Let me begin with the most sincere thanks to the cast and crew of this show. It's been an amazing ride and I could spend days writing about what this show means to me and so many others.
It's because of that devotion the fans are incredibly split on the finale, the episode that resolves the Winchester brothers' tale. Regardless which camp one falls into, based on what's been discussed we all were a little cheated by covid because it taxed the entire production and stifled some possibilities.
The final episode was always going to be painful, and it was always going to be perfect for the boys...because Jared and Jensen would never allow nor deserve otherwise.
This finale was a love letter to their start back in season one. We see the boys on their own, fighting vampires- a season one big bad staple, John's journal making one last appearance, Dean's love of pie. The Impala and the open road and even Sam's adorable baby hoodie I would pay money to see held up against the original because that's a laugh we could all use. (There's dozens of other beautiful parallels but the outfits and the "Hey, Sammy" got me bad.)
Jensen should win every award for once again delivering a phenomenal performance. Dean's death was heartbreaking, and the nod to always keep fighting had me ugly crying even harder.
I think every fan can agree that if they weren't going out together, Dean was always going to die before Sam. Driven home at the time he makes a desperate deal at the end of season two is a simple fact: Dean never wants to live without his baby brother.
Sure, he tried- made a good go at that apple pie life after Sam jumped in the cage- but that was over as soon as a djinn walked up to him in a bar.
Signs of Dean's depression in 15.20 were subtle, but spoke volumes. His room has usually been a decent compass for Dean's state of mind, and here we see it littered with pizza boxes and beer bottles. A carelessly "made" bed. Finding a dog and allowing it on Baby's leather seats, Dean found some hope...some will. Miracle returning to the bunker as Dean's support, an extra tether and reminder to keep living- even if it's for someone or something else. I think this is important because we saw at the beginning of season 13, very clearly, Sam wasn't enough anymore. There was too much grief and loss and Dean was more than prepared to die then on a relatively simple hunt...to finally break free of the vicious cycle of pain and perceived failure. But not without Sam's say so, because Dean's raison d'etre has always been Sammy.
The signs of Sam's resignation hinted at from the time Dean spent in purgatory, the way Sam has always seemed to make romantic connections (not solely physical), has hinted that Sam would walk away from hunting...and the only thing keeping him in the life is Dean. (This is where I have to insert some interpretation because I've always felt this was far more a Dean self-deprecating perspective than a sincere narrative).
All this leads to: Dean's final breath after Sam permits is so tragic and beautiful and fitting.
Similarly, Jack's reshaping of heaven is perfect. The paradise he was always meant to usher in, true free will both on earth and heaven- the Winchester legacy.
The true nod to the family and love shared by the boys and everyone they knew and saved in life. The orphan they took in and helped raise ascending to protect everything the Winchesters fought for. Castiel assisting as a final declaration of love for humanity, but with clear understanding it was to give Dean what he deserves after his fight.
And the assurance that Sam would be along before he could even miss him.
Sam lives out his life, marrying, raising a child, clearly passing on some kind of knowledge of hunting...living for a new Dean the way his brother always lived for him.
The final scene, Dean greeting Sam in heaven, was the perfect end. The brothers who saved the world time and again FINALLY at true peace. Soul mates ready for a brave new world together with all their family and friends able to live out everything they may have missed in life.
Like I said, the ending was always going to be perfect for the boys. Both spent their final days masquerading as men with reasons, carrying on until laying their weary heads to rest...and heaven was waiting for them.
So why the vitriol? Well, this has been a 15 year journey and characters change...every author will tell you someone always surprises them. And, well, this ignores a lot of that.
Because in being a love letter to season one...it places them smack back into the plot they'd fought 15 years to break out of. Because season one was part of Chuck's plan, and the ending he showed Sam earlier in season 15 had a pivotal "one last hunt"...of vampires. With the added salt in the wound of an unresolved John Winchester hunt that fucks it all up for both of them...feels a lot like they didn't win after all.
Dean, for example, was obviously in a different place than season 13- he was trying, even if old bad habits die hard. His story genuinely seemed to be hinting towards retirement, though the general theme of being tired remains. Season 10 we see Dean finally say he's not ready to die, that this life isn't all he is. The questions Dean asked of Jesse and Cesar, in season 11, again suggest far more that he's not tired of life, he's tired of fighting and anger and the betrayals. By the end of season 13 he was legitimately talking about retiring. But Chuck just kept throwing bigger and bigger bads at them and Dean was thrown, once again, into a series of sacrificial motions. Free of that, Dean seemed destined to try really living.
Castiel gives him the tool to firmly reshape his view of himself- the unconditional love from a celestial being asking for and taking nothing. That leads Dean to continue despite the depression; to apply for a job and take in a dog despite disliking them his whole life. He was trying to make all the sacrifice mean something...only to die shortly after? Even with the excuse of losing so called "plot protection" it feels cheap, and cruel. At least give the boy a year, even if we know it never would have been enough.
But who knows, maybe Dean's life depended on him choosing a throwing star that would distract the vampire and mean a non-lethal impact with the rebar, if any.
Dean's funeral is, to me, one of the biggest travesties. I'm blaming covid because the legendary Winchesters would draw a crowd any day, but Dean made so many connections with so many people. Gave love so freely the whole world could lay claim. Dean deserved the Tony Stark funeral (or heavenly reception) and Sam shouldn't have had to burn him alone.
Leaving Sam to live a life he hinted he no longer felt was for him, to stop hunting and live as he knows Dean wanted him to also feels a bit hollow. It reads like living his life not for himself or his wife or child but for his dead brother...going through the motions until he, too, dies almost entirely alone save for the last Winchester. We see here the Sam Dean never wanted- one that couldn't really move on from him.
Not saying he didn't appear at least somewhat content or even happy, but the imagine of his aged self crying alone in the Impala felt like a common occurrence.
Then there's the question of all the others. The question of the family that didn't start or end in blood that were absent from Sam's life and Dean's death (except for Bobby). Again, blaming covid but I feel like they could have found a way to use archive footage.
They should have found a way to have Misha there. I doubt Jared and Jensen had much say in the matter but I like to believe they'd have fought for that if able. Because to exclude someone who also gave a solid decade of their life to this, to exclude a character they've time and again acknowledged as their best friend, their third (fourth?) brother, is so hurtful. The few mentions aren't enough, the name carved into the table isn't enough, the exclusion from the "season finale" the week before only makes it worse. I get not wanting to have to address the whole Destiel of it all but I guarantee people would have rather had him there than any real resolution to that. (Less seriously, was Dean wearing Castiel's tie during their interviews because I kinda think he was which is another mild balm on my soul.)
These points are where I think fans feel most betrayed. Because if the rest of the characters, even Castiel, don't matter then it's easy to surmise...the rest of the SPN family doesn't matter either...and most of us don't see ourselves in this episode, getting to say goodbye to the boys through the secondary characters we came to love and relate to.
I have to think they meant this to give us, the audience, that same mandate: Carry On, but in minimizing the finale to the boys and the paths they were on in season one...I think the messages of what made this show so loved got lost.
Personally, it also felt very rushed. I'd have waited two years and watched a 2 hour movie to resolve some of these. Because I think the outline is perfect, but the devil is in the details and since Jack is Lucifer's son, well...they've got work to do.
