Maybe it’s the idea of facing life without the knowledge that a new episode of Supernatural was inevitably coming soon. Maybe it’s the current global pandemic secluding and shackling us all indoors. But recently I have discovered a love for some really great Supernatural themed ambient audio tracks on Youtube.
At first it was just something to fall asleep to, but then I found more ASMR for different scenarios throughout the day that, particularly during the dark climate we are living in, have made me feel warmed and welcomed even when I was the most lonely I’ve ever been. Plus, with the show officially over as of 3 months ago, it’s been a nice way to stay in touch with my boys.
I stumbled upon Supernatural ASMR on Youtube randomly, and kept scrolling at first. Then, one night (3am probably) I found myself lying awake in the dark and I remembered that quirky little video I saw advertised on my feed and gave it a go. After a few attempts to find the right audio for me, I found this video. I was asleep within 10 minutes!
What I love about this video is that it’s not in-your-face-i’m-a-supernatural-themed-ASMR. There is minimal talking and the stuff that is said feels very distant, mumbled and washed out. The sounds of the road is the main element and this detail made the listening experience feel genuinely real, like you’re really drifting in and out of consciousness along the backseat of the Impala, catching snippets of the boys’ conversations.
There’s something so relaxing and comforting about the idea of being warm on a rainy, dark night, and going on a late night drive along an empty highway. The iconic car has always felt safe and like home to me, so during nights where I literally felt like I had no one, and nowhere to go, I had them. I also enjoy the cute indicator noises. If you’re someone who struggles to fall asleep, this might be perfect for you!
Something else that a lot of us might have struggled with in 2020 was working from home. Typical 9 to 5 office workers collectively found ourselves suddenly being thrust into a very lonely, secluded working day where we were lucky to talk to one other human in person, and lack of socialising can definitely take its toll on your mental state.
Working remotely also means that there are times where you can feel like you’re doing nothing of any worth in your life, because you’re not able to physically see your results and your hard work paying off. I think a lot of us saw a drop in our productivity because it’s easier to get bored, distracted, unmotivated or, like I do all the time, stare into a space indefinitely thinking about what I’m going to eat later or whether Dean Winchester deserved better.
During dreary, sad, grey Tuesday afternoons, I discovered this video which miraculously cured my work slump and I instantly started typing e-mail replies frantically like I was posssessed.
A lot of people prefer to work in silence and get more done when they’re alone, however a lot of people also find it much easier to focus in a coffee shop for example, or a library, with an ambient background of talking and shuffling – the sounds of humanity simply living. In terms of work, when I am surrounded by people who are focused and aspirational and hard-working, it rubs off on me and I instantly want to match them; it inspires me to be the best I can possibly be.
This video in particular is brilliant for this home office background because the various sounds of typing and scraping coffee cups against the table immediately made me feel like I wasn’t just replying to another meaningless e-mail because life is meaningless, but instead that I was doing something worthwhile, something important, because that’s what the Winchester’s represent. They may just sound like they’re researching a case in the Bunker, but that is a symbol of their hard-working, “Always Keep Fighting”, never-give-up attitude, which truly influenced me. It was definitely better than listening to the sounds of nothing echoing off the walls.
If I was still at school, I know that having this video on in the background would have definitely helped me concentrate on homework, particularly if I was having to write a long essay on something I wasn’t remotely interested in. At the moment most young people and university students are learning at home, which can be so restricting and frustrating. So, this type of ASMR can be really helpful for studying and putting you in the right headspace to learn. I 100% recommend these Men of Letters/Motel ambience videos if you’ve got a dissertation due!
There are many Supernatural ASMR videos which are a bit more “talkative” and some can even tell a whole story with super clear voices. These can be really good if you’re simply relaxing or doing something trivial whilst also wanting to keep your mind active. If you’ve run out of podcasts to listen to whilst you’re on your socially-distanced walk, for example.
Listening to a more vocal, words-based, ASMR can be really good if you enjoy listening to your comfort character, or if you find an actor’s voice particularly soothing. Listening to whole conversations from the show can also be really nostalgic, and a lot of the time the video creators will enhance and focus on the dialogue, making it more crisp, which can sometimes make you hear and feel the mood of the conversations in a totally new way.
The narrative videos can also feel like episodes of the show or audiobooks in themselves, and they can be nice if you don’t feel like watching an episode. In my experience, these ASMR videos work best when you’re tidying or cleaning, which are some of my least favourite, most boring, things to do. It brightens those chores up massively.
And that’s it! I’m looking for recommendations too so please drop your favourite ASMR videos in the comments! ❤
As Castiel’s character has developed over his 12 years on Supernatural, he has become a symbol of courage and free will. This has manifested some pretty powerful scenes and inspirational quotes which will stick with us forever. But how did this fallen angel in a trenchcoat become so extraordinary?
The concept of free will was initially foreign to Castiel, however he soon learned how to think and act for himself through Sam and Dean. Then, quite ironically, in the teen-seasons Castiel took over the responsibility of being the shining light of free will, returning the favour and encouraging Sam and Dean to keep fighting, even throughout Season 15 when the boys felt helpless, as God was controlling almost every aspect of their lives. Castiel went from an obedient believer in the greater plan, to becoming the expert and ambassador for free will on the show, even sometimes being too passionate to the point of disaster when his ideas backfired. Despite making mistakes, the angel continues to believe in making his own choices and following his gut.
Through his evolution on the first half of his Supernatural story, he goes from being a soldier of Heaven, to an outcast, to a brutal leader, to a misfit searching for redemption, to a powerless human, to becoming a regular angel again. All of these mistakes and changes allowed Castiel to engineer his own personality and moral compass for the final third act of the series. In the final seasons, Castiel shows remorse for his passed sins, recognises his own weaknesses and creates more meaningful relationships outside of Sam and Dean, like Hannah, Claire, Mary and Jack.
Season 10’s “The Things We Left Behind” is a big Castiel-centric episode whereby Castiel decides to re-visit his past and attempt to do some good for some of the people he has hurt. Claire Novak, the daughter of Castiel’s vessel, Jimmy, pretty much had her life ruined by the angel when he possessed her father’s body, tossing her into foster care. In this episode, Castiel attempts to help Claire in any way that he can, preventing her from going down a dangerous path. Reuniting with Claire is a big turning point for Castiel because it’s the first time we see him being involved with something personal, not related to saving the world or restoring Heaven. It encourages the idea that Castiel is following his heart more and refusing to conform to expectations of leadership.
In one memorable scene, Claire remarks on how Castiel has “changed” since he first took her father’s body, and that he used to be “stuck up and a dick” but is “nicer” now. Castiel reveals that over the years he has found that the righteous path that he spent so long believing and following was not real, and that actually it was just “people trying to do their best in a world where it’s far too easy to do your worst“. This is reference to his past good intentions that caused more harm than good, but that he’s beginning to understand and accept that everyone makes mistakes, and has moved on from his own.
He has a beautiful arc from this point onwards, transforming from a logical, narrow mindset where there is only black and white, wrong and right, good and evil, to the Castiel who understands nuance and the delicacy and humanity of characters like witch Rowena for instance, or soulless Jack. Reintroducing Claire to the show, although she definitely becomes closer to Sam and Dean than Castiel in the following seasons, really paved the way for a more caring, compassionate and sensitive Castiel, and it allowed him to openly be himself and to keep fighting for that freedom.
For me, Castiel became the most inspirational figure on the show in the closing few seasons of Supernatural and it would be hard to pinpoint just one single moment where his words inspired and motivated me the most.
In these final seasons, Castiel feels more layered and genuine, and these were the moments where he makes choices and realisations based on what he truly wants, and he develops his own opinions on his sense of self, the universe, right and wrong, and love and happiness. These actions and decisions feel the most honest and humble of Castiel’s story, and his character feels more true and secure of himself, and less likely to be influenced by what other people expect from him, even Sam and Dean. He goes to the ends of the Earth to protect and help Jack, regardless of what Sam and Dean think, because he truly believes in him and this relationship in particular diversifies and adds depth to his character.
A huge influence on Castiel’s personal choices and his closeness with Sam and Dean came with the birth of Jack. Castiel becomes more of the family through Jack, and subsequently he connects even deeper with Sam and Dean through this shared fatherhood. The whole existence of Jack re-encourages the importance and power of free will over destiny or what society thinks of you.
Initially, the majority of characters believed Jack was destined to destroy the world just because he was Lucifer’s son, and was very powerful, even sometimes being described as an “abomination” as human-angel offspring is frowned upon. Castiel himself even holds this belief at first but is quickly reminded of his own values, and is convinced of Jack’s potential to be good after feeling Jack’s power. It’s in Castiel’s open and trusting nature to give Jack a chance to make his own choices, which ultimately leads to Jack saving the universe from God himself. This shows that following your heart and believing that people can be good really triumphs over following others just because it’s easier.
One scene which really, really sticks out in my memory as hands down the best Castiel and Jack moment, is during Season 14 when Jack struggles to come to terms with the loss of his powers and being human, and Castiel comforts him. An example of something that has always been so wonderfully strange about Supernatural; despite Castiel and Jack talking about magical, fantastical, fictional concepts in a science-fiction story, the words still resonated heavily with me.
In 14.02 “Gods and Monsters”, Jack feels alone and helpless and like no one understands what he is going through. These dark feelings of loneliness and uselessness is something we have all experienced, but in this scene Castiel describes Jack mourning the loss of his powers as “wasteful” and says that it “might be smarter to focus on what you still have”. This kind of optimism is amazing and it definitely encouraged me to look on the bright side of any crappy situation, the use of the word “smarter” implying that thinking positively is mentally healthier.
In this scene, Castiel also recalls his short time as a human to show Jack that he isn’t alone, that he had also once thought he had lost “everything”. When Jack asks what Castiel had left when he lost his grace, Castiel states “I had myself.” It was this particular line that really hit me, and I can remember watching it for the first time and just being so inspired, and so empowered by my own inner strength. There is so much self-love, and independence, and confidence in Castiel’s words here.
Castiel helped me realise that, even when you feel hopeless and like you have no one, you will always have yourself, someone you can always rely on. Like Jack, if you lose family, friends, skills or achievements, that does not take away from your worth. This quote gives ourselves and our choices so much strength, despite the world or God trying to control us.
“The past and where you came from, that’s important but it is not as important as the future and where you’re going,”
The scene finishes with these words from Castiel, looking to the future and providing hope for Jack. This whole scene is emotional and impactful, and the closing line encourages courage, persistence and to keep going and looking ahead, regardless of your past, which is something Castiel is an expert at.
Castiel’s famous final scene can not go unmentioned, considering how it literally blew up the internet, as well as airing during a time that has been really tough on so many people. To save Dean in 15.18 “Despair”, Castiel sacrifices himself by luring The Empty, a cosmic entity who had made a deal with Castiel in Season 14; in exchange for Jack’s life, Castiel would be taken by The Empty when he experienced true happiness.
At first, Castiel believed he could never experience this type of happiness because he states “the one thing I want, it’s something I know I can’t have”, but he then realises something which gave me so much strength in such a dark time – “Happiness isn’t in the having.” I will be the first one to admit that I have struggled just being happy this year, without living with many of the things that make me who I am, without travelling or dancing or hugging my nan, and so Castiel’s declaration of love and words on peace and happiness truly affected me.
