Whether he wanted revenge or not, taking that first swig of demon blood is a big moment--I'd actually say that was his moment of no return--far bigger than him having sexy times with a demon, IMO. Just as Dean's moment of no return was when he agreed to take on the MoC and I'm sure I would have been disappointed if they hadn't shown us that moment.
Yes, I think that a huge issue is that Sam's turning points and big climactic character moments tend to take place off-screen. It makes the character seem distant and his plotlines anti-climactic imo. The show usually knows enough not to do that with Dean, which just makes it stranger (and thank god they at least do that, otherwise we'd never get to see anything interesting or get resolution to any story arcs).
I think that the comparison of Dean getting the MoC onscreen with Sam drinking demon/Ruby's blood for the first time in a pretty good one. Other relatively recent things that bugged me because they weren't onscreen were Sam deciding to move in with Amelia and then Sam deciding to purify his blood by asking for forgiveness for what he's done to his brother. Those were both pretty vital to his entire arc in that season, and they were only hinted at, at best.
What's strange is that it's straight up a writing mistake to have the interesting/climactic stuff take place off screen like that -- that's a pretty basic thing that you're taught in like, Screenwriting 101. So I'm not really understanding why it's a stumbling block in the first place, let alone why it's been a stumbling block for *years,* and mostly just for this one character (again, thankfully. I'm glad they've quarantined Sam off as the one whose story mostly takes place offscreen, lol. I'd hate for that contagion to spread to the rest of the cast).
Maybe they think that Sam is just such a straightforward character that we don't need to see him actually do or express things at his life's turning points in order to feel that we know him? Idk, I agree that he's not especially deep -- that's again, something that I like about him. It cracks me up how he's smart but apparently just doesn't have "soul" at all. And that's especially cracked me up since they actually did the Soulless!Sam plotline. That's another reason I thought that SL was sort of genius. But even though he's not especially deep, he still is (supposed to be) a full character and not just a plot device, and by not seeing the major turning points/decisions for his character, he ends up seeming pretty unknowable imo.
One moment that sticks in my mind as very "Sam" was actually that time in S8 -- I think the finale? When he was delirious with fever and he got all stubborn about finding out what was going on with all the books that he'd seen in the hotel lobby, and when Dean tries to stop him from "investigating," he becomes very desperate and tells Dean that he's got to do the Trials because they're purifying him. Just everything about that seemed very "Sam" to me, and I was so happy to see it, because it felt like Sam was "back." So often, it feels like he's just absent -- and often, I don't even miss him until it seems like he "appears" again and I realize that he's been gone for so long. I mean, he's virtually always onscreen in the background or helping in the investigation somewhere, but there are long stretches where it feels like he's not really *there.* Is that making sense? That's what I mean about Sam often seeming so inscrutable -- he's *there,* and I understand JP's choices pretty much all the time (I don't personally think it's an acting problem), and Sam is almost always technically doing stuff to aide the plot -- but I don't feel like I'm learning anything about his character at those times, there are long stretches where it feels like there's zero character growth for him or even exploration of his POV. Repo Man was another episode where I was really happy with the show going into Sam's head and it was satisfying to really get a sense of what was going on in there.
I don't know that Sam is a really deep guy to be honest. I could be wrong but I think Sam just doesn't have a lot a passion about things. I think he loves deeply but not passionately. Hes serious. I don't think he cares about TV shows on movies into the same way as Dean. I think Sam might also be prone to addiction and so he tries to not drink as much as Dean. I think Sam still wonders if he's wrong.
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All that said, I don't think it's actually problematic either. I think much of the mystery of Sam Winchester is intentional. He's often for more mature than Dean. He is less emotional on the surface but I don't think he's underdeveloped or underwritten.
IA that he's not very deep, but imo that doesn't really make him easier to understand or even predict. In fact, it makes him more confusing imo because it seems like there's no underlining or consistent reason(s) for why he does what he does. Maybe the show tries to make him "mysterious" (which IA seems (mind-bogglingly) intentional) because they think he's too predictable otherwise? But for me, Sam often seems to be coming out of left field. Do you guys generally find him predictable?
What do you mean by more mature? Or, what would be "mature" in general? (Honest questions). I don't find either of the Winchesters immature or childish overall, though of course sometimes they do act childishly.
What I think of as "childish" is trying to solve problems with fanciful or illogical or convoluted plans, and not understanding the actual limits to or your actual responsibilities in a situation. I also don't think childishness is entirely a bad thing, because there's also a certain freedom, optimism, and innocence to thinking in a "childish" way imo -- in looking for BIG MAGIC SOLUTIONS!!1! and imagining that everything can be fixed in one fell swoop or by one grand gesture (or maybe in imagining things can be fixed at all). But maybe that's a strange definition of "childish"? I think that both Sam and Dean do that a fair amount, but it's not something I personally dislike in either of them, or something I'd really want either of them to lose.
