I tried explaining to a friend as well how the conversation between the boys at the end wasn't a rehash. How we've skirted around the issue of Sam failing Dean many times, but it's never been just said out loud like that. And how heartbreaking it was to hear.

Yes!! It was heartbreaking but it is something that needed to be spoken aloud, too. I never even realized I felt such a need for all these things to be addressed until they went and did it! And I never feel this show is a rehash even when similar circumstances or similar themes emerge. I guess it is because it is never handled quite the same way every time and the characters grow and change. To me there's always a different spin on it.