It’s very easy to get angry and blame the world, or external factors, for your circumstances, especially in the year 2020. I’ve also been guilty of saying to myself; ‘when I reach this goal’ or ‘when I achieve this’, or ‘when the world gets back to normal’, ‘then I will be happy’. We all get caught sometimes tying our happiness solely on what we have, on someone or something, and putting pressure on those things to determine our inner feelings is, quite frankly, ridiculous and unrealistic.
Castiel is guilty of this too, because he implies in his final scene that he never thought he could be happy without having Dean’s love. However, he makes the realisation that he can still be happy. He can still love openly, kindly, shamelessly and without expectations of returning affections. Quite passionately, loving Dean Winchester is enough. His iconic line; “Happiness isn’t in the having. It’s in just being, it’s in just saying it,” have been lasered into my brain because of how truly inspiring they felt when I watched that scene.
Castiel holds so much strength here, because, in-keeping with his character’s heavy focus on free will, he is taking control of his own life, of his own emotions, and simply deciding to be happy, regardless of his situation. Like how he explains to Jack in Season 14, he is relying on himself, because he knows and understands the strength that he, and his thoughts and emotions, really have.
In a world right now where almost everything is restricted and monitored, I have had low moments where I haven’t felt in control of anything – weak and vulnerable to the things and people around me. So, watching Castiel literally make himself happy by pure will power, and by loving shamelessly and being true to himself, gave me so much courage. It makes me feel like I too have the strength to get to that blissful place and to be at peace with life.
His character has left a legacy like no other, and we will never forget it ♥
So, forever ago, (or 6 years ago) I wrote a still-a-teenager-and-has-no-professional-freelance-writing-experience article entitled Is there anything Supernatural hasn’t done yet? – The Five Episodes Still Waiting To Be Made. In the article, I listed 5 concepts that the show hadn’t explored, with most of them being crazy or funny ideas for episodes.Reading it back now, it’s nostalgic and cringeworthy, but I do talk about some pretty good concepts for stories which had previously been discussed by fans and the cast.
Bare in mind, at the time, Supernatural was airing Season 10 so there was still 5 years worth of crazy episodes to come, and it was pre-Scoobynatural which, come on, none of us would have guessed would happen anyway. However, even back in 2015, Supernatural was renowned for the weird and the wonderful. I mean, “Fan Fiction” had just aired which was meta turned up to 1000 degrees, and was the show’s stab at doing a musical episode.
It feels strange and sad now that the show has officially ended, but I can confirm that none of the ideas I talked about in the article ended up happening on the show. It’s okay though because we got many other unique and inventive episodes and storylines instead, including bringing back some old faces and the introduction of alternative universes.
So, let’s review some of these missed opportunities (and believe me there ain’t many):
Temporarily Transforming the Impala into a Human
You know what, we can let this one slide because we were given an amazing and highly well-received love letter to Sam and Dean’s 1967 Chevy Impala in Season 11’s “Baby”. In this episode, we are taken on a hunt through the perspective of the car, presenting an up close and personal account of the brother’s lives through very tight shots, using as many angles from the inside and outside of the Impala as possible.
“Baby” is still raved about by both fans and cast members, being the fourth highest rated episode on IMDB, which is something a lot of us didn’t expect. The impala is regarded as a character in her own right and her connection and significance to Dean in particular has been a staple theme on the show for the entire 15 seasons.
11.04 “Baby“
However, there was a time when talk about an Impala centered episode would mean talking about the car being transformed into a human, and it’s slightly upsetting that we didn’t get to actually meet the soul and spirit behind such an iconic symbol of the show, including the backdrop of so many boy melodrama scenes, crashes, fights and chases.
Allowing the Impala to have her own voice would have been so interesting and we would have had a chance to find out what she really thought of the brothers. Although, “Baby” does just as good a job at showing what the car gets to experience and see on a daily basis, and it demonstrates just how much Sam and Dean love and depend on her, which, in a way, was a much more beautiful episode.
Sam and Dean Swapping Bodies
As a common episode amongst science fiction shows, it’s almost strange that the show never had a Sam and Dean body swap. This concept probably never happened because the actors, Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, are very protective over their characters, having spent the majority of the last 15 years playing them.
Even the magical body swap episode which did air in Season 5, “Swap Meat”, which saw Sam’s soul and mind being swapped into a body of a high school kid, was filmed in a way that had the guest star only play Sam for part of the time when he was looking at his reflection.
Instead of the guest star trying to play Sam, Jared Padalecki had ownership of Sam for most of the episode. Aside from using actors for younger versions of Sam and Dean, Jared and Jensen seemed to have preferred playing possessed or altered versions of their characters rather than have other actors come on the show to play them.
5.12 “Swap Meat“
Also in “Swap Meat”, a whole set of scenes were cut out of the episode at some point, which involved Sam and Dean temporarily switching bodies. The show binned the idea because it was thought that it was too much of a highly-anticipated sci-fi stereotype to be squeezed into an already jam-packed episode. Maybe the showrunners also believed that the body swap themed episode had been too overdone in the genre.
As much fun and amazing as an episode where Jared and Jensen got to play each other would have been, it’s obvious the actors became too close and comfortable with their own characters to risk getting nervous trying to play each other and messing it up. (Although, we all know they would have done a stellar job.)
Filming Abroad
This idea is not weird, but it could have been very wonderful. It was also a big budgetary and organisational feat which clearly couldn’t be achieved. Aside from the Pilot, Supernatural filmed everything in Vancouver, Canada, which worked well enough that the showrunners clearly realised that it was not worth the money and time it would take to transport the cast and crew to America or even further, when they could tell the story just as well from Canada.
The cast and crew did film on location for part of the first of the failed spin-offs, the Season 9 episode “Bloodlines”, in Chicago, however it would have been great if that happened more often, although it probably wouldn’t have changed the outcome or success of the show. Even the Season 6 episode “Weekend at Bobby’s”, where Sam and Dean travel to Scotland to retrieve Crowley’s human remains, was filmed entirely in Vancouver.
Despite being a show about brothers that travel all over America, the creative team really pulled off making the locations in Vancouver look genuine and realistic, so suspending our disbelief was very easy. Most of the time, it really looked like Sam and Dean were in a small rural town or a busy cityscape of the states.
What would have pleased fans more would have been if the show filmed in another continent all together. The cast travel all over the world to attend conventions so there are guaranteed fans worldwide, particularly in Europe, China and Australia, and filming on location would have been a great way to try something new and international fans would have loved it.
Sam and Dean Being Turned into Women
In the same way that Jared and Jensen were uncertain about playing each other, they were probably equally as uncertain about having female actors coming in to play them. As the series went on, Sam and Dean became such a constant on the show that this fun idea became less discussed.
It’s no doubt that, had there been an episode where Sam and Dean turned into women, it would have been a comic episode, and Dean definitely would have enjoyed the experience more than Sam. Although, the show needed to cast female actors that could embody the brothers successfully and be believable, which was a risk that could have gone sideways.
We may not have seen Sam and Dean as women, but we did get to see loads of other crazy concepts, like Dean being transformed into his younger and older self, Sam becoming the Impala, and Jack turning into a dog. So, we won a lot more than we lost.
Aliens
Although we can all get into a mindset where it feels like Supernatural covered every monster and mythical creature you can possibly imagine, aliens were always automatically scratched off of the list. This is particularly strange for a science-fiction show with cosmic enemies like angels, The Darkness and God, but maybe the writers were being smart by leaving that particular box closed.
Introducing aliens to the show, in my opinion, would have been hit or miss – a risk similar to that of the showrunners introducing angels into the show in Season 4. Luckily, the angel risk paid off but aliens might have just been a step too far, especially considering the direction the writers decided to go in the later seasons, with the creation of Jack’s character and the alternate universes.
Had Jack’s whole storyline not been written, aliens may have been a great way to reinvent Supernatural instead, propelling the show on for longer if done in an exciting way. The reason the show continued for as long as it did was because of these refreshing turns and changes in the plot. However, aliens also had the potential to completely confuse and ruin the story, and it was clearly a risk the showrunners were not prepared to take.
6 years ago, I did have hope that we would see some form of these concepts on the show, but I guess Supernatural does what it does best – what we least expect. Resurrecting Sam and Dean’s mom, Mary, and bringing back their dad, John, for the 300th episode, were fan favourite moments, as well as confirming Chuck as God, crossing over with Scooby-Doo, and having Sam and Dean meet alternative versions of themselves.
These were ideas and storylines that fans could never have seen coming, which is a big factor in the longevity and success of the show. This means we can graciously accept the loss of seeing the car as a human or Sam and Dean trying to live as women.
Or, we can wait for the green light on a comedic, international reunion movie.
The final ever episode of Supernatural, which aired this week, was tough to watch, for both the fans who really enjoyed the finale and for people who really didn’t.
[spoilers]
It’s been 3 days since the end of Supernatural but episode 15.20 “Carry On” has already become the second worst rated episode on IMDB, only being beaten by the notoriously shoddy failed spin-off episode from Season 9. Despite a lot of fans being disappointed by the finale, for a multitude of reasons, there has also been a lot of love for the episode. It reached 1.4 million viewers and many TV critics have praised the bittersweet ending. However, Supernatural has always been a show carried by the intense fanbase, and a lot of the fandom is still finding the finale a hard pill to swallow.
I, myself, have given a lot to this show, and feel like I know the characters personally and I must admit that I did struggle immensely when I watched that final installment. I have been feeling very heartbroken, numb and hurt over the ending and have really tried to think it over and over in my head to find some kind of acceptance with it. After all, this year has been a struggle for all of us and, as Castiel said in his final scene, “Happiness isn’t in the having. It’s in just being”, which is something I have found so much strength in recently. With this in mind, I’ve really tried to find peace with the series finale and look at it from a positive point of view.
After a lot of deliberation on Sam and Dean’s journey’s and inevitable end, I have found my own interpretation that has helped me come to terms with the episode. This fandom is amazing, and I always feel warm and welcomed, so I feel an overwhelming responsibility to share my thought process and what has helped me through this week, and to give something positive to the fandom. Like a lot of people, I really struggled swallowing the finale, but I have managed to mould the episode into something that makes much more sense, is more in-keeping with the characters and it’s really helping me get through it. I just hope that if anyone else is struggling like I was, in this absolutely sh*tty year we have had, maybe this will help some of you find your own peace with the story, no matter what ending you were praying for.
So, this is where I take off my professional critic hat and put on my Supernatural family big sister hat to have a heart to heart with you guys and maybe even dry your tears.
BACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION
A big talking point on the background of this episode was Jensen Ackles’s initial reaction to the ending of his character, Dean. He has spoken publicly about the ending for over a year now and has revealed that he felt “uneasy” and had trouble “digesting” the ending when he was first told by the writers. He has explained at various conventions and more recently during an interview with Entertainment Weekly about how he had to have conversations with show creator Eric Kripke and other outsiders in order to make peace with the ending and be on board with it.
Jensen has also admitted that being too close to his character meant that he couldn’t accept the finality of the ending, and has even implied that fans will also need to take a step back from their own emotions too.
“I really am excited about the ending of the show and I think you guys will too. Again, at first you’re like “what?”. Take a minute, step back and look at it maybe from a broader perspective and think about how other endings may have fallen a little short or a little flat compared to what we’re doing.”
