I don’t know why I ever entertained the thought that Supernatural might go out without all kinds of emotions and reactions, since the show has always inspired those in its fans – so why should its last few episodes be any different? The week before’s episode (Despair) brought intense and varied reactions and saw the loss of Castiel; this past week’s episode was very different but it somehow managed to engender varied reactions again. We didn’t lose any of the remaining three major players, however, and I’m still shocked about that. I had convinced myself, in an attempt to somehow prepare myself for the anguish, that either Sam or Dean or both were going to die in 15.19. I was so on edge I could barely think of anything else on Thursday (which makes work challenging) and I had my box of tissues and glass of wine at the ready. Slice of pie too, and fuzzy blankie, just in case. Not that any of that is going to be all that helpful next week, probably. But I was so convinced that we were losing at least one of them, that I spent most of the episode hyperventilating and hypervigilant, just waiting for the other shoe to drop.
And then…. it didn’t.
Until the moment the credits rolled, I was half hiding my face behind my hands certain that something horrible was going to happen and take all the good feelings away. I sat there in shock for a good few minutes after, probably muttering out loud “is that… it?”
It was also confusing because this penultimate episode (forgive me, but everyone in this fandom is using that word because it holds special meaning to us and how often do you get to use it properly?) – anyway, this penultimate episode felt so much like the end. Like the series finale, not just the season finale. There were lots of “let’s just leave it right here, okay?” posts on Thursday night. This fandom does not get to have feel-good endings. It just doesn’t happen. Not as a season finale, that’s for sure. We’ve been so conditioned to tragedy befalling us if we let our guard down, I think there was a collective “HUH?” from all over the world when this episode ended and Sam and Dean were still alive – and Jack was… Well, Jack. But also, for all intents and purposes, God.
The writers of this episode are not fandom favorites, which also made me nervous. They’re known for episodes that have so much going on, it makes your head spin, and this episode wasn’t an exception to that. There were things that made me scratch my head, but they also managed to tie up a ridiculous number of loose ends in a relatively satisfying way, so I’m not going to quibble too much. Maybe I just desperately needed something that felt like a happy ending, because I’m willing to just let myself feel good about this one. There is only one more episode left, and I want to hang onto any good feelings I can find about my favorite show EVER, for five days longer.
Special kudos for the amazing music in this episode, which really enhanced the story and made me feel more than I might have. Christopher Lennertz and Jay Gruska have knocked it out of the park so many times for so many years, making Supernatural so much more powerful and emotional than it would have been without their talent and how much they care about the show. I’m so appreciative. This episode was Lennertz; the series finale will be Gruska.
How many boxes of tissues will I need when the Winchester family theme plays for the last time? I don’t think there are enough in the universe.
The episode picks up pretty much where ‘Despair’ left off, Sam and Jack realizing the world is empty as we see scenes of empty streets in cities all over the world, mournful music playing that makes the scene so much more cinematic than it would have been otherwise.
Dean drives up to join them, finding a shell-shocked Sam and Jack.
Sam: I couldn’t save anybody…
Jack: (looking stricken already) Where’s Cas?
Dean: He saved me. Cas is gone. Jack, I’m sorry.
Dean still looks in shock, barely able to meet Jack’s eyes, his jacket still bearing Castiel’s bloody handprint.
Jack gasps, heartbroken. Sam looks even more shocked and guilt-stricken than before. He calls people, getting only cell phone answer messages. That little detail seemed so real, like exactly what any of us would do, unable to believe that everyone is really gone.
The three walk down the deserted street, mournful eerie music playing, into a deserted diner with the beer tap still running, like the best apocalypse fanfic. (With a little homage to Jensen’s Family Business Beer Co)
The diner itself is called “Sammy’s” and it resulted in some amusing tweets about bringing all the boys to the yard, because fandom knows how to have fun even in the midst of an apocalypse.
Jack calls to Castiel, but gets no response. As he walks dejectedly by some plants and trees, they wither and die as he passes.
Sam can’t shake his guilt.
Sam: I did this. We didn’t give Chuck what he wanted, we tried to rewrite him and the whole world paid the price…
Dean and Jack disagree, and Jack is the one who speaks the message that will always be inextricably linked with this show for me.
Jack: You can’t just give up.
Always Keep Fighting.
The Winchesters do seem to give up, though. They meet up with Chuck and tell him he’s won, that they’ll give him what he wants.
Sam: We’re giving up.
Dean: I’ll kill Sam, he’ll kill me. We’ll kill each other. But first, you have to put it back – the people, the birds, Cas. You gotta bring him back.
They are willing, both of them, to sacrifice themselves to save the world – as they have always been.
Chuck really is sadistic, though. He doesn’t find that story ending as compelling as he thought, deciding to leave the Winchesters and Jack wandering through a deserted world, dealing with their overwhelming guilt.
Chuck: Knowing it’s this way because you wouldn’t take a knee.
Ouch.
Next day, at the bunker. Sam finds Dean passed out drunk on the floor. (Nobody but Sam Winchester looks that good roaming the halls in their PJ’s and bare feet, and nobody but Dean Winchester looks that good after passing out drunk on the floor)
Jack starts hearing voices and realizes there’s something else out there, so the three head out in the Impala. They stop for gas – at an gas station set paying Homage to Route 66, a Winchester origin story per Eric Kripke. There Dean finds something alive – a dog!
He’s overjoyed, names it Miracle, and carries it back to the car to show Sam.
We should all have known things weren’t going to go well, but like Dean, I so wanted to believe there was other life, and I so wanted to see Dean Winchester have a moment of happiness.
Sam: You’re gonna let a dog sit in the Impala?
(Which is weird because Sam is the one in canon who has always wanted a dog, and in all the best fanfic too. Huh.)
Dean happily puts Miracle in the car, stopping to bestow some affection, and he’s so happy and it’s just heartbreaking (also the dog right now is everyone who’s ever been the object of Dean Winchester’s affection)
For a second. Then, as Dean grins, POOF. Dog gone, Chuck standing in a field nearby smirking. Social distancing.
