moments in the episode nonetheless.
By far my favourite scene in the episode is the nightly conversation between the brothers, in which Dean opens up to Sam about the emotional toll purgatory took on him, particularly his feelings of failure where saving Castiel is concerned. I love especially the little details in this scene, because they reveal so much about Sam and Dean’s current state of mind. For example, instead of getting some sleep, Dean is sitting on his bed still fully clothed and doing research, and that usually signifies that Dean is in emotional distress. Sam, on the other hand, is in his night gear and sleeping soundly; his position is relaxed and his body is angled towards his brother. His whole posture conveys peace of mind and contentment. I also love that Sam sleeps through the storm raging outside, but almost instantly comes awake when Dean gets off the bed – like he somehow sensed in his sleep that Dean is troubled/left his side – and despite his sleep-addled state, he hones in on his brother’s troubled mood right away. Additionally, their hushed voices and the darkness give an intimate and quiet feel to the whole scene that I just love. ♥ Anyway, it is good to see Dean offer some emotional honesty, and it is equally as good to see Sam respond with affection and sensitivity. Of course, Sam only hears Dean’s 'edited' version of the events between him and Castiel, so his reassurances do little to appease Dean’s guilty conscience, but I think he still appreciates Sam’s words. Overall, the sense of connection that permeates this scene is tangible throughout the entire episode, and that gives me hope that they are on the road to a genuine reconciliation.
Dean: "Look, I don’t need to feel like hell for failing you, okay? For failing you, like I’ve failed every other godforsaken thing that I care about. I don’t need it."
Castiel: "Dean, just look at it. Really look at it. See, it wasn’t that I was weak, I was stronger than you. I pulled away. Nothing you could have done to save me, because I didn’t want to be saved."
First off, as I already pointed out in my review for What’s Up, Tiger Mommy, I find the lack of inter-season continuity in Dean and Castiel’s relationship extremely jarring. I mean, emotionally, their relationship in S8 simply does not track at all from where we left the characters off in Survival of the Fittest. When Dean and Castiel were sucked into purgatory, Dean had not forgiven Castiel for his betrayal yet; he was angry and hurt and had a hard time to care about Castiel’s well being. "Nobody cares that you're broken," he told his former friend just a day before their 'accident', and even though his hardened attitude softened somewhat when Castiel agreed to help them against Dick Roman, it was clear that the conflict between them was far from resolved – a fact that was confirmed just last episode, when Dean brought up Castiel’s betrayal under the influence of the spectre. However, none of those conflicted feelings show in Dean’s behaviour this season. On the contrary, Dean acts like nothing ever happened between them, and Castiel is the only one who actually seems to remember that he has something to atone for. Now, of course it is possible to rationalise Dean’s caring attitude towards Castiel. After all, purgatory was a life-and-death situation and, betrayal or not, it is in Dean’s nature to feel responsible for his fellow comrades in arms, but I think in this instance rationalisation simply does not cut it. Castiel’s betrayal was too huge to just brush it under the carpet, and in order to lend any kind of credence to Dean and Castiel's renewed friendship, there needs to be an actual resolution/confrontation between the characters. As it is, their current relationship feels contrived to me and I cannot at all enjoy it.
Now, while I have massive issues with the way the relationship between Dean and Castiel is presented at the moment, I have surprisingly little problems with the character of Castiel himself in this episode. It is no secret that I have been very unhappy with the way the writers handled Castiel’s redemption storyline in S7. The fact that they allowed Castiel to live in blessed ignorance and marital bliss, while Sam and Dean suffered terrible losses cleaning up the angel’s mess, did considerable damage to the character in my opinion, and Castiel’s later escape into madness and refusal to deal with the consequences of his actions cast the character in a very unfavourable light. Yes, he suffered from overwhelming guilt, but no more so than Sam and Dean, and they always pushed past their burdens and soldiered on regardless. So I am pleasantly surprised that there is finally some positive character growth for the angel in A Little Slice of Kevin. Castiel’s choice to make purgatory his prison, so he can do penance for his misguided actions, is a choice I can actually respect. As so often, there are obvious parallels to Sam’s story, as Castiel’s decision to stay in purgatory, hunted for all eternity by the very creatures he unleashed upon the world, mirrors Sam’s choice to spend the rest of eternity in a cage with Lucifer in order to atone for letting the devil out in the first place. And just like Sam was pulled from the cage and unknowingly turned into a soulless 'monster' that wreaked havoc on his family (and innocent civilians), Castiel was pulled out of purgatory and unknowingly turned into a traitor to his friends by Naomi, which will undoubtedly have devastating consequences for all parties involved.