– Jensen Ackles at Salute to Supernatural DC
So many fans feel that Jensen was forced into accepting an ending that he didn’t like but I want to believe that his comments were genuine and positive, and it really gave me strength to take Jensen’s advice and try and “step back” and look at the finale differently. I think fans are very keen to spiral into a negative outlook and focus on the comments that Jensen has made, however for the other actors like Jared Padalecki and Misha Collins, they have been very positive about the ending from the get go. Jared cited the finale episode as “wonderfully tragic” and “the way this story should be”, and Misha has revealed that having Castiel die by sacrificing himself is “integral to his character”.
So the bottom line is that the cast and crew are very proud and happy with the finale of the show and I felt that I needed to find a place personally where I also reached that happiness. It was always going to be difficult letting go of this show, and the cast and creators have alluded to the fact that it’s not going to be the perfect ending for everyone. Furthermore, as Jensen has discussed, maybe a different ending would have fallen flat.
With this in mind, I knew there was a place I could create, mentally, where I could be at peace with the show, and I started to imagine the kinds of things Eric Kripke said to Jensen in order to help him digest the final episode and find clarity. As Jensen had been through what I was going through and had come out the other side with an interpretation of the text that he could be happy with, I felt that I could do that too. Also, I started to imagine darker or worse endings for these characters like Jensen referred to, and this really helped me to accept the ending we got.
As much as the episode had it’s downfalls, the final scene gives us Sam and Dean in Heaven, which is much more than these characters expected for themselves and is definitely much more optimistic than past season finales. For example, if the boys had ended up in Hell, the final episode would have been much more depressing. The knowledge that Sam and Dean are at peace and don’t have to fight anymore definitely helped me swallow the finale.
Personally, there are loads of things I would still change about the final episode, but I know that there are infinite and unknowable reasons why these things couldn’t happen like financial reasons, the actor’s schedules, the COVID restrictions, the limited 40 minute time frame, the writers’ focus and what outcome they wanted including how much of their ending they wanted to leave up to the viewers, but this doesn’t mean that I can’t find peace with the story.
DEAN
Dean’s death was definitely the hardest thing for me to come to terms with, because, like a lot of fans, he is my favourite character and on first watch I found his death really hard. His ending felt borderline suicidal and presenting a toxic, pessimistic message to fans. When Dean gets impaled on a nail on his final hunt, he gives a tear-jerking goodbye speech and I felt that letting Dean go like that was very unfair, and that he deserved so much more. It felt as though his character hadn’t developed at all because he was still burying and masking his feelings behind jokes and almost wanted to die.
After thinking over Dean’s journey a lot over the past couple days, I hope I have come up with a similar comfort that Kripke used on Jensen to help Dean’s death sink in and be a good ending for him.
Dean has always had low self-esteem and will always put Sam first. It’s not mentally healthy but that is who he is, and being that selfless hero is really true to his character. Although it initially felt as though Dean’s death meant that his character had learned nothing and hadn’t built up his self-respect or developed past what he always thought was waiting for him, I gained a lot of acceptance of his death through thinking back at the Season 15 story arc and the big bad of God, A.K.A Chuck.
Dean had arguably the deepest hatred for God than anyone else this season, after discovering his awful, painful life was just entertainment for him. He continued to put killing or neutralising Chuck at the top of his priorities, willing to sacrifice everyone he loved, with the exception of Sam, in the process.
The only time Dean momentarily breaks this principle is when Chuck Thanos-snaps the entire human race out of existence, meaning Dean can’t be himself and do what he loves which is saving people and hunting things. He temporarily surrenders in 15.19 “Inherit the Earth“, and is willing to be Chuck’s puppet and give him the ending he wants. He has so much desperation here because he can’t imagine a life without saving people.
Therefore, this explains why, after Jack manages to overpower Chuck and restore humanity, Dean is ecstatically happy because he knows that he is finally free. During the first half of the finale, Dean is probably the most happy we have ever seen him. He adopts a dog, goes to a pie festival and makes more jokes than usual during his final hunt, even when he is outnumbered by vampires. In past seasons, Dean’s character hasn’t quite felt this upbeat due to the burden of saving the world, and we’ve seen his repressed anger towards the master plan manifesting in moments of violence.
Even though Sam and Dean have lost a lot of their friends, Dean’s happiness here isn’t out of character. In 15.17 “Unity“, Dean says he would trade everyone he loves, apart from Sam of course, in order to take out Chuck. Aside from his baby brother, Dean’s free will, choice and autonomy over his own life, is the most important thing to him. He even admits to Jack in “Unity” that, after discovering that Chuck was molding his life from the beginning, he doesn’t feel “alive” anymore, so obviously when he finally lives his life free from the master plan or Chuck’s predetermined endings, he’s on a high.
When Dean gets the freedom he so desperately wants, it doesn’t mean that he wants to quit hunting and start a family, it means he can live his life without the torture and pain that Chuck inflicted on him. This also means that when Sam mentions Castiel and Jack in the finale, Dean is, of course, upset that they can’t be there with them, but is so elated with having his freedom, he wants to enjoy life in the way that Castiel and Jack wanted him to. It’s a callback to his desperation in “Unity” in which he is willing to trade Castiel and Jack in order to be free, which is exactly what happens.
Living and dying to save people and hunt things is what he wants. Instead, God forced him to live out a tragedy; being dragged to Hell, watching his brother die, being pawns in the apocalypse, turning into a demon and being possessed by Michael. All of these terrible parts of Dean’s life was merely entertainment for Chuck, who ultimately wanted to see one brother killing the other.
When he is impaled on a nail on his final hunt, Dean is ready to go because he knows this isn’t one of Chuck’s ending and this death is his own; the death he always wanted. For a while I thought his death meant that he had no self-respect and was suicidal but I have realised that, after they took Chuck’s powers away, this is a death where Dean actually feels “alive” and free for the first time.
Dean knows Sam is safe and will keep fighting, and he knows that he won’t be painfully dragged back into the story by Chuck. This is his life. He died fighting in a case his dad started because that is who he is, and he’s tired of being a plaything, being killed and tortured over and over again. There is also some strength in his death because he isn’t typically sacrificing himself for his little brother anymore. No, he’s dying for himself, and for his hunting passion.
Many fans wanted to see Dean live a full life, potentially having a family, but this doesn’t seem like something Dean wants or needs. Dean has attempted to live a normal apple pie life just once before, at the end of Season 5, which was only because he believed Sam was dead. His codependency on his brother meant that he refuses to hunt alone. Additionally, even when Dean was living a regular life with Lisa at the start of Season 6, he admitted that it wasn’t perfect and he had nightmares and drank too much. In contrast, Sam has given up hunting and separated from Dean multiple times.
Sam wasn’t hunting when we first meet him in the Pilot episode, and he also quit again in Season 8. On the other hand, in later seasons when Dean went missing as a demon, and again whilst being possessed by Michael, Sam always carried on fighting and continued hunting. Dean’s intense love for Sam would not have led to the same character decisions and outcomes had the roles had been reversed because Dean does not want to be alone, and that’s okay.
It’s not bad character development for a character like Dean to admit that he needs Sam, and for him to want to go out fighting, rejecting a normal life because he just doesn’t want it and knows it doesn’t work for him. Dean could never pull off the kind of life that Sam does in the final episode, due to his intense love and codependency on Sam, which is exactly how Castiel describes Dean in his last scene, as the “most loving human being“. If Sam had instead been killed on that hunt, I can imagine Dean not wanting to carry on, not having the strength that Sam does, and not coping. That would have been an even more traumatic ending in my opinion.
I think it’s also good to note that Dean didn’t want to die, but accepted his death when it happened. He says in his death scene that he“did not think today was the day, but it is, and that’s okay”. It’s important to accept that Dean was stabbed deep in the back, and so there wasn’t much chance of survival, especially as they didn’t have an angel to heal him. (I talk more about accepting Castiel’s whereabouts later). This scene wasn’t Dean begging for death or giving up, this was him realising that he had little chance of making it out alive. For the first time in his life, Dean has reached the end and knows he won’t be brought back. Continuing to hunt and die fighting was always his choice.
It’s really easy to watch Dean’s death scene and believe that Dean is frightened and doesn’t want to die. However, he is in physical pain in this moment and has to say goodbye to Sam so obviously he will be upset, regardless of whether he is at peace which is demonstrated when he says “this is good“.
He desperately begs Sam to reassure him that everything is okay and, at first, I thought this was heartbreaking and out of character for someone so selfless and self-destructive as Dean, who only moments ago acted as though he was happy to die. Although, I now realise that he just wanted Sam to be okay without him, and to accept his death. Dying as a hunter represents everything that Dean stands for, including his passion for freewill, and the only thing that trumps Dean’s deep desire for freedom is Sam. This explains why Dean needed to hear Sam accepting his ending.
Some people have criticised Dean’s death as not good enough in the sense that he’s a character who has fought God and killed Hitler but gets taken out by a nail. However, I have come to terms with his death being very noble and perfect for him, in comparison to dying almost in a boring way like of old age like Sam, which is something he never wanted. It’s also not a small injury. The nail is large enough to potentially pierce his spine, heart and lungs, in the same way as if he was stabbed by a big bad. I have realised that it is a epic, awesome death that he wanted. It’s most definitely not pathetic like a paper cut that got infected.
Fans have also been talking about the mysterious papers Dean leaves on his desk potentially being a job application. Even though Dean obviously wanted things for himself, like looking after his dog, going to a pie festival and maybe even finding a job, that never took away from his passion, or his dream to hunt all his life. He always loved helping people and hunting, and dying that way was what he wanted, no matter when his time came. In addition to this, now that he is in Heaven he can do anything he could possible want.
If you’re reading this and Dean’s death affected you negatively as much as it did for me, please know that you should Always Keep Fighting. Dean tells Sam this exact thing with his last dying breaths, safe in the knowledge that Sam can and will carry on without him, because he always has done. Dean never gave up either, and always kept fighting until the day he died, which, like the laws and freedom of the universe, no one gets to choose. I think it’s almost kind of the writers to give Dean that perfect death, rather than turning the tables and having him lose Sam instead which Dean just wouldn’t have handled.
I wish this positive perspective on Dean’s death had been emphasised a bit more during his death scene, because I think it would have helped Sam, and the viewers, a lot. For example, if Dean had talked about free will and this being his perfect death now that Chuck was gone. However, I can imagine that the writers wanted Dean’s final scene with Sam to be very emotional and tragic, and therefore wanted to hold off on the positivity until he gets to Heaven. When Dean makes it to Heaven he is told by Bobby that he “deserves” this paradise, with everything he has given to the world. He has no monsters to fight anymore and can finally rest and retire.
Now when I re-watch Dean’s death, I cry even harder than I did the first time because I know Dean is happy and is going to a better place. On the first watch, it’s easy to fall into a denial and assume Dean will be brought back from the dead in some way and then to get angry with the scene when he doesn’t. However, in hindsight it’s even more emotional and bittersweet knowing that he will be accepted into Heaven and be given the paradise he deserves, after everything he has been through. Compared to alternative endings, this is nice.
SAM
Sam’s ending definitely took me longer to look at optimistically, solely due to the terrible montage after Dean is gone and Sam is left in the empty bunker. He seems so lonely and doesn’t want to continue hunting. He reluctantly goes on his next hunt and it’s truly heartbreaking to watch. The grieving dog makes it even worse. However, I have tried to remember Dean’s dying wish for Sam to “always keep fighting”, which is a pillar of strength in the Supernatural family.
Whether Sam carried on hunting or stopped to start a family, he could always see himself growing old because he has a lot of durability and determination to keep going, even when everyone he loves are gone, which is something Dean could not see himself doing. Sam does manage to move on, keep fighting, live a full life like he and Dean always wanted, and raises a son he names after Dean.