Dean looks so wrathful I don’t know how Chuck wasn’t scared, God or no God.
Dean: I can’t even save a friggen’ dog.
Sam: There’s no one left to help.
Poor boys, their whole sense of purpose is taken away. Chuck really is a cruel, cruel capricious god.
They push on, and find the source of the message Jack is hearing in a church, which gives us a gorgeous scene. Really, everything about that scene is amazing and belongs in a feature film. The lighting is beautiful thanks to Serge Ladouceur’s genius, rows and rows of candles and flashes of lightning through the stained glass windows, the music is a mix of suspense and drama, almost sounding gothic – everything combines to keep my heart in my throat but also make me want to sigh with the perfection of it.
It turns out to be Michael, who tells them that Adam is gone.
Dean: Poor bastard, he never caught a break.
Damn, that is really true. I loved that the show had Michael and Adam both existing, and I was sorry to hear Adam was no longer there – and instantly a little suspicious of Michael without Adam’s long-time counsel. Michael expresses surprise that humanity so embraced the idea of God as benevolent, and says that he was part of how that happened, leaving behind instructions for angels and prophets to “burnish his image on Earth”. That was an interesting little speech to add to Supernatural’s unique take on God and religion.
Dean: Daddy’s boy.
It’s apparently where Sam and Dean got a clue about where Michael’s eventual loyalty would lie, but at the time I didn’t put the pieces together, so kudos to the writers for that.
They bring Michael back to the bunker to see if he can read the God book (he can’t).
Sam and Dean sit together on the stairs in the kitchen, feeling defeated.
And at that very low moment, Dean’s phone rings – the display reads “CASS”.
Dean gasps and picks up, asking hopefully “Cas?”
Castiel’s voice says he’s hurt, can they let him in?
And of course Dean bounds up the stairs and opens the door – to find Lucifer standing there.
Ouch.
That was a difficult moment, to say the least – for Dean, obviously, and for Sam – but also for a fandom still grieving Castiel’s death the week before. That brief moment of hope was snatched away, and a character that many either love to hate or just plain hate was there instead. It was – a lot.
To be honest, that’s pretty much what all of us would look like if we opened the door and Lucifer was there, isn’t it?
Lucifer: What’s up?
What followed was a series of events I think I described as ‘boom boom boom boom’ in my live tweet of the episode. Lucifer says the Empty booted him and sent him to find God’s book, he brought Betty the reaper with him, then ten seconds later he kills her so she becomes the new Death and can read God’s book.
Whew!
Betty: Hand over the book.
Sam and Dean: Huh?
Betty: Wow, slower than they look.
Death aka Betty goes off to read the book.
Michael and Lucifer have a nasty brotherly spat in which Lucifer taunts “Mikey” that their dad had no love to give anyone, including him.
Betty reads the book, opens it and confirms that yep, the way to kill God is in there.
Betty: I know how God ends.
Dean: Are you sure?
Betty: I’m Death.
Dean: You’ve been Death for like an hour!
Oh Dean. Never change.
Betty’s sassiness is at an end though; Lucifer snaps her out of existence.
Me: Huh? I didn’t think he could do that.
Lucifer can’t resist crowing about his victory, saying that actually “Pop let me out of the Empty, said Mikey’s a cuck.”
I had to go to Urban Dictionary to figure out the exact meaning of that word – which, btw, there isn’t one. But the top definition is a man who’s desperate for acceptance, approval and affection (usually from a woman apparently, but whatever). At the time, I thought, what a weird thing to say. I guess Sam and Dean paid attention though.
Lucifer tries to convince Jack to come with him and team up with his father and grandfather, but a jealous and pissed off Michael grabs an archangel blade and stabs him to death. Lucifer dies (again) and Jack absorbs the energy released, though we don’t realize it at the time.
Sam and Dean (and the rest of us): But will it really take this time???
Michael confesses to being a bit winded from that fight, which was amusing because he got tossed across the room once and then stabbed Lucifer. Dean is empathic, though, so Michael lets his guard down a little, complaining sadly that Chuck “didn’t even reach out to me”. Dean notices, though again, we don’t know it at the time.
This is a Smart Winchesters episode, and that always makes me happy.
Smart Sam takes a stab at figuring out what’s in God’s book, since it’s apparently in Enochian (why can’t Michael read it?) and reports back that there’s a spell that can finish Chuck, but it requires a specific location and time. They head to the beautiful Vancouver beach that we saw lots of behind the scenes filming at – and Jake Abel’s brilliant short ‘Bravelecki’ – and they perform the spell. Which doesn’t work.
Chuck appears in a white suit (Rob Benedict looks handsome, what can I say?).
Michael: Father.
Chuck: Son. I appreciate the heads up.
Me: Uh oh.
Chuck however, says it’s too little too late, he can’t forgive Michael the earlier betrayal. Boom, goodbye Michael. And Jake Abel, who fandom has come to love very much indeed.
Jack once again, unbeknownst to us, absorbs all that energy.
Chuck gets a little meta, because Dabb and company can’t resist.
Chuck: That’s it, I’m cancelling your show.
Sam: (matter of fact) Well, one for the road, then.
He hauls off and punches God right in the face. Sam Fucking Winchester, folks! (Sure, it doesn’t hurt Chuck, but it was still a badass moment)
Chuck raises his hand to snap the Winchesters out of existence and then says what the heck, “I can get my hands dirty.”
Smart smart Sam, goading him into it. Chuck proceeds to beat the crap out of the Winchesters. Some lucky fans got to watch these scenes being filmed and shared some of the bts photos, which saw Jared and Jensen’s stunt doubles literally being launched into the air! Chuck beats them bloody, breaks their bones. And yet again and again, the Winchesters keep getting back up.
Chuck: Cmon guys, give it up now.
He breaks Sam’s arm.
Chuck: Stay down.
He breaks Dean’s leg.