A Little Slice of Kevin may have little to offer in terms of emotional continuity from last week’s episode, but Castiel’s conversation with Dean about his inaccurate memories of their last moments in purgatory at least provides some thematic continuity for Dean’s character. Last week, Dean’s spectre-induced argument with Sam once again revealed the extent to which his self-esteem and abandonment issues warp his perception of Sam’s actions, and his conversation with Castiel highlights similar issues. Now, it is not exactly news that Dean’s deeply ingrained sense of responsibility manifests itself in a saviour complex, which, coupled with his low sense of self-worth, often results in misplaced feelings of failure and guilt when someone he cares about comes to harm. Defending Your Life in particular illustrated how Dean’s skewed self-image impacts his perception of other people’s actions and causes him to assume responsibility for their choices as well as blame himself for the consequences of said choices. In the process, he often subconsciously reinterprets events in a way that makes them consistent with his low opinion of himself – like, for example, when he convinced himself that he was the one who dragged Sam back into hunting, when it was in fact Jessica’s death that pulled Sam back in – so the fact that Dean 'remembers' letting go of Castiel, when in truth Castiel let go of him, is perfectly in character for Dean. Of course, Castiel is not the first one to tell Dean that he bears no responsibility for his choices and that there is nothing he could have done to change the outcome of the situation. In fact, he is not even the second or third person to tell Dean exactly that. However, where other people were only ever able to verbally reassure Dean, Castiel is able to force the truth upon Dean by allowing him to experience the situation through his eyes, and maybe that will be the first step on the road to a more accurate self-image for Dean.
That all being said, the episode also highlights one of my biggest problems with having Castiel on the team in a more permanent capacity, namely that his godlike powers are counterproductive to any kind of suspense when the brothers face life-or-death situations. I find it incredibly frustrating when Sam and Dean rely on Castiel’s powers to get them through a dangerous situation rather than on their own smarts and resourcefulness, and A Little Slice of Kevin is a case in point. Without Castiel, Sam and Dean would have been forced to work out an intelligent strategy in order to rescue Kevin from Crowley’s hideout, but with Castiel at their side, they can simply barge in with little preparation. And, in the end, it is Castiel who forces Crowley into retreat, with no input from Sam and Dean whatsoever. Moreover, I think the fact that Castiel is able to simply undo the real, albeit horrible, consequences the brothers and their allies suffer in the name of the greater good – like the pain Sam was forced to endure due to his damaged soul or, in this instance, the mutilation Kevin sustained because he refused to help Crowley – diminishes their sacrifices to an extent. So, unless the writers find a way to avoid these downsides to Castiel’s presence on the team, involving the angel in the brothers’ mission will always be somewhat problematic, and the fact that the writers constantly try to come up with ways to 'break' the angel and thus limit his usefulness to Sam and Dean tells me that they are quite aware of this problem.