It would have been really nice to have more closure for both Sam and the viewers by having Sam truly mourning Dean properly at a memorial with their friends that are still alive. It feels as though Sam is so lonely and depressed after Dean dies, but then, next minute, he is raising a son and living happily without us seeing that essential grieving process.
I understand that the writers selfishly wanted to focus on the brothers during this episode but Dean helped and impacted so many people, that I like to think that news of his death sent a shockwave of love and gratitude throughout the hunting community. It’s nice to think that Sam was showered with support and, realising how many lives Dean had changed, he kept fighting in Dean’s honour. There was a hunter gathering and memorial in the Season 12 episode “Celebrating The Life of Asa Fox”, so it’s almost a given that one of the most famous hunters of all time would also receive quite a big wake.
It would also have been less painful to see the bunker being handed down, maybe to Sam’s son. We see Sam’s son with an anti-possession tattoo but this doesn’t confirm that Sam raised his son to be a hunter, as it could just be a safety precaution. I like to imagine that Sam did continue to hunt, but also didn’t let it consume him like it would Dean.
Sam can allow himself the space and time to have a family whilst also hunting, and potentially having a regular job, something that would have explained how he provides for his family and pays the bills. With less time hunting, Sam has less opportunity to be killed in the field like Dean was, and can grow old. This image of having a hunter life as well as a family has been introduced into the show in the last few years in the form of Jody and her adopted daughters Claire and Alex, and Garth and his family. The idea that you can be a hunter as well as having a family and a regular job isn’t as crazy as it once was on the show.
With the bunker, the brothers even remarked in the penultimate episode of the series on how quiet the place had become now that their friends had gone. For me, I hope that the bunker was utilitsed and occupied by hunters. We know Sam is good at organising hunters and being a point of call for cases, notably shown when the bunker was optimised at full capacity at the beginning of Season 14.
I feel like showing the hunting community better organised would have fitted the vibe of the finale, considering the tidy state that Heaven and Hell are left in. It also feels like if we had seen hunters becoming more strategised, and working together, it would mean that Sam’s life of hunting actually did something productive and long-lasting to prevent people being killed, instead of just mindlessly shooting at the next monster like a band-aid over a deeper problem. Out of the two brothers, it was always the more sociable and smarter Sam who would have achieved this level of productivity. For the world of Supernatural, this would have been sweet to show that the Winchester’s lived on in the community, that they did something worthwhile and made a difference, and it also would have been a comfort that Sam wasn’t alone.
These are all things I think would have helped me digest and get closure for Sam’s story, however I am aware there is only 40 minutes to work with. Additionally, the writers may have wanted us to fill in the blanks and imagine our own perfect life for Sam.
For example, it’s definitely frustrating that we don’t meet Sam’s wife. For a lot of viewers, they wanted Eileen to be that faceless wife, but there are many reasons why her identity might have been left unknown. As the writers wanted to focus on the brothers only, this aspect just wasn’t important to them or to the story. As well as this, if they had chosen a wife for Sam, it would not have pleased everyone. Therefore, they have simultaneously given Sam a wife and allowed the viewer to fill in their own character, making this aspect as vague and open-ended as possible.
Long story short, like Dean, Sam lived his life to the fullest. He made a family of his own, something he always dreamed of when he was growing up. Then he reunites with Dean in Heaven and gets to rest. There could have been a much darker ending for Sam, subsequently making viewers mad that he didn’t get his long and happy life that he deserved. From this perspective, it is easy to be thankful for this ending.
CASTIEL
A lot of fans are upset with Castiel’s ending and how we didn’t see a reunion between him and the boys, considering that the finale casually reveals that Castiel escaped The Empty in one throwaway line of dialogue. The only solace I can provide is that of the new and improved time dilation in Heaven.
Bobby reveals to Dean in the final episode that Jack made a few changes to Heaven before he left, including tearing down the walls and allowing souls to have and do whatever they want and be with each other, in contrast to when everyone was separated into re-living their own memories. With Jack’s upgrade, Bobby explains that time is “different” in Heaven, implying that time moves much faster than Earth because Sam will “be along” soon.
I thought this was beautiful, especially considering the way time works in Hell. Ever since Season 4, time in Hell is described as much slower, which means damned souls go through decades of torment in the space of one Earth year, which elongates their suffering. Jack poetically decides to create the opposite effect for his new Heaven, meaning souls, as Dean does, can literally go on a short drive whilst a whole generation grow old and die on Earth, meaning you won’t be alone for long before being reunited with the ones you love.
As Bobby implies in the finale, Jack rescuing Castiel from The Empty happens off screen and, although it would have been nice to have seen that, there might be a multitude of reasons that we didn’t. Thinking positively, this was probably another technique used by the writers to please as many people as possible, and allow us to interpret our own perfect endings.
In my opinion, Castiel is ruling Heaven and the time dilation would explain why Castiel never visited the brothers again, even when Dean was dying. From his perspective, he may have restored Heaven a mere few minutes before the Winchesters’ souls show up, so he didn’t get a chance to leave Heaven to see them on Earth. This is made even more acceptable for Castiel to digest, because it’s obvious that Sam and Dean arrive in Heaven at peace with their deaths.
Obviously, not seeing Castiel in the final episode was a big disappointment for many people, but there is also Mary, John, Jo, Ellen, Charlie, Adam, Ash, Pamela, Kevin, Eileen and even Miracle the dog, who have all been like family to the boys, and who would have all been there to welcome them.
Furthermore, Castiel’s confession of love for Dean and death scene in 15.18 “Despair”, was so emotional and important to his character, that having him reunite with the boys on screen only a couple episodes after, may have downplayed his sacrifice, making Castiel’s big moment feel pointless.
Even though Castiel has arguably done and meant more to the show than any other supporting character, the point that I needed to accept was that this episode is a tribute to Sam and Dean. It was their way of recognising that they will always put each other before anyone else, and they survived so much together even when everyone they loved were gone.
It doesn’t mean that they don’t love and appreciate Castiel and all of their extended hunting family, it just means that that last shot of the two brothers on the bridge in Heaven is homage to them and them alone. This is their story, first and foremost, and they deserve that moment. They wouldn’t be able to have the ending they got without Jack and Castiel and all of the supporting characters, so it’s not like those characters are worthless to the series, it’s just that the finale was very much set on focusing on the brothers and their bond.
For me, I like to imagine after that last shot on the bridge, that Sam and Dean just pause for a minute, thinking about everything they have achieved together, before going on to reunite with their friends and family, which includes those who would have died at around the same time as Sam like Jody and Donna. They know that everyone they have ever loved are nearby and, because they can now spend eternity with them, they choose to take that beat to relish in the moment, for each other, because they will always choose each other first.
I think that’s a beautiful idea, and I have accepted that Sam and Dean really do deserve that last moment. Additionally, the writers may have wanted to keep that final scene very simple, and didn’t want a grand reunion in fear of it being too cheesy or stereotypical. There’s also the guest actor’s schedules and COVID restrictions to take on board, so with a positive outlook, at least we had all of these reunions suggested and implied.
On a slight side note, it is nice to see Heaven as this perfect paradise for the first time, and it does complement where we leave Hell, as new Queen Rowena runs a much tighter ship, and has implemented rules preventing demon deals. For the first time, Hell is organised and not chaotic, having less of an impact on Earth, and Heaven is, as Bobby puts it, “what it always should have been“. Thinking about the grand picture outside of the brothers, this ending makes sure everyone is where they are supposed to be and it’s neat and tidy and peaceful. Aside from the monster hunting, it was always a goal of Sam and Dean’s to prevent the forces of Heaven and Hell from interfering with Earth, and this finale gives them just that.
Finally, a lot of fans truly believe in Destiel, a romantic relationship between Dean and Castiel, and wanted their love to be confirmed in the finale. However, a lot of fans wouldn’t have wanted that ending as well, and I think the writers did a good job of leaving that open for interpretation so that everyone gets what they want.
Misha has told fans that his interpretation of Castiel’s final scene in 15.18 “Despair” was that Castiel was confessing a declaration of romantic love, and was also coming out as gay. As this is the actor’s opinion, a lot of fans have taken this on board as official, but Dean has never canonically been bisexual or verbally presented his love for Castiel. So, this ending allows for all viewers, whatever your interpretation, to envision their own Heaven for these characters, whether that be Dean and Castiel living happily together as a romantic couple in Heaven, or just as friends. For Castiel’s story, the bottom line is that we know he is in Heaven and that he is at peace and I’m really happy with that.
JACK
Jack had already vanished before the finale episode, taking Chuck’s powers and becoming the new God in 15.19 “Inherit The Earth“. Not wanting to interfere with humanity in the way that Chuck did, he removes himself from Earth and disperses into space, saying that he is “everywhere”. From his life on Earth, he has learned that humans can be their best when they need to be and therefore he does not need to be hands on, essentially leaving humanity alone. This explains why he does not interject when Dean is dying in the finale, also being aware that Dean wants to be free to die how he wants.
Viewers may also feel that, just like Sam, Dean and Castiel, Jack also deserved better as he barely experienced a few years on Earth before taking on the responsibility and burden of God. As much as Jack did enjoy his time with his family, this season he has been focused on doing the right thing, to earn Sam and Dean’s forgiveness for the death of their mother, and clear his conscience. Giving them a shot at life without Chuck pulling their strings was everything to Sam and Dean, and Jack is able to give them that release.
Even though some viewers wanted Jack to have a normal life, it was Jack’s destiny and wish to restore paradise, in the same way it was Dean’s destiny to die on a hunt, and Sam’s to have a family and grow old. Jack is able to see and be a part of the paradise he has built, something his mother and Castiel always dreamed he would achieve. In terms of the finale, just because Jack doesn’t appear in the episode, doesn’t mean he is not there in spirit, being completely at peace and becoming the prodigy his family knew he could be.
OUTRO
If anything, if you are still struggling with the ending of Supernatural, know that nothing ever dies and the story will remain alive, alongside the characters of Sam, Dean, Castiel and Jack. They are all happy and, with Jack as God, they have the potential to do whatever they want now. All of their enemies are dead and, considering the series finale could have landed them in Hell or a lot worse, this is a happy ending we should be super thankful for.
For these characters, their pain is finally over and there are no more monsters to fight. The lyrics from Carry On Wayward Son ring so true and beautiful for this ending.
Carry on, my wayward son There’ll be peace when you are done Lay your weary head to rest Don’t you cry no more
Not only is “carry on” the title of the episode, it is also the strength that Sam uses to keep fighting and live his life to the fullest. For Dean, he finally finds “peace” where he doesn’t have to “cry no more“, after defeating God, who was responsible for all of his suffering and subsequently the reason he never made it to Heaven before.
When I think about this song, which is so pivotal to the culture and fandom of the show, I just can’t imagine a better ending than the boys making it to paradise. It’s what they deserve.
Probably in the words of Eric Kripke trying to get Jensen Ackles on board for this finale, all of the characters got what they wanted and chose their own destinies, which perfectly matches the themes of the show, free will and creating your own ending, even if it took me a while to see it.
As I have said, there were things I would have added to the final episode just to beef it up and make it easier for me to swallow (so I didn’t have to write this long *ss essay) but I can see now that the writers wanted to make those final moments as simple as possible. They didn’t explicitly explain everything that I have here because they wanted the ending to hit hard and be impactful and emotional, but they also wanted to focus on the boys and give them their moment to shine, as well as allow each viewer to interpret whatever romantic and platonic relationships they want without confirming any, all whilst filming a finale during a global pandemic.