Sam tends to bewilder me mostly because he seems able to do (character-based/emotional) things that I would consider impossible, but the show usually treats those things as...Idk, self-evident or totally plausible, and I have trouble wrapping my head around that. Like how Sam managed to go to college and start living a *totally different* life than he'd ever lived, with zero angst or confusion or anxiety. Not just the actual "going to college" thing, but in terms of making friends and getting into this serious relationship and living with his girlfriend and stuff. How was he able to do that? How was he able to do that again with Amelia? Or even with Ruby, in a way? *Why* did he do that (either time)? What did he do when he hit a rough patch and he needed to get his head straight again? (Or did he never hit a rough patch and never needed to get his head straight?!!). And then he was able to just switch 100% again to another totally new life hunting with Dean, with barely a glance back, too. He also went through the whole thing of being (semi?)-estranged from his family just fine, apparently, and then rejoined them with barely a hiccup and then had his father die about ten seconds after their estrangement ended, without really any angst, either. I'm not asking for more angst per se (Dean produces plenty enough for both of them, I guess), I just don't understand Sam's perspective in general, because it seems like he's so bizarrely flexible and so bizarrely pragmatic. That's a reason I liked him in S7 -- at least I understood what was going on with him! S8 was just a blur in terms of Sam's characterization, it felt to me like he was barely there. And in S6 and S9, there were long stretches during which he *literally* wasn't there, he was in the Cage or he was possessed.
What bothers me most in terms of enjoying/understand the show as a whole is that I don't understand his side of the relationship with Dean very well. I don't understand what he expects from his brother or even wants from his brother, and I don't understand what responsibilities Sam thinks he has in the relationship. Most recently, it's been confusing me how he just doesn't seem (physically) wary of Dean, and it's been strange to me how he just keeps telling Dean to take it easy but then doesn't seem to be working independently to try and figure out the MoC stuff himself. Maybe he's supposed to be working independently, but the show is trying to do the "Sam's SL is ~mysterious~" thing again and not actually showing that to us? It comes off to me like he's being so strangely passive, like he just expects Dean to fix this himself.
That's actually something that I haven't understood in previous seasons, too. Sometimes it's pretty obvious that Dean needs help, and Sam's not an idiot, but Sam in general has been very passive about taking the lead in those times, too. That's what I mean by not understanding what responsibilities Sam thinks he has toward his brother. It seems plausible to fanwank that Dean's his big brother, so Sam assumes he's basically infinitely capable. Dean *does* also seem to want to give Sam that impression most of the time. But then, other characters have tried to get under Sam's skin by going on about what they assume Sam's hidden feelings to be about Dean being weak or needy, so I guess that handwave doesn't fully make sense. Plus, I don't know what being the younger sibling is like, I don't have any siblings myself, but who even overestimates their parents that way, let alone an older sibling? That's also what I mean about Sam's lack of agency making him seem difficult (for me, anyway) to empathize with. He comes off as irresponsible/callous/entitled to me because it seems like he's liable to just let his loved ones (including his father) twist in the wind and isn't prone to feeling any guilt or fear for them or look for ways to protect them -- but then he apparently *does* love them? I don't get it.
What I mean about not understanding Sam's expectations of his brother is mostly that it's hard for me to understand what Sam thinks is "too much" to expect or ask of his brother, and what he assumes his brother will give him? My heart melted and tbh I will love Dean forever, regardless of how irritating or horrible I think he might be in any given circumstance, just for that one scene at the end of Nightmares, when he tells Sam "as long as I'm around, nothing bad will ever happen to you." But I don't understand if Sam just has always implicitly assumed that was the case and so it's nbd for him, or what. And if he has always just implicitly assumed that Dean would look out for him no matter what, and considers Dean someone he can count on to be able to come through (which apparently Sam does, considering he's never taking the lead in trying to protect him), then I don't really understand how Sam even perceives risk or danger. I mean, if you just have a bedrock assumption that someone basically infinitely capable will help you and you won't ever be alone, then what *is* risk or danger, really? Idk, I'm not looking for Sam to be grateful especially, and there are obviously bad things about Dean constantly obsessing over Sam's safety, in that Dean puts a lot of constraints on Sam's freedom in order to "protect" him or "save" him (which I also think is interesting and which I was happy the show started going into with the Gadreel, etc, stuff -- even though that's since fizzled). But I just don't even understand what Sam fears if he has such faith that Dean will always have his back and he won't ever be truly SOL?
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