The music is mournful and sad, the Winchesters bloodied but not broken. As hard as it was to watch, it was also such a perfect scene for Supernatural. This is what Sam and Dean are all about. They always keep fighting, they never give up, they are flesh and blood and human, and they hurt and they bleed and their lives are never easy – but they fucking never stop getting up. It’s such a big part of why I fell in love with this show and these characters.
Chuck: Fellas, give it up.
Sam and Dean, faces ground into the sand, blood everywhere. Sam half crawls to Dean, pulls him to his feet and supports him as they stagger together, bloody – but smiling.
Chuck: Why – why are you smiling?
Sam: Because you lose.
Behind him, Jack is angry. VERY ANGRY. Chuck tries to snap Jack out of there, but nothing happens. He snaps again. And again. And Jack steps forward, grabbing Chuck and using his newly absorbed power to take the rest of Chuck’s power and energy away into himself. Chuck collapses to the ground, and Jack snaps his fingers, healing Sam and Dean.
Sam and Dean: We won.
There’s a lot of exposition, which is something these writers also seem to end up with, but this time we’re learning along with Chuck that this has been a heist all along, planned by Smart Sam and Smart Dean as soon as they realized that Jack was a ‘power vacuum’ sucking all the energy into himself. They were wise to Michael and expected the betrayal – counted on it. (How they figured all this out from dying plants I don’t really know, but I’m going with it anyway)
Chuck: This is why you’re my favorites! For the first time, I have no idea what happens next. So this is where you’ll kill me? To die at the hands of Sam Winchester. At the hands of Dean Winchester, the ultimate killer. It’s kinda glorious.
But the Winchesters have had enough of Chuck writing their story. They’ve got free will now, and they know who they are.
Dean: Sorry, Chuck. See, that’s not who I am. That’s not who we are.
I think he’s known it for a while, I’m good with who I am and good with who you are, and Castiel’s heartfelt insistence that he knows who Dean is in the last episode cemented that awareness even more.
They walk away, leaving Chuck to be human. To grow old, get sick, die.
Dean: And no one will care, or remember you.
It’s the worst fate imaginable for a narcissist, which is pretty much what Chuck was.
Rob Benedict does an amazing job here, because he actually made me feel for Chuck as they drove off, scrabbling in the dirt and pleading “Guys, guys, wait, wait!” and then quietly sobbing as the Impala roars off, the music turning even more tragic.
I couldn’t help but feel bad – it was Rob Benedict, I mean!
Sam, Dean and Jack stop at Showalter’s gas station (an homage to their director and long-time Supernatural crew person John Showalter).
Jack quietly restores the world, bringing back the people and the animals and the hustle and bustle, as the song “Get Together” plays. I happen to love that song, and it evokes such a different and hopeful time, that it made me start to cry instantly. I love a montage! Even the dog is back. Miracle!
Jack is changed, but Jack is also still Jack, and Alex Calvert does a great job as always showing us both. Dean wants him to come back to the bunker with them, wants to buy him a big screen tv, but Jack says no, he’s not “coming home.”
Jack: In a way, I’m already there. I’m everywhere.
Sam: So you are him.
Jack: I’m me. But I know what you mean. I’m around. I’ll be in every drop of falling rain, every speck of dust that the wind blows, and in the sand, in the rocks, and the sea.
He says that Amara is with him, that they’re in harmony. And when Dean protests that people will have questions and need answers, Jack lays out the way he’ll be God.
Jack: And those answers will be in each of them. Maybe not today, but someday. People don’t need to pray to me or to sacrifice to me. They just need to know that I’m already a part of them and to trust in that. I won’t be hands on. Chuck put himself in the story, that was his mistake. But I learned from you and my mother and Castiel that when people have to be their best, they can be. And that’s what to believe in. I’m as close as this.
He holds his hand over his heart.
And then, Jack says goodbye, the same hand raised that he always used to say hello, and I can feel the tears well up again.
Sam: See ya, Jack.
He walks away, disappears as the Winchesters watch. I think they’re gonna miss him.
I got even more emotional going through the screencaps for that scene to include them here, seeing the sadness on Sam and Dean’s faces as they know they need to say goodbye to Jack. Alex Calvert once again did such a brilliant job with this scene, turning Jack into a benevolent and otherworldly being while still retaining the essence of what made him Jack. As a parent, it struck me as a depiction of that moment when you know you’ve raised your child the best way you can, when you’re filled with pride and you know you have to let go and let them be their own person, but it makes your heart ache to say goodbye. A part of you just wants to buy them a big screen tv and have them come back to the bunker, but you know that’s not what’s best for them. Sometimes Supernatural is so quietly brilliant; the expressions on Sam and Dean’s faces encompass all those mixed feelings, the pride and the sadness. So much of this show has been about loss – its inevitability, how we face it, how it shapes us. How we incorporate it into our lives and keep moving on. The loss of the show itself, one final lesson.
The last two scenes killed me in a different way, and are what I’ll always love about this episode. They felt like a series finale, and maybe we’ll always see them that way.
Sam and Dean sit together in the bunker, drinking beers. A scene as iconic as any in this show.
Dean: To everyone that we lost along the way.
Sam: You know, with Chuck not writing our story anymore, we get to write our own. Just you and me, going wherever the story takes us. Just us.
Dean: Finally free.
It’s obvious in the take they used that it wasn’t just Sam and Dean getting emotional at that moment – it was Jared and Jensen, returning from the long unexpected hiatus and becoming Sam and Dean again, knowing they’re nearing the end of the road for these characters who have meant so much to them. Jared’s visibly tearful and choking up. Jensen notices, as attuned as they always are. He does that thing that could be Dean or could be Jensen, ducking his head to catch Jared/Sam’s gaze.
Then he throws an arm around him, squeezing his neck in reassurance – so unscripted that Jared startles, and then sees the reassuring look and returns it.
The Winchesters always have each other’s backs – and so do Jared and Jensen.
With a soft look at the people behind the cameras, the beloved crew who’s like family to them, they get up from the table and head out.
