Flashbacks on television are great if they reveal something new about characters. However, flashbacks are rarely used in that manner, instead going over the same material so we don't learn anything significant. To my dismay, "Unforgiven" went the route off point flashbacks, long, extended scenes in which nothing was added to Sam's character.
It's one thing to have a couple short flashbacks to advance the plot; it's another to go over things we already new. Soulless Sam had lots of sex. Covered already. Soulless Sam doesn't care about family. Covered already. Soulless Sam doesn't care about hurting people. Already covered.
We see these flashbacks recap attributes of Sam we already saw during the entire first half of the season, and they're just boring. If they did add one thing, it would be how reluctant Samuel is, which suggests that Sam's practices must have rubbed off on Samuel along the way. While the flashbacks do serve a purpose for a plot and allows for Sam to "scratch" the wall, they take up way too much time to be of much use.
Score: 8.6/10