Yes, this was very therapeutic for me and I have now accepted the ending of a 15 year long story; a show that will always be in my heart. I hope you can find peace too, whether that be through this interpretation or your own.
After Castiel’s final heart-breaking scene in last week’s episode, “Despair“, emotions are high within the Supernatural family. Just before being taken away to The Empty for all eternity, Castiel opened his heart to Dean, confessing his love.
During his tearful goodbye speech, Castiel reveals that he has a secret deep desire that he believes is unattainable. Unfortunately, he never explains to Dean what that “one thing” is, however Castiel goes on to state that “happiness isn’t in the having. It’s in the being,” implying that happiness comes from within, and that he may already be living his dream. This is confirmed when The Empty is summoned, the result of Castiel’s deal to be taken by it when he experiences a moment of true happiness.
The scene is riddled with hints and innuendos, but the aspect of what Castiel’s inner desire (his “true happiness“) looks like is arguably the most vague and intriguing aspect. Castiel’s thoughts and emotions during this scene are open for interpretation to viewers, which is likely a technique from the writers in order to please all of the fans.
Today we’re discussing three different theories of what Castiel’s true happiness could be.
So – What is that ONE THING our awkward, adorable, fallen angel dreams of having (but knows he can never have)?
Number 1: DESTIEL
This is probably the most popular and well-known theory in the show’s history. Castiel’s true happiness is Dean loving him romantically. Castiel knows he “can’t have” this, because he believes that his love is unrequited and that Dean is heterosexual. Officially, Dean is straight but Castiel’s sexuality, on the other hand, is more complicated. Although we have only ever seen Castiel romantically with women, he is also an angel of the lord, a cosmic creature who may not have the same rigid rules for gender and sex that humans do.
We have seen Castiel in female vessels both when he briefly possessed Claire Novak in 4.20 “The Rapture” and during a flashback in 12.10 “Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets“, so we know Castiel does not have a personal gender preference. This could also mean that angels have no gender, and potentially experience a pansexuality by expressing love and romantic attraction solely based on the individual, regardless of species or gender.
There is a well-loved theory that Dean is bisexual, however this has never been confirmed and, in this scenario, Castiel believes that Dean is either straight or not interested, and therefore they can not be together romantically. In Castiel’s last moments, he tells Dean that he loves him. Seconds later, The Empty appears right on cue, encouraging this theory that Castiel has come to the realisation that loving Dean is enough, and that he doesn’t need love in return.
However, Is the love unrequited? is a whole other article. Either Castiel is correct in his assumption that Dean doesn’t love him in that way, or Dean is as dumb as Castiel and hasn’t made a move in 12 years because he also believes he will be rejected. Dean has minimal lines in their final scene together, but he is visibly shocked and understandably speechless. Either he has just found out that his best friend is in love with him romantically, or he has found out that his crush likes him too. Castiel disappears into The Empty before Dean has the chance to collect his thoughts and say “Aw man, that’s nice but I don’t see you like that” or “I love you too *kisses*”. The saddest part about this theory is that Castiel will never know whether Dean feels the same way. With the root that the writers are going down – maybe we’ll never know either!
Number 2: It’s all platonic!
For all those who don’t see the subtext of Destiel, there is a way that Castiel is referring to platonic love here. Hopefully Castiel knows how much Sam and Dean love him as a friend, but maybe he wishes that Dean would respect and appreciate all of him completely, the good and the bad. In the latest episode, Castiel reveals some of Dean’s insecurities and flaws, “destructive, “angry” and “broken“, but declares that he loves him anyway, which might be the type of devotion that Castiel desires for himself.
In this theory, Castiel may not feel that he deserves that kind of love from Dean, ashamed of his past mistakes, feeling that he has let Dean down so many times, and can therefore never have the type of strong, unbending friendship that he dreams of. A pivotal episode in Season 15, 15.09 “The Trap“, involved Dean praying to Castiel, forgiving him of his past misjudgments of Jack and apologising for always being so angry. As Castiel heard this prayer, he understands that Dean has forgiven him, but maybe Castiel hasn’t forgiven himself, believing he is not worthy of their friendship, and fearing that he will mess up again. Castiel may have expressed his love for Dean in his final scene, in realisation that he needs to forgive himself and stop rejecting Dean’s friendship.
Alternatively, Castiel may believe that Dean can’t return that kind of intense friendship due to his habit of burying his emotions and rejecting affection from those around him, a result of his self-hating attitude. Castiel dreams of a platonic love that is strong and eternal, which is compromised by Dean’s angry and destructive nature which Castiel mentions in this latest episode. As Dean is naturally hot-headed and tense, pushing Castiel away many times, Castiel knows that he can never have that perfect friendship that he wants. It’s in this moment that he realises that a relationship works both ways, and that giving true acceptance and pure platonic love to Dean is enough to single-handedly mend and strengthen their friendship, which completes Castiel’s “true happiness“.
Number 3: Castiel just wants to love
Looking at this scene in a completely generic way, instead of Castiel wishing for Dean’s love, he could just be wishing for anybody’s love. Maybe Castiel is lonely and wants someone, maybe even humanity as a whole, a species he has sworn to save and protect, to love him. However, he feels that he doesn’t deserve true love and acceptance because of his past mistakes and wants to redeem himself first. Maybe Castiel feels that he is damaged and can’t ever be loved.
In his final scene, Castiel then realises that he is responsible for his own happiness, and that he can give love wildly and freely, including loving himself, rather than waiting or searching for receiving love. In accepting Dean for who he is, whole-heartedly, shamelessly and selflessly declaring his love for him, without judgement or doubt, Castiel found true happiness in himself because he has given someone something that he has always wanted for himself – to be loved unconditionally.
Castiel has realised that happiness isn’t just “having” and being respected and adored, but can also mean “being” passionate and caring for something else. In addition to this, Castiel gives Dean absolution from all of the angry, violent things he has done, being that someone Castiel may have been searching for, wanting to be forgiven for his own sins. This type of unconditional loving emotion towards something allows him to feel more at peace and content with himself, and gives him a purer and happier heart which is why The Empty descends and takes him away.
Overall, for Castiel maybe it doesn’t matter whether his declaration of love is romantic, sexual, platonic, familial, brotherly or generalised, because he is an angel and all these different types of love are probably all the same to him. All that matters is that he is expressing love, and being the truest version of himself he can be in the process.
How did you guys interpret Castiel’s heart-breaking goodbye scene? What is the ONE happiness that the angel didn’t think he would ever find? Let us know in the comments!
This week’s heart-breaking episode was pivotal to Castiel’s story and may have just confirmed the biggest and most well-known fan theory regarding his relationship with Dean. The fallen angel seems to be receiving love and gratitude for everything he has given to the show, but just what makes him so special?
Even though Cas has been pushed to the side over the years, in terms of central and juicy storylines, screen time, the reduction of those original bad ass powers, and the occasional treatment from Sam and Dean as a weapon or a liability because of his past mistakes, I feel that in this final season particularly, the show has really paid tribute to the character, and given him a weight and responsibility over the show like never before.
In Season 15, we’ve seen Castiel lose and find his son, Jack, again, and we’ve had Dean pray for forgiveness for being so angry with him all the time. However, what’s really intriguing about Castiel being respected this season, is that he was noticed by God himself.
“Spare me your contempt, Castiel, the self-hating angel of Thursday. You know what every other version of you did after “gripping him tight and raising him from perdition”? They did what they were told, but not you. Not the one off the line with a crack in his chassis.”
In Chuck’s last scene, he spent more of his precious 1 and a half minutes with our protagonists talking about Castiel, instead of Sam and Dean (the actual stars of the show as well as the messengers of God’s destruction). It could be that Chuck finds Castiel interesting; a strange oddity. After all, the Winchesters have been Chuck’s playthings since they were born, and he knows absolutely everything about them, even manipulating some of their life decisions, however his small speech in 15.17 “Unity” implies that Chuck never really paid any interest in Castiel, assuming he would follow in the footsteps of his past draft versions – doing what he was told and not really being a part of the Winchesters’ story. It’s hinted that this version of Castiel has an unmatched love for the brothers which makes him unique and caring of humanity.
Earlier on in this season, Sam was experiencing visions of God’s many alternative universes, discovering that all of Chuck’s stories end the same way – with one brother killing the other. We see Sam kill Dean whilst being possessed by Lucifer, and whilst being under the influence of Demon blood, and we see Demon Dean kill Sam. In all three visions, Castiel is absent and, from what we learn from Chuck in “Unity”, we can assume those other versions of Cas were simply doing as they were told and weren’t getting too close to the brothers. To put it plainly, Chuck didn’t write about Cas, because he didn’t think he was important, expecting him to follow his orders and not interfere, allowing Sam and Dean to kill each other, like all of his other versions do. This implies that Sam and Dean are still alive, are still fighting and saving people, because Castiel is by their side. Castiel has single-handedly made this world, this show, special, and made the brothers stronger.
Rather than following his orders, this Castiel, our Castiel, was banished from Heaven soon after meeting the Winchesters, and continued to be a thorn in the side of their enemies. At the end of the famous Season 5 finale, “Swan Song”, Castiel helps Sam and Dean save the world, and proceeds to rescue Sam from Hell (albeit without a soul but he tried). He also refused to watch Sam and Dean sacrifice themselves to save each other in 12.09 “First Blood”, confiding “This sad, doomed little world – it needs you. It needs every last Winchester it can get and I will not let you die…and I won’t let you sacrifice yourselves. You mean too much to me, to everything.”
12.09 “First Blood”
It seems that the individuality of this Castiel is his big heart, his desire to save people and, that in turn, manifests into loving Sam and Dean because they are so influential to the safety of this world. Castiel admires everything that the Winchesters represent, and he strives to protect them whenever he can. He has admitted, both in the most recent episode, and in Season 12’s “Stuck in the Middle (With You)”, that being with Sam and Dean has “changed” him, indicating that he has become more loving, accepting of humanity, and passionate about freedom, since meeting them. Compared to the other universes, Castiel has a deep, profound connection with Sam and Dean, which has molded him into an angel like no other, strong, rebellious and unpredictable to all their enemies, including God himself.
It’s beautiful that Castiel is getting the recognition he deserves, because the show wouldn’t be the same without him (which is non-negotiable because God said so himself).
“You’re the famous spanner in the works. Honestly, I think you came off the line with a crack in your chassis. You have never done what you were told.”
Supernatural has been such a huge part of my life. With the number of years it has been airing, and all of the thousands of fans, it feels like a community, or a religion. It’s not like other shows because it doesn’t ever feel like you truly leave the Supernatural family. Even if you dislike the current storyline, and maybe even stop watching for a bit, the show has the determination to keep you invested. The constant evolving, ever-changing storylines are rich, and the creativity and freedom to explore is on another level.
Back in the 2013 glory days of Tumblr, it was public knowledge (whether or not you watched the show) that Supernatural had a GIF for everything. This was something that rooted deeper than a mere joke. What other TV show can say they have parodied CSI:Miami, done Western and Medieval-style episodes, fought fairies, travelled in time, turned Dean into a younger and older version of himself, have Sam meet his imaginary friend, and parodied their own show on multiple occasions, from referencing conventions, fanfiction, shipping, and even having a staged musical version of their story during their 200th episode.