And we see that behind them they’ve carved two new names into the table – along with the SW, DW and MW, are ‘CASTIEL’ and ‘JACK’. The most fitting remembrance the Winchesters could give, a part of their legacy.
Jackson Browne’s ‘Running on Empty’ starts to play, another of my favorites, the quintessential road song, full of longing and acknowledgement of the difficulties but also the thrill and freedom of the open road. Sam and Dean and Baby roar down the road, toward the setting sun. It’s a scene we’ve had so many times, throughout the entire 15 years, nothing more iconic for Supernatural.
We get a montage of scenes from all fifteen years of the show, from baby Sam and Dean in the pilot, through so many of the people they’ve met along the way. People who have become important to the fandom in real life too, through social media and conventions and all the reciprocal interactions that have made this truly the SPN Family.
I started sobbing as soon as Sam and Dean got up from that table, and didn’t stop until long after the credits had rolled – and the Impala and her boys had driven off into the sunset.
It’s the exact ending I’ve always imagined for the show – the one that’s on the cover of There’ll Be Peace When You Are Done. It felt so right, and so much like the end.
I’m still a little shell shocked that we have another whole episode before Supernatural is over. I’m grateful, but I can’t help but worry that this feeling of satisfaction is going to be blown to the high heavens.
On screen, Sam and Dean close Baby’s trunk.
Iconic.
Eerie without the “we’ve got work to do” though, that I wish I would hear, because even after fifteen years, I’m not ready for this journey to end.
There was a lot that I liked about this episode and a lot that many fans liked, but also some things that left people wanting more (in fact there are conspiracy theories flying around the internet about everything from Covid interference to this episode being the intentionally “bad” ending before the series finale, which would be inept production indeed). With the prior episode ending with Dean sitting crumpled on the floor, sobbing over the loss of Castiel, it was a quick progression to a ‘happy ending’ within one episode for sure. The loss of Cas was acknowledged by Dean, Sam and Jack, but the episode had so much packed into it that there wasn’t a lot of time to process that loss, either for the characters or for the fandom. The bait and switch phone call was particularly painful for fans who were hoping for Castiel’s return. I’m in the group that still thinks, despite what we’ve been told, that Misha and Castiel will be back in some way in the final episode (and if so, that will be the best job of keeping a secret the powers that be have ever done!)
Meanwhile, fandom is coping as it always does. With humor. And gifs.
So the rushed wrap up wasn’t what I tend to hope for from my television shows, with so much packed into one episode, but the story was a satisfying one nevertheless. It could stand alone as a series finale, because its ending revisited and reinforced many of the core themes of the show.
This show has always been about fate versus free will, and its characters have all had their own journeys toward refusing to color within the lines and stick to the script, instead fighting to (in the words of Dean Winchester), make our own future. They did that. Castiel rebelled when the other angels couldn’t even conceive of going against God’s plan, for the love of humanity that was inspired in part by his love of one man. Jack went against his own destiny – the very idea of a Nephilim as so evil that Castiel once killed one just for what they were – and defied both his own father Lucifer and his grandfather to do what he thought was right. What he learned from the example of his human mother and his father figures, Cas and Sam and Dean.
And then there’s the Winchesters. Pawns in a story that God himself took a liking to, the people they cared about taken away for their entire lives, eventually their very reason for living – saving people, hunting things – taken away by the revelation that Chuck was pulling the strings, so they were left with nothing. And yet, they never gave up. When Dean struggled to accept Jack’s potential for goodness, Sam refused to give up on it, pushing his brother to do the same and modeling from the very moment they met that he believed in Jack and loved him. Castiel and Sam and Dean didn’t have the best role models of how to be dads from their own fathers, but they stepped up to the plate and all helped raise Jack – who defied expectations and found his own moral compass.
It was a literal and figurative F you to the idea of fate and the helplessness and hopelessness that come with it and it was the message that most of us have taken to heart from the show: Always Keep Fighting. That mantra saved the world from Chuck’s destruction as Castiel sacrificed himself, Jack tapped into his inner goodness, and Sam and Dean Winchester literally refused to stay down and give up for as long as it took to set up Chuck’s downfall. Bloodied and bruised and broken, but still fighting. That was the most iconic Winchester moment possibly ever, and embodied what the show has been all about.
I’m trying to stay away from meta readings at this point and just enjoy the end of the show within its fictional world, but there’s something satisfying too about the idea of my favorite fictional characters ever breaking free and reclaiming their own narrative. As a psychologist, I can’t escape the parallel that this is what we all do as we work through our own challenges and traumas and choice points. We take a flawed narrative that’s keeping us from being who we are and finding our own happiness, and we rewrite our own story. We break free from the constraints of the problematic one that’s keeping us stuck, and we start from a point of freedom to craft our own narrative. Sam and Dean driving off into the sunset will forever be in my head now as the perfect metaphor for what it feels like to rewrite our own stories and take ownership of our own lives.
And that is pretty damn hopeful.
Of course, there’s one more episode left. I spent most of this episode waiting for the other shoe to drop – for something horrible to happen that negates the unlikely victory that we just witnessed. I’ve been a Supernatural fan for a long time, and I know the show giveth and then it taketh away. When the credits rolled, I let out a gasp of shock and disbelief – a happy ending? What??! There’s speculation that none of it was real, that someone will wake up and find it was all a wishful thinking dream, but I don’t think so.
That said, I don’t know what will happen next week. I’m not in the know or spoiled for it any more than anyone else. But I have my guesses. I think we’ll see Cas again, and a few other important people. I think we’ll have to watch one or both of the boys die at some point in some way, and no matter how that happens, it is going to destroy me. I’m not even opposed to it story-wise, but I’m not going to be able to watch it without falling apart. They’re too important to me. I do think, though, that ultimately we will get some version of a happy ending anyway, somewhere, somehow. I’m not counting on it, but I’m hoping.
