Is it possible that Meg had - and needed - human help - perhaps in the form of the FBI guy - or possibly Ava? - to capture and posess Sam?
When Sam is telling Dean "what happened" we have, as we learn later, an unreliable narrator situation - Meg is "playing" Sam and saying what *she* thinks is necessary to get Dean to believe the story she's telling. But actually, through 97% of the episode, it's only Meg speaking - Sam is in there and sometimes aware, but not actually saying or doing anything. It's all an act, by Meg.
So it's possible that it took more than an instant for Sam to get taken and posessed and branded and all that. I think it's possible it took 2 or 3 days.
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When Sam is telling Dean "what happened" we have, as we learn later, an unreliable narrator situation - Meg is "playing" Sam and saying what *she* thinks is necessary to get Dean to believe the story she's telling. But actually, through 97% of the episode, it's only Meg speaking - Sam is in there and sometimes aware, but not actually saying or doing anything. It's all an act, by Meg.
So it's possible that it took more than an instant for Sam to get taken and posessed and branded and all that. I think it's possible it took 2 or 3 days.