After 15 years, it’s hard to remember all these crazy adventures, but the comfort of Supernatural, the escapism and courage that people are drawn to, is the sense that literally anything could happen. There are magical alternate worlds and realms and death is never the end, which means, like the fans, the cast never truly leave the show either, and our most beloved characters always feel fresh and alive.
In addition, the main themes of the show centre around love and hope, which are universal ideas, and managing to explore these alongside funny, crazy moments is a true art. This is a show that, despite the monsters and magic, would be absolutely nothing without family. That’s the real reason we’ve been watching for 15 seasons. When I think about Supernatural, in full hindsight of the 7-year-long relationship I have had with the show, I feel warm. I feel at home, accepted, hopeful in humanity, in the brothers, in good over evil, in family, and, something most accentuated in the final season, in choice.
Yeah, the Winchesters may be dealing with slightly more pressing and dangerous problems on a cosmic scale, but we’ve all had times, particularly amongst the mess that is 2020, where we feel helpless, like nothing is in our control. Dean refers to this feeling as like “a hamster on a wheel”, and was something, in last week’s episode, he was willing to sacrifice (almost) everything to change because the knowledge that God was molding their lives the whole time was too unbearable to live with.
Our choices do much more than just make us who we are – they are how we live, rather than just survive. They are our hearts and souls, and instill hope that we have free will over where we are going. The Winchesters ripped up every ending of their story, even when the entire universe was telling them it was their destiny, and that represents a bravery and love that is unmatched on TV at the moment.
I will always hold Supernatural fondly in my heart, from when I binge-watched 8 seasons in two months between studying and sleeping, to going on my one and only, unforgettable convention and seeing the boys in real proper life (Asylum14), to creating this blog and analysing almost every episode of Seasons 10 and 11, to laughing over the hours of gag reels, to creating GIFs, writing fanfiction, editing pictures and just generally falling madly in and out and back in love with the show and everything that surrounds it.
I started watching when I was 16 and Season 1 was at times too scary for my little brain. Ironically, the vibe of the show changed drastically over time to the point where they made Satan too tame for me. There is a different kind of nostalgia that comes with the Kripke era (Seasons 1-5) which I think everyone feels to some extend. I just got completely immersed in the world, the law, the battle between Heaven and Hell. Those first 5 seasons felt so plot-focused and organised, showcasing a level of care and respect to the story, that I don’t think following seasons have quite managed to replicate. The OG apocalypse, the badass chest pieces, and the tying up of Sam and Dean’s 5 year arc just makes me remiscine over binge watching at 5am in bed when I was supposed to be doing my coursework, because I just had to find out what happens next.
Season 6 and 7 shines the same kind of nostalgia in a the-sequel-that’s-really-good-but-not-quite-as-good-as-the-first-movie kinda way. As I’m writing this I’m having an epiphany about Season 8, because I don’t really remember anything about it and I think I’m only now discovering the reason why. Season 8 for me was when the show took a different direction. Season 6 and 7 were very much still running off the back-end and dark residual excitement of the apocalypse, but Season 8 made those stories feel like a whole other life. The introduction of the Bunker was a big part of the revamp, and I feel like it was the turning point of the show going from a gritty science-fiction to more of a drama. After Season 8, the formidable characters like Castiel and Crowley, and later on Lucifer, became less threatening and intimidating.
When I binge-watched the show, it was about to go on Christmas hiatus, so I went from watching 8 episodes a day, to having NOTHING to watch. I remember so vividly Kevin’s eyes being burned out, Gadreel running off with Sam’s body, and Dean calling out Kevin’s name as he lay dead on the floor, and thinking HOW THE HELL are the boys gonna get out of this one?? That felt like the longest few weeks ever. I loved Season 9 so much because I was still brand new to the show. Having Sam possessed by an angel and then finishing with arguably the best finale ever whereby Dean turns into a demon, just felt so fresh. I watched the finale over and over and over again and thought about how amazing and inventive the show was for making me cry over Dean dying yet again (which of course is my favourite Dean death).
Season 10 was great as an extension of Season 9, concluding the Mark of Cain storyline (and giving us the meta beauty that is Fan Fiction which I remember laughing at so much with my best friend when we watched it together). However, I had literally tons of questions about Season 11. The Darkness confused me, and the return of Lucifer didn’t make much sense nor did it feel quite like the same character. Having Chuck confirmed as God was something I really disliked, and I felt like it was motivated by fan theories – almost like it didn’t fit with the story because it was written by fans. I much preferred God as this mysterious being who was too powerful to comprehend. At least now we know a lot more about the main characters of Season 11, and The Darkness appears to have more of a personality and backstory.
I was so, so, so excited when Mary was brought back from the dead, but then they mostly ruined all of her potential when they paired her with the British Men of Letters which was probably the most boring storyline of the entire show in my opinion. I like Jack and his story arc but, after the stuff I just mentioned, I hadn’t been heavily invested in the show since part-way through Season 11. There’s been ups and downs with the Jack era. I hated apocalypse world and how it was used as an excuse to bring back old characters in a different way; it was just confusing and lazy. However, the Scoobynatural episode was actually pure genius and it got so many amazing reviews. It’s a real achievement for a show that has been going for 13 years, that they managed to make an episode so new and creative. The 300th episode also hit me absolutely everywhere in the feels.
I loved the urgency and heart-break of desperately trying to save Jack in Season 14, and Jensen did a great job playing Archangel Michael when he was possessed (although it didn’t ever compare to Demon Dean). Generally, I’ve really liked Season 15 so far, which I think is down to all of the returning guest stars we’ve seen. It’s been really nostalgic and sweet to see so many cast members who are loved by the fans. I had my issues with the first 3 episodes not being high-stakes or dark enough, but I loved how Rowena’s story wrapped up, as well as the return of Eileen, and The Darkness being re-invented as a protagonist rather than a villain.
The coronavirus allowed Supernatural to continue past its sell-by-date, making me fall into a false sense of security – that maybe the show would NEVER end, and it would continue on forever like we all know it could. However, alas, when I sat down to watch the final 7 episode run, I couldn’t help thinking of everything I gave to this show, all the late nights writing theories, re-watching BM scenes and reviewing the most memorable episodes. Of course, I’m going to miss it so much.
Even when I was mad at the inconsistent writing, the butchering of compelling badass characters, and the pretty weak failed attempts at spin offs, Supernatural was always there to welcome me home, every year, like a routine. It’s going to leave a hole in a lot of people’s lives, forever.
Many fans have been waiting for the reappearance of Sam and Dean’s dad for 12 years, and last week we finally got the long-awaited reunion of the Winchester family, something which hasn’t happened (with these actors anyway) since the Pilot episode which aired in 2005.
After a magical pearl grants Dean a wish, John Winchester appears in the bunker, inexplicably brought forward from the past (2003 to be exact). Alongside the very, very emotional and heart-felt conversations which follow between the four Winchesters, the 300th episode titled “Lebanon” also gives a nod to the history of the show, including adding in nostalgia regarding some fan-favourite moments, and lives up to the hype of the milestone, receiving similar praise to that of the 100th and 200th episode.
“Well, there’s a story.”
“What happened?” Castiel asks, after the temporal paradox of this episode re-corrects and the timelines slot back into place. “Well, there’s a story,” Dean replies.
And there was a LOT of story in this episode. It’s hard to criticise the show for attempting to satisfy 14 years of yearning from the fans with only 40 minutes of screen time. Sam and Dean battle against dragon fire, three unwittingly meddling teenagers who steal their car, and a serial killer clown ghost all before their dad even makes an appearance, and, for the most part, the jam-packed plot works well.
However, with such a mammoth task of carrying out an emotional and highly rewarding Winchester reunion, bringing back a couple of past incarnations of characters, and trying to imply the locals in the Lebanon area recognise Sam and Dean as some kind of mysterious urban legends, there were bound to be some aspects of the plot which didn’t work for some viewers. I tend to be overly-critical of the show so let’s get through the negatives first and get straight onto enjoying the beautiful, tear-jerking, nostalgic good things about the 300th.
I’ve not been obsessed with Mary Winchester since she returned as a series regular on the show in the Season 11 finale. In my opinion, I feel like the writers have trouble deciding what to do with her, and where to put her in terms of the over-arching narrative, and when I heard John would be back for a one-off episode I thought YAY Mary’s finally going to get a great end to her arch and she and John will walk off into the sunset (or into Heaven more likely).
Over the past few years, Mary has been able to re-connect with her boys, save a lot of people and forgive herself for dooming her sons into a life of hunting, so I figured this would be a great place for her to leave the show with a beautiful bang, and with John, her one true love. However, we didn’t get this. It’s not terrible that Mary will continue to be in the show. I don’t hate her and she is important to Sam and Dean but I guess my idea of a Winchester reunion would be bringing John back from the dead and allowing him and Mary to finally be happy.
Instead of what a lot of us probably assumed would happen, the writers decided to bring John forward in time from the year 2003, which was a time in which he was desperately hunting down the demon that killed Mary. Although it wasn’t perfect for me, I can see why the writers decided to go down this road with the reunion because it meant they could wrap up the story in one episode and Sam and Dean were given the chance to talk through some unfinished emotions and goodbyes with John, as they remembered him. It was very satisfying to have Sam forgive his dad for his mistakes and John acknowledge how proud he was of the boys, as well as John having an insight into the legends his sons would soon become.
However, because the episode was so full, a lot of the explanations and stories Sam and Dean had for their dad about their lives after his death were cut out. This would have been a great opportunity for Sam and Dean, and the show, to pay tribute to their successes and achievements in their own words. The conversation with their dad could have summarised all of the prominent moments of the show and their biggest accomplishments, and I think that would have made heart-wrenching television for fans to see how far the story has come and to look back at the fondest episodes.
The fans and the viewers already know the story of Supernatural, but to have Sam and Dean have the honour of explaining their lives to their dad, everything he made happen and raised them to be, would have been beautiful and nostalgic. On the other hand, it was important to cut these conversations out of the episode to make way for more emotional dialogues, and I understand that.
There was also a montage near the end of the episode where the four Winchesters have dinner and talk and laugh amongst themselves. Again, it’s hard for a show like Supernatural to develop these moments in one 40 minute episode but I would have preferred to hear actual conversations, even if it was just snippets of stories to intrigue me. This would have been the moment, rather than blanket the clips of the family dinner with slow, emotional music, to instead have lines of dialogue of Sam and Dean talking about their crazy life over the past 14 years, or John and Mary’s stories of when they were together. A real, genuine connection between the characters doesn’t always display best with a montage.
The long-awaited reunion
I think a lot of people had expectations for this episode which were not delivered such as Castiel meeting John, John’s reaction to the existence of angels and God and hearing those discussions (as I’ve already mentioned) and potentially a real conversation between John and Mary. Don’t get be wrong – the chemistry between John and Mary in the small scenes we did get of the two of them together were really well done and very emotional but, other than saying they missed each other, there wasn’t really much dialogue between them.
For me, one of the biggest plot twists in the show’s history was back in Season 4 when Dean discovered that Mary grew up as a hunter. In recent seasons, this has been a massive plot device as Mary throws herself into hunting in order to relieve stress and deal with her relationship issues with her sons. She has proven to be a valuable and talented hunter and it’s easy to forget we ever saw her character as anything else. When the show first aired, Mary was stereotyped as the classic, caring mother who was pure and innocent and who unexpectedly falls victim to a monster. When the show flipped things on its head and revealed that Mary was in fact bad ass and was equally as important in Sam and Dean’s destiny as John was when she made a demon deal which eventually led to her demise, it just made everything more exciting.