Still, when Carry On starts to play next week, I just hope I can still see through my tears. (The show will end on November 19, 44 years to the day from the original release of the Kansas classic, Carry On Wayward Son. Supernatural, unique and special to the end).
Caps by kayb625
— Lynn
You can always remember Supernatural and how
special it is with two books with chapters by the
show’s actors and fans – Family Don’t End With
Blood and There’ll Be Peace When You Are Done.
Info at peacewhenyouaredone.com
Thanks for the review Lynn. It was a solid episode probably 7/10 but had to mark it down, to 6/10 as the two token women got short shrift. Please writers stop it!
Loved, Loved , Loved Dean finding his Miracle, it was enough and definitely the high spot if the season for me, finally we got our Dean back, not the downtrodden, bullied and battered man who limped through the season. Brad and Eugenie wrote that part with a love of the character that’s also been absent most of the season.
My check list of things I wished were pretty much covered, but all in all it just didn’t land for me the way I wanted and I put that down to the set up, Jack’s glorious destiny was the mission statement from his birth so when the moment came I was unsurprised and a bit bored, it took so much life out of Dean and Sam’s story. Jack isn’t really god, he’s just a crucible for Chuck’s syphoned power at present, he has yet to evolve to a god when he matures and gains more wisdom and learns how to wield power with more care than he has before.
The whole season has been so haphazard, I wish we’d had this happen around episode 15 so it didn’t have to be rushed, we needed some time to see the Brothers battle with the loses and isolation to sell the emotional beats better.
It wasn’t a terrible end and may hit better when the series is complete, but it was as underwhelming as the season.
The actors put their all into it and for that I thank them, they all did an amazing job to make something out of the disjointed and sometimes very weak scripts they were given this season, but I’m apprehensive for the series finale.
Special mention to Rob, he knocked it out of the park as both evil and pathetic, we still love you so much Rob.
Miracle, you hit every darn queue perfectly, how sad Dean didn’t get to take you home, it would have been fun.
Only Jensen can sleep so beautifully on an empty alcohol bottle ….
The Bro moment was Jensen and Jared, but it was lovely and I’m guessing the hug unscripted, genius.
The Winchesters free to make their own future at last. They earned it and maybe from that freedom they will make their own peace. One more episode to see where that leads them.
I defy you to try and rest your head in sleep on a whiskey bottle. It’s not going to stay there. And the way Dean had his hand wouldnt keep it there either. Silly scene.
That last scene it looked less like Jared acting and more like he was struggling with the emotions? When Jared sighed it looked like Jensen caught it and reached his arm around for what looks to be a reassuring pat on the back. Then he moved his hand to Jared’s shoulder and dipped his head for a silent “You okay?” Jared mouths back “Yeah” and then they move forward together. I loved the soft looks off to the crew members. To me that scene was 75% Jared and Jensen? So good. Maybe one day they will be able to tell us.
That’s exactly how I saw it too – and it warmed my heart 🙂
I agree it was alot crammed into one episode, and a bit of a rushed wrap up of a whole lot of story. But I did appreciate the last scenes – they did my heart good!
I liked the episode very much. Yes, some ups and downs and head scratching. The ending was beautiful, except for one thing. The boys should have carved John’s initials into the table too. He was a major reason why the boys had the never give up attitude. He deserved to be there too.
It’s not a guest book! It has to stop somewhere! 😉
Agreed! J2 even joked about this at a convention.
Overall I liked it. I agree with you that this episode had some issues. I had my reservations going into this episode based on what happened last week. Also, this episode was written by “Bucklemming” which is always a red flag when I see their names under the writer’s credit. I think this might be my favorite one of theirs but I didn’t love it like some people did. Content would probably be the best way to describe my feelings toward it.
Bucklemming episodes are often crowded with guest stars/plot and full of exposition. This one wasn’t too packed but it was heavy on the exposition. I thought the whole Scooby-Do type explanation of how Sam and Dean figured out the way to beat Chuck was long and clunky. It felt like the episode came to a screeching halt at this point. The Show has done these types of scenes a few times and I’ve never cared for them. Bucklemming are also guilty for ignoring/changing canon in order to make their scripts work. This episode was no exception. In Season 5 we were led to believe that a confrontation between Lucifer and Michael would leave the world in ruins. However, in this episode they were able to face off with no collateral damage. In fact, Lucifer seemed to be easy to kill.
I thought the episode was beautifully shot and the score matched. The beginning reminded me of a great fanfic (“The Last Outpost of All That Is” by Gekizetsu -https://archiveofourown.org/works/1786042 – It’s Wincest so be warned if that’s not your cup of tea).
I liked how they didn’t end up killing God. I was raised Catholic and my dad made sure we went to church every Sunday. Now, I’m more spiritual than devote to one particular religion. With that said, the whole arc of God being the big bad and the boys wanting to kill him made me a little uncomfortable. Jack absorbing all Chuck’s power was a good solution. Jack becoming the new God fulfilled his mother’s declaration that he was good and would bring peace to the world (paraphrasing since I don’t remember exactly what she said).
Jack walking away and disappearing reminded me of George Burns as God doing the same thing in “Oh, God!” (yes, I’m really dating myself with that reference).
I liked that the boys got their moment to exhale and celebrate their newfound freedom. I also saw Jared and Jensen mixed in with Sam and Dean in that scene. The smile when they got up was more Jensen than Dean but it was all good. I wasn’t expecting the montage of characters at the end but I enjoyed it. The closing of the trunk was perfect ending shot.
Did anyone else spend a lot of time trying to figure out what was filmed pre-shut and then during COVID? Some of the COVID stuff I thought was obvious. I hope we find out what changes were made to the last 2 scripts because of COVID.
So where DO we go from here?
I can tell you want I don’t want and this might not make some people happy but I said it in my review for last week. I do not want Cass to come back from the Empty. I think it would be a big cop out by the Show and it would only be done to serve his fanbase not the story. Cass chose to make the sacrifice. That’s how it should stay. I don’t want to see any AU characters return or characters that were resurrected (sorry, Eileen). I just want the final episode to focus on SAM AND DEAN. This was their story for day one and it should be their story at the very end. I wouldn’t mind a flashback or even another montage but that’s it. I have theories based on the little we’ve seen or know. Maybe we get a time jump? I do think there will be a death or deaths as well because the episode has been described as “bitter sweet.”
