They have found a way to kill everything else they have come across, I don't know why they wouldn't be able to do the same with Lilith.

psh. he's far from arrogant.

he has the demon killing knife - i'm sure he and Bobby could find a way to end Lillith. he's the one who killed the YED.

Seriously, tinkymel?? Even after Castiel said that the amount of demon blood Sam would need to ingest to kill Lilith would change him forever? We've seen Sam's power when he's juiced up, and even that wasn't enough. If Bobby and Dean can top that, they'd better hurry up, 'cause there are only a few seals left.

I think the knife could kill her and if the angels lent a hand in trapping her- then yes they could definitely do it. But of course I don't think the angels are going to lend a hand. :PPP They may still be able to come up with a trap for her without them though. Of course, Sam would certainly be handy. I don't understand why he couldn't ditch Ruby like Dean asked and go with them- even if he isn't powerful enough to kill Lilith with his powers, he could have helped Bobby and Dean restrain her so that they could use the knife. Why is he so insistent that he has to do it with his powers?
Well, actually I do understand- he's addicted, deluded and influenced by demonic blood.

@67impala- Lilith was afraid of the knife, remember? MATEOTB- Sam tried to use it on her.

mhm. I agree fanfly. I just saw new scenes for the next episode .. and all I can say is this is gonna be one hell of a ride. I don't know how i'm gonna be able to wait ALL summer for season five!

If Dean and Bobby could kill Lilith, why didn't they do it long before now?

She's not easy to track down and I don't think Dean believes that killing her will solve anything. Just like when he killed YED- it didn't solve their problems at all. Also Dean's been depending too much on the angels telling him what he should do. They're the ones who told him he could stop it- but they've never said that he's supposed to kill Lilith. They've never said exactly what he's supposed to do. I think he's been waiting for that piece of info. And obviously it's never come. And he has been scared that he can't handle it, he has been avoiding it. I think he knows better than anyone what Lilith is capable of and he's scared of her. With good reason.

So why does Dean think now that killing her will solve something?

He doesn't- he's only doing it because he's out of options and the angels haven't given him anything else to go with and if he does it then Sam doesn't have to destroy himself doing it.

Then why would he bother to say that he and Bobby were going to kill Lilith if it meant nothing to him, until now? Why wait until it had gone this far? Did he not see her as a threat before now?

I think I already answered that- she doesn't mean anything to him. The only reason he said it to Sam is because now he knows that Sam is going to drink enough blood to turn him into a monster in order to kill Lilith. If he can prevent that from happening by going after her with Sam, without him drinking more blood, then fine, that's what he'll do. And I've said this before- Dean wasn't against Sam hunting Lilith down- he gave Sam several opportunities to share the hunt with him but Sam didn't. He was against going up against Lilith unprepared- I think he was hoping for some angelic assistance in the final throwdown.
Also, with the info Dean has, killing Lilith doesn't necessarily stop the apocalypse.

I agree with fanfly.

Everything he's doing right now is FOR Sam - so Sam doesn't have to turn into a monster/demon/whatever the hell he's becoming.

He never would have agreed to follow the Angels orders if he didn't think he was saving Sam.

Okay, let's bring this back to my original question, ;)). I was wondering if right now, do Dean and Bobby have the capability to kill Lilith? As you pointed out, fanfly, she would not be easy for them to track down, it would not be easy to trap her, and it would not be easy to kill her, knife or no knife. Bobby said three seals were broken in one day, and there weren't many left. I really don't think they would have been able to do her in before it was too late, therefore I thought it was pretty arrogant of Dean to say that, or to think that.

To answer your question, dean-girlx, I'm not anti-Dean (I'm not exactly happy with him, mind you!), but when I was watching that scene and Dean said that, I thought what the hell? If you and Bobby could do that, why not do it before now? If Dean felt unprepared to go up against Lilith before, what had he done to prepare himself to go up against her now?? It struck me as an arrogant thing to say, it was like, Well don't you worry, I'm going to fix everything. I just don't believe that he could right now, even with Bobby's help. :)

Well, I think I already answered the part about why he didn't prepare himself before now- he doesn't think killing Lilith is the answer to all their problems, he's scared of her and he's been overwhelmed by the burden placed on him by the angels. He's just as emotionally crippled as Sam is this season.
And it's true, they are down to the wire- but it's also true that they haven't tried to find Lilith before now and Bobby has quite a few tricks up his sleeve- he's the one who found Lilith before in S3. Plus, they could call on Castiel- or Dean might even think he could call on Anna too.
Also, Lilith is obviously speeding up her game, which means she's going to have a higher profile and I think she'll be easier to track.
And again, Dean said that to Sam to encourage him to go with them- to do it together- meaning they'd have Sam's help. I'm sure that factored into his statement.
Also, him saying that- he still may not even believe he can do it- so that makes it bravado more than arrogance.

no way. but maybe, if the angels help dean..

