Sam's Condition

[Ginx]

I rewatched the episode today and Sam shooting Samuel so quick as compared to how he would have hesitated in the past makes me think that the condition of his soul is having an effect on him. He didn't really seem to have much remorse for shooting his grandfather either.

Either that or he was really afraid of what he had done in the past so he really didn't want to know. Or both.....

[Anu]

he did what he had to do.

[HowardFilms]

Consider that from Sam's perspective, he barely knows him at all (Dead before birth, Dean met him in the past, and he can't remember the time he spent with him), he knows he sold them out to a demon, and he thinks that a monster is controlling the guy. Not to mention we saw what happened to people who weren't lethally prepared in this episode. They tended to have holes in them by the end.

Although "Either that or he was really afraid of what he had done in the past so he really didn't want to know" could definitely be part of it.

[chole_fan]

I think the fact that Sam didn't flinch will come back into play. I know he hardly knew they guy and thought he was possessed by the worm. He was probably also afraid of what he might find out about himself.

But, Sam of old (previous season, especially earlier seasons) would never have taken a human life that quickly/easily. While it was fully justified I still think he should have struggled a little more with it.

[WhamBamThankUSam]

I actually think he did hesitate. He didn't shoot him right away. He tried to talk him down, so to speak. He only shot him when he tried getting closer to him. Like what was said above, he did what he had to do. It was him or Samuel. I think he did want to know what he had done in the past, but once Samuel started moving closer to him, he couldn't take the chance, and he shot him.

[Clois4eva89]

I'm still stuck on why Samuel sold out Sam and Dean I didn't really care.That Sam shot Samuel I thought he did it,to protect the wall in his mind.

[LuthorKent90]

Go Sam! Dean was going to do it anyway.

[Welling_is_pretty]

I thought it was in character. We've seen a lot of return of early!Sam once he got resouled but you have to remember that before this whole Lucifer thing, Sam had changed. After Dean died and went to Hell Sam became harder and far more likely to shoot first and ask questions later. I think it is very nice continuity and shows that despite Sam having his soul back he still has changed and remains a lot like the Sam who was before going into the Hole.

[Arashi_Song]

The first time I watched the scene, I felt very uncomfortable for Sam. But after watching it several times, I agree, he did hesitate. He told Samuel repeatedly to stay where he was. And Sam did admit that he wanted to know about his "summer vacation." I feel like there were a few things that could be going on there....

1) Physical protection... Samuel hadn't put down his weapon and Sam knew the creature was likely still in Samuel.
2) Although he wants to know what happened, he's now had an actual "face full of Hell" at this point and knows what Samuel could potentially have done to him with unloading everything. (Up until the end of "Unforgiven", Sam had only been told what could happen, not actually experienced a taste of what he'd forgotten of Hell.)
3) He's agreed to Dean's request not to go digging into his past. I feel like this season is about building trust again and standing by each other. Samuel was threatening that as well.
4) I recently re-watched "All Hell Break's Loose, part 2", and following what Welling_is_pretty mentioned, that re-souled Sam is behaving like Sam prior to Lucifer: glimpses of season 1/2 Sam and later. At the end of AHBL pt. 1, Sam can't kill Jake. At the end of AHBL pt. 2, after he knows Jake had killed him, Sam kills him... in a rather cold way (much colder than his shooting of Samuel). Sam knew from Dean that his person had already sold them out and could potentially do it again.