What else is noteworthy:
(1) Going into this season, I knew that my enjoyment of mytharc heavy episodes would be limited at best, as I am truly tired of stories about demons and angels. Still, I am disappointed by how little the mytharc manages to engage me so far. I guess, despite my low expectations, I hoped that the writers would surprise me and find a way to hook me on the storyline about closing the gates of hell. At the very least I expected to feel invested in Kevin’s fate, because I genuinely like the character, but the fact that he is constantly paired off with his mother – the caricatural nature of Linda Tran’s character annoys me to no end – impacts even my interest in Kevin negatively. And while we are on the topic of Kevin: We are told in this episode that there can only be one prophet active at a time and that a new prophet is activated once the last one is dead, but that information does not really track all that well. I daresay that Castiel would have mentioned that rule to Dean when they met the false prophet Leah in 99 Problems. Chuck was still alive at the time, after all. Moreover, if the activation of a prophet is tied to the death of their predecessor, why was Kevin activated when Sam and Dean uncovered the word of God and not when Chuck died? Unless Chuck died at the exact same time Sam and Dean tempered with the leviathan tablet, but that would be quite the coincidence. By the way, I think it is a really odd choice on the writers’ part to randomly kill off a fairly popular recurring character off-screen – and all in the name of a questionable plot point.
(2) I have to admit that I groaned at the introduction of the angel Naomi. I mean, really? Another sinister angel with a shady agenda is all the writers could come up with this season? Consider me not impressed! The fact that Castiel unknowingly works as an agent for Naomi will probably create further conflict between the brothers and the angel later in the season, and I am really not looking forward to another 'Sam and Dean angst over Castiel' storyline. Besides, why would Naomi need Castiel to spy on the brothers in the first place? We know that angels can drop in on humans undetected, so why would she go through the trouble of retrieving Castiel from purgatory, when she could just have Sam and Dean shadowed by one of her minions? By the way, given Naomi’s extraordinary interest in Sam and Dean's activities, I think it is entirely possible that she is the one who had Sam under surveillance back in We Need To Talk about Kevin, and since she clearly likes to work with memory manipulation, it is not unreasonable to think that she could have tempered with Sam's memory. I mean, maybe Sam did look for Dean and Kevin and got in the way of Naomi’s plans, motivating her to manipulate Sam into believing that Dean is dead to make sure he does not cross her. Of course, this is all wild speculation on my part, and it is possible that I read the situation completely wrong. To be honest, I actually hope this theory is way off the mark, because as much as I would love to see Sam absolved from the accusation that he did not look for Dean, this plot twist would completely rob Sam of his own agency, again, and make him a pawn in yet another angelic scheme.
(3) By the way, what happened to getting a demon to reveal itself by saying the name of God in its presence? In Phantom Traveller it was enough for Dean to mutter 'Christo' in order to determine that the co-pilot of their plane was possessed, so why would Sam now need to rattle out a whole exorcism just to ascertain whether or not a witness is demon-free? Similarly, in What’s Up, Tiger Mommy Sam and Dean doused Mrs. Tran in holy water to see if she is possessed, a procedure Sam deemed too unsubtle back in Phantom Traveller, which is why he suggested to use 'Christo' in the first place. Sometimes I just wished the show would remember its own history better.
In conclusion: I assume that someone who feels invested in the Trans, Crowley and Castiel will get a kick out of A Little Slice of Kevin, but that someone is just not me. I guess it is just my luck that out of all the wonderful recurring characters the show has created over the years we are stuck with exactly those I do not particularly care about. With Bobby dead and Jody Mills out of the picture for some reason, all I really care about are Sam and Dean, so episodes that push them to the sidelines for other characters are even less appealing to me than usual. However, there are also some good moments and the interaction between Sam and Dean throughout the episode is highly enjoyable to watch, so it does not feel like a complete loss.
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I'm hoping this as well. It strikes me that they haven't even bothered to explore much of the obvious parts of Sam's story. They could have spread his flashbacks over the year - aimless despairing driving, meeting Amelia, finding a home with her, daily life with her including the slow discovery of some of the character parallels they've jammed into what is essentially one encounter, hints of whatever drove them apart - but they haven't. Assuming they know how to tell a story, there must be a reason for that - there must be things in Sam's past they don't want us to see. Of course, the key word here is 'assuming'.
I'm unsure, yet, how annoyed I am. I mean, I'm somewhat annoyed that they've shunted Sam's story to the back. But if there's a good payoff I could be very forgiving.
Overall, the sense of connection that permeates this scene is tangible throughout the entire episode, and that gives me hope that they are on the road to a genuine reconciliation.