If they use the knife. Lilith was scared of the knife, so I am guessing it can kill her just as it could kill any other demon. Either that or Dean will get "pumped with some angel juice" and take her out that way.

YEh they could definitely find a way.

I think they could with the knife and if that doesn't work they could maybe make a new Colt or get the old one back. Ruby did know how to fix the old one and with Bobby's help I bet they could make a new one or they could kill her with some angel help. Lilith seemed pretty scared of the archangel.

I had to choose this answer because there wasn't the simple answer of "No, they need to do it as a team.".

I don't believe Dean is being arrogant, he's a trained, seasoned hunter, and Bobby even more so, they could definitely do it if they took down the YED they can take out Lilith, but she's wily, like bloody soap.

I think the angels actually complicated Dean's role, and what they have set up for him is not along the lines of stopping Lilith, it's to stop Sam, to give Dean a good enough reason to stop Sam.

Lilith is the last seal in connection with making Sam go over the edge, I believe.

And if anyone can stop Sam, it's Dean. I don't get why you had to say he was being arrogant, though, he's desperate to save his brother, he'd die trying to kill Lilith if it meant Sam wouldn't have to do what he's doing.

I'm risking having my opinion bashed to a bloody frickin' pulp again, but I said that because that's how it came across to me. There's Sam, stuck in a cage, detoxing, and with only a few seals remaining, Dean decides it's time that he and Bobby go and get Lilith. Ruby and Sam have been tracking her all season and only now has Ruby moved in close on her. It came across as arrogant to me for Dean to say that he and Bobby could do in a couple of days (there are only 2 or 3 seals left, 3 were broken in one day alone), what Sam and Ruby haven't been able to do all season. I also saw it as a yes or no question, can they, or can't they? Again, because they are practically out of time! Call it arrogance, bravado, an attempt to reassure Sam, or the truth, but when Dean said that, my reaction was, How the hell are you going to stop her now?? Dean (or any of us!) did not know that Sam was going to be busted out; it wasn't about doing it as a team at that point. I'm sure this doesn't help much, but...it's my opinion just the same. :)

I don't believe Ruby has really been trying to track Lilith, I think she's been pumping Sam, fueling his rage and his need for revenge to a point where he says: "The only way is to kill Lilith, any means necessary."

Give him a reason to drink her blood and to do her true purpose, free Lucifer. Because when she mentioned Demon Sunday School, things became a little clearer to me.

hmmm, nah, it doesn't really help, Dean can be a prick but he's still capable when he wants to.

But I will respect your opinion, mate.

Thanks, sweetie! That's just it, there are a few different ways to look at each character and their actions, Sam and Dean included, until we know more. Until then, we go with what they give us and make our own interpretations.

I do understand the other comments put forth; Dean is highly capable, so is Bobby, but I still don't understand why they didn't do something about Lilith before now. She was breaking the frickin' seals that would set Lucifer free. To me, that was more than enough reason for Sam to pursue her, even if he started out wanting revenge, but then all this other stuff happened along the way.

That's an interesting way to see Ruby. I've thought all along that she does want to stop Lilith, and has been tracking her, but yes, she wants Lilith out of the way for her own purposes, and she's definitely using Sam to accomplish that. That's one of the things I'm really looking forward to finding out! :))

Exactly, because this thursday anything can happen!

I'm just sad all this conniving from both Heaven and Hell has resulted in the brothers separating, I don't even care anymore about the Ruby thing, man, I'm so heartbroken about them going their own way...

Season five will suck if they're apart most of the time, plotting against each other and stuff.

I think this is why Ruby wasn't killed by Lilith back when Dean died... they were both trying to free Lucifer in their own way.

I'm not sure I will survive the season finale, I might need the comfort of Sambuca shots and prawn cocktail snacks. With Kripke's "more than one, less than 12 (Deaths)".

Kripke said that about the finale?? Oh great, lol! I agree 100% with everything you said, but I'd go with Ouzo (practically the same thing!) and vanilla ice cream. :))

Yah, have you been paying your gossip fairy properly? He's given a short interview to TV Guide, check it out on Spoilertv.

I'm Portuguese, there is no way I'm going to go buy Greek drinks, the Euro is still fresh in my memory. :p

Sambuca goes down sweet, though, it might just keep me from going mental on Thursday.