Supernatural Review S10E23

Supernatural’s tenth season finale delivers up much the same as every other season finale, in an episode that sees the Winchester brothers screw over the Earth in order to save each other.

Let me start off by saying: I had hopes for this season finale. Not high hopes, mind you, but hopes nonetheless. Surely, after ten years, someone in the writer’s room would pipe up with a tentative: ‘this hasn’t been done before, but how about we try…?’ Surely, after ten years of watching the Winchester brothers place each other over the rest of humanity would see a season finale where one of these so-called heroes makes the right choice. Surely, after ten years, something different would happen.

Surely not, apparently.

It’s disappointing to see a show that has been stretched past its use-by date; to see something that was once an invigorating and fresh and exciting piece of work constantly beat its viewers over the head with the same old, same old; day in, day out. It may be a harsh thing to say, and no doubt there are people out there would definitely disagree, but Supernatural – in its first few seasons – had a plan, a goal, a finish line in sight. Once that plan was played out, well, it’s been faltering ever since.

It may just be time to pull the plug, boys.

The saving grace in this episode was the reappearance of Julian Richings’ Death, who is totally still holding a grudge for Sam standing him up a while back. There’s something refreshingly familiar about Death’s complete and utter done-ness with the Winchester brothers and their constant sacrificial ways. Richings is a gift on this show and although he appears dead at the moment – which I do not believe, by the way; it is well established within the episode that Death understands the nature of the brothers’ relationship; did he really believe Dean would kill Sam? -, my fingers and toes are crossed that he will make a reappearance one day. Not that I’m sure that I will be around to see any potential future appearances.

Ackles and Padalecki acted well enough in their emotional scene, but I couldn’t help but be unmoved by Sam’s tears as they said goodbye. Did anyone believe that Dean was actually going to kill Sam and get shipped off to outer space? No. Did anyone sit there with their déjà vu caps on, trying to count out exactly how many times we’ve seen this scene – or something remarkably similar – before?

Well, I did.

Nothing that unfolded in this finale was shocking. Dean didn’t kill Sam. Sam didn’t kill Dean. Rowena betrayed them all. Lost’s smoke monster descended on the brothers in what was a quite literal translation of Death’s warnings about ‘The Darkness’ that Rowena’s spell would unleash. All in all, the season finale ticked all the boxes of the storylines it had been foreshadowing for the past season – and that is why it was so disappointing.

Nothing new, nothing exciting, happened.

At this point, I’ve been left with such a feeling of abandonment, a feeling of disappointment, that I can’t say for certain that I will be back next year. Do I enjoy the odd well-done episode with snarky, snappy dialogue and homoerotic undertones in a show that cannot keep a female lead? Yes. Will I miss seeing the rugged faces of Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki and Misha Collins? Of course. Will I suffer from withdrawal symptoms from everyone’s favourite King of Snark, Crowley? Lord knows I will.

But will I be back?

Well, maybe. But at this point, the only reason I will be back is to see exactly how the chips fall after Castiel hulks-out all over poor Crowley.

Review by Hannah Fitzpatrick.