Why ‘Supernatural’ Couldn’t Have Ended Any Other Way

Fifteen years ago, Supernatural drew us into the world of Sam and Dean one “monster” at a time. Over the years, we have come to know and love these characters through artful storytelling.

When the series finale aired, it was met with mixed reviews and some heated opinions regarding Bobby’s presence, Cas’s lack thereof, and the finer details of how the brothers died. But based on how the show was set up for 15 seasons, there is really no other way Sam and Dean’s story could have ended.

Dean dying on the job and then going to heaven to wait for Sam to join him is poetically beautiful. It captures who Dean is at his very core — a big brother and a hunter. 

It’s nostalgic that his heaven starts at The Roadhouse because it’s a nod to the members of his “family” that are no longer with him. Ash, Jo, and Ellen were a major part of Dean’s beginning as a hunting team with Sam and they all had a lasting effect on who Dean is as a person — whether he will ever admit it or not.

Bobby is the only person who could have met Dean and have it make a deep emotional impact. He is integral to the entire picture of who Sam and Dean are as people.

He has been Dean’s father figure when John failed in that department, which was a lot. Dean was always working to seek his father’s approval. Bobby being there to greet him was like the “job well done” and “I’m proud of you” that Dean spent his whole life trying to get.

Bobby is the brothers’ real father in all aspects of the term. He was always there to support them when they were struggling and there to give them the affirmation they needed when the situation called for it.

This is why Dean being greeted by him in heaven is the only way the scene could have played out and capture these characters in their soul. Bobby doesn’t erase the impact of other important people — instead, he mentions where they are so that Dean knows he is always surrounded by the ones who mean the most to him.

Cas didn’t need to be anything more than a mention during the finale — and he got two of them. If he had been in the episode, it really would have taken away from what the episode was about at its core — Sam and Dean.

Cas’s story was finished when he sacrificed himself to save the greater good, and as I mentioned above, he did get mentioned as part of the reason heaven looked different now. Cas was still working his magic for Dean by creating a heaven where Dean could spend eternity with the ones he loved. 

Bobby mentioning Cas further explains where Cas ended up. The angel is also in heaven somewhere helping Jack to run things a bit more smoothly — as he should be considering Jack was like a son to him. 

Placing Cas at The Roadhouse, or anywhere else for that matter, would have pulled focus completely away from Dean and eventually Sam. The final scene with Sam and Dean wouldn’t have the same impact if Cas had been present in heaven because Dean would’ve been compelled to have Cas tag along to that meeting and it just wouldn’t feel authentic.

Supernatural knew what it was doing when it killed Dean the way it did because it showed a deeper side to Dean’s character. The prior episode had him riding off into the sunset with Sam, free of hunting, and that just didn’t feel genuine in the slightest.

Sure, in the last few seasons Dean had spoken at length about wanting to settle down and just live life for a while. However, Dean has been given that option on multiple occasions and he has never been able to just accept it.

After a while, Dean starts to get bored with common life and wants the thrill of hunting — even if it’s a situation where he doesn’t know what hunting is. Dean was always meant to live the hunting life.

Was it sad that he didn’t necessarily get to live a longer life? Sure, you bet.

However, Dean dying in the throws of a vampire fight is Dean at his most basic. The character lived for the hunt and enjoyed the thrill of “getting the monster.”

Even his manner of dying has some major symbolism to it. Yes, at first glance a nail to his spine seems a bit outlandish considering how strong and survivalist Dean is.

Once you look a bit deeper, though, you realize just how he couldn’t have died any other way and have it retain any sort of meaning. As we experienced over the years, Dean has come up against many different kinds of foes and either survived or died but brought back in some way.

This death shows that even the strongest can come up against something as simple as a nail and not survive. We needed to see Dean die in a very real way this time — a way that couldn’t as easily been reversed.

This brings up another reason why Cas had no place in the finale. If Cas had been there, he would have just brought Dean back — again.

Past battles and survivals don’t give characters a free pass to always survive the “simple” things. Dean wasn’t expecting it and neither were we which made it all the more sad and heartbreaking. 

Spending all this time talking about Dean and his fate I can’t forget that Sam’s fate was just as perfect. If Dean was always rough and tough, do or die trying type then Sam is the exact opposite.

Sam has always wanted to steer clear of the hunting life. Unfortunately, his fate was decided for him with the death of Jess and then his father, and then Dean was dragged to hell. 

After all of that, there was no way Sam wouldn’t stick with the hunting life as long as Dean was alive in order to protect him. Sam had chances to walk away and return to his life of college and apple pie, but every time he tried something involving Dean always pulled him back.

Sam could never leave Dean to live the hunting life alone so he stuck with Dean until the day he died. Once Dean died it’s clear that Sam would have settled down and tried to put that life behind him.

Watching Sam get to have the whole wife and kids thing in life is beautiful and everything fans should want for Sam. After all, he was always the one who was supposed to have that all along. 

As much as Sam and Dean were the same, this aspect of their personalities was always on opposite ends of the scale. Sam always pursued the notion of a better, more normal life while Dean talked about wanting it but could never accept it.

But, even in his new normal Sam clearly doesn’t give up his hunting roots completely. It’s not clear whether he continued hunting, but he at least told his son, Dean, about possession and how to ward himself against it.

Based on the young Dean having the same tattoo that his father and uncle had it’s a very safe assumption that Sam told his son exactly what kinds of things linger in the dark. Most likely, Sam didn’t actively keep hunting, but he probably would do a hunt or two every now and then to help someone out if they called.

To really drive home the connection between Sam and Dean the writers did those heartbreaking parallels between the two brothers’ deaths. Honestly, now that we got it I definitely wouldn’t want to change any second of it.

It’s just so harmonious that Sam told Dean he could let go and then when it was Sam’s time it was his son who told him the same.

While all of these elements are really the only way this series could have ended, on the whole, there is one moment that is the epitome of the show and brings everything full circle. I am talking about that final scene.

That final scene really drives it home that Supernatural was always Sam and Dean’s story — no one else’s. Not only does it take place on a bridge much like the one present during their first-ever case together but they are also wearing the clothes they wore during that first case. 

The tears flowed as I thought over how beautiful it was to end the series on this note. Sam and Dean together on a bridge for all eternity — ending at the beginning. 

Either way, fans are going to disagree and no finale was ever going to please everyone. However, at its core, this show gave us its heart on a plate during the series finale — which is all anyone should ever want from a beloved series.

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How did you feel about the finale? What would you have changed about it? Sound off in the comments below.

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