We didn’t get a chance to see Mary confess to John that she is a hunter (we don’t even know if she did tell him) but I think John discovering Mary’s history would have changed his perception of her and it would have been a relief for him. Being able to understand why Mary was killed and that it resulted in the release of Lucifer and the almost-apocalypse, would have meant John could have made some sense of Mary’s murder, and almost make peace with it. The lack of John and Mary scenes was irritating but in some ways I’m glad the show prioritised Sam and Dean’s relationship and conversations with their dad instead.
References to the Pilot
Aside from the fact that the Winchester family members are all together again like they were in the Pilot episode, there were numerous more references and nods to the first ever episode of the show, which I think were included purposefully to honour the Pilot and demonstrate how far the show has come.
Other than the Winchester reunion, the “Then and Now” segment of this episode included Dean’s famous Pilot episode words “Dad’s on a hunting trip and he hasn’t been home in a few days”. This sentence is celebrated by Supernatural fans and is the pivotal moment which initiates the plot of the show and allows Sam and Dean to become the hunters we know and love today. John and his actions are really important to the story and last week’s episode made sure to focus on this. Through all the terrible decisions and choices John made over the years, he was essential in shaping the show and Sam and Dean’s characters and this episode commended him for that.
Another brilliant nod to the Pilot episode which I noticed was when John first appears and begins attacking Sam and Dean in the darkness of the bunker. This scene was reminiscent of Sam and Dean’s first scene together in the show where Sam fights Dean in his flat, thinking he is an intruder. John manages to floor both Sam and Dean in last week’s episode which could have been due to the fact that John trained Sam and Dean in combat himself. This is similar to how Dean manages to overcome Sam in the Pilot episode because he is familiar with how Sam fights. I thought it was a nice little touch which brought back fond memories of the Pilot.
1.01 “Pilot”
Oooh, the nostalgia
So, the biggest nostalgic hit from this episode has got to be Castiel who, after John’s return makes a mess of the Supernatural timeline, styles his Season 4 demeanor, outfit and lack of pop culture knowledge. Castiel’s first appearance in the show is a fan-favourite moment involving shattering light bulbs, the first ever angel wings shadow and the famous line “My name is Castiel. I am an angel of the lord.” Due to the temporal paradox of John being in the future, we get to see a similar scene to this with the burst lights, angel wings and the notorious introduction. Castiel’s character returns temporarily to his old mysterious, violent and powerful ways in this episode.
Over the last 11 years, Castiel’s angelic powers have somewhat diminished after being banished from Heaven a few times and undergoing intense defeats, so it was really nice to see the strength of the original Castiel once again because it is something I think we all miss. His character in this episode was also being used as an attack dog by Zachariah which referenced Castiel’s initial role in the show as being a soldier of Heaven who followed orders blindly.
Speaking of references, it was hilarious to hear Castiel not understanding a reference once again, which are moments which always have a special place in fan’s hearts and is something which became less frequent after Metatron gave Castiel all of the pop culture knowledge he needed back in Season 9. It was almost like the show went back in time with Castiel’s character and it was so nice to see and reminisce over.
I have mentioned Zachariah but I was also very happy with his appearance in this episode. Zachariah has not appeared in the show since Season 5 in which he was stabbed in the face by Dean but, more importantly, his last episode was the 100th episode milestone entitled “Point of No Return”. In last week’s 300th episode, the new version of Zachariah is stabbed by Sam. Although I would have liked to have seen more from his character because his scenes are always so fun and intriguing, I love the idea that this angel (who, if anyone remembers, made Sam and Dean’s life hell and was arrogant and annoying whilst doing so) has now been killed twice during milestone episodes by the Winchesters. It’s funny, and it was nice to get a reference to the 100th episode as well as bringing back a character who hasn’t been in the show for 9 years.
4.01 “Lazarus Rising”
With Castiel’s appearances in this episode being so loved by fans, it may be easy to overlook the many other smaller references to the history of the show. First, Sam and Dean are referred to by the locals in Lebanon, Kansas, as the Campbell brothers. This is a nod to Mary’s maiden name and her hunting family which were very important in the shaping of Sam and Dean’s destinies. Additionally, Dean tells John that they once met their grandfather (John’s father) who revealed that they were legacies of the Men of Letters organisation and had ownership of the Men of Letters bunker.
As the show has previously mentioned, Sam and Dean (in order to become the chosen vessels of Lucifer and Michael) were the result of the perfect union between the Winchester family, who were Men of Letters and were the “brain”, and the Campbell family, who were notorious hunters and were the “brawn”. Sam and Dean giving a nod and appreciating both their mother’s family and their father’s family were such beautiful gestures and showed that the brothers are proud and happy with who they are.
As John travelled forwards in time from 2003, I expected there to be an emotionally heavy conversation between John and Sam and that’s exactly what we got. In 2003, Sam fell out with his dad and went to university to study law so John takes this episode as an opportunity to try and patch things up between the two of them. Sam, on the other hand, doesn’t even remember the fight that they had because of everything that has happened to him since. This was a tear-jerker of a scene and was so satisfying to watch considering most of Sam and John’s scenes back in Season 1 and 2 involved disagreement and resentment.
What I did not expect, however, was Sam admitting that he thought about his dad a lot but never thought about their fights. Sam then brutally reminds us of the Season 2 premiere episode in which John is sadly killed off. Sam admits “When I think about you…I think about you on the floor of that hospital and I think about how I never got to say goodbye.” This is such an impactful line and because Sam is so specific about the Season 2 scene where he discovers his dad’s body, it means the emotion of that scene flashes in our memory. Sometimes its hard with a long-running show like Supernatural to keep the older seasons fresh and memorable and some things can be easily forgotten so it was just great to see Sam confront that devastating moment in his life and talk openly about it because it clearly still affects him sometimes. For passionate fans of the show, it just makes everything more touching.
Lastly, when John first appears in the bunker, giving me flashbacks to the Pilot episode fight between Sam and Dean, the lights come back on and Dean says “Dad?” I thought this was a really nice comparison to Mary’s return back in the Season 11 finale in which Dean discovers her and responds with the single word “Mom?” It’s the small things which make this episode.
The inside jokes
One of my favourite moments from this episode was the opening scene in which Sam and Dean track down a murdering magical antiques dealer. After the dealer threatens Sam with a sword and explains how he murdered their friend, Dean shoots the dealer in the back and then remarks “They always talk too much”. This was hilarious and to be expected from a show which loves to make fun of themselves. We’ve seen many a villain on the show make the mistake of monologuing for too damn long and it was satisfying and funny to hear Dean finally point it out. To be honest, their enemies talking too much is probably the reason Sam and Dean are still alive and it’s classic for the show to add this moment in this episode as a way to self-criticise their repetitive, stereotypical or lazy writing moments.
Another aspect of the show which fans absolutely love and remember but has maybe been forgotten over the years is Sam’s utterly massive fear of clowns. Additionally, Sam also has a strange obsession with serial killers and is very knowledgeable on all the most famous ones. So, when it came to destroying John Wayne Gacy’s ghost, a serial killer clown, it had to be mentioned by Dean as Sam’s best/worst thing to ever happen to him. It was nice to have comments like this which devout fans of the show could appreciate.
Another absolutely highlight was Zachariah referring to Castiel as Constantine which, as we all know, is a reference to Castiel’s trench-coat-and-blue-tie outfit which the show runners admitted was inspired by the character of John Constantine from the show Constantine. Although the inspiration for Castiel’s costume is common knowledge, it has never been referenced on the show until now so that was nice to finally hear.
As I said, the Supernatural cast and crew love to make fun of themselves and this was focused on the most when Dean discovers the temporal paradox version of Sam online, including his wannabe TED talk where he discusses what most people discuss on TED talks – productivity, success and raw food diets. The paradox version of Sam ridiculously cites giving up fun hobbies and your family to achieve results. This was a way for the Supernatural writers to joke about the intense self-improvement and success-driven culture we live in and I can imagine the cast had immense fun filming that scene.
Finally, we have the city of Lebanon which is fittingly the title of the episode. Before Jeffrey Dean Morgan was confirmed to return for the 300th episode as John, the Supernatural writers revealed their plans for the milestone episode to TVLine back in July. Co-showrunner Andrew Dabb explained that the 300th episode would hopefully show Sam and Dean’s story from the perspective of the local people in Lebanon, how they view the brothers and their suspicions about what they get up to. When I first heard this idea, I thought it was perfect for the 300th and sounded really funny. Andrew Dabb said “We’ve never actually seen what these people in this town think of these two guys who drive this muscle car through. The dry cleaner [must think], ‘They have a lot of blood on their clothes. What’s going on there?’”
Although John’s appearance in this episode changed the original idea slightly, we still got a few insights into how the locals view Sam and Dean during the first quarter of the episode. The friendly liquor store worker calls the boys the Campbell brothers, it is revealed Dean has developed a flirtatious connection with the post office lady in order to get information from her, and one teenager rants to his friends about Sam and Dean being dangerous after once hearing shallow breathing coming from the trunk of their car. The boys have become urban legends in the town which is so interesting and ironic because urban myths and legends were what the show was originally focused and formed on. It’s a lovely nod to the humble beginnings of the show and it’s really funny to see the local’s opinions of Sam and Dean.
The young teenager describes the boys as though they are freaky and mysterious and questions where they even came from, as well as describing Castiel as the “weird sidekick” and Jack as “that kid with the dumb Bambi look on his face all the time”. Again, the writers love to make fun of their cast and characters, and it was great to see the boys lives from a different point of view and how what they have been doing all these years could, realistically, look really strange.
As I was so excited to see from the perspective of the Lebanon towns people, I guess I was a little disappointed that the episode only touched on this for a short time, but this was done in order to make room for John’s return and bonding scenes with his family.
Saying goodbye to Dad
To conclude…
So, to sum up, the episode wasn’t perfect, but it came pretty close and we can forgive it for everything if it means more time with John, a fan-favourite and long-missed character. Although I would have preferred to have John resurrected from the dead and have Mary leave the show alongside her husband, we don’t know what the show has in store for Mary in the future and with only one episode with Jeffrey Dean Morgan, I appreciate why they chose to use time travel to give him an appearance in the 300th. I think the show runners worked with what they had and it paid off. However, I’m still imagining those endless conversations between John, Mary, Sam and Dean during the family dinner montage which we did not get to hear.
Although I originally felt a sense of pointlessness after the episode revealed John wouldn’t remember any of his time in the future, including the reassurance that his wife would be resurrected one day and his sons would save the world, the ending scene where John returns in 2003 having “dreamt” about everything that happened was a nice way to leave the idea that John did remember the future open to interpretation. I’m trying my best to believe John lived out the rest of his life knowing the good things which were going to happen because it makes his character seem more at peace and having fair knowledge and acceptance of his story and role in Sam and Dean’s lives.
Finally, above all else, the devastating goodbyes at the end of the episode were frustratingly heart-breaking and the John quote “I’m so proud of you boys” made me want to die as Sam bawled heavy tears and Dean looked on, stunned and speechless, having wanted to hear those words since he was a boy. The unfair and sad reality of John needing to return to his time period in order to correct the paradox was pretty tragic and some would say tragedy makes the best entertainment. So maybe I’m wrong and the episode was perfect.