Jared said he loved the final episode. Jensen has come around to accepting it so I don’t know what to expect. I want to trust them, but I’m afraid they’re going to say they liked it regardless. I want to know what Jensen didn’t like about the ending when it was pitched to him. I hope we find out.
I pray we get a good, satisfying ending to the series. If not, this episode will work as one.
I had the same thought, that this episode would work as a series finale as well as a season finale if needed – but I’m hanging onto optimism that episode 20 will be satisfying. I am quite sure I’ll also be in a puddle on the floor, but it can be a satisfying ending that still leaves me sobbing, I suppose. Oh and yes, I think alot of people’s thoughts when to fanfiction at that moment!
I promise not to get windy because there is too much speculation on what is going to happen and I chose to go for the ride. I did want to comment on a statement about Michael. “Smart Sam takes a stab at figuring out what’s in God’s book, since it’s apparently in Enochian (why can’t Michael read it?) and reports back that there’s a spell that can finish Chuck, but it requires a specific location and time.” Sam could not read it either. Only Death can read what is in the book, thus why Michael could not even open the book. As far as Sam reading some of the Enochian, that was part of the ruse because he cannot read the book either.
As for Lucifer being able to snap Death away, (Lucifer snaps her out of existence) well God did bring him back so I would think he made sure he had some useful powers to do what he wanted.
As for Cas coming back. I have to admit I hope you are wrong on that. This show has always been about the guys (Sam & Dean) and Cas is not one of them. The Empty has him and that is where he should stay sleeping peacefully. Hate me if you will, but I have never been on the Cas love fest.
I don’t see them ending the series with either or both of the guys dying because they all want that door to be opened for a future possible movie or short series so I’m gonna hold onto that thought.
That’s it. I promised not to be windy and I don’t usually comment that often but this one got me thinking and needing to say what I was thinking. Four more days and we sill see where it goes.
You made some really good points here (I am a Cas fan, but I understand why many aren’t lol).
I have seen so many people comment on social media that if the boys die, that would preclude the show coming back for a reboot or movie. I don’t think so. For one thing, this is Supernatural so they could be brought back to life in any number of ways.
The other thing is, why couldn’t a movie be a “prequel,” following the boys on one of their hunts we never saw?!
I am not a writer but that seems to me an obvious workaround.
Oh yes yes, I forgot that was my initial reaction with why can’t Michael read Enochian, which then got revised by the reveal – oops! I am still preparing myself for the possibility that one or both of the brothers will die – but since this is Supernatural, hopefully that will not preclude more Supernatural in the future!
That was a lovely review!
When the episode ended on Thursday night, I was in a state of shock – so much had happened! But the more I think about the episode, the more I appreciate it. (Maybe I’m feeling like Jensen in that way?) While the story ended, more or less, the way I’ve been recently expecting – with Sam and Dean alive and free and someone else taking on God’s role – how they got there was a total surprise! Chuck, Michael, Lucifer and (for the moment) a hardcore Death all off the board. It’s a pretty complete reboot for humankind. Sam and Dean and everyone else really do get a fresh start.
I also appreciate the fact that, for this episode anyway, the boys were given privacy to deal with their trauma. A small indicator that their life and struggles will no longer be a tv show for celestial beings (and us, sob!) to enjoy. But also allowing each of us to interpret it in our own way. I also loved the complete synchronicity of Sam and Dean in this episode – the culmination of 15 years of hard fought brotherhood and a complete ‘in your face’ to Chuck’s obsession with brother vs brother narratives. Bravo, writers. The final scene in the bunker and the montage were wonderful, as was – of course – Baby and the boys driving off into the sunset.
So what happens next? Well, the one loose end of this season’s story that hasn’t been dealt with is the fate of Kevin Tran and all those who were wrongly sent to hell and now can’t get into heaven. I feel certain Jack is on top of that situation but it’ll be nice to have that confirmed. Beyond that, who knows? After the unstated emotions of this episode, I’m expecting stated emotions in the next one. I’m expecting to see old friends and to enjoy Sam and Dean’s happiness in being able to engage with those friends without fear. All that being said though, new beginnings – however welcome and needed – sometimes lead to unexpected endings. And some trauma dies hard. My guess is we won’t see Cas again (though I would love it), but part of me wishes that, someway or another, we could see Cas and Jack get together and enjoy a moment of happiness in what they achieved too.
I so agree with you on how wonderful it was to see that hard-won long-practiced synchronicity come in very handy in saving the world. I still expect the show to rip my heart out with the last episode, but I’m counting on it to leave me with some warm feelings and some satisfaction too. I’ll have both tissues and pie ready 🙂
Oh Miracle, we barely knew ya!
Okay, So second last time I can have a bitch, last time about Bucklemming, so I’m gonna have at it!
So after the Despair of the tardis-like silo, Sam waited for Dean to pull himself together after Cas’ loss and then drive 9 hours (minus traffic I suppose, lol) to Hibbing before he started to ring around friends? WTF? This was another episode where day long drives are relegated to just around the corner.
The boys offering to make a deal with Chuck if he brought everyone back – what exactly was their leverage for him to do that? I don’t understand at all what that was all about. Seeing them beg? After all Chuck had done, destroying whole worlds, why would he even consider their offer when he can snap his fingers and break their necks?
The church scene was beautifully shot, I agree Lynn and I’m sure there is some deep symbolic whatever with the way they were standing, splayed out like a crucifix, but all I could think about was all those candles that had obviously been burning for days, hahaha.
Which then takes us back to the bunker so an archangel can try and read a book only Death can read….? Then suddenly Sam can see it’s in Enochian and read it so well he talks about the angle the sun needs to be at for a spell. Later that proves to just be a ruse, but why wouldn’t Michael see it as such?
