It’s all bad fam. IT’S ALL BAD.

Real Talk Time: This season of Supernatural was, in some ways, all over the place. We had dropped threads: Is Dean Death or not? What the hell happened with Billie? Where are the other Knights of Hell? Odd character choices: Castiel just disappeared for half the season; Crowley, chooses ego over sense and Mary, well. I’ve already written about what I think of her behavior. To put it mildly, going into the finale I had mixed feelings about the season.

Then the finale hit and tilted the entire season on its head….

Let’s dive in shall we?

Warning! Spoilers!

Still Here?

Okay!

First, let’s talk about the British Men of Letters. One of the things I said last year was that I hoped the show would turn its focus more inward after the galaxy saving saga of the previous year and in many respects it did that via the British Men of Letters. The BMOL brought a whole other view of the world of hunting, one that was basically The Watchers from Buffy but even more arrogant and obnoxious. With the exception of Mick Davies and a few others, the BMOL were everything that we, and Dean, feared they were: high handed, controlling, heavily financed spoilt brats with no understanding of what hunting is really about. To the BMOL hunting is a job you do, with no nuance because those they hunt aren’t people, they’re just things to be put down. Sam and Dean learned a long time ago that wasn’t the case, that just like humans, some creatures were bad, some were good and some were shades of grey. They understand that only looking at things in black and white was not only shortsighted but potentially dangerous.

Their introduction was also a reminder of all that Sam and Dean don’t know about their family (remember Henry Winchester, their grandfather, was a member of the American Men of Letters) and that one of the things Dean remarked upon way back in season one of the show remains true: Humans are truly the most dangerous thing out there.

As for the rest of the season, upon reviewing the events of the show, especially in light of the finale, I realized something: this was the ‘Protect Dean Winchester’ at all costs season.

Every choice every character made was in service to that goal (yes, even Crowley in the end). Mary joining up with the BMOL? An unconscious choice to do what she failed to all those years ago when she promised Dean she’d always keep him safe. Sam drinking the kool-aid and trying to form an alliance with the BMOL? Trying to make the world a place where Dean wouldn’t have to hunt, a place where he’d finally be able to have some peace and have the mother and family he’s always wanted. Castiel killing Billie and going off on a suicide run with Kelly to keep her and Baby Lucifer safe? An attempt to keep Lucifer away from the Winchesters in general and Dean in particular as well as give Dean the world that Baby Lucifer showed him: a paradise where humans were safe and neither angels nor demons were an issue. Even Crowley gives up his life in a last ditch effort to keep Dean protected and trap Lucifer permanently.

However, just like every other time in this series when people make choices for others, it all goes horribly, terribly wrong. In the end, the only characters left standing are Sam and Baby Lucifer, as every other character on the show is either dead: Crowley and Castiel or trapped in an alternate universe: Mary and Lucifer.

…and Dean? Dean is catatonic. Utterly destroyed as, within moments of finally getting his family back, Castiel dies before his eyes and Mary sacrifices herself to take Lucifer out.

It was horrifying and pretty much broke the internet, leaving fans as devastated as Dean.

The question going forward is, where does the show go from here? In every previous season there was hope that Team Free Will would come out the other side, no matter how dire the circumstance, but with this finale that seems almost impossible. On the one hand it’ll be interesting, having watched Dean emotionally (sometimes physically) take care of Sam, Castiel, John and pretty much everyone else in their orbit for the better part of 12 years, to see that dynamic flipped so fundamentally. Even when Dean was a Knight of Hell he was still in there on some level, protecting Sam and Castiel, even if it was from himself. This time? Dean may not be capable of taking care of himself, much less anyone else. How will Sam handle that, on top of Baby Lucifer being born, apparently traumatized by the circumstances of his birth and not so much a baby? Will Castiel and Crowley return?* Who else is in the alternate universe and will they come through to ours?

Unfortunately we’ll just have to wait 6 months to find out.

Book Of Lore

• *I have a theory on how Cas and Crowley could come back based off of hints dropped throughout the entire season that I only noticed upon reflection – ask me in the comments.
• Ron watched the finale episodes and went, ‘That was Supernatural’s Red Wedding. Holy shite.’
• I know I say it every time but Jensen Ackles is an acting beast. The kitchen scene alone is Emmy and Golden Globe worthy.
• Everyone seriously brought their a game this season but Samantha Smith’s welcome return gives shades to Mary that simply weren’t there before. I spent a lot of time yelling at the character but I bought every moment and, even when I loathed her choices, they rang true because of the depth Smith gave them.  
• #RowenaDeservedBetter

These are my thoughts, what are yours? Are you here for Season 13? What do you think of the upcoming Scooby-Doo crossover? How do you think they’re going to pull that one off? What do you want to see next year and do you think it should be the final season? Let us know in the comments and join us next year on Twitter with the hashtags #DemDemons, #DaHunt and #Supernatural!