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As we’re approaching the chaotic and expensive end of the year (jingle bells, jingle bells🔔), Me and Nick (my lesser half) were trying to come up with cheap or free things to do on a Saturday night and we figured ‘Hey, we have so much alcohol lying around here – why not do a fun drinking game WHILST clearing the house of all the cluttering booze?”
So, basically, that’s what we did.
THE RULES:
We decided to each come up with three reasons for the other person to drink A.K.A take a shot. Plus, the bonus was that if we saw any of the characters drinking alcohol we both had to drink.
I assumed that Nick would find picking my reasons quite difficult because he had only watched a measly 2 and a half episodes of Supernatural whereas I am a self-proclaimed expert. However, with a bit of research, Nick chose three reasons that were actually really good and (spoilers) it was a very close competition.
It actually took me longer than Nick to think up my reasons because I kept changing my mind; I wanted to pick ones that were really funny but were also realistically likely to crop up. For example, I had my heart set on making Nick drink “Every time Dean says he’s fine,” but, as you’ll realise by the episodes we chose to watch, this was practically unattainable. This contest was serious and I was determined Icould not lose at anything Supernatural themed.
THE CONTESTANTS:
Nick got his choices in first so…
IN THE BLUE CORNER:
EVIE 🔊 : (And, yes, that is actually me under the unicorn mask … but then again, how would you know? 🙄) STRENGTHS: Supernatural trivia WEAKNESSES: Lager & Vodka MY REASONS TO DRINK AS CHOSEN BY NICK:
🥃 – Every time Sam or Dean get thrown across the room (Nick thinks it’s hilarious that the boys haven’t suffered brain damage yet)
🥃 – Every time Sam and Dean have a conversation in the Impala (it doesn’t have to be a boy melodrama scene) 🥃 – Every time there is an outside shot of a motel (this happened way more times than I would have guessed)
AND IN THE RED CORNER:
NICK 💩 :
STRENGHTS: Playing on his phone instead of concentrating on whatever he’s watching WEAKNESSES: Many NICK’S REASONS TO DRINK AS CHOSEN BY ME:
🥃 – Every time Dean says “Sammy” (I had high hopes for this but it unfortunately let me down)
🥃 – Every time Dean says “Son of a Bitch” (I thought having “Every time somebody swears” was a bit too harsh so this one was the next best thing)
🥃 – Every time Castiel doesn’t understand a reference (this one was hit or miss but it brought it home for me during the final round 👍)
THE BOOZE:
The stuff we were taking shots of was a mixture of Tropical Sourz and WKD (because we’re getting a bit older now and I can not longer neck back Sourz like it’s nothing ok that sh*t has got flavourz).
We then ended up running out of both of those things so we starting shotting the half empty bottle of gross wine we had in the fridge for 3+ months, plus whatever else we could find.
I was being sensible and drank plenty of water (stay safe kids 🥛 ) so I didn’t get too hammered, but by the time we got to the final round Nick was drunk enough to feel the need to make a super strong sex on the beach with the leftover vodka that we had in the cupboard and, well, I started sipping that rather than shotting it because dude I ain’t losing my kidneys yet.
THE EPISODES:
So, like, it might be obvious from our reasons to drink that we chose to watch three of the weirdest and silliest episode of Supernatural. If we knew we were going to watch more serious pivotal episodes of the show we might of chosen reasons like “Every time the boys sacrifice themselves for each other” or “Every time the boys go to Hell”, but nahhhhh, we wanted a laugh. It was a Saturday.
Remember also – if any character is seen consuming alcohol, both Me and Nick have to drink but these were not scored. We agreed that the winner would be whoever scored/shotted the least overall, (so there wasn’t necessarily a winner for each round).
OK, here we go…
ROUND 1: S05E08 “Changing Channels” – we’re starting off strong
Yes, we went there. This season 5 episode we found was just as dramatic and meaningful as it was funny, with the return of The Trickster who imprisons Sam and Dean in multiple television shows. With such a weird and unique episode, you’d think we wouldn’t be seeing too many shots being necked but oh boy.
Like all of the episodes we watched, the game gets going in the very first scene which is flipping fantastic. “Changing Channels” opens with a shot of a bloody motel. 🥃 1x drink for me. I’m off to a great start.
Don’t worry though because a few minutes later Dean, still in that famous first sitcom scene, swears his first “Son of a Bitch” which means 🥃 1x drink for Nick whilst I’m still downing mine. Dean actually goes on to curse his favourite saying 3 more times in “Changing Channels”. Yes!
In terms of the “drinking when they drink” rule, this was way more common than we realised. Like, I knew the boys drunk their fair share of beer, but it felt like it cropped up in moments it didn’t need to be in which was annoying. As you can see from the picture above, Sam and Dean hold beers together in the bloody opening titles so by this point, 2 minutes 10 seconds into the first episode, me and Nick started to get anxious. After Dean said “Sammy” once, it got to the point where Nick said that he was getting scared every time Dean opened his mouth (which happens a lot).
Throughout the evening we decided that any disputes between what counts as, for example, “talking in the car” or being “thrown across” the room, we came to an agreement that, when in doubt, we would just drink anyway. So…that scene where Dean gets shot in the Grey’s Anatomy-esque hospital drama they get stuck in first, Sam asks for a pen knife and some whiskey to patch Dean up. After me and Nick argued slightly we finally just assumed that Dean drank the whiskey for the pain. So we drank our own “whiskey” 🥃. (Okay, so maybe we’re alcoholics just waiting for a reason.)
This was the point where we ran out of Sourz and WKD – yes it was that quick. On to the old wine.
What’s really, really annoying about this episode was that a portion of the famous sitcom scene gets repeated meaning that we both got to drink 🥃 again for the motel shot and the marvelous “Son of a Bitch” from Dean.
The Trickster shows up again and me and Nick both experienced a near-miss. Castiel gets thrown across the room BUT it’s okay because my rules of drinking every time characters get thrown across the room only apply to Sam and Dean so phew. Nick also had a nice moment when Sam said “Son of a Bitch” for the first time. Typical. Doesn’t count because Dean didn’t say it.
Then Dean gets half-picked up and pushed against the door by Gabriel and, I argued but, Nick said that that counted as being thrown across the room so 🥃 1x drink for me. It kind of went downhill from there really because there were two more, separate scenes, of a motel exterior (🥃 2x) AND Sam and Dean talk in the Impala. Well, Dean talks to the Impala…who is Sam.
Little side note – There was originally only going to be two rounds but Nick said he wanted to watch the, quote, “one where Dean turns into the car”. I corrected him and said “you mean the one where Sam gets turned into the car” and he was all “yeah, yeah, yeah”. It wasn’t until later that I realised that the reason Nick wanted to watch “Changing Channels” so badly was so he could be certain that Sam and Dean would have a conversation in the Impala…because of that one scene where Sam is the Impala.
I did argue this as well! Sam is the car so really they are having a conversation inside of Sam, not inside of the car but, whatever, Nick had his heart set on it so 🥃 1x drink for me.
We laughed for a long while because, as Dean starts to realise that Sam has been turned into the Impala, there’s one shot where the outside of the motel is shown in the background…
I mean come on. We thankfully felt like I didn’t have to drink double for that because that would be just a little too unfair, but I did drink 🥃 again shortly after this scene because Nick argued, after a montage of Dean driving the Impala/Sam, he said that there were two separate scenes of Sam and Dean talking in the car/Sam.
SO, AT THE END OF THE FIRST ROUND THE DRINK SCORES ARE:
EVIE: 7 🥃 🥃 🥃 🥃 🥃 🥃 🥃
NICK: 5 🥃 🥃 🥃 🥃 🥃
(So, yes, I was losing.)
ROUND 2: S06E15 “The French Mistake” – hell, yes!
Again, an episode where the boys get trapped in a weird and wonderful universe where their lives are a TV show, the shot scores were significantly less than the previous round’s but there actually turned out to be one instant for all 6 of our reasons (plus, three times the boys are seen drinking).
The first of the shots starts similarly to the last episode, in the very first scene! Dean is seen drinking in Bobby’s house so 🥃 great. Also occurring in the opening scene, which I saw coming and was emotionally prepared for, Sam and Dean get thrown through the window into an alternate universe.🥃 1x drink for me.
I also weaseled my way into making Nick take a shot for when Sam and Dean find the actor who plays Castiel, and Dean compares the alternate reality to “Bizarro Earth”. The actor looks confused. I used that as an opportunity to play my “Every time Castiel doesn’t understand a reference” card which might be wrong but I don’t care – it evened the score for me.
Dean manages to squeeze in a “Sammy” and a “Son of a Bitch” in the episode. Hehe 🥃 2x drink for Nick, and then Sam and Dean chat as they attempt to drive off with a prop of the Impala. I did say it wasn’t the real Impala, but Nick drank for fake Castiel to look confused, so I thought I’d let that one go. 🥃 1x drink for me.
Then we both enjoyed some communal drinking when Sam and Dean are shown drinking beer in Jared Padalecki’s house and then Sam is shown drinking more beer in the halls of his house. Later on the boys try and get home and jump through the window again – We agreed this didn’t count as being “thrown” because they jumped of their own volition. However, they do eventually get pulled back through the glass and into their world so 🥃 1x drink for me. I actually had to shot again shortly after that when we realised that the boys had been pulled back to their world through a motel window. I had kept putting it off throughout the episode every time the interior of a motel was shown so it was about time I took a hit.
So, as I already mentioned that each reason to drink cropped up only once in this episode, the second round ended with a tie – with 3 points each.
It was all to play for in the final round and I refused to lose against someone who doesn’t even know who Crowley is.
I also had a secret weapon – This episode was rife with Castiel misunderstanding references and IT WOULD BE NICK’S DOWNFALL MUAHAHAHA! 👿
Sam and Dean continued to drink therefore so did we. The boys have beers in the second scene of “Hunteri Heroici”. We then also had trouble with the multiple (and frankly pointless) flashback scenes of Sam and his time with his romantic interest, Amelia. We weren’t interested in the flashbacks but Sam has dinner with Amelia and her dad in one of them and there is wine on the table. We discussed, for probably way too long, whether that meant we should drink. We decided not to because they never touched the wine but we ended up wasting out breaths because in the next flashback the glasses are empty so we thought, screw it, what are we doing with our lives. 🥃🥃 *glug, glug*
During the fight scene near the end of the episode, Dean gets pushed across the room so 🥃 1x drink for me, but that’s okay because Castiel WON IT FOR ME IN THE END!
Dean: That’s straight-up Bugs Bunny.
Castiel: So, we’re looking for some sort of insect-rabbit hybrid.
How do we kill it?
I’ve always loved this episode because it’s rare to see Castiel working so closely with the boys on a case and it’s really funny. Not only that…IT WON ME THE COMPETITION YAY! Castiel misunderstands a total of 4 references in “Hunteri Heroici” which means…
Now, I know the contest wasn’t necessarily accurate but who cares, it got rid of three bottles of stuff from out fridge and it was a hell of a lot of fun.
It is the taking part that counts BUT I’M STILL THE QUEEN OF SPNYASSS WOOOO 🎉🎉🎉
So…if you’ve made it all the way to the end of this lengthy post then I salute you. It also means that you are an avid Supernatural fan and therefore may know a few Supernatural fans too.
As it’s getting nearer and nearer to Christmas – I’m here to tell you that THIS is the ULTIMATE present for ANY AND ALL Supernatural fans >>> BUY IT NOW! >>>
If you’re here for the booze, then…no, I can’t help you.
Supernatural Fan No. 12949162 