And for Dean not to blink at Cas phoning and asking to be let into the bunker. Since when has he ever needed to be let in?
I am also confused by Michael’s remarks about being winded by his ‘battle’ with Luci.
I admit I teared up as Chuck beat the crap out of the boys, with their stoic determination to get back up and let Chuck beat them to death. But then Jack – powered only by two archangel deaths, and perhaps Death’s death – was able to brush off Chuck’s combined God/Amara power and suck it all into himself. Huh? (head scratch)
I felt the episode jumped around a bit, with a lot of WTF? moments as you can see from my rant above which probably makes little sense. I did love that Jack got away with not being killed off again, even though it’s been apparent for years that Dabb was taking him down Hero Road. The end scene in the bunker was nice and better than I thought we’d get. But I do have a lot of unanswered questions I hope get resolved next week. I definitely hope they don’t kill off either brother!
” This was another episode where day long drives are relegated to just around the corner.”
I’m not gonna lie. One of the things that has enraged me so much about the Dabb era is the fact that there appears to be NO ONE on the writing staff who has heard about this little thing called “Google maps.” You can put in your starting place and your ending place and voila!!! It will tell you how long it takes to drive there! You can even see satellite images of the place you’ve set your scene, so you don’t have one of your main characters taking a jog along a tree lined lake IN KANSAS. It really shows how the current writers know *nothing* about the center of the country and aren’t even curious enough to do a quick internet search for authenticity. It’s the epitome of sloppiness and hackery and stinks of people who take planes everywhere and probably haven’t been on a proper road trip since they were children, if ever, which tells you all you need to know about why they’re so bad writing a show about two brothers who grew up driving the wide open spaces in America and living out of a car.
I always marvel that they don’t care more than that – to check and make it work. Any good editor or beta, for fan fiction or regular fiction, that’s the first thing they’d do! (I know because I suck at those sort of details – but that’s what editors are for!)
These writers inevitably leave me with head scratch moments (and you added a few more there) but I think with one to go I was willing to let more go than usual just to try to enjoy the ride. I can never let them ALL go, but I did better than I usually do lol. And yes, it was no surprise that Jack was indeed traveling down Hero Road. I don’t know for sure what to expect for next week, and that’s kind of a good feeling. I still think maybe one or both of the brothers will die, so I’ll have my boxes of tissues ready, but I’m also hoping that the show leaves me feeling satisfied in some way. Maybe I’ll have pie and wine too. And a blankie!
I agree it was silly that Jack could beat the combined Chuck Amara and so easily. Chuck created everything, and would know about Adams Rib. Why would Chuck give Adam an object that could destroy him? He wouldn’t.
One of the better episodes in a not particularly epic final season.
Things I loved-that beautiful shot (from a drone apparently) going higher above the trees. Also seeing the Anaconda mine again. It’s been a long time (and a few seasons) since I’ve seen it on the show. And the unspoken communication between Sam and Dean. They exchange a look-no words needed. Leaving Chuck alive was a good move too.
Things I didn’t love-Chuck taking the last dog (dick move) and Dean telling Miracle “don’t worry, he’ll warm up to you” when we know that Sam is the dog lover. Not knowing if that all the people being brought back includes Donna, Jody or Garth.
Why am I so worried about the final episode? Because it’s Supernatural-and the final episode.
Just a quick comment, I took Dean saying that Sam would warm up to Miracle as a bit of sarcasm, because we all know that Sam is the dog lover in the Winchester family–as Jared is irl. Although Jensen has a dog too so maybe they are equal!
Exactly. That’s why I’ll have lots of tissues at the ready. And pie, And wine. And a blankie 🙂
I find it difficult to be subjective about individual episodes when you hate the story line. I am an atheist so messing about with God and religion is not a problem to me but I just cannot see that a supposed creator of something so beautiful as earth would be a petty, small minded and just a downright nasty being. I am amongst those that disliked making chuck god and the birth of Jack, another storyline I couldn’t get behind. The character was too bland and took too much of the story from Sam and Dean and even Cas for me. Having said all that I am sort of obsessed with Supernatural, read enormous amounts of fanfiction, watch episodes again and again so I still watch every episode and enjoy what I can.
It was a long time ago that I gave up on Sam and Dean being the central characters and the heroes, so Jack being the worlds saviour was no surprise but I quite enjoyed Sam and Dean’s part in helping even though little of it made sense. There was more to enjoy than I was expecting and I absolutely loved the last shot of them on the table and getting off – the table etching not so much! I will miss reading your reviews and all the interaction that this fandom gives – now nervously waiting for the last one!
My take on God in the Supernatural universe is that it’s not the God of our universe. One of the many things I liked about French Mistake was that it established (in my mind, anyway) that the two universes are separate. In Supernatural, monsters roam the earth and God is a narcissistic being who creates not out of love but out of boredom, making toys to play with in increasingly cruel ways. The end of this episode, with Jack taking over as a benevolent but hands-off deity, seemed like a move toward our universe.
Despite the somewhat clunky exposition I enjoyed this one way more than I was expecting. The acting was stellar all around; Mark Pellegrino, whose presence could have been grating given that we were expecting Cas, has never been more fun to watch. I give everyone involved credit for the decision to end it on a positive note, which was possibly the most shocking twist they could have given us.
I love your pragmatic way of watching the show that ensures you’ll still be able to find enjoyment in it – though i wish you and I and everyone could dig into everything and enjoy all the story lines too!
I thought the episode was pretty good overall. Not what I expected…somehow I thought there would be a bit more drama to the end of the season 15 story arc. But they just threw out a lot of red herrings that never came to anything, and then just rushed out the ending they did…it didn’t have any air of inevitability, which I believe it would have if they last few episodes had been better written. But the outcome was good It was more interesting to have the blow to Chuck’s ego of being forgotten and ignored, rather than going out in a blaze of glory, killed by the WInchesters, which he’d clearly have preferred.
