It had to end this way, you understand that, right? Supernatural, despite its false reputation as another teen drama on the CW, has rarely dumbed itself down and delivered something that felt out of place in its season enders.
Show creator Eric Kripke's vision of Supernatural ran for five seasons and five seasons only, and Thursday's episode, "Swan Song" sure felt like a series finale even though the show will live to see Season 6 (although it will do so without Kripke, who will hand over the title of showrunner to executive producer Sera Gamble).
We always knew the apocalypse was coming, and that Sam and Dean would have to make great sacrifices to prevent Lucifer from walking the Earth and making us all his bitch. And that's what we got: Sam was headed for a pit in Hell to endure the worst thing imaginable for eternity, and Dean—his job done and brother lost—was off to live the "good" life, even though he'd always be haunted by the knowledge of what went down in that cemetery in Kansas.
That is, until a few major events spun everything on its head.
Kripke, speaking through his own vessel in prophet Chuck, acknowledged that while any moron can start a story, it takes a lot more effort to end one. Kripke also understands that endings can never satisfy everyone, and there's no doubt that some fans will have their issues with "Swan Song." But what Kripke did splendidly was leave much of what really happened open to interpretation, resulting in a beautiful final moment for Supernatural and one of the most satisfying season/series finales in recent memory.
In the climax of "Swan Song," Sam said "yes" to Lucifer, allowing the Prince of the Netherworld to take his body with the hopes of retaking control and swan-diving into Lucifer's lock box, imprisoning Satan in Hell until some other nitwits accidentally set him free again. Things didn't go according to plan (understatement of the year), and Cas was blown to angel bits, Bobby had his neck snapped, and Dean ended up with a face full of LuSamfer's fist. (Side note: I was barely able to even watch Jensen Ackles' Elephant Man face—horrifying!)
But what happened next was beautiful: Somewhere deep inside Lucifer, Sam began to take control, and we were treated to a spectacular montage of Sam and Dean through the years. Sam ultimately wrestled back control of his body, opened the gate to Lucifer's prison, and was about to jump for it when the archangel Michael returned, ready to fight his brother to the death. Instead, they both hurtled into Hell, the chasm closed, and Dean was left alone for a very uncomfortable moment.
Sam and Dean's relationship is eerily similar, on several levels, to Lucifer and Michael's, but there are key differences that set them apart. Lucifer and Sam were both cast away (or cast themselves away) and had a troubled relationship with their fathers. Dean and Michael were eternally loyal to their fathers, possibly to a fault. But while Michael recognized that his brother had become something of a monster and wanted to destroy him, Dean saw Sam's strange powers and demon-blood-drinking addiction and stuck with him to the bitter end, doing all he could. Ahhh, humans.
Ever since the Winchester brothers were pegged as the vessels for Lucifer and Michael, I've been dying to see how things would end up. And I'm glad Supernatural didn't take the wimpy way out.
Kripke has always said the show is really about these two brothers and little more, and through tear-soaked eyes we were reminded of that via the multiple montages, which relived the good and bad from the past five seasons. Even with the fate of the world hanging in the balance, my heart was going out to these two brothers whose long road came to an end with gut-wrenching choices.
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