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.
Supernatural Fan No. 12949162 