But Lynn, I have to mention to you, when Sam asked if Dean would allow Miracle into the car, that called back to an episode where Dean gave Sam a hard time about having dogs in the car, like they were not allowed. Sam was saying that about Dean’s attitude, not his own! 😉
Oh yes, I know – I must have not said what I wanted to clearly lol. I was more surprised (like Sam) that Dean was all for it this time! Agreed about the rushed but good outcome – taking what I can get here!
Oh good! I figured you remembered that plot point. I was like, don’t tell me I spotted something Lynn didn’t–you are truly a font of SPN knowledge 😀
Great review! Thanks for pointing out some details I missed.
I really liked the episode, though it felt a bit rushed. I was never a fan of an idea of Chuck/God being a villain, but I accepted it I guess. I was still glad they didn’t kill him. And yes, I actually felt bad for Chuck when he was crawling on the sand…thanks to Rob’s great acting.
As much as I hated seeing the boys getting beat up, the way Sam helped Dean stand up and the way they just both stood there, bloody, beaten but not broken, smiling…I was grinning like an idiot. Yet another reminder of never giving up. Always keep fighting. That’s one of the best things about the Winchester brothers and about the show, and I love it for that. So many times it made me feel better when I had a really bad day.
I loved the ending so much. I wouldn’t mind if the last shot of Winchester brothers would be them driving into the sunset. I definitely want a happy ending for them, and the way the last episode ended was satisfying for me.
But, we have one more episode. And I am actually dreading watching it, almost wishing that the show ended with the last one. I am afraid we will get to see the boys die. They will probably go to heaven or some kind of afterlife, but it’s still not my kind of ending. I just don’t want to see them die. We’ve seen it many times and killing them again in the last episode just doesn’t feel right for me. All signs point to that unfortunatelly. I still hope we get a different ending.
I read that the last episode is going to be a kind of a hunting trip episode and it’s about the brothers. I just hope it doesn’t mean…one last hunt. If they die, that would send a message that as soon as Chuck wasn’t writing their story and they got free, they got killed. A very depressing and sad ending for me, and even if they go to heaven or something, it still won’t feel right for me.
I think maybe the monsters are gone? Maybe Jack brought everybody back, but never brought the monsters back? There were some promo photos of boys fighting some kind of strange and funny looking monsters in a barn (and some people believe that’s how the brothers die, going out fighting). But these monsters look like people with mask on their faces. So I am thinking maybe that’s exactly what it is…just crazy people. Maybe the boys will realize that all bad that’s left in the world are actually evil, crazy people…no monsters. So they will leave the bunker (hence lights going off in the promo video) and just drive away, getting a chance of life without monsters…I would love to see that. I can dream for the next two days I guess…and then I am pretty sure my hopes are going to be crushed, because since when Supernatural ever ends like that?…but for now, I keep hoping:)
Agreed that it is another universe from ours and this end is moving it toward the ‘real’ world Dean mentioned in French Mistake: ‘no hell below us, above us only sky.’ But since they do refer to biblical ideas often, I also saw the ‘Old Testament’ style God of fire, brimstone, revenge and wrath being overcome by the ‘New Testament’ ideals of love, peace, spirit and caring for each other. God himself is integral to so many of the OT stories but not the NT where parables about loving ‘one another as yourself’ hold the message. Cas’ death to me made him a ‘real boy’ in the sense that “the greatest love one can have is to lay down his life for his friend.” As a person knowing biblical stuff, it is cool to see the ways they weave those things into the narrative…his most most free willed choice was his sacrifice and that made him HUMAN, always his ultimate goal. Fighting the need for revenge has been the boy’s theme and mantra for years; the boys and Cas do not leave Gabriel in eternal holy fire because they say that’s ‘not who they are.’ So, Chuck gets left with the same chance at the anonymous life and death as every human struggling day to day. I loved that Jack embodied LOVE and was able to recreate the world; in that way Cas’s vision came true. THAT WAS A BRILLIANT ENDING, making my heart grow ten times over; a surprise that filled me with awe and tears. It made Cas’s proclamation to Dean become the deciding factor in Dean remembering who he is and they are in the end. That being said I agree that the writers took too long a walk to get to that ending and these final episodes were more clunky than supreme, unnecessarily cluttered with plot holes and returning characters, that should have been eliminated much earlier in the season. And they took Dean into some rabbit holes that felt way out of character. Still, as a true believer, they had me on the roller coaster they intended. I have to admit they cemented my devotion as deeply as ever before. Onward to the finale and the Winchester Gospels. LOL And thank you so much for your insightful reviews. 🙂
I like your perspective! As someone who grew up Catholic and is pretty familiar with the bible, your points are spot on. Although nowadays I would call myself more spiritual than religious, I still recall the things I grew up with. In fact I remember the first time I watched SPN, in an earlier season a character had sacrificed themself for someone else (I honestly can’t think specifically who it was at the time, it has happened rather often lol). The first thing I thought of was that bible verse you mentioned, “No greater love hath a man than this, that he lay down his life for his friend.” It is one of my favorites and always chokes me up!
And I liked what Jack became too, how he described himself. It’s kind of how I think of “god” or a “higher power,” not some being in the sky who is separate from us and judges everything we do, but as a force that is a part of all of us, part of the world, part of nature.
Warning – I’m commenting in part on the finale here – but I’m not giving any actual spoilers as to the storyline
I just watched the finale – I didn’t mind it, as such, but it felt a little… flat somehow – of course there were some amazing acting in that barn scene (someone should get an Emmy) – but as it ended I was more like ..”.hm…well, ok…” than “wow”
I felt that stopping after episode 19 would actually have been a better ending for the show. There were peace, freedom, and a story still open enough for fans to let it continue in their minds…
I am just seeing your comment now and I have to agree about the finale, it just didn’t work for me. Given the intensity and drama of the previous 14 season finales, this one ranks pretty low compared to Swan Song, Lucifer Rising, and Sacrifice. I felt let down by season 15 overall, tbh.