Honestly you make some really good points about this one. I found the writing to be pretty meh, but I agree the actors did save it.

And yeah it is REALLY annoying when another interesting female character is killed off. I swear, 5 minutes after she first appeared, one of my first thoughts was "she's not going to make it."

The whole thing with Cas just healing Sam at the end was way too easy I thought. Glad I'm not the only one who felt that way.