Yes, I liked that bit too. I just wish that it had come at the end of the episode - the end point of them having sorted things out. While I agree that Castiel's desire to atone makes him less problematic than in some other appearances, I still find it aggravating that he tends to overshadow Sam and Dean's connection when he appears.
Moreover, I think the fact that Castiel is able to simply undo the real, albeit horrible, consequences the brothers and their allies suffer in the name of the greater good – like the pain Sam was forced to endure due to his damaged soul or, in this instance, the mutilation Kevin sustained because he refused to help Crowley – diminishes their sacrifices to an extent.
I find this very troubling. A deus ex machina is boring. I don't like that it's possible to be indifferent to Kevin's pain because we all know Castiel can fix him. I don't like how much it reduces the stakes in any scenario. It's one reason why I struggle to understand why Castiel is still here. He makes it much harder to write convincing drama. Even if a writer successfully cripples him - the very fact that he has the magic sucked out of him every week becomes ridiculous.
the caricatural nature of Linda Tran’s character annoys me to no end – impacts even my interest in Kevin negatively.
I don't understand her. In What's Up, Tiger Mommy? she was hyper-competent to the point of being aggravating. Then suddenly she's an idiot. Then hyper-competent again when they no longer need her to hold the idiot ball. And for heaven's sake - she ended her last episode catatonic. If nothing else, that should have emotional resonance. She's a proper hunter now; she's had control of her life wrested from her. They could have used that to help her bond with Sam and Dean and become an interesting character. But all her choices are played as jokes, and it's just awkward.
Another sinister angel with a shady agenda is all the writers could come up with this season?
Hey, I got 30 seconds of joy from the angels not being completely okay with Castiel's genocide, so it wasn't a total loss. :)
But otherwise - yes. A lot of season six spoilers upset me. But one thing that excited me was the idea of a lawless, post-apocalyptic landscape. A power vacuum, now that the angels have been brought down. New monsters rising up. The alphas as little monster gods carving out a space for their kind. Old pagan gods returning. You know - new stuff. To be fair, they did have Eve and the leviathans. But they also kept coming back to angels, even though the endings of seasons five, six and seven all gave them space to retire them.
And now - Zachariah 2.0? Why?
In conclusion: I assume that someone who feels invested in the Trans, Crowley and Castiel will get a kick out of A Little Slice of Kevin, but that someone is just not me.
Yeah. I mostly just shrugged my shoulders at this one. I hope there's more Sam and Dean next time.
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Same here. I am willing to forgive almost anything if they give us a good, meaty Sam story in the second half of the season. The problem is, as things stand, it becomes more and more unlikely that said payoff is indeed driven by actual character motivation. I have a really hard time believing that Sam wouldn't long have told Dean if he had indeed something to hide from that past year. Hence my theory that Naomi tempered with his memory.
I still find it aggravating that he tends to overshadow Sam and Dean's connection when he appears.
I know! I have no clue why the writers seem unable to make all three character equally important in an episode where Castiel is present. It shouldn't be so hard to involve Sam in the events. Really, I was annoyed when Dean asked Castiel to talk privately and excluded Sam from their conversation. It's not like he didn't already tell Sam that he felt guilty for failing Castiel, so there is no comprehensible reason for him to exclude Sam. It would have given Sam an opportunity to react to Dean's realisation that he was not to blame for anything; it could have opened a new opportunity for the brothers to address the same communication problem between them.
You know - new stuff.
God, yes! I was so excited that Sera Gamble, slowly but surely moved away from the angels. I mean, S7 was basically angel free, and they only returned to the angels at the end of the season in preparation for Carver's idea for S8. I am pretty sure that if Gamble hadn't quit as showrunner, she would have ended the angel mythology by the end of S7.
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I'm finding this season very choppy in the way it switches about among its disparate pieces of plot -- purgatory, Benny and Cas, who both have stuff beyond purgatory, Sam's past year, Kevin and Crowley and the mytharc. Things keep getting thrown in and then ignored and then gone back to, and I can't find a dominant through line. It's frustrating. And more than with any other season so far I can't really find a dominant theme or genre. The fact that we're this far in and we don't know whether the Sam stuff is an emotional/psychological storyline or a mystery/reveal storyline means that to me they've failed at whichever one it is. Say what you will about s6 and its dropped plotlines (the Campbells) or s7 and its fizzled emotional arcs, at least both those seasons established in the first few eps what KIND of season we were dealing with. There's some stuff I'm liking about s8 and some potential I see in it, but the word that keeps coming to mind about it is "muddled."
I do have a slightly different take than you do on Cas and responsibility, in that I don't really see his staying in purgatory for expiation as growth, exactly, but I do see it as potentially interesting, in that it's really not a model of responsibility or expiation that fits with either of the Winchesters. After all, staying in purgatory didn't accomplish anything. In that respect it's not parallel to but opposite Sam jumping into the Cage: Sam didn't do what he did because he was seeking out suffering for suffering's sake to wipe out his sin in some quasi-religious sense, but because it locked Lucifer up, fixed the damage he'd caused.
Even at their most suicidal, Sam and Dean have always gone for the kamikaze gesture that accomplishes something, rather than the simple seeking out of punishment or obliteration: Dean didn't kill himself in the wake of John's deal, he sold his soul in return for Sam's life. Sam didn't just shoot himself after Dean's death, he was going to die going up against Lilith. Dean came close to committing suicide by angel, but he also thought he was making the best of bad choices for how to deal with the apocalypse.
So I see Cas's gesture in wanting to stay and be punished as distinctly Cas, and as in some ways similar to his denial of responsibility in the wake of the release of Lucifer, or his retreat into madness from the burden of guilt in s7, in that both his denial and his seeking out of punishment and expiation by staying in purgatory show a kind of unfamiliarity with the nuts and bolts of responsibility. Which could be interesting if they go anywhere with it.
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I completely agree. It bugs the hell out of me as well. Usually, we have at least ONE common thread connecting the episodes, namely Sam and Dean's emotional arcs, but even those are dropped and then picked up again as the plot of each episode demands it - and that really, really doesn't work for emotional storylines. That's why in previous seasons the writers usually aimed for some sort of interim resolution before moving on to MOTWs and mytharc stuff.
Say what you will about s6 and its dropped plotlines (the Campbells) or s7 and its fizzled emotional arcs, at least both those seasons established in the first few eps what KIND of season we were dealing with.
Again, I totally agree. I actually think that S6 is pretty tightly plotted. I think it is obvious that a lot of the storylines (Eve&the monsters, Crowley, the Campbells) were simple misdirects to distract us from Castiel's activities behind the scenes. It is true that the writers squandered a lot of potential with the Campbell storyline, but since it was never intended as more than a distraction, it doesn't bother me all that much. As for the emotional arcs in S7, I have the sneaking suspicion that if Sera Gamble hadn't resigned as showrunner, she would have brought those storylines to a satisfying conclusion. To me it looks like she quickly bowed out with 7x17 and then set everything up for Carver's takeover. And while we're talking about Gamble versus Carver: When Gamble took over, she quickly added to and expanded the existing universe: She gave us the mythology of the soul, Eve, purgatory and the leviathans. She gave us soulless Sam and insane Sam and borderline suicidal, functioning alcoholic Dean. You know, new stuff. So far all we have seen from Carver is a rehash of old themes and plotlines and I begin to wonder if maybe that is ALL we will see with him at the helm of the show.
I see Cas's gesture in wanting to stay and be punished as distinctly Cas, and as in some ways similar to his denial of responsibility in the wake of the release of Lucifer, or his retreat into madness from the burden of guilt in s7
Oh, that is an interesting observation, and I think you're right. Although I do believe that Sam, too, welcomed the punishment his sacrifice in Swan Song provided - which is the reason why he felt later that the cage helped him to overcome his feelings of guilt. But I do agree that he wouldn't have jumped into the cage simply for that punishment. He wouldn